Same as yesterday

Hello,

There hasn't been much change as of yesterday. The physicians attempted to perform the back surgery again today, but had to abort for the same reason as yesterday. Unfortunately, they're in a catch-22. The lungs need to be better in order for the surgery to happen. Yet performing the surgery will quicken the recovery of the lungs.

He's back up in the Surgical ICU where he's been since Monday. He's currently resting, but awakens about every hour when the nursing staff tests his vitals. When he wakes up, he's pretty groggy due to the sedation from this morning's surgery preparation. Most likely he'll be alert again tonight like he was yesterday.

We thank you all for keeping an eye on the blog and pulling for Dana.

6:30 pm......to our virtuals...

The most amazing thing just happened...... nurse Anatolli just came to the door and we were all startled.......he said "he is wide awake"

Mom is so excited that she passed the torch to Cuzin Joey to continue with the blog. As Courtney and Mom went in, Dana was wide awake, Eyes wide open, acknowledging all who were around him. Thus a line formed outside the doors for all of us waiting to get a chance to see the newly rejuvinated Dana.

As we all went in we got a rash of responses from eyes open to his arm moving up and down, to giving us a thumbs up, and he even said bye through the tubes. Once we all went though, Courtney returned to his side where he reached out for her hand.

The level of excitement here in the hospital is amazing. We are all so grateful for the progress of our Dana! We can't thank you all enough for all of your support and prayers, its working!

This is Cuzin Joey signing out, stay tuned for more updates thru the night..


GO DANA!

Latest News to everyone in the "virtual" waiting room

Hi all. Sorry we haven't sent any updates yet, but we actually haven't had any until this point.

So here's the news. Dana was scheduled to have his back operated on this morning pending the Dr's feeling of his vital stats. Around noon, the doctor decided his vital stats were stable and looking good enough to proceed with the operation. Dana was transported from the ICU to the Operating Room (OR). He was turned onto his stomach, which puts some stress on his body, and they watched his vital stats. Soon thereafter his vital stats jumped and the team felt Dana was not ready for the surgery. Therefore they have postponed the surgery until tomorrow morning.

On a lighter note, Dana was "wide awake" this morning. Courtney got a call from a nurse who advised she come over. Dana woke up and lipped, "Wife". So Courtney rushed right over and got a very responsive question/answer conversation. He was moving his whole arm, shaking his head, and giving thumbs-up.

Thanks so much to the wonderful nurses helping Dana hour by hour.... Megan, Patty, Jessimin, Megan, Bernie, Anotolli, Judy, and all the other nursing support staff. You are angels.............

R & R late night update

Dana rested today and his vitals are still looking good. If his vitals are stable in the morning the neuro surgeon will consider repairing his displaced vertebrae. If not Dana will rest until Monday and then undergo the surgery.

We've got the TV in his room tuned to the weather channel and Dana gave the selection a nod after Dave asked him (that is what Dave and Dana always watched during the ride of 05)!

Thank you so much for all of the amazing support..... we love hearing from you and Dana is so blessed to have so many loving and caring friends and family. We love you all.

That is it for now......... from the Carr waiting room............

ACTUALLY........THIS JUST IN..........

Courtney just came back out with grey surgical gloves on, a HUGE smile and great news! The nurse asked Courtney if she wanted to perform the neuro check and Courtney did. So Courtney lifted his right eye and Dana immediately focused on her. She asked, "Dane....you can see me, right?!" Then Dana nodded!!

P.S. Courtney is saving the gloves!

R & R Day

Hi everyone and thank you for all your prayers and thoughts.

Dana had a good night and all of his vital signs are stable and good. If he continues to be stable they're hoping to do his spinal surgery tomorrow. This morning when asked if he could hear everyone around him, he nodded acknowledging their presence. We were told that today will be a day of rest in preparation for tomorrow.

He's still looking good. Please keep him in your everyday thoughts and prayers. As you can see, they are helping!

P.S. There are two nice articles written on Dana. One was in the Corning Leader yesterday. The other was printed today in the Times Union:
Click Here for Times-Union Story.

Phase 2 Complete

Hi all from the Carr Waiting Room. We have good news to deliver.

It was just moments ago that one of the Orthopedic doctors left the room after delivering the best news we've heard yet. He relayed to us that as he entered the operating room, Dana's femur had already been plated and screwed and was ready for his part. Because Dana was tolerating the surgery so well he began to operate on Dana's forearm. Again, more plates and screws were inserted and Dana was wrapped up and sent back to his room in the ICU. Although Dana will have more surgeries to come in these areas, he seems to be tolerating them well and we have no doubt that further surgeries will be just as successful as these were. So as Dana is resting up, we are filled with happy thoughts and we thank you all again for your warm wishes and prayers.

P.S. Give yourselves an extra couple hours when travelling with Dana as he passes through the metal detectors.

3:10pm est - August 15

Surgeon checked in with us a short time ago. They successfully sewed his abdomen back up, and removed his appendix. Right now the orthopedic surgeons are working on his broken arm and hand. If that goes well, they will also work on his broken leg right after. If they continue with the leg, they may not finish until late this afternoon - perhaps around 6pm or so.

So far so good....

Dex (Dana's cousin)...

11:20 am 8/15/07

11:20.... surgery delayed..... but soon.... scheduling issues.....Dana had a good night .... doing well....the plan is to check his abdomen and maybe close the incision and the orthopedic docs are planning to work on his left arm and if all goes well his left leg....

thanks and love to everyone for all of you messages, prayers and overwhelming love and support....it means everything to us!..... so keep it up...... it's working.......... will update later today.... surgery, once it begins will take hours, but as soon as we have good news we'll update the blog......... love to all and thank you so much for everything........ Linda (mama Carr)......

Due to schedule changes in the OR, DB's surgery is now happening around 10:30. The doctor is going to go in and close up his abdomen, as they have had it open to alleviate pressure on his lungs, and if his body tolerates that, they will continue on with repairing the fractures in his arm and hand. Things will go one step at a time, and should be a few hours before we hear anything depending on the progress of each surgery.

Tuesday Night Update

Jessy here again,

Wanted to give everyone an end of the day report. (Aug 14, 11:00pm EST)

Dana is comfortably in his new, high-tech fancy bed, and it is now in full swing! Literally! It very slowly rotates from side to side to keep his blood moving, and to relax and settle his spine. The bed specialist came in and set everything up this afternoon. Dana seems to be responding to it well. His oxygen levels are great, still sharing the duties with the machine, but definitely taking on more of the role of breathing on his own. The nurses have cut back on his blood pressure meds, which is a good sign towards his stability.

Because of all the positive progress, Dana is scheduled to go in for surgery tomorrow at 7:30am so they can begin to repair the fractures in his left arm and leg. During your morning routine tomorrow, please keep up the positive thoughts for a successful surgery! We will let you know the results once he is out and back in the ICU tomorrow afternoon.

We're all very excited for such progress. All the doctors and nurses are amazing, and quite impressed at what a strong man he is. Obviously, none of us are surprised. He's too competitive and high-spirited to let this get him down! More soon!

New Update

Hi, this is Dave Benyo. We just got informed by a nurse that Dana has been moved to his new bed. It's this really sophisticated looking bed that will swing back and forth to relieve pressure from his back, letting the spine settle. This is a huge step and one that they didn't know if they'd be able to perform until he was ready.

The nurse also informed us that when she told him he was going to be moving to another bed, Dana shook his head up and down indicating he agreed. Once he was in his new bed, she informed him and he shook his head again.

We're also told that they are not going to be using the bed's rotating mechanism yet as they don't use this type of bed very often. They are awaiting a representative from the bed's company to come and start the bed's motion and to oversee the progress.

At this point they're still not allowing visitors, but we're outside in the waiting room waiting patiently to see our Dana!

Hey all! Jessy, Dana's sister here! This is going to be kind of a family free for all, so extended fam and friends who are here will all be pitching in to keep this current. We just wanted to let you know, that the accident happened Sunday night around 8pm, not Monday, like my poor editor of a cousin wrote earlier :-) kidding.

Anyway, just wanted to also let you know that the doctor's want to keep the visiting Dana in the ICU limited, because they really want to focus on resting him and keeping him moving forward. I guess we over did a bit with the loads of people coming and going cheering him on yesterday! We appreciate everyone's thoughts and support SO much, but just wanted to let you know that if you were planning on stopping by, we'd love to see you, but there most likely won't be access into seeing DB. I'm sure down the road, he will love all the visitors encouraging and keeping him busy. For now though, good thoughts will do just fine! Thanks for everything! We'll continue to keep you posted.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANA! 28! WOO HOO!

Dana Carr update from Albany

If you are reading this, you obviously know what happened to Dana last Monday while riding with good friend David Benyo near Albany, NY. A general story appeared in the Elmira Star Gazette yesterday:

Click Here for Star Gazette Story

As of today (Tuesday, August 14th - DANA'S BIRTHDAY!), Dana has made tremendous progress. Dana has been reacting to his environment and people in his room which are all good signs. He has amazed the staff here at his progress and determination.

The Doctor just came in and updated us (12:10pm EST, 8/14). The two largest concerns they have had at this point are his brain and lung function. Given he is reacting to his environment and to small commands from nurses to squeeze hands or move toes, they feel very good about his brain activity - to the point of limiting visitors so he is not 'over-stimulated'. He was not able to get enough oxygen for some time given damage to his lungs. However, he is now getting 50% of his oxygen on his own, so his lung function is also improving. If this continues, they will work on operating on his multiple breaks tomorrow. For now, Dana needs to just keep up what he's been doing.... More later....