Help David and Family

I thought I'd update everyone since it has been quite a while.

David is doing very well!

He isn't running, though he really wasn't much of a runner.
He doesn't jump as high as he used to but even that's improving.

He did go on a hike a few weeks back, so he's obviously doing much better!

He's gained most of his weight back though still has a little ways to go, but is still gaining weight and doing very well!

He finished his hyperbaric sessions and thankfully we don't have to make that drive 5 days a week anymore!
Thanks to the community all the fuel and trips were paid for, unfortunately we did rack up at least 10,000 miles in the last few months on our van, fortunately it was a young van though it aged a little through all the driving.

We weren't sure if the sessions did any good but according to one of his friend's mother, she said she's seen a BIG difference between a month ago and now.
Now granted that could just be his body healing but it's possible that the hyperbaric helped accelerate how much he healed in that amount of time.

Some of the hyperbaric post tests showed there was indeed mental improvement and he does act like himself again.

In short I would say he's at least 99% of what he was.
His knees still bother him and he can't kneel down without discomfort or pain but that may improve with time or it may be something he may have to live with.

Thanks to Bull Dog Automotive and Napa David's car was repaired and ready to drive so he spent the time and went through the process of getting his driver's license as of last week.
He's not super fond of driving his scooter around roads anymore given what happened to him.

Bottom line is David is doing VERY well and we are settling in at home though STILL playing catch up.
I suspect we will be for some time.

Thank you everyone for your support and assistance through all of this!
I hope no one has to go through anything like this but if anyone does then thankfully we have one HECK of a community that will give their shirt off their back to help!
Again, thank you everyone!!!

I think I will now close this donation campaign and again, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Well I haven't updated this in a while so I thought I'd send out a new update.

David made the front page of the news paper. You can find that here...
https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2022/jun/01/david-rachels-doing-well-beginning-to-walk/

I (Patrick) have been getting back to work and trying to play catch up while trying to keep up with anything new that comes along while trying to catch up with things at home and keep up with things that come along at home since I wasn't doing much since the accident for about 6 weeks but everyone has been kind and patient.

David is doing very well. He's been walking around a bit like a old man with a very small limp to one side but he has started getting out, hanging with friends here and there, playing games and going to his hyperbaric treatments of which he wouldn't have been able to do without all the help this community (and others) have given us, specially with the rise in the cost of fuel!
He's slowly starting to gain his weight back of which his nightly tube feedings are helping (G-J Tube), he's currently about (I think) 10-15lbs less than he was prior to the accident which is better than the 20lbs less he was just a few weeks prior.
I think the main reasons for his slow weight gain is his high metabolism, all the healing he's been doing and the fact that we taught the kids to eat at least decently healthy and he's a bit picky about what he eats.

All in all we are all doing well but VERY busy trying to balance appointments, work and home todo's all while trying to not burn out.
All the funds donated have been used for fuel, hyperbaric, food, and some bills as well, though we're trying our best to try to be as frugal as we can so as to not burn through it all and have some left for David to do with as he'd like (Hopefully something useful and smart) when all the dust settles but we couldn't have taken care of things the way we have without the help of everyone in the community! Thank you so very much!

5/2/2022

Well this has been going on for a while now.
The accident happened the 16th of march and now it's May 2nd.
I can remember much of the first day but the rest is a big blur!

Well the appointments are starting this week. Dave had is post orthopedic appointment today and we had never seen any of his x-rays before but we saw he was a MESS!

He completely broke his arm (separated and sticking out of the skin), his femur was broke into three pieces, upper, lower and a section inbetween that had separated from the two and turned sideways.
The x-rays weren't completely clear on how bad his pelvis was as it was still held together but it did have 3 breaks, one near the broken femur's joint.
The doctor said he can start weight baring today, 25% this week and 25% each week following.

So, there was today's appointment, 2 more this week then next week will be the beginning of a lot more next week! Sigh!

On a side note Dave was the center of attention for a short bit until his foot started to hurt due to poor circulation (the leg is still healing) at Paddler's Ale House in Ponderay (Not in the bar but at the back of the building).
Thank you Chris and other ladies and gents and ALL the businesses and individuals that donated to help him out!
They insisted to help pay for Dave's hyperbaric treatment and MANY businesses donated for raffles!
Honestly it's a bit overwhelming all the support we've seen and received.
If you meet me and I seem a bit numb or taken back, it's not because I don't appreciate the help, I really don't know how to respond.

At this point though, we've received a lot of support and I think we're good to go for the time being. I'm starting to get back to work here and there between appointments and getting caught up on things at home, though I still have a lot of catching up to do.

I do hope that one day we're given the opportunity to give back to everyone that gave to us and hope and pray I have the means to do so and if I can I will! I'm pretty sure Dave will too but you'd have to ask :P

God Bless every single one of you and this community!

4/27/2022

I haven't updated this in a while but it's been a bit hectic the past couple days with driving back and fourth and trying to take care of work and life.

David came home yesterday!!

He's getting around with the help of a walker and a wheel chair.

First stop on the way home was to get meds then home.

We picked up some steak (thanks to all the donations) and I BBQ'd some steaks to give him a yummy meal and he stuffed himself! He didn't even want desert! What kid doesn't like desert, but he ate too much! LOL

He played on his computer a bit yesterday but was a bit frustrated by the fact he can't control the mouse like he used to but given some time I'm sure he'll be back at it, whacking away on that mouse button.

There's still more upcoming appointments but we get a small break this week and it looks like next but then the appointments and hyperbaric start.

We hope the hyperbaric will help his brain heal some more from the water shed stroke but I think with enough nutrition, rest, exercise, PT, OT, practice and the hyperbaric he'll get those fine motor skills back.

Quite frankly we're amazed he's doing as well as he is!

I think that's about it for the updates, just more appointments in the upcoming weeks but it's nice to have him home and get a break from so much driving, hospital rooms and hospital food.

Again thank you everyone for your prayers and support!
We have received more support than we ever would have thought!
You're all a blessing!
Thank you!

4/20/2022

I haven't updated in a while so I thought I'd get one sent out.

They were going to remove his trach. this last Monday but the doctor gave him the option to have it removed Saturday of which he was VERY grateful to have it removed.

He continues to get better every day, obviously things have slowed a bit but he is getting up and around with the assistance of a wheel chair and a walker as he is unable to bear any weight on his left leg.

PT has been working on improving movement in his right arm and left leg as they are both very tight and can't be fully extended nor fully bent.

Fine motor skills continue to improve but still isn't back to normal.

Doctors are concerned about some cognitive issues and plan to run further tests.

Thanks to the donations provided our food and fuel has been taken care of and David has a walker and bath chair on order.

We are scheduled for a hyperbaric consult a couple weeks after discharge and we'll be working on getting PT and OT figured out as well.

Again, thank you everyone for your help, support and prayers!!!

4/13/2022

David continues to improve. So much so now that he thinks the therapy at the rehab facility is getting a bit stupid.

He said, "They keep targeting my weaknesses", of which we had to point out that, "That's the point!". It's hard to strengthen a weakness if you don't exercise the weakness to make it stronger.

As usually he continues to improve every day.
He's going to get his first hair cut in almost 2 months today and had his first shower last Saturday in just about 3 weeks.

Yesterday we were informed that they expect his discharge date to be the 26th. After that we'll be driving him to PT and OT appointments. 2 weeks following that he's scheduled for a Hyperbaric consult and then we'll be driving back and forth for those appointments.

He may be getting discharged at the end of the month but there's a lot more appointments to go to following that but we are happy and blessed that he has rebounded so very well from this seriously traumatic event and all of you have helped alleviate many of the day to day stresses.

4/10/2022

So the update is that David has gone to rehab.
They took him off tube feeds but then put him back on it as they'd like him to have more calories than he eats.

He's lost about 20lbs since all this started and is trying to gain the weight back, but obviously that'll take time.

His reflexes and cognitive functions have been tested. Reflexes look good, considering but tests did show some cognitive impairment likely related to the water shed stroke which was caused by lack of oxygen to the brain but that does appear to be improving as well.

Left leg is unable to bend or straighten all the way due to being so tight and right arm is similar but not quite as bad.

He's completely off oxygen and the nebulizer and they are weening him off the trach.

Other than that he's been watching lots of TV, playing games as best he can on his phone, answering phone calls and trying to keep his mind busy during all the down time.

Now that David is able to call the nurses as needed and talk about what he wants, mom and dad have started to spend more time at home and will be making trips to go see him throughout the week.

Lots of things at home have been put on hold and not much has been done that needed to be done so they both are trying to balance seeing their boy and getting caught up on responsibilities.

David has voiced that he'd like to use some of the funds everyone has donated to put the car his grandmother gave him in the shop to get ready for use.
This was something that was scheduled to be done prior to the accident but was canceled due to the accident.

Other than that, the past 3 weeks for us has been one big blur. The roller coaster ride has seemed to settle down a lot and the stress has diminished to manageable levels knowing that David is doing better each day and seems to be out of the woods but with a road to recovery ahead of him.

All the response from the community has been tear jerking and very heart felt!

Cornerstone Physical Therapy and others have offered their time to help David get back on his feet, something we'll likely be taking them up on in the future when but not before his hyperbaric treatments, of which we'll likely be commuting 5 times a week for over a month to Spokane to get him his treatments.
We hope this will help not only his body heal but his brain as well.

On a side note, if you see anyone running red lights and putting others in danger you can call your local county dispatch and tell them what happened and have a ticket issued to the individual IF you are willing to sign the ticket and potentially go to court to uphold what you witnessed.
Don't run red lights or stop signs and put others in danger.
Respect each other by yielding the right of way to other traffic.
Take turns through intersections where applicable.

Love one another! And sometimes loving one another means leaving each other alone.

Many have pointed out that people need to slow down but driving slow makes those that have somewhere to go mad and makes them take risks they might not otherwise take.
Please understand that driving slow may solve some problems but can create other problems. Just as driving fast may solve your timing issue by a few seconds but it creates more risk than it's usually worth.
For example, if you're driving 60 miles at 61 MPH you will likely arrive 1 minute sooner. Is 1 minute going to make much difference?
Leave sooner and drive with the flow of traffic instead, whatever speed that may be.
Weighing the risk vs benefit is a minute by minute task and something we all should keep in mind but showing love and respect for one another should be as well!

One thing I know for sure, everyone following these updates knows love and I am VERY grateful to be a part of this loving community!

God Bless every single one of you and those following in other locations!

4/6/2022

Thought I'd post a update again to let everyone know David is still doing well.
Improvements still persist though in small increments.

PT had him hop down the hallway with a walker and they scooted him around in a wheel chair to get him out of his room for a bit.

Fine motor skills have improved a bit more. He doesn't strain quite like he did to touch small objects.

Left leg still hurts but his leg as a lot of healing left to do and he's not allowed any weight bearing on that leg.

He's been playing games on his phone but don't expect him to send text messages, his fine motor skills aren't that good yet but he can answer the phone and talk a bit. Just keep in mind that he works pretty hard to talk because of the trach., so if you have his number you can call and talk though try to keep it more of a one way conversation. He is capable of doing video calls too.

He's supposed to go to rehab tomorrow, maybe Friday but it keeps getting delayed for a variety of reasons, none related to his current state. They actually want to get him into aggressive rehab because of his rate of improvement.

I spoke with a Ponderay PD officer today and found out that there was also a jail officer that responded to the scene at the time of the accident as well as a emergency room Sacred Heart Nurse, both were off duty and others I'm not aware of.
To all that helped David at the scene, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
To all that have helped since then, THANK YOU VERY MUCH TOO!!!

I attached a current picture of David so you all can see that he is alive and doing well considering!

Again, thank you everyone for your support, prayers, meals, everything that everyone has done.
Everyone has helped and your help has made going through this trial so much easier to bear and has shown how much our community cares about each other!

You all are a blessing and I hope you realize it!

John 13

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Update 4/4/2022

David is still progressing.

Today he showed we is able to move his broken leg, ankle and toes a bit.

He did some PT and did about a 8ft hop scoot with the assistance of PT and a walker.

He's finally able to make a fist and do thumb to index, middle, ring and pinkie finger touches with concentration.

Coughing has gotten much better and CT scans show that the pneumonia is much better too.

Tomorrow he's supposed to be transferred for rehab where they'll work on getting his motor skills back and fine tuned though I'm sure they'll push him to and beyond his limits.

Talking has gotten much better even though he doesn't have his trach. out yet. He's now pushing the "Call Nurse" button and telling them what he needs.

He has a bit of a foot drop on the left foot so that'll take some work to get back into shape but he's doing very well.

Again, thank you everyone for your support and help!

Update 4/1/2022

Another day of improvements.

David had a great session with OT minus being left in his chair for to long.

David is out of ICU and in his own room but they are a bit slower here to respond, but I guess that's a good thing since he doesn't level of care quite like he did.

Problem is he can't use the rest room when he needs to or get a drink when he needs to without assistance.

He would have been transferred to a rehab hospital but the orthopedic doctor wanted a CT scan and scheduled it for Sunday so he won't get his transfer until Monday.

He's still improving each day, he sat at the end of his bed, did some arm stretches, still working on hand movements and foot movements.

He was able to wear his trach cap more today and do more talking. A trach cap is a one way valve that allows you to take in air so you can vocalize.

He was able to brush his teeth today though it takes some effort but for the most part he has been chilling and watching TV shows all day.

We've also been working through cards and would again like to thank everyone for the cards!
He enjoys reading them and seeing greetings from everyone, even those we haven't met!!!
Thank you so much!!!

David had a good day today!

He was transferred from ICU to his own room this evening. Dad was able to get him to laugh a couple times and even get quite a few smiles.

David was able to talk a small bit today with a trach cap on and was given the go for eating food.
He's also getting the full feed rate via his G-J tube and having regular bowl movements.
No one likes to talk about their bowl movements but in our family we understand that regular BMs means a healthy gut! For David this means he's FINALLY getting the nutrition he needs and just in the nick of time since he's already lost some of his body mass.
It was something that we and the doctors were worried about.

During PT David was able to stand with some assistance on one leg and sit back down with assistance. His trunk is getting stronger but he's still struggling and leaning.

His neck is a bit stronger. He consistently nods for yes and shakes his head for no.

He finally got his phone back today and was excited to have something to play with and watched a couple movies.
He is still however struggling with his last three fingers on both bands, middle, ring and pinky. He does have OK control over his index fingers but it's still difficult to accurately type anything on a touch screen or anything else, but we see improvements every day and I think having something small like his phone will push him to hone in those skills again.

Someone also sent him some small Lego toys for practicing fine motor skills, and I'm sure he'll be working with those soon too.

All in all I'd say it was a good day. He's made improvements from just yesterday to today and we're very excited and happy to see all the improvements!

Update 3/29/2022

Today was exciting to watch David during OT and Speech therapy. His body is growing stronger daily. He has better trunk balance, he is able to hold his head up easier, he used his right arm and hand to touch his face all on his own, and he moved his right fingers. His left side is waking up slowly each day. The nurse said that he'll have to train his brain to focus on the left side since his brain wants to focus on the right side. During speech they tried the speaking valve on his trach and he was able to softly say a few words. It was so exciting to hear his voice again!!
The speaking value also helps him to develop stronger breathing muscles since the valve is a one-way value that allows him breath in through the tracheostomy tube, but not out. Both sessions were exhausting. Today he was cleared to have ice chips, which he really enjoyed. Tomorrow they are planning on trying liquids if the Doctor approves and might do a swallow test.

At the beginning of the PT session his tubing for his trach snagged and they had to replace the trach. It was a accident and was uncomfortable and made mom want to crawl out of her skin but on the bright side he got a upgraded trach (barf) and was able to skip PT for the rest of the day.

Therapies are not his favorite since they are painful but unfortunately he has to work through the pain, PT is very important.

They are working on getting him more nutrition via the PIC because he's not able to get enough calories via the feeding tube as he just can't take it right now. We're not really sure why.
He has lost 16% of his body mass and he didn't have enough to begin with as he was already a scrawny dude.

The doctors are concerned about his mood as he's still a bit down. They are talking about potentially putting him on depression meds, but it's something we're going to let him decide after talking about it a bit.

We're hoping that between getting him his phone back, communicating via the phone or tablet and giving him something to do other than sitting around and doing nothing might help take his mind off things lift him up a bit.

Dad finally had a chance to check the mail today and run some errands and we did not expect such a response!
It was emotional to open up the cards. There are cute home made cards and cards from all sorts of people! We didn't open them all, just a few as we'd like to open them all up with David though we don't want to overwhelm him.
We'll open them up with him a few at a time, likely some in the morning, some in the evening then take them home and post them up!

Words can't express how loved and supported we feel during this challenging time!
It's near impossible to put into words how we feel about everyone's responses and makes us feel like we're not doing this alone!

We can see God working through David and the community!
Again, we do thank everyone for their support and help!
Words can't express our appreciation enough!

3/28/2022

David is still doing well though the roller coaster continues.

He had a CT scan early in the morning that showed that the blood clots are stable, that the swelling in his brain has gone down and that his brain is healing.

We also found out that the blood thinners isn\'t to dissolve the clots but to prevent more clots. They said that the body will in time will absorb the clots.

They tested the mucus from his lungs and it showed that he has bacterial pneumonia. Something we were warned would likely be the case due to the trauma that was experienced, the damage to the lungs and all the blood in his lungs.
Due to the pneumonia they switched him from 3 different antibiotics to a single antibiotic to target the bacteria infection. This also explains his higher white blood cell count.

They also scoped his lungs, took a sample and they said that everything was looking good, considering.

They were able to successfully put in his PIC line today. The PIC line is being used for the blood thinner and to draw blood without poking him over and over again.

They took out the line in his leg since it wasn\'t needed with the PIC line in place.

His jaundice is better and the doc said his liver is getting better.

The jaundice is one thing I think I forgot to mention in the past but he did have some yellowing of his eyes and skin due to the liver damage that he sustained.

He had PT again today. This will be a daily thing he\'s going to have for quite a while.

PT went well, he had better head control, better trunk stability, better control of his right elbow and arm, he was able to move his left leg more and wiggle his toes more.
His left arm still isn\'t quite working as of yet.
He was able to give a floppy wave with his right arm and a very loose knuckle bump.
Pain seemed to be better as well as David spirit. Pain seemed to be more manageable than it has been.

Every day we continue to see improvements!!!!

3/27/2002

So today was a bit of a roller coaster ride again.
We\'re reminded that David may be stable but he\'s still not out of the woods yet.

We found out that David has a PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale) which is a hole in the wall that separates the heart\'s two upper chambers. All babies have this opening before birth to allow blood to bypass the longs but shortly after birth the tissues usually grows together and closes. David\'s didn\'t close and between the trauma, the ECMO machine and the PFO David threw some clots.
He has one in his neck and we aren\'t sure if there\'s one in both arms or just one, so the docs had to put him on some blood thinners to try and get the blood clots broke up.

They tried a PIC line but that was unsuccessful because of the blood clot, so they put a different temporary line in the artery in his leg. Later they\'ll try to put one in his neck.

David also started running a fever and his white cell count started going up, so they have him on 3 different antibiotics to try and blow the infection out.

They also did a CT scan of his head and abdomen to likely look for more blood clots and we\'re thinking they\'re also trying to look for the source of the infection.

Today David still seemed down but not defeated. Mom asked him if he was going to give up and he shook his head no.
Mom also asked him if he likes us being here with him and he said yes.

On a positive note, he moved his left leg today more than he has thus far.
His head is also moving better as well but still can\'t hold his head up by himself as of yet.

So prayers that the blood clots won\'t cause any problems and will dissolve without any issues, continued healing of his body, spirit and mind.

Also, there was a raffle was started for a BBQ\'r and I\'ll attach the image of the raffle. You can purchase tickets of the locations listed in the image.
Thank you everyone for your prayers and support and thank you to everyone that got the raffle started!
I don\'t know who all of you are personally but I hope to shake everyone\'s hand that has contributed to helping us out both financially and in prayer and I really do hope to pass it forward!

All of you are a blessing I didn\'t expect!!!

God Bless!!

Update 3/26/2022

David is still off the ventilator.
This evening he has a low grade fever which has been pretty normal and understandable since he still has a lot of healing to do.

Due to his fits because of pain, his situation and potentially because of the stroke they have given him meds to calm him but have made him sleepier.

The took the last drain tube out of his chest today and his feed rates keep increasing.

Now instead of using blinking to signal yes and no now we are using head nods though he\'s still not moving his head much.

Mom got to watch a OT session. They sat him up in bed, helped support him and then worked on head control, worked on arm movement and he was able to move his left leg just a very minuscule amount.

Unfortunately he\'s still not moving his fingers as of yet.

They are still working on getting him to sit on his own and trying to get him to shift to the right as he\'s wanted to lean to the left.

Today he seemed down, sleeping, sad and depressed.

Apparently last night there were some outbursts but not today, likely due to the meds to help him relax.

They also ran some ultra sounds to check for potential blood clots but we have yet to get any results.

Really it was a bit of a long day and we are tired but still hanging in there.

Well for today\'s update (3/25/2022) we fortunately had a decent day considering, meaning the only fight we had was with David, LOL!

David was unfortunately in some pain the afternoon, so much so he was kicking things with his right leg and flailing a bit.
Granted no one usually wants to write about someone being in pain and throwing a bit of a fit but we really can\'t blame him and at the same time we\'re happy he\'s able to feel and even able to move, though he can\'t move everything as of yet, he is progressing very quickly.
We\'re hoping that he\'ll start to channel his anger towards getting better but praying he doesn\'t get bitter. Time will tell.
He is able to move his right arm and leg, PT reported he is able to move his left toes a little bit, he started turning his head a bit, nodding his head for yes and shaking his head for no but only small movements and is tracking with his eyes quite well.
He does still seem to space out here and there but it has gotten better.
He is finally off the ventilator though he still has a tracheostomy and is unable to talk because of it.
He is still coughing up a little blood and other lung goobers but it has gotten better. They have him on a nebulizer to keep his lung moist.

David\'s was a bit down today, feeling mad, frustrated and upset by the situation, which is understandable but quite frankly we\'re happy that he\'s coherent enough to recognize his situation and feel the way he does!!!

The nursing staff has been great. When David started acting up they allowed mom to tag Dad in to help get David under control. We have to keep explaining to him that, \"Yes the situation is bad, you\'ve been broken but you are healing, you are doing VERY well but it is going to take time to get back up to speed.\" But it is difficult in a situation to see that he\'s fortunate to even be alive or even be co-herent of his situation.
It\'s no fun to be broken and very frustrating for sure. Most of us can\'t relate but we can imagine what it would be like to not be able to wipe your own behind, scratch your own nose or talk to your family and friends.

It is amazing how fast he is healing and we pray it continues and that he can live a normal life.

Thank you everyone for your support and prayers!!!!!
I will continue to keep everyone up to date as things progress though I suspect the updates will slow in the coming weeks as he will likely be going into re-hab sometime this next week or early the following week and hopefully getting a room of his own early this next week.

Donations so far have been covering food, fuel and some spur of the moment clothing as we didn\'t pack before we went to the hospital to be with David in the beginning. We are doing our best to be very frugal so as to be sure that plenty of money is available as needed when need as we don\'t know what expenses might come up while trying to make sure we take care of ourselves too. Admittedly we had some nights were we got little or no sleep but now that David is doing better we do sleep better and shed fewer tears for our son that we thought was going to die.

https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2022/mar/25/rachels-recovering-after-being-hit-by-truck/

At the time of this update GiveSendGo.com is down, not sure why so this update will be sent as soon as I see it online.
Update 3/24/2022

Since last night it\'s been a roller coaster ride.
We called before bed to see how he was doing only to find out that the covid test that they had done came back positive, which we found unusual as he showed no symptoms before the incident and because we all had already had it back in September.
So being that he is testing positive (we had them run it again) he has now been moved to a isolation room and we were told that we couldn\'t see him for 10 days!

Needless to say we didn\'t accept that answer!
It took all day, multiple phone calls and finally just showing up and not giving them the option to ignore us to get a answer that was more acceptable than just, \"No, you can\'t see him, I\'m sorry\", which is not a acceptable answer as this time in his recovery is is EXTREMELY critical that he be with people he knows, loves, trusts and gets the stimulation. Not to mention we understand him better than any nurse ever could since we\'ve known him all his life and no nurse is going to advocate for David like his parents will!

So long story short, we at least got them to OK one of us going in at a time to visit but we have to completely gown up and due to them once taking him into surgery without notifying us and because we were never notified of his test results or move, we\'re pushing for mom to stay in his room with him so as to never miss a beat again and to ensure his needs are met during a time in which he is unable to advocate for himself.

Uplifting news is David started moving his eyes more, his head a little bit more and his right arm for the first time today!!!
Everyday we are seeing more improvement!!!
We are so extremely excited to see all these improvements and pray for many, many more to continue!!!

We still need prayers for his left side as his lift arm and leg are not currently moving. He is able to feel pain in those limbs but still no movement, YET!

He did get started on being fed via a G-Tube today at a low rate so now he is getting nutrition. This will help with his healing as well.

Again thank you everyone for your prayers and support, it means so extremely much to all of us!!!

The nurse today said, \"I usually don\'t use this word, but your son is doing EXCELLENT!\" She told us that David was following commands and using blinking, sticking his tongue out, facial expressions, and trying to talk to communicate but is unable to because of the tracheostomy.

Words can NOT express our excitement that our son is still with us.
He has been answering questions, following directions as best he can and give smirks to my sarcasm, so his sense of humor is still in tact.

So today they took a lot of tubes out and put in another IV but he has less tubes than he did yesterday.
His incisions look great and he is indeed still healing!

Yesterday he was running a fever of about 102, today he\'s down to about 100. With so much broken and damaged it\'s no surprise he\'s running a bit warm.

He is feeling pain and is expressing when he is in pain and uncomfortable which is a good thing because he can feel his limbs.
Currently he\'s only able to move his right leg and moving his eyes more than he did yesterday though we did ask him if he can see anything but didn\'t give us a answer.
The ventilator is on a minimum setting, just enough to give a small assist but he is doing most his breathing on his own.
His top right lobe in his lung is still collapse and he is still coughing up blood but nothing like he was. Some blood is to be expected while his lung continues to heal.

He vomited 3 times today, so his digestive tract isn\'t quite ready for food yet but we\'re hoping that\'ll change within the next couple of days. Your digestive tract is the first to shut down and the last to come back on during traumatic events, or so we\'re told, and it makes sense.

We are asking anyone that is willing or that simply wants to send David words of encouragement to send David a card. We plan to pin them on his bedroom ceiling and walls. We want to encourage him and give him a small representation of how this has effected everyone is our community.

Please send your cards to....

David Rachels
PO Box 402
Ponderay, ID 83852

We are looking into Hyperbaric oxygen therapy and will be starting him as soon as possible as the sooner we get him in the better the results.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is about $5,000 per 40 sessions and it\'s difficult to say if insurance will cover it though unlikely.

David is more awake today. He is able to blink upon request though I think he\'s frustrated by the situation and doesn\'t cooperate all the time. 

Limb movement seems to be limited to bending his right leg (left is the broken femur) and stretching his left arm at the moment, currently no speech as well. 

Keep in mind these are early results in his injuries, it\'s hard to say how he\'ll progress but we\'re advocating for him and hope and pray to see miracles. He has a lot going for him, his age, his parents, his siblings, and his community. 

He does give facial expressions indicating pain and has teared up a couple times and we did get a BIG SMILE when we entered the room. 

They removed the tubes in his mouth and gave him a tracheostomy to make him more comfortable and for many other reasons but is still on a ventilator though it is on a low setting.

It\'s very sad that something so simple as refusing to stop for a light and refusing to respect the flow of traffic has lead to this. 

We all should do our best to try and show respect for one another, give the benefit of the doubt to one another. 

Loving one another doesn\'t have to mean being friends but showing some level of respect even if it just means leaving someone alone.

There are a lot of ways to show love and respect for each other. Stopping to let traffic flow is one of MANY.

David had his surgery today on his arm,  femur and pelvis, the surgeon said it went very well and means David can focus on healing. 

We still have a long road but we hope for the best. 

We didn\'t really get a chance to see him much today due to a lot of errands and his long surgery and are currently waiting to at least say good night. 

We did however find a camera that caught the whole accident today and it has been retrieved and submitted as evidence.

As such I will be modifying the campain descriptor to reflect on what we saw because we were told he was thrown 70ft but instead was hit from the north side of the lane and impacted a red compact SUV in the south side of the lane. It\'s possible it was 70ft but we are not certain. 

A witness I spoke with today said he was complaining he couldn\'t breath so they helped him get his helmet off.

We are still hopeful he\'ll make a miraculous recovery but also being realistic that it is possible that he may not be the same. 

However,  a tiny glimpse of good news is that the nurse we spoke with today said that he was able to get David to open his eyes when his name was spoken but wasn\'t tracking and following with his eyes (yet).

The doctor did say David falls into a grey area where the doctor is unable to say if he\'ll have disabilities, what they are, or if David will make a full recovery.  With proper support, stimulation and a lot of work it is possible he could get really close to normal again but only time will tell and it\'ll likely be 6 months before we have a good idea as to how much progress he\'ll make.

We were also told he\'ll likely be leaving ICU within the next week and go to normal care. 

Tomorrow physical therapy starts in order to keep his joints working well. 

Again! Thank you everyone for your support and to all those that have offered help and continue to offer help!

As I\'ve told many people, this is going to be a long road and honestly we don\'t know what we need until we need it but we do know there\'s going to be a lot of time and trips going into getting David the care he needs to recover as best as possible but David is loved and we WILL be reminding him how much the whole community has pitched in to show his much they care!!!

All of you have shown so much compassion and love and we are so very grateful!!!

God Bless all of you!

The MRI showed that our son had a global watershed stroke due to the lack of oxygen. It was heartbreaking news for us to hear from the Dr that David\'s brain was injured. It is a waiting game as to what level of disabilities he will live with. He has been mostly sedated today. Before we left, his sedation was less and he moved his right leg, partly opened his eyes,  and grimaced from being uncomfortable.  In the next couple of days he\'ll have surgery on his leg and arm, then will get a trach (which will be more comfortable). We are keeping our eyes on the Lord, but can not lie, our hearts break for our son. Thank you again for all the prayers and love. God bless

We arrived to the hospital and got an update from the doctor.  Words a parent NEVER wants to hear!! This is starting to feel real :\'( more of a nightmare, that we wish we would wake up from. The trauma to his body, blood loss, probably low oxygen levels caused strokes and some level of brain damage. They are running more tests. They are also inserting a drain tube to drain air from his chest cavity.

We find it so very sad that a respectful young man has his life destroyed due to the bad selfish decisions of another.

We all need to and should remember that each of our decisions effect those around us,  even those we don\'t know. 

This morning\'s update: David is wake, but unresponsive. He is stable, his temp is barely elevated.  The nurse thought he looked at her once.  The trial with the ventilator was unsuccessful.  They did a CT scan and want to do a MRI. That\'s tricky because of his external hardware on his leg. They want to confirm their findings. That\'s all the information we have. Prayers that we (mom and Dad) can encourage him to respond. Prayers that his brain is not damaged from his body not getting enough oxygen on Wednesday. We trust in the Lord! He saved David for a reason and he has a purpose. He is loved by many and is a fighter! Thank you again for your prayers and support, it means more than words can describe. 

Oh,  I forgot to mention, he has moved from CICU to ICU.

David is still stable and doing well considering. 

They were going to migrate him off the ventilator tomorrow but the nurse mentioned starting sometime tonight. 

He\'ll need to pass some tests before they completely remove the ventilator.

They are also going to be changing his pain meds from IV to his temporary G-tube and they started feeding him via his temporary G-tube as well.

Again thank you everyone for your love and support. We can definitely see fast healing and can see that it\'s a miracle that he\'s even alive. 

After talking to others and looking back we\'re amazed he survived the trip from KMC to SH.

Thank you everyone for your love and support!!!

David will be moving from CICU (Cardiac Intensive Care Unit) to ICU soon.

He is starting to cough lightly and respond with eye lid squint to commands

The donations issue has been fixed and is able to take donations again!
Thank you again to everyone!!!

He is still heavily sedated but we were able to get him to lightly blink on request

I am still working on the donation issue.
If you want to donate please wait as I need to figure out what\'s going on and get it fixed.

The update now is they have removed him off the ECMO machine and he is getting oxygen on his own but he is still on a ventilator though they are weening him off that too.
They are reducing sedation today to verify his cognitive state.

For anyone trying to donate, I\'ve been made aware there is a donation problem and I am working on trying to get it figured out. Unfortunately I think it\'s related to a typo I may have done.

The update for David thus far is he is still stable. They are going to try and take him off the ECMO machine today.