Lauren Graham archive....

UPDATED June 18, 2009 11:00 AM

Greetings: 

Very early this morning the respiratory nurse turned off the breathing machine this morning briefly to examine the strength of Lauren's breathing.  The numbers were very good, she is breathing on her own.  However, they were unable to wake her.  It appears she's been so heavily sedated they couldn't wake up her brain.  

They will try this procedure again this afternoon with us there, and will lower her sedation during the day today in anticipation of it. 

Please pray that they will be able to "wake her up" this afternoon.  

This is a time of delicate balance between waking her up too suddenly or insufficiently.  

Thank you all for your prayers. 

Best Regards,

Ken

UPDATED June 17, 2009  3:08 PM

Greetings everyone:

When we came in this morning Lauren was stable, and they had reduced her sedative, and increased the pain killer slightly.  She seems better suited to this.  They did a CT-Scan this morning which was clear and good, so the surgeon has given clearance to the Orthopedic Surgeon to do the foot surgery.

The Orthopedic surgeon will probably have Dr. Paul the Foot and Ankle surgeon do the surgery, and he will do her foot at 5 p.m. (Central Time). We would certainly solicit your prayers that the foot surgeon will do a really good job.  The plate and setting of the broken bones will be with her every step, for the rest of her life.  When I anoint people before surgery, I often ask that God will guide the surgeons wisdom and hands as he does the work.

I'll try to send another update on the surgery later tonight when we find out how it went from the surgeon.
Warm Regards to all, and thank you again for all your prayers.

Best Regards,
Ken and Susan

UPDATED June 16, 2009 5:00 PM

An eyewitness account relates: "I had a chance to visit with Lauren today and the Grahams. She is really looking good - good color and healing well. So relieved to see this. Just anxious to see the foot taken care of and the breathing tube removed."

Cards can be sent to the hospital address at:

           BroMenn Regional Medical Center
           1304 Franklin Ave.
           Normal, IL  61761

From the Graham's:

When we got here this morning, the doctor had already removed the ventricular catheter from Lauren's head (this catheter gave a pressure release valve and was pressure sensitive to the cranial cavity).  This is great news, because the neuro surgeon had emphasized to me that he would not remove this until he was certain that nothing dangerous or harmful was going to occur in her head.  In other words no more worries about further damage from pressure or bleeding!
They also had her on a much lower dose of sedative, and she was extremely active, moving and shifting around in her sleep, trying to yawn, trying to turn over.  The activity is a very good sign.  However, they've had to give her a little more sedative, because at this level she will occasionally try to pull off some of her tubes, and try to pull the breathing tube out.  She doesn't like all that stuff on her.
Following tomorrow mornings CT-scan they hope to release her to the orthopedic surgeon to do the foot surgery.  At that point they can begin weening her off of the respirator and sedation.  This is when we will find out how much of our "original" Lauren we will be getting back.  We have been warned of possible memory loss and personality shifts.  We have faith that God will answer everyone's prayers and bring back Lauren as we know her.

One final thank you again for your love and prayers.

Warm Regards,
Ken and Susan

UPDATED June 16, 2009 12:35 PM

Greetings all:

Just got home from the hospital for maintenance on our cats while Susan stayed in town at a members home close to the hospital.

This afternoon they put in a "central line" or as other hospitals call them a "port" for access to a major vein to put in liquid food, anti-biotics, saline, supplements or whatever rather than through needles in the forearm.  Her forearms are a little less swollen now.  The insertion of the port went well with no complications so far and it is working well.

I mentioned earlier the Sheriff had read the "black box" in the semi-truck and determined his speed on impact as well as other items for the police report.  He went to read Lauren's black box this afternoon and called us back that Lauren's "black box" was so damaged he was unable to get any data from it.  So we won't know what her vehicle was doing at the time it was struck.

ICU is closed for shift changes to everyone from 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. each day.  This why many of you find us not there in the  mornings.  We have had late evenings and typically arrive around noon.  We're sure you understand our need to remain well because it will be a very long road to recovery.  They estimate for each day someone is on the breathing machine and under sedative, it will require one day on the other side of being off the machine to recover from it.

To be honest, Susan's had a few bad days because of the smell in the waiting room and lack of sleep.  We've appreciated everyone coming by, but we also appreciate the visits  not being too long.  We've needed some family time too.  I am sure you understand.  Due to Susan's struggle to get sleep, please don't call her cell phone before 10 a.m.  Normally, I could take the call, but she's staying in town near the hospital at night and I try to get home to deal with the house, cats and mail and meet her at the hospital at mid-day.

I'll typically try to produce an update about 2:30-3:00 p.m. each day for those following.

Thank you all once again for your prayers, thoughts, visits, comfort and concern.

Best Regards,
Ken and Susan

UPDATED June 15, 2009 5:00 PM EDT

Greetings all:

We are now just past the 72 hour critical period since the accident when the brain swells to the maximum size.  At the moment her ICP number looks very good.  ICP is Intercrainial Pressure measurement of how much pressure is going on in the brain area.

Nurses have been fabulous.  They've been keeping up with hygene aspects, such as caring for her hair.  They removed all the bandaging from her head.  So we can see her multiple large lacerations, all stitched up, on the right side top of her head.  We gave permission to put a port into her shoulder because there is swelling in her forearms because they keep poking her so often it's hard to find a new spot.  The port allows them better access.

This morning they were going to do a exam of some kind to look at the blood vessels in her neck as her throat area is a bit swollen (probably due to the breathing tube having been in so long already).
Tomorrow morning they'll run another cat-scan.  If all looks good they will remove the catheter from her head.  We were able yesterday, to see the cat-scan and MRI.  She has approximately six very small areas where bleeding occurred in the brain, but have since stopped.  The neuro and brain surgeons both assured us this is perfectly normal, and actually is good in comparison to many.

When Susan met with the Sheriff this morning he did find out (from the semi-truck's black box) that the truck was traveling at 56 miles per hour at impact.  We signed a consent to retrieve Lauren's black box information as well.  We've not heard anything further at this point.

We'd like to thank all of you for your prayers.  It goes without saying how grateful and appreciative we are for all of your support and prayers and caring.

We'll try to continue to keep you all updated.

Warm Regards,
Ken and Susan Graham

UPDATED June 14, 2009

Dear Family and Friends:

Approximately 4:30 p.m. Central Time:

Let me begin by saying there are no words to express our appreciation for your prayers support and love.  Our local church family has been amazing. The short version is we are right on target.  Now some details:

We are at hour 50 between now and hour 72 where the swelling of the brain will peak.  So the next 24 hours is crucial.  Lauren had an MRI of her head and neck this morning.  The neuro-surgeon said everything went well.  She has some swelling of the neck which is perfectly normal.  They have now removed the collar from her neck with the realization that there is no damage to her neck.  We just received a visit from the neuro-surgeon and the brain surgeon.   Tomorrow morning they are going to skip the cat-scan and wait until Tuesday morning, unless something warrants it.   If Tuesday mornings cat-scan looks good, they anticipate removing the catheter  (from her head) on Tuesday. 

The orthopedic specialist came by.  If we remain on target with the above, we anticipate the foot surgery on Wednesday.  The bone from the big toe toward the ankle is shattered and will require a plate and screws.

It's obvious how much God has intervened on many levels already.  Dena has been a most amazing nurse.

As a side note, because of pollens and insects, ICU does not allow flowers, so we'd prefer people did not spend their money on that, thank you anyway.  We'll see to it when she goes to a regular room she gets some flowers.  Another housekeeping issue.  Because we chose to not release information to the local papers there is a privacy flag on our account.  This means if you call the hospital, they will neither confirm nor deny that she is here.

June 14, 2009

We visited again with the Grahams today, and Susan mentioned that she and the family would prefer no flowers be sent to the ICU. She explained that fresh flowers are in fact not allowed in the unit due to fragrance and bugs. There is also the issue of fragrance allergies among the family.

Thank you for passing this information on to anyone who has the hospital address and might want to send something. Cards, however, are most welcome.

Thanks again and take care,

June 13, 2009

From mother, Susan Graham--

Dear Family and Friends,

About 2:30 pm Central time Friday, June 12th, Lauren was involved in a very serious car accident. She was hit in the passenger's side of the car by a semi going around 55-60mph.  She has not been conscious since.  Her primary concern is that she has experienced major head trauma.  She has a severe concussion.  They did surgery earlier today.  They put in a ventricular pressure catheter to monitor pressure on her brain. She had no bleeding on the brain, and there is no skull fracture. She is considered to be in critical care for 72 hours. There is a lot of swelling on the brain, and her numbers at the moment are good. The doctor pointed out that that could change immediately. She has tried to react and respond when we are in the room. They have her sedated and will have her sedated for about the next three days. She has had two CT scans today already, and she will receive at least one a day for the next week to two weeks.

She does have two broken bones in her left foot, which they can't do anything about until the neurosurgeon releases her for surgery. The bone on the top of her foot going to her large toe has multiple bone fragments and will require a pin.

We cannot thank you enough for your prayers.  

We have a terrific core of church family set up here in the ICU waiting room, for which we are very grateful.

I would greatly appreciate your prayers, not only for Lauren, but for the safe arrival of Nicole and Kelly who are in route from Albuquerque. Thank you again.

Love,

Susan