Katelyn's Journey: Hello, Its Me!!!!!!!!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Hello, Its Me!!!!!!!!

Hi This is Katelyn and I am typing my blog by myself for the first time! My right arm has full control now and i can hold my head up on my own! I am able to type (obviously), push myself somewhat, and yes finally able to brush my own teeth!! (So simple yet so enjoyable)

I want to thank everyone for their prayers and support, i know we couldn't have gotten through it without such wonderful people surrounding us!

I am so excited about starting High School but it will be somewhat of a challenge so please pray for that! Luckily there are wonderful teachers, counselors and staff that are so willing to help me out! Praise God!!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hi Katelyn! So glad to hear from YOU! We do praise God with you and for you. Love, Kelly for all the Broughtons; July 28, 2008 at 8:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Katelyn, we are so glad that you have made such incredible progress. We share in your joy. How awesome that you got to type your own blog entry! :) And brush your own teeth. Golly, girl, all stuff we do everyday and take for granted. What a reminder to be more thankful. And I am thankful for all God has done for you. Makes me want to sing "Give thanks to the Lord, our God and king...his love endures forever. He is good, he is above all things, his love endures forever. Sing PRAISE, sing PRAISE!!"

We send our constant love and prayers,
Mrs. T for the Tucker family; July 28, 2008 at 8:04 PM
Anonymous said...: Katelyn, the photos are so wonderful! You look so beautiful and seeing you with trunk control and in the pool just overwhelms me. I know there is so much more ahead and I can't wait for each new thing. God is good. - Love, Tara; July 28, 2008 at 10:37 PM
Loco Laurena said...: Katelyn this is Lauren Wadsworth from GAB =] I am praying for you and so happy that you are getting better! I hope to see you soon! God Bless; July 29, 2008 at 9:00 PM
tammi lasater said...: OH PRAISE GOD!! It was so awesome to get on your blog this morning and see the great progress over the last couple of weeks. May you continue to rely on God for strength and endurance Kate. It's obvious you're a fighter and with God all things are possible. You go girl!!
With Love~ Tammi; July 30, 2008 at 3:13 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm so excited! It's such a blessing to see you typing!!! You go girl.
Love, Sheryl, Elinore, & family; July 30, 2008 at 10:03 AM
Anonymous said...: Hi Katelyn! It is so wonderful to hear of your recent progress. Our prayers have been with you even though we have not been in touch much lately. I too am gaining a new appreciation for being able to complete the simplest of tasks! Keep up the good work and we all look forward to seeing you start high school in a couple of weeks!! With love from Susan and the whole Adams family.; July 30, 2008 at 11:20 AM
Katie said...: God is so good! I am so glad to hear of your continued progress. I will continue to pray for you and your family!

God Bless you,
Katie Steele; July 30, 2008 at 10:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Katelyn, this is amazing. I'm so glad to hear from YOU. I will continue to pray for your recovery and am so pleased to hear that things are going well. I can't wait to see you! :)
Love, Renee<3; July 31, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Anonymous said...: Hey Katelyn!
It is so wonderful that you were able to type your own blog! Its so nice to hear from you! And even things we take advantage of such as brushing your teeth is exciting to see you doing! My heart fills with joy every time I read that you've made progress in your recovery! Praise the Lord!!! I am also happy to hear you are going to start school on August 11! I will keep praying for you and can't wait to see you! Let God continue giving you strength! I love you!
Love,
Allison =); August 2, 2008 at 4:20 PM
Unknown said...: My young friend,
Not knowing what I was doing, I sent you a note but it is under your "Day of Rest" spot? It is hard teaching old friends new tricks. This is now my second and possibly my last blog if I don't pick up some skills.
Take care,
Your old friend; August 2, 2008 at 4:57 PM
Anonymous said...: Yay Kate! I am soooo glad that you are able to type now... AND brush your teeth!!
You're still in all of our thoughts and prayers.

I was going to say "see you at school" - but I kinda can't say that. So... See you at church!!!

check out the url i attached... it is the place in Maui where i am right now... :)
Love,
Nicole; August 2, 2008 at 11:19 PM
Anonymous said...: augh!! the url didnt work!! its www.napilikai.com/webcam.html

its AMAZING!
-nicole; August 2, 2008 at 11:21 PM

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How it all began...

In Febrary, Katelyn first developed a severe unknown allergic reaction that caused her eyes to be swollen shut for over a week with orbital cellulitus and her whole body to itch. She was on high doses of antibiotics and steriods to clear up this contidition.

Next, in April she came down with a very bad flu virus that caused her to loose a lot of weight in a short amount of time. Katelyn ended up in the hospital due to dehydration and the inability to keep any food or liquids down. She underwent many tests and evaluations. At one point, she had lost more than 15 pounds. After 3-4 days of testing, it was finally determined that she had SMA syndrome, which is a small intestinal blockage. A feeding tube needed to be placed past the blockage before they could begin tube feedings.

Unfortunately, there were many complications involved in this process. They had to do feedings through her IV until the tube moved to the right location and multiple times they had to move her IV as her veins kept giving out. Eventually, they got the ND tube placed and after 2 weeks in the hospital we got to go home on home feedings until the blockage cleared and she could begin eating on her own again.

We started having complications almost immediately after going home. Her system struggled with the change in formula we went home on and the change in medications. Also, her feeding tube became clogged and required a trip back to UC Davis to have it cleared. After only 4 days, we were back in ER as her GI system developed complications. We were released for home treatment but the next week ahead brought further problems.

The following weekend, we were back at the ER due to the tube being clogged again (apparantly this isn't unusual). This time they brought in the Intervention Radiology team to pull the old tube and replace it with a new one. They choose to sudate her for the procedure this time. Again, there were complications arising from the medications and when she finally pulled out of the sedation she had lost all her muscle control. Her body had finally been through one too many traumas and shut down.

Katelyn was admitted again and we spent the next 2 1/2 weeks in the hospital in the rehab program. The one success while we were there was that she slowly began eating and the feeding tube was finally removed and done with.

Katelyn was released on May 29th in time to attend her 8th grade Graduation the following day. She was still completely dependant with no muscle control but she wanted to attend her graduation anyways. Strapped into her wheelchair, she wore a huge smile and accepeted her diploma.

Katelyn is now home and with the aid of a hospital bed downstairs, we are able to care for her here. She continues to have rehab therapy locally with a therapist she likes and has worked with in the past. Her progress is slow but the prognosis is for full recovery but it could be weeks or months, they just don't know.

Katelyn's Journey

Monday, July 28, 2008

Hello, Its Me!!!!!!!!

13 comments:

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