There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays!

2 days short of his six-month anniversary in the hospital, Greg happily rolled out of the VA today to join his wife at home. Although he has many challenges ahead of him, Dad is happy. And really, can you ask for more than that?

Emails, FB posts, phone calls, cards, and visitors are all welcome.
Greg and Judy would love to hear from you.

Here it is! I grabbed the photo from Kelli's Facebook page and uploaded it for everyone to enjoy.

This is Dad on his first outing. I'd say there is no denying that he was happy to be out!

Greg's First Outing 11/13/2010

Blogger wont let me post a picture for some reason, but I do have proof that Greg took his first outing from the hospital! Our daughter Eleanor was baptized yesterday and Greg was granted permission to leave the VA to attend. It was WONDERFUL that he was able to be there. It meant so much to us and even more so to Eleanor. He was able to be in her circle when she was confirmed a member of the church. We feel so blessed to have Greg with us and for the joy and spirit he carries. Afterwards we went to Celia's Mexican Restaurant and got Greg a tostada :) It was a great day and we feel overwhelmingly grateful he was able to attend.

We love you Greg and Judy! Thanks for Everything!

Product Endorsement

"That is tooo fizzalicious"

- L Greg Wheelwright, upon sampling the new Diet Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash 09/21/10

We Love the VA!

In addition to having the best equipment and staff in town, the VA also has tons of fun family activities. On Sunday we were invited to enjoy a tasty KFC picnic with our favorite veteran!

As you can see, dad delighted in sharing a tasty lunch with his wife and the Tharp clan (Wendy, Bailey, Penelope & Brian).

Due to the angle of the photo what you can't see is... Mom and Dad's matching "his & hers" wheelchairs. They are a sassy pair. Greg & Judy are both doing wonderfully, following the advice of their caretakers, and recovering a bit every day. It was truly a pleasure to see them sitting side by side and enjoying a Sunday meal with their family.

Judy, Judy, Judy...

I think it's past time for a mom update!

As you may recall, Judy broke her leg in the car accident. She has been up and about, walking in her boot-cast for about 9 weeks now. The doctors were hopeful that if she kept active and irritated that broken bone enough it would heal. Unfortunately, she was not that lucky. An x-ray taken last week showed no calcification of the broken bone. The remedy? Surgery!

Today the surgeon re-opened mom's leg, removed the pin holding it in place, inserted a larger pin (2mm), and "generated fresh bone matter" to fill in where it should be healing. Now, the "generation of fresh bone matter" is most definitely the most awesome part, but I'm going to save you the details, because I love you.

Mom sailed through surgery in record time, and I'm sitting by her bedside now. She is really groggy, but doing fantastic. We are expecting just an overnight stay, she should be resting in a comfy recliner by tomorrow afternoon.

When asked if there was anything she wanted to say to her fan base, mom replied, "Ugghhhh". Those must be good drugs...

Moving Day!! 9/8/2010

Today Greg moved out of his hospital room and into the VA! Matt and I were able to meet Judy, Wendy, and Greg there and see him into his new room. It is so clean, everyone is so friendly, the equiptment is fantastic! It is going to be wonderful! Greg is so happy to be out of the hospital and looking forward to meeting new faces in his new facility!

Medically Greg is doing really well, he is improving everyday and even got to make some phone calls to his family members on his cell phone. He has feeling on both of his sides down to his bellybutton and has feeling all the way down on his left side. He is more himself now, can remember faces and short recent periods of time. He still is sorting things out in his mind, has some issues swallowing at times and such- but he is making leaps and bounds constantly. We are all so very proud of him and impressed by his strength.

His grandkids can all visit him at the VA in his room, they are very family friendly- So Montgomery and Winifred got to see him in his hospital bed for the first time today! We look forward to many more visits and watching him improve daily!

I was talking to Wendy today and she said that at the VA they will keep you there until you are recovered to the level YOU want (unlike the hospital where they recover you just enough to send you home). She told Greg that and asked him what he wanted from this. His response was "I want to walk out of here." It will take some hard work, but I have faith that he can and he will reach his goal.

Great News!

We just heard that Greg got accepted to the VA!!!

This is FANTASTIC news and we are all SO excited! This means he will be moving asap to the Veteran's Affairs Hospital in Palo Alto where they have all of the state of the art equiptment to care for Greg more fully and completely then at Valley Med.

He will be moved as early as late this week, just as soon as a bed opens up for him! We will give another update soon with more complete info on the new facility!

Keep up those prayers and well wishes, Greg is improving everyday!

The SKY is the Limit!

It's graduation day for Greg, and the news is all good today. Following is a quick update of dad's progress:

1. Greg is breathing without assistance. His trach is plugged, and he is being scheduled to have it removed within the next few days. Once this minor surgery is complete, he will be able to enjoy all the culinary delicacies that Valley Medical has to offer. Can you say, "whipped carrots"?

2. All IV's have been removed, the only remaining input line is his feeding tube. The feeding tube will be removed once he is able to consume enough calories to sustain himself without the added liquid diet boost.

3. Dad has graduated from his status of "Trauma Recovery Patient" and is now officially a "Rehabilitation Patient".

Due to the residual confusion of "someone jiggling my coins", Greg will be transfered to the head injury rehabilitation center today. Dad's mental recovery has been as miraculous as his physical recovery, but he is feeling a bit (ok, lot) frustrated with the lingering confusion. The doctors are optimistic that with more time things will straighten out. Greg can speak, read, and is quickly recovering the full extent of his vocabulary. Yesterday the man was heard to say, "Yeah, right. That helps. Why don't you give me another platitude", with a biting sarcasm previously reserved only for teenage girls. He was right though, it was a platitude.

And if that wasn't enough good news for you...

4. Upon physical examination today, Greg responded to pain below the waist! The doctor was poking around, "can you feel this?"... poke... poke... poke, "can you feel this?" ...poke... and dad unexpectedly jumped and said, "Yes". So as any good doctor would, he tried it again. =)

After a full examination the doctor happily announced, "This changes things. Greg's status has changed from 'complete' to 'incomplete'. The sky is the limit for his rehabilitation."

Talking

We have hit another milestone. On Thursday, July 15th, Judy and Wendy each received a phone call from the hospital. It was Greg's speech therapist who informed them that Greg was talking and would like to speak with them. Greg was put on the phone and spoke first to his wife for the first time in over a month. The doctor has a speaking valve that they can put on Gregs trach and he can communicate.

Yesterday Matt and I went to the hospital to visit Greg. He was very frustrated and very bored. He was trying to say something to Matt and finally the doctor was able to bring in his valve so he could talk to us. He told Matt that he loves him and he missed him oddles and bunches. He is trying to find things to do now to occupy his time. He asked for a Reader and he wants to go to the Temple.

Judy and Jenn were at the hospital also visiting when Matt and I were there. Judy told Greg that we have seen miracles and people are inspired by Greg. His response was, "I dont want to see miracles, I want to do one" He is in there and he is fighting, he wants out of that hospital with a passion.

If you would like to send words of encouragement, letters, cards- now would be a good time. We would be happy to read them to Greg and I am sure he would love to hear from you all. You can email me at kelli1714@yahoo.com and I would be happy to give you our address where you can send cards or you can email a letter and that works too :) We love you all and thank you for your continued faith, prayers, and love!

Set Backs: Blessings in Disguise

Greg's old Cocci doctor, Dr. Stevens, has been keeping an eye on his progress. What a blessing to have this man looking out for Greg. He told Wendy that he will be monitering Greg's charts and keeping up on it, if we have any questions we are welcome to go to him and ask and he will explain the medical side of things for us.

Dr. Stevens was checking in on Greg and discovered that he had signs of Sepsis- an infection in the blood. So they started him on the Antibiotics Super Cocktail and he is doing much better now. It only takes a couple days to clear.

Rehab is getting Greg up in his wheelchair when they can and still working on weaning him off the ventilator, but it has been another set back with the onset of Sepsis. We aren't discouraged though, every set back in this whole process has been a blessing in disguise. Greg's speech therapist is still coming in and helping him find other ways he can communicate with us and his nurses, he still isn't talking. As he becomes more aware of what is going on, he is increasingly frustrated- but we are understanding of his frustrating moments and know that he has a long road ahead of him. Greg continues to prove he is one strong and stubborn man, just the way we like him :) A Fighter.

Wheelchair

Yesterday Judy and I went and visited Greg at the hospital, On Tuesday he went ANOTHER 10 HOURS on C-Pap which is awesome!

Today they got him sitting up in the wheelchair for the first time! He was able to stay in for 30 minutes which is great for a first time. He is getting stronger each day. He still isn't talking and his only mode for communication is shaking his head yes and no, but the speach therapist was in with him yesterday trying new ways of communicating with us. He seemed a bit frustrated, but doing his best. I'm not worried at all, I feel when the time is right he will be able to communicate with us again.

Keep up the prayers and faith for Greg, everything helps and we have seen miracles and blessings every step of this adventure. Love you all!

Rehab Here We Come

Greg has been moved from the TCNU down to the Rehab Center at the hospital and he is doing well. He stayed on C-Pap for another 10 hours today which is remarkable! We are so proud of him and glad to see him continuing to progress!

I haven't had much to report lately, but no news is good news- I will continue to give you any updated info I have!

C Pap Time 7/3/10

Today I went and visited Greg in his TCNU room (Transitional Care Neurology Unit). They had just washed him up and combed his hair when I got there, so he was awake and very alert.

I talked to him for a bit and he smiled, nodded, and made good eye contact. It was a really great visit, so much so that I didn't want to leave. He was on the C-pap machine while I was there, he was breathing well and his numbers looked great. I called later tonight and the nurse told me he stayed on C-pap for 10 hours! He is working hard and we are so proud of him!

Ether 12:27

Ether 12: 27

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.


This scripture was read in Sacrament meeting last Sunday and immediately made me think of Greg. It gives me hope and I hope it does the same for you.

New Status!

Yesterday Greg was moved again and is no longer ICU status! He has been moved to TCNU until there is a room available for him back in the Rehab center, but he is doing well.

They have lowered his Oxygen saturation to 35% and he continues to over breathe the ventilator. He is still wiggling his toes, but we haven't been able to meet with the Neurosurgeon to find out what his full assessment results are.

For the last few days his stomach has been distended and the doctors believe it is residual air in his belly from the feeding tube procedure, but it seems to be dissipating on its own as it should.

Greg went for 1 1/2hours on the C-pap on Wednesday which is AWESOME! With 6 broken ribs and his brace cinched in on his chest to stabilize his back it is hard work to breathe and he can't take deep breaths, but this is great progress!

Wiggling Toes Video

New Skill 6/25/10

On Friday, Wendy and I went to the hospital. Wendy had received a call that Greg had blood filling his stomach and they may need to operate. We went down together to check it out and sign any consent forms if necessary.

We met with the Gastro Surgeon and she said she would like to suction the blood and then use a scope to take a look at what was going on first, then the decision would be made on surgery. After a little while she returned to us and said that all was well. They had put in his feeding tube that linked directly to his stomach when they performed the trach surgery and the tube had wiggled loose a little. She was able to pull it into place again and the bleeding stopped. They are keeping an eye on his hemaglobins to make sure he isn't still bleeding, but it is still possible for it to get loose again.

Wendy and I went and got some lunch while they cleaned Greg up and did their assessments. When we returned we asked how everything went with his assessment. The nurse told us all was well and that he was awake. She had gone through the normal commands of having him wiggle his fingers and he did on both hands. She asked him to wiggle his toes and he did. Wendy and I looked at eachother and wondered if she misspoke or we misunderstood. She said it was more like a flex, but he did move his toes. We have been at the hospital umpteen times in the last 3 weeks and he has never once moved his toes- not a flex, twitch, nothing. There was a bit of a language barrier so we shrugged it off and went in to see him.

Sure enough as Wendy was talking to him his toes were twitching each time he would open his eyes. Wendy went back later and on command he can move his toes on both feet. That night Jenn and Brad witnessed it as well and the following day Wendy took Judy to see Greg and when they arrived, he was showing off his new skill for the nurses. Everyone is so surprised and so baffled. We don't know what it means if anything for long term recovery, but it gives us hope.

He will have a full assessment from the neurologist tomorrow and we will hopefully know more. Thank you for the continued prayers!

Surgery Success!

Surgery went well and Greg is resting. The trach is in and he has been fitted with his new back brace. They moved him across the hall out of Trauma ICU and into Rehab ICU. We are moving up in the world! Wendy went and visited him after the procedure and said he looked better then she expected. We can now see his sweet face, one more hurdle conquered!

Thank you everyone for your kind words, prayers, and thoughts. We love and appreciate you all!

Surgery Tomorrow

Tomorrow Greg is Scheduled for Tracheotomy surgery. We have not come to this decision lightly and we delayed it for a week in hopes that Greg would wean off of his ventilator on his own. We all feel really good about this choice, it will give Greg the opportunity to start physical therapy sooner and it will give him a better chance of avoiding such complications as pneumonia. We have been praying and consulting doctors, nurses, and friends and this truly is the best option for Greg at this time.

Tonight Matt gave Greg a very comforting and strengthening blessing which helped even further in putting us at ease. The procedure will only take an hour and afterwards it should only be about a week before he can talk to us, perhaps sooner.

I was talking to Judy today and she was saying that every set back has been for a reason. We have truly seen the hand of the Lord in Greg's recovery and pray his doctors and nurses will be guided with the Spirit as they tend to him. We are all in good spirits and just feel an amazing amount of peace at this time.

Please keep Greg in your Prayers tomorrow. We don't have a specific time right now, but any prayers as you remember Greg through the day would be greatly appreciated and well received!