August 14, 2010

April 3, 2010

I don't remember much from this date. I hadn't really left the hospital at this point nor had I slept. I was up for 48 hours without about a 20 minute nap in there. There was no way I was sleeping, not like I could anyway. Troy was still in outpatient surgery at this time with the hopes of getting him moved to SICU (surgical intensive care unit). He would need more surgery, but we were just happy he had made it this far. He had been alive for 48 hours since his accident. That was huge to us!!

This was also saturday night...the night before Easter. I had to go home and be with Jack, but thankfully Troy was in ICU where he had his own nurse. His mom never left the hospital. She had set up camp there and was there every minute.

After being moved Troy had a bronchoscopy on this day. They found what they thought was a polyp in his lungs. Come to find out it was a blood clot in his lungs. His lungs were severely bruised and he was starting to get pneumonia, which is normal with a person on a ventilator. Also by this date he had recieved over 200 units of blood products, including blood, plasma and platelets. This was causing his kidneys to work very hard but they were still working. His liver was still working.

His friends from college were still in town. Thank God for those friends. I probably leaned on them way too much, when now I look back and realize they knew him longer...they needed to lean on me.

FB became a story for everyone to follow. I had over 100 new friends by this date...all following along in this "story." They were definitely prayer warriors. It gave me comfort knowing that someone was stopping in the middle of their day and praying.

I slept so hard this night. Jack woke up to the Easter bunny and things were as normal as they could be at home. I don't remember much. I'm sure this will come back just as my daughters life story comes back in pieces. I tend to remember more and more year by year. When I remember I will post.

Until next time,

Kelly

August 6, 2010

April 2, 2010

April 2 is fuzzy...most of the 18 days is still fuzzy. I'm sure I will remember more at a later day.

April 2nd...started at midnight. He was still in recovery. They told us he may require another surgery, but were afraid that his heart couldn't handle it. He may not survive a second surgery...or a third...or a fourth....or a fifth. They left his abdomen open so they could get to his liver. His liver was bleeding fairly bad. They were squeezing blood in as fast as they could. We were allowed to see him at any time. He was still in outpatient surgery...he was too unstable to move and they needed immediate access to the OR. At 1:30 a.m. they come and tell us they need to try to tie off some more bleeders on his liver. It was a wait and see and mostly a hope and prayer game. We told him goodbye...they told us to prepare. 3 a.m. came and he survived. They were able to tie off some more bleeders, but the liver is so sensitive. It's like a big blob of blood vessels. You touch it and it would bleed. He was still unstable, maybe a little better than before. People arrived somewhere around 1:30 or so...some of his college friends came in town. These friends I had just met. They are now some of my best friends. His mom and I.....we were a team. We still are. She leaned on me, I leaned on her.

At 7 a.m. I had to leave to take my son to school. Thankful for wonderful friends and neighbors, they sat with him the entire night. I went home, got him ready and to school, took a shower and went back to the hospital. I walked in at 9:30 a.m. There were so many people in outpatient surgery. I walked in his mom and family were in a swarm of other people. I was confused....thought he had died. It was his coworkers. I had not met most of them yet. I walk in and thought the love of my life had died, but no....he was going in for a third surgery. They felt they could tie more bleeders off. This, I felt, would be our last chance. I met his work family and that is just what they are....a work family.

Around 12 p.m. a person comes out and asks for three specific people. At this time his entire family was there, his ex-wife and her family and my friends and my sister. They ask for his mom, his aunt and me. This can't be good I thought. He was dead. I just knew it. They took us into a room and a chaplain walks in. Not a doctor, not a nurse...a chaplain. I don't think I have ever had that feeling in the world. It's so hard to even describe the panic I felt. Finally, in walk three doctors. His main trauma doctor and two more. The middle doctor spoke directly at me. He was still alive...he was much more stable. To make him stable they had to remove over half of his damaged liver but his kidneys were working. He was doing much better. He was still bleeding but not requiring so much blood. At this point he was up to receiving approximately 70+ blood products (blood, plasma, platelets). We were allowed to see him. He was getting very, very swollen at this point. His eyes were still moving under his eyelids. That was a good sign.

The goal was to keep him stable. Around 3 that afternoon they told us they needed to close the doors so other patients could get some rest. We would be allowed to see him in intervals. Its at this time that I don't remember much. My parents came in town...a great friend of mine brought Starbucks with caffeine. Best stuff ever. That evening around 10 in walks my best friend from high school. This chick, this woman....amazing. She is my age (30) and on her third husband. She divorced her first and her second husband passed away after 8 months of marriage to him. He was 29, she was 26. I remember talking to Troys aunt...and I see my friend walk off of the elevator. I'm pretty sure I ran to her and hugged her and cried. If anyone got it, she did. I hated that she got it. This girl just drove 3 hours to be with me.

My friend stayed with at the hospital the entire night. I slept. I had been up going on 48 hours. She sat and watched the door waiting for someone to come out. Troys friends had went and ate and came back. They stayed at his house with his other friend and roommate. They would be back in the morning. A woman comes out about 3 a.m. to tell us his surgery is going well. Surgery? What surgery? His mom and I panic. We demand to see him. Screw whatever else they need to do, we needed to see him. We hadn't seen him for hours. He was not in surgery...another patient was.

The plan was for him to go to surgical ICU the next day. We were just thankful for the 48 hours we had.

Until next time,

Kelly