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