Carl’s medical journey

12/01/2023

As I reflect back on these last few weeks, there were a lot of dark days but there were also so many bright spots to give thanks for. These bright spots are what carried us through those dark days, these bright moments were filled with friends and family and stories and pictures and so much love.

If there was ever any doubt about the impact Carl left on this world you only had to show up to his wake to witness the amount of people who turned out to pay their last respects. He left a lasting impact on those who knew him for a lifetime and even those who only had the pleasure to know him for only a short time. He was so many things to so many people- Husband, father, son, brother, friend, boss, uncle, mentor, teacher (both of what to do and what not to do), adventure guide, and list goes on. I invite all of you to join a new page we created to continue to share and keep his legacy alive. To quote one of the best baseball movies, “Heroes get remembered but legends never die.”

As I sign off for the last time on this page I just want to extend the sincerest amount of gratitude from the bottom of our hearts to each and every one of you. For every prayer, well wish, hug, story, donation, positive thought, gift, and all the outpouring of love you have shown us during Carl’s journey.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089420830462&mibextid=LQQJ4d

A place share pictures, videos, stories and memories of the man that impacted so many people

28/12/2022

Not the birthday post we were expecting to make today. It’s with a heavy heart that I share that Carl has earned his angel wings today. It was totally unexpected and happened quickly. We don’t exactly know what happened yet but wanted to share with everyone that has been following his journey, and praying for him. We can’t thank everyone enough for all the support you’ve shown all of us.

28/12/2022

Hooray he was extubated and was able to stay that way. It’s really nice to be able to see his whole face. He is relieved to have the tubes out of his mouth. He was smiling today and that was the best sight ever. I kind of expected the tubes to come out and to instantly get an ass-chewing but sadly that didn’t happen. That is something I never thought I would say. He wasn’t able to say anything today but you can tell he is trying. He moves his mouth and clears his throat a little bit but just can’t quiet figure it out. Just a reality of his brain injury. He was alert and really active all day. He was also able to sit all the way up in bed for the first time since the accident. He really enjoyed that.

Today was also the first day that mom wasn’t able to visit so Jon and I came up. He tried his darnedest to convince Jon to help him out. He pleaded and begged and smiled with his puppy-dog eyes for Jon to take his gloves off. He’d tap Jon with his gloves, he’d shake his gloved hand at him, point with his other hand and almost laugh like c’mon just help me out and take this thing off. He refused to look at me during his 20 minute guilt-trip because he knew he had a better chance with Jon. Jon kept telling him I know you want the gloves off but I can’t do that for you. He was determined and relentless. He is going to need those qualities over next several months during rehab.

Tomorrow is his birthday and this will be the first birthday that I can ever remember that he isn’t in Wyoming doing the thing he loves the most- snowmobiling. 💔

27/12/2022

It is getting more and more difficult with each visit. It is hard to see him helpless, especially for someone so strong, determined and so miserable. He wants all the tubes outs and tries his hardest to make that happen. Even with his gloves on, he has managed to pull out his feeding tube.

He is getting good at non verbal communication especially about wanting his boxing gloves off. He will bump you with his glove and then when you look at him, he’ll shake his glove at you, letting you know he wants them off, but we aren’t able to fulfill his wish, which is heartbreaking. He just keeps pleading, even getting frustrated with us that we can’t help him. The reason we aren’t able to take his hands out any more is because he reaches for his tubes. As much as we all want the tubes out, Carl REALLY wants the tubes out. The plan is to extubate him again tomorrow so hopefully he’s able to breath on his own so that will be one less tube for him.

He could really use extra prayers, well wishes, positive thoughts, energy and any other offering you have for his extubation. If this doesn’t work his next option may be a tracheotomy.

26/12/2022

We didn’t get a Christmas miracle but it sure was a blessing. Carl was pretty alert today. Kellie surprised mom and Carl with a visit today. When kellie got there, she asked Carl if he wanted a Miller lite and he shook his yes. He is definitely answering yes and no questions on a more consistent basis. Respiratory therapy came by, which they do frequently and their visits are always unpleasant for Carl. When RT was leaving the room Kellie asked Carl if he wanted her to flip RT off, he shook his yes 🤣

Best moment of the day was when Carl was struggling to get his dang boxing gloves off again, so mom and Kellie got his hands free, he took his right hand to mom’s face and pulled down her face mask and reached over with his left hand and touched her face. It was a moment that had all the feels!! Merry Christmas.

25/12/2022

Not much to post today except that Carl had a new visitor tonight. Brian, one of his son-in-laws stopped for a visit since his time in Iowa is a short-lived. Brian and Kristen are headed back to Colorado on Carl’s birthday. When Brian walked into the room, he greeted Carl and Carl looked over at him, appeared to recognize him and attempted to wave! Another beautiful moment we’ll celebrate before Christmas.

We just want to take a moment and say we appreciate all the love everyone has shared with Carl and his family. All the calls, texts, gifts, donations, messages, prayers, well wishes, and words of encouragement. We are overwhelmed by the amount of people that have offered a helping hand in one fashion or another. We feel so much love from near and far, and we ask that you continue to send Carl the positive energy that lifts him up and we ask that you hug your loved ones a LOT tighter this Christmas. You never know when it will be your last opportunity, so make them count.

Christmas is going to feel very different this year without Carl here. Christmas IS Carls holiday. He does Christmas BIG and he does it LOUD. From our family to yours we wish you peace, love and a merry Christmas.

24/12/2022

Today. A day of listening to Christmas music, and another day towards recovery. They have started turning down his sedation with the goal of eliminating it all together. With his sedation down he was opening his eyes a lot more often, but today he seems to be confused often or stares off blankly, but he did have moments that he recognized mom. He continues to lift his legs, putting in the work with PT.

He was given a brace for his broken back with the purpose of allowing him to sit up more. He has been restricted to only laying flat (which flat is considered up to 30 degrees). He has already had both an MRI and an X-ray in the past diagnosing and confirming his L4 and L5 fractures (the reason he already has his back brace). Today they wanted him to use his brace and sit up, but his doctor (one of too many to keep track of any more) ordered ANOTHER X-ray. Low and behold the images showed he STILL has a broken back. It seems his team isn’t on the same page and he was given an unnecessary X-ray, a bit frustrating. He was ordered to remain flat.

23/12/2022

Today marks one week since the accident occurred, yet it feels like it happened so long ago. I have to keep reminding myself that progress for injuries as severe as his will take a long time, this is a marathon not a sprint. Everyone knows Carl’s nickname was ‘highspeed’ because the guy didn’t slow down- EVER. As Buzzy said to me, his half speed, was faster than my full speed.

Today was the best day yet! When mom got to his room, she asked him to open his eyes, and he did. What is different about today is that he actually looked at my mom and raised his eyebrows in recognition. Until today when he would open his eyes on command, it was really just that- him opening his eyelids and staring up at the ceiling, looking off into the distance, he never tried to look around, make eye contact, or focus on anything. Today that changed!! My mom asked him if he knew who she was and he shook his head yes- another first!! We are starting to get very, very small glimpses of Carl.

His white blood cell count (a sign of an infection) continues to come down and so does his fever- he’s heading in the right direction.

22/12/2022

Carl had a great day!! They removed his chest tube- hooray for one less tube!! After the chest tube was removed the nurse asked him if he had any pain he shook his NO. Major victory we are celebrating today.

His blood cultures came back positive for a bacterial infection so they were able to start an antibiotic specific for his infection instead of a broad-spectrum antibiotic. At least we have an answer to why he’s having fevers but we still don’t know where they infection is and we may not get those answers.

Another major victory today- during his Physical Therapy session he was bending his arms at the elbow when asked AND he was able to lift his leg 5 times on both sides when they asked him to. This is a significant improvement from before.

Last night when mom and Bess were leaving the hospital they were saying their goodbyes and telling him mom would be back in the morning, they said you could just tell he was mad they were leaving even his blood pressure jumped way up for no reason. Although we are not happy he is mad, we certainly are happy to start recognizing familiar reactions and emotions.

21/12/2022

Today we were ready for his breathing tube to come out but he wasn’t quite ready. He is hardly using any assistance from the respirator so they extubated him today however he was having difficulties breathing so they had to re-intubate him. We’ll try again another day. The other focus today is trying to pinpoint the cause of his fevers. He’s had a fever for the last couple of days and they have ruled out the usual suspects- MRSA and pneumonia. Because his white blood cell count has been coming down every day, they initially thought it was Influenza A because he tested positive when he came into the hospital, but they aren’t quite sure. They have done a blood culture and we are waiting for the results. On one hand I hope they find something in the culture so we have answers but on the other hand I hope the cultures come back negative because the guy needs a fricken break.

As far as neurological progress today there has been no change, he is the same as yesterday, giving 2 fingers on both hands, opening his eyes and moving his feet all on command- no new tricks today.

Keep the positive energy coming he can surely use it tonight.

19/12/2022

We knew it would be a emotional rollercoaster. Well today was no exception- but THANKFULLY it’s not due to his progress. When mom and I arrived today we were excited to hear from the neurologist about what the MRI revealed about his future. His message was basically we can’t tell what his recovery will look like and every patient is so different. Today he had a different neurologist than he had yesterday. Yesterday’s doctor was a bit more confident that the MRI would give us a better picture. So we started the morning frustrated by the unknown of his future, and getting different messages from different experts.

But the highs for today: they had to increase his sedation because the fighter has resorted to new methods of getting his boxing gloves off. He has figured out that if he puts his hands between his legs and closes his legs he might be able to pull his hands out that way. It gives me chills thinking about all the connections that need to made in order for that to happen. He is more responsive today than yesterday. He’s moved on from giving a thumbs up to showing 2 fingers when asked, and he’s opening up both eyes more frequently. We have transitioned from what will be happening in the next few hours to what will be happening in the next few days!! The plan for him is take him all the way off sedation and remove his respirator and as long as he can protect his own airways by clearing his throat and coughing, they won’t have to re-intubate him. This will be a major milestone to get past- breathing on his own. I know he will be way more comfortable after that happens.

Then as any good rollercoaster ride goes we had a minor set back that will hopefully be short lived. They just fitted him with a C-collar (which he hasn’t had this whole time) this restricts his motion and looks uncomfortable for him. His ICU doctor said that even though all of his scans showed he didn’t have a broken neck he can’t be cleared from that prognosis until he is more alert and can move his head on command and he can respond to the doctors.

I brought up my speaker and I’m playing some George Strait for him which seems to help.

Today we (mom and all 4 of us girls) started to dig into the business stuff trying to figure out what’s what. It’s a good thing all 4 of us girls worked for him in the past- we might have to get the old crew back together. There’s nothing like washing brick in a winter enclosure when it’s 20 below zero… so many memories (or nightmares depending on how you look at it) come flooding back 🤣🤣

19/12/2022

Because Carl is a fighter they have equipped him with his very own pair of “boxing” gloves- that’s what we call them anyways. Today he tried really hard to get them off, which he is demonstrating purposeful movement on his own. Because of this purposeful movement and because he started to follow commands he is no longer able to dive. Another victory today. The clinical trial was 2 dives a day for 5 days for a total of 10 dives or until he scored too high on his neurological testing scale. He only completed 5 dives!!