Day + ??

I know its been a long time since the last update – I apologize. Fortunately there's been a whole lot of catching up to do and a whole lot going on so these updates have not been coming quickly.




Tia:

So many people are extremely excited about learning about how Tia is doing and the progress she's made. The results of her EKG shortly after her arrival here have shown that the damage to her brain was greater than we'd previously been informed of. The doctors realized that Tia had received damage previously unknown due to lack of oxygen to her brain. Some of the recent blog silence has been due to our interest in knowing her situation before releasing speculative and uncertified information. The results received by family in Phoenix was not positive and concerns mounted for Tia's recovery. There are many cases like Tia's where the patient does not recover and remains in an unconscious state permanently. Fortunately for Tia this has proven to not be the case. After weeks of being relatively non-responsive and providing only limited reflexive response to stimuli she is now making great strides towards recovery. Tia is now following the commands of her therapy team, following the path of conversation among members in a room, gaining control of her limbs and recognizing faces and objects. She is answering questions with a yes or no and gaining greater control of her hands, she's even painted! (She guessed my wife and my new baby will be a girl) Although this may sound like a small feat; it is an amazing advancement for someone facing her injuries and hints at the prospects of her continued recovery. Through the faith of her family and the resilience of a child Tia is progressing extremely quickly. She remains in the neuro rehabilitation unit of the hospital – supported, still, primarily by Tim and Barbara Willis under the care of Phoenix's finest pediatric doctors and nurses. It is unknown how long Tia will remain there and how the course of her recovery will ultimately affect her and her adult life but she is and will continue to receive the greatest care and largest supply of love any child could receive. Her family, including Summer, have been to her side and she appears to be recognizing and receiving strength from this. Please continue to send your love and support to Tia and the Cranes – we anticipate a long process to recovery.



Summer:

Summer is still doing very well. She has had both casts removed from her legs and they look great! She feels substantial relief from having this physical and mental weight removed. Although she still has some steri strips keeping incisions safe she is able to move, slightly bend and stretch her legs. She still must remain in a wheelchair to get around and will continue so for another month and cannot bear any weight on her legs at this time. Some of the pins have been removed from her legs which has increased her mobility. She is now able to transfer herself easily from chair to chair and to her bed on her own. She can spend most of her day without her mouth being clamped shut and has started (aggressively) to eat semi solid foods. She's gone swimming, to the mall and spent time with family members outside of her home and seems to be adjusting well. She visits Greg frequently in his hospital room as well as doctors of her own. Summer is primarily continuing to be supported by the Orners in her home and daily interaction with her cousin Lila. Friday night Summer will be venturing out to a school event (which she adamantly says is not a dance) and will be visiting with her classmates for a few hours. She seems very excited about this event. A dinner calendar has been created for the Crane household (http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=f4cda57b-ff46-4b89-afdd-ff6fc4e59405). If you would like to provide a dinner to the Cranes follow this link and sign up. I mention this in Summer’s update because she is the one we need to keep in mind when choosing a dinner; no spicy foods, something she can chew with a tender jaw and something a 12 year old would like. Please take note of the other meals that have come before and are already scheduled for after the date you want to participate so we don’t provide too much of one thing. Participants need to understand this is a service provided for the Cranes and that you most likely will not have the opportunity to spend time with them and they may not be home when you deliver the food. J



Greg:

What a week for Greg! His recovery has continued to progress well… that is until he got sick. L Physical therapy and occupational therapy have been successful in granting Greg some mobility and strength until those were usurped by illness. His physical condition was primarily the same and his energy was increasing until last Tuesday night. I arrived in his room at about 10pm for the night and we chatted – shortly thereafter Greg complained of chest and abdominal pain. The nursing staff believed it was indigestion and/or heartburn. He was given milk of magnesia to settle his stomach… it didn’t work. Greg began vomiting ten minutes later and continued so all through the night. He was scheduled to go into surgery the following day and have the hardware holding his jaw shut removed but this was canceled due to his illness. Greg continued to heave for 3 days although he had nothing in his stomach. During this time some minor leakage from one of his incisions on his left leg (tibia injury) began to increase to the hospital staff’s dismay. Due to these ailments Greg was transferred from the rehab unit to the acute hospital. The doctors initially had some concerns that Greg may have some gal bladder issues and contemplated its removal. In the hospital he had a different level of pharmaceuticals available to treat him including anti-nausea medication and antibiotics. When Greg was transferred there I arrived about two hours later for a night stay and found him still heaving – shortly thereafter his first dose of the new anti-nausea medication was administered and Greg fell asleep for the night twenty minutes later. He remained in the hospital for a couple of days and once he’d stabilized was returned to the neuro rehab unit. To date the doctors do not know what caused the abdominal pain or the vomiting and have determined his gal bladder does not need to be removed. During all this time Greg continued to need and receive the constant vigilance of his parents, sister Diane and some friends. The surgery for the removal of his jaw hardware was rescheduled for Tuesday and some investigating into the leakage in his leg as well. This surgery was set to last 45 minutes but instead lasted closer to three hours causing us some concern. When he finally came out it was found out that the surgeons found quite a bit of infected areas in his leg and knee. They determined Greg’s leg would continue to get infected and therefore have prescribed quite a regimen of antibiotics. Greg will need to have the metal in his leg removed to ensure a lifetime of infection is not required and this will have to wait until the bones in his leg are healed. A bit if a double edged sword for Greg. Although this is bad news – it is fortunate this happened in the hospital and under the supervision of the doctors. On a good note; Greg did have the hardware removed from his mouth and this has made speaking much easier and clearer. He is, just like Summer, aggressively working on regaining his ability to eat more solid foods. About four hours after the surgery I watched Greg consume more food than he had this whole time – although it was through the same method… a straw. Overall Greg is looking great, his spirits seem to be lifted and progress is being made. He can now move from his bed to wheelchair to other chairs and back on his own. It is anticipated Greg will be going home this month.