Monday, March 31st, 2003
Tracy had a slumber party last
night with Mom and Cousin Rene! She was up in her chair this morning and
focused on her
speech therapist. She even
looked at her new stuffed puppy from Rob and tracked it to the right. Her right
arm was casted
today in order to fit her for
a bi-valve cast. The bi-valve will keep her arm in tip-top-shape so when she is
able to use it, she
can. Yesterday, she did some interesting things with her
feet...she tightened and relaxed certain muscles when asked and
she did it consistently! :) We
are giving you all the details!
---------------------------
Sunday, March 30th, 2003
Tracy had a pretty restless
night and her trach will be plugged for 16 hours again today. She was in her
chair early this
morning and we were able to
take Tracy to Mass with us. The Mass was held on the 2nd floor of NRH and the
Priest,
Father Jim, was our Priest in
Key West! What a small world we live in! Oddly enough, Father Jim performed the
Anointing of the Sick, which
happens about once a year. Aunt Kathy
left this morning and Rene and Charles are still
visiting. Tracy's friend, Rob,
stopped by to see her as well. She is having a very restful Sunday and will
resume with her
therapy sessions tomorrow.
Tracy's right arm will be casted tomorrow afternoon in order to keep it in
tip-top-shape.
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Saturday, March 29th, 2003 ~
Dad's B'day
Tracy has been extremely
relaxed today and slept well through the night for Aunt Kathy Sue. Her trach is
plugged and will
be for sixteen hours. She is
tolerating it so well. She was up in her chair for two hours and has enjoyed
many visitors today.
Aunt Kathy is here from Louisiana, Cousin Rene is here from FL,
and my boyfriend Charles is here from VA Beach. On
Saturday, she has a half day
of therapy, so she got stretched out and ranged. She is still making sounds and
we are starting
to hear some different ones,
however, today she is pretty sleepy.
---------------------------------
Friday, March 28th, 2003 ~ Ten
Weeks
Trace is still handling her
trach plugging extremely well and it will be plugged again for SIXTEEN hours.
Tracy was up in
her chair for a few hours this
morning and seemed to relax a bit after a restless night. She was not very responsive
during her
speech therapy session, however she got some good stretching in
during her PT/OT sessions. Mrs. Dickison brought us
lunch again and gave Tracy a
much needed foot massage. Aunt Kathy is going to spend the night with Tracy.
Tracy was up
in her chair a few hours this afternoon as well and she continues
to vocalize alot. Don't forget, tomorrow is Dad's B'day!
-----------------------------------
Thursday, March 27th, 2003
Tracy's trach will be plugged
for SIXTEEN hours again today. She is still handling it very well. Tracy was up
in her chair
for a few hours this morning
and seemed to relax a bit after a restless night. During her speech therapy
session, Tracy was
resting, so we let her listen
to a tape her cousins made for her. When she heard their voices she opened her
eyes and became
very active. Thanks KJ,
Caroline, and Liz! Also, during her OT session she was sat up on the edge of
her bed and
attempted to turn her head
towards Aunt Kathy, who is visiting from Louisiana. Ashley B. came by to visit
Tracy again
and brought us Noodles for
dinner. :)
-----------------------------------------------
Wednesday, March 26th, 2003
Tracy's trach will be plugged
for SIXTEEN hours again today. She is handling it extremely well. Tracy was up
in her chair
twice today for a total 2.5
hours. We were able to take her outside for 30 minutes to be in the warm sun.
She continues to
vocalize more with various
sounds and she had her eyes open quite a bit today. Additionally, Tracy was placed on the tilt
table where she tolerated
being up to 40 degrees and was able to look down at her feet when asked. Tiffany is finally taking
a short trip to Virginia Beach
to see The Dave Matthews Band tonight and will be back in DC tomorrow. Aunt and
Godmother Kathy Sue will
arrive tonight and spend the next several days with Tracy.
-------------------------------------------
Tuesday, March 25th, 2003
Tracy's trach will be plugged
for SIXTEEN hours today. She is handling it extremely well. Tracy was up in her
chair for 3
and 1/2 hours. We were able to
take her outside for 45 minutes to be in the warm sun and to see Taylor, the
NRH therapy
dog. Tracy seemed to enjoy
Taylor's visit again and he gave her many doggy kisses. She continues to
vocalize more with
various sounds. She copied her
Speech Therapist saying "Ahh" and has had her eyes open quite a bit
today. Our dear friend
Betty, from Bella Napoli,
visited again with Tracy. Tomorrow, Aunt Kathy comes and we cant wait to see
her!
----------------------------------------
Monday, March 24th, 2003
Tracy's trach will be plugged
for SIXTEEN hours today. She is really tolerating it well and hopefully soon
they can take it
out. She was able to take a
shower today with the help of her OT, nurse, Mom, and I. She seemed to really
enjoy it. Tracy
will be up in her chair for 3
hours and hopefully we can take her outside again. She rested last night and is
still pretty quiet
today. Instead of having casts
put on her ankles bi-weekly, Tracy now has bi-valve casts that we can take on
and off
anytime. Our dear friend,
Betty is here visiting from Bella Napoli and brought Tracy an adorable Teddy
Bear from Ireland.
---------------------------------------------
Sunday, March 23rd, 2003
Tracy's trach will be plugged
for TWELVE hours again today. If all goes well, tomorrow we will start plugging
it for a full
24 hours to see how she
handles it. Tracy has had a quiet Sunday. She did not get much sleep last
night, however she has
started to rest some today.
She was up in her chair for about 3 hours and we were able to take her outside
for awhile. She
really seemed to enjoy it and
some ducks even came up to quack at her.
------------------------------------------
Saturday, March 22nd, 2003
Tracy has had a busy Saturday.
She was up in her chair for a few hours and took a ride to the atrium to soak
up some rays.
Tracy's trach will be plugged
for TWELVE hours today! She is handling breathing on her own through her nose
and mouth
so well. Two of Tracy's friends from Naples, Alice and Matt, came
by to spend a few hours with her. Tracy had a pretty
restless night, but she is
resting today.
---------------------------------------------------
Friday, March 21st, 2003 -- First
Day of Spring
Tracy, last night I stayed
with you and to my surprise you slept most of the time. Going by your
"schedule" these days,
you should have been wide
awake, febrile, and in a high tone state. Today, you were up in your chair for
three hours while
listening to Avril Lavigne and
Norah Jones. Plus, your trach was plugged for a full TWELVE hours! You are
doing an
awesome job. We'll have that
trach out in no time. You have had your eyes open so much more the past few
days and it is
so good to hear your voice.
Even though you have yet to say a word, I know you can do it.
----------------------------------------------------
Thursday, March 20th, 2003
Tracy was up in her chair for
a few hours today and had her eyes open for quite some time. We took Tracy to
the "quiet
room" for her speech
therapy session. It was nice to get her out of her room again. She is still
vocalizing more with moans
and noises, hopefully she will
bless us with a word soon. Once she says a word she will no longer be categorized
as a 2 on
the Rancho Los Amigos Scale
(Please see link below). Until then, she is still considered to be in a
"coma." Tracy's trach
will be plugged for eight
straight hours today.
-------------------------------------------
Wednesday, March 19th, 2003 --
St. Joseph's Day
Tracy is having a very quiet
day and getting some much needed rest. She rested well through the night and
the therapists
were able to cast her ankles
this morning. The casts are in order to keep her ankles aligned and in the right
place, so when
she is able to walk, they will
be in tip-top-shape. Tracy continues to do extremely well with her trach
plugging sessions
and will have it plugged for a
total of six hours today.
------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, March 18th, 2003
Tracy had a pretty restless
night and an extremely busy day. She was up in her chair twice and her trach
was plugged twice
for a total of 6 hours. We
were able to take Tracy out of her room today to the therapy room and her therapists
stretched her
back and legs on a rehab mat.
Then, Tracy was able to go outside for the first time since her injury! She was
pretty relaxed
and really seemed to enjoy
being outside in her wheelchair. Tracy did not get her ankles casted yesterday,
they will be
casted tomorrow. She continues
to vocalize more, making noises, which is good.
-------------------------------------
Monday, March 17th, 2003 --
Happy St. Patty's Day!
Tracy had a pretty restless
night but started to calm down when she was up in her chair today for about 2
and 1/2 hours.
She had a routine ultrasound
to check her legs for bloodclots and will get both ankles casted this
afternoon. We started
plugging Tracy's trach for a
total of 6 hours today (2, 3 hour sessions) and hopefully will be able to take
it out in the next
couple of weeks. Tracy is
still vocalizing more with moans and various sounds, which is very good. On a
different note,
please pray for our troops in
the Middle East. Many of us have friends and family over there.
------------------------------------------
Sunday, March 16th, 2003
Below in the "News
Section" is some information about the St. Joseph's Altar that was held
today in Independence, LA.
Tracy had two special visitors
today from Florida, her friends Ashley and Danielle. Tracy was up in her chair
for about 2
and 1/2 hours and did well
with her trach plugging today. She is still vocalizing more, making various
sounds. Tracy is
resting today and had her eyes
open quite a bit while she was up in her chair. Tomorrow we will start plugging
Tracy's
trach for 3 hours, twice a
day.
---------------------------------------
Saturday, March 15th, 2003
Tomorrow in Independence, LA
Tracy will be represented at the St. Joseph's Altar. Please look at the
"News Section" to
read more about this. Tracy
was pretty calm today and was up in her chair for 3 hours. We were able to plug
her trach four
hours today and she did really
well with it. Tracy moved her head to the left when asked to and has started to
do this pretty
consistently during her OT/PT
sessions. While she was in her chair, Mom and I washed and styled Tracy's hair.
We have
to get her all cleaned up for
when Dad gets back tonight from Italy!
----------------------------------------------
Friday, March 14th, 2003
Tracy did not rest well last
night, but she has started to calm down today. She was up in her chair for
about three hours and
has had a pretty uneventful day. She has some new bandages on her
hands to keep the swelling down and to align her
thumbs/fingers/wrists. Uncle
Johnny and Nana left this morning and arrived home safely. On the Rancho Los
Amigo Scale,
Tracy is still a strong two
with many three qualities. Please see the Important Links section to read about
the Brain Injury
scale.
-------------------------------------------
Thursday, March 13th,
2003
Tracy has been pretty agitated
today. She did not get much rest last night since she has a fever and the
sweats again. She is
vocalizing more with moans
which is a very good sign. She had her eyes open quite a bit during speech and
focused on
pictures again. During PT and OT she was asked to move her
head to the right again, and she made it halfway there. On
the Rancho Los Amigo Scale,
Tracy is still a strong two with many three qualities. Please see the Important
Links section
to read about the Brain Injury
scale. We were able to put PJ's on her again so she could take a break from her
lovely
hospital gowns. Tracy's trach
was plugged twice today for a total of four hours and she handled it very well.
The better she
handles her plugging the
sooner we can get her trach out.
----------------------------------------------
Wednesday, March 12th,
2003
Tracy was relaxed most of the
morning and spent 2 1/2 hours up in her chair. She focused on pictures during
her
Speech/Communications session.
Tracy vocalized (making sounds) more today than normal during her OT and Speech
sessions. While she was in the
chair, Mom and I were able to wash her hair and braid it. The physical
therapists did not
cast her ankles today and will
most likely do it tomorrow. We were able to put PJ's on her again so she could
take a break
from her lovely hospital
gowns. Tracy's trach was plugged twice today for a total of four hours and she
handled it very well.
The better she handles her
plugging the sooner we can get her trach out.
-----------------------------------------
Tuesday, March 11th, 2003
Tracy has been very relaxed
and peaceful today. During her OT/PT session she had a very special visitor, a
black lab named
Taylor. Tracy was sitting at the edge of her bed (held up by her
PT, Marlena) and looked at Taylor while Katie, Tracy's
OT, helped her pet Taylor.
During her OT session, Tracy turned her head towards the left and had a
localized response to
the pain in her left hand,
vocalizing pain with moans. Then, while Mom was stretching her right hand,
Tracy tried and
almost succeeded in turning
her head to the right, when Mom asked her to. She was halfway there! Tracy's
casts are going
to be removed today and put
back on again tomorrow in order to realign her ankles and feet.
------------------------------
Monday, March 10th, 2003
Tracy has finally started to
calm down after 36 hours of having a fever, sweats, and muscle spasms. We have
had quite an
exciting day. Tracy missed a
breathing treatment and she became a bit dehydrated. She is stable now and we
were able to
plug her trach for two hours
today. The goal is to plug her trach twice a day for two hours. Here is a
picture of Tracy and me
from the night before her accident at La Rotunda in Florence,
Italy. Tracy is on the left and I am on the right. My apologies
for not updating the site yesterday. Uncle Johnny and Nana arrived
this afternoon in the midst of all the excitement.
------------------------------------
Saturday, March 8th, 2003
Tracy was up in her chair for
about two hours today and Mom and I were able to wash her hair. (Please
remember that Tracy
is in a coma and unable to move. She must be lifted in and out of
her wheelchair.) We enjoyed two homecooked meals this
week, provided by the Merchant Family (thanks again for the
fridge!) and the Dickison Family. Plus, we can't wait to see
Nana and Uncle Johnny on
Monday! If any of y'all are stargazers, you can look up in the night sky
tonight and see not one,
but two stars named after
Tracy. One is called "Tracy Anzalone", which is located in the
constellation Corvus & Crater
(The Crow & The Cup) and
was given to Tracy by the Knapp Family, and the other is "The Star of
Tracy", which is
located in Leo Minor and is
from Tracy's best bud, Fallon.
-----------------------------
Friday, March 7th, 2003 -- 7 weeks
Tracy has been resting today
and her temperature has been pretty normal. She focused on some pictures of her
UM friends
during her Speech Therapy for
a few seconds. The goal is to try to get her to keep her eyes open while
staying calm. Tracy
was up in her chair (Please
remember that Tracy is unable to move. She has to be lifted in and out of a
wheelchair.) for
about an hour today and the
Speech Therapist was able to start plugging Tracy's trach again.
--------------------------
Thursday, March 6th, 2003
Tracy has been pretty
"active" today, however, her temperature has remained down. She now
has a cast on both ankles and
feet in order to keep them
straight and in good shape, so when she is able to walk, she can. She is
continuing with her
therapy sessions and we are
hoping to see more babysteps.
---------------------------------
Wednesday, March 5th,
2003 -- Ash Wednesday
Tracy has been pretty relaxed
today, even though she is in her "active cycle," as we call it. She
was up in her chair for two
hours and tolerated it well.
Fallon was able to brush and fix Tracy's hair before she had to head back to
Key West. Tracy is
getting her ankles casted
today. This is in order to keep them straight and in good shape, so when she is
able to walk, she
can.
----------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, March 4th, 2003 -- Happy Mardi Gras!!
Tracy is back at NRH and
started her therapy this morning. Fallon and I are aggrivating her, trying to
get her to open her
eyes. She opened them a little
bit and then shut them again. She's being stubborn. During OT, Tracy's
therapist, Katie,
said that Tracy helped her move
her head and she had purposeful movement in her right arm. Babysteps! We would
like to
thank the Catholic Community's
7th grade Sunday School Class in Naples, Italy for the beautiful birthday cards
they made
for Tracy. We read them all to
her and showed her each one. Thank you so much for your creativity and love.
-----------------------------------------
Monday, March 3rd, 2003
We were finally able to move
Tracy back to NRH today around 330pm. She is settled in her room and is
resting. She will
start her therapy sessions
again tomorrow. Fallon, Mom, and I are trying to read Tracy her many cards that
were waiting for
us when we got back to her
room.
----------------------------
Sunday, March 2nd, 2003
Tracy had a pretty restful
day, however she has had a slight temperature. Mamaw and Papaw left and now
it's just Mom,
Fallon, and I. We are hoping
that Tracy will be moved to NRH tomorrow and will be able to start her therapy
sessions
again. Fallon and Mom did
Tracy's leg exercises since Dad is in Italy packing up our house. Thank you for
all of the cards
and letters, we read many of
them today to Tracy. Please continue to pray for Tracy and keep her close to
your heart.
------------------------------
Saturday, March 1st, 2003
Tracy had a very restfull
night in the IMC unit. She is undergoing many tests and should be returning to
NRH on Monday.
Today, Dad is leaving for Italy and will return to D.C. in about
two weeks. Please continue to hold Tracy in your hearts
and pray for her. Again, thank you all for the many gifts, cards, and flowers that were sent to Tracy for her 21st.