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!