Update, Friday 9/29

Kaden is doing well. He is at the point where he is feeling well and not taking any pain meds (woohoo!) and just having to be patient, waiting for his body to heal. He’s doing some physical therapy, but the doctor hasn’t ordered any vigorous PT yet. We are allowing the body to heal.

Today, we adjusted his leg brace to allow him to bend up to 90°. It took two weeks to get from 30° to 60°, so it will take time to get to 90°, but he is motivated. He is faithful and doing the minimal PT exercises of lifting his leg off the couch, bending his leg, activating/flexing some muscles that aren’t being used, and lifting his leg forward backward and sideways while standing. All of these exercises may not sound like much, but they are done through much effort. He does see the progress, so that’s an encouragement. 

Kaden is now able to do several “normal” things around the house that he could not do for the past month. Some I won’t share, but I will say he has figured out how to get his own bowl of cereal - including getting a bowl, getting cereal, getting milk, pouring cereal into the bowl, pouring milk into the bowl, getting a spoon, installing his foam grip, eating the cereal, and taking his dish to the sink. (Most of us never consider all those steps.) Also, today Kaden helped me load the dishwasher (slowly) but he feels good about being able to help out around the house.

Thank you for your support, encouragement, and prayers. We know that the Lord is at work and we constantly give thanks for the bits of physical progress we see as well as the mental and spiritual parts that we may or may not always recognize. 

Prayer requests: 1. continued healing, movement, encouragement & growth, 2. ability to do more simple tasks despite having 3 limbs immobilized, 3. creativity in incremental steps (for example, normally, you would lightly increase weight-bearing on the leg, but the way you increase the weight slowly is by using crutches which uses your hands, and since Kaden cannot bear weight on his hands, we need ro be creative.)

Update Thursday 9/21

Woohoo! Kaden lifted his leg on his own! And it gave him a vision for what is to come. (: He said, “I think I’m going to be able to walk again!”

(He was sitting in his wheelchair and lifted the leg about 2”. Woohoo for progress!)

Update Tuesday 9/19

Praise the Lord! Kaden is on the mend. What was very scary and tragic has turned into a difficulty that seems surmountable. We have no doubt that the prayers of many are bringing about the healing and encouragement necessary to make it through this ordeal. 

Kaden is willing to do the hard work to get back to moving like normal. The biggest challenge is having to be still. Kaden’s body has to be ok with not being able to get up and run around. At night, his whole body aches - from lack of movement.

Yesterday we had a home health nurse visit. Pretty uneventful. She says the wounds look nice and his vitals are good. We also had our first PT visit. He says move the parts you can and not the parts you can’t. Wise. 

And so we wait. Kaden works the muscles he can. We allow rest and healing to those parts he can’t use yet. We find hope in our Sovereign Lord whose plans we don’t always understand perfectly because we trust Him perfectly.

Kaden has been blessed by friends (even some he didn’t know so well) coming by to break up the day with a game of chess or cards (even though they’re hard to hold) or just chatting for a bit. These visits have truly buoyed his spirits. 

Also, we have been SO blessed by meals provided by the family of believers. Seriously. This enables us to focus on significant caretaking needs, appointments, etc. We are adjusting to a new normal where everything takes longer and must be interruptible. Basic life tasks that used to take Kaden 5-10 minutes, now take 40+ minutes with assistance required the whole time. Not everything is nice and neat, but God has given us the grace and strength to do all the things that need to be done despite what is lacking. We are so thankful that our schedules allow someone to be available to him 24/7 as that is what is needed right now. Praise the Lord for His perfect timing and provision in all. 

Prayer requests: continued encouragement to Kaden’s spirit, approval for outpatient PT near our home, safety as he pushes himself to heal, ways to move his body enough daily to alleviate the whole-body aches at night.

Update Friday 9/15

 Wow! We saw the surgeons for follow up today and everyone is very pleased.

Kaden’s right hand is casted and under the cast there are metal pins sticking out of his hand. (We had no idea!) So there will be follow up surgery eventually to get those removed. His cast offers less finger movement than the temporary wraps he had before, but is otherwise shorter than the last and he was told he can bear weight on his elbows now. 

They removed stitches from his left wrist and put it in a removable brace (which is can be taken off to shower or if sitting for extended periods - like watching TV, etc). He is allowed to move it to try to regain some range of motion, but not use it for regular tasks. Right now it’s almost completely frozen still. Like the other arm, he can bear weight on the elbow but not on the hand. So both hands are still pretty unusable. Hopefully, with some physical therapy, he can rebuild grip. The doctor wants to see him touch his palm with his finger tips (make a fist). Right now that seems far off, but we’ve already seen such amazing progress, we’re excited to see how the Lord continues to heal him. 

Kaden’s left leg is no longer completely immobilized but in a brace allowing him to regain range of motion. The doctor really wants to push him to start bending the knee. With much pain, he was able to get to 30° today, so the goal is 60° in the next 2 weeks and 90° 2 weeks after that. We see the doctor again in 4weeks and he expects to allow full range of motion after that. There is one piece of the patella they are watching that could possibly cause trouble and need to be removed if it starts rubbing against the fibula, but we are hopeful and time will tell.

Kaden has appointments with both doctors 4 weeks from today on Friday the 13th. (: He is definitely in a wheelchair 100% of the time til then as he cannot bear weight on 3 of his 4 limbs. (No crutches without hands.) 

Please pray for continued healing and progress (with tolerable pain) during physical therapy. Praise the Lord for the amazing progress Kaden has made so far. We’re still so thankful he is alive, but the Lord has seen fit to give us more. Praise him for real showers! Praise Him also for providing a new primary doctor effective Monday. THANK YOU for praying with us!

(We visited the tow yard to release the motorcycle to insurance today and seeing the bike was pretty crazy. This was a super bummer for Kaden, so the good news at the doctor made for a nice emotional recovery.)

Update Tuesday 9/12

 As we settle into a “new normal” (where nothing is normal), pray for Kaden to not get discouraged as the advances don’t come as quickly. His first follow up appointments are Friday. We are still working on getting a primary doctor. So, in the meantime, we live - moving slow, with lots of disruption, doing the best we can with what we have in the moment. There are less updates when we see no professionals to tell us we’re making progress. That can be discouraging. But we see the progress of little things Kaden can do or is learning to do today that he couldn’t do yesterday. And we pray for a full recovery and encouragement along the way. 

Update Saturday 9/9

Kaden is loving being home. He is more comfortable in his own bed and has figured out how to move his weight and pívot on one foot to get into his wheelchair on his own sometimes (with someone spotting him). 

IF the chair could support his really long leg, he could probably move about on his own. (They had 2 nurses use two wheelchairs facing each other to get him out of the hospital!) But he is able to move from his room to the living room if someone carries his leg. (: (especially to help around the tight turn from room to hallway where his leg is lifted high and/or wide). 

He comes to the table for meals. He can sit on the couch that they said would be too low. Almost everything he can do is because he was working out a ton before the accident and has super strong muscles wherever muscles are not damaged. So praise the Lord for his hard work and discipline before the accident. 

Prayer requests: eventually, if we ever want to leave the house, we do need equipment that can handle his long leg. Constant but not crazy pain in the L wrist. No feeling in both thumbs (though he can move both). No grip with left hand (he was left handed). Healing of knee: bones, tendons, etc 

As caretaking is a more than full time job, we are so blessed to have a meal train set up for dinners. If you’ve asked to bring us a meal, please sign up here: https://mealtrain.com/zk0wle

The long road ahead is made easier by your encouragement and support. We do not take all the prayers and texts of encouragement for granted. We feel so loved and cared for and encouraged by those of you who serve us as the visible hands and feet of our Savior caring tenderly for us in this tough situation. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed.” Thank you all for keeping us from being crushed by constantly showing us the love of the Savior. 

Update Thursday 9/7 6PM

 He’s home. It actually happened. Woohoo!

Update Thursday 9AM

 Sadly, Kaden was not released yesterday. Prayers were answered as the wheelchair was approved and ordered, but, alas, we did not specify praying for delivery. Ha. As soon as the delivery company brings the chair, we’re outta here. (:

Update Wednesday 9/6

Tomorrow…

Kaden is going home. Woohoo!

Kaden is super excited to get out of the hospital. He is eager to be in his own bed in his own room. The hospital bed was getting pretty uncomfortable.

Much of his skin has healed to the point it’s not painful. His casted arms and leg are not too painful. He is able to get into a chair and back onto the bed here, so, hopefully, that will continue at home. When we leave the hospital, getting into & out of the car will be a new challenge.

Prayer requests: car transport to not cause pain on entry, drive, or exit; that insurance continues to work itself out; that we will find a new amazing primary care physician to coordinate care for Kaden.

Because he’s basically healthy, Kaden hasn’t been to the doctor in a few years. He last saw a pediatrician, but now needs a doctor who sees adults. (: The hospital told us that the new primary care doctor he was assigned by insurance said he was not accepting new patients, so we  need to find a doctor who’s willing to take on Kaden’s case. 

Update Tuesday 9/5

Kaden is on the road to leaving the hospital this week. He needs to be released by many doctors & departments such as the trauma team, PT (physical therapy) and OT (occupational therapy). The trauma team has said kaden is medically ready to go home. Today he was downgraded from “step-down” surgical to regular room - though there is no regular room available yet,so he’s still in his same room. 

PT was not as successful as they would have liked today. Kaden was able to get in a wheelchair by pivoting on his one good leg from the bed to the chair, using only his core and one elbow because his other leg and both arms are casted or immobilized. This is done with someone else (mom/dad/nurse) supporting and lifting him. This was similar to the goal he met yesterday: getting in a regular chair. Today, they added the goal of getting out into the hallway and Kaden moving himself with his one good leg. Unfortunately, the wheelchair they had did not have a leg support for his immobilized leg that was long enough for a 6‘6“ person. So either the PT or I were holding up his leg, and just making the turns around his roommate and trying to get the right angle to get through the door (with such a long leg) took so long and so much effort, by the time we got to the hallway, he was exhausted. So PT opted to try again tomorrow. 

OTs concern was that he would be able to get up from a flat bed (since that’s what we have at home) and pivot to the wheelchair, that he would be able to do the same move in the restroom, and that he could hold a toothbrush, get dressed and other basic life skills.

One challenge in our home is that our doorways are all very narrow (which a standard wheelchair will not fit through well). And right now Kaden sleeps on a futon (which is too low because it’s supposed to be the height of the wheelchair or higher,). And we only have couches not tall, hard chairs (so he can only sit in his wheelchair all day unless we get something higher). So we are planning to switch out kids’ beds tonight as the higher bed is in a room with a narrower doorway. Ha ha. We are also looking at acquiring a tall firm chair and a bidet to make toileting with two casted arms more possible  (TMI?)

Prayer requests: a skinny wheelchair to match our skinny Kaden and our skinny doorways. BUT with extra long supports for his extra long leg! (Insurance should cover it, it’s just a matter of finding it/getting it ordered.) also, digestion progress, getting our house ready for him, learning how to get into a vehicle(!) with no hands and one good leg and keeping the other leg straight. learning to do life temporarily with one limb. Thankfully - this is all temporary. Praise God for all the blessings!

We are so thankful for his ability to hold utensils and even a tooth brush with 2-4 fingers on his right hand (he’s usually left-handed). We are thankful for him getting into a chair twice today and staying in it for 60-80 minutes each time. We are thankful he made it to the hallway in the chair. And so many other things!

Update Monday 2pm

 Kaden is having a good day. Pain levels have been significantly lower today. Obviously, there is still a significant amount of pain, but it’s more tolerable today. 

Physical therapy began today. They had a goal to get Kaden out of the hospital bed and sit in a chair, and that was accomplished. His left leg is in an immobilizer and his left foot is in a boot and he cannot put any weight on the left so it is a challenge to negotiate moving around. 

He’s eating a ton (yay!) and we are waiting for indications that his digestive system is working well. 

He can feel and wiggle all his toes and fingers. Yay! But they recommend he wear these foam blocks on  other arms post-surgery to help with swelling and positioning. These are super uncomfortable so he is wearing them sometimes but taking breaks as needed from the pressure.

Prayer: praise the Lord for progress! Praise the Lord for pain management. Praise the Lord that his skin abrasions are healing. Praise the Lord he was able to sit in a chair today! Pray for continued ability to wear the foam blocks that are supposed to be helpful, but are painful. Pray as he continues to learn to move his body to do normal things like eat and sleep and use the restroom. 

Update Sunday 2 PM

 Kaden had surgery on both arms today. Although the surgery did finish a few hours ago, we haven’t got an official report from the surgeon. Kaden is back in his room and recovering. We think the surgeon may have gone directly into another surgery because nurses haven’t been able to get a hold of him. However, all the charts say that everything went well.

Right now Kaden is sleeping about 90% of the time and the short times he is awake he’s been in a lot of pain. So they have doubled the pain meds they were giving him yesterday. We are thankful if he can sleep almost 100% of the time and just heal today. 

Prayer request: that pain would be less and/or managed well, that Kaden would not be discouraged even though pain-wise it feels like we took a step back, that we would hear a report from the actual surgeon. We praise the Lord the surgery is complete.

Update Sunday 7am

 Kaden was just taken back for surgery on both arms. They expect it to take a few hours. 

Pray for doctors to be able to do all that is necessary, for steady hands, for wisdom. 

Update Saturday 7:45pm

Thank you for praying for Kaden! 

Surgeries are scheduled for tomorrow morning on both arms (L wrist, R hand). And word is the ankle may not need surgery, but the knee may need another surgery because they couldn’t do everything at once. (They’re not completely sure on those.)

Pain levels in knee and arms have spiked pretty high, but hospital staff are quick to address it. Only twice today was it really bad. Skin pain has been less today  

Kaden has enjoyed having several visitors today which was great for his first day of just sitting around with no procedures. He was able to figure out a way to feed himself dinner holding a fork with 2 good fingers, too, though that may be harder after surgery on both arms tomorrow. He is working hard and should sleep well. 

Also, kudos to those of you who found him. Today the hospital changed him from John Doe to his own name, so it’s easier to visit.

Please pray for surgery on both arms tomorrow morning to go well and accomplish all that the doctors desire to restore his wrist and hands. Also for continued pain relief/management. 

Update 9:30 AM

 Kaden was just served breakfast along with the news of no surgery today.

Update Saturday 6am

 Possible wrist surgery today. 

This morning Kaden was told surgery Sunday, then a minute later they said not til Monday or Tuesday, then 10 minutes later, they said don’t eat anything because you’re going in today. So, maybe today?

He finally made it into a room a few hours ago. He’s thankful because it was actually able to be dark (the recovery area is always full light). 

He says the discomfort from the knee immobilizer against his skin is less today  

Praying for continued rest, that surgery would actually happen OR that they let him eat, pain management. 

Update 8:20pm

 Kaden is sitting up, eating, lots and feeling like he wants to be more in control of his situation. He actually said he doesn’t want anyone to stay with him tonight, but grandma is staying until they kick her out. His pain is still manageable. 

Yesterday morning, they repositioned both his wrists and casted them. Super painful to do the repositioning.

During surgery, they did something similar to his ankle. But the boot they put on was super tight, so today they removed it. 

He still has a ways to go.

Prayer request for pain relief for skin abrasions. 

Update Friday 3pm

 Kaden is still in the recovery area after surgery in the middle of the night. He is in and out of sleep and not actually needing a whole lot of pain meds. His attitude is good so far. Please pray that he doesn't get discouraged and that he can continue to have a good attitude as he spends time waiting and sitting still. 

 They don't have a "real room" for him yet. It doesn't look like any further surgery will be scheduled until at least Sunday. The surgery they did last night was a cleaning surgery and he will need an additional reconstructive surgery on that knee.

He finally got to eat and held a big meal and plans to eat again tonight. Grandparents are rotating shifts sitting with him now.

He’s feeling a bit of pain where the immobilizer touches his scraped up skin. Nurses have been good to try to add soft gauze to ease the pain.

Kaden’s road to recovery

We know that we have a loving God, who is sovereign, who cares for us, and who is very present in our lives. Though we may be surprised at things that come up in our day-to-day lives, He is not. On Thursday morning, just before 6am, Kaden was on his motorcycle on his way to work and was in an accident. Thankfully, he is alive. Thankfully, his head neck, spine and torso and all his internal organs look fine. Unfortunately, his extremities were injured. The patella on Kaden’s left knee was fractured badly. His left ankle is broken. His left wrist is broken. His right hand is broken. All of these require surgery which they hope to do as soon as an OR and surgeon are available.

On Thursday evening, around midnight, Kaden had his first surgery on the patella/knee. The surgeons were pleased with what they were able to accomplish. They were pleased that there were no missing fragments. Kaden is at UCI in orange. He is in good spirits. Kaden is blessed to have so many friends who are praying him through this difficult time. 

They wanted to do the surgery on his wrist and knee, at the same time, but were unable to do so. So, I think his wrist is the next priority, and after that surgery on his left ankle and his right hand. Again, we are so thankful that he is alive that he is cheerful that he is willing to trust in God’s plan even when that plan clearly differs from what we thought it was.

Please pray with us that Kaden would continue to be strong and rely on the Lord, that surgeries will be scheduled in the right timing, that he would continue to heal, that we would continue to be a light in a place where so many are in darkness and lacking hope.