Update 1/18/2013

Many of you may be wondering what is going on with my mom. What are the plans for her return and where will she be going? Well, we wonder the same. So far, things seem to just be falling apart. We find a place that she can go and insurance won't send her there. We find a place that insurance will send her and there is no way we will send her there. That is where we are at right now. Her halo comes off next week. I heard the plan is to get it off up at Craig. Other than that, there are no other plans made yet. I know things will keep changing. I know until the plan is the right one, it will keep falling through. We are excercising patience and faith that my mom is still under a watchful eye of the Master Healer. Until plans can be made and put into place, my mom is getting the type of care she needs where she is at. I will keep updating as plans seem to stick better. Now an update on her progress. I saw many improvements in my mom in the four short weeks I was gone. The biggest improvement was in her eyes and ability to sequence information. When I left, we spent the thirty minute speech session trying to spell a three or four letter word. She needed to be prompted for most letters and help finding them on her spelling board. It was slow and frusterating for her. She hated doing things this way, but it paid off. They are using a spelling board with her. It is basically a letter chart laid out in a specific way. She has learned to tell us what row a letter is on and then to indicate the letter as we go through that row. Her eyes have improved giving to much improvement with her ability to spell. In a session last week, she spelled (without any prompting) pencil, Denver, Austin and her name. This is huge. When I was there, we used the spelling chart frequently. She speaks without a voice. I tried so hard to read her lips, but sometimes just could not get what she was saying. We would switch from lip reading to using the spelling board. Usually if she could just spell one word, I would get the rest of what she was telling me. The importance of the spelling board is to strengthen her eyes in preperation for a computer. She needs to be able to scan and focus on the letters which is how she will be able to spell with the help of a computer. The speech therapist thought with a few more weeks of improvement she will be ready for that computer. This is huge. My mom needs to be able to communicate in an easier way. She told me several times that she just wants her voice back. That has become my specific prayer request right now. My mom still smiles an amazing amount. She finds joy in the small things. She bears the pain she has with an amazing strength. She shows us great patience as we try our best to communicate with her and "listen" to what she tells us. There are times when she says something then before we can figure it out, she just cracks up laughing (sadly a silent laugh). She has been blessed with such a sense of humor. I cannot wait to hear her laugh again.

Update 1/11/2013

This update will be short, but more details will come. I am up in Colorado. My mom did not gt sent home this week. There were several holdups. The biggest is that there are no nurses available in Texas for her to go home. Craig Hospital and the insurance company say it is time to move on from here.Our only other option is to find another facility in Texas until there are nurses available and trained. We don't know how long this will take. I am headed back to Texas on Sunday. I will go and check out the facilities that are being approved for her to go to from insurance. I am hoping they are more rehab type places and not nursing facility places. My mom is doing so much bree than when I was here four weeks ago. It is so amazing to finally talk with her. She moths words very well but does not have a voice yet. I am learning to read lips. We have so much talking to catch up on. I cannot wait to just sit and chat with her. She had such a wonderful day today. She was all smiles and did really well in her classes. I am not sure what or where the next step will be for her. All I know is that it will be the right one for her. This road is a long one, but she will continue to amaze those watching her.

Update 1/4/2013

They did some frenic nerve testing on my mom's diaphragm. I was hoping they would do frenic nerve testing on more of her body, but they have not. One of the reasons we went to Craig was because of this testing. I was told that where ever she still has connections in her body, no matter how small, they can build on it and retrain muscles as they "come back". They cannot create a connection that is no longer there. This connection is between her muscles and brain. We are normally a four on the scale they use in a normal functioning diaphragm and she is at a one right now. There are several ways to look at this (since I have no medical background, I will let you analyze. Ultimately this means there is still a connection between her brain and the main muscle used to breathe. I constantly have to remind myself that where there is still some connection, she can grow stronger and regain function. She is still taking baby steps. I am trying to lend her my strength through this, but even in her fragile state and greatest hour of need, she selflesly gives me strength. She is such an example. She mouthed to the doctor yesterday that she cannot feel her arms or legs and then got very upset. Why my mother is being put through this est and trial is not for me to determine. I take comfort in knowing that her strength and testimony will help her to endure.

Update 1/3/2013 By Richard

My dad put together an email update about my mom's status and happenings at the hospital. I thought it was important to share. The truth about Carla, On the day before Thanksgiving, the Dr. told us that Carla's spinal cord was severed. I saw the MRI. I saw a lot of swelling and it looked like they where correct. They compared the spinal cord to a cable that has a thousand wires in it. Her spinal cord would have maybe two of those cables still connected. It was my hope that the spinal cord was not totally damaged. There would be a chance for some recovery if the cord was not cut all the way through. Will she recover???? That being said, Carla is making baby steps of improvements. Her eyes are getting more steady by the day, and farther left and right movement. The eye Dr. said she is doing amazing in her recovery. She is moving her mouth more every day. I try to massage her jaw and neck muscles every night. They try to ween her off of the ventilator almost every day. She can trigger the vent to give her a breath 8 to 15 times a minute. There is some hope that she may get off the vent, or maybe part time. There is a device that can be put in to make the diaphragm work to take the breath for her. Will she ever breath again on her own???? She can mouth words and tries to get us to guess what she is saying. She no longer likes to use the buzzbar. She can`t talk, or make any sound. They can make out some sort of recognizable sound when they push on her lungs at the same time the vent breaths and she forms the word "hey" with her mouth. She does laugh at us when we try to read her lips. At least for a while, until she gets frustrated and then upset. I try to keep things as dignified as I can for her. She had a tough time at Christmas. She was having a lot of pain and cold in her legs. She also had spasms all day in her neck and mouth. She had them for three days, and gets them when stressed. She does not like to go to bed because she has a lot of pain in her legs when in bed. The way they took care of her over the holiday was horrible! The alarms from the vent to the nurses station was not hooked up all night two times. Four times total they did not hook it up. She had four vent plugups because she was dehydrated. I had to bag her three times. Twice she turned blue. After three days they rehydrating her..... And more. I have to watch them at all times. As of now we come home on 1/9/2013. I think it is too soon, She has a long way to go and is progressing well. Her blood pressure is all over the place (high and low) I am afraid I will not be able to care for her and keep her moving forward in her rehabilition. I have a ton of things to prepare for her when we get there. I am just trying to set the stories straight.

Update 1/3/2013

In six days, my mom will be flown back to Austin. I don't think she is ready, but it is not up to me. There are many preperations that need to be done before she arrives. Most of the things require someone else to come through on. The house is clean and the room is ready for all the equipment to be delivered. Problem number one-we have no equipment coming yet. Apparently there is a hold up with insurance. Her wheelchair is coming tomorrow directly to the hospital, hopefully. An amazing friend stepped in to help with some electrical requirements at the house. We are working on getting a generator installed incase of power failure. We need to get a cabinet that locks for medications, a shelving system with drawers for medical supplies, the fridge and pantry are almost bare and there is a list of daily supplies that need to be picked up. Her flight has yet to be arranged and we don't have a vehicle to transport her in once she lands. It seems like it will be impossible to be ready for her arrival. I know things will come together. She is so fragile and there is already so much stress. There has been much strength and inspiration already blessed upon us. Please pray that things start to come together. My mom and dad have been through so much, they really need a smooth transition. I will be setting up a care calendar and listing needs as they come up. Visitors will be welcomed, but we will need to work out a schedule. She gets overwhelmed and over stimulated very easily.