Mary Bridge for a few more days...

They are going to do a CT scan on Isaac's face to get a better look at the facial fractures. They are guessing the fractures, leakage of spinal fluid and dipping oxygen levels are all connected. They tried to do a CT scan about an hour ago and he wouldn't stay still so they either need to do it when he's super sleepy or is sedated. We're still awaiting the hearing test on Wednesday so they may have to wait until then and kill two birds with one stone.

We aren't too happy with this news and just hope the CT scan shows some small fractures that will correct on their own. Worst case scenario would be that there is a large fracture that would need to be corrected surgically. Best case scenario is it's a small fracture that will close on it's own. I would think that a large fracture would've been visible on his original CT scan so we're staying positive!

Isaac is on a sugar high from his BD cupcakes and is playing hard!

Spinal Fluid

So Isaac's nose has been pretty runny....like not normal snotty runny but watery. Well the doctor saw it and is concerned it's spinal fluid. He tested it for sugar (if it was spinal fluid, it would have sugar) and it was positive. So we are now waiting for the neurological surgeon. I'm guessing we aren't going to Children's today....

The doc made it seem like it may not even be a big deal - that fluid is leaking through one or some of the fractures and sometimes it'll come out the nose or the ears in which case it would stop when the fractures healed. Just hoping it's nothing!!!

P.S. Happy 2nd Birthday Isaac!!!

Found the Camera Cord!

A Few Things

This weekend has gone really well. Isaac continues to progress which is so amazing and such a blessing. It's like we've been watching the last two years of his life on fast forward. Blurry vision to focusing, learning to grasp, popping bubbles, saying some words and now crawling a bit. And yes, we get just as excited as the first time it happened!

We're still hoping to move to Children's tomorrow. The following could, however, prevent the move: 1) they don't have the space or 2) they won't take him because he still requires oxygen at night. His levels still dip into the 80s so the nurse has instructed me to get him to cough every time they start to dip. It could be a LONG night! But I will get through it.

We moved into a bigger room today because we anticipated a few more visitors than normal because TOMORROW ISAAC TURNS 2!!!! We had a little party with family and he got a few more cars, trucks, balls and Thomas goodies!

One thing that has really bothered me since we got here that I wanted to bring to everyone's attention... some babies/young kids are here and have no one with them. Meaning their parents just drop them off and leave. Don't spend the night with them, don't visit, nothing. It hit closer to home today because there is a little girl next to us....little....I would guess 9 months and she is all alone in her little crib. A few times a day a volunteer comes to hold her but other than that, she is alone. The nurse shared with me that her mother called yesterday to check on her. Can you imagine??? We don't go to the bathroom without someone else watching Isaac. I know that may be a little over the top but it's just the way we are. It's so sad. Please keep these little angels in your thoughts and prayers. If I could volunteer to be one of the holders, I would!

In anticipation of our move tomorrow, I've packed up the camera cords so although I would love to share some cute pictures from today, I can't. I hope to get a chance to blog tomorrow but with it being the BIG day - I may not be able to.

Definite Progress

Before I get into the nitty gritty of Isaac's condition and how he's progressing, I must apologize for leaving the nose picking picture as the top post for so long. I'm sure that grossed some of you out!

Isaac is doing remarkably well....all things considered. We are hearing more words, he's recognizing people, he is focusing and his attention span is becoming longer. We are still working with PT every day and they are helping with his coordination, trying to get him to follow direction and assessing his progress. He is playing with his trucks and cars a lot! We have a play mat we put on the floor of his room and try to spend a bit of time down there just having fun.

He's been eating pretty much everything in sight. On Thursday the speech therapist came to assess his swallowing. They did an x-ray while he was swallowing some barium/chocolate concoction and it was found that when he drinks water, milk, juice, he is aspirating into his lungs a little bit. The therapist said they see this often with brain injury patients and it's because their reflex isn't fast enough for the muscle (the epiglottis) to block the airway. This has resulted in him being put on a restrictive diet which includes nectar-thick liquids (yuck) and some other random restrictions. They said this will improve with time.

We are definitely seeing the effects of the nerve damage. Although it has yet to be confirmed that he is unable to hear in his left ear, we are assuming this to be the case. His facial nerve damage is very pronounced now as the left corner of his mouth sort of turns down and his right side is becoming more animated. However - I keep reminding myself this is purely cosmetic and is nothing compared to what we originally thought the long term effects may be! And truly, his half-smile is kinda cute. We have heard of situations where the nerves can rewire and reconnect, however doctors here are definitely pessimistic.

The balance nerves damage is very evident as he is unable to walk or even crawl without tipping. He actually looks like someone who's had WAY too much to drink. We are holding him up and working on this but we're pretty sure this may take some time.

It still sounds as though we will be going to Children's for rehabilitation sometime next week. The medical doctors here want to keep him here at Mary Bridge until he has his hearing test on Wednesday but the rehabilitation specialists think he's in prime learning mode and could benefit from the rehab therapy as soon as possible. There was an inpatient vs. outpatient discussion on Friday and although he's progressing, they think a good intensive treatment program would be best.

We continue to be amazed by this boy. He is truly a miracle!!

The amount of support, love and prayers we have received has been remarkable. It is humbling and we are so grateful. Thank you!

A Sign of Isaac's Personality Coming back

I promise.....this was NOT staged!!!

Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse.....those were the first words out of Isaac's mouth this morning. We are so encouraged by his progress today. He showed interest in playing with his trucks and cars and he even spewed a few words our direction. A little bit more of his personality was there and he is now off most medications. They did an EEG this morning that OK'd him to stop a medication that prevents seizures.

He unfortunately pulled his feeding tube out of his nose so we are awaiting a swallow test to see if he will start to eat some applesauce or pudding. He's very leery of doctors now and anything coming near his face - no big surprise there because of all the trauma his poor little head has gone through.

We realize big leaps like this may not come daily but today was awesome! The PT and OT gals were so pleased with the improvement from yesterday. We had some visitors who were also relieved to see him progressing so well.

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Another Day Gone

As I posted earlier, today was a challenge. Luckily I got a great nap in during the middle of the day and am ready to face another night of laying next to my baby's hospital crib.

We didn't really learn anything new today. The hearing test has been rescheduled for September 2nd. They gave Isaac the sedation medication and he just wouldn't fall asleep. That boy needs an army of meds to slow him down. I was surprised because PT and OT really wore him out today.

Night's are hard. The nurses come in a lot to check on him. He's got a bunch of gunk in his chest that gives him a really raspy breath. It usually requires them waking him up and patting his back and chest in order to get him to cough. Once he coughs, it's good - but that takes awhile. His oxygen levels also continue to dip too low and he requires some through his nose during the night.

The radiologist was able to get the feeding tube into his small intestine but that was a very difficult procedure to watch. They had to strap him down and he screamed the whole time. Heart wrenching. I kept reminding myself that he really needs to get this nutrition. As the day wore on, it was so obvious that on top of it being an "off" day, he was tired and I think just needs some "juice". Getting some vitamins and substance back in him will hopefully give him more alertness tomorrow.

We continue to be humbled and are thankful for the support of our friends, family and even people we don't know. Our friends have put together this incredible website: http://www.friendsofisaac.net/. Please DO NOT feel obligated to donate. We truly know how tough times are right now. Prayers and emotional support are just as important to us!!

A Bit of a Rough Day

Good News: Isaac high-fived his dad and I this morning.

Besides that, he's been kinda out of it. Still waiting for that click, that smile, that light bulb. I've been singing to him all morning remembering how he so enjoyed singing along, clapping and dancing to music.

Today we saw a speech therapist that is working on eating. He didn't have an interest in the applesauce today like he did yesterday. They have stopped giving him formula to his nose as he keeps vomiting. He's not getting proper nutrition so they are going to push his feeding tube further down into his small intestine so he gets more. Other highlights of our day are to include Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, a neurologist consultation and finally a hearing test that will let us know exactly what's going on with his hearing and possibly confirm he has permanently lost the hearing in his left ear. We are praying for a miracle!!!

Baby Steps

Just a bit of an update! We have moved from the PICU into a regular room. Although it means he has improved, going from the one on one care to another fish in the sea has been a bit of a rough transition. I am that mom that is worrying and analyzing his condition and progress constantly. Although I'm sure most moms would be this way, I've been told by the doctors not to expect too much (which is exactly what I've been doing). Because his brain has been through major trauma, although their is no "brain damage", there is still a lot to be done as far as getting all of his functions back - if they come back.

Isaac is definitely taking steps forward. For example, his head is becoming much stronger and he's constantly trying to sit up. He also seems to be focusing more today and for longer periods - great steps! However he goes through these times when it seems like he's slipping away - not making eye contact, just kind of this blank slate and that has been nothing short of heartbreaking. The doctors reassure us this is normal when such trauma has happened to the brain and we have to set aside all recovery expectations. Easier said than done.

Meanwhile, Lyndon will have to go back to work sometime this week. He has been with his company under 90 days and has no PTO right now. It's really hard for him to think of leaving Isaac for so long every day but maybe it will be good to get his mind on something else for awhile. Who am I kidding? He's going to be miserable!!!

This has taken me forever to write. Every specialist in the world has been to see Isaac today. They are worried because he's not keeping any food (liquid through a tube in his nose) down, we've seen the neuro psych, a speech therapist and are waiting for the rehabilitation specialist. There is some talk that it could be possible they move us to another facility where he could be in an inpatient rehab program. Again, time will tell!

Update about the specialists! Before I published the post, the rehab specialist came. He said Isaac will probably be moving to an inpatient rehabilitation facility at Children's Hospital in Seattle next Monday. He will be back on Wednesday to reassess. He said patients like Isaac often benefits greatly from such care. Although Seattle is far from home and Sydney, we'll have to just figure it out! We will know more on Wednesday...

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. Our baby needs them!!

Sitting Up

Right now we are lucky to have an army of family helping us around the clock. My parents and brother have been staying in the room with us and we all have our shifts. Justin takes the late night shift and is usually relieved by my mom around 2am to 3am. Then I join her usually around 6am and everyone takes turns throughout the day. This morning when I joined my mom around 7am - she was helping Isaac to sit up in his bed. His head is still very wobbly but he was putting his elbows back every time we tried to lay him back down. It was amazing to see and his eyes seem to be focusing much better.

The road may be long and have a few bumps but we are moving forward.

Later today I should have my camera cords and will be able to upload some nice pictures of us holding Isaac and Sydney's reunion with her brother. She is very concerned now and wants to be with him constantly. Last night she sensed by sadness and said "It's OK mommy, the doctors are going to give Isaac some medicine and make it all better". If only.....

It's not all roses

Doesn't he look better???


This afternoon it seems really hard to focus on the joy we were experiencing yesterday. The doctors allowed us to relish in the news that Isaac's MRI showed that he has no brain damage. On Tuesday we were prepared for a severely brain damaged child, if he were to live through this. What an incredible journey.

Going forward, however, we've learned our boy's brain will be "on it" just as it was but as he slowly wakes from his induced coma, it appears there is some nerve damage.

What does this mean? Well, one of the critical areas impacted by one of Isaac's fractures was at the base of his neck behind his left ear. At first glance, the doctor believed that Isaac's hearing would be completely lost in that ear. Can totally live with that - my dad doesn't have hearing in his right ear. It's really no biggie. However as he wakes today, we're seeing that pretty much the entire left side of Isaac's face has been impacted - including the way his eye dilates and contracts. Again, I need to remind myself that just five days ago, we almost lost our precious little boy. . . .

We are trying to stay positive but I would be lying if I told you that I am a ball of glee today. Things will be different than they were and the doctor told us it could be months before we know exactly how he will be going forward. Please continue to remember Isaac and our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Holla!!

NO BRAIN DAMAGE!!! A little blood on the brain...will reabsorb. In the process of waking him up. More to come...

Friday Morning

*******PLEASE BE WARNED AT THE END OF THIS NOTE I HAVE POSTED A PICTURE OF ISAAC FROM YESTERDAY.....IT IS DISTURBING********

Well Isaac hasn't quite woken up yet. Last night the determination was made by the doctors to sedate him enough to let him sleep peacefully through the night. Uncle Justin took the night shift under the assumption that Isaac would be sedated enough he would be konked out. Well, not so much. Our little guy is under 4 - 5 times the normal doses of pain and anxiety medication and is still fighting to move around. What a little fighter. This is a good sign the doctors say. Extremely severe brain injured children would not have to have much pain and anxiety medication.

This morning, they took the brain bolt out of his head. When he was admitted they had drilled a hole the size of a pinkie in his little noggin in order to monitor to measure the swelling of his brain. His levels have remained at a "normal" enough level that the doctor was ready to take it out. They took it out about 9:00 a.m. and he looks so much better with one less large tube coming out of him. The hole has been stapled and should be just one more little scar on his body.

Around noon they will be doing an MRI on him. They will have to give him a paralytic again so he does not move during this. The MRI results are critical. They are going to tell us what kind of damage has been done to his brain. The doctor has prepared us for the worse - which could be major brain damage and even a condition called Diffuse axonal injury which would mean he would remain in a coma for a long amount of time. The chance of this condition is about 10%. Please pray the lasting effects are minimal!!!

We have been amazed by the amount of love, support and prayers that Isaac and we have been receiving. We are SO thankful and feel so blessed to have our friends and family by our side.

The MRI procedure will take about two hours so we are planning on heading to our house to pack some more clothes and just see where things are down there. Some dear friends, Katie and Megan, went to our house and cleaned last night so we aren't worried about walking into a home that is the chaos I normally leave it in the morning. I am a bit worried about walking by Isaac's room, seeing his things, his cars, his airplanes, his trains...I pray I get my little boy back!!! That is the scariest part right now - not knowing if he will be the same - not knowing if we need to teach him to walk again, to talk again, etc. If he will still be excited about every airplane that flies overhead, if he will say thank you every time you do anything for him.....BUT we are so thankful he is ALIVE.

A Dose of Good News

Isaac has continued to stay pretty much the same overnight and into this morning. His levels are around a 10 and the doctors say that this is good. During the night there was a little bit of trauma when the x-ray technician accidentally knocked out the tube that was draining the air from his chest. How this happened, I don't quite understand. However luckily it ended up being OK. It is during this type of stimulation that his ICP levels will sometimes raise. The doctor said that if his levels (when they spike) stay under 20, he is happy.

So that being said, the doctor feels that Isaac is ready to start waking up. As I understand it, they will start to take his body out of it's paralyzed state and then will begin to lighten the medicines keeping him in the coma (he will still have lots of pain meds) and ultimately transition him to start breathing on his own. I am excited and nervous. During this process, if he spikes above a 20, they go back to putting him fully in a coma and paralyzed again. They definitely expect that his levels will go up and he will be moving around quite a lot. We will all be around him trying to calm him and encourage him to rest and stay still but this boy is strong and feisty!

Please pray that Isaac's ICP stays under 20 and that the transition to breathing on his own goes smoothly. This battle is still going on and as the doctor said, we still are unsure what lasting effects there could be. I have been encouraged by countless stories of similar accidents that have happy endings and am praying our story will be the same.

Even at the rate we are going, the doctors predict that Isaac will be hospitalized for at least three weeks. So many have offered to help with Sydney it is awesome. She is still pretty clueless to what has gone on and is having so much fun with sleeping over at her friends house, going to Chuck E Cheese and such I'm starting to fear she's going to be a little sad to leave! Our friends Brooke and Brian LaFave have been her second parents through this. We are so thankful to have such selfless friends that love our children as they do their own.

I will keep you posted.....

Roller Coaster

Today has absolutely been a roller coaster. Earlier, we learned that Isaac has almost certainly lost his hearing in his left ear. It appears upon second look at his CT that the nerve has been ruptured by one of the fractures.

His numbers were high this morning, too high for me to be comfortable. Then early this afternoon, his numbers went down to 0 or 1 - awesome! However now it's hovering at around an 8. Occasionally the medicine wears off and he starts grabbing for the tubes. We are encouraged at his fighting spirit!

Please continue to pray that his swelling goes down, lift up the doctors that are working on him and pray the damage done is minimal.

I will try to contine to update. I am pretty much staying at his bedside and looking at the numbers fluctuate can be maddening. We SO appreciate all the love, prayers, positive energy and concern.

An Update

Today has been a bit of a roller coaster. Isaac's levels were up this morning - in the 13 - 14 range. Not good. However they have gone down to 10 which makes us much happier.

I snuck in a nap and that felt good. Usually when I leave for a bit, his numbers improve. Just a coincidence I'm sure.

They are trying to keep the stimulation around him down. He's been moved to a quieter room and we're trying to whisper when near him. Its so hard not to hold him. They told me that it will be at least 5 to 7 days until I get to hold my baby. That's going to be hard.

They are starting to feed him through a tube which is good.

More to come as we know more...

Lungs

Isaac contines to rest comfortably. An x-ray this morning showed that the impact caused some holes in his lung. Basically one of his lungs blew up like a balloon and it created a few holes. This has caused some air to leak and it was on top of his lungs. Because he has a ventilator breathing for him, this causes additional leakage which would cause his lungs to collapse.

They have put a tube in this chest area that is now draining this air. We are thankful they caught this ahead of time.

Currently, his ICP levels are about the same. The paralyzer started to wear off at one point and our little fiesty guy was trying to pull on his tubes. It has been confirmed by the male nurses here that he is one strong dude.

Our Baby Boy

Yesterday, August 18th, Isaac quickly tried to scale a very large TV. He fell to the ground and the TV fell on top of him. He was rushed to the Olympia airport where they airlifted him to Mary Bridge hospital in Tacoma.

He has multiple scull fractures and his brain was very swollen when they did the first CAT scan. This isn't a good sign we are told. They have drilled a hole in his head the size of a pinkie and are monitoring the swelling through that. Swelling can happen during the first 48 hours. This time period is CRITICAL. The "ICP" level we want him to be at is a 1 - 6. We have seen those numbers but are also seeing up to 11. 11 isn't horrible but we don't want it to get higher. As I write this, he's fluctuating between a 9 & 10...sometimes 8. The doctors are "carefully" optimistic as they anticipated this to have gotten worse. However they are quick to point out that things could change momentarily for him. Long term effects are unknown right now. He could have minimal damage, or it could be severe. The doctor even said the "D" word to Lyndon and I tonight.

One of the fractures is near four nerves that run from his brain to his ear. These nerves control: two control balance, one controls the movement of the face and one controls hearing. We can not tell yeat if these have been damaged.

We are staying in some hospital owned apartments. There are two beds so my parents are staying there as well.

I honestly am numb right now. My energetic, fun-loving, adorable child has countless tubes coming out of his body. To keep stimulation to a minimum, we are supposed to not touch him too much. I just want to hold my baby. I want to crawl in bed with him and just hold him.

Please please lift Isaac up in your prayers and thoughts. We specifically need for the swelling to diminish or at least not go any higher than it already is. Also, please peay that the ear nerves have not been damaged.

Sydney is in the car of some dear friends and is pretty oblivious to all that has happened.

I will continue to update though the blog as we progress. I ask you all to hug your babies a little tighter today.

A Fun Summer!

We have been on the go this summer. I am constantly saying we overbooked ourselves and I'm saying it again but here we are and we finally spent a weekend in our new home! So it's been really nice.






Some of things we've been up to:

Camping weekend at Ocean Shores with the Fishers
A little Seafood soiree at our house with some friends
Family gathering in Stanwood - Aunt and Uncle from NY are visiting

Just a Little Rant

Becuase I'm home with Sydney today (she's not feeling well), I'm gonna blog about something that annoys me. Actually a few things that annoy me. They're things I wouldn't say to most people and sorry if you hate me for it but these things piss me off.

1) When people pull up in front of retail or grocery stores and drop people off - especially when they're SLOW to get out of the car. I mean really? You can't pull down an aisle and then let someone off?

2) People who drop people off in front of stores and then pull over to the side to wait for them. Lazy lazy lazy. And rude to people who are trying to get around. Get a parking spot jackass.

3) People who drive around looking for a close parking spot. Walk people.

4) It appears anyone and everyone can get a handicap sticker. People are usually in poor physical condition because they haven't taken care of themselves. Obvious exceptions on this one and I'm not going to go into them.

5) People who take the elevator from Floor One to Floor Two. Again, obvious exceptions exist but take note - lazy lazy lazy and RUDE to those of us who have quite a few floors to get up.

6) Checkers who aren't chatty. I'm chatty, say hello, ask me how my day is going, say something interesting.

OK I'm finding that I have to think too hard now so I'll conclude this rant. Sorry if my poor attitude has impacted your day in a negative way.

Be Happy!