Taylor went back to Lakeland Regional Medical Center yesterday to get another - and hopefully the last - scan of his neck. He'll go to the Neurosurgeon later this week to find out if the collar finally comes off.
But, the big treat (next to lunch from Arby's - he's still eating like a horse) was all the visiting he got to do. We were met at the door by Jessica and Erika, two Transporters we met and got to know during our time at LRMC. They figured out early on something special was happening with Taylor and hung on with us for the ride.
At the Waiting Room, we ran into a friend that watched Taylor when he was 2 or 3 years old. We see her from time to time in Bartow, but Taylor hasn't seen her in a long time. In a bit of irony, she was there to be with her Nephew who has a head and neck injury from a collision that happened just like Taylor's - his tires dropped of the edge of the road, he over corrected and rolled his car. To add to the irony, Taylor's Mother was on the way to see him on Sunday but was delayed by a helicopter that had landed on US 17. What she didn't know then was that it was our friend's Nephew that was being transported to the hospital.
We stopped by the Medical Intensive Care Unit and saw some of the staff there who either cared for Taylor or were nearby his room when we were spending so much time with him. They got to witness the fruits of their long hours and hard work. We haven't seen them in 2 months so it was a lot of fun for Taylor's mother and myself.
Next stop was the Trauma Unit. Taylor saw 2 of his favorite Nurses and got to hang out for a while. When the Nursing Supervisor saw him, his jaw dropped and he just looked at Taylor for a few seconds before standing up to greet him.
I'm not sure anyone expected to see him this soon, and although no one said it, I doubt most thought he'd be doing as well as he is so soon.
Seeing the LRMC staff today reminds us of how incredible those folks, and others like them, are. They give so much of their lives to helping heal and comfort other human beings. In cases like Taylor, during the worst times, he had 1 on 1 care. A Nurse sat by his bedside for 12 hours until he or she tagged out with the next shift. That went on day after day, week after week. They pay off for them is to see former patients like Taylor walk in, look them in the eye and say what Taylor said a lot of yesterday - 'Thank you for taking care of me".
Taylor will be making several more trips to the hospital in the weeks to come. He has several other shifts to visit.
All his Mother and I can say to them is "Thank you". It seems so inadequate. "Thank you" is something to say to someone that holds the door for you at a convenience store. They saved our son. We get him back very close to how we last saw him before the accident. So, showing him off to them is the best way for us to say "Thank You".
But, the big treat (next to lunch from Arby's - he's still eating like a horse) was all the visiting he got to do. We were met at the door by Jessica and Erika, two Transporters we met and got to know during our time at LRMC. They figured out early on something special was happening with Taylor and hung on with us for the ride.
At the Waiting Room, we ran into a friend that watched Taylor when he was 2 or 3 years old. We see her from time to time in Bartow, but Taylor hasn't seen her in a long time. In a bit of irony, she was there to be with her Nephew who has a head and neck injury from a collision that happened just like Taylor's - his tires dropped of the edge of the road, he over corrected and rolled his car. To add to the irony, Taylor's Mother was on the way to see him on Sunday but was delayed by a helicopter that had landed on US 17. What she didn't know then was that it was our friend's Nephew that was being transported to the hospital.
We stopped by the Medical Intensive Care Unit and saw some of the staff there who either cared for Taylor or were nearby his room when we were spending so much time with him. They got to witness the fruits of their long hours and hard work. We haven't seen them in 2 months so it was a lot of fun for Taylor's mother and myself.
Next stop was the Trauma Unit. Taylor saw 2 of his favorite Nurses and got to hang out for a while. When the Nursing Supervisor saw him, his jaw dropped and he just looked at Taylor for a few seconds before standing up to greet him.
I'm not sure anyone expected to see him this soon, and although no one said it, I doubt most thought he'd be doing as well as he is so soon.
Seeing the LRMC staff today reminds us of how incredible those folks, and others like them, are. They give so much of their lives to helping heal and comfort other human beings. In cases like Taylor, during the worst times, he had 1 on 1 care. A Nurse sat by his bedside for 12 hours until he or she tagged out with the next shift. That went on day after day, week after week. They pay off for them is to see former patients like Taylor walk in, look them in the eye and say what Taylor said a lot of yesterday - 'Thank you for taking care of me".
Taylor will be making several more trips to the hospital in the weeks to come. He has several other shifts to visit.
All his Mother and I can say to them is "Thank you". It seems so inadequate. "Thank you" is something to say to someone that holds the door for you at a convenience store. They saved our son. We get him back very close to how we last saw him before the accident. So, showing him off to them is the best way for us to say "Thank You".
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