Anniversary of Mikey's Accident

 Aug. 1st, 2021

Sunday night I told the boys to stop watching TV and go outside and play.  I started to catch up on the blog and Michael was fixing his car.  I was sitting at the computer when Quinton came running in and told me that Mikey had fallen into the ravine.  I grabbed Michael from the garage and we ran into the backyard.  Michael climbed down in the ravine and found Mikey incoherent trying to get up.  I yelled for Jayla to get some towels and Michael brought Mikey up to the front porch.  We assessed him for a few seconds and then called for an ambulance.  I couldn't even remember if I had told them our right address.  The ambulance was there within 4 minutes.  Mikey was talking and complaining of his head hurting.  The EMTs wrapped his head, put the collar on him, and put him on a board and in the ambulance.  

    The EMT last minute said we should go to primary's instead of the nearest hospital.  We agreed and I got into the ambulance while Michael stayed with the kids.  Michael was trying to keep it together unsuccessfully.  Thank goodness he has 3 of his brothers who were in the area and were able to come help comfort both him and the rest of the children.  In the ambulance, Mikey was talking to me the entire time and I was wondering if an ambulance was even needed.  I felt this unnatural sense of calm about the whole thing and felt that everything would be ok.  I wasn't able to see his head due to all the blood and bandages.  Little did I know that Michael had felt his crushed skull and told this to the EMT, which is why the EMT suggested we head to Primary Children's instead.

    Meanwhile, I arrived at the ER with Mikey and he was taken to start some more IVs and assessed by multiple Drs and NPs.  An x-ray was ordered and labs were drawn.  He was given Fentanyl while they checked out his entire body.  He was given blood and the neurosurgeon walked by the ER in his street clothes on his way home.  He stopped in and told me that he would stick around for a few to see the results of the CT scan.  Thirty minutes in a CT scan was ordered.  They were preparing Mikey to go to CT when he stopped breathing.  The nurses and doctors had to bag him and brought in the crash cart.  

    My entire body started to shake uncontrollably and yet I felt this irrational, totally misplaced feeling of calm as this nightmare started to unfold before me.  I recognized this unexplained, anomalous feeling.  I had felt it many times before when we were adopting. Often times the calmness that I felt didn't make sense and did not match the current circumstances, which were usually completely out of our control.  Over the years I had learned to trust that peaceful calm in the midst of the unknown.

    Mikey was brought back and started breathing all on his own.  He was wheeled to CT and then taken back to the ER where the neurosurgeon took one look at the CT scan and said that we would do surgery tonight.  Mikey said goodbye to me and I kissed him on his forehead as he was wheeled off to the O. R.  I called Michael to update him and fill in the gaps of my sporadic texting.  He was on the freeway making his way to the hospital, but he was stuck in traffic because it was raining so hard and the freeway was closed temporarily due to standing water that was up to the top of the wheels in some places.  He thought that his car was going to float away.  Probably a good thing because he said he was crying so hard that he couldn't even see the road.  

    I was then informed that the roads to the hospital were closed and only trucks were making it to the hospital that night and that some of the floors of the hospital were flooding.  Patients and babies were being wheeled past me and medical personnel was running around like crazy.  Good news...my son's bed was the only dry bed in the ICU because it was pulled out into the O.R.  

    I wasn't sure if Michael was going to make it to the hospital that night.  He was distraught about not being able to see Mikey.  Through all the craziness I still reassured Michael that I felt this unnatural calmness and I knew that everything would be ok, that Mikey would be ok.  I wasn't entirely sure what "ok" meant, but whatever it was, I knew that we could handle it.

    Michael somehow made it to the hospital, I still don't even know-how, and a few minutes later the neurosurgeon, Dr. Bollo, came to talk to us and we saw Mikey being wheeled past us on his way to the ICU.  Dr. Bollo said that his surgery went well, except there was more swelling than he expected.  He said he had to take out even more bone, but that he fully expected Mikey to be Mikey again.  Michael was incredibly relieved to hear those words from the surgeon himself. We felt that it was divine intervention that we arrived just before the neurosurgeon went home for the night.  Mikey was in surgery 3.5 hours after his accident.  If he had received surgery in the morning and even into the night his outcome would have been drastically different.

    Hours later we were able to see Mikey in the PICU.  He was intubated with lines everywhere including an EVD in his brain to monitor his intracranial pressure (ICP)  His skull was left off because it was too dangerous to put back on in fear of causing an increase in his ICP.  Michael stayed for a few hours and then went home while I stayed in the ICU throughout the night with Mikey.  He would wake up every now and again and try to rip his lines out and his ET tube.  He was puking even while on the ventilator and squeezing my hand when he was in pain.  His nurse was hoping all night and didn't even leave his room.  

    

When Michael got back that night Kellan had cried himself to sleep and the two little boys were asleep but Jayla and Jessa were pretty distraught still and didn't fall asleep until around midnight.  Thank goodness some of Michael's family just showed up on our doorstep and offered some much-needed temporal and moral support.

    Aug. 2nd

The next day was spent in the PICU trying to keep Mikey sedated.  He kept throwing up and would tell me he was in pain and he would try to pull his tube out.  Later that afternoon they finally weaned the vent enough to extubate him to a nasal cannula, pull his Artline, catheter and get him off norepinephrine.  He still had his drain that monitored his icp that went straight into his ventricle in his brain.  He was sedated most of the time and would wake up occasionally which was mostly appropriate.  He would try to get out of bed and go home so he needed to be watched 24/7.  He was in a lot of pain and had a lot of nausea.  He was combative, aggressive and disoriented. His Ct scan looked good, his icp was good.  He was more comfortable without the ventilator but had a really rough night.  He would dry heave, which would make his icp spike making him more nauseous and causing more pain, which in turn would make him more nauseous.  

Aug. 3rd
We got him better drugs like Dilaudid and tordal, which helped a ton this mourning.  His spine was cleared so they removed his neck brace.  He took a sip of water and a bite of applesauce.  He sleeps a lot but is in pain and puking when he is awake.  He also continues to try to get out of bed and has to be watched closely.  He finds comfort in his turtle.  He told me that "he wanted to be done with this and go home."  He had an Anderson to suction placed to keep his stomach empty because he was throwing up so much.  His eyes were swollen shut and he kept getting scared that he couldn't see.  

    I went home to see the other kids because they were in rough shape not believing that Mikey would be ok.  It was way hard to leave and I cried the whole way home.  I don't even know how I made it home.  Mikey was still in a lot of pain and throwing up whenever he was awake.  He wanted us to hold him and kept trying to crawl into Michael's lap.  His turtle brought him comfort but he would ask "why did this happen to me" and that he "wanted to go home."  He would try to pull all his tubes out and kicked one of the nurses because he didn't want them near him.  Then he began to cry because he kicked her.  He is just so miserable.

Aug. 4th

He was moved to the neurotrauma floor.  His pain was finally under better control by this point with the Dilaudid, but nothing could stop his nausea and throwing up, but it seemed slightly better so they pulled out his Anderson.  He started ng feeds very slowly and was able to wean his drain.  He is still taking Ativan.  Today is peak swelling day and he can't see out of either eye's nose.  He needs occasional blowby.  We keep an eye on him because he still thinks about climbing out of bed.  He put up a good fight with the nurse and kept; pulling his NC out of his nose until he finally just pulled the blanket over his head.

Michael stayed the night with him and he was in more pain and nausea for a good hour before he got pain meds.  He said, "Where's mom?  Tell her to get the bowl ready because I've been throwing up a lot."  And, "Dad I remember how it happened."  He would still try to get out of bed so he needed someone to watch him at night to keep him safe.

 

Aug. 5th

Mikey started therapy and played groggy uno.  Then he played connect four against me and struggled to put a simple puzzle together.  He did pass his cognitive screening.  We were hoping his sluggish thinking was due to his medications and swollen brain that would resolve in a few days.  It was a little concerning to us.  He rested better and it was the first day that when he was awake he wasn't writhing in pain or nausea. 

Half smile, half grimace

Aug. 6th

Mikey finally had a good night and is more aware today.  He took some nibbles of graham cracker.  His pain and nausea have gotten better, though that is still a struggle.  He was able to read for 10 minutes today before he got tired and went back to sleep.  He ended the day by coloring a picture...not really in the lines, putting a puzzle together, making some slime and playing a few games on Michael's phone, and even laughed at a dad joke. He smiled when he got his first taste of Gatorade.

Feeling nauseous again and trying to watch T.V. to keep his mind off of it.

He ate this ravioli, but then promptly threw it all up 1 hour later.

His teachers from last year somehow found his room at the hospital and sent him a stuffed animal.  They are the sweetest!  He was pumped!

Aug. 7th

Mikey got his IED tube pulled out and fitted for a helmet.  All he had now is the NG tube and one IV.  And he finally pooped too.  He finally had a real smile.  His day was busy with therapies and resting and trying to eat with his nausea.

Yeah, he threw all of this up too after he ate it.

Aug. 8th

Mikey is looking better.  He still can't keep much food down but is drinking a little and taking a few bites during the day.  He is even starting to have a little fun every once in while playing with the Xbox between the pain and nausea.

Actually enjoying himself here while playing the x-box.  He was starting to wonder if he really wanted to go home or just stay and play x-box all day where he didn't have to share with anyone.

Aug. 9th

Mikey got to see the kids for the first time before his accident.  He was feeling pretty nauseous still and only lasted for 20 minutes before he was in pain and ready to throw up.  They turn off his feeding tube during the day to try to get him to eat and give him food at night.  His pain and nausea are still a battle, but every 24 hours makes a big difference.  He is still busy with therapies throughout the day. The kids were nervous to touch him because they didn't want to hurt him, but it was therapeutic for them all to see each other for the first time since the accident.

Aug. 10th

Mikey is starting to feel good for moments and is loving playing the Xbox today.  Ironically his favorite game is this bike game where the kid wipes out all the time.  IDK if we should be concerned.

Aug. 11th

Mikey is showing signs of improvement and we can't find too big of deficits at this point.  He is appropriate and eating better today.  He is getting close to meeting his caloric goals to go home.  

They pulled the feeding tube and Mikey was super excited!

Aug. 12

Discharge day!  I got a little excited and stripped the bed...then we waited around for another 4 hours until all the doctors gave their ok for us to leave.

The welcome committee. Mikey was so happy to finally be home.

The first night at home in our room.  He was looking pretty comfortable.

Second Surgery Aug. 27th

The surgery went well and a drain was placed to evacuate blood decreasing swelling and pain.  Mikey was pretty groggy the first day and slept a lot.  He was in pain and was inappropriate after surgery so they kept him back there for a while to get his pain under control and have the anesthesia wear off.  When he woke up the asked, "Did they do the surgery? Whoa, that was  a really fast surgery."  He was in a good place and had a good night.

Aug. 28th

He was struggling with some nausea and some pain and was in good spirits and the pain and nausea were tolerable.  He ate a little bit and would throw up every once in a while and was finally able to hold some food down by the afternoon.  He would complain of pain and nausea when he would wake up but be able to go back to sleep.

Aug. 29th

Mikey slept ok last night but still complained of stomach and head pain when he would wake up but would go back to sleep.  He ate breakfast and held it down for a bit.  Mikey had a progressively worse day with his nausea and pain.  He would throw up and then his head would hurt.  By the evening he wasn't holding anything down so I was pushing him to just sleep.  He slept for about 3 hours until about midnight.  After that, he wouldn't sleep.  He just curled up in a ball and cried in pain because his stomach hurt.  He dry heaved all night long.

Aug. 30th

By 6am we were calling the dr trying to get some meds on board.  He got a patch, and Benadryl and Ativan were ordered but we couldn't give it to him until the neurosurgeon came in to look at him along with several other doctors. He couldn't be drugged up for his neuro exam, so he sat dry heaving and crying and throwing up bile until they came about 10am.  After they left we could give him Ativan and Benadryl.  Two hours later all the medications were finally working and he finally got some reprieve from his suffering.  He had basically been throwing up for 24 hours straight and his dehydration added to his nausea until it was a vicious cycle that peaked in the middle of the night.  It was awful.  Easily one of the worse experiences I have ever had and definitely his. It seemed like so much longer than just 24 hours. 

The next night though he just slept and his nausea and pain were finally tolerable again.  These pictures don't even come close to the Hell that he has experienced and the Hell I experienced watching him go through this.

Aug. 31st

He did much better today.  His nausea is finally being controlled with the new meds and he ate some slushy.  He was able to be weaned from some of his IV nausea meds and he got better pain meds like Tordal.  He even wanted to walk today.

Sept. 1

By the afternoon the neurosurgeon visited and said that we could go home as long as he was keeping his nausea under control.  He felt good when we got home and would rest when he had a stomachache but was over the worse of nausea!  Those 6 days in the hospital were only supposed to be 2-3, but Mikey was having more extreme pain and nausea than normal.  The doctors didn't really know what to do and think he might have had a bad reaction to the anesthesia, but I think that it was all still related to his injury.  His injury was just so severe that I think most patients aren't with it as much as he was to tell you what is hurting.  He continues to throw doctors off with his extreme injury and physical symptoms, but his very mild cognition symptoms.

And he has all the risk factors for needing a 3rd surgery.  We are not looking forward to it at all.  I think it is inevitable at this point.

Nov. 22nd 

We did another CT Scan and found out that Mikey's body was resorbing his bone.  The outer layer is almost completely gone.  We are waiting to schedule surgery possibly for January.  We are disappointed and Mikey is scared of another surgery.  We are ready to have this in the past and move on with life, but it is yet another waiting game until surgery.

Jan 25th. 3rd surgery. cranioplasty with PEEK implant

Pre-op visit.  Lucas was wondering why Superman was wearing "underpants."

Some cute girls in the ward decorated the door for Mikey.  

Waiting for surgery.

A few hours after surgery.  The drain helped with the swelling a ton!

His scan shows some fluid and hardware that was left behind.

After they took the drain out he got a lot more swollen and had a lot more fluid accumulation.

He had a great stay at the hospital.  After the drain was taken out he blew up like a balloon.  I had to call the dr and get extra nausea meds for home.  He stayed next to the toilet for a few hours until I could get some meds in him.  After about a week his nausea was mostly gone and could eat regularly.  It was awful but better than his other 2 surgeries.

July 3rd

It is now July 3rd and Mikey is still having residual problems.  His dura has been leaking fluid into his scalp.  We have done a tap and wrap and are now awaiting results for that.  We really don't have any good options if this doesn't resolve on its own.  We are praying for a miracle.  He is back to limited activity.  It is getting really old.  Our options are to live with the bulge on the side of his head never having it resolve, repeat the third surgery, and hope that they can repair the leak, or place a shunt.  We think that the leak is related to the hardware that was left behind.

August 25th

Mikey currently has no residual fluid.  He is able to participate in regular activities, but we are still wrapping his head at night because he will get a tiny amount of fluid every once in a while.

The trauma is still real.  Our kids just barely started riding their bikes again.  Mikey shows me every day that he doesn't have fluid because he doesn't want surgery.  When talking to God He continues to tell me that Mikey will be OK.  I just hope that His OK and my OK are in alignment.

Oct. 13th

Mikey just passed his IEP at school with average scores!  The fluid hasn't come back.  We feel like we have finally made it and he has made a full and complete recovery.  Only a miracle from God could heal him this complete!