Merry Christmas Everyone ! Well we made it. Chris came home in time for Christmas! We came home on 12/22 and we had a few problems but it was decided he could do as well at home as in the hospital. So we packed up once again and moved him back to his own room. We had a wonderful Christmas. We hadn't put up a tree or done much shopping or wrapping so it was a mad rush to finish before all our company came on Christmas Eve. Thanks to Deanna, Brian, Samie,Alex, and Jen all the presents were wrapped while I made dinner. All of our families pined together, Jennifer's parents and sister's niece and grandfather, all my brothers and sisters and children, and my mom and several of Chris's friends and their wives and babies. It was a glorious night with a special Candlelight Service, singing and good food everyone brought, and lots of gifts. Chris layed in the middle of all this on a mat with fifty adults and children, and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus! Our daughter Tami flew in from Seattle and made the day complete. We are so thankful Chris was well enough to come home. We want him to be well so badly that we forget how sick he was these past few weeks. We had such a wonderful display of all the love and well wishes, we had delicious baked goods (Barbara Allen) had made blankets for Chris (Lorie and Char) beautiful flowers(Gloria) hand made children's gifts (Jeanie) hundreds of cards, letters and E Mail. I'm trying to answer all this mail but it is getting behind these last few weeks. We took Chris to the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor just before Christmas. We're trying to find out all the signs of any sinus problems so we never will let Chris get as sick as he was. So far he has no infections and he has an appointment with an Allergy Specialist to help us ward of any disasters. I just got through reading a large stack of E-Mail letters. They were so wonderful and full of encouragement. We really need that now. Now that Chris is at home, I'll try to answer some of them. I am amazed you all have taken the time to post these letters. We have notes from all across the States and Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, and some from Australia! Chris would be so encouraged to know that you have all opened your hearts to him. Thank you all, and we hope you all had the best of Christmas Holidays. Barb
Barb |
Good Morning Only one week until Christmas. I don't think any of us expected to spend the holiday season in the hospital. When this first happened we really thought we would all be at home together and although our lives would be changed - we never expected Chris to be in ICU. We have made some progress toward getting home. We moved to anther unit on Tuesday night. He is in a telemetry bed ( heart monitor only ) and were able to take a more active part in his care. We have told the doctors and the insurance company that we want to leave on Monday . Dr. Friedman ( Daniel Friedman ) tells me not to count on it - Chris was very sick , but I can't help it. I can't imagine a Christmas with out all of us together - and Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus will be there at 10:00 Christmas Eve. Chris wouldn't want to miss that ! Right now it seems a definite possibility that he'll be able to come home and return to the rehab unit for a couple of weeks. He is definitely getting better. He is eating again. He doesn't eat a lot but his first meal last night was Ice Cream and pears. In that order! He's sitting on the side of the bed once a day and has PT- OT - and speech once a day. The Insurance Company is arranging for a physical therapist to come to our house over the holiday. We also also have a nurse from midnight till 8:00 AM so we can all sleep. Scotty and his friends have all the ramps built and this week they are making a platform for Chris' mat for exercise. He has a valve on his trach so he can talk now - hopefully soon.
Barb |
Good Morning We've been in ICU 2 weeks now. I don't want to ever do this again. Poor Chris he's been in ICU over 4 months since he's been hurt. I can't imagine going through all the pain and indignities he's had to suffer through. I hope he can stay healthy and can stay out of the hospital. We're certainly going to do everything we can to help him. The doctor at Sunrise said we should transfer out of ICU today and into IMCU. He is going to start capping the trach with a pasimur valve. I'm sure I spelled it wrong ) Chris had one of those at Daniel Freeman and coughed so hard it went sailing across the room. But thats what the doctor is going to start with. At least he's going to do something- I was beginning to have my doubts. We only have 1 week to our target date so tats not much time. Dr. cooper from N. Carolina has tried so hard to put Chris onto his electrical stimulation therapy, but we just can't get anyone here in Las Vegas to agree to monitor it the doctor we had thought would do it has 2 partners and they don't want to do it. So we're stuck for right now. I'll be talking to Dr. Cooper in the morning . We'll have to make new plans or wait until we return to Daniel Freeman. Calvin and Greg have been putting up lights outside and inside the house. We're trying to fell more like Christmas. But that can't happen until Chris is here. Even though I'm with him 16 hours a day - I still miss him.
Barb |
Hi Everyone Its one week from our target date of taking Chris home from the hospital. I'm very worried we won't make it. He is off the ventilator but he's still in ICU I'm hoping he'll be transfer to anther unit today. I guess it depends on his lung doctor. He is not saying. He did tell me he was putting in a cuffless trach on Tuesday. I hope it means that he'll start capping it so Chris can breathe normally and perhaps talk. Today we start the procedure Dr. Cooper is helping us with. Its a form of electrical stimulation introduced by a cuff around Chris' wrist. It should stimulate the speech area of the brain and help Chris to talk to us again. I'm certainly anxious for that to happen.I look at the video of him telling Brain good bye on the phone and I know he can do it.I want so many things for him. There's nothing wrong with wanting it all. No one says there's a limit to the number of miracles you have. Bob Gardner flew in from San Diego for the day. I was hoping we'd be out of ICU - its difficult for others to see him - he's all attached to monitors and tubes . Bob is such a great guy . He wants nothing more than to see Chris up and about again. Thanks Bob for all the great things you do. I hope you're all in the Christmas spirit. You have much to be happy about . We were going to let the Holiday just slide, but we decided we need a little Christmas so Calvin and Greg are out stringing lights around the house. Wouldn't be wonderful if Chris could see them on the 22cd? Get your shopping done. Barb |
Good Morning We're getting closer to leaving the ICU unit. He was off the vent 12 hours yesterday and he'll be off 16 hours today and Saturday should be all day. His current lung doctor believes in going very slowly with this but all of us who know Chris realize he is ready to get back to work on his recovery. I certainly hope he can move on quickly to where we were prior to this illness. His body has recovered all of its prior health and Chris is trying to eat his tooth brush and swabs we use to keep his mouth fresh! He is hungry for real food! We here a target date of December 22cd to go home. But we have all new doctors and they've never experienced the Chris Trickle "Will" before. We won't have Christmas with out him. Thank you for your calls about blood. We did not transfuse yesterday. His body came up in his blood levels by itself but he has evidence of an ulcer that might be bleeding ( caused by the trauma ) so we've been told to keep the blood on hold for now. He may still need it. Doctor Cooper of North Carolina has contacted us in regards to a program he has for coma patients that has increased their alertness and ability to use their hands and to speak. He has a great gift for us - his services and equipment to help Chris. We're all very excited . Dr. Yadegar in California ( one of Chris' surgeons ) agrees it is a good thing he tells me " not to worry " so I don't. Barb |
Hi Everyone, Fifteen days until Christmas ­ where does the time go? I'm sure you all feel the same. There's always so much to do and so many things we want to do for our families to make their holiday happier & memorable. With the unhappy events of last week, we had pretty much-tuned Christmas out. But, now I feel that we all need a little Christmas in our lives. It's our goal now to have Chris well and home for the holidays. The Dolphins play Monday night football on December 22nd. Chris & Marshall always fly to Florida in December for Dolphin Monday night football ­ and to see Marshall's mom of course. So we're bringing Monday night football in December to our house. So December 22 is our target date for having Chris at home. We're not making as much progress as I had hoped. The pulmonary doctor is being pretty certain about taking Chris off the ventilator. He still is on the vent at night. I'm hoping tomorrow he'll be off for good! We also have problem with blood. He needed a transfusion today ­ there are several blood tests & blood gasses everyday and he is really low on blood. We delayed the transfusion today & tried to get a blood bank set up for Chris. Brian has already donated and Julia Meyn & Barlan Allen go tomorrow. Deanna would but she gave blood a short time ago & cannot now. So we have several units (I go tomorrow also) but none can be used for 2 days. So we may have to use regular Blood Bank blood. We got a call from Dr. Yadegar yesterday (Chris' neurosurgeon in L.A.). It was so comforting to hear from him. As soon as he said, "not to worry, Mrs. Trickle ­ not to worry". Now I know I have nothing to fear. He always said the same thing after surgery. Enjoy your Christmas shopping. |
Good Morning We are still in ICU and still on vent. support. Chris was off the vent on Saturday and Sunday and he did great. He is really doing great with the sepsis problem and all his labs are looking normal again. But he can't leave ICU until he's off the vent. I brought samples of all his X-rays ( one from each month ) to show the doctors here what his lungs have looked like. I would also like someone to talk to Dr. Brown at Daniel Freeman. He knows all there is to know about Chris' lungs. The lung doctor he has today ( we've had 3 different ones this week ) is planning to make adjustments to the vent. settings and will probably take him off of it later today. I hope they can leave him off this time. Chris has been more alert today. As soon as he has a good tegratol level , the dilantin will be stopped. He will still be on 3 strong antibiotics and his normal DDAUP and Synthrord. So little by little we're getting back to where he was at Thanksgiving. We truly hope to be able to have our whole family and all our friends home for Christmas. We are receiving many cards, letters, and many E-mail messages . You are all so wonderful to continue expressing your love and concern for Chris. We will always know we're not alone and that Chris has many people that love him. We're getting organized here and will thank yous out soon. Dr. Friedman in California continues to monitor Chris' latest problems. We fax the lab reports to him. Its still our plan to return to Daniel Freeman sometime after the holidays. Thank you Dr. Friedman for checking on us, giving advice, and support. For right now we're just sitting watching Chris, talking to him , learning all we can about his daily care. Love to all Barb |
Hi Everyone Its Sunday evening and we continue to sit by Chris & watch and wait. Most of his lab reports and vital signs are normal again. But, he had 4 seizures Friday and he's got 2 medications to prevent seizures now. So he's always sleeping and he is no longer alert. His doctor here assures me that as soon as they stop the Phenobarbital he will be more alert ­ I hope so. I'll be very glad when he's back to the medication he was on prior to this. It's been a very difficult week for all of us. We left California with Chris healthy and strong and within 2 weeks he was very close to losing his life. So getting back to the barline he was at is so important. I can't begin to tell you our feelings when we were told how sick he was or when we had to go to I C U again. It just couldn't be happening. He had come so far and he had been so healthy. I don't know how this happened. It's just another example of bad things happening incredibly fast, and getting better seems to be so slow. To add to all the other medical problems he acquired a hospital bug (MRSA) that puts him into an isolation situation again. So we're wearing gowns, mask, and gloves when we're in his room. Its not making him any sicker, but they are trying to prevent it from spreading. The plan right now is to be out of I C U within the next few days. From there he goes to I M C U for a few days & then telemetry bed for a few days & then into the rehab unit here until we can take him home. We certainly hope that will be before Christmas. He's still on a ventilator but he is being weined off so that shouldgo fast. Thank you everyone for the continued cards & letters and checks for his medical fund. Thank you, Bob Gardner for posting answers to the E-mail. You're always there ­ what would we do without all of our friends & family. Barbara |
Good Morning Chuck and I had been sleeping in chairs ­ or on the floor (Chuck)
in ICU. But, last night we went home at midnight to sleep. As soon as we
got home Chris' nurse called to tell us he had vomited quite a bit. He hadn't
eaten Monday or Tuesday and the tube feeding was started yesterday morning.
He had been good with it all day. So I don't know what happened. (Where
is Dr. Dea?) So today they are going with a complete nutrient IV feeding
for today. All the reports are coming back negative even though everyone
is certain he has sepsis. It is believed to be a sinus infection that caused
the incited problem. Tonight there will be a sinus fluid sample taken. Its
really been a puzzle and the doctors here have been trying very hard to
solve it. But, I really would have been more comfortable if I could have
gotten Chris back to the doctors at Daniel Freeman. Although things wouldn't
have become so critical if we had not left California. On a happier note
­ his temp is now normal, his blood pressure is normal, his Barbara |
Hi Everyone I'm sorry I don't have better news Chris was transferred by ambulance from the facility he was in to an acute care hospital. He had a sore throat on Tuesday night when we took him home to spend the week end. We returned to the hospital on Wednesday for physical therapy and to have Chris see a doctor for his throat. He prescribed penicillin which we gave him Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday his throat was no better and we returned to the hospital for therapy and to see the doctor. This time we were told he had a viral infection and that penicillin would not help. There was no medication prescribed. All during this we were taking Chris home and enjoying having him with us. But by Monday morning he had developed a stressful breathing pattern. of 32 respirations and started spikin a temperature. We got him up and dressed and took him back to the hospital. After assessing him for a few hours it was decide to transport him to an acute hospital. We got to sunrise at 4:40 in the afternoon. Unfortunately no one actually was able to make any decisions until 11:00 - his blood gasses were very low and he was put on oxygen. We were told he was critical and may have a pulmonary emblellism. All we wanted to do was transport him back to to Daniel Freeman in Inglewood. I was so very scared and I wanted the doctors and staff who knew him best to see him now. The doctors at Sunrise said it was inviting disaster to move him ( I wish we had left for California at 4:30 when we still had time ). After contacting our Insurance Company and telling them we wanted to leave and getting the same response, we knew we would have to trust Chris' life to new people again. However , our doctors from Daniel Freeman responded to our frantic calls and Dr. Friedman, Dr. Brown, and Dr. Jadegar helped us with advice and phone #'s where the new doctors could reach them. It gave us so much comfort just to talk to them. At 12:30 AM Chris was put back on a ventilator ,not because he couldn't breath but to slow his breathing down ( he had 68 respirations per minute for almost 16 hours ). After countless blood tests, cultures of everything, ultra sounds , CT Scans , and many specialists - the final diagnosis is Sepsis. As close as I can explain - it means an infection throughout his blood stream which resulted from a problem with an infection in some part of his body. After a spinal tap and CT scan on his head - we were told the spinal fluid was clear and the infection probably started with a major sinus infection aggravated by the viral infection in his throat. His blood pressure dropped to 68/23 and he had numerous medications started and a cardiologist put in a Swans-ganx catheter in his upper chest and an arterial line in his groin. He has more lines and monitors than he ever had. His temp was 105 and his heart rate was double what it usually is. None of us slept. Chuck and I stayed in ICU with him through the night and through the next day. By 8:00 PM he started leveling out and we knew he was out of danger - at least for the time being. By morning his temp was almost normal , his heart rate 100, ( still a little high ) and his blood pressure 119/62 and most importantly , he looks better. The concern now is for his liver and kidneys , as they are fed by the blood which is infected - there is a concern about starting dialiss. That would be anther awful thing for Chris to endure. But his primary care was just in and he said he is happily surprised that Chris has all these encouraging signs and we might be okay with the kidney and liver. But we all know how strong Chris Trickle is - he's proved it many times. And although were not out of the woods yet as Dr. Hendricks says it looks better. So today is a wait and see how the antibiotics are doing. Thank you again Bob Gardner - When Jen and I returned from California we each had a dozen red roses and the card read from Chris. But we called the Florist and checked to see where they came from and the order came from San Diego. Therefore it had to be Bob. Thanks Again. Thank you to all our friends at Daniel Freeman for listening and caring. Our plan now is up in the air , but we are considering returning when we can. Thank everyone for prayers , cards , letters , and Donations. Thank you Brain Pacheco for plowing out church parking lots for prayer requests. Thank you Char for the wonderful poem. My family and Chucks for continued help and understanding. Barbara |
Good Morning We've had a wonderful Holiday Week. On Tuesday afternoon we brought Chris home. We had rented all the equipment we needed ( a bed , a hover lift, suction machine, etc ) We knew it would be a lot of work , but we had been preparing ourselfs for it by doing more and more of his daily care. So we were pretty prepared for the full day. We hired a local ICU nurse for the week she came in at midnight and stayed until 8:00. That was wonderful we really needed sleep. But during the day we did all of Chris' care. It was so wonderful to have him home and to be home. I had not been able to be home very much and I forgot how great it felt just to take a shower in your own bathroom. But the greatest thing was how well Chris did. He ate Thanksgiving dinner , enjoyed his friends , and just made us all very happy. All of our family was at our house, friends from Denver and all Chris' best friends and pit crew. We celebrated 7 birthdays on Thursday and had a house full of people all day. Two of the local TV stations came out for interviews. We won't allow any photos of Chris , so they respected that. The only sad thing was that Chris caught a viral infection in his throat before we left the hospital. He was pretty miserable most the week with a very sore throat. Even so he did very well. I'm very sad to take him back to the hospital , but we have to he needs to see a doctor every day and definitely needs the physical therapy. So its back to the hospital tomorrow . We stay with him around the clock. One of us is always stays with him. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers Barb |