Vision finally 20/20

7:16pm

Taylor made another visit to the Opthamologist today. His vision is finally back to 20/20, but the double vision is still an issue. It's still correcting on its own, so he'll go back in 4 months to see how it's doing. It could be a long time yet before the Dr. determines if nature is finished and glasses will be needed to correct it.

He also has a little nystagmus action going on. When he looks hard to the side, his eyes still shake a little. Time should heal that as well.

His physical therapy schedule was reduced after the Therapists felt he may have reached a plateau. But, he's been working out at the local gym, and they've seen a little improvement, so he's back to 3 days a week at rehab. He is able to walk without the cane at rehab, and hopefully he'll be able to get rid of it soon. It's more of a safety net than it is something he needs to support himself. He never uses it inside the house and hasn't stumbled or fallen. So, it shouldn't be much longer before he can do without it all the time.

We went to the Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church on Wednesday night so Taylor could thank the prayer group there for their cards and prayer when he was out of commission. The Pastor there, Rob Patrick. spent a lot of time at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, and made the trip to FINR to visit Taylor several times. And, he's stopped by the house often since Taylor has come home. No one but Rev. Patrick knew he would be there Wednesday night, so when he was introduced to the 100+ people there, it was obvious by their faces that they were glad he stopped by. Taylor thanked everyone for praying and thinking about him during his "really hard time". Watery eyes, including ours, were plentiful.

Yesterday I went to Highlands county to photograph a vehicle in a salvage yard in which 5 young people were involved in a head on crash with a semi truck/trailer, resulting in the death of 1 of the occupants. It was one of the most destroyed vehicles I had seen in a long time. I hadn't given much thought to it during the hour drive there, but when I saw the car and the evidence of death, I could only wonder how the parents of the boy that was killed is coping. He would have been 19 this November.

I've reminded Taylor's friends that, just as in that case, life can be over in seconds. At 7:30am the day of that crash, that car was full of kids who were likely talking and laughing. Then, it all ended. For one, life is over. For the other 4 survivors, their lives have changed forever.

Don't forget what I told the group of kids that came to the hospital on March 6th when Taylor's brain pressure rose to fatal limits requiring emergency surgery. Make sure those you love know it. The last thing Taylor heard us say and the last thing we said before his wreck was "I love you". We had comfort in knowing that should Taylor not come back the way he has, at least we knew those 3 words were the last we heard him say and the last he heard us say.

"Easy surgery" date set

8:29am

Taylor has 2 surgeries coming up - one to insert a gold weight in his eyelid, and the other to transplant a muscle. The first is the easy one.

Yesterday, we set the eyelid surgery for October 23rd. We're going to the mountains to enjoy fall the weekend before, and wanted to wait until after the trip to do the surgery.

It's an out-patient thing, but Taylor will be under general anesthesia for the procedure. We won't find out until the evening before what time on the 23rd the surgery will start, so we may go to Gainesville the evening before. If we do, he'll be able to visit friends that attend UF. There is some risk involved in this procedure, but we're confident everything will go OK. There is a "1 in 10" chance the wrong weight will be used, so it may have to be repeated. They will tape different weights to his eyelid for Taylor to take on a test drive, then he will actually pick which one he wants to use.

We haven't set a date yet for the muscle transplant, but will likely wait until after the first of the year. Taylor is OK waiting a while, and we don't want anything to interrupt the holidays. And, there is still hope that the nerve may fire up. There is little chance, but we've seen the odds against Taylor before and it turned around, so there is no harm in waiting a little longer.

Taylor is still using the cane, but becomes less dependent on it all the time. It's there now more as a "just in case" prop than anything else. He walked a lot yesterday in rehab without the cane and did really well.

Doctor's report not what we had hoped for

8:45pm

Hershey, Pearl, Ann, You Know Who and Bill

Saturday night we made another trip to Lakeland Regional Medical Center to visit a couple of the Nurses at the Medical Intensive Care Unit that we had missed during previous trips. Taylor has little recollection of the 5 weeks he spent in MICU, but did remember Bill.

Bill works 7pm to 7am and Taylor was often awake - or at least had his eyes open - during the middle of the night and Bill would often talk to him. Taylor couldn't talk back, so now at least Bill got to hear Taylor's voice and have a real conversation with him.

Today we made another trip to the University of Florida - Shands Hospital to meet with the Otolaryngologist that has been seeing him for the facial paralysis. Today was the day that we would find out what can be done for Taylor's facial paralysis,.

Taylor decided to go ahead with the out-patient surgery to have a gold weight implanted into his left eyelid so it will close a little more naturally. That is the easiest procedure that he'll go through with regard to the facial paralysis.

The Doctor had reviewed the EMG that was done at Shands before, and the report was that the facial nerve is degenerating, not regenerating. We had hoped and prayed that the nerve would have regenerated and that he would regain the ability to control the left side of his face.

The Doctor talked to Taylor and gave him all the options for reconstructive surgery. Each has a certain amount of risk - some more than others. I think what Taylor will decide on is the transplantation of a "chewing" muscle near the upper cheek that will be harvested and moved lower, then redirected to help control the left side of the mouth. Taylor won't get his entire smile back, but it will help. The Doctor said that in time the lower eyelid will begin to droop, so other procedures can be done later to help correct that.

The issue on the facial paralysis has been the only real let down we've had. Taylor has reclaimed the use of so much of his body, and has recovered so well when he was so very close to death, paralysis or permanent brain injury. We really try to focus on all the good that has happened and not let reports like today bother us too much. We've gotten back so much more than so many other parents have already.

No matter how he looks, he's still Taylor. From the beginning, I just wanted Taylor to open his eyes and say "I love you". It took 24 days, but on March 25th, I got to hear those 3 words - or at least I got to see him mouth the words since he couldn't talk at that time. Everything that has happened since that time has been a bonus.

But, most importantly, Taylor is accepting of his situation. He understood a long time ago that he might not smile the same way again, and may not walk again like he once did. But, he recognizes how lucky he is to be alive. Although he hasn't let on, I'm sure there are times that he gets down about everything. Overriding that, however, is his positive attitude that has been a main factor in him recovering the way he has.

Shogun.........at last

10:30pm

Yesterday afternoon, Taylor and I met Larry Ashley at Beef O'Brady's so Taylor could have his first official legal beer.

Larry is Taylor's Godfather, and was the first person we called in the middle of the night on March 1st, when enroute to the hospital. He, Mary Toothman and Tommy Ray were all awakened and were at the hospital before we knew it. Larry spent countless hours, week after week with us at the hospital, and was with Taylor when his intercranial pressure began to quickly rise, resulting in emergency surgery.

1 beer to make it official, and Taylor was done. He knows now is not a good time to do anything that could interfere with his balance, and as he puts it "drinking isn't on my radar".

Larry joined my Mother, sister and the rest of us for dinner at Shogun, courtesy of my Mother. Taylor settled on lobster, steak and shrimp. It's tough turning 21.

Taylor is not one for ever having leftovers, but he ate a late lunch and couldn't finish. But, at 1:00am this morning, I heard the microwave going and knew that he couldn't make it through the night without finishing up what was left.

This coming Monday we return to the University of Florida -Shands Hospital to meet with the Doctor to go over the results of the EMG. We already know the test of the facial nerve didn't go as well as we had hoped. Now, we'll find out what we can - and should do.

Happy Birthday, Taylor!

7:28am

Today is Taylor's 21st birthday.

For 21 years, Taylor has been a source of joy and on occasion one of aggravation. We have more "Taylor stories" than we are entitled to. I sometimes think about the parents of other children and wonder just how boring their house may be. I almost feel sorry for them. Between Taylor and his sister, Lauren, there is truly never a dull moment around this house.

Taylor is the son that at 3 years old, pulled over a 9' Christmas Tree, then plopped on the sofa with his legs crossed at the knee and faked watching television. When I ran in and yelled "WHAT HAPPENED?" he looked at the tree, looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and said "It fall all by itself". Right. Scam Artist already.

Taylor was the kid next door that at 5 or so years old, climbed onto the roof. Our then next door neighbor, Joel Wilcockson, came over and said "Al, Taylor's on the roof with his pants pulled down". Most parents would freak. I just looked for my shoes and went to fetch the ladder. Just another day around the Smith house.

When Taylor was 11, we drove cross country from California to Ohio, taking in Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Route 66 and everything else we could see over the 2,000 mile trip. When Lauren began to laugh hysterically in the backseat, I adjusted the mirror to see what was so funny, and there was Taylor with his naked butt against the window, mooning cars as we passed them on Interstate 40. Typical Taylor.

I could do a whole Blog on just the adventures of Taylor that I know about. He is something else.

For most people, the 21st birthday is more ceremonial these days than it is important. The 18th birthday is the one where children become adults, so that's the true big deal.

For us, every birthday is now important. Really important. There were times in March that I wondered if Taylor would make it to this day, and if he did I wondered if he would even be aware that it was his birthday. As we all know, those worries are behind us.

There are two days a year we will now celebrate as birthdays for Taylor. One is September 5th. The other is March 11th, the day he opened his eyes for the first time after the accident. It was then that we really began to feel that we would get him back.

Taylor has never been into us making big deals of things, including birthdays. Had he known in advance about our plans for him on the day he came home from rehab, he would have tried to talk us out of doing it. He's just never been big on public recognition.

Once Taylor had the Trach removed in rehab, he often talked about going to dinner at Shogun's, a Japanese steakhouse in Lakeland that's one of his favorites. Now, it's probably the only restaraunt in the county he hasn't eaten at yet. He's had plenty of offers, but he said he wanted to save the first time for something special. He's decided tonight is the night. So, my mother and sister will meet Taylor's mother, sister and myself there for dinner tonight. Other diners are unlikely to know we'll be celebrating what is likely to be the most special birthday we will likely ever have with Taylor. It really gives the expression ".......live to see your next birthday" new meaning. In years past, it was usually used in a sentence like "Taylor, if you want to live to see your next birthday......" which was always some lame threat used to try to get him to do something, or not do something. That expression isn't really funny anymore, and not one that we'll ever use again.

So, on this 21st birthday of Taylor, we thank God that Taylor was given a second chance at life and we were given a second chance to share it with him.

Happy birthday, Taylor. We love you.