Important and wonderful update I had to post!!!

T-Rex is baaaack!! Terry has made unbelieveably amazing progress in the past few days. He is cleared to leave the ICU but there are no available beds in the neuro unit on the first floor. He is aware of his surroundings and is responding well. Instead of sticking his tongue out, he is now shaking his head yes and no. He knows that he isn't able to talk now b/c of the tracheostomy, but when I walked up to his bed and told him I loved him, he took in a deep breath and said "I Love You." (with a bit of tone from his throat). The pharmacist who sits outside at a desk heard him too! He smirked at some of the things I said to him (too much to type) and shook his head when I told him a broke my hand. It is apparent that Terry remembers both long and short term events. I actually apologized for something I did the Wednesday night before the accident and he made his usual "no big deal" face. His Aunt Kathleen talked about their whitewater rafting trip from a couple of years ago and he smiled. He is supposed to get another cat scan today but we don't know when. This will help Dr. Grollmus (neuro doc) determine when they will put his lid back on :) Due to the number of fractures to his skull, they may need to add a plate. Dr. Warner (infectious disease) said she is taking him off the antibiotics tomorrow and his blood infection seems to be better, and that she will continue to bug Dr. Grollmus about the collar (David wrote a more descript update about that a day ago) and how soon they can take it off. Terry is trying to pull it off himself. Anne and I were able to sit in on his physical therapy session this morning. With the assistance of the lift team (2 men plus the therapist), Terry was able to sit off the side to the bed and respond to the commands of the PT. Moving his toes, feet, legs, squeezing hands, etc. Thank you for your love and support through this overwhelmingly difficult ordeal. Our road is still long, but we can now see a light at the end of the road. Continue to pray for Terry! Love, Staci

We have successfully been able to make the transition...thank you all!

This Blog will only be updated sporadically as the Carepages Website for Terry has turned out to be a wonderful success and the best way for all of you to stay updated. We appreciate all of your support for Terry and ask for you to keep updated on him at the new site. If you haven't done so already, go to

www.carepages.com

Login and search for Terence O'Prey.

The site is wonderful and will be the main source for updates instead of this blog site.

Lots of love and prayers to Terry for now and in the future!

Jason

update

Terry had a fantastic day. He was successfully removed from the respirator and is breathing on his own through the trach. All of his vitals are right on target. Terry was responsive to Dr. Steele by sqeezing his hand and he can cough on his own. A staff member from Kentfield Rehabilitation Center named Dot, visited with Terry today and shared with us that he is an ideal patient to benefit from their type of care. At Santa Rosa Memorial, Terry is receiving acute care from the nurses. They are not trained in rehab care. Once he is in a facility like Kentfield, he would have access to an occupational therapist, dietician, physical therapist and many other specialists to assist with his recovery. Terry still has many more milestones to reach before moving into that phase, but we are excited by the prospect of the future. We won't know officially until next week if Kentfield will accept Terry but the signs are good. Terry continues to be very active in his bed. He moves his legs and arms frequently and is still receiving some medicine for pain. Staci has been wonderful in making sure that Terry's lips are moisturized with chap stick. Tonight, when Anne put some chapstick on his lips, she mentioned that this chapstick had been on Staci's lips - Terry smiled. He has some new blue boots to aid in healing some bed sores that formed on his heels. Not the shoes he would sport on the golf course, but they are quite a hit in the North wing of Santa Rosa. The shoes do match his upside down hospital gown. We are so thankful for the prayers around the world being said on behalf of Terry. Faith in God's plan for Terry remains a staple for each of us. We are so appreciative to you all for your support. Much love to everyone. David Quilleon

update

Terry was active in his room tonight and was moving his arms and legs quite a bit. His oxygen percentage is at 45%, which is very good. As we left tonight, his blood pressure was 160/90. Terry was given a diaretic to reduce some of the fluid he has been retaining in his body. He is on very little sedation medicine this evening.During a visit with Staci, she asked Terry to lift his legs and he responded twice for her. This is a testament that love is powerful.The nurses did give Terry a bit of a make over as his mustache was gone and his face was freshly shaved. We have so much to be thankful for and I know Terry would be so touched by the thoughts and messages shared on this site. Thank you all so much for sharing this journey with Terry and may God bless all of us with strength, health, and love as we travel together on this road to recovery. David Quilleon

Updates

This morning we met with Dr. Steele and he shared with us the dynamics that took place yesterday regarding the discovery of many large blood clots in Terry's system. Yesterday during the morning rounds the nurses noticed a significant increase in Terry's oxygen levels. Apparently, this is one sign of potential clotting taking place. Terry was taken down for a spiral CT scan and they were able to confirm the large blood clots. This type of situation can happen when a patient is immobile for a long period of time. At any moment, one of the large clots could have flowed through the blood system and caused cardiac arrest.The typical treatment for blood clots is a medicine known as Cumiden, an anticoagulant that thins the blood. Due to Terry's head trauma, this treatment is not available. So, during the early evening, Terry was sent down to have a mesh filter inserted through his groin and up through his body to serve as a protective layer to the heart and prevent any clots from moving directly to the heart. The mesh filter procedure was successful and Terry is stabilized but he continues to be at risk for more clots. There are also some risks in that the mesh filter can become backed up with blood clots and prevent blood from traveling to other areas of the body. The nurses will be monitoring this very carefully.The mesh filter could be removed in about 5 - 6 months. The doctor said Terry should survive any future clotting issues. We are very blessed that the medical team caught this situation. Today, Terry has been active, moving his legs, opening his eyes, etc. The doctors will continue to monitor oxygen levels, they want him to be at 40% and currently, he is at 55%. He is slowly being removed from the Versed and morphine so that he can be evaluated for the extent of his head injuries. The cat scan revealed yesterday that some of the swelling had gone down. However, the surgeon, Dr. Grollmus does still see a significant amount of damage to the frontal and temporal lobes. The good news is that the ICP bolt was removed along with the head drain yesterday. Terry also has no tubes going into his mouth at this point. If you would like more information about brain injuiry, please visit this site: www.tbiguide.com It provides a lot of information that you all might find helpful. The situation yesterday was extremely scary and we are all so fortunate to have the blessings of so many friends and family. Please continue to keep Terry in your prayers. David Quilleon

Important update

We need everyone's prayers loud and strong right now. Terry's ct scan on his lungs just came back. (about 4pm PDT 8/8/06). They found several blood clots in them. They can't use blood thinner to get rid of them because of his head injury. Terry just got out of surgery where they put some kind of rod up his groin artery to prevent more clots. They think the clots came from his leg. Doctors are hoping the clots will dissolve on their own. Please help the O'Preys.. Pauls..Quilleons through this time. Amy Paul

Update

Terry has had a very restful and stable weekend. His blood pressure was between 130 and 140 and his cranium pressure was at a 2. He is back on the sedation medicine in order to make him more comfortable. Since Terry has a feeding tube as well as a tube to remove bile in his stomach going through his mouth, it causes him to gag. This makes Terry uncomfortable and causes his blood pressure to rise. He will have the new feeding tube inserted on Monday. Even under the sedation, Terry does hear commands such as open your eyes. He has been responsive to the nurses. Terry continues to fight off the pneumonia and is responding well to the medicine. They will slowly start to ween him off of the respirator today into tomorrow. Overall, it has been a great weekend for Terry. He has grown some facial hair including a trendy mustache and his hair is beginning to grow back. We all continue to focus on each day and celebrate Terry's recovery milestones. Thanks again to all of you for your prayers and support. David Quilleon

update

Hi all, Never a dull moment at Santa Rosa Memorial. I was admitted into the emergency room around 6:30 p.m. I've been having a lot of strange symptoms (very bad stomach and back pains, but the scariest were the lack of balance, focus problems, and dizziness --no blond jokes please. They are telling me it may be due to stress but to watch for symptoms if they should continue and the proper tests will then be ordered. Met a nice homeless man, Ken, in the "room" next to me. I won't discuss why he was there. He was pretty chatty- I was so bored it was better than talking to the man who was drunk in the bed next to me. I was so thankful when he finally passed out. After that I went up to the ICU in the room with Debbie to see T-rex. His cranial pressure was nice and low. He needs a good nights sleep so we quietly left. No feeding tube today. They are thinking about doing that procedure on Monday. Both the trach and feeding tubes are reversible so once he can do things on his own they will be removed. Please continue to pray, chant, (whatever you believe in)and send your positive thoughts. I do believe Terry can hear us. All of our friends, family, and acquaintances have been AMAZING. No words can express our appreciation. Best wishes, Staci

Update from Staci #2

Hello again, Well Terry's procedure went well - "uneventful" as the doctors put it. We were happy to see more of his face and newly-grown mustache. His pressure looks great from 7-14 (only when being worked on did it increase). His nurse told me that they are planning to insert the feeding tube today, but of course, no definite time was given. Still trying to take this day by day and remain positive. A message to Father Brenden (our friend from Ireland, Uganda, and Ballena Bay - ha!): I have a sort of "trade" for you - you speak with God directly about getting Terry back to 100% (or 99% - I'd prefer him to come back as a non-snorer) and I'll get you a nice, BIG glass of Tinker Dave's Egg Nog. Deal? Best wishes, Staci

an Update from Staci

Hi everyone, It's Staci. I've been trying to communicate via the message board, but David has given me his password so that I can update you as well. I left an update yesterday on the message board so please check it out. Terry was quite active yesterday, at times moving both sides of his body, fully opening his eyes, blinking, coughing, and biting down on the suction tube that the nurse stuck too far down his throat. Good job Terry, I don't blame you! Terry, Ann, and I just got back from the hospital after meeting with Dr. White, a trauma surgeon. He will be performing Terry's tracheostomy today around noon at his bedside. The procedure should take no more than an hour. This will allow them to remove all the tubes in his mouth, prevent problems in the event Terry were to vomit, and eventually allow him to breath on his own. The feeding tube will come later today or tomorrow. David is now over at our apartment trying to fix our garbage disposal. Apparently the concierge is unavailable to get service over to us right now. We have a very active apt. complex, which is why it took us a bit to realize we were feeling an earthquake, not the children running around in the apt. above us. We will update you later this afternoon after Terry's procedure. Thank you to everyone for your continued support and encouragement. My best, Staci