Mary Richards

On June 11, 2017, Mary, Tux  and I went for a bike ride on the Highline Canal Trail near our home in Centennial, Colorado.  When Mary was crossing Dry Creek, her wheel got hung up in some sand and when she tried to turn out, It got caught and she a bad fall.   Her helmet broke and the fall was bad enough to necessiate going to the ER with broken clavicle, bruises and head trauma.  She was admitted into SKY RIDGE Medical center ICU. She had CT scan which showed a bruise and small bleeding spot on her right side, so they kept her overnight in ICU for observation and then moved her to a room the next day for followup. Her CT scan the  next day looked good,  so she was released with instructions to take it easy and rest. Everyone assumed she was healing properly since followup neurological exams showed no problems.

However, several weeks later, Mary began experiencing increased headaches to the point where she went back to the doctor last week  who ordered a CT scan. The CT Scan showed more bleeding on both sides of her brain and told us to go straight to the ER.  She was admitted to Sky Ridge and on the 25th it was determined that she needed immediate surgury because she had a subdural hematoma (also known as traumatic brain injury).  There was blood on both sides of her brain, left side being the worst putting significant pressure on her brain. She had a "craniotomy" in order to clean out the blood on the left side of her brain.  The neuro surgeon was hoping to do "burr holes" to relieve blood/pressure on the right side, but was not able to do it because the blood was too thick and would not evacuate. But since the brain went back to normal position, clearing  the right side was postponed. The doctor  felt she was out of immediate danger and the surgery was considered successful. 

Mary has been in the ICU recovering since Tuesday the 25th and her recovery has been extremely difficult.   She has experienced more  pain than they expected from this kind of surgery and is extremely incoherent and agitated. The doctors and nurses are working with many variables trying coordinate the right cocktail of drugs (the drugs can cause the problems they try to solve and can also mask underlying neurological problems). The good news is that she has continued to have positive CT scans and her vitals are strong. We are told that recovery may take a long time and that it may be a bumpy ride. I ask for your prayers for Mary to recover to her former wonderful, loving self. 
PLEASE NOTE: MARY IS NOT ABLE TO RECIEVE PHONE CALLS OR VISITORS AT THIS TIME. I will send out periodic updates and let people know when its an appropriate time  to come! 
Bill Kemman