Photo Friday + Timeline

RIP Steve Irwin - he was so vibrant and animated and caring and fun!

I follow Robert and Bindi on Instagram now, and I love seeing them carry on his legacy!!


Bindi's post this morning ❤


Robert, Terry, and Bindi!


Our impromptu court reporter meeting this afternoon (me working in Mom and Dad's laundry room for the time being)


Miss K's finished project!!
(Kyndal lamenting how much homework she has...) Me:  "Is this thing worth a lot of points?  Because you've done a great job and should get a good grade even without coloring in every square!"
Kyndal:  "Yeaaaah, but... I want him to use mine as an example!" lolol 
I totally get that!  It still brings my heart joy to hear Dr. Burkhart say he used my paper as an example of great writing for his Leadership course this year - sometimes (most of the time, honestly) going the extra mile for excellence is worth the sacrifice and effort!


Lol Mom keeps this house at 78 or above, which has been rough times, but this still made me laugh and applies to my everyday life!



Yay, Miss K and Crusader team!!  And yay for the Youtube streaming link for Mom!!



Some mid-August crazy news from Tulsa... (saw it again while looking back through lots of pictures last night) - this is close to where I used to live


And now, (mostly for my own future reference), an insanely-detailed timeline of events over the past month:

• Friday, August 7th - K-Faith's 1st scrimmage at CCS - she did great and was so happy and proud of herself!  
• 3:15ish - Mom's car wreck!!  (Texting guy in oncoming traffic hit the brakes and hydroplaned, T-boning mom's car off into the grass field)
• 3:30 - Jace called to tell me she was in a bad wreck, I called 911 then called Chet, Kristin, Kyndal, Triston, Dad, JoBug, etc.
• OU Hospital Trauma ER, Room #5 - Rach took J&K home, Jill went back with me to see Mom - we struggled to help her get warm, and we quickly learned she had a broken rib (6-8 weeks to heal on its own), a C7 neck fracture (4-6 weeks to heal on its own), bleeding and uncovered wounds on her left arm and hand, and a complex laceration on her left leg that would require surgery that night (starting around 10:30PM)
• She was super lightheaded when she tried to stand to walk to the restroom.  Her blood pressure was at a scary 76/47, but it came back to normal fairly quickly when they gave her a blood transfusion
• 10:30PM - They took my phone number, Mom and I prayed together, we FaceTimed the Parrishes, and they took her back for the debridement surgery
• Saturday, August 8th -12:30AM - I called the hospital twice with no available help or information, no calls from anyone on their medical team, waiting alone in the empty waiting room, praying and wondering if things had gone terribly wrong
• 1:09AM - Relieved when they called to say she was in recovery and gave me her room number (654) 
• Dr. Jada Cooley (main surgeon) and Dr. Alisa Cross (ortho surgeon) did Mom's emergency surgery that night - Dr. Cooley came in to talk to us around 2AM and explained that the longer wait was for an ortho consult she'd ordered to determine whether there were major knee injuries that would mean a longer recovery and keep Mom from walking for a while (no, thank God)
• 2:00-3:45 - Mom arrived in the world's smallest hospital room and her wonderful night shift nurse Onyi Turner (our favorite - first 3 nights in a row) helped me work to make her warm and comfortable
• Hypervigilance + texting and calling everyone all afternoon + no phone charger or comfy clothes + adrenaline rush of all of the above was not a great recipe for sleep
• Mom's day shift nurse, Jason, was also awesome and friendly and went above and beyond!
• I ran home to pack some things the next morning while the Lemieuxs, the Parrishes, Dad, and JoBug all came by to visit
• Sunday, August 9th - A surprise earlier-than-expected visit from the Wallaces - the cookies were great; a disgusting red roach crawling near the grill in the hospital's cafe when I ran downstairs to grab some food for us - YIKES; long-awaited FaceTime call with Chet and Sarah
• Dad's general disengagement and cognitive decline are far more apparent than I'd expected, making everything feel sadder and harder, especially at the beginning when Mom's need for care was strongest
• Monday, August 10th - Ordered breakfast for Mom from the OU cafeteria then drove home for work (hated leaving, thrilled to learn there were no protest hearings for that week - yay, God!); 
• We had my least favorite nurse (Brinda - apathetic, annoyed by me asking anything, and messed  up the pain meds) failing to medicate Mom before she had her first wound vac dressing change while no one was up there with her - traumatic and extremely painful for her - memorable talks with Mom and Rach about that - we all wrongly assumed it was a fluke and she would never have to endure something quite that painful again!
• Dad got the police report with details on the wreck - informative and helpful to see
• The Parrishes and TJ stopped by around 9PM after their football practice - Mom struggled to keep her eyes open - her exhaustion level was intense after every wound vac dressing change!
• Tuesday, August 11th - Went home again for work; wrote out a list of questions for Hilary the PA (the closest thing to a doctor we saw through most of that week at OU); she was kind enough to call me (while I was driving back to OU) to discuss all my questions - much appreciated!!
• Hilary explained that the wound vac has to be changed regularly, and she emphasized the importance of keeping Mom's blood sugar in check to potentially avoid a skin graft; we thought it would be our last night at OU
• Wednesday, August 12th - Emailed Tamara then called Andrea for last-minute coverage as Mom was nauseous and pretty sick that morning (nervous about another wound vac change)... Andrea was incredibly kind and said not to worry about logging in that day or Thursday (fantastic and helpful!!)
• Dad bought Mom a new red Lexus TX; (her blue one was obviously totaled in the wreck)
• The multiple teams at OU struggled to communicate with each other or with us (trauma team, wound care team, surgery team, PT team, ortho team, etc.) - a lot of passing the buck and no clear answers
• Emily the new PA eventually came in to do the wound vac change; I was there for moral support that time, but it was super painful for Mom again
• I packed everything preparing to leave, then they ordered a last-minute xray of Mom's shoulder that she'd been complaining about hurting all week long... it showed a dislocation (they told us)
  
• We lamented that news and unpacked and made phone calls, then they came back to take two more sets of xrays (done by 6:07 -- which I know because of Kyndal saying "6-7" when I asked her what time it was on a call just after that -- the ortho team goes home at 6PM, so no one ever came back with any feedback or results or care plan -- they just told us her shoulder was dislocated then made her take multiple xrays then left us for the night.
• Thursday, August 13th - Mom mentioned chest pain to her nurse around 3AM (Marvy, a caring and competent nurse who ordered an EKG) - sleepless night, but worth it to know that everything was okay there - I can't help but feel that the excessive worry and lack of communication were partly to blame for mom's extra stress and chest pain
• Around 10:15 Thursday morning (not okay how long we waited for that news), Emily informed us that it was actually a pseudodislocation (shoulder joint still in place but looks dislocated on some xrays due to blood or fluid buildup after a trauma, and should not be popped back into the socket; usually resolves within a couple weeks (which it did - hooray!!)
• They told us around 10AM that we would go home that day... it took a while for the home wound vac to arrive; the tubing was wrong and caused significant stress, but Emily made it work without another wound vac dressing change (thank God)
• Around 4PM they finally let us go... carrying loads of bags and couldn't find my car in the parking garage = crazy stressful, but Mom and I had a good talk on the drive home
• Mom really tired and hurting but trying not to take a pain pill till everyone left; craziness
• Family dinner and Rach and Kyndal working to decorate and prep for K's bday party which was the next day and partly at Mom and Dad's
• Friday, August 14th - Kyndal's 13th Birthday - the party was a success - her bday has historically been a spiritual warfare target, so we all tried to make it good and special!
• Mom hating the C-collar and having numbness in her thumb and first two fingers on her right hand
• I did my best to take over but Mom tried to do too much to clean and/or decorate (I know she was happy to be home and feeling like being back home was being back to normal, but we were *not* there yet)
• Kristie and Mrs. Garner both came by ❤
• After a couple deep despair level convos with Mom about the idea of twice-weekly wound vac dressing changes, ChatGPT recommended the Integris Silverstein Burn Center
• Exhausted and stressing, I misdialed their number and called a random woman at 4AM trying to leave a message for the burn center... all was not well
• Saturday, August 15th - Mom needs consistent help and it's not in Dad's capacity, and I felt guilty leaving to go to LifeGroup
• Sobbed on the phone with Chet, then talked with all the LG girls about it all - felt better afterward!
• Neighborhood walk + Kristin and the boys brought me an Icee and came in to visit Mom!
• Kyndal Faith FaceTimed to show us all her bday gifts - she's a delight! lol
• Sunday, August 16th - Chet & Karli (and Paige Evelyn) came over and cooked healthy meals - very good for me to see them; Rach and Triston stopped by
• Triston, Carter, Jace, and Kyndal all came over for around 30 minutes that night - Mom said it was the best she's felt all week ❤
• Monday, August 17th - Went home for work - Mom's nurse friend Kristie came and sat with her for the wound vac dressing change
• Tiffany the home health nurse was over two hours late, so Mom's pain meds were mistimed -- incredibly frustrating considering the high stress this already causes
• Kristie insisted they needed to change it to prevent infection; Tiffany did a terrible piecemeal job without the right equipment
• Kristie made calls with and for us (thankful) and we connected with Stephanie Lorg (Rach's nurse friend who interned at Integris); and we became more determined and hopeful about getting in there!
• Tuesday, August 18th - Rach and I made calls seeking a referral from OU (all fruitless); Erica at the Burn Center suggested we try the Integris ER for a referral from one of their doctors
• I had a very short morning in court, so I told Mom we had to try that... we packed bags expecting a long stay, and we were in and out within one hour - efficient and kind - gave Mom morphine for her pain, trained me on at-home care, and gave us a referral 
• Made a call immediately to book the Friday appointment with Dr. Lentz's team (recommended by Stephanie)
• Celebrated and felt very thankful!!!  Then came home in time to watch K's first VB game streaming! =)
• Dad got Thank You cards for me to write - a project I enjoyed helping out with
• Wednesday, August 19th - Called Chet for advice and ended up moving in with Mom and Dad, bringing my two computers and a few bags to their house so I didn't have to go back and forth for work - (I was already sleeping at Mom and Dad's, so looking back, I'm more surprised I didn't do that sooner)
• Mom sleeping in recliner and me in her bed all week (due to wound vac not letting her sleep in a bed... we don't miss the hissing air leaks and 3AM alarms, nor the excruciating dressing changes
• Thursday, August 20th - Short workday; first short summer swim in their pool
• K's game streaming at 4PM; Parrishes came over - made dinner to stop Mom from cooking
• Friday, August 21st - 10AM Burn Center appt - arrived early - Mom dressed and ready at 7AM; 
• Matt (our ER nurse) and Jennifer (his wife) did the dressing change -- no nitrous or extra pain meds, but it was still the least painful one because they were more competent and better trained for it
• Taylor, Dr. Lentz's PA, firmly recommended a skin graft surgery and said they had availability on Monday; Dr. Lentz concurred; they discussed the details and were reassuring and informative, and Mom signed the papers for a Monday appt!
• Charlene brought us Rib Crib dinner and it was good to catch up with her - turns out their Alaska cruise was on the very same boat as mine a couple weeks earlier!!
• Annie F. Downs and JW got married! 
• Saturday, August 22nd - Apartment search with Tman (The Oak, The Parc, The Bower, Shake Shack lunch)
• Worked hard on my transcript; Parrishes came for dinner
• Sunday, August 23rd - Mom and I packed up for a 5-day stay at Integris (they offered that for better pain management and we took them up on it!)
• Brandon and Whitney came by with flowers; Kim love dropped by with a meal and dessert
• T-man found his apartment and stopped by to chat about details - I co-signed the lease with him, and he and I grabbed Firehouse Subs for us and Mom and Dad
• Monday, August 24th - What might've been day one of the Liberty doctoral program - postponed from the hospital waiting room for the 9-21 start date
• No food or drink after midnight for Mom - her surgery was scheduled for 3:30 - we arrived at noon and they didn't take her back until 5:15
• The waiting room with Dad was memorable.
• He helped me carry things up to her room (#319) - they were struggling to get her pain under control, but eventually brought her up around 8:45.
• The ICU nurses were apparently terrible - Tam and Crosby - one of them sat something she was carrying on mom's injured leg that was covered by blankets, and they were not gentle or caring while performing an EKG due to PVC heart rhythms caused by pain and stress
• Again a struggle for her to get warm enough
• Our night nurse, Demarco, was pretty great... along with every nurse from that point forward.  
• The ICU was on another floor so those nurses were from another team, but the Burn Center team worked together well and did a great job with genuine, coordinated patient care!
• Tuesday, August 25th - Mom in a lot of pain early AM so I called Dad to ask for no visit from the Wallaces, Lemieuxs, etc. that day
• Brought my computer and worked from the hospital waiting room - the WiFi held out, and I'm thankful I didn't have to leave #makingitwork
• Stu and Ateh were the day shift nurses - both great
• We watched K's 4PM game on my Macbook (Mom is a legit fan and loves being able to see every game, so this makes me happy!!) 
• Rach and J&K stopped by and brought us Shake Shack dinner =)
• Wednesday, August 26th - Night shift nurse Rose ("I can do all things through Christ" pin - loved her) removed Mom's catheter and IV - between that and the wound vac being gone, it was all very freeing for her to just feel as normal as possible laying in bed without cords attached
• Mom and I read about Dr. Lentz; I helped her get settled and knew she had great nurses there...
• Short morning in court, so Tman and I went furniture shopping and I helped him set up electric and internet and renter's insurance - saw his apartment - really nice!
• Caught Blake on his way out; good to talk to him - he said their wound care team is the best!
• 3pm meeting with Dr. Burkhart - I adore him and it was really good for me to talk to him again
• Mom and I took a hallway walk and she felt good and strong
• Thursday, August 27th - Spine and CT xrays for Mom - glad to be in the Integris system for all of it now and be done with OU
• Watched K's game at 4PM then they came by to see us
• Got less sleep there than OU (quieter with less monitors and beeping at Integris, but I was in the bed most of the time at OU, and I'm in the recliner here - two of the nights, I used Mom's C-collar to keep my neck straight! lol (She doesn't need it while laying down, and doesn't want it ever)  
• Friday, August 28th - Wrote a 2AM 8:28 FB update - huzzah for that being our last hospital night; grateful to think about the way God has worked all things together for good here!
• Hallway walk with Mom + vending machine breakfast
• Longest workday in a while - worked from her room hoping it would be short - on a stupid Zoom  hearing while the wound care nurse, Jeanette, removed the staples from Mom's donor site and changed the knee's skin graft dressing for the first time 
• Off in time for her to explain the process to me, then Dani (mom's day nurse) explained the discharge paperwork in detail and asked if we had any questions (much appreciated, once again)
• I made a trip to the car and valet parked it, then they helped us carry things down, and Ari (our favorite valet attendant) helped us get mom settled in
• We were out of there by 12:15, surrounded by staff who helped us load the walker and get settled - a very different experience all around from our discharge day at OU!
• Tman's moving day!
• Settled back in and did laundry and unpacking and such!
• Saturday, August 29th - Fully caught up on Bible recap and laundry - yay!
• Mom miserable most of the day with pain pill side effects =(
• Dad and the Lemieux's went to Clint's wedding (at 4:30 in a barn with no AC - rough)
• My first time changing the dressing went pretty well
• Sunday, August 30th - St. Anthony ER trip with Mom that morning (unhelpful and disappointing) - another fairly miserable day for her
• Her skin graft bled when I removed the xeroform - yikes - but we're getting a routine down for all of the wound care stuff
• TV and furniture shopping with T-man while Rick brought Hideaway dinner for Mom and Dad
• Monday, August 31st - Short workday; finally completed my Alaska slideshow 
• J's team's first football game; another VB game for Kyndal
• Tuesday, September 1st - Wrote final thank you notes for Rick and Kim Love
• Neighborhood walk + swim + Mom enjoying the warmth outside + CFA chicken & waffle sandwich - yum!
• Wednesday, September 2nd - Another unexpectedly short court day - super grateful!  Made spaghetti and strawberry cake; family dinner with the Parrishes
• Mom feeling better for the most part; she washed her hair in the kitchen sink, which was scary for me
• Memorable texts with Chet and Sarah about her new living situation
• Thursday, September 3rd - Took the afternoon off for Mom's follow-up appointment
• Dr. Burkhart cancelled our 1PM meeting - SADNESS - we'd arrived an hour early at the hospital for that (he was apologetic and encouraged me to set another time soon)!
• The wonderful Integris team called us back 40-minutes early and said Mom's graft is adhering well - fantastic news!
• Nurse Sarah removed over 65 staples from Mom's skin graft - only a couple of them were super painful
• Kyndal's VB game again - they've won every game so far!!
• They didn't come over because she's feeling sick, but we had a fun FaceTime call!
• Friday, September 4th - Today, we are exactly four weeks out from the wreck!  Mom and I were talking about the timeline for healing being 6 weeks on several things (like the broken rib and the neck fracture) so there's light at the end of the tunnel.  She occasionally still has moments where it's hard to breathe or she feels lightheaded due to pain caused by moving her broken rib, and she is less careful with her neck than I'd like, but it's going okay so far
• Finally got JOURNAVX prescribed, a new non-opioid pain medication that I hope will be better for Mom!
• Encouraging call from Kate!
• They said two weeks for the donor site to heal and grow new skin (that will be Monday the 7th, which is also exactly one month out from the car wreck)
• Praying for continued healing and improvement and calm/rest, along with wisdom!
• We just had a midnight snack together, and I believe we have prayed together every night from August 7th to now. ❤
• God is showing up for us in big and small ways, and we are grateful for His presence, protection, and peace!!

❤ ❤ ❤