6/7/09 - 6/8/09 Matt had a skate boarding accident late Sunday night while visiting UMD friends near campus. He was taken to the MedStar Trauma Center at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC via ambulance. Matt was immediately placed on a ventilator and heavily sedated. He has been in a coma since his head hit the blacktop. He suffered multiple fractures to the base of his skull, bleeding and swelling of the brain, many scrapes and bruises. Throughout the night, his brain continued to swell until it reached life threatening levels Monday morning. He was taken into surgery about 11:00am on Monday. They removed the entire left half of his skull so that his brain would be allowed to swell without causing permanent damage or death. His skull is being preserved under his skin in his abdominal area, so that they can replace it at a later date. It is amazing what they can do with the human body.

I wanted to start this website so that I could show Matt some day how much he is loved. The response has been overwhelming. Stephanie has started another website at carepages.org if you are interested in that website.

The entire Kepler Family would like to thank each and every one of you for all your love, prayers and support through this difficult time. We don't know what we would have done without you! I Love you all. Patti

6/9/09, Tuesday Morning: Matt had air surrounding his left lung due to the high pressure of the ventilator. They inserted a chest tube to relieve the air. He has been fighting a mild fever since the surgery yesterday.

6/10/09, Wednesday Morning: Matt seems to be stable. Every hour his nurse performs assessment tests on him. They turn off his sedation completely so that they can check his response. He has been responding to painful stimuli by moving his arms and legs and showing increased heart rate and blood pressure, but has not responded to direct commands.

The Neuro team seems to remain cautiously optimistic at this point. :)

I can't wait until I walk into his room and see his beautiful blue eyes looking back at me.

Wednesday evening: Matt had a pretty good day. The nurses are still working hard to keep his temperature down. Originally, he was placed on a cooling blanket, but it was not getting the job done. They changed him into a cooling suit. It looks kinda like a scuba diving outfit. Matt absolutely hates it when they turn it on. He becomes extremely agitated and they have to increase his pain meds every time.

The nurse removed his turban-like head dressing this afternoon. It exposed a very swollen, white, bald head. He was stapled shut after surgery so he looks like he has a train track running around the entire left half of his head. He is still beautiful : )


6/11/09, Thursday (I think?!): My days and nights just run together. Matt remains in a coma and is still attached to the ventilator. The swelling on the left side of his head appears to have gone down a bit from last night. His temperature so far today has not been too elevated. It has been around 37.4 c (or 99.4 f) so I am very thankful for that. Just one less thing that he has to fight.

Thursday, p.m: It has been a very long day...Matt had these episodes on and off all day long where he shivers extremely hard which makes his heart rate, blood pressure and brain pressure go up. It drives me crazy watching him suffer. I just want to make it all go away. The swelling on the left side of his head is back. The Neuro surgeon explained that it was nothing to be alarmed about. On a good note...at his 6:00pm assessment, he withdrew from pain in both his hands and feet. : ) He has a wonderful nurse taking care of him tonight, her name is Tracy. Hopefully, he will have a restful evening.

6/12/2009, Friday morning: Matt had a good night last night. The swelling is back down on the left side of his skull. Thank you God! He is still fighting a mild fever. They increased his sedation meds this morning so that he doesn't go through the shivering episodes like yesterday. His 9:00am assessments were good. Lets pray that he has a good day.

Friday, pm: Matt had a pretty good day. Since they removed part of his skull and his pressure has been reading ok the past 48 hours they removed his ICP post this morning (the thing that was screwed into his skull to monitor the pressure on his brain). His temperature has been mild, so they also removed him from the cooling suit. I am so thankful, he hated that thing. Matt's blood sugars have been normal for the past 48 hours so they took him off the insulin. His oxygen saturation decreased for some reason late this afternoon, so they increased his oxygen to 35%. The last three hours he has had pretty good assessments. He is now withdrawing instead of posturing when they apply painful stimuli. His nurse has also been slowly switching his sedation medicine from a med called Propofol to Dexmedetomidine (aka Dex). The Propofol makes it more difficult for him to show us what he is really capable of doing, so I am really looking forward to see what he can do tomorrow when he is completely off of the Propofol. He is scheduled for a MRI in the morning.

11:00 pm - Just as I was saying goodnight to Matt, the nurse Tracy, noticed fluid laying in Matt's right ear. The Neuro team was called, they told Tracy to keep an eye on it tonight and call if there is any additional fluid throughout the night. Matt's temperature is back up to 102.9. They gave him meds right before I left and he seemed to be comfortable. I pray by baby has a good night.

6/13/2009, Saturday, 11:00am - Matt remains stable this morning. His blood pressure is a little low. His temperature is currently 37.2 c (or 99.0 f), which is good for him. He still has a small amount of fluid pooling in his right ear. Matthew was just taken down to get an MRI. The nurse said it will take about 1-1 1/2 hours to do this procedure...I will update you when he gets out.

2:45 p.m. - Matt is back from his MRI...he is resting comfortably.

7:00 p.m. - A Member of the Neuro team just explained the results of the MRI...there were no new findings, it just confirmed what we already knew. They continue to tell us that he just needs time and that he has youth on his side.

6/14/09, Sunday - Matt did not have any change throughout the evening. We have been on a roller coaster for the past 24 hours fighting low blood pressure, high temperatures and low heart rates. He is resting comfortably right not and is not scheduled for any stressful tests today. I pray we have a good day!

1:30 p.m. We have not seen any additional fluid draining in Matt's right ear since yesterday morning. Thank god! They tell me that sometimes if there is a small leak, the body can heal itself.

8:15 p.m. Not much change today. Matt is still in a coma. He continues to respond to painful stimulation, but has not yet responded to commands. He has these outbursts where he becomes extremely agitated. His heart rate and blood pressure shoots up. He breaks out in a sweat and breathes extremely hard. It usually takes pain medication to settle him down, but he eventually does. It is very stressful watching him work through these episodes, but I really feel like he knows that I am there.


6/15/09 - Monday, 12:30 p.m. - Where do I begin? I just sat in on rounds with Matt’s ICU doctors and nurses. I have brain overload. So please forgive me if I ramble. Richard and I were told when we first got here that his CT scans didn’t show any signs that Matt will not be able to recover 100% from his accident. I have just been informed that his injuries are much more serious than they first thought after reviewing his second, third and fourth CT scans. Matt started having one of his little episodes right in the middle of his evaluation and the ICU doctor felt Matt might be having seizures. He has been placed on appropriate meds. The Doc also ordered a Lumbar Puncture, also known as a spinal tap. This is where they take a sample of fluid from the spine and test the fluid to see if it contains organisms that cause Meningitis. Meningitis is an infection of the coverings around the brain and spinal cord. We need to pray this away.

4:30 p.m. - The doctors completed Matt’s Lumbar puncture; they did not have any complications during the procedure. His nurse said they would have preliminary results back in a few hours, but it will take 24-48 hours to find out all of his results.

Matt is currently having an Electroencephalogram (EEG) test done. An EEG is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of your brain. Electrodes will be attached to his head and hooked by wires to a computer. The computer will record his brain's electrical activity and be able to tell us whether he is really having seizures. It might also be able to tell us more about Matt’s chance of recovery.

10:30 p.m. - We have had a tough day today. Matt’s EEG test was performed late this afternoon, so we won’t find out the results until tomorrow. On a good note…Matt had some movement in his eyes this evening. I know I wasn’t imagining it - Aunt Brenda, Cousin Heather and Richard were all there to witness it! He opened his eyes slightly, fluttered them, did a couple purposeful movements with his hands and then became very agitated. I know he is in there fighting, we all just need to keep the faith. I know tomorrow is going to be better!

6/16/09 - Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. - Matt had a restful evening. They have not received any results back from yesterday’s tests. Matt is not scheduled to have any tests done today, so I pray he can just rest and concentrate on healing.

4:45 p.m. - I have just been told that Matt DOES NOT have “viral” or “bacterial” Meningitis, but they feel he has what they call “mechanical” Meningitis which is a “swelling” of the brain covering, instead of an infection. This “mechanical” Meningitis is not uncommon with brain surgery.
Matt’s urine, sputum (spit) and blood were tested yesterday for infection. All results came back negative. Thank God! Matt had another CT scan today to see if they could remove his brain drain tube. Like everything else, we need to wait for the results. Thanks for the prayers.

10:15 p.m. - This evening I met with the chief of neurosurgery who performed Matt's skull surgery. We reviewed the MRI and latest CT results and discussed the significance of Matt's injury. The doctor showed me a section of the brain on the MRI where there is visible damage. This was caused by a lack of blood flow to this area of his brain. The extent of the damage is uncertain at this time. The doctor discussed our option to have a tracheotomy performed. This procedure would allow Matt to have the breathing tube removed from his mouth and would provide the vent support via the trach, thus making him more comfortable. We remain optimistic that Matt will pull through this. Your thoughts & prayers are so comforting to us & we continue to appreciate your support during this difficult time.

11:41 p.m. - My mom has been posting mostly on this site since I can't be down there as much as I would like with work and my daughter...
I have yet to really grasp how a skateboard could do so much damage to my baby brother...i keep picturing walking into his room and seeing his little smile and his tubes out of his mouth..
He looked a lot better today and most of his little scratches went away on his face and everything else...he did have an episode when i was there and that kind of made my stomach hurt...i just want to take all his pain away..if i could take it for him i would in a heart beat...that's the hardest thing about this, watching him in pain..but i guess that's expected
im not really updating anything but just wanted to leave something on here since im having a hard time with this right now...
thank you guys so much for all your prayers - Posted by Stephanie

6/17/09 - Wednesday, 9:00 p.m. - Matt is stable and resting. Dr. Salcedo will be performing a gastro procedure tomorrow afternoon to insert a feeding tube into Matt's belly. This will allow for the removable of the feeding tube down his throat. We are still considering a trach because he can not yet breathe on his own. Matt continues to fight high fevers, they will be placing the cooling blanket on him this evening.

PRAYER REQUEST: 1. Matt's temperature returns to normal. 2. Matt is able to breathe on his own. 3. The feeding tube in his stomach procedure goes flawlessly. 4. Richard and I have strength to support our baby boy.

NOTE: To family and friends: Carly's 1st Birthday Party is postponed for a later date.

6/18/09 - Thursday, 11:00 a.m. - My Dad always taught us that when we pray, you need to be specific in what you ask for, when finished, you ask for it “In Jesus’ name, Amen”. When you are praying today, please ask that 1) Matt’s feeding peg and his tracheal procedures goes flawlessly 2) to heal the damaged areas of Matt’s brain 3) help Matt be able to regulate his temperature 4) Matt is able to breathe on his own 5) make Matt whole again. We again thank each of you for keeping us in your prayers. Matt continues to fight hard and so are we.

10:30 p.m. - Matt did not have his procedures done today. Every time they got him ready to go down to the OR, his vitals would just go crazy. (low blood pressure, high temperature, fast heart beat, etc...) They attempted twice, the same thing happened both times. He has been scheduled again for early morning, I pray that they will be successful this time. Matt was resting comfortably when we left the hospital a few minutes ago. His temperature was the lowest it has been in days at 37.4 c (Sorry, Nurse Heather is not here to translate that for me) but I know that 37C is normal : )

6/19/09 - Friday , 11:00 a.m. - Matt remains stable. His feeding peg and his tracheal procedures are rescheduled for this afternoon at 1:30 pm. Matt keeps giving us hope and showing us that he is in there fighting. Yesterday and again this morning, Matt opened his eyes and even blinks for us. When we ask him to blink twice, he does not do that. The doctors are not sure what this means, but I truly believe that our prayers are being answered. His temperature is staying down around 37.4c – 37.6 c, which is great for him. Baby steps : )

2:00 p.m. - Matt showed a small spot of pneumonia on one of his lungs yesterday. The doctor that was going to do his procedures this afternoon feels like Matt needs another day on antibiotics to do his surgery safely…so we wait.

10:30 p.m. - Except for not having his procedures done today, Matt had a pretty good day. He continued to maintain a good temperature throughout the day, he even got down to normal (37C) this evening :) Over the past 12 days, I have sat by his side watching each of his scrapes and bruises, one right after another, slowly get smaller and then just disappear. It is amazing how quickly his body has healed itself. He no longer looks like he has been in an accident. He just looks like he is sleeping and you think he is going to wake up at any time.

6/20/09 - Saturday, 1:00 p.m. - Matt’s temperature is continuing to stay down. His procedures have been postponed until Monday. His Aunt Brenda, Uncle Bob and Ashley have been sitting with him this morning and his Great-Aunt Peggy and Great Uncle Bill will be with him this afternoon while we try to celebrate his Niece Carly’s first birthday. Matt was so looking forward to her 1st birthday. I just know this is what Matt would have wanted us to do.

9:30 p.m. - PRAYERS ANSWERED TODAY! Matt’s fever is gone, the swelling in his brain is down, and the “brain drain” was removed today! Praise the Lord. Keep your prayers coming - pray that his brain continues to heal, and that the surgical procedures (stomach peg and trach) scheduled for early next week go flawlessly . I stayed with Matt today, and we had a good day. I watched while his nurses changed out his breathing tubes, took his blood sugar level, and administered pain relief, when needed. He rarely was agitated today. Matt opened his eyes when Dr. Aulise came in and called his name. Matt even moved his eyes back and forth. Father Emmanuel visited and we said prayers before Father blessed him. Grandma Bridge and Aunt Sheri visited, along with Uncle Baldo. Brenda, Bob and Ashley stopped by to say goodnight. All things considered, Matt had a very good day. - Posted by Great-Aunt Peggy

11:30 p.m. - What a wonderful day it has turned out to be. Carly's party was wonderful (even though it was much smaller than originally planned). Thank you to everyone for pitching in to make it happen. To the Feazell's for sitting with Matt in the morning, the Reid's for taking the afternoon shift, Marcia & Heather, Brenda Nowell Family & David Lenhart family for taking care of the delicious food. Happy 1st Birthday Carly!!!

When Richard and I were saying goodnight to Matt this evening. Matt opened his eyes. I told him about Carly's Party and showed him a picture of her. He keep his eyes wide open and squeezed my hand tight. We are not sure if the squeezing of the hand is intentional, but I have hope!!! His eyes just keep telling me to not give up on him and I won't. Thanks for the continuous prayers. I love you all.

6/21/09 - Sunday, 11:00 a.m. - Good Morning everyone. Matt is resting comfortably and continues to maintain good body temperature. Our boy has opened his eyes several times already this morning. Another chest x-ray was taken a few moments ago to check on his pneumonia. We pray they will not find anything.

9:45 p.m. - Matthew had an uneventful day. The nurse just told me that his red blood cells are down, so they are going to give him a unit of blood this evening. Matt is currently scheduled to have his procedures done tomorrow afternoon.

6/22/09 - Monday, 10:00 a.m. - Late last night, tests came back showing bacteria growing in Matt’s sputum (saliva) and in his lungs. He is currently being treated with antibiotics for this…they say it is not uncommon. His procedures to have a feeding peg and a trach put in has been moved to 7:00 pm.

6:00 p.m. - Praise God!!! Matt has finally been taken to the O.R. to have his procedures done. Aunt Marcia, Heather and I are waiting patiently in the O.R. waiting room for him. I will update you when he comes out.

7:40 p.m. - The surgeon just came to the waiting room to inform us that Matt’s procedures went well and that he will be returning to his room in the ICU shortly. Now that Matt has the trach in place his breathing tube and feeding tube have been removed from his mouth. He already looks so much more comfortable. All of the tape around his mouth has been taken off and he is definitely in need of a good shaving. We are so thankful that his surgeries went well. Your continued prayers remain appreciated.

6/23/09 - Tuesday, 1:30 p.m. - Wow, what a busy morning we have had. Matt was taken off the ventilator this morning at 8:00 am. He is breathing on his own. He seems to be handling it better than me. I have been on pins and needles all morning, waiting for him to take the next breath. They have placed an oxygen mask over top of his trach tube ( just like they would place a mask over your mouth) that they shoot extra oxygen into so that he gets more oxygen with every breath that he takes. He will eventually be weaned off that.

The “Artic Sun” cooling suit, that was cooling him, was taken off for surgery and was not put back on. He has been running a slight fever since yesterday after surgery, but it is not too high considering he is not using the “Artic Sun” any longer. Matt definitely looks more comfortable. I can’t wait until I am able to shave his facial hair…He has a mustache!!!! It was hiding under all the tape that was holding his ventilator tubes in his mouth. Keep the prayers coming….I know they are working!

8:45 p.m. - Matt has had a very busy day. He is still breathing by himself. Praise God! He had his chest tube taken out this afternoon. He still has a touch of pneumonia, but the doctors are not overly concerned at this point. My baby kept his eyes open most of the day. Still not much response, but we are still hopeful. He needs more time and prayers. They started feeding him about 6:30pm through his new stomach “peg”. His food looks like Carly’s formula. Yummy!!

6/24/09 - Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. - Matt had a great night and is still breathing on his own! I just finished my second crash course on how to do physical therapy. One of his therapists taught me a few more techniques to exercise his muscles to try to keep them tone and to help get Matt stimulated. I don’t think much is planned for him today. He still has his mustache…that has got to go! I am going to try to get that done today.

1:15 p.m. - During rounds this morning, the doctors discussed taking Matt off his pain medication called “Fentanyl”. He currently has a constant feed giving him 50 mcg/hr, and when needed, we give him a “push” to help him through times when he gets agitated and high fevers. I have read that Fentanyl is 80-100 more potent then morphine, so I think the sooner we get him off of this the better. Please pray that when they take him off the Fentanyl, his body is able to cope. Matt looks pretty relaxed at the moment. I am getting ready to do his exercises with him, so he won’t stay that way for long.

2:05 p.m. - Many of you have called or e-mailed asking when you will be able to see Matt. Matt is still in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and his room is very, very small. The staff in the ICU has been great allowing Matt’s family members to visit pretty much anytime. So at this point, I am asking that we keep it that way for now. His doctors were talking, just this morning, about transferring him to the “Step down” unit later this week or the beginning of next week. So when that happens, maybe we can start letting you guys in to see him. I am sure he would love that.

10:45 p.m. - Matt did great off the Fentanyl up until about 6:30 this evening. He only had 2 "pushes" in a 6 1/2 hour period, when before,he was getting about 8 1/2 during that same period. Since about 6:30 he is still struggling with the agitation and when he gets everything all worked up, including his fever, he needs a "push" almost every hour to calm him down. I guess it is going to take time.

I have been told that I need to start thinking about rehabilitation centers for Matt. I have been searching the web like crazy, learning more than I ever wanted to know about "traumatic brain injury" (TBI). If anyone out there has any information that would be helpful, please e-mail me at poohkepler@aol.com. Thank you!

6/25/09 - Thursday, 11:15 a.m. - My baby’s mustache is gone!!! One of the male night nurses gave him a clean shave. Yeah! Now I can see his beautiful face. Matt is doing well this morning; he still gets agitated every hour, in need of the fentanyl push. Thank you to everyone who responded to my rehab request...please keep it coming.

4:00 p.m. - Matt’s sister Stephanie asked me last night “Is Matt still in a coma?” And I know many of you are unclear as to the condition that he is in. Matt is still “technically” in a coma. The coma-like state that he is in is a direct result from the head trauma that he suffered when the back of his head hit the blacktop. Matt can open his eyes, sometimes he just has a blank stare, but then there are many times that he looks at me with so much expression, almost like he is pleading for me to help him get out. It is so painful to watch him; I just want to make all his pain go away. He responds favorably to painful stimuli (when the nurses apply pressure to his fingernail or toenail, he pulls away). But, for the most part, he does not respond to commands. Nobody knows the severity or extent of the neurological damage that Matt has suffered. The brain is very complex, it is not like a broken leg where you can see the break, put it in a cast and send the patient along their way…Only time will tell…Please keep praying for a full recovery.

6/26/09 - Friday, 3:45 p.m. - Last night, Aunt Sheri, Mamaw, Cousins Lee & Lynette visited Matt. Lynette taught me how to give Matt a massage. From the look on Matt’s face, I think he enjoyed it. I gave him a massage this morning, but I don’t think he enjoyed it as much as Lynette’s. I am trying to do his physical therapy several times a day…He is still having his “episodes” almost hourly, so it is hard to work with him on therapy. They are going to try to completely wean him off the Fentanyl. We will see how that works.

7:00 p.m. - Matt’s coma is not drug induced. He is currently on antibiotics for some bacteria that they found in his sputum and the spot of pneumonia on his lungs. He is on a medication called clonidine to help with his “sympathetic discharges” (what I have been calling “episodes”). He is also on the Fentanyl to help calm him down, but he is still able to wake up on this medication. The doctors keep reminding me that Matt just needs more time.

6/27/09 - Saturday, 1:00 p.m. - Matt is more comfortable today, than yesterday. The doctors are changing his medications around to try to help control the sympathetic discharges that Matt seemed to be having every 40-50 minutes yesterday. They have doubled the dose of his Clonidine this morning and have only given him two doses of Fentanyl since 7:30am. His heart rate is still a little high.

8:00 p.m. - Matt had a pretty good day. He seems to be more comfortable with his new medicines. He did not keep his eyes open most of the day like he has been. His night nurse Celeste said that he had been up most of the night. Just like my son, sleep all day, awake all night! Thanks for the continued prayers and thoughts.

6/28/09 - Sunday, 1:15 p.m. - Matt had a good morning. He seems to be adjusting well with his new medication. Unlike yesterday, he had his eyes wide open when his dad and I got there this morning. I did his exercises with him, and then gave him a “Lynette special” message. After his message, I gave him a mini pedicure and mini manicure (which I am in desperate need of!) I even shaved Matt’s whiskers. I didn’t know it, but he can grow a mustache better than his dad! Thank you for your prayers. We are truly blessed to have so many people caring for us.

6/29/09 - Monday, 3:42 p.m. - My mom is looking at Rehab places today with my cousin so I doubt she'll be on here till later tonight to give an update and I see a lot of you have been getting on. Matt has been keeping his eyes open a good amount of time now (except for when i come to visit)...when I was there this weekend he was constantly making faces, so it was really comforting to see some expression from him.

He always seems comfortable when I'm there and has been doing surprisingly well with changing his medication. They moved him out of the ICU yesterday and to the 2nd floor and are working for him to make his way into a rehab program. A couple places have come to look at him, and they were talking about doing two 3 hour sessions of physical therapy with him a day, it seems like a lot but he can handle it.

So we're just waiting to see how this week goes and hopefully he can get out of that place real soon. Thanks everyone for your support..i am sure my mom will give a more detailed update later!

8:15 p.m. - Where do I begin…shortly after my last blog, Matt was moved unexpectedly to a new room. He was moved to the Neurosciences Center on the second floor. This is an intermediate medical care unit, where he is still attached to a monitoring system. He has his own private room with a better view of the helicopter pad (which his Dad is very excited about!). His room is much cooler than his last, which I think is going to help him control his body temperature. Uncle Shane, Aunt Kerrie and Cousin Austin had a good visit with Matt in his new room. Matt’s Aunt Marcia stayed with me until he was settled in and comfortable. It was a very late night!

This morning, Heather and I went to visit two different rehabilitation facilities in Baltimore that has rehab programs for comatose patients like Matt. Richard sat with Matt until Heather and I got back to the hospital. Richard said that they had a very good day. Matt did not have many “episodes” today. He kept his eyes open for most of the day and when we got there, he looked better. His swelling in the left side of his head has gone down quite a bit in the past two days. He had another productive therapy session today as well. Keep the prayers coming….I know they are working!!!

6/30/09 - Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. Heather and I went to visit the National Rehabilitation Hospital this morning. It is located next to the Washington Hospital Center, in Washington, DC. Richard sat with Matt and said he had a good morning, but had a very agitated afternoon. The neuro team felt Matt may be a little dehydrated so they added extra fluids hoping that would help settle him down. Matt was just fitted for a helmet to protect his brain from further injury during his therapy sessions, since his skull is not there to protect it.

7:50 p.m. - Matthew had a restful evening. His swelling continues to go down on the left side of his head. We pray that he has an even better day tomorrow. We continue to thank everyone for their prayers. We still need them!

7/1/09 - Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. - Matt is resting comfortably this morning. He has not needed Fentanyl since 7:00 a.m. The doctors are still concerned that he has not been able to control his body temperature. They are contacting the Infectious Diseases department this morning to make sure they are not missing anything. Please keep Matt in your prayers.

4:10 p.m. - Matt is still resting comfortably. The doctors from the Infectious Disease department went through his records with a fine tooth comb. They said that they did not find any infection or possible source of infection. They feel that his spikes in temperature may be caused by the swelling that is still on his brain.

7/2/09 -Thursday, 11:00 a.m. - Other than a visit from a Dietitian, Matt has had a peaceful morning. The medications that Matt is currently taking seem to have decreased the frequency of his episodes.

8:00 p.m. - Matt and I had a pretty good day. I am still working on finding him a rehab facility. He is still taking a number of drugs to help keep his heart rate and blood pressure down when he has his little episodes. The doctors seem to have found the right combination of medicines; he only needed one shot of Fentanyl early this morning. He is finished taking all his antibiotics so the doctors say he will be able to move on to the next phase soon. With the holiday weekend coming, I don’t think much will be done until at least Monday.

7/3/09 - Friday, 4:30 p.m. - Richard, Matt and I have had a very busy morning. Stephanie, Carly, Tyler Nowell and Cousin Tyler came to visit. Our grand-baby Carly has changed so much in the past couple of weeks. She is getting so big. She is not allowed to be in Matt’s room so I got a chance to play with Carly in the waiting room while everyone visited. Everyone had a good visit with Matt. Stephanie was surprised how much the swelling in Matt’s head had gone down in the past couple of days. She said that my blogs did not give a good description of how he looks. So for the rest of you…Matt’s head is very concave on the left side where he is missing his skull. The doctors tell me that it will become even more concave over the next couple of weeks.

A member from the neuro team visited with us and gave us the results of a Doppler Ultrasound that Matt had done yesterday afternoon. A Doppler ultrasound test helps doctors evaluate blood flow through the major arteries and veins of the arms, legs, and neck. It also can reveal blood clots in leg veins that could break loose and block blood flow to the lungs (pulmonary embolism). Matt has had several of these tests. All tests have come back negative for blood clots. Praise God!!!!

I am so thankful for family, friends and even strangers who are offering prayers, support and encouragement. Thank you and God bless you.

7/4/09 - Saturday, 12 noon - Happy 4th of July ! I have just finished doing Matt’s morning exercises and massage. I also gave Matt a clean shave. Other than a spot on his neck where his neck collar is rubbing, Matt’s skin looks great. I have been diligent in keeping up with his hygiene. I am very happy that he does not have any bedsores which are not uncommon with coma patients. Bedsores are caused by many factors such as unrelieved pressure from not turning patients, friction, temperature & humidity from sweating. It is one less thing that we have to be concerned with.

Matt has gone 24 hours without needing the Fentanyl. Praise god! He seems to be getting along good with his new medication. It is a combination of Clonodine and a Beta Blocker called Metoprolol to help control his blood pressure and heart rate. The only downfall, both medications cause drowsiness. He is still fighting fevers, which is not uncommon with head trauma patients. Please pray for him to be able to control his body temperature. Again we are grateful for the prayers & offers of support.

7:40 p.m. - Praise the lord…Matt finally had a 98.7 temperature this afternoon! I was so excited; I had to give the nurse a high-five. He has been maintaining below 100 for most of the evening. Keep the prayers coming…it is working. Aunt Marcia sat with us all day and a couple of friends stopped by to visit Matt. He slept for most of the day. I think he has his days and nights mixed up. Now I know he is getting better, he is back to his old routine. : ) I hope everyone has a safe 4th of July. Enjoy the fireworks!

7/5/09 - Sunday, 11:30 a.m. - Most of you who know me personally know that I was raised a “McDonald’s Kid”. Over the years, I have put lots of spare change in the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) donation boxes that are displayed by cash registers and drive-thru windows at many McDonald’s restaurants. I never dreamt that one day; I would actually be the recipient of this most charitable organization. During the 1st week and a half after Matt’s accident, I slept in hospital waiting rooms, stayed with Matt’s college friends, hotels and even with my cousins’ kindhearted friend, Marg, who was a stranger to me before that night. I have met so many wonderful, generous people in the past month. I will never begin to repay all of you for your kindness. Since June 18th, I have been staying at the Ronald McDonald House which is only 1.5 miles from Matt’s hospital. Here I can get some much needed rest. I seem to be able to sleep better knowing that I am only a few minutes away from my baby.

At the Ronald McDonald house, I have met some pretty amazing people. These families come from all over the United States; Mississippi, Ohio, and New York to name a few. The RMHC around the world offer families a way to stay together, in proximity to the treatment hospital, and be comfortable and cared for during their stay. All of my needs have been taken care of, and for this, I am forever grateful. They offer home cooked meals, private bedrooms, huge playrooms for the kids, and so much more. Most of the funds to run RMHC come from donations. Last year, they raised $18 million to help families in communities across the U.S. In addition to cash donations, there are many other ways to contribute to RMHC, all of which are valuable and can directly benefit your local Chapter and any program it operates. Please visit their website at rmhc.com to learn more, and the next time you are at McDonalds, toss in your spare change. : )

7:45 p.m. - Matt had a very busy day. Family visited from West Virginia; Aunt Dawnie, Uncle Jason, Great-Uncle Gary, Joelle and Steven. He showed off for them by moving his head a little. He also had a couple of UMD friends stop by. Matt’s doctors switched some of his medications this morning. They took him off the Ritalin and put him on a medication called Provigil. Provigil is a prescription medicine used to improve wakefulness in adults who experience excessive sleepiness. It worked!! He was much more alert today. I can’t wait until he gets his second dose tomorrow morning. Please continue your prayers for Matt’s ongoing recovery.

11:30 p.m. - I almost forgot to tell you…Matt has been fed for the past month by a continuous drip feeding tube that was surgically placed directly into his stomach. Today the doctors decided to switch Matt over to “Bolus feeding”. He will still be fed thru the stomach feeding tube with the exception that the Bolus feedings will be delivered every four hours instead of continuously. One of the advantages of bolus feedings over continuous drip feeding is that bolus feedings are more similar to a normal feeding pattern. Furthermore, this will allow freedom of movement for Matt, so he is not tethered to a feeding bag. Way to go Matt…HUGE BABY STEPS!

7/6/09 - Monday, 8:15 p.m. - Today was a relatively relaxing day for Matt. When I first got to the hospital this morning I went to walk into Matt’s room and he wasn’t there; no bed, no equipment, nothing. My heart immediately began racing wondering where he was especially since Patti had not mentioned a room change to me. How was I going to explain that I had lost her son after she trusted me enough to leave me in charge for the day. I happened to turn around and look into the room beside of his and there he was, thank goodness. He had been moved to the room next door so that his current room could be painted. Phew! When I walked into his room he was resting peacefully, his eyes closed, his body relaxed. His head did appear to be slightly more swollen then it had been when I last saw him but I thought he still looked handsome.

His heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen level were good. He did have a slight temperature but nothing to worry about. The rest of the day was pretty routine with nursing assessments, feedings, and vital signs checks. Occasionally Matt would have a coughing spell that would quickly resolve after he cleared some of his lung secretions via his trach. Several times during the day I was able to massage Matt’s arms and legs, applying some lotion to keep his skin soft and to prevent bed sores. Every time I did this Matt would become much calmer, relaxing his muscle tension. Matt’s nurse told me that during the day (the one time I was out of the room) his friend Diane came to visit him. I was sorry to have missed her but she had brought Matt a balloon and some cupcakes for his family. This afternoon Matt’s temperature continued to elevate and he was placed back onto the cooling blanket. This evening Matt’s friends from College Park, Paula and Gaby, came to visit. Although he didn’t open his eyes I’m sure that Matt knew they were here.

Earlier this morning a clergy man came to visit Matt and we said a prayer for God to continue to give Matt the strength and the courage to heal and proceed with his recovery. We also prayed for his friends and family to remain strong during this emotionally difficult time. Your kind thoughts, prayers, and undeniable support continue to be invaluable to us. We are so thankful that Matt has so many people in his life who care for him so much and are there for him when he needs them the most. God Bless each and every one of you! - Posted by Cousin Heather

7/7/09 - Tuesday, 3:15 a.m. - What an exhausting day! I took a leave of absence from my Motherly duties today and left Matt in Cousin Heathers’ very capable hands. It sounds like they had a pretty good day. I went home and got caught up on the dreaded paperwork! I sorted thru piles of mail, did some banking, a post office run, paid some bills and even sent out some invoices to try to keep on top of our trucking business. I have not worked a day (Let me rephrase that) I have not hauled a load of anything since Matt’s accident. Richard has been handling the trucking business and taking care of our precious English Bulldog Coors. I don’t know how he is doing it; he did 1500 miles in less than two days…Yuck!

I drove Richard to the hospital and after a visit with Matt, Heather and Richard headed home. Just after they left, Matt’s “relatively relaxing day”, turned into a nightmare. The nurse fed Matt thru his stomach peg as usual. He got agitated while she was turning him and he began to cough. He coughed so violently that he started vomiting. It took forever to get him bathed and everything cleaned up. They had to replace his neck collar and pads, trachea straps, Oxygen mask, head props, cooling blanket, sheets, pads, etc. After everything was cleaned up, Matt was still agitated and would not stop coughing. The neuro team was called and thought Matt might have had a pulmonary aspiration. Sometimes secretions get inhaled into the trachea and/or lungs. If enough material enters the lungs, the patient may simply drown. However, small volumes of gastric acid contents can fatally damage the delicate lung tissue. Even small volumes of aspirated food may lead to bronchopneumonia infection. So they ordered a chest x-ray STAT. After the chest x-ray was taken, Matt calmed down.

Matt is scheduled to move to yet another room during the night shift. I went ahead and moved his personal belongings to his new pad and since he was resting comfortably back in his old room, I decided that I was going to head back to the Ronald McDonald House to get some sleep. I hope my baby can get some rest too.

3:45 p.m. - Matt is resting comfortably in his new room. It is a bright room with newly painted light green and light mauve walls. I hung all his pictures, his “get well soon Matt!” banner that was sent from his Middletown friends, along with drawings that Rianna & Sheridan Chaney sent to him. He also has a cross from Italy that was blessed by Pope John Paul, II, given to him by Bonnie and Tommy Remsberg hanging at the foot of his bed. The new room has an obstructed view of the helicopter pad (sorry Dad!) He has a wonderful nurse, Hiwot and a Patient Care Tech whose name is Lydia taking care of him today. I arrived a little late this morning after the rough night we had. So I was pleasantly surprised to find him looking like a million bucks when I got here. His trachea was clean, he had clean sheets and his body was well lubed. Matt has been sleeping most of the day. I decided to just leave him alone and let him rest today. The nurse told me that Matt’s x-ray confirmed that he DID NOT aspirate last night and his lungs were clear. Praise God! I ask that you continue to pray for God’s healing touch for Matt.

11:45 p.m. - I spent the evening with my Aunt Peggy, Uncle Bill and Cousin Tim. My awe-inspiring Aunt Peg fixed me a home cooked meal this evening. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw her new breathtaking “Nature’s resort” in her back yard. It has stone walkways, mature plants, a gorgeous stone pond complete with a water fall and goldfish! It looked so natural, almost like it had been there for years. We had a very pleasant night; it was over too soon. Thank you helping me unwind.

I stopped by the hospital on my way back to the Ronald McDonald House to tuck Matt in and say goodnight. His nurse said that he had been running a 102.5 temperature for most of the evening. Good news…he kept his food down all night and he was going to be fed again at midnight. My goal for tomorrow is to regroup and make up a new “Prayer Request”. Goodnight : )

7/8/09 - Wednesday, 5:15 p.m. - I apologize for not updating earlier today. I did Matt’s exercises and massage first thing this morning. He was having a relaxing day until his therapists came to visit. I showed them everything that I have been doing with Matt the past three weeks. They said I was doing a great job with him and then showed me a few more things to add to our 2-3 times a day routine. I am so excited about being able to do more things with him. I feel the more I work with him, the better chance for him to get better. It was amazing watching them work with him. First, they put his “crash helmet” on. This is to protect any further damage to his brain (since he is missing part of his skull) during therapy. Next, they rolled him back and forth, working his hips, shoulders and joints. Then, they showed me how to put his head in “neutral” and massage his shoulders. And then finally, they did the most amazing thing with him that I was totally not expecting them to do. They placed his legs off the side of the bed and sat him upright. If that wasn’t enough to totally freak me out, they stood him up. Yes, they had straps around his chest, under his arms and somehow attached to his tiny framed therapist. It was unbelievable. After they got him settled back into his bed, Matt’s body was completely relaxed. Even his right arm that he tends to keep tight up against his chest was lying next to his body completely calm. I guess they wore him out; he has been peacefully sleeping ever since they left. It has been a great afternoon. I am praying for the day that he will be able to sit up and stand by himself. Thank you for your continued prayers.

11:50 p.m. - What started out to be a wonderful evening with visits from Richard, Steph, Aunt Sheri, Mamaw, and Sable turned into another frustrating evening. After the nurse fed Matt at about 9:45 p.m. she messed with his trach tube and made him start coughing. So once again, Matt lost his dinner. He was a mess. I am sorry that they had to see Matt go thru that; it is very hard to watch him suffer. Matt has lost so much weight (not that he had that much to start with!). I need to figure out a way to keep him from coughing or being agitated right after he is fed. I pray that everyone that visited with us tonight has a safe trip back home. I am looking forward to a better tomorrow.

(P.S.) One more thing that I wanted to mention…I hope that I did not mislead anybody in my 5:15 update when I wrote that “they (the therapists) stood him up”. That is what I meant, THEY stood him up. They did put light pressure on his feet and knees, but he in no way STOOD on HIS own. Please remember that he is still in a coma. He has a long way to go, but Matt is a fighter and I know that he is not ready to give up and we are not ready to give up on him!! Keep Praying : )

7/9/09 - Thursday, 11:00 a.m. - Matt is having one of those days. He is running a 102.5 temp again this morning. He was just given Tylenol to help bring his temperature down. Matt also has a light cough like something is tickling the back of his throat. The nurse has suctioned him, but that didn’t seem to help out. The swelling is back on the left side of his head. The neuro team has been contacted and hopefully I will know something soon. It is so frustrating to see the swelling back, I feel like we just took a huge step backward. I am so thankful for family, friends and even strangers (thank you Randy) who are offering prayers, support and encouragement. Thank you and God bless you.

9:42 p.m. - So, I went to see Matt last night...when I saw him last Friday his head almost looked scary, it was like someone carved a bowl out of the side of his head, but that was good because the swelling was down. Last night I get there and the swelling is back. I think I'd rather stick with the crater head. :) It was a good night up until the episode mom told you all about. He wasn't very active, I guess because of the swelling but it feels good to be in the same room with him.

I just keep telling myself Matt is still at school and he'll be home for the next break, just give it a little more time and he'll be home. It's not very realistic but it gets me through my days. Carly pulled herself up on the sofa today and took a step towards me...I know I should be happy but for some reason it made me cry...poor baby looked at me like "what did I do mommy?" Everyday she needs me less and less to help her walk and she's starting to talk a lot more...and Matt is not here for any of it....I keep picturing when he first came home from break he got sooooo excited when Carly crawled to him and got up in his lap....he was so excited for her birthday and for a summer full of swimming and picking up chics with her at the mall..haha and he's missing all of it...its such an unreal feeling to not have him here for all of this...he's not just my brother but one of my best friends...i know he's here in spirit though...
sorry for the long blog but i haven't written in a while and it's a good release for me to get this out...thank you everyone for all your support and prayers..my mom, more than anyone, needs it right now and it definitely gets her through the day. I can tell Matt has some amazing friends, so thank you and keep the prayers coming! - Posted by Stephanie

7/10/09 - Friday, 5:45 p.m. - Matt has had a very busy day. I spoke with Jennifer from his neuro team this morning. She said that the swelling is normal with TBI and they are not concerned with it. She ordered another CT scan just to make sure. We just received his results. The swelling on his brain is actually fluid in the space surrounding the brain and not the brain itself. Although I am still concerned about his swelling, I am thankful that it is not the brain. He continues his “soft cough”. The General Surgery doctors feel that his trach is in the proper place; therefore they are not sure why Matt continues to cough. They are thinking about downsizing his trach to make him more comfortable. Three of his therapists, Amanda, Michelle and Katie have been here most of the day working with him and fitting him with splints for his lower arms, wrists and hands. Matt has what they call Spasticity or muscular hypertonicity, more commonly known as “increased muscle tone” and is a result of the damage he has to his brain. Spasticity or muscular hypertonicity is a disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) in which certain muscles continually receive a message to tighten and contract. The nerves leading to those muscles, unable to regulate themselves (which would provide for normal muscle tone), permanently and continually "over-fire" these commands to tighten and contract. This causes stiffness or tightness of the muscles. On a positive not, Matt has been able to keep his food down all day :)

Matt had several visitors today. Karen and her mom stopped by right before lunch. Heather has been here most of the day keeping me sane. I promise that I will have an updated “Prayer Request List” before I go to bed this evening.

9:35 p.m. - My mom sent me an e-mail today and reminded me that there are so many people out there praying for my son. She called them “prayer warriors”, I felt that was very appropriate : ) The bible says…For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. I have finally updated the “Prayer Requests”, I am humbly asking for you, Matt’s Prayer Warriors, to pray specifically for the following:

PRAYERS REQUESTS:

1) Swelling – The extra fluid that is causing the swelling in Matt’s Head to disappear

2) Body Temperature – For Matt to be able to control his body temperature on his own.

3) Vomiting – That Matt will be able to keep his food down so that he can nourish his body and to maintain/gain weight.

4) Coma Stimulation Program – To help us find a Coma Stimulation Program that will meet Matt’s needs so that he will make progress. Surround Matt with Christian doctors and therapists who believe in Matt and his full recovery.

5) Brain Injury – Completely heal the damaged areas of Matt’s brain and restore all dead brain cells.

6) Infections - Matt continues to fight two infections…free his body from MRSA & Pseudomonas Klebsiella

7) Wake Up ! - Awaken Matt and bring him back to us!

The Lord has answered so many of our prayers. I truly believe that God is not done with Matt. He is still here, breathing on his own and fighting for his life. Please continue to have faith and pray for our son.

7/11/09 - Saturday, 12:30 p.m. - When I first got here this morning, Matt’s temperature was 99.5. This is the lowest that it has been in the past week : ) His nurse told me that he kept his food down all night, and so far today, the 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. feedings have gone down AND stayed down. Praise God! I know that I didn’t specifically ask for this, but the “soft cough” that Matt has had since this past Sunday that the doctors could not figure out is gone. Praise God, again and again! Please keep the prayers coming, they are working.

6:45 p.m. - In preparation for when the time comes, Heather and I have visited several rehabilitation facilities for Matt. I met with a Physiatrist from The National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) a couple of days ago. She examined Matt and told me that she felt that Matt was not ready for a Rehabilitation Program yet. She suggested that I start locating a rehabilitation hospital that has a Coma Stimulation program that provides multiple sensory stimulation to patients in a coma or vegetative state. It is hoped that with intense and repetitive stimulation, Matt will awaken and return to a higher level of functioning. Coma arousal therapy is believed to provide the sensory stimulation needed to activate the reticular system, which is responsible for maintaining consciousness. I am currently working with Karen, a Social Worker here at WHC to find an appropriate place for Matt…I will keep you posted.

7/12/09 - Sunday, 1:35 a.m. early morning - It started out such a beautiful Day...I had a wonderful visit with one of Matt’s high school friends Brittany and her dad Bob who works in the Respiratory Field in Frederick. Their family has been a wonderful source of information and support for me over the past month. It was very nice to finally meet Bob in person. I got a crash course on how the trach is placed, how it works, and even how to properly suction out the airway. Many thanks for the educational visit.

Matt’s temperature continued to rise for most of the day. He almost hit 103 degrees again this afternoon. Matt kept his food down all day with the exception when the nurse decided to change his inner trachea cannula right after he was fed. (She can’t say I didn’t warn her!) The swelling on the left side of Matt’s head still had me concerned. It was hot, and the skin was tight. I asked to speak with the Neuro team again. I showed her where I felt the incision line had turned purple and there was an area that was extremely lumpy and looked like it could open up at anytime. She assured me that this was “not uncommon” (I am beginning to hate those two words) and not to worry.

I was planning on going home this evening to be with the rest of my family. I always make sure that Matt is comfortable after the 7:00- 8:00 p.m. nurse shift change before I leave. The nurses had just given him a bath, and changed his sheets. I was so excited that we were changing out his hard, uncomfortable Miami J neck collar for a new, soft collar.

As the nurse was removing the back of his collar, the spot on his head that I had been concerned about, burst open. The smell was horrible. I had no idea what was going on or what was coming out of my sons head. One nurse was trying to hold the oozing in while the other told a third nurse to call the Neuro Team stat. A PA from the neuro team came up and drained out his wound. He looked at the CT scans again. He told me that it definitely was an infection and it needs to continue to drain this evening and they will probably wash it out tomorrow. They took a culture so they can administer the correct antibiotics.

The Lord works in mysterious ways. Much of the swelling in Matt’s head is already gone. I want to thank all of Matt’s "Prayer Warriors” that are praying for his healing. I believe that our 1st prayer request has been answered.

12:30 p.m. - I need prayers now! Matt was just taken back into the Operating Room. Dr. Aulisi will reopen the old incisions and go in and surgically clean out the cavity that has been housing the infection. They are not sure where the infection came from and may never know. The surgery should take anywhere from 1-2 hours. They are currently giving Matt an antibiotic, but a culture was taken this morning and once they know exactly what the infection is, he will be put on the appropriate medication. Richard arrived shortly before I did this morning. He told me that Matt had his eyes open and closed them right before I came in. Matt looked extremely relaxed when I got there. The swelling on the left side of his head had gone down quite a bit thru the night. I have high hopes that Matt will become more active again like he was last week now that the pressure and infection will be gone. I know that he will be flashing me his baby blues very soon. Please pray that the surgery goes well and that this temporary set-back is short lived.

4:00 p.m. - Matt is out of surgery. Dr. Aulisi said that everything went as planned. After a thorough cleaning, they administered an antibiotic before closing his incisions. He was a little surprised as to how much pus was still in Matt’s head. Dr. Aulisi told us that Matt was put back on the ventilator for the surgery procedure so he will be going to the 3rd floor ICU to recover. He will stay in that unit until he is weaned off the ventilator and becomes more stable. He is still in the recovery room, so we have not seen him as of yet. Thanks for the prayers. I will keep you posted.

11:55 p.m. - Richard and I spent most of our day waiting. We waited for Matt to go to surgery; we waited for him to come out of surgery. We were joined by his Aunt Marcia and a friend Sable; we all waited together : ) We waited for him to get situated in his new room in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) on the third floor. And then finally, we waited for them to do a shift change at 7:00 p.m. He did look very content when we finally got a chance to see him. His arms and legs were relaxed and he didn’t have tone anywhere in his body. As we were told earlier, Matt was put back on the ventilator during surgery. His respiratory has been very strong since the surgery so they have already started to wean him off of the ventilator, with the hopes of having him completely off by morning. Yeah Matt! The nurse heard movement in his bowels already, so she started his bolus feedings at 6:00 p.m. He didn’t have any difficulty keeping it down, so they fed him again at 9:00 p.m. with just as much success. Matt has been such a fighter. I want to thank each and every one of you that have continued to pray for our son and give him strength.

7/13/09 - Monday, 11:30 a.m. - I am so thankful to start a new week. This morning, my baby looks like he went ten rounds with Mike Tyson. His head is back to the size it was after his first surgery and his left eye is completely swollen shut. His nurse Chad has been working hard all morning to bring Matt’s blood pressure and his high body temperature down. In morning rounds, the doctor ordered a different kind of beta blocker for his blood pressure. He ordered for Matt to be placed back on the “Artic Sun” (the cooling suit that he was in during his stay in the 4th floor ICU). The doctor also put in an order this morning to start weaning Matt off the ventilator. I was pleasantly surprised to see Alice, the respiratory therapist that we met when Matt was in the fourth floor ICU. She was the one who weaned him off the first time around : )

All in all, we took a huge step backwards last week. But I believe we are now on the right path. He is handling his feedings well and even opened his eyes for me a few times this morning.

5:45 p.m. - Matt’s physical therapists visited and ordered special boots for Matt. The Ankle Contracture Boot is intended to gently place Matt’s feet into a neutral or dorsi-flexed position. This will help prevent Matt from developing contractures. A muscle contracture is a permanent shortening of a muscle or tendon in the human body in response to continued hypertonic stress exerted on that muscle or tendon. Contractures can't be stretched or exercised away once they occur; they need orthopedic surgical intervention to be corrected. So we need to stay on top of this so that does not happen. The boot also is intended to help alleviate pressure on the heel, this will help prevent skin breakdown. The anti-rotation bar helps prevent external or internal rotation of each foot. I am extremely thankful for his dedicated team of therapists. They genuinely seem to care about my boy : )

Matt had people poking and prodding at him all day. My poor angel has bruises and needle marks all over his arms, thighs, and abdominal area. He continues to fight high blood pressure and high fevers. The “Artic Sun” was just delivered to his room. Dr. DiPhilips, his ICU doctor, spoke with me and told me that Matt is still in serious condition. He said that they found two infections in his head. One is Staph Lococcus Aureus and the other is still growing cultures and has not been identified yet. Matt also has an inflamed liver, probably due to all the medications that he has been on. His body should be able to heal the liver on its own. They are going to keep a close eye on him during the next 48 hours. Please pray that his blood pressure and fever come down, that the liver begins to heal itself and that the two infections in Matt’s head go away.

7/14/09 - Tuesday, 4:30 p.m. - Hemoglobin transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body where it releases the oxygen for cell use. Hematocrit is the proportion of blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells. The doctors determined that Matt was deficient in both of these areas and they felt it beneficial to give him two units of blood this morning. All went well.

Matt’s head is wrapped in a turban-like dressing. It remains swollen and he has developed black and purple bruising around his eyes from the surgery on Sunday. Matt’s Occupational Therapist (OT) and Physical Therapist (PT) were working with him right before Richard and I got here today. He is always worn out after they finish with him. He is completely zonked right now. His blood pressure and fever are much lower today.

Matt is on a heavy duty medication called Vancomycin for his head infections. Since Matt will need these drugs for a prolonged period of time, he is scheduled to have a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line placed sometime this afternoon. This form of intravenous access has a lower rate of infection. Again, I am grateful for the prayers and offers of support.

8:15 p.m. - I have added two songs to Matt's other website, and I have not figured out a way to add them to this site(that is usually Matt's job). If you want to listen to them please go to the other website howismatt.ning.com.

The first song is called “Tree_Walkin”...

In 2008, The University of Maryland (UMD) campus, which Matt attends as a full time student, had been designated as an arboretum and botanical garden by the American Public Gardens Association - and is the first campus in Maryland to be recognized as a "Tree Campus USA" by the Arbor Day Foundation. UMD students designed a walking tour focusing on the many varieties of trees on campus. Matt and some friends wrote and recorded this song. Matt was indubitable honored when he was asked by the Arboretum Director Dr. Marla McIntosh to sing his song at a tree planting celebration that was held on May 8th, 2009.

The second song, “Be_Strong” was written and recorded by a very dear friend of Matt’s, Tom Carlson, a couple of days following his accident. It is extremely comforting and makes me proud of Matt to know that he has so many devoted friends. I play both of these songs for him every day. I look forward to the day that he can sing them back to me. I hope you enjoy them!

7/15/09 - Wednesday, 12:20 a.m. - When I left this evening, Matt was running a slight fever and his blood pressure was not too bad. He looked extremely relaxed. Just a little beat up! I forgot to mention last night that Matt has been completely off the ventilator since yesterday about 10:00 a.m. Like the first time, he had no problems at all. I am so proud of him, he is such a fighter. They are still giving him a small dose of oxygen thru an oxygen mask that is placed over his trach, but he does not need it to breath. Thanks for your prayers.

1:00 p.m. - Matt had his eyes open for me when I got here this morning. Yeah Matt! He had a lot of eye movement while he listened to his songs. After I did his exercises and massage, he was wiped out. He is resting now with little tone. He is wearing his arm/wrist splints on and off every two hours. He also gets his corrective boot switched from one foot to the other every two hours. Heather is here. We are going to meet with representative from Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia this afternoon. I hope he opens his eyes for her!

Midnight - Matt had a very exhausting day. He had his PICC line put in, x-rays showed that they inserted it in too far so the technician had to come back to pull it out about 4cm. It is now inserted properly. The nurses had him sitting in a chair, propped up of course. Then he had his OT & PT visit with him; they gave him a workout. After his visit with the therapists, friends from Middletown, Kuebby and Sam were here to visit with him. My visit with Erin, the Admissions and Marketing Liaison from Shepherd Center, Atlanta, GA, proved to be very informative. She introduced me to Bernadette who works for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. She too seems to be a wealth of knowledge. It is going to take some time to digest everything that they told me.

Aunt Sheri, Mamaw and Sable visited Matt this evening. They had a pretty good visit. Matt even opened his eyes a little for them. After they left, Matt started having issues with his heart rate. It dropped down in the low 50’s. I was told that the doctors were tweaking his blood pressure medication at 6:00 p.m. so not to worry with it being that low. After last week, I think I have every right to worry.

7/16/09 - Thursday, 4:30 p.m. - Matt had a very active day so far. I think he is sleeping right now. He is very calm with not much tone. Coach Don and Coach Sharon Boyer, his track coaches from Middletown, came to visit him this morning. Matt’s heart rate increased quite a bit while Coach Don talked with him and told him stories. Matt even had a tear running down his cheek. Another family friend Mandy Arrowsmith came to visit. Her family was in a serious car accident in December 2003. Her 2 year old son, Jonny, suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the accident. Jonny is now 8. Unfortunately, Mandy has been through much of what I am going thru. Somehow it is comforting to talk to someone who has been down the same road. I am forever grateful to both her and her husband for sharing their experience and for the love, prayers and support they have shown. To read more about jonny, go to: caringbridge.org/visit/jonnyarrowsmith.

I spoke with the ICU doctor a few minutes ago. He went over with me the goals that they are trying to achieve while Matt is on this unit. Aside from the obvious, to treat Matt’s head infection, his goal is to try to bring Matt’s blood pressure (BP) down. He has been around 130’s over 60’s for most of the day. But trying to get the BP down has also caused the heart rate to drop in the 50’s. (As low as 48 at one point) He tells me that this is okay since Matt is young. I want to sincerely thank all of those who have called, emailed and visited, wishing their best thoughts and offering of prayers. I am forever grateful for your love and friendship.

11:55 p.m. - The infection in Matt’s head has been identified as Staphylococcus aureus more commonly known as MRSA. It is a bacterium that causes infections in different parts of the body. This is also the infection that was found in Matt’s Sputum. It's tough to treat, so his doctor has put him on a very potent drug called Vancomycin.

Richard (Matt’s Dad) got poison ivy on his face, near his eyes, and on his back a couple of days ago. He had several runs to make in the big rig, but was unable because his eye had swollen shut. Yesterday, the swelling had traveled to the other eye and down to his nose. And finally, this morning, he decided to go to the doctors because he woke up with Angelina Jolie lips!!! The doctor prescribed him prednisone, Benadryl and calamine lotion. He is feeling much better this evening. Hopefully the swelling will be gone by morning so that he can drive. We can’t afford for both of us to be out of work. Say some prayers for both of my babies.

7/17/09 - Friday, 1:10 p.m. - When I arrived at the hospital this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find Richard talking to a bright eyed Matt. Richard said Matt had his eyes open since he got there. Matt is yawning a lot and now stretching his entire body; we have never seen him do that before. He is moving his arms randomly and keeps his eyes open as he was doing before last week’s infection. I did Matt’s range of motion exercises with him, switched his boot and took off his splints. Richard is looking much better. Most of the swelling in his right eye is gone, and he no longer has Angelina Jolie lips! I think we are going to have a good day!

11:15 p.m. - Matt had several friends visit today; Kevin and Cody, Middletown High School friends, Stephen and Hannah from UMD. He also had the physiatrist from the National Rehabilitation Hospital stop by again. She said that she saw a huge change in Matt today. Richard and I will have to agree. He seems to be more alert. When I was exercising his legs, he pulled his leg out of my arms. He is pulling at things. Matt even tried to bite one of his straps to his arm splints when it brushed against his face. The Neuro team took his turban head dressing off. He still has a bandage along his staples. The swelling on the left side of his head is going down again. Praise God!

Matt’s PICC line had to be taken out of his right arm, it is still in the wrong place. They put in a new PICC line in his left arm. The x-rays showed that they placed it in the wrong place again. The line ended up in his neck. Now they are going to try to pull it back so they can still use the line. In the meantime, they are running his Vancomycin thru a larger IV line. My poor baby’s arms are all bruised with needle marks everywhere. Matt’s physical therapists gave him a good workout today as well. They sat him up off the side of the bed again like they did last week. They said he had much better trunk (the lower half of his body) control today. : ) Thanks again for the prayers.

7/18/09 - Saturday, 10:45 a.m. - Matt and I are just hanging out this morning. I gave him a bath and did his range of motion exercises with him. He seems to be wiped out. I think he must have been up all night with his cute nurse!

7:40 p.m. - We’ve moved again! Matt is resting comfortably in his 7th room at the Washington Hospital Center. We are definitely getting the full tour of the hospital; room by room. He is back in the Intermediate Care Unit (a step-down unit), so he will still be hooked up to the monitors. We are back down on the 2nd floor, in the Neuroscience Center, Room 30.

7/19/09 - Sunday, 2:30 p.m. - One of Matt’s Middletown High School friends, Jarrett, visited with Matt before Richard and I got here this morning. Matt does not have much tone today. The swelling on the left side of his head continues to go down. Praise God! He and his Dad have been watching helicopters come in.

11:00 p.m. - Matt continues to make us proud. He is such a fighter. Becky Chaney sent a care package to me, which included one of Matt’s favorites…Twizzlers! Richard put one of them under Matt’s nose. He began to breathe hard and then opened his mouth. I felt so sorry for him, but what a wonderful response. He was also playing with the leads that monitor his vital signs using just his finger tips. These are such small things, but give us big hopes for Matt’s future.

Both times Matt went into surgery, the nurse would only shave the left side of his head. The right side had gotten so long; I am not sure when he had it cut last. I do know that it has not been cut since June 7th! Richard and I shaved the right side of Matt’s head so that it matches the left. Kevin, his barber, would kill us if he saw how we butchered Matt’s hair. At least he won’t be sweating on the right side anymore.

Sable stopped by this afternoon. Matt seems to respond to her voice with elevated vital signs and sometimes a tear. Stephanie and Tyler brought Carly down to visit. Carly cannot go in Matt’s room, so I get to babysit while Steph and Tyler visit with Matt. She is such a handful now. She gets in to everything, she is learning how to walk so she wants to be on the go constantly. Carly has the cutest personality. She blows kisses and waves to everybody. It makes me so sad. Last summer when Carly was born (June 20th) Matt gave up an internship out west because he wanted to “spend the summer with Carly”. I could not convince him that a newborn would not be doing much her first 2 months. When Matt was getting ready to go back to school in August he said “you could have told me she was just going to lay there and do nothing!” He was so looking forward to this summer with her. Please keep my baby in your thoughts and prayers so that he can spend many more summers with his niece.

7/20/09 - Monday, 2:45 p.m. - The physiatrist from the National Rehabilitation Hospital recommended that Matt’s Clonidine be reduced. This is the medication that helps with the Neuro storming & sympathetic discharges but also suppresses what Matt is capable of doing. His Neuro doctor cut his Clonidine in half last night starting at 10:00 p.m. I was a little nervous, but Matt has been doing well this morning. He has been alert with his eyes open for most of the day. He had his physical therapist stop by and teach me a few more tricks to stretch him. After she left a physician’s assistant from the Neuro team stopped by to talk to me about Matt’s bone flap (the part of the skull that had to be removed because of swelling). Since Matt is so thin, and he coughed a lot while he had the infection in his head, the incision in his tummy where they “stored” his bone flap split open. The doctors are concerned that this incision may be infected; if so, they will not be able to use his bone flap. They will know if they can save his bone flap in the next couple of days. If they decide to not use his bone flap, Matt will need to be taken back into surgery to have it removed. Please keep Matt in your prayers.

11:20 p.m. - They told us in the beginning that we had a long, tough road ahead of us and it was going to be like a roller coaster ride with lots of peaks and valleys. They were not lying! Tonight as I was getting ready to leave, Matt was bright eyed. A wonderful nurse named Caroline was in the room with us. I told her that I thought Matt had responded to me this afternoon. I said “watch this”. I rubbed Matt’s arm gently and got down near his ear. I spoke very softly and told him to “close your eyes until I tell you to open them”. He did! I tried to remain calm and I asked him the second time. He did it again! I was so glad that Caroline was in the room to witness it. I'm so thankful the Lord continues to bless us with these little miracles. Little miracles certainly add up to big ones!

7/21/09 - Tuesday, 11:20 a.m. - It was pretty amazing last night to see Matt respond to my commands. Not much happening this morning : ( I gave him a good workout...he is napping right now. Maybe he has his days and nights mixed up. He always did sleep half the day away and stay up all night.

7/22/09 - Wednesday, 12:15 p.m. - Sorry for not updating yesterday afternoon. The wireless service at the Ronald McDonald House was down last night. Matt had an inactive day yesterday. I found out this morning that he was given 2 vicodin (for pain) right before I got here. I guess that is what wiped him out. He slept thru a visit from Coach Don and Sharon. It was great seeing them again. He did wake up about 6:00 p.m. when his Aunt Marcia got here. He kept his eyes open and clung tight to my hands and arms. I couldn’t get him to do any commands, but he was very active. Richard got here right after he fell back to sleep.

Matt’s therapists worked with him for about one hour already this morning. They put him in a sitting position and said he had better trunk control today. The Physiatrist from NRH was here and said that she was very happy with Matt’s tone and all the small things that he has begun to do. She said they were all positive signs.

6:40 p.m. - Two weeks ago when Matt had the infection, he coughed continually. The incision from his bone flap (the half of his skull that they removed immediately after his accident) surgery came open about a 1/2 inch. Since Matt is so thin, and never had much body fat to start with, the opening has grown larger in the past week. The Neuro team is concerned that the bone flap has become contaminated. They have decided to remove and dispose of his bone flap. They will replace his bone flap with a man-made material at a later date. He is scheduled for surgery sometime tomorrow. They have not given me a time yet. Matt will have to be put back on the ventilator. Please pray that his surgery is flawless and that he bounces back after this surgery.

7/23/09 - Thursday, 5:30 p.m. - Matt is out of surgery and doing well! Praise God! Spoke with Dr. Aulisi; he said that Matt will have a Cranioplasty done in the future using an Acrylic material to replace Matt’s own bone flap. He will be in the recovery room for a while. Then he will be taken back to his room on the second floor. Keep praying that he bounces back quickly.

This morning while I was catching up on things at home, Richard was with Matt when his therapists put him in a wheel chair to see how he would handle it. He did well, keeping his vitals down at acceptable levels. Richard is exhausted so I am sure Matt is too!

7/24/09 - Friday, 10:45 a.m. - What a beautiful day. Matt is doing well this morning. He is recovering from yesterday’s surgery like a trooper. His vital signs look good and he does not have much tone this morning. Yeah! It is strange seeing his abdomen without his little hump. He is so thin. I did his exercises and then gave him a bath. He is resting right now. I guess I wore him out.

Last night Aunt Peg took Richard and me out to dinner. We had a wonderful time. It was so nice eating something other than Hospital cafeteria food or a Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad from good ole’ Mickey D’s. : ) The company was pretty awesome as well. Matt does not have anything scheduled for today. Hopefully he will get some rest.

9:40 p.m. - Matt had anything but a restful day! He had one visitor after another this afternoon. He is doing a new thing today. It is like half of a smile or what I’ve been calling a “smirk”. He is so adorable.

Matt’s wonderful therapists, Katie and Michelle, worked with him again today and had him sitting in a chair for 1½ hours. He seemed to handle it pretty well. They scored him on the JFK Coma scale and he received a higher score than last week. The Physiatrist from NRH came in to see him, she said he was improving and felt we may be able to move him to rehab sometime next week. Praise the lord!

7/25/09 - Saturday, noon - We are having a good day. Matt’s vitals look good again this morning. The only thing is, he keeps breaking out into a sweat; haven’t quite figured it out yet. He has been controlling his temperature for the past few days. Praise God! So I am not sure what the sweating is for. We are looking forward to a good day!

9:00 p.m. - The bandages were taken off Matt’s bone flap surgery site this morning. The incision line looks pretty good considering it was so stretched and torn apart from the infection. Dr. Aulisi sewed it shut the old fashioned way instead of using staples. I am really happy with the way it came back together. The doctor also took Matt’s drain out of the surgery site. Please pray that it heals completely shut this time, without infection.

Matt and I had a wonderful visit with his Uncle Shane and Aunt Kerrie. It was nice getting caught up. Matt and Shane arm wrestled…I think Matt won! They left just in time; it started to pour down rain shortly after they left.

It is hard to believe that it has been over two weeks since I’ve updated the prayer request list. I first wanted to give thanks to the Lord for all the prayers that have been answered:

PRAYERS ANSWERED:

Swelling – The extra fluid that is causing the swelling in Matt’s Head to disappear… The extra fluid turned out to be pus that has been surgically removed.

Body Temperature – For Matt to be able to control his body temperature on his own…Matt has maintained normal body temperatures for the past three
days. : )

Vomiting – That Matt will be able to keep his food down so that he can nourish his body and to maintain/gain weight…Since his surgery on 7/12 to remove the pus, Matt has not vomited once!

PRAYERS REQUESTS:

1) Swelling – To continue to make the swelling from Matt’s head disappear so that the doctors will be able to do Matt’s Cranioplasty in the near future.

2) Body Temperature – For Matt to be able to continue to control his body temperature on his own.

3) Bone Flap Surgery Site – Completely heal Matt’s abdominal incision.

4) Sweating – Control Matt’s sweating and get rid of the rash on his face and upper back.

5) Rehabilitation Program – To help us find a Rehabilitation Program that will meet Matt’s needs so that he will make progress. Surround Matt with Christian doctors and therapists who believe in Matt and his full recovery.

6) Infections - Free his body from ALL infections

7) Brain Injury – Completely heal the damaged areas of Matt’s brain and
restore all dead brain cells.

8) Wake Up ! - Awaken Matt and bring him back to us!

To Matt’s “Prayer Warriors” : Thank you from the bottom of my heart. The Lord has answered so many of our prayers. Please continue to have faith and pray for Matt.

7/26/09 - Sunday, 9:00 p.m. - This day has gone by so fast. Matt had one visitor after another. A friend Stephanie and her mother Karen stopped by first thing this morning. Stephanie was on her way back to South Carolina. Hope she has a safe trip home. My Stephanie, Tyler and my beautiful grand baby Carly were here right before lunch. Carly was adorable in her dress that her great-aunt Sheri gave her for Christmas. Steph said that Matt looked much better this time. Shortly after we got back from lunch, Jarrett showed up. He also said Matt was looking better. Yeah Matt! Not long after that, Sable arrived. Sable has the touch with Matt. He didn’t get quite as worked up this time, but she definitely gets a reaction from him. Jarrett and Sable helped Matt move to his 8th and hopefully his last room at the Washington Hospital Center! He no longer needs to be in the Intermediate Care Unit, so they moved him to the “regular floor”. It just so happens that the “regular floor” room is only one room away!!! Matt is still in the Neuroscience Center on the second floor, Room 28. He is allowed to have visitors, but only two at a time. May I suggest sending me an e-mail at poohkepler@aol.com to let me know when you plan to visit. That way we don’t have too many people visiting at the same time.

7/27/09 - Monday, 2:10 p.m. - Matt and I did our normal routine this morning. He still has the rash on his face and upper back. Not sure yet what is causing it. The Infectious Disease department was here to see if they had any suggestions. There was none. So I am waiting on the Dermatology Department to see if they can figure it out. Matt had his trachea downsized from a #9 trachea to a #7 this morning. He seems to be doing well with his new trachea. We are on our way to being trachea free, way to go Matt!

9:30 p.m. - There are many types of Catheterization. The doctors have used two different types on Matt. The first is a Foley Catheter. This type of catheter, which remains in place continuously, has a balloon on the end that is inflated with sterile water after the end is inside the bladder. The inflated balloon prevents the catheter from slipping out. They usually put this kind on Matt for surgery. The second is a Texas catheter or Condom catheter. This is a special condom that fits over...well, you know… and is attached to a tube that collects his urine.

Ever since Matt’s surgery on Thursday, when they switched him back to a Foley, he has been sweating profusely. The doctors were not sure why since he has been on antibiotics and he has not been running a fever. I am not a guy, but I thought that the Texas catheter would have to be more comfortable so I asked the doctors to switch Matt back to the Texas cat yesterday at 4:00 p.m. Since they did this, he has not broken into a sweat once. Coincidentally, my sister-in-law Kerrie called me last night and said that her mom (a nurse) had a patient with a catheter that was placed incorrectly which made HIM sweat. This leads me to believe that we may have found the answer. I am going to keep my fingers crossed. I truly believe another prayer has been answered!

Marcia stopped by after work. She got to see Matt with his new trachea. It is much smaller than the first one. He seems to be getting along great. The Neuro team said they were going to start capping it off tomorrow (more about this later). I am a little nervous, but happy for Matt at the same time. Please pray that my baby will not have any complications during this transition.

7/28/09 - Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. - Another hectic day…Matt was taken down for a new Cat scan this morning. They wanted a current scan so they can get measurements for his replacement Bone Flap (skull). After they brought him back, the nurse discovered that his picc line that administers his Vancomycin was not working. The IV tech came up and used something that works like draino to clear out his lines. Two hours later, the Vancomycin was up and running. Later, Katie his therapist, exercised him, stood him up and put him in his chair. Matt sat in his chair for three hours and did much better this time. Not much coughing. I think the smaller trachea really made the difference. Will and Claire, two friends from UMD, stopped by. Matt was so exhausted after Katie’s visit, they didn’t get much out of him. The Dermatologist and his entourage came to visit a little while ago. They feel the rash on his face is Steroid Acne. Matt was given steroids when he first got here, but not recently. They still feel strongly that this is what it is. They have prescribed him two different kinds of creams to help get rid of it. Please pray that Matt can get rid of this rash.

7/29/09 - Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. - This morning when I arrived, the nurse informed me that she tried to cap Matt’s trachea off to allow him to breathe thru his mouth. When the doctors feel confident that Matt has figured out how to do this on his own, and feel that he can clear his own airway by coughing, they will be able to remove his trachea permanently. The nurse told me that Matt did not do so well. He kept coughing and gagging, so we will have to try again tomorrow. I later discovered that the cuff (a cuff is a balloon around the outer cannula. When it is filled with air, it seals off the space between the wall of your windpipe and the outer cannula.) was never deflated to allow him to breathe around his trachea, therefore closing off his airway completely. I am not sure how long she had his trachea plugged, but he was exhausted. I let him sleep until lunch. I am so ready to get out of this place! The incompetence is astounding.

I had to go next door to NRH to drop off admission paperwork around eleven. When I got back a Neuro PA was removing Matt’s staples from his “infection” surgery. He was trying to scream, but with the trachea in, no sounds can be made. He grimaced each time she removed a staple. It was such a bitter sweet moment for me. It hurt me so bad to watch him in agony, yet I was thrilled that he was responding at all.

After that Katie and Michelle, his wonderful therapists, worked with him and then put him in his chair. He stayed in the chair for the next 3 hours. Yeah Matt!! Friends from UMD, Will and Claire stopped by. Thanks for the poster guys.

Matt and I had a wonderful visit with Aunt Dawnie and Mamaw. Shortly after they left, Richard arrived. Richard has been away trucking with a good friend Mark Valentine. Mark went along to help drive so that Richard would not be away from us too long. They traveled over 3500 miles and 14 states in four days! I was so happy to see him…Matt was too! I will tell you guys about that tomorrow : )

7/30/09 - Thursday, 3:15 p.m. - It has been hard to find the time in the last several days to sit down and write Matt’s updates. It seems like it gets later and later each day. For the past couple of days, Matt would get this “look” in his eyes. During this time, he would follow commands like shut your eyes or open your mouth. His “look” would only last for a short time, so I only had a small window when I could ask him commands. His swelling on the left side of his head is diminishing. I even noticed a huge decrease over night. His head is very concave today. I believe this is why we are getting so much more reaction from him. He is trying to figure it out. Yesterday, during his therapy, Michelle gave him a toothbrush and he put it in his mouth. Katie got him to lift his arm and put his hand over the lotion bottle. It wasn’t pretty, but it is just the fact that he was able to put all of the commands together.

Last night when Richard got here, Matt had his head laying to the right towards me. I told Matt that Daddy was here, when Richard said “Hi son, it’s me daddy”, Matt lifted his head with wide open eyes and looked toward Richards voice. He looked as though he was mouthing words, but of course nothing came out. It was awesome seeing him react so positively toward his daddy.

Richard and I arrived this morning at 8:00 a.m. so that we could be here to oversee the trachea capping. They began capping him off at 8:30. He has done beautifully all day! Praise God! We had to take the cap off so that he can be transported to the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Yes, we just got Matt’s transfer. WE ARE GOING TO REHAB!

7/31/09 - Friday, 2:10 a.m. - Over the past several weeks, we have been blessed to have a very caring, and loving Clinical Social Worker assigned to Matt. Her name is Karen. We owe her many thanks for her hard work and diligence in finding a place that would be right for Matt. Karen informed us at two o’clock yesterday afternoon that Matt’s transfer was final and that he would be transferred within the next 1 ½ hours. Even though I had been praying for Matt to be well enough to move on, I immediately got butterflies. I felt like I did 14 1/2 years ago when his Dad and I sent him off for his first day of school. Just like I did back then, I hope and pray that Matt will thrive in his new environment.

When I was posting my last update at 3:15 p.m., the transporters were literally loading Matt on the transfer bed to take him to the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH). Fortunately, there is an enclosed walkway joining the two facilities, so Matt was just pushed next door allowing for a smooth transition. Filled with excitement and nervousness, Richard and I walked along side our son to the next phase of his recovery. We met many of Matt’s new caretakers and were given a brief description of what will be expected from Matt (and us) in the next couple of days. I am so excited for Matt; he starts his first therapy session at 8:00 this morning.

11:55 p.m. - Just a quick note to say that Matt loves his new room! It has a beautiful view of the courtyard fountain below. I am too tired for a long winded update. But I wanted to let you know we are doing well. His new visiting hours are:

Monday – Friday 5-9 p.m.
Saturday 12 noon-9 p.m.
Sunday 9-9

I will give you a full report tomorrow. My love to all.

8/4/09 - Tuesday, 10:30 p.m. - I want to thank GOD for all the blessings that he has bestowed upon us in the past five days. We had an extremely busy weekend moving Matt into his new pad, meeting many of his new care givers, planning and pulling off a very successful Jewelry Bingo, and trying to establish computer access in our new home away from home.

When I last posted (I apologize for keeping you in suspense) Matt had just arrived at NRH. I want to thank all the wonderful people, Holny Santana, Karen Weingart, Dr. Fatemeh Milani and so many more that worked so diligently to get him here. His room is awesome. It is about four times as big as his old room. Matt has his own bathroom; complete with shower. His room is bright and cheery with the sun streaming in through his wall of windows.

We spent most of Friday meeting Matt’s new team of Rehab Specialists. For the next three days (Friday, Saturday and Monday) his team examined Matt‘s medical history and then tested and measured his strength, range of motion, balance, coordination, posture, muscle performance, respiration, and motor function and so much more. Tomorrow, Wednesday, Matt’s team will get together and develop an individualized plan of care, tailored specifically to his needs. It will describe a treatment strategy and its anticipated outcome and include a discharge date. As treatment continues, his team documents his progress, conduct periodic examinations and modifies his treatment when necessary.

Leading Matt’s team is Dr. Michael Yochelson who is the medical director for the Brain Injury Program. He will be responsible for overall decision making. Key players include Amanda who is an Occupational Therapist (OT). She will help Matt to improve his ability to perform tasks in living and working environments. This would include using a computer to caring for daily needs such as brushing his teeth, dressing, eating, etc. Andrea is his Physical Therapist (PT) who will help restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities, promote overall fitness and health, and etc. His Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), sometimes called a speech therapist is Ilana. She will help with his speech, language and swallowing difficulties. Ilana will help Matt make sounds, develop, or recover, reliable communication and swallowing skills without choking or inhaling food or liquid.

Aunt Brenda flew in from Ohio to help over the weekend. She and Heather sat with Matt Saturday afternoon while I went home to get organized for my lia Sophia jewelry bingo on Sunday. My bingo had been planned since April and I was going to cancel, but my unit manager Heidi, from Wisconsin, said that she would run it if I was unavailable. I haven’t worked since June 7th, so it was a win win situation for me. A special thanks to Marcia who did much of the food, my fourteen hostesses who made delicious desserts and did a fabulous job in getting over 120 attendees and the countless others who contributed to making my first bingo a huge success. Thank you to everyone, including my Aunt Peg, Uncle Bill and Tim who sat with Matt on Sunday. They had a good day. Aunt Peg gave me a great report and said Matt had been comfortable all day. When Brenda and I arrived in the evening, Matt was much more alert. It was hard to leave him for the night.

On Monday, Matt began opening his left hand and was trying to figure out how to use it. He pulled at everything, his trachea, mask, feed peg, pretty much anything that he could get his hands on. He even reached up and scratched his neck! Midway thru the day, Matt ran a 103 temperature. Dr. Yochelson ordered a urine test, sputum test and a chest x-ray just to take precautions. (I think I am going to like this place!) Also on Monday, Dr. Yochelson tweaked some of Matt’s medications and completely took him off the Clonidine. This was one of his medications that caused drowsiness.

This morning, when Brenda and I arrived, Matt was bright eyed and bushy tailed. Amanda, his OT, was giving him a bath. First, she would show him what to do, and then she would repeat over and over for him to do it himself. He actually rubbed the washcloth up and down on his chest twice. Yeah Matt! He had six thirty-minute therapy sessions throughout the day. He continued to squeeze hands, touch his eyes, pull on his nose, suck on his finger, he even sat in his wheel chair for three hours. His SLT Ilana got permission to deflate his trachea cuff (balloon) today; she gave him lemon flavored swabs that he would suck on and then swallow. She was testing him to see if he would choke. He did great. He was also taken off the oxygen, but he continues to be hooked up to a mask that gives him humidified room air. This is to keep his trachea moist. The best thing that Matt has learned so far has got to be kissing. You tell him that you want a kiss, and you put your fingers up to his mouth and he will give you a great big smooch, sound included. Matt has only slept for 35 minutes today. I know that he will sleep tonight.

On July 25th, prayer request number 5 was to find a rehab program that will meet Matt’s needs so that he will make progress. And to surround him with Christian care providers who believe in Matt’s full recovery. I honestly believe that we have found that place.

8/6/09 - Thursday, 5:45 p.m. - Matt had an awesome day yesterday. His therapists are getting him to respond to different things. Matt nodded his head “yes” to many of Ilana’s questions during speech therapy. He hasn’t gotten the “no” down yet; he just uses his eyebrows and makes a confused face. Ilana even got him to mouth the word yes. I was extremely excited when she asked him if I was his mommy and he shook his head up and down emphatically. When she got ready to leave he waved goodbye.

Dr. Makki came in the late afternoon to change Matt’s trachea to a metal # 5 trachea. With this trachea, we will be able to hear if Matt talks. We also “plugged” Matt’s trachea and he was able to keep it plugged until 9:30 when I was ready to leave for the evening.

Matt’s abdomen sutures were removed yesterday. His incision looks great considering how stretched and torn it was from his infection. He has begun to move his right arm which he has not done in a while and he has to wear a padded mitt on his left hand to keep him from pulling out his trachea or scratching his face.

8:00 p.m. - ARE YOU GUYS READY FOR THIS UPDATE??? When I got in this morning, Matt looked fabulous. He was very alert, and seemed to want to tell me something. His first session was not until 9:30a.m. So I figured he would have a little time to rest after I bothered him. I asked him “did you miss me?” and he shook his head up and down like he really meant it. He acted like he wanted to talk to me. So I preceded, “Am I your mommy?” He again nodded yes. I then asked him “Is your last name Smith?” He scowled at me and then shook his head no! It was the first time that he answered no. I kept asking him questions until Ilana got here. He had a great session with her. He continued with another good session with his OT’s.

At 11:30 a.m., I was talking to his Recreational Therapist, Heather, when I heard whispering. I looked at her and said “Was that MATT?” I jumped up and ran to his bedside. Sure enough, IT WAS MATT! I told him that I could not hear him, he had to speak up. Then, the most amazing thing happened…He looked straight at me and in a clear voice said “You are wo-ving, nah, yeaaaaa” I really don’t know what it meant, and at that point I really didn’t care, but he repeated it three times! He acted like he was in a lot of pain and kept grimacing. He started to sweat and acted like he wanted to cry. I asked him if he was in pain and then realized that he was having a bowel movement. (Yes, one day he is going to be mad at me for this story, but it is important!) I told him that it is okay for him to go in the bed and I would clean it up for him, no problem. He turned and looked straight at me and said “I would prefer a man!” And repeated it the second time. I just about passed out. After we got him cleaned up, I told him how much I loved him and told him that I was so proud of him for working so hard to communicate with me. I asked him, “Do you love me?” and HE SAID “of course”. He has continued to talk on and off all day long. Sometimes it makes sense, most of the time it is just random gibberish.

Richard and I want to thank all of Matt’s “prayer warriors” for praying so hard for our son’s healing. We need to continue to Praise the LORD for all of his healing and especially for today’s huge blessing. We still have a long road ahead of us; I hope that you will continue to pray for Matt and his speedy recovery. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

8/8/09 - Saturday, 12:45 p.m. - I apologize for the updates being so sporadic lately. I am having such a hard time with my computer access since we moved to this new building. I am even having some problems at the Ronald McDonald House in the evenings as well.

When I arrived yesterday, Matt had a blue tongue and blue lips. Ilana had performed a swallow test, which is a blue dye that she makes him swallow. Then she keeps an eye on him to make sure he does not aspirate or have any blue stuff coming from his trachea. He passed with flying colors. During her second session she fed him a very thick apple juice and asked him if he liked it. He shook his head no. He will have a couple of more tests on Monday and then he will soon be able to be fed through his mouth. He also had his trachea “plugged” during the day. His oxygen saturation level remained 98-100. No problems what so ever.

Richard soon arrived. He has been running non-stop for the past two weeks. Richard would love to be here with Matt every day cheering him on, but he’s out there working hard to make it possible for me to be here with Matt.

Andrea (PT) brought Matt a new candy apple red wheel chair. It has a better head support and fits him thru the mid section better so that he is not slouching so much. He sat in it for a couple of hours and handled it very well.

Richard and I met with Matt’s entire team of experts in the afternoon. Each one gave us a report on how his assessments went and then explained to us what their individual goals were for him during his stay here. Matt’s anticipated discharge date is 10-12 weeks. They were very surprised at how much Matthew has progressed in such a short time. The team said that he expressing himself saying “I’d prefer a man” was a higher level of thinking. Most coma patients emerge repeating what they hear, not expressing themselves about their feelings. The overall vibe in the meeting was very positive and gave Richard and me a tremendous amount of hope for Matt’s future.

11:15 p.m. - Matt is on the Brain Injury floor and has a great staff taking care of him. He has won the heart of many of the nurses and technicians on our floor. Many of them care about him so much that when he isn’t their patient for the day they still check on him and follow his progress.

Yesterday, Dr. Yochelson decided to increase Matt’s baclafin to help with the tone in his arms. He also added a new medication called Amantadine. This will help with his awareness. It seems to have made a difference, his weekend PT Kathy said his tone was much better today than last weekend.

Matt has been doing a trial “plugging” almost continuously since they downsized his trachea on Thursday. He is doing great with no problems. Dr. Makki will soon remove his trachea; maybe as early as next week.

Throughout the past two months everyone has been absolutely amazing. Offering prayers and thoughts of concern; even donating funds to help us along. We have reconnected with long lost friends and made wonderful new ones. Many times, a “thank you” from me has been unintentionally pushed to the back burner. The support we have received has been the crucial key to our survival; every bit appreciated and welcomed. I know I will never be able to repay all of you, but please know that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. As Matt gets better, he will know of all the people who have loved him.

8/9/09 - Sunday, 11:55 p.m. - Praise GOD for the HUGE prayers that have been answered -

LATEST PRAYERS ANSWERED:

Swelling – The swelling has almost disappeared completely!

Body Temperature –Matt has maintained a normal body temperature since July 22nd with the exception of one day!

Sweating –Matt has the sweating under control. The rash on the back is gone!

Rehabilitation Program – Matt is thriving in his new environment!

Wake Up ! – Matt is no longer in a Coma! Thank you heavenly father!

I am forever grateful for Matt’s “Prayer Warriors” please continue to pray for Matt. I have updated his prayer requests.

NEW PRAYERS REQUESTS:

1) Swelling – To continue to make the swelling from Matt’s head go down so that the doctors will be able to do Matt’s Cranioplasty in the near future.

2) Rash on Face – Completely heal and make the rash on Matt’s face go away.

3) Infections - Free his body from ALL infections.

4) Brain Injury – Completely heal the damaged areas of Matt’s brain and restore all dead brain cells.

5) Cognitive Improvement – Continue cognitive improvement (speech, memory, personality, etc.).

6) Tone - Alleviate the unnecessary tone in Matt’s entire body.

7) Legs & Arms - Pray that Matt’s arms and legs become fully functional.

8) Trachea – Successfully remove trachea.

9) Swallow – Pray that Matt passes the swallowing test so that the feed peg can eventually be removed.

10) Lord guide Matt’s doctors and therapists each day so he gets the best treatments available.

11) Pray for strength and endurance for Patti, Richard, Stephanie and the entire Kepler/Bridge Families.

Thank you Heavenly Father for answering so many of our prayers. We are very grateful for each and every one of them.

8/10/09 - Monday, 1:00 p.m. - Matt had a very busy weekend with therapy sessions and visitors. I would like to thank everyone that came to visit. Heather, Mom, Sheri, Jarrett, Stephanie V, Richard F, Sissy, Tyler and Carly, Sable, Gaby and Paula. I hope I didn’t miss anyone.

Therapy sessions are very crucial to Matt’s recovery. Please schedule your visits around Matt’s therapy schedule. Visiting hours are as follows:

Monday – Friday 5pm-9pm
Saturday – 4pm-9pm (If you want to visit during earlier hours, I will know at 8:00 am what his schedule is for the day. Please contact me to set up an earlier time)
Sunday – 11am-9pm

Matt was very stingy with his verbal words over the weekend. The few words that he did say were very meaningful. He is nodding to questions more frequently. All of his therapists agree that it is important that his friends and family come to visit. Please feel free to visit anytime during the above schedule. Thank you.

11:05 p.m. - Matt seems to be responding even more than we have seen in the days prior. When I first arrived this morning, the nurse told me that she had asked Matt if he needed anything and he responded “I’m comfortable”. His first speech therapy session was very exciting. He actually sucked lemonade thru a straw. Hopefully he will be able to get the modified barium swallow study done in the next few days in order for him to be able to start eating by mouth.

Matt has not had much movement in his legs since he developed the infection in his head a couple of weeks ago. Matt’s physical therapist, Andrea, did electrical stimulation on his legs today. Electrical stimulation uses an electrical current to cause a single muscle or a group of muscles to contract. By placing electrodes on the skin in various locations the physical therapist can recruit the appropriate muscle fibers. Contracting the muscle via electrical stimulation helps strengthen the affected muscle. The physical therapist can change the current setting to allow for a forceful or gentle muscle contraction. Along with increasing muscle strength, the contraction of the muscle also promotes blood supply to the area that assists in healing. Matt did very well during this procedure. Andrea said that it may or may not work; only time will tell. When Andrea got ready to leave, I asked Matt “What do you say to Andrea?” Matt said “Thank you”.

Matt responded on and off for me all day long. He did more nodding, but not much talking. This evening when Marcia and Heather were visiting, Marcia was talking about making Matt one of his favorites, chip beef gravy. Marcia said “would you like me to make you some chip beef gravy”, Matt said “yes”. Sometime later, out of nowhere, Matt blurted out “I said, take my temperature”. So I had Helen, his nurse, take his temperature. I told him that his temp was 36.7c and that was the end of that.

Matt’s second cousin Tim and Richard arrived later in the evening. Matt tried so hard to communicate with Richard. I think he was just too tired. Matt's trachea will be “plugged” all night tonight. He has to successfully complete two all-nighters and then he will be able to have his trachea removed. Yeah Matt!

God hears our prayers, please keep praying.

8/11/09 - Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. - Matt had another busy day with his therapists. He has been giving us a bunch of head nods but he has not talked much today. Hopefully when Matt gets his trachea removed, he will feel like talking more. He passed his first night being “plugged” with no problems. He will remain “plugged” again tonight. Tomorrow morning they will discuss taking his trachea out!

My mom sent me this a while back. I thought it was worthy enough to pass along…

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go.
Only 1 of 2 things will happen, either He'll catch you when you fall, or
He'll teach you how to fly!

I would like to think Matt is learning how to fly!

8/12/09 - Wednesday, 1:00 p.m. - To answer the question we are asked a lot, “How is Matt doing?

The doctors and therapists use a scale to communicate with each other and the families of TBI patients about the level of recovery or stages of improvement they observe in a patient. They use the levels of the “Rancho” scale.

The Rancho Scale was first known as the Levels of Cognitive Functioning. As it became widely used, it acquired the name of the place where it was devised, Ranchos Los Amigos Hospital in California. Today it is referred to as the Rancho Scale.

The Rancho scale was developed as a way to describe the stages of cognitive improvement as a person with brain injury becomes more responsive. The Rancho Scale is not a test. It is a method of organizing and describing observations in a generalized way, to provide families with a language to communicate with rehabilitation specialists. This scale gives the family a sense of predictability so that as the person with brain injury continues to recover, the family knows what to expect at the next level similar to the Glasgow Coma Scale.

Improvement through the Rancho Scale depends primarily upon the extent and the severity of the brain injury. Some individuals progress through only certain levels while others will progress through all the levels (although they will not necessarily recover to their pre-injury functional level). Progress through the levels may be slow, rapid or moderate. Sometimes recovery may be rapid at first, and then may slow down or plateau. A brief description of the Rancho Scale is presented below:

Level I: No Response to Stimulation: Total Assistance
Level II: Generalized Response to Stimulation: Total Assistance

*Level III - Localized Response: Total Assistance (The level where Matt is now)
• Demonstrates withdrawal or vocalization to painful stimuli.
• Turns toward or away from auditory stimuli.
• Responds to discomfort by pulling tubes or restraints.
• Responds inconsistently to simple commands.
• Responses directly related to type of stimulus.
• May respond to some persons (especially family and friends) but not to others.
• Begin to respond inconsistently to simple questions with "yes" or "no" head nods.

Level IV: Confused, Agitated Behavior: Maximal Assistance
Level V: Confused, Inappropriate, Non agitated Behavior: Maximal Assistance
Level VI: Confused, Appropriate Behavior: Moderate Assistance
Level VII: Automatic, Appropriate Behavior: Minimal Assistance for Daily Living Skills
Level VIII: Purposeful, Appropriate: Stand-by assistance
Level IX: Purposeful, Appropriate: Stand-by on request
Level X: Purposeful, Appropriate: Modified Independent

We give praise to God for the blessings He has showered upon Matt. Please continue to pray for his daily progress.

8/12/09 - Wednesday, 10:50 p.m. - Matt’s tracheostomy tube is history! Matt proved to the doctors that he was ready to be extubated. It was required that he prove that he had adequate respiratory drive, that he had the ability to maintain a clear airway, that he had adequate oxygenation and that he had the ability to ventilate spontaneously. He achieved this by staying “plugged” for the last 48 hours with no complications. Dr Makki came in and about one minute later the trachea tube was gone. Matt has a hole in his neck about the diameter of your pinky finger. The nurse just put a gauze bandage over it and said that it should heal shut by itself. I am so proud of Matt. I can only imagine how pleased he is to have the tube gone! I was hoping that he would speak more when it was removed, but that did not happen this afternoon, maybe tomorrow.

Ilana (SLP) said that Matt was speaking this morning before I got there. He did communicate with me, but only with some head nods. Megan and Neepa (OT) made Matt a new right hand splint today. His old one was giving him blisters. Andrea (PT) continued with his electrical stimulation therapy. His muscles seemed to be contracting more today. All in all, Matt had a great day of therapy sessions. He stayed awake for all of them. I gave him another round of (PT) exercises and changed him into his pajamas before I left this evening. He only had a few power naps (as his Dad would call them) today, so I am sure he is going to sleep good tonight. I am so thankful that the Lord continues to bless us with these huge steps forward. Matt’s next big step is to pass his swallowing test on Friday morning. Please keep us in your prayers.

8/13/09 - Thursday, 4:00 p.m. - Praise God! Matt’s isolation restrictions have been lifted. That means he can go to the therapy gym in the Atrium or even go outside! I am so excited. Andrea (PT) wheeled him over to the Atrium during her morning session and then Ilana (SLP) met us over there and did her session. The Atrium is very bright with the sun streaming in thru the glass ceiling. Matt looked up toward the ceiling and just closed his eyes, almost like he was enjoying the warm sun.

Young, his nurse coordinator, came in this morning to change his trachea bandage. It is unbelievable how God can heal the human body so quickly. His Pinky size trachea hole was almost completely closed. He has a smaller bandage over it today.

I can’t even begin to tell you how elated I am at Matt’s progress. The staff here is so extraordinary. They are very caring and each and every one of them has Matt’s best interest at heart. From the Doctors to the nurses, Rehab techs to the unit clerks, even the housekeeping folks, they are all very positive. I give them thanks and praise every day for their dedication to Matt’s recovery.

8/13/09 - Thursday, 11:10 p.m. - Bright and early tomorrow morning, Matt will be doing a Modified Barium Swallow study. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the swallowing process, and to make sure that Matt is not having problems swallowing food without aspirating it into the windpipe.

By using a swallowed contrast material which can be seen using X-rays, the physician is able to see all structures involved in swallowing (from the oral cavity to the esophagus) on a video screen while the test is taking place.
A radiologist or technician will strap Matt to a table that tilts vertically. The fluoroscopic tube, attached to a video monitor, will then be placed to give the examiners the desired view. Matt will be given a small amount of barium preparation of varying consistencies from thin liquids to paste to a piece of coated cookie. Ilana even said that she was going to try a turkey sandwich. Varying the amounts and consistency of the contrast material allows his doctor to determine which types of food are difficult for him to swallow. The fluoroscopic screen allows the physician to view the results as the test takes place. The test will be performed with Ilana (SLP) present so that she can assess his swallowing ability. Please pray that Matt passes this test tomorrow morning.

8/14/09 - Friday, 5:00 p.m. - Praise the Lord! We are crossing off the prayer requests one at a time. Matt got an A+ on his Modified Barium Swallow study test first thing this morning. They started out giving him nectar, then water, applesauce, cottage cheese and yes, even a huge piece of turkey. It was so awesome watching him swallow everything. I would hold my breath while he was chewing and then a huge sigh of relief to see the food go down correctly on the live x-ray. I am not sure he liked everything, especially since it was coated with the “Barium stuff”. But he still ate it and swallowed properly. Yeah Matt!

Matt was rewarded with a “real lunch”. He did so well on the swallow test that he skipped the “puree” level and went right to the “ground food” level. His lunch tray included ground fish, rice, broccoli, thick tomato soup, and vanilla pudding. After he finished his meal, I gave him pieces of a chocolate chip cookie that Brittany and her dad Bob brought him last night during their visit. Matt will be fed three meals a day but remain on continuous feedings throughout the evening until he gains some of his weight back.

During Brittany and her Dad’s visit, Matt was wiped out from his hard day of therapy. They didn’t get much out of him, unlike today when he had his game on! The first thing he said to me this morning was “I don’t feel like talking to you” but from then on he was very chatty. I asked him if he loves his Dad and he said “Dad’s the best”. He has talked more today than all the other days combined. Matt still does not carry on a conversation and he continues to say random things, but for the most part he is right on the money.

8/15/09 - Saturday, 11:10 a.m. - Last night, Matt was just finishing his dinner when Wendee and Rob stopped in. We had a great visit with them. They said that Matt has come a long way and they were very proud of Matt’s progress. Rob even helped me figure out some of my computer problems : ) Thanks Rob!

My boy had scrambled eggs, applesauce and oatmeal for breakfast this morning. He wasn’t too keen on the oatmeal, but who is? I gave him a sip of my McDonalds sweet tea. He looked like he thoroughly enjoyed it. Matt has a light day of therapy scheduled. His dad is coming down this afternoon. I hope to get him up and out to the courtyard to get some fresh air and sun.

8/15/09, Saturday, 7:00 p.m. - Matt had the dynamic duo, Ms. Betty and Velma taking care of him today. We love them!!! I always know when Velma has Matt before I reach his room in the morning. She has his music cranked up high on his ipod station and I can hear it down the hall.

Stephanie V and her parents came to visit today. Just as they were leaving, someone said “momma’s always right”. Matt had to put his two cents in and said “occasionally”. We all just laughed. It was the only thing Matt said for their entire visit, but I think it put a smile on all their faces. They all agreed they thought Matt looked like he had gained a little weight. If he keeps up eating like he has been, he should start to gain weight for sure. He ate his entire dinner this evening; meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn and peaches. Yummy!

Richard and I had Matt loaded in his wheelchair and took him for a walk in the courtyard outside. It is beautiful down there. We sat in the wooded area for a while where there is a little breeze. This was the first time Matt has been outside since his accident on June 7th. I think he enjoyed it just as much as Richard and I. Thank you for your continued prayers.

8/17/09 - Monday, 2:45 a.m. - Matt had another wonderful day. He had many visitors. His sister Stephanie came down this morning with Aunt Sheri, Mamaw and Cousin Tyler. Matt finally stayed awake for Steph and even told the whole gang “Yes, I am fine”. We had a chance to take him out in the courtyard, but didn’t stay out long because of the heat. A very good high school friend, Jimmy, came to visit next. It was great seeing Jimmy, he has been in New Mexico all summer and just got back a couple of days ago. Matt seemed to respond to Jimmy and held onto his hand tight. Jimmy also got a couple of words out of him : ) Dedicated Sable visited during Matt’s dinner time. He had no problems finishing his; well I am not sure what it was. Some kind of beef, noodles, gravy all ground together and carrots. I didn’t know Matt liked carrots, but he ate them without making a yucky face. Sable fed him his pineapple crisp and was rewarded with lots of hand kisses. He said something to her, but it didn’t make any sense. Tom, a friend from UMD was Matt’s last visitor. I had already left for the day. Tom said they had a nice visit and he could tell that Matt was getting better. I know Matt is getting better each and every day. We have God and all of you to thank for that. My love to all.

8/18/09 - Tuesday, 3:50 p.m. - Matt had a good day yesterday. His weekly routine continues. Each day involves therapy sessions and time sitting up in his candy apple wheel chair. Cousin Heather and Aunt Marcia stopped by to visit. Heather fed Matt his dinner like a pro. She didn’t leave a drop on his plate. He is doing exceptionally well eating. Unfortunately, he has lost a total of 33 lbs since his accident. Not that Matt had 33 lbs to lose! His dietician added Ensure three times a day to his diet to help him put on some weight.

Aunt Kerrie and Cousin Bethanie arrived just as Marcia and Heather were leaving. Matt hung on to Kerrie’s hand and gave her many kisses. He also kept putting her hand to his head. We think he was trying to get her to scratch his head like she always did before his accident.

Thanks again for your prayers.

8/19/09 - Wednesday, 1:00 a.m. - It was the perfect way to start Tuesday morning. I was talking to Richard on the cell phone and I asked Matt if he wanted to talk to his Dad. With no response from him, I put the phone to his ear anyway. I heard Richard say “Hi son, it’s your Dad”. Matt took a deep breath and said “Hi Richard”. I just laughed. Matt always called Richard “Pops” or “Dad”, never “Richard”. But it was pretty awesome that he knew “Dad” was “Richard”. I’ll take that!

We found out today that Matt’s second sputum test came back negative for MRSA, which means he is officially lifted off isolation. Praise God! We have been spoiled to have a huge room to ourselves. I hope we can still keep his current accommodations. If not, it is a small price to pay for not having MRSA.

Matt has been extremely agitated lately. Scratching and pulling at everything. It has become very distracting during his therapy sessions. Dr. Yochelson started Matt Monday night on a drug called Seroquel. After being on Seroquel for 24 hours, I believe it has helped him significantly.

Matt also started having these emotional outbursts yesterday where he gets upset and starts to cry. He has fear in his eyes and looks very confused. He holds on tight and kisses my hands. Then, other times he has little bursts of laughter, usually unprovoked. These outbursts usually do not last very long, most of the time they are over in several seconds. Dr. Yochelson feels like these outbursts are also going to prevent Matt from getting the most out of his therapy sessions so he started him on Zoloft this evening. Please pray that Matt will not need to be on either one of these medications very long.

8/19/09 - Wednesday, 11:30 p.m. - It won’t be long now until they take out Matt’s stomach peg. He has been officially taken off the night time continuous feedings. He gets three meals a day with Ensure. Ensure has 350 calories to help him gain weight. Plus, he gets an additional supplement called Enlive once a day. It contains high-quality protein and essential nutrients.

Just as I got started feeding Matt his dinner, Jimmy surprised us with another visit. I was so hoping Matt would talk to Jimmy, but he didn’t. Ilana was the only one that Matt wanted to communicate with today. I guess I will be patient and wait for my turn.

We thank the Lord for continuing to bless Matt and helping him to continue to take baby steps forward. Thanks for your prayers.

8/20/09 - Thursday, 11:00 p.m. - Matt had another great day. It started off strong with Ilana (SLP). She got him to answer about eight questions in a row. Megan (OT) had him wash his own face and chest. When she sat Matt up on the side of his bed, he held his head up for a while and even raised his right arm up almost shoulder level by himself. Andrea worked on his legs again today.

I was talking on the cell phone with Stephanie and put Matt on. He said “Hey Steph”. It is so awesome to hear him speak, especially when he says things that make sense.

Richard arrived shortly after dinner. He has been away for the past couple of days doing long hauls. He said that Matt looked so much more alert this evening. When we got Matt ready for bed, Matt reached out to Richard like he wanted a goodnight hug. I pray that Matt sleeps well tonight so he can work hard tomorrow.

8/21/09 - Friday, 7:00 p.m. - Matthew has become a hand full. He is constantly grabbing at everything. He almost pulled out his feed peg several times today. Dr. Yochelson said it would not be a big deal if he did since he is eating so well and he started taking all of his medications by mouth last night with the anticipation of having it removed. Hopefully it will be taken out at the beginning of next week. I would still prefer it to be done by a qualified person. (Although, Matt did say he was a doctor! LOL)

Matt finished his Vancomycin (the medication for his MRSA in his head) last night at midnight. He has been on it since July 14th. So maybe we will be able to have his PICC line removed early next week too!

Andrea (PT) taught Matt how to pull himself with his bed railing yesterday. Now, he tries to do it every time he is on his side. He is extremely strong and he has so much upper body strength it is hard to stop him. Megan (OT) had him sitting up today. One time he even made it 10 seconds without falling over. Ilana (SLP) still wins the prize for getting Matt to communicate. He answered a bunch of questions during her second session today. I guess that is why she is the speech therapist! Richard was excited. He has never heard Matt say more than one or two words at a time.

Richard had the honors of feeding Matt his lunch today. They were getting along great until Matt coughed and showered Richard with his iced tea. Matt worked very hard during all of his sessions today. I look forward to many more days like today.

8/22/09 - Saturday, 10:30 p.m. - Praise God for the most incredible day yet! When I arrived this morning, Matt was more alert than he has ever been. I sat down next to him on the bed and began to talk to him. We talked about the accident and I explained to him what has been happening for the past couple of months. He seemed to remember everything up to the accident, but was a little confused as to where he is now. After about twenty minutes he completely went blank and stopped talking. This was the longest Matt has ever stayed coherent at one time. The nurse and I got him into his wheel chair and he continued communicating with me on and off all day long, but not as well as he did first thing this morning. Matt said “Hi” to Richard on the phone and also said “Goodbye” to his nurse Betty. When Richard got here this evening, Matt didn’t have much to say, but after a day like we have had, it gives me so much hope for Matt’s future.

8/23/09 - Sunday, 9:00 p.m. - Matt was pretty consistent all day long with head nods, short answers to questions and on occasions he would put his random two cents in. He tried to give a cute tech Rachel his telephone number, 555… was all he got out! LOL

Tonight, after many, many visits, Matt finally spoke to Sable and asked her how she was and then told her that he was fine. Richard and I want to thank Sable for being so dedicated to Matt and visiting him so often. We love you Sable!

Since Matt’s accident, the doctors were not sure about Matt’s sight. He would never blink when you made sudden movements toward his eyes. Thank you Heavenly Father! Matt is now blinking any time you get near them. Another wonderful thing that started this weekend…Matt’s head had always postured badly to the right. I would adjust his head to the “neutral” position many, many times a day. This weekend Matt began to hold his head up by himself. He is doing exceptional well unless he gets tired. I am so delighted at all his progress.

……Just as I was putting the finishing touches on my blog, Richard who was sitting with Matt, started yelling HELP ME! I looked over, Matt and Richard’s arms and hands were all tangled together and I wasn’t sure what was going on. Turns out that Matt had gotten a hold of his PICC line and decided it was time to be removed. He actually pulled it out about two inches. The nurse called the resident on duty and they came immediately and decided that they would finish removing it since Matt was no longer on the Vancomycin. Now all we have to get rid of is the feed peg and it is not for lack of trying on Matt’s part. Hopefully…early next week.

Thank you for your continued prayers…as you can read, they are working!

8/24/09 - Monday, 11:55 p.m. - Another beautiful day…When I got there this morning, his nurse and a couple of techs were laughing. It turns out that when the song “Johnny B Goode” came on Matt’s ipod station this morning, he began to bob his head and even mouthed the words to the song. I wish I was there to see it. Matt continued to work hard in his therapy sessions. He did much better in the morning sessions though. Megan(OT) and Matt practiced how to use a spoon. I think he did pretty well for his first time.

He didn’t do much talking for his company today. He didn’t say anything to Wendee and Kira when they visited. But they still had a good visit and Wendee said that Matt looked so much more alert than her last visit. Marcia and Heather visited later on in the afternoon. I called Richard on the cell phone and showed them Matt’s mad cell phone skills. For some reason, Matt responds extremely well to the telephone and can put the phone up to his ear by himself and usually does a pretty good job talking. We later had Heather’s boyfriend Ben on the cell phone and all that came out was a bunch of gibberish. He is working on it though… He just needs more time. He was worn out when I left this evening. I know he is going to sleep well.

8/25/09 - Tuesday, 11:55 p.m. - THANK YOU HEAVENLY FATHER…WE HAVE MOVEMENT! I was home getting caught up on piles of paperwork this morning, when I got to the rehab hospital this afternoon, Matt moved his feet ! He even moved his right leg, which is the one that we haven’t seen much movement out of for a very long time. I am so excited; I can’t wait to tell his therapists tomorrow.

I am not sure how his therapy sessions went today, but I do know that he was right on tonight. We called his Aunt Brenda and he was able to say “Happy Birthday” loud and clear. Matt is extremely fidgety. He loves to play with a ball; he twists it around in his hand over and over again. I also brought in an old cell phone that we no longer use, he seems to know exactly what to do with it. He can flip it open and closed with his left hand and he holds it up to his ear. Tonight when Steph and Tyler were there, he held it up to his ear and asked “Who is it?” Stephanie was amazed at how alert he is now. But then again, he has pretty much slept thru most of her other visits.

I cannot believe that it has been over two weeks since I last updated Matt’s prayer requests. God has again blessed us by answering many of our prayers, so I need to work on updating it tomorrow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAD DOG!

8/26/09 – Wednesday, 4:50 p.m. - There is no doubt in my mind that God has huge plans for Matt. Richard and I are so thankful each and every day watching Matt’s progress. We continue to pray and believe that God will heal Matt from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. It is time for a prayer request update since we have been blessed with so many answered prayers.

PRAISE THE LORD FOR THE LATEST PRAYERS ANSWERED:

Swelling – The swelling in his head is completely gone!

Infections – Matt no longer has infections; he has been lifted off his isolation status!

Trachea –The trachea was successfully removed and the insertion site has healed beautifully!

Swallow – Matt passed the swallowing test with flying colors and is eating everything including his medications by mouth!

PICC Line – The PICC line was removed without any issues!

UPDATED PRAYER REQUESTS:

1) Cranioplasty Surgery – Bless Matt’s surgeons’ hands and everyone involved with his surgical procedure so that his surgery goes flawlessly when the times comes to replace his Bone Flap.

2) Feed Peg removal – To have the feed peg removed without any issues.

3) Rash on Face – To completely heal and make the rash on Matt’s face go away.

4) Brain Injury – To completely heal the damaged areas of Matt’s brain and restore all dead brain cells.

5) Cognitive Improvement –To continue cognitive improvement (speech, memory, personality, etc.).

6) Tone - Alleviate the unnecessary tone in Matt’s entire body.

7) Legs & Arms - Pray that Matt’s arms and legs become fully functional.

8) Lord guide Matt’s doctors and therapists each day so he gets the best treatments available.

9) Pray for strength and endurance for Patti, Richard, Stephanie and the entire Kepler/Bridge Families.

Lord we are forever grateful for all the miracles that we have witnessed. We ask that you continue to heal Matt and to make him whole again. We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.

To Matt’s “Prayer Warriors”: THANK YOU! Please continue to have faith and boldly pray for our son.