Dec. 21 7:40 p.m.

Weeeeeeee. We have just zoomed into the year 2000. We have Qwest high speed, dsl, something. We had dial up for about $22 now we should pay about $15, at least that was the ad. We might find out differently on our first bill, but right now I'm still hopping with the ether bunny so I'm happy. ;)

We only got to one store on Friday (David went with me). We finished there at about 2:45 and realized I hadn't heard from the girls who were at the mercy of friends' phones as they had both forgotten theirs that a.m. We headed for the high school at a slippery five mph fearing they might have tried walking. 20 mins. later we were a mile from the school and they called. On a clear day it would have taken us about 5 mins. to get there from where we started. It took another 10 mins to finish that last mile.

I decided I would finish my shopping on Monday. I better start early, someone told me we have another storm coming in Monday! I will persevere and prevail!

We have had a couple of visits from friends. The Scott Maybe family and Lynn & Diane Russell came by with lots of goodies! Thank you! :) A big thank you also to the Tomers!

Thank you to all our friends and family that follow the blog and care about us. I won't be posting quite so often as the progress is now at a slow and steady pace and will probably continue in that manner for a couple of years.

Great news, Levi's friend, Dale, has almost completely recovered!

We love you all and hope you have a very merry Christmas (and a happy Hanukkah)!

Dec. 19 9:05 a.m.

Levi's appts. went pretty well. Dr. Cook said he expects Levi's vision to return to normal w/o any interventions. It will take another month or two. Dr. Reichman's PA said the incision looks great and has healed well. He gave us orders for radiology (not sure why that wasn't done prior so he could talk to us about the images?). We go back to Dr. Cook in a month and "Dr. Reichman" at the end of Feb. The visit with Dr. Reichman's PA was a little tense for a few minutes when Levi told him he was planning to go back to work in about a week. The PA smiled and said something like, "well not quite". To which Levi replied, "I have to or I will lose my job". At that point the PA looked right at Levi and said, "are you joking with me?" Levi said, "I'm very serious" They are now staring each other down. Then the PA said in a very stern voice, "well I'm being very serious with you! There is no way in the world I will release you to get back up on a ladder before April!" Levi's deadly glare held fast. I think this is where I asked what about computer work? At Cookietree he mostly does computer work. "Oh, that would be o.k." The PA offered and all was well. Whew!

It is actually also Dr. Ryser (rehab) who would have to release him to go back to work. The FMLA ends on 12-29 (Levi's birthday) so I thought that maybe the OT could take Levi to work just for a visit to see how much he remembers about his job. The OT thought that would be good and scheduled a couple of visits on her calender. We will need to clear those dates with Cookietree. This will help everyone know just what is possible and what is not (incl. Levi).

Well the wind is blowing frigid cold and I have committed myself to finish Christmas shopping today. I should have checked the forecast before committing! So, I will see if I can bribe, I mean "persuade" Ali to go with me and also drag, I mean invite, David along to help. Wish us luck!

Dec. 14 7:13 a.m.

Wow, it's been awhile! We've been busy trying to get Christmas pulled together. We also have been to some dr. appts. (one for Levi and one for Emily) Emily's eyes are still adjusting to the hard contact lenses. We go back in 6 mos. Levi's hearing in his left ear may be considered permanent due to nerve loss from the fracture.
We have 2 appts. tomorrow. Dr. Cook for vision, and Dr. Riechman for the follow up on his surgeries.
Levi is still progressing every day. We have been shopping for things he wanted to buy such as his radio and a new laptop. I think he is gearing up to go back to work on his janitorial business!
We also attended an insurance meeting at Cookietree on Friday. He really enjoyed seeing everybody! He is so anxious to get back to work. Well, he is up now and ready for church so I'll have to close.
More later. :)

Dec. 5 1:59 p.m.

We took Levi to the hospital yesterday to visit Dale. We had a nice visit with him and he seems to be doing quite well. He thought they would discharge him yesterday. We will call him later today to see if he is home.

After the visit we went to Best Buy to check out radios. Levi was very tired and didn't really want to buy anything since nothing was on sale. (more back to normal all the time)

Later we went to the grocery store to see if he could pick out some things he might want to eat. He complained about the prices several times. I kept saying "it's worth it if you will eat it!" We got lasagna for dinner and he ate that rather well. He had some cordon bleu for lunch and ate all of it. Also pudding and V-8. That's the most he has eaten in one sitting. Hopefully that continues!

Today after the PT leaves we will go to the optometrist to get his glasses adjusted and then maybe go find a flat eye patch so the glasses can sit properly.

Gotta go, more later...

Dec. 3 11:49 pm

We had a really bad day yesterday. I think I need to give Levi the Zyprexa every a.m. I gave it to him this a.m. and we had a better day. Our aide got reassigned so we have someone new. Her name is Alena . She is terrific. She asked if I wanted her to help with the dishes while Levi napped! She took notes on all that the therapists were teaching Levi and kept saying "oh, I can do that with him when you're (the therapist) not here. (love her!)

Richard called tonight with some sad news. One of Levi's very good friends, Dale Morey, had a stroke this morning. To those of you at Cookietree, Dale is the one from whom Levi borrowed the soft serve machine for ice cream week. Dale is now the patient at IMED and Levi will do the visiting. (if I can get him to go back there!) lol. Richard said that Dale is expected to recover in a few weeks and go back to work to which Levi replied "oh he's not so bad then". (he actually told Dale that too , on the phone!) O.K. so he didn't fall from a 20 foot ladder to his near death, still, it would be great if all those inclined could offer a prayer for Dale. He has been such a great friend to Levi for about 14 years. After Levi spoke to him on the phone he told us that Dale spoke with less intelligence. I nearly choked on my cocoa and had to compose myself quickly. It, for some reason, reminded me of when the girls were little and Emily kept saying "wellow" for the color yellow. Hillary put her hands on her hips and firmly told Emily "it's LELLOW". Love it.

It's official! Alison has a driver's license!! (watch out) She can now help the girls get their extra hours. Our wonderful home teacher, Hector Illu, is arranging for some more helpers in that area along with his wife Joy. So now we have Sara, Mary Ann, Alison, Joy, and whomever else Hector gets! They should have their hours pretty soon and no one person should have to be subjected for too long. :) Now we just have to find the time for the girls to go between school, homework, on-line work, and a job!

I think we are finally inching towards a workable routine. I feel a little bit of order just within reach.

Thank you for your prayers. They really do work. I know it's those prayers that keep us going and Levi improving.

I hope you all have a great day.

Dec. 2 12:26 am

So much for getting any sleep. I'll keep working on that.

Thanks to Caroline and Sarah Atherton. They brought dinner to us last night and I realized it was the first time we ate together as a family since before the accident! Also thanks to visitors Fernando Marticorena and Richard Russell. Richard is such a nice man. Levi admired his tie tack so Richard took it off and gave it to him! And the book he brought looks to be a good one. Thanks also to the Kangas, Homan, and Peery families (Jen's in-laws) for the beautiful flowers they sent for Thanksgiving. Also, the Fry's for the beautiful poinsettia plant and the adorable gingerbread house. Thanks for the comments and continued interest in Levi's condition and well being. Not to vaunt, but we have the best friends and family! (that encompasses ward members and co-workers!)

It was really interesting to listen to Richard and Levi. Levi was really remembering a lot of things from the Russell's Ice Cream years. I think it was a very stimulating conversation for Levi. It's interesting that he remembers operational procedures from his job 3-4 years ago and not his children's names. There's a topic for discussion when he gets better. :)

The occupational therapist was here last night and played some card games with Levi. I grew up going to Vegas with my parents and playing cards all night with my cousin, Laura. I love games and puzzles. Levi does not. So I'm hoping he will learn to like them now. It is a very important part of his therapy.

We are still concerned with balance, his right elbow, his left ear(lost the hearing), silent aspiration (can't swallow properly), and frontal lobe damage. Also, keeping him busy on things that are safe for him to do. He needs to be working. (I need him to go back to work!)

It has been only one week that he has been home, but it has been an eventful one. The neighbors who don't know about Levi might think we are running a drug house! We have people coming and going all the time. We must have the therapists and we love to have the visitors so it will continue and we will adapt. And I must say the therapists are very nice people.

We have a crazy day coming up today so I need to get to bed. 6 am comes very early!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, we made it through Thanksgiving and we are all still alive :)
We had a great time with family and were especially thankful to be sharing the holiday with dad and being able to be home and not in the hospital. I think dad enjoyed the festivities as much as was possible considering what he has been through and only being home for a couple of days. We had a VERY full house with lots of people which made him pretty tired but he was able to get a little rest and still join us most of the time. Thanks for a fun day everyone, I love you!

Nov. 28 11:56 pm

O.K. Remember when I said "the hardest part is yet to come"? Well this better be it! I'm still very sick. David was up all night Wednesday night throwing up. I took some cold medicine and put pies in the oven at about 11:pm and about midnight Emily was waking me up asking what she should do with the pies. That was also when I heard David. Emily was taking a cup of water to him as she did a couple more times. My day started at about 3:am with cleaning the bathroom, which I did again at about 5:am. I put the turkey in the oven an hour late and didn't realize it had frozen a bit (I bought a fresh one so as not to have to defrost) in the back of my refrigerator so it was done just in time for Steve to carve it for me before they left. We had ham. I couldn't smell or taste anything due to my cold....

Even so, it was Thanksgiving. We were quite a group with 8 adults and 12 children. Jen and Steve with Matthew, Jacob, Julie, and Abbie, also Ali and Jordan and Scot and Cheri and their 4 children Jazzmin, Ashly, Lexus, and Lisa. (Scot is my brother's eldest son) It was great! I gave Levi his Zyprexa and 7 adults and 12 children tried to stay quiet. :) I must say it really was the quietest Thanksgiving I can remember, except for the t.v. Levi had blaring in the living room!

Scot said he would bring the ham at Christmas and I promised NOT to make a turkey! Scot makes the best ham, the kind I remember from way back. He puts a wonderful glaze on it along with pineapple rings and maraschino cherries, YUM! My children still talk about the one last year.

So, Levi news: He is impossible. Trying to stay one step ahead of him is getting ridiculous. He gets up and puts on his brace while sitting on the edge of the bed. He takes it off when he goes in the bathroom. I'm pretty sure he got a drink of water today while he was in the bathroom. I heard a lot of coughing. This could be sort of a good thing. In his last swallow test he still couldn't recognize fluid going down the wrong way and wouldn't cough it up. So if he was coughing because of sneaking a cup of water then Woo-Hoo! But if not then he may be getting the cold everyone is getting. Not sure. I asked the speech therapist if someone could regularly check his lungs to make sure he is not getting fluids in there. She'll find out. She is not trained to do so. His physical therapist took him for a very long walk on Wednesday and again today. He is complaining of some back pain and his elbow still hurts. The Dr. said he will probably need surgery in about 6 months to fix the elbow. He said they took another x-ray and saw that there might be a something or other (medical term according to Kelly) where the tendon tears off a piece of bone fragment, and something about calcification due to the brain injury-made sense when he said it. :) They're not sure why they didn't see it before. Anyway, 2 more months of the brace and 6 months of elbow pain but he is so wanting to get back to work. I know he would also like to drink a tall glass of water. Work and water and life would be great! I've told him a few times (because he has little to no short term memory) that he is very blessed to be walking and so he needs to keep the brace on to protect his spine. Each time he just looks at me and says "I didn't know that. I guess I am." He is having a hard time accepting that there are things he can't do right now, but he does recognize that he has been greatly blessed.

It's 1:20 am so I think I'm finished for now. Maybe Jen can fill in some details of Thanksgiving. I'm at a point where I lump it all together, call it good or bad, and file it away. As we were taught in our "Time Out" conference in Logan, "bless and release". (It kinda looses something when you can't see the physical motions that go with it-just ask when you see me and I'll show you).

O.K. good night/morning!

Nov. 25 9 p.m.

Woooooow.... He's home. We brought him home about 2:45 ish. It took the pharmacy so long to fill his Rx so we were late for our 2:30 appt. with the Rehab people at the house. Also the guy with the grab bars came at the same time. Levi was annoyed with people being there so he just went to lay on the couch upstairs for awhile. After everyone left and I took Emily to her driving lesson he got busy. David called to tell me that Levi was "fixing" the furnace. Ali tried to distract him but it didn't work. He was changing the filter. He also cleaned up some water that gathers in the bottom of the refrigerator. He ordered the children around a bit. They fortunately had scouts and YW to go to. This will be a big adjustment. He wasn't home very much before the accident then he was gone for two months.

Regarding the care at IMED; there are a lot of really good people there but they do seem to have a communication, staffing, and training difficulty. I'm sure it is something they are working on. It is such a stark difference to go from ICU to rehab. Unfortunately it has been my experience through many years that often the staff dismisses the remarks of the patient or family. I noticed this most when in labor and I always do as they say because I second guess myself. I hope I've learned to speak up. Always ask all the questions you have until you are satisfied with the answers and watch out for side stepping answers. (I think I recognize those from growing up around salesmen.) Dr. Ryser was very good about answering questions clearly. :) Trust your instincts and inspiration. Also, read a lot. I think things would have gone a little smoother if I had been able to be there 24/7 simply because I know Levi and they don't. I am grateful for those that were well trained and caring.

So here is a glimpse of what they had to deal with. Levi told me he had to figure out something he could put his food in so he could throw it away. (that way they would think he had eaten it and stop bothering him) The other day he told me he doesn't eat he just flushes it down the toilet! He has called the nurses useless and the doctors retarded. etc. etc....

We have and aide coming in every day for about 10 hours. I was thinking that was too long to have a stranger hanging around. After one afternoon and evening at home I'm re-thinking that.
I was worried that when he got home he would not listen to us and I was right. We have to get a definite routine in place so he will hopefully begin to "go with the flow".

My refiner's fire has been stoked. It amazes me that the Lord trusts me with this. Levi can really use your prayers now because I'm who he has to rely on the other 14 hours of the day.
(Yikes, I had to check my math on that. There are still 24 hrs. in a day , right?)

I'm wondering if by the end of the week I might have to take Levi's meds over to Evelynn (our neighbor) just so I'm not tempted to take them myself! I think I could really use some mood enhancing and anxiety squashing help. :)

Anyway, we are embarking on a new adventure. We would still love to have visitors but I'm not sure just yet when his therapies will be during the day and I will be trying to get dinner on the table by 6 p.m. so I'm guessing that from 7-8 p.m. would be clear beyond that just give us a call.

Oh, Dr Ryser told Levi today that he is not to drive a car and he cannot work for the remainder of this year. Even though Levi realizes that is only about a month, he is still very unhappy. I'm sure that he is now thinking that Dr. Ryser is retarded/useless.

I am rambling through this post and Levi is needing something so thank you all for your comments and prayers. I'm sure there will be much to post tomorrow! :)

Nov. 23 11:17 a.m.

Again, sorry for not posting the last couple of days. I have been very sick. We did take Levi to lunch yesterday. The OT chose The Noodle Company because it was the most conducive to his diet. He did pretty well until he went into the bathroom. He went in and locked the stall then took off his brace. He is no longer on "one on one" even though he keeps trying to get up without the brace or take it off while he is sitting up. We have just under 2 months to deal with this.


Levi got up the other night to look through his wardrobe for something and fell. He did have his brace on thank goodness. He fell sort of on his tailbone then went on back and hit his head on the floor. The nurse ran in to get him up and check him out. Levi is the one who told me about it, not the staff. I told the Dr., he had not heard about it either.


Levi is complaining about the hearing in his left ear so they are checking that out. He can no longer straighten out his right elbow completely so I asked again for them to find out why so we can do something about it.


When we got there yesterday his feeding tube was gone. They said it got plugged up and they couldn't fix it so they had to take it out. The Dr. had said he would be happy if Levi could eat 1800 calories even though they were pushing for 2200. He ate about 1300 the day before. At this point he needs to eat more so they don't have to put the tube back in. He is supposed to eat that many cals. for three days before they take out the tube so I'm not sure he will be able to accomplish that before Tuesday. They are all talking about sending him home on Tuesday.

I guess that means someone should be contacting me tomorrow to come put in the bars in the shower and by the toilets. A lot to do in a couple of days!

I'm too sick to go to the hospital today so I might not post again until Monday night. Levi has learned to use the phone and calls me frequently, so maybe he will call me about something I can post tonight. We'll see. :)

Nov. 20 6:48 p.m.

I'm so sorry I haven't written in a couple of days. I've had a couple of hard days but things are good. Levi is eating more. I asked if they could bring him between meal snacks and they thought that might be a good idea. He probably had a little more than 1,000 calories today. He needs to have 2,000 in order to get the tube out. His swallow test still wasn't good. He can't drink liquids unless they are thickened because they go down the wrong way and he doesn't know it, he doesn't cough it out. I think he is doing better with the thickening stuff though. He tolerates it in Sprite and in the juice from the fruit cup.

David and I went for a walk with Levi and John (the nurse) last night to the gift shop. Levi seemed to enjoy himself but he got tired quickly. Really, I guess it wasn't that quickly. He went from his room to the elevator then to the shop and all around it before he had to sit down. Not bad actually. David bought a 3Musketeers candy bar and Levi was teasing him about giving it to him. I asked him if he really wanted one and he said he would try it. So David went back and bought two more. Levi ate about 1/4 of one at that time and about 1/3 of the other one today.

He also ate one of the fruit cups from Cookietree and a couple of cups of thickened Sprite. It was a good night!

Levi is also clearing a little more each day but he is still confused about why he has to stay there. He is always talking about going somewhere. He was going to get ready to go Christmas shopping with us yesterday, thus the trip to the gift shop. He still forgets a lot from hour to hour but I think he is remembering more than he is forgetting. They have him in what I call a drug induced stage 5. Stage 4 and 5 are very similar except for the agitation and they are giving him meds for that.

In their Tuesday meeting they decided to keep Levi another week. They will review again this coming Tuesday.

He has a pass for Saturday so we can really go out to do something. Maybe shop or go to lunch. The recreation therapist will go with us and teach us how to get him in and out of a car, etc. It is as much about teaching us how to assist as it is about seeing how he does in public. (Yikes, we'll be sure he gets his meds that day!) He keeps saying he is going to go do his cleaning jobs but if we give him about an hour notice he can make sure he gets done to have lunch with us. He also wants a few hours off to go into work to catch up on a few things because "I haven't been there for 6 weeks". He asks me every day "what day is this for you guys?" He says we are on different days.

He yelled at David about his homework so I'm not sure if his meds were wearing off or if that was a moment of normalcy. (lol)

We have been very blessed. It seems our requests have been in accordance with the Lord's will. It doesn't always work out that way. A very sweet lady I worked with at Farnsworth
Elem. was found at the foot of her stairs last Saturday. They did CPR and transported her to IMED. She has been in the ICU where they did tests to determine if there were any brain waves. Sadly there were none. She was disconnected from life support today. I don't know why one family has a good outcome and another doesn't, especially when she was very needed by her family. Of course we know that everything we experience in life is necessary for own exaltation and the Lord certainly knows best. He can see the finish line that for us is obscured by daily life. He knows what's on the path ahead of us and we do best when we place out trust in Him. My thoughts and prayers are with Julie's family tonight.

To all of you, thank you for your prayers and visits. I know that sometimes it is difficult to understand what he is saying but I know he really enjoys the visits. His hours are sometimes very long and his long to do list weighs on him so visits are also a great distraction.

Thanks again to everyone.

November 17th 9:25 pm (ali)

Hi everybody! First off thanks Jen for the awesome pictures, mom really likes them "-) This is Ali, mom and I are just spending some time here in the room with dad. Jan and Bob came to visit dad yesterday, my mom was sick and so wasn't here for the visit, but when we asked dad about it he said "they're good people yeah very good." Dad is very aware of his visits and the people who come, it's something that really brightens him up! Sometimes he can't help but crack jokes and tease people, like for instance today when Jody, Kathy, and the twins came to visit. At one point dad joked that instead of more cards for his wall we should just hang the twins up there and they could sing him to sleep! After awhile they had to leave but we could tell dad had a great time. We're now trying to be quiet so dad can fall asleep, but he has been having great conversations with us about Thanksgiving and Christmas. One last thing; when we asked dad what he would like for Christmas he said a lot of money so he could get everyone nice gifts!
Well he wants us to turn off the lights so we have to go now.
Thanks to all those who visited, the ones we know about and the ones we don't. Please try to remember to leave a note in the book or on the door. :)

Nov 17 7:10 am (Jeny)

Saturday was an especially difficult day for Dad. The nurse said that he was very agitated at them and started hitting. They had to resort to some medication to calm him down. Steve and I went down to visit and when we got there he was asleep but when he woke up he was very pleasant and enjoyed talking to us. He was really interested in Abbie and kept wanting to hold her and play with her. There were a couple of times as I was holding her and talking to Dad and I guess I was out of reach for him so he would put his foot up to be able to touch her and play with her. It was really funny. I think it made him happy to see her. He played with Julie and talked to her. It was nice to see him.

Nov. 14 7:02 p.m.

Thanks Lynn for your comment. That's funny about the mom. :) I think that maybe we really are in stage 4 (confused and agitated). This is from the "Rancho Los Amigos" scale. It is used to evaluate the patent's cognitive and behavioral functioning after a brain injury. There are 8 levels. I'll see if we can find the scale on line and post it under the links.


He was very agitated with the tech today. I thought it might go to blows! I actually did step in and have the tech removed from the room for awhile. The charge nurse happened to be standing outside his room so when I came out to find someone I found the right someone.:)

I think maybe some of the staff might be just as anxious for me to go home as they are for Levi to go.

Well Levi is tired and wants us to go home now. He says "hi" to everyone.

Thanks to our visitors today, Lynn and Larry Allred, and Doug and Eva White! It's really good for him to have visits even though they need to be short. It stimulates old and new memories.

Levi is annoyed with the noise and lights right now so I need to sign off.

Thanks again for everything.

Nov. 13 10:30 p.m.

Good question Laura. The man that made the brace spoke on the phone to the PT and told him how to measure (more or less) and mark the brace. So he did it and I took it down to Provo where it was made. Russ (the man who made the brace) trimmed it up and back to the hospital I went. If you want something done.....

He seems much more comfortable. He was even agreeable in PT and ate a little better. This was sooo not the case yesterday! There was no way anyone was going to get him to do anything yesterday. I saw a whole new level of defiance. I had a flashback to the terrible twos.
We thought he had entered stage 4 but it might have been the withdrawal from Ritalin since he was so much better today. Stage 4 would last longer than two days and that is how long he has been off the Ritalin. They are going to restart it tomorrow as his cognition took a big drop.

The scary thing about those two days is that they are what it really will be like when he does enter stage 4 and that could likely be after he comes home! (Oh help) Either the stage has to come and go or the feeding tube has got to go before he comes home. Can you imagine him yelling and swearing at me all day and then I have to place my fingers on his throat to check his swallowing? The temptation might be too much! (jk of course)

Thank you "Marks" from Cookietree for your visit today. That was amazing! He had been pretty groggy all morning. He was very cognitive during the visit (comparatively), he did tell them to tell Harold that he should be back at work in a week. :) After the visit he met with speech and ate a little lunch then slept until 3:00 when PT came to get him again. That was when David and I had to leave.

I'll be going in later tomorrow and hopefully get a better report.

We have cleared up the "Blaine" fixation. He is calling David. He called out Blaine's name and again I told him that Blaine is in Green River. He got a little annoyed and said then who is that sitting over there? I told him that it was David and he said "yes, yes him!" Then he asked David to close the door.

Oh, one more note. Watch out, my girls are actually out there driving, getting in their practice hours!

So, areas of focus: cognition, eating, sore throat, and balance.

Thanks Cookietree for the goodies and thanks everyone for your prayers.

Nov. 11 11:09

Levi had a somewhat rough day. His throat sounds a little worse and he couldn't eat. He slept well last night but I think he is just exhausted. I'm taking his brace back to Provo tomorrow to have it adjusted. Maybe that will help some. They have a VERY TENTATIVE release date of possibly next weekend (22nd/23rd).

If you visit please remember to leave a note on the door. We have hearts and stars. There is now also a notebook you could leave a note in.

Have a good evening. :)

Nov. 10 7:20

Levi had another rough night last night. This a.m. they wouldn't let him eat anything because they were taking him down to remove the IVC filter. They only gave him something to relax him and then lidocaine(sp?) in his neck where they go in to pull it out. He did not have a general so I'm not sure why he couldn't have breakfast. The procedure was very difficult for him. Apparently it had already begun to "take root" so to speak. The removal was painful. When the speech therapist tried to give him lunch his throat was just too sore. He did have about three bites of the yogurt parfait Mark brought and one or two sips of the apple juice.

On a good note, Dale came to visit and I could tell Levi enjoyed it.

He keeps calling everyone, including me, Gordon. (Although he did call for me by the right name while he was having the filter removed)

No mention of Blaine or anyone else today but I had to leave at 2:30 so I didn't have the pleasure of his evening rambles tonight.

He was asleep when I left so if anyone visited tonight he was hopefully a little clearer.

David gets his stitches out in the morning and Emily needs to go to DMV in the afternoon and Hillary has a performance for the Veterans (the H.S. choirs sing). Another busy day.

Oh, he was asking me about my necklace. He said he saw a necklace floating around. He could be mixing up his words as usual but he was looking and pointing. The psychologist says he might be hallucinating. She is going to check all his meds and see if there is anything better they can be doing. (Do angels wear jewelry?)

Anyway I need to finish other things tonight so I'll update tomorrow. If anyone visited please comment on how that went.

Thanks!

Nov. 9 5:45

Thanks Mark for your visit and the game! And it was Jen and Lucy who visited the other night when Kathy did.

I also may have a little clarification on the "cow" situation. The nurses push a computer around on a cart and they call it a cow. Every time they bring it in they are giving him shots.

He is calling out Blaine's name again this evening. Also Gorden and Deborah. I know there are a couple of siblings following this blog. I've been trusting you to pass on info to those who don't have computers. I'm sure someone will visit soon. He has asked for Doreen and Ken also.

Visitors please sign a heart on the door when you come to visit. They will go in book for him.

Oh, the quick test for strep came back neg. so we tried warm moist air but he wouldn't keep the mask on. I tried hanging the tube from an IV holder for a while to just get the moisture in the air around him but he couldn't tolerate the noise it made. We aren't allowed to have a humidifier in the room so I guess we will get someone to give him a blessing and wait for it to pass. This is a vicious circle. The tube can't come out until he can eat enough calories on his own but his throat is too sore to eat because of his coughing and the tube.

That's it for tonight. Have a good evening.

Nov. 9 10;08

I came in this a.m. to take Levi to sacrament meeting but he was not very coherent. They said he had his worst night yet. He was very agitated even with meds.

He asked me what I'm doing and I told him I was typing on the blog and he said oh sh&&. I asked him what's wrong and he said that's ridiculous, make people worry about things they don't need to worry about.

I asked the nurse this a.m. to swab his throat to check for strep. He has been complaining for 3 days about the pain. They had told me it was probably the tube and the coughing. That may be but he has had the tube since the beginning and has not complained about throat pain.
Hopefully we'll find out the results soon.

The missionaries just brought sacrament in to us.

This is a tough day. The pain is making him very cranky, but that is pretty normal for him.

He just said ow, shoot! Yeah he didn't swear. :) I think if we can get him to sleep awhile he might feel a little better.

Jen, I'm sorry for the confusion. There is a lady at dad's work whose name is also Jen and she really did come to visit. I think we have several Jens and a few Kathys and others. I should use last initials.

That's about all for now. Maybe more later.

Nov. 7 2:49

Okee dokee. We are now in the swearing stage. I'll spare you the details. Suffice it to say, the brace is not our friend.

Good news. The speech therapist has started giving him real food. He breezed right through what they call stage 1 and 2 foods and is on stage 3. Today for lunch he was offered clam chowder, chicken salad, applesauce, apple juice, and some veggies. He did not like any of it, I think mostly because he wanted the %$#% brace off. He has to sit up to eat so he must have the brace on to eat.

I asked about the VitalStim and she says he is still responding to other therapies so she will continue with those. The VitalStim is used when nothing else is working.

He is very tired today and a little more disoriented. He still asks about Blaine and Doreen. He named them as two of his children. There is apparently still a problem in Green River he feels he needs to take care of.

OK. Never mind. He just said he doesn't know of anything he needs to do there.

Thank you to our visitors today, Kathy, Jen, and (oh my gosh I forgot!) the one from whom Jen "borrows" pens, (reportedly without asking). I could tell, Jen, that you are in a bit of denial. That's OK I've been there! We are not alone!

Alright, really, thanks for the visits and the card was great!

It's been a busy night for the helicopters. The nurse said it always gets busy on the weekends.
With that in mind, please be careful and be safe. Make it a great weekend!

Nov. 6 7:40

Levi is worried about the farmers in Green River. He needs to make sure they have what they need. He keeps talking about Blaine.

He tried to get out of bed as always and I told him again that he can't. He asked why and I told him he has to have his brace on. He ask why he needed to wear a brace so I told him that the drs. fixed his back and he said "retards". (we are still laughing!) He said his brace was bothering the he** out of him. Today he told me the girl behind the desk (out in the hall) is dumb.

Jen asked him if he remembered what happened and he said (very seriously) ya, I was stupid, I was beat up by a cow. (I think it has taken me 5 mins. to write this sentence because I can't stop laughing!!!) So, cows in Green River, be afraid, be very afraid!

Ellasanka Dunk who are you? Levi says we need a picture of you to put on the web.

Jen and the grandchildren came to visit today. Levi remembered them. He needed a little help with their names but he knew their ages. He even teased Julie about being 25. She said, "no, I'm 5!" He said, "I'm only 20 years off". (so we know he can do math-he was also able to speak Spanish to the nurse) This is typical of his relationship with Julie and his sense of humor. And he held Abbie.

Thanks Bro. Cox for your visit. We'll see if we can keep him redirected to working on those ideas you left with him.

Our focus is still on cognition and the ability to swallow. That's where our prayers are.

Nov 5 2:07

Levi was very insistent that he would be going to So Cal today. Something about 6-8 clients and a milk delivery. He told Harold he would take care of it. He seemed worried about letting Harold down.

Today he has been talking a lot about going to Green River to get the stuff he wants and cleaning up. He keeps calling out Blaine's name. He said that he was just here. Perhaps we are in a new phase. He gets a hold of a thought and doesn't let go.

Thank you Chris for the info on the stereo. I'll try to follow up on that soon.

By the way, I'm also not yet telling Levi that Obama won.

Levi is brushing his own teeth at the sink with water. He is now using the walker instead of the wheelchair to get to the bathroom. So more progress. :)

Nov. 4 6:15

Wow Jen your fast! I would like to mention if anyone visits Levi please don't talk about his stereo being stolen. I'm not going to tell him until he is well.

He is becoming more agitated and he keeps trying to get out of bed. He got up and tried walking to the bathroom by himself.
they have him back on "one on one". They don't like restraints so someone sits with him whenever the family is not here.

Levi told me as soon as I walked in that he needed to go to Southern California in the morning to check the plant there. I asked if he was talking about Rich Products, He said no like I was crazy so I asked if he meant Cookietree and he said yes then no the plant that makes cookies there.
He said it was so "stinking busy" at work today.

Now he is soundly sleeping. I'm going to go see if it is my turn for the washing machine.

Nov 4, 2008

Hi everyone,
I am posting this for my mom. Unfortunately my dad's car was broken into last night at the hospital, in the parking lot right in the front row. Supposedly someone called the security office at the hospital to report someone lurking around the parking lot but when the security officers came out, they didn't see anyone. Anyway, we are in need of some help, hopefully someone from dad's work can help. The drivers side door lock and the passenger side window were broken. The radio was the only thing stolen, I guess, and we need to know who he bought it from so we can get some info on it for the insurance company. Mom says that dad bought the radio from someone at work. If anyone knows who, please let us know. Thanks for any help you can give.

Nov. 3 6:20

Thank you to our visitors tonight. Pres. Tomer and Craig, Paul, Harold, & Mark from Cookietree. We also have had Lynn and Diane Russell, Ellis and Olga Worthen, have I messed up the names again? Are there two Marks at Cookietree? I'm so sorry. Just straighten me out in the comments OK?

Levi is starting to get really restless. He seems to have a lot of worries on his mind. I guess we borrowed a jeep he wants to return. Also, some food we need to pick up. So many things I can't remember. He is anxious to help at work but they keep him pretty busy here. He'll do what he can.

While he sorts all that out I'm trying to get some sort of routine going back at home. I hope we are pretty much done with children's appts. I have an SEP in the a.m. with David's on-line teacher. We are still waiting to hear from The Moran Eye Center for Emily's contacts, and David's stitches come out on the 11th. ta-da!

By the way, when you visit Levi you might hear a helicopter. If you do, go look out his window and you might get to see one of them take off or land. It's pretty cool, if you don't think too much about the human factor. Also, he has a great view!

About visiting, while we are trying to work out the calendar thing please feel free to come visit between the hours of 4 and 8 p.m. You might show up at the same time as someone else in which case you can "rock, paper, scissors". The one who has to wait can do so comfortably in the "den" next door to Levi's room. The kitchen is for the use of the patients.
A couple of people at a time is o.k. More than that at a time is too confusing for head trauma patients and sometimes noises seem louder than they are. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Levi is resting really well right now and it is about time for us to leave. It's amazing how long it takes to get a post done. From 6:20 to 7:50. My typing is painfully slow but there are many things going on also! We got here at 4:10, maybe I should have started it then.

Again thanks for your visits, your kindnesses, and especially your prayers!

P.S. Bro. Cox, IMED is listed as a provider of VitalStim so I'll ask the speech theapist about it. Thanks. :)

Nov. 2 1:40

Emily and I just got here about an hour ago. The nurse said he wanted to get dressed right away this a.m. She told him that OT usually does that with him to help him learn how. He said, "I know how. Can we just do it?" Last night he kept asking me the time and seemed a little frustrated. He said it's Saturday isn't it? I told him yes and he said, "oh Gaul." I asked him what he was so worried about and he said, "I need to get a shower so I can go to church tomorrow.

The Elders came this a.m. to administer sacrament. They usually just touch it to the lips if the person has a feeding tube as Levi does. Those patients are not supposed to eat anything. Levi grabbed the little tiny piece and ate it! The poor Elders were very worried. I think next week we will take him to the service they hold here. Maybe he will have his tube out by then.

He is worried about extra trees for Jen's and Steve's yard.

Has to get up earlier to do the trailers.

Darren is going to turn the knob... (who's Darren?) I don't know...

Get Evelynn involved in this....(Evelynn Foy our neighbor?) yes. So they can pick them up...(pick up who?) anyone they want, brothers, siblings, whatever...

They gave him his Ritalin a few minutes ago. Just before all this conversation. Now he is having a conversation with himself.

I'm going to ask the dr. to take him off the Ritalin for a couple of days. I just want to be sure we are doing the right thing. He had a great deal of clarity when we got here.

He just tried to get out of bed to go tell the kids out there to aerate every night.

The nurse came in with some Chapstick and he asked' "how much do I owe you for all this?"

He is talking about Doug the wrestler guy who is younger than him. Then he said something about Jody so I asked him if he meant Doug Worthen and he said yes.

And you youth out there that are "scarfing", you need to be quiet the rest of the day.

The conversation goes on and on. I think I need a tape recorder!

More later.

Nov. 1 12:58 p.m.

I have been so very busy! I'm sorry I haven't posted. I'm hoping things will settle down into some better routine this coming week. Maybe around Wednesday. We are waiting for Emily's contacts from the Moran Eye Center. We had hoped they would come in yesterday. So now maybe Monday or Tuesday. They have to train her to use them and that will take about an hour. She has to have hard contacts to treat the keratoconus. She says they are very uncomfortable but she'll get used to them.

Thank you so much to those who have visited. I'm sad that I missed all of you.

We have a little miscommunication. Not surprising since I can't seem to keep my thoughts straight lately! Levi did ask about Deborah and Ted. But the prayers were a different time. We were just visiting and he began to say a prayer. He had done this once before. He did a lot of mumbling then said "in the name, mumble, amen" The next time he started it pretty clearly and was thankful for all the children to help move the cars. Then a lot of mumbling. The last time, which was just a few minutes after the second time, he asked Emily if she would join us in prayer. He started and fell asleep. We wondered if maybe he was in a meeting! lol So Ted and Deborah I hope we didn't scare you. Sorry.

I was with David yesterday as Jen mentioned. He had surgery about 10:00 a.m. We had to be there at 8:30 and we left about 12:45. When we got home Alison was there helping the children put on costumes and makeup. They looked great! The house was a mess! We got it picked up this a.m. and I left them with a few more things to do so I could come back to the hospital.

They told me that Levi walked with the walker 3 times around the halls this morning! Now he is pretty tired. The speech therapist is with him now. At 2:30 the OT comes in then he will be finished for the day.

Levi just called out Doreen's name and was wondering if they threw eggs in the oven. He is right with us one minute and somewhere else the next. But he is becoming a little bit clearer each day.

The speech therapist just left so he gets to rest for about 25 minutes then the occupational therapist will be here.

If those of you who have expressed a desire to read to Levi could e-mail me or Jen to let us know which days are good for you we would like to get that going. The best time is between 4 and 8 p.m. any day. My e-mail is kellynlevi@yahoo.com and Jen is onenjen@yahoo.com. Some ideas are anything related to airplanes, science, nature, current events (maybe read him the newspaper) and anything you may have had discussions about together. Also, If you could let us know if you visited when we were not here. He unfortunately does not yet remember too well so I would like to keep a guest list for him. That way we can ask him questions to help him with short term memory. It will also be nice for him to see later. I'll try to remember to put one in the room so you can just sign when you come.

Well, the OT is about to come in so I'm going to close this now. I'll try to post again later, if not, tomorrow.

O.k. it is now 3:10 and just noticed the red cooler bag! Thank you!
Now I'm going to close this post No just kidding. I need to know from Craig or Chris or someone if you know the dr. he saw about his arm awhile back. He didn't go to our regular dr. he had to go somewhere else. It might be helpful to know about that injury as part of his history and as something ongoing. It might be part of the problem with his right arm as they can't find any break. Thanks so much!

Now I really am closing. :)

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Dad!!
Sorry for no post yesterday, things get pretty crazy at Halloween, especially with kids :)
So I talked to mom, she said that Ali was with dad most of the day the other day helping take care of him and spending time with him. We've had a few people email so far about visiting him, so I think he has some visitors. Mom said he was talking about needing to pray for Deborah and Ted (his sister and brother), we don't know what that is about but we'll keep them in our prayers:) I just talked to mom on the phone and they were just starting to take David into surgery (remove the pins from his broken arm) so I will talk to her later and post more when I get some new info on dad. Hope everyone has a very happy and SAFE Halloween!!

Oct 29th 11:18 am

Dad started his physical therapy today, hooray! I just got off the phone with mom and she said that he was able to get his shirt on by himself, he pushed the wheels of the wheelchair a couple of rounds by himself and walked about 25 feet being assisted and using a walker. For his first day, this is great work! Mom has been at the hospital with him and was able to help a little with the therapy.

I forgot to mention yesterday that they had to redo his feeding tube shortly after I arrived yesterday afternoon, we think he must have pulled it out in the ambulance on his way to the new hospital...*sigh*, but they were able to remove the catheter today so I'm sure that is much more comfortable for him.

After I posted last night I stayed for a couple more hours and we wrote down some of the things he said and did so we could share them with you on the blog. He talked about the young men going on a hike this year, he mentioned someone by the name of Bob Geise (sp?), (sounded like dice but with a hard g) and how he needed to "stick around for 3 hours for construction"...we don't know what that was about but thought we would post it in case there is someone by that name:) Also, when one of the physical therapists came in to introduce herself last night she asked dad what he wanted to be called, he said "Brother Allen", lol!! He asked about the children and when the doctor asked who his oldest daughter was he said "Morgan":) Not quite, but we'll work on that:) Toward the end of the evening dad fell asleep while Jordan read my favorite book, "The Tale of Three Trees", to him.

Dad has physical therapy anytime between 8am-4pm everyday, so it would be best to visit him between 4pm-8pm. We would like to limit his visits to 2 per day if possible so he doesn't get over stimulated too quickly, he will need a lot of rest while he is working so hard in therapy. If you would like to come for a short visit, please either leave a comment on the newest post or email myself at onenjen@yahoo.com. I will try to figure out some sort of calendar to put on the blog so you will know what days are open. Thanks!!

Oct 28 (Jeny)

We are here! Dad is at IMED now and taking some time to rest. The doctor came in and looked him over, asked a lot of questions, etc. He seems like a really good doctor. The only new thing we found out from the new doctor is that there is some "moderate" tendon injury in his right shoulder which hurts him quite a bit when it is moved around. He still favors his right side. He has been talking and is doing really well so far in the new hospital. It is a very nice facility and very tall! (We are on the 12th floor and Emily and I do NOT like heights!) That is pretty much it for now. He has a lot of work to do for the next few weeks. (Oh, by the way, the doctor told us that there is no set time frame for his rehab, like we previously thought, so we don't know exactly how long he will be here. It will depend on the progress he makes. We initally thought it was a 4 week program, so we will have to see.) We will keep you updated. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers.

Oct. 27 2:02 p.m.

IMED does not have a room for Levi today. They will move him at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

This program is 4 weeks so he should be home 2 days before Thanksgiving. Then we will have home rehab therapists work with him at home.

I am at home today so Levi will have a peaceful, restful day (except for the physical therapists!). Ali and I will meet him at IMED in the a.m.

Oct. 26 11:08 (Kelly)

I forget so much by the time I post to the blog so I will keep this post going all day and add as I think of things or as things happen.

So far this a.m. Levi has been up again and working really hard to take a couple of assisted steps. This is painful for him.

Dr. Hill came in to check on him and said he is doing well. He is certainly stable enough to move but it would not be before tomorrow afternoon.

Stacy, thanks for your questions. Levi is quite conscious he just wears out quickly. He answers questions appropriately but when he tries to add information(express his own thoughts) he just mumbles. We turned on the TV to see if we could find a talk to listen to and Conference was on! The Primary Choir sang I Am a Child of God and he sang along. It was a mix of words, mouthing and a bit of mumbling, but he was trying to sing it.

He just sang "Teach Me to Walk in The Light". Also, "I Love to See the Temple". And most clearly, "We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet."

Yesterday I was surprised to see Elder Ballard visiting the ICU. Maybe we can include his loved one in our prayers.

I'm so sorry. I intended to post this as soon as I got home, however I found there was problem with the Internet connection. Fixed now.

The physical therapists worked Levi really hard this afternoon. He went about 5 steps forward and a couple to the side. This completely wears him out! He was really talking a lot today and we understood a little more of it. Ali and Jordan were there and they showed him pictures on their laptop. He seemed to recognize everyone. We took all the cards and decorations off his walls in preparation of his move. Hopefully he will be transferred Monday afternoon, after numerous drs. sign off on his release papers. It is now 12:12 a.m. the 27th. No cocoa tonight, I think, just right to bed.

P.S. The speech therapist will be working more with Levi to help him learn how to swallow again but until he masters that the feeding tube has to stay. They have kept him in the same room in ICU for over three weeks now as a matter of practicality. Otherwise I think they would have moved him out after the drain was removed, then back in after the back surgery, then out, then transfer to rehab. That would have been very counter productive I think. Thanks for your questions Bro. Cox.

Oct. 25 7:34 (emily)

Hey everyone! It's just mom and me today. We arrived here in time to see my dad strapped in the tortoise shell (brace) and stand up! With help of course but still he stood up and walked a little. He was able to walk in the direction that the physical therapists told him which shows that he knows left right front and back. He was having a little trouble with his right leg. He wouldn't straighten it or put much weight on it. They say that might be because of the surgery on his back. The therapist also told us to give dad more specific instructions such as "touch your head" instead of "raise your arm". Chris, Lisa and there son Jonathon came by today to say hi. Dad talked a lot while they were here. After they left, my dad was pretty quiet so we figured he was sleeping. I worked on homework until five when we had to leave. We just got back and learned that while we were gone he read the sign that we made, it says We Love You Dad! And yesterday he thought he was in Africa. lol. He will be transferred on Monday to IMED. Love you all and thank you for everything that you have been doing to help my family.
P.S. Please direct some of your comments to my dad. My mom thinks that in a week he will be reading them himself.

Oct. 24 10:59 (Kelly)

What a day! I came home last night and visited with the children. This a.m. I did "normal things" like dishes, laundry, grocery shopping, several phone calls, etc.etc. It is a little bit of sanity, let me rephrase that, normalcy. I don't think I've really ever had sanity!
I went to the hospital with Jen then came back home to have Morgan's "dinner party". Jordan and Ali made the dinner and the cake. Jordan then ran Hillary to work, Emily to a Drama Club Halloween party, and David off to a scout sleepover/Super Saturday event. This was not the end yet. Jordan and Ali invited Morgan to spend the night at their apt. They left. Then for various reasons too entailed to share now, they came back, then left, then came back, then left. Then David came back a couple of times to get "stuff". Now it is quiet. Emily is back and sleeping and I'm just waiting for Hillary to call for a ride home from work. I'm ready to go back to the hospital and get some rest!

I want to clarify that Levi is off the vent. They are, however, putting the Bipap mask back on for a little while. This is the positive flow device that helps him take deep breaths on his own. There is no tube down his throat, he is even off the little bit of oxygen they had him on.

Last night, after the operation, he began sweating profusely and his skin was ice cold. His temp was down so the nurse put warm blankets on him. After a little while his temp began to come back up to baseline. When the nurse came in to check his glucose level, she pulled back the blanket to get his hand and there was blood every where. I'm glad she chose the left hand to check. He had pulled out his IV...again! This makes 4 times I think. The nurse had spent a good deal of time trying to place that IV. She said he has a lot of valves in his veins and he had already blown the good spots. She finally got this one placed and the other nurse asked if she should tie the restraint again. Levi's nurse said," no he seems pretty calm and they are about to take him down to surgery so it should be o.k." I suggested they might want to tie the restraint as she had worked so hard to find the seemingly last spot for the IV. He is very cunning and deliberate in the removal of his lines! They agreed. I think what may have happened is The surgical techs didn't tie the ties tight enough when they returned him to his bed after surgery and we didn't catch it. I forgot to check where the line is now.

I think I've kind of gone on auto pilot now. I talk to him, crochet, wait in waiting rooms, eat meals, sleep, blog,...... I will be sooo glad to have him moved closer. I will miss the staff in Provo. They have been great! Tomorrow marks three weeks so we have had many of the nurses rotate through. We have been blessed to have a few of them stay for three days or nights in a row. As I'm coming in or leaving the ICU they ask about him or say "I hear he is improving. That's great!"

It is amazing how much and how many people care. What terrific people we are surrounded by. It's like that perfect world at Christmastime. Thank you for all your support and prayers especially. I know everyone wants to do something to help. Let me say, if you have prayed you have helped bring him all the progress he has made. The Lord has blessed us from the smallest things, that could have gone another way, all the way to Levi standing at his beside this morning. I have known from the time I was a child that God hears and answers my prayers. I learned early that those unselfish righteous desires are granted. A little later I learned that at times we must yield to the will of the Lord. Somewhere along the way I realized that I no longer have "faith" in the power of the priesthood and for the Lord's love for me, as faith is that which is hoped for but not seen. I know of a surety that God lives and that he loves us so much as to give us the authority to exercise His power here on earth through the Priesthood. I am so grateful to Him and for all of you and your faith and knowledge of the power you posses. May I just quote my mother ( if you are saying "no" I can't hear you-too bad) who said "We Mormons don't have a monopoly on prayer". So everyone again keep up the good work. We love you ALL.

This post is by Jeny:
I just got home from visiting dad today, it's been a very long day. It was great to see him again and boy what a difference from a week ago!! He was talking so much, although most of it was not understandable. I asked him if he could see me and he said "I can see you". I asked him who I am and he said "yeny" (Jeny). I asked him if he remembered me, he said yes. I asked him if he knew where he was, he said hospital (slurred), then I asked if he remembered his accident. I don't remember if I said ladder or if he said it, but he talked about needing more water (for the windows he was washing). I thought maybe he was talking about the rain that day, so I asked him if it was raining and he said no. He then repeated that he "needed more water and I realized..." the rest was too slurred. I then talked to him about his family, all the kids and grandkids. He couldn't remember my kids names until I told them to him then he said "I remember". Each time I said someone's name to him he would go on about something for each one. I couldn't understand what he was saying. I asked him who his daughters were and he said "Hillary". I asked who his dad is, he said "Lewis", sisters "Doreen", brothers "Blaine". He remembered the rest and remebered his mother and that she had died. I asked him again who I was and he said it again "yeny". I asked him where he went on his mission, he said "Chile". I talked to him about Abbie's baby blessing but couldn't understand what he said back. Most of this conversation was with the big face breathing mask on so it made it difficult to understand him and probably difficult for him to hear me. I have to say that I was very surprised that I was able to converse with him so much, I didn't expect that when I went there today. I am so grateful I had that little bit of time with him to talk, it really meant a lot to me that he was awake and able to talk to me.
The nurse said that he helped the therapist get dad out of bed today and stand up. He can't stand on his own, of course, but they got him up for a minute. That is great!! I know it must be driving him crazy to lay there and not be able to get up and move. I'm sure it's very frustrating also to not be understood most of the time. He really tries hard to communicate. I asked the nurse if he mumbles a lot or if he stops sometimes and the nurse said he does it all the time. I wish I could be there more to sit and talk to him. I started singing "I am a Child of God" to him and I'm pretty sure he said "lead me" while I was singing. It was really sweet. As I was leaving, I said "I love you, dad" a few times and each time he said "I love you, too". I blew him a kiss (without the hand movement) and he did it too. This breaks my heart to see him like this but I am most grateful for his progress. It has been such a blessing to him and to our family to see these miracles with him. I absolutely know that it is the faith and prayers of all of us that love and care about him that has brought him this far. We have so much to thank our Father in Heaven for. Thank you for your prayers, please keep them coming, they are working!! :)
Like I said, it's been a long day so I'm sure I've forgotten something. I will post if I remember anything.
Jeny

Oct. 23 2:43

Levi had surgery this a.m. He now has 6 bolts and a rod in his back. The dr. said as soon as he is awake to sit him up and start working with him. It will take a little longer for him to wake up from the anesthesia because of the brain damage. He is back on the vent for now. He will likely be off by morning. He had both eyes open when we came back from lunch but not responding to commands.

I forgot to mention the nurse told me that the Orem fire chief called to see how Levi is doing. I thought that was very thoughtful.

The nurse just checked him and he did respond to commands.

Ali, Jordan, and David just left. They were talking to him and he seemed to understand so I think he is starting to wake up a bit more.

Tomorrow will be a very busy day.

I would like to start reintroducing him to his family and friends so if you have or can create a 3X5 laminated copy of a picture of yourself and send it to us with your info on the back that would be great. If you need our address you may e-mail me at kellynlevi@yahoo.com and I will e-mail it to you.

He doesn't remember very much. He did tell me where he served his mission but he doesn't remember his brothers, sisters, children, etc. One of the children joked, "that might be by choice"!

Well, that's about it for today. I hope you all have a great day!

Oct. 22 5:19

Dr. Reichman said he will do the surgery tomorrow. So I'm now hoping we can move him Monday or Tuesday.

I'll stay here tonight then go home tomorrow night so I can be home for Morgan's birthday on Friday. Then we'll just have to see when they will transfer him.

I guess that's it for today.

Oct. 22 3:19 p.m.

We have John Bytheway's CD of Super Sonic Saints and have played it for him. It is, in fact, on right now. Thanks for the offer Randy and Monica and for the reminder Chris. :)
The comment I made re: the Ritalin is because we have two AD/HD children and one that is a poss ADD. This is a hereditary condition. The reason it is used to wake up or animate patients is because it is an amphetamine ("upper"). The reason it is given to AD/HD people is because they have something in their brain that triggers the opposite reaction.

The nurse said that Levi was very awake this a.m. so she didn't give him any Ritalin. She did give him some around 1 p.m. He seems a little sleepy. This could just be due to how hard he has worked today. The nurse (whose name is Kelly) said he worked better with the speech therapist and he ate ice chips!

Still no dr. yet today. Maybe later after surgeries?

I forgot to mention, I think, that Levi was having pain in his right arm when they worked with him yesterday. They took xrays of his elbow and found no breaks. When the did the MRI they incl. his shoulder. All is o.k. it might just be sore and stiff muscles. That's the arm he hasn't used much.

Hopefully, I'll have more to tell later.

Oct. 21 3:59 p.m.

No dr. again today. They are taking him down around 6 or 6:30 for an MRI of his back so we likely won't hear anything until tomorrow a.m. He is speaking a little more. The rehab people are anxious to get started . The nurse now checks him only every 4 hours so hopefully he is getting more sleep at night. They gave him Ritalin this a.m to help wake him up more today. I wonder if he would do even better without it. We can wake him up and get a couple of answers out of him then he fades out again. All in all, still good news for today.

Oct 20 8:23 p.m.

Levi is resting well and responding well. The turtle shell, tortoise shell, Boston Body Jacket, Thoracic Lumbar Sacral Orthosis (TLSO), or simply Orthosis finally arrived today. They took it back for a little while to make an adjustment but it is back now and just waiting for the dr. as am I. We haven't seen either Dr. Gardner or Dr. Reichman (spelling is correct, pronounced Reyeshman with a long i) today. I guess we'll find out tomorrow about surgery.
David was talking to Levi and asked him if he wanted the TV on and Levi said something that sounded like tired. David asked if he was tired and he said yes. So we will let him sleep.
If one of the drs. comes in tonight I'll post again, otherwise I'll post tomorrow.

Oct 20 10:16

Levi is still really responsive today. His dr. is back but has not been in yet. He probably has a lot to catch up on. The shell is supposed to come today. I am very anxious to know if he will have surgery or not. I'll update after I hear from Dr. Reichman. (I'll also check that spelling)
Yet another person has told me he is the best and that he worked on her husband. Good to hear.

More later.

Oct 19 8:23 p.m.

Wow! Levi spoke today! David asked him where he worked and he answered, ''Cookietree''. The doctor asked if he knew where he was and he answered,''I don't know where I am''. He still mumbles quite a bit and we don't understand most of what he says. The nurse asked him if he was in pain and he started mumbling something we couldn't understand, but in the middle of it he said,''this foot here'', wiggling his right foot. How great is that, that he would speak and connect movement to thought on his own without command.

We are so excited. Thank you so much for all your prayers! Keep up the good work we still have a ways to go.

It is now just past 10:30. It has taken awhile to write this because we keep getting up to talk to Levi and David is trying to figure out what I'm saying so he can type it and we are both pretty tired.

Looks like it's time for cocoa and sleep.
More in the morning.

Oct. 18 11:00 p.m.

Sorry to post so late again. We had a quiet day. Not much response to commands. Still fidgeting. He opens his left eye from time to time and he tried to speak a little. They let him spend the day without the breathing mask but he still had the tongue thingy (more medical terminology) to keep his tongue from obstructing his airway. Morgan and I left a 5 p.m. to come home for the night.

We have started the paperwork to get him transferred to IMED as soon as the issue of the burst fracture is resolved.

I noticed that the time at the bottom of the post does not match the time I am posting. Jen K. or Kathy W. do we know how to fix that? I guess if we leave it alone it will be right in a couple of weeks, won't it?

I need to go pick up Hillary from work.
More tomorrow.

Oct. 17 11:56 p.m.

Levi has been pretty calm today. I guess he just wears himself out and needs to rest. Lynn asked about IMED. It is part of the new IHC (Intermountain Health Care) facility on State and 5400 (ish). It is the inpatient rehabilitation center he will be in for four weeks. It's a very intensive program.

I think we need some ideas on some sort of "puzzles" he can figure out with his fingers. He likes the texture toys we gave him but I think he can figure things out and that will stimulate him more. An example is that washcloth I tied a knot in and he untied it. He still keeps his eyes closed for most of the time and he is primarily using his left hand. We gave him a stress ball today because I think the other ball was too hard. If anyone has ideas, please post.

It's time for hot cocoa and sleep. :)

Good night and thank you!

Oct 17 2:55 p.m.

His breathing problem seems to be under control. We are having a quiet day. Jen brought the toys and he seems to like them. we have a ball in his right hand and we are trying to get him to squeeze it. He plays with the links and the butterfly with his left hand. He quit playing for a little while then he reached his hand down and picked up the toys again to play. I'm not sure if he was just randomly looking for something to play with as he does a lot, or if he remembered where he left them. Hard to know right now.

Jen came to visit and brought Ali, Hillary, and Morgan. Morgan is staying overnight and we will go home around 5 p.m. tomorrow. I'll come back Sunday so I can be here when his dr. returns Monday a.m.

I'm guessing his dr. will decide whether or not to do surgery on his back by Monday night. If he decides that the fragments of the burst fracture are not posing a threat and are already in the healing process, then probably no surgery. They will put him in his shell and transport him up to IMED. If he does the surgery then Levi will need a few more days to recuperate then they will transport him.
So I'm thinking that either way we will leave here by Monday the 27th. That will make it easier for me to get Emily up to the Moran Eye Institute for her appt. on the 29th.

Levi is a little restless right now so I'm going to tell him about the recent posts, especially that joke (if the coast is clear!) and Tyler's reminiscing. :)

Thanks to all

Oct. 16 11:05 p.m.

Levi was having a little difficulty breathing. He was up to 51 breaths per minute. It turns out he was obstructing. His tongue was in the way. They put a plastic device in his mouth to keep his tongue from falling back and his rate went right down. Prior to that they gave him some pain medicine to try to relax him. They gave him the full dose instead of the half dose they sometimes give. He is having a good albeit short sleep now.

The nurse said she is hoping that his scan, which they will do tomorrow night will still be at least stable so the dr. might let them go to checks every 4 hours instead of every hour. I'm guessing that some things have got to be affected by sleep deprivation.

I have decided to try my own rehab program for him. We are getting a couple of baby toys with textures for him to play with. We noticed how much he plays with pillows, sheets, gown, tube, etc. I tied a knot in a washcloth and gave it to him. Within about 5 mins. he had it untied with just his left hand. So, I tied it again and he untied it again.

I also want to get a board/page and put pictures of the children and grandchildren on it then see if he can identify them.

Tomorrow when the children come we will do some reminiscing and see if he remembers any of it.

The frontal lobes control movement, memory, reasoning, behavior, personality, and intelligence. So exercising the memory is easy to figure out. Movement, get a ball for his right hand to squeeze. Intelligence, reading to him and listening to music. Reasoning, this is a littler tougher. I think untying the knot in the washcloth took some reasoning. As for personality and behavior I thought we would just have to wait and see. Then I thought we could read the peaceful parts of the Book of Mormon, maybe some Emily Post/Miss Manners. lol Any suggestions on any of these points?

Thank you everyone for your comments. It really helps us to know you are there and I tell him about each one. If you have something you've done or are doing that we can tell him about that would be great. My cousin is remodeling her kitchen and I can tell him about that. Did anything funny happen at work? Or home? Send him a joke. And please keep praying.

Maybe when he gets into rehab we can set up some times for people to come read to him. If you have an interest in this let me know and we will start a list. Maybe our children can read their history and english assignments to him! ooooh fun.

Well it's midnight so I'm going to bed.
Thanks again for all your kindnesses.

Oct 16 9:48 a.m.

We are drain and staple free! The dr. took them out right here in the room.

Dr. Gardner asked again re: the color of his shirt and Levi mouthed, "blue". (Dr. Gardner is wearing blue scrubs today) Levi had only his left eye open so he can see out of the one we were worried about.

The dr. showed me his MRI and last nights CT scans. There is still swelling, bruising, and softening in the frontal lobes. The dr. says that might still clear up. That area is personality, inhibitions, aggressiveness, etc. So we need prayers still and specifically regarding those frontal lobes.

He is stronger on the right today and following commands on both sides.

I am with him today so I'll try to post as things improve.

Oct. 15 8:52 p.m.

So sorry I didn't post this a.m. We have had a very busy day! I went home last night to take care of a few things. Dr. Gardner called this a.m and said Levi was responding. He would hold up 2 fingers, wiggle toes, thumbs up, etc. He also opened his left eye again and I think squinted the right. The really exciting thing is that the dr. asked him "what color is my shirt?" and Levi answered "green". People ask me "and was it green?" or "did he get it right?" I think I asked the dr. the same thing. Yes, the shirt was green. The point is he understood that he was being asked a question and he answered it! The dr. then asked "do you have a headache?", and Levi said "no". Then he asked "do you want to go home?", and Levi answered "yes". It was very slurred but he was communicating! He only needed to be drained twice last night and it was a minimal amount so they think they might take it and the staples out tomorrow.

They have already fitted him for his tortoise shell and it should be here on Monday. I think they are probably looking at Monday or Tuesday for back surgery. Maybe we can post a link about tortoise shells.

More good news-Lisa Mullins and her children, Beth and Jonathon took a metal detector to the site and found Levi's glasses. Many of us have been there looking and could not find them. They were at the base of the retainer wall down in the ivy. Thank you, thank you!

Also, thank you to the wonderful Cookietree employees who keep sending yummy snacks!
There are so many people, known and anonymous, to thank for so many things.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Oct 14 11:11

Dr. Gardner was just here. Levi was pretty non responsive. He did try to pull the drs. hand away when he was pinching him. The MRI shows there is still swelling in the frontal lobes and sadly, bruising deep in the left stem. This explains the lack of response in the right side. They are putting the breathing mask back on and giving him a bath right now. I think he really needs more rest for a little while.
I think of a roller coaster ride with all its ups, down, twists, and turns. Some people throw their hands in the air and scream. I just hang on really tight to the bar, close my eyes, and scream.
I don't know what this means.
I do know it's time for lunch.

Oct 14 9:55

Today seems a little better than yesterday. They took Levi down for an MRI instead of a CAT scan. They would like to take out the drain. He had to be drained maybe 5 times last night so we just have to wait to see Dr. Gardner. He might keep it in for another day.
When they brought Levi back from his MRI he coughed and cleared on his own and he showed 2 fingers on his left hand. The nurse said he opened his left eye and a squint in his right while he was down there for the MRI. He also did it when he came back. He is really trying to say something.
I can see that the easier part is beginning to slip away. That's o.k. we'll take each stage as it comes and see the will of the Lord. It's a little scary but He knows best.
Thank you so much for your fasting and continued prayers.

We've talked a lot about the pressure on my dad's brain and the 'brain drain' system they are using to monitor the pressure and drainage of spinal fluid so I thought I would do a little research and find a good site for info if anyone is interested in the technical stuff. It's all very interesting and this particular site I use for information is very straight forward and easy to understand so if you're interested it is listed under the 'Medical sites' on the far right at the top of the blog. Thank you again for your prayers, fasting, and help for our family.

Oct 13 4:36

We just had a visit from the Rehabilitation Dr. As soon as the drain can come out the back can be fixed and stabilized then he can start rehab. He had some positive things to say. He thinks Levi will walk and talk he's just not sure what communication challenges he will have. He recommends IHC on State St. for rehab (maybe 4 weeks there) Then it can continue at home through a group called "Rehab Without Walls".
Levi has been off the drain for more than 3 hours and his pressure is about 5 to 6 as long as he is left alone (no poking ,brushing, adjusting, etc.). They will probably take the drain out tomorrow.
His heart rate is in the 120s and his blood pressure is 158/67, the mean is 94. Right now his icp is bouncing around 9-15. He has apnea which drives the pressure up. But things look o.k. for now.
We need to look at facilities for rehab. Choices are The IHC Murray(IMED) or University of Utah, or a place in Sandy, can't remember the name. If anyone has any knowledge of these places please let us know as we might need to choose pretty soon.

Oct 13 12:35

The Dr. Came to check on Levi. There is still not much response. He did turn off the drain to see if the pressure would stay down without it. He went almost 35 mins. before the pressure got up to 15 and they had to turn the drain on again. They will wait about 5 mins. and turn it off again. Here she is to turn it off.

Is there anyone out there who has traveled or their children have traveled with People to People and received high school and university credit? Our daughter Morgan went to DC a few weeks ago and poss. still needs to fill out some papers to receive the credit. If anyone has that experience I could use help with that.

We were in the middle of a few time sensitive things when this happened and I am trying to get all that stuff taken care of and get going on the new, ie: insurance, disability, etc.

If there is anyone with knowledge of oil and gas exploration, I could use help there too.

Thanks so much.

Oct 13 9:25

No changes this a.m. They will probably do a scan tonight. I will post again later today or sooner if anything changes.
Thank you Lynn and Calee for your comments and prayers. It's hard to wait but it will be worth it.

Oct. 12 8:25

No change for Levi. His blood pressure is running around 149/67 (right now) up to mid 150s/?. And his ICP (brain pressure) is about 9 to 15. His heart rate is about 130. The mean of his blood pressure runs in the high 90s. When you subtract the ICP from the bp mean you get a figure that indicates the profusion of blood to the brain. We are in the high 80s and that is good.

On another note, I like reading the comments to the posts, but I'm starting to loose track of the count on each post. That means I have to go in to each again to see if I've already read them. It doesn't take much to confuse me right now. So Jen suggested that we request that all new comments go under the most current post. Please continue to comment as much as you like. You can comment more than once under the current post I think, but when a new post goes up please place your comments there until the next post. This way I hopefully won't miss any.
Thank you!

Oct. 12 4:30

Levi's room looks like Halloween. It's very cute. Jen cut out spiders with her cricut machine and creeped herself out! Silly girl.
So, Levi is on an antibiotic for the brain drain and another for the lungs. He is still not answering commands except for the occasional toe wiggle. He does still fight the mouth cleaning and suction. He still tries to reach for tubes etc. Not much more to post. It is almost 5 o'clock so we need to leave for awhile for the shift change (5-7 a.m. & p.m.)
Thank you to those who leave comments, we enjoy reading them.

A note to Chris: please feel free to add a comment to the post entitled "The Accident" to fill in anything we may have left out.

Thanks to all!

October 11th, 9pm

Mom wanted me to post tonight. Dad is still about the same as the last couple of days. I just spoke to the nurse who said he is a little more responsive to commands but his movements are mostly reflexes. Ali and Emily have been in here (dad's room) singing to him and playing "thumb wars" with him. Dad keeps winning :)
The respiratory mask is still on and he seems to be resting a lot which the nurse said is good. She explained that they are doing all they can to assist him in this recovery but ultimately his body has to do the work so there are going to be days where he just needs rest. He does still have some obvious adema (sp?), swelling, on his face under the skin that was pulled back for the surgery last Saturday night but is looking better. His left eye is still very bruised from the fracture under it. The nurse earlier today said that he does move his eyes back and forth a little under the eye lids so that is a little bit of a good sign. As always, we will take what little we can get. The nurse tonight (different nurse, different shift) said that the improvements are happening and will happen in increments and that is normal. Any decline(s) usually happen very quickly so it's not a bad thing that it is taking time. At this moment, he is holding a pillow in his left hand and waving it around! It looks like he is trying to play with it or something. He seems to always want to have something in his left hand, either someone else's hand or his sheet or a pillow. Emily left his side for a minute and he started to reach for some of his tubes. We just take his hand and tell him "no dad, you have to leave it alone". He is very insistent sometimes.
I know we say it a lot, but thank you again for your love and prayers on our dad's behalf and for our family. Thank you for your willingness to fast for him tomorrow, we love you!!!

A Note from Kathy

As tomorrow is Fast Sunday- let's all be sure to include Levi, Kelly and their family in our fast.

Oct. 11 3:30

Sorry, I forgot to mention his dr. says he may have a slight case of bronchitis as opposed to pneumonia. Emily and I are going to go get lunch now.
More later.

Oct.11 2:21

I just realized I could change the font. Fun stuff. So not much change today. They took the breathing mask off and did a deep suction. I'm sorry if I'm repeating some things. He is coughing a little better today. Still very little response to commands although he did wiggle his toes on command for the Dr. this a.m. Maybe I need to clarify something. We talk about how much he moves and the things he does and doesn't do and it can get confusing. He does move his arms and legs and head. He will squeeze your hand when you hold his. He coughs and grunts and can become agitated (as with the Dr. this a.m.). These are mainly considered reflex motions. And while these are good and we feel also an indication of good spinal cord health, we get more excited when he responds to commands. We are not having any visitors right now, except family, as he needs to keep his pressure down (in the brain). It goes up when they have to move or bathe him or perform a procedure. Also visitors can cause the same effect. It has been a full week now so we are looking for the swelling to begin receding, also for him to begin absorbing the fluid that is now being drained from his brain. They are also being very cautious re: pneumonia. another reason for the decision re: visitors. I hope everyone can understand that we don't intend to hurt feelings or be rude. Simply, Levi has to come first. We are so grateful for all the help and thoughtful gestures from so many wonderful people. Most of all we thank you for your prayers. Therein lies the greatest power and service.

Oct. 10 11:40

The respiratory therapist was just in and said the breathing mask is working well. They did do a deep suction earlier today and it has made a big difference. Jen, Steve, and Emily (also Abbie) are here.
Now it is Oct 11 1:00 a.m. Jen and Steve left so Em and I are going to go to the guest house in a little while to get some sleep.
Last night the nurse put my name in for a room so I got one for the weekend. It is like a hotel room with a big common kitchen.
Anyway, Levi's latest check is the same. His blood pressure is 137/80 and his icp (brain pressure) is 6. These numbers are good. He is still not responding to commands but he does squeeze my hand when I hold his. Maybe tomorrow he will be "lighter" as they put it. The surgeon said it would be like this, good days and not so good.
We really appreciate your prayers.

Oct 10 (I think) 11:09

I just spent 30 mins. writing a post which vanished. So for right now here's the short version. His reputation preceded him so they gave him a heavier sedation and they said it could be 4 hours or more to come out of it. He is moving his arms, won't respond to "move your feet", is coughing again and a little moaning. It has been two and a half hours since the procedure started and about 2 hours and 15 mins. since it finished. Very fast. Just 15 mins.
In case the other post shows up let me correct something- he has a breathing mask which causes him to take deep expanding breaths which will help prevent pneumonia. It covers his face and is clear plastic. They wanted to avoid any deep suction of the mucus because of the facial fractures but they might try going through the mouth to do some.
I am going to post this so I don't loose it again and I will post more after lunch.

Oct 10 10:22

I found it! Hope it makes sense. Not very much for half an hour is it? I'm using Levi's laptop. Very different from a desktop.


One of Levi's many doctors was just in. As Jen said Levi has not been very responsive yesterday or today so far. They are concerned about blood clots forming in his legs. He does have the inflating thingies (medical terminology according to Kelly) on his legs but as the dr. said they are not perfect so the VCF was placed in the IVC (now we're cooking- it comes and goes). They did plan on only a local for placement but his reputation preceded him. The gave him a deeper sedation which he is now trying to come out of. It could take up to 4 hours but in his condition they don't really know it could be longer. In the mean time he has a breathing mask which covers his whole head. It is clear plastic and assists in taking deep expanding breaths. He has a great deal of trouble with mucus which he is not getting cleared by himself so they are discussing a deep suction. They had considered this a day or two ago but wanted to avoid disturbing the broken facial bones. Pneumonia is a big concern while we wait. Wednesday was a very good day. He was holing up 2 fingers, sticking out his tongue, trying hard to talk, waved a couple of times, says yes, no, and ouch. The nurse was trying to get him to communicate so she asked hi to say yes when he finally did she asked him to say no to which he finally responded. The she said "I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer me. Levi, are you cold? Tell me yes or no." On the second request he managed to answer "yes or no". So commands good-processing not so much maybe. It did give us chuckle.
They are talking more about putting on a tortoise shell for his back. Maybe that would allow them to make him a little more upright when the pressure on his brain goes down more. This would allow better drainage of the mucus also. As it stands they are very careful about keeping him at 20 degrees for the brain pressure. 30 degrees is best for the prevention of pneumonia.

I want to publicly thank Chris Mullins for finding Levi and for all his support. I'm certain Levi would have died if Chris had not found him. And I feel Levi will have a complete recovery as the Lord wills according to his blessing.