Tuesday

Today was a busy day for R.J. He started occupational therapy soon after breakfast. From putting circles on pegs, to kicking a soccer ball in his wheel chair. The staff here is pretty no nonsense and everything is based on a point system. There is an alarm on R.J.'s bed and if he gets out of it, it alerts the staff and he loses points. They want him to do everything by himself, however he needs to be supervised. R.J. is doing everything that he can, to earn as many points as he can, to get out of there as quickly as possible. The staff is saying tonight that it looks like they will release him on Saturday.

Monday

Today R.J. woke up feeling better than he had since first coming to the hospital. He slept about 4 consecutive hours the previous night, and was feeling pretty good. The doctor came in the morning and confirmed that he had a urinary tract infection and started him on antibiotics. She also let us know that he coumadin levels had reached a therapeutic state and took him completely off the heparin. The nurse came in around 10 a.m. to let us know that they would be moving him out of the step down unit and into another room. It was at this point that all of his other doctors came in and actually cleared him for release into the rehabilitation hospital (YAY)! He was immediately moved into another room, apparently they needed his room in the step down, and we began the waiting game for the paper work to be completed so he could move over to the rehab hospital. Upon all this news, the tiger awoke in R.J. He was immediately anxious to be up and walking around, doing things on his own, and making sure that we all knew not to "hold him back". He was moved into the rehabilitation hospital this afternoon and spent the evening going through paper work and learning the rules. He seems pretty upbeat and is VERY excited to be out of the hospital. The rate at which he is recovering is truly amazing. He is a miracle in motion.

Sunday

RJ worked with the Physical Therapist again today, and walked up and down the hallway twice. They tried having him use a walker but that didn't work because of his right arm. Then they tried having him use a cane but the PT reported back to Tricia that didn't work either because he just carried it and wouldn't lean on it.  In the afternoon the Speech Therapist came in to test RJ.  She had him do writing, reading, and math problems, as well as asking questions to test his memory and concentration. She was very pleased and amazed at the results (considering his injuries)  She doesn't think he will need any therapy for this. Focusing and concentrating on things seems to be a bit difficult for him but should be back to normal in time.  The only thing that he really missed on the test was drawing a cube, and he called a rhino a hippo!  The doctor projected this morning that he will be in the hospital for about 1 more week and then into a Rehab hospital for about 2 weeks.  His white blood cell count is high and the doctors are currently trying to figure that out.

Saturday

Last night was a rough night.  Filled with discomfort, it was difficult for R.J. to receive good sleep.  Surprisingly, the restless night seemed more like a right of passage as today was a positive day in many ways.  He started his day with a healthy, long awaited, bacon and eggs breakfast.  After breakfast he had a chance to talk with family and a few friends.  With the help of his physical therapist he was able to get out of bed and walk two laps around the step down.  We were reminded by the therapist of the serious nature of the broken bones in R.J.'s neck, but were also given encouraging words as well as conversation about his rehabilitation.  He also received another CT scan today to follow up with some of the concerns that come from the particular stroke that he has experienced.  The results have not come back yet.  Though the signs of fine motor skills on his left side are mildly evident, he has not let it stop him from moving forward.  Two of the highlights of his day were: One, being able listen to parts of conference on the iPad that survived the accident.  Two, the nurse on duty allowed R.J.'s grand kids to come into the room for the first time.  Though, there is a long road ahead of us, today was a welcome reminder that things are moving in the right direction.  Thank you all again for your love, prayers, and support.  It is making a difference and means so much to R.J. as he works through this stabilization period.

Friday

R.J. was fairly uncomfortable during the night and started tossing and turning from 3 am on. The physical therapist came in the morning and R.J. was able to walk up and down the hallway. Tricia gave him a really good "spit" bath and cleaned him up quite well. It is apparent that his fine motor skills have been affected when he is asked to do simple tasks like brushing his teeth. Grandma Weston was able to come to the hospital to visit him for the first time today, and they enjoyed a good, but brief visit. R.J. began vividly hallucinating this afternoon, so they have taken him off the pain killers that he was on and are going to do another CT scan. He was having pain in his lower back, so they will look for any kidney damage as well. He was able to sit in the chair twice, and had half a hamburger for lunch. He continues to be quick witted and Tricia is keeping a running list of funny quotes.

Thursday

The CT scan came back today and it was determined that the blood clot risk (the fear that it could continue to grow) has been minimized significantly. The doctors cleared him for physical therapy, which began soon afterwards. He has yet to eat anything, and after the doctor made him drink an electrolyte replacement, he threw up all over. His potassium, calcium, and phosphate levels have been low, while his blood sugar level is high. It seems that it will take some time to determine the long term effects of the stroke, however, this type of stroke affects the left side of the body and can cause issues with balance and fine motor skills. The brain is capable of compensating for this, and the possibility that he will improve drastically is substantiated, although it may not ever be 100%. This evening they have started him on cumidan to start weaning him off the heparin IV. He looks better tonight than he has looked the entire time. He got out of bed twice today. Once he walked to the door, the other, to the bathroom (with assistance). He was more aware of things that are going on, and his sense of humor is coming back. He was given a menu tonight and will order his first "real" food from the cafeteria in the morning. Tricia has been by his side since the moment she found out about this, only coming home to shower. She is grateful for all the calls, messages, texts, flowers, visits, emails, etc.  We want to thank everyone who not only participated in the fast for R.J. today, but has put his name on the temple prayer lists. It is a great comfort knowing the amount of prayers people are saying on his behalf.

R.J.'s Accident

On Sunday evening March 25, 2012, R.J. was driving home from a church meeting in Flagstaff, Arizona. He was 18 miles outside of shiprock, and after passing three cars and pulling back into his lane, hit a bump and bottomed out. His car, the two seater thunderbird convertible, spun out of control and off the road. R.J. has no recollection of any of this and his first memory is of someone standing over his head telling him help would be there soon. He was life flighted into the hospital in Farmington. Upon first review, they found that he has broken his C2, C4, C5, and C7 in his neck. His two lower ribs in back on his left side are broken, and he has internal and external bleeding. It was not only a great relief, but a miracle that he has no spinal cord injuries. He had an MRI on Monday evening and was moved after that from ICU to a general room. On Tuesday morning the Neurosurgeon looked at the MRI and found a blood clot in his vertebral artery above his C7 and determined that he had a mild cerebellum stroke at the time of the accident. They immediately moved him to "Step Down", which is a step down from ICU but is more one on one care. They started him on Heparin and started a more intense watch. On Wednesday they switched his pain medication to dilaudid and he spent most of the day in and out of sleep, but his pain seems to be being managed with this drug. He went in for a CT scan on Wednesday evening to make sure that he had no internal bleeding exaggerated by the heparin. He had a rough night with the new meds, making him really itchy and uncomfortable. He has had a hard time staying in one place for so long and tries to shift his body quite frequently to try to get comfortable. New bruises pop up daily as his body begins to tell the story of the trauma it endured. He frequently pulls his oxygen and blood pressure cuff off and has been frustrated with all the cords, beeping, and pokes. Throughout all of this, even when he can hardly speak a sentence without falling asleep, he has remained positive and good spirited.