April 13th 12:10 PM
I should be posting more of all
the fun my kids are having. They have been seriously loved on for the past two
weeks. Phil's family, my sister @janeaneff, my parents @mariannethelin, my
brother Jeremy, followed by my brother @jadethelin and then later this week my
brother Justin will come and take care of these adorable boys. It has been an
amazing help. While I have thought about them, it's never been because I've
been worried about them. I know they have been taken care of so well. They
actually seem to be thriving better without their parents, sleeping better,
eating better and playing well together. It's a huge blessing. And of course
our other child #remalema
has been loved on too by @rachmoulton and @stevmoul This whole time!! She's
been out for long runs and has a little puppy pal to wrestle with all day long.
I'm so grateful to all of them for helping in this huge way. Family is it and
I've got to have the best that there is.
April 13th 12:18 PM
Jeremy took them to the dinosaur
museum last week. They were in heaven!!! They say it was their favorite outing
so far! @kristinthelin
April 13th 12:24 PM
"A-qua-ri-um"
"No!!" That one is for you Jeremy! @kristinthelin
April 13th 6:27 PM
Phil has been officially
discharged from OTSS and admitted to Inpatient Rehab at the University of
Utah...just a couple floors down and hallways over. He has been feeling pretty
good today and he's made some progress with peeing. Who knew that would be
something to celebrate!!! It will be an adjustment to the way things are ran
down here, but we're hoping he can fall into a routine and that the days will
pass by more quickly. Tomorrow he starts rehab program. He has to complete 3
hours of rehab in a day. It doesn't have to be done all at once, but regardless
it's going to be a big jump from what he's been doing.
His focus will be transferring to
a wheel chair and building up tolerance to to pain. I think because of his determination
the first will come quickly. The latter might be more challenging. But either
way, here's to the next phase and to progress!!!
We appreciate all your prayers
and continued support for us and we hope you continue to stick with Phil
through this as it's going to be a very long road for him.
April 13th 9:45 PM
The world is full of REALLY good
people. These awesome cougar football players had never met Phil and probably
had different plans tonight. But they all took a few hours out of their day and
crossed enemy lines to brighten our day. Even Bronco sent a note with his
encouragement and support. It made my heart happy to watch Phil interact and
joke with them. Super grateful for their kindness and encouragement. It's going
to go a long way! @phillipmoulton #toughasnails
#gocougs
#BYUFOOTBALL
April 14th 3:04 PM
Great day of therapy!! 4 sessions
each about 45 minutes long. Phil did amazing and everyone has been so impressed
with him!! #toughasnails
@phillipmoulton
April 14th 11:28 PM
Phil had his best night sleep
last night and a great day with therapy today. However as the evening wore on,
the pain from exerting his body became pretty intense. He took what pain meds he
could and it was still a couple of rough hours.
They have started giving him salt
tablets because his sodium is low and they are still monitoring his urine
output and doing bladder scans.
It was a very exhausting day
between the physical exertion, coping with and some emotional conversations we
are both very tired. If I had a little more energy I would write more... Here's
to hoping and praying for another good night and more forward progress
tomorrow.
April 15th 4:56 PM
This guy is working his tail
off!! It's day 2 and he's finished his four therapy sessions for the day and
took a SHOWER!! Doesn't he look so clean?! If you only knew the huge
accomplishment taking a shower was you'd be sending high-fives his way. And it
had been 3 weeks since he had a real shower so it must have felt pretty good.
Couldn't be more proud of that guy!! @phillipmoulton #toughasnails
April 16th 10:08 AM
PT session. #toughasnails
@phillipmoulton
April 16th 11:40 AM
Part 1. First time propelling
himself in a manual chair!! And just finishing up the third therapy session of
the day. #toughasnails
@phillipmoulton
April 16th 11:45 AM
Part 2. Now he gets to rest a bit
before occupational therapy comes back. #toughasnails
@phillipmoulton
April 16th 11:15 PM
Another good day of therapy and
progress towards going home. We're working on getting a manual wheelchair from
our insurance for at home and a power one for at the shop. There's a few other
necessities we'll need for Phil's care at home that our insurance won't cover
so we're working on coming up with those items as well.
Tomorrow Phil should get the
stitches out of his left leg and be cleared to take off both braces and start
light PT on the breaks. We're learning lots of good exercises and skills that
we will be able to put into place and in a schedule at home.
Phil's pain has been managed
pretty well but there are other things that are making the days tough to get
through. He's still on a fluid restriction because his sodium levels are even
worse than yesterday. It's even more frustrating because the meds he's on gives
him dry mouth. He's still having difficulty with digestion, BM and it feels we
took a step back with urinating. Earlier he spiked another fever and tonight he
had a major gut ache and we haven't found the happy balance of pain meds to
stool softener ratio. So we still have some things to work out.
We're working on finding a new
car too. Our sequoia was totaled last week (everyone involved is okay) but we
need something different than the truck to get Phil into and home. Tomorrow we
should get an estimated discharge date which will be great to have a day to
focus towards. Hopefully we'll be able to accomplish everything we need to by
that day. But the sound of going home sounds pretty dang good.
April 17th 4:14 PM
So today has been pretty rough.
Actually since yesterday evening. Phil has had the worst pains in his gut. It
is a combination of constipation and gas pains. He's also been a little
feverish and his sodium levels were worse today, which means he can't have any
water, only a restricted,very minimal amount of Powerade. His pain is good, but
these other issues are making him pretty darn miserable. And to make it all
worse it's taking HOURS to get any new medications, for example tums,
prescribed. When that order finally came through it was only for one chewable.
So we're a little frustrated with the processes of everything as well. If you
have any extra good thoughts or prayers to send Phil's way and to his doctors
and nurses we would appreciate it so much!! Thanks for tuning in. Hoping to get
him some major relief asap and to have a restful, gut, pain free night.
April 18th 3:11 PM
Phew. I'm glad we made it through
yesterday. Today has been better, but Phil is pretty worn out from fighting all
the pain he was in. Just a little bit ago we got Phil into his chair, outside
and down to the cafeteria for a coke zero (for me). And we did it all on our
own. No doctors, nurses, or PT/OT tagging along. Pretty awesome! While it was
good to get outside and out of the unit, it tires Phil out pretty quick. But
maybe we feel like we making up for the steps backwards...#toughasnails
@phillipmoulton #philsstory
#day22
April 19th 10:35 AM
The day yesterday was much better
than the day before but there are still issues that need to be sorted out. The
worst and most concerning issue is what has been diagnosed as a hematoma right
under Phil's right sit bone. It's gotten bigger and more tender making pretty
much any position uncomfortable.it has also made sitting in a wheelchair, with
the cushion that has made sitting possible, nearly unbearable again. They are
planning on doing a CT scan (hopefully today) to try to start to diagnose the
problem. It's been very frustrating to Phil that the most trying issues haven't
been the broken bones or pain from those, but other random issues that have
occurred from the trauma. We're praying to get some answers today and are glad
for a day of rest and no therapy. — with Phillip Moulton at University of
Utah Hospital.
April 19th 1:32 PM
Praying for answers.
@phillipmoulton #toughasnails
April 20th 12:02 AM
Okay. Where to start...the CT scan back with results!!!! We were so grateful. While Phil does have a hematoma, it's further up in his pelvic cavity and what they originally diagnosed as a hematoma is actually an abscess. And it's something he's had before and this one started to worsen very rapidly this afternoon. Trauma came to look at it (a resident) and they told us that because of the progression he would most likely need to have surgery or have a drain placed. A few hours later the attending came to see Phil, she looked at it and said trauma would be down soon and they would just do a bedside procedure. That was a little bit to take in but they assured us that they would numb it and as soon as the pressure released Phil would feel relief. A couple hours later they came and started the procedure. You guys, it was horrible. I can't even express how terrible it was for Phil. There are no words. The resident gave him some pain meds through an IV then a little later something for anxiety. Then we had enough. Actually it probably should have been much earlier before we asked for another opinion or more options. Thankfully Phil's parents were at the hospital and they helped advocate for something different to happen. Long story short they took him back into surgery to sedate him and finish up the procedure. It took them 15 minutes of discussion to decide how they were even going to position him in the OR because of all of his injuries. He's back there now and it shouldn't be too much longer before they're done. Another roller coaster day with some really good stuff and most likely the lowest point as far as pain goes for Phil.
— with Phillip Moulton at University of Utah Hospital.
— with Phillip Moulton at University of Utah Hospital.
April 20th 2:36 AM
Phil's been out of surgery for a
couple hours now and is finally asleep for the night. It went well and I'm glad
we get to catch a couple hours of sleep before the new day. Praying the pain
from all of this won't be too severe tomorrow!!
April 20th 7:16 PM
Even though the day was pretty
exhausting, followed by a rough night, things are looking up. We started
discussing a car transfer, are figuring out equipment for home, Phil got the
packing out of his abscess and all the stitches out of his legs!! Tomorrow
should be a good day!! #toughasnails
@phillipmoulton
April 21st 4:18 PM
Phil was pretty worn out today
but trudged through all four sessions of therapy. He even got a little sassy
and threw some of the bean bags intentionally further so they would hit me.
Later on he also did a car transfer which he made look pretty easy (although
I'm positive it wasn't). Everything seems to be coming together. Unless we have
any unexpected setbacks, he will be discharged Thursday. Home never sounded so
good!! @phillipmoulton #toughasnails
April 22nd 11:45 PM
Sorry it's been a little while
since the last update. Sadly I didn't take any pictures today. It's been a busy
day dealing with some different challenges and preparing everything for going
home. I have to say how thankful I am for the wonderful social worker here that
has been assigned to us. She has been amazing and has done EVERYTHING to
prepare follow up appointments, deal with our insurance, help us with a
handicap pass, gather information and order the many medical supplies we will
need at home and much more that I'm forgetting at the moment. It has made quite
the difference in helping reduce stress. Thank you Pat!!!
Between OT and PT and Phil's
wonderful family friend Mark, we have all the medical equipment that we will
need for home too. He was able to help us get better equipment than our
insurance would pay for, especially the wheel chair and we are so grateful for
that as well. Lindsey and Aaron, the therapists that have been working with
Phil, have also been very important in helping advocate for Phil and figure out
what is going to be the most beneficial and comfortable items for him. It's
been wonderful feeling everyone's genuine interest and care for Phil.
The past two days have been
rough. Today we have made some changes in medications and I'm sure we will
continue to search for the perfect combination of meds to find that "sweet
spot". But what has been the most difficult has been the depression that
has set in for Phil. I know that he's not proud of those feelings because that
is not who he is. He is the most positive and optimistic person which I love
because it balances my realistic outlook in most situations. It's been
frustrating for him and it's been hard for me to watch him struggle. Depression
isn't something that either of us have had a lot of experience with, but we
will work our way through. There was one point with Brewer's journey where I
was depressed and all I could say to Phil was just "hang in there with
me" and of course he did. So now it's my turn to hang in there with him.
He's still doing a phenomenal job and I know together we will be able to manage
the really tough days, whether it's pain, depression or anything else. It will
be a learning experience and hopefully going home with help tremendously.
I just have to say how grateful
we are. Words will never be able to express our gratitude adequately. We have
felt so loved and so supported by everyone that is praying for us and
commenting on here. We truly hope that you will stick with us. As you pray for
us and Phil's healing we have been praying for you. We pray that God will bless
you wit the things that each of your families stand in need of because of your
genuine goodness and the blessings you offer for our family.
Going home sounds wonderful, but
I know it's going to continue to be a battle. With the responsibilities resting
solely on us, no doctors to page or nurses to call, it seems overwhelming and
quite honestly a little scary. Plus throwing in the kids and regular
responsibilities adds a little to that as well. But the silver lining is our
family and that we will all finally be able to be together after nearly 4
weeks. We're so excited to be able to squeeze our kids, snuggle with them and
tuck them into their beds. I'm excited for them to bring joy and laughter and
for the opportunity they will have to watch their dad fight and endure. And to
be able to learn that the Lord is helping and that He is in charge. Thank you
again for all of the prayers and support!! We love you all!
April 23rd 12:08 PM
So grateful that this day is
here! So many emotions going through my mind. I can't believe we are already
going home!
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