Hi Everyone,

We received an encouraging report today from Corey’s team.
First of all, she continues tolerating her trach being capped and her vitals overnight were excellent. She will be capped tonight as well and with any luck, the trach will be removed tomorrow!

We are waiting to hear from the Neurosurgeon at Christiana in response to her next CT scan. He wanted a CT at 6 weeks to see how the neck fracture is healing. Due to the VP shunt, he may want to wait until she goes in for the cranioplasty on December 9th. Another week or so in the cervical collar is better than putting her through too many CT scans.

We are also waiting to hear from the orthopedic surgeon for our follow up appointment. Corey will have to get another round of x-rays to check if there is a measurable difference in the HO (bone growth) over her left clavical fracture and right femur.

PT is very encouraged with Corey’s progress. Natalie, her primary therapist, noted that Corey has been holding her head independently for 10 second intervals over the course of a full minute. This is a good sign of muscle activation. Her trunk control is also improving as they continue to work with her sitting at the edge of the mat/bed and bolster. They are hoping that Ortho will upgrade her weight baring status so they can begin one person pivot transfer with Corey. If this happens, it is a sign that Corey is strong enough to participate in the transfer from her bed/mat/wheelchair with one person instead of 2-3 clinicians.

OT reports that Corey is consistently fixating at midline and during positional changes her eyes are circling and more active. She doesn’t miss a trick and wants to see everything that’s going on!

Speech is seeing similar responses in her sessions. They are working on stimulation to improve swallow timeliness. This will prepare her for vocalization and food intake.

Corey had her casts removed today. She’s developed a little rash and the team decided to give her a day or two off. I bet she’s relieved; the casts weigh more than she does!

She was awake and alert for the entire evening. On Tuesday nights, we typically watch the Biggest Loser. (We call it our Fat People show) Tonight was the 10 week makeover show. At one point I turned to Corey and saw her looking up above the collages on her wall. Positioned above the collage is a picture of my mother.
I swear she was staring at “Dedema”.

A therapy technique is the use of scents. My sister sent me some of my mother’s perfume (Shalimar) I asked Corey if she was looking at Dedema. She had a very long blink. I opened the bottle of perfume and held the atomizer near Corey. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for the length of her breath. When Corey opened her eyes, she was fixated on the image above the collage. At that moment, I heard one of the contestants comment, “Hope is everything. Without Hope, we have nothing.” The same contestant continued with, “Don’t lose sight of what you’ve already achieved”.

I believe that my mother’s presence coinciding with the message we heard is not coincidence. Quite frankly, that is what mom would say if she were here with us now. One of my sisters and I were talking tonight about how the awareness of these messages are sent when we need them. That’s why they don’t all come at once. Everyday another little sign or message is sent so we don’t lose our sight or our hope. Thanks Mom! I’m so glad you’re still with us! xoxo

Hi Everyone,

Corey had a good day. Her casts were changed today. The therapists see that the stretch she’s getting with the casting is definitely helping her feet. The report is continued improvement with her range of motion. Her stomach seems to be a little better. She is still having discomfort with some of the medications. Corey is tiny and unfortunately her stomach is sensitive.

The nurses will begin to trend her tonight towards the trach removal. Everyone is very encouraged that she will do well and it could be removed this Wednesday, Friday at the latest! We are really looking forward to that. We know she’s going to be much more comfortable. It will also give the speech team an opportunity to work on her vocalization development.

She was very alert today. Letters and Pictures from her friends continue to come in. Today we received one from “her Christy”. We held Christy’s picture as we read her letter aloud. Corey maintained her focus on the picture and was grinding her teeth as we read. Yes, I did write “grinding” her teeth. (Our dentist is going to have a field day with her when she is able to get back there, but this is a way that she is communicating…we think!) I’m sure she loved hearing the gossip from Christy and we definitely saw a reaction from Corey to her picture.

We know how anxious all of Corey’s friends are to come and visit. She’s almost ready gang. We will definitely let you know when…we’d better warn the staff when we give the “all clear”! In the meantime, please send us large pictures with letters for Corey. Talk to her just as you would in class or on the phone (aka texting) we promise that any gossip will not be repeated by the narrators! Corey’s room is like Vegas, what’s read aloud there, stays there!

To all of you (including the 6th graders in Vermont) thank you for your notes on Corey’s Care page. We read your notes so Corey will know how many people are cheering for her. JohnPaul texted tonight; he was at a Chinese restaurant and found a fortune that we thought would be appropriate for all of us. It read, “Just to be alive is a grand thing”. Corey’s nurses and doctors tell us that we have to wait and see what strides she will take in her recovery. But the starting point and most important point is she’s alive, young, healthy and getting stronger. That is a Grand Thing!

All our love, the Beattie’s xoxo

Hi Everyone,

Corey seemed to have a more comfortable day. Her cramping seemed to lessen and her vital signs were stable for the better part of the day.

She had Speech and OT today. The OT therapists worked on her trunk and neck control. She attempted to hold her head and sit independently again today. When she wobbled towards one direction, she looked in the direction of the fall. This is a good sign. It’s the primitive protective instinct I wrote about several weeks ago. She wanted to see what she was falling towards.

Corey continues to work towards keeping her focus at midline. Today she had a new student nurse, Susan. When Susan came into the room, Corey followed her as she crossed the room. This was exciting for us to watch. She also tracked her as she left!
She and Susan became fast friends. Susan has a background in massage therapy. She gave Corey a wonderful hand and arm massage as she did a little bedside PT. (I was ready to jump in the bed next to Corey and pretend I was a patient too!) Today was a better day.

I’m writing this update from Corey’s bedside. Let me see if I can give you a visual of how beautiful she looks. She just fell asleep. She looks comfortable and so peaceful. Her blonde hair is French braided so it doesn’t get tangled or matted as she sleeps. She is surrounded by “Princess Pillows” to prop her on her side, relax her arms and release the weight from her foot casts. Her hands are wrapped around two teddy bears. We use them to keep her hands from clenching but they also give comfort and warmth so she feels as if we are still holding her hands as she sleeps. Just like when she was a baby; I never tire of watching this beautiful girl sleep.
I am going to kiss her goodnight for all of you! 😉

Happy dreams sweetheart! We love you so much. xoxo

Hi Everyone,

Corey had a good day with PT and OT. Her new casts will be changed again on Monday. So far, she’s tolerating the casts and the muscles appear to be more flexible each time the team manipulates her feet and ankles between castings. More good news, the team doesn’t feel that it’s necessary to cast her arms at this time. So far, she’s remaining flexible in her upper extremities and her hands can still be flexed for now. The doctor wants to wait until Monday to start trending her for the trach removal. He’d like to wait the weekend to give her some more breathing treatments and make sure the bronchitis is completely gone.

Corey was alert when I arrived tonight. She looked straight at me and held her focus!
I take advantage of her awareness and we had a long chat. We talked about where she was, why she’s in the hospital, her therapy (specifically her exercises) and the new people in her life (the Bryn Mawr team). We talked about her progress. I shared the teams report with her. Their confidence that she was getting stronger everyday so she can get back to school, her friends and I added, “She WILL be going to Johnson & Wales”. Corey was definitely listening. She was calm, focused and I know she heard me. She showed me with long blinks and a few tears. Watching her tears are difficult but they are also encouraging. We want to see Corey show us her emotions; it’s another sign that she’s emerging.

It was a quiet girls night for us. We listened to music and then watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas together. That cartoon was always Corey’s favorite. She loved Max the dog. It reminded her of our Roxie. The Grinch movie was always the sign that the holiday season had officially begun. Corey is the “keeper of traditions” in our family. She was in charge of remembering all the little things we did from the holiday movies to the traditional dishes we served.
I can remember calling Corey ‘Cindy Lou who’ because of her blonde hair and enormous blue eyes. It’s hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving.

Just like the end of the Grinch, we have a lot to be thankful for. I can’t help but think of the ICU team. Without them, Corey would not be at Bryn Mawr. The team here is equally as important. The nurses here know their patients so well; they diagnose a problem before it gets to be a problem. It was the nurses that recognized the tracheal bronchitis before the cultures came back positive. Corey is showing us little signs each day that she is with us; she’s healing and getting stronger. I wear a ring that she had on the night of the accident. It says ‘Nothing is Impossible’ with a twist in the center of the ring. It symbolizes that although life might take a twist from time to time, nothing is impossible and you can come full circle. That little ring is not only encouraging, it’s empowering! No wonder she wore it everyday!

We are most thankful for all of you! Without our friends and family, this twist in our lives would be impossible to handle. Thank you for your love, prayers and support!
Love, the Beattie’s xoxo

Hi Everyone,

What a day for Corey! The ambulance crew picked her up at 7am for her tests. She had an MRI and EEG today. Corey’s VP shunt has a magnet within it. This type of shunt requires her to have two additional x-rays, one before/after to check that the settings weren’t changed with the magnification of the MRI. The setting did change. The neurologist at Bryn Mawr will check with the neurosurgeon from Christiana as to what the new setting should be and it will be reset tomorrow. The shunt she has is amazing. It has a magnetic setting mechanism. When the settings need to be changed, reset or adjusted, the Doctor uses a magnetic wand to place over the area of the brain where the shunt is located. The wand reads the levels and they can adjust the settings by waving this “magic wand” over the shunt readjusting the settings and Corey doesn’t need an invasive procedure! Brilliant!! She truly is Sleeping Beauty…the neurologist must be the fairy godparent with the magic wand.

The MRI reading showed that the ventricles are still larger than normal, however, that’s not uncommon for this type of severe brain injury. Great news, none of the hemmatoma’s from the accident continue to bleed. In fact, the largest on the right side of the brain has dropped in size from 2.9 to 2.1. That’s what we were hoping would occur.
Then it was on to the EEG. This test will confirm if there has been any seizure activity. The test took over an hour to perform but the results won’t be back for a few days. Stay tuned.

Corey arrived back to BM by 1:30. There was no resting; she was whisked away to see the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. GREAT NEWS, her vocal chords are functioning normally and she’s responded to the antibiotics for the tracheal bronchitis. The Doctor confirmed that the vocal chords have not been damaged. The swelling in the back of the throat has decreased and there doesn’t appear to be any reason that she can’t begin “trending” towards the trach removal. They will begin capping her trach again tomorrow through Sunday. If she tolerates it for the full 72 hours, she will have the trach removed on Monday. Keep your fingers crossed gang!

PT and OT didn’t want her to miss them, so off to the gym she went for 3 sessions. Poor girl was completely exhausted and slept the whole evening. Keep in mind; sleep is just as important as the daily activity and stimulation she receives. Overall, it was a good day with some good news.

Rest well Sleeping Beauty. You are healing and we are praying you will come back to us very soon!
We love you Corey. xoxo

Hi Everyone,

Corey had a good day and active evening! She had new casts put on today. The PT staff say that her mural socks are now her trademark!

Caitlin came to visit overnight. During visiting hours Caitlin read to Corey. She wrapped up Matilda and began Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Caitlin was hysterical! She should be majoring in acting instead of photography. She used different voices for each character but the funny part was, as she read and enjoyed the story line, she was laughing out loud! We didn’t know what was funnier, the story or Caitlin cracking up as she read? Corey loved hearing Caitlin’s voice and was very alert all night.

One of Corey’s nurses came in and hadn’t seen the family pictures yet. As we flipped through and shared names, Corey reacted to Meghan’s pictures again. We decided to call Katie and ask that Meghan get on the speaker phone. Corey stared at Meghan’s picture as she listened to her chatter away. Corey became very animated. She lifted both her arms up and towards Meghan’s picture. We also saw her eyes tearing as she maintained her focus on Meghan. Katie pulled out all Meghan’s tricks. The “what does (name the animal) say” game and prodding her favorite little sayings like, “Oh Man” and “Uh oh” as only Meghan can exclaim. Amazing how this little one can reach in and connect with Corey even over the phone. It brought tears to our eyes!

Caitlin and Meghan’s visit was a lot of activity for Corey. She settled in and was ready to sleep. Tomorrow is a big day traveling to get her tests. She was tucked in and looked very peaceful when we left.

Sleep well Corey. Happy dreams of Meghan’s giggles! xoxo

Hi Everyone,

Its Tuesday, team report day!

PT/OT and Speech all have seen an increased awareness in Corey. She has begun to show signs of “guarding”. If you remember from earlier posts, the team deliberately moves Corey to affect a defensive response. An example would be to roll her and watch for the instinctual motion to put her arm out to protect her self from falling. Corey hasn’t reached out but she has begun to turn her eyes in the direction of the roll. This is a great sign. She is aware of the motion and reacts; she wants to protect herself.

The team has also noticed her eyes cross midline consistently. They are also moving to midline at a more natural speed rather than the delayed response she’s had.

PT/OT have been working on developing her trunk muscles. Corey will sit upright for 3-5 minutes with a dependent hold. (The therapists don’t let go) This week, they have begun to loosen their hold and can feel Corey’s abdominal muscles contract to hold the pose independently for approximately 1 minute. She has also shown the initial motion to lift her head and shoulders from her pillow. This is a very big improvement.

Corey is tolerating her casts. Her skin looks good. She has a cast change every 3-5 days. The last change, she moved her right foot and ankle spontaneously in a circular motion as if to stretch the muscles her self! I bet she’s been stiff and couldn’t wait to move that foot and ankle. I wonder if she needs a hanger to scratch an itch? There was another patient in PT that had casts and wanted to know when he could get a mural on his casts? Maybe I should start a cartoon casting business? On second thought, I’d better keep my day job…

We did have an unexpected situation. Last night Corey’s eyes were pivoting like pendulums four separate times. This is actually a concern because it could be reflecting seizure activity. This Thursday she will have an EEG and MRI to see if in fact she’s developed seizures. If the results are positive, it’s not uncommon; however, it’s also not a good trend. She’s on anti seizure medication as a precaution. The meds make her very tired and she was asleep for most of the night. The doctors are also going to schedule another CT to look at her neck fracture. We hope that will be scheduled Thursday, too. If she’s healing well, the cervical collar can come off. No new update on the trach removal yet.

Overall, it was a good report. Please keep those prayers coming. We know they are helping Corey and continue to give us the strength we need to be part of her support team.

Corey, keep your focus baby girl! You’re doing so well. We are very proud of you! Happy dreams honey, we love you. xoxo

Hi Everyone,

Corey had a very good day. She started her day with OT. Today’s exercise focused on trunk control. The therapist sits her on the edge of the large mat, helping her to balance. He redistributes her weight to work on her core muscles. While she sits, we try to get her to focus, follow commands and watch to see if she’s tracking a stimulus. She was definitely focusing today! When asked to “find Mom”, she moved her eyes from right to midline and held the focus for several minutes. She closed her eyes with a long blink and then repeated the process several times.

The therapist uses different objects to work on her tracking. We use the pictures many of you have sent like flash cards. We didn’t see her connect to any one in particular until we showed her on of Meghan McMahon.

Meghan, now 18 months, is my niece Katie’s daughter. Katie and Billy were expecting their 2nd child this summer. Katie was on bed rest and needed help watching (actually chasing) Meghan (aka the Tazmanian Devil). Corey had a great time in Brigantine with Katie, Billy and Meghan. She came home with funny stories and memories of spending time with the McMahon’s. As we held Meghan’s picture, we shared a few of those stories. Corey was listening and held her focus on Meghan, even when we moved the picture to test her tracking! It made us so happy to see that she connected to Meghan.
PS – baby #2 was a boy. Corey loved getting to know Liam, too!

My sister Louise came to visit this weekend. After OT, we took Corey for a long walk on the grounds including a visit to the goose pond. It was a beautiful day and we spent 2 hours outside, but then she let us know it was nap time.

Louise and I were sitting with Corey as she woke from her nap. We were reading cook books and cooking magazines. Corey was wide awake. She was very alert and appeared to be listening to our recipe swap. Many of you know that Corey wants to attend Johnson & Wales for Culinary Arts. She is currently enrolled in the local tech high school in the CA program. I was sharing with Louise that Corey often dreamed of recipes. One in particular was a dish she named, “Chicken Olivetta.” In one pan, sauté black olives, onions, mushrooms and rosemary in olive oil. In the second pan, sear chicken. When the chicken is seared, move it to the olive pan, cover and allow the flavors to marinate/steam the chicken until its tender. As the chicken cooks, Corey made wild rice and asparagus. IT WAS AMAZING! We can’t wait to taste the collection of recipes she must be dreaming up now!

Change of plans; Corey’s nurse is going to recommend that the trach not be removed tomorrow. She showed signs of labored breathing tonight and when she yawned, he took the opportunity to look at the back of her throat. It appears that she’s got some swelling in the back of her throat. He’s requesting that she be seen by the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor this Thursday. It could be nothing but we think it’s very wise to check her out. It’s better to keep a secure airway until we know she’s okay to breath freely on her own. What are a few more days? It’s also another comforting sign that she is getting the very best care.

We left her sleeping comfortably. Happy dreams Corey. Meghan and Liam can’t wait for you to come back to play! xoxo

Hi Everyone,

Corey had a good night with her trach capped. Her levels were great. She will be capped all weekend and they expect that it will be removed on Monday.

Not much to report today. It was a beautiful day so we went for a long stroll around the grounds and spent some time at the goose pond. Corey had a light therapy day. We’re glad it was light because she was sleepy today. It’s always good when she has time to rest and sleep. That’s part of the healing process too!

This is Caitlin’s 21st birthday weekend! Corey told us (telepathically) to come into Philly and celebrate with Caitlin, JohnPaul and her friends. She loves a good party! xoxo