We FINALLY meet Connell Waldron

If you've been reading this blog since the beginning - or close to it - you know that the first Angel to watch over Taylor after his crash was Connell Waldron. It was he that started the chain of events that saved Taylor's life.


The night of Taylor's accident Connell, a driver for The H.T. Hackney Company in Brandon, FL, was traveling east on State Road 60 and as he passed by Taylor's car he caught a glimpse of what we think was probably a reflector. The electrical system on Taylor's car was out and the front and rear end of his car was destroyed from it cartwheeling end over end after it rolled. But, there was one red side reflector on the side that Connell could have seen.


After he passed, Connell would later tell us, he wondered if that could have been a reflector on a car. So he slowed is rig down and looked for a break in the median so he could go back and check. He passed the area where he thought he had seen the car, made another u-turn, then began looking for the flash of light he thought he had seen. He spotted Taylor's car and called 911 before he got out of his truck. On the 911 tape we later got a copy of, Connell is talking to the 911 operator telling her he had found a crashed car when he came upon Taylor laying on the side of the road. He calmly gave his location as best he could (he's from Hillsborough county and not familiar with the area) and answered questions about Taylor's condition.


In the background, you can hear passing cars. No one other than Connell stopped. We'll never know for sure, but it makes you wonder if some saw the car and either thought someone else had already called, or if they saw the car and didn't want to get involved. What we do know is if Connell hadn't stopped, things may have turned out very differently for Taylor.


The 911 Operator said help was enroute and they hung up. And then Connell stayed with Taylor, on the side of the road in the dark until help arrived.


I spoke to Connell briefly last year to thank him for what he did, and to tell him Taylor had lived but was in pretty bad shape. I told him when Taylor was able, we wanted to meet him in person and thank him.


We've been in touch with Connell's supervisor, Skip, and told him we wanted to meet Connell but Taylor wanted to wait until he was off the cane. But then, Taylor had the facial surgery and he wanted to wait until most of the swelling was gone. Skip suggested we meet Connell at the company annual Christmas party. It was the perfect time and place to do it since Connell's wife and 3 children were there as well.


Yesterday was the party. Lauren is working a seasonal job at Macy's, so she was unable to attend. But, Taylor, Suzie and I went and was designated as the spokesman. Suzie seems to be the one that is most likely to get through the story without getting choked up, so she was the designated speaker. She told the crowd of 100 or so the story of how Connell found Taylor and how it began the chain of events that saved his life.






Skip called Connell up to the podium and Suzie called up Taylor. Suzie and Taylor hugged Connell and thanked him then Taylor gave Connell a St. Christopher (Patron Saint of safe travel) necklace. Then, Skip presented Connell with a very nice plaque recognizing Connell for being a great employee and human. Skip admitted that he's tough on employees, making
sure they keep on schedule as they travel the state making deliveries. But, he said, during times like this it's ok to be a little late.
Skip, Suzie, Connell and Taylor


As I mentioned before there needs to be a phrase other than "Thank You" that we can use in instances like this. "Thank you" is what I say to someone that hold the door at a convenience store. Using the same phrase to someone like Connell, the Paramedics, Firefighters, helicopter crew, Nurses and Doctors who all had a part in saving your son's life seems very insufficient.


Connell never knew until yesterday, but he's on the top of the list of those that played such an important part in saving Taylor and helping to return him to us in such wonderful condition. Without Connell, the others may have never had the chance to do what they did.

The Million Dollar Man

8:10am

It's official. Taylor is now a Million Dollar Man. Actually, it's about $1,036,000 - but that was before his Opthamologist appointment last week. That bill doesn't even register on the Medical Bill Radar, compared to the others.

The surgery Taylor had at Shands has officially pushed him over the million dollar mark. And, the upcoming surgery to attempt to allow him to control the left side of his face will certainly be a whopper. Taylor's insurance under our policy will terminate on his birthday next year, so we'd like to get it done before then. But, he may decide to either do the surgery later, nor not at all.

We know the paralysis bothers him, although he never says so. We never knew, and he never said, anything about it before his last surgery, but the look in his face when he looked at himself in a mirror in the recovery room of the hospital said it all. And when we later asked if his condition bothered him, he said it did.

Taylor has planned for months to go to north Florida this weekend for the Bear Creek Music and Arts Festival, a 2 day event outdoor concert with dozens of bands. He's decided that there may be too much walking on uneven land and said last night he probably won't go afterall. He said he'd probably stay home and "study Chemistry". He was really struggling with Chemistry a few weeks ago, but he said he's understanding it much better. He got a B on a test he had on Monday, so apparently he does get it. Stay tuned - he thinks he may make the Dean's List again!

Rearview Taylor

10:15pm

It seems like we see the backside of Taylor more than the front these days. Although we haven't kept track, it seems like 1/2 of the time he spends at home he's parked in front of the computer working on something school related.

He has classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but spends most of Tuesday and Thursday working on class work. Today, he spent 6 hours at the library. He is committed to school in a way we've NEVER seen before. He's taking tough classes, but you wouldn't know it by the grades he's getting. I asked him to explain one of the Trig equations to me in terms I could understand, but I lost him at the third word.

Taylor schedules social time with friends, but his primary focus is school. Before the accident, he did school on his terms - showing up and making average grades without much trouble. His objective, I think, was to make good enough grades to keep up happy and spend his free time goofing off. Now, it's all about school.

One downside to him spending so much time at school or studying is that he's spending less time at the gym. He's not as stable when walking as he is when he's going to the gym on a regular basis. We saw a huge improvement over the summer when he went often. I'm not sure if the exercising actually improved the walking/balance, but I'm sure it didn't hurt. HeWe're trying to get him motivated to get back exercising, but his stamina is not nearly what it was before the accident, so it's hard to get him interested in working exercise in between studying for classes. Last night, he was in bed at 8pm, which was unheard of in years past.

He has an appointment at Shands in Gainesville on October 21st to check on the progress of his healing from the surgery. The scars on his face are completely gone, and the one from the Trach scar removal is fading away.

He still wants to do the big surgery - the transplanting of the muscle to help restore movement on the left side of his face - but he doesn't want to miss any classes to do it. We're encouraging him to take next Summer off and do it then. He'll turn 23 next September and he'll no longer be carried on our insurance policy, so if he doesn't do it next year it will be a problem since it will be a "pre-existing condition" with a new insurance company.

Happy Birthday, Taylor!

8:37am

Today is Taylor's 22nd birthday. In the "early years", we celebrated Taylor and Lauren's birthdays like most families did - balloons, cake, etc. But, then they got older and too cool for all that. Then, birthdays became a little quieter and usually involved the birthday boy or girl picking the restaurant where we had dinner.

This year, Taylor wants to keep it low key. He has school at 11am, so he's coming home after that and hanging out with us until his Aunt and Grandmother come down this afternoon at 5:30pm to visit, then he's off to visit with some friends in Lakeland. Just the fact that Taylor is here and can do just about everything he could before the wreck is reason to celebrate daily. But today is a day we can welcome in a new year with him here and able to enjoy life just about like he always could.

He continues to heal from the surgery he had in June. There is still some swelling in the cheek area, but the Doctor said previously it would probably last until October. The soreness is gone, so it doesn't really bother him any.

Taylor started back to school a few weeks ago and his classes don't get any easier. He's taking calculus and chemistry but has a little easier class, wellness. Wednesdays are a little rough - he has classes from 11am - 5pm, so when he get home from that he's pretty wasted. He has his first calculus test this coming Monday, and he says he'll do well.

He has not been going to the gym as often as he had been during the summer. We've noticed a difference in his walking, and have encouraged him to try and get to the gym at least once a week. He's taking tough classes and studies on his days off from school so it's not as easy to go as before. And, his stamina is not nearly what it once was so he's often just too tired to go. Either he runs out of steam much faster than he ever did before, or before he just ignored that he was getting tired and kept going, and going, and going. He now recognizes when he's getting tired and comes home rather than push himself like he once did.

Two weeks ago Taylor was fishing with a friend at a city park that was build on the site of an old reclaimed phosphate pit. These pits are like small ponds or lakes ,but they do not have a shore. Taylor lost his footing and fell into the pit while throwing a cast net. His friend, Kevin, immediately went in after him since he knows Taylor is not very strong on his right side. They both had trouble getting out of the pit, since there was a several foot dropoff from the land to the water. Taylor held on to a tree root while Kevin swam to another area where he could climb out then return to help Taylor out. We hadn't really thought about fishing from shore being potentially dangerous to Taylor before, so it was a bit scary to find out what had happened. It won't stop him from fishing, but he knows he can only go with someone who is a strong swimmer and he'll probably not fish off of a drop off like that one.

Taylor is making plans to attend a 3 day concert, the Bear Creek Music and Art Festival, in north Florida in November. Seventy five bands are scheduled to play. Normally, he'd had a tough time negotiating around a lot of people and uneven land. But, the facility rents golf carts and they have reserved one for him since he wouldn't be able to stand in a long line to get one. He's going with several friends to this 700 acre facility. They have a campsite reserved and plan to camp out. I'll be on standby to make the 3 hour drive to go get him if he finds that he's not able to make it through the whole festival.

Happy Birthday, Taylor!!!

8:10pm

Taylor didn't want any cake, but at least he agreed to blow out the candles. I guess he wasn't "too cool" for that afterall.

The "after" picture

9:55am

Taylor hasn't touched the cane since he put it down weeks ago. He went "Cold Turkey", and has been working out at the gym to improve his walking. There are some days when you'd never have a clue that anything had ever happened. When he's tired, or when he hasn't gotten up to speed in the mornings there is still an inkling that he had an injury, but those who don't know him may never suspect anything.

We recently spent a week in west Tennessee at the "Taylors of Tabernacle" family reunion of the Taylor family - ancestors of Taylor's mother's family. WOW! That's a lot of "Taylor's" for one sentence! This year was the 182nd year the weeklong reunion, and way too hard to describe here. To find out more about it, you can read this Southern Living story or check out this video a Memphis television station did this year.

I figured this would be a good place to get a photo of Taylor "post surgery", since there is NO way he'd ever pose for a picture. In fact, as you can tell by the one I did get, he wasn't too tickled that I was taking a photo of him.

The surgery was a HUGE success. The right side of his face had pulled the paralyzed (left) side hard to the right. The ridge above his top lip had pulled to the right, so even in the resting position, the paralysis was very evident. That is all gone now, and he is VERY happy with how it's turned out. Taylor now looks just like he did before the accident. Although we had gotten use to how he looked with the paralysis, and were just thrilled that we had him to look at, it was really amazing to see him for the first time after he came out of surgery. He looked like the "old Taylor", only puffy.

Another side effect of Taylor's injury is a damaged internal Thermostat. His tolerance for heat is very, very low. It's a common condition with some brain injury patients. Being outside in west Tennessee in the summer, where temperatures were in the mid 90's and humidity at 85% for the first few days, was not the best place for him to be, but he tolerated it. We've spoken to his Neurologist and although there is some medication that can help, it apparently has some side effects that the Dr. would rather not put him through. So, unless he begins to sweat in air conditioning (as some patients do), he'll just have to learn new ways to keep cool.

Shaking the cane

9:20am

Taylor has been working out 3 times a week at the gym and had planned to get rid of the cane by Christmas. He and his cousin Emily Simmons have a little contest going on and it looks like Taylor may win. Sorry Emily! He's a little ahead of his target date. Yesterday was his 2nd full day when he left the cane at home.

We thought that may a little too daring and that he should at least keep it in his car, but he decided to go Cold Turkey. He's done really well. He said he felt confident without it, and didn't feel the need for it while he was out with friends.

Taylor still has a little swelling from his surgery, and there are still some visible lines from where the stitches were, but that's clearing up. Once he was able to get out of the house, he rode around to see all his friends so he could show off his new look. He didn't say anything, and didn't have to, but it's obvious that he really likes how it turned out. So do we.

It was worth the pain

12:55pm

Taylor's surgery went very well. It lasted a couple of hours longer than what we thought. He was in for about 6 hours. Dr. Adelson said that mitigating the Trach scar was a little trickier than he expected because the skin had attached to the muscle beneath the scar so he had to do some extra cutting to get it fixed right. The quarter size scar, that was about 1/8" deep is now completely gone. He'll have a hair line scar from the stitches, but it will turn out looking more like a tiny crease in skin than a scar. All total, there are a hundred or so stitches. There looks to be about 40 in one 3" incision, but they were done with magnifying equipment and are so tiny they are really hard to see.

In the Post Op room, Taylor was in quite a bit of pain. He was given Dilaudid to make him more comfortable, but then he had to deal with his nose itching. That's a side effect that he had every time he got Dilaudid when he was in Lakeland Regional. He has painkillers to make him more comfortable now, but the pain has subsided quite a bit so he's trying to tough it out rather than take medication. He'll be doing a lot of nothing for the next week.

Even with the swelling (and there is a lot of it), it was obvious that this procedure has taken out the droop. When I asked him to smile, it looks almost like his pre-accident smile....a HUGE difference. It was enough to trigger watery eyes.....in us, not him. He asked me to take a photo to see how it looked, but Suzie had a mirror and handed it to him. He said the results were worth the pain.

Before this procedure, someone who didn't know Taylor would realize that something had happened resulting in the facial paralysis. Now, I don't think anyone will have a clue. He will just smile more out of one side his mouth than the other. His mother reminds him that's how Harrison Ford smiles naturally.

When we visited the Doctor today before we left, he found that some blood had pooled in the jaw area, so removed that with a needle and syringe. He said it's not uncommon to have to do that, but he didn't expect it would be a problem after today. He said the swelling will be worse tomorrow and should start going away on Sunday.

We'll return on Monday for the Doctor to check everything just to make certain there is no residual blood and to check for infection. There is a small risk, since there are foreign objects in there now. He's wearing a "jaw bra" - an elastic binding that keeps a large bandage pressing on the left side of his head. It kind of looks like something Curly of The Three Stooges would come up with to relieve pain from a tooth ache. Very fashionable!

Then, next Friday we'll return for the stitches to be removed. I think we may go back one final time the week after that, and that visit will wrap this procedure up. His last surgery will be the muscle/nerve transplant that he'll do sometime early next year that will help restore movement in the left side of his face.

I'll post a photo of him as soon as the swelling is gone. The difference is really remarkable.

Surgery Finalized

7:20am

Yesterday Taylor met with the Doctor at Shands so he could assess Taylor's health, finalize plans and have Taylor sign the medical releases for surgery next Thursday. This will be Taylor's 5th surgery, but the first one where he was well enough to sign the release. As with all surgeries, there was a long list of things that could potentially be a problem, but the procedure is overall a safe one. And, compared to what he's been through, it rates pretty low on the risk scale.

Although he initially decided against having it done now, he's decided to have the Doctor work on the Trach scar, which is about 3/4" in diameter. The Doctor offered during Taylor's last visit to work on that while he was undergoing the sling procedure for his face, but Taylor thought that would be too much at one time. Yesterday he changed his mind and wants to get it all done next Thursday.

He was given the choice of using a banding material made from a cow fetus or a human cadaver. He said "I'll take the cow".

The surgery is planned for 9am, but Taylor has to be there at 7am. The procedure will take about 3 hours and he will be in the Recovery Room for a couple of hours, so it will be a full day at the hospital.

Suzie's cousin, Emily Simmons, lives nearby so we'll stay with her Wednesday night and again Thursday night. Taylor meets with the Doctor at 8am on Thursday and then we'll make the drive back home. The Doctor gave Taylor a prescription for pain killers, so he probably won't mind the ride back.

Keep Taylor in your prayers next Thursday!

No change in vision - Surgery 2 weeks away

Today Taylor met with his Opthamologist, Gary Schemmer, who checked his double vision and found no change since his last visit a few months ago. The Nystagmus (involuntary shaking of the eyes) continues to be a problem that causes blurred vision. If Taylor turns his head to the right a couple of inches, the vision clears up.

Fortunately, it's not a real inconvenience for him and he's able to compensate for the Nystagmus by just turning his head a little. When he was in the hospital and in rehab, the shaking of the eyes was much more severe. And, for weeks his left eye only moved 1/4 inch or so. Now, you can't tell there is a problem by looking at him. The shaking is not evident to anyone but Taylor. And, it's enough to still cause some blurred vision unless he turns his head while continuing to look straight.

Dr. Schemmer is going to consult with Dr. Susac, a Neurologist, to determine if Taylor may be a candidate for surgery to correct the Nystagmus. He said that at 15 months after the accident, he would have expected to see further improvement if it was going to happen.

Next week, we return to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville for the pre-operation meeting with Taylor's Doctor there. Taylor's final in his the Accounting class (the Accounting class that he has an A in, by the way!) he's taking this summer term is on June 18th, so we'll leave after school for Gainesville and stay the night. The surgery schedule for June 19th isn't finalized until late in the day on the 18th. The hospital notifies patients the evening before the scheduled surgery what time to be there, so rather than take a chance on having to get up at 3am and make the 2 1/2 hour drive, we'll go early.

The surgery will last a couple of hours and he'll stay at the hospital for a while, but be released later that day. We'll stay overnight on the 19th and he'll see the Doctor before we head back home.

Taylor is really looking forward to this surgery. The left side of his face is pulling to the right, and this procedure will help correct that and take some of the droop out of the paralyzed left side. There will be quite a bit of cutting done, so he'll probably be pretty sore for a few days.

Taylor Finishes Term / Surgery Scheduled

3:35pm

Taylor finished his first term, post-accident, with a 3.75 GPA. He was hoping for a 4.0, but he got a B on his Algebra final and missed it by a hair. He's not disappointed, nor are we. Considering that a year ago we didn't know if or when he'd ever return to school, his performance was amazing.

One year ago today I was with Taylor at his first day at in-patient Rehab. The staff there tested Taylor on his first day to determine what he was capable of. He was unable to draw a circle or square, and had little control over a pencil. He was so frustrated not being to make the pencil do what he wanted it to do. It was not easy to watch. He's majoring in engineering, and I wondered that day if he'd ever be able to be successful in school. Those worries have long since faded as he got better and better.

His time off this summer is limited. He has today off, so he headed to Vero Beach to chill out. He'll have tomorrow off, then starts a summer term on Wednesday - by choice. He's more inspired about school than he has ever been.

Last Friday we went to Shands at Gainesville to firm up the arrangements for surgery on the paralyzed side of his face. It's been set for June 19th, one day after the first summer term ends.
The Doctor there will do a procedure called a "sling", where elastic bands will be inserted into his cheek to give him a more symmetrical appearance at rest. It should also help with his eating and speech. There are times, especially if he's tired, that he seems to mumble a little, but it's caused by the paralysis on the left side. The Doctor said there should be some improvements in those areas too. Incisions will be made in front of the ear, beside the nose and above and below the lips. This will be an out-patient procedure, so he'll come home the same day to enjoy some pain killers and deal with swelling and bruising.

This will be the first of two surgeries he has coming up. The second will probably not happen until after the first of the year, and will be a more involved procedure. In that one, a chewing muscle from the temple will be transplanted and inserted beneath the cheek and hooked up to a nerve system that should help his smile.

So, please think about Taylor on June 19th. A little prayer probably wouldn't hurt either. It's done miracles so far. Just a visit with him proves that.

On the road......again!

9:55pm

After 13 months, Taylor is back to driving. Well....sort of.

About a week ago, I was bringing him home from a friend's house and he said "Can I drive?" This was the first time he has expressed any interest. In fact, I had offered it to him before but he said he wasn't ready.

So, he hopped in the driver seat, got everything adjusted and said "I may freakout and not be able to do this". I told him if he got uncomfortable, it was no big deal. But, he didn't. In fact, he drove better and safer than probably anybody in the county at that time.

Since then, we have been driving every day. He's driving day, night and in a rain storm. He is very conscious about having no hearing in his left hear, and doesn't like people talking or the radio on when he's driving since he knows that having limited hearing is something he needs to be very aware of.

He said he's no where ready to drive alone, although you wouldn't know it by riding with him. But, there is NO rush. He is taking things slowly, so when he's really ready to go solo he'll let us know.

Today we made a dry run to Gainesville. We had an appointment to schedule his surgery this summer, but the appointment was changed to yesterday morning - the problem is no one bothered to tell us. He goes to class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so we wouldn't have made it for yesterday anyway. We'll be going back in the next couple of weeks to get it set up - probably the last week of June.

"APPROVED"

5:45pm

When Taylor was in the Trauma Unit at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, he slowly began to regain his ability to understand what was happening. We spent a LOT of time telling him what had happened, how well and fast he was improving, and encouraging him in every way we knew how.

On evening, I was talking to him and found myself apologizing for times when I got agitated with him or for things that I now realized were not worth getting worked up over. At that time, he had the Trach so he couldn't talk to me but would shake his head that he understood what I was saying.

I also talked to him about other things that I griped too much about. I don't recall ever seeing Taylor comb his hair, but that didn't stop me from saying "Taylor, comb your hair" on occasions when I thought it needed to be combed. Fortunately, he has "wash and wear" hair, so it always looked ok anyway. And, I spent more time than I should have telling him to pull his baggy pants up. There were times he walked like a penguin to keep them from moving down any further, but "belt" wasn't even in his vocabulary.

When I was talking to him in the hospital, I remember telling him something like "From now on, I don't care if you ever comb your hair again. In fact, if you want a purple mohawk I'll take you to get it. You can wear pants around your ankles if you want to - or you can just wear boxers in public. I don't care. If you want to get piercings, it doesn't matter. If you want a tattoo, I'll pay for it". I was just so happy that he would be able to do all that stuff so it really didn't matter to me anymore.

So........Taylor recently called and asked me to pick him up at his friend Reid's place of employment. He caught a ride there with a friend that was not coming back to town and he was ready to come home. Reid works at Lou's Tattoos. "Hmmmmm......" I thought.

When I got there, Taylor and Reid were outside. I got out of the car and he was smiling. "Let's see it" I said. Taylor turned, dropped his pants and proudly displayed his new tattoo on his right butt cheek. When his mother asked "Approved by who?" He quipped "God". He always had a knack for taking the wind out of our parental sails, sometimes.

Before March 1 of 2007, I probably would have thrown a temper tantrum about a tattoo. And, I would probably pass out if he came home with a piercing. I now appreciate just how petty getting worked up about hair, baggy pants, "thump thump" music and all the other things I complained about actually is. Now, if he came home with a pierced nose, a visible tattoo and was playing Jay-Z loud enough to shake windows I would probably grit my teeth....but only for a couple of seconds. I would keep my mouth shut and give him a big hug and remember how lucky we are that he can do those things.

Black Tuesday revisited

8:21 am

One year ago today was the turning point for Taylor. Shortly after the accident on March 1st, 2007, Doctors discovered brain swelling, so a drain was drilled into his forehead to draw spinal fluid. When that stopped working, he was put on Mannitol, a medication that helps suppress brain swelling. After the swelling continued, a medical coma and paralysis was induced. This was done to minimize brain activity, and to allow the swelling to subside.

Then, on March 6th, things changed. For 26 hours the coma/paralysis was working ok. Taylor seemed to be leveling out on the brain pressure number, and we thought Taylor had made a turning point. He hadn't. His pressure suddenly started to slowly climb, and was making it's way through the danger zone into the critical zone and headed to the fatal zone. There was controlled chaos in Taylor's room. They told us they were taking him into the operating room. I don't recall them saying why, but I knew what was next.

As each new effort was tried to stop the swelling, I would ask "If this doesn't work, what's next?" But, I never got beyond the "next" thing. I really didn't want to know anything beyond the here and now and what the next step would be.

We knew that Taylor was being taken into the operating room to have a piece of his skull removed to try and relieve the swelling. And, I knew that this was THE moment. This was the last procedure available to save his life.

We were told to leave Taylor's room while they got him ready for surgery. I was in controlled (I think) panic and I quickly began to make phone calls. I called my Sister and told her what was going on and asked her to bring my Mother. I told her not to say why, just tell her they were coming to visit. I called a friend to pick up Lauren, who had gone home to change clothes. And, I called 4 of Taylor's friends. I told them something bad had happened, and we didn't know if the surgery would work or not. I told them that I knew Taylor would want them there, and knew they would want to be there should the surgery not work.

While I was making the calls, Taylor's mother, Suzie, was not doing so well. I had been slowly melting down for 5 days while she and Lauren held it together fairly well. Ever the optimist, Suzie was realizing that things were very bad. The nursing staff and friends were very comforting to her, but she really began to unravel like I've never seen in the 23 years I've known her. But, this is the worst event of our lives, so it was to be expected.

I made that phone call at about 5:30 pm. At 6:20 pm, a friend of Taylor's took a photo in the Chapel of those who were either at the hospital already, or heard from the 4 that Taylor was in trouble.
While Taylor's friends were arriving, his Mother and I stood at the doorway to the operating rooms, waiting for them to bring Taylor. Rather than move him to a transport gurney, he was transported on his entire bed (the ones in ICU are huge). Taylor had been on a Ventilator in his room, so one of the Nurses was using an Ambu Bag to keep him breathing.

They stopped for us to tell Taylor we loved him and to keep fighting, then we watched them take him through the doors wondering if that would be the last time we'd see him alive.

We would later learn that Dr. Campanelli's Physician's Assistant, Melissa, rode on Taylor's bed plucking metal staples from his scalp so Dr. Campanelli could get the skull off faster. Taylor had a blood clot removed from his brain earlier, so the skull was already loose.

By now, so many people had arrived at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, the waiting room was overflowing. We went to the Chapel, not just to have more room, but it was just the obvious place to be. We spent a LOT of time in the Chapel in the previous 5 days, and it was where we needed to be then. The entire group held hands and prayed, and we waited. As I looked around the room, I saw some of Taylor's friends that I had not seen in a long time. I saw some that had driven from Tampa, and got a phone call from one who was on the way from Sarasota. I wondered if God had brought everyone that loves him and that he loves together to say good bye.

At about 6:20pm, the hospital Chaplain came to tell us that Taylor was out of surgery. We went to see him and the Doctor said the surgery went well, and we'd now just have to wait. As the night wore one, his friends that came to visit slowly began to leave the hospital. It was then that I became convinced that Taylor would live. I knew that God would not let him die alone in his room when all those friends had been there. His last friend left the hospital around midnight, and we stayed up all night checking his brain pressure levels. It climbed some, but nothing near what it was before.

Then, Taylor began to make progress almost every day. He began to do things faster and better than many expected. Six weeks later Taylor had another surgery to replace the missing skull with a Titanium plate.

March 6th was the defining day in Taylor's survival. God, Taylor, Dr. Campanelli, Diane and the other medical staff did what they do best to make sure he'd live. We thank God daily, think of the medical staff often and love Taylor every day.

1 year anniversary

4:03am

I started this blog about 10 days after Taylor’s accident with one initial purpose – to keep Taylor’s friends updated on how he was doing. But, it quickly became a way to update our friends and family as well.

Then, as he began to slowly get better and it appeared that his recovery would be extraordinary, it became a way for people to participate in witnessing what many have termed “a miracle”.

Of all the people we know, the one person that has spent the least amount of time reading the blog has been – Taylor. It’s not that he doesn’t have the interest, it’s just not something that he’s ready to relive yet. But, he will read it one day soon.

I’ve spent almost a year posting about Taylor on this Blog. So, on this 1 year anniversary of the accident, I should probably post to directly TO him this time.

Dear Taylor,

What a difference a year makes! One year ago today, your mother, sister and I started March 1^st not knowing if you would live for the next hour, day or week. When we heard “Traumatic Brain Injury” we feared the worst. Almost every waking minute for the next several weeks was spent wondering if you would ever be the same – it you’d be able to talk to us, to use your limbs, to laugh and love again. But, I knew you were as tough as nails and that I never saw you give up on anything before, and knew you’d fight to survive. And, you did. Over the months as you began to recover, we saw that you were going to come home the same Taylor that you were the day before the wreck.

When we were first able to visit with you in the Emergency Room, I told you we would not leave you until you came home. That was a promise we kept. Either your mother, Lauren or I (and frequently all of us) were with you every day for the almost 5 months you were gone.

It was weeks before we knew if you would live, laugh and love again. Although there were signs of improvement, we just didn’t have any way of knowing the extent of any permanent injury to your brain. We prayed every day, all day. I went from begging God to let you recover as if nothing had ever happened, then settled for just being able to take you home no matter your condition. We had accepted that you may never be the same mentally as you were before the accident, or that there may be some paralysis, and we had talked about the prospect of caring for you at home. It’s not that we were convinced you’d never recover, but we knew it was a possibility and it was something we had to consider.

We watched as you slowly got better at the hospital and as you started regaining your strength in rehab. We witnessed your amazing resolve to get stronger, work harder and come home sooner. When you first started to make improvements at a rate much faster than normal, one Nurse told us not to expect your recovery to continue on the same "fast path" you were on. But, you never slowed down and that Nurse realized that something extraordinary was happening with you. Even at rehab, within a few weeks they said you were well ahead of where they would have expected you to be. But, that's you. You've never bothered with following the directions that came in the package, so we knew you'd do this whole recovery thing your way. It worked. Nice job!

I come from a small family. I am the only son of an only son. Only my sister, mother and 2 aunts remain in my family, beside you, your mother and Lauren. In my lifetime my father, grandparents, aunts and uncles have all died. I watched my Father die a slow painful death from cancer. But, even that pales in comparison to the pain of seeing you in the condition you were in for so long, and knowing the pain you’ve gone through during the past year.

And through all of this, you have never complained. You’d mention when things hurt, and you asked once “Why me?”. But, you’ve accepted what has happened to you in such a positive way. You’ve often said that complaining about your situation is not going to change anything, so you just decided not to complain about it. If only I could be more like you sometimes.

In the past year, I have learned a LOT about friendship. I watched your friends cry, and saw a few physically get sick the first time they saw you in ICU. Some came to the hospital at 2am after they got off work and a couple spent the night with us on the floor of the waiting room just to be close to you. Rarely, if ever, did 2 days in a row go by – during the whole 5 months – that you went without friends coming to see you. Some took off from work to spend the day with you at rehab, and many made the 2 hour round trip drive to visit with you. I know that your friends played a major role in your positive attitude, and cheered you on so you would work hard and come home. I’m convinced that without all the support from your friends, you would not have improved as quickly as you did.

I’ve also learned a lot about you. We spent a LOT of time together in the past year. I came to rehab every afternoon and stayed until I knew you were asleep that night – every day for 3 months. I’ve always known you were funny, but never did I know just how funny you were. I’m surprised we didn’t get kicked out of there a few times. And, you’ve learned a lot, I think, about people. You’ve found that you have friends who were very worried about you for a long time, and never stopped coming around because it may have been inconvenient to them. And, you’ve learned that there were a few who you’re simply better off without.

There are some things that are different for you physically now, and some things that will never be the same way they were before the wreck. But, those physical things aren’t what make you who you are. People don’t love you because you could ride a mean skateboard, that you always won footraces or because you could climb a telephone pole. It’s your personality, your intelligence, your humor and loving nature is what makes you who you are.

God IS good. He has given you a second chance at life – something millions of people never got. And, you’ve been given that second chance in a way that will not limit you in being who you want to be in this, your second chance at life.

In rehab, one of our favorite people downplayed your condition and called it “just a little bump in life’s road”. We still laugh at how out of touch with reality that lady was. This has been a HUGE event in your life. It is the most significant thing that has ever happened in any of our lives. It’s not a bump in life’s road. But, it is something that will become less significant each year and although we’ll always have the reminders of everything connected to what happened, it is mostly behind you now. Two little surgeries left, and you’re all done.

When all your friends came to the hospital on March 6^th, when you came so close to dying, I told the group that if they learned nothing else from this accident, they should know that the last thing we said to you and the last thing you heard us say was “I love you.” We’ve always done that, and we always will.

I love you.

Dad

Mystery fluid and the Daytona 500

7:45am

Taylor was back in Gainesville on Wednesday to see a new Doctor regarding the fluid in his left ear. The main Doctor that is treating him detected what he was certain was spinal fluid and said it's likely leaking from the skull fracture, and detected some 2 weeks ago during a visit. The fluid was also present during a previous trip to Gainesville months ago.

But, when he was examined on Wednesday - nothing. This Doctor said the leak wouldn't come and go, so she's not sure what's going on since he's had no other issues (allergies, etc) that would create fluid. She was not overly concerned about it so for now we'll just wait to see if it returns.

Taylor was also given another hearing test to see if there has been any improvement since one he took in June. Unfortunately, there has been no improvement in his left ear. He is essentially deaf in that ear. There are a couple of frequencies where he could detect some sound, but it was so negligible that it barely rated on the chart.

The best option for helping his hearing is a hearing aid that he would use in the left ear, that sends sound to the right ear. This would allow him to hear things on his left side that he's now not able to hear. But, for now Taylor is not real crazy about hearing aids. And, the tests show that the hearing on his right side is substantially above normal. The downside to that is he is at greater risk for damaging hearing in the right ear.

Last week, Suzie's friend, Herb Branham (a NASCAR hot-shot) sent Taylor 4 tickets to the Daytona 500, along with an Infield pass. This year was the 50th running of the Daytona 500, and it was sold out.

Taylor took 3 friends who likely would have never been able to go otherwise, and they headed out at 8am for the race that started at 3pm. He called 1/2 hour after arriving to tell us how cool it was. He wasn't able to make it through the whole race, so they had to leave about 3/4 of the way through. He did a lot of walking and said he just couldn't go any further.

His stamina is still not even close to what it was before the accident. But, he walks almost every day to a friend's house or sometimes just walks to downtown to get exercise. We've noticed his right leg is not working as well as it has been, and he said it feels like he has some weights attached to it. His balance has been a little skewed lately also, so we're making an appointment to get him back to the physical therapist to see what may be going on. They probably have some exercises he can do to strengthen his right side.

Plan B

9:00am

Taylor met with the Otolaryngologist (the facial paralysis Dr.) at Shands Hospital in Gainesville on Tuesday.

He kinda officially concluded what everyone pretty much knew - that the nerve which controls the left side of Taylor's face is not regenerating.

He had previously talked to Taylor about several different procedures, and Taylor decided to go for the chewing muscle transplant.

The Dr. also talked about a procedure called a "sling" where "bands" are implanted and the areas of the face that have no movement and are tightened to give a more natural appearance in the "static" or at rest position. This procedure will not provide movement like the transplant will.

The sling procedure has a shorter recovery time and the results are almost immediate, where the transplant procedure is something that therapists will have to work with Taylor on to get the best results.

So, Taylor has decided to go for the sling procedure now, and do the transplant at a later time - either late this year or next year. A date hasn't been set for the Sling, but it will happen some time in May.

The Dr. said that Taylor has essentially lost all hearing in his left ear. He examined it and found clear fluid behind the drum that he thinks is spinal fluid leaking from the skull fracture. He said while it sounds scary, it is treatable and we shouldn't worry. Easy for him to say. Taylor will return to Gainesville soon to see a Neurotologist to verify that the fluid is spinal fluid and how to go about fixing the problem.

One reason we were told we shouldn't worry about the fluid is that Taylor is the "Poster Child" for recovering brain injury patients. He is one more medical professional who puts Taylor at the top of the "Patients with the most amazing recovery" list.

On the educational front, Taylor is maintaing a 3.75 GPA.....not bad for a recovering brain injury patient!

Feb 5th - plans to be made for surgery

6:55am

On February 5th, Taylor will visit the Doctor he's been seeing at University of Florida/Shands Hospital to finalize plans for surgery. The left side of his face remains paralyzed, and there is little hope that the nerve will regenerate.

The current plan is to transplant a chewing muscle in the left temple area down into the cheek. That will be hooked up to a new nerve and muscle system and should help with controlling the left side of his mouth.

Originally surgery was planned for Spring Break, but Taylor wants to do it in May when this school term is over, just in case there are any problems. After the surgery, the Dr. said he'd be in ICU for a day or so to keep a close eye on him, then maybe another day or so in the hospital, then he'll head home.

School is in session

8:20pm

x2/j=z......or something like that

Today Taylor started back at the Lakeland campus of Polk Community College/University of South Florida. He has signed up for 4 classes and goes 8am - 12noon, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Later this year, he'll transfer from PCC to USF. Fortunately, he'll be able to take some classes at the Lakeland campus, but will later have to attend the campus in Tampa.

Taylor has never been known to be very studious. He has always been able to show up for class and leave with an A or B. Rarely in high school did I ever see him study. He may be the only student to graduate with honors and make a C in a customer service class. He took one his Senior year to a) fill an hour in his schedule and b) get an easy A - or so we thought. Somewhere along the way, he figured out he could slip away unnoticed and take off on his motorcycle for a little ride while he was supposed to be in school. The principal told us later that he knew Taylor was doing it, but could never catch him. He said he'd put a rock on Taylor's rear tire so he at least knew what days Taylor had bailed out - he was just too sneaky (or lucky) to get caught.

For the past couple of months, he has talked a LOT about wanting to go back to school. He hasn't said it, but some of his desire probably has to do with getting a change of scenery. Before the accident, he was always on the move. But, since he came home in late July, he spends the majority of his time at home. He has friends over every day and evening, and goes to friends houses or meets them for dinner, but I think he's just ready for a change.

This afternoon he picked up his new glasses that have corrected his double vision. He'd never pose for a photo, so I'll have to get one when he's not looking.

Yesterday was the 10th month anniversary of Black Tuesday - the day Dr. Campanelli did emergency surgery to save his life. A lot has happened in 10 months. In the early days, we didn't know if he would live, if he did live if he would completely recover from the brain injury, or if he would have full use of his body.

Now we know that Taylor has gotten almost everything back. Mentally, he is Taylor. Same intelligence, same sense of humor, same personality. Physically, he's lost the majority of hearing in his left ear and the left side of his face is paralyzed. But, surgery later this year will hopefully help with movement in the left side of his mouth. Double vision is still an issue, but is still slowly correcting. He's still using a cane, but his walking is gradually improving.

In the grand scheme of things, those are all very minor issues. There is not much he can't do. Surfing and skateboarding are out for now. And, he's not able to drive a car (not that he or we want him to anytime soon). He'll again be able to do some of the things he can't now. None of those issues, however, effect his ability to enjoy life. And, we ALL are enjoying his life!