My New Story

Wow a lot has Happened sense I last posted.

My Youngest cousin Michael was in a near drowning accident on Oct 15 2008 I still can talk about it much without crying, we are praying for complete healing and we will never give up.

Here is the whole story….. written by my Aunt


That Wednesday afternoon, my sister and I watched the older kids demonstrate a project in the swimming pool. Normally the pool is covered with a built in cover but we left it open after the demonstration.
Afterwards, we were all busy interacting with each other, having a "normal" not-school-at-home day. In a matter of a few moments, Michael drowned. Evan, our 11yo son, and I spotted him at the same time in the water and went after him.
In the first moments of panic, I couldn’t remember what to do first. Luckily, the 911 operator was already on the line.We began mouth to mouth at which point Michael vomited. My sister and I started CPR, the EMTs arrived within minutes. They continued CPR, administered medications and intubated him. I rode in the ambulance and Michael was revived in the ER. For the first 48 hours, we were told his survival was questionable. However, he did not go into respiratory or heart failure again.
A week after the accident, Michael was taken off the ventilator. He was able to breathe on his own but was not able to maintain his airway which basically means his tongue would be floppy and obstruct his breathing. He did not have gag or cough reflexes and wouldn’t swallow secretions. On Friday, Nov. 7th, he had a tracheostomy and g-tube inserted for feeding. Another issue for Michael which is common for hypoxic brain injuries is called hypertonia or very tense muscles. It would be like a normal person stretching and holding the stretch indefinitely.
Michael began waking up within a few days of the accident. At first, he seemed entirely unaware of his surroundings. The neurological exams were grim and the diagnosis of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy was discouraging. To us, Michael's initial survival was incredible. He has not had any significant set-backs; for example, once he came off the ventilator, we thought he would have to be re-intubated but he proved us wrong.
As time went on, he developed sleep-wake cycles although it would take months before he got his days and nights in order. By the middle of November, we believed he had become more aware of us. Through testing, we know he can hear and his brain responds to sound!
After five weeks and a day, we were released from the hospital's PICU to go home on November 20th. From the medical standpoint, Michael is considered permanently and severely disabled. However, though most doctors in the interest of being "realistic" try to remove all sense of hope from families; we, like most families in our situation, refuse to succumb to hopelessness. Through love, prayer, dedication, alternative therapies and most of all the grace and goodness of God, Michael will recover. We began Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments on November 24th. We also began seeing a Neuro Developmental Training certified Occupational therapist on November 26th.
By the end of January, we finished our first session of 40 HBOT treatments. While it is difficult to say how much it helped, we know from our therapist and others who are familiar with near drowning survivors, that Michael is doing well physically. After taking a four week break from HBOT, we are just beginning another session of forty treatments starting February 23rd.
Four months after the accident, Michael is much more alert than he was two months post accident. He moves both arms purposely. He is also able to lift his head from certain positions. Sometimes he is able to sustain eye contact. He makes grumpy faces. At times he cries. With his Passy-Muir valve on he can make sounds but doesn't do so very often. We catch him smiling in his sleep. It's beautiful to see his face transformed and actually see the happy little boy is still with us somewhere deep inside himself.
So Now here we are you can read more about Michael at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lovemichael.

On May 2 2009, My Cousin Samantha Got Married we all love Travis But we miss having her at home.

Michael

He's so cute

About me....

My name is Sarah, I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters. I'm the oldest girl and the third oldest kid but I'm the oldest at home. I have seven cousin that live across the street.

My cousins are like brothers and sisters to me since I see them every day. Like siblings, we have fights but I can't imagine life without them.