More Pictures from Portugal

More pictures of Sam:


(Above) Dr. Lima with the boys 2 days after surgery.


(Above) Sam in the ICU, about 1 hour after surgery.


(Above) Luke trekking out and exploring a nearby beach today.

woopie

It is Sunday evening here and Sam has returned to his room. We had a tense morning in ICU when Sam had an allergic reaction to one of the solutions they used to dilute some pain meds. It scared him (and us). His arms and hands went numb and his face got thick and cold… he thought his arms got paralyzed. He was absolutely miserable and agitated. Fortunately they had encountered this thing before and assured us it would pass. They did another blood test to be sure there was no additional infection and that turned out ok.

He came back to our room at about noon and later that afternoon had the packing from his nose removed. He was soooooo glad to be able to breath from his nose again. His mouth was really drying out.

Sam is still in a fair amount of pain (as you might expect) but is coping well. He is choosing the “lighter” pain drugs over the morphine. His attitude is better than mine would be in his situation.

We are looking forward to the return of the mid week staff. The weekend staff are good, but speak very very little English. We are getting good at drawing pictures and playing charades.

I just got a news letter from the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan (the organization that has the partnership with Dr. Lima here in Portugal). According to the note, the Discovery Channel is airing a special on this exact procedure, this hospital, and the same doctors and staff that we are working with. Here is the blurb that I received:
SCI Recovery Center Featured on Discovery Channel
Dr. Steve Hinderer, medical director of RIM’s Center for Spinal Cord Injury Recovery (CSCIR) and Erica Nader, a CSCIR client, who underwent an experimental procedure in Portugal, where tissue from her nose was transplanted into the injured section of her spinal cord, will be featured on the Discovery Channel’s series “One Step Beyond.” More than two years after the surgery, and intensive rehabilitation at RIM, Nader, a quadriplegic, is able to stand up using a walker.
One Step Beyond is a series produced by the Discovery Channel that combines entertainment with scientific facts, and where unusual experiences and technological advances that seem impossible are explained. Each half-hour episode contains ten segments with one thing in common: the extraordinary.
The segment featuring RIM’s CSCIR, will air on the Discovery Channel, Wednesday, August 3, at 8:00 p.m.
Tune in if it interests you.

Thanks again for you prayers. They were needed and they were felt (especially this morning). One thing of interest. Sam was not supposed to be able to smell or taste for awhile after the surgery. Well, Kris made a special 10 block trek to McDonalds to get Sam’s favorite sandwich (Big Mac). He was pleased that he could both taste and smell it! I also have some trivia for you… they don’t care about your health here in Portugal. Besides everyone smoking everywhere they still serve the good old deep fried apple pies at McDonalds… none of that low calorie baked apple pie stuff… mmmmmmm that was good.
We will get 2 pictures on shortly. One of Sam in ICU (they call it CICU) about 1 hour after surgery. The other of Luke trekking out to explore a nearby beach town Estoril. He said there were a few topless women there, but they were older than mom… he was not impressed.

Out of Surgery

It is Saturday afternoon here and Sam is in recovery. Surgery went very well and lasted 5 hours. Sam’s gap in his spinal cord was about 1 cm longer than anticipated. The MRI showed it was 2 – 2.5 centimeters. That additional length caused them to get additional cells by going up his other nostril. The additional length may also cause Sam some additional delay (a few more weeks) in feeling some results because there is another centimeter that needs to be bridged. Apparently finding that the gap is somewhat larger has been somewhat common and the metal rods in Sam’s back did not allow a clear MRI picture. That additional length was the only surprise (but not really a surprise to the surgical team). They said the lower ½ of his spinal cord looked good and healthy and ready to accept some nerve growth. Dr Lima also said they found that there was a complete separation of the spinal cord.

We really won’t begin to see change for a few months. It is our hope to see some before Christmas. That would be a great gift!

I just got to see him for a couple minutes. He wanted us to stop asking questions and let him rest. He is aching all over, cold, and thirsty. Both nostrils have packing in them (yuck). If all remains good, they will release him on Sunday morning to go back to our normal room on the 6th floor.

Thank you for your prayers. By all accounts, this phase was a success. Please continue prayer for Sam and his fight with the pain and all the stuff that comes after a big surgery. Pray he keeps his good attitude, humor, and that infections stay away. We will update again as things progress.

Surgery Time update

Surgery has been scheduled for 10:am Saturday (London / Portugal) time. That is 5am EST. We had a good discussion with Dr. Lima today and he is very optimistic about future improvements based on some of his other patients. We that said, please remember him and Sam in your prayers Saturday.

Thank you for your many comments and emails. We are passing them on to sam.
Luke found an unsecured highspeed wireless network 2 blocks from the hospital. Sure beats the dial-up phone connection at the hospital. We also had our waiter standing speachless today when we explained that we came from America to meet a specialist in Portugal. "Portugal?" he exclaimed. Why would anyone come here from America??? he asked. Crazy huh? Yes it is.

Pictures from Portugal

We have a few pictures from the trip thus far below. Don't forget to check out Eric's page from Lisbon also!


(Above) Sam (right) and Eric (left) getting to enjoy their new rooms.


(Above) View of bridge and "Jesus" looking over Lisbon.


(Above) Lisbon is NOT very accessible for wheelchairs. Here Luke is taking sam up and over a highway.

Portugal! 2

Hey all!, we successfully landed in Portugal yesterday after literally having to sprint through the airport terminals! This is luke talking by the way since i was the only one to figure out how to get online here so far, and this is also my first time doing a blog! woopie! Well we are having some blood tests done today and so far they are all turing out good and the family is up in the hospital room meeting with Dr. Lime right now talking over some of the fine details of the surgical process. Im surprised were not all dead already with the insane driving people do over here, no speed limits hardly and everyone seems to be in a major hurry. The food is great, last night we had a pizza with bananas, pineapple, apple, mangos, berries, and other fruits, it was quite interesting. Well, yeah, so far everything has been going great and as planned. Closing time for the library so i have to go , hello to everyone back home and have a great day!
Luke

Portugal!

The day is near!

The day is near. Tuesday afternoon we fly out to Lisbon Portugal. Everything is all set. Sam made it through all the pre-screening tests, the hotel is reserved, the flights are set, the funds have been wired (ouch) and we are looking forward to the future!

We want to say thank you to the many friends who quietly contributed to Sam’s surgery fund. A special thanks to:
- KeyStone Community Church www.keystonecc.org for setting up a tax deductible care fund and for creating cool looking brochures.
- Many friends from church, Ada Christian School, and friends of our families that graciously contributed
- Northwest Airlines “Kids Cares” program who supplied 2 of the 4 tickets to Lisbon
- Answered Prayer Network who heard about Sam and the experimental surgery and wanted to lend their support
- Michigan Furniture Reps who channeled their golf outing proceeds to Sam.
- The many schoolmates of Sam who on their own did many cool things such as collecting pop cans or giving of their own change simply because they wanted to help Sam.
- I hate to single out a name since many people have been so supportive, but Sam’s Grandmother Sharon Machiela (don’t let her know I put her name in here) has done tons of work behind the scenes by distributing those brochures and finding support for Sam’s next steps. Most of it we did not know about. In fact, we now need to fit an interview with WZZM TV into our schedule on the day we leave for Portugal. It might air on the 6pm news Tuesday the 26th. We will be flying at that time.

Because of that assistance, we were able wire the funds to Portugal for the surgery without any long term loans to worry about AND even apply a little towards the rehabilitation. At about $1,000 per week for the scheduled rehabilitation over the next couple of years, that truly means more than anyone can know. Thank you very much.

Have you heard that will have some new friends with us in Portugal? Eric Chase (an 18 yr old young man from Hastings who has a similar injury as Sam) will be having the same surgery on Friday afternoon while Sam’s surgery will be Saturday. We had a chance to hang out with the Chase family and are so thankful that we will be able to support eachother out there. Please remember Eric in your prayers also.

Our next update will be from Portugal!