Our dadio spoke his first words today:)

Sonja, Heidi, Michael & Amberlie met the speech therapists at the hospital today to try and help Dad talk aloud. The respiratory therapist was there to monitor Kirby's breathing while on the trach. "button" and not on the ventilator. The button they hook him up through his trach. allows air flow; fyi. the trach. in his neck prevents him with a "cuff" from speaking aloud. He has been trying to mouth some words for a few days, but he's having to relearn how to even move his mouth. But the speaking valve they put over the trach. allowed air to flow and Dadio spoke our names. His voice was raspy, but soooo good to hear! We were all so excited for him. The past couple of days we've seen some improvements that have given us all hope that he is trying:) Kirby is in "stable condition" now. They did x-rays yesterday of different areas and they all came back fine. No further abnormal bleeding either. He is still being treated for the MRSA & pneumonia, and he's improving daily from those illnesses. They are doing a metabollic study today with the ventilator & they are doing extensive evaluations too. These evaluations will determine if he is ready to move out of the "trama unit" and up to the "Rehabilitation Unit" of IMC today. He will spend about 5 weeks there undergoing extensive rehab. everyday. We will update the blog when he's been moved to rehab. so you'll know where to visit him:) Feel free to write cards to Dad. He likes me to read your phone messages, cards, and blog comments to him. Thank you so much for your love and concern for our father. We as a family are eternally grateful for all of you!!! xoxo Sonja

Dad's Christmas Programarama!

At Christmas Dad put a program together as he does every year. It is always full of important lessons and spiritual themes based on Christ. He is always so sweet to give all of the kids a chance to participate. He spends hours preparing for this so it can be just right. This is the first year I can think of that he didn't dress the kids up. It's the real thing here...he sure knows how to put on a production to please the crowd!

Lung Lung

Today Dad ran another 10 mile marathon! Yep, the P.T. told us that one session of his physical therapy is equivalent to us running 10 miles. Shocking really. Most people have to work up to that but Daddy is working hard like a champ to do what the P.T. is teaching him. I always seem to get to his room just after they are finished and he is always bushwhacked. 

Dad has been hooked back up to a type of ventilator through his trach because his right lung has decided to partially collapse too now. I'm no nurse but perhaps it is because of the pneumonia? Nevertheless, his lungs need our prayers right now. 

Dad was overjoyed (in his own special way) when I (along with Amberlie) reported to his bedside after returning from Christian's basketball game this afternoon. As we told him who went and the happenings of the game his eyebrows were bouncing to and fro and he was squeezing my hand repeatedly. He was so happy to hear that Christian scored 10 pts. in the game! Dad has always supported ALL of Christians games and anything else he has been interested in. I know it meant a lot for us kids to gather together in support of Christian when he couldn't. Christian had a great idea for us to video tape it next week and bring it for Dad to watch at the hospital. It's a done deal! 

For older posts abt the car accident and injuries

scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "older posts"

Our Christmas Shepherd reading from Luke

Dad in disguise telling funny stories to the grandkids

825 visitors in 10 days...WOW!

Feel free to leave a comment for Dad on this blog. If you don't have access to do so, leave a message on his cell phone and I'll relay it to Dad for you. He'll love that!! Dad has amazing friends! Thank you from us children for being such kind, good examples to Dad over the years. You'd be surprised at how much he tells us about you all...all good of course:). xoxo Sonja

Friday, January 23, 2009

Daddy, you are doing well today. You were more alert than you've ever been for me thus far, since the accident. You were trying to communicate with me by mouthing words and using your hands to spell words. You were trying to cough just before I left this afternoon...I was worried. It went on for a half hour. It looked so painful. This must be horrific for you. With your back surgery, broken ribs, collapsed lung.... I hope that your pnemonia starts to clear up and you can fight off the MRSA. I think you'll be able to breath and sleep much better then. You look very tired. Your physical therapy went well this morning. You were able to sit up, with help of your p.t. & balance yourself upright with your arms down at your sides for a few seconds. They're working hard with you. We are praying for you all day long and your phone has been ringing off the hook with friends and family wanting to know how you're doing. You are strong Dad! You're a fighter... You're going to get through this. There are brighter days ahead! Might our Heavenly Father pour out His spirit of comfort upon you & bless you with strength to endure this trial. Our Savior has endured all things & I know He is mindful of you Daddy. May He buoy you up & ease your pain & suffering, so you can recover is my prayer today. God speed until tomorrow "Dadio". We love you so much!! xoxo Sonja

I See You...in the ICU!

Adam and I went to visit his Dad yesterday. His siblings, Heidi & Michael were there. Above is a picture of the kids helping move his limbs around for a little physical therapy. He really seemed to like this. He tries to spell with his finger, but our finger spelling is a little shaky these days

As you can see as they've said in the recent post, he no longer needs the ventilator to breath, so not so much stuff around his face. I ordered a hair cut from the nurses, yep I did it. So, if he gets mad about it...blame me. Heads up, if you have young children, a weak immune system, or just a general fear of germs, DO NOT GO to his hospital room! The nurses told Sonja that we need to wash our clothes and take a shower right when we get home from visiting him. Yes, it's that's serious...this MRSA infection. Until they nip this thing in the bud...just know that he's being taken care of, getting good rest & likes to hear all your comments from the blog.
Cory

Dad's crashed car

Have you ever seen a car wreck this bad? I can't believe Dad survived this accident! It's truly a miracle.

It's been one week now & 605 visitors to this blog

Wow!!! Dad, you have lots of family and friends who love you and are so concerned for you. You've had over 605 people come to your blog and read about your happenings. Pretty unbelievable! Be strong Dad! We're all pulling and praying for you. You are THE MAN! You CAN do this and you will recover from this. We are all here for you! Even 4 yr. old little Dawson is drawing pictures for you to hang in your hospital room for inspiration. It's been one week now since the accident. Lots has happened. You're looking really good today. The hospital staff said that they're going to transfer you to REHAB. on Monday. You've got quite the road ahead of you but quite the ontourage to help you through this challenging time. God speed, Dad! We love you so much!!! Love, Sonja xoxoxo

the Good Old Days photo - Losser/Ludvigson vacations

MRSA :( Tracheostomy :)

Dad IS looking really good after the tracheostomy surgery!! No more tubes down his throat, up his nose, all around his face... Yeah! He looks more peaceful & we're sure he's a little more comfortable with the trach. breathing mechanism. The doctor said that he is actually breathing much better today. They are just blowing humidified oxygen through his throat, etc. now. He's not currently on a ventilator, which is great to hear. He has contracted a few things though. He has M.R.S.A. which is MethacillinResistent Staff Aureus, otherwise known as "the super bug". It's a bacterial infection that is resistent to antibiotics & is in the sucretions of his lungs. It usually is brought on by the body when the immune system is broken-down and compromised. Which his definitely is. He also has pneumonia. Which was probably caused by the ventilator and breathing tube down his throat. That's very common in that case. He has a peg tube in his side now and he's getting good nutrition for his body through that tube. Sad part...Dad won't be able to speak for a couple of weeks still. They'll install a button on his trach. to allow speaking when he is ready then. If you REALLY want to visit now, make sure your visit is brief with Kirby, and the Doctor said to make sure that you are really healthy. Washing your hands before and immediately after IS IMPARATIVE!!! You must have a #code from the family to visit. Please leave comments on this blog for Dad. This is our way of letting him know how much everyone loves him and is thinking of him. Thank you for all of you who have stopped by the hospital waiting room and visited with us children. We've sure enjoyed getting to visit with Dad's friends, both new and old. You're going to be a great support & inspiration for Dad in the future! Thank you for your prayers! xoxo Sonja

A little indulgence...

My Dad has always remembered his many grandchildren's birthday's! He buys matching gifts...even for the adults! Before handing the present over, however, you have to listen to a typically fabricated story. You better look like your listening and interested too! These pictures are a perfect example of Dad's unique gift giving! My kids love to hear your stories, Dad. They can't wait to hear more! I never knew I would yearn to hear that boisterous laugh! I sure wish I would have accepted that last dance you offered me. Love you Daddy! XOXO

It's not a good idea to visit for atleast 24 hours. Dad has pneumonia and is very weak. We will update more this evening. Feel free to leave comments for Dad on this blog. He will appreciate them later on, I'm sure of it!!

Monday Morning

In an attempt to see if Dad could breathe on his own this morning his breathing tube was removed. He was not able to breathe after an hour of helping him to do so. Now the breathing tube has been put back in place. The physicians are discussing a tracheotomy because his throat is so swollen and could possibly be damaged by continuing to put the tube in and out of his throat. Perhaps in the long term it will be beneficial as he will be able to start rehab and such without the breathing tube. Pending.....
His back brace is now on so while his back is healing it will be in the correct position. He will have this on for approximately 2 months. Sounds super comfy, 'eh!

Saturday Evening

The drawing in the middle is to Dad from his son Christian. The drawing on the whiteboard was done by the Physician to show us how the blood clot filter was inserted.

Aunt Paula has been taking over helping Grandma too. She is up for her own back fusion on Monday so keep her in your prayers too. We love you Paula and Grandma!

The next pic isn't pretty but we know that lots of people have wanted to come see Dad and are too far away or haven't wanted to intrude so here's a picture a couple days ago. He has since had his back surgery and doesn't have the neck brace on anymore.

Dad was out of it all day after surgery. He didn't seem to know we were there which was difficult because of his progress the day before. We do know that this was the result of recovery from surgery. He has had countless inquiries and he is so loved! There was even a gal that he met at a dance one week ago who showed up to the hospital yesterday. He made quite an impression on the people he met. His Gal Pal, Linda has been ever so supportive as well. She has been spending most of her time helping with Grandma Ludvigson and by Dad's bedside. Her help has been appreciated.

A shout out to all of my Dad's brothers and sisters too. You have all been such a comfort to us kids! You are all so reliable. Thank you!

I am headed up to the hospital to see Dad again now so I'll post again later.

Surgery Today...Finally!!!

Kirby went into surgery @ 8:30 am this morning. The doctors said that the surgery will take about 6 hours. They will be fusing several vertabrae together and placing a metal rod in his spine. They will also take bone marrow from his hip and use that to fuse the vertabrae together. We will keep you updated on his progress and his post-op condition. Thank you for your calls, your prayers and your love. Please don't send flowers or balloons at this time. They don't allow them in the ICU. We will be setting up a fund for Kirby soon, so stay posted.

Because he will be recovering from his surgery this weekend we ask that visits wait a few days so that he can rest. They only allow 3 people in his room at a time and with 7 children...it's tight! If you'd like to send him a message, please comment on the blog and we will read all messages to him when he wakes up again. Cards are also appreciated!

Currently in Surgery

THE INJURIES

Kirby is scheduled for back surgery at noon today to put his spine back together. It has been confirmed that he is in fact permanently paralyzed. Because of his critical condition, they cannot allow gifts/flowers/balloons. Cards and pictures are allowed. There will be a fund set up in his name, in lieu of gifts, and we will post the info when we have it. Look for the update.
Kirby was traveling home on I-15 on Wed night. He was involved in an accident (we cannot include details at this time regarding the accident, as it is all specualtion.) What we do know is that he was found down an embankment about 40 feet from the freeway. He was taken by lifeflight to IMC hospital. He is still in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit and on a ventilator. His spine was severed from vertabrae T5-T7, causing permanent paralisis. The nuerosurgeon informed us that this is one of the most sever breaks that he has ever encountered. He also has 8 broken ribs on the right side and 2-3 on the left. His right lung was, and still is, collapsed. There has been trauma to the front and rear of his brain, and internal bleeding. His right arm has little to no use, but his left arm is strong. Kirby is more awaretoday than yesterday and is very frustrated and confused. There is not a lot of communication that can be done with him at this time. We are not sure about how much he is understanding. He has been able to squeeze our hands in an attempt to communicate, but it is almost impossible to really understand how much he comprehends.
If you have questions, you can post them and we will try to answer them as best we can. We will do our best to update often. Thank you for all of your love and support.

The first update...

As you may have heard, our dad was in a horrible automobile accident on Thursday morning, January 15,2009, around 1:00 am on I-15. He was rear-ended by a SUV & his car trunk was smashed up into the back of his seat. It took the paramedics an hour to get him out and into the helicopter. We have created this blog in an attempt to keep everyone informed of his status and progress as time goes by. We realize that there will be many who wish to express their love and concern and also want to hear how things are going. We all are very busy in dealing with this life changing event, but want you all to know how much we appreciate your genuine concern for our family. It will be difficult to answer phone calls and questions, so we kindly ask you to refer to this blog as we will do our best to keep it current. We, as well as our dad, would greatly appreciate any words of encouragement or expressions of love. Please feel free to comment on this blog, as this will serve as a journal for the road we are about to travel down. Thank you again on behalf of our family, especially our dad!