April 16, 2008
It is Wednesday afternoon and we are now in our hotel room.  Brooks had a rough day yesterday with post op nausea and vomiting.  He could not hold anything down yesterday but this A.M. we gave up and took his IV out. He became a different person.  He had himself so upset that I think that was causing his nausea.  Once the IV was out the nausea went away.  Now he is beating mom and I at Monopoly Jr.
     We have to return to the hospital  next Tuesday and they will take him back to the OR for conscious sedation to remove the dressing and check the grafts on his right hand.  Thank goodness they took a full thickness graft from his lower abdomen. When they do that they stitch up the donor site which means no scrubbing or pain.  Just an incision with sutures. 
     He did so well this time around. He does not have to wear garments, just a glove over the hand.  His face only has mild bruising and we will have to return in 6 weeks for more laser therapy and every 6 weeks till we can tell that it is helping or not. 
     We should discharge on Tuesday, hopefully that afternoon and will start traveling home.  Hope to be home by Thursday.  depends on how well we travel...  Thanks for the updates on the web site and your prayers.

Update March 2007

I thought I should update everyone since I kind of just left you off.  Brooks did very well after his surgery.  He is completely recovered and we do not have to return to Cincinnati until May. 
We just returned from spring break skiing in Colorado and Brooks did great.  He has mastered it.  He has started T-ball and life is returning to normal.  He is also wearing his garments very well.  I think he may get to take them off in May but we do not want to get our hopes up. 
He has a girl in his class that he really likes. 
I am hoping to stay off work at least until school starts up again.  I won't get many chances like this again so I figure I should take advantage of spending a little summer time with the kids. 

Thank you for your continued  prayers.......

The Tigerts
 

 
February 23 12:13.

Everything has gone well.  Brooks did very well yesterday only requiring pain medication one time.  He went to playroom 2 times and attempted Jell-O.  No luck.   His face and lips are extremely swollen and he seems to be tolerating the whole situation very well.
He slept all night very comfortable and got up this morning, did his bath and dressing with some reluctance but we completed it.  He went to school from 10-1130 this morning which will count as a full day. He was able to eat about a 1/4 a tub of Jell-O and all of his chocolate pudding for lunch.  If they just made chocolate Jell-O he might eat all of that.  His face is still swollen but his is figuring out it is not to painful to move his jaw so hopefully another day or two and we can eat real food.

We are going home today at 2 pm and will fly out of Louisville, KT at 6:20 tonight arriving at Oklahoma City around 12pm your time.  So pray for a safe and quick flights.  God has answered many prayers over the past several hours.

 
February 22.

7:09 A.M.

We arrived in Cincinnati on Wednesday Feb 21st about 2:30.  Like usual our flights got all changed and we thought we lost our luggage again. However we still made it here safely and our luggage somehow found us at last minute.  Brooks took a tour of the OR last night and seemed ok with the surgery. ( he was putting on a big boy face ).   He slept all night and we got up this morning and took our shower and he was off to surgery at 7:15.  He wanted to cry but didn't.....  So now we are just waiting.

9:58 A.M.

We just finished with the surgeon (9:30).  Brooks did well and is in recovery room now.  They opened the corners of his mouth as well as released the scars he has developed from the corners of his nose through his cheeks.  This will allow him to open his mouth more as well as release his face and prevent his lower eyelids from drooping.

10:50 A.M.

Brooks is back in his room.  He is drowsy but awake.  He looks very comfortable and he looks like he has cat whiskers on his face.  His mouth already looks more open.  We will either be discharge tonight or tomorrow.  Our flights are tomorrow night.  Pray for pain control and a comfortable trip home.  Weather is really nice here.  Sunny and 50's.

 
Last Update February 3:56 P.M.

I have some updating to do.......
 

       We  traveled to Cincinnati on Feb 1st for a check up.  Everything was good however they believe he needs surgery on his mouth.  This will help him to be able to open his mouth better.  His range of motion in his hands is still good, maybe even a little improved. And he is feeling great.  His new medication seems to be doing the trick.  He is still going to therapy 1 day a week.  He seems to be OK with the upcoming surgery however he is not talking about it. 

The surgery is scheduled for Feb. 22nd.  So........... we will be traveling next week.  So pray for him to tolerate the surgery and pray for him to relax and not panic....

     I'm am still staying home being a stay at home mom.  It is pretty nice.  I will update you next week from Cincinnati.

 
Last Update December 29th  5:24 P.M.
I thought I would update you a little on Brooks.  He started seeing a psychiatrist 2 weeks ago.  We are going to work on his crying and his anger issues.  The Doctor has started him on some medication hopefully it will help along with therapy.  Brooks celebrated his 6th birthday on the 27th. He is having a skating party on the 7th of January.  He is very excited. We had a great Christmas.  It has been nice; Todd has been off for almost 2 weeks so it has been kind of like a vacation since I am no longer working. We have really been enjoying the kids and focusing on some quality family time.
December 12th  5:51 P.M.
Sorry that I am so far behind. We have had a lot going on. I guess the last few months have finally caught up with me. Things at home are still difficult and work was beginning to consume me.  I decided to put my family first and get my act back together so I took a 2 week leave of absence from work to give myself some mental catch up time.
I am returning to work tomorrow. Pray for me!!!

We just got back from Cincinnati Friday night Dec 8th. We had a really good check up. I expected Brooks to have surgery in Jan but to the contrary they do not want to see him for 8 more weeks. This is the longest period we have gotten so far. Brooks has developed a lot of scaring on his face around his nose and mouth area that I am concerned about. The scaring is heavy, thick and raised. He is not wearing his mask tight at all and it has become the source of our frustration at home. We decided on the visit this time to show him some pictures of compliant patients and no-compliant patients. I think we may have gotten his attention. He has been wearing his mask very well ever since. We had to remold it because the scaring had gotten so much worse but I am able to get it very tight now. It is just going to take all of his family and friends to help remind him to keep it on tight (not just mom and dad).
 
Breanna is his daycare mom's youngest daughter and they are like brother and sister. She has been so good with him. She will not play with him unless he puts his mask on tight. She has done that since the day we came home. Misty (her Mom) says that Breanna is stronger than she is. He really looks up to Breanna and it's good for him to see others tell him the same thing mean old mom and dad do!
I pray he will continue to wear his mask this well. I can really tell that the scaring is trying to flatten out. They tell us the next 2 months are the most important. His scaring will peak. I was really concerned about the ground we had lost but they reassured us that we would still be able to make up a little ground after the 6 months. So I believe that some of our prayers are getting answered. This is just another reminder that God answerer's prayers. It just may be not in the time frame we want.

Please pray for our strength.
Todd and I need your prayers for both home and work. Especially me!!!!!

Brooks will be going to his first psychiatrist appt on Dec. 19th. Please pray for that. I pray this will help him.

We pray that you all have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. We know that we have so much to be thankful for.
November 13th  10:23 A.M.
We attended the races Nov 5th. It rained a little and delayed the start of the race but the weather cleared and we had a great time. Jeff Burton #31, our favorite car, had a blowout in the first 20 laps and did not finish well, but we still enjoyed the race.
Brooks got to meet Jeff Burton and take pictures with him. I will send some (hopefully this week) to put on the site. Jeff seems like a really nice guy and talked about his kids with Brooks. Brooks gave him a lucky coin and Jeff stuck it in his car in front of the camera. You could see it on TV when they turned on his in car camera. Turns out the coin was not quite so lucky.
We went to the speedway in Dallas where we drove go carts and rode in dragsters. It was a little cool that morning but we had such a good time.
CeDana and Jason (Todd's sister and brother-in-law) went with us. It was an exhausting weekend of fun!!!!

Thank you Wind and Fire for a very memorable weekend.

All is going well with Brooks. He is
physically doing very well.
Stretches are going great. We are just struggling with wearing the mask. He loosens it off during school and many time throughout the day. It is just so hard to get him to understand the importance of it. We have a new puppy. Her name is Chloe and the kids love her. She has been good for them. I will update you after our next visit to Cincinnati in December.
October 24th 2:22 P.M.

 

We met with the Wind and Fire group last night. This is the group of firefighters from the OKC metro area to include, Mustang, The Village, and Will Rogers. They presented Brooks with 5 tickets to the NASCAR race on Nov 5th. They also gave him a room for 2 nights in Dallas, giftcards for Chilis, Texas Roadhouse, the Texas Motor Speedway gift shop, and tickets for 5 to the Speedzone.
What an amazing gift!!!!
What an amazing group!!!!!

We met at the Thunder Roadhouse cafe last night and there were approx 20 members and some of their spouses there. They all rode their Harleys and Brooks had a great time. He got to set on a few of the bikes and they even started a few of them up for him. He will be talking about that for weeks. He will probably add a Harley
to his Santa request...

We do not even know how to begin to tell them thank you. Everyday we are reminded how really
wonderful people are

Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers.
We love you all

 
October 24th 2:22 P.M.

Sorry I have not updated the site in a while.  The day to day activities are beginning to take over again. 
Back to reality!!!!!

     Things are going as well as could be expected.  I just had a parent/teacher conference and Mrs. Shaw (Brooks' teacher) says he is doing really well.  He got S and S+ on his report card in all areas except knowing his address and phone number.  This is more my fault than his.  So we have some work to do.  His handwriting needs improvement but it is more a matter of trying than not being able to. 

     It amazes me to hear him spelling words and recognizing words and reading them.  My how fast they grow even in spite of what they go through.

     The kids at school are great with him.  He has just fit in and they go the extra mile to say hello and help him.  You can't imagine how that feels to see these kids be so affected by this.  They have such BIG hearts.

      We return to Cincinnati this week.  Todd wants to drive and do a little site seeing before the weather gets bad.  So the four of us will take off on our great adventure Wednesday evening and try to drive it over 2 days out and back.  So pray for our safe trip and lots of sleeping!!!!!!!

     His hand contractures have improved greatly with the splints so I expect a good report.  His facial scaring however seems to be increasing.  It is not so noticeable with his mask on but when it is off his chin is developing some very thick scaring.  His grafts however are looking great.

     He is keeping full range of motion in his fingers and hands and doing his exercises very well.  We have just finished antibiotics for and infected elbow that is healing nicely.  So over all we are healing quite well.  It is just more the cosmetic part MOM is having trouble with. 

     Some of you have asked for me to give specific prayer requests so here they are:

  • Safe driving out and back to Cincinnati

  • Brooks wearing his mask.....  ( he loosens it off when we are not looking and we are struggling with this)

  • Facial scaring

     It is so nice to hear from friends and family that we have not heard from in a long time and I apologize for not writing back. I promise that we will get to it when things slow down a little. 

 
October 11th 9:29 P.M.
We had a great time at the concert last night. The music was wonderful and I believe that Brooks had a great time. For those of you who did not make it or could not attend, Brooks gave a speech at the end of the concert. Unbeknownst to me, he told Todd that he wanted to say something but would not disclose what it was. He thanked everyone for coming, for their e-mails (which I am not sure that  he really understands) and of course for all the toys that they had given him, and he then told them that he loved them all. It was a very, very grown up moment.

I have been contacted by a group in OKC called Heartland Heat Wind and Fire MC. This is a group of Oklahoma City fire fighters, active and retired that ride motorcycles and raise money through fund raisers to help families affected by fire and smoke. They have chosen to help Brooks. They have offered to send him to the NASCAR race in November at Texas motor speed way. We are so excited.

They are a non-profit organization that was established in 1991 and the Heartland Heat chapter was established in 2001. They use their donations to provide clothing, furniture, toys, and gift certificates to families
affected by fire.

This is just another wonderful group of people in this world. I have learned so much about myself and my family over the past 2 months but I have learned even more about prayer, faith, and the goodness of others. There is no way I will ever be able to pay back everyone for all they have done for us and continue to do, so I just hope to one day be able to pay it forward.
October 8th 9:29 P.M.
Well, we are back. We had a little bad weather going to Rollo Missouri. We spent the night there and flew out to Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon. Arriving around 6pm. We got to stay in the hospital this trip in the family care unit instead of the parent house. It is much more convenient for meals. Brooks traveled OK. He had lots of problems with itching this trip.
We visited with the surgeon who did his surgeries this time. They all thought we looked very good. He was good on his range of motion measurement's and his mouth had not gotten any smaller. They reassured me that holding our ground at this point was key. The scaring will get much worse over the next 2-3 months. And if we made any improvement it would be only a small one. So we should be very happy with holding our ground.
They had concerns with his hand in the same areas i was concerned with. We are going to try new splints at night time to help improve the contracting and they wanted to see us in three weeks. If we do not make any headway or they get worse we will have to release them. So pray for improvements.
We got out this trip and went to a mall that was very nice and took Brooks to see Open Season. He really enjoyed that. We had a great Italian meal. His favorite, fettuccine.
We got to see Beau from Tulsa and Jenhia from Michigan. They were both there for their 1 week follow ups. They looked great. It was nice to visit with them and discover they are having some of the same struggles we are having. It helps us not feel quite so isolated.
We are looking forward to the concert on Tuesday. I know Brooks will be a little shy with everyone. He is still not quite back to his friendly self. You will have to forgive him. I think in time we will see him return.. We discussed this with the Dr. and she recommended counseling since it has been a month and we are still having some problems. He is just not interested in the things he use to be and he is very attached to Todd and myself. He is also crying all the time. So maybe this will help him deal with whatever is going on in that little head of his.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. We can't even begin to tell you how you have all helped us through this and are continuing to help us daily with your prayers.
 
October 4th 12:29 P.M.
We are leaving tonight for Cincinnati. Our appointment is on Friday and we hope to be able to find the OU game at least on the radio. We will be traveling back on Saturday. Todd, Brooks and Myself are going this time. I need reinforcements, so I am making Todd go with us.
Brooks is doing very well. He is healing well and tolerating his garments ok. He does not like to keep them Velcro-ed together. He does not like to keep his shirts tucked in and this is like having a shirt tucked in 23 hours a day. We are having some behavioral issues. He is trying to regain some control. His grafts are looking good but we are still fighting the contractures in his mouth.
We are just taking it one day at a time. It is nice to be back at work and have something else to think about through the day. We are looking forward to the concert next Tuesday. We have explained it to Brooks and he is excited.

Thanks again to everyone!!
 September 26th 11:11 A.M.
Brooks is doing well. We have not missed any school and he really likes his teacher and classmates. He picks a student each day to stay in at recess with him. They all enjoy that. His attitude has improved and I think he really believes that life will return to normal..

We are setting up our next angel flight for Oct. 5th.
His appointment is on the 6th.
They obviously do not understand OU/texas
weekend in Cincinnati.
September 21st 4:03 P.M.
We just finished our second day of school. Brooks is doing great! He is even doing a little better with his baths and therapy. He has been to therapy 2 times this week with Michelle and he is doing very well. We have been able to get him into bed by 9:00 to 9:30 each night.
I am going to try to get myself in to work tomorrow. I have found myself with a little cold and just extremely tired but I need to get back. Todd's mom is going to come up tomorrow and spend the night with Brooks at his request. He was smiling when I picked him up from school and he tells me that he really likes his teacher. We are so thankful for such a great school system. Everyone has been so great to taking him in and making us feel so at home.
 
September 20th 9:15 A.M.
Well, we went to school today. Brooks did ok this morning. He was nervous about leaving us but he went anyway. His teacher is Mrs. Shaw. She is really nice. The students made him a "Welcome Back Brooks" sign. they are excited to have him back. I am glad to have a little break myself. Blakely is at daycare and I am home alone.
I'm thinking about going back to work soon.
I want to thank everyone for keeping us stocked up on food. Our church family and friends have been feeding us supper and it has been so nice to not worry about cooking. We even get to eat the leftovers for lunches. We do not know how we would have made it without such a great support system.
 
September 18th 3:27 P.M.

We flew back to Cincinnati, Ohio Thursday for our 1week follow up. We flew with Angel Flight in small planes leaving from Lindsay Airport. This was quite a trip for me. I have never flown in the small planes and I do not really care for flying in the large planes, but we did great. Brooks traveled well. We had some trouble with itching but we survived. We stayed at the Shriners parent house Thursday and Friday night and then flew back on Saturday morning.
Brooks did pretty well, however we did struggle with his therapy and showers some. No more than usual, I just did not have any backup. I guess we were doing OK. They want to see us in 3 weeks. He got his face mask and gloves. The gloves are much better than doing dressings. They are just a little hard to get on. He is doing OK with the mask. I think it is uncomfortable and it does not breath so he gets hot and sweaty in it. He has to wear it at all times except for meal times and bath. He has removed it on his own the past 2 nights. He slept the first night, all night, without problems.
It is so hard to stay consistent and make him wear this stuff knowing that I could not probably wear it myself. You just tell yourself that it is all up to you on how good of an outcome he gets.
We met some very interesting people with angel flight. They are some really great people to dedicate their time, equipment, and money for such a good cause.

Wednesday is our first day of school!!!!! I think he is very nervous about it. He has commented several times about people staring at him. Especially since he is wearing the mask. It is hard to comprehend what is going through a 5 year olds mind when I know how hard it is for me to see so many people stare at him.
We are trying to begin to establish somewhat of our normal routine again but I think we're so exhausted that we're just too tired to even realize it.
September 14th 11:01 P.M.

I heard from Terry Thomas (Kim's Dad) tonight and he reported that Kim and Brooks had a good trip. They left Lindsay this morning around 8:30 with our own local pilot Mark Smith who flew them the first leg of their Journey. He passed them off to another pilot in Joplin, Missouri. From there they made a stop in Illinois before finally landing safely in Cincinnati around 4:30p.m. They gave everyone a little scare since that was about an hour later than expected. (Seems they decided to take time to eat on the ground instead of in flight.) I know that they were required to bring a sack lunch.
They are again staying at the Parent House down the street from the hospital where they were stayed before coming home. We'll be waiting to here more tomorrow from Kim. I challenged Brooks to take some picture of the planes and pilots. We'll see what he brings back. Please keep them in your prayers!

D......................

 
September 12th 9:01 P.M.
Hey, sorry so long.
Brooks has spent 3 nights in his own bed and has slept all night every night since we came home. We went to therapy today and he did really well. He even asked if we could go every day.
We have had good and bad days since we came home. His itching is much better. The secret is keeping him cool.. If he gets warm, he starts itching and is difficult to calm.
He has gone to Misty's (his daycare mom) house everyday and went to Church on Sunday. He did really well. He is still very recluse. He will not make eye contact with anyone until being around them for some time. I have noticed him hide behind us when people approach. I know this is normal at this stage but it's just hard to watch. I also have noticed some hidden anger. He seems to take most of it out on Blakely and Todd, and I get it at bath time. Once the garments are on he does not want to take them off. So there is no real fight to make him wear them until they are off and have to be put back on.
Overall he is doing really well.
Todd went back to work Monday and so Monday morning was very tough. I was not sure that I was going to survive. I never even thought about that being tough for Brooks.
We fly out Thursday morning from the
Lindsay International airport ( ha, ha) and it will take three different flights to get to Cincinnati. We will return some time on Saturday. We are flying with Angel flight. This is a company of volunteer pilots that fly patients for free to and from medical appointment. Our first leg of the trip a pilot from Lindsay will be flying us. How cool is that!!!!!
Brooks is not looking forward to the trip and I do not fly so well so I am not so sure that I am looking forward to it either.

I will try to send you an update from there.
Kim
September 8th 7:27 A.M.

Todd made it home at about 8:00 last night. No problems.
Brooks took a short ride on the 4 wheeler with grand dad. He is still itching with the body suite. He is miserable with the itching. I think we are going to have to get the Dr. in Cincinnati. to give him something to help with this problem. He played with some car toys last night with Blakely and was laughing and having a good time. This was the most expression we have seen in over a month. Little by little we are seeing more of the Brooks we know. The dressing and cleaning time is still very bad. We came back to a home that was decorated with balloons and signs of "Welcome." Our church family did that for us, it was great!! Last night we had a nice home cooked meal from our church members with hot brownies.
Brooks especially liked the brownies!!
 

Added to message at 12:20

Just wanted to touch base. I have spoken with Brooks Dr. in Norman and we are trying a different medication. I am also making some alterations in his dressings. He is only complaining about itching on his back and I am not sure that he is not reacting a little to his dressing. It is made of foam. Maybe I can try something different and help it a little. *****He has slept 2 nights without complaint.***** It is great to see him rest. He is not complaining about his splints even. For now itching is our main battle.
We have been decorating on his room. It is so cool. I will try to get you a picture to put on the site.
All I can say it is great to be home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
September 7th 9:45 A.M.
The latest from the Tigert home is that Brooks, Blakely, Kim and Granna made it home safe around 9:00 o'clock last night. It was a long tough day but they made it and were glad to be home. Brooks was miserable in his suit. It was tight, hot and made him itch a lot. Once they got home they had to go through over two hours of bath, treatments and therapy before they could even try to go to bed. It sounds like the therapy is going to be a big job and is going to be the key to the quality of Brooks overall recovery.
 Brooks was tickled with his room. He did sleep well once they got to bed and even asked Granna this morning if he could go outside to play.
They had an interesting visit with a person that they past in the St. Louis airport. This man looked over at Brooks and said. "Haven't I seen you before somewhere?" They asked where he was from and he said "Maryland". Kim said "No.. we haven't been to Maryland." He said "I have seen you before. It was on your website. You were at the lake or something in your swimsuit." Up to that point they were suspecting the guy might have been up to something but once he described the site they questioned on. They found that he had connections back to Duncan that had been following Brooks website and that person had sent a link to him.
(What a small world. Or a big tool. I am excited to have had over 13,000 visits in the past month and almost a thousand emails. I thank you all for showing your love for the family through this system.)
They heard from Todd this AM and he was in Memphis and headed this way. They hope that he will be home by the end of the day.
 
September 6th 12:53  P.M.
We have heard back from Cincinnati and they are on their way home !!!!
They put Brooks in his whole body suit last night and it apparently did not go well. As you can imagine all of his skin is sensitive anyway and now he has to wear this suit which Kim states is 20-30 time tighter than pantyhose over most of his body. He did not rest at all over night and it was tough on everyone.
Travel arrangement made them have to travel by car to Lexington, KY to catch a flight to St. Louis and then to OKC. Todd will then be driving their vehicle in from Kentucky on his own. With the long night and the extended travel, with a very uncomfortable Brooks, they need your prayers today. For comfort, patience and safe travel.
Thanks, D................
September 5th 12:53  P.M.

From Kim

Tomorrow is the day. WE ARE COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today we are going to the Zoo. Granna, Blakely, Todd, Brooks, and myself. We are taking the child life person named Katie. Brooks loves her. They have a very good job. They just play with the kids.
We placed his garments on today. This morning was terrible. He hates them. He will basically wear a whole body suit even a hood and face mask.. the only part not covered is his right lower leg. Terrible huh!!!!!!!!
They are 20-30 times the tightness of panty hose. They tell me he will get use to them but I know it will take time and lots of screaming. He is excited to come home and see his dogs and his play room. He know he has a surprise but he does not know about his room. I hear it looks great.
He is really looking good and acting more like Brooks. We will see how he interacts with other people today. And we will also see how mom and dad handle the stares. I hate that for him.
We are stuffing the vehicle full. I think it is sitting a few inches lower. We do not know our flights at this time, we are waiting to hear. If we can we are going to fly Blakely and if possible mom. Todd will drive the vehicle home. So pray for our travels.
Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.
Kim
 
September 3rd 12:37  P.M.
Brooks and I are sitting here writing some of his friends emails. He is looking better each day.. We are on the count down:
 3 days to go!!!!!!!!
He is very excited about coming home. He reminds me each day of how many days are left. He is ready to come home and see the bonus room. He does not know about the bedroom.
Not much new going on. We slept in but Todd said Brooks did not sleep again last night. Back to 10-20 min cat naps. I sure hope sleeping improves when we come home.
We will have to return to Cincinnati one week from this Friday and the about every 2 weeks for a few months and then every few months for the first year. So this will kind of become a home away from home. Most of the visits will only be Dr. appointments so they will take 1-2 days due to travel but the appt. will only last 1 hr.
We will be flying with Angel Flight. It is a service of volunteer pilots out of Addison, Texas that fly patients to their medical appointment for free. That is great, but they fly small prop planes and I do much better on large jets. So this will not be very fun for me!!!! I have a little fear of flying anyway.
Brooks is eating much better. He is walking more independently but he is still weak. He has been playing with a Thomas Choo Choo set. They have at least 3 of these set ups here. We are making forward progression and we're ready for the discharge instructions on Wednesday.
Thanks for your your continued prayers!!
 
September 2nd 5:14  P.M.
Sorry it takes me so long to update. There are so many people here that you can't always get an Internet line. Things do not change much from day to day now so I feel that I say the same thing all the time.
I slept with Brooks last night. He slept about 50 minutes of every hour. So that is much better but still an exhausting night. He squirms like he can not get comfortable. I believe his ears bother him so tonight I am going to try to cover them up somehow. We'll see how inventive I am. I ruled out a few of the meds that might be causing his insomnia last night. We withheld his sleeping pill and his pain meds and tried a Motrin instead. I do not believe it is either of those because he still had trouble. So I am going to suggest holding his new blood pressure medication that they are using for anxiety. The nurse told me that they would be weaning them anyway. I believe they may be the culprit.
We are planning to go to the Zoo or the Aquarium on Tuesday now. He has had a great day. We saw the old Brooks today. He is laughing and chasing Blakely around the hospital on his tricycle. He is even talking today. It's like a new world. He still cries and does not want to talk about his garment or mask. He also gets upset when I talk about therapy. I feel we will struggle with that for a long time even when his wounds are healed. It is a power struggle.
We are going to miss the OU game. We do not receive the channel here!!!!!!
To far north we think!!!! Ha Ha
Thank you all for your continued prayers!!

 
September 1st 10:24  A.M.
Well last night was difficult again.  Brooks slept from 11pm to 12am and then did not return to sleep until 7am this morning and slept only 30 minutes.  He is exhausted.  So things are very difficult.  I believe his lack of sleep for four nights is creating and unbearable situation.  He can not tolerate baths or therapy, he is not eating, and even not wanting to go to the play room.  We had to cancel the trip to the Zoo today.  He really needs a good nights rest.  He is on more medications than I can even remember.  So we are going to change them up a little and begin weaning him off of some of them and hopefully that will resolve our problem.  We are still looking at discharge on Wednesday because his weaning schedule will end then.  His facial grafts are looking very good and his hands are as well.  He is having quite a bit of pain from his back.  He has a few areas that I believe got too dry and reopened so we are working hard to clear them up.
   Please pray for Brooks to get the rest he needs to heal and tolerate the activities required to heal him.   He is really struggling!!!!!!!!
     He is walking somewhat better, however they were going to send us to the Zoo without a wheelchair and I was terrified he would not be able to make it.  So maybe this is God's way of giving him more time to improve before such a long walking journey. 
     Looking forward to coming home and resting in our own beds.
 
    I wanted to also let everyone know that we have had 911 emails of words of encouragement.  We would not have been able to make it through this without them.  One of my friends emailed me and said that there was a prayer for every hit on the website so as of right now today at 11:30 am there have been 11,182 prayers.  How amazing a thought is that.  The email have become my therapy and I am so thankful for that.  
     I should also address the use of his hands.  He has full ROM (Range of Motion) in them but it takes lots of encouragement to get him to use them.  He is feeding himself cereal with a spoon (I place a wrap around and make the handle larger for easier grips).  I see improvement each day but it is very slight.  He has thrown bean bags for the past two days and I watched him pick up animal crackers yesterday.
     On another positive note;  Uncle Jason is going to fix his room up, hopefully before he comes home.  we are going to make him a new NASCAR room and hopefully that will be the start of good things to come.
 
     Dad is completing our Bonus room so we will have a playroom for this toy story we are bringing home.  He does not even realize how many toys he as received.  It is almost a little overwhelming in a very good way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
August 31th 1:40  P.M.
No sleep again last night. About 3 hours. Brooks did very well with his bath last night. No crying. This is a first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today we bathed him and did his therapy with little crying. Still a little but I really feel is it was just fear.
We did all of it solo...... (good job for us)

He played in the play room and walked the length of the hallway and was much more controlled. I even let him go for a few minutes and he did well. His balance is improving and I am able to walk him slowly with one hand. He fed himself for the first time today. He ate Coco Pebbles with a spoon. It was awesome.....................
We are looking at possible discharge on Wednesday at this point. They just want to make sure we are able to do this dressings and therapy and then we can go. So they want us to go solo for the weekend and see what questions we have on Monday.
August 30th 11:31  A.M.
We slept in our new room last night. It at least has good hot water and comfortable beds. Brooks woke at 3 am and could not go back to sleep. Todd and I gave him his bath. He did great. He still threw up but he calmed and only cried a little. We did his dressing and he did not cry and Todd learned how to do his therapy on his hands. This is a little more difficult for him.. As his skin heals it becomes tight so it is very important to do therapy and stretching of his skin 2 times a day so he does not loose his range of motion. He is really progressing fast. I am trying to encourage him to use his hands. I think he thinks they are broken and convincing him different is difficult. He put his OU t-shirt and shorts on today and real underwear. I am hoping that will make him feel more like home. I even got to hold him for the first time in 25 days and he took a nap in my lap. That felt awesome. I think for both of us.
Getting ready to eat lunch and I think tomorrow we will be moving to the 2nd floor to encourage him to interact with other kids.
 

August 29th 9:16  P.M.

Today we had to move out of our room and into the family house down the street. It is about 3 blocks away and it is not near as good accommodations as we were in. So today has been long and full. We had to move everything but the kitchen sink and it took until 4 pm today. We did stop for lunch. We got to take Brooks up to the cafeteria today. That was nice. He still did not eat but I believe he enjoyed a little more reality. He got to take a real bath today. Todd assisted with it and said he did really well but still got so upset he threw up. His therapy went ok but he is still refusing to move his fingers and they say he should really be using his hands by now. I really hope we can motivate him soon. We have until Thursday to get him to walking because they will take the wheelchair away then. He can only walk about 30 feet right now and that is with 1 person assisting him pretty heavy. Physical therapy is not helping with his ambulation and I think that might would help. So I am a little frustrated. We had dinner with him upstairs out on the patio this evening and I think he liked the outdoors. He ate 1/4 of this pizza and drank about 4 oz at dinner. Then this evening Todd and I gave him another bath and he did really well but he was still screaming even when we were not doing anything with him. So I really think it is his anxiety. He is getting ready for bed and just ate 1/2 of an ice cream sandwich and drank about 4 more oz's. They tell us we may get to come home next week if we can get him to walk and eat. They took out all of his tubes even his IV and he is on all medications by mouth so really there is not much for them to do for him now except therapy.
So pray that we progress quickly on the therapy. We plan to go to the Zoo on Friday. Pray for our new accommodations. They are not in a very good part of town.
Brooks really needs strength, will, and motivation now.

 

August 28th 1:14  P.M.

Last night Brooks did not sleep well. He was up most of the night. Today he has been in good spirits until his dressing change. They gave him a very strong sedative and did the molding for his mast this morning and his dressing change. Unfortunately his sedatives do not last through the whole dressing change. It takes about 2 hours to do all of his dressings and therapy. Can you imagine 2 hours of torture. Sometime I wonder how much he can take. We have to do this 2 times a day. He does really well; however I am thankful he is hoarse so I can't really hear how loud he is screaming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mom sat in on this dressing. I think it is her first real time to stay through the whole procedure. I was not sure she was going to make it. I could hear her making comments in the back ground. This is difficult for everyone.
On a positive note. He sat up in bed alone for the first time. He looked great. He even walked over to the bathroom with dad helping him. He was very weak but he is at least up and now knows he can do it. I opened some of his gifts for him today and I opened a package of hot wheels and his eyes lit up. That was so good to see after his dressing change to know I could take his mind off of it for just a second.
Blakely is doing so well with this. She keeps going up to his bed and trying to make him laugh. She tells him frequently that she wants him to come to the playroom and play. I hope she can encourage him.

August 27th 7:17  P.M.

Today has been good. Aunt Dana slept with Brooks and I think he and she really enjoyed that. He got his staples removed from his face, hand, and knee. They trimmed up the grafts and they look much better. He slept all morning due to the sedative they gave him for the procedure. However he has been awake all afternoon.
We got him out again and took him to pet therapy. He doesn't enjoy that as much as I expect him to.
We said good by to Aunt Dana and Uncle Jason at 2:00 today. Brooks cried when they left. That is the most emotion I've seen from him in 22 days other than painful crying.
Dad, Blakely, Brooks, and I played Go Fish, and Operation Brain games today. It was great. Brooks laughed and enjoyed playing. It was almost like old times. He is watching pirates of the Caribbean with his dad right now. I also got him to eat 1 cheese and cracker. The squirt cheese kind of course, it is his favorite. He even drank some orange soda.
Tomorrow they plan to take his foley catheter out and make him stand. He told me he doesn't think his legs will work and he is afraid to get out of bed. I feel like tomorrow will be a good day. We just have to show him he is still the same. I tried to tell him about his surgeries, per his request, but I think it was more than he could handle because he threw up. We decided we would talk about it later.
He is looking better each day we just need him to eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

August 26th 10:37  P.M.

Today was a pretty good day. He rested well most of the day, and had very little pain. Except with dressing changes of course. We took him down to the playroom for about 1 hour. He watched us play games and Jason, CeDana, Todd, Mom, and myself played "Operation Brain" game and he actually laughed with us. I think this was very good for him.
He still is not eating but I think that as he comes off his meds and gets out more he will become more interested. They moved him to room 11 because they needed the room for a potential ICU patient. We are on the same floor just 2 rooms down. They had 4 admits last pm.
This evening he had nurse Judy, he really responds well to her, she has worked here for 17 years. She did his bath and dressing change. CeDana and Todd helped with the dressing and said he did great. They were even able to get him to calm down and explain some things about his hands to him. I believe this helped him understand the pain a little more. Believe it or not his scalp has completely healed from this morning. What a miracle!!!!!!!!
I believe all his pain is from his ears and left hand. That palm is still very raw.
He looked great at about 7pm tonight when we changed rooms. Judy tells us we will see a real difference in him this week as he comes off the meds and they plan to walk him on Monday. Tomorrow the staples come out. This is an exciting day. Aunt Dana will sleep with him tonight. She and uncle Jason leave tomorrow afternoon. we will be sad to see them go!!!!!!!

August 26th 10:50  A.M.
Last night was uneventful.. Brooks rested pretty well.  He had a few nightmares but calmed easily.  We got him out of his room yesterday evening and rolled him around the 2nd and 3rd floor.  I do think it helped lift his spirits some.  He did not want to go but we didn't give him a choice.  I think he would just sit in the room and do nothing if we would let him. I am hoping that as we get him out he will liven up and be encouraged to get better and his appetite will slowly return.  His wounds are looking very good.  He still has a few areas on his palms and forearms that are not healed and look painful..  His scalp is doing very well and we are leaving most of it open to air which will even speed up the healing process more.  He did his dressing change this morning and did very well. He still cried a lot but he told dad after it was over that his back did not hurt.  I think he remembers so much pain that he just expects it and the areas that have healed are not painful anymore.
     I have been so focused on thanking all of our friends and family that I feel I have not given the Shriners enough time.  I did not know much about the Shriners organization until now and there is still a lot for me to learn, but I know their mission is one from God.  They take you in and treat you like family.  They see that your every need is met and needs you did not even know you needed.  They will take care of Brooks and his travels to and from his follow up visits and surgeries for the rest of his life and he will need many more surgeries as he grows.  They will also come to his school and prepare the school and his classmates for him.  They will bring pictures of him as well as tell his story and what he has been through and what he must continue to do to get better.  They will show them the garments that he will have to wear so that they will not be so scared when he does return.  They have many hospitals with different specialties but all have the same mission.  I noticed on the back of one of their transport vans their slogan, "There is no man taller than a man bent over to help a child".  How moving is that!

 

 

August 25th 11:09 A.M.

Brooks has not changed rooms they just changed his status.  He now has two nurses instead of one sitting in his room. 

      He cries uncontrollably when anyone walks in the room.  He did not sleep as well last night but he slept most of the day yesterday.  We have noticed that he thinks if he sleeps they will not do anything to him so he is constantly saying that he needs to sleep, even when I want to brush his teeth. He also stays covered with a blanket up to his shoulders even when he is sweating, I think he feels if he stays covered we will forget about his dressings.  It is amazing to watch how quickly they begin to try to manipulate. 

     He is in very little pain through the day except with his dressing changes.  They are weaning his pain drips and hope to have them off by next week.  He only requires meds with the dressings.  They will remove the staples from his facial grafts on Sunday and we are still encouraging him to eat but have been unsuccessful. 

     Dad went home today and Jason and CeDana are here. Jason's wound looks awesome.  He healed very well. 

     Brooks is not showing much emotion, we can't even seem to get him to smile.  We miss smiling Brooks!!!!!!!  Everyone that knows him knows he is constantly smiling.  He did tell Granddad he loved him before he left.  Next week they plan to have Todd and I start assisting with his therapy. He does not do this very well. 

     Pray for his strength to endure this next week. I just pray this has not changed his fun and loving personality.

 

August 24th 12:02  P.M.

Brooks had a good night. He slept well, the best I've seen him. They downgraded him from ICU to "floor" status. So we can "room in" with him now. I slept with him last night. We are having a difficult time getting him to eat or drink anything. They are stopping his tube feedings for 2 hours around meal time to hopefully increase his appetite. He is even declining chocolate ice cream. So I know he does not feel well.
Jason and CeDana are on the ground in Ohio and driving to the hospital right now. I told him they were coming and he is excited. Not much else going on but his wounds are healing well and no signs of infection.

August 23rd 7:33  A.M.

It is Wednesday morning. Brooks did OK thru the night.  He would not let dad come to bed so dad was up all night.  We are battling severe anxiety now for about 5 days.  Brooks just cries and gets all worked up every time someone walks in the room other than us, even the housekeepers.  He has only been sleeping 20 min of every hour. In his patient care conference we discussed some changes in his medication so hopefully this will help.  Today they will change his central line (iv) site and do the 1st dressing change on his scalp.  They will give him a very strong sedative for that so hopefully it will help him sleep through most of it.  His facial grafts are still looking good.

    
I tried to express our thanks yesterday on the radio but it just seems like there is just no way to fully let everyone know how truly thankful we are.  So many people have donated money, groceries, toys, and sent emails and cards that you can't even imagine.  I have a shoe box full of cards already.  There are so many people that have donated that we do not even know about and I want everyone to know we are very appreciative.  Without the strong encouragement and prayers from everyone and monetary donations we would not be able to be here and fully focus on Brooks.  With all this support we are able to let our minds rest and fully focus on Brooks. 

August 22nd 8:00  P.M.

It is 8pm here.  Brooks has had a very good day.  Minimal pain to his surgical sites even with the new donor sites.  He only complained of pain with the dressing change to his back, arm, and thigh.  His grafts on his left arm are looking very good.  He did very well during therapy with a lot of coaching.  His thigh donor site appears to be without open areas, it just looks like it has a really bad sunburn.  His back has 5 open areas a little larger than the size of a quarter and the rest has the sunburn look.  He is healing nicely.  He facial grafts are doing well.  He has required 2 more transfusions, we have had so many now I have lost count.
He has rested off and on today and even asked for chocolate ice cream.  For those who know him they know he must be feeling better, it is his favorite.  His spirits appear much higher and I think he is looking forward to seeing Jason and CeDana. We told him he could go to the playroom in 2 more days and he said he was ready.  He asked lots of questions about the playroom.  Your prayers are working.  We are beginning to see a speck of light at the end of the tunnel.
 

August 22nd 10:53  A.M.

Brooks was awake for most of the night last night.  He watched TV and listened to the radio.  We could actually hear him speak some for the first time.  He was very calm and it was almost like old times except he was not running around the house getting in trouble for being too loud.  Blakely sat up with him until 1 am so it was just the 4 of us.  Today he went into surgery about 8:15 and returned to his room around 11:00.  He did very well.  They were able to take one large strip from his scalp and piece it onto his face, chin, and neck.  He even has a small amount of hair left on the very front of his scalp. (Just enough for mom to rub).  He is sleeping very well right now and looks very comfortable.  Please pray for his comfort through the dressing changes for the next week. They have to be done 2 times a day.

August 21st 8:15  A.M.

Brooks has rested today with some pain today. He has answered some of my questions and followed commands very well today.  After surgery they did his dressing change while he was still pretty groggy from surgery and I believe it was a little more tolerable.  They gave him a break tonight because his wounds have healed so well that they skipped the dressing change this evening and instead let him rest.  He is coughing very well and clearing out his lungs.  His back only has a few little spots left to clean and dress.  It is unbelievable how much they heal in 12 hours.  He will undergo hopefully his last surgery in the morning provided all of his facial grafts take.  These are the ones I worry about the most.  I am going to miss his spiky blonde hair.  They will shave it off tomorrow before surgery and take the donor skin from his scalp.  I believe it will take most of his scalp to cover his face.  They tell us the scalp heals much faster than the rest of the body so I am hoping we will only have to endure a few days of pain.  Dad is going home Wednesday or Thursday and Uncle Jason and Aunt CeDana will be here Thursday evening.  Brooks will be very glad to see them.  I explained the accident to him today and he told me he does remember it.  I also explained that uncle Jason was also burned and he did not know that.  Pray for their safe travels in the days to come. Brooks cries when they take him into the OR because he is so scared so pray for all of our strengths tomorrow.

August 21st 8:15  A.M.

It's 8:15 A.M. here and Brooks is in the recovery room. He did well through surgery.  They said his burns cleaned up well. We also found that he will require grafting on a small area on his right knee. His ears look OK. The doctor does not want to graft them, she just wants to allow them to heal on their own.  She said they will look more natural this way and we will deal with the scaring later.  His face will require grafting from the cheek bones down but  his lips and nose look very good. 
He had a great night. He slept some and watched TV some.  He was able to watch Monsters Inc from 2 to 3:30 AM.  Today he will sleep a lot after this mornings anesthesia.
The next big thing on his schedule will be the grafting tomorrow. Please again don't forgot us in your prayers today.

August 20th 10:30 PM

Brooks had a much better morning on Sunday. He was in less pain which means they had to push less meds. He even managed to smile a bit. After lunch he was able to set up in a wheel chair for nearly an hour and a half and watch TV.
They changed his dressings and all looked much better. His donor sites are over 50% healed. Overall Kim was very encourage by his progress today.
Monday they will be starting on the next round of grafting. As they did before, Monday they will prep the areas to be grafted and then on Tuesday they will actually do the grafts. The areas that they will be focused on will be from the cheek bones to just under the jaw line on both sides of his face.
Kim sounded great and seems to be holding up well. With all of the help that's been there this week they have been able to get out just a bit and take some breaks.
Tomorrow will no doubt be a setback with the prep for the grafts so please keep Brooks and the family in your prayers.
 

August 20th 1:30 AM

Message from Kim

It is 1:30am here.  Mom and I are sitting with Brooks.  Someone has to sit with him at all times.  He is sleeping in 20-30 min spurts and awaking scared and crying.  He is more difficult to sooth.  He requires pain medication now about ever 1 hr to 11/2 hrs along with his drips.  It is good to have mom and dad here to keep us going. Penni and Mandy leave tomorrow.  They took us out to eat last night and it was nice to get away but your heart never leaves.  Brooks never gets a break.

August 19th 3:45  PM

Brooks came off the vent like a champ this morning about 7:30.  He has maintained himself with just humidified oxygen.  Vital signs are great.  He is hurting a lot and requiring extra pain medication besides his pin drips. We also saw a smile for the first time in 14 days.  He is looking at us and following us around the room very well.  I believe that he is even watching TV a little.  Thank you all for your prayers.  We felt God's presence this morning. Now just pray for his comfort and safety through surgery Monday and Tuesday.  Each day brings us one day closer to coming home
August 18th 9:45  PM
Today Brooks has been without ventilator support and on flowby all day.  He has maintained himself very well.  They are decreasing his sedation so that he will stay awake enough to remember to breath. This however has increased his pain and he is crying a lot.  He is tracking us in the room with his eyes and following commands.  Please let everyone know we need their prayers through the night that he will rest well and be ready for tomorrow.  Tomorrow at 7:00 starts our big day.  They will attempt to extubate him again.  I believe his lungs are ready, we just have to keep him calm through the process and try to keep him from panicking. I also ask for prayers to keep him comfortable.

August 18th 10:46  AM

My friends Mandy and Penni from Ada whom I worked with in the ER arrived last night around 8 o'clock.  It is nice to catch up with old friends.  They have brought lots of love and encouragement from Valley View Hospital.  Brooks rested well last night. He did require another transfusion and we are battling his temperature again.  They have altered our game plan a little this morning.. They have decided to begin weaning him from the vent again.  He has been on CPAP this morning which means he only receives a breath when he asks for it and it delivers it with little pressure. They moved him to flow by which is no vent support at all just humidified oxygen and he seems to be tolerating it well.  He is struggling a little when he gets upset but when he is calm his respiratory rate drops.  His oxygen saturations are staying above 98% which is great. They will try to extubate him tomorrow and see how he does.  The only down side is they have to decrease his sedation medication and he is in more pain.  He is finally opening his eyes and looking at me.  Daddy got to hold his hand this morning during his dressing change and I think that made dad's day.   His grafts still looked good this morning.

August 17th 11:18  AM

     Last night went well. Brooks is resting comfortably. Mom has sat with him most of the day today.  Blakely is wearing the inside playground out.  We never thought that we could miss having feet in our back and on our faces at night but it was great to have Blakely in our bed again (for now).

August 16th 9PM

Today has been quiet.  Brooks has rested well.  We looked at the skin grafts today and the Dr. said they looked good.  She removed every other staple and his palms were looking some better.  She has some concern about the right palm and wants to monitor it a little longer.  She is planning to do his face on Monday and Tuesday mostly grafting the lower jaw area under his lower lips and around to his ears.  He has one area on his left temple she wants to give a little more time. That is why she did not schedule the surgery for tomorrow.  He has an area on the left knee that will need a graft.  I did not expect that.  His chest has completely healed and his donor sites are healing well. All signs of infection have resolved.  So some prayers have been answered. He is having a lot a pain with the dressing changes even on so much sedation.  He is taking more pain medication than we give most adults.  Dr. Mcall the anesthesiologist (sp) said his lungs appear very healthy. It is just the upper airway that needs more time.  Mom and dad made it today about 5:30 PM.  Blakely was all smiles.  She has been running us all over the place.  She saw Brooks today and did very well

August 15th 7:47  PM
Thank you all for your words of encouragement. Brooks had another episode after lunch today.  I have never seen someone extubate themselves or have so much trouble with their ET tube.  He made it through OK again.  I believe this has created an unbelievable amount of anxiety for him, (myself also), and if anything gets remotely difficult he just panics and so do I.  They were able to replace the tube for a 4th time.  They are keeping him practically unresponsive for the next few days.  If they need to they will place him on another sedation drip and if needed beyond that they will paralyze him again.  We are hoping we can just keep him really sedated.  He has a tremendous amount of swelling around his vocal cords and in the upper airway. They believe these multiple intubations have exaggerated this.  We are awaiting the surgery date for his facial grafts.  They will not attempt to take him off the vent again until after the surgeries.  We are holding up but this is very difficult.

I should update you on Jason.  He is healing well. He is having a little difficulty with movement in his arm and still undergoing treatments.  Please pray for him, he is having a difficult time with the situation.  He has not seen Brooks since we were in the ER in Atoka and he was flown out. He is dealing with a lot of feelings and needs God's strength as well.  Please pray for mom and dad as they are on the road (as we speak) with Blakely and I just pray for their safe arrival.
 

August 15th 9:00  AM

We had a very scary day yesterday. The first of course was attempting to take Brooks off of the ventilator. He struggled so.  He slept off and on yesterday but would awaken every 15 to 20 minutes crying and scared.  He was frightened with every new voice that entered the room.

     Last night we had another scare.  His breathing tube dislodged and he again had respiratory distress and it took what seemed like forever to replace it.  With every breath I was so afraid it would be the last.  They have told us several times that we are not out of the woods until we walk out the door.  However you get your hopes up and let your guard down with each day that goes so well.  They are going to keep him very sedated throughout the night and for at least 2 days because these two episodes have been so taxing on him.  Please pray for his safety and comfort. 

Kim
 

 

August 14th 10:00 AM

Sunday was a long day.  Brooks cried a lot but could be comforted.  His graft sites look as if there might be a little infection setting in.  They informed us that this is quite common and will just require a medicated ointment and dressing changes 2 times a day  instead of once.  They attempted to extubate (remove his breathing tube) him today.  He could not tolerate this yet so they replaced the tube and re-sedated him.  His face is going to require some grafting and they will probably do this surgery on next Monday. We knew this was probably coming. It's just hard to hear.  Today was very difficult for him and for us, so please pray for his comfort.

     My parents are coming out with Blakely Tuesday evening and 2 of my past co-workers (friends) are coming out Thursday.  We are so ready to see Blakely.

     I want to thank everyone I work with at LMH for all of their thoughts and prayers.  They have been so generous and I will never be able to repay them.  They are donating money and their vacation time to allow me to be able to stay here and keep our home afloat.
Thanks again to everyone for your support.

 

August 12th 5:15 PM

From Kim
 Today has been long and very unchanged.  Brooks has slept all day however it is 5:45pm our time and he is beginning to nod his head with us again.  He just told Todd that he was hurting so they are giving him more pain medicine.  His vital signs are still stable and the grafts on his arms look very good today.
 
His room is filling with cards and balloons.  He will be soooo surprised when he opens his eyes. 
We have felt so much love from our small towns. Even people from across the US are sending us messages.  So many people that we do not even know.  We feel Gods presence and it give us so much strength.  Again I thank everyone for your wonderful words of encouragement and prayers. 

Many of the emails come during the middle of the night so I know people are thinking and praying for us all day and night.  We love you all !!
I want to especially thank my dad right now for thinking of this great communication tool in this website.  It helps me spend my time doing something positive by reading all of your thoughts. And thanks to Darryl for putting it together and keeping it updated.

And thanks again to everyone for your messages of love that make it all so wonderful.
 

August 11th 12:32 PM

Brooks made it through today's procedures without any problems. They were able to graft both arms from the elbow down. They did not have enough space to take all of the donor tissue from his back so some also had to be taken from his leg. He seems to be resting well and they want to start backing him off his
sedation today.
They were hoping to take Brooks off the ventilator today but now it will probably be Monday
before that happens.
Kim and Todd are holding strong and want to thank everyone for their prayers and emails. It has been a great encouragement for them. They have to date received over 230 emails from friends, family and even complete strangers.
Please take time to send them a note if you can.
 

August 10th 2:32 PM

From Kim

Brooks came out of surgery about 11am and did well.  They removed all of the non-viable skin and prepared the area for the skin grafts to happen tomorrow.  He will require grafting on both of his arms from the elbows to his fingertips.  They are not going to graft the palms of this hands at this time to try not to loose as much sensation in his palms. The doctor wants to to try to give them time to heal on their own, however they may have to go back and graft them later. 
They will take the donor skin from his back and place it on his arms.  He has not awoke from surgery yet but maybe later this evening he will be a little more alert.  Todd's brother Chad is here and Brooks has responded to his voice.  Chad is going home tomorrow morning and Todd's mother will be able to be here some time tomorrow. Thanks for all of your support.

  

August 9th 9:32 PM

Brooks had a very quiet day today.  He has slept all day and communicated very little.  I believe that he is finally in a little less pain and becoming familiar with the sounds around him and is finally really resting. I can only imagine how scared a 5 year old is when he is in excruciating pain and unable to see. I believe he could open his eyes but he just has been too drowsy today. 
   Tomorrow they will do his first surgery.  His lab work has improved over the night and he is holding his own. He is showing no signs of infection at this point.  They are still encouraging us in that they will take him off the ventilator on Friday, however they are also warning us that the difficult time is just beginning.  The graft sights will be extremely painful and he will no longer be sedated.  This is about all we know for now.
    The emails are the best therapy for us right now. Again thank you all for your prayers and emails.

Update on Brooks Uncle Jason:
Jason has been re-evaluated and some of his burns were determined to be 3rd degree.

 

August 8th 11:30PM
Brooks has been a trooper today.  He has been battling a fever for two days now which they tell us is normal.  They have kept him comfortable and sleepy today.  He did receive a blood transfusion today and tolerated it well. Otherwise we are holding up well.  The swelling in his face is starting to reside and he is almost able to open his right eye.  He is still on the ventilator and will remain so probably until Friday after the skin graft surgery.  He is beginning to receive lots of balloons and will be very happy to see them when he can open his eyes.  He is able to communicate with us by shaking his head yes and no and sometimes I am able to read his lips.  They are preparing us Thursday for the graft surgery on Friday. Then comes the recovery portion of it which I understand to be extremely painful. He will be less sedated and off the ventilator at that time.  So the worst I am afraid is yet to come.  WE REALLY NEED STRENGTH NOW. He must see us be strong.
Thank you all, Kim and Todd