Happy Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year feels just about right for today!

Today, after 3 weeks at Saint Joseph’s, we were able to take Kevin to Craig Hospital. He arrived just before 1pm and immediately was taken to his room to get set up.

We met so many new faces and learned a lot in just a few hours. Because of that, we are all wiped and today’s post will be fairly short.

We are already impressed with the staff at Craig and know that Kevin is exactly where he needs to be. These first few days will involve intake tests and creating a care/goal plan for Kev.

Mom and I will need to complete some caregiver courses and video series to be able to best help Kevin with his care and to earn more freedom to move around his daily activities with him.

Kevin is in good spirits and keeps telling us he is ready to work hard to get the best results possible.

Here is a link to check out this video about Craig: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omXFzoCE6C0&t=5s

Love,

Katie and the Cavanaughs

I recently listened to a This American Life episode where a man who lost several parental figures in a few months reckoned with grief, loss and the purpose of enduring both. He summed it up by saying, “The reason we’re all here, I think, is to get each other through it and to the other side.”

Today was full of people getting each other through it. Some of the staff who took to us, and us to them, came to say goodbye. David, Kevin’s speech therapist, Adie, the Chaplin and Kelly, his first ICU nurse. These people have grueling jobs that they bring enormous heart to and we couldn’t be more thankful for them, their work and compassion.

Erickson came with me again to the hospital and spent the day helping with Kevin’s care and watching movies with us. I helped Kevin go through his phone so he could finally read /reply to his messages from his amazing friends. The team at Suzie’s CBD Treats (my incredible workplace) graciously gave me the go-ahead to be with Kevin tomorrow through his transition to Craig Hospital. Dad called us to offer love and laughter in a reversal of our normal Father’s Days. Mom flew back and came straight to the hospital after a long flight and we greeted her with packages from friends.

A huge thank you to everyone mentioned and all those near and far who have been there, getting us through it and to the next phase of Kevin’s care.

Kevin did experience some issues with his lungs/breathing overnight but bloodwork came back alright and he went all day without a fever. The doctors are making sure they rule out anything serious and monitor his breathing. He continued to get nebulizer treatments, an X-ray and some light physical therapy. He is still eating more than our family combined in small bites and drinking water/Gatorade/enrichment shakes in a real show of effort to help his body as best he can.

Kev is telling us all he is excited for Craig Hospital and ready to fight hard during the road ahead. He thanks his family and friends for giving him strength to do so.

Mom and I will be with him tomorrow, please cross every finger and send every prayer that all goes smoothly.  

All the love in the world,

Katie and the Cavanaughs

I never anticipated pumping fists with a room full of doctors over a nose tube removal, but victory looks like unanticipated things these days.

Today, Kevin got the go-ahead to have the tube that feeds him through his nose removed. He worked hard to go far beyond the required calories for the last days to make that happen. He is much more comfortable with it out and we are so happy for that.

He is pretty exhausted from physical therapy yesterday so today has been a lot of resting in between visits from nurses and the respiratory team. He wanted us all to watch a movie together so myself and Erickson (my incredible, supportive boyfriend) gathered around his bed and watched Luca.

Otherwise, we just tried to manage his fever and move him often to avoid further sores so he is ready for Craig on Monday.

Craig hospital seems like the goal we’ve all hung onto, the place where we will have  plenty of experts and a chance to begin therapy. That being said, Monday can’t come fast enough!

Much love,
Katie and the Cavanaughs

I apologize for the delay with this update, between Kevin’s room change and Mom and Dad flying home things have been busy. Mom will be back on Sunday evening and Dad will be in Florida for a bit longer. I will be with Kevin everyday while they are away.

Today’s greatest surprise? A visit from a therapy dog! He was a beautiful Husky that did a round of tricks and hopped up on Kevin’s bed. We were both over the moon and I’m so grateful for the people who volunteer their time to train and transport these animals.

Kevin has settled in nicely to the new room and the change of scenery has helped in getting rid of the ICU delirium. It has been indescribably nice to get to talk with him again. Even though we miss Mom and Dad, we are also enjoying getting to live in that brother/sister world for a bit.

He continues to get the nebulizer treatments a few times a day to help clear out his lungs. He says these have gotten more manageable as he gets used to them.

Kev was also moved up to the next level of food intake which is great news. He has been amazing with his food. He wants to eat everything he can so that he can keep getting stronger and get his nose tube out. Tonight’s dinner? Lemon Tilapia, mashed potatoes and chocolate moose!

Yesterday, he got an MRI as his ability to move/feel left arm suddenly went away. We are still waiting on the specifics but the doctors told us what they saw on the MRI was a bit of an inflamed area and, “nothing to worry about.” Most likely he is just dealing with the results of his muscles atrophying. He really pushed through in physical therapy today. He told the physical therapist he was ready to, “get to work.”

Today I confessed to Kev that when I find myself having moment of happiness or even normalcy it’s hard not to feel guilty. He told me he wants me to, “find joy wherever and whenever I can.”

I want to pass that message on to all of you that care about him and have been following along. This situation has been truly unimaginable and carried so much grief, but if Kevin can tell us he wants us to look for joy then we will learn how to find it even in the most uncertain times. We will fight hard to be more creative and persistent in seeking it out so that we can help him do the same on the long road ahead.

Love and hugs,

Katie and the Cavanaughs

Today, Kevin was moved from the ICU to Intermediate Care. Although this makes us a bit nervous and it was hard to say goodbye to the ICU staff, we are hoping this means he is moving in a positive direction!

He was absolutely exhausted today so he slept most of the day. However, he did complete three more nebulizer treatments for his lungs.

The amount of food and drink he’s been taking in increased today, which we are hoping will help get him stronger!

His nurse is from Gainesville and a huge Gators fan. We are taking that as a sign of good luck.

Thank you all for your support, we love you dearly.

Katie and the Cavanaughs

Kevin was very busy today and we all felt hopeful inbetween the bustle.

Occupational Therapy got him into a chair for an hour and helped him wash his hair (all the nurses tell him he has the best hair even after 15 days in the ICU).

Physical Therapy introduced some more stretches and movements to do with him.

Respiratory Therapy did another nebulizer breathing treatment to tackle his pneumonia. He has been incredibly strong throughout these as they are very uncomfortable and unnerving.

Kev is breathing through the trach on his own now which is such a relief and means we can speak to him more. His delirium was minimal today and it was a joy to be able to speak with him.

The Craig Hospital liaison met with us and they have a spot for him on Monday! We are so excited to get him there to be treated by specialists and begin the process of rehab. It sounds like Craig also gives classes on how to help care for a loved one in this position. I am looking forward to taking some so I can best help Kevin.  

Now that Kevin is eating pureed food he gets to choose his meals off a menu! Dinner tonight? Pureed lasagna! He eats a little bit more with each meal.

Kevin and Dad have been watching the NBA playoffs together. ESPN is on all day in the room, to no one’s surprise. I am so glad that he can watch sports to feel a little normalcy and enjoyment. 

I brought some of the amazing gifts sent from friends to my parents at the hospital today and they can’t express enough how grateful they are! Thank you all for being amazing friends and providing a community of support.

Love,

Katie and the Cavanaughs

As far as I’m concerned, our Mom is nothing short of a hero of heart and might. It’s no secret to me that she is impossibly kind but whatever idea I had of her resilience was an underestimation at best. She has been in the freezing, fluorescent ICU for 14 days straight without a single complaint. I know she will give me trouble for starting the post this way, but it’s important for me to say how incredible she has been (even the word “incredible” feels like it falls short).

Today, Kevin’s delirium has been better mostly thanks to Mom keeping him engaged in conversation in between his various visits from specialists and staff.

He had two breathing treatments to help with the congestion in his lungs.

Kev also had physical therapy and was moved to sitting in the recliner for about an hour.

He is still on antibiotics for the pneumonia and his fever goes up and down. The fever is tricky because it could be from his spinal injury, the pneumonia or both.

Speech therapy performed a swallow test to assess what he can have. They determined his diaphragm is still weak so coughing and clearing his throat is difficult for him but his swallowing functionality is working well enough that he can have small amounts of liquid and pureed food! He has been asking for Gatorade since his second day in the ICU so he was thrilled. After all of this, I’d like to buy him a football team-sized cooler so he can have all the Gatorade he wants.

Our family cannot thank you enough for every well-wish, prayer, message, call, gift, etc. that we have received in this time. They truly add some light to our days and remind us that our support system is wider and more loving than we could have even imagined.

Much love,

Katie and the Cavanaughs

I have been pinning each of our tumultuous days with the label “good” or “bad” but I don’t think those words have enough room for what we are experiencing. Each hour is a different moment, “good” or “bad”, and still we have hints of light or dark in each. As Kevin’s condition constantly varies, we are learning to lean into each other when we need to and celebrate what we can.

In the last 24 hours, Kevin began experiencing a condition called “ICU Delirium” and what appears to be pneumonia from being on a ventilator for so long.  

Two out of three ICU patients and seven out of ten patients on breathing machines experience it. With Kevin being both in the ICU and on a breathing machine these statistics stand by the doctor’s description of this condition being “normal” but it certainly doesn’t feel normal to any of us. We are working together to try to keep him calm by letting him know we are nearby and prepared to do anything to help. Hopefully, this will pass in the next few days.

The pneumonia is being managed with antibiotics and a respiratory treatment. We are hoping these treatments will help clear his lungs. His fever is still challenging us; he is often kept under a cooling blanket to try to help break it.  

Our goal is to get Kevin stable and out of his ICU delirium so he can stay on track for admittance to Craig Hospital. We are so hopeful that the team of specialists there will be able to do amazing work with him.

All of our love and then some,

Katie and the Cavanaughs

I’ve never been able to hold a candle to level of sports fanaticism Kevin and our Dad have. However, when I heard my little brother’s voice yell, “GOOOAAAAL” followed by laughter at simply hearing his own voice again, I was ready to go buy a jersey for the winning team.

Today Kevin worked with his speech therapist to put a speech valve on his tracheostomy tube. His vocal cords are sore and his respiratory muscles still need to build strength so his voice is still a bit soft and distorted, but it’s definitely his voice.

We are learning how much each and every victory counts in these early days. Being able to hear Kevin speak is one we will count as a huge win. He is so relieved to be able to communicate with us so much more easily and is working hard to be able to do so. He can only have the speech valve in for a few hours at a time as his muscles grow stronger but a few hours after so much silence is such a gift.

Kevin also made progress in physical therapy, tolerating more time in his chair and sitting up (with the help of his PTs).

We are still working with the medical team to figure out how to best help his heart rate and blood pressure stable so he will be ready to (hopefully) journey to Craig hospital in a week or two.

Here’s hoping for more good days than bad ahead.

All our love and then some,

Katie and the Cavanaughs

Kevin started his day strong by taking 3 hours off breathing support. This by far is the longest he has breathed on his own and we are proud of the effort it must’ve taken. Not long after, Kevin’s speech therapist came in and took him off breathing support for another 30 minutes to work on his speech. He could tell us his name and it was so great to hear a bit of his voice! He was exhausted afterwards but the speech therapist tells us she is thrilled with what he accomplished today.

There has been more discussion about the pacemaker as getting his heart and blood rate normal will be the first step to getting him stabilized and will help in physical therapy down the road. We will keep meeting with the various specialists to decide if we should move forward with this option.

We have a meeting with Craig Hospital next week and have high hopes that he will get a bed there. Having the spinal specialists of Craig Hospital around to guide us would be an amazing asset.

Kevin was visited by physical therapy today who have taught Mom and I ways we can help do physical therapy with Kev every few hours. We are learning so many new skill sets from various specialists; we may just have to go into the medical field after this!

Dad is back in Denver, switching off with Katie so they can both try to work remotely. Having the whole family here to support each other is a comfort.

Much love,

Katie and the Cavanaughs