Kevin's Recovery Helping Kevin Mather on his road to recovery

Today’s Visit with Kevin

July 8th, 6:00 p.m.  Notes from Tiffany given to Rhonda Stout:

Leanne Souisa and I went down to visit with Tiffany today while Kevin was supposed to be in surgery to have a permanent filter for his blood placed in his veins.  Upon arriving Tiffany informed us that Kevin had not gone into surgery yet and that they were waiting for the filter to be delivered.  Leanne and I were able to go in then and see Kevin for about 15 minutes.  The plastic surgeon had re-done his stitches on his head yesterday and they really looked amazing.  Today was the first day that he was able to sit up in his bed, which was so encouraging to see.  As we waited to find out when Kevin would be heading into surgery, the nurse came in to say that they would not be able to get the filter today, but he would be first on the surgery time slots for tomorrow morning (July 9).

I asked Tiffany to give me an update on the doctors report so I could post it on the Blog and this is the information she gave:

The neurosurgeon came in this morning to check his wound and said that is still looks great and that there is no more fluid building up so they removed the drains they had put in.  Today was the first day he was allowed to sit up in his bed which allows them to remove the restrictions on his diet and he can now have some solid food.  They performed sensory tests on his legs again today and there was no change, which was discouraging for Kevin.   The doctors goal right now is to get him to be able to sit up well enough that he could be moved to a wheelchair within a day or two.  The next step would be for him to be transferred to a rehabilitation center as soon as 1-2 weeks.

The physical therapist came in this afternoon and fitted Kevin for his back brace. Tiffany said this was very painful as they had to move him back and forth on his side to get the correct fit.  They also began his physical fitness. They put bands on the top of his bed so he could do arm strengthening exercises and gave Tiffany specific exercises for her to do throughout the day on his toes and feet.  They also showed him how to do stomach crunches to begin immediately to strengthen his abdominal muscles.

Specific Prayer Requests:

• While the physical therapist was in with Kevin & Tiffany, Kevin was told for the first time what his chances of walking again were and this was extremely difficult for him to take in fully.  They discussed with him that if he does walk again it may be with some form of walker or with crutches.  Pray for Kevin to not be discouraged from hearing this news and for him to not be consumed with fear for his future.  Please pray for Tiffany as she is helping him try to process this information and encourage him to not give in to the fear of the unknown.
• Kevin mentioned to Tiffany that was concerned for the salvation of the driver and would like for us to pray for that.
• Continued prayer for the family members that are staying in the waiting room for extended periods of time, that will be able to get some rest.  Especially Tiffany as she has been getting no more than 5 hours of sleep at a time.

Just a few notes on people going to visit them in the hospital:

• If you are going there please know that you may or may not be able to actually see Kevin, depending on how many visitors he has had that day and how much rest he has had or has not had.  But know that Tiffany loves having people come to visit her during the day too, so if you are able to go for a couple of hours it is really encouraging to her.
• If you are able to go in to see Kevin please be mindful of how long you stay in the room with him.  He completely enjoys seeing everyone, but he does get tired easily and needs his rest.  Maybe limiting your time to 10-15 minutes would be appreciated.
• Along with that if there could only be 2 people going into his room at a time it helps him to feel more relaxed and not overwhelmed.
• If you are going down and are thinking about bringing some snacks or other items, there were a few things that they mentioned would be nice: water, hand wipes, gum, Mentos/ breath mints, maybe a deck of cards or board game for people visiting in the waiting room, crossword puzzles, or Sudoku.

Tiffany and the family appreciate so much everything that everyone has done for them, especially the continued prayers.  Tiffany has been trying to read the comments on the Blog in the evening if she has a few minutes as has appreicated the outpour or love and kind words from everyone, so thank you all for posting comments here!

Another Article in The Signal referencing Kevin

July 8th, 8:01 am: Below is a link to an article in The Signal newspaper this am that references Kevin.

http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/15313/

A Message From Kevin’s Parents

July 8th, 12:39 AM – Received via email from Mark Mather:

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the great work on the Kevin’s Recovery website.  Here are my feelings about today regarding Kevin.

Yesterday (Monday) Kevin was measured for a back brace.  He was moved from side to side on his bed for those measurements. (painful). Kevin & Tiffany’s Pastor, Brian Howard returning from vacation came in to visit Kevin.  A great guy!  All of us in the room prayed before Pastor Brian left.  Kevin was hungry and wanted real food.  Especially cheesecake! Later in the day Kevin had a plastic surgeon come into his room and re-do the stitches in his head so the scaring would be less. (painful).  This is after having an operation of 12 hours on Friday putting two metal rods into his back with 12 screws attaching them to his spine. (painful).  During the operation he lost 7 liters of blood.  The human body holds approximately 5 liters.  The neurosurgeon said Kevin is lucky to be alive and lucky to survive the surgery.  The surgical team did a incredible job and we will never forget them.  Thank you.

Today (Tuesday) at 8am he went under surgery to have a temporary blood clot filter put into him in the hip area to prevent any blood clots from his legs that would move into his lungs or other parts of his body.  During the surgery they discovered that his veins were to large because of his athletic condition to accommodate the size of the temporary blood clot filters.  The doctors then decided that a permanent filter would be better because the size of his veins.  They asked Kevin about this (he was awake) and he wanted to talk it over with Tiff so they stopped the operation and closed him up. (painful).  Kevin and Tiff discussed it today and he is scheduled for surgery again tomorrow (Wednesday) at approximately 8am to put a permanent blood clot filter in.  It will take approximately two hours.  If you are planning on visiting Kevin, it will have to be in the late afternoon on Wednesday. (Call before coming to see if you will be able to see him) While at the hospital today I did not get to see Kevin because he was sleeping well and I did not want to interrupt his much needed rest.  It gave me time to think and it occurred to me after processing the above information that his mother and I have raised a very strong man.  I wish I could take his pain away and make it mine.  I know I can’t and it hurts me that I can’t do so.  With the grace of God, the incredible doctors at USC, the strength of his great wife Tiffany, her caring parents & family, their many friends and the family of the Copperhill Church, I feel that he will do amazing things.  I found the following passage in the Bible that seems to put Kevin and Tiffany’s situation into perspective.

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

After hearing more information regarding the accident it is difficult not to be upset.  If it wasn’t for his biking buddies coming up from behind him, he could of bled to death on the side of the road if he was riding by himself.  Our thanks to all of you on the ride that helped Kevin in his time of need.  God Bless you!

His mother and I are thankful to God that our son is alive and that he has an incredibly strong wife with great supportive parents and a tremendous amount of support from family, friends and their church group.  We have met some of you at the hospital and I am sure we will meet more of you in the weeks ahead.  We would like to thank you sooooo much for being there for Kevin and Tiffany in their time of need.  God bless you all.  Please keep your prayers coming.  They work!

Sincerely,
Mark & Lynn Mather