Brigham Updates

Today we had a follow up appointment with the Vascular doctors/surgeon.  First they did an ultrasound on his graft checking on the flow and how the graft is holding.  Due to the numbness he only felt a small portion of the ultrasound gel or scope. The rhythmic sound of the blood pumping and the darkened room made both of us feel sleepy as the technician did his work.  Next we had to wait 1 1/2 hours for the doctor appt.  So, we got lunch and parked under a shady tree while Brigham watched Arsenal play on his phone.  Our appointment was with Jason the PA.  He is the one who saw Brig regularly while he was in the hospital. Unfortunately during the ultrasound they found a few clots in his femoral vein.  After Jason talked it over with Dr. Akhtar they put Brigham on blood thinner (Eliquis) for the next 3 months. His next follow up is after Christmas.  Here is an updated scar picture of his upper right leg.  This was right after his morning shower...

We knew there had to be more miracles involved and more people affected by Brigham's experience. We knew that many things had to go right in order to save him. It's like lining up swiss cheese slices and all the holes lining up...kind of like the perfect storm but in a good way. We learned more about Brigham's experience today. Isn't it crazy how days start out normal and then take a sharp turn? Around 11am Brigham received a call from the Layton Fire Department.  They asked about his healing + stated how amazing it was that he is alive. They arranged a time to visit early afternoon.  Fire Battalion Chief Jason Cook and Dr. Mark Oraskovich who is the referring physician who works with Layton City fire + EMS visited with us for 1/2 hour. Neither of them were at Brigham's scene. However, Chief Cook has read the report from EMS, AirMed, and even had seen pictures from surgery. He went on to share more situations where things lined up just perfectly to save him. EMS - T...

 Tuesday we had a great follow up with Dr. Hobson at Huntsman.  He removed the wound vac and the skin grafts look good and healing well. This is the first time since the accident that Brigham is wound vac free.  He says it is awesome to use the crutches without worrying about stepping on the hose and carrying around the wound vac bag on his shoulder or around his neck.  We change the dressings on the skin grafts daily and he will have another follow up next Tuesday. His pain is pretty much gone.  He occasionally takes tylenol or ibuprofen but it is becoming less frequently. After the appointment we went out to lunch at a local favorite Salvadorean pupusas + tacos (in Syracuse, Utah).  It is owned by Brig's best friend's parents. It was great to see friends to share some hugs + tears.  If that wasn't enough for one day....Brig was feeling so great Jeremy drove him to watch his indoor soccer team play at 10:30pm. It was great to see his friends + watch t...

As we start to do a little bit of real life among Brigham's healing I find less time to write on the blog.   It's official after 6 weeks Brigham is wearing underwear again. haha!  That may be too many details but it is one more milestone.  If you have been following since the beginning, you may remember Brigham said he was never wearing underwear or pants again. That was the day after the accident.  He couldn't imagine putting anything on his thigh.   So much healing has happened in the past 6 weeks it is amazing. On Saturday we changed the bandage on his skin graft harvest site.  This is on his right thigh where they took the skin to be used for the skin grafts.  The black color on the bandage is iodine mixed with blood, oozing and vaseline. That is a mesh (that had the iodine + Vaseline in it)  that is stitched over the harvest site. You can see the 8 black stitches.  As he heals we will trim it off.  We are not quite sure ho...

Here is a good explanation on Compartment Syndrome + why Brigham needed a fasciotomy.  On the drive to Huntsman Hospital in SLC we got a video call from his friend Leo (who is serving an LDS mission in Idaho) it was perfect timing and a fun distraction.  We got to the hospital at 9:00am to check in. We were together in Pre-Op for about 3 hours.  It took 3 tries to get the IV in and all 3 of them hurt.  Good thing Brig is tough.  Luckily they didn't remove the wound vac until he was in surgery, one less moment of pain.  You will notice he is wearing his new ARSENAL face mask that my brother + SIL got him.   Dr. Hobson came in and explained the skin graft surgery, which I found interesting. They use something that looks like an industrial cheese grater to remove skin from his right thigh. Then they run it through another machine that makes holes in it so it looks like mesh.  Once the skin is mesh-like it can be stretched and then stitched on th...

 Here is a video of Brigham walking on Saturday, September 12th. It's the same one I posted to facebook + instagram if you already saw it there. 

Thanks to my friend for reminding me to show you + to document an updated picture of Brig's scars. We took them today. Here is picture of his whole right leg.  In the end, he pretty much will have a scar from his hip to his ankle. Here is the lower scar near his knee. The vein harvest site scar. Here is the injury cut on his upper thigh that started it all. Same upper thigh scar...different light.  We couldn't tell which picture showed it better.

We are happy to say that today was Brigham's last wound vac change.  Wahoo!  We are planning + hoping that it is his last one.  The only reason why he would have to continue home health wound care is if he doesn't end up having surgery for some reason. This afternoon he had a Covid Test in prep for surgery on Monday.  Mondays surgery is with the plastic surgeon at Huntsman Hospital to close up the fasciotomy sites.  Plan A: was to have a pre-op appointment where they accessed the fasciotomy's without the wound vac and decide what they could stitch up + where they would use a skin graft. Well...that appt was scheduled this past Tuesday (8th) and was cancelled due to the intense wind storm. So, on to Plan B. Plan B: They will access him before Monday morning before going into surgery.  More good news...Huntsman recently changed their policy and I can go into the hospital with Brigham and wait in the OR waiting room while he is in surgery. What a relief + bles...

4 minutes. 4 minutes we have been told. 4 minutes was the time Brigham would have bled out + died.  This is our miracle.  The homeowner with no medical training applying pressure in the exact way needed to save him.  How?  If you ask her...she followed the instructions that came to her mind. She knows that Heavenly Father provided her with that knowledge, it was not information that she knew. The paramedics + life flight who desperately + swiftly did all that they could, knowing that he was bleeding out. They couldn't believe he was still alive. The ER doctor/nurses who saw him for but a short time did their best to stabilize + save every last drop off blood by sitting on him into the OR where the surgeons were ready. Unsure that he would make it, hoping he would. The OR doctors/surgeons/nurses who quickly accessed their options of saving his life, saving his leg and how they were going to do it. Doctors with fingers plugging his artery + vein to keep the blood he ha...

 Today Brigham took a shower!  This is his first real shower since before the accident. We wrapped a garbage bag around his calf and duct taped it tight to his leg.  He sat in a shower chair in our master shower and was able to clean himself. He called to us once he was done and needed a towel and help getting out.  It was a success! I'm sure it felt good. Brigham is getting more mobility and bored quicker.  You can find him taking walks to the kitchen or family room to get a different view.  It was so good for him to go to his cousin's soccer games on Tuesday + Wednesday. It was nice for all of us to do something normal.  He wheeled onto the field after the game and it was technically his first time back on the field after the accident.  He has goals of getting back on the soccer field and playing a game. You can be sure of one thing- we will be their to cheer him on.

We just got back from our 2nd visit to the plastic surgeon, Dr. Agarwal. It has been 2 weeks since his first visit.   They read the surgery report hoping to learn more information on what they saw regarding the major nerve in his thigh. Well...it stated that there was a laceration on the nerve but no more information than that. So, it leaves them wondering how much was cut and if it pulled or stretched other nerves. Good news: With the swelling down in his leg they were able to access his nerves. They were able to see how he can move his leg + use his quad muscles on his own.  They touched several different areas on his right leg finding where he can and cannot feel.  He has no feeling in his right inner thigh and just a small area on his knee.  They are taking the wait + see approach regarding any nerve repair surgery.  They are optimistic that they will not need to do anything. The doctors are happy with the progression of healing on his fasciotomy and sc...