Swelling and Pain

8:10 am

Swelling and pain - and Taylor has a LOT of both.

He was kept in the hospital an extra day until he could control the pain with the medications the hospital sent home with him. The Dilaudid caused itching that about ran him crazy, especially since he couldn't scratch his face. He only slept for 2 hours at a time and was miserable. He was switched to Morphine an Oxycodone, then finally just the Oxycodone. They had to tweek the milligrams and time between pills before hitting on the right combination to keep the pain controllable. His left eye is swollen shut, and the entire left side of his face is huge, and there is even swelling on the right side.

He went with his mother yesterday to the pharmacy to get out some, but didn't last long. His head began to hurt so he went back to the Claiborne's home. Tomorrow they'll move down to Alexandria, VA to stay with Suzie's friend for the next week.

The Dr. said Taylor should wait at least 2 weeks before attemtping to smile, so that all the internal work has time to heal enough to give it a whirl.

Surgery Done! Let the smiling begin

6:15 am

The surgery went well yesterday. Originally scheduled for 8 - 9 hours, it was completed in about 7. Taylor was in a lot of pain last night, even after being given Dilaudid. His mother said he was starting to bruise beneath the eyes and his face was swelling. If the procedure he had done at Shands last year is any indication, the swelling will be significant. The Dr. said it could take up to 9 months for all of the swelling from the muscle transplant to go away.

He spent the night in ICU last night and if all went well he'll be released this afternoon. Suzie's cousin, Robert Claiborne, lives in Baltimore so they'll be staying with him until this weekend. They plan to stay next week with Suzie's friend, Amy Goyer, in Alexandria, VA. It's about an hour from Johns Hopkins so should anything come up they won't be far away.

Given the pain and soreness, it will probably be a while before Taylor will want to try to flex the muscle that will create the smile on the paralyzed side of his face.

This is very likely the end of a long, often very bumpy, road that Taylor has traveled. Unless he decides at a later time to do the eye surgery, this should be the last accident related medical procedure.

Today is THE day

8:00 am

Taylor's surgery was moved up to 9:30 am. I just spoke to him and he was getting ready to go back to the staff can get everything ready.

Taylor and Suzie are staying at the home of Suzie's cousin, Robert Claiborne, who lives in Baltimore. This coming weekend, they'll head to Alexandria, VA to stay with a friend of Suzie's. The Doctor wants Taylor to stay nearby for a while in the event there are any complications afterwards.

Robert's daughter, Eleanor, is staying with Taylor and Suzie all day today. Suzie will definitely enjoy having someone with her all day. Taylor will be in ICU tonight and Suzie will stay overnight with him.

He should be able to leave the hospital some time tomorrow and head to the Claiborne's to begin the healing process. The Doctor said it may take up to 9 months for all of the swelling to go away.

Please keep Taylor in your prayers today.

The Countdown Begins

7:21am

This week Taylor received insurance approval for the facial reanimation surgery at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He'll be the 31st person to get the procedure done there.

Taylor and his Mother will fly to Baltimore on Friday, May 22nd and the surgery begins at 10:30am on Tuesday, May 26th. He will be in surgery for 8 hours and just about every area of his face will be cut on - eyebrow, upper eyelid, lower eyelid, nose and cheek. The Surgeon said he may have to remove the Gortex band that was installed by Shands last year, so if that happens, he'll also be cut on the upper lip, lower lip and "smile crease" to the side of the corner of the mouth.

He'll stay in the hospital overnight, and remain in the Baltimore area for 2 weeks so they can monitor for infection, remove stitches, etc. The pain and swelling will certainly be worse than it was after the procedure at Shands last year, and that was pretty bad. He was in a lot of pain for about 5 days after the surgery and his face was swollen for over a month.

But, Taylor misses his smile - we all do. He's ready to endure the pain to get his smile back, even if it's only a partial smile. We want it back too.

He also realizes there is a chance that he may go through all of this and it may not work, or the results may not be what he had hoped, but he wants to take that chance. The previous 30 procedures have been successes, and based on Taylor's track record in recovery, he will be Success No. 31.

We now start the countdown - 18 days to go.