Winning Design(s)

We had a difficult time deciding what design we liked better. Suzanne ultimately decided on the blue and orange one (right) because it was vibrant and lively. Therefore that is considered our "winning" design. The designer captured everything that we were going for and must be commended.


The other design we liked, and the vote winner among the other graphic artists was the one, with the "star people" (left). It was also well designed and captured a feeling of hope. Therefore, we asked if we could use the design, in addition to the first. Fortunately we can!


Unfortunately, we cannot pin down a date until Suzanne has had an opportunity to get out of the NRH and on with her life. Nor do we know when her future surgeries will take place. Of course we will keep you posted. However, in the meantime, if you would like to wear your support for Suzanne, visit the Official Shops: Design 1 & Design 2 are both available.

Walk with Suz T-Shirts

There is nothing significant to report about Suzanne's status. She is still recovering from the last surgery, so she can be moved over to the NRH. The surgeons have been visiting her on a daily basis to check her wounds and see if she is ready. Her spirits are up, and she is looking forward to leaving the hospital environment, for some intense physical therapy.



When I made the post on January 10th, about the Walk With Suz 5k, I received a lot of responses, both by email and comments on this page. Upon further thought, and discussion with Suz, we decided that it would be a fun event, in a year or so - when she is walking again. Of course we don't have a date yet, but I found a route on MapMyRun.com which is a good place to start. I think it would be better to start/end at the FDR memorial and do a similar loop to that one.



I also visited Worth1000.com and asked their talented designers to come up with some t-shirt designs, for the future event. They came up with over 30 Entries! Please have a look at all 4 pages of designs and let me know what design you like the best. I only have until next Friday to select the winning design. I have a few favorites already. But it will be tough to decide. They are all so well done. I would like to hear what you think.

Closer to Moving

Suzanne had another surgery this morning; everything went well. Today the surgeons separated her left index and middle fingers from each other, where they had attached them to increase vascular tissue mass. The new wounds were grafted closed with some skin donated from her thigh. Additionally, they completed closing the bottom of her legs. Pending negative testing for C-diff (negative is good), she should be ready to move over to the NRH when these new grafts heal. C-diff, Clostridium difficile, has been a reoccurring nuisance for the last month. It is a common hospital opportunist whose origins have nothing to do with the original infection.

When Sue does move from the recovery ward to the rehab hospital, the goal will be for her to strengthen herself mentally and physically to prepare for wheelchair living. She will not be ready for prosthetics for some time. She will still need future surgeries for her right hand and to sculpt her legs for proper fit and comfort. Additionally she will need time to build her upper body strength and hand function, so she can support herself when taking those first steps.

Just a side note; Oscar Pistorius was just denied the opportunity to run in the Beijing Olympics because he has an unfair advantage. I look forward to when Suzanne will be in such a circumstance! For equal say, here’s the NY Times and Fox coverage of the story.

Walk with Suz

The image to the right was taken from a doctor's website. As you can see from the image, it is a woman who has had a a bi-lateral (both sides) transtibial (below the knees) amputation. This is the situation which Suzanne is now experiencing.
This woman has chosen to wear the prosthetics which look less like actual legs and feature the support shafts. The other option would be cosmetically similar legs. Personal taste may have something to do with choices, as may insurance. I'm not sure which route we will end up taking.

Having your own knees, when learning to walk on prosthetics, is superior to above the knee amputation. Therefore, once her arm strength returns, I feel, it will be only a matter of time before she is walking again. Maybe I should plan a "Walk with Suz 5k?"

Surgery Success

Suzanne came out of surgery this evening with flying colors. Today they attached her left index and middle fingers, in an attempt to regrow some vascular tissue on the index finger. They successfully completed this operation on the left thumb a couple of weeks ago. They have to create vascular tissue because you cannot keep skin alive if there isn't a blood supply. A "flap" of donor tissue is partially moved from one finger to the other, filling the void left by removing the dead tissue on the recipient finger. If everything is as successful as last time, they will disconnect the two fingers and both will be fine. The chief surgeon for Suz's case has indicated that, after a few more grafts, she can move to the rehab center. However, each graft takes a couple weeks to heal before it can be considered closed. To date, her legs have remained wrapped. And once she is there, and has had an opportunity to strengthen her legs, she will be brought back to surgery to sculpt the legs for the ideal fit inside the prosthetics. But over all, a good night.

Surgery Tomorrow

Monday afternoon, Suzanne will have another surgery. She has been having surgeries on average once a week, since the initial hospitalization. The earlier surgeries took 3-4 hours each because major de/re-construction was being undertaken. As the surgeries have progressed, they have been taking less time. Last week's surgery only took 1.5 hours and she was alert when she came out of the OR. This one is going to be focused on debridement of some tissue on her legs which have not taken 100%. And they will look at her hands as well. This was the same thing the told me last week, and the week before. Unfortunately, they don't exactly know what they're going to do until they see it.
We were able to bring the baby in today to see Suzanne. Gabby was cooing and smiling and standing in my lap. Sue got to hold her for a little while, but as the baby was fidgety, she was difficult to hold. It is nice to have her so close to the hospital at Bob & Nell's temporary apartment, so we can bring her in more frequently. They have been taking care of her on a regular basis, with my parents coming in on the weekends to give them a break. I know I couldn't do it without all of their support.

Gabby's Christmas Photo

Here she is! For those of you who didn't see the Christmas photos, this is one of the set. We had the large one framed for Suzanne's room.

Motivational Propaganda

I was looking online for a representational image which I can use to help motivate Suzanne through her pending rehabilitation. As she is currently bedridden, and not yet independently mobile, her first step will be to get into a wheelchair. It will be a miraculous day when this happens. However, that is going to be but a temporary pit stop, en route to walking again on her own. I looked for one with the universal "no" sign. But I ended up quickly making that one in photoshop. However the one which looks like the traditional evolution image, is also good. That one came from here. It is for paralyzed patients, but I think the image is fitting.

If you come up with your own, send them our way.

Sent December 4th 2007

I just want to touch base with you and give you a quick head's up. Suzanne was just last night moved out of the ICU and into a regular room. This is the biggest step forward she's made in the last few weeks. Her anxiety for the move is understandable, as she will go from a 2-1 nursing ratio to 6 or 8 or more to 1. However, they wouldn't have made the move had she not been ready.

Her physical therapy yesterday was quite extensive. Her range of motion in both her arms and legs is greatly improving. Although her right wrist and fingers are still quite swollen and hard to control, she is leaps ahead of where she was. There are still many more small surgeries to be completed to finish closing up the arms and legs, to graft some skin and to make her legs comfortable in the pending prosthetics. But for all accounts, she's doing well. For a while she was going back and forth with infections and high white blood cell counts, some grafts that didn't take and generally slow progress. If she could only see how far she's come, she would be amazed. We all are, but in her limited view she can't see her accomplishments, only her present inability to hold a fork or make a fist. Not to mention the fact she can't get out of bed.

But over the next few months the surgeons will be finishing up their tasks and the physical therapists will be working her muscles. Before you know it, she'll be walking out of there. There are some future moves planned. One move will be to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in DC and potentially another to the Curtis National Hand Center in Baltimore. The NRH handles many of the returning soldiers, who have prosthetic rehab to complete. And CNHC would be to do some reconstruction of her forearm and hand muscles, to improve grasping and dexterity. But that is further down the line.

I also want to send thanks to everyone for the cards and gifts for Suzanne and Gabby. They are all very much appreciated. The cards have been lining the walls in Suzanne's room. I look forward to getting her online and responding to everyone's email and letters soon.

For now…

Love,

Patrick

Sent November 9th 2007, to my family

I have been sitting on two boxes of baby announcements for weeks and just can't bear to send them out at a time like this. Suzanne and I have been blessed with a beautiful baby girl, perfect in every way. But instead of celebrating Gabby's little milestones, we're spending every waking moment at the hospital trying to make sense of everything that's happening.

I would now like to update you with the latest news, as it has been difficult to disseminate the rapidly changing information. Suzanne's infection is pretty much complete and she's now dealing with the after effects of the toxins. The bacterium was identified as Streptococcus pyogenes. This bacterium, similar to many others like it, produces several types of toxins which are more harmful than the infection itself. Here is a concise summary I found online:

"Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome can happen following a streptococcus infection in the body, most often a skin infection or an infected wound. ...The person's blood pressure drops dangerously low, and he or she may have fever, dizziness, confusion, difficulty breathing, and a weak and rapid pulse. The skin may be pale, cool, and moist, and there may be a blotchy rash that sometimes peels. The area around an infected wound can become swollen, red, and have areas of severely damaged or dying flesh. The liver and kidneys may begin to fail, and bleeding problems may develop"

As a result of the infection described above, Suzanne was given several very strong vasoconstrictors (Pressors) to increase blood pressure to the vital organs. The effect is that the limbs receive much less blood, and therefore oxygen, than the core. As a result, they become blue, and eventually necrotic. It is the same as what happens to people who get frostbite. Unfortunately, the lower legs were void of oxygen for too long and have just today been amputated. The dead and dying tissue needed to be removed to prevent the spread of future infections. Additionally, her arms are also in jeopardy. The exact word the surgeon used was "iffy." I saw the open wounds on her legs prior to the operation and was shocked to see the extent of the damage. I was able to see one of her arms as well and was not encouraged.

From all reports from both the local medical staffs at both hospitals, as well as personal friends in the medical community, she is lucky to be alive. Sepsis (septic shock / toxic shock) is an illness that damages the internal organs causing failures at alarming rates. And where we are today, with her mind in tact, spirits up, and family support where it stands, we can make it through a bump like this. There have been great strides made in prosthetics and rehabilitation. I am confident that Suzanne will pull through in this time of adversity to successfully regain her mobility.

My parents have reported in with your words of encouragement, prayers and generous gifts. I can't even begin to express my sincere appreciation for your support. I look forward to reporting in again soon with some good news. Our first priority at this time is to get Suzanne home with Gabrielle, where she will be able to recover quickly in an environment where she is comfortable and able to get back to being a mommy.

I know you have been reluctant to email us, as we've been overwhelmed dealing with the weeks news. But if you want to send a note to Suzanne I will print them out for her to see. And I'm sure she'd love to hear from you.

I hope all is well with you and yours.

Sincerely,

Patrick

Welcome to the Bionic Mom blog...

I would like to thank you for taking the time to have a look at this site. This is Patrick, Suzanne's husband. Here I will be periodically posting some updates about Suzanne's status and recovery. Many have asked me to start a blog to update everyone, rather than send occasional messages but, I have resisted on the basis of Suzanne’s privacy. However, I have decided that I will post some information so everyone is “in the loop.”

I have provided a picture of Suzanne taken this summer (at 7 months pregnant) where she looks radiant. The reason I chose Bionic Mom for the blog title and user name I think is obvious.

I will also include in the next few postings the earlier email messages I sent around. Following that, I will give today’s update. Please feel free to contact us at: Suzanne.and.Patrick@gmail.com if you would like send us a note privately. But feel free to post your comments in the blog if you’d like.

Thanks for browsing,

Patrick