Larisa has arrived!

The anticipated move took place about 10:30 this morning, arriving at the Winchester Medical Rehabilitation Center in Winchester, VA. Chantel was allowed to ride with her, which I know made it easier to do.

Yesterday, she was quite anxious about the event, mostly the pain that could be involved in actually moving her, and the unknown of a new place and new people. She was given some medication to help settle her stomach and sleep through the night.

The move went quite smoothly and she did great. Wearing her back brace really helped to control the discomfort level. She was relaxed and actually even fell asleep on the way there. I know she is happy the move is over and she told me that she was happy to be "one step closer to home."

Larisa overall is healing at a steady pace. On Thursday they did do another leg cleaning. They also removed the packing in her knee and determined that the slight infection there was gone. As a result of the infection being gone, they were able to staple shut the opening in her knee. Prior to leaving Fairfax, they removed all of her IV's and inserted a new pic line that they will use to give her her medications. She was relieved to have all the IV's out.

They removed the pump and drain out of her leg and replaced it with special wet and dry gauze. They will be hooking that all back up in Winchester. Both the drain and the pump are there to facilitate good blood flow, which is needed for the bone to heal, and to help keep bacteria out. All of her wounds and bandages were cleaned and replaced. Each of the nurses indicated that things were coming right a long and were looking good.

She is in a private room, which is nice and it has 2 large windows, even better. Chantel said that everyone has been very kind and the facility was nice. She is allowed visitors. At this point, we are not sure the actual visiting hours. I believe that her room number is 3305. I hope to get that information confirmed tomorrow. In the mean time, below is the hospital address and phone number where you can ask the help desk for the correct room number and the visiting hours.

Winchester Rehabilitation Center

333 West Cork Street
Winchester, VA 22601
(540) 536-5114
(800) 382-0772

Just a reminder, visitors are great and a positive part of her recovery. When you plan to visit, be sure you have not been sick or around anyone who is contagious. Be sure to wash hands before going into see her. Larisa's immune system is very low, and particularly now that she does not have a spleen to help fight the viruses. Also, she still has 4 open wounds which are like a playground for germs. I think none of us would like to see her add anything new to her health concerns. She loves to see her family and friends, especially now that she is closer it will be more convient for people to come. Just be mindful that she tires very easily and be cautious of how long you stay. We want her to enjoy her visits, but more importantly we want her to get well and return home.

It is hard to believe that a month has gone by since Larisa's course in life was changed. She has faced death's door one on one, soared through 8-10 surgeries, learned to breath on her own again, celebrated a birthday, and figured out how to text with one bad arm and left handed to boot! She has come to realize how very loved she is by so many people. She has gained a greater understanding of the power of prayer and that through others faith and prayers miracles happen and lives are strengthened. More importantly, she knows how very aware her Father in Heaven is of her and her needs and that as she exercises her faith and her desire to press on, that He will give her the strength and encouragement she needs to make it through this challenge.

Things change daily

Larisa had a better day today then yesterday. She was able to rest and had only a few pokings and probings throughout the day. Chantel was able to talk to the doctor and get a few questions answered. The infection in the leg is doing better, but will require another cleaning. As it stands right now she is on the waiting list to have it done tomorrow. Depending on how the doctors other surgeries go, will determine if he will be able to fit her in tomorrow. If not tomorrow he will clean it out again on Thursday. He seemed to indicate that this may be the last cleaning. She does have a little opening on her knee that is slightly infected. They will clean out that opening as well when they do her thigh.

The doctor indicated that her foot wound has turned a corner and is healing really nicely. Right now, he feels pretty confident that a skin graft will not be necessary on her foot. He will just keep an eye on it over time to be sure that is the case.

They did take x-rays today of her hip, pelvis and femur. The results have not been given yet, however, the doctor did say that based on the cleaning, that she will need a bone graft on her femur. The middle portion of the femur was broken into a gazillion pieces, basically leaving a gap in the middle of the bone. Chantel thinks that a lot of the cleaning they have been doing has been to not only to clean, but remove all the fragments of free floating bone. The bone graft will not be done until the infection is cleared up and other concerns are resolved. Most likely the bone will come from the hip, the one side that is in good shape. The surgery will be set up at a later date, not sure when.

Plans change daily, but as of today, the doctor feels by the beginning of next week she will be transported to Winchester. He wants to do one more cleaning of her leg and knee. He indicated that if by Friday everything looks good, she can possibly move on Saturday. The case worker over Larisa's case, called and told Chantel that they are holding her spot in Winchester, and even told her that Larisa would have a private room. Chantel said that when Larisa found out she had a private room, her first comment was, "I feel so selfish and privileged."

Larisa has been sharing a room with an older lady. As of today, her roommate moved to her Rehab Center to continue her recovery. Chantel said she could tell Larisa was pretty uneasy about being in the room alone, and was not wanting Chantel to leave till the very last minute. I think in most cases, when we don't feel well, or just having a rough time, Mom seems to always make things better and put us at ease. She did enjoy a nice fun evening with her grandparents tonight, which helps to take the focus off her issues and remind her that there is still a lot of things in life to enjoy and laugh at despite the trials we may be encountering. And don't they say, laughter is the best medicine....

Continue to Clean

Today, Larisa was put under again while they went in an cleaned out her leg again. The cleaning went well, but as of this afternoon, her leg is extremely swollen. Chantel says it is about 2x as big as the other leg. They are keeping a close watch on it. While she was in the operating room, they removed the pins out of her foot as well. The good signs are that her heart rate is down and her blood pressure is back up -- it had been really low for a few days. On Saturday they gave her several units of blood, which seems to have helped everything. Her temperature is stable. She is on low oxygen through her nose to help keep her stable.

Today they also went in and cleaned out her knee. It has not been looking that great and they are keeping a watchful eye on that as well. The nurse told Chantel that they have about a foot and a half of gauze packed in her knee to help avoid any bacteria from getting in. Changing the packing and bandages is quite painful. Larisa has said that she likes it much better when the nurses change it because they are much more gentle and will stop and take a break, unlike the doctor. The doctor is great at his job, but not so slow and gentle.

Her trach bandages were changed as well. There is still an opening, but it is healing well. Her arm is no longer in a soft cast, but in a brace. She is starting to do little things with it. She some how manages to feed herself when family and friends are not there to help. She doesn't have much of an appetite, but is eating a little bit at a time.

Larisa's pain level was pretty high today, since they did a lot of poking, and cleaning. They did increase her medication a little. However, tonight they brought her in some morphine and she told them to hold off until she really felt like she needed it. She is one tough cookie!

Tomorrow they are planning to do x-rays of her pelvis and femur. Chantel has also asked them to take one of her back to have a better idea if things are healing. The results of these x-rays will determine if they will need to do a bone graft on her femur and to see if the pelvis needs any other procedures done to it as well.

As of right now, the move to Winchester is postponed for awhile - probably abt 2 weeks or longer. They are really wanting the infection to be cleared up and possibly do the skin and bone grafts before she leaves. It would be in her best interest to have all those things completed prior to leaving the hospital. It would be hard to make the move and then have to turn around and head back. Plus, all the surgeries would require her to be transported back to Fairfax at some point. They just want to make sure that her body is ready to be transported and can adapt to an environment that is not as closely monitored as the hospital.

Thank you so much to all of you who came out to Chick-Fil-a for Larisa. It was a great event and Larisa and her family want you to know how very much they appreciate you kindness and support. Chantel said the other night, Larisa had tears in her eyes as she commented to her mother that she could not believe how many people were praying for her and supporting her. I know she feels that love and those prayers on a daily basis. It will be those things that will help her to continue to climb this mountain to the top. A mountain top that she will reach, and come out stronger and better because of this challenge she is facing head on.

Infection Found - Move Postponed

This morning they found an infection in Larisa's leg. They took everything out (pump, drainage tube) and cleaned it all out. They inserted an antibiotic that will be released into the leg to help clear up the infection. This will postpone her move to Winchester, possibly into the middle or end of next week. The Doctors will probably need to go back in on Monday to redo the cleaning procedure again. It will be determined then, whether or not it will need to be done another time. During today's procedure, he did remove the pins from her wrist.

The doctor indicated that looking at the femur bone that is broken, it may require a bone graph. The femur was split in two and crushed. To help make sure that she has a good strong bone, it may require the extra bone to ensure stability. He will determine that over the next couple of weeks.

Chantel had not talked to Larisa yet when I last spoke to her. I know they are both itchy to get to Winchester. I know there is disappointment and that Larisa will be disappointed. But, Chantel is grateful it happened now before they actually transported her to Winchester and would have had to turn around and come right back. Small blessings.

It will be a long weekend and a long few days -- waiting for something is never easy. But, it will be important that her body is ready to make the transition to the next step. She'll get there. Slow and steady does win the race.

Move on Hold

This morning Larisa is back in the operating room. She has been holding a very low grade fever but has been able to keep in in check with ice packs and her fan. However, it has been increasing and she had a rough day yesterday. The Doctors have checked all the wounds, and nothing is obvious. They think she may have an infection in her leg. This morning they are taking all the pumps, sponges and drains out of her thigh and doing a through cleaning to see if there is any infection. They think she has an infection somewhere, but have not determined where it is.

If they find nothing serious, she is scheduled to move tomorrow at 9:00am. If it is serious they will just keep her until they can clean up the infection. We will just wait to hear the results. I will keep you posted.

Moving on Friday

It has been decided that Larisa will be going to Winchester Medical Rehab Center in Winchester. As of right now, the intention is to move her tomorrow. The lady from Winchester is coming today to meet Larisa and assess her needs. Chantel said she was as nice a pie....Super sweet lady and was very excited to have Larisa come. I know that made them both feel better.

They will load her up in a patient transportation ambulance and make the hour drive to her new home -tomorrow. Truly a great sign of progress. As to the length of her stay, it is too early to determine and will only be determined as they begin doing extensive physical therapy. It will all be determined on how she progresses and how well her body heals and retrains itself to function properly.

Everyone is excited about this move - it will put her closer to her family and friends. She will now be only 30 mins away from home instead of an hour and a half. This is going to be a great help as Chantel and Sergio tend to the needs at the house and be there for Larisa. It will also be nice that friends will be close by as well to visit. Larisa was excited about going. She is a bit anxious, just to be going someplace different and new, but knows it is the next step.

Yesterday she was fitted with her new back brace. It is a true fashion statement -- bright yellow! It goes up under her chest down to her hips. It is soft inside and hard plastic on the outside. It wraps all they way around her back like a corset. They will be encouraging her to tighten up as tight as she can stand it to help keep everything in place. This brace is to help the fractures she has in her lower vertebrates. She will need to wear this during all Physical therapy, when she is sitting up and moving around. It will be an adjustment, but hopefully in time, it will give her some relief.

Yesterday she was in a lot of pain. They had been moving her around a lot- fitting the brace, draining her leg, xrays, and checking her ankle. She was really tired last night and was ready for her medications.

The wound nurse came in and checked her leg wound on her thigh today and could not believe how much better it was looking. The muscle inside is really starting to heal and closing the opening significantly. The drain will need to remain in there for about 2-5 months. Just depending on how it heals. The open wound on her foot, is not really on the ankle, but more on the top of her foot by the ankle is causing her lots of discomfort and is taking a longer time to heal. They are watching it closely. The wound on the foot will require a skin graft, which they will do in about 3-4 weeks. She will need to go back to Fairfax Hospital to have that procedure done. They are still not sure about the need to do a graft on the thigh yet.

Overall she is doing great. It is hard to believe that almost 4 weeks ago, she was fighting for her life. Now she is awake, healing and continues to fight to be better. The blessings that she has received over the past 4 weeks are overwhelming and truly a testimony that One greater than ourselves is not only aware of us as individuals, but will comfort, heal and bring peace as we trust those who help us and strive to exercise our faith in Christ. That is what helps us make it through these trials and challenges successfully and come out better people for having experienced the challenge.

Slow and Steady

Larisa is making progress, slow, but steady. Since her last surgery on her foot, she has had several uneventful but good days. There has not been a whole lot to report, so I waited until I felt like I had enough to pass on. I suppose this is a good thing...

This weekend they did remove her trach. She is breathing well on her own. The opening is still opened, they just keep it covered. I am under the impression that it will close up on it's own over time. Larisa still has the draining pump in her thigh, where the femur was broken. Today the doctor said it would need to be there for at least another 3-4 weeks. The reason for the pump is to continue to drain out the debris, but also helps to circulate the blood flow as the bone is healing. They have cleaned it several times. The last cleaning was very painful for her. The gauze had dried to the wound and it took and hour to get it off. Once they did get it off, they needed to clean the inside of the wound as well as cut off any dead tissue. Cleaning it will only be done as needed.

Her ankle on the foot that was broken has an open wound on it from the accident. Right now there are staples that run up the inside and the outside of the ankle. Over time the wound will close up and regenerate new skin, but a skin graft will be needed. They also have indicated that there is a chance that a skin graft will be needed for her thigh. That will require a graft about 6 inches by about 4 inches. Doctors will determine that later, as they watch how the leg and wound heal.

Today they did have her sitting in a wheel chair for about 30 minutes. At the end of that 30 mins, she was done. The pain had set in. They got her back into bed and gave her some pain meds to help take off the edge. She does have a pic line in that had been used for getting medications into her quickly. They really are not using that, and plan to have it removed prior to being transferred to a rehab center.

It looks like she will be relocated on Wednesday or Thursday of this week to a rehab center. The location of that is undetermined. They are checking out a couple of places and working with a case worker to put her in a facility that will best meet her needs. It is narrowed down to 2. We hope to know tomorrow where and when she will be going. Very exciting news, this only means her progress has been great!

She had a good weekend. She loved visiting with friends and family. She even asked to put a little make up on....That truly is a highlight for her and great medicine for her emotions. I think her family and friends are going to be a positive resource for her as she recovers. She did ask to see some pictures of the first couple of weeks. Nurses that had seen her at the onset of the accident and have been back to see her, they just keep saying how good she looks. She wanted to see how she did look. Chantel showed her the pictures and she said it made Larisa tear up. I think she realizes how far she has come and how blessed she has been. Chantel said that as Larisa's mind becomes clearer, she is realizing more and more how blessed she has been and how many people have been praying for her. Overwhelming for both of them.