Ernie visits Dana

Dana had a fabulous afternoon. Thanks to Dr. K and nurse Kristen, Dana took a trip outside in his bed for a surprise visit with Ernie and the rest of the clan. Ernie sat on Dana's lap and gave his "Dad" a big kiss! Needless to say the chance to get outside the hospital was uplifting for Dana and he was grinning from ear to ear. Dana also had a chance to see little Dexter aka D4 and Ava Grace (Dexter and Nicole's wee ones). We'll post a couple of the pics soon (we didn't have the cable to upload them), but trust me they are precious!

Dana ate well this afternoon (he is getting the hang of it), but he didn't sleep again last night as it has been hard for him to sleep in the ICU.

We're trying to keep him up a little bit this evening to give him the best chance at catching a few zzzzzzz'z tonight. Toward that end, as we speak, Dana and Courtney are on a movie date in his room watching "Happy Feet". Let's hope for a peaceful sleep tonight.

Sweet dreams to everyone - from the waiting room.

I'm honored to be the Guest Blogger today...Aunt Judy

Linda asked to apologize for her in not 'updating' in the last day or so... just needed a small break. Dana had an evening of watching Law & Order and Friends Wed evening with his glasses on and attentive! Thursday and today Dana has had a hard time sleeping through the night(as he has had for a NUMBER of weeks)...but has been very responsive during the day. Two pieces of great news is that Shepard Rehabilitation Center in Atlanta has let Courtney know in the past day or so, that they will admit Dana! At this point the exact date has not been determined. Meanwhile back in D 319 a PT has just an hour ago started to gently mobilize his hips, knees and ankles. He has been periodically moved from the reclining chair, to the 'sport bed'...to alleviate possible pressure from building up in one or another area. The immediate major focus is as Linda said...to wean Dana off of the vent, to encourage him to eat (He DOES seem hungry!) but more importantly to give him a quiet and restful environment conducive to sleep. DANA however, wants company and indicated a number of times recently that he was 'bored'! All of the above efforts of course, to prepare Dane for his sojourn to ATLANTA! Courtney and the immediate family are just SO grateful and heartwarmed by all of the prayers, well wishes, and deep consideration for the enormity of Dana's progress. Live Strong...

Skin Graft Surgery Complete

The Docs were able to complete the skin graft surgery on Dana's left arm this afternoon. The surgery took a couple of hours and Dana returned to D319 late this afternoon. Everything went well and Dana woke up around 5:30 pm.

While the skin graft heals, the next two goals for Dana are to start eating on his own and to be weaned off the vent. He has been having a hard time swallowing with the trach tube in, but he is getting the hang of it. After he woke up, he ate a little jello and sipped a small glass of water. We've got some sherbet in the frig/freezer in his room (how convenient) so I'm sure he'll try that a little later this evening.

The Docs are working to wean Dana off the vent. It's a gradual process. I'm sure Dana will be elated when the trach tube can be removed.

Today was yet another great day on Dana's road to recovery. To quote one of the Docs "he is nothing short of miraculous ". What can I say, I'm his mom, I agree!

Our continued gratitude and thanks to all of you who have given us so much strength, hope, support and encouragement. Repeat after me......... I believe in miracles! Good night from the waiting room. Linda (Mama Carr)

Surgery has been rescheduled

We just found out that the surgery on Dana's arm has been rescheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) and we don't have a time!. The rescheduling has nothing to do with Dana. We have been told there were several ortho and plastic surgery emergencies today so Dana was bumped . Guess there is no room in the OR!

Since the surgery was postponed, Court helped Dana drink some purple Gatorade. He was very thirsty, as he has been patiently waiting for the surgery.

Dana seems a little tired today (a good thing since he has been awake a lot over the last several days). We'll update tomorrow and let you know how the surgery goes.

Labor Day in the waiting room

Greetings from the waiting room.

Dana continues to be a "Chatty Cathy" and has been awake a lot today. We would really like to see him sleeping and resting a little more and we imagine the nurses would as well, especially those on night duty! Oh well, guess you can't keep a good man down!

Dana asked when the docs were going to fix his arm and we were happy to tell him tomorrow!

We hope all our family and friends visiting us this weekend had safe travels home.

Sunday evening news from the waiting room

Good evening from the waiting room.

Since Dana had a haircut yesterday, Rick decided to give him a shave today, so he looks great! Dana had a few sips of apple juice and purple Gatorade as well as a few spoonfuls of vanilla pudding. As much he enjoyed the pudding he made it known that it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as his ice cream yesterday. He gave us a thumbs up on the Gatorade. We've spent a great deal of the day talking and trying to read Dana's lips. We're getting better at it! He waves to everyone that passes by his room and is always polite to the staff!

We told Dana about the blog today. He was surprised and very touched to learn of his family, friends and other caring and concerned supporters in the "virtual " waiting room cheering him on. He thanks you all so much and looks forward to the time when he can read all of your words of encouragement and positive comments.

Brittany surprised Courtney last night by bringing Ernie for a visit. Needless to say it was a great surprise. We toyed with the idea of sneaking Ernie in to see Dana, but thought better of it! Over and out

Hi everyone. Today has been a busy and positive day for Dana. This morning he was moved from his bed to a type of reclining lounge chair to get him more upright. Then Courtney (using her excellent driving skills) and the nurses took him for a quick spin around the ICU to give him a change of scenery. They even stopped to look out the windows. After his tour, one of the ICU nurses gave him a haircut which was a big improvement. He had his head partially shaved during the first week for a procedure, and the haircut evened things up and he looks much better. He has been having sips of water and he even asked for some ice cream. He had a couple of small bites, but then wanted his mother to finish it, which she did, of course. He has been reasonably awake for much of the day and is quite a chatty Cathy. We are still struggling to understand what he is trying to communicate given his still medicated state. Overall, it has been another good day and Dana continues to improve slowly but surely. Thanks to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers. They are surely working.

Friday evening late night update 8/31/07

Hello from the waiting room.

Dana had some staples removed from his incision and stiches removed from his leg today.

After this activity, Dana spent the day resting (which is a good thing). We talked with the ortho and plastic docs today and the skin graft on Dana's left arm is scheduled for next Tuesday. Nurse Court explained that this is a relatively simple procedure (at least for the plastic surgeons) and doesn't take very long.

Since there aren't any procedures scheduled over the weekend, Dana will continue to rest and gear up for next week. Tomorrow he might get a hair cut!

Dana is steadily improving and grows stronger every day and from time to time he is awake and interacts with us and sometimes we are able to read his lips (we are all improving in this skill). We are looking forward to a restful holiday weekend. Please know how much we appreciate the support from everyone in the "virtual" waiting room.

Continuing Good News Thursday 8/30

Yesterday Dana spent most of the day "awake". We put that in quotes because we don't want you to get the impression he fully understands or remembers what's going on. He'll shake his head yes/no when answering questions and wave his hand or give a thumbs up occasionally. But that's about it. After being so alert for almost 18 hours, he finally dozed off and had a peaceful night's rest.

Dr. D checked him out this morning and felt everything looked great. This morning they were able to put him into a reclinable chair. He looks really comfortable and appears to be a bit tired. That's a good thing after yesterday's activity.

So today we're keeping a small distance (the distance from the ICU room to the waiting room) from Dana for him to rest up.

Update from the waiting room 8/29/07

We're happy to report that yesterday Dana was doing so well the neuro surgeon decided to do the surgery on Dana's back. Dana did fabulous during the 6 hour surgery (Dr. D was very pleased) and Dana was back in his room resting last night.

Dana was alert when we saw him this morning and the nursing staff will begin sitting him up in the next couple of days.

We don't know the timing of the surgery on his left arm yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Yesterday was another amazing day in Dana's road to recovery. Thanks again for all of your tremendous support. Over and out from the waiting room.

The Bucknell Support Crew

"HEY DANA NEW RULE GET WELL GO BU"
"RUN => GOOD BIKE => BAD"
"YOU ARE OUR 13th MAN LIVE STRONG"

Thank you guys for including Dana in your run and for doing such a great job! We saw you finished 5th out of almost 300 teams! We know Dana was there with you in spirit keeping that lactic acid out of your muscles.

Monday afternoon update 8/27

Yesterday, Dana had a trach tube inserted replacing the breathing tube in his mouth and peg tube to help with tube feedings. Nurse Courtney says this is a good thing for Dana as it will be much more comfortable for him . As has been the trend, Dana did great with the procedure and was responding to Court and others.

This could change, but the plan for the week is for two surgeries. Tuesday the docs(both ortho and plastics) will repair his elbow and also perform a bone graft and skin graft on his left arm. While we haven't talked with the Neuro surgeon yet, at the moment, Dana's back surgery is planned for Wednesday.

It has been a tough two weeks for all of us and Dana has come a long way in a short time and your love, support, thoughts, prayers and well wihes have been tremendously uplifting. Thanks so much.

A dose of humor from room D319!

Today we found out that Dana's infection is most likely coming from his lungs. The antibiotics he was put on yesterday seem to be working because his fever broke and his temperature is back down in the normal range. During the night, the nurse aspirated his lungs to get out all of the "junk" and now his oxygen levels are back up. This evening he will be going for a CT scan of his stomach in order to determine why he is not tolerating his tube feedings.
We are happy to report that Dana was more alert and responsive tonight when we all went in to visit him. As we talked to him he kept opening his eyes wide and was smiling and trying to answer us through nods, thumbs up, and some facial expressions. He was a pretty funny guy tonight. We read him the letter from Mr. Armstong that we posted on the blog and when we asked him if he thought that was pretty cool he widened his eyes, raised his eyebrows, smirked and shook his head yes! We all just continued to talk to him and let him know we were here. Everytime he seemed to doze off we said goodbye and his eyes shot open, as if saying "I'm not that tired yet." It's nice to know that after all this time, he still enjoys our company. When Brittany told Dana she was taking care of his little black sports car, he gave us a concerned look but when she told him she wasn't driving it around he smiled and seemed relieved. As Courtney said goodbye for the time being, he puckered up for her and she leaned in for a big smooch. So overall, it was a very special night for everyone and we look forward to having more of these interactions with Dana.

Friday Morning quick update

Update from the waiting room. Dana had a restful night. He still has a temperature and the docs just performed a lumbar puncture to run a test on his spinal fluid to see if that may be a source of the infection. Tough guy that he is, Dana tolerated the procedure just fine. He is resting comfortably. We think we may have the test result later today.

We'll keep you posted. over and out for now.

Linda

Reporting in....

We hope we didn't upset all of our virtual waiting room viewers by not updating the blog until now. The truth is, we all kind of needed a little time today to catch up on some things and refresh our minds.

Dana's progress still has not changed a whole lot. But, that being said, he's still doing well. The physicians do have a game plan for next week, but once again it will all depend on how Dana's doing. At this point, they'd like to do his back surgery either Monday or Tuesday. A day or two after that they'll reset his elbow and do some skin grafting. They're hoping the Wound Vac takes care of most healing on his arm, but that might still need some skin grafting.

It's just one of those days where you sit and wonder how this kind of thing happens. But we also talked about how it makes you realize how in times of need your family and friends reach out and keep you going. It's been a trying time but knowing all of you are there, we know we have some great things to look forward to with Dana...in time. Thanks for your patience today with waiting for an update.

The Cool News

Thank you for patiently waiting for the good/cool news. So wait no more!

As you all probably know, Lance Armstrong has always been at the top of Dana's most influential people. Having survived cancer, Lance's journey inspired Dana to maintain his positive attitude through his own bout with cancer. Since that point Dana has biked across the country, run as fast as he could to raise money, and logged countless mileage all in the name of cancer and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

So look to the right or below and you'll find the cool news. It might not seem like much but we believe a personal note written to Dana from Lance himself may inspire Dana to pull through any hurdle that lies in his way, just as Lance did.

P.S. we're sorry the "good" part of the news isn't directly referring to Dana, but if you know Dana, you'll know what this will mean to him.

Wednesday, August 22 - 4:13 pm

We think Dana's back surgery will most likely happen next Monday(8/27) or Tuesday (8/28). He still has a temperature and we don't want to risk a set back. Dana is doing amazing. He rested well during the night and is still breathing on his own since Sunday night, so his lungs are steadily improving. He just arrived back from a procedure that involved installing a "Greenfield Filter". It's basically a way to catch any blood clots that may form.

Oh and sorry the blogsite was down. Apparently Google couldn't handle the traffic that this site was generating. We told Google to step up their side of the deal, so keep the traffic coming!

We also have other good/cool news but will have to post that a bit later. (Keep your refresh button clear)

Dana's Address

We have had many requests for Dana's mailing address. It is:


Albany Medical Center
43 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY 12208

Dana Carr
Room D3 19

Thanks so much for the notes of encouragement, faith, hope, love and good wishes for Dana.

Tuesday, Aug. 21st.. 2:20

Here is the mid afternoon update. Dana had a restful night. The did do the Echo this morning but we're still waiting on the results. We're also waiting on culture results to determine the source of his higher temperature. The orthopedic physicians just re-splinted his left arm. We're also still waiting to hear when the next surgery will happen.

Over and out for now from the Virtual Waiting Room.

Monday Night

It's now 11:00 pm and we've just left the ICU a little bit ago. Today was a pretty good day...for everyone. Dana has been temporarily taken off his respirator. This is a very good sign that his lungs have begun to heal. However, he will only be off the respirator as long as he can tolerate it. If he, at any point, stops breathing or has difficulty, the respirator will alarm and begin to aide his breathing.

As for his back surgery we still have not heard what the plan is. We were under the impression it was going to take place Tuesday morning, but we haven't heard that it's still going to happen. So we think it's most likely going to be pushed back a little bit.

He had a fever for most of the day but it was down to 99 at the end of the night. It was at 101 yesterday so we're very pleased with that too.

He also had a wound vac put on his arm too where the operation to fix his forearm took place. If the wound vac heals the area the way they hope, he may not need a skin graft here.

We also mentioned earlier that an Echo cardiogram was done with no results. We were incorrect and that no Echo had been performed. We don't know if they still intend to do one in the morning, but we'll let you know.

He looked very peaceful and more at ease today. As a result, we too were more at ease with today's progress.