Latest Updates

08/19/07 - Gerry was airlifted from St. Elizabeth Hospital to St. John's Mercy at 9:00am

08/27/07 - Gerry is in stable condition, 103 fever, Pneumonia, still on a ventilator, 4 broken ribs on
the left, left leg wounds, infection in his blood stream.

08/30/07 - news is that surgery is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, August 31. They think the surgery should take about five hours. Once surgery is over and he stabilizes, Chief will be weaned off of the breathing tube. (The longer he remains intubated, the harder it will be for him to start breathing on his own.) They're hope is to get him off the tube and breathing on his own (if he's able) within a few days after surgery. Keep your fingers crossed!!

09/04/07 - As scheduled, Chief had his surgery on Friday. It lasted all of about 68 minutes, but it seemed to go okay. Unfortunately, as with everything, there were a few surprises along the way that the MRI didn't show.

Initially, the doctor was going to take a piece of bone out of Chief's leg for the fushion. Instead, he decided to use a cadaver bone because he felt that Chief's body had been through so much trauma already and didn't want to put him through anything additional. The fusing part of the surgery went just fine. Once inside though, there was still a significant amount of swelling around the injury. There was evidence that spinal fluid had been leaking out, but it had resolved itself over these last few weeks. Most disturbing is that there is a severed nerve in the spinal cord and sadly there is little that can be done for something like that. The doctor is still unable to predict what the final outcome of Chief's injuries will be once all is said and done.

Since the surgery, they've been trying to wean Chief from the vent, but it hasn't gone very well. At this point, the plan of action is to take him off the vent on Thursday and place him on a traech. They will attempt to wean him off of that instead.

09/07/07 - The good news is that his blood infection has cleared up…yeah!! :) But, now he has pluracy…boo! :( The doctors warned us that Chief will have his ups and downs…and, I gotta tell ya', they weren't kidding!! He's had a restless day or two this week, along with a slight fever. Although Chief has had a few set backs, he has made some great strides…surviving the accident for one. I don't think a lot of us could've made it through that in itself. We are so thankful that our Chief is still with us and fighting like crazy.

They were just finishing extubating Chief and replacing the tube with the traech yesterday. The entire procedure took about two hours due to all of the swelling in and around Chief's neck. In addition, because of the pluracy, he is getting additional fluid built-up in his lungs. So, they extracted a lot of that yucky stuff out of his lungs, too.

For now, he still remains in a med-induced coma, but the game plan remains the same...they will lower the sedation and begin waking him up slowly. During this time, they will make repeated attempts to wean him from the traech to see if he can breathe on his own. The doctors and nurses have said that they don't know what we can expect as he comes out of the coma--what he will and will not remember and what his reaction will be to everything. Again, only time will tell.

09/11/07 - Gerry started out the week pretty rough. He needed a chest tube yesterday for a large pleural effussion on the left side where the rib fx. are. Today he is awake. They discontinued his sedation and he is coming to terms with the accident and the fact that he has been in the hospital for over 3 weeks. He is
"hungry" so they are letting him have a few ice chips.

No movement in his legs, and he has figured that out and is frustrated. He has a new pneumonia as well, but he is weaning from the vent. Tomorrow they are going to try to get him out of bed. He is "down" but we are trying to remind him that he is "superman" having even survived being run down by a pick-up truck.

09/11/07 - Gerry was out of bed once today and they are going to try for a second time today but in a different type of chair as he was very uncomfortable. He still has pain in the back of his head and wound care RN is coming to look at his pressure ulcer that is on the back of his head.

His lungs remain coarse, but he is weaning on pressure support ventilation...support from the vent while he takes all the breathes on his own. Having trouble sleeping at night so the plan is to really keep him busy during the day. Doing good with the tube feeds. His hands really hurt as well so Sarah is here today giving him the royal treatment rubbing his hands and keeping him positive.

She is wonderful for him as the rest of us get frustrated seeing little progress day after day yet she stays so positive and uplifting. Slow and steady!!!

09/24/07 - They're continuing the slow process of weaning Chief from the traech and he is showing signs of getting stronger in that regard. He only needed full vent support for 2 hours on Sunday…that's wonderful progress!! When he dozes off though he forgets to breathe. Then hello!...all the apnea bells and whistles go off…right in his ear. I don't know how he can get any sleep. We always watch the constant fluctuation of his respiratory numbers--they'll go up in the 40's (this is bad...he has to slow down his breathing) and then drop down to zero (which is even worse). Then, they'll steady back into the teens and low twenties…where they want those numbers to be.

Sunday was a rough day, I think. Chief still coughs a lot and has a lot of yuck in his lungs that they continue to suction out. They've been trying different types of chairs for him to sit in, but nothing makes him comfortable. He's not comfortable in bed either. He complained that his stomach was bothering him and he felt like he had a cold. All in all, I think he just felt miserable…not to mention the Bears lost against the Cowboys, and now he owes Bud $5!

Robyn has spent some time with Chief this morning. He didn't have a headache…yeah!! She said that he really looks great and is well rested. She said he actively participated in his morning exercises and that his arms are becoming so much stronger…I noticed that on Friday and Sunday when I was there. His hands aren't following in as fast a pace, but hopefully that will come with time. Get this…he's worried about his weight!!! Can you believe that??? Only Chiefy! :)

We know so many of you want to come visit Chief and he wants to see everybody. He said that he will be ready for visitors when he can talk to us. This is a wonderful goal for him and it gives him something to continue working so hard for. Like all of you, I keep praying that day will be soon!!

Robyn made a special request to all of us. Please keep sending get well cards!! She said that he wanted to see them all this morning so she held up each and every one. One after another brought such a smile to his face this morning. He truly knows that we are all here and we care so much about him.

If you don't think he'll remember you because you're an old friend (from grade or high school, a former job, etc.) or an acquaintance (he took your family pictures, senior pictures, baby pictures, etc.), please drop him a note and re-introduce yourself and tell him how you know him. I've heard from quite a few people who don't think he'll remember them. Every time I talk to him and tell him names and how they know him, his eyes get real big and he shakes his head "yes." All of you have brought such a smile to his face!!

09/29/07 - Robyn is working with the medical team to get Chief on a daily schedule of physical therapy, out of bed and in a chair, etc., a routine of sorts to keep Chief busy, interested and working hard every day. That’s good for Chief since he has his days and nights a little messed up for sleeping. Hopefully, with some movement and keeping him awake during the day and early evening, that should really help and get him back on track.

Wednesday wasn’t so good for Chief as he is becoming his worst enemy. He feels like he’s not getting enough air and panics. He will breathe 40 times a minute on PSV when he is awake with no rise in his carbon dioxide level, but will complain of shortness of breath. He can fall asleep on the same settings and breathe 16 times a minute and is just fine. Poor Chief…it must be a horrible feeling.

He is still doing good with the tube feedings and he continues to get plenty of nutrients. His swallow reflex is good, so they are allowing him to take sips of water. His labs continue to come back stable, which is good, too!

Well, that’s all for now. We will continue to keep you posted on all developments.

10/04/07 - After a good weekend, things seemed to go south for Chief on Monday. During an attempt to take down the trach cuff to let him talk, all the secretions sitting on top of the cuff went into his right lung and collapsed it. He needed a bronch and after several bagging attempts, his lung opened up and they were able to suction out the secretions. His oxygen saturation level dropped to a scary 46%. (That level should always stay high 90's to 100.) The good news is that the chest x-ray looked good. The pulmonologist said that the secretions in his lung were caused from the cuff, not from any other lung issues. The downside to all of this is that Chief went back on pressure support after the desat issue on Monday.

Tuesday Chief spent chillin'. He was out of bed twice and watching some new movies brought in by one of the nurses. (Leave it to Chief and his charm! He now has nurses bringing in movies for him!)

Wednesday, Chief had a good day. He continues to tolerate the tube feedings. He was put back on the trach collar (which is awesome!). He has no fever, he's on no antibiotics, and his pressure ulcers are healed and no knew ones to report. They performed a cookie swallow study test and he PASSED!! He is now able to have pureed foods and things like ice cream. Pureed foods sound yucky…but it's a great start to bigger and better things. He even made a special request…Campbell's beef soup! Campbell's it is!! :)) Can you believe it…Chief's never had an iced tea from Starbucks. (Well, truthfully, we haven't either, but we hear it's really good. I only drink the hot chocolate, which is pretty darn good!) In celebration of him passing the cookie swallow test, they've made arrangements for a Starbucks run on Thursday morning. I stopped by after work tonight (Bud's under the weather) and we chatted about all sorts of things. You'll be glad to know that my lip reading has really improved. I even impressed Chief! He gave me the eyebrow lift and a big ol' Chief smile of approval!! When I left, he was awaiting the arrival of some special visitors…his nieces and nephew were on their way! :)))

Today, Thursday, they're hoping to get Chief outdoors again--some fresh air and different scenery will do him good. Bud is still under the weather today and won't be stopping by after work.

They've moved Chief to Bed 4 (he was in 5), across from the nurses station. It's a lot noisier than his other room, but hopefully if we can keep him up during the day he'll be good and tired at night. (He was moved because they painted his old room.) If you send cards and emails, please address it as Unit 475, Bed 4.

10/19/07 - "Great news...Gerry is OFF the ventilator. They pulled it today. It is out of his room. He was on the trach collar all night and capped again
today. He has already had therapy this morning. Taking about 2500 calories on his own a day, so next step is to pull tube feeding."

We’re so excited and wanted to share this wonderful news with everyone! What a super way to kick-off the day and weekend!! This is such a HUGE milestone for Chief…and all of us!!

10/29/07 - First of all, we would like to welcome back Chief's sister and brother-in-law, Mary and Jack Skees! We are happy to report that their three day drive to Belleville from New York was uneventful and boring…which is good to hear. Welcome back Mary and Jack!! We're so glad you made it safe and sound.

It's Monday morning -- October 29 -- and Chief remains in St. Louis this morning. We're waiting for the call from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Rumor has it--a tentative moving date of November 1. We'll keep you posted. We hope you'll have a chance to stop by and visit with Chief before he leaves for Chicago. Just a reminder, if you would like to go before he leaves, but would feel more comfortable with Bud or I going with you, just let us know. We will be more than happy to join you. If you need directions, please let me know as well and I'll forward them to you.

The last few days have been hard on Chief. On top of being stressed out about everything in general and his pending transfer to the Rehabilitation Institute in Chicago, he came down with a nasty bacteria that causes nausea and lots of yuck (along with a fever) which really hit him hard physically, mentally, and emotionally. He's back on an antibiotic to help kick it. He wasn't up for much company on Friday and Saturday. Bud stopped by Friday afternoon to try to cheer him up and even Bud reported that Chief was very "sad" and didn't feel well. Bud said it was hard to get Chief to smile--until he offered to bring me up so that Chief could hit something. HEY NOW!!!!! ;)

Friends who visited with Chief on Saturday reported that Chief was very drained and weak from being sick Friday night. They stayed only for a few minutes as Chief was just tuckered out. Hopefully, once he gets to feeling better, he'll be on his way again with positive thoughts and lots of energy.

On Sunday afternoon when we stopped by, Chief was talkative and seemed in fairly good spirits. He was very cold and was completely wrapped in his favorite superhero throw--Spiderman! He said he was feeling a little better. We hope that will continue today.

On the positive side, he's breathing fine, the cultures are coming back good, and his vitals remain stable. All great things to hear!

Chief needs a lot of reassurance and positive thoughts. Chief has expressed fear about his future--he doesn't think that he'll be any different six months from now. There's no way we believe that for one second! Chief has already progressed so much in light of everything that has happened. He has overcome so many obstacles thus far. Gosh, just the accident alone--we know that neither one of us would have survived something like that! Chief just doesn't realize how truly amazing he is. Chief is Chief…he is not a stranger to hard work. He's the bike riding, squirrel shooting, bird feeding, "that deer was this close", health nut, gym goer, golfing guy that we've all grown to love and care about over the years. No accident will ever change who he is or our feelings for him!!

11/02/07 - Just a quick note to let you know that Chief may be moving to a step down unit tonight to Room 455 (it's still on the 4th floor) at St. John's. If you plan to visit him over the weekend, you may want to check with the "Information Ladies" on the main floor to see where he is at. We'll be stopping by to see him over the weekend and we'll know more on Monday.

11/09/07 - Chief really seems to be enjoying his new spacious and very quiet room--455. As I mentioned the other day, he's getting caught up on some much needed sleep! That will definitely go a long way to help his recovery and overall well being. Rumor has it that Chief had his first real taste of physical therapy on Monday. The PT had him sitting on the side of the bed and he did great! Way to go Chief!! Keep up the hard work, dude!

Robyn received the call from RIC on Monday. They are shooting for this Thursday, November 8. Since he is more stable, they are going to transport him by ambulance. We are going to miss him so much while he's gone! Watch out Chicago…here we come!! We'll keep you posted on this very important development.

Chief had an interesting visitor yesterday…a reporter from the News Democrat!! We'll let you know if we hear more "scoop."

11/11/07 - We are sure everyone is wondering...yep, Chief has gone to Chicago! I apologize for not sending an update sooner. I was holding off to hear from the family, but I'm assuming no news is good news. I was told early yesterday that Chief's ambulance left around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday. Chief was in good spirits, a little anxious, but all in all ready to go and start rehab. This is wonderful to hear! I also heard that his room is on the 7th floor at RIC on Superior. Once we hear any updates from the family, we'll pass on any new information.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a letter to the owners of the Bacchetta recumbent bicycle company who make Chief's bike -- the one that was destroyed in the accident. I received a response. The president of the company was sad to say that there are no design modifications or conversion kits available for the bike that would enable the handicap to ride it. The great news is that the company has generously offered to replace Chief's bike if, after rehab, Chief is able to ride a recumbent like the one he had. In the meantime, they have referred me to another company who does make bikes for the handicap based on the special needs of the rider. The only problem...those bikes start at $2,995.00...ouch!