Anniversary and Thank You

The other day, I marked the anniversary of the accident with a letter to those who responded on the day of the crash.  The letter was sent to those who stopped, both passers by and emergency responders.  Here is the text:

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I am writing to you on the third anniversary of an extraordinary event. You might not recall the date, but you will no doubt remember your part of the story I have to tell. Three years ago, I was involved in a serious car crash on I-5. You were one of those who stopped.

The entire story is long, and I won't tell it all here. There are two things that might interest you, how we all got there, and how it all came out. To save the suspense I'll jump to the end: Everyone lived!

August 3^rd 2008 was a sunny, warm Sunday afternoon. I was taking my 14 year old nephew Sam to his home in Salem. South of Wilsonville, I was in the fast lane in our little green Miata when another car abruptly cut across from the slow lane into the fast lane where I was. To this day, the details are fuzzy. I think that the other driver's view of me was blocked by another car I had passed. To avoid a collision, I swerved and we ended up where you found us, in the median.

We can't say for sure who the other driver was. I have a pretty good idea, but it is mostly deduction, with only a little proof. I long ago made the decision that I would not pursue it. There was nothing to be gained – no benefit from laying blame for something that was ultimately an accident.

I was luckier than Sam. Some part of the cable barrier hit me in the head. While I had a bad cut, that is all it was. Sam on the other hand, was hit with something large and heavy causing a serious brain injury. He was in a coma for over a month. For much of that time his condition was very touch and go. That was followed by extensive rehab. Sam was very physically fit before the accident, had a positive outlook and a spirit of determination. These qualities served him well through a long recovery.

Today, Sam has grown into an amazing young man. The family joke is that the accident made him a better student because he is carrying a 3.5+ gpa. He keeps his hair cut short so that the long scar from two brain surgeries is visible. He tells us it works to his advantage when meeting girls. (He is, after all 17). Sam will graduate next spring with his class and has plans to join the Marines.

Throughout this experience, I have learned some things about gratitude. So the one thing that has weighed on my mind, is that it has taken me this long to say thank you to those who stopped. I appreciate very much each of your contributions. By stopping, you helped us through the accident and made it possible for us to recover as we have. So I thank you and Sam thanks you.

-- Patton

Update on Sam Huntting and email change.

Hi all.  Sorry about the group message, but it is quicker.

 

So, Qwest in their wisdom changed my account to their own website.  This caused me to lose all of my contacts.  Please send me an email sargestef@q.com so I can add you to my "new" mail box.  Thank you.

An exciting update while I am at it.  Sam had a neurologist appointment with Dr. Koch (Dart you got us pointed to him last year).  Well, needless to say he was more than impressed with Sam's recovery.

Since he was not on Sam's case from the beginning in 2008 he took time to review Sam's health record.  At one point he turned to Sam and said, "My God" you shouldn't be with us judging by the record of the injuries.  He said at least five times how well Sam is and how happy it (Sam's recovery) had turned out so well.  

So, the conversation progressed to Sam's desire to join the Marines.  He checked the records again, make some notes about coming off ALL of his medications.  Sam hasn't taken his headache medication since June 20 and has not had one headache.

Long story short, based on Sam's recovery and the exam today he sees no reason for Sam not to pursue joining the Marines or any other branch of service.  Sam has will have another appointment in six months to further verify his continuing progress.  Sam has a recruiter and we will be talking with him soon.  Sam may need to be off his meds for two years before he can enlist, but it is up to Marine HQ in Washington, D.C. to grant him a waiver for enlistment.  Keep him in your prayers.

You all have been our support and we thank you for all you have done to help.

Love Stephanie

How time flies when Sam is great!

Five months have come and gone.  I won't try to write a diary about Sam, just the update as I remember, oh I am almost 52 so give me a break.

 

 

The summer seemed to fly by so very fast but for Sam it was slow.  He tried to do yard work but it didn't last long as as being out in the heat was too much for his head/body even with a hat on.  He took his meds, drank plenty of water, and rested in the shade yet it wasn't enough. 

 

Sam also signed up for waterpolo for Sprague H.S. but after the first practice in an outdoor pool in the heat he had a major migraine and was in bed for the next day or two.  I am proud of him for trying, and try he did.  I've never seen a kid work so hard not just to keep up with the other swimmers but to do more than them.  As we all know, he is a survivor and a fighter but his body is in control and let him know that it wasn't the right time to start such a strenuous sport.

 

He started back to school fulltime in September but almost immediately the migraines started full force and daily.  It got to the point where he was out of school more than in.  We saw his neurologist and it was decided to start Sam on Fiorocet, an antiseizure medication that as a secondary effect helps stop migraines before they start.  Three weeks later Sam had only had one migraine and three weeks after that he hadn't had any more.  I am very happy to say that as of November 24 Sam has only had two migraines and with his meds (not oxy) they went away pretty quickly.  Oh, I forgot he hasn't taken any pain pills (oxy) since he started on the Fiorocet.  Halleluiah!

 

We did have to cut back Sam's school schedule since he missed so much especially in German.  He is taking Algebra, Biology, and English Comp and is doing well in all of them.  It took him a while but he has completed all the class work he missed when he was home.  His teachers have been great and he was able to turn the work in promptly but at his own pace and still keep up with the current work.

 

He is also taking weight training and loves it.  He is very proud of himself for the steps he has taken to get into shape after a year of not doing a lot of physical activity.

 

Sam has come so far in so many areas.  I remember when he started school in February 09 how I was checking the school's website to make sure he was staying caught up in his work.  He would check occasionally but often forgot.  Now he checks almost daily and then comes to me to let me know where he is at.

 

He is starting physical therapy today.  He was having knee pains and his orthopedist and we decided that after the year of not running or physical activity his muscles and body needed some help getting going.  Sam's leg muscles are especially tight and if they are not loosened up then more injuries could occur and we definitely don't want that. 

 

He's still in vision therapy.  He has three more visits and then a full vision checkup to see how he is doing.  I know he his tired of therapy especially now that he's in school.  Some of the exercises really tire out his eyes and then all of him.  He's still wearing glasses for up close and computer work, and there are times I have to remind him to wear them, usually when he is playing a game on a hand-held game. 

 

Well I'm sure there's more but I need to get ready to take Sam to school.  He is walking home pretty often but I take him and then run errands. 

 

Daily I thank God for His grace in saving Sam.  I will never forget how close we came to losing Sam but have finally come to see that reliving that tragedy has kept me from healing, which is not good for Sam either.  My favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 3:5-6.

 

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
      And He shall direct^[a] your paths.

 

To all of our friends, family, and supporters, thank you so very much and bless you for your prayers, thoughts, and love, without all of you this would have been a very lonely journey.

 

Sam's Mom/Stephanie

 

      

 

 

 

 

Sam and Summer

Sam finished school with a bang; three A's, two B's and two C's.  He is amazing.  One of the B's should have been an A if only he had finished work he missed from headaches.  He's working on Algebra here at home and I am going to start him on writing assignments so that skill is kept up.   He started back at drum lessons on the snare and did quite well after being off for almost a year.

 

Sam continued to have headaches and eventually the Excedrin really didn't help much.  We met with a neurologist and he prescribed some new meds.  Sam is still experiences headaches but the meds that he takes at the onset of a headache keep it from progressing to a major migraine.  He had a "complex migraine on Father's Day and the right side of his body was numb and tingling for about 30 minutes.  To be on the safe side Sam had an MRI/MRA on July 7th.  I received the report and a CD of the pictures from Salem Hospital.  I had forgotten about an MRI in 2005 for a concussion that Sam had.  Both MRIs were  compared and there are no changes in brain function.  Thank you God.  We don't know if Sam will grow out of the headaches but the medication is making them manageable. 

 

He is still in vision therapy and progressing well.  I don't notice as much when his eyes don't track and work together.  We have an reevaluation appointment in August.  We've been driving to Clackamas every two weeks for his therapy.  Cheryl his therapist is great.

 

Sam has been released to participate in sports and will start practice in August with Sprague High School waterpolo club.  He played a few years ago and really enjoyed it. 

 

The mission trip Spring break went well.  He enjoyed the time with God and friends.  They worked at a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, and some landscaping for the church and families in Tacoma.  He is getting ready for the summer retreat "Great Escape" in a couple of weeks in the Tygh Valley.   

 

I want to have a BBQ here at our house to celebrate Sam and share the joy of his recovery. 

 

Thank you and God bless you all for your prayers that are continuing.  Sam is having an amazing recovery and I know God listened to your prayers. 

 

Stephanie/Mom

Sam's Amazing Update!

Dear friends and family,

 

I didn't realize how far out of touch you all were until Easter when I found out we had not filled in our own loving family on Sam's amazing progress in life and school.  For those of you left out of the loop, we are sorry.  It was not a case of out of sight/out of mind but a case of life at times is so "normal" I forget to share the steps Sam has taken to be "normal".

 

I will now try to bring everyone up-to-date starting from December.  Please forgive me  but I am going to list each month and depend on my trusty calendar for my memories.  Others please fill-in the gaps by emailing me or adding them to the Sam's page.

 

I read back over the last entries.  Sam started OT and Kathy (his therapist) was right.  The delay did not affect Sam's progress and he did very well.  He had some frustrations but nothing he has not overcome.  I have seen recently that he is still having short term memory difficulties and when checking with him about school stuff I need to be very specific about homework and what is complete and what isn't. 

 

December 2008-Sam met with his neurosurgeon on the 17th and had another CT.  Everything is looking great.  He will have another in January.  His doctor said no football, but he did say Sam could snowboard.  Which I said NO WAY.  We had quite a bit of snow in Salem during Christmas break and Sam went sledding with Cameron and Jeff up at the local middle school.  It wasn't a huge hill but the guys had fun and Sam got to be a kid, even with his funky helmet that he had to wear.  I did my best to let Sam do what normal kids get to do but I realized it will take me a while to let him go.

 

He will still meet with his Rehab doctor at Emanuel every six months or so until he is 18 and then will be see an adult TBI rehab doctor once a year.  I had no idea his follow-up would continue into his adult years  but looking back I understand.  With brain injuries there is the need to stay in the patient's loop to make sure there is no back-sliding and to help with any future problems should they arise. 

 

He continued tutoring but had his tutors switched and then lost some time between the start and stop.  His tutors were wonderful people and it turned out that his first tutor had been praying for Sam back in the days of the hospital, even though he didn't know Sam.  Thank you for your prayers. 

 

January 2009-Happy New Year.  Sam continued with his occupational therapy twice a week and made great strides.  His memory and reflexes improved when he did a test where he had to see the light and a number at the same time, call out the number and punch the light to turn it off.  Kathy feels he is well on his way and she doesn't think he will need to go for much longer.  We agreed that he would continue until the new semester started when he started school full time.  He is still in tutoring but we pulled him out of the Algebra online class.  It was just too much without a teacher on-hand to help him/us.  After talking with his counselor we decided that Sam would start Algebra next year as a sophomore.

 

February 2009-SAM STARTED SCHOOL!  He's taking seven classes; 20th Century History, English Literature, Science, Wellness I (Health), two Academic Study classes, and Personal Economics.  Yes, he is taking all freshman classes.  His academic study classes give him a chance to work on homework from his other classes with a teacher right there to help if he needs.  We can keep track of his grades and homework online so that is a good tool as long as the teachers are up-to-date on the website, which doesn't always happen.

 

Sam had an eye appointment in February with a neuroopthamologist who was a wonderful doctor and very kid oriented.  A great deal of his patients have suffered a TBI so he truly knows his stuff.  This was intended to be more of a precautionary visit since Sam had been detected to have some field cut vision while at Emanuel which was not treated as it is not considered to be part of his rehab.  After a couple of test the doctor felt Sam was good but decided to do one final light test which took about 15 minutes.  It showed that Sam indeed still have some field vision problems in the right upper quadrant.  He was fitted for special prism glasses that help the brain to interpret what it is seeing better.  So far our medical coverage has denied the claim for glasses and vision therapy but thanks to family and friends' donations made to Sam while he was in the hospitals there was money to cover the cost of glasses which Sam has to where while doing homework and computer work.  He has a follow-up appointment in April for vision sensory testing which takes about two hours and thankfully our HMO is covering. 

 

Sam has been preparing to go on a spring break mission with our church.  So we have  been volunteering at the church to earn money towards the costs.  It has been fun spending time with Sam and his friends.  The high schoolers have a huge garage sale in March and much time has been spent sort and pricing the donated items; which filled three semi trailers.

 

Sam has been experiencing headaches that hit fast and missed the second week of school because we/I didn't catch it in time with meds and it hung on for days.  He slept a lot, we kept the lights low, and he didn't get to watch a lot of t.v.  Oh, caffeine and energy drinks are pretty much in the past.  His pediatrician going to talk with a neurologist about possible future medications that we can give Sam at the start of a headache so it doesn't get so bad.  He also has Excedrin migraine at school now so if he gets a headache he can go straight to the nurse, take a pill, and lie down if he needs to. 

 

March 2009-The first six weeks of school have gotten here.  The time has flown by.  Sam had four A's and three B's on his mid-semester report card.  He has had some difficulties with a teacher or two but he is learning that is par for the course.  He really enjoys his English Literature teacher most likely because I think the teacher is a big kid and keeps the class engaged in the class.  He recently read Romeo and Juliet and then watched parts of the old movie (mmm 1980s) and the new one (2000?).  Sam enjoyed the newer version  but then it had machine guns and "boy" stuff.

 

Sam is continuing to adjust to school.  He has a group of friends from church that he eats lunch with and even has class with a friend from his WCS days.  When he has homework he gets right to it when he gets home and then does fun stuff.  He has walked home from school on sunny days.  He has taken a couple of wrong turns or not taken a turn at all and has ended up walking farther than he needed but he has made it home.  The first couple of times it took him almost an hour and I did start to get worried but that's what cell phones are for.  Now he makes it home in about 20 minutes.  I take him to school but as the weather gets warmer I may have him start walking there as well. 

 

Both Sam and I are working towards our mission trips during spring break.  Sam will be heading to Tacoma with the freshman class and I am headed to Costa Rica with my "sisters" the Darling Disciples.  I have gone to the beach without the boys but this will be the first trip where I won't be there for Sam and of course it is out of the country.  We have been praying for my strength at letting Sam do this and having faith God will protect us both and bring us home.  I leave two days before Sam so Cameron has been in my prayers also as he will have to carry the responsibility of making sure Sam is packed, ready, and gets to church on time.

 

We have tickets for the Ducks vs. Beavers baseball game on March 27 but will have to see how we are feeling.  When I  bought the tickets I didn't realize I would be getting home that same morning very early and Sam in the afternoon.

 

A new malady was detected this month.  I noticed one morning that Sam's left shoulder was quite a bit lower than his right.  Now, we had noticed this before but had blamed it on a shoulder injury from a fall in August of 2007.  This was different as it is more pronounced.  I had looked at Sam's neck and had him bend forward and saw that he had a knot at the top of his spine something that I knew was not there before as he had had his spine looked at while in physical therapy for the shoulder.  I couldn't tell how his spine looked but I knew the knot was not usual.  We got Sam in to see his pediatrician ASAP and he sent Sam for x-rays immediately.  A complete film was done on Sam's spine from his C1 to his pelvis.  The radiologist and pediatrician diagnosed scoliosis.  I didn't panic but did feel bad that Sam had to go through something else with his body.  His pediatrician processed and got approval for Sam to see a back specialist to review the films and give Sam a checkup.  We will be seeing him at Emanuel in April after spring break.

 

April 2009-Wow, it's already April.  Spring break is over.  Sam had a wonderful time in Tacoma although a mom on the trip watched him to carefully to his liking and made sure he was safe.  Now Sam has gotten very good at self-monitoring and I trust him pretty well but I was glad that he had a mom on the trip since I was so far away. 

 

It's been a week since Sam had his appointment with the doctor at Emanuel and his diagnosis is great.  He has a 19 degree curvature of the spine mostly due to irregular vertebrae at C7 which is where the knot is also.  The films showed that Sam's growth plates in hips and pelvis were almost completely filled in which means he does not have much more growing to do.  This is great as curvatures of the spine are not considered abnormal until they hit 50 degrees and once there is no more growing done the curvature does not get any greater.  So we do nothing.  No braces, no surgery, no standing on his head (joke).  After what Sam has gone through I imagined all sorts of things but not that we would do nothing.   The back doctor deemed him healthy, I shed some happy tears, and we met my mom-in-law for lunch. 

 

All is well with our world.  Sam is still getting headaches on occasion.  His pediatrician and I talked about meds and the neurologist suggested a couple of options for medications but they were drugs that are taken for seizures and a side effect is they keep the patient from getting headaches.  I nixed that idea and his pediatrician was happy.  I truly can't see treating Sam for something he isn't having in hopes off keeping away something he gets infrequently.  Mmm, does that make sense. 

 

The Excedrin migraine seems to do well as well as Sam takes it ASAP.  He hasn't had any long term headaches so we must be doing something right.

 

Sam has the vision sensory tests this Thursday, April 16 and I will post immediately after we have the results and if Sam needs to do vision therapy.  It would mean going to Portland possibly once a week but that is a small price to pay. 

 

I know everyone has continued to keep Sam in their prayers and hearts.  There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child and in this case its taken more people than I can imagine to heal our Sam.  I still find myself staring at him and smiling.  Sam tells me I have an abnormal affection for him especially when I want to give his scar a kiss or just touch his head.  I don't thinks so, it's my way of praising and thanking God that Sam is here for me to be affectionate to, and letting Sam know that he is blessed and is our blessing.

 

Sam isn't taking his survival lightly but also doesn't dwell on the what ifs.  He'd still like to punch out the guy that ran them off the highway but I think that is pretty natural.  I'd do so much more if I could.

 

I will confess Sam has had an energy drink but not often and we have switched to drinking Diet Coke caffeine free. 

 

Well that's it for now.  I'll post this and then have more to write, which I will.   

 

 

 

Life is good and so is Sam!

Hi everyone, I hope you are all still checking in on Sam's progress.  Sometime it feels like it has slowed down but then I remember the huge steps in recover that he took right away and am reminded of the story about the tortoise and the hare.  Sam moved forward in leaps and bounds amazing us all with God's miracles just like the hare and has now slowed down and is progressing as the tortoise did slowly and diligently.  At the end of this race it will be our Sam.
 
Rehab has been very slow in getting started.  His initial evaluations were back in September and the therapists set up a plan for OT and some PT but our HMO had only approved the evaluations and not treatment.  After that approval then we were finally able to set up his appointments, of which he only got to a couple and then it was time for the surgery to replace his bone flap.  Jump forward two weeks and the bone flap is replaced and Sam can start OT two weeks after the surgery.  As with many HMOs I didn't get the full scoop and found out when I called rehab to schedule future appointments I was told we needed "new" approval from the doctor as Sam had been discharged from rehab once he entered the hospital for the second surgery.  I look back and wish I had called immediately after the second surgery, it would have saved weeks.  The request sat in an "in box" for a week before processing and only then was pulled to the top after I called again.  As what have feels like months have gone by (which they have) all was finally approved and Sam had a reevaluation last week.  Mmm, this was a definitely a rabbit trail but I wanted to give a history.
 
Okay, for the news.  Kathy his OT put him through the same tests as before and many have improved.  He did better on the short term memory tests which were looking at about 20 items on a table and then repeating back what they were once gone.  His eyes distance vision is 20/20 but his eyes stop tracking together when anything gets closer than 12 inches away, which seems okay to most of us but doing close-up work they have to track together.  She was surprised he isn't having headaches with most of school work he is doing is online.  Anyway, Kathy gave him a simple exercise to work on and this week he starts "officially".
 
Sam is having some difficulty with tasks that require many steps,which most do, but it appears to happen mostly in new environments.  Kathy says this is not unusual and that his OT will help him learn to work through this.  Also "I don't know" has become a frequently used phrase.  When we ask him questions we have to push him for an answer, making him think about it, and not answer for him for accept "I don't know".  The answer may be slow in coming as I saw when he was talking with Kathy but that's good.  Kathy reminded us both (and I share with you) that the right answer thought out is far better than a quick I don't know.  It can be frustrating for him because I saw that when asked a question he really may not know the answer but once given time to think he comes up with the correct answer and feels better about it. 
 
Kathy was reassuring that the delay in getting started did not harm his future progress.  I'll call it a bump or hiccup, try not to feel guilty about anything, and move forward.  The best days are yet to come.
 
Oh, I almost forgot.  Sam is in school for one class each day and that is going okay.  One class is Algebra and that has been difficult for him at times.  One PT at the clinic told me last week that Algebra online is not usually recommended for TBI patients as it is more difficult for the student since there is not teacher to help with the one-on-one.  I had already started to have my doubts.  Sam would definitely like to stop that class.  I'm going to talk with Kathy about it on Wednesday and see what her take on it is since she is his primary therapist.
 
Sam is such a great son and young man.  God's plans for him are grand I'm sure.  Thank you all for your continued prayers.  Sam and we his family could not have gotten through this without them.
 
God bless. 
 
Mom/Stephanie

Sam in School!

Good morning....
 
We all use the phrase "how time flies" and this morning I understand it well.  I just logged in to Sam's update and nothing has been written since November 6th.  For all of you still checking on Sam I apologize.  Time has flown by and it has been exactly two weeks since the blog.
 
So here it goes....
 
Sam started school on November 10.  He is taking one class each day at school and has tutoring daily.  His school has "A" days and "B" days.  On A days he has academic study hall where he works on assignments from his tutor.  On  B days he has SK online where he works on Algebra and then stays at school and has lunch with his friends.  It is taking us all time to get used to having a set schedule.  On A days he has to be at school by 7:50 and B days is more relaxing at 9:23.  We leave about 15 minutes early to make sure he gets there on time, never quite knowing what the traffic will be especially on A days. 
 
When he gets home from school he continues with his Algebra online or works on his tutoring assignments.  Oh I forgot his tutoring is in English and Geography.  As we approach the end of week 2 he seems to be settling in and keeping on task once he gets home.  On A days he is home for lunch and then works on homework before his tutor gets here a 2:30.  He gets "out of school" each day when the tutor leaves at 3:30.  So like most kids in high school he is ready for a break to play some XBox. 
 
He will continue this schedule until the semester is over at the end of January and then will return to school possibly fulltime.  It really depends on Sam.  He is in school but isn't fully participating since he doesn't have to move through the halls during busy class changes and has the flexibility in his schedule.  Also, he has many of the staff at Sprague watching over him like school angels just in case he gets lost or confused.  He has made a wrong turn or two but has quickly found his way back to the office.  On Monday he did some exploring in an unknown area of the school and got back to the commons for lunch with friends. 
 
All in all he is doing great.  His spirits are high and he is smiling.  Just like any other teenager he doesn't always feel like going to class in the morning.  I then remind him it's only for one class and he remind me he would only be missing one class.  Mmm, is the glass half full or half empty. 
 
Thank you for continuing to keep Sam in your prayers.  God is watching over Sam and all your prayers are the icing on the cake.
 
Stephanie/Mom