Angels Near and Far

A new day

Posted at 7:38am PT

We got some sleep and I feel renewed refreshed and ready to take
on the day. Thank you God the strength that comes only from
YOU!

Terri

Posted at 11:00 pm PT

We got to speak with the doc today and when i asked how far back Sean would come she said if not all the way then very close! She thinks that once Sean is weight bearing (July 1st) then it will only be 7-10 days before he is ready to transition to a transitional life skills facility. Wonderful joyous news!

Today although filled with great news was one of the toughest yet. Sean is throwing his legs out of the bed so he had to be moved to an enclosed bed tonight. It is a bed that is screened in and can only be unzipped from the outside. Along with that he still has to be in restraints so that he can’t pull out tubes. I can’t write more because I am exhausted and utterly heart broken by leaving him tonight. I know that things will and are getting better but my Mom’s heart hurts right now.

We love you all and appreciate all of your prayers and support. Thanks to the friends that stopped by yesterday. You were in our prayers all day and we rejoice that all went well today.

Love,
US

Kentfield day 2

Posted at 11:00 pm PT

So we are in day 2 of rehab and I have so much to tell you and yet again I am to tired, This is grueling, It is a huge transition for Sean and us and I am faced with the fact that in a few short days Vince will go home and I will be on my own, This is the right place for Sean to be and it will get easier but it’s not easy yet. I can’t share to much about Sean because some day he will read this and I don’t want him to feel that I divulged to much. Suffice it to say that at this stage of healing he is very child like and lacks impulse control. Which means that when we leave him he has to be restrained and it feels like we are leaving a child which is heart breaking.

Sean had his first full day of rehab today and he did great but was very worn out, Everyone here is great but, although it seems weird to say, we were spoiled in NTSICU, We knew everyone and when Sean needed something we looked out the door and someone was there, Now his nurse has 6 patients and can’t come running right away. We miss our familiar [old hospital] people.

We are staying at a Best Western down the road and it is the ideal situation. We got a great rate and we are comfortable here, however a great rate in this area isn’t cheap so we will have to figure something else out. As I said before I can stay with friends in San Francisco but it is a commute and will be exhausting at night, Not to mention that I can’t quickly get back to the hospital.

The bottom line is that God has our backs, As hard as it was to handle the setback on Monday, it worked out better for us to come here yesterday. God has been faithful through this entire journey so there is no reason to think that He would dump us now.

As always thank you for your prayers and support. Although I have little time and less sleep I read every one of your messages. [Editor: All comments left here on this blog are forwarded to the family so know that when Terri says she’s reading every one of your messages, she’s reading those you leave here, too!]

Keep praying beautiful people because (say it with me) GOD IS GREAT AND HE IS PRESENT!

Love,
Terri, Vince, Sean & Kiersten

Kentfield

Posted at 10:45pm PT

We’re here! Long exhausting day. As always God’s timing is
perfect. I promise to write more tomorrow. Tonight it’s mimi time. Thanks as always for your prayers and support. Some days your messages are what gets us through.
Love,
Us

Posted at 6:02pm PT

Kentfield didn’t happen today. It fell through at the 11th hour
and caused a lot of stress and emotional upheaval. We are however
on for tomorrow. I will keep you posted. For the twitter followers.
I will start posting on there again at the end of the week when I
get my i-phone back.
Love,
Sean and Family

On the eve of moving

Posted at 11:33pm PT

So tomorrow we are supposed to move to Kentfield if a bed is open. We are glad to be leaving [this hospital] and sad as well. Sean has received such incredible care and we have formed bonds with so many people that we find ourselves pulled in different emotional directions. I have talked a lot about the nurses and the [doctor]s but there are many other people that have participated in the miracle of Sean’s recovery. There are people that clean the rooms and do so quietly and so respectfully. They slip in and out of the room seemingly unnoticed. But to them, we noticed you and appreciated the way that you did your job with such caring and dignity. There are people that are called the lift team. Their job is to lift people. To move them in their bed and from bed to chair. They always showed compassion and respect for Sean and us. They play a key role in the care and handling of patients. There is a dietician that I never formally met but I will never forget his kind smile and I want him to know how much we appreciate his work in figuring out how to nourish our son. There are people who are called monitor techs. they watch the bank of monitors for the patients. They answer the phones. They do so much I can’t even explain it all and they find the time to truly care about the patients and their families. The pharmacists! Don’t get me started on the pharmacists. They play such an important roll in the care of the patient and they took the time to get to know us. I can’t tell you how much time they spent with us explaining what was happening and asking us what we thought and what we needed. They treated us with compassion and respect every day and it was evident how much they cared about Sean. The respiratory therapists. What can I say? You kept our son breathing! Yet another group of people that worked so hard to save Sean’s life and did their job’s with compassion. Then there are the speech, occupational and physical therapists who finally got to work with Sean in the last few weeks. They, yet again, work with compassion and have a passion for their job of bringing a person back to health. And here I am again at the nurses. Early on [Sean’s neurologist] told me that if Sean survived then the nurses would be our heroes. Well, that word doesn’t seem strong enough because nowadays it is sometimes thrown about loosely. They are heroes in the extreme. They worked tirelessly, sometimes feverishly to save Sean. All the while treating him and us with respect and love. So many physicians and physician’s assistants cared for Sean. They cared, consulted and operated on him. They kept us updated always and along with everyone else they cared. I know that I am going to forget someone and if I do I apologize. Their are a countless amount of people that participate in a case the magnitude of Sean’s. People who take [x-]rays and CT’s, people who assist with surgery and recovery after, the people who work behind the scenes arranging the details of a patients stay. And the social workers, you carried us with your love and compassion. These people and many others that I may have forgot to mention comprise the dream team that God assembled to create this miracle that is Sean’s recovery. We love you all and we will never be able to fully express our gratitude for what you have done for Sean and our family. You have enriched our lives in the midst of this tragedy. THANK YOU all, from the depths of our hearts, THANK YOU.

To update on Sean. What can I say? He is amazing. He got his trach out today. He has an incredible attitude as always and continues to improve.
All glory to God!

Love,
Sean and family

Friday’s update is first, Saturday is right afterwards. We’ll see how the updates pan out for the next couple of days as we are out of the area for a bit.

Blessings abound

Posted Friday

Today we had our first full day of a talking Sean and it was fabulous. Sometimes he doesn’t make much sense but that is to be expected. For the most part he is pretty aware of what is going on and able to communicate. When Kiersten saw him she said, "It’s nice to hear your voice", and he said,"It’s nice to see your face". When Sean had PT today he sat at the side of the bed with help, but showed an amazing amount of balance. He is doing so well that we were told that he could go to [the hospital] rehab. We have decided, however, to start with Kentfield because [the doctor there] is incredible and we feel that he can advance faster there. We are still looking at Monday as the go day. Vince is going to stay with us for the first few days then I will be staying with a friend in San Francisco until the 20th and then another San Francisco friend after that. I am still looking for somewhere to stay that is closer to the hospital, but for now I am thankful for the hospitality of friends and the fact that God is always laying out the path.

Looking back over the last almost six weeks I am in awe of God’s incredible healing powers. Sean was not expected to live beyond the first week and then they weren’t very hopeful for his recovery. I wish you could all see the mood of the people in the NTSICU. Everyone is so excited about Sean’s miraculous recovery. They all care about him so much and they are rejoicing with us. Tonight we were able to meet a young man and his family that had been in the NTSICU days before Sean arrived. The young man was involved in a skateboard accident and sustained head trauma. Today you would not know that anything had happened to him. It was so inspiring to meet him and to talk with him and his family. Also tonight I had the father of the young man in room 193 come in and meet Sean. His son is recovering but is a few weeks behind Sean as his accident occurred three weeks after Sean’s. I wanted him to see what the future looks like for his son because I know how hard the wait is. They are such a nice family and it is evident that God is working a miracle in their son’s healing as He is with our son.

Goodnight beautiful people. As always keep praying because God is great and He is present.

Love,
Terri, Vince, talking Sean & graduate Kiersten
P.S. How to fix a water logged Iphone: put it a sealed bag of rice. That’s right, my phone is back!

Another great day

Posted Saturday night

Sean continues to do great. I have to write quick because I have so much to do to prepare for our trip to Kentfield. Let me just give you the highlight of my day which was singing Redemption song with my kids.

God shows His amazing love daily. For once I am speechless. I will try to write more tomorrow but I might not be able to update much until after our move.
To the nurses in the NTSICU, with tears, we love you. You and the docs, with God’s help saved our son’s life. There are no words sufficient to express our gratitude.

Overwhelmed, goodnight. Thank you all for your incredible support.

Love,
Sean and family

HE’S TALKING

Posted Friday morning, June 5, 2009

Last night Vince and I were out to dinner with my brother Jeff when I got a phone call from Sean’s nurse. She told me that Sean was talking and then she put him on the phone. He said hi mom. I asked him how he was doing and he said, ah all right. Then I said I love you and he said I love you too. We left the restaurant immediately and went to see him. After Kiersten’s graduation I surprised her and told her that someone wanted to talk to her and gave her the phone. She got to have a little conversation with her brother.

Kiersten’s graduation went well. We are very proud of her! We are also emotional basket cases, finally in a very good way.

Gotta run. I have sooo much to do before we leave for Kentfield on Monday.
All glory to God!!

Love,
Us Gama’s

Note: To follow this conversation and previous postings, click on the "Updates on Sean" category link.

Posted at 5:33pm PT

Real quick. Sean had a great day. He is still on the T piece but he is on room air which means that they may change and cap the trach soon. That means that Sean would have a voice

We are getting ready for Kiersten’s big night – [graduation!]. Her and I were finally able to go dress shopping today. Better late….....
Gotta run.

God bless you beautiful people!

Love,
Kiersten and family

Posted at approximately 9:30pm PT

I’m tired. What else is new! Sooo a quick update. Sean is doing great. He was vent weaning all day on the t piece which basically means he is breathing on his own. He rocked PT. He is always moving and he is very aware of what is going on and able to communicate by mouthing yes or no. It is a slow progress though, to come back from a serious brain injury, and Sean is in the midst of it. He seems to lack impulse control right now which means that when his hands are free he will grab and pull on his tubes including his vent. So, when we are not with him he has to be restrained to protect him. All of this is very emotionally draining for Vince and Kiersten and I. It sucks to see him tied down even though we know it is for his own protection.

We are still working on the details for the move to Kentfield. It looks like he will go next Monday and I still haven’t figured out where I am staying. But, you know what, we are not freaking out because it is evident that God has our backs in this so we are faithful and confident that this little detail will be worked out.

Goodnight beautiful people we love you mucho!
Terri, Vince, Sen & Kiersten

P.S. If you would like to send cards to Sean before he leaves for the bay I know that he would enjoy them. [Leave a comment and you’ll receive info on where to send the card. Sean can’t receive flowers or balloons right now as he is still in NICU, but once he gets to Kentfield, game on!]