Please pray...

[UnderTheMistletoe]

Thank you soo sooo soooo much.

 

[cakersbride]

Sorry to hear about your nephew! You are in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[FutureAshleyDukes]

Jill, I will definitely be praying for your nephew and your family. I can't imagine what you all are going through right now.

 

[WDWINJUNE!]

I'm so sorry to hear this. You and your family are in my prayers as well.

 

[Luvndisney]

I am so sorry! Your nephew is definately in my prayers and I am spreading the word to others I know to think of him.

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

Ongoing Update (as of 3:30pm)

My dad passed on some information. Two nurses saw him move his arms... so, at least he's not paralyzed from the neck down as they originally thought! Good news!

Further testing has shown he's broken nearly everything from the neck up... there was a fracture in every bone in his face, including his jaw. They've stitched up the lacerations, etc., on the surface. No surgery until he is better stabilized. His mom (my sister) was horrified when she saw him- the swelling is so bad no one can see his eyes.

The thoracic spine has both stabilized and non-stabilized breaks- the sooner they can be stabilized, the better. Because of the breaks, he'll be on a ventilator for some time. There are, obviously, some (and likely multiple) major surgeries in the days and weeks ahead. But, there appears to be no damage to the cervical spine... another blessing. He was moved up to trauma ICU late this afternoon from shock trauma/ER.

We'll have to wait for word from the waist and below. My parents are still most concerned about the anoxia... he was well over the 3 minutes.

Please keep praying... as long as we're getting some positive news, it's worth it.
Again, thank you.... from the bottom of my heart.
xoxo

 

[princessblueeyzes]

That's Great News!!!!!! I'm still praying for you and your family and hopefully a Miracle will come out of this situation. Keep us posted.

 

[Maryr1]

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

 

[umaangel00]

It sounds like you are getting better news. I will keep you and your family in my prayers. You can never have too many in my opinion!

 

[M.K. Poppins]

So sorry to hear the bad news, heartened to hear that there is some good news coming slowly...keeping your family in my thoughts...

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

Ongoing Update (11:20 pm):

He was taken into surgery around 8:00 tonight to take care of some of the things that needed to be done. They fused a number of his spinal discs to stabilize, he was given a tracheostomy, and a filter was put in to keep the blood clots away from his heart.

He is still unresponsive, but.... my sister found a single spot on his shoulder that wasn't broken, bruised, or swollen. When she rubs it, he seems to move (twitch, really) his arms. Whether there's actual brain activity there or if it's intuition, he's still moving. It's still a waiting game... the brain damage from the botched intubation is of most concern now.

We're planning on going to UPenn this weekend after the ice storm has passed.

We're praying for a Christmas miracle... his 22nd Birthday is week from today (Thursday). I cannot thank you enough for your ongoing prayers and support. xoxo

 

[princessblueeyzes]

Be safe going to UPENN this weekend. We are still praying for your family.

 

[happylalagirl]

You are in my prayers and I will pass your prayer request on to my Emmaus Community for the prayer chain. God works miracles everyday. Keep the faith.

 

[Laurafoster]

Hope everything works out ok!Your in my thoughts!

 

[casey49781]

prayers and pixie dust sent your way,,,

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

Update 12/19/2005 (1:00am)

Hello All-

Firstly, I would like to thank you all for you prayers. For those of you who passed this information on to your prayer chains, please also thank them. Your continued thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated. We're still praying for our Christmas miracle...

We have some very good news to share! One of Stephen's aunts (my sister) was able to elicit a positive response from him last night. While she talked to him, she asked for him to please give us some sort of signal that he understood the questions or that he knew we were there. He nodded his head and even tried to mumble! When the nurses tried to show the physicians this morning, he did not respond. Again, when Janet talked to him, she was able to get a response from him. Up to that point, he was believed to still be in a coma. Thinking is that he recognizes her voice or the demand in it... if anyone could pull someone from a coma, it's her!

The decision was made to back off some of the pain killers. They are hoping that he may be able to make more positive, cognitive responses to questions asked if he is not as heavily sedated. They will also be testing the waters on minimizing (just slightly) some of the other life support systems.

There is still a sense of limbo regarding a lot of the tougher, more long-range questions. It's hard to remember to take it one baby step at a time...

Again, thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. It means so much to know he has such a big cheering section. His Birthday 22nd Birthday is Thursday... maybe he'll give us a gift this year.

 

[dreams91]

I'm sorry things are so tough right now. It does sound like it is getting better. Did they ever figure out what happened? Here's hoping he is able to start responding before his birthday. Keep us posted.

 

[LightBurnsBlue]

As I'm not officially engaged yet, I usually just lurk on this board.

Can't do that on this thread! Prayers coming this way for your nephew and his family. I hope that he is improving...it was good that he responded to your sister.

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

Hi all-

We have some wonderful news! Stephen came to around ten minutes to six this evening! He knew he who was, was able to answer yes/no questions, and move his arms on command. He still remains unable to move his legs. We're playing the waiting game to see if there is lasting damage, or if it is shorter-term. The brain damage still remains unknown.

Thank you all so much for your prayers up to this point. Please remember to keep him in your prayers now, as well. It's a long road ahead and there is still a lot that remains unknown and in question. I truly believe we're witnessing an act of God... with so many people praying on our behalf, He can't help but listen.

xoxo

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

I'm sorry things are so tough right now. It does sound like it is getting better. Did they ever figure out what happened? Here's hoping he is able to start responding before his birthday. Keep us posted.

Hi Cherie-

The police haven't done anything more than reconstruct the scene as much as possible. Now that he woke up (those words are still so amazing to me!), hopefully the sedatives, pain-killers, etc. will wear off. No one dared to bombard him with quesitons about the accident right away. It was more seeing what he could/would and couldn't/wouldn't respond to. Of course, his family took some time to tell him how much the loved him in case anything was to turn sour. I believe some of the next steps are to get what he does remember (if anything) out of him.

Right now, it's just such a blessing to have him awake, the who-done-its and whys aren't as important as the initially seemed.

Thanks for your continued support!
xoxo