No news is good news with regards to updating this blog. I apologize to many of you who have been following this blog regularly as I have not updated it in some time but I'm sure you've heard updates here and there that Owen is doing remarkably well. He will make a full recovery and is pretty much back to his normal self and regular activities. He is getting around quite well with his walker and has even returned to school where is uses a wheelchair to maneuver around. In a few more weeks, Owen will be able to start putting weight on his leg and work on trying to walk again.
I know I can speak for everyone, both friends and family, in saying we are truly fortunate and blessed to witness this miraculous recovery....things could have turned out much, much different.
Andrew and Allison would like to thank all of you for your incredible and unwavering love and support. Whether by texts, phone calls, emails, food deliveries or visits, so many of you have gone out of your way to ensure their families' needs were met. No one has more thoughtful and far reaching support group than Andrew and Allison's family. Thank you all.
-Vance
This blog has been created to keep Owen's countless friends and family up to date with his continued progress. It will be updated as often as possible and we invite you to share your love and support by posting on his blog. Thank you to all those who have already done so much for Owen and his family, your kindness has not gone unnoticed.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
UPDATE: Sunday May 08, 2011
Home Sweet Home. Today was Owen's first full day home and it's no coincidence it was probably his best yet. He was able to spend a lot of time with not only his immediate family but also his aunt Amanda and cousins Chloe, Andre and Diego. They drove down from Northern California on Thursday to provide their love and support to Owen and the fam.
Owen has resumed many of his favorite activities today such as eating full meals, playing on the ipad/iphone, and reading books. He could also be found playing with one of his new toys which was kindly gifted by the Jeremy and Aimee Cooper family. It is one of those long plastic devices with a handle and lever on one end and two suction cups at the other end which come together when the lever is pulled. I think the Coopers' intention was that Owen could retrieve things like toys off the ground without bending down. However, Andrew saw it as an opportunity to put him right back to work. Subsequently, Owen could be found most of the night pushing his little walker around the neighborhood retrieving trash with his new plastic-picker-upper! (just kidding of course)
Anyway, O-Man continues to make progress everyday and could not ask for a better recovery.
-Vance
Owen has resumed many of his favorite activities today such as eating full meals, playing on the ipad/iphone, and reading books. He could also be found playing with one of his new toys which was kindly gifted by the Jeremy and Aimee Cooper family. It is one of those long plastic devices with a handle and lever on one end and two suction cups at the other end which come together when the lever is pulled. I think the Coopers' intention was that Owen could retrieve things like toys off the ground without bending down. However, Andrew saw it as an opportunity to put him right back to work. Subsequently, Owen could be found most of the night pushing his little walker around the neighborhood retrieving trash with his new plastic-picker-upper! (just kidding of course)
Anyway, O-Man continues to make progress everyday and could not ask for a better recovery.
-Vance
UPDATE: Saturday May 07, 2011
We are happy to report that Owen was able to come home from the hospital today. He is still sleeping a lot and speaking little, but he is doing great. His red blood cell counts have started to rebound and he is extremely happy to finally be home.Thank you for all of your prayers, words and kind gestures this week. Allison and I are so fortunate to have so many wonderful friends and family. We have felt your love this entire difficult week and very much appreciate everything you have done. We will keep you posted on Owen's recovery, but it looks like he is going to back to normal very soon.
Thank you,
Andrew
Friday, May 6, 2011
UPDATE: Friday May 06, 2011
From Andrew:
Owen had a good day. He started out tired and in a bad mood, but that changed when the nurse told him he would be changing rooms. He thought that meant he was going home. After practicing using the walker, he was moved out of the ICU. If his red blood cell counts improve, he may be discharged as early as tomorrow. His red blood cell count has not dropped as much as it was so it does not appear a blood transfusion will be necessary. He was very alert this afternoon. He still isn't talking much, but he is getting better.
Owen had a good day. He started out tired and in a bad mood, but that changed when the nurse told him he would be changing rooms. He thought that meant he was going home. After practicing using the walker, he was moved out of the ICU. If his red blood cell counts improve, he may be discharged as early as tomorrow. His red blood cell count has not dropped as much as it was so it does not appear a blood transfusion will be necessary. He was very alert this afternoon. He still isn't talking much, but he is getting better.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
UPDATE: Thursday May 05, 2011 11:59 PM
Thursday was an up and down day for Owen. He started off the day not feeling to well and not eager to communicate with anyone. This was more or less the case into the early afternoon. It was also discovered that his red blood cell count was getting pretty low and needs to be monitored very closely. This is either due to the loss of blood during the leg operation or simply from the trauma his body has been through. If his red blood cell count does not go up soon, he may need a blood transfusion.
On the bright side, late this afternoon the physical therapist stopped in to introduce Owen to a walker. He was not excited to use it at first but that changed when Andrew and Allison explained to him that if he wanted to get out of the hospital, he needed to prove to the doctors and nurses he was ok. This meant eating, talking and learning to use his walker. He immediately perked up and began scooting very slowly with his walker making sure not to put too much pressure on his broken leg. He basically answered all of the therapists questions and ate more food than he had up until that point. In a nutshell, Owen wants to "bounce" from UMC pronto.
All in all, he made significant progress today. Thursday's highlight came in the evening when Ella, Claire and Milo were able to visit Owen for the first time. Uncle Meeatch graced Owen with his presence as well.O-Dogg proved today that he is a tough kid and has a strong desire to get back home with his family.
-Vance
UPDATE: Wednesday May 04, 2011 8:12 AM
From Andrew:
Owen is doing well. He is awake and alert about 30% and sleeping the rest. He's on morphine for pain. Starting to talk in short phrases. I took him on wheelchair ride, which he enjoyed. He said "Hi grandma" when Grandma Sandy called. He is very groggy, but overall couldn't be doing better.
Owen is doing well. He is awake and alert about 30% and sleeping the rest. He's on morphine for pain. Starting to talk in short phrases. I took him on wheelchair ride, which he enjoyed. He said "Hi grandma" when Grandma Sandy called. He is very groggy, but overall couldn't be doing better.
UPDATE: Tuesday May 03, 2011 10:42 PM
From Vance
Owen has woken up several times this afternoon/evening in-between large doses of morphine. When he does wake up, he is able to track people talking to him and has even said a few words. The first words out of his mouth were “I don’t want to come back here”.
Owen has woken up several times this afternoon/evening in-between large doses of morphine. When he does wake up, he is able to track people talking to him and has even said a few words. The first words out of his mouth were “I don’t want to come back here”.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)