The Powell Family: 2011

Thursday, September 22, 2011

An Amazing Recovery

WoW we thought Life was Wild before Brentie's Injury... Hmmm!!!!
Dishes-Laundry-More Dishes, there really is no end is sight :)
During these past few weeks our precious little Colby has been talking up a storm and is now putting several words together too. My favorite has got to be "More Shows Please" Thank You Mickey Mouse Clubhouse :) For putting a smile on my sweet babies face, so that Mama has a minute to throw a load of laundry in the wash.
There has been a lot of healing Physically, Mentally, and Emotionally these past two weeks since I have done an update. I can hardly believe this saturday will mark 3 weeks since the accident. My Brentie is truly a walking miracle, and daily (more like every moment) I am aware of just how precious life is and having full use of our bodies as well. Again we are so thankful that considering what a horrible accident this was, his injuries were the best case possible. His strong, young and healthy body has really taken over and allowed him to heal much quicker and better than we imagined. Brent went back to work part time a week after the accident. And this week is back into the swing of things full time.
Powell Pediatric Dentistry is growing stronger and bigger each day.
Yeah!!! For Dr Powell's great determination..
As for his back he will continue to wear the brace for at least 7 more weeks I think.
He has a follow-up appointment with the neurosurgeon soon.
Below are some pictures of the healing process of his face, hand, and leg.

September 10, 2011
Colby in his mini recliner hanging out with daddy.
He sure misses his snuggle & wrestling time.

Finally that handsome smile :)

And the hairiest I have ever seen Brent.

September 12, 2011
Today he got the sutures out of his handsome face.
There was a total of 44 from inside his ear down to his chin. The doctors are leaving the sutures in his wrist and thigh another week.

September 16, 2011
He shaved... That beard was driving him crazy.

September 20th 2011

Getting the stitches out of his wrist and thigh.

There were about 50 sutures in each.

September 22, 2011

Looking good Babe

Finally convinced him to take a day off today from surgery cases, but he will be back working in the OR tomorrow morning.
He sure makes me laugh....
After I get the kiddos down for their naps today I sit down for a chat with Brent and he says to me
"Life is so hard right now, I can't decide if I should watch a movie or take a nap"

Gotta love the optimism.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Update #2 on Brentie

A continued thank you for all the prayers for his quick recovery, phone calls, emails and messages. In the past few days many things have happened, so I thought I would share another update on how Brent is recovering. On Monday when we were able to unwrap the bandages on Brent's wrist several of the stitches came out and he was continuing to feel an intense yet different pain and the numbness. His left leg was feeling okay, not too much pain but the stitches and the skin surrounding it just didn't look right. We made many calls on that relaxing Labor day holiday and were able to make an appointment for first thing Tuesday morning with a group of specialists. Long story short they did not like how his leg looked, parts of the injury were not stitched all the way, the irritation of the skin surrounding the wound & parts of the wound were turning black etc, and for his hand it was obvious with the stitches falling out that repairs needed to be done. They did agree that his face was repaired quite well in the Emergency Room by the Oral Surgeon, but there were a few spots that looked infected and several bumps that would leave larger scars. Since there was a Plastic Surgeon in the practice, it would be a wise choice to have all the stitches on his face re-done as well to minimize the amount of scarring early on. It was agreed by all to take Brent into surgery later that evening and have all of the stitches taken out of his left thigh, left wrist and right side of his face and to re-do everything. So I took Brent home so he could rest for a bit and then took him back to the surgery center at 4:30pm for his surgery. At about 6:00 I said my "see ya laters" to Brent and was told it would be about a 1 hour surgery and they would call me as soon as he was in recovery and waking up.

So 3 1/2 hours later I finally received a phone call from the anesthesiologist saying they should be finishing up the surgery in about 30 minutes. Finally I could relax a little bit, knowing that he was okay. Around 10:15 he was done in surgery and brought to recovery, and I was able to bring a very sleepy, uncomfortable and in pain hubby home at midnight.

So the report from the doctors was that,

It took them over an hour just to prep and clean out all of the wounds. The nurses said they irrigated and flushed everything over and over to make sure they got everything. His face was in pretty good shape, but his wrist was infected and full of debris they took a culture in case anything comes up, and his thigh was also very irritated/infected and still full of debris (gravel, dirt, oil etc.) These doctors are amazing, I am so thankful for their patience and willingness to not rush and to repair his body to the most perfect condition possible. I know it's hard not to wonder why things were not cleaned and done completley correctly the first time in the Emergency Room trauma, but in reality the ER's job is to stabliize the patient and that's exactly what they did. I am just glad that Brent and I are smart, and in-tune to follow those feelings, that he NEEDED to be seen again. Had we not followed those feelings the Doctors said that within a few days he would have been back in the Emergency Room with infections. They also mentioned that while repairing his wrist that another reason for the intense pain besides the infection was that his artery had been cut. I cannot say it enough how thankful I am that we have this outcome considering what a horrible situation it was. All three injuries were near major arteries, so it is a total blessing that nothing more disastrous happened. His fractured vertebrae is achy and uncomfortable but he is coping well with wearing the brace. We are happy to know that his Doctors have given him the okay to be back at work on Monday the 12th with a half day. And that afternoon he should be getting his stitches out. Below are a few before and after shots for Brent's comparision. Obviously we do not have pictures of what his injuries initially looked like. Because honestly my dad, Brent and I all agree that those are images we hope we will one day be able to forget. Probably the only one's that may have appreciated some initial pictures were the doctors who were working on him.

CAUTION

Very Graphic Pictures Below

Emergency Room Repair

Specialist Repair

Emergency Room Repair

Specialist Repair

Emergency Room Repair

Specialist Repair

Monday, September 5, 2011

Update on Brent's Injuries

First of all thank you so much for all the prayers, phone calls and txt messages we have received from our many friends and families. What a frightening 2 days this has been, we have been overwhelmed emotionally, mentally, and physically. This has been a very traumatic experience, but we are trying to cope, adjust and heal as well as we can as a little family. We are just so thankful that Brent survived this traumatic accident and all of his many injuries, even though they are severe they can all be fixed. Below is a summary of the incident that Brent put together so that everyone is aware of what really happened.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. Here is an update on what happened and how I am doing. I was helping my father in law cut some overgrown trees. We were sectioning one tree. I was about 20 feet up with the chainsaw. When the top half of the tree fell the lower half was like a slingshot and threw me from the tree.

I landed on my back and have a compression fracture in my T7 Vertebrae. It is a break that is not normally associated with paralysis as the spinal cord is still intact, However, I am wearing a back brace that helps my posture to prevent me from becoming future hunch back. I will be in the brace for about 8-10 weeks. No surgery is necessary at this time.

The Chainsaw cut into my left thigh about 6 inches across and 2 inches deep but did not completely sever the muscle, major arteries, or nerves. It went through the skin two layers of fascia and partially through my quad. Each layer was sutured. I still have full movement in my leg and foot on that side.

I also have about 6 deep cuts from the chainsaw on my left wrist and thumb from just below the nail bed down to my wrist. I have some numbness in my thumb, which is hopefully temporary, I have an appointment with the hand specialist on Tuesday.

I have a laceration that is about 5 inches long on my right cheek that goes from my ear/earlobe down to my chin. It almost follows the contour of the body of the mandible just above the bone. My hope is that it will heal with minimal scarring. I am not sure if this is from the chainsaw or if it was hooked on a tree branch on the way down. It cut partially through the masseter muscle, the fascia, and of course the skin. Each layer was sutured. I am fortunate that it did not communicate with the inside of my mouth and the nerve appears to be intact. I have both sensation and full use of my facial muscles on that side of my face. (Meaning I can smile frown have facial expressions)

All things considered the result of this accident was the best-case scenario as compared to what might have been.

Again thank so much for your kind thoughts and prayers. We are doing okay and the initial shock of the accident is beginning to settle a little. Doctors suggest that I take some time to heal. I am going to take this next week off of work until the stitches are removed. Then I will see how things are going. I hope that I can be back to seeing patients by next Monday the 12^th. As a family we are living hour by hour, and hoping once these first few days are past us, then hopefully things will just get better and better.
Love Brent, Kiley, Kaedyn & Colby

My dad was able to take this picture for me of Brent being transferred from Clovis Community Hosp. to the Trauma Center at Fresno Community Hospital. Once the incident happened it was about 3 "Long" hours before I was able to see him. It was a very long and painful 13 hours in the trauma center for Brent. But we were able to be released around mindight to go home.

I was so thankful to be able to meet Brent in trauma, but so sad to see all of his injuries. It took about 4 hours for the Doctors to repair his face, leg and wrist. Along with all of the Doctors and Nurses I was completely amazed and relieved at how well they were able to repair this handsome face. Compared to how torn open his right side of his face was, this 1st picture I took for him amazes me.

A quick picture at home for comparison reasons so we can track his healing and changes day by day.

Thankful to my sister and her family for taking such great care of Kaedyn & Colby that night. Not exactly how we wanted to spend our first night ever away from our precious kiddos :(

Crazy Dr Kaedyn, insists on me washing her pink scrubs everyday so that she can take care of his "yucky ouchies that she likes" her words...

So Many Updates

Where have the months gone, we have had so many fun events happen in our family. Colby turned 1, Kiley turned 31 eeeeekk.... The Grand Opening of Powell Pediatric Dentistry, Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day... One of these days I hope to have the opportunity to add my great pictures of these events to the Blog.. Since I have been printing this Blog into a book for the kiddos to enjoy. For now really old news is all I can give ya :)