"Is that OUR Taylor?"

4:55pm

Today Taylor had a friend spend most of the day with him and wanted to order lunch from Pizza Hut.

When the delivery person, a woman in her late 50's, came to the door she saw the "Welcome Home Taylor" banner that we still have hanging up (it's coming down this weekend). When we opened the door she said "Is that OUR Taylor?" Taylor's mother talked to her a while and learned she is a member of First United Methodist Church in Bartow and Taylor was on the prayer list there for a long time. Rev. Lowe, pastor of First Methodist, spent a lot of time at LRMC visiting and praying with us. In fact, he happened to be there on Black Tuesday and led the 50+ people in the hospital Chapel in prayer while Taylor was undergoing emergency surgery.

About an hour after Taylor and his friend inhaled the pizza, his mother, Suzie, called a local individual to talk to him about a story she's writing for the newspaper. As soon as Suzie introduced herself, the woman asked how Taylor was doing. She explained she had read the Mother's Day story Suzie wrote, and had been praying for his recovery ever since.

There is no telling how many people prayed for Taylor. We wish we knew who they all are so we could thank them personally. But, the biggest thanks we can give is to tell them how well he's doing.

I've joked about the 6 degrees of Taylor Smith (sorry, Kevin Bacon) after hearing how many people knew about Taylor, and finding out how they learned. It began within hours of Taylor's accident. Several hours after Taylor's accident, a former neighbor of my Mother called to see how Taylor was. Her daughter had been at an Optometrist office in Winter Haven and heard a friend of ours (who she didn't know) talking to someone else about Taylor's wreck. She heard enough to figure out that the person she was talking about was probably the grandson of her Mother's former neighbor (my Mother).

So, we're not surprised anymore when a stranger knows all about Taylor.

And, yes, that's "our" Taylor. A LOT of people have some ownership in him being here. The thoughts and prayers of so many played a major role in him being home, eating pizza, watching TV and hanging out with his friends.

"You kicked our butts"

12:15pm

Last week, Taylor met with the emergency medical folks from the ambulance and firetruck that responded to his accident. They were the ones that first rendered medical aid and began efforts to save his life. Obviously, they did a good job!

Matthew, Julie, David, Taylor (of course!) Paul and Mike

Julie told us that when they first arrived, it wasn't obvious initially that Taylor was injured. She said he was quite a way away from his vehicle, laying on the shoulder of the road.

She said his hands were behind his head and his ankles were crossed. It sounded more like he was laying on a chaise lounge on a cruise ship than having been ejected from a vehicle. She said she began to talk to him and when he tried to talk it became apparent that there was something wrong.

After getting a second opinion from her Partner, Paul, they decided that Taylor likely had a closed head injury. She said it was uncommon for there to be no other apparent injuries, bleeding, etc., so just looking at Taylor it wasn't apparent that he was hurt as badly as he was.

Julie said once they stabilized Taylor he began to fight with them. She looked at Taylor and said "You kicked our butts" and said she had to get a Firefighter to help hold him down. Taylor said "I'm sorry". I think under the circumstances, he's excused from fighting with a woman. He obviously didn't know what he was doing.

I had previously obtained copies of all the audio tape from that evening, and know that 13 minutes after Julie and Paul arrived, Julie called on the radio saying "Trauma alert....I need a bird (helicopter) in the air". The tone of her voice said a lot. Listening to her when they were dispatched and when they arrived at the scene was completely different from how she sounded now.

The tapes also indicates that the helicopter almost didn't take off from the airport due to fog. The Dispatcher called a third time - kind of a last change call - and was told the helicopter had just taken off and would be at the accident scene in "4 minutes".

Taylor had an appointment at University of Florida today with the facial nerve expert - or so we thought. That's what we were told when we went a few weeks ago for the EMG. But, when checking this week to confirm it, we were told there was no appointment. Good thing we called. But, we have one now for September 10th.

1 month at home

5:00pm

Taylor is wrapping up his first month at home, and it didn't take him long to get back in the groove of being Taylor.

He yells at his sister, and usually runs late when coming home after being out with friends.  He sometimes plays the "thump thump" music too loud, and where ever his dirty clothes  happen to hit the floor, that's where they stay until someone else picks them up.   It's been great. All of it.  OK.  So the coming home late thing has not gone over well with us, but it's better to have him around to worry about than have to have faced the alternative.

He tires out pretty easily sometimes, so often will come home before the time we agreed on.  And, we don't let him go anywhere unless the person driving is committed to helping him get around, keeps him safe and makes sure he wears a seat belt.   We are still on pins and needles until he walks in the door - and always will be.

Taylor has eaten most meals somewhere other than home.  He's eaten out more in the past month than most people do in a year. That is, however, about to be curtailed big time unless he starts taking contributions to pay for it.   He always ate like a horse, but only now have we ever known just how much he can consume.  I almost took him to get his leg x-rayed to see if it's hollow.  He can eat what most people would think is a meal, but it ends up being something to hold him over until he eats something else.

We've been really surprised that he hasn't been to Shogun yet.  It's one of his favorites and something he talked about for 3 months in rehab.  He said he wants to go for a special reason, not just for the sake of going.  He turns 21 on September 5th, so if that's not special enough I'm not sure what is.

Physical therapy is going well.  Today the group went for an outing at the Farmer's Market in Downtown Winter Haven.  Taylor used a cane for the entire trip and did really well, according to his therapist.  I watched him walk with it and his gate looks very normal.   When he walks without aid (around the house) he does so with his arms bent at the elbow and doesn't swing them naturally.  The Therapist said that should go away in time.

Tomorrow we're planning on meeting the Paramedics that were the first to give Taylor medical aid as he layed on the shoulder of the road in the middle of the night.  They were the ones that started his healing.  We wanted to see them before now, but vacation schedules, shift schedules and our schedules haven't meshed until now.

A week from now, we head back to the University of Florida to see what our options are regarding the paralysis of Taylor's face.

Rosebushes and thorns

7:40am

Yesterday the EMG testing was done to determine whether or not the trunk nerve was sending signals to the nerves that control the left side of the face.

The nerve was stimulated with electricity, then needles that act as probes were inserted into muscles in his face to see if they are even getting a signal.

The results weren't good and the Dr. indicated there was no activity of the nerves. It was not what we were hoping to hear.

Although if the nerve was to regenerate, they would have expected to see something by now there are cases that defy the norms so we're hopeful that Taylor will again be one of those patients.

We return on 8/30 to meet with Dr. Adelson again to see what our options are. There is no easy or definitive fix.

This morning, Taylor's mother commented on a cross stitch that hangs in our house. It reads

"You can complain because roses have thorns,
or rejoice because thorns have roses"

We do rejoice because we have Taylor again. And, we really try not to complain when we run into problems. We've met too many other parents who have much bigger issues they're looking at, and we could have easily been just like them. The facial paralysis is the last major hurdle to jump. I guess because we have been given so much, the selfish side of us has just come to expect that everything will be ok.

And, it may very well be. We've just gotten started on this phase, so we still have a long way to go. Taylor has already demonstrated that miracles really can happen, so we're expecting him to pull this off too.

Room 2018

8:55am

Last night we made another trip to MICU to see some of those who cared for Taylor. We'll probably have to go a few more times to catch everyone. One of those working last night was Pearl. She was one of those with Taylor during the worse times and may have spent as much time comforting us as caring for Taylor. Even though Taylor doesn't remember his time in MICU, we do. And, it was people like Jeannie, Pearl and Stacy that helped save Taylor's life and helped us keep our sanity.

Jeannie, Pearl and Stacey

When Taylor was in MICU, it was in a different location than where it is now, having been moved for remodeling. Each time we've been to see the Nurses since Taylor came home, we've had to walk past the old MICU where Taylor was. Each time, we look through the doors and into the empty hall of the old MICU, remembering the hundreds of times we walked through those doors at all hours of the day and night, 7 days a week for 5 weeks. Seeing those doors always brings back bad memories.

As we left last night, I took a photo through the window of one of the doors of the empty hall. Lauren pulled on the other door and it was unlocked, so we decided to go to Taylor's old room. It was a pretty somber walk down the hall and to Room 2018. Just seeing his room unleashed a lot of emotions in Lauren, Taylor's mother and myself. Before we left, we all had our own good cry. It was in this room that the Nurses sat at his side for 12 hour shifts, doing what they do to save his life. It was here, on March 6th, that we learned that Taylor's condition had gotten very, very critical requiring emergency surgery.

But, there are plenty of good memories in this room too. It was here that we saw Taylor move a finger and celebrated that he understood the directions to do that, then later his legs so we knew he wasn't paralyzed. In this room he smiled for the first time when he saw Frank, his cat. Here, he mouthed the words "I love you" while he was still very, very groggy.

Last night Taylor asked where his bed was, and how the room was laid out. We showed him where the throngs of friends stood, and the bathroom across the hall where several friends went to regain their composure after seeing him for the first time.

After a few minutes, we left as quietly as we went in knowing we'd never again want to return there.

Round 2 at University of Florida

9:32am

We got a call late last week that Taylor's facial nerve could be tested tomorrow at 12:30pm. So, we'll be in Gainesville tomorrow to the Doctors can determine the status of the nerve and recommend treatments.

This is now the most important issue affecting Taylor. It's a condition that can last the rest of his life, so figuring out what to do about it is very important. Fortunately, Taylor has never been one to primp in the mirror and never realized how handsome he is. The impact for him has probably not been as serious as it would be for some others. Still, we know it bothers him. He has said before that he has "lost my smile". It's still there, it's just a little different.

He still has to get the gold weights inserted into his left eyelid so it will close a little better, so we'll probably get an appointment set up for that tomorrow.

Rehab at ESTEEM in Winter Haven is going well. More testing is being done to see if any of the areas of the brain were affected by the crash that only testing can identify.

He is still walking with a walker, and his balance doesn't really seem to be getting any better. The Therapists said that his double vision is likely aggravating the condition. But, each time we go to the Opthamologist, the double vision gets better.

Taylor's social calendar stays booked, but he recognizes his limitations on his strength and often comes home before the time set because he's exhausted. He's no where as physically strong as he was before the wreck, and probably because he was so inactive for so long, he tires easily.

He has gained all the weight he lost, and then some. He's now complaining that he's getting a "gut". While there is a little visual surplus at the belt line, hardly a "gut".

Tomorrow is a big day for Taylor. No matter the outcome, it's hard for us to be disappointed. I was with Taylor in rehab on Friday and met a 24 year old and his mother from Lake Wales. He was in a car crash May 1 of 2006. His accident and injuries were very similar to Taylor's. He is still in a wheel chair and has problems communicating. Just when we start feeling sorry for ourselves, we think of all the others who were hurt, and their families, and know that they would love to trade places with us. Our time with Taylor now is almost exactly like it was before the wreck and many families will never have that.

Cross your fingers - and pray - that the testing tomorrow goes well. Tomorrow is a very important day.

Taylor's friends - for life

6:00am

When Taylor was at rehab, we told him he had a LOT of people to thank - the truck driver that found him, the EMS and helicopter crew, nurses, doctors and others. Taylor knows what a role everyone played in saving his life, and looked forward to thanking everyone.

"Taylor on Tour" began a few weeks ago with his first visit to ICU and the Trauma Unit at Lakeland Regional Medical Center so he, and we, could thank them for saving his life. The biggest thanks we could give was to let them see the results of their training and experience. Seeing a former patient like Taylor walk in and hug them certain helps offset some of the sadness they deal with on a daily basis. They are just remarkable people that the majority of the general public never has contact with on a professional level. We would have rather not met ANY of them under the circumstances that we did. But now that we have, it's hard to describe how great they are.

It will take several more trips for him to see everyone, but he did get to visit with several recently. Some he remembered, and some he didn't. But, that's okay.....they all remembered him.

Yesterday, Taylor visited Sheriff Judd, Undersheriff Gary Hester and Chief Rick Sloan. Even though I haven't worked at the Sheriff's Office in 18 years, the caring and compassion shown by them as well as Sam McGuirt and the department Chaplain (and retired Major) Marvin Pittman, was humbling to say the least. I don't think it has as much to do with the law enforcement brotherhood. They are just good human beings.

Here are a few of the LRMC staff who worked so hard to give Taylor back to us.

Dale, Julie and Angie

Dr. Sobowale
Trauma Medical Director

(moments after he gave Taylor shots in
his stomach and removed the feeding tube...
....that explains the "damn, that hurt" look on Taylor!)

Denys

Frank

Mary Jane

"It's like I'm on crack"

7:26am

Last week at rehab, Taylor did some neurophsychological testing. Although we have detected nothing different now than before the accident, the Dr. is able to test parts of the brain that does not involve day-t0-day activities and things we wouldn't be aware of.

I met with the Dr. after the initial testing and he said Taylor "did very well". He said he would have expected, based on the extent of Taylor's injury, to "have seen something" during the initial testing, but did not.

He was given some brain teasers to work on at home, including a number brain teaser called Sudoku. When Taylor came home, friends of ours - Susan and Joel Willcockson - gave Taylor a gift package that included Sudoku. Taylor worked on some occasionally, so he was familiar with it.

Yesterday, he found a website where he could play and spent about 1 1/2 hours playing. It must have taken it's toll on him, since he took a 3 hour nap - something he hasn't done since he was a child. But, they also worked him hard at rehab. When I picked him up, his hair was wet and he was spent. He was probably physically and mentally exhausted.

When he woke up, he said he was "tired from playing Sudoku. He said "It's like I'm on crack". He said he'd play a round, tell himself that was the LAST one.....then play one more. After that , he say "OK. Last one.", then play one more.

The Dr. will do more in depth testing soon, so we're hopeful that the results will be in line with the results of the initial testing.

In the meantime, Taylor will playing Sudoku and energizing those brain cells!!