Suzanne 8. 4/11 - 9/7

Friday 4/11/2003

TICU Nurses Penny and Lisa Anderson


Our good friend Doctor Andy Pierce


Here is officer Taylor who was one of the first on the scene of the wreck. She said it was one of the worst wrecks that she had seen. She's adopted Suzanne as her sister.


We went back to thank some of the nurses at the Med who took such good care of Suzanne.


Thanks again for all of your prayers and love! Suzanne is a walking miracle. She is is doing better than we ever would have imagined.


Monday April 21, 2003 - 4 months yesterday
We've heard how people had this site as their home page or copied a picture on their desktop. We've heard of people checking it 3 or 4 times a day or they call someone else to let them know how I'm doing. It has been a very useful tool. It has allowed thousands all over the world to pray for me. Doctors look at me now, only 4 months later and can't believe that I'm doing this well. Other people who didn't know about the wreck see me now and don't think it was as bad as it was. They had to aggressively resuscitate me and I shouldn't have made it past the first few hours. It is hard for others to imagine, and its hard to describe how sick I was.

We had a fun get together when we first got back to Memphis. It was encouraging to see so many people who care about me. We had a time to answer questions people had, but there weren't very many. You may be wondering too, so here are the questions asked and a few that we added:

I just wanted to say that whoever shaved my head did a good and careful job. They kept it long by my part, so that it can comb over to cover the shaved area. The only shaved area you see is the front bangs. It would have been very self-conscience to walk around with half a shaved head and normal hair on the other side. They may or may not have known I part my hair on the side. But I'm thankful how God was taking such good care of me, even while I wasn't awake :)

FAQ's:
Q: Are you afraid of being in a car?
A: No, I look at is as God's in control of everything and if another car wreck is something he wants to allow, I don?t have any say in it.

Q: What is your biggest challenge now and your biggest need for prayer
A: The RSD in my leg and my thinking. I want to be able to process my thoughts better.

Q: Jeff, How did you find out and decide to go to the Shepherd's Center?
A: I asked researched and got referrals. I knew some people who had friends who worked there or had been patients. They have young patients and they specialized in traumatic brain injury rehab.

Q: What's your energy level like now?
A: Every week it gets better. The first 3 or 4 weeks at home I could easily sleep until 10 or 11. I would take my shower at night when my leg was stronger. Then I could get up in the morning and stretch my leg out walking around. For the past week I've woken up much earlier. I'll wake up around 7 and my alarm will go off at 8 and I'm back asleep, but the waking up is getting much easier - earlier in the mornings.

Q: Are you cleared to fly
A: Yes, We asked the doctor at Shepherd and he said my brain wouldn't blow up. It will be just fine.

Q: How is work doing since you've both been gone
A: Our company is doing very well! Everyone has really worked extra hard. Brian has done a fabulous job and he's taken up the slack for Jeff. Kathryn was hired to work with me in human resources. While I was gone, she took over my job and hers. We are so thankful for everyone in our company and also for our great clients. We have been picking up some new accounts little by little. The workload is plenty busy and business really hasn't suffered much at all due to the wreck.


I have been back at home for almost 2 full months now. The first week I didn't go to therapy. I started up therapy the 2nd week back in town. I went for 3 days a week. Then my cousin Patricia came from Alaska and stayed for 2 weeks. That was very nice. She was able to drive me around and we stayed up and visited and also got to do a few projects. I had a great time with her. I taught her a few things and my speech therapist said that was very good for me to have to think through each step and show her. We didn't show her around Memphis much. The timing of the weeks she was here was very good. I can tell how I'm improving each week and the strength is returning in my right leg. It was a critical time in my life to have her come then.

I've been healing so quickly that my last day for physical therapy was the last Tuesday that Patricia was with us. Speech therapy's last day was the previous Friday. Physical therapy released me because I do strengthening and stretching at home and I'm supposed to go to the gym 3 times a week. So really I just had 2 weeks of both therapies. The speech therapist said if I ran into any difficulties that I could go back and see her.

I've been to the neurologist here and I had an MRI done on my lower back. He tested the nerves and muscles in my right leg and back. I have a little nerve damage but it should heal on its own. The muscles aren't that good in my thigh and hip. There is no reflex in the ankle on my right foot and if my thalamic gland was telling it to hurt, then it would be hyper sensitive all over. He completely ruled RSD out because the thalamic region of my brain was damaged on the right side which controls the left side of my body. My right leg has the problems and he thought it was more due to possible nerve damage. The neurologist suggested my broken sacrum or fractured pelvis could be sitting on the nerve going down to my foot. I?m excited to rule RSD out, Yeah! Thank you for praying!

I also have an appointment to have my trachea scar and my stomach scar fixed. The one in my trachea actually moves each time I swallow and is uncomfortable. That will be nice to have that fixed. But he will also make it a nice little line, that won't be as easily seen. He'll also fix the scar on my stomach. It's the width of my finger and very long. It gets tight and when I stretch up it won't let me stand up tall. He'll cut out the scar and separate the skin from the muscle. He said that he could make it a thin line. I don't understand now how he'll do it, but I'm excited to get them both fixed.

I have to be careful not to injure my head again for a year. If I damage my brain again, it won't be able to heal very well. I'm not supposed to get on a ladder or bike for a year.

I haven't had a lot of time to just sit around. I've been to work for a few hours 3 days a week and I've had numerous doctor appointments. I thought I would have time to read books and so far it hasn't worked out. I have enjoyed looking at all the tulips our friend John May planted. (Jeff was friends with him on their high school wrestling team and he is the CPA for our company.) There are red ones, purple, pink, yellow and variegated tulips. There are so many! They are beautiful. That was such a great idea. He and his son's came over and planted them the weekend before we got home. They just started peeking through, they were wonderful to see.

The speech therapists said playing games was good for my brain recovery. So Patricia taught me a card trick and I played some card games with her. I try to play card games as much as possible. When we get together with friends, we usually play cards.

I got out of the habit of having quiet times with God, for 3 whole months. But it's been good the last 3 weeks where I started reading one chapter a day. I read Mark and now I am in Luke. It's been good for my attitude. I acted "in the flesh" for the first 5 or 6 weeks I was home. I think I am more "in the Spirit" now. I want to read and pray and spend time with God, so I'm getting better and closer to Him. I have the desire now, where in the beginning I didn't.

I will be extensively evaluated for my driving test the first week of May. They try to fatigue you and make sure that you are stable to drive again. Rehab said that I need to do this due to the past brain injury. If I began driving before getting doctors sign off and passing tests, I could potentially be held legally liable if I were to be the driver in an auto wreck. So, it will be good to start driving again. It's been nice to not have to drive, but it's time to be independent again.

Life is getting back to normal, but now with a different perspective. I'm more aware of God's amazing gift of grace to people, both believers and those who don't believe. We are so trusting of other drivers. We take it for granted every time we go through a green light, that other will stop. We just expect that everything will go smoothly on the road and in life. We should be thankful when we are around terrible circumstances and nothing happens to us. When something bad happens, it is called "acts of god", but when good happens, we call it being lucky or living right. It just seems like God has so much to do with our lives and we don't even think about it or give Him credit. I think if He removed His presence, we would have so many awful things go on in our lives and we'd be terribly empty and hopeless. Without Him, we wouldn't be able to breathe or think!
I appreciate all of you. We'll keep this up for a while. Maybe we'll do a 6 month update :)




Stephen was 3 cars behind Suzanne when the wreck happened. He works at the Med and knew the trauma dispatch phone number by heart and had to call them when 911 couldn't figure out where the wreck was.


Cece and Ed Jeeter were part of the team of paramedics that kept Suzanne alive. They said today that she was only breathing 2 times per minute and was very close to death.

 

Some of the amazing TICU (Trauma Intensive Care Unit) nurses that spolied us during our vacation at "The Med".
Michelle and Misty
 



Update from Suzanne for the website 8/21/03

Well, it has been 8 months and one day from the date of the wreck. The summer has disappeared before our eyes! I will start from where I left off on my last update.

Scar revisions On April 29th I had all of my scars revised by a plastic surgeon. My trachea scar had developed deep scar tissue, so it hurt each time I swallowed. The doctor said that my skin was tethered to my voice box. Also, I still had a piece of glass in my face and the stomach scar was pulling tight and wouldnâ??t let me stretch my stomach. They had left my abdomen open for a long time and let it close itself naturally; this caused scar tissue on all layers of my abdomen to my skin. I was put under anesthesia during the surgery and when I woke up it hurt terribly. (Jeff says it was good I didnâ??t remember the pain I had at The Med, because that month would have been AWFUL!) I was on a pain medication for the scar revision surgery and for a week I slept/stayed on the couch so I could use my arms to pull myself up from lying down, since my stomach muscles could not. It looks much better now and my neck skin moves just like itâ??s supposed to each time I swallow. I have to stretch and massage the scars each day and rub hydrocortisone on them.
Driving Evaluation I had mentioned that my Eval would be in May. The doctor required me to take a Neuro-Psych test. I did this in Atlanta. He wanted to see where I was in regards to the brain injury. That delayed the test until July 16th. The driving lady is an occupational therapist with her own â??On the Roadâ?� driving company. She tests â??special needsâ?? people and brain injury people. She had me do movements with my legs, tested my peripheral vision, distractibility and memory. Then we drove an hour and a half. We went to my bank, work, my store - places I normally go and we did the 240 loop around Memphis. She passed me with flying colors! (I think this should be required of all who live in Memphis!) So for the past month I have been driving independently. It has been SO Wonderful!

Medication/ Broken Sacrum I was on many medications in Atlanta. I reduced them down to Ultram and Neurontin by the middle of March. The Ultram caused my hair to fall out and motion sickness. I tried to reduce Ultram in March and my sacrum hurt each time I sat or stood (The bone above my tailbone, along with 4 fractures in my pelvis.) I went back to the regular dose. Even with the regular dose I wasnâ??t able to sit on wood benches or chairs until the beginning of May. February and March I even had a pillow in the passenger seat in the car. Then I had a pillow on most every chair I used, through the end of May. Then I tried to reduce the dosage again halfway through May. I reduced doses every 4 or 5 days and completely got off of it June 8th. Two weeks after I was off Ultram only a few strands of hair fell out, like normal. Then I gradually reduced the Neurontin. Today was the first day not taking any Neurontin. Each dose I would reduce Ultram and Neurontin, it would cause shooting pains in my foot in the morning and evening, for the first couple of days. I had consistent pain with the Ultram for 2 weeks once I was off of it. But after 2 weeks, it went away. That is great news!

Weight/ Food/ Hair I lost 25 pounds through all of this and have gained weight gradually. I am now weighing 113. Usually I am 125 with 5 pounds either way. I was 115 the year we got married and in a year went back to my normal weight. It may stay at this weight or I may put on a few pounds over the next year. (They DID take my spleen and gall bladder out which probably weighed something.) The first week of June was the first time I had hunger pains. Jeff would make protein milk shakes and meals, dishing up my plate. I would always feel the same way when I finished as when I started. It could be lunchtime and I wouldnâ??t be hungry, but only eat because I knew I should. But in June I started to get hungry! It was very exciting!
The portion of my head that they shaved is the length of normal bangs. When my hair is down, you wouldnâ??t know there was a portion that is shorter underneath the side.

Physical Therapy I finished with Physical Therapy in March and have been going infrequently to the gym to build up my muscles and endurance. A couple of years ago, friends from South Africa named Jan & Marie introduced us to their friends from South Africa - Corne and Francois. Corne is an amazingly competent physical therapist, she knows all about the nerves and muscles in your body and I started going to her the end of June and part of July. She quickly isolated the nerve damage in my leg and knew exactly how to help. She gave me many stretches for my ankle and calf and also did an amazing thing! She helped me bend my toes again! I like to pick things up with my feet and throw them away or give it to my hands. (Side note from Jeff here: Suzanne might be evidence of the missing link, Iâ??m trying to get her booked on David Letterman. She can even hang from her toes.) It doesnâ??t have the tight grip the other foot does, but they can bend and I can gently pick things up. I am VERY excited. I also used to limp in the morning before my ankle â??got going.â?� She gave me a few things to do before I get out of bed to work my ankle and itâ??s great! She also gave me ideas to â??de-sensitizeâ?� the bottom of my foot. She taught me that when a nerve is damaged, it becomes hyper-sensitive and freaks out when something as harmless and your hand touch it. You have to â??re-teachâ?� it that itâ??s not threatening. Thatâ??s what â??de-sensitizingâ?� is. Each of my toes feels the toe next to it. Itâ??s very strange-my other foot isnâ??t like that â?? itâ??s just a foot. My neurologist said a nerve may take up to two years to heal. We have stairs in our house and July 15th was the first day I remember being able to â??runâ?� up the stairs (Note from Jeff: She is a bad girl and very hard headed, she is supposed to be careful for the first year and if one of her doctors reads her previous comment, she may be forced to wear her restraining belt again to avoid further injuries). I wouldnâ??t have the strength in my leg to â??bounceâ?� me to the next step. Now I can!

Traveling

Alaska We went to Alaska for 6 days to see everyone. Izzy and Kathryn Walker (who I share an office at work with) went with us. We got to see my parents, sisters and their husbands and kids. Aunts and Uncles and cousins and my grandparents. (My grandpa passed away 10 days after we left, so Iâ??m very glad we got to see him.) Plus, we got to see a few friends. It was good to see the people who had been praying for me and they were encouraged to see how much God has healed me.

Nashville We attended a trade show that our company participated in. We stopped in to see Steve and Misti Wiggins and their kids.

North Carolina We visited Jeffâ??s brother David and his wife Harrison and their girls. Harrisonâ??s father was in town from living in the Chez republic and we had wonderful time with visiting with them. David spent 3 weeks in Memphis right after the wreck to help Jeff out.

Carnival Cruise Because I need to gain weight and our anniversary was July 10, we went on a cruise! We went to Cozumel, Mexico and Playa del Carma, Mexico. We went with our friends Brian and Ellen Douglas who have the same anniversary as us! I weighed the same when I left as when I returned! Oh well.

Where from here? We just celebrated our 4th Anniversary. Itâ??s very exciting to have been married this long. Jeff, amidst the last crazy months of hospitalization, got his Masters of Science in Operations Management! Yeah! Iâ??m very proud of him! Iâ??ve been back to work part-time and spending a good amount of time with friends. I think December will come very quickly, so that will probably be the next time I update this!

I have been very blessed to have so many people concerned for me and praying for me. Thanks for all of your cards, calls and prayers.
Suzanne


9/7/03 We went to see one of the Paramedics named Randy Walker who helped save Suzanne's life. One of the other guys there was very surprised and said that it is very unusual for them to have inserted the needles into her chest to decompress her lungs (because both lungs were collapsed). Someone said they can get in trouble if anything goes wrong, but they can't get in trouble if they don't try to do the procedure. We are very thankful that Ed Jeeter was willing to take such a risk to save Suzanne's life. Our friends that are doctors expressed how close she was to death. They rarely get to see the positive outcomes of their efforts. These men and women do an amazing job day after day and many of us take it for granted. We wanted to tell them how much we appreciate them.

"You alone are the LORD . You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you." Nehemiah 9:6