Welcome To My Homepage

12/24 HI IT HAS BEEN A WHILE I have been running Brandy back and forth to therapy GOD has been working overtime in her healing and in blessing our family We would like to thank everyone who has allowed God to bless us through them so many of you have stepped up and lent a hand in our time of need we are so blesed to have the support of a God family so large and so great we have a ways to go yet but we have seen the true love and kindness of our God through you.

12/12 took brandy on an outing to training center she saw everyone there walked up and down the stairs she tired soon and camehome and rested she will start out patient therapy next friday then will know more 12/11 sorry but couldnt update no access it is 2:15 and i am home with Brandy we are going to have a buisy schedule with therapy and doctor visits but she is doing great cant use her hands much yet but that will come feels great to be back home thanks and keep praying.we have seen GOD do great things in what has really been a short time. 12/7/08 10:30 a.m.- After the last update we found out the follow-up visits are not here at Rusk, but with the doctors at the University Hospital.  She has a couple scheduled on 12/18, one on 12/31 and one on 1/7/09.  That's a lot of travel, but should be better than trying to teach new doctors in K.C. about what happened.  Brandy is not eating very well here.  Hopefully that gets better at home, when it is food she is used to.  The therapy consists of physical, occupational, and speech therapy.  During the speech therapy, Brandy works on worksheets with the therapist to exercise her brain.  One therapist brought the game Othello yesterday, and taught Brandy and I how to play.  We can do things like that at home.  Seems like any strategy type thinking game would work.

12/5/08 1:30 p.m.-  We finally found out where the internet access is in the rehab facility.  Brandy is doing well.  She has about 3 hours of therapy a day, broken up in several small segments.  They say she may get to go home on Thursday (12/11).  She will need constant supervision and help when she goes home, so Kevin will not go back to school for a while, but at least we can get all the kids home with us again.  Brandy will need to go to outpatient therapy somewhere closer to home and may need to return here to Rusk for follow-up assesments later.

12/3/08 - She is eating food now had tator tots jellow with pinapple and part o a burger at breakfast she ate cerial and toast she had speach therapy earlier and is having occupational therapy now and having her first shower she is excited. They found a soar and a bald spot on the back of her head and said that was common when laying in same position for a long time and will go away. 12/2/08 sorry i didn't update yesturday lot happened Brandys birthday and she was moved to rehab at rusk in columbia she has a lot of holes in her memory but does know us now had a hard time finding internet access keep praying11/30/08 11:30 a.m.-  Brandy tried to get up during the night without help and fell.  She wasn't hurt, but they have moved her to a slightly bigger room with another girl that was in a car accident and fell last night.  They have a "sitter" in this room to make sure neither of the girls get up without assistance.  Brandy is confused about a lot of things.  She is forgetful.  It doesn't do much good to tell her to call the nurse if she needs to get up.  Sometimes she knows us, but a couple of times she has gotten confused and thinks I (Sharon) am someone else.  She wants to go home.  She wants to eat and drink.  They took out the last drain from her abdomen today.  Now the only thing she is attached to is the feeding tube.  Tomorrow is Brandy's 22nd birthday.  Hopefully we hear that she can move to rehab at St. Lukes tomorrow.  Also maybe she can start eating and drinking.

11/29/08 9:30 a.m.- They moved Brandy to a regular room early this morning.  Outside of ICU, this is a very old-fashioned hospital.  The rooms are not very visitor friendly.  They did another swallow study on Brandy last night.  It did not go well, so she will have to remain on the feeding tube for now.  She's frustrated with that, and keeps asking for coffee or soda.  Keep praying that the arrangements will be made for her to move to St. Lukes Monday.  We really need to get back home at night.

11/28/08 10:30 a.m-  Today is a milestone day.  Brandy has been here two weeks.  They took the trach out this morning.  Brandy can talk now.  She has lots of questions.  The nurse said she got up on her own last night and pulled the catheter out.

11/27/08 4:10 p.m.- They removed the staples from the incision on Brandy's abdomen this afternoon.  She has been up in a chair a couple of times today.  The nurse gave me a laminated sheet Brandy could use to point to what she wanted and another with the alphabet.  She pointed to "POP".  Unfortunately she can't have that yet.  She also wants her phone and wants to go home.  Brandy will stay in ICU today.  They now say she will move to a regular room tomorrow.

11/26/08 9:30 p.m.- Brandy pulled her feeding tube out sometime during the shift change tonight.  They have re-inserted it as that is the only way for her to get nutrition and pain medicine now.  She seems very frustrated.  Even the nurse working tonight that had not seen her for over a week noticed her frustration.  I'm sure it is not fun not being able to ask questions or communicate with anyone other than "yes' and "no" nods.  She tries writing on the whiteboard we got her but even that is difficult.  The splints on her wrists cover half of her hands.  We probably won't know about where she will be for rehab until Monday.  The insurance company will not be available on Friday to approve anything even if St. Lukes says they will take her.  The back-up plan is rehab at Rusk here in Columbia, but we prefer St. Lukes, so we can return home.  Kevin went home to spend Thanksgiving with the kids.  I'll be here with Brandy.  The doctor said they would remove Brandy's trach on Saturday.  I hope so.  Then she can talk to us.

11/26/08 2:00 p.m.- The insurance would not let Brandy go to MidAmerica Rehab.  They are trying to get her to be able to move to St. Luke's, but the process is slow.  The nursing staff tells us that St. Luke's does not like to take people in for rehab that originally were treated by another hospital, but it seems that if that's where the insurance company wants her, she should be able to go there.  Please pray.  Everyone has told us inpatient rehab would be very important for her total recovery.  The doctor came by and said she may go to a regular room here as soon as tomorrow.  He no longer thinks she'll go to rehab on Friday, though.  He thinks the move to rehab will be Monday.

11/26/08 10:30 a.m.- There was not much change overnight, but the good new was Brandy stayed off the ventilator.  The nurse said she would get Brandy up to the chair 3 times today.  She's been in the chair already since 8:45 this morning.  We missed the doctor this morning, so we don't know much of the plans for today.  We will try to talk to the social worker again to see if the insurance approved the rehab center, and if the rehab center has an opening.  She was going to try to get Brandy in the Mid-America Rehab hospital in Overland Park.  She said it was accredited for head injuries.

11/25/08 9:00 p.m.- Brandy was able to sit up in the chair twice today.  The MRI was negative, so they have removed the neck brace.  They did a swallow test today, but could not tell for sure if what she swallowed went down the right tube.  It should be easier for them to tell tomorrow, since the neck brace is gone.  They also may do a barium test at radiology to see if she can swallow correctly.  The nutritionist said she probably wouldn't like the purreed food anyway, so the feeding tube is probably better for her now.  She seemed kind of depressed and worried today, so we went over what happened with her again.  She didn't remember, even though the nurses have also told her before.  I think trauma causes that though.  She did write "lay" on the erasable board we brought her today when she wanted to lay down after being in the chair for a while.  She still can't talk.  They will need to downsize the trach in her throat.  We really wish she could talk to us, but will have to wait for now.  Keep praying for healing and comfort now that she is more aware of her condition.

11/25/08 10:30 a.m.- They have Brandy back off the ventilator assistance and they are using the oxigen collar again today.  They took the chest drain out last night.  They also did the MRI last night.  They don't have the results of the MRI yet.  PT and OT had already gotten her up to a chair when I got here.  They told me they got her up on the right side of the bed and walked with her around the bed to the other side where the chair was.  They think this causes her a lot of pain and she is resting now.  The same optimistic Dr. Barnes came by today.  He said if she can stay off the ventilator, she may be able to move to a rehab facility by Friday.  He told the nursing staff to do an evaluation of whether she can swallow.  I guess that means they may want to get rid of the feeding tube.   He also said the rehab doctor would be by later.

11/24/08 9:00 p.m.-  Brandy is back on the ventilator for assistance with her breathing tonight.  They thought that was better for her to rest tonight.  They had her up in a chair a couple of hours today.  This really wears her out.  They did not get the drains removed today.  We did not get to talk to the case manager today about where she will go next.  They didn't get the MRI done either.  I guess the doctor we talked to this morning was a bit optimistic about how much could be done today.  We bought a white board with an erasable marker today.  We're going to see if she can write down what she wants to say.  This may not work with the broken wrists, the physical therapist told her to exercise her fingers and arms.  Keep praying for healing.

11/24/08 11:00 a.m.- Good news.  Brandy is breathing with just the oxigen collar now.  We actually got to talk to a doctor this morning.  He said the liver is doing fine (no bile leakage).  Her right kidney is 1/2 dead, and will cause her pain in the future.  It could possibly cause hypertension, but has not yet, so they don't expect that.  They are going to try to do a MRI today to clear her neck.  There is some tenderness there they said.  They will remove the drains from her abdomen area today and remove the chest drain today.  They said someone would be by to talk to us about where she goes from here.  She may only be in ICU one more day.  They said there should be a lot of activity this week, moving her from ICU and possibly on to rehab.  Keep praying.  God is healing.

11/23/08 5:30 p.m.- We've had difficulty getting to the edit portion of the webpage server today, so this is late.  The feeding tube is in place again and they are able to feed her and get medicine to her that way again.  The ventilator is still assisting with Brandy's breathing.  They tried the oxigen collar today, but that did not work.  They will try again tomorrow.  They got her up in a chair for at least an hour again today.  They say that is good for her lungs.  Anthony did not make it.  They are keeping his body alive until they can donate organs, but the brain died.  Keep praying for his family.  Keep praying that Brandy's lung gets stronger.  They say the x-rays don't show that much damage, could just be the broken ribs keeping her from wanting to take deep breaths.

11/22/08 9:00 p.m.- The ventilator is still assisting Brandy's breathing.  They moved her to a chair this afternoon.  They basically unhooked most of the tubes while they moved her.  The chair can be laid down flat beside the bed until she is in it.  Then they sit her up to a reclined position, and rehook up the tubes they unhooked.  Her feeding tube had to be replaced this evening.  It has a weight on the end of it and they are waiting for the digestive system to move it all the way down to the small intestine.  Unfortunately, the feeding tube was the way they were getting the pain medication in her that was most effective.  Currently they are back to morphine in her IV just to take the edge off the pain.  I'm not sure how long it will take for the feeding tube to get in the right place.  Keep praying.

11/22/08 10:30 a.m.- There was little change overnight.  Brandy is still on the ventilator.  They did turn the oxigen level down, but it is still assisting with her breathing.  They have discontinued the antibiotics, as the tests showed she did not have an infection in her lungs.  The x-ray showed an air pocket at the top of the right lung, where there is only supposed to be fluid, so they have increased the suction on the chest drain.  They started her on blood thinners last night.  They may try to get her up in a chair today.  That should be fun with all the tubes attached.  Keep praying that her lung would heal and for total body healing.

11/21/08 3:30 p.m.- Brandy is out of surgery and has a trach.  The machine is still helping her breath.  We're back to the weekend nurses we started with, kind of a reminder of how long we've been here.  The staff have all been very attentive.

11/21  Brandy is still not breathing on her own they tried again this morning to take her off didn't go well they are putting her on antibiotics and putting in a trach in about an hour or two they took the dressing off her head she has an scar in the hair line from about an 1 1/2 inch above left ear running over the top to a point about 1 1/2 inch above the other.  Yesturday Grandpa Dub came and Brandy smiled for a second.  You don't know how good that felt to see some expression that indicates that she is still here.  The kids are struggling so when Sharon comes back I will go back to see them and do some things I need to do. keep praying!!!

11/20 good morning I am with Brandy Sharon is on her way home to take care of some things Brandy is still on the breathing machine and coughing a lot they have a suction tube in her stomach seems to be sucking out blood more than beforei was told they tried to take her off the breathing machine last night but couldn't said may try again later today or tomorrow. Ben has been such a help through all this but i am afraid he is becoming stressed so keep him in your prayers as well. and thanks every one Doug and Cathy have taken Lonnie and Cherokee so Ben only has Tim which will keep him busy enough not to focus on every thing else He ran his car off in the ditch this morning on his way to take Tim to Bruce and Robins loose gravel, met a truck they are fine went on to school.

11/19/08 1:00 p.m.- Brandy is out of surgery and in recovery.  Both the ENT doc and the neuro-surgeon were happy with the results.  There was not damage to the dura as the scan led them to believe.  They put a titanium net across the fractured skull bone to hold it in place as it heals.  This will stay there and should not bother her in the future.  There is a slight (1 in 100) chance she'll develop a mucus seal on the right side because of the damage to the sinuses, but that can be treated when it is discovered.  The nose bones fit together well, so they just capped her nose to protect it while it heals.  They still think the cheek bone will heal O.K..  If the swelling goes down and it doesn't seem to be O.K., they can go in and fix it later as it would have required them to go in a different way.  Today they just went in at the hairline.  The bone at her eyebrow was in pretty bad shape, with fragments missing, but they say it will be O.K.

11/19/08 10:30 a.m.- They just started surgery again today.  She was awake this morning.  We thought she would be sedated, so we were glad to get to see her awake.  One of the doctor's described her surgery today as delicate.  They showed us a scan on the computer that showed all the fractures they would be working on.  The fracture on her forehead is the worst.  Part of the bone is pushed back and has compromised the dura (protective lining for the brain).  They will fix this.  They will fix the eye socket.  They will work on the nose and possibly the cheek bone.  Sounds like they will be eliminating her sinus cavity in the forehead.  Keep praying.

11/18/08 6:00 pm- She is out of surgery.  She will never make it through an airport but with God and some metal plates various screws and skilled surgeons, they have repaired both wrists and her right arm.  She is in recovery now and should be out in about 45min.  She will be sedated overnight because the breathing tube will need to remain in overnight for the surgery tomorrow. Anthony is out of surgery as well doctor said went verry well keep praying.

11/18/08 11:30- They took Brandy back for surgery.  They say it will be a rather long surgery.  They have scheduled 6 hours.  They had to give her a couple of units of blood last night as her blood counts got too low.  They may have to give her more blood during surgery.  She will be put back on the ventilator, and they expect her to stay on the ventilator overnight since she is scheduled for the facial and skull surgery first thing in the morning.

Occupational therapy visited with us yesterday.  They said she will probably go to a rehab center after she leaves here.  We will be able to make that be in the K.C. area.  We still have no idea how long it will be before she leaves here though.

Good morning 11/18 8:40 got here to see Brandy before surgery and they have pushed it back to 11:30 am.  Keep praying. The 18 yr old Anthony Sieg is in surgery now to rebuild his jaw pallate and skull above his eye from suicide attempt.  Keep praying.

11/17/08 3:30 p.m.--The orthopeadic surgery on her arm and wrists will be tomorrow at 9:30 (6 hours).  The facial surgery will be Wednesday morning at 7:30 (4 hours).  Both carry risk, but Wednesday's especially.  They have to be very careful to properly separate the sinus cavity from the brain and very careful around the eyes and nerves.  There is a nerve close to the arm bone that is at risk also.  She's back to breathing with just an oxigen mask at full pressure.  Keep praying.

11/17/08-good morning i just want to thank every one for every thing they didn't call during the night so all must be well they will let us go back later.

 prya for a young man named Anthony who came in yesturday he needs prayer please add to prayer list

NEWEST 11/16/08 6:00 p.m.  After Brandy had been off the ventalator for a while her saturation levels kept dropping, so they have added a high-flow nasal canula, which is forcing oxigen in her nose.  They are concerned because at her age, she should not be needing this, but will try to wean her from it when they can.

Hi update as of 12:30pm 11/14/08

Brandy is in ICU in University Hospital in Columbia. They have removed the severed part of her liver, repaired kidney, and are monitoring her. She also has 2 frontal cranial fractures, both eye sockets are broken, both wrists, upper right arm is also broken slight bleeding of the brain, punctured lung. Lots of bruising chest, hips, knee, and feet. Keep her in your prayers. They won't do any thing about the breaks until Tuesday.