Gaining strength

Today in therapy, Marc walked across the room using a walker, washed his hands by himself, and also did a few other basic things. A few days ago, they decreased the size of his tracheotomy tube. Marc ate blue-dyed applesauce as part of a test the other day and thoroughly enjoyed getting to eat something again. I don't know when he'll get to eat meals again. As of yet, he still relies on his feeding tube. Those are the main things that are new. He still has a long way to go, but he seems to be making good progress.

A different sort of Christmas

A few days ago, Marc was able to sit up in a chair for a few hours. But then the next day, he was on such a heavy dose of pain killers that he was pretty much asleep the whole day. He was more conscious yesterday (December 25), but still pretty out of it. They have him breathing humidified room air now (humidified to keep his tracheotomy incision moist), which is a very good sign. They may start decreasing the size of the tracheotomy incision soon if everything goes well. Visitors can come see him, however he currently has a contagious bacterial infection just so you know. If you do come, try to keep your visit under ten minutes so as not to wear him out too much. He's at the South Davis Community Hospital in Bountiful. He's not really awake most of the time, so he might not get much out of a visit yet, but you can come if you want to.

Christmas Eve at the Clemens house is usually a cozy gathering around the lit fireplace, with the Christmas tree aglow and candles lit around the room. It's here, in the shimmering light, that beloved Christmas stories are read, carols are sung, and last of all, the account of Jesus Christ's birth is read from the Bible. As a child, Christmas Eve was a magical night, one that I looked forward to almost more than Christmas morning itself. But this year was different. Instead of gathering around the fireplace, we gathered around a hospital bed. As I looked around the room, I was surprised to see so many of us there. Nine of the ten kids were gathered around that hospital bed (the last lives in Tennessee and his wife is due in three weeks). It's been a long time since I've seen so many of my siblings gathered together. We had no candles, no piano, and we only brought one book to read. But as the words of the Bible filled the room and the hymns we sang echoed down the hall, a different kind of magic happened. I could barely restrain the tears that wanted to flow as I felt the love that filled the room. The love my siblings have for each other, the love we have for our parents, the love our parents have for us, and the love of our Heavenly Father who sent His Son so we can all live together again. And so while this would hardly fit anyone's model of a "perfect Christmas", it was perfect for me. May we all remember the things that are most important. Not just at Christmas time, but every day of the year. Merry Christmas everyone.

Successful Move

Marc was successfully moved to Utah and has been settling in to the new hospital. He has been tolerating the speaking valve, which is a good sign. He talks sometimes, but seems to be very disoriented (being on powerful pain meds doesn't help either). He continues to move around a lot and his movements appear to be becoming more conscious and less random moving about. He appears to be continuing to improve, but very gradually.

Home for Christmas

Good news! Marc is making the journey to Utah tomorrow! Everything has been worked out for the transfer to happen. He'll be in Utah for Christmas after all.

In other news, they hooked Marc up to a speaking valve (through his tracheotomy tube) and he's been able to say a few things, though it's hard to understand what he's saying. All around, things seem to be going well.

Email from Monica today

"Marc is progressing in amazing ways each day. He is more alert and able to communicate by shaking his head yes or no. He is moving everything, sometimes quite purposefully. When I was webcaming with the kids yesterday, they saw him move his arm and asked if he had done so or if I had moved it. In response he raised his arm and waved it to them! Brought tears to my eyes. He was able to sit on the edge of his bed for a few minutes with Physical therapy and even stood on his feet with assistance for just a moment. Bishop James came to see him and it meant a lot to him. A brain injury rehab doctor saw him today and felt like he was doing very well. Time will tell how well, but so far so good and I believe it will ultimately be good. We are working on a transfer to Utah, but it will take some time."

Update for December 12

Marc was transferred to Southwest Idaho critical care center today. It is only about a mile from the trauma center he was in. He continues to improve in small ways each day. He tried to mouth words several times today (December 12) and nodded yes when Monica asked if he knew who she was. He was also consistently following commands (such as wiggle your toes, squeeze your hand - right only, open your eyes, etc). Thank you for all the prayers in his behalf and offers of help. It is, as yet, unknown how long it will take before Marc can be transferred to Utah.

Still waiting

Marc is off of the ventilator and is now hooked up to a smaller machine that delivers air to him instead of breathing for him. He still has his eyes open sometimes, but hasn't talked yet. He seems to be able to focus on things when he looks at them. The doctors say it takes time to come out of a coma like the one Marc was/is in, but they don't know how long it will take.

Update for December 9

Marc's procedure went well and he now has a feeding tube that feeds directly to his stomach. Yesterday (December 9), he was sedated most of the day so it was kind of hard to tell how he was doing. He's still in the icu and still on the ventillator. However, with no tubes in his face and decreased swelling and bruising, he looks much better now that he used to.

Update for December 8

Marc had a tracheotomy today (an incision made in the windpipe to make an artificial opening for air) so that the tubes in his mouth could be removed. He's still hooked to the ventilator (through the incision made during the tracheotomy), but his mouth is now free. Everything went well. Today (December 9) Marc will have a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube put in which is basically an IV that feeds into the abdomen for feeding. The next thing they'll do is work on weaning him off of the ventilator. In a couple of days, Marc will probably be transferred to a hospital that is about a mile from where he is now. The hospital specializes in extended acute care and is called the Southwest Idaho Advanced Care Hospital. Thus it may still be a long while until Marc is back in Utah.

Continued progress

Marc kept his eyes open for quite a while today. He also seemed to be able to see and listen. Tomorrow they will take all the tubes out of his throat. On Friday, they will put a feeding tube in through his abdomin. After he stabilizes, they will transfer him from the icu to an extended care facility, which may be closer to home.

Monica said she is doing fine up in Boise. As for the kids in Layton, their oldest brother (who's thirty) is helping keep the fort down. That is, unfortunately, all that I know.

Successful Surgery

Marc had surgery on both wrists today. The doctors put plates and pins in and Marc will be in a splint for a few weeks. According to the doctor, the surgery went well.

Some progress

Marc has shown a little improvement today. He opened his eyes twice. He's still moving his left leg a little and his right leg a lot. He'll probably have surgery on his wrists tomorrow. He's still breathing on his own, but is hooked up to the machine just in case. There are no signs of infection or pneumonia. The doctor who will do surgery on his wrists is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The doctor brought the sacrament to the hospital as well as a beautiful poinsettia plant.

Thank you to anyone who has helped Marc and his family in any way, no matter how small it seemed. We appreciate it and are blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Update for December 4

Marc is still stable, and still in a coma. He was breathing on his own today, but they're leaving the breathing tube in at least until he wakes up just in case he needs it again. He's being fed via tube. So now we're just waiting for him to come around pretty much.

Update for December 3

Marc is still stable, but unresponsive to questions. He moves his legs around a lot. Some good news: there is no infection, his lungs are clear (there's a chance of pneumonia when hooked up to the breathing machine), and his legs don't have blog clots. Today (December 4th today), they were going to see how much they can turn down the machine and let him breathe on his own.

In review

Since the day after Thanksgiving, Marc has spent most of his time in the icu. And although this has been a hard trial, many little miracles have occurred. He nearly hit a trailer coming down, but didn't. After falling, he remained unconscious until his son and brother-in-law gave him a priesthood blessing; almost immediately after saying "Amen" Marc began to move a bit and moan. His fractured skull was actually a blessing because it allowed the pressure on his brain to initially stay low. There are many more blessings, I'm sure, and his family is blessed to have friends that care and are watching out for them.

So what exactly happened as a result of the fall? Fractured neck and skull, broken nose, ribs, arm, and wrists. Marc can move his feet, so it appears that he won't be paralyzed. He had a neck operation on Sunday which I believe went well. Yesterday (Thursday), he had an operation to relieve the pressure on his brain that had been slowly building up. Today he is stable, but last I heard (which was around noon) he was still mostly unresponsive. I'll try to keep this blog updated as to what's going on. Thank you for all of your support and prayers.