Travis Morgan.

7102

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:55:51 -0400

Travis is now in the centennial tower which is the main hospital building. Park in the garage and go up to the 7th floor.

Hes doing awesome today and the best ive seen him post accident. He had a tantrum yesterday and pulled out his IV and g-tube so he’s without antibiotics, fluids, and food until they can get it all back in.

We tried calling Kenny and left a voicemail with Travis saying ‘ahh’ a couple times. We worked on vowels but so far I could only get Ahh and uhh out of him.

PT and OT have been in to see him today and rose is fighting for speech before her time to get speech runs out. Make him talk and use his vocal chords when you visit. He needs to strengthen them so he can eventually talk more and even swallow. I talked to rose about some communication devices today to get Travis communicating faster even if he can’t say the words, he can hit switches to say what he wants and make choices.

He’s looking and feeling great and I got 3 good hugs before I headed out. He should be there through Monday then back to NHC Murfreesboro. Everywhere else declined him :(

Welcome all new followers. I’ll do my best to keep you all up to date! Until next time.

3219

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:34:34 -0400

Just letting you all know Travis is in room 3219 at Centennial Women’s Hospital. (they were booked at the ICU) he lucked out getting surrounded by women.

He was really agitated today so I suggest you all call Rose before you make any visits today as they may sedate him. I havent seen him so upset before. He wouldn’t let anyone touch him and would cry out and grind his teeth hard enough to chip a tooth.

I’m planning to go up there tomorrow so hopefully I’ll have a more pleasant update then. He’s deep into the confused and agitated stage of brain injury so we’ll have to take it day by day. Visit if you can but be careful on the slick roads and give rose a heads up if you go tonight.

ER

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:44:36 -0400

Travis is back in the ER at centennial after being at NHC Murfreesboro for a couple weeks after they couldn’t break a fever of 104.5. He’s been diagnosed with a UTI (urinary tract infection) which is very serious considering his current condition. They will most likely admit him to the ICU. More updates once I talk to Rose. Keep Travis and family in your prayers.

Easy as 1, 2, 3.

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 11:39:39 -0400

I’ve seen Travis the past two days. I got home Friday and met up with Kenny for pizza then took the leftovers to Rose and saw Travis.

When I walked in, he was sitting up in the chair and was alert. He was smiling and moving his arms. I wanted to hear him talk, though! We tried several times to get him to say “Hi” but the best efforts from him got us “H, h”. I was impressed, but Rose says he can say “hi” pretty clearly. She instructs him to take a deep breath, then say hi. After our visit, the staff came in and put him back into bed using a lift so he goes up into the air in a cocoon-like sack. It’s like a little swing, but he doesn’t like to swing it it.

Yesterday, I went and saw Travis while Rose wasn’t there. I stretched out his hands and elbows after taking the splints off that he’s been wearing about 3 hours a day. These splints help to stretch and maintain the range of motion in his hands that he’s lost not wearing them/not having therapy. He currently gets occupational, physical, and speech therapy. He’ll most likely remain at Select for another week but transfer to a long term care facility next week.

Yesterday, I decided to test Travis a bit. Although he said I was Autumn every single time I asked, he was able to add larger numbers (2+3, 5+5, 5+4) I was impressed! Rose has said he used to be able to add 1+1 but wasn’t sure if he still could. He’s definitely got some higher functioning cognitive processing. We watched Hey! Arnold per his request (left hand was Rocko’s Modern Life, right was Hey! Arnold and that arm went straight up when I asked for his decision) then we watched the Florida/Butler basketball game and I taught him to gator chomp. I held his hand during the final minutes and he would squeeze it when I would get excited. Haha.

All in all, Travis is progressing rapidly. There are new improvements every day and he seems more with it every visit. He’s currently off the ventilator full time. They’ll leave the trach in due to his lung infection and the likelihood that he could need a ventilator should he contract an infection. I plan on heading up again this afternoon. Rose should be back this time around. I think Jesse and Brett are coming up tomorrow, but I encourage every one to continue visiting! He loves them and is fun to be around!

Talk to me.

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:15:38 -0400

Travis talked today! I just got off the phone with Rose, and she told me that they removed the trach (the shunt is still in place so should he go downhill again, they don’t have to do surgery) He’s going to be breathing on his own for 24 hours. If he does this, they’ll remove the ventilator from the room.

The speech therapist came in today and used her voice piece for Travis. She told him to say “Hi” and after working for a bit, he said it!! TRAVIS SAID HI! Such exciting news! The speech therapist also told Rose that she sees no reason for him to not start eating again once they get him swallowing. These are huge gains!

Since he’s improving so rapidly, they will most likely be moving to a long term facility next week or in a couple weeks.

I’ll be going up there tomorrow if I make it home (I fly standby..) but definitely Saturday if I can’t make it tomorrow. So excited for his progress!

Missing.

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:39:50 -0400

Didn’t get a chance to see Travis yesterday :( I won’t see him until Friday. That’ll make it a good 2 weeks since I’ve seen him. Time got the best of me, and I couldn’t make it up to the hospital. Keep the visits strong.

Via the Interstate.

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:45:54 -0400

I got to talk to Travis yesterday thanks to Kenny. He went up to visit Travis on his own and brought the newest coheed album for him to listen to. Travis was sitting up in the chair when Kenny visited him. He put me on speakerphone and said Travis smiled when I told him I missed him and would see him soon :)

Jesse, Brooke, Autumn and hopefully other friends have been visiting Travis this week. He has a pretty nice room. I saw him the day I left for New Orleans and the sun was shining in his face when I walked in. He promised to be good and, from what I hear, has been. No need for restraints or sedation.

I’ll be up later today to see him. I missed him but needed this vacation which isn’t quite over yet. I leave for Texas tomorrow morning. Keep the visits frequent and positive. Reading tweets, I can tell he’s getting better each day. Can’t wait to see him!!!

See you in 7, Nashville.

Best friends means you get what you deserve.

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 22:04:42 -0400

Tonight I thought I’d post on the amazing connection between Travis and his close friends. It’s impacted me how they have stayed by his side through everything. I know a large group went up the night before Travis had his trach put in and that’s awesome, but there have only been a few that have returned, and a few out of that that have returned on multiple occasions. I can only speak for those people here.

Jesse and I have become friends throughout this process. We always ran around in the same group but never talked and hung out. We started talking over this, and I love seeing travis’s reaction when I talk about Jesse visiting. His turns his head and lifts his arms up. I’ve heard some funny stories about Travis from Jesse as well. I brought up the -2 story today where Travis somehow got a negative 2 on a test. When I said ‘negative 2’ Travis started to smile and gurgled letting me know that he knew exactly where that story was going. He loves Jesse and Jesse loves him back. Jesse said it better than anyone could ‘I wish I could trade places with him every day’. Jesse helped me realize that Travis has good days, but he also has bad days and that it’s ok to have a bad day every once in awhile. Jesse is a wonderful friend to Travis and I love seeing them connect during their visits.

Kerry is another person I just recently became acquainted with. Once again, we ran around in the same group. I’m only telling you this because we talked about it today. I used to think Kerry Cooper wasnt the best person around. I’d heard bad things about him and he wasn’t the type of person I would have associated myself with; that all has changed in the past 2 weeks. Kerry is an amazing friend with a big heart. He’s so loving with Travis. I got to see him help work with travis’s respiratory therapist today. He was gentle and kept Travis calm. He was there for him and held his hand. He was talking with rose today about putting out a donation bucket for Travis at his work. He not only cares for travis but shows so much love and concern for Rose. Kerry is not the person I had heard about. He was grateful for the time that friends spend with Travis and expresses so much gratitude to everyone who comes in contact with Travis. He’s a spiritual person with a heart that doesn’t fit inside of his body. I’m so glad to have had the chance to get to know him and see him interact with Travis.

Brooke and I became friends just a couple months before I reconnected with Travis. She can always put a smile on his face and get his boy hormones going. Haha. Brooke always has something funny to say to get him going. She even brought Chad along who has become interested in Travis and his recovery process. She always feels guilt if she misses even one day with Travis. Work has been busy lately but is always texting me or calling rose for status updates on Travis. She’s so caring and is willing to give anything to help. I’m happy to get to know the caring side of Brooke. Shes the reason I’ve come back into travis’s life and I can’t thank her enough for that. He’s brought so much into my life and I have her to blame. :)

Autumn and I ran around in this same group (are you seeing a pattern emerge?) We, however, talked a bit at least. She and Travis are music buddies. I haven’t had the chance to see her interact with Travis as much but he’s always so playful when she’s around. He sticks out his tongue and smiles. She puts him in such a good mood. He relaxes around her and jokes around. It’s sweet seeing them play together when she visits. She’s such sweet person and I’m glad he has her in his life.

Now, Kenny is my friend. I explained how Kenny met Travis and how he’s remained interested in Travis now. I get daily messages from Kenny asking how Travis is doing or wanting to see Travis. I’m going to be gone for a few days on vacation and he’s still planning on visiting. Get this, he never knew the Travis before the accident and still shows so much love for him.

What an amazing draw Travis has. He has touched so many lives of people he hasn’t even met. Look at these people who can’t stay away and shouldn’t stay away. Travis needs us now more than ever. The doctor was blown away by the recovery in the ICU and asked Rose if we would all still be there for him because it’s truly helping him. I, along with these amazing people I’ve talked about, have made a pact to stay in his life, even it’s just once a week for 30 minutes. Wouldn’t you want that?

Once again, I encourage you to please go see him. Not only will you change him, you’ll find yourself changing. Travis puts life into perspective. He makes you think, he answers life’s questions that you never thought you could find. He has touched my heart, and I’m not the same person I was 3 weeks ago. I’m going to miss him these next few days. I expect updates from everyone!! Get him to move for you. Have him stretch his legs, arms, and fingers for you. Get him to smile. He will do it for you. I swear that sweet smile will melt your heart every time you see it.

I’ll say it one last time, Travis deserves better. Be there for him.

Directions.

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:28:39 -0400

Travis is now at Select rehab! Kerry and I are here now and he seems to like it. He’s got a great view of Checkers, Taco Bell, and Jack in the Box. Let me tell you how to get here:

Take West End to 20th. It’s a way one street but turn away from Vanderbilt. Go down one block and take a left on Hayes Street. The building is a red brick building on the corner. You can park in the parking garage next to it that is labeled for the Baptist Medical Plaza. Once you get to the building, go straight in and turn left into a marble room. Go to the elevators and go up to the 5th floor. Turn right then merge left and go down to room 5508. Make sure to put on a blue gown and gloves before you go in or right when you get in. They are to the right of the door.

Travis can’t wait to see you!!!

Clear your throat.

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:36:14 -0400

Travis moves to Select Rehab tomorrow around 10am. I won’t know anything more until I get over there tomorrow afternoon.

Travis was in a decent mood when I came in today. They had done an X-ray and found a good amount of fluid in his lungs so they ordered a bronchoscopy where they would put a camera down into his lungs and suction them to clear them. He wasn’t thrilled about this.

I told him I was leaving for Florida in 2 days; he also didn’t seem thrilled about this. After talking about his procedure and me leaving for a few days, Travis gripped both of my hands, wrapped them up and pulled them to his chest and wouldn’t budge. I don’t know of it was fear of the procedure or being upset about me leaving or a combination of both, but I ended up having to leave and pry his hands off of mine.

I’ve never cried or even so much teared up since visiting Travis 2 weeks ago…..welp, today was the day my eyes welled up. His mom and I got kicked out today when the people doing the procedure showed up. You could tell he was upset when we left but his mom reassured him that she wasn’t leaving and that I would be back tomorrow, which I will and plan on spending a substantial amount of time there (only about 20 mins today)

Most of you that visit regularly should have gotten or will receive a call about Travis moving. If you need her number, Jesse, kerry, autumn, Brooke and I all have it.

On to a new facility tomorrow! Let’s hope the staff is as awesome as a majority of the nurses have been at Centennial. I would let John, Martha, or the guy with the beard be my nurse any day. They truly cared about Travis and were so welcoming of his friends even during non visiting hour times.

Juan on Juan.

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:07:52 -0400

Tonight was an awesome visit with Travis. Jesse, Autumn and other friends visited him earlier in the day, and like before, said he was pretty sleepy. When Kenny and I got there tonight, he was awake and hanging with Brooke. His mom was back, which I think put him in a pretty decent mood. We all had to put gowns on (it always depends on the nurse on what you do/don’t have to wear, but make sure you always have gloves. You’re not just protecting yourself from Travis, you’re protecting him from whatever you may be carrying around). He was active and very responsive. In fact, the past couple days, his response level has been somewhat low, but he was answering questions as we asked them with little down time in between, plus his eyes were wide open, which always ups the alertness level. He responded that he could see light and mimicked me waving my hand in front of his wave.

Then came the stand up comedy stylings of Kenny and Brooke….that got Travis going. He was grinning and almost looked like he was laughing when he’d open his mouth at the punchline of each joke and move his arm back and forth in excitement. We were all laughing so hard. Rose even got in on it. The first joke of the night: “What do you call two Mexicans wrestling? Juan on Juan” After that, the jokes kept rolling and he was loving it.

He’s still moving to Select Rehab. Rose went to get some of his things from the nursing home and the nurses were less than welcoming, so Rose may be looking elsewhere. They didn’t seem too stoked on having Travis back. You know what, you don’t deserve him. He’s too happy for your sour asses. Sorry to rant, but that pisses me off. Travis practiced his smiles for Select so that maybe they’d keep him and transfer him to their long term care. He’d be downtown Nashville, so it’s still pretty central for anyone who wants to visit him.

Excited to spend part of my Spring Break hanging with Travis. I won’t be there for a few days as I’m going to Florida and Texas but I’ll still try and update with info from friends that go to visit him. Until tomorrow.

Sunday morning.

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 11:54:00 -0400

Sitting next to Travis’s bed while he sleeps. I walked in today, and he had his warming blanket on. His temperature has stayed at 93.7 while I’ve been here. He’s currently breathing on his own and has been for about an hour. He’s been responsive and smiling a couple times today but breathing makes him sleepy (can you imagine getting exhausted just taking a breath?) His mom went home yesterday and whoever the night nurse was felt the need to tell him this. His nurse today told me he was a little aggressive last night but nothing too out of the ordinary, mostly because he knew his mom wasn’t here. She’s supposed to be back here around lunch time today. All of his vital signs are looking good and as usual, he’s in a good mood. He just raised his eyebrows about 20 times in a row like they were dancing and made me laugh then he smiled in response. Not a bad way to start my Sunday morning.

This is the last time I'll abandon you.

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 20:15:58 -0500

Today was a 180 from yesterday! Travis was sleeping when I came in, but his mom told me that he had been messing with his trach again so they had to sedate him about 20 minutes before I walked in the door. Silly boy, just can’t leave it alone! After about 30 minutes, he came to and out of the sedation. He helped stretch his legs out, and I massaged him legs and feet with some lotion (his skin gets really dry post-bath). I told him it was my Spring Break for the next 2 weeks, and that they’d be spent with him. I told him we’d party Spring Break 2011 style. He raised both arms and started rocking back and forth.

He said he felt good today and that he was happy with the visit. He raised his eyebrows when I told him Jesse was on his way, and we decided to listen to Taking Back Sunday. After that, I put on Thursday, and Jesse showed up. We found out that Select had accepted the insurance! He won’t move this weekend but most likely Tuesday or Wednesday depending on when a room opens up. The good news is that they accepted him!!!

The last band I put on was Muse. He was content with that and was squeezing my hand the whole time. Stockholm Syndrome came on, which just so happens to be my favorite song by Muse, so I turned it up and put it on his chest. He raised my hand and moved it around like we were dancing.

It became 6pm which means visiting hours were over so I went to leave but told him Jesse would stay longer. He was able to give me a hug and leaned up for a kiss on the cheek. He has great movement in his head and neck, just gets tired after using it a lot. I felt much better leaving today knowing that he was in a good mood. Hoping he sleeps tonight and leaves the trach alone….unlikely, but who knows, I made him pinky promise he’d leave it alone…well, I forced him into it.

Go and visit him! He’s still at Centennial and his mom will be gone Saturday lunch to Sunday lunch about, so when we’re not visiting, he won’t have anyone there. (Who knows though, he may enjoy the time alone for a bit!)

Pray to God for no bad dreams.

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Travis didn’t have such a good day today. Something was off, and something was wrong, and he couldn’t tell us. That’s the most frustrating part on both ends. He makes faces and jerks around, but we can’t figure out what’s wrong! He had some yellow fluid coming up as well. He didn’t want to stretch or move around, and he was constantly reaching towards his trach. I didn’t stay long because he fell asleep and didn’t arouse. He wasn’t really answering questions or responding much to my voice or others. Rose was wanting an X-Ray but it just seemed like nobody really cared much about it. We were worried he was getting an infection in his trach or his previous lung infection was exacerbating. Still haven’t heard anything from Select about moving him. He’s still doing 4 hours off the trach morning and night. So maybe that’s just wearing him out. Not sure, but I didn’t leave with a good feeling like I usually do.

Turn it Up.

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:53:36 -0500

Travis is doing really well today! He was sleeping when I came in but woke up when I started exercising his legs. They removed his arm restraints; he’s left his trach alone so they’re trusting him! He helped out a lot with his stretches on his arms and legs. He was able to shift his hips when I said “Ahh, I wish I could straighten your hips”. He’s able to raise both arms well above his head and likes to hold them there. It’s a really good stretch, and he really likes to show off! His respiratory therapist came in and let us know that he’s now being bumped up to being off the ventilator for 4 hours a day, twice a day. He’s at Centennial still for now; haven’t heard anything from Select Rehab about the insurance going through. He could be moved anytime. It’s still best to call Rose before you head up there, but the rehab isn’t far from Centennial so you aren’t gonna have to trek across town if he’s been moved.

Jesse and Allan stopped in to see Travis. They talked about wrestling and some funny memories that Travis said he remembered and smiled at. We all let Travis know that Netflix is the big thing now and that movie stores aren’t around anymore. That got his eyebrows up! I left to get my ashes (Catholic, Ash Wednesday) and Autumn showed up once Jesse and Allan left. She brought him a CD and he was big into listening to Set Your Goals and New Found Glory. While I was there, he was dancing to Set Your Goals (the newer album) and Four Year Strong.

I came back and gave Travis and Rose some of my ashes; not like they have any sins to repent, I mean c’mon now…

Travis is always in good spirits. Stop by and see him if you have or haven’t! he loves company! Bring music if you have some, but be prepared that he WILL fall asleep while listening to it….no matter how loud it is.

ohautumnstar: One of the best people I’ve ever had the pleasure...

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:10:58 -0500

ohautumnstar:

One of the best people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and being friends with, still needs help our help. Travis Morgan isn’t giving up, so that means we can’t either. We’re having another benefit show for Travis. Good music, food, tons of stuff for sale. All money goes to the Morgan Family. If you will be in, or around the Nashville area on Saturday, April 23rd, please come to this. Even if you don’t know Travis, or have never even heard his story, still come. It’s a great cause.

for updates on how Travis is currently doing check out: http://tmorgan13.tumblr.com/

Head, shoulders, knees, and toes.

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:50:00 -0500

Today was yet again another improvement for Travis. He was breathing on his own for another hour and a half. They don’t want to push him too much, so they are weaning him slowly. Select Rehab will be the ones to wean him completely off, then he’ll be able to go back to a skilled nursing facility. Rose is still thinking of going back to Murfreesboro. Insurance hasn’t responded to Select, so most likely, Travis will still be at the ICU tomorrow but plans on moving him out are in the works. It could be Thursday or Friday. If you have Rose’s number, give her a call before visiting to make sure they’re still there.

Travis didn’t sleep well last night so he was pretty tired while I was there today, but that didn’t stop him from working hard. We were able to remove the mitt and both restraints today without any incidents. He relaxed his arms when asked but enjoyed showing off by putting his arms over his head and touching his nose. He has great range in his shoulders. His elbows don’t completely straighten, but the muscles and tendons are so tight that it’s going to be awhile before they go completely straight. He’s able to straighten his pinky and pointer finger. You do that now and tell me what you get…that’s right. \m/ How fitting. I stretched his wrists, elbows, shoulders on his upper body, and I straightened his legs as far as they would go. They’re both pretty contracted as he likes to keep his knees bent and hips twisted to the right. I straightened out his hips and legs as best as I could and rigged pillows to keep his legs in position. He tolerated that for a good awhile and kept them that way when I left. His tendons are so tight underneath his knees. He’s able to move his ankles freely and followed directions really well to move them. No matter how hard I push him, he still smiles and still gets excited about how well he’s doing. He loved having those restraints off, that’s for sure. He was happy to have two friends stop by as well.

His temperature dropped below normal due to dehydration. They had taken fluids off thinking he’d be leaving soon but put them back on along with his warming blanket….which is essentially a big plastic bag that blows up. I wanted to say “Violet, you’re turning violet, Violet.” He was a bubble boy! I left after that, but Brooke is heading up there around 8 for the late night visit.

Well Wishing.

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:24:09 -0500

I wasn’t going to go by today, but I couldn’t stay away. I was at the park with my friend Kenny and my dog, Lola. I was right there, so why wouldn’t I just stop in and see how things were going? I asked Kenny if he’d like to accompany me. He’d heard of Travisfest but didn’t really know the full details of everything that had happened and everything that was currently going on. I filled him in, and he was down to meet this kid that all of Nashville knew and fought for. Kenny walked in, and I think the connection was almost instant. Travis was alert and responding appropriately to questions. He was smiling and showing his teeth and sticking out his tongue. He was able to listen to some music from Kenny’s band and liked it! (I told him he didn’t have to lie, but he doesn’t….he does NOT like Panic! at the Disco I found out, but of course, loves Coheed and Cambria).

I want to let Kenny speak for himself, but after we visited Travis, he was hooked. He’s been posting stuff about Travisfest, and we’ve had extensive conversations about his recovery and fight. He even was able to make it to Rocketown to be in the video they filmed for Travisfest 5 (April 23, Rocketown). I went home that night and made a 95 song playlist of updated music to play while visiting Travis.

Imagine not really having new music from the past 3 years. The kid has some catching up to do.

Man your battle stations

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:18:11 -0500

For me, it all began with Twitter. Rocketown posted a tweet saying “Don’t care if you pray or not, right now, put whatever it is aside and say a prayer for Travis Morgan & his family. He needs strength.” I immediately texted people trying to figure out what had happened. You see, I hadn’t seen much/heard much about Travis in the past few months. I figured he was steadily moving along. In fact, in all my naivety, I even assumed he may have been at home. How little I knew. Brooke finally texted me, and we figured out that things had taken a very serious turn. It turns out that Travis had aspirated at the skilled nursing facility that he had been at for the past few months. For those of you who aren’t sure, aspirating is when fluid or some other object goes into your lungs (essentially choking without coughing so no one really knows you’re choking, really scary stuff). This often causes aspiration pneumonia, which you can guess is an infection of the lungs post-aspiration. The type of aspiration Travis experienced this time around happened from the poor placement of a G-tube (his feeding tube) into his stomach. It was placed too high causing fluid to go into his lungs and cause an infection. Now, I know what all of you are thinking, and I’ll stop you now. You can’t sue the nursing facility and here’s why: they are covered. Medical facilities have the best lawyers and laws protecting them. They can use such excuses as his stomach muscles moving it, 1 in so many tubes are placed wrong, and so on and so forth. Not to mention, fighting that would be ridiculously expensive and very stressful. Does the family really need all of that? Probably not, and so Rose has taken the higher road and hoping for the best out of this whole situation. (Side note: this is the strongest mother I have ever encountered)

So here we are, it’s Tuesday, and we get the news “They’re debating on pulling him off life support.” I left work. I picked Brooke up from work, and we rushed to the hospital to say what we thought would be “Goodbye.” I thought about all of the times I could’ve visited him, and I didn’t. I thought of all of the times I could’ve even asked someone how he was doing, and here it was, all I could say was that I was sorry for not being around and goodbye. We made it to his room, and surprisingly, found that he was pretty stable. He was quiet, didn’t move much or respond so we sat and talked to his mom. She explained everything that had happened and that she and Travis weren’t ready to stop fighting. She explained that he’d be getting a trach in his throat tomorrow and that’d he’d be put on a ventilator to help him breathe. The last time he was on a ventilator, it took 5 months to wean him off, so they were limited to what facilities would accept him.

At this time, I was able to breathe a little easier. This wasn’t goodbye. We had all gotten a second chance to be there for Travis. Rose told us that it’d been 6 months since any friends had visited him. I, and others, are determined not to ever let that happen again. As we left and said goodbye, Travis’s arms went up and he turned his head. He was still there. There was absolutely no way he could leave just yet, and there was absolutely no way we were all done with him yet. I heard a big group stopped by later and got him smiling and giving thumbs up.

One Step at a Time.

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Best news I’ve heard this week. Rose called and said Travis has been breathing on his own for 2 hours now. I came up to the hospital, but they had already put him back on the ventilator. The respiratory therapist came in later to pull the ventilator off again and put on a collar that will has a little dome that goes over his trach filled with oxygen, but Travis has to work to breathe it in on his own. He did this for an hour and a half with only one incident. We were listening to You Me at Six, and he had his eyes closed, which is normal, but I looked up at his vital signs and saw his respirations go from 8 to 4 to 1.. pretty rapidly. I yelled “Travis! Breathe!” and hit his arm. It startled his eyes open and he took some deep breaths shooting his respirations up to 25. We actually had a laugh from it once he calmed down, and I told him he had to focus on breathing! Sucks, but later on when he dozed off, he was able to maintain the breathing so I don’t know what in the world he was doing.

While listening to music (Bayside, Whitechapel, You Me at Six, Four Year Strong), I took his boxing glove off his hand. He needs a break from it every now in then. He curls up his fingers into a fist and they end up fixed that way, making it difficult to stretch them. He also gets skin breakdown on his wrist from where it stays on him. If you’ve seen his left wrist, you know what I’m talking about. After having medical bracelets and restraints rubbing in one spot, a sore comes up, which is now healing, so breaks are good when he’s calm and compliant (and not yanking at the trach). Even allowing his fingers to breathe is better than nothing. I’d stretch his fingers out, and he’d pull my hand up to his mouth and give it a kiss. So sweet, even through all of this, and such a flirt. Has anything really changed? Haha. I stretched and worked his ankles and legs. He’s able to move them on his own when prompted. He can raise his arms above his head, but I try to avoid doing this too much as his lines get pulled when he gets excited at his progress and goes higher with more force. (sidenote: Travis doesn’t like American Me, or didn’t want to listen to it in that moment because when they came on, he shook his head “No” and started hitting his elbow against the bedrail. Then again, he could’ve just been trying to rage.)

Via Twitter, I found out Jesse and Kerry were coming. Select hadn’t been by for an evaluation yet and sure enough, when the boys showed up, so did she. We sat in the waiting room but came back to very good news. They had accepted him (as long as insurance goes through). His facility allows for 24 hour visitation, a private room, and they don’t think they’ll be keeping him very long since he’s recovering so quickly in the ICU. Jesse, Kerry, and their friend Kyle stayed for a little while, and Autumn showed up in that time. It was so cute seeing them interact. He responds to her voice and sticks his tongue out at her. I left for a work meeting but came back later with Kenny. Travis was exhausted but as usual, in good spirits and listening to Coheed. He was breathing on his own again, and this would make it 5 hours without the ventilator on for the day. Breathing is hard work when you haven’t had to do it on your own in 4 days. He did really well when we left him last night, he didn’t want us to leave but refrained from any tantrums, and I’m hoping he just fell right to sleep after such a long day.

I encourage all of you to see him. He’s fighting for all of you, for all of his friends. If you haven’t had the chance to go see him, please do. He’ll be moving to Select Specialty hospital on Wednesday. It’s at the corner of 20th and Hayes. He loves visitors, and he misses all of you. He gets so excited to hear that someone is coming to visit him. His eyebrows go up and he raises his arms. When you walk in, you’ll see. He’ll turn his head to your voice and get his arms going. He likes to show off, so he may kick his legs or flash you that sweet smile. Also, having a live webcam at Travisfest is in the works so he can hear it going on as it’s happening. Any help or advice on doing this would be appreciated, especially if you work at Rocketown.