Here is the latest email from Kiersten, which I feel gives the best overview of what has been happening in every Liedberg life since Dec 09. Again, thanks for all of the prayers, good wishes and support! Hopefully, this blog will keep Don and JoAnne company, through the upcoming months of rehab!
Hi Fred,
Thank you for your email and our apologies for the delay in reaching out to you. I would never have wished for this tragedy to fall upon my family, but the absolute deluge of support has been inspirational. Folks from around the world, some of whom we haven’t spoken to in 20 years, are reaching out and showing their support for my dad and our family. It’s been amazing to read their messages and learn how he influenced their lives. I’m astounded my dad had as much time for me as he did, considering all that he’s done!
I do remember you and visiting your family’s home in … was it Texas ? I must have been just embarking on my teenage years and now I’m a wife, soon-to-be mother, homeowner, landlord, and working towards leadership in the philanthropic world… boy I wish I could revert back to those days when my parents paid the bills! But life has been beautiful… until December 9th (and will be again).
My dad is making a progress toward recovery, albeit at a very slow pace. When the accident occurred, he had lost consciousness for several minutes, was in and out but able to speak during the life flight from Jamestown to Fargo . The initial nurse told me he had put up quite a fight and they needed to sedate him to prevent further injury and allow his body time to heal. My husband and I flew out that Friday (the accident was on a Thursday) and he was in a medically induced coma for the first 72 hours. There are all kinds of horrible things that happen with traumatic brain injury (googling is scary) and keeping him calm is the best way to mitigate further damage. I left Fargo the following Wednesday and although the doctors had reduced his sedation medication, as much as his vital signs would allow (his heart rate and blood pressure would sky-rocket), he still wasn’t waking up.
On Saturday, Dec 18th he opened his eyes for a short time, but didn’t focus. On Sunday, he opened his eyes again and seemed to focus looking left and right from my mom to the nurse without turning his head (he still had a neck brace on at this point). The following Tuesday (Dec 20), the doctors put a tracheotomy (and feeding tube) in – a more permanent form of ventilator and pulled the tubes that went through his mouth and down his throat. This seemed to be an improvement for his comfort, but the message began to sink in on just how long the road ahead will be. The general anesthesia for the surgery did make him sleep for another 36 hours, but rest really is the best thing for his recovery – although patience isn’t my strong suit – nor my mother’s.
On Friday, December 24th my brother and his family arrived from MT and they had a very good visit with him and he was trying to speak. My brother said it sounded like he whispered “I want to leave” which is a good sign – an appropriate comment for someone in his situation - however the fact he was able to make any noise told the nurse his tracheotomy wasn’t working properly and she called the doctor in. An emergency surgery was performed about 10:30 pm on Christmas Eve, which knocked him out again until Saturday evening.
Yesterday, Dec 27 was a very good day. The replacement trach STILL wasn’t working properly – perhaps his large Adams Apple is affecting the contour of this throat and preventing the trach from making a ‘good’ seal, so the nurses put him on oxygen, and turned off the ventilator working through the trach. This allowed him to speak and also gave him the opportunity to ‘try’ breathing on his own, which he was able to do at this point without his vitals going through the roof. The nurse asked him who my mother is and he slowly whispered “JoAnne” – he was also able to say his last name although he still doesn’t know where he is, why or what day it is. He is also receiving PT as 3 weeks in bed severely reduces one’s muscle tone. The nurse said they had him dangling off the bed and he was like a wet noodle, unable to hold himself up. Little by little, with lots of work, this will come back.
Last night, they did put him back on the ventilator to help him get a good night’s rest. He does have doctor’s orders to move out of ICU once a ventilator-ready room becomes available (they are weaning him slowly). We like the one-on-one care of the ICU so don’t feel in any hurry to move him to a ‘regular’ floor although the fact his doctor put in the order does show progress. When he is able to breathe on his own (aided by oxygen, not the ventilator) and can swallow (the feeding tube is removed) then they will be able to send him home (PA) using a life-flight helicopter, we are hoping for mid-January.
No long-term prognosis has been made, but medical science has come a long way – although the brain still seems to be the ‘last frontier’ – and with rehab we hope he will make a full recovery. I broke my knee cap in 2005 and was in PT for 1.5 years so I do understand healing is an active process and requires a good deal of hard work and support. Today, I’m 98% of where I was. I would guess he’ll be in a rehab facility for several months helping his muscles work together, relearn language (the left temporal lobe was most badly damaged in the accident) and trying to reconnect all those synapses. Good thing he had a better-than-average brain to begin with.
My mom has been reading emails to him, sharing memories, names and places that are familiar to him to help jog his memory and start the help the healing process. If there is anything you wanted to share from the good old days, I’m sure she would enjoy reading your email to him. Don’t be discouraged if she doesn’t reply right away, I actually call the nurses directly for information sometimes as she is not allowed to use her cellphone in the ICU and I’d rather know she is sitting by his side than answering my call…
I hope this answers any ‘missing’ gaps of information – feel free to share it with others who would like to know more.
Nancy, (a friend who’s been our glue) please add Fred’s email to the distribution list.
Best,
Kiersten
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