UPDATE 7/27

I have not sent any updates out lately since Michele’s condition has not changed very much over the last week. Michele continues to be in ICU and the doctors are trying to battle a urinary infection as well as getting her shunt adjusted properly. Michele has had about 3 adjustments to her shunt and as of yesterday she was at a 200 level which is the max setting and it is basically in the off position. For the doctors to stop the flow anymore would take an operation to actually stop the flow through the shunt. This was all expected even before we put the shunt in. It was always expected she would only need it for 3-6 months. Michele is awake again and can understand when spoken to. She can move her left hand a little and toes every once in a while. So for her to take a step forward with her new bone flap it was obvious she had to take a few steps backwards again. She will need to relearn to move even what she could do just 2 weeks ago. This time though there are going to be no more set backs, she is going to bet better each and every day until she can go home to her family and walk through the front door. I expect this will take her another 3 months but we will see. Our goal is for her to be home for Thanksgiving.

Thank you all for your continued prayers.

John

** Today marks 6 months since Michele's accident **

UPDATES

I apologize to all for not updating sooner but I was actually out visiting Michele and was completely 'unplugged' for 6 days.

Below are all of the updates since her operation. She continues to fight like only Michele can and trust me when I say, she has earned every ounce of that title, 'Miracle' Michele. Her courage, and strength go beyond words.

I am blessed beyond measure to have the honor of calling her my Best Friend! I love you Michele!

UPDATE 7/19

Below is an update from Cindy on her visit this morning. Brian, Alyssa, John and myself visited this evening. Michele’s eyes are open and she is aware. She could not move very much at all and her head was swollen. I asked my usual question if she loved me and she closed her eyes to say yes. This has always been my one way to see if she is aware. I can tell she is tired and does not have a lot of fight in her right now but the doctors and nurses are doing most of the work right now getting her better and in stable condition. The meds and operations just completely knock her out and it take weeks for her to gain strength again. Michele will stay at Swedish Hospital until she is back to the base level she was at before the bone flap operation. This could take days to weeks to get her at this level. I have a few pics of the kids while we were waiting for the operation to be done as well as a few of Michele from tonight.

John

“I arrived this morning to find Miracle Michele wide awake. She is still groggy, but responsive. Her left eye and left side of her face is not nearly as swollen as it was yesterday but the side of her head has expanded out a bit more than it was yesterday. Dr V came in and said that this morning's CT scan looked good. Ventricles are a little bigger and fluid looks good. The brain is slowly adjusting to its new protective space and that will all happen on its own schedule. She was lying flat this morning and Dr V said that he doesn't want to move her back to Kindred until she can sit up. He said that if she continues to progress tomorrow he'll probably hold off on another CT and just let the brain do its work. PT came in and Michele followed commands very well. She moved her head towards Johanna and then towards me. She wiggled fingers on both sides but not toes this morning. Johanna asked her to stick out her tongue. I told her to first open her mouth which she did, but no tongue action yet. Michele's left shoulder is very tight so Johanna worked on it and opted to let that arm rest flat on the bed without a pillow prop so that there wouldn't be so much rotation in the shoulder. Her right arm is no longer swollen. She went to sleep right after PT and slept through most of my visit. When I called Amy I put her on speaker and Michele opened her eyes. Whenever I'd ask Michele how she was doing she'd open her eyes. I debriefed Mom and Dad and am heading out. LLPP!”
Cindy

UPDATE 7/17

Michele is now completely off the ventilator and the drain tube has been removed. Her bandages are off to let the incision heal. The bleeding was not in her brain, but a hemorrhage around the bone flap which was caused by air around the seal of the flap. The doctors are now working to regulate the CSF and the pressure in Michele’s head from the difference of not having a bone flap to having it closed up now. This is the reason that Michele is not responsive, but Dr. Vollmer is confident that this will be under control in the next day or so, adjusting the shunt as needed.

The shunt was adjusted today from 120 to 140 letting less fluid drain. Michele is responsive to reflex testing, when the nurse pinches the bed of her finger/toe nails, both left and right legs/arms move. She opens her right eye occasionally, during each 4 hour suction. Michele was experiencing a lot of muscle tension, clenching her hands and all muscles being tight. She is now on a non-sedative muscle relaxer and it is helping. She is having light PT in ICU to help the tightness.

UPDATE 7/15

This morning I was up around 4am to take my Mother to the airport. Right as we were getting in the car I got a phone call from the hospital. As you know any call at 4:30am is not a good one. Michele was in the operating room having her bone flap removed due to bleeding under the bone flap. This was caught by the nursing staff as Michele was becoming less responsive throughout the night. An emergency CT scan revealed the bleeding and the start of the emergency operation. I just received a call from the surgeon that everything went well and he washed and put her bone flap back in. He added a drain so that any continued bleeding will be removed as it happens. Michele is back on the ventilator just for this morning and after another CT scan she will be taken off. Michele will stay in ICU for 2 days now until she is more stable.

John

UPDATE 7/14

Michele and I headed out at 5 am this morning by ambulance. Her pre-opp took about 2 hours and she was off to surgery at 7:30am sharp. She was back to post opp exactly 2 hours later and fully awake 15 minutes after that. She is responsive to questions, waives her left hand and can move both legs. Basically everything she was able to do before the operation. We have yet to see improvements but it is too early for that anyways. Michele will be watched closely for the next 7-10 days to make sure she does not get any infections causing us to have to remove her bone flap. Michele will have a CT scan tonight and will be released from the hospital tomorrow if all is well. She will be going back to Kindred for more rehab over the next few weeks in hopes to eventually get to Craig for intense 30 days of therapy. Michele should have her Trach taken out sometime tomorrow or Friday. Im sure she will love that being out of her throat.

Thank you for all the prayers for Michele they seem to be working.

John

UPDATE 7/13

Hello everyone, tomorrow as you may have heard my mother is having surgery to put her bone flap back in. With how far we have gotten im sure you have all realized that my mother is extremely strong, so I know that she will make it through this fine. Although I am very positive with how things will turn out I ask you to pray for my mom. We all need her home and I know that those prayers will help a lot. Tomorrow morning I will be there to tell my mom I love her before she goes in to have surgery and pray until she gets out.

Alyssa

As you read above, my mother is having surgery very early in the morning. Tomorrow morning, I am taking John and Alyssa to see our mother before and after her surgery. As she continues to get better, this is another step to a new start. We are all hoping that the result of this surgery will help her to work harder so she can come back home to her family. We are not a full family without her. I pray everyday that my best friend is going to walk out of that room fully recovered, and I know she will. All the prayers we can get are truly helpful and thankful.

Tana

Every night, me and my mom played the “I love you game.” What we do is mom says she loves me more than something and I have to beat it. My mom says “I love u more than…” and then she says something in the world that there is a lot of. I love my mom more than all the stars in the sky and can you please pray that many times tonight for her.

John John

Well I cannot top what the children have written. I plan on being at the hospital at 4:30 am and Michele and I will take an ambulance at 4:45 am to Swedish Hospital. Michele is ready as I have told her everything to expect and how important this surgery is. She trusts me when I tell her that it will make her better and I pray that I am right. She let me shave her head the other night to get her ready as I do not want others doing so. She was hesitant at first but she trusts me so much that she let me do it. She has had a few problems with her eyes lately and last night I had a friend Linda to see her and check her eyes. I am glad to say that all her issues seem to be common for her injury and should correct themselves overtime. Along with Linda came Bob who was the creator of the Miracle Michele benefit that was held 2 months ago. Bob was the lead singer in the band and he brought his guitar last night to sign some songs to Michele. Yes she got that smile again and yes it was another guy and not me. It was so nice to see her smile and I could care less who it is for as long as she is smiling. Bob, Linda and I sang a few songs to Michele and she listened and clapped with her left hand against her right arm. Can you see Michele’s thumb in the picture!

My darling wife has fought now for almost 6 months, she approaches her last surgery, she is aware of what she is about to encounter and she is ready for the challenge. She wants to come home and is willing to do whatever it takes to do so. Please pray for her tonight and tomorrow as she truly needs every bit of spiritual help she can get. I will be by her side until she heads to surgery and I will be at her side when it is done. I will probably spend a few hours in the chapel reflecting by myself until she is ready for her new awaking.

Thank you,

John

BIRTHDAY POST! 7/8

Michele had a great birthday. She had about 40 visitors and 10 phone calls. Lots of emails, cards and flowers. She even smiled for a few special visitors, Kelly McAlister and Fab Pela. These are the 1st smiles since the 1st week in Miami back in March. I have to mention the last and only smile until yesterday was for Greg Long. Is there something I am missing since she smiles to all her guy friends? I was so happy to see her smile again and it tells me she continues to get better. I have attached a bunch of pictures of her birthday. As I was leaving her room the night before her birthday I stopped at the door as I usually do and turn around to waive and say goodbye. I said “I love you with all my heart” and Michele picked up her left hand and tapped her heart.

Michele is scheduled for her final surgery to put her bone flap back in next week on the 14th at 7:30 am. The only possibility of delay is either Michele is not ready due to infections or the bone flap does not come in on time. If either of these happens the surgery will be on Friday the 16th.

John

A DAY OF LOVE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR MIRACLE!!!

My Mother, John, Alyssa and myself went to see Michele this evening to decorate her room for her big day tomorrow. Michele has a big Happy Birthday sign, balloons and new pictures all over the room. Michele watched us while we set her room up and then we showed her all the new pictures we brought for the room. I’m sure she will have more pictures and flowers brought by other family members tomorrow but we wanted to get the room ready. I have a camera in the room so everyone that visits tomorrow can take a picture with her so we can send them out in a few days to all. Michele is doing so well and every day she is doing more and more. Again I have copied an email from her sister on today’s visit.

“I arrived shortly after 11 this morning while Thelma and Billy were visiting Michele. Dr. Yeager was on the phone with John. Not sure what that discussion was about because as soon as Dr. Y got off the phone, he left the room. After Thelma and Billy said their goodbyes, Heather and I moved Michele to her chair. Michele was able to lift her head completely for Heather to get her Princess Crown on! She coughed a bit when we moved her, but that was it.
During PT, Michele gave Heather a “high five”, the thumbs-up sign, lifted her pinky, and gave the “I love you” sign – all with her left hand. Michele was able to squeeze Heather’s hand with her right one. Michele did her leg exercises by herself. It was so awesome – especially watching her do these things on her own after we’ve been doing them for her for so long. Oh, man. It was amazing. Michele separated her knees for Heather on command, and then pressed in with her knees against Heather’s hands, about 10 times. Then, Heather put her hands on the outside of Michele’s knees and Michele pushed out against Heather’s hands. I got all choked up watching her do these amazing things. She is really working hard! Cindy”

Michele’s final surgery will be in the next 7-12 days and the date should be scheduled by the end of this week. Please email Michele if you have a chance and I will read her emails to her. I will send pics out on Friday with an update and hopefully a date for her final surgery.

John

UPDATE 7/1

It has now been 5 months and 2 days since Michele’s fall. Michele and I have spent 1 month in Mexico, 2 months in Miami and 2 months in Denver. Michele has been through 3 brain surgeries, 1 disease and I can’t count how many infections from head to toe literally. Michele has been medically revived 7 times and she continues to surprise us every day. I always knew I had a special wife and a very strong willed partner. She has proven this over the last 5 months and I do not think anyone that knows her is surprised at all. I will caption a few emails from the family today so you can hear what Michele has done today.

“Michele had a very active morning. When I arrived Michele was in her bed and Terry, speech therapist, was working with her. Terry was giving Michele ice chips and asking her to chew them and swallow which Michele did very well. Terry also asked Michele to shake her head yes and no. The no was clearly visible but the yes was a bit weak but recognizable. Terry also asked Michele to raise a certain number of fingers and she did. Heather, PT, came in and did oral hygiene on Michele. She also exercised Michele's hands, arms and legs. She repeated the yes/no exercise and Michele did fine. She picked up Michele's head and asked her to hold it there for the count of 10 which Michele did. Heather asked Michele to wiggle her hands and toes which she did. We asked Michele if she wanted to be moved to the chair and Michele clearly put her no head motion into action. Tom, Chaplin, came in and we said a prayer for Michele
After all this Michele closed her eyes and fell asleep. Dad”

“Thelma and I went to see Michele at 1:30 today and found her watching TV, wide awake and in good clean condition. She seemed to have an issue when I arrived and wanted to tell me something and tried very hard but could not get the words out or give me any clue as to what she really wanted to tell me. She is moving her left hand more and more and closer to her face. She can move her hand from side to side to say no which was a first for me anyways. I understand she did not want to go to her chair earlier today when her Father was with her so I spent a few minutes telling her how important is was to go to her chair everyday no matter how she felt. I asked her to trust me and do it. We moved her to the chair for 1.15 hours and back to bed without any issues. The nurses are instructed to take her feeding tube out 30 minutes prior to moving her to the chair as well and keep it out while she is in the chair including 30 minutes after she is back in bed to help keep her stomach settled. Michele was able to move her left toes on command as well which is also a first for me. Michele was also able to lift her right knee alittle I heard today from heather. I also saw her move her right arm which I have seen in the past but it looked a little more deliberate today when I asked her. I also spent time today explaining what her next surgery was about and how it can help her and what to expect. I have calls into the doctors to get a time frame as I know all of us are on pins and needles waiting for this as we all know it will benefit Michele tremendously. John”

The family has no doubt that Michele will continue to work hard to get herself back to normal or as close as she can make it to normal. The children, family, friends and myself have spent the last 5 months working with Michele to help her on her journey to recovery. We all are determined as well as Michele to succeed and fortunately we are really beginning to see the fruits of that determination.

I would like to state again as I have not done so recently that I appreciate everything that everyone has done for our family and Michele. Every card, well wishing, food, charitable donation, care giving, flowers, emails, child watching, car riding, church going, school attending, pat on the backs, phone calls, understanding, pictures, cd’s, places to stay, medical advice and many more that I cannot recall at this moment. My strength that so many speak of is only strong through the help of all the loving people that have been by our side through this tragic moment. I am thankful for the friends and family that have continuously been there for Michele and I as well as the ones we don’t even know that have been a support in many ways especially through email and prayers that we receive that mean so much even from complete strangers.

This week is a special week as it will be Michele’s birthday on July 8th. My Mother came to Colorado in hopes to see Michele at home for her birthday but that will not be. However I truly believe we will all experience a rebirth of a truly loving person over the next few months. Michele is obviously not giving up and continues to show her remarkable strength to live.

I am blessed to be her husband.
John

UPDATE 6/27

Michele is doing her best to get better. She has good days and a few bad days. On the days she is not feeling very well she says no to sitting in her chair. She just wants to lay in her bed and watch TV. She tried very hard to tell me something today but she just cannot speak yet. I can see her frustration that she just cannot get the words out. She hums quite a bit and points around the room as to what she is thinking of. It could be the TV, a picture on the wall or the window shade she wants drawn. Today it was John John she was pointing at as he was a bit bored so he kept putting Michele’s protective princess crown on his head and I think she did not like it or she was saying look at the idiot with the crown on. I was not quick enough to get a picture of it today but I have added a few pics of Michele so you can see how she looks. We cannot get her to smile yet or maybe it is just me! Michele’s birthday is on the 8th and we plan to have a birthday party for her at the hospital that will last all day long. Our plan it to decorate the room first thing in the morning then family and friends will go by to see her throughout the day at different times to make sure she is not alone a bit the entire day. Im sure she will be worn out by the end of the day. We will make sure to take plenty of pics to share with all. As Michele would want me to announce to all she will be 29 this year. Again!

UPDATE 6/22

It has been long over due but Michele got a chance to have a visit from her puppies. Michele loves her bulldogs and I requested pet therapy which was approved today. Michele can have her dogs in the hospital any time to help her in her recovery. I have attached a few pics of the visit today. Fizzy got the first chance to see Michele and she almost jumped on the bed with her. She could smell her hand and tell who it was even through Michele could not talk to them. Allie the Mother was a little more subtle and did not want to jump on the bed but did smell her hand. Yes Fizzy has a purple circle on her rear from hair dye that all of the tens did to their hair in support of Michele. I mean all of Tana, Alyssa friends and even Jordan. They all have a small amount of purple hair since it is Michele’s favorite color. They have plans to do my hair as well when I am asleep but I am a very light sleeper these days so we will se if they get me involved. Michele still has her trake plugged off and no oxygen and she is doing great. Two weeks ago she stopped breathing and now she is pushing all limits and doing very well. Her therapy is progressing but we are really waiting for her last surgery to replace the bone flap. This should be a major advance in her recovery and we cannot wait. I still do not have a date and when I do it will be quick. We just have to be patient and wait for the time to come. I am currently trying to get Michele a kitchen pass to come home for her birthday o July 8th. We will see if I can pull this one off and if so we will have a small birthday party at our fouse for her to enjoy her family and friends.

John

PUPPY THERAPY!

UPDATE 6/21

Michele had a busy weekend with many visitors as well as continuing her therapy. Michele was taken off of oxygen this weekend and she has done well without it. Yesterday her trake was capped off and she has handled this as well. She is breathing on her own without any help at all. I spoke to the doctor today and she is ready to have the trake taken out this week but I asked to leave it in for her surgery which should be in about 2-3 weeks. I will not have a date until her prosthetic is done being made. Once it is done we will schedule the surgery right away. The doctor feels this will help her tremendously in her rehab. I told Michele tonight all that is going on so that she is not surprised with anything we are doing. I even asked her if she wanted to see any pictures of the last few months of herself and she said no by shaking her head. She understands that she has a head injury but does not want to see it at this time. Below is an email from Michele’s sister Cindy explaining her day with Michele. Also please be reminded that all of my past emails, golf tournament info and saint bracelet ordering info are all posted at http://www.miraclemichele.blogspot.com


“Michele had a great morning! When I arrived at 9, Terry the speech therapist was working with her – Michele was still in her bed. Terry had a cup of ice chips with her, and she put a few on a spoon and began to put it towards Michele’s mouth. Michele opened her mouth and sucked on the ice chips. She even seemed to be chewing on them a bit! She did this three or four times. Then, Terry asked her to hold the cup of ice chips. Michele tried to open her hands to accept the cup. Terry helped her grip it and she held onto it well. Then Terry said, “take a drink, Michele.” Michele moved her head down to look at the cup and tried to move it up, but couldn’t quite do it. So, Terry held the cup up to her mouth and they worked through the motion of taking a drink. Then Terry asked Michele to give her the cup back and Michele released it. Terry said that the releasing motion is a much more complex task than grasping (you know how babies grasp and hold on to everything and then won’t let go?) so that was very good progress.

The best news is that they capped off her trach temporarily to see how she would handle it. It was so awesome! She was breathing on her own – without the aid of oxygen and through her mouth and nose all morning! That is a really good sign as AJ the Respiratory Therapist from this weekend was telling me that they often take the removal of the trach in tiny steps like that to see how she tolerates it.

Michele did vomit a bit when we moved her from bed to chair, but when we moved her back to her bed she did very well! I just kept telling her to relax and think about her breathing. Tracey came in at around noon and Tana was scheduled to arrive around 1. It was a great day!”


I have started a new email since this one is getting too long. This will be the start of the 3rd email chain.

John

UPDATE 6/14

I was not able to see Michele today so I am going to let Billy and Jordan explain their visit to you all.

John


Today was another good day for Michele. When Billy and I arrived she was wide awake and watching TV. Michele wiggled her right toes for us as well as moved her left arm quite a bit as we talked to her. You could tell that Michele was extremely happy to see Billy as she could not take her eyes off of him and when she did she would frequently check that he was still right by her side. She held his hand very firmly and would move her fingers and arm as if she was reaching for Billy’s hand again each time he let go. Michele was very talkative, humming a lot, and clearly has SO much she wants to tell us. As we are working on Michele’s tongue and mouth movements to get her talking again, we asked her to wiggle her tongue a few times which she did slightly but definitely to the best of her ability. She continues to amaze me with her daily improvements and even though it is little by little each thing is a large step towards her complete recovery.