Home Again! :)

We are home and Samuel is sleeping. He is in a lot of pain and is having to take two strong pain medications.  The drive home was rough, but he is resting now. Hopefully the pain will lessen tomorrow and the next day.  They replaced all the tubes and sometimes when they have a hard time working them into his kidneys and bladder it is very painful for him.  There is so much scar tissue now and it can really complicate things.   Praying he gets a good night of rest!  I'm about to bathe babies and head to bed early too.  Exhausted!

This Afternoon

Samuel is out of surgery and in recovery. I haven't got to see him yet though. They are going to keep him for at least another five hours, but they are hoping to be able to release us to go home this evening.  Please pray that he meets his milestones so he can be released.  Pray for pain to be manageable and for a safe and comfortable drive home tonight.  The staff at Memorial Hermann is wonderful.  They sent me to his room and as soon as I got here, the nurses were asking how much weight Samuel has gained and wanted to know how he was doing. Then they brought a menu and said to make sure he orders plenty to eat so he gains weight while here instead of losing it.  He weighs 110 pounds now and is inching his way closer to the minimum weight for his big surgeries coming up.  

Another little bit of good news is that just a few days ago the open wound on his abdomen stopped draining and the skin closed over allowing him to have one less bag.!  I called Dr. Kozar that day because I was told by several doctors that it would never close without additional surgery. I wasn't quite sure if it was a good thing or not.  Dr. Kozar was a little puzzled too and said until it proves otherwise, we will assume this is a good thing.  At this point it seems to be going well and we are going to count that as a praise!  The fascia is still not closed and will need some sort of mesh to close it after the big surgeries, but the skin is closed now and that makes things a little easier for Samuel.  He had minor wounds from previous tubes that have never been able to heal due to all the adhesives and tape when applying the wound bag. Now those wounds will be able to heal too. 

I know these random surgeries are to be expected and part of that "two steps forward, one step back" process, but it was really hard to accept that we were headed back to the hospital again.  I am just so thankful that they were able to get things under control again and that his stay here will be short.  It has been so great to see him getting to enjoy the things he loves again.   Thank you for joining us in praying for Samuel.  God is good ALWAYS!  

Back to the hospital! :(

You can't imagine how I don't want to post this message tonight. Samuel is having complications again. At 3:30 a.m. we will be heading back to Houston for surgery early tomorrow morning. Please pray for good news, quick healing, and pain control.  The last few weeks have been so nice and Samuel has been feeling really well and pain free.  It has been the first time in a very long time that things felt close to "normal" again.  Please pray he is able to come home and is strong and can return to the things he enjoys doing.  

Update on Samuel

Samuel came home from the hospital on Friday evening.  It took until Friday afternoon to get the sensitivity cultures back to know which antibiotics would work best to treat the kind of infection Samuel has.   He has been on several IV antibiotics that were broad spectrum, but they needed to know what antibiotic would actually work best to treat him. 

On the way home from the hospital, we had a minor car accident and now we are without the Highlander until it is repaired.  Thankfully everyone was safe.   Houston traffic it is a nightmare!

Saturday was a pretty painful day for Samuel, but he managed by sleeping a lot.   On Sunday morning he woke up and spent the majority of the day throwing up. He felt horrible!  By evening he was feeling much better though and he has been feeling pretty good ever since. The pain seems much more manageable than before and having one less tube appears to be working so far. The key to success with having one less tube is that the other three tubes continue to work properly so that fluids do not pool and create an abscess.  

We've been so busy since we got home and it has been hard to take the time to write an update.  We are blessed to share such a good update though!  Samuel is making progress and getting better.  He continues to take two steps forward and one step back, but in the long run that's still progress forward. Thanks for praying for him and our family. 

Samuel is out of surgery and doing well!

Samuel was scheduled for surgery at 9:00 this morning, but he didn’t go to surgery until 2:00 pm.  The nurses said there was bus crash in Houston and Ben Taub Hospital was full, so they sent the rest of the injured people to Hermann Hospital.  Last night Samuel’s fever spiked.  We still don’t have the final results back, but he definitely has an infection in his kidneys and bladder.   Dr. Kozar said she wasn’t surprised by that at all and actually expected it a long time ago being that he has some many tubes and the human body doesn’t like foreign objects.  Samuel came out of surgery at 5:30 pm.  The surgery went well and he doesn’t have a JP drain anymore!  That’s one less tube!!!  We are praying his body will tolerate it and that this will give him a little relief from the pain.   He is low on magnesium so they are going to work on bringing those numbers up.  He is still pretty out of it and only wakes up for brief periods of time. 

Dr. Kozar came by while Samuel was in the operating room and talked to me for about an hour and a half.  She was heading home and just came by to chat and see how Samuel was doing.  We had a great conversation.  After talking to her, I think it’s time to start moving towards setting things up for him to have the big surgeries he will need in Baltimore.   I am guessing we won’t be able to do that until after the first of the year, but we can start working on getting all the info to his doctor up there and scheduling those surgeries.  Dr. Kozar said that Samuel will need to weigh about 117 before he will be healthy enough to have such serious surgeries.  He is gaining weight well now and we are all pleased with his progress.    

So…..thank you for praying for Samuel and please continue to pray for his progress, peace and complete healing.  It sounds like the soonest we can go home would be possibly Friday because they won’t have the final results from some of the tests back until then.  I feel like today brought some good news though, and I am so thankful for that.  God is good and deserves all the glory!

Tuesday, October 1, 2013 Updates on Samuel

Morning Post --

They ran tests all night. Very long night! The ER was crazy last night. They were so busy and short on staff. Most things were not serious so Samuel was given priority. We haven't heard any results yet. There is no phone service in the ER. At 5:30 am, they finally gave me a chair. At 7:00 they moved us to the floor. Samuel is on the 8th floor, which is "Silver Trauma" with all the senior citiz...ens. I slept from 7:30-9:00. At 9:00, they started him on Cefapeme, Vancomycin, and Flucon, all IV antibiotics. They are trying to attack the infection from every angle, even before we know what it is. The cultures will take a long time to grow and determine what kind of an infection it is. We are hoping they will be by with the CT scan results soon. They are concerned that the JP drain has migrated again. He was scheduled for surgery on the 8th to replace all the tubes and to try and down size that JP drain and start backing it out again. Now I am not sure what they will do. He is not allowed to eat or drink anything because he may be going to surgery. We don't know anything else really. On a good note, he now weighs 105 pounds, which means he has gained 25 pounds!! I will post another update when we know more. Thank you for praying for Samuel.

 

Evening Post --

It has been a long day. Tomorrow Samuel will be having another surgery. We don’t know what time yet because we are waiting to hear from anesthesia. It will be a long procedure. Apparently Samuel has an infection in his kidneys and that may be what is causing the fever. They have decided to move forward with the surgery because by morning he will be on IV meds for a full 24 hours and several o...f the tubes and not working properly today. There is talk that they may try to remove the JP drain and see if he can tolerate it. We don’t have the final results from the blood work and cultures yet though, so I guess that could change things. Please continue to pray for Samuel. I will post more tomorrow. Good night!

Here we go again...

Here we go again...we are headed to the emergency rom at Memorial Hermann Hospital. Tonight Samuel has a 103 degree temperature. He doesn't have any symptoms of any type of bug or anything, so we are guessing there is an infection of some sort. We know infections are to be expected with his type of wounds and so many tubes. Please pray for quick answers and complete healing.

It is hard to believe it, but our second oldest biological son, Joshua, turned 20 years old today.  It is amazing how fast the time goes by, yet when I think of all that has happened in the last 23 years, I know it is only by the grace of God that we are making it.   

Samuel had four great days in a row!  I haven’t seen him smiling this much since his accident.  He is back to taking short little walks to the gate and back.  He is teaching his Sunday School class and Youth Group again.  The medicine is certainly helping him deal with the pain until he can have his next procedure.  I could be wrong, but as well as he seems to be tolerating it, I am hopeful that the tubes are staying in place better than they previously did.  That is what he needs most right now because it will let him heal so he can have the major surgeries in the future.  Yesterday evening, he even went outside and tried to teach Joseph how to trim calves hooves on the trim table.  Samuel knows he won’t be able to return to trimming hooves for a long time, so he is going to try to teach Joseph and Jacob how to do it. 

This little break from Samuel’s hospital stays has given me a much needed break to try to catch up on the everyday things I’ve not been able to do since the accident.  I’ve been trying to catch up on well-child check ups and appointments with the specialists who follow some of our children with special needs.  Last week, Olivia had a great appointment at Scottish Rites in Dallas.   They want her to make a list of all the things she wants to one day accomplish and then they will set up an appointment to go over that list and see what things can be adapted etc. to help her reach her goals.  We probably won’t do it soon, but possibly in a year or two.  It was just great to hear them talk about things she will be able to do that we never dreamed would be possible…..like driving a car!  They told us to have Rachel start on her list too.    

Jonah saw the transplant team at Memorial Hermann Hospital last week too.  We missed his May check-up appointment, so it was nice to try to get back on track again.  His blood work and tests came back showing that his liver is functioning very well and there are no signs of rejection.   They will keep him on the same dosage of anti-rejection medications.  Jonah is now nine years old and he had his transplant when he was 17 months old.  He is 8 years post transplant!!!   What a blessings!!!   

This week, I’ve decided to try to tackle the stacks of mail and bills on the desk.  I am also working on taxes and have set the goal of getting them turned in to our CPA by Friday.  It is such a depressing task, and at times it seems so overwhelming.  Tonight we are going to take the little kids to the fair and it will be a nice break from it all. 

Last, but not least…..I just want to say thank you to everyone who is walking through this with us.  Your prayers and love mean so much to us.   We greatly appreciate everything that has been done to help Samuel and our family through this.  We are so impressed with all the support our Longhorn family has shown Samuel, even those that we don’t even know personally.  Our friends have been amazing through all this and we are so thankful for each of you!!!! 

Another Update on Samuel

We came home from the hospital around 8:30 pm last night.  The procedure went well, but we had some good news and some bad news.  The tubes are giving him a lot of problems, but they are what keep him alive right now and they can’t be removed until he is more healed internally.  After the procedure, Samuel was still in a lot of pain.  I was pretty frustrated yesterday and Dr. Kozar had the specialist who does all these kinds of surgeries come by and talk with us.  I didn’t understand what was going on, so he drew a diagram and explained it in detail.    A while back, Samuel had a tube that eroded a hole into his intestines, which was a new problem to work through.  They replaced that tube with a smaller, softer tube.  Well, now the smaller tube worked its way into his bladder and out the other side.  So, now he has additional problems and it will take additional time to heal.  They can’t pull the tubes out because that would leave big holes.  The plan is to keep downsizing the tubes smaller and smaller and letting the wounds close around the tubes little by little.  It will take a lot of time.  He will go back to the hospital in 4-6 weeks (if nothing new happens) and they will downsize the tube again.  It will be kind of big deal because they will be replacing four tubes that day and the procedure will take most of the day.  I really like this doctor a lot and I trust that he has Samuel’s best interest at heart.  The human body doesn’t like foreign objects and it resists and fights things that should be in there.  Sometimes the tubes migrate to places they shouldn’t be and that creates more problems, like in the case of Samuel’s tubes.  There are so many problems so close together that to correct one, you sometimes compromise another.  The seatbelt caused a lot of damage, but without the seatbelt he would have never survived.

As far as the pain problem goes, the doctor explained that Samuel is in a tremendous amount of pain (even when he doesn’t want us to know).  He said that to sedate him enough to replace the one tube yesterday, the amount of drugs needed would have put two elephants to sleep.  He said that because we can’t take the tubes out, the pain will continue and we will have to deal with that for at least six more weeks, maybe longer.  The new pain management plan is that he will stay on pain meds constantly, not letting them wear off.  Over time, the medicine will start become less effective and at that time they will increase the dosage.  They don’t want to increase the dosage now because they know we will have to do that a little later.  So…..today we remind ourselves that in just a few days it will be four months post-accident and Samuel is alive and that is a miracle.  We pray for the pain to be managed and healing to be swift.  We pray that no new problems arise and that those tubes stay exactly where they should be and doing their jobs.  We pray for peace and strength. 

Update on Samuel

Samuel is in the hospital this morning for another procedure. They will be taking him back to the OR any minute. He is in a lot of pain today.  The goal is to reposition the JP drain and see if that will be less painful and give him a little more comfort.  If the procedure goes well, he will be released today. As always, we appreciate your prayers.

Back at Memorial Hermann! :(

Well....this has been a very frustrating experience. Samuel came to the hospital with pain in his lower abdomen yesterday afternoon.  He was also having problems with the JP drain not working quite right.  His situation is so complicated that the doctors don't really know what to do sometimes.  Dr. Kozar is out of town,  but we've been in contact.  At about 10:00 pm last the trauma team made the decision to remove the SP tube because it wasn't working right and it is the source of much of the pain. The plan was to remove the drain and send us home.   We were pretty happy, but it didn't go so well. They were not able to pull the tube out. They are concerned that it has either been entangled in scar tissue or possibly eroded into something else.  They admitted him to the hospital and we finally got a room around 2:00 am. The urology team came by this morning and tried again to remove the tube. It was extremely painful and I honestly cannot believe they proceeded to try to remove the tube...but they did!  It was impossible and now we are continuing to wait for the CT scan.   They put him back on morphine. It is helping some, but not elevating the pain.  I am thankful we are out of the Trauma ER because it is a very scary place to be at night.  There were two code blues while we were there and a lot of noise. Being in a room is so much better!  We have had very little contact with the urology team here and dealt mostly with the trauma team.   Today we got some pretty negative news about Samuel's upcoming surgical possibilities. I want so badly to take Samuel to Johns Hopkins to his original doctor.  I really value his opinion.  We have been in contact with him and he is so much more optimistic.  I wish we could get to a place where Samuel is doing well enough that he could go to Baltimore for a consult.  Tomorrow Dr. Kozar will be back. I like it when she is here because she is well respected and a great advocate for Samuel.  Please continue to pray for pain control, complete healing, rest and strength.

Update on Samuel

Samuel is doing really well.  He is having some complications though and is back in the hospital for another procedure because the nephrostomy tubes are not working properly.  He had to drop his Summer II Biology class because he missed four days when he was in the hospital last time. Blinn College has been wonderful about working with Samuel.  He only needs his two Biology classes and Spanish and then he can get his Associates degree and will be transferring to Texas A&M University. 

 

I have a new prayer request in addition to Samuel's needs. Back in June we were turned in to Adult Protective Services with accusations of abuse and medical neglect of Samuel.   The social worker came out, visited with Samuel, and quickly realized that the accusations were false and that this was just some malicious hateful person who was trying to create problems for our family.  Well, last week she called again and they've turned us in a second time. She already called home health and people in charge of assisting us in caring for Samuel. This time there was the same allegations and they are using the infection he had as a base for their accusations.  Obviously they are using the updates on our blog and Facebook to hurt our family. I share the updates because I was requested to do so by many people and I understand the power of prayer and that we have some strong prayer warriors who have fervently prayed for Samuel through this whole ordeal. Unfortunately, Samuel will have many infections due to the nature in extent of his injuries. The particular infection (VRE) that he had though is only found in hospitals and is in his blood stream, but not actively in a wound at this time. It is very common in people who have spent many months in the hospital. Our family and Samuel's doctors are doing everything humanly possible to give Samuel the best of care. Please pray for the hearts of those who are using this difficult time to fulfill themselves by adding additional stress to our family. Our case worker told us she has 30-33 cases at one time. It is sad that she is having to waist her time following up false reports when there are people out their who really do need help.

 

Samuel's procedure will be at 9:00 AM this morning. I will post an update when he is in recovery. Pray that the procedure goes well and that he can eat and possibly go home this evening. Thank you for all the love, prayers, and support you have shown our family. You can't imagine what it means to us, we are truly blessed. 

Friday Morning Update

Friday - 9:00 am

Dr. Kozar came by this morning and we working on irrigating some of the tubes that weren't working properly. She is going to let us go home today. We won't really know what the hole will do right away.  We will just watch for any signs of problems and we talk to Dr. Kozar every day through text so she will stay aware of how he is doing.  She also said that as Samuel starts to mend, he can do anything he feels like he can handle safely, including riding horses.  I don't think he feels that well yet, but it is nice to know that he can do it when he is feeling better.  God has plan in all of this. We are just taking it one day at a time. 

Thursday - 2:15 pm.

The JP drain did erode a hole into the small intestines. :(

It can do three things. It can close up on it's own, it can remain the same or it can get bigger. If it gets bigger, he will have some additional problems, especially with nutrition. He will need a central line and TPN lipids again if the hole grows. He will need to stay here tonight to see what happens. They replaced the drain with a shorter one. I haven't seen him yet. Dr. Kozar just called me and told me what was going on. 

Thursday - 1:15 pm

They just took Samuel back for another procedure.   He ate breakfast this morning, so they cannot use anesthesia that could make him sick in his tummy.  He will be awake, but sedated. They are going to do a fistula gram to inject dye into the JP drain and see where it shows up. Then if they can, they may replace the JP drain. We really want them to replace it at this point because it has been a problem for the last two weeks.  I didn't have to go to Brenham for the closing.  They worked it out where Jay can do it without me. That was a relief.    Thank you for remembering Samuel and our family in prayer. I will post an update when we know more. 

Thursday -- 5:30 am

Samuel was moved to the Observation Care Unit during the night.   He is in isolation because he has an antibiotic resistant bacteria. It is resistant to Vancomycin, which is the drug that kills staph.  Everyone entering his room must wear the blue gloves and gowns like when he was in STICU.  We are getting some answers,  but they aren't good.  The latest tests indicate that the JP drain may have rubbed a new fistula in his small intestines.   They aren't sure why this was not picked up on the CT scan.   They did blood work and cultures all through the night.   We are both exhausted. We don't know what the plan is from here.  I'm sure Dr. Kozar will be by soon.  I have to drive back to Brenham today for a closing on a property we sold.  I really hope we have some answers by then.   

Update on Samuel - 7:45 pm

We are still in the Trauma ER.  We've been here the entire day. They have been saying they were moving him for several hours, but we are still here.  It has been a very busy day here. We share a trauma pod with a lady who has been having seizures all day. Each time it happens it brings me to tears. I cannot even imagine going through all that she is having to go through. Please pray for her. I don't know her name, but she is in bed 1.  Each time a she starts a seizure, I go get the nurses.  She came in this morning right after us.  There's so many ER cases today that they had to line them up in the halls and only give the ER beds to the worst of them.   I am so ready to be out of this area. 

The doctors are very confused about what's going on with Samuel. The CT scan with all the contrast showed "no abnormalities."  Now they don't know what to think. They know something is wrong, but they don't know what it is. The drainage in the JP is a different color and smell than anything Dr. Duke or Dr. Kozar have ever seen. No one has any answers. They want to think on it for tonight and then try to come up with a plan tomorrow morning. You can tell that it is really bothering both of them that they can't figure this out. They come by occasionally and check for things that randomly cross their minds. They are very puzzled by the whole situation. Samuel has a low grade fever and still has a heart rate of 110-120. His pain has lessened throughout the day and he sleeps for short periods between doctors and nurses coming in and out.  Pray for wisdom and direction for Samuel's doctors. Pray for rest and complete healing for Samuel. Dr. Kozar did confirm today that Dr. Duke was correct and it will take more like 8-9 months instead of the 6 months we hoped for to be able to go back in and start repairing things. She recommended that Samuel attend college in the fall and plan for surgeries next spring. So that's the plan if we can get over this latest obstacle. I know we will in time and I do trust that God has a plan for Samuel.  

Headed back to SIMU again! :(

Dr. Kozar was here and she is just as wonderful as she has always been. It looks like Samuel has some sort of infection and a few other issues too.  They are taking him to do a CT scan. He had to drink the contrast for that.  They gave him some nausea medicine to keep it down. I think I may have forgot to mention that he has been sick in his stomach too.  They have reserved a bed for him in Shock-Trauma Intermediate ICU (SIMU) and he will go there after they do any procedures today. He will be heading into the operating room again today to change out some drains, clean out the area they think is infected, and take a look at what may be going on inside of him.   If things go well, he won't be in SIMU long, but he has to be there at least until tomorrow.   We will know more after we get the results from the CT scan.   Thank you for praying for him and for being so supportive through this whole ordeal.  Sometimes it just seems like there are so many fronts that we don't know which one to fight first. 

Wednesday Morning

We had quite a night. The IV antibiotics brought his fever down from 103 to 101 and they sent us home at midnight.  Basically the teams are not communicating. We got home around 2:00 am.  Dr. Kozar was asleep and didn't get my text until 5:00 am.   She had us come back to the hospital. The only way you can see a trauma doctor on a day that isn't clinics is to go through the emergency room.  They did all kinds of tests and we are awaiting for the results now.   Dr. Kozar is in the operating room with trauma cases and we haven't seen her yet. Samuel continues to have a fever of around 101.5.   There is a very strong smell coming from the open part of the wound and the JP drain.  It actually makes your eyes water and gives you a headache.  He didn't have that until yesterday so my guess is that he got some sort of infection that is not even associated with replacing the nephrostomy tubes in his kidneys.  During the night the left nephrostomy tube started working again, which is good news. We are exhausted. Everyone talks about us being so strong, but we aren't strong. We are in survival mode and have been for over two months now.  We know that we cannot keep going at this pace. It isn't just Samuel we are dealing with. We have so many other kid situations and we just feel worn out. Please continue to pray for Samuel and our entire family.   

PS - I have no phone service in the trauma ER. 

Samuel is out of the OR! :)

Samuel went in at 3:20 pm. Samuel came out of the operating room at 4:50 pm and is now in recovery.  The procedure went well. They actually upsized the tubes and he will need to have them replaced again in about eight weeks. For some reason his body just doesn't deal with the tubes into his kidneys as well as some do.  He is awake and doing very well.  I am sure he is very hungry being that he has not had anything to eat or drink since 10:00 pm last night.  They said they will bring him something to eat in about an hour.  If he can tolerate food and his pain is under control (he is still under the pain meds from surgery), then they will release him in a few hours and we will head home. Thank you Jesus!!!  

Update on Samuel - 7/8/13

Samuel Update - 7/8/13

Samuel has been doing really well and we were thinking it would be good for him to spend a little time away from home keeping his mind busy. This afternoon he went online and signed up to take a Biology class at Blinn during the Summer II session that is only about a month long.  He is looking forward to finding some normalcy in his life again.  By the afternoon though, he had a little setback. Tomorrow Samuel will be heading back to the operating room once again to have the tubes in this kidneys replaced.  If it goes as planned, he will be released from the hospital tomorrow night.  Of course we didn't know any of that when we signed him up for the class and paid his tuition.  Our plan is for him to go to class tomorrow morning at 8:00. Then explain to his teacher that he must leave at 10:30. They will admit him to the hospital at noon and then take him back for the procedure.  Please keep Samuel in your prayers. This whole process is filled with peaks and valleys, and we have entered another small valley.  I will post another update when he is in recovery tomorrow. 

Dr. Red Duke - He makes me smile!

We love Dr. Red Duke!  He is such an amazing doctor with an amazing bedside manner and Texas twang. He makes me realize what all his generation has to offer and how they will be gone before we even realize it. He makes me miss my grandparents and brings back memories from my early childhood when I spent time with them.  It was brief, but they had so much to share before they passed away. I love hearing Dr. Duke say things like, "Scoot your fanny over here."  and  "No hill is too high for a billy goat."  As he put on his gloves he said, "Now that's probably what my mother went through each day putting her girdle on!"  He has such a good sense of humor. 

He shares stories about how there was no air conditioning back when he worked at Parkland Hospital and sometimes the patients would have heat strokes while in the hospital!  He said,  "If you heard a bath tub on wheels rolling down the halls, you knew someone had a heatstroke."   

He tells of his time in Alaska after his first year of medical school and how he wanted to go so bad that he bought a car and drove it the whole way and then sold it when he got there.   He loves Alaska and even got a license to do guided hunts there.  

He spent time in Afghanistan and India. He has such an appreciation for life and the beauty of God's creation. He speaks of how amazing God's design of the human body is and how so much of our body is made to take care of itself, including pushing drains (foreign objects) out, which is why we are here today!  Dr. Duke had to suture two of Samuel's drains back in because they are so determined to work their way out and the tape is not working.  He is also having some other complications related to still having six drains.

I asked Dr. Duke what the plan was from here. He said, "We just wait for healing."  He was a little less optimistic about waiting six months to go back in and try to make repairs and rebuild what can be. He said it will probably be more like 8-9 months.  We were really hoping to start having those surgeries towards the end of the year, but that may not be happening after all. I know God's timing is perfect though. Praying the time will pass smoothly and that I can keep my eyes focused on The Lord and not the chaos and stress of everyday life.  Blessings!

Thursday, June 27, 2013

We had an early morning drive to Houston for more appointments today. Samuel had a little bit of a rough night and was sick in his stomach.  We have doctor appointments or home health visits almost every day right now, so there isn't much time for much of anything else. Today he sees the trauma-orthopedic doctor about his leg that was broken during the accident.  It has really been the most minor of all of his injuries,  but we are really hoping to get into a different kind of cast today or to go home without a cast at all!  It would certainly be a step towards trying to become more mobile and building strength again. It will take many many months, maybe even years to recover from this accident, but every step he makes towards his goal of a full recovery is certainly progress and makes things a little easier.  We are thankful for every tiny step in the right direction.  Praising the Lord for all the miracles He has worked in Samuel.

Samuel's Appointment with the Spine Team

Samuel had his doctor appointment with the spine team today. It went really well.  His x-rays show that all of the vertebrates are still aligned. They said it looks really good and they made the decision to allow him to remove the brace because or is causing some other complications with drains and the abdominal wounds.  He isn't able to walk without the walker, even for short distances.  He spends most of his time sitting or laying down, so he isn't really doing any strenuous exercise that could cause problems.  He seems to be improving daily.  Thank you to everyone who has continued to pray for him. It's a long road ahead, but at least he is making steps forward!  Blessings!

A Visit with Dr. Red Duke

We had the most amazing doctor appointment ever!  Today Samuel had his appointment with the trauma team. To our surprise, Dr. Red Duke came in and visited with Samuel for a good two hours. He told Samuel how he knew all about him, but never met him awake. I took the dressings off the wounds and he showed me how to use the silver nitrate sticks.  We visited about vet school, longhorns, paint horses, Aggies, and even his frustration with art and painting.  He told us about a Longhorn bull that was named Red Duke that was donated to an auction with the money to benefit Life Flight. He said it was back when Tom was the president of the TLBAA. He said he bought that bull and sent him home with a friend, but the bull got struck by lightning years later. He told us how he's a rancher at heart still and doesn't ever own a television, but only watches the weather on the televisions throughout the hospital.  He shared a story of a painting he did one time that looked like it needed something so he added a longhorn. He tried to sell it for $25,  but said some goofy person paid him $750 for it!  He joked about being a frustrated artist and said he looked forward to retiring and having time to paint.  

He said Samuel was doing great!  He is a miracle!  He gave us his cell phone number before we left and told us to call if we ever needed anything. He was such an amazing person to meet, with such a zest for life and appreciation of beauty. I felt as if I was talking to a legend!  What a humble beautiful soul!  We were truly blessed to spend time with him this afternoon. 

Update on Samuel - 6/7/13

Friday, 6-7-13 at 10:00 pm

Samuel slept during the first half of the day.   He really sleeps a lot. There was really no changes today, which is nice. We need days where he just maintains and doesn't regress.  Each day I've been in contact with Bobby, the man who slept in the chair next to us in STICU.  God has truly placed some special people in our lives through this ordeal. His brother is doing better and is about to be moved to rehab.  

We are hoping that Samuel makes some progress in the next few days so that we can go to the the World Show and Autobahn.  The wheelchair that was ordered for him almost two weeks ago still has not shown up.  The home health nurses are trying to find out what the problem is and we should have it soon. If Samuel is feeling up to it, we may go for a drive in the pasture tomorrow. I think he needs to get out of the house for a little bit.  Thanks for praying for him. 

Update on Samuel

Thursday, 6/6/13 – 12:45 pm

Just a quick update on Samuel.  He is doing well.  We do not have the results from the cultures back, but he definitely has an infection because there is drainage out of one of the previous holes from a drain that was removed at some point.  I have been in contact with Dr. Kozar several times a day through text or phone.   She has been such a blessing through all of this.  Samuel had a good day yesterday.  He spent most of the morning at the table working on his speech again.  He looked great!  I will try to post a picture of him.  Teresa Blake came out yesterday and gave him a haircut.  We even washed his hair while he was standing up.  He can’t bend his back at all due to the spinal injury. 

In the afternoon, Marcus, Ethan and Ben Lawhon came out to visit Samuel.  They were surprised at how well he was doing.  Last time Marcus saw Samuel he was still in Shock-Trauma ICU on the ventilator.  Shortly after they left, the home health nurse came.  Samuel’s fever had spiked again and we had to call Dr. Kozar.  I sent her pictures of the wound and the infected area.  He is on two strong antibiotics that should take care of it. 

Every really good day seems to be followed by a day where Samuel needs a lot more rest.  He has slept all day so far.  I wake him occasionally to empty drains and change bandages.  I make him drink an Ensure Plus shake each time too.  He is very thin now.  He only weighs 94 pounds with the spine brace, all the tubes, and his leg in a cast.  I’m sure he weighs less than 90 pounds without all of that.  It has been a tough road, but I just keep reminding myself that he is here and that he will be healed in time.  Praise the Lord!

Tuesday, 6/4/13 at 3:30 pm

Tuesday, 6/4/13 at 3:30 pm

Samuel had fever again today. It is sometimes masked by the Tylenol that is in one of the narcotic pain killers. I took him into the doctor to have cultures done of the two nephrostomy drains from his kidneys. While there, we noticed the wound drain was putting out a different looking fluid so we cultured it and did a CBC.  Dr. Kozar is out of town so we are trying to communicate through text to try to make the best decisions on what to do from here.  We should have the CBC results soon.  While sitting here, I read the discharge papers and it gave an account of what all had happened over the last month at Memorial Hermann.  It started with the life flight notes and then followed day by day for 30 days.   It was scary stuff to read and it actually made me cry just reading what all he has been trough, but it was also a stark reminder of how far God has brought Samuel. Even if this is another step in the wrong direction, we are not back at square one.  He has made a tremendous amount of progress and lived through some very iffy times.   God is good and His Word

does not return void.  Blessings. 

Monday Night

Monday, 6-3-13 at 10:00 pm

Samuel has a fever tonight. We will be going in for some tests in the morning to try to figure out what is going on.  Please keep him in your prayers.  Three steps forward, two steps back. Please pray it is something minor that will not cause them to put him back in the hospital. 

Monday - 6/3/13

Monday, 6-3-13

Samuel is doing fine. He sleeps most of the day. When he is up, he tires fast. Eating has been a bit of a challenge for him.  He doesn't feel hungry, but he needs to keep his calories up.  Home health came yesterday. It went well.  We are thankful for all the prayers. Please continue to pray for Samuel's complete healing. Pray that he has the will to keep fighting. He has a long road ahead of him, but he has the Great Physician on his side. 

Day 30 - Heading Home Again!

Saturday - Day 30 

We are heading home from the hospital. Jay came straight from the airport to drive us home. It's such a good feeling to be going home again!  Samuel is doing well, but this has definitely set him back some. He seems much weaker than he was and he sleeps a lot. He has six drains now and his spinal brace, which make him pretty uncomfortable.  Tomorrow home health care will come and help change the wound dressings etc.  It is a little different now with part of his abdomen still open.  We appreciate all the prayers and everything our friends and family have done to help us through this difficult time. Thankfully he is back on track and with lots of time, rest and good nutrition he will be able to have the rest of the surgeries he needs next November or December. Blessings. 

Update on Samuel - Saturday 6/1/13 at 10:30 am

Saturday, 6-1-13 at 10:30 am

Samuel is doing well. He felt nauseous all day yesterday and his pain was harder to control than it had been. Today is much better though. He is eating again and seems fairly comfortable today. We just noticed that his left nephrostomy tube has stopped again, so we called the nurse. I am not sure what that will mean for today. It looks like a blood clot has stopped it.  I had a great talk with Dr. Kozar yesterday. She is an amazing person...and doctor. I have no doubt that God placed her here with a purpose.  Teresa Blake spent the day with us here. She took care of Samuel while I slept for about an hour. She is such a precious friend. Sheryl Hall came by after she got off work and visited with Samuel.   She always does such a great job of explaining to me what exactly is going on with Samuel.  I fell asleep early last night and Samuel texted with Haley for a while. It seems busier here at night than during the day. It is nice to have a sleeper chair, but I feel so worn out.  Yesterday Dr. Kozar said we may be able to go home today with home health care. We are ready!  

Friday

Friday, 5/31/13 at 9:00 am

They have Samuel comfortable now.   They basically opened up the bottom of the wound about two inches and drained everything and are now going to keep it packed with gauze. It's not the ideal situation because he doesn't have the fascia (the material that binds the muscles and organs organs etc.) closed. He has only had a skin closure, no muscle, so now he is completely open in that one area again. Right now he is having the procedure done to replace the left nephrostomy drain in his kidney. He has been gone for about an hour and a half. He is not in ICU. They moved him to the Jones Pavillion room 614 at about 3:00 am this morning.  It has been one procedure after another since then. We are very tired, but so thankful we are back on the floor instead of ICU. Thank you for lifting Samuel in prayer. I've often thought of how no parent ever wants to see a child go through such an ordeal, but if one of ours had to go through this, I can't imagine anyone handling this better than Samuel has. He's a fighter. 

Thursday Night

Thursday 5/30/13 @ 11:00 

Bad day!!  Samuel slept well last night, but when he woke he just didn't seem to feel as well as the last few days. Joshua got up early and made pancakes, but Samuel didn't want to eat because he said he felt nauseous. He only wanted a breakfast shake. He said he was fine, but it seemed like something was wrong all day. By this afternoon, he was leaking out the front of his wound again, just a small amount though and his left nephrostomy drain from his kidney was not working properly. I spoke and texted with Dr. Kozar several times throughout the day just trying to figure out what was going on.  Originally we made plans to come in to the clinic tomorrow and they would try to see what the problem was and set up to do the new nephrostomy drain as an outpatient procedure.  Things got a little worse and an hour later, we decided we would admit him in the morning. About two hours later, liquid was pouring from the the wound, which is about 14 inches long now, and Dr. Kozar told us to come in right away.  I came alone because only one person can stay in the room and Jay is out of town on that business trip that he really need to go to.  The big kids have the babies at the ranch.   When we left the house for Houston he was fairly comfortable. About 40 minutes into the trip, he was in serious pain even with the pain meds. As we entered Houston I was wishing I had not come alone because he was in a lot of pain and all I could do was drive. He was begging me to take his spinal brace off because he couldn't stand the pressure his abdomen.  Dr. Kozar had called the ER ahead of us and told them what was going on and what to expect. They brought him in on a stretcher and started taking steps to prepare him for a CT scan which will lead to taking him back to surgery. He was doing great, but something new has went wrong and they aren't quite sure what.  Samuel just has so many problems right now all in his mid section and because his back is broken he has to wear the spinal brace, but that works against all the drains and stuff he has.  It's like you can't fix one problem without it creating another problem.  I'm sure Samuel will probably go back into ICU tonight. He is very sick again. When we got here,  he didn't have a fever, but now he does.  It seems like whatever is going on just came on very fast. Please keep praying for Samuel.  He is fighting so hard to get through this, but these setbacks just take so much out of him. 

Last Wednesday

Wednesday - 5/29/13

We had a phone appointment with Samuel's doctor at Johns Hopkins this morning.  I explained what all has taken place with Samuel since I had spoken with him a couple of weeks ago. He reassured us that Dr. Kozar and the trauma team at Memorial Hermann have done everything they possibly can do to give Samuel the best shot possible. He said the name of the game at this point is healing and that he wants to see Samuel taking in as many calories a day as he possibly can.  We will be starting him on Ensure today. Dr. Gearhart remembered how when Samuel was four and in really bad shape that he responded by not really wanting to eat.  Fifteen years later, he is still sort of like that, but he also understands that to give himself the best chance of reconstruction in six months, he has got to eat. We still have to push him to eat though. 

Today he ate breakfast and we drove to the ranch to see a new baby calf that was just born. Then we parked the Suburban and watched the girls barrel race and practice pole bending. It was windy and didn't seem too hot. I kept asking him if he wanted to go to the house, but he just wanted to sit in the car and watch them...so we did.  We had a late lunch and then he slept the rest of the afternoon. I woke him up to come back home.  I think Samuel likes being at the ranch more than at our house.  It is where he has lived for almost two years now while in college.  All of our kids like being there. It only has a tiny little house, but everyone is outside anyway so it doesn't seem to matter much. It is so dusty right now though.  We really need rain and we keep missing it. 

I am starting to adjust to all the things I need to do to take care of Samuel and I can do it much quicker than I could a few days ago, but it still takes some time.  I am really thankful he is here though and that I have the opportunity to be his mom and take care of him. We weren't sure that was going to be the case just a couple of weeks ago. So much to be thankful for....

Last Tuesday

Tuesday, 5/28/13 

Samuel had a great day at home today. He slept well last night and late into the morning. I woke him up to eat breakfast and took care of all his drains and brace etc. After breakfast he asked if we could drive over to our lease on 36 so he could see the cows.  I think it is good that he wants to keep his mind busy.  That went well so we drove to the ranch to see his steer and the others. We ate lunch there and he took a nap and then we came home and he took another nap.. Jason Christa came to visit tonight and he talked to Samuel for a long time.  I think Samuel really enjoyed his visit. 

Dr. Kozar called this afternoon.   I love how honest and real she is. We talked about some of the complications associated with all of Samuel's abdominal trauma.  She told me that she hopes it will heal, but that honestly she doesn't think that will be the case. I agree with her.  We will have to cross that bridge in six months and try to figure out the best path to take at time.  God has a plan and we have to trust in Him.  

Last Monday Night

Monday, 5/27/13 at 10:20 pm

Samuel had a good day at home. He was tired after the drive home and slept for a couple of hours. Then he wanted to sit outside on a porch for about an hour. He said the wind felt so good.  It's amazing what we take for granted until we've been through something like this.  He slept for a couple more hours this evening and then had two plates of food. He has been missing his Daddy's good cooking!   Naomi brought the babies and Rachel and Miriam Grace home this afternoon.  The other kids are still staying at the ranch house. I was a little surprised to see Gabriella's reaction.  She couldn't wait to see him, but when she did it really scared her and she wouldn't talk to him.  When he got up later and went outside, she seemed to adjust and they are back to being buddies again.  She is really too young to understand why he has so many tubes etc and it scares her.  I must say it is a lot to take in, but we will all have to adapt because this is how it will be for the next six months or so. When he is well enough to have more surgeries, he will start losing some of the drains.  I still have the same concerns that I've had at the hospital the last few days, but no one can really give me a good answer to what is going on.  All we can do is wait and see what happens. If anything goes wrong, we can always take him back to the hospital, but we are basically doing the same thing at home as we were there.....taking care of his needs and trying to patiently wait.   His body was such a mess of problems that sometimes the doctors don't even have the answers. I guess this is where we have to trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding.  He doesn't have a fever and he is better than he was yesterday and he is sooooooo happy to be home!  I'd say that's a day of progress. Praise God! 

Day 25 - We are going home today!

Monday, 5/27/13 at 9:45 am (Day 25)

We are going home today!!! Samuel just passed his physical therapy test so they are signing off on his release now. They are getting him a different walker. The doctor just pulled his feeding tube. He ate all his breakfast. They still have some IV lines to pull and then we should be set to head home! He is so exhausted that he is sleeping sitting up in his chair. He looks so different. He has a full beard from spending the last 25 days here. He is very thin, but is so happy to be going home! Jacob will be here to pick us up soon. God is good!!!!

Day 24 - We have a plan to go home! :)

Saturday, 5/26/13 at 4:20 pm

I put the spinal brace on Samuel and he ate all of his lunch.  Physical therapy came by and we worked with Samuel for about an hour.  She asked if he had been doing his exercises in bed.  He has not been doing them because no one had ever talked to him about doing exercises.  We took him for a walk of about maybe 40 feet and then back to his room.  He sat in a chair for a couple of hours.  Then he said his pelvis was hurting from the brace, so we put him back in the bed and removed the brace.   They came by and did another x-ray of his abdomen to see if there were any changes from yesterday.   There still is one area that they are concerned about, but we aren’t going to do anything about it now.  Dr. Kozar came by and explained what she thinks is going on.  All of his counts are within the normal range again, Praise the Lord!  I asked Dr. Kozar if we can PLEASE just go home.  She said that she knows how to reach me and I know how to reach her (we exchanged cell phone numbers) so she doesn’t see why that would not be possible.   They are doing another dye test on Samuel tonight.  He will have to drink some contrast and they will take pictures every four hours and then they are releasing Samuel to go home tomorrow morning!!!!  I am so excited!   They went over everything with me.  I really think Samuel will gain his strength much quicker at home.  We spend so much time sitting and waiting here.  I will need to have another adult at home to help me, but with our large crew of mostly grown kiddos now, that should not be a problem at all.  Samuel is ready to go home.  It will take more than a year for him to recover from this, but every month will get him a little closer.  His goal will be to not have additional setbacks and to get strong enough to have more surgeries in November or December.   This has been a long road and he has come a long way, but has a lot ahead of him.  All the doctors say it’s a miracle he is alive.  The Lord definitely has a plan for Samuel.  I can’t wait to see what that is.  Blessings!

Sunday, Day 24

Sunday, 5/26/13 at 12:30 pm

Day 24 - I am so tired of being here. I want to be home with my family. Nothing more has happened here. They still aren't sure what is going on with Samuel. His whole body is such a mess and sometimes it seems like things are working right and sometimes it doesn't. Today one of his drains is not working properly. He has slept the whole day which is probably best. PT still has not come by yet. He isn't in his spine brace yet. I am going to put him in it myself so he can eat sitting up. It is very frustrating. Please pray for strength and patience for both of us.

Samuel Update (Day 23)

Saturday, 5/25/13 at 4:30 pm

Samuel came back from surgery at about 3:15 pm. He is tired and is sleeping again. He missed PT coming by....maybe tomorrow. They have been teaching me how to do everything. It's a lot to learn. One of the trauma doctors came by to remove one of the drains, but he wasn't back yet. She said she will be back later today. Even though we've had a setback, I would count today as a day of progress. Thanks for praying!