Day + 4

Thank you for your patience today. It has been a long day waiting for an update. But I assure you there is a lot of really positive things going on. I know that much is contained in this update, please continue reading, I believe you will be blessed by all of the news.

The first thing that Alex wanted to communicate to everyone, is his, the Crane and Orner family's sincere appreciation for all of the love and support that you have given them. They are certainly feeling your prayers and are continuing to rely heavily on them! Alex specifically wanted to convey that this blog is primarily coming from his perspective, but that in the coming weeks and months there may be others providing insights and views as roles change etc.

There are several other touching details that I believe you all will want to know about. First and foremost, The Orner family, Lori's extended family (maiden name), her parents, brothers and sisters have been in San Diego from the on-set of this horrific event. They have been holding constant vigils at the bedsides of Greg, Austin, Tia and Summer. To be available at any second, the Orner family has been staying across the street from the hospital at the Ronald McDonald House. Their closeness & proximity relays their hearts desire to comfort and love their family!

Jessica (Pirkle) Callan and her daughter Lila are returning to Phoenix this weekend. Alex and Jessica have been living on the Crane property for several months. Jessica is responsible for setting up the groundwork for the long-term care & rehabilitation that the Crane family will need. Alex will be coming home later in the weekend to take care of some of the business needs and then return to San Diego.

CURRENT INFORMATION:

Greg: miraculously, Greg is breathing on his own! This is a huge accomplishment. He still has a trachea that is supplementing oxygen, but he is primarily breathing on his own. He is off IV nutrition and is receiving "real food" albeit in liquid form! The swelling in his face is reduced significantly and he's able to open his eyes at will.
As mentioned in the previous post, Greg's hand was splinted yesterday. While he was with the doctor, the doc explained that in a little while he would begin moving his fingers and rehabilitating his hand. Later in the day as family surrounded Greg, he began moving his arm & fingers and the family thought he was trying to communicate. One family member realized what he was doing, and said, "Greg, you've begun your rehab already haven't you?" And in Greg fashion, he nodded enthusiastically. He's also already begun wiggling his toes.

Summer: The significant change in summer is that she is responding to movement and stimulation in an appropriate manner. Other than that, her status remains the same.

Tia: Swelling in her face & body seems to be recessing a little bit. Her status has not changed, please read the first post.

***It is important to note that the change in the girls seems slow at the time. It is because they are in medically induced comas. The medically induced coma is really allowing the girls bodies to heal and not be in pain. In the coming weeks & months there will be much more to report. The girls have constant vigilance from family, 24 hours a day, there is someone with them, talking, soothing, holding their hands. The doctors say that they are progressing exactly as they are supposed to.

Austin:  Although Austin's spirit is no longer with his body, he remains on life-support. Because Greg has gifted his organs to other children, the process of letting his body go takes a little longer. There are thousands of children across America on the national donor database and the hospital and organ transfer teams are doing their best to find the right children to receive Austins organs. This process can take some time. But, the hope in this is that right now a child is looking at death, but because of Austin, in a few days they will be looking at life.
In light of Austin still being on life-support, I wanted to communicate to you all that he is still not alone. There has been a very close friend of Lori's who has been at Austin's bedside from the moment allowed until the current time. He has been loved and cared for also by his family, however, this particular close friend has stayed with him for hours and hours. Both the Orner and Crane family believe that this would have been Lori's wish.