Despite a a fever, that broke, and a historical snow storm, Larisa arrived back in her home on Sunday evening. All the details aren't in, but I wanted to let everyone know that she is home and is thrilled to be with her family and in her own room. They do have a hospital bed set up in the back bedroom and a wheelchair that does fit through the halls. Yesterday a nurse was there going over all the ins and outs. She will be coming by on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. As for a lot of details, I am still waiting to get those and when I do, I will pass them along.
We are happy she is home and doing great! Thanks for all your many many prayers, kind words and support. We know that with out you and your help along with divine intervention, the outcome could have been much worse. Thank you so much.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Trip home postponed
On Wednesday morning, Larisa woke up with horrible pain just below her colostomy bag. As the day progressed it got really bad and she spiked a fever. They ended up quickly loading her up in an ambulance and sent her to Winchester hospital.
After blood work, ultra sounds, and a CAT scan, nothing real specific was determined, except for signs of inflammation around the area that was hurting. It appears that there is some kind of infection. The IV antibiotic that she has been on was to be finished on the 17th. The doctors said that often times this particular IV antibiotic will mask other problems that may be going on. They took her off the antibiotic and were waiting for results of labs and tests to determine what type of antibiotic they would need to give her. Thursday, she was still spiking a fever in the late afternoon, which postponed her trip home for the 18th.
As of yesterday, the fever has broken, and the pain has significantly decreased. She is on another antibiotic and seems to be doing better. However, because of this infection and the huge snow storm that we are getting, it has postponed her trip home until sometime early in the week.
Physically she is doing better, but emotionally, really bummed. Nothing more disappointing to hear you are going home, and then your not. We all want her home, but when her body is in a condition to be home. Right now she is just taking it day by day, we anticipate her to be home for Christmas - but it will be up to her body to determine whether she is ready to go or not.
Now her recovery will require a lot of patience, hope and faith to make it through the long days as all her bones and wounds heal. Not an easy task, but as we all know, when we have experiences that require a lot of patience and faith, in the long run we come out stronger and with new perspective on what we are capable of doing.
After blood work, ultra sounds, and a CAT scan, nothing real specific was determined, except for signs of inflammation around the area that was hurting. It appears that there is some kind of infection. The IV antibiotic that she has been on was to be finished on the 17th. The doctors said that often times this particular IV antibiotic will mask other problems that may be going on. They took her off the antibiotic and were waiting for results of labs and tests to determine what type of antibiotic they would need to give her. Thursday, she was still spiking a fever in the late afternoon, which postponed her trip home for the 18th.
As of yesterday, the fever has broken, and the pain has significantly decreased. She is on another antibiotic and seems to be doing better. However, because of this infection and the huge snow storm that we are getting, it has postponed her trip home until sometime early in the week.
Physically she is doing better, but emotionally, really bummed. Nothing more disappointing to hear you are going home, and then your not. We all want her home, but when her body is in a condition to be home. Right now she is just taking it day by day, we anticipate her to be home for Christmas - but it will be up to her body to determine whether she is ready to go or not.
Now her recovery will require a lot of patience, hope and faith to make it through the long days as all her bones and wounds heal. Not an easy task, but as we all know, when we have experiences that require a lot of patience and faith, in the long run we come out stronger and with new perspective on what we are capable of doing.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
She's coming home
I apology for not writing for the past week -- mainly there has been not much to report and secondly I was in Florida on a family vacation visiting Mickey and the gang.
The past several weeks for Larisa have been just letting her body heal. She had some x-rays done on her wrist over a week ago to determine whether or not her arm could bear any weight. None of the bones are ready to have any weight put on them. This limits what they are able to do in physical therapy - right now.
They had given her the OK to go home. She is VERY excited about this as well as her family. It has been determined that at this point there is very little she can do in physical therapy and her days are spent just resting and sitting. They feel she can just as easily do that at home. She is still on an IV antibiotic - until Dec. 17th. It is because of the IV that she really has needed to stay in Winchester. The IV will be completed on the 17th and as soon as it is out -- she will be OUT.
The wound on her leg is looking really really good. The inside of the leg has healed almost to the surface of the skin. It has not been decided whether or not she will need to come home on the vac. That will be decided in the next day or two.
The family has been busy getting the house ready for her to come home. As I mentioned before, a friend's father built a ramp on the front porch to make it easy to get in the house. The have purchased a hospital bed, mattress, and wheelchair for her as well. Everything is set up, all they need is Larisa -- she will be there soon enough. As it stands right now she will not be returning back to Winchester Rehab Center.
Sometime after Christmas she will be go back to Fairfax to have the bone graft on her thigh done. The date has not been set. It is our understanding that she will be in for the day and back home -- they may keep her one night. That too will be decided after the surgery. They are also looking at reversing the colostomy in the next several weeks - that will be a great change.
Over all she is doing great. She is so thankful and grateful for all the kindness she has been shown and the overwhelming support. It is experiences like these that remind us how blessed we are on a daily basis and that we should never take for granted what we have been given.
The past several weeks for Larisa have been just letting her body heal. She had some x-rays done on her wrist over a week ago to determine whether or not her arm could bear any weight. None of the bones are ready to have any weight put on them. This limits what they are able to do in physical therapy - right now.
They had given her the OK to go home. She is VERY excited about this as well as her family. It has been determined that at this point there is very little she can do in physical therapy and her days are spent just resting and sitting. They feel she can just as easily do that at home. She is still on an IV antibiotic - until Dec. 17th. It is because of the IV that she really has needed to stay in Winchester. The IV will be completed on the 17th and as soon as it is out -- she will be OUT.
The wound on her leg is looking really really good. The inside of the leg has healed almost to the surface of the skin. It has not been decided whether or not she will need to come home on the vac. That will be decided in the next day or two.
The family has been busy getting the house ready for her to come home. As I mentioned before, a friend's father built a ramp on the front porch to make it easy to get in the house. The have purchased a hospital bed, mattress, and wheelchair for her as well. Everything is set up, all they need is Larisa -- she will be there soon enough. As it stands right now she will not be returning back to Winchester Rehab Center.
Sometime after Christmas she will be go back to Fairfax to have the bone graft on her thigh done. The date has not been set. It is our understanding that she will be in for the day and back home -- they may keep her one night. That too will be decided after the surgery. They are also looking at reversing the colostomy in the next several weeks - that will be a great change.
Over all she is doing great. She is so thankful and grateful for all the kindness she has been shown and the overwhelming support. It is experiences like these that remind us how blessed we are on a daily basis and that we should never take for granted what we have been given.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
How is she doin?
Over the past week, with the Thanksgiving holiday -- there was not much to report. That is why you may be wondering if I was ever going to update. Well, now I have stuff to report.
Thanksgiving was great. Larisa had the opportunity to go home for a few hours to each turkey and pie with her family. Transporting her to and from was a little rough, since this was Chantel and Sergio's first time ever doing it. Once they got her in the house, it was a really nice afternoon. She did not want to go back to the Rehab center, but knew she had to. Thanksgiving was just their little family -- which I know they had many moments of things to be grateful for.
Since Thanksgiving - she has spent most of her time, just resting and letting things heal. Physical therapy is not that productive yet and they are limited, because she is unable to bear any weight on any limb. Things have been pretty quiet. She has enjoyed visits from family and friends, that is always a bright spot in her day!
This past Monday Larisa was transported down to the Fairfax area to meet with her doctor for a check up. He seemed pleased with her progress. He did tell them that the bone graft on her thigh will be done shortly after Christmas and that it would also require a skin graft later.
As a result of the appointment and her Doctor at the Rehab center, it has been decided at this point that Larisa will be able to go home on/or around Dec 17th permanently. Needless to say she and her family are very excited. Since they are unable to do much PT -- her doctor felt she could recover at home. She will most likely be assigned an in home nurse that will come frequently to check on her, change bandages and various other medical needs. She needs to wait until Dec 17th in order to finish the IV antibiotic. Once that is complete, barring no complications between now and then - it looks like she will be home for Christmas.
Chantel and Sergio are making preparations for bringing her home. They have purchased a hospital bed and are looking into buying a wheelchair. Over the next several weeks they will fine tune the things they will need to help make the transition home more smoothly.
It is such a blessing to see how far she has come over the past 8 weeks. Daily we express our thanks and gratitude, not only for her life, we should for our own. Despite our own challenges we still have much to be thankful for.
Thanksgiving was great. Larisa had the opportunity to go home for a few hours to each turkey and pie with her family. Transporting her to and from was a little rough, since this was Chantel and Sergio's first time ever doing it. Once they got her in the house, it was a really nice afternoon. She did not want to go back to the Rehab center, but knew she had to. Thanksgiving was just their little family -- which I know they had many moments of things to be grateful for.
Since Thanksgiving - she has spent most of her time, just resting and letting things heal. Physical therapy is not that productive yet and they are limited, because she is unable to bear any weight on any limb. Things have been pretty quiet. She has enjoyed visits from family and friends, that is always a bright spot in her day!
This past Monday Larisa was transported down to the Fairfax area to meet with her doctor for a check up. He seemed pleased with her progress. He did tell them that the bone graft on her thigh will be done shortly after Christmas and that it would also require a skin graft later.
As a result of the appointment and her Doctor at the Rehab center, it has been decided at this point that Larisa will be able to go home on/or around Dec 17th permanently. Needless to say she and her family are very excited. Since they are unable to do much PT -- her doctor felt she could recover at home. She will most likely be assigned an in home nurse that will come frequently to check on her, change bandages and various other medical needs. She needs to wait until Dec 17th in order to finish the IV antibiotic. Once that is complete, barring no complications between now and then - it looks like she will be home for Christmas.
Chantel and Sergio are making preparations for bringing her home. They have purchased a hospital bed and are looking into buying a wheelchair. Over the next several weeks they will fine tune the things they will need to help make the transition home more smoothly.
It is such a blessing to see how far she has come over the past 8 weeks. Daily we express our thanks and gratitude, not only for her life, we should for our own. Despite our own challenges we still have much to be thankful for.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Home for a few hours
This past week Larisa has worked extra hard in physical therapy. Until recently it has been taking about 4 people to move her from place to place - since she has been unable to bear weight on any one limb. This week, she has worked really hard to be able to bear weight and help assist in moving herself. Well, it has paid off. The other day it took only Larisa and her therapist to move her. As a result of this great progress her doctor has given her permission to go home on Thanksgiving Day for about 3-4 hours for turkey and pumpkin pie. She will go home in the early afternoon and between her IV doses of antibiotic.
Chantel said that they have a car at the rehab center that is used to teach people how to help patients in and out of he car. Chantel and Sergio where shown how and what to do, and I am sure practiced. Last Monday a friend's father built a ramp off the front porch of Larisa's house for her wheelchair. They are so grateful for his kindness, skills and his timing was perfect. The plan will be to drive the car up on the grass and get her as close to the ramp as possible, then they can wheel her in the rest of the way.
Needless to say the family is very excited, and Larisa is beyond excited. It will be a quiet afternoon with just their immediate family. I am sure a special moment for them as they reflect on the things they are thankful for this year. We will be anxious to hear how the afternoon goes.
As for all the battle wounds, everything is healing great. Her ankle is looking amazing. They are so pleased with how the skin and the opening are closing up. All the other wounds are closing up, and she is able to do more each day with her therapy. Now it is just a matter of time.
As it is Thanksgiving day, Chantel wanted me to express her sincere and heartfelt thanks and gratitude for each of you. She is so grateful for the love, support and kindness that has been shown not only to Larisa, but their entire family. This Thanksgiving she has gained a greater testimony in the power of prayer. She has not only seen it work but felt its power over the past 7 weeks in behalf of her daughter and her family. She is so thankful for your faith and your strength that has helped them make it this far.
Happy Thanksgiving to each of you. And may we each reflect on the things that we are truly grateful for this year, particularly the gift of life,our own or those we love.
Chantel said that they have a car at the rehab center that is used to teach people how to help patients in and out of he car. Chantel and Sergio where shown how and what to do, and I am sure practiced. Last Monday a friend's father built a ramp off the front porch of Larisa's house for her wheelchair. They are so grateful for his kindness, skills and his timing was perfect. The plan will be to drive the car up on the grass and get her as close to the ramp as possible, then they can wheel her in the rest of the way.
Needless to say the family is very excited, and Larisa is beyond excited. It will be a quiet afternoon with just their immediate family. I am sure a special moment for them as they reflect on the things they are thankful for this year. We will be anxious to hear how the afternoon goes.
As for all the battle wounds, everything is healing great. Her ankle is looking amazing. They are so pleased with how the skin and the opening are closing up. All the other wounds are closing up, and she is able to do more each day with her therapy. Now it is just a matter of time.
As it is Thanksgiving day, Chantel wanted me to express her sincere and heartfelt thanks and gratitude for each of you. She is so grateful for the love, support and kindness that has been shown not only to Larisa, but their entire family. This Thanksgiving she has gained a greater testimony in the power of prayer. She has not only seen it work but felt its power over the past 7 weeks in behalf of her daughter and her family. She is so thankful for your faith and your strength that has helped them make it this far.
Happy Thanksgiving to each of you. And may we each reflect on the things that we are truly grateful for this year, particularly the gift of life,our own or those we love.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
On the Move
On Friday life got even better for Larisa. She was taught how to use a powered wheelchair. She said it was awesome. The seat itself was so much more comfortable -- more padding. She can actually sit in it for a few hours and be ok. Unlike the other chair, 30 mins was too long. She likes the idea that she will now be able to go outside for some fresh air. She will have this chair for as long as she is in the rehab center. I told her we needed to make sure she had a horn and a cute basket -- and she said, it already came with one!
Overall everything is going well. Right now it is a lot of waiting for bones to heal and openings to close. The ankle wound is healing great and only requires dressing changes every other day. There is more attention on the leg wound, since it is larger and still has s drainage tube with a vac hooked to it. She is getting more mobility with her right arm and using her fingers much more. She is able to sit upright for longer periods and really is not feeling much pain in her back from the fractures. It is when she is moved from the bed to the wheel chair that things get pretty uncomfortable. When she wears her brace, particularly during therapy -- it helps keep everything in place and moving is better.
On the 30th of November, she will head back to Fairfax for the day to see her doctor, the one who has been doing all the surgeries. He will check her over and take a bunch of pictures to see how everything is healing. It is anticipated at that time, he will give some idea as to when the bone graft on her leg will be done. There is a possibility that it could be done prior to Christmas. He will also address the colostomy bag, and look to see when they can reverse it. At this point, things will be decided as her body is ready.
Thanksgiving will be a little more quiet than years past for Larisa, but the family is planning to cycle family members through to visit and spend time with her. It will truly be a year of thanksgiving and gratitude for the many blessings and miracles that have taken place over the past 6 weeks.
Overall everything is going well. Right now it is a lot of waiting for bones to heal and openings to close. The ankle wound is healing great and only requires dressing changes every other day. There is more attention on the leg wound, since it is larger and still has s drainage tube with a vac hooked to it. She is getting more mobility with her right arm and using her fingers much more. She is able to sit upright for longer periods and really is not feeling much pain in her back from the fractures. It is when she is moved from the bed to the wheel chair that things get pretty uncomfortable. When she wears her brace, particularly during therapy -- it helps keep everything in place and moving is better.
On the 30th of November, she will head back to Fairfax for the day to see her doctor, the one who has been doing all the surgeries. He will check her over and take a bunch of pictures to see how everything is healing. It is anticipated at that time, he will give some idea as to when the bone graft on her leg will be done. There is a possibility that it could be done prior to Christmas. He will also address the colostomy bag, and look to see when they can reverse it. At this point, things will be decided as her body is ready.
Thanksgiving will be a little more quiet than years past for Larisa, but the family is planning to cycle family members through to visit and spend time with her. It will truly be a year of thanksgiving and gratitude for the many blessings and miracles that have taken place over the past 6 weeks.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Doing Great
I had the opportunity to go and spend some time with Larisa today - WOW does she look great! It truly is amazing to see how far she has come in 5 weeks! She was sitting up and even bending forward. She said her back doesn't really hurt her that much, but her tail bone does. Yesterday they found out that she has a couple of pins or screws in her tail bone. Apparently it was pushed out of where it should be, not broken, but they put the screws in to help it stay in place while everything is trying to heal. Sitting in the up right position for any length of time, it gets really uncomfortable.
All of her wounds looked amazing as well. Her right arm only has a few scabs left as remnants of the surgery. I was so surprised to not see any red or pink where the incision is -- the doctor did a fabulous job. She does wear a brace on it and recently is doing a lot more with her fingers. She is able to lift her arm up and is even feeding herself.
The wound nurse came in this evening to check her foot -- Chantel stayed long enough to see how it was doing. She could not believe how well it was healing. It had changed dramatically, even just from 2 days ago. As a result, a skin graft will not be needed for her foot.
She is experiencing nerve damage in both feet, more in the left than in the right. It is painful and has a tingling sensation. The Doctors have indicated that it should heal on its own, but time will tell. Larisa's thigh is healing slow and steady. It is a deep and big wound. It is starting to itch, a good sign of healing. The drain and packing continue to do their job, which helps speed up the healing time. Her trach hole, looks pretty closed up and has healed nicely.
They have determined what was causing the nausea and throwing up last weekend -- one of the antibiotics she was on did not agree with her. They have changed her medication and she is doing so much better. Her appetite has not been that great, but today at lunch she ate pretty well and dinner she did great. Hopefully the change in medication, will help increase her appetite. Also, as she becomes more active the appetite will increase. They think she has lost about 20 pounds. You can definitely see it and feel it - now she just needs to eat for nutrition and to help the healing process.
Her days are busy with nurses poking and prodding as well as physical and occupational therapy. She does therapy for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon. Right now it isn't that difficult for her, since she does not have any one limb that she can put weight on. The hardest part is just moving her from place to place. The have assured her that over time, it will get better and harder, and it will. The measured her leg lifting today and it was great. It put a little smile on her face.
Obviously, she would love to be home, in her own bed and her own things - but knows she is where she needs to be. Her sadness at times comes from watching all her friends move on without and wishing things were normal - I think a realistic thought for anyone going through this kind of trial. But, she is so grateful for her family and friends and the support they have shown her. It will be that support and love that will help the long days be bearable and will help her to push harder and longer to get where she wants to go.
All of her wounds looked amazing as well. Her right arm only has a few scabs left as remnants of the surgery. I was so surprised to not see any red or pink where the incision is -- the doctor did a fabulous job. She does wear a brace on it and recently is doing a lot more with her fingers. She is able to lift her arm up and is even feeding herself.
The wound nurse came in this evening to check her foot -- Chantel stayed long enough to see how it was doing. She could not believe how well it was healing. It had changed dramatically, even just from 2 days ago. As a result, a skin graft will not be needed for her foot.
She is experiencing nerve damage in both feet, more in the left than in the right. It is painful and has a tingling sensation. The Doctors have indicated that it should heal on its own, but time will tell. Larisa's thigh is healing slow and steady. It is a deep and big wound. It is starting to itch, a good sign of healing. The drain and packing continue to do their job, which helps speed up the healing time. Her trach hole, looks pretty closed up and has healed nicely.
They have determined what was causing the nausea and throwing up last weekend -- one of the antibiotics she was on did not agree with her. They have changed her medication and she is doing so much better. Her appetite has not been that great, but today at lunch she ate pretty well and dinner she did great. Hopefully the change in medication, will help increase her appetite. Also, as she becomes more active the appetite will increase. They think she has lost about 20 pounds. You can definitely see it and feel it - now she just needs to eat for nutrition and to help the healing process.
Her days are busy with nurses poking and prodding as well as physical and occupational therapy. She does therapy for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon. Right now it isn't that difficult for her, since she does not have any one limb that she can put weight on. The hardest part is just moving her from place to place. The have assured her that over time, it will get better and harder, and it will. The measured her leg lifting today and it was great. It put a little smile on her face.
Obviously, she would love to be home, in her own bed and her own things - but knows she is where she needs to be. Her sadness at times comes from watching all her friends move on without and wishing things were normal - I think a realistic thought for anyone going through this kind of trial. But, she is so grateful for her family and friends and the support they have shown her. It will be that support and love that will help the long days be bearable and will help her to push harder and longer to get where she wants to go.
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