We had Kaitlin's initial meeting at Craig with the team that has been working with her and our family yesterday & wanted to share some of the major themes with you all.
Praises:
- The doctor asked Kait what they can be doing better for her & she said "nothing!"
- Kaitlin came in with a lot of medical issues that are now cleared up. Her body is healing.
- Time is still on her side-most recovery happens in the first 6 months, but can take up to a few years. In some cases, even longer!
- Her blood counts are normal.
- Kait is getting off medication faster than the majority of patients that have the same time frame as her.
- Her skin is looking pretty good. She has a tiny pressure sore, but it is looking much better and she should not have long term skin issues if she is diligent about her weight shifts & skin checks.
- Kait is being referred to Craig's driving program by her OT.
- In PT, Kait's car transfers are going very well and soon she will have her pass to leave campus in a car and go wherever she wants!
- Today she should be getting a better wheelchair that she is more comfortable in and that fits her better.
- Her knee brace should come off in the next couple weeks and this will REALLY open up possibilities in her PT time.
- Joe (her PT) says that her balance has been AMAZING.
- Her rec therapist said they are working on getting her back involved in some of her favorite activities-hiking, shooting, etc.
- Her discharge date is set for the time being around November 14th...in time for Thanksgiving!
- People who have community like Kaitlin does almost ALWAYS do better with this kind of injury. You are helping her to heal!
Prayers:
- Kait's goal: to live fully independently and normally. She doesn't want John to have to do normal things for her and she wants to drive a car.
- There is still a baby bit of fluid in her left lung-pray that this clears up!
- There are 5 types of spinal injury. Kait right now is a type A...which is the most severe because she still hasn't regained feeling back below her injury line. Pray that this quickly changes!
- Pray for her nerves to reattach around the injury (see picture below). Both of these patients are a type A just like Kaitlin. The injury is the black dot on both patients. In the patient on the left, once the damaged nerves around the injury begin to heal, there is a much greater chance of the nerves reattaching because there is space for them to go around the injury. The patient on the right will not ever have nerves reattach because the span of the injury is too wide-even after the damaged nerves around the injury heal. There is no way to tell which patient Kaitlin is...we are praying for the patient on the left!
- Pray that she gets moved to the East side of Craig. This is where the beds are bigger (so John could stay) and she doesn't have a roommate. Plus she would have a window! This would be HUGE for both John and Kaitlin.
- Pray for the small blood clot that is still in her leg. They still aren't worried about it, but we don't want it to get worse!
- Pray that she would continue to have the mental and physical strength to fight hard in PT and OT.
- Pray for our families...we are trying just like Kait and John are to be in the moment, and to believe in a better tomorrow.
We appreciate you and know that you are walking with us in this. Thank you for praying! It truly is the support we need the most. We are desperate for your prayers.
Love,
Carolyn (& the rest of the Rice/Wanberg family)
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