May 14-6 1900

Quiet day, thank G-d. The nurse has nothing new to report since this A.M. Ty's vitals have remained the same for almost the entire day, and he's resting comfortably.
I've got to get to the gym. Thanks to Tom Lang, who organized the efforts of many families to bring us a wonderful dinner every night, I may go down in history as the only parent of a child in an ICU to ever gain weight. We truly appreciate everything.


The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter.
~Author Unknown

P.S.
Tyler's address:
Neurosurgical/Trauma
Intensive Care Unit, C9I
80 Seymour St. P.O. Box 5037
Hartford, CT 06102-5037

May 14-5 1611

Nurse Agnes says Tyler is unchanged from this A.M. which is actually just fine. He's stable and resting. GMHS girl and boys LAX were victorious against Suffield. There were cow bells ringing, and t-shirts printed in support of Tyler, and the driver of the car which I was happy to see. Several parents set up a table and were having all comers sign banners to decorate his room. The outpouring of love and support still has me speechless. For those who know me, that's pretty amazing.


The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears. ~John Vance Cheney

May 14-3 1020

Tyler's Bp is still elevated, and he's still running a low grade fever. All other vitals are stable and within desired parameters.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa

May 14-2 0554

(a joke)
Once there was a terrible accident on a main street somewhere. A man was killed, as the crowd gathered a policeman stood near the victim. Out of the crowd comes this little old Jewish lady yelling "give him chicken soup". The cop kindly says, "but he's dead mam". The little old lady says again emphatically, "give him some chicken soup". The officer, a bit more frustrated says " lady he's dead, it won't help. The lady snaps back, "couldn't hurt".

I'm not sure if anything we all are doing is ultimately going to help, but it couldn't hurt. Thanks to everyone for the outpouring of love and support, it's wonderful therapy for a bruised spirit.

May 14-1 0500

Ty had a good night. His BP still is a bit high, and his temp went back up for a while. The nurse says for the most part "he's behaving himself pretty well", currently things are stable and Ty is resting. We eagerly await the special delivery of Lakota healing items from our newest family member Larry Fiddler. Yesterday Larry was in contact with us a few times to reassure us and then inform us his wonderful gift was being over night delivered. For those of you who don't know, the Lakota reservation is in a very remote portion of South Dakota (for further detail, Google it, I'm not doing all the work here). Therefore overnight delivery on Friday should arrive on Sunday. I wish you could have heard Larry speak about Tyler, both as a wonderful young man, and as a new friend to the Lakota people. Larry spoke with such certainty and reassurance that Tyler will ultimately emerge from this Homeric journey OK, that my spirit was raised immeasurably. These few conversations have meant as much, if not more to me than all the many clergy and doctors who have talked to us in the past week. This kind and gentle man only met and worked with Ty for a short time, yet was impacted by Tyler's amazing spirit and soul which we all know and love. More to follow.

Fall seven times, stand up eight. ~Japanese Proverb

May 13-5 2240

While things are quiet and somewhat stable with Tyler. I just wanted to share

May 13-4 2105

Latest update has Tyler resting and his vitals are stable. His BP is still a bit high, but as yet not climbing.

May 13-3 1757

Tyler is resting, we would like to get his BP at a lower consistent level, but baby steps. Overall it was a good day. I'll update later tonight.

May 13-1 1540

Happy Friday 13. Sorry for the delay, the blog's server has been down for hours.
Update: Tyler had a difficult time yesterday, his vital signs were all over the place. As it turns out Tyler's friend Larry Fiddler the Lakota healer in South Dakota, started a healing prayer approximately six o'clock our time, exactly the time Tyler began to stabilize. Larry called today and said Tyler will be fine, it will just be a journey he must travel. At the end he will have a greater insight and understanding into his life. Larry is also sending various prayer and healing items to include a bear claw, a symbol of strength and healing which was presented to him years ago. After talking with Larry, I was swept by a calming wave, I hope you are too.

May 12-2 0942

Sorry for the delay, The update feature was off line for a while. Nurse Brooke says all vitals continue to be stable and in correct parameters except for the BP. The BP is stable but still a bit high. This will be a long road with some ups and downs, as our Native American brothers say, "the earth is slow but the river is patient".
Also, Nurse Jen says "have anyone and everyone sign banners, cards, and hospital email wishes to decorate his room. Don't go to great trouble, but the only things they don't allow in ICU rooms is food and flowers. Keep all that positive energy coming, it truly helps. I have always believed in G-d and prayer, but now I have an unwavering FAITH in both. Thank you to all for the good vibes. Feel the Love.

May 11-5 2041

We will be giving the final medical update at approx. 2115 (9:15). Just to ensure everyone understands. Tyler hasn't been awake yet. They are keeping him sedated as long as the breathing tube is installed. However Tyler can breath on his own, the respirator is used to assist him and push the pure O2. The staff occasionally lower the sedation to do some tests, but then he goes back under. The goal is balancing his BP, and blood O2 levels in order to safely remove the respirator, slowly bring him out of sedation, then be able to find out how Tyler is doing mentally. Understand this process will probably take a great deal of time. Testing his true awareness will be the culmination of many steps, and a great deal of patience on all of our parts, and a great deal of struggle and determination for Tyler. I am confident with the amount of love, support, and prayer he is receiving, Ty will eventually be OK. Thanks again to all. Feel the love.

May 11-4 1424

Ty is resting comfortably all his vitals are settling down, but yet to be consistent. Today we had an Orthodox Rabbi, a pastor, and the entire Lakota nation praying for him. Thanks for everyones support.

May 11-3 1250

The cranial drain has been removed, now it,s just a matter of patience til his vitals are to a point they can get him off ventilation. Then we'll be on our way...We hope.

We received notice the entire Lakota nation in South Dekota is praying for Tyler, and offered their assistance.

May 11-2 1045

Tyler is stable, and the staff is waiting for his signs to be a bit more consistent before taking the next big step of removing the ventilator. We just heard that the Lakota nation are all praying for him as well. More to come.

May 11-1 0400

Nurse Paulette says Tyler had a good night. Their only concern is whenever they have to move or stimulate him, his O2 levels go down slightly. This is crucial to having the ventilator removed.

The family has a few words for all of our now extended family, litteraly around the word...your hopes and prayers are heard, and they make a difference. I am certain the many voices raised to support this family, especially Ty, are helping. For all of those folks unfamiliar with Granby, Linda, Josh, and I have happily lost sole custody of Tyler to this loving town. It seems he has truly become Granby's son. In particular, the young people of Granby are beyond belief. Their keen collective intellect and ability to love is peerless. Their desire to turn words to actions, never ceases to astonish me. We love you all, and are lifted on high by your words, deeds, and prayers. Thank you.

May 10-6 1902

After a day of letting Tyler rest and a constant minor juggling act of his vital signs... some good news. The Neurosurgeon examined Tyler and said there's no reason for more CT scans unless something happens, his last one was excellent. He is healing well, and the Dr wants to remove the drain tomorrow with the possibility of reassembling Tyler in ablut a month instead of 6 months. All things are contingent on continued progress and the power of prayer, but this is good news. We may even sleep tonight.

The Family

May 10-5 1530

The staff rearranged Tyler's ventilation to help maintain his O2 levels and raise the comfort level of his breathing. Quiet day, more to follow.

The Family

May 10-4 1025

I forgot to include in the previous blog a quote Tyler has on his computer from Galileo.

"I have loved the stars too fondly to be afraid of the night".

May 10-3 1013

Tyler is resting comfortably and is stable. There's only a slight amount of mucus in one of his lungs and there wasn't any concern about it. There was an ultrasound done to check for arterial and venus blood clots in his legs which was negative. Today is just a quiet healing day. More to follow.

The Family

May 10-2 0733

Tyler had some challenges last night. He's showing some mucus in his lungs, his BP was elevated,and his O2 evel was down slightly. So far all his cultures are negative for infection, so today is just a rest day for him. The staff has him on sedation to calm him, medication to control the BP, and O2 just for fun. The good news, Tyler is now fed by gastro tube instead of an IV. It's not quite pizza, but it's a little step forward. Keep those hopes and prayers coming. Thanks soooooo much to everyone.

Tha Family

May 10-1 0129

Currently Tyler is resting comfortably with no change reported. A bit earlier the nurses were checking and testing his lungs which caused a slight drop in his O2 levels so they increased Tyler's O2 intake, and currently he is resting and maintaining. It seems the staff utilizes the night time when it's most quiet to see the limits of Ty's abilities, which in itself is another positive sign. Keep those thoughts and prayers coming. More to follow.

May 9, 2011 1505

This AM the surgical PA said his latest CT scan was excellent. All indicators show slight improvement. He had visits from 2 Rabbis, and a Chaplin. With all the people around the world praying for him, Tyler could start a cult. Thank you to all. The out pouring of love, support, and lasagna is overwhelming. More updates to follow.

The Family

(May 9-1)

May 9, 2011 0357
Tyler had an OK night. He continues to move when directed but not consistently. His fever is slightly elevated, and he was taken off the respirator for a while. Even though there is little apparent improvement, it is very encouraging that the staff feels they can attempt to advance his situation a bit at a time. More to follow.

Seth

Purpose (Nic)

This site is setup to track the current status of Tyler during his period of recovery after his accident. A post with a general overview of the current situation will go up shortly. Most posts will likely be put up by Tyler's family. Also if you're interested in putting something up, feel free to send it to me at "firstkipchak@yahoo.com" or as a comment.