Monday, July 25, 2005 8:31 PM CDT

The nose tube was re-inserted Sat around 3pm. THe procedure was done over at Swedish in Xray and went ok.
Matt thinks the new tube is alittle more comfortable - just a little! The new tube is softer and little more pliable so not as much pain but still hurts if you bump his nose.

Since the procedure was late in the day, we did not make it to the theater for a movie yet. Can't go on Suns - race day.

The drs are still discussing and deciding on what to do to get the neck drainage to stop. The idea for the wound vac was dumped - suction could not be set low enough and would be to strong and painful. We are to the point if someone mentions surgery I think we wouuld jump at the chance to find a "cure" but no one wants to do surgery again.

God is really testing our patience and it is wearing thin.
We want to be home!! Since we have missed racing season at Hawkeye Downs, now we are thinking maybe in time for Iowa football. Christmas is looking better!!!

Pray for solution to all these issues - neck drainage and healing. Return of hand function and nerve healing
Pray for emotional well being as we are here for very long time to us - 6 mos and no end yet.

Judy Walton - you asked what Matt wants from Richmond - "a ticket" LOL
Mark - Big Daddy - you gives us a laugh when we need it!!

Friday, July 22, 2005 10:10 PM CDT

Another discouraging setback

The nose tube has worked its way up into the back of his throat and the surgeon wants it put back down. There is still a leak and he wants the tube in place. So Sat am Matt will go to Xray and have this tube changed.

The neck drain continues to drain. To prevent it from accumulating in his neck, they are planning to hook up to some type of suction - possible a wound vac which will pull out the drainage instead of gravity drain.

Pray that the nose tube (NG) change goes well. He has had this tube in since Jan so hopefully the replacement goes well and no perforations with the procedure.

Pray for drainage to stop

Wednesday, July 20, 2005 9:00 PM CDT

I know its not Thurs but I am getting questions regarding the van - not motor or mileage or that male curiosity but female concerns - Aunt Judy and Charla - its BLUE

NEW PICS - click on guestbook and then view photos.

Matt's nose tube has slipped out twice the last 2 nights - 2-3 inches each time. Tomorrow they are going to do X rays to check placement and any fluid pockets. The decision then will be made to push back in or remove.

PRAY FOR REMOVAL!!!!
Continue to pray for neck drainage to stop

Safety for all riding in RAGBRI starting this Sunday. Randy - Matts cousin from here in Denver is leaving Fri to go back to Iowa to ride - he has done so for a number of years.

Monday, July 18, 2005 9:21 PM CDT

Matt had a good weekend and is progressing at a good rate with the trach and cuff deflations.
He is up to 10-12 hours with the cuff down. He has downsized to a smaller trach. When he can go 24 hrs with cuff down, they will put in smaller tube and he can cap and talk.

The neck doctor will see again this week. We are praying for the nose tube to be removed - we always do.

The neck drain has been pulled out an inch and with less dainage, the drain may be out in another week or two.

I was in Iowa Thurs until Sunday and then drove back our new handicap van - Toyota. It is really nice and with some practice Matt should get good at moving around in it. Right now it is tight quarters but he will be better at backing up the ramp and getting settled in for the tie downs.

Jens knee surgery was good - no chips or tears, just some tissue removed and a bruised kneecap that will take another 2-3 months to heal

Pray for nose tube to be removed and able to swallow.

Thursday, July 14, 2005 10:20 PM CDT

Just a short note this week on Matt.

He is going 8 hrs on his cuff deflations and doing well.He thinks he is having alot of suctioning but he is doing good and has a strong cough.

The neck dr agreed to letting him plug the trach so he can talk during the cuff deflations. This is somewhat hard as he starts coughing but he is working on it.

The drain in the neck is still present but draining less and they have pulled back on it twice in the last week for 1/2 inch at a time.

I am spending Thurs and Fri in Cedar Rapids. Jen is having a scope done on her knee from the car accident last April. I will stay until Sat and if all goes well I will drive back Sat. Short stay but I wanted to be present for this procedure.

Pray for no drainage in the neck, continued cuff deflations, good outcome for Jen. Safe travel for Joy back to CO.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005 10:14 PM CDT

Hi all- got my nights mixed up again.

Jen is here until tomorrow and we had some mother-daughter time. We went shopping Sun and Mon evenings and to a movie last night.
Jen has been spending days with Matt and going to therapy with him. She also has been watching spinal care videos and movies with Matt.
Matt is doing well. Cuff deflations on the trach are up to 4 hrs twice a day. CT of neck on Mon looked good - Dr Hoffer - surgeon consultation thought small leak but pulled the drain another inch to let it heal better away from the esophagus.

Therapy was hard today with alot of work on upper arms and shoulders.

Matt sees Dr Reed - throat dr tomorrow so pray good report and nose tube can be pulled in the next week - our goal not the Drs!!

Pray - no neck drain and nose tube removed soon

Thursday, July 7, 2005 7:40 PM CDT

Hi to all - a much better week.

John has been here all week and is nice to have him around with us. He leaves Fri morning and heads back to Iowa. He still has a house to finish remodeling - finish bathroom after tiler done, paint 2 rooms, hall and part of bath and handrails on deck so he will stay busy for this month.
Jennifer arrives by plane Sat for 5 days; we are anxious for her to come. We haven't seen her for a long time.

Matt is doing excellent on the cuff deflation on his trach. He is up to 2 hrs twice a day. Next he goes to 2 4 hr sessions, then 8 hrs, 12 hrs and 24 hrs. Maybe in the next 1-2wks, he will get his trach downsized and capped.

Yesterday, they pulled back on his drain 1/2 inch. Monday he gets a CAT scan of his neck and maybe the drain removed a little bit more. We finally feel like they are trying to progress to getting rid of some of the tubes - slowly!

Our current discharge date is Aug 17th - we are working really hard to make them stick to that date. We are more than ready to come home!

Safe travel for all - Jen, John, Holly, Tristan and Randy, Marcia & Eric and rest of Ferry "kids". Holly, Tristan and Randy, Marcia and family and the other Ferry sibs are headed for Iowa this weekend for Ann and Tim's 25th wedding anniversary. Matt and I hate to miss a good party and all the family but we love you all.

Pray for neck drainage to stop and drain to be removed. Muscles to be less tight and stiff in joints/shoulders and neck. Trach cuff deflations to continue without problems.

Tuesday, July 5, 2005 9:37 PM CDT

Hope everyone had a nice July 4th
Matt had a good weekend, Julie Ragan (swisher mom), Dad and Crystal had good visits. John is here until Fri July 8th so we are having alot of time together and he is getting to learn how to help Matt. Jennifer flies in the 9th and stays until Weds or Thurs.

Matt had not had the drain removed or shortened. The drain started putting out more drainage so that tube is still there and just hanging out with Matt. As long as there is drainage, the neck Dr will not do anything as far as the swallow test is concerned.

The cuff on the trach is being deflated 3 times a day. This is to get Matt use to having the trach less restricting. He has a lot of drainage in his throat when the cuff is down and requires alot of suctioning. They say this willl get better as he can go longer. This is harder than weaning off the ventilator. They started with 5 minutes every time and are up to 30-45 min with each deflation. The first 5 min takes alot if not continuous suctioning and then gets better.

Pray for neck drainage to stop. Cuff deflations to be tolerated with less suctioning. Rehab to progress with strenghtening his neck, shoulders and arms.

Thursday, June 30, 2005 10:59 PM CDT

Another week and we are still here - probably for awhile at the rate we are going - slow!

Matt was sick most of the week with a colitis infection causing temperature and diarrhea. He has gotten thought the worst of it and improving slowly. He had not been out of bed since Sat until today and finally was able to get up and resume therapies.

He is tolerating his collar off half of the time and puts it back on when the neck gets very painful.

Today they finally started deflating the cuff on the trach. They take all the air out and leave it out for 5-15 min 3 times a day. During this time, Matt has alot of secretions to adjust to but they say it gets easier the longer he can go.

Dad and Julie (swisher mom) arrived tonight around 6pm. Matt suspected Julie was his surprise visitor - I gave too many hints. Julie is on her way to Montana to visit family and gave John a ride and is going to stay a couple of days to visit us.

Crystal flies in Fri night for the weekend so we will have a good bunch of company this weekend.

Matt got his own wheelchair today so now just needs to get final adjustments and perfect the driving.

Pray for neck drainage to stop. Trach weaning to be successful and continued pain control.

Monday, June 27, 2005 7:10 PM CDT

Our life continues to be a roller coaster of ups and downs.

The good news - surgical consultation felt additional surgery was not needed on throat at this time (hopefully never) He felt the drainage in Matts drain is very minimal. He thought possibly by removing the drain 1/2 to 1 inch at a time and letting the healing continue from inside that the leak will seal itself off.

Also the spinal team informed us Matt's neck Xrays were great and he can have his soft collar off as tolerated. After being in the halo or collar for 6 months, Matts neck is weak but he is keeping collar off 6-8 hrs at a time. PT will work on neck strenghtening exercises.

Matt seems to have acquired a bacteria causing diarrhea and temperatures for past 2 days. He has been so miserable, he has not got of bed for 2 days. All sorts of cultures done and re-started antibiotics. Temps are around 100.6

This Friday, John comes for a week and Crystal comes for holiday weekend.

Pray for this lastest bug to resolve. Less pain in neck and tolerate without collar. Neck drainage to stop.
Safe travels for all this weekend.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005 9:51 PM CDT

Sorry for no update this week but waiting for Weds conference to give everyone progress report

Dr Reed ENT dr (ear, nose & throat) did the neck/throat surgery 3 months ago. He feels things are healing but not fast and he does not think Matt is ready to swallow yet. Matt has a drain in his neck and the fluid in the drain tests positive for amylase - which is present in salvia. until it test negative - he feels there is a leak even if very small.

The other option to waiting, is to do another surgery and put a muscle graft along the esophagus to close the site. Dr Reed does not do this type of grafting so would have other surgeons do. Again it is big major surgery. The big question is - how long of recovery? another 6-8wks? or do we wait and see if it seals on its own in 4-6wks?

It appears Dr Reed is in favor of waiting and Rehab Dr thinks we should get another opinion from other surgeons. So I guess another opinion in the next week or so.

Trach has to stay but may start deflating cuff and then can cap/plug so Matt can talk - this process may take several weeks also but aleast we have the go ahead to start cuff deflations.

Movie day today - Matt, Holly and I went to see Mr and Mrs Smith. Next week we may try Batman. If nothing else movie outings are a positive experience.

Pray for complete healing and no further surgery, pray for decisions in Matts care

Thursday, June 16, 2005 11:09 PM CDT

Hi to everyone
It has been a pretty good week - Matt has been doing fairly well.

Brian was here until Wed evening. Matt and he had a great time - laughing and clowning around. They just had some good times hanging out, watching movies and talking.

Brian brought a race video from the inside of his race car during last weeks race. Matt thought that was cool - just like riding with Brian during the race. It was hard for both of them when going home time came - but they made plans for Matt's return to Iowa so that gives Matt something to look forward to.

Brian was so positive about how far Matt has progressed. It is hard for us to remember how far Matt has come as we are together every day. Someone visiting who has not seen Matt for awhile sees the progress more.



Nothing has changed in Matt's care. He is still has the trach and nose tube and feeding tube. Next week we have a care conference on Weds so maybe we will have some answers or plans. Chest xrays and spine xrays look better, no news on throat - no testing done.

Pray the Drs will make decisions on Matt's healing and make some porgress on getting rid of some of his tubes, trach and neck collar


NEW PICS on photo page

Monday, June 13, 2005 8:42 PM CDT

Hello everyone. Brian Allen here to assist you on matts update today on monday the 13th. We had an execellant morning in therapy and he did quite well. 2:00 we went to a class called re entry class. Re-entry class was on finding home health care help, each day they discuss a different topic.

Matt has had a pretty good day and started getting really tired around 3:00. He has had to be suctioned a few times this afternoon, otherwise he has had a pretty good day. I personally would like to thank the person who texted this morning. Ok, back to today.

I am working on a radio system for matt so when he comes home he can be my spotter on my race team. I was missing one piece, its called a head switch to activate the radio so he can communicate with me. Craig hosp. sent me to their supply house and i found one. So know when matt does get to come home he is ready to go. I am looking forward to that day. I will pray over him everynight while i am here, i just ask that everyone that knows matt, that reads these updates and supports him, Please put him in your prayers tonight and everynight, As God will pour his blessing upon you.

Friday, June 10, 2005 8:12 PM CDT

Things here are calmer but still status quo.

Rehab Dr wants to do swallow test and neck surgeon still waiting for drain in neck to decrease amount of drainage by at least half. So we just wait. No tests planned.

Matt had good day - much less suctioning again and pain tolerable. Rehab was ok this week, working on neck muscles and shoulder massage and ice trying to decrease pain.

He went to a vendor show today - gadgets and adaptive technology. He saw a couple of things he thought might be helpful but nothing really amazing or nothing he had not seen before. He liked the automatic door openers for your home. He is worried about not being able to open doors to get in or out.

The only disappointing part was they were gone from 9am to 3pm, 2 vans of patients. Of course you have to feed them, so they stopped at Subway - Matts favorite place!!! He had to sit and watch them all eat!!! Someday it will be his turn.

This weekend Matt is in for a big surprise. Brian Allen is showing up Sat night and staying until Wed and Matt has not clue - We have kept it a secret for a month. Brian and Matt can bond, watch racing tapes of Hawkeye Downs and I can take in a chick-flic or something equally relaxing

Thanks for continued prayers.
Enjoy your weekend

Wednesday, June 8, 2005 9:31 PM CDT

No swallow test today - we were very disappointed and a little angry

Matt got to Xray and the radiologist refused to do barium swallow until Matt had a swallow study done.

What's the difference? Swallow study they just do at bedside with spoonfuls of different liquids - water, juice, liquid gelatin, pudding. They increase the consistency and watch for chocking, gagging or aspiration.

If he passes this then they go to xray to drink the 8-12oz of barium.

So now we wait for both to be coordinated. May be yet this week maybe not.

I will keep you posted - thanks for all the emails, website messages and prayers. We are getting homesick and frustrated.

Coming home date moved again - July sometime.
Dr said go ahead and get John ticket out here for the 4th. so we know we are here longer.

Tuesday, June 7, 2005 10:12 PM CDT

Good news on CT of neck - Dr did not give alot of details but indicated it looked good and better than 3 weeks ago.

Dr thought maybe the soft collar could be removed next week. Possible mid to late in the week.

Swallow test tomorrow - pray for good results

Secretions still abundant but he seems better tonight.

Pain comes and goes and rehab Dr feels is muscle related due to rehab. Dr felt Matt needs to just keep working out the stiffness and soreness. Matt not entirely convinced.
Unfortunately I have heard SCI patients always have a lot of chronic pain at the injury site and he may have to find other ways than drugs to deal with it. Such as heat, massage, exercise and movement.

Pray for Matt to deal with chronic pain issues, swallow test and tube removal

Monday, June 6, 2005 8:26 PM CDT

Matt had a rough weekend. If it wasn't pain, it was thick secretions.

Pain medication does not work long anymore, couple hours and he wants something else. He is limited on what medications he can take - longer acting can not be crushed and put in feeding tube so using more IV dilaudid.

Lung secretions were very thick and frequent this weekend. It seemed we would suction every 10-15 minutes for 3-4 times then he was ok for 30 min and start in again.
It got so his trachea was so irritated, the suctioning hurt. Tonight continues but not as painful and tolerating suctioning better

Chest Xrays done Sun and Mon looked good. Cultures done of secretions, urine and blood as he had slight temp - 100.7 no results yet. No one is sure why so many secretions.

Matt will have a CT of neck Tues and barium swallow test Wed.
Pray:
1 Good results on CT of neck, no infection
2 He can tolerate the barium, complete healing and no leaks
3 The stent (nose tube) can be removed, without difficulty - that after 4 months it has not grown in to the tissues
4 He can swallow without restrictions by the esophgus

Thursday, June 2, 2005 10:12 PM CDT

Hi to all - short message tonight

Matt is doing fine. He is getting more and more anxious to be home.

Therapy is progressing but main emphasis is strengthening and range of motion. It is important to keep his extremeties moving and not let them get stiff. This seems to cause moderate amount of pain as arms stiffen up and it is hard to get them to straighten out.

He also is having more neck pain this week and no reason just happens with spinal cord injuries. They have not changed his medications but maybe he is building up a tolerance. The nurses indicate they will have more options when he can swallow instead of pills needing to be crushed in his feeding tube.

Pray for pain relief, extremeties to be less tight and a good swallow test next week.

Monday, May 30, 2005 9:45 PM CDT

Hope all enjoyed their long 3 day weekend.
We had visitors off and on all weekend so was nice.

Crystals parents were passing thru on Thrus from Snowmass CO where her brother lives. They stayed over night and got a chance to see Crystal arrive here Fri morning and spend a couple of hours with her.

John and Crystal drove overnight Thurs and got here Fri monring around 6AM. Johns brother Ervin got here Sat morning from Phoenix. These 3 all stayed until monday morning.

Grandma is here until Weds.

We all, especially Matt enjoyed the different faces and company. He and Crystal got to spend 3 days together - got in a lot of talking and movie watching. John got see his brother for several days and Matt as well.

Matt is getting closer to the swallow test - Drs indicating maybe around June 8 - so only about 10days yet. Pray for good results for Matt.

We have care conference the middle of June so may know more definete discharge plans.

Praise God for some good news. Appears Brian Allen and Roger Cassell have discussed Roger flying out to CO to fly Matt home - 3 hr flight instead of 12 plus car ride. If we can work out the details to get my van back fully loaded with equipment and supplies, we should be able to have a easier ride for Matt.

Please continue to pray for pain especially neck, healing and ability to swallow fluids and solids, discharge details to work out, including travel arrangement.

A milestone for me is how to arrange home care for Matt. We will need nurse visits in morning and attendent care in afternoon. Please hold up all these issues to God for us.

Thursday, May 26, 2005 8:46 PM CDT

Special Day for Matt - he got a pass to go see Star Wars!!!

It almost took an act of Congress to get through all the paperwork and transportation arrangements but it was worth it. He has not been so excited about something since his accident.

You have to be approved by nursing staff to take him, respiratory staff that you can handle the oxygen and suctioning and a drs order for the pass. Craig has a hospitality van you can make arrangements to use if they can find a volunteer driver. We got it all accomplished and went to the 4:15 show - Matt, mom, grandma and Courtney (1 of his nurse's who was off duty, it was her idea to set this all in motion)

We had a great time - even though we couldnt eat or drink in front of Matt. The ride was a little bumpy and he bounced around a little with slight head bobbing but he did ok.

Movie was great - ties it all together - all the questions about why and how Darth Vader turned to the dark side.

Looking forward to the long weekend, John and Crystal are coming as well as Uncle Ervin is flying in from Phoenix.

Pray for pain to lessen, ability to use hands and nose/stomach tube out soon - 1-2 weeks would be great
Thanks for all the prayers and emails
Steve thanks for the CDs Matt really enjoys them!!!

Monday, May 23, 2005 7:10 PM CDT

Matt has been doing good. As always he has some pain in shoulders and neck but most of time is bearable with pain medications.

The neck dr took Matt to Xray Fri to drain an air pocket in his neck - and Praise God they could not find it so was not needed. We thank God for that because last time, it was extremely painful.

He has been outside every day for the past week, temperatures here high 80s and low 90s. He is out for only short time periods - 30-60 minutes but enough to get fresh air. The air is really dry here so he gets dry and has a hard time with coughing mucus around the trach tube.

We are anxious to have a swallow test and see if and when Matt can drink and eat. It will take some time to increase fluids and foods and removing the trach tube is a weaning process also.

Please pray for that test in the next week or so. We dont want to wait much longer so we can come home the end of June or early July.

Remodeling is steadily progressing - thanks to all the friends who are helping John. He has 3-5 people there most nights helping him.

Pray for rehab of Matts arms, less muscles contractures and spasticity, swallow test to be normal and pain resolved in shoulders.

Thursday, May 19, 2005 10:49 PM CDT

Hi it's Thursday - means we are just that much closer to Friday.

Care conference Tuesday and Drs are very pleased with Matts progress physcially and with rehab

The goal is to have the esophagus finish healing - small pin size hole yet and then start fluids. They keep saying "couple more weeks" Also the next step is to wean down the inflated cuff around the trach. This process is similar to weaning off the vent - it takes time an d then they can cap the trach and eventually remove totally.

Arm strength is improving - he is lifting his arms up to shoulder height and can move out to sides somewhat. They are working with him on a floor mat and having him learn to balance his upper body and hold himself up - that takes alot of strength and is hard for Matt.

No infections but slight air pocket in neck so will go radiology Fri to see if they can drain it. Drs stopped 1 antibiotic this week so is down to 2 left - better than the 6 he was on!

8 weeks since the last surgery and only 4 more weeks of collar then he can be free and unlimited in neck movement. He will need to re-strengthen his neck muscles but they are woroking on that now too.

Pray for healing and progress with rehab

Racing season at Hawkeye Downs is under way and we miss being part of the Brian Allen Racing team. All those in Cedar Rapids area if you get a chance go root for Brian - modified #1 and late model #52.
GOOOOOO Brian, stay safe!! We know God rides with you!!!

Monday, May 16, 2005 8:55 PM CDT

Hi - I am back in Denver with Matt. It was nice being home and good to get back to Matt. Wish I could be in both places at once or better yet - Matt and I in Iowa again

He is doing well. Drs are pleased with progress of neck healing. No real news on taking out nose tube and feeding him or when trach can come out but no set backs either.
Drs are talking of swallow test - "in couple of weeks" but seems we have heard that for a month or better. PATIENCE!

He continues to have moderate amount of neck and shoulder pain but we hope that improves with time. Almost 2 months since last surgery so healing is successful.

He is doing better and better every day with his wheelchair and they are getting his final chair ready for ordering. We are also looking at equipment for home - bed, lift, and shower chair.

Still no idea on discharge but anytime is good for us. Maybe late June or July?

Pray for ability to eat and drink soon. Continuous concern for more function in arms and hands.

Friday, May 13, 2005 6:09 PM CDT

As promised, here is the result of Matt's scan that he had
Thursday morning. The doctor was worried that he had an air pocket in his injury, so that was the reason for the scan. As it turns out, there was no pocket. Good thing!!!
Thank God. The other good thing is that although there was not any visible improvement in the healing, he was not any worse. He is just healing "slowly". They told Matt that they may do another swollow test in a week or so to see if the hole is healing. Pray for that to come out good so he can shed the tubes and get going and back home. His blood counts are improving, and he is getting healthier.

Thursday, May 12, 2005 7:25 PM CDT

This is Annie; alone tonight. Matt has had a prettty good week until yesterday. His "neck" doc came in the room early in the morning to check Matt's neck, and he was suspicious that Matt had an air pocket in his injury area. So, he gave him a local and then stuck a needle in his neck and tried to "locate" and drain the pocket. Matt said there wasn't one. He was in so much pain after the proceedure that he was given a lot of pain meds and slept away the rest of the day. When I went in there, he had tears in his eyes and broke my heart. He told me that "sometimes the things they do to me hurt worse than getting shot." The dr. did say that overall he thought that things looked good and that he is about 95% of the way healed. They did a scan of his neck early this morning and although I have tried, I guess we can't know the results until the Dr. sees Matt again early on Friday AM. The nurses said that the proceedure was pretty common; nothing to worry about. They were totally sympathetic to how much it hurt, though.

(Just for grins, you all may be interested to know that Matt is sort of a special patient to most of his nurses. They say he is such a sweet guy, very tolerant, and has the most "beautiful blue eyes".)

Matt came around about 5:00 PM. He felt good enough to watch a movie, but he wanted to watch "Dead Birds". I think that was so you all would forget that he watched a chick flick with me the day before. He had to watch that one by himself. I was gone liked the wind......

Matt was up, dressed and smiling this morning when I got to his room. Said he felt a lot better. Shoulder and neck hurt, but he went to therapy twice and stayed up all day. We just finished watching a movie "Get Shorty" and he is now ready to turn in.

Cousin Dave: Matt wants to know when you have time to breath with that sched you are keeping.

That's all I know for now. Will do a special update as soon as I know how the scan came back. Pray for good results and continued progress. Oh! the neck drainage was a tiny bit less today. Smiles...

Annie

Monday, May 9, 2005 8:56 PM CDT

Hello. This is Randy and Annie with an update on Matte for Monday. Matt had a good weekend and a pretty exciting Monday. A group of patients including Matt got to make a trip to a wonderful neighborhood park for a few hours. The park is full of paved paths that Matt used to work on navigaitng his chair a bit as he took in views of the ponds and mountain views. All this, coupled with a bit of frustration with the operation of his chair seemed to have tuckered the young man out a bit. Upon his return to Criag he got himself into a nice nap! The chair will be much better once they get one specifically calibrated to him.

After his nap Annie talked him into watching "Finding Neverland" Matt must be getting stronger because the ending nearly moved me to tears, but Matt looked more like "get over it already".

Additionally, it looks like the drainage from the pocket in Matt's neck is continueing to improved. There's been a little less each day. Hopefully, he may be on the cusp of finally having it removed!

That's all for now. Keep the letters and prayer coming as it's something Matt really looks forward to receiving...

Thursday, May 5, 2005 8:01 PM CDT

Hi, Everybody. It's Holly and Annie. Joy went back to Iowa yesterday for about 10 days. She and John are working on getting the house all ready for Matt to come home, and there is lots to do. Annie is here at Craig filling in for her and taking care of Matt.

Annie is getting a lesson in lip reading again. It can be frustrating for both of them sometimes! They are considering using an alphabet board to help them communicate. Matt just shakes his head and laughs. At least he can shake his head now! Small blessings...

Today Matt went to a nutrition class to learn about the food groups and how he's supposed to eat and what's important for his spinal injury. They stressed how important it is that he doesn't gain weight. They showed him a 5-pound glob of fat and it grossed him out. He said the class was cruel and inhumane torture because he can't eat anything yet. He says the first thing he wants to eat is a Subway seafood and crab sandwich.

He also had 2 therapy sessions today, and he got to go outside to get some sunshine. They wanted to take him to the zoo tomorrow, but he doesn't dig zoos so he won't go. He did agree to go to the park next Monday, however, to watch the grass grow for awhile. They seem to think it is important to get him out of the hospital and interacting with other patients by now.

Right now, he's watching movies and waiting for his e-mails, which we'll print and read to him. Keep those cards and messages coming, because they REALLY brighten up Matt's days.

For now...

Monday, May 2, 2005 8:07 PM CDT

I finally have internet access again. Server here in Craig apartments has been down since Tues last week.

Matt is doing well. Therapy continues as usual. He is off the ventilator and they have removed it from his room. He remains on oxygen through his trach and probably will for 3-4 more weeks.

Eventually they will start deflating the cuff that is inside and put in a smaller trach as he tolerates without the cuff and able to breath around the trach more. As they change types of trachs, he will be able to have it capped and then he can talk around it also.

Recent xrays look good. Some small amount of infection in neck but the drain appears to be draining the fluid and he is not having fevers. As this drainage is resolved then they will test the esphogus and see how the healing is doing and check for leaks

Pray for continued healing of neck with no drainage, no infections, and movement in hands

I will try to update photos tonight

Friday, April 29, 2005 11:10 AM CDT

This is Jen again, moms computer still isnt working. Matts had a good week. Been off the vent. for one week!! They did a CT scan of his neck and it looks really good. The air pocket is gone and only small infection. He still has the tube down his nose doctors hoping to do a swallow test in the next couple weeks. There are trying to put him in a standing machine to improve blood flow to legs and maintain muscle structure. The standing machine straps his legs to a frame and set raises him to standing position.

This weekend dad, crystal and aunt mary went out and they made arrangements to put up matts good friend erin darrow from high school on there way through des moines. Matt doesnt know Erin was coming so it will be a nice surprise for him!

Please pray for pain control, hand function and healing.

Monday, April 25, 2005 10:31 PM CDT

This is Jen. Mom server is down so shes having me write. Matts had a good weekend. Had some congestion on saturday night and was put back on the vent. through the night. Got off the vent. on sunday morning and has been off since. Doing good, no problems.

Thank you to all from Venture Crew 1024 and those that attended the benefit. It was nice to see everyone.

Continue prayers for pain relief.

Friday, April 22, 2005 8:57 PM CDT

For those in the Cedar Rapids area

BENEFIT FOR MATT
PALO COMMUNITY CENTER
SUNDAY APRIL 24 11AM - 2 PM
$5 LUNCHEON ALL YOU CAN EAT SOUP
WITH A DRINK AND DESSERT

BENEFIT AUCTION AT 2:30 PM

SPONSORED BY BOY SCOUTS VENTURE CREW 24

Wish Matt and I could be there but long commute. John Jen and Crystal will be there - give them a hug from us.
Thanks to all who can make it.

Thursday, April 21, 2005 11:42 PM CDT

Praise God - it has been a good week!

Matt has been progressing with therapy and doing strengthening exercises. He is also geting better at driving his wheelchair even though he still has problems with the steering.

He is off the ventilator overnight tonight and will be 24 hrs at 7am. If the overnight goes well, they will leave him off as long as he is doing ok. He still gets oxygen to his trach but breathing on his own and not the forced air of the vent.

Pain is better, the therapists adjusted the back on his wheelchair and the head rest so he has been more comfortable the last couple of days.

Pray for continued time off the vent with no complications and progress with rehab. Also prayers for healing of the esophogus and drainage to the neck drain to stop.

Monday, April 18, 2005 9:02 PM CDT

Just a brief update tonight, not alot new.

Matt is off ventilator during day and only on at night. He is doing real well and he and I hope he can try an overnight later this week or next. The trach will stay in for awhile after he is done with the vent but we hope it can be capped so he can talk.

He has a new pain since about Thurs; back pains in the shoulder blade area. The pain occurs after 2-3 hours in the wheelchair so the therapists feel something is not right with his chair. Tomorrow they are going to check it out and make adjustments so he is more comfortable sitting.

Weather has been nice here so he was outside for an hour on Sat - alternated between sitting in the sun and sitting under the patio in the breeze (he is still hot alot of time). Sunday was race day so we just were couch potatoes.

John is moving along with home remodeling. He has gutted the bathroom and waiting for a bid on the tiling. The cupboards and vanity top are on order. This past weekend he and helpers installed a sliding glass door from Matts room to the backyard. There will be a deck with ramp built yet this next month or so out this door. Finishing touches still need to be done to the spare bedroom in the basement.

Thanks to all helping John - Dave, Jim, MaryAnn, Jerry Mellem, Dean Hartman, Roger Fredricks, Roy Dewitt (every night for couple of weeks!)Rod Martens and anyone I have forgotten.

Please continue to pray for endurance with rehab, and pain control.

Thursday, April 14, 2005 8:39 PM CDT

The end of the week is looking better than the beginning.

The low blood pressure episodes have stopped and not really sure why or how - just lots of prayers worked. They never determined the cause but tested lots of areas and nothing showed up. Dr thinks he may have gotten dehydrated and calcium level was up also.

Pain has been minimal - couple of pain pills 2-3 times a day. Once this week, he had a real bad day and they gave him a strong IV med. It was a medication he had been getting after surgery but having been without it for couple of weeks, it really "snowed" him. Matt called it "happy land".

Weaning off ventilator is progressing and respiratory therapists are being more aggressive - weaning is up to 10-12 hours at 1 time - usually starting at 8am until 6-8 pm

Drs conference this week indicated some infection still present in the bones of spine but they feel they can resolve with antibiotics. They do not see need for further surgery from spine aspect. Esphogus still has small air leak so continues with nasal tube and no food or drink.

Matt really is desperate to get his hands back. Drs do not indicate if or when - they just say could be 1-2 years for any return. This begins to feel like never for Matt.

Pray for continued healing of esphogus. Function of hands -even 1 hand would be a positive sign.

Monday, April 11, 2005 11:09 PM CDT

Matt continues to have problems with low blood pressure. He then gets lightheaded or very tired and just wants to sleep.

The Dr is doing alot of tests and blood work trying to determine what is causing this. He had chest xray and leg xrays today. Tomorrow they are doing echocardiogram of his heart. They continue to adjust medications trying to find a solution.

They stopped bedtime medication for relaxation/sleep and stopped the pain patch. Neither of these medications seem to improved blood pressure and he is comfortable with out the pain medication. He still gets pain pills down his feeding tube but is using less of those also each day.

He is getting very discouraged - feeling he is not getting better and will "never get better". Roller coaster ups and downs are very hard and emotionally draining. All these medical problems also slow down rehab sessions.

Pray for blood pressure problems to resolve, better emotional well being and some sign of progress/hope in hands. Also prayers for healing of throat as there appears to be a continued leak.

Thursday, April 7, 2005 9:51 PM CDT

Matt had a difficult time again today.

He got very lightheaded and dizzy when up so he was returned to bed and rested, no therapies. His doctor feels it is from a new medication he was started on this week. So they have stopped the medicine and hope that solves the problem.

He is weaning off ventilator 8 - 10 hours a day and doing well.

Pain control is better most days, occassionally he has a painful day but most of the time he is comfortable.

Continued prayers for rehab and healing are appreciated

Tuesday, April 5, 2005 9:10 PM CDT

Sorry, I missed the update last night until Brian Allen pointed out I hadn't written since last Thurs. Time gets away from me some days.

Matt is moving along pretty good. Therapy is hard work and they are really challenging him to work his upper arms hard.

He has had a couple of days, he can't hardly stay awake, he is really drowsy and drifts off while talking to him or watching TV. They did decrease the dose on his pain patch because his sleepy time period was first 12-14 hours with a new patch.

He is averaging 8 hours a day (in 2 time periods) off the ventilator and Dr indicated they would step up the pace on the weaning.

Until today the weather has been in the 70s Mon and Sun so Matt did go outside on the patio. Fri he had therapy on the patio for awhile.

From the "sign guestbook" section, click on "view photos" and see a pic of Matt from last Sun - no halo and new haircut. Now I figured out how to put in photo, I will update occassionally


Please pray for progress on weaning and rehab. Pray for more function in upper extremeties.

Thursday, March 31, 2005 8:48 PM CST

Matt's week has been much better.

His pain is more controlled and he is awake more.
He has resumed OT and PT and doing well being up in wheelcahir. He is holding his head/neck well without the halo. Therapies have taken it pretty easy on him this week but aleast he is getting back in the routine.

Weanning has been gradual and he seems to tire more easily but tonight he went 3 hours off the vent.

He got his first haircut since the accident - it was getting very long! 2 of the nurses took clippers to him Wed night and he got "buzzed". He is much cooler and his Dale Jr hat fits better without halo and hair.

Matt continues to have only feeling down to his elbows and occassionlly he has increased sensation in forearms.

His spine Dr is very pleased with the repair and has said he believes he will not need additional surgery on his spine. Now we just pray the throat heals without further surgery. Also he will have ability to swallow fluids and food in time.

Continued prayers for pain control and ability to take less pain medication. Healing and function of hands.

Monday, March 28, 2005 9:23 PM CST

Thanks for all the emails and text messages this weekend and hope all had a good Easter weekend.

We had a good weekend with family here - John, Jen, Brian, Uncle Larry and Aunt Dorie and Grandma. It was an apartment full with 1 bathroom but we did ok.

Matt's weekend was better and he seems to be in less intense pain. He still sleeps alot but is more comfortable when he is awake. He is on alot of pain medication but they are going to try to decrease the IV medications and go with pills in the feeding tube gradually. They are also trying a patch with pain medication.

Today he did wean off the vent for 2 hours - he has not weaned for a week since surgery so is like starting over.

Tomorrow, they are going to try getting him up in his wheelchair and resume therapy.

Pray for continued recovery, healing,and less pain.
Thanks

Thursday, March 24, 2005 10:02 PM CST

Its been a rough week for Matt since Mondays surgery.
He has had a lot of pain and they have tried different pain medications and none have worked real well.

He has spent most of the last 3 days sleeping just to tolerate the pain. He says it is getting slightly better but not too good. With incisions in the front and back and all the repairs, he is just very uncomfortable.

I think part of it may also be without the halo supporting his head and neck, he just has to learn to support his head and use his neck that has 2 incisions and 3 drains.

He has also had a 101-103 temperature since surgery. Today it has finally dropped to the 98-100 range but he alternates between being hot and having chills.

The nurses and therapists have pretty much let him sleep, no OT, PT, no weaning or up in the wheelchair.

Tomorrow night, John, Jen, Brian, Uncle Larry and Aunt Dorie come for the weekend. Grandma and I will have lots of company and maybe Matt will perk up.

Please pray for pain control, and healing without infection. Also his ability to tolerate rehab and up in chair as his activity resumes.

Happy Easter to all and celebrate Christ's resurrection

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 8:58 PM CST

Surgery was long and late last night - started at 4pm and ended at 9:30, by the time he was finished in the recovery room and got back to his room it was 11:30pm

The surgery went well and hopefully the last one, but no guarantee on that.

They entered his spine from the back of his neck and discovered the bone plug had not fused and had a large abcess/pus pocket under it. This was all cleaned out and removed and spine stablized with screws and a rod. Hopefully all will heal and he will not need a stablization from the front also. The halo was able to be removed and a hard collar on for 12 wks.

The esphogus also appeared to healing but slowly because of the infection in the spine and bone. The throat surgeon felt healing was occuring but did not foresee any food or fluids for another 6-8 wks. Ability to eat and swallow is still in question depending on the esphogus and any narrowing/constriction that has occurred with healing.

We are trusting God to handle this issue for us and have put this concern on the "back burner" for now as we have so much else to pray for.

Immediate prayer needs for the next 3-4 days
(1) pain control. Matt is on high doses of morphine and not getting much relief.
(2)Infection control as he has had 102 temp for the last 24 hrs with 3-4 IV antibiotics again.
(3) Healing and no further surgeries needed

Sunday, March 20, 2005 9:18 PM CST

Surgery Monday March 21st - 2pm Mt time (3pm Iowa time)
Expected to last 6 hours.

2 surgeries in 1. 1 in the back of his neck for spine repair and 1 back through the front of his neck for esphogus repair.

He goes across the street to Swedish Medical Center for surgery but then they are planning on him returning to Craig that night - probably not until 10 or 11 Mt time

Pray for Matt, thanks

Friday, March 18, 2005 7:17 PM CST

Well its been a couple days of ups and downs. Matt has not felt the best on Weds and Thurs. Alot of lung congestion and on Thurs he ran a 101 temperature.

Today, he has had a really good day. Off vent again 3 hours twice today. No temperature today so not sure what yesterdays temp was about but hope it doesn"t flair up again.

Therapy is going very well. They use alot of weights and pulleys and he does alot of repetitions to build up biceps, shoulders and range of motion in elbow joints.

They also teach him alot about how to take care of his body as a quadripelgic - such as positioning in wheelchair. This involves shifting body weights to relieve pressure spots so he doesn't get skin breakdown.

Monday is the day for surgery again. The plan is to do the spine repair since the bone graft did not take. Hopefully if no infection is present, they will use screws and/or plates to stablize. If this is sucesssful, he may be able to get out of the halo and into a hard collar.
They will also check on the healing of the esphogus as there appears to be an air leak.

Prayer for good weekend so nothing postpones his surgery. Pray for good outcome with surgery and wisdom for Drs.

Friday, March 18, 2005 7:17 PM CST

Well its been a couple days of ups and downs. Matt has not felt the best on Weds and Thurs. Alot of lung congestion and on Thurs he ran a 101 temperature.

Today, he has had a really good day. Off vent again 3 hours twice today. No temperature today so not sure what yesterdays temp was about but hope it doesn"t flair up again.

Therapy is going very well. They use alot of weights and pulleys and he does alot of repetitions to build up biceps, shoulders and range of motion in elbow joints.

They also teach him alot about how to take care of his body as a quadripelgic - such as positioning in wheelchair. This involves shifting body weights to relieve pressure spots so he doesn't get skin breakdown.

Monday is the day for surgery again. The plan is to do the spine repair since the bone graft did not take. Hopefully if no infection is present, they will use screws and/or plates to stablize. If this is sucesssful, he may be able to get out of the halo and into a hard collar.
They will also check on the healing of the esphogus as there appears to be an air leak.

Prayer for good weekend so nothing postpones his surgery. Pray for good outcome with surgery and wisdom for Drs.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 10:48 PM CST

Hello to all. Sorry I did not update last night but I was on Amtrak coming back to Colorado.

Amtrak was ok but I have discovered they are always hours behind. I arrived today at 11AM instead of 8AM. John left tonight at 9:15 - 1 1/2 hrs late.

It was so good to be back and see Matt but I did enjoy the week in CR and spending time with Jen. Our week was very busy and at times we just passed each other by with our schedules.

Matt is working hard at rehab and gets tired from intense exercises. Vent weaning is up to 3 hrs twice a day and up out of bed 4-6 hours a day. He works hard at doing what you and I take for granted.

Looks like his spine is not healing as well as Drs want and they are talking spine repair next week. We want to get it done and get on. Talk from nurses is repair with plates, screws and then hard collar for 6-8 wks. That would mean no more halo!!! We haven't had final discussion with the Drs so not written in stone yet.

Target date for return to Iowa - June 2nd. Alot longer than we wanted but Matt has had so much healing to do and rehab is just getting good start.

Pray for endurance and progress with rehab. Drs wisdom on surgery and good outcome and healing. Continued success with time off vent and no lung complications.

Thursday, March 10, 2005 10:04 PM CST

Hard to write about Matt from Iowa but I will give it a try.

John and Matt seem to be having a good week together.
John took the suctioning class this week so he can suction Matt. He says it is going well and has suctioned several times with the nurses supervision. The rule is suction 3 times with nurses then you can be passed to do on your own.
After you are able to suction, you can take Matt off the floor - such as out to the patio or down to recreation room to big screen TV - might be good for Sundays NASCAR race.

Matt is up in the chair most of the afternoon, usually 4-5 hrs. Getting off ventilator is going well, he has been off 2 to 2 1/2 hrs twice a day. He says he gets a little tired sometimes at the end but not exhausted.

The CT scan is not tomorrow like I was lead to believe but just in the future. The nurses can't seem to find it scheduled yet but everyone says in a week or so. So we will be patient - as patient as we can be.

Matt tried something new today in therapy - John described them as skateboard type equipment with pulleys/ropes and weights. Matt rested his arms on the boards and ran them forward and back and then out to the sides. It was hard work but he did well according to Dad. They are doing alot of different strengthening exercises with him and movements to result in better function.

Continue to remember Matt in prayer for improved function and successful healing so spine repair can be done.

Monday, March 7, 2005 11:20 PM CST

Hi this Joy again. It was fun to have Annie write the update for couple of nights - different perspective of Matts life in CO.

Matt is doing better and better every day, even though it is slow it is still forward progress.

He is doing more arm strengthening activities - using arms to try to balance himself in a sitting position. He is also using uppers arms to move and steer his wheelchair.

Time off ventilator is steadily increasing. He has been off for 1 1/2 hrs twice a day.

Fri 3-11 they are planning a CT of spine to check how his neck is healing. I hope this also includes looking for improvement in the throat healing. Pray for no infection and Drs to do his spinal repair. We are hoping the repair is successful and he can get out of the halo.

This weekend Matt had Dad, Jen and Brian visit. He really enjoyed the company and companionship. I did too.

This week John and I traded places - I am in Iowa and he stayed in CO. I came home to take care of some Dr and dentist appts. Get our taxes done, replace the drivers license I lost a month ago,spend time with Jen and go to her horse show this weekend. I rode home with Jen and Brian and go back to CO 3-14 on Amtrak and John comes home 3-15 on Amtrak

After 12 weeks with Matt every day, is real strange to be apart from him but will give us both a break. It is also a good time for John and Matt to be together.

Pray for good report on CT Fri and continued strength of arms. Also for endurance and prolonged time with weaning off ventilator

Thursday, March 3, 2005 8:54 PM CST

This is Annie again. The week has flown by and I have to go home Friday evening. Joy is starting to kick the crud, finally. I walk to the grocery store most everyday and got her good things to eat. It's been sort of fun "playing house" here, taking care of her and sitting with Matt in the day time. It feels so good to be able to help.

I actually made Matt laugh today. He was driving across the cat walk from Craig to therapy and I was down on the street below. I saw him, so I started jumping up and down and waving, trying to get the tech's attention. She finally saw me, and turned Matt so he could see me. She held up his hand so he could wave. I was backing up so he could see me, and a car was trying to turn into the parking lot. Matt laughed because he thought his silly aunt was going to get herself run over.

Matt has had a pretty good week. He does his therapy two times a day for an hour at a time. They have a T bar pole which is positioned behind Matt, with two bars and pulleys. They put 4, 1 lb weights on each side, then place Matts' arm in slings which hang from the bars. He then moves his arms back and forth and up and down.

Wednesday, they put a hospital eating table in front of him with a magazine on it. Then they put a gadget with a rubber point, sort of like a finger in his right hand and he would move his arm and put pressure on the page, then push it across, where the left hand drops down on the page and pulls it the rest of the way. At first he got a bit tearful. I thought some sort of a realization hit him. But, he got right back at it and turned some pages. Today, he turned a lot more pages and it was easier for him.

This morning, Matt went for a bladder scan proceedure. They discovered two stones, blasted them with ultra sound, and said he was doing fine. Matt wasn't pleased about it at all.

On the 11th, Matt is supposed to have another CT on his spine to see how the healing is coming. Pray that it looks good.

Matt was off the vent for 1/2 hour, two times, Tuesday and Wednesday. Tonight they took him off for an hour. He did OK, but had a headache and was pretty tired. At 8:00 Matt was ready to sleep.

Friday will be a good day for him. Dad, sis and Brian will be here. He loves his company.

John and Jen are coming every 2nd or 3rd weekend and if any one wants to ride with them, just given them a call and make plans.

Matt says thanks for all the prayers and the letters. Keep them coming, he loves it.

Monday, February 28, 2005 9:45 PM CST

OPPS. messed that up. Must have hit the enter key. I'll try again.

Hi this Aunt Annie,(Johns sister) I am staying in Denver this week to help Joy with Matt so she can recover from her cold.

I spent today with Matt. He went to therapy at 1 and it is amazing to see how they work with him and he is developing strength in his upper arms and shoulders. He looks pretty cool driving around in this special fancy deluxe wheelchair. They put his hand on a toggel and his elbow next to a round button and by moving his shoulders he can move the chair forward, turn it and recline it.
He moves slowly and they keep their hands next to him to help with direction but I think we will see the day that he will be running races with it.

Matt was up 4 hours today. He was off the vent for 20 minutes. He watched a couple movies and then settled down for the night.

Matt looks forward to hearing his e-mails everyday when mom gets home from work. He hasn't been getting as many any more and I would just like to say, please write, tell him what you are up to, what's going on and other things that may make him smile. He loves to get cards and pictures. The doctor's say that hearing from friends and family is pretty good therapy for him.
Also, come see him if you can. As Joy has said, she has lots of room in her apartment which is right next to Matt. The doctors also said that it would really help with his bouncing back.

If you would like to send Matt a "personal" e-mail that is not on the web-site, you may send it to Joy2941@hotmail.com

Matt does not have a lot of changes going on from day to day right now so Joy is going to update this website on Mondays and Thursdays from now on unless something really important happens. You can know that Matt is OK and progressing daily as he should be.

Many thanks for all the prayers Jenn and Brian. They are both back to normal - whatever that is. Keep up the prayers for Matt to get more movement in his lower arms and hands. We still need a miracle.

Smiles and thanks
Aunt Annie

Monday, February 28, 2005 9:31 PM CST

Hi! This is Aunt Annie tonight. I am staying in Denver this week, to take care of Joy, who is really down with a cold. I spent the day with Matt today. He went to theropy at 1:00 and did very well. It's amazing to see how they work with him and he is developing strength in his upper arms and shoulders. He looks pretty cool driving around in his special fancy delux wheel chair. They put his hand on a toggel and his elbow next to a round button, and by moving his shoulders, he can move the chair forward and turn it. It's pretty slow and they keep their hands next to him, but I think we will see the day that he will be running races with it.