#24 Update March 30th

Today was an unusual day for Sean as we were there to see him about noon. I fed him some pistachio pudding that Paulette had made and he really enjoyed it. We haven't seen him so frustrated for a long time; he was running a bit of a fever and not letting the nurse take his blood pressure. My sister Mary Lou and niece Anne got to visit for about 5 minutes as he was having a challenge and unable to explain what was upsetting him. He had 3 good therapy sessions today and walked a lot. The therapists are mainly there to steady him. They took him down the hall to the elevator, then had him walk around the first floor gym and back again, which is a pretty long walk.

#23 Update March 27th

After the blizzard from yesterday it was a treat to see Sean this afternoon. He was talking and walked a lot today. He graduated to chopped up pieces about 1/2 inch in size of chicken, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and applesauce. He can also suck out of a straw. I stayed to feed him and it was delightful to share the time and meal with him. He was hungry and has eaten 100 % of all of his meals today. His nurse asked him what branch of the service he was in Navy, Army or Air Force and he answered Air Force. He is making small but noticeable steps forward. He will always be one of our best achievements in life no matter what. Between him and Delaney, she "talks" more but we understand more of Sean's words; someday soon hopefully they'll be even.

#22 Update March 26th

Sean is relearning how to take food! He had some "nectar" yesterday without incident. Not a sirloin, but we all have to start somewhere, I guess.
We met other caregivers of brain-injured people in a support group yesterday, and we feel humbled by what these people have gone through after traumatic brain injuries--falls & auto accidents in the crowd we were with. If we didn't process that this is a marathon, the experiences we heard last night brought that home. The doctors tell us that the first six months or so will bring the greatest healing and learning; due to the coma that Sean was in, that six-month clock really didn't start until he arrived at Spaulding. Thanks again for the prayer groups that you all have added Sean's name to, and thank you again for the individual prayers and positive thoughts directed our way.
Due to a springtime blizzard here in Colorado, we aren't going up tonight, and we might stay home tomorrow as well. Saturday is forecast to be bright and sunny, though. We call the hospital to see how his day is, and what new things he is doing. All the best to everyone.

#21 Update March 22nd

Yesterday he wasn't talking very much. Today he stood by himself for a few minutes while they were transferring him to his walker for physical therapy. He can walk down the hallway with assistance and "walk" himself down the hallway while sitting in his wheelchair. He was talking a lot more today and a good percent of the words you could understand. Sometimes when you ask him a question you can see him processing it, if you wait you might get an answer. I read him some of his Consumer Report Magazine. He listened and sometimes made comments which was great.
Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

#20 Update March 19th

Before I share today Thank you to Aunt Judy, Bev, Sheila and Paulette who brightened Sean's St. Patrick's Day by their thoughtfulness.
Today was both informative and challenging-knowledge is power yet it still hurts.
Sean's brain damage is located in the middle of his brain the Caudate nucleus and Globus pallidus; both the right and left side are affected. The middle of the brain is the control center for the other parts of the body. The high functions are not affected except by the overall control he needs from the center area. There is no time table for how long it will take or how much will heal at this point. Usually the first 6 months are the most healing but it can take a year to 18 months as well, time will tell. How long it will be before he is discharged from rehab is unknown as well. He is responding and progressing but it is definately a journey.

#19 Update March 18th

Sean isn't sleeping very much only about 3 to 5 hours a night. Today he walked up and down the hallway and I understood him when he was telling me about it. He was talking a lot today but the nurse and I were having trouble understanding him. Paul and I go see him tomorrow during his physical therapy and speech therapy sessions so maybe we will be able to learn more then. The rash he has been dealing with on his legs is doing a lot better and he isn't itching so that is GREAT!

#18 Update March 16th

Today was the first full day of therapies for Sean and he did AMAZING! He has 1 hour of speech, 1 hour of physical and 1 hour of occupational each day and we were there to watch occupational today.
He didn't sleep very well last night 3 hours at most. Probably because he wasn't understanding what is happening & where he is at even though we tried to explain it to him. They took him off all of the sedating medications so that he is fully awake and able to process as much as possible. He has been very emotional, it is hard to see him so upset. The therapist said that whatever their disposition before they had brain damage is greatly exaggerated afterwards. They(his team) can tell that Sean has a big heart, is tender and loving by his emotions.
Last night we told him he could come home after he learns to walk and eat again. Before we left he told us he wanted to walk. We can only stay for 15 to 20 minutes now. As he progresses we will be able to stay longer.
He walked up & down the hallway 4 times behind his over sized wheel chair with assistance. He read all of their names aloud from their badges, the team was impressed. He spelled "deer hunting" to the nurse as well.
He was less emotional today with us, excited to see us and actually said, " I will learn to swallow again." When we told him goodbye, we'd see him tomorrow and we loved him; he repeated he would see us tomorrow and he loved us and didn't cry. We think after having his therapy sessions today he understands he needs help to learn to do things again. It was so much easier leaving him tonight, he is at the right place and moving forward. Thank you for continuing to pray for him and us it helps so much.

#17 Update March 15th

Sean has settled into his room. Since he is off the Percocet his skin looks much better. One side effect of this med is itching, and since Paulette had that reaction, we mentioned it to his doctors, and they have him on alternate medication. When we saw him, he looked almost as though he was in bed at home; almost all of the tubes and lines that he had been hooked up to have been removed, except for the feeding tube. He is aware enough to be kind of overwhelmed by what has happened to him. He asked us several times, "Why?", and we did our best to explain the things that he has undergone. Talking is still difficult; it's possible that either when they put in the airway to help him breathe, or when he pulled it out that there may have been damage to his vocal cords--or else, he's just out of practice.
The staff is starting to evaluate his base position for speech, occupational and physical therapy, and we'll be talking with them on Monday. So far, we're very impressed with how well he's being taken care of.

#16 Update March 14th

Sean did very well yesterday making the move, confused but he is adjusting to the quite environment of Spalding. He slept through the night and will have more evaluations today. We will go up later to see him. They have him in the brain injury unit, they control the environment with absolutely no noise of any kind at first. It gives the brain the rest it needs and helps it to process better. Delaney won't be able to see him for awhile because she has so much energy which is overstimulating for an injured brain. They will tell us when he is ready to see her again. He can tell them his name which is wonderful, he is talking more. When I saw him last night he was responding to some questions and following commands. He is assigned one nurse that stays with him at all times currently until he progresses more. He can have visitors only 1 or 2 at a time. He isn't able to swallow yet but the speech therapist will be working on it with him; so he can have his feeding tube removed. He now has lost 65 lbs, he will be very surprised I'm sure. We are on the right track and moving forward. The therapists had him standing at Triumph yesterday and he patted one of them on the head. He still needs prayers as he faces relearning everyday things now. Thank you for your love, prayers, warm thoughts and kind words. I give him all of your messages and print them out for him to see later.

#15 Update March 12th

Sean will be moving tomorrow Friday to Spalding Rehabilitation Center. Paul and I checked it out today and again he will have access to the same doctors at The Medical Center of Aurora should he have the need; continuity is vital to the plan. He stood up 3 times today with help. They did the swallowing test and he is unable to swallow at this time so they will leave the feeding tube in for awhile longer. They will put him in the brain damage unit where it is quieter and he will have one on one assistance for awhile until he is able to do things on his own. He was talking a lot today mainly one syllable words yes, no, on. He is still itching but they are giving him Benadryl which helps a lot. Craig Rehabilitation Hospital doesn't have a bed available for 3 weeks. After visiting Spalding we need to move him now to keep his progress moving in a positive progression. This has been our ultimate goal to get him to rehab so that he can have the opportunity to have a life on his own again.

#14 Update March 10th

Sean is very restless; he has a yeast infection on the back of his right leg especially and a reaction to his new medication so he is itching like crazy. The nurse gave me some Benadryl allergy cream to put on his rash and that seemed to help. She also stopped his new medication and gave him some Benadryl. He stopped squirming quite so much. Anyone who has every had a yeast infection knows how much it itches, poor guy. He is a lot more comfortable before I left. He had the speech therapist today so we should see him talking a lot more now. One of the medicines they took away that controlled his tremors is noticeably making a difference. He is having tremors again in his hands, not as bad as before though. It is a little unnerving for me to see him step a little back but I will endure and pray. It has been hard these last couple of days, I want my Sean again.

#13 Update March 6th

Sean was calmer this evening, but is still trying to remove his oxygen line from his ears; the tube loops around them and then connects under his nose. His "meals" are given for a half hour period through the feeding tube, since he is prone to gagging if it comes any faster.
We're looking forward to letting Delaney see him and, more importantly, to his seeing her. He seems to perk up when she talks to him.

#12 Update March 5th

Quite a day, Sean is trying to talk more, tried to climb out of his bed 3 times and the doctor from Craig rehabilitation came to evaluate him. He has lost 56 pounds as of March 1st. The doctor from Craig will come back in a week after he has been off of several medications to reassess him. He felt the medications were inhibiting his movements and responses. I told him he had a bald spot in the back of his head when I washed his hair and his eyebrows raised.

#11 Update March 4th

Sean is more alert and can track you when you enter his room. Today when cousins Bev and Geno visited him he had just finished sitting in a chair for 2 hours. He isn't talking a lot, but he is checking out all of his monitor lines and other lines attached to his body. Bev asked him if he was going to stop playing with one of the tubes today and he said "no". He now wears a mitten on his left hand. When I got there this afternoon he was sleeping. He slept off and on, he tried to say something to me but I couldn't understand him; then he fell asleep again. I am currently reading one of his books to him even when he is sleeping. The book is pretty interesting. I bet he can tell me all about the plot and characters. I definitely would never have read this book if it weren't his for sure. Someday soon he is going to talk a blue streak I just know it. Thanks again for your prayers and support, words simply aren't enough.
Andrea

#10 Update March 1st

Sean is more alert today, and seemed to respond to us. Andrea brought some lotion to put on his feet, and gave him the squeeze dispenser to handle. He took it from her hand and pulled it closer to his face, then lost interest in it. We should get more information about his pneumonia and MRSA status tomorrow, and with luck, he'll be back doing his therapies.
Thanks again for all of your prayers and good thoughts; we'll never be able to thank you all enough for them, both for him and for us.

Paul, Andrea, Paulette, Delaney & Sean

#1-9 Updates Feb 28th

Hello,Paulette created a blog page for updates so that you can keep up to date at your leisure. http://pkknott.blogspot.com/
Sean was moved to Triumph Hospital late on Thursday evening. He still has pneumonia; he started coughing a lot with some blood involved so he is semi-sedated so he won't cough and also has MRSA (a super bug) so we need to take precautions around him. BUT he is doing a lot better and stable.
The move last weekend went amazingly well thanks to a lot of people. There were about 20 of us between cousins, aunts, uncle and friends that packed & loaded into the truck Sean's apartment on Saturday. Then on Sunday 12 agents from the office came to unload and it took a mere hour and a half. Thank you everyone that helped. Words are simply not enough for what it meant. When this is over and done we will have a HUGE party to celebrate Sean's victory and survival.
Friday, Nina, Delaney and I finished finalizing Sean's apartment. Delaney and I spent some time with him then headed home.
When Paul and I went up today he woke up several times, looked around for a few minutes then he'd fall back asleep. He is getting some needed rest.

#8 Feb 20th
This has been a very long day, we got a call at 2:00am from Triumph hospital saying Sean had spiked a fever and they were sending him to the Emergency room at The Medical Center of Aurora again. Paul and I left at 2:30am got there pretty fast with no traffic. They had already put a breathing tube in him, had him sedated and ready to go back upstairs to the Critical Care Unit. When the ER nurse called upstairs for a room; Dr Forrester the head ICU doctor said they only had one bed and couldn't take another patient. When they told him it was Sean they moved someone out of ICU that was going to move later in the day anyway. See we were right, he needed to be in Aurora and have the ability to go back to his previous doctors and nurses to take excellent care of him if needed. They ran a million tests and still don't have complete answers because some of the cultures take a few days. To make a very long day short he has pneumonia (we knew this could be a possibility), still has the blood infection, his kidneys are compromised again and his cardiac doctors performed another surgery taking a liter of fluid off the back of his heart. When we left him at 8:45pm he was holding his own, critical but stable. He will be in the ICU until they can get a handle on the pneumonia and make sure the fluid is drained off his heart.Remember when I told you the doctor at Triumph Hospital said not to get too excited on the good days or the bad days because there would be a lot of both in the days to come, I didn't think this was what he meant. Yesterday when I left Sean-I told him I was going home, I'd see him tomorrow and I loved him; he told me I love you back. Words are not enough for how I felt last night.
Again, thank you for keeping him in your prayers, being his friend and ours too. Life is way too short and days like today prove it over and over again.
We are still packing up his apartment tomorrow and moving his belongs to storage in the Springs.

#7 Feb 17th
Today was OUTSTANDING! The doctor told us last week not to get too excited for good days or bad ones because Sean would have a lot of both in the process BUT today seemed to be HUGE! He told his speech therapist "yes" and "ok". His nurse said he was talking a lot today. I am not sure but I thought I heard him say "mom" when I walked into his room this afternoon; it was very soft so I'm not positive. He is coming back inch by inch. They almost had him standing up today, with help of course. His therapist expect to have him standing for a few minutes tomorrow in a special standing type chair. They are pushing him and it is working. We are thrilled for windows of hope and progress.Saturday we will be packing up his apartment and putting his belongings in storage. It has been difficult going through his things but I know he will have them again in the future.Thank you again for all of your support and prayers.

#6 Feb 13th
Hello Everyone,Thank you for praying for us and Sean; it has made all the difference; his recovery has a greater purpose which will give God the glory.
We have met a milestone. Yesterday (Thursday 2-12-09) we moved Sean to the interim hospital. He is at Triumph Hospital at 700 Potomac St. in Aurora. It is 3 miles north of The Medical Center of Aurora where he has been for nearly a month (his surgery was the 14th of January). Delaney got to see him for the first time yesterday and it was very touching to see them react to one another. He held his left hand out and tracked her and she held his hand, patted him then talked a blue streak. He is aware of his surroundings and beginning to respond to people more and more. He doesn't talk currently but I can hardly wait for him to do so.
He has a blood infection currently but is stable; we found that out today. We had hoped to have been able to move him to Colorado Springs but it wasn't the best fit for Sean. He will have some of his Critical Care Unit doctors, the continuity is a huge plus and if he has an emergency he will be with taken back to the Medical Center of Aurora and have doctors that know his history. He will have Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, and some Neurology therapy 6 days a week. His primary doctor told us yesterday that in 6 weeks we will know what part of Sean we will have for the future; for us we will take whatever that means. The amount of brain damage he has is still unknown and probably due to being on the heart by-pass machine for 10 hours. Even though they monitored it closely that is a long time, his age is on his side.
When I went up today he responded to me and held out his hand for me to hold. It is a GREAT feeling to know he wants you to touch his hand even if he can't speak. He is awakening slowly and I know he will amaze us all when everything is said and done.

#5 Feb 2nd & 3rd
We had a scare last night and today as Sean was bleeding out but we didn't know from where his blood count was 24. His white count was elevated as well. They gave him back 30% oxygen, 2 pts of blood, took him off the Heparin and stopped his stomach tube feeding because the area was distended on the opposite side of the stomach tube. They waited until today for his blood count and pressure to stabilize to do a total ct scan. They found his diaphragm is bleeding possibly from all the coughing and being on the Heparin(a blood thinner). They are hoping it will stop on it's own because in this area the tissue usually does. His kidneys took a hit for lack of blood and low blood pressure so they are hoping they don't have to put dye in the veins to find the bleed and repair it as the dye is extremely harsh for the kidneys. He has better color today and we are praying that he maintains his blood count and pressure through the night.

#4 Feb 1st
Today has been Sean's 37th birthday, yesterday was Paulette's 32nd. The weekend was a mixture of emotions, celebrating life and being thankful for small changes. Paulette didn't feel like she could celebrate without her big brother being able to celebrate too so we did things quietly as a family. Sean no longer needs oxygen; they say he is breathing room air and holding his own. He has a feeding tube now and getting the nutrition he needs to heal. He is also taking almost all of his medications through the feeding tube as well. When he is able to eat on his own they will remove the feeding tube. His lungs and heart are showing some improvements, his upper heart still needs some meds to keep it in rhythm. He is moving & bending his left leg and sometimes moves his left arm. He isn't talking to us but he does make noises like he wants to talk at times. He is being evaluated by several hospitals; he hasn't advanced enough to go to a rehab center. They need him to do things on command and he doesn't yet so 2-3 hours of rehab would be out of the question. A hospital in-between the critical care unit and a rehab facility is the next step. We had requested if possible, he go to an interim hospital in the Springs. We should know this week. If they can only place him in Denver we will continue to keep the oil companies in business with daily trips up I-25, whatever it takes. Thanks for your continued prayers, we know they are helping. The doctor said 99 out of 100 people would have died. Sean is an anomaly. He has come a long way from being thankful for each minute for the 2 days after surgery till today -- he just needs more time to heal.
God Bless you and yours, all our warmth, love and prayers.

#3 Jan 25th
Thank you everyone that has been praying for Sean and us throughout these past two weeks. He is in God's hands! A parent's 2nd worse fear is happening, please continue to pray for him. The first fear being their death. They consider him to be in a coma even though he opens his eyes a lot now, can track you, look at you and make eye contact for short periods of time but he doesn't do it on command. He doesn't talk yet and has moments of tremors. The various tests, MRIs, EEGs, Spinal Tap & Cat Scans continue to be normal. The doctor says he has some brain damage called defused slowing so after his 37th birthday next Sunday he'll need to go to a neurological rehab center and then possibly to 24 hour long term care for awhile. We aren't giving up hope and want the very best rehab. The doctors says he may come back with more time because he does more and more each day but he won't necessarily be the same. From our viewpoint he and we will fight through this and doctors have been wrong before and we are up to the challenge. We go to see the social worker tomorrow, and get started on paperwork to get his affairs in order, pack up his apartment etc. Paul, Paulette and I are numb this it is going to take more time than we expected but we'll do whatever it takes. Again thank you for all your warm wishes and prayers we feel them we just need some more for awhile. All our love, warmth and prayers, Andrea, Paul, Sean, Paulette and Delaney

#2 Jan 21st
Some of you didn't get the first email so I included it with this one. Sean is still critical but stable and in a coma. They don't know why he isn't waking up other than it took massive amounts of medication to put and keep him under for the long surgery. He is not responding on command so one possibility may be "global brain damage" which doesn't show up on the EEG and Cat scan which were normal. Personally I don't like the word coma, I'd prefer him to be in a deep sleep and just needs to wake up. The rest of us have the crud and are unable to be with him due to running fevers among other bodily functions. Thank goodness for my Aunts, Uncles and cousins that live in the Denver area that have been wonderful and staying with him these last two days. I came home tonight, I was staying in Sean's apartment in Denver, I figured if I couldn't see him the least I could do was help with Delaney and Paul who are still sick. Paulette is doing better and works 5am to 1:30pm. If any of us are better tomorrow and not running a fever we will go be with him in the Critical Care unit. Thank you for your phone calls, prayers and warm thoughts please keep it up, he needs all he can get. I keep telling him he has visited with his Grandparents long enough he needs to come back to us. Thanks again.

#1 Jan 18th
Sean our son needs your prayers to recover from a very traumatic open heartsurgery. I took him to the ER Wednesday night for possibly pneumonia. Whatthey found was massive blood clots on his lungs, in his heart and one stillin his leg. They did open heart surgery Thursday to find out that the oneblood clot in his heart that they wanted to remove was 15cm and there weremore. They finally got him off the by pass machine after the 3rd try, 10hours later. He is in critical but stable condition fighting for every inchof progress. He hasn't been awake since surgery, they are cautiouslyoptimistic, it is now hour by hour-Thursday and Friday it was minute byminute. They won't be able to begin to figure out the blood clots and whatcaused them until he is out of critical care and stable. He will be 37 Feb.1st.