Day 20 - April 30th

The meeting that Jan had today with the orthopedic specialist was both interesting and promising. The Xray they did on Jan right after the accident revealed a hairline crack on the right rear side of the pelvis (in addition to the major breaks in the front of the pelvis). This is why she couldn't put any weight on her right leg; they needed to make sure that the hairline crack didn't worsen. Today they did a follow up Xray on Jan, and it revealed another hairline crack they didn't catch before. This was on the left back side of the pelvis. Seeing that she's been putting all her weight on her left leg, this hairline crack has been causing her quite a bit of pain. It did displace slightly, but not enough to require surgery. The specialist gave the go ahead for Jan to start putting weight equally on both legs, albeit carefully. This puts the therapists in their final phases for Jan. All of this means that Jan could be coming home within in a week. We'll see how it goes.

Day 19 - April 29th

Jan seems to get better each day, but the pain continues to wear on her. She was told today by the therapy staff at Health South that if the meeting with the orthopedic specialist tomorrow goes well, she could be home within a week. We're keeping our fingers crossed. This has us kicking into high gear at home to make sure the house is ready.

Here's hoping ...

Day 18 - April 28th

Everyday, Jan's progress becomes more and more apparent. She can now get out of bed, sit in a chair, dress, go to the bathroom, and shower with very little or no assistance. A walker is required, but her mending and strengthening continues. She moves about with greater speed than before. She still has a long way to go, but compared to just a week ago the progress is amazing.

We are hopefull that Jan will be released from the hospital within the next couple of weeks. This has us working at home to prepare the house for her. My parents spent their final years living with us for about three years. Due to their imparements of age, a number of assisting items and devices were acquired and used by them. It so turns out that we still have most of those items, and that they will be needed by Jan as she continues her healing. This all falls within the many "Tender Mercies" of the Lord. We have seen countless numbers of them since the accident occurred.

Day 17 - April 27th

Jan has been a bit down today. Everyday she puts out a powerful physical effort (and is enduring a lot of pain in the process), but feels that the returns are so small and incremental that it will go on forever. It's very understandable. What amazes me is how her capability improves noticably each day.

This week she has an appointment with the orthopedic specialist that treated her at the Intermountain Medical Center. Xrays and other examinations will take place. If things have been healing appropriately, the physical therapists will start allowing Jan to put weight on her right leg (which she's been prohibited to do because of the nature of the pelvic injury). They will train her to climb stairs, and then send her home. It is possible that she might be home in another week. We'll know more this coming Thursday.

Day 16 - April 26th

Jan rested today from any therapy activity. She continues to improve, but not at the rate she wants. It is very taxing to be putting so much physical effort into something, and seeing what appears to be incremental returns. Even though the pain continues (but at a reduced level), this incremental process is becoming her greatest challenge. It is quite discouraging at times for her. For us who are looking in, the progress has been great when we compare it to where she was at the start.

Please continue to remember us in your prayers. They have been very effective.

Day 15 - April 25th

When Jan entered the Health South Rehabilitation Hospital, we were told what her weekday therapy schedule would be. However, we weren't told about the weekends. It turns out that Jan doesn't have therapy on the weekends (it gives her body a chance to recouperate). Jan looked more rested today. She continues to heal at what I consider to be an accelerated pace. She doesn't seem to be expending the same amount of energy to walk to the bathroom or other places. It still is more than we would expend for the same task, and it still involves pain. It's just that she is mastering it.

I daily thank my Father in Heaven for preserving her life, protecting her from far greater calamities, and showering tender mercies upon both her and all of us, her family.

With Haley and her children now with us, we won't be needing (at least for now) the help that has been showered upon us in the form of meals, work at the house, and transporting and looking after Meg. We are all deeply greatful for the love, kindness, and sacrifice that have been shown to us by many.

Day 14 - April 24th

Today was an amazing day.



Jan was able to walk 100 feet with the walker. No assistance. Although pain is a constant companion, she continues to fight through it.



Our daughter Sammie is president of the Murray High School Dance Company. They were having their spring dance concert last night and tonight. She has been in the Dance Company for all three years of high school. This was her last concert before graduating. Needless to say, it was very special. It was tremendously disappointing to Sammie that Jan wouldn't be there. However, regardless of the situation, Jan was going to move heaven and hell to be there. She arranged for transportation to and from the concert, to a strong shot of pain killers, and attended the concert. Even with the pain killers, it was very uncomfortable to sit up in a wheel chair for over two hours. It was an event never to be forgotten by either Sammie or Jan. Both embraced each other in tears.

How could a man not love this woman.

A rather amazing coincidence happened in connection with this. Jan was brought to the high school by a private transportation company. It turns out that the driver of the vehicle that brought Jan is the father of the young man who hit our car in the accident. He said that his son has been sick with worry about Jan's condition. Somehow he had been told that she suffered brain damage. He hasn't been able to get any information concerning her. Jan told him of her condition; that it wasn't what the young man feared.

Day 13 - April 23rd

Jan is into a full routine of physical and occupational therapy lasting a total of three hours each day. It is very taxing on her. Without the full use of her pelvis, her legs feel like they weigh several tons. Yet they have her doing fairly agressive leg exercises. The first day the physical stress and pain drove her to tears. She is at the front end of this, so as time goes on her strength and capability will grow. In the meantime, pain management is a challenge. They are trying different types of pain medication, trying to find the right combination that will enable her to mitigate the pain that is the result of this aggressive therapy.

She continues to fight through it, although it drives her to the limit at times.

Again, we are deeply appreciative of all the help and kindness that you are giving us. Please continue to pray for Jan.

Day 12 - April 22nd

Jan is now firmly in a daily routine. Even though I was told her schedule was set for the week days, when I arrived to visit her today I found they had modified the schedule. It is now:

• 11:00 AM to 12:00PM - Physical Therapy
• 2:00 PM to 3:00PM - Occupational Therapy
• 3:00 PM to 4:00PM - Physical Therapy

Visiting hours are from 9:00AM to 9:00PM, except during the hours of the classes.

Even though she remains in pain, her ability to get up and move around seems to be getting better and better. It is still very limited, but is way ahead of last week. It is still a baby steps process, but given her injuries she is making remarkable progress.

She and I conversed today about the tremendous blessings we have received in all of this. Even though she was seriously injured, it could have been so much worse. I took pictures of the car in the holding lot last week. As I have shown these pictures to various people, they were all shocked that she wasn't killed, paralized, or suffered massive brain damage. Even more, that our grandson escaped unhurt. I'm still amazed that given the impact, I didn't suffered major whiplash or some other kind of skeletal misalignments. We also talked of the great outpouring of love we have received from so many, and the power of their prayers. We've always felt that we had a close knit family, but this has brought us that much closer together. It has galvanized our view of being an eternal family. We know Jan will be fully whole once the healing process is done. That will be the crowning blessing of the many others received during this ordeal.

Again, thank you all so much.

Day 11 - April 21st

Today Jan got settled in at the Health South Rehabilitation Hospital today. She is set with a regimen of three different therapy sessions per day, each lasting an hour. The first is Occupational Therapy at 10:00AM. This focuses on tasks, such as dressing yourself, etc. The next two are Physical Therapy, at 11:00AM and 3:00PM. These focus on rebuilding her gross motor capabilities. Outside of these times, one can visit her from 9:00AM to 9:00PM. I visited her yesterday during lunch. After being there just a half day, her nurse was highly complementary of her determination and progress. She continues to battle pain, but the pain meds (which are down substantially from where they were in the beginning) are enabling her to push through it. She is seeing how long she can go without them.

We don't know how long she will be at Health South. Guesstimates range anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks. I'm thinking it will be 2-3 weeks, but she could prove me wrong (it wouldn't be the first time).

It's great to see her now settled into a predictable routine, and past so much of the uncertainty that plagued us last week. In some ways it seems like the accident was an eternity ago, whereas it was only a week ago last Saturday. A lot has been compressed into a short time frame. Her progress is remarkable, although it is baby steps. The healing process will go on for several months.

Again, I want to thank everyone for their help. Whether it be meals for the family, taking care of Meg, or all the prayers that have been offered in her behalf (we feel the power and effect of them). I seriously doubt we could ever repay you. Most of all I want to thank my Heavenly Father, who preserved her life, protected her from paralysis, brain damage, (or worse), protected my grandson from injury (or worse), and has given her and all of us the strength to move forward in this.

Day 10 - April 20th

Today was Jan's last day at the Intermountain Medical Center. In the late afternoon she was transfered to the Health South Rehabilitation Hospital in Sandy. Although we don't know how long she'll be there, we're guessing two to three weeks.

Jan continues to improve. Everyday I see her she looks better than the day before. She was able to go to and from her bed to the bathroom three times, give herself a sponge bath, sit in her recliner, and go out further into the hall today. She did the vast majority of this stuff with very minimal assistance. Although it is still a major effort for her to do any of these things, it appears as though she doesn't have to put in quite the effort as before. Her strength is building. The Health South facility will be pushing things up several notches. Instead of getting a total of one hour each day in physical therapy, they will push her to do a total of three hours a day in both physical as well as occupational therapy. The exercises won't happen all at once; they will be spread out throughout the day. Also, she probably won't start out at three hours, but will work up to it.

Jan's determination and toughness in this is very inspiring. She feels discouragement at times, but she doesn't give in to it. Pain is a regular companion, but her pain meds have helped keep it controlled so it doesn't stop her. The amount of pain medication she requires is substantially weaker now than when she first came to the hospital. She has come to accept that it is a process of baby steps that will go on for a while. She has always told me throughout our marriage that a positive attitude can overcome tremendous odds. An inability to consistently maintain a positive attitude has always been a weakness of mine. I'm learning the power of it in a big way. Her ability to do it is paying bid dividends.

Day 9 - April 19

This won't be long because I am very tired and Colby has such a way with words. I am so apprecitive of all of the help that has been showered on my family and the love and prayers of so many. I asked the doctor today about how long the pain would last and he said probably 4-6 weeks. This is a hard pill to swallow because I am in a lot of pain. I keep asking what could I have done differently, and if my crystal ball would have been working there are many things I would have changed. But at this point I just need to know what I need to learn from this. I am trying to not swear as my body just cannot pull itself out of the chair on to my walker. I can't put any weight on one of feet so by the time I have figured out how to get out of the chair I am mentally exhaused and taking 75 minutes in the bathroom is a joy all it's own. I got up early and got my bath (sponge bath that is) and Ali came up and combed my hair and took me to sacrament meeting in the hospital. It is a 30 minute meeting and I was 15 minutes late but they gave Ali and I the sacrament after the meeting. The talk was on adversity and how each of us will at some time need to go through adversity. It was a good talk, but I found as he was talking about joy and what things consitute joy for each of us I thought that the things we chase here on this earth really don't bring you joy; but Colby, Chad and family, Meg, Haley and family, Kara and family, Sammie and Kaysha and at that moment and always Ali (since she was sitting right next to me and had done so much for me) and her family (sorry that was a rambally sentence), these are the things that give me unbelievable joy. I tried to hold back the tears and just wanted to take her face and kiss it, but I also did not want to make a scene. It is wonderful to have so many friends, and have my family be up here and spend so much time with me. I thought how appropriate it is that people are my joys, because that is really one of the only things that I will be taking with me. Had my spirit left my body that night of the accident, I would have left my paychecks, my car, and any type of material possession behind . I know that God lives and he buoys us up. It is sometimes hard to keep that thought, which I guess becomes our challenge on this earth. It enables us to not sacrifice the "best" things in life for the good things in life. May you all drive carefully. My love to all of you.
Jan

Day 8 - April 18th

Today was another day of great progress. But it was also a day of frustration for Jan.

Jan's work at physical therapy today saw great progress. She got up from bed and visited the bathroom several times. She also was able to walk out into the hall in front of her room. All of this required the most that she was able to give both in physical exertion, as well as the bearing of pain.

What we take for granted as just a few steps that are quickly taken, for Jan it requires the time and physical exertion of moving a large boulder. Just going to the bathroom in her hospital room is very exhausting. Each day sees her making more and more headway; progress that her therapists are very impressed with. They are things that only a couple of days ago seemed quite remote. The therapists comment on her steely resolve and single minded toughness. However what she is accomplishing is requiring the utmost of what she can give; day after day. And therein lies her frustration. For all the effort she is giving she feels that she should be conquering Mount Everest; not going 8 feet to the bathroom. The challenge is not only to maintain the physical momentum, but to not give into the frustration and despair of a process of recovery that is agonizingly slow.

Yet she continues. She won't be beat; she won't roll over and give up. To use the words of Gene Krantz, NASA flight director during the Apollo 13 crisis, "failure is not an option!" She will succeed.

Day 7 - April 17th

Where yesterday was a setback, today was a leap forward.

When I arrived at the hospital this morning, much to my surprise they were preparing to move Jan back into a regular hospital room. It turns out that when they ran her blood work this morning, everything that was deficient had leaped forward. Also, her spleen didn't start bleeding again. I never cease to be amazed at the power of health blessings and prayer. Today was a day of several firsts:

1. She rode in a wheel chair to the new room, instead of being transported in a bed. She was able to get out of her bed and into the wheel chair with less help than normal (although it was still a very grueling and tiring experience.)
2. Upon arriving in the new room, she moved from the wheel chair into a recliner instead of the bed.
3. With the use of a walker, she was able to move from the recliner and go to the bathroom. Again, the help needed wasn't as much as before (but again, it required a lot of physical exertion on her part and was painful).
4. While in the bathroom, a nurse was able to give her a shower (the first since arriving at the hospital) and dress her in regular clothes instead of a hospital gown. She felt and looked like a new woman.

After having moved to the new room, a representative from the Health South Rehabilitation Hospital along with IMC personnel visited her. They said that they felt she was now ready to move to Health South (and only the day before, given her condition at the time, they said it would be about five days before such a move would take place). However, all the work she has put forth in the last couple of days has left her very exhausted. We felt it would be better to wait until Monday to make the move. They agreed.

Again, I want to thank everyone for their prayers. We certainly feel the effect of them.

Day 6 - April 16th

Today we suffered a setback.

As was mentioned yesterday, we were anticipating Jan being transfered to the Health South Rehabilitation Hospital today. There was one problem however. Jan's blood oxygen level was persistently low. Even though she had been working hard, it wasn't budging. This caused the trauma team to order another CT scan for her, as well as more Xray's of her pelvis. The CT scan revealed the following:

1. She had two blood clots in her lungs. They were small, and were located in the periphery of the lungs. Nevertheless, they were interfering with her breathing and consequently her blood oxygen level.
2. It turns out that her spleen was also injured in the crash. The CT scan done Saturday night in the ER had missed it. It was a small injury, but it bled (although it has stopped bleeding now). They figure that at least some of the clotting in the lungs came from it's bleeding. The rest probably came from bleeding in the pelvis.

It turns out that there really isn't anything you can do to remove the clots; they have to do that on their own. You simply need to make sure that the clots don't get any bigger. To that end, it was decided to inject a potent blood thinner in order to get rid of any thickening in the blood that would add to the clots. The potential problem with this is it might cause the spleen to start bleeding again, and they would have to shut down the blood thinner. If that were to happen, they would remove the spleen.

Making sure that this regimen works correctly requires a constant monitoring of Jan. To that end, they decided to move her back to the Intentive Care Unit as a precautionary measure. If the spleen starts to bleed, they will immediatly get her into surgery and remove it. Because of the potential for surgery, she can't eat or drink anything (other than sips of water and ice chips) because she has to have an empty stomach for surgery (if it is needed). They estimate that Jan will need to remain in the Intermountain Medical Center for five additional days before going to the rehabilitation hospital. As can be deduced by all of this, Jan didn't go to the rehabilitation hospital today (duh!).

Between going for the CT Scan, Xrays, and finally the move to the ICU; Jan has been moved from one bed to another SEVEN times today. It's just about killed her. She ended the day very tired. Jan requested another health blessing which was given by Jan's father and myself. The spirit repeated the same message as the other two blessings, plus gave additional insight. We ended the day comforted.

Jan has received a lot of flowers and well wishes. It is all deeply appreciated. Also appreciated are all the prayers. We feel their effectiveness. Finally, we appreciate the army in our ward that has been mustered to help with meals and getting Meg where she needs to be. It would take an eternity to repay all of you.

Day 5 - April 15th

Today was really the first day that things were able to settle into somewhat of a groove. When I arrived to visit Jan in the morning, to my surprise she was sitting up in a recliner. I know that it was uncomfortable, but she was pushing herself to get the process going. Standing and walking are still very painful, but she is able to do a little bit more each day. She also continues with her breathing exercises. Her daughters Ali and Kara were both there with their own daughters, helping Jan in everything from bathing to making her comfortable.

Ali and Kara have been indespensible in all facits of this. They have seen to things at the house, made sure we are stocked with the groceries that we need, been there for Meg, helped their mom at the hospital, and have been a shoulder for their younger sisters to cry on. In another week, their older sister Haley will arrive from New York to join them in these efforts. She will be here for a couple of weeks. These girls all form a real Tour D Force. I'm so proud of all of them for their love and efforts (Sammie and Kaysha included).

Today the physical therapy people brought in some devices that will enable Jan to put on pants, put on socks, etc. She will be trained on the use of them in the next day or so. It will take quite a while before she can bend over to do these tasks in a normal way.

Another issue is the healing of her neck vertibrae. The neck needs to be stablized at all times during this process, so the neck brace is going to remain on for another 3-4 weeks until the vertibrae and muscles surrounding it are healed sufficiently.

When Jan isn't working at trying to walk, sit, breath, etc., she is in and out of sleep. The energy required to not only do these things, but to mitigate the pain associated with them consumes a large amount of energy. On the one hand it's discouraging for her, but on the other she is determined to make it happen. What a woman!!

We learned today that in the next one or two days she'll be transfered to a rehabilitation hospital. The purpose will be to get her to the point that she can return home and continue the healing from there. She most likely will go to Health South (8074 South 1300 East in Sandy).

Day 4 - April 14th.

First thing in the morning they tried to have Jan go to the bathroom, which included getting on her feet, walking to the toilet, sitting, and walking back. Again, with a great deal of help, effort, and pain, she was able to do it.

In the morning they moved her out of the ICU and into a regular hospital room. Prior to doing this, they disconnected her from the morphine pump. By the time they were rolling her bed to the new room, her pain was increasing (she could feel every bump the bed went over). Arriving at the new room, they moved her from the transport bed to her new bed. That move was very painful. They gave her some new pain medication that got the pain under control again. They then took her in her bed to have her neck Xray'd (a follow up for the surgery of the day before), and then returned her up to her room. She felt reduced discomfort.

Upon returning to the room, she found lunch waiting for her (she hadn't eaten since before the accident, although after the surgery she could have all the fluid she wanted). She relished the soup, turkey sandwich, and dessert (as well as the dinner that followed later).

It was discovered that because of her two broken ribs her breathing had been quite shallow for over two days. This resulted in a small amount of fluid in her lungs. She now had a small case of pnuemonia. They started her on breathing exercises, which they did several times during the day.

Later in the afternoon, they tried to get her on her feet again, but she was so exhausted that she couldn't stand up. The best she could do was sit on the bedside. She spent the rest of the day resting and sleeping.

Day 3 - April 13th

Jan went in to surgery on Monday morning, April 13th, around 8:00AM. She was in for a little more than two hours. Afterwards, I met with the surgeon who told me that the surgery went perfectly. All his objectives for repairing the fractured vertibrae were met with success. This removed a great load off of me. Jan was returned to the ICU.

After she came out of the effects of the anestisia, she was told the HAD to get her up on her feet. Much to my amazment (and with a lot of help) she was able to sit up on the side of the bed, and stand up. It was painful and took a lot of energy, but she did it.

They attached her to a morphine pump that enabled her to dispense doses of it every 10 minutes by pressing a button. It was programmed so as not to allow her to consume too much. This stablized her pain. She rested for the rest of the day (with her bed in an inclinded position).

Day 2 - April 12, 2009

In the middle of the night an orthopedic surgeon came to our room in the ICU. He first confirmed that there were no spinal cord injuries by having Jan move her toes, feet, legs, hands, and fingers to specific commands (which she did). He then confirmed the severity of her injuries to the pelvis and ribs. He told us that her pelvic injuries were in the front of the pelvis, stating that that location was the best place for them to be. Due to the fact that the pelvis is attached to and tightly surround by a number of muscles, this would act to keep the pelvis in place while healing. There would be no need for surgery or any body casting (although the healing would be a painful process).

During the day, they tried to get Jan up on her feet. This was needed to prevent blood clots from forming in her legs that could result in an ambulism or a stroke. Her pain was so intense that she couldn't even stand it for them to position the bed in a reclining position so she could step out, thus the effort was abandoned. They continued to give doses of morphine each hour to arrest the pain. Also because they didn't know when her neck surgery might happen (which could be any moment), they couldn't allow her to eat or drink anything. The best that could be done was to swab her mount with a small moist sponge every 15 minutes.
We didn't see the neurosurgeon until late that afternoon. He had spent quite a bit of time studying her injury and how to fix it. After describing several possible solutions, he told us of a relatively new techique that involved live 3D images produced by a specialized CT scanner. The Intermountain Medical Center is the only facility in the state that has an operating room with one of these. He favored this course of action, to which we agreed. He would try and set up the operation for the following morning (but it was possible that it might not be done until Tuesday).

Knowing that surgery was not imminent, we were allowed to give Jan ice chips (and finally sips of water). This was very welcomed, seeing that she had become very parched. At Jan's request, my son Chad and I gave her another blessing relative to the surgery (she couldn't remember the blessing from the night before). In it was again revealed the same positive outcome of the prior blessing.

The Accident - April 11, 2009

Due to the many inquiries about the car accident that resulted in my wife Jan's injuries as well as how she is doing day to day, I've created this log that I will update daily.

The accident occurred on the evening of Saturday, April 11, 2009. Jan was driving, I was in the front passenger's seat, and our grandson Ryan Jones was in a car seat behind Jan. We were at the Arctic Circle on about 3900 West and 5400 South. As Jan pulled out of the parking lot to turn west on 5400 south, our car was hit on the driver's side (Jan's side). Jan was severly injured with multiple fractures to her pelvis, broken ribs, and a fractured vertibrae in her neck. I was only slightly injured with a contusion on the chest wall. Our grandson, Ryan, was completely unhurt.

At this point, a number of miracles had already occurred:

1. Jan wasn't killed. The impact on the car was so powerful that it dramatically caved in the drivers side of the car.
2. Jan didn't suffered any brain damage. This could very easily have happened.
3. Jan wasn't paralyzed. The vertibrae that was fractured was the second vertibrae in the neck. When the actor Christopher Reeve was paralyzed in a horse riding incident, he fractured the same vertibrae. In his case, the spinal cord suffered irreparable damage. Jan's spinal cord was completely untouched.
4. I went into both emotional and physical shock. This was a blessing because it enabled me to view and interact with the whole thing while being emotionally detached. It enabled me to remain clear headed instead of collapsing in panic. Also I could feel virtually no discomfort in my chest, thus enabling me to physically move about unimpeded.
5. As was mentioned before, our grandson was completely untouched. He was on the same side of the car as Jan was. His car seat held completely.

Paramedics were on the scene within 5 minutes. They demonstrated great skill in stablizing Jan before removing her from the car so as not to produce any further damage to her. She was rushed to the emergency at the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah. There they diagnosed her injuries, and moved her to the shock and trauma intensive care unit (ICU). At this time, my son Chad and I gave her a health blessing. The blessing was very comforting in that it revealed a very positive outcome. She continued to wear the neck brace placed on her by the paramedics, and was heavily sedated due to terrific pain. In the meantime, the results of her diagnosis were sent to teams of orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons.