The first blog message 8/1/2011

Good morning,

Another day begins...Warren had a somewhat restless night.  The chest
tube is bothering him more than anything so we are hopeful that will
come out sooner rather than later.  He is still on schedule for the
second (minor) surgery on Friday.  They hope to get him out of ICU and
on a ward even before then.  72 hours is the first magic number.

There is some feeling in his legs when they are touched, nothing in his
feet.  Hopefully, as the trauma and swelling subside there will be more
feeling.  He is moving his legs ever so slightly but the motion is
really coming from the hips.  At this point we will take whatever we can
get.  The doctors are not giving us the prognosis we want to hear at
this point but they aren't adding in the "Warren Factor".  We will all
continue on the path of optimism and work toward the best outcome we can
possibly achieve.

To clear up some of the original information we were given.... The
accident occurred as Warren was landing in his Accuracy Jump.  It was
all very routine and a process he has achieved successfully many times.
At the last minute, in order to hit the target the diver flares to stop
quickly.  He did this and touched down then fell backwards.  This is not
unusual, either.  He flared his chute at about 5' off the ground - not a
great height.  No one thought anything of it until he did not jump back
up. When he fell back he landed on his pack at exactly the right angle
to cause his L1 vertebrate to shatter, shooting chards of bone into the
spinal chord canal.  Fortunately, two of his team mates are EMTs and
they were on the scene immediately to stabilize him until a rescue team
arrived.

Longmont Hospital is a fabulous facility located near the drop zone and
they had him in surgery within an hour of arriving at the ER.  The 7+
hour surgery entailed removing the bone fragments, removing a portion of
a rib to pulverize and  use as material to help fuse what remains of the
L1.  They then installed a metal disc"and cage to surround the spinal
chord and reinforce the area.  Above and below this section they have
put plates and screws to hold everything in place and stabilize the
area.  All of this work was accomplished by going in through his side
and working from that direction so there was lots of moving things
around in order to get to where they needed to be.  The procedure on
Friday will be quite simple by comparison.  They will secure the screws
from the back side to keep everything in place.  He has what they
affectionately call a shark (scar, I think) - the incision goes from
front to back on his left side - a conversation piece when things get
better........ Having said all this, any of you medical types are
welcome to clarify anything I have gotten confused.  Jerry and I are
listening very hard but don't count on us to keep everything straight in
our heads.  Please banter and we can ask questions.

W will have a very long road of recovery and rehab.  Now that the
weekend is over we hope to get more information on what to plan as we
move forward.

Random act of Kindness to share.... Warren's fellow competitors and
friends have been a wonderful support system over the weekend.  The
winners of the competition forfeited their winnings to a fund for their
buddy.  The drop zone owner doubled the donation.  Talk about taking
care of your own.  He has awesome friends with kind spirits.

We are blessed to be at an outstanding trauma hospital.  The people and
the care are top notch.  We are so blessed that we are using the term
para- and not quadra-  We are overjoyed that we have the essence of who
our son is still with us.  We feel encouraged that we have a very
stubborn, strong willed guy with an awesome sense of humor.  Some of the
traits of his young personality are now being seen as attributes - go
figure!

Thank you to everyone for your love, your support, and most importantly
your prayers.  At times like this that is the greatest power we have.  I
know they are working because we had a neurosurgeon with the steadiest
of hands, we are surrounded with the best professionals we could ask for
and we have family and friends who are enveloping our family with love
and support.

Thank you.
Love, Henley, Jerry and Warren

p.s.  I fear I have not included everybody.  For those of you who have
forwarded emails would you please forward this one, as well.  Thank you.

Final Update

It has been decided to close the blog.  It seems everyone is getting the updates via email so this is creating duplication.  If, by chance, you are not getting an email update and would like to be added to the list just let me know at henleycleary@gmail.com

Thanks for your continued interest.  Everything is going very well and we hope the same is true for you.

The Clearys

Homecoming was a bit different than we had anticipated.  It all began very well but during the first night things went "awry" and that pesky nausea returned.  It began for Warren and Jerry at about 2:30 am then I took over when I heard noises around 5:30.  It was a very rough day on Friday but he slowly got better.

 

This weekend there was lots of rest and down time.  Along with the physical roller coaster is an emotional roller coaster.  While it is great to be "home" this is not really home.  Also, almost every activity has to be reinvented in order to create the "new normal".  Over the course of the week everything has begun to run smoother and life is becoming more comfortable.

While Warren waits to get into the Out Patient Program at Shepherd he has been given a strengthening and cardio workout to prepare him.  We go to Shepherd every day and work out.  It is so great because we can work out in the same gym.  Then he can go upstairs and visit with some of his friends.  Next week he will get into a program called   ProMotion Plus.  He will get back on the Lokomat (the robot that mimmicks walking) and will also get on the FES bike.  Electrodes,attached while biking, will determine if he has any muscle use of his glutes.  If so, he will continue with that in hopes of getting back more movement.  

I have a good Warren story to share.  Today he had an appointment and the challenge was that this person's office is on the second floor of a building with no elevator.  The only access is exterior concrete steps.  It had been arranged by Jerry that they would meet outside, downstairs, in a shady area.  No way, said Warren.... Warren got himself positioned on the steps and he began the scoot.  He went up the steps on his backside and I followed with his feet.  Up, up, up we went.  It was actually quite smooth, if I do say so myself.  Once to the top I ran back down to bring up the chair.  One, two, three and, together, we got him back up into the chair and off he went.

  

In the meantime the guy he was meeting had gone down the other side of the building to wait for Warren's arrival.  After a few minutes he determined that something had happened and we weren't coming.  He returned to his office to find Warren sitting there waiting for him!  He did a double-take then just started laughing.  I arrived at that point as he was shaking his head saying "Leave it to Warren to get to the second floor with no elevator....."  (Thank you, Shepherd, for teaching us to be creative and how to work around the obstacles.) By the way, when we left he went down the stairs by himself in his chair :-)

Thanks for your continued interest and support. More soon!

Update 9/08/2011 - He's Home!

What a GREAT day!  Warren got his loaner wheelchair at 8:30 am, the room was cleaned out by 9:30, meds and supplies were secured, "graduation" was attended (see photo) and after some grateful good-byes we were on our way.

His first meal at home was enjoyed OUTSIDE on the patio.  Then, after unpacking and settling in a bit our p/t was to hit Costco and Publix.  He seemed to enjoy just being out and about.  I have a feeling he is not going to have any trouble getting sleep tonight.

Catie will be back Friday from Mobile.  The weekend should be pretty relaxing for the two of them.  Good food, good sleep, and no nurses popping in every few hours should really help catch up on much needed rest. Then on Monday we will head back to Shepherd for an assessment in order to get into an interim program while he waits to get into the outpatient program.  The options are all a bit confusing so we are, once again, implementing the "one day at a time" lesson we have been learning.

Bottom line - all is well!  Lots of smiles today and an excitement about starting this new phase.  O.K.... and maybe a moment of reality when we realized this has still not just gone away.... But that's o.k., we are still full of hope and determination.

Thanks for your continued interest, your support and your friendship.

Love,

The Cleary's

Dunwoody Crier Article

We are very excited that Warren's story has been featured in this week's Dunwoody Crier!

http://www.thecrier.net/gallery/featured/article_cc81f282-d340-11e0-ac7f-001cc4c002e0.html

The article is spreading the word to our community not only about what Warren has been enduring, but also about the outpouring of support we have been receiving from Dunwoody, our family and friends.

A reader of the Crier, Kelly Blake, showed up for a visit on 9/1/11 to share her story with Warren:

Warren had had a rough afternoon, he had been sick and nauseous - after finally getting some fluids in him and dinner, he was feeling much better. About 9:15pm there was a knock on the door and Jerry went to see who was there. A young woman asked to come in, and Jerry, assuming this was a friend of Warren's asked if it was ok for her to come in, to which Warren agreed. She introduced herself as Kelly Blake, and that in 1996 she had had a skydiving accident in which she had an L1 burst fracture - the same as Warren's. In addition, she had broken her hip, her ankles, one heel, had a collapsed lung, and ended up with aneurisms and pneumonia. Kelly had WALKED in the room with a brace on one leg and today she is married, is in management at UPS and has three children. She told Warren and Jerry that you cannot let anyone tell you what you can and can't do. The body has an amazing healing capacity and through adverse situations it finds a way to heal itself. Warren, Jerry and Kelly sat and talked for about 45 minutes, and Warren was able to ask candid questions about her recovery. During this talk Warren and Jerry learned that Kelly had also been treated at Shepherd after being at other facilities and is now on their competitive swim team. (Once you have been a part of the Shepherd family, you are always welcome back.) After a tiring day for both Warren and dad, she truly lifted their spirits. We look forward to seeing Kelly again.

It is amazing that this article came so full circle from Kelly to Warren and we hope it touches many more.

Love,
The Clearys

Update 9/2/11

Its been another great day at Shepherd! Warren went back on the Loco-mat, only to be taken out of the robot and moved to the next level (harnessed over a treadmill with techs assisting and moving his legs). Funny thing -- just yesterday, I was watching someone on that apparatus thinking, won't it be great when Warren gets to go on that. You can see from the picture, this exercise requires much more work on Warren's part. Let me back track... yesterday when he finished the Loco-mat he became very pale and nauseated, unfortunately he paid the price of hard work for the next two and a half hours (nausea to the extreme). He had the same reaction during his workout today, and knew when his body wanted him to stop. Ashley, who is visiting for the weekend - yay! - likened it to someone who is running a marathon and is just spent and can give no more. Therefore, their body's reaction to the workout is to rebel. Next week he will try smaller increments with rest periods in between. Funny thing - they keep telling us this is a marathon and not a sprint :)

More good news... Warren was surprised by a visit from his good friend Drew Fiorenza today. He has flown in for the weekend from San Diego where he continues his training as a Navy Seal. Warren and Drew went back in time when they competed on Wii (which you may remember is part of Warren's therapy), they had way too much fun and had the gym filled with laughter. BTW - Warren beat Drew at one of the games and proclaimed, "He man - you just got beat by a cripple!" :) :) :)

Now for the best news -- Warren's discharge date has been moved to September 9th! OMG Jerry and I have the same pit in our stomachs that we had when we brought our first child home from the hospital and no longer had assistance. (We haven't killed one yet, so I am sure we will do fine this time too :) We are actually ecstatic with the progress he has made in such a short period of time. It is obvious to us that along with his hard work, all your thoughts and prayers are making all the difference. For this we will be eternally grateful.

Now this probably brings about many questions. He was fitted for "his" wheelchair today. It will not be ready by the time he leaves Shepherd. Warren will have a "loner" in the meantime. He has also been fitted for leg braces, but his therapist and I agreed we will postpone delivery until he begins outpatient therapy for fear that he will try to use them before he is ready!! ; ) He will be given a regimen by his physical therapist to increase strength over the next few weeks, and at that point he will begin outpatient therapy at Shepherd. There are more hurdles to come and we will keep you posted. For the time being, it has been a great day!

Love,
Henley


Hi all!

I am so glad to be back in Atlanta and see Warren's progress first hand. It has been three weeks since I saw Warren last and a LOT has changed! The day I left to go back to Boston three weeks ago was the first day Warren learned how to transfer in and out of his chair - while he was quick to learn, and mastered the skill on the first try, he remained very cautious and did the transfer by the book. Today when I arrived he was hopping and popping around from the bed to the chair like a pro. Getting in and out of his chair has become second nature to him and he is exceptionally fast at doing so! He also showed me some of the wheelie techniques he has learned, and I was told he knows how to go down flights of stairs when necessary (not a surprise)!

It was great to see how independent he is during his PT sessions and how far he has come in his strength and mobility in such a short period of time. However, with all of this being said - I told my mom, that for those of you out there who are not able to see Warren in person, it is sometimes hard to grasp the severity of his situation when all of our blogs are always so upbeat and inspirational (we are all just too optimistic :) We are his biggest fans and are so proud of every milestone, but the road ahead remains long. I was able to take video footage of him walking on the treadmill today, which I think gives a realistic depiction of how labor intensive walking can be, and with a lot of support and a smile on his face Warren is making strides.

(Ignore the chitter chatter, just Henley & Drew catching up)

More to come as the weekend progresses... everyone have a wonderful Labor Day!

Love,

Ashley

Update 8/30/11 photo

Here is a photo from Warren's great adventure at Target.  He was so excited about riding in one of those little red scooters that he ditched his wheelchair while shopping!