Blue Power Ranger Down

It truly is wonderful news wilber-t that Wout is getting better by leaps and bounds comparatively speaking. I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers for a full recovery.

It's all just great news.
thanks fopr keeping us updated

I am truly sorry to hear of your buddies unfortunate accident, but glad to get a positive recovery report. I will definitely ask for prayer request from congregation.

my man of inspiration, wout

looks like wout is coming through much faster than anticipated. looking good wout!

keep pulling and climbing brother! we're thinking about you,wilber and amy.


greg

Amy's Update, April 22

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to touch base with the latest update......

The nurse from Select Hospital in Durham came by yesterday (Monday) to do an updated
assessment on Wout, and she said they are still waiting to hear from the insurance company
on the transfer, but they did get in touch with a case manager now, so hopefully
it won't be much longer before we know something. The doctors discontinued
Wout's scheduled pain meds Monday, and now are giving it to him as needed, which I am
thankful for. Of course, I don't want him to be in pain, but I want him to
have a chance to be more alert, too. Oxycodone is just such a powerful drug, and they/we can monitor him to see when he seems to need it.

The surgery cast was also removed yesterday, and replaced with one that is removable, which was molded right in the room with us. They Physical/Occupational Therapy folks will be coming every day to work with that hand/wrist, now that it is more accessible to them.

Wout has developed a bad case of thrush in his mouth from the antibiotic, which is evidently not uncommon, so they are starting him on Nystatin this morning to help with that.

They are continuing to put him in a special chair for about 4 hours a day, to help change his body position and prevent skin breakdown/bedsores, and also to help with the pneumonia. His cough is now much more productive, and he is able to protect his airway better, which is great. I know it hurts him to cough, but it is so good for him. I found out recently that he has 1 broken rib front and back on his right side, and 4 broken on the back of his left, 5 broken on the right, in addition to his broken collarbone and sternum (top and bottom). So, you can imagine what coughing feels like for him.

I spoke with Wout's main doctor yesterday, who was away from Thursday of last week until yesterday at a conference. He read over Wout's chart from the time he was gone and checked in on him, and I talked to him about what Wout was doing, and I asked him about Wout's level of cognition. I have been so confused about that since he has been opening his eyes so much and scratching his face and making other purposeful movements, and I'm sure all of you are also wondering. He said that Wout is still in a coma, and that he is still considered to be at a level 7 out of 15 on the Glasgow scale. He said what they are looking for now is for him to follow a command, like sticking his thumb up or sticking his tongue out when told to. But, he said that he was encouraged by what he had seen since he was gone, so if he's encouraged, I'm encouraged!

Now, for what I think is the big news. Last night, I was in Wout's room with our friend, Lisa, and he was sweaty, so I took his glasses off to wipe his face. I was holding his glasses, and he looked down at them and reached for them. So, I handed them to him, and he took them and put them on his face by himself!! I looked at Lisa, and said, "Did you just see that?" A little bit later, he pushed them up on the bridge of his nose with his finger! Now, tell me that isn't a purposeful movement!!! It was better than any Christmas I've ever had! I could hardly get to sleep last night because I was so excited!!! I told his nurse when she came in, and she said that she wished she could have seen it, so that she could put it in his chart.

Anyway, on that note, I'm going to go see my sweetie this morning, and see how his night was. Shift change is from 7-8:30 morning and evening, but they let us back in after that.

Thank you so much, everyone, for all of your thoughts, cards, e-mails, and most especially for your prayers! Please keep them up, because they are being heard, and they are being answered!!

Love,

Amy

Moving to Durham

Hi everyone,

After much ado, Wout is being transferred to Durham, to Select Specialty Hospital, tomorrow morning (Thursday), at around 11:00. The website address for those who want to check it out is: www.selectmedicalcorp.com

The address is:

3643 North Roxboro Road
Durham, NC 27704

The hospital is actually located on the sixth floor of Durham Regional Hospital from what I've been told, but is a privately-owned entity.

Sorry I don't have time for a more elaborate update, but I'll touch base again once we are in Durham and settled. Wout has done well again today, put his glasses on by himself again yesterday.

Thanks, everyone!

Love,

Amy

Friday, April 25

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone again for all the e-mails, cards, notes, prayers, and all the help and support you continue to give us. Although I'm not able to answer most of the e-mails I get, they mean so much, and help to brighten my days.

The last two days have been busy. Wout was transferred as scheduled from UNC Hospitals to Select Specialty Hospital in Durham yesterday at 11:00 a.m., so yesterday was a very busy day, with meeting doctors, admission coordinators, trying to wrap things up in Chapel Hill, etc. The move went smoothly, and I feel good and hopeful about his placement. Today, Bernard and Harriet brought their camper up to an RV park which is about 8 miles from the hospital, and set it up for me to stay in while we are up here. It is so great because not only will it enable me to be so close, but there will also be room for people to stay when they visit from out of town without having to pay for motels.

Wout has settled into his new surroundings quite well. There is an outside window in his room, so now when I give him his weather reports, he can see the sky outside. Today, I met with physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, and they all will be working with Wout while he is at Select. The doctors here have discontinued the blood thinner, because of the injuries to the brain, but they do have the compression stockings on his lower legs to keep circulation going. He also still has the IVC filter in place as well. Yesterday was the last day of the antibiotic, and he has five more days of antifungal treatments, so after that, hopefully his IV can be removed, and all medications can be delivered through his stomach tube.

That's all I can think of for now, but visiting hours are from 11 am to 9 pm, so I will probably be able to send more frequent e-mails out now.

Thanks again, everyone, and please keep Wout in your thoughts and especially your prayers!

Love,

Amy

I have only just caught up with this thread tonight. It seems as though Wout is one tough unit. On behalf of all Aussie/Kiwi captains we wish Wout a full recovery and hope his pain fades quickly. Wout is certainly doing it tough and so are you Amy. You are a fair dinkum champion, you are!

Sunday, Aptil 27, Amy's B-Day

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a nice weekend. Thanks for all of your support, and please continue to pray for Wout. Your thoughts and prayers are making such a big difference.

The doctors have determined that Wout has a urinary tract infection, and some form of staff infection. They are not sure what it is exactly, and it will probably take 10 days for the culture to come back, but they have started treating him with two different antibiotics. They are going to do an audiogram to determine whether his hearing was damaged by the accident, and also are scheduling a consult with an ophthalmologist to check his vision.

We had a lot of visitors this weekend, and it was so good for Wout. I can tell that it stimulates him to see familiar faces and hear familiar voices. Occupational, physical, and speech therapy will begin working with him today, doing things like sitting him in a special chair for several hours, moving his arms and legs, and working on improving his swallowing, etc.

I also want to thank everyone who was here Sunday for my wonderful birthday party! Mom and Larry, Abby and Will, Haley, Cristina, Tommy and Lisa, Bernard, Harriet and Lola, Henry and Annie, Krista, and Deborah - thank you all so much! We had such great food - my favorite chicken spaghetti, two kinds of salad (my new favorite blue cheese, strawberry and walnuts with mixed greens and vinaigrette), onion rings, dinner rolls, chips and salsa, and strawberry shortcake (my favorite cake in the world!). It was just so very special to me to be surrounded by the people I love, so thank you guys for the wonderful food and the gifts! I appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Wout and I are so lucky to be surrounded by such a strong network of support. Thank you all, and please keep Wout in your thoughts and prayers.

With love,

Amy

April 29

Hi everyone,

I spoke with Wout's doctor today, and he gave me an update, so I wanted to pass it along. The latest cat scan of Wout's brain showed that the injuries to Wout's brain are no longer bleeding. He also recalculated Wout's rating on the Glasgow scale, which, for those of you who aren't familiar with it, rates brain activity for people in a coma. The rating goes from 1, being the lowest level, to 15. When Wout was at Chapel Hill after the accident, he was initially rated a 3. When we left Chapel Hill, he was at a level 7. His doctor said today that Wout is now rated at a 10! They are working with him with a speaking valve, and once he makes a vocal sound (doesn't have to be a word), he will automatically go up to a 12. So, he is considered semi-comatose now instead of in a full coma! This is such great news for me, because I have felt like Wout has been getting a little better every day, and this confirms it.

They are also still planning on doing an eye exam, because the doctor wants to make sure that Wout didn't suffer an eye injury, like a detached retina or nerve damage, from the accident. I still haven't officially heard the hearing test results, but I really feel like things are okay in that department. The doctor did say that an eye injury could be resolved, and a hearing deficit would be much harder to address. The reason I am worried about an eye problem is that he seems to have almost like a "lazy" left eye, and his left pupil isn't always doing the same thing as his right eye. But, hopefully, this is something that can be fixed or helped relatively easily.

They did x-rays on his right wrist today, to see how things are healing there. He now has a splint that they are rotating to help his fingers stretch out, because they are extremely tight. Physical therapy has started working with him on his wrist, and I'm working with his right foot and leg.

They won't know for about 8 more days exactly what kind of staph infection Wout has, but they have already begun treating it, and his doctor said that he is responding well to the antibiotic. Everyone who visits wears gloves and protective gowns, and washes their hands before and after entering his room.

Wout is doing things like putting his glasses on, squeezing a ball, running his hand through his hair and others', making facial expressions, swallowing, and letting things into his mouth now. He is moving his left hand, arm and leg a lot.

I know there are things I'm missing in this update, and I'll pass them along as I remember. Thanks so much, everybody, and keep Wout in your prayers!

Love,

Amy