Friends and family,<\/p>\n
We are on our way home from visiting Dad for four days. We arrived in Phoenix early Thursday, so that we could stop by Prescott Thursday evening and attend the City Council meeting there. The Prescott Valley Police Department<\/a> and mayor Harvey Skoog<\/a> were presenting the Distinguished Life-Saving Award<\/a> to four Prescott Valley residents that went above and beyond in assisting Dad at the scene of his accident. This was especially important for us, so that we could meet and thank those individuals ourselves, and so that we could speak with them about their experience.<\/p>\n Words cannot express our gratitude. The Prescott Valley residents that were given recognition were James Gentry, Jake Bassett, off-duty Central Yavapai Fire Department<\/a> Captain Al Camacho and off-duty nurse Sherri Stanley, There were others on the scene, that were not local, to which we are also indebted. They are also in our thoughts and we are grateful that Dad had such wonderful people that were willing to help a stranger that was in need. <\/p>\n Dad’s condition remains fairly similar to that which we last reported. He remains on CRRT (kidney dialysis) and his heart rhythm does periodically become irregular. The doctors that we have spoken with are in consensus that both of these conditions should be temporary and are only a result of his legs not being fully closed. Once the remaining areas of his legs (which are significant) are grafted, his body should be able to settle in and focus on every day maintenance.<\/p>\n The doctors continue their efforts to keep Dad’s diaphragm strong. Saturday, Dad was removed from the ventilator for six hours. As it is, the ventilator is there just for assistance, somewhat like placing a hand on a friend’s back to help push them up a hill. The ventilator is there so that Dad’s body can focus on healing and any help is good help. The length of time that Dad remains off the vent should increase with time, as he is weened from the medically induced coma and his final grafts are performed. <\/p>\n His next planned surgery is Tuesday. At that time, the donor area from his back will be evaluated, and any donor skin that can be harvested will be taken and grafted to his legs (and hands, if needed). Cosmetics will also be present, so that they can take a look at the graft on Dad’s left eye and do what they need to at that time.<\/p>\n The highpoint of our trip was in seeing Dad’s first signs of being coherent. We had heard that Dad was smiling and mouthing words earlier in the week. But during our first visit with him Thursday, Dad only seemed to be sleeping as we had seen him before. Friday, though, was a completely different experience. Dad was fully aware that we were there visiting him. He smiled, he cried and he was attempting to speak with us. It was an amazing experience, and one that will be remembered for a long time.<\/p>\n Both Friday and Saturday, Dad would quickly go from being coherent to being in a completely sedated state. Sunday, we were able to coax a few smiles out of him before our departure, but for the most part, he seemed very tired. We give him lots of credit. We were tired after five minutes! <\/p>\n We were told by the doctors that Dad would remain in a coma until his two remaining (tentatively) surgeries were performed. But, as a result of him being medicated for such a long period of time, his body has simply become tolerant to the medication. And, as a result of that, he is in a higher state of awareness.<\/p>\n We continue to be optimistic and we are extremely grateful for the people in our Dad’s life, new friends and old. The nurses have been warned. Dad will have a lot of talking to do to make up for lost time.<\/p>\n Colin and Ian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Friends and family, We are on our way home from visiting Dad for four days. We arrived in Phoenix early Thursday, so that we could stop by Prescott Thursday evening and attend the City Council meeting there. The Prescott Valley … Continue reading