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last updated 2:00PM Eastern Time, 10/29/2001 September 2001 Journal September was skull flap replacement month for Dave. The surgery was postponed, then there were complications, and finally, Dave's head seemed to be back under control. Dave took a few steps backwards during his time in the hospital and during recovery at home, but he has since accelerated his recovery.
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Monday, September 3 6:00pm Eastern Time, 9/3/2001 Alright, folks. Anne David, Matt Baum and a number of others have been working very hard to organize a team to compete in the Pike's Peak Challenge on September 15. Last year the winning team raised $4,000 for brain trauma research. That same team is trying to raise $6,000 this year. Anne and Matt want Team Smot to raise $7,500 to win the competition and get a party at the Handlebar Grill in Denver (coincidentally, one of Dave's old hang-outs). We've got a long way to go, and not much time. Donations must be received by September 7. They should be in the mail tomorrow, Tuesday, September 4. Donations may be made by check to: "BIAC/Pikes Peak Challenge" and mailed to Anne at: Anne
David No one has to make a huge donation (although it would certainly be accepted). We have had almost 30,000 visits to this web site since February. That means that a lot of people are checking in, and they are visiting again and again. If we all just donated a small part of our "tax relief" checks, Team Smot would win in a landslide. Whether or not you can donate, be sure to think of Anne and Joe David, Matt and Marni Baum, Ashley Chapman, Brooke Bell and his mother Barbara Bell on September 15th, as they huff and puff their way to the top of 14,000-foot Pike's Peak. For more on the event, go to www.pikespeakchallenge.com Wednesday, September 5 This message is from Matt Baum. If you want to make a donation, you can still make it! Matt has set up an e-count account to you can make a donation over the web using a credit card. This is a different e-count than the fund we set up for David. See the detail below!
Your parents and Kathy have suggested you post on the website our fund raising challange. We want to be the winning team. We are now in crunch time. We found out about this annual hike very recently so we are behind in time to raise money. Nevertheless, we are pushing hard. Last year's top fund raising Team (all Teams are in a Brain Injury Survivor's Name) raised $4000 and this year set a goal of $6000. Therefore, we have aggressively set a goal of $7500. To date, we're only at $2000, with 3 days to go. WE NEED ALL MONEY DONATED BY SEPTEMBER 7TH. We all think it would be great and frankly, appropriate, for the Team hiking in support of Dave Smethurst to be the Top Fund Raising team of all. We are hoping with Dave's large circle of Friends and their generousity to support this extremely worthwhile cause, we can raise a significant amount of money in a very short amount of time. I got Jack Nadel, his former employer, to donate "Team Smot" T-shirts and Lawson Ames has donated hats, and we'll be taking a photo at the top.... To make life easier, and due to the time constraints, I set up an "ecount" (not to be confused with your families' for Dave) for this fund raising cause. People can log into ecount and complete the transaction in less than 2 minutes. To many much easier than sending a check. To donate to the "ecount" account, instructions are as follows: 1. Go to www.ecount.com. Follow instructions to set up your own ecount. Costs nothing to do. Create your own ecount. 2. Follow instructions to email donation to the Pike's Peak Account I have set up. The email address, which you'll need to email the donation is "matt_baum@ars.aon.com". Whole process is very easy and quick. We can also accept checks made payable to the BIAC/PPC (Brain Injury Assoc. of Colorado/Pike's Peak Challenge). Due to the timing, they would need to be sent overnight to: Matt Baum They also suggested
letting people know who is on the Team. Participants are: I think that's it...I hope I haven't left anyone out... Matt BaumThursday, September 6 8:15PM Eastern Time, 9/6/2001 As of 6:00pm Matt Baum had collected just under $6,500 in donations for the Pike's Peak Challenge! Just a little bit more to go to reach our goal of $7,500! Here are the donors to date: NAME
-- Affiliation Monday, September 10 10:00am Eastern Time, 9/10/2001 This is the week, folks! Dave is in the hospital for his skull replacement surgery. The actual operation is tomorrow (Tuesday), but he is getting prepped and settled in today. They expect him to remain in the hospital for 3-5 days after the operation. Given Dave's track record, we're putting our money on something closer to three than to five. Dave is thriving in the new Woodrow Wilson rehabilitation program. He received intensive rehab from 8am until noon Monday through Friday. 8-9 is speech therapy, and he is improving in several areas. His wor d recall is getting much better, and he surprises people more and more by stringing together complete sentences. We even have an unconfirmed report of a "please" -- as in, "I would like some tea, please." From 9-10 in the morning, Dave is working with some sort of computer program that works on conceptualization and comprehension, but I don't know much about it. 10-11am is physical therapy and 11-12 is occupational therapy. They spend about half of both PT and OT working on Dave's arm. When they prodded the right arm with electro-shock, there was a response from the hand. This indicates that the neural pathway down the arm is intact. The brain is just not initiating signals yet. They have given Dave a new leg brace that gives his right knee a bit more support. He now walks two miles a day around a local high school track. He was clocked at 8 minutes per lap a few weeks ago. He's gotten it down to 6 minutes. His stride is much more even and confidant. He also has a new arm brace for his right arm that is keeping the right shoulder from dropping so far down. So, now we are heading for surgery (pardon the pun). Dave has been very excited about this for a long time, and we are finally here! Below are some of Kathy's thoughts around healing and positive thinking. It was Kathy from the very beginning who set the tone for David's recovery. The theme of "complete recovery" came from her. She has been an inspiration both in David's recovery and in Molly's (her daughter). Please help us help Dave over these next couple of days. -- Jay
As Dave's surgery is upon us, as well as the 8 month anniversary of his fall, I'm feeling like it is time that I share with you my "creating your own reality" approach to life. At the risk of looking to "New Age" (which I probably am) and for appearing overly optimistic (again, yes), I want you all to come along on the ride to Dave's COMPLETE RECOVERY. Growing up I always found it "lucky" when Dad would find a front row parking place wherever we went...to the crowded beach, to the museums in DC, to the movies. Once I learned to drive, I would take the first available parking space that I found, even if it was blocks from where I needed to go, always under the assumption that there would be nothing available front and center. What I now realize is that because Dad assumed that there would be an available space, created his own reality, then it happened. We did not have to lug rafts, coolers, towels etc. 3 blocks to the sandy beach. I have taken to this strategy in every aspect of my life and it is POWERFUL. I will give you a couple of quick examples that you may scoff and all that I can say to that is "try it yourself". Brooke and I were running late. I was stressing because one of my (many) peeves is tardiness. We were behind a painfully SLOOOOWWW driver. As we neared our left hand turn, I envisioned this car continuing straight (so that we could get home faster). Unfortunately Brooke said "Watch this car take a left here". I grimaced....he was blowing my reality thing. The car turned on its left blinker. I said "No, it's going to continue on straight". And what do you think happened then? The car turned off its left blinker and continued straight :) You think that that was just coincidence, don't you? The next example happened today. Brooke took a new job right when Dave's accident happened. Terrible timing, we know. Anyway, it's a sales job and he didn't get his first commissions check until now. The struggle with this new company is the timing of when he was hired and whether he qualified for payment for a certain time frame..blah, blah, blah. The bottom line is that he thought that he deserved the money and the company did not. We got a letter recently stating that he would not get paid and that he needed to write one last grievance letter to state his case. So instead of doing that, a few nights ago Brooke and I clearly wrote out all of our wishes, stating them in a positive way that basically suggested that those wishes had already come true.i.e.: "Thank you for healing Molly (our daughter) of autism, for allowing her to speak and interact with her friends in a typical way, and for allowing her to understand what we say to her." We sent it out to the universe (God, Buddha, Allah....whoever you choose) and let Him/Her handle it from there. Can you believe that 2 days after Brooke asked for that check, it showed up in the mail? They paid him in full. Hum, what should I buy with that little extra we weren't expecting? So here is how I live my life. I'll let you into this chaotic brain. If I ever have a negative thought (Is Brooke late because he's been in an accident?), I quickly replace it with a positive one ( I envision him walking in the front door) and don't let myself go down that very dark road. From the time I heard of Dave's fall, I began creating this positive image of him being okay. Actually, all I wanted at first was for him to just stay alive until I could get from New Mexico (were I was vacationing) to San Fran. Once I could talk into his ear and see him, I just knew that he was going to ultimately be okay. We have all witnessed the incredible power of positive thinking and prayer. I truly believe that he is where he is today because of all of you. (Okay Dave, since you read this now, you've come a long way because of your HARD work too). So as we prepare for Dave's skull replacement surgery ( I'm so bummed that I can't be there...but I did go back for the first scheduled surgery), let us all ask for the same thing. Let's create the "All Better" reality that Dave wants so badly. The doctors are saying that we'll see significant improvement, but we want more than that. We want ALL BETTER. "Thank you for healing Dave from his traumatic brain injury. Thank you for allowing him to talk in complete sentences, to make fun of people in the brotherly way that only he can pull off and to use his right arm and leg with the natural athletic ease that he had before his fall." Please add your own little additions to make him a healed man. Let's finish this positive thing that we started 8 months ago!! I'll be taking lots of digital photos at the Pikes Peak Ascent so that you will all be involved. We'll post them as soon as we can. Lots of love, Kathy Tuesday, September 11 9:35pm Eastern Time, 9/11/2001 Well, our timeframes were all wrong. David went into prep around 4pm this afternoon. Around 4:30, the nurses reported having trouble finding a vein that wasn't collapsed in Dave's poor body. They needed it to connect him to an IV, but his internals have apparently not yet fully recovered from the several months of IV needles that he endured earlier in the year. The reports that we received from the hospital staff (not the doctor - he had already left for the night) indicate that the surgery went generally well. A titanium plate has been successfully implanted in David's head (which might make him a good golf club in the future). There was quite a bit of blood loss during the operation, but Dave got a refill. The area of most concern is the line of sutures. As you may recall, this is the third time that David's head has been opened up and sewn back together along the same path. After the last surgery (a rather sudden emergency surgery in San Francisco), the doctors had expressed concern about the skin along the incision becoming thin and stretched -- and not necessarily reliable for holding sutures in place. Well, this is the same thing we're watching now. The operation started around 5pm and was complete around 8pm. By 9 or 9:15, David was slowly coming around and started to show signs that he would very strongly prefer to be extubated. (Yes, he's had another pipe down his throat this evening.) Kathy's conversation with Mom was cut off rather abruptly ("No cell phones in the ICU!" Oh yeah...), but they were just about to extubate Dave around 9:30pm. He was slowly waking up, and all signs seemed to be good. He had not come around enough to be able to gauge speech, cognition, motor skills, etc. As it turns out, it was very good that the operation was scheduled for today instead of tomorrow. UVa has a very good burn clinic, and a number of burn victims are being sent to Charlottesville from New York City and Washington. All of the non-critical operations for Wednesday are being postponed indefinitely so that the hospital can care for these terrorist victims. That's the news from Smotworld. We Smethursts pray that all is well with you and your family and loved ones on this tragic day. Jay 7:30pm Eastern Time, 9/11/2001 Well after a long day of waiting, David has just entered surgery to replace his missing skull flaps. There was talk of postponing the surgery until the 28th, but David and Mom and Dad did some quick envisioning to correct this thinking. So, Dave will be in surgery for probably about three hours. It will be another hour and a half (at least) before Mom and Dad will be allowed in to see him. In short, while I will try to make an update late tonight, your best bet will be to go to bed (assuming you are staying up for news) and read the update in the morning. I will let you know then how extraordinarily well David has done in the OR. Jay 12:15pm Eastern Time, 9/11/2001 David was scheduled for surgery at 11am this morning. Because a previous operation took longer than expected, David's operation has been delayed until approximately 3pm. Due to the horrible events in New York and Washington, the operation may be delayed even further. I will keep you updated as much as possible. Brian O'Callaghan sent a message to say that he is ok, although he was only a couple of blocks away from the World Trade Center when the building collapsed Wednesday, September 12 7:10am Eastern Time, 9/12/2001 Hi. Mom sent this message late last night after she returned home: I'm off to bed with a huge sense of relief about Dave and his progress. First of all, his head is all swathed in bandages but it's perfect with right and left sides matching and no protrusion on the left. Bob and Martha and I were amazed at the differences between his coming out of surgery now and "then". As soon as they "closed", they began easing him off the drugs so that he could come round...and the first coming round resulted in our holding his hand, tightly, to keep him from pulling the breathing tube out. The nurses came in and asked us to leave while they did the task for him. As we reentered the room, Susan (icu nurse) was shouting, MR.SMETHURST! WHAT'S YOUR FIRST NAME? and he whispered, "David". See the difference. My heart ached with joy. Despite repeated commands, though, he just couldn't open his drug weighted eyes. Later, when I was the guardian of the hand, he reached toward his face. There's a tube under the skin at the incision to drain off excess fluid--ie blood, so I was cautious, but I let him explore. He just rubbed his mouth where the breathing tube had been and where some stickiness of the tape remained. Then he ran his tongue along his teeth. "Are you thirsty?" "yeah." So the nurse gave him what she miscalled a "cold one." There have been times in his life that he would have been disappointed that she could have meant "a sponge dipped in ice water", but this wasn't one of them. He sucked happily and wanted more.....even said, "more." Finally, after lots of hand holding and adjusting of blankets and pillows and every other stall we could think of, it was time (well past visiting hours) to go. Susan, who doesn't mince words, allowed as how she works the night shift so she doesn't have to deal with families....but she was great and however relieved she might have been to see us go, she gave us the ICU number and said to call any time we wanted to....she'd be up all night. I held Dave's hand and said," OK, Dave, before they kick us out, just let me see your big baby blue eyes." He raised his head, even opened his mouth, and finally managed to slit one eye enough to rate a big hug from me. What a man!! Tell the Jack Nadel crowd that Tammy came upstairs this morning in her wheelchair wearing her Team Smot shirt and tell Lawson Armes that she also wore the Team Smot hat and shouted "Go Smot Go". When Dave came out of his room, he, too had donned his Team Smot shirt and hat....Bob, too. My shirt had gotten dirty when I wore it yesterday, but I did have my hat on. Curious nurses at the hospital had to finally ask, "What is this Team Smot thing?" The tragedy across
the nation tonight is unbearable, but our joy for David is undiminished.
He has insisted that this surgery was going to leave him, "All well."
We're praying he has God's ear. Certainly tonight was remarkable. Friday, September 14 Good morning, all! I received a tearful call from Mom this morning, but her tears were of fear and uncertainty, not because Dave has had any specific troubles. I just received another call from her, and she is much much happier. In fact, David is being discharged from the hospital sometime this afternoon! Here's the scoop: The operation went well, and the titanium plate is in good shape. Mom's concern stemmed from three areas. First, there was quite a bit of swelling in David's head. They did another CT scan this morning that revealed good news -- there is blood building up beneath the skin, but no blood in building up beneath the skull. Therefore the pressure on the brain is not rising. They drained of 250 cc's of blood from his head this morning, and the swelling seems to be down. The big fear that we had was that blood was leaking into the brain. This is not happening. The second area of concern was David's abilities. He has taken a small step backwards in terms of physical, cognitive and speech abilities. His stride is not as confidant and his balance is not as good as it was on Monday. His is mostly speaking in single words, and he had some trouble pointing to the correct object when a speech therapist asked him to point to the picture of the lamp, the door, the cat, etc. Of course he might also have been just bored and tired of the exercise. The doc's told us to expect three steps forward and one step back. It's just that the step backwards has come first. The hospital is actually very happy with the operation and David's (physical) response to it. The third area of concern has been David's psychological response to the operation -- he is pretty bummed out. His expectations were VERY high going into the operation, and he seems to find it very frustrating that his abilities have actually regressed. This is also the first time that he has seen himself bald, scarred, and with bloody stiches in his head. The rest of us got very used to that sight in San Francisco, but Dave has never seen himself in this state. Also, because the swelling has been rather significant, you cannot yet tell the difference between Dave's pre-operation head and his post-operation head. There is a similar shape, and the swollen part is still kinda soft. So Dave is probably wondering why he had to go through all of this only to end up with a bald head and nurses prodding him all day and night. David has also had no visitors in the hospital except Mom, Dad and Martha. While the doctors are almost finished dispensing their medicine, Mom says that what we really need right now is Dave's "friend medicine". She has only seen his eyes really light up a couple of times since the operation, and that light is what has carried him (and us) these many months. Dave lights up around his friends, and he needs you! So the events in the world are unspeakable, but please, if you can, come shine a little light for my brother. He will go home to Roundtop tonight, so this weekend would be a great time to call, e-mail, send letters and even drop by for a visit and a game of Schulbach (sp?). Dave needs your help again. And you will be repaid with the light that only he can shine on your heart. Jay Saturday, September 15 8:20am Eastern Time, 9/15/2001 Happy weekend, everyone. As some of you may know, David spent an extra night in the hospital for observation. There are no major problems, but they wanted to keep an eye on the blood collecting beneath David's scalp, and test his abilities a bit more. His CT scan tells us the below the skull, everything is going fine -- we're just going through a re-adjustment period, I guess. The calls and messages and visitors have started to roll in. THANK YOU! Spilly and Baggo drove down from DC yesterday for a visit, and Dave lit up briefly to see them. Then he fell asleep. Indeed, he spent most of Friday snoozing -- it's been a hectic and trying week for him, and we haven't even let him watch the news. And a different note, and in a different part of the country, Team Smot is even now rallying to start the Pike's Peak Challenge. The teams assembled last night for a party and for announcing the grand totals of each team's donations. The second place team was the Craig Hospital team (including Dr. Weintraub and Lisa - Dave's physical therapist while he was there). They raised about $8,100. Team Smot, however, took the grand prize by raising $8,795!!! This was a couple of thousand dollars more than anyone had actually expected! Thank everyone for your donations! The more we can find out about traumatic brain injury and TBI therapies, the fewer other people will have to go through this experience. This also goes to show that Dave is still with us. With no apparent effort of his own, he has won another competition. It would be frustrating if it weren't so beautiful. Team Smot will be climbing Pike's Peak today. A few team members could not make it to Colorado because of the restricted travel schedules, but their work has been fantastic. After the hike, the group will have a cookout at Kathy's house in Manitou Springs. Photos to follow! Jay
Friday, September 21 11:00am Central Time, 9/21/2001 Morning, all. The lack of updates this week is due to my work schedule. I'm on the road and working long hours and I apologize. Below is a message from Mom.
Hi, Kids, loving siblings and strongest supporters. Here's the most recent update for you and for the WEB. To Dave's Posse, the friends and family who have supported him every step of the way. In a week when the nation has been so battered and thousands have lost their lives and many more thousands have lost loved ones, it seems arrogant to ask to be added to your prayers once again, but things aren't going so well for Dave. At San Francisco General both Manley and Holland warned us that David would take three steps forward and one back....and while he was new to the state of Brain Trauma, he certainly did. Ever since stabilizing and entering Craig Hospital for rehab, though, he has just taken steps forward....little steps....big ones....steady, daily ones. He had reached the point that he could (and insisted on) walking 2 miles a day around the track (on top of rehab); he walked around in the house, with cane and foot brace, independently or, without the brace, maneuvered around the house alone in his wheel chair. He could even shower himself, shave, dress completely alone. Let's start with the good news from UVA Hospital where Dave has been readmitted. His attentive nurse Gloria responded immediately to his pain with an order for Tylenol. When it finally arrived and was administered, it did NO good. His eyes remained dull and sad. He often put his hand to his temples and pressed gingerly. She brought Ibuprophen and the difference was dramatic. For the first time all week he was pain free. He laughed (or at least smiled a real smile), his eyes were clear and blue and aware again; he ate a banana and then wanted the ice cream the nurse offered and ate it with pleasure. He asked for golf to be turned on and stayed awake to watch and then said, "Football." He settled back happily to wait for the game and turned to me with his smile, "OK. Take off!" Sounds offensive, but it was said so gently and with such happiness that we heard, "Why don't you two go out to dinner. You've had a rough day." (liberal interpreting here) The bad news, of course, is why Dave's been readmitted. Dr. John Jane took one look at his skull today, misshapen, skin filled with excess spinal fluid. "How are you, David?" he asked, and my pround, well brought up son, who was lying in such pain that any movement caused him to grimace replied, "Good." That's when I took up David's part of the conversation, explaining that he had eaten next to nothing all week, that his eyes had a constantly dull and sad appearance; that he could no longer get up from his bed or even get into sitting position on his own; that his hand shook as he tried to hold a spoon. That he hurt....always. That's when Dr. Jan explained to me that during the first surgery they were shocked to discover that there was no "dura" on the right side and that without that shield between skin and brain, the skin had attached itself over the months directly to brain matter; that when they opened him up, they had to cut skin from brain; and that they didn't put in a synthetic dura after attaching the new prosthetic. Now spinal fluid is leaking through the prosthetic and they will need to open him up again and insert a new dura so fluid can no longer leak into pockets between skull and skin. He admitted Dave right then and ordered a CT scan. By evening it was clear that surgery would not take place until tomorrow. Naturally, surgery will depend on the outcome of the CT scan, but the implication was that morning would see him in the OR. He was relieved that he wouldn't have surgery tonight and settled back with a sigh when I told him, "Good." All week I've thought he was depressed and wondered how to pull him out of it. Visits helped but only briefly, letters, ditto and phone calls, too. Due to medication taking him out of pain, we see that the real Dave is right there ready to win again. It has been pain that has mimicked depression and nausea causing him to reject almost all food. We are praying that this time, the surgeon gets it right and that if David needs a shunt, it will be put in right away, not a week from now when his brain blows up. Of course, while we are praying, let's pray for no need for a shunt. It's bed time and we are feeling UP, all three, but if the other two are having as hard a time staying there as I am, we need success; we need a miracle. Love to you all, Saturday, September 22 9:00am Eastern Time, 9/22/2001 Good morning. This is from Mom. Please pass it along. -- Jay
1) David looks great. Once again his head is tightly bound to help keep spinal fluid from escaping into the space between skull and skin. Dr. Jane drained about one liter of fluid from that area before binding head. Is there any question about why he was suffering headaches and dizziness? 2) They did no actual surgery on the head this time. When they opened the skin last time, they discovered that the skin had attached to the brain tissue itself because there was no dura to be found anywhere on the head. At that time they excised dead brain segments and closed after inserting the prosthesis. 3. This time they decided not to cut his head again but to approach the spinal fluid problem from the other end. They cut into his side, front, near the appendix, and tapped into the spine in order to drain spinal fluid. The other end of the shunt that they inserted comes around under the skin and flows into the abdomen. The goal is to keep new fluid from flowing into the scalp for long enough that the scalp skin can attach (form lesions) with the new plate. That will effectively block future leakage. 4. Dave went in about noon and was in recovery by three. Docs are pleased by what they've done. He will spend tonight and tomorrow night here at UVA and then we'll see. 5. Right now Dave is drinking some water and eating a banana. He looks alert but falls easily back to sleep. 6. These two parents are relieved. NOW can we get on with recovery? For the moment it is glory enough to see our boy out of pain. We thank you for cards and videos and tapes and invitations and visits. What a team we all make. Love from Bob, Johanna, Kathy, Jay, and, of course, BIG DAVE Sunday, September 23 9:00am Eastern Time, 9/23/2001 Another update from Mom...
I puttered around the room a bit, gave him some juice, worked out his right hand and stretched his right foot and leg and then asked again, as I watched him shut his eyes and massage his temples. "Want me to get something for that pain from the nurse? That time he looked at me with a grateful, "Yep." As the medication worked, his eyes cleared and he began to engage. The swelling remains down, and he leaves the tight head wrapping alone. The pressure doesn't bother him too much if he is not otherwise in pain. So I saw to it that he got medication at regular intervals until Bob came to take over as prime parent at 3. He had sat up for lunch and even eaten a bit. Was happy to watch college football and listen to CD's on his walkman. Bob later called to report that they had been busy. He helped David out of the backless gown and into clothes, put on the leg brace and handed him his cane. They walked around the hospital corridors for about ten minutes...until Dave indicated that was enough. He ate an early dinner, or at least part of it, lay down to watch sports and then walked again for a little shorter period. You may not be impressed as this is the activity of a guy who had been walking 2 miles in just 50 minutes, but it's great for a guy who has not been able to get from his bed to his wheel chair without considerable help this week. It's 8 am and I'm
off in a few minutes to get to the hospital. We think he will be released
today. It will be good to have him home. Monday, September 24 9:00pm Eastern Time, 9/24/2001 At long last, I have an opportunity to thank all of you who supported Team Smot in the Pike's Peak Challenge on September 15. I apologize for recent web delinquencies - the delays in posting news about Dave and posting this whole-hearted Thank You have been due to my own too-hectic schedule. Kathy prepared the report below very shortly after the Challenge. Matt Baum compiled the list of donors at the bottom (if we have missed anyone, please let me know!). Many many thanks to everyone involved, and especially all of you who helped put Team Smot together! There are some photos from the party and hike. I will post those sometime this week! -- Jay From Kathy Bell As I'm like the old Dave (he works hard now and doesn't qualify as lazy) in the laziness factor, I do not have first hand experience in actually hiking to the top of Pikes Peak. I took the tourists approach and drove to the top to meet Team Smot. Despite looking WIPED out and cursing Dave's name under their breaths (just kidding), the entire team made it to the top. Elizabeth Milias is quoted as wanting to turn around and head back down but once she realized that it was further down than up, she persevered. Brooke Bell ( my honey), Joe David, and John Lynch lead the pack with a pretty quick pace. Barbara Bell ( Brooke's mom and an inspiration to the "young gals" who couldn't keep up with her) followed behind the guys by 1/2 hour or so. Anne David and Elizabeth Milias followed saying "Aw, it was nothing" with a touch of sarcasm in their voices. I'm hoping that one of the hikers will send in a personal account of the difficulty of the journey as it is a true test of mental and physical endurance. It was very surreal for me being 14,000 feet high, hearing our fighter jets flying above, protecting the Pikes Peak Region, NORAD, the Air Force Academy, and the thousands of Americans grieving below. The Smethurst family has learned first hand this last year how full of love and support all of you are and now the rest of the country is experiencing that same overwhelming feeling of togetherness and commitment to a positive outcome as we try and weather the devastation together. Many of the hikers were carrying American Flags. One man in particular had a HUGE one (had to be heavy), and I could watch him slowly pick his way up the mountain through the rocks and shale. My heart swelled with pride as my eyes filled with tears as I watched that beautiful flag make it's way to the summit. We saw many familiar faces from the Craig Hospital Team. Dr. Weintraub (who is pictured) was Dave's neurologist. He as well as the others; Lisa (PT), Michelle (OT), and Todd (can't remember his exact job description...nurse, maybe....but Dave really liked him and Todd took great care of Dave), asked how Dave was doing, how the surgery went, and wondered when Dave would be heading out to visit. We might just have to invite them to the Handlebar Grill for the victory party! We were warned of rain and lightening in the forecast but Team Smot made it to the top before the weather rolled in. Everyone gathered at 5:30 am and began the hike at 6 am.....that was a little early for everyone's taste but it helped to beat the typical afternoon storm. So I'm not sure anyone one this original Team Smot will hike Pikes Peak again next year. Though if it's like child birth, they will forget the pain of Saturday and by next year will be rearing to go again. I think that the only way you could get ME to go is if Dave were to hike it, or the terrorists were on my trail and my family needed me to help them escape; otherwise I'm content driving to the top and meeting everyone with a cold beer in hand. Thank you all for your generous donations. It felt like a wonderful victory to be the #1 fundraiser in Dave's name. We had a nice cookout afterwards where we toasted our missing hiking buddies..Matt, Marni, and Ashley who could not make it because of restricted air travel. Hopefully they will all be at the Handlebar Grill party when Dave comes out to visit. I'm left not knowing how to wrap this up. There are no words to comfort us in this difficult time. I'm sure that many of you have lost a loved one or acquaintance in this horror and I can only hope that you are surrounded by love and support as we have been this last year. Lots of love, Kathy Team Smot Donor List
Tuesday, September 25 10:30am Eastern Time, 9/25/2001 Here's a note from Mom: DAVE is home! Yesterday morning the docs were showing some interest in a slight fever he had spiked. No "spiked" sounds too high..."curved" maybe. They looked into it and decided it was just that he wasn't breathing in enough oxygen. One more reason to take him home. The others were that though there is some slight swelling where spinal fluid is gathering under the skin at the back, overall the drain seems to be working. The nurse tightly rewrapped the head and gave him some more Vicodin. He was bright eyed, engaged, and when asked where he wanted to be (docs were pretty much leaving the decision up to us) (were we comfortable with watching over him and his skull), he smiled the biggest smile we've seen in 2 weeks and said clearly, forcefully, happily, "Go home!" He is eating again; is able to get out of bed by himself again; doesn't need to sleep all the time. He even stayed up to the brutal end of the Redskin debacle. Today, too, looks good. He is obviously weaker and more hesitant in his walking, but he has initiated, "Walk!" so he and Bob will try one lap around the track later this morning. The sun is shining; the sky is a bright happy blue; here and there among the predomintly green trees some energetic orange or red leaves appear. Dave came home to a sign: DAY 1 OF RECOVERY! WELCOME HOME, DAVE! and a big orange pumpkin and bright yellow flowers for energy and healing. Though we are not out of the woods until the skin attatches itself to the prosthesis and blocks leakage without headwrap, Dave is already rebounding. WHERE does he find all this spirit? We love you.
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