She Was So Very Loved

Anna Melissa Neitzel was born August 6, 1987 to loving parents, Kevin and Suzi, and a very proud big sister, Molly Moon. Anna grew up surrounded by a large, loving family - grandparents John & Faye Pengilly and Herb & Angela Neitzel, two great-grandmothers, and countless aunts, uncles and kissin' cousins.

Anna was an incredibly generous, loving, funny, sweet, smart, beautiful girl. She attended Lowell Elementary, North Junior High, and Boise High School. She was involved in softball, girl scouts, dance, drama, and choir. She graduated high school in 2005 and was enrolled to begin Stevens-Henager College's medical specialties program in fall 2009. She was fascinated by all things medical and loved helping and caring for people.

Her family will remember Anna forever by recalling all of the things she loved and her contagious giggle when things made her happy. The things she loved include her family and dear friends, milk, Britney Spears, The Gilmore Girls, NOFX, Magic, playing catch with dad, making lists, board games, softball, mosh pits, tattoos, sister days, working at the QFC deli in Seattle, Pengilly's Saloon, Barbara Barbara, her kitties - Alice and Wendy Moira Angela Darling, her puppies - Sophie, Patches, Nellie & Parker, road trips, being a tourist, Las Vegas, all things Disney, riding on the backs of motorcycles, the beach, Barbies, clothes, shoes, makeup, Britney Spears perfume, The Sims, The History Channel, history (though she hated to admit it), Heidi, nurses, cute phlebotomists, Fried Green Tomatoes & A League of Their Own, the Boise River, the rhododendron garden, sunbathing, hot springs, dancing, Elizabeth Wurtzel, reading, scary movies, musicals, Sex & The City nights with Molly, The Oregon Trail game, Lewis & Clark trivia, giving and receiving presents, laughing, voting, Pizza Hut, camping, rafting, the number 37, her 1988 Dodge Colt Vista named Louise, cows, concerts, BOYS, hyperbarics, pinochle, sushi, artichokes, pumpkin pie, Trader Joe's string cheese, crab, hot dogs, ice cream sundaes, Vivace mochas, Boar's Head, s'mores, granola bars & Mom's Famous Spaghetti.

She was wild, wild, sunflower child, Anna, and was very much loved. Anna died surrounded by mom, dad, and Molly on November 2nd as a result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on August 22nd, 2009. She was 22 years old. Special thanks to the doctors and staff at St. Luke's, ELKS, Complex Care, St. Al's and especially Dr. Clifford and Margie Zamzow. A private memorial will be held.

Gifts may be made to www.heifer.org in Anna's honor, to provide families around the world with Anna's favorite thing: milk!

tracking

just a quick update today to say that the doctors, nurses and mom & dad all agree anna is tracking now with her right eye, which means she's following things and actually looking at stuff. mom and dad are sure now that anna knows when they're in the room and is listening to them talk to her.

this is great news and Dr. Manning and anna's other doctors seem to all think she is on the upswing.

physical therapy bit of good news

this morning anna had a physical therapy session like she does every morning now. these sessions keep her joints working, her body flexible, and also seem to be somewhat calming to anna. anna's heart rate has been high in the last few days because she's fighting some crud in her lungs that looks like it's turned into pneumonia (they're treating that and it's getting better). but when anna was having her phsyical therapy this morning, her heart rate went down and she seemed calmer.

then, during the activities, her therapist said she opened her left eye for the first time, along with her right -- just a little bit, but some. as i think i've said before here, anna's left side is coming along more slowly than the right, so this is great news.

but the best part is this: after anna's physical therapy session, she was sweating quite a bit, as she tends to do, and the physical therapist said "anna. if you want a washcloth on your forehead, blink your eyes for me." and she squinted really hard! not a total blink, because maybe that's too much for her yet, but the therapist said it was a purposeful looking, good, strong, squeezing squint.

marathon, marathon. this is slow. but little things are happening. she is resting and healing and fighting inside. every day i think i can't wait for a little good news, we get something to hold on to, to keep in mind as we hope and pray for her. come on anna. keeping waking, little girl. we don't care how slow you go. just keep on waking up. i can't wait to hear your voice and see you smile. we love you, boba.

love,

molly

a story to inspire

i have told a lot of family this, but since anna's accident it hasn't really helped to hear about other people's medical experiences or trauma. i just want to focus on anna getting better and hearing about other people's stories has often felt really scary or distracting, but today Dr. Manning, anna's neurologist, called me to assure me that anna is getting great care at her new home for a bit, Complex Care, a long term acute care hospital, and gave me a story that inspires.

Dr. Manning told me to google CR Johnson and read his story. he said anna could be somewhere in CR's range, that it does happen, and to have hope. CR's injury was similar to anna's. so here are a few links on CR's story...

http://www.powdermag.com/features/news/cr-injury/

http://www.backcountry.com/store/newsletter/a257/Interview-with-CR-Johnson.html

http://rosstraining.com/blog/2009/08/20/cr-johnson-the-power-of-passion/

Day 13

anna is still stable, still breathing on her own (now through a tracheotomy) and is moving today to a Long Term Acute Care Hospital. she had her tracheotomy and feeding tube surgery on Monday. the surgery was a bit complicated, but overall went well and she seems to be recovering from it just fine.

anna's movements are a little bit bigger and stronger each day. her right eye is opening periodically, though it's hard to tell if she is looking at you or just opening her eye.

her neurologist, dr. manning, says that we now know that anna will have some disability from her brain injury. we just don't know how extensive it will be. i asked him a few questions yesterday that i'll share here. dr. manning's responses are in bold:

last week you said that you weren't ruling out a full recovery. are you now? what has changed from your point of view in the last week?

-i think a full recovery is less likely now, but the extent of her recovery is still a black box.

what do you think the best and worst case scenarios for anna are at this point?

-best: she talks and eats, drinks and walks -- whether she is able to be employed again is questionable. she may need some help around the house.

-worst case -- never really wakes up, permanent feeding and breathing tubes

when might you/we know if anna will need to be on a permanent feeding tube or permanent breathing tube?

-probably 4 to 6 weeks

some other notes from my conversation with dr. manning are below:

she definitely has some shear injuries and that doesn't preclude recovery, but we are realizing that they are definitely there. it's starting to be pretty clear that there is damage. it's likely that she'll have some disability.

her left side's weird posturing shows us that her injuries are there, but that isn't necessarily static.

where she's gonna be in 6 months is a black box. we will probably know more at 6 weeks and more again at 4 months.

it's still quite early and she is very young. she has a lot more recovery to do and that can happen.

that's all the news i have for people now. remaining positive for anna's recovery is important as we continue the marathon. thanks to everyone who is supporting us.

love,

molly

sleeping beauty wakes

today, anna started to wake up. we are so thankful, words can't even express it. it started maybe yesterday with her right hand movements. she seemed like she was reaching for me as i was saying goodbye to her, but i didn't want to make too much of it. but this morning, when mom got to the hospital, anna was obviously reaching for her ventilator tube with her right hand. and then, when mom was talking to her, her heart rate was spiking. the nurses said that her movements and reactions do seem purposeful now and that this is the beginning of anna waking up. thank god!

other developments today just got better. she opened her right eye for a bit. she is still under sedation and on a pain killer, so everything today was surprising for how sedated she should be. then, after her wrists had to be restrained so that she didn't take her breathing tube out, she figured out how to reach the other direction and she pulled her catheter right out!

i feel like this is the anna we all know and love -- feisty, tricky, stubborn and smart! today was a good day. i think they will continue to wean her off the sedation tomorrow. and i imagine we'll get lots more news on tuesday when dr. manning, anna's neurosurgeon, comes back to see her.

thank you all so much for the positive thoughts, energy, and prayers. it's working! keep sending anna everything you've got!

love,

molly

breathing easy

today hasn't been as eventful as yesterday, but anna's progress is steady. she has now breathed on her own for a day and a half and her sedation medicine is slowly being decreased, which will make it easier for her to wake up when she's ready.

her heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and temperature have all been better and more stable today. her body swelling is going down now, too, so she's looking more like herself.

today anna's eyes have moved a bit under her eyelids. this is not voluntary movement and it doesn't mean she's waking up yet, but before, her eyes were totally still and unmoving. every little change seems like progress. she is, as i write, squirming a lot as she gets her teeth brushed.

today, anna's friend dan came to visit her. dan is probably anna's best friend and our whole family really loves him. he flew in this morning from portland to see her and could only get today and tomorrow off work. it was hard to watch dan see anna like this, but he was great. he held her hand and talked to her and visited with my parents and i for a few minutes. he'll come back to sit with her for a while tomorrow before he has to go back to oregon.

yesterday i went to mom's work and asked ann swanson if she'd organize some meals for our family so that my mom doesn't have to think about cooking for her and grama faye and so that my dad can keep working and coming up to the hospital each day. ann & all the ladies at the historical preservation office have done a great job with the "meal patrol" and we're really thankful. we are blessed to have such support. please keep the thoughts and prayers coming.

love,

molly

the marathon begins

today is the 5th day that anna has been in the hospital. we know a lot of positive things, given her traumatic accident. she is young and healthy and a fighter. she has no broken bones. she is able to breathe on her own (as of today) and all of her hands and feet respond to physical stimulation. her body involuntarily moves more every day. she has no paralysis.

the accident
late friday night/early saturday (8/22) morning, anna was in a motorcycle accident. she was a passenger. our family did not know the boy she was riding with. she was wearing a partial helmet. she likely landed on her head and slid a bit on the left side of her face, her left shoulder and her left arm. the accident was where capitol blvd. turns into vista, near the train depot. the officer on the scene thinks he arrived within one minute of the crash. anna was having trouble breathing when the EMTs got to her. she was rushed to St. Al's and was sent up to the ICU around 4:30 am.

the injuries
anna's injuries are mostly just in her head. she suffered from a very small fracture at the back of her skull, road rash on the left side of her face, her left arm, and her palms. there was a gash in her left arm near her elbow that got some stitches. the head injury is called Diffuse Axonal Injuries (DAI). this is the kind of injury a person gets from rapid acceleration and deceleration. the most mild form of DAI is a concussion. shaken baby syndrome is also a form of DAI. her primary doctor, the neurosurgeon, dr. manning, has a lot of hopeful things to say about anna's injuries and condition. her injury is a few (probably about 4) small shears in her brain tissue. the doctors don't know enough about the brain to know what those small tears are affecting yet. we won't likely know until she starts to wake up.

how things are going & how they're going to go
anna is still in a coma. dr. manning said this morning that most people with this type of injury begin to wake up after about two weeks. until then, anna is resting and healing. her body is working hard and most of her systems are working. they turned the ventilators off today and anna has been breathing on her own all day. the breathing tube is still in her mouth, but she is breathing through it by herself. if she does well like this, they will take the tube out and see if she can breathe and swallow and handle her saliva without worry. that test should happen in the next few days.

dr. manning said that the recovery process for anna's kind of injury is typically about 9 to 12 months and that we don't really know what the outcome will be. we have to be patient and we have to be hopeful. i was reading in a book that the hospital gave us today a letter from a brain injury survivor. the letter said the best thing his family and friends did for him was stay positive, inspire him to be positive, and share in all the small successes in his recovery.

i will try to keep this blog up to date as the days and weeks go on.

my family and i are so thankful for all of the love and hope and healing vibes and prayers that are being sent anna's way. thank you all so much.

love,
molly