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last updated 2:20PM Eastern Time, 2/17/2001 Week Five Journal The fifth week is the week David started to show real progress. He is bouncing back from his adventures of week four, and he is becoming ever more aware and alert.
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8:45PM Central Time, 2/12/2001 Good evening, again, friends! I apologize for not sending out an update yesterday - I spent very little time anywhere near a phone line yesterday and today, and I selfishly used that time for sleeping. Once again, check it out online - www.smotty.com The last two days have shown tremendous progress for David. Saturday, David gave Biggsy a little wave good-bye. Sunday, the doctors told us that they were very concerned that David had not yet moved his right side (the Dr. Smot assumption that right eye movement is tied to right side motor movement was apparantely flawed), but literally as soon a Dad walked in from this conversation to David's room, he started moving his right leg! David never has enjoyed having people tell him what to do...
The swelling in David's head had gone up quite a bit since the surgery on Friday. Part of the problem, the docs discovered, was that David's brain isn't staying on its side of the line. Because David was lying on his left side (the side with no skull, remember) the brain was kinda edging outwards in a cautious attempt to see what life on the outside might be like. This magnified the appearance of swelling on the left side of David's head. They turned David to the right side, and within a few hours, the swelling decreased significantly as the brain settled back into the skull. His swelling has decreased even further since then, and Kathy reports that David is looking really great. The doctors are now thinking that inserting the prosthetic skull might become more important sooner rather than later, though. They do not want the brain to get used to the possibility of expanding outside the skull. To keep it in its place, they are thinking about inserting the prosthetic in something like six weeks rather than six months. In response to one of your suggestions, no, we do not think that they can make prosthetic skulls out of golf ball material, but thanks for the offer. Today (Monday) David showed even more signs of progress. Joan (our beloved nurse) put David in a chair for a couple of hours this morning, and for another couple of hours later in the day. The speech therapist worked with David, and he responded pretty well. He made a vocalization (an "ah" of sorts) in response to a command. They tried the feeding process again, and this time he coughed on the apple juice. They did not attempt the apple sauce. The speech therapist seems pretty sure that no additional damage was done at the end of last week - David's eyes are very clear, he tracks people well, and his responses are generally good. She expects David to have a day tomorrow very similar to the great day that he had last Tuesday - eating and everything! This was just a one-week setback, we're pretty sure. He did have a little scare today, though. When we were lifting him from the chair to the bed the second time, we forgot to tell him what we were about to do. It seemed to frighten him badly - his arm shot straight up, and we think that he felt like he was falling. He trembled for about 15 minutes after that. While it IS a good sign that he is that responsive, we're gonna be pretty careful about not surprising him like that again. Kathy has loved being out there with David, and she is sad to be leaving tomorrow. (The nurse is going to let Kath in around 9am so that she can spend some time with him before her noon-ish flight out.) Mom and Dad have taken advantage of having Kathy there to take a little time away from the hospital both yesterday afternoon and today. I think it has done them tremendous good. Happily, I will be leaving arctic Wisconsin tomorrow evening, and traveling to San Francisco the weekend of the 24th. (That reminds me - there will probably not be another update until Wednesday morning.) Below you will find a COLOR COMMENTARY from Brian O'Callaghan that I've been saving up since last week. I cannot testify as to the meaning of most of it, but I feel certain that it must all be in good taste. It will also format better on the web site. We thank you for all of your prayers and support over the weekend. You and David have pulled off another wondrous act of healing. All of our love, COLOR COMMENTARY - Brian O'Callaghan February 8, 2001 Smot: It's O again promising you that when you are fully recovered, I will stop writing these annoying notes to you. If that isn't enough to help you get better, I don't know what is. I understand you are going to be a little tired for the next couple of days-no worries. I am also tired and I think a couple of naps will serve us all well. There are going to be times throughout this recovery process where we are all tired and need some chill days. So use this chill time well. Try and remain focused on getting stronger and accept that you are going to have some good days, and some yucky days. How about something to lift your spirits? Although I know this is going to be meaningless to most people (I apologize), how bout I just throw out some stuff:
Quick reminder: Please take a moment to make a donation to the Dave Smethurst Full Recovery Foundation, and please send photographs to the Smethursts. They are creating an album to aid his memory recovery. Thank you. OAKIE 2:00AM Eastern Time, 2/14/2001 Happy Valentine's Day! Yesterday was another awesome day for David. He had lots of visitors, and he passed around high-fives like the Fun Bunch of the 80's Redskins era. He is actually starting to SMILE as well - which means he's taking control over his mouth and face muscles, AND he is comprehending jokes and general smack-talking. He is still spiking a fever from time to time. After doing a CT scan today, they have discovered a little blood clot in one of the brain ventricles that they are draining. They would like to break it up without surgery, but they are watching it closely. The clot is acting as a safe harbour for the bacteria that are causing the infection and fever. There may need to be minor surgery to suction out the clot in the next few days. The bulk of this update comes from Kathy Bell, Dave's sister (and mine), who just left SF General Tuesday morning to head back to her hubby and two kids in Colorado. So, All our love, Kathy sends her love later:
Saturday the 17th is my beautiful daughter Molly's 4th birthday. It seems like only yesterday that my life changed from "having a night life" to "being up all night". I've had to live my life vicariously through Dave the last four years.....ski trips, dive trips, dinner out at the last minute, movies, sleeping in, "Cave Dave" Sundays......what I wouldn't give to be able to lay on the sofa for more than 10 minutes without having to help one of my needy kids. When do they become more independent? We PLANNED to have them 20 months apart...it's only once it happened that I questioned our sanity. Dave and I are 22 months apart and for most of our lives ( except when I was an obnoxious 12 year old and "embarrassed" by my little brother) we have been great playmates and ultimately best friends. So I wanted our kids to have the same opportunity. So Jack was born 9 months after Molly's first birthday. Two months later we got the devastating news that our daughter had autism. It's only now that I can look back on the emotional ups and downs of the last two years and know that those experiences prepared me for now. With Molly I have learned that despite their good intentions, doctors don't know everything. They are also super cautious with hope....something that our family creates even when the situation appears hopeless. For Molly, our pediatricians best advice was to "look on the internet, but even then don't believe everything that you read". Thanks for the help! So we dove into research because our daughter was NOT going to grow up and be Rainman. To make a long story short, Molly has made great strides. She interacts and plays with her brother (who is fine, by the way), she is understanding language better, and though she still has no words, I believe that she will. We've worked HARD to get her to this place. She has 30 hours a week of one-on-one Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy. She has a restricted diet of no dairy, wheat, or gluten....yes, that means no cheerios, mac and cheese, or yogurt. What DOES she eat ?yell most moms. What I hope that you will gather is that if we had listened to our doctors, Molly would not be where she is today. Often, we have to take the bull by the horns and make things happen instead of waiting. Most of what I have learned with Molly will/is helping me to help Dave. So today when you say your prayers for Dave and send all of that healing energy his way, could you include Molly too? You have brought Dave so far and I believe that that extra uumph for my daughter may be just what she needs to say those words that I have been longing to hear...."I love you, Mommy". Pray for her full recovery from autism....it will happen. Though Jay tells you every day how much your outpouring of love, affection and humor has helped us, I want to personally thank you for keeping us going. I wish that you too could feel the cloud that we float on each day. Lots of love, Kathy 4:45PM Eastern Time, 2/15/2001 David's having another good day today. He's starting to show some personality... and we just hope that the nurses remain strong. 1) Overnight, the nurse told David that it was time for his bath - David reached down to start unfastening the velcro on his leg supports. 2) Noticing that David's lips seemed dry, the nurse reached for the Strawberry Chap Stick that someone has brought in. As she started to apply it to David's lips, he looked from her to the red tube in shock and horror. Realizing what he was thinking, the nurse told him, "Don't worry, Dave. This is CHAP stick, not LIP stick." He relaxed immediately. 3) Mom was massaging Dave's leg (I think), but decided to read David some of the wonderful Valentine's Day cards that he had received. She would read the note, and show him the card. He gently took the cards from her hand and placed them on the bed. With his left hand, he started massaging her hand, and she got a little choked up for a moment by what a sweet gesture he was making. He looked at her a little more sternly, though, and she realized that no, actually he was reminding her of her duties. So she took the massage creme and massaged his hand until he fell asleep, at which point she stopped. David woke up again shortly afterwards, and looked over at Mom again. Lying on his right side a little, he reached behind himself and pulled up his gown, exposing his back. Mom took the hint faster this time, and started back to work. So it appears that while David is not yet responding to commands with great diligence, he is learning to give them quite well. For some reason, he gets no points on the Glasgow Coma scale for that.
Finally, we are still concerned about this blood clot in David's head. It does not appear to be going away just yet, and the antibiotics we are using for his fever cannot seem to penetrate the clot to get at all of the critters. We're still not sure how we're going to proceed, but we're watching closely, and treating the occasional high fevers with Tylenol. A couple more reports from the front lines: "Saw Dave yesterday and could not believe how strong he looked. He smiled that classic Smot smile, and it made me so happy. You know that shit-eaten grin of Dave's. His eyes look very clear and focused. I was so jacked up when I left. " -- Jack Barber "Last night Inearly cried with joy as I drove home after my visit! Sally [a.k.a. David] not only gave me one of his classic smiles as I talked and joked with him during our visit but he also reached up and touched my face with the kindness only a parent uses on their child in a time of need. While he lies there and struggles to restore his own health, he finds the strength to reach out to us and console US and THAT is the Smotty that we all know and love!!!!" -- Sherrie Walsh Thank you all for all of your love, and all of your efforts to take care of both David and his family. All our love, COLOR COMMENTARY - Brian O'Callaghan February 15, 2001 Thank you for your contribution to the Dave Smethurst Full Recovery Foundation. It has been great to go on-line and see the many people who have so generously participated. In the fifth of week of Dave's battle, please allow me to share some unorganized thoughts as I continue to appreciate Dave and my other friends. Now more than ever, I realize that each day is an additional test of our ability to support each other. I am not surprised by the support Smot has received because our group of friends is unusually close. My memory continues to drift back to Denison's small moments… I remember the night Capes, Smot and I decided to be roommates. We were in the back of a U-Haul after a Beta pledge activity heading back to the house. It must have been the spring because we were thinking about roommates for sophomore year. Capes and I were hanging out smoking 50 cents cigars and I asked him if he wanted to room with me. We both smiled and he responded with a yes. We contemplated who the most natural third roommate would be and quickly decided Smot after accepting that Fass was too hyper. We asked Smot and he responded yes. I remember it so vividly. It was not a moment of greatness or revelation, just a small moment. I smile each time I think of it. There was another time I remember being so proud of my friends, and that is the thing about our group, I have always been proud of them. We were required to go to chapel during pledging. It was a couple of days just after pledge night. We stood in the first two rows singing homilies in everything but our real voices. Wearing our pledge pins, it was a collaboration of ill dressed, sloppy young men with extreme confidence. We were all so different but collectively oozing with energy as we approached our first pledge session later that evening. I remember surveying all 17 pledges being so psyched to be a part of this diverse group. You laugh about fraternities now, but in those days, at Denison, it made a lasting impression on our lives. That positive experience is something I will cherish forever as it brought us so close together. I always loved being together from the hallways of Curtis East dorm, to weeks before my wedding. Everyone has always commented what a great group it is. My brother Mike, as an example, has always communicated his appreciation of our bond because he does not know anything else like it. So I am not surprised by the support, but man it feels good to watch this old group of friends pull together for one of its own, for one of its excellent characters. It makes me think of Fass. I miss him. He died in July from a motorcycle accident. Fass is universally loved the same ways Smot is. They each share unique personalities and make everyone around them feel better. If you did not know Fass, I will not attempt to describe his rare personality or spirit, but I wish you had known him because we all need a Fass in our lives. Memories of his larger than life sense of humor and unfaltering loyalty make me laugh and weep often. We miss Fass as much today as we did six months ago. Smot and I spoke immediately upon hearing the news Sunday, July 10th. For the first time in our lives, we were slapped with the devastating reality that one of us had actually died a young man. We ran around for 15 years thirsting life, thinking we were untouchable. We did some dopey things and got away with it. We also grew incredibly close and came to rely heavily on each other. Speaking with Smot moments after hearing about Fass was an ominous moment of clarity. I remember Smot crying for the first time I could remember. He was devastated. I vividly recall wishing we were together at that moment to ease each other's intense pain. There was no healing it, but I knew our support of each other would be critical to getting through it. You know those people you have to be with during times of joy, or adversity? Smot is one of them. I can not sufficiently describe the feeling my heart or gut feels when I am with someone who is a major influence in my life. It is amazing when you interact with someone who makes you feel something internally. You crave each moment together, especially as age complicates life. I will never forget Smot telling me he was dropping everything to come. He had just started a new job and was paying off some credit card debt, but nothing else mattered except getting on that plane. We spent the days leading to Fass' funeral attempting to understand the tragedy, and help each other survive the overwhelming grief. Thank God we had each other. I thank Smot, his family, all of my friends, my awesome family and most of all Suzanne for being such wonderful people. Keep praying, keep hoping and keep loving each other. Thanks. Oakie 7:30AM Eastern Time, 2/16/2001 Dave had another good day yesterday. He worked with the speech therapist, and she reports that he is making ever-stronger responses. He can formulate an "Ahhh" on command, and it sounds more powerful than it ever has since the accident. She also reports that David is starting to try to get his lips to participate in the whole sound-making process - a great step on the way to mumbling and eventual unintelligible word production. We are much heartened by this news! If anything was set back by last week's crisis, it appears to have been David's swallowing function. The speech therapist tried feeding David a spoonful of apple juice, but he could not control which pipe it went down and choked on it. The good sign was that he was able to cough it all out by himself and protect his own airway. This just means that we've got some work to do. The blood clot in David's head continues to ... well, exist. And that's not so good. In the next couple of days, we should know what approach we'll take to get rid of it. We're expecting another batallion of David's friends this weekend, and Mom and Dad are very excited. I know you know this, but please remember to take the cues that Mom and Dad give you about what kinds of interactions Dave needs from day to day and hour to hour. Everyone has been great so far! Have a great weekend, everyone! All of our love, 5:00PM Eastern Time, 2/16/2001 Afternoon, folks! Just one last update before the weekend, for those of you still working. We have received the best medical news we've heard in many days! They did yet another "culture" of the spinal fluid drained from David's head. (This is where they test it to see what kinds of bateria are growing in it.) For the first time, they found NO bacteria! This means that not only have the antibiotics been successfully killing off whatever bacteria that it could find, it also seems to have gotten to the source. We have not done a CT scan to check, but between the utter lack of nasty critters in the fluid and the faint red coloration of that fluid, we suspect that the blood clot in David's brain may well have dissolved itself! There has been this coloration for the past couple of days, and while Dr. Smot (Dad, for you newcomers) asserted all along that this came from a dissolving clot, the last CT scan had not demonstrated a noticeable reduction in the size of the clot. So, in a couple of days, they will do another CT scan to check, but we might be lookin' good for the weekend! They were considering taking out one of the drains in David's head today, and perhaps another over the weekend. Then they will raise up the device through which David has to drain fluid. This increases the pressure that is required to force fluid out of his head. If the pressure in his head builds up to the point where he is still draining fluid, then they may need to insert a permanent shunt under David's skin to drain fluid from his head into his body cavity (torso), where the body will naturally reabsorb it. This will be a decision sometime next week. The big difference, we think, might have come yesterday when Mom convinced the nurse to step out of the room for a few minutes. They closed the curtains, and shut the door, and allowed the Buddhist healer to raise the decibel level of the incantations. This was their third session together. From what we could tell, it seems to have worked wonders, along with all of the other healing thoughts and energy that has been pouring towards David. Thanks, guys! David was in for another day of speech and physical therapy. His eyes continue to be clear and strong. We're testing his swallowing again today. We're pretty sure that this day will be a good one - the nurse today, while she is married, is reportedly very cute. And we know how David responds to cute women... Have a great weekend, everyone! All of our love, 2:15PM Eastern Time, 2/17/2001 This message is from Dad.
Hannibal crossed the Alps, Caesar crossed the Rubicon, and now Dave has crossed the Great Divide. Today, February 16, marks a fantastic day in the life-struggle of my son, a boy (my boy) who teetered on the edge of death just 5 weeks ago. That midnight meeting with Dr. Manley and the visual display of the extraordinary measures taken to relieve David's cranial pressure were shocking (the CT scan pictures), gut-wrenching moments that will forever live in my memory. Johanna had at least made me more aware of the possibilities associated with brain trauma during our flight out, but I was not prepared for the reality. Our tears that night were from the core of our souls; our boy was not expected to live. My anguish was again triggered a couple weeks later by news that Dave needed further surgery, that a "procedure" to install a replacement tube had gone awry and that he needed surgery to correct a series of complications. Our tears today are tears of joy, of relief. David seems headed for rehab. He's still connected to three drains and will remain in the ICU for another week or two but he is heading out. So says Dr. Smot. As we all know David lives and continues to make some noticeable progress almost every day, today included. The wonderful report on his spinal fluid began a very positive day, one that also included better body control and more verbalization. Watching the therapists at work deepens my understanding of the long road ahead for Dave. His brain has a lot of retraining to do and the process will be long, arduous, and potentially dotted with setbacks. But he is heading out of the ICU and towards that next major recovery step, and I am one grateful father. The Dr. in me was but a disguise, a ruse to distract myself, I think, from the reality of Dave's situation, an opportunity for me to look for (and find) positive elements in each day's trials. I could not have survived these dark times without the outpouring of love and support that has come our way. Just reading the emails during tension-filled evenings or waiting-room time was therapeutic and uplifting. I cannot image what we would be like today had we been forced to face these hard times alone. The constant flow of stories and messages of support made the parental task so much easier, so much more bearable. We had a huge team on our side - we may have stacked the team so heavily in David's favor that the heavenly switchboard operators became overloaded and had to intercede on Dave's behalf. I hope we did not interfere with prayers for others in distress during these past 5 weeks. So a huge, heartfelt, from-the-depth-of-my-being THANK YOU to all of you who have helped Johanna and me, Kathy, Jay and David get through this first stage of this crisis. We hope to head to Denver and to the Craig Hospital there for aggressive rehabilitation in a top-notch institution. We chose Denver for several reasons, but one of the most important was the fact that Denver is another of Dave's homes, a city where he has built a solid network of friends and business associates who will help him through rehab. His support group in San Francisco has been absolutely superb: loyal, giving, loving, and attentive to Johanna's and my needs. WE have found an extended family in the Bay Area and our lives have been altered significantly for the better. Dave doesn't just attract people around him; he chooses good people. I am more impressed with David as I discover the breadth of his friendship circle and the depth of his friendships. I suspect Denver will simply build on the phenomena of San Francisco. For those who wonder about Dave and his future ... rest assured. He is heading for full recovery. The energy field is still apparent, his own conscious willpower is emerging from the fog, and we will all be there to celebrate his active return to normalcy, to his job with Jack Nadel, and to his beloved Denver setting of beautiful mountains, golf and skiing. In the meantime as the incredible energy of these first five weeks threatens to dissipate, remember where we have come from. The website updates will probably diminish in frequency but the power of your love and concern need not. Johanna and I are going to be with David all the way and I invite you to stick with us in spirit and in substance. I was too optimistic when I told Matt Nicholas (Dave's boss) at Jack Nadel that David will be back in June- to save his spot. In fact Dave has to be ready to be Jay's Best Man on May 19. For those who wish to help Dave in this interim period, you might consider "shopping" with Jack Nadel, a creative merchandising company that handles corporate merchandising needs (logo merchandise, convention merchandise, etc.). Jack Nadel has promised to keep Dave's position open for him however long the rehab takes, and already his fellow salesmen are working Dave's accounts and depositing 100% of the commissions into Dave's account. I know he would appreciate your business.You can call Matt at (303)300-1800. I leave you for the moment and hope to return to color commentary in another month from Denver. Rest assured that Dr. Smot will be keeping a sharp eye out for each and every positive development in Dave's rehabilitation process. The ICP of today will become a thing of the past; our attention will turn to commands followed, to words spoken, to precise movements taken, and ultimately to number of repetitions and amount of weight lifted or steps taken. We want Dave's smile to translate into Dave's sense of humor and his fight against death to return to a fight against par. Stick with us; we need you, we want you, we love you. BOB/DAD |