Hand Surgery

Craig is having his hand operated on this Wednesday. His thumb is compressed and broken into many pieces. They have to reduce it, uncompress it, and put the pieces back together. From the sound of it there will be a metal plate and bone graph involved in this process. For now they are letting the other bones heal on their own. Craig is getting around much better and is anxious to get out of the hospital. It's going to be a long 6 months keeping him from being too active.

Minor Setback

We found out today that Craig's left ankle is also broken. We are waiting for the Ortho guy to come and tell us what they are going to do about it. Craig has been complaining since yesterday that his ankle hurt. Now we know why. So for those of you keeping track that makes a broken right thumb and possibly wrist, a broken left collarbone and a broken left ankle. Poor Craig!!!

Craig's Bike

So I haven't been able to get pictures of the car but here are some pictures of Craig's bike. He is very sad it is destroyed. He hasn't seen the pictures yet he just knows what we have told him.

A moment of silence for the bike .... if you think the bikes bad Craig's body is beat up worse.

Each day with Craig is an improvement. Baby steps at this point but we will take them. I am just grateful to be able to have a conversation with him.

Yesterday they said they thought he came out of the Post Traumatic Amnesia stage. That is a good sign that he is starting to remember things better just 10 days after the accident. He still repeats himself but they said that should hopefully improve as they swelling goes down. They said a brain injury is like having a stroke. You have to work your way back to being whole.

They x-rayed his collar bone again yesterday. It is broken in multiple places and it is displaced 7 mm. We are still waiting to hear what they are going to do with it. Right now they have nothing on his arm so it just kind of hangs limp. It is extremely painful for him to use it.

He is loving the visitors that are stopping by. He wants me to let everyone know just how much he appreciates all the help we have been getting.

THE JOYS OF DRUGS

Today was a funny day. Craig was in so much pain that they kept him on a regular schedule with his pain killers. Pain killers sure make people say funny things. It was fun to be able to laugh, too bad it was at him. I love my husband dearly and while this trial is a very hard one I am glad to have found a little bit of humor in the day.

He is still pretty much the same. It is hard for him to get in and out of bed. Having a broken collar bone on one side and a broken thumb, possibly wrist, on the other makes it hard to move period.

He had shorts on today and it was the first time I got a good look at the bruising and road rash on his legs. That alone looks very painful. I am sure it is nothing compared to the rest. I also noticed bruises all up the left side of his legs that we hadn't noticed before. He said he knows that the car hit him on the left side because that side hurts the worse. When asked what it feels like he says it feels like his bike went through him and broke off little pieces inside.

Whenever he opened his eyes this past week they seemed blank and hollow. Today and yesterday they seemed more alive. Somethings are still hard for him to remember. He remembers nothing about the accident. He doesn't even remember going for a ride that day. His long term memory seems fine it is the short term they are worried about. He tends to repeat the same things over and over. I don't know if he realizes he is doing this or not. They said that it can take three months or more for the swelling of the brain to go down. Each day he has been making improvements. Lets hope the swelling goes fully away and takes the fogginess with it, or it is just the drugs making him say funny things!

Today was a great improvement for Craig. The fogginess in his brain seems to be clearing. They wore him out at Rehab! I was not there for all of it but I did get to see him walk 200 feet with a walker and up and down some practice stairs. It takes a lot of energy for him to do anything.

Tonight he was the most aware he has been since the accident. We had a great time talking. He was a little fuzzy on a few things but I think that was the pain killers they are giving him for his collar bone. His collar bone has been causing him a lot of pain. He says he feels like his bike hit him - I reminded him it was a car.

Craig wanted me to make sure everyone knows how much their thoughts and prayers have meant to him. I read him the messages that have been left for him on facebook this past week. He knew who every person was and he was really touched by the messages.

For all of his pilot friends he figures you'll be jealous of the great beard he gets to grow while he is recovering.

ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET!

Here are some pictures to remind us that we should always wear our helmet!

Today Craig was moved to the Neuro Rehab Unit at IMC in Murray. Here are some pictures of him leaving Ogden Regional. Today was a good day for Craig. He was much more alert and carried on some good conversations. He still doesn't want to eat much so I snapped a picture of him drinking his Ensure. (Old man jokes can come later) He is moving a little better today but it may be a long time till he is back on a bike. One of his main worries today is that his bike was destroyed and is not fixable.

They told us he should be there 1-2 weeks. I don't really care how long just as long as it is safe for him when he comes home. He is supposed to have more evaluations tomorrow including finding out more about when they may operate on his collarbone and thumb. The doctors there seemed to think he was making good progress.

Like I have said before this is a long term recovery. He should be up to having visitors within the next few days. I just ask that visits are short as they tend to tire him quickly. If you would like to visit him please send me a message and I will get you the information. - Shannon

Bret Campbell Talked to Shannon. Craig is much better today. He talked for an hour and a half. His short term memory is much better, he knows the date, and knows he was in a wreck, but doesn't remember the wreck. He is more himself in mind, but still needs to get some help for his body. He says it is not working right. They have transferred him to Intermountain medical center neuro rehab center

Today we found out he will be transfered, hopefully tomorrow, to the Neuro Rehab Unit at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray. They are hoping he will only have to be there 10 days. This is good as it is one of the best places for him to get treatment.

We do have a long road ahead of us. I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers on our behalf. I can feel them lifting me up throughout the day. Today I got to see the Craig I know and love and it brought peace to the situation. He was a little more peaceful today and not as agitated. Well, as peaceful as you can be while being in a ton of pain. He is starting to really realized what happened but it is still pretty foggy. At this time his short term memory is what they are worried about. He really surprised us with some of the comments he would make though. We would be chatting quietly in the room and he would pitch in on the conversation. They did get him out of bed and he was able to walk 95 feet but he still needs a lot of assistance to do so. I know it is hard for him at this time and I just keep trying to remind him that it will get better.

We also found out today that the police officer does not believe he was at fault in the accident. As sad as I am for the person that hit him it was a big relief to finally know some of what happened.

Craig's Status 5-23-2010

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By: Bret Campbell (Brother)

Yesterday at 9:24pm

Just go home from visiting Craig. For those of you who don't know, my Brother Craig was in a serious bike crash last week. He sustained a serious head injury along with a couple of broken bones.

He is doing better, but not making the progress we had hoped for. He is still sleeping most of the day. I think he has a massive headache whenever he is awake, and it is worsened by opening his eyes, talking or doing anything else.

He has a frontal lobe contusion, so his inhibions are absent. He told me several times to stop bugging him, leave him alone, be quiet, etc. I thought it was funny.

He also had an epidural hemorrage, which is quite a serious injury. It has stopped, but now we just have to wait. That is the frustrating thing with head injuries, it takes so much time to find out just how the final result will end up.

I think Craig is still in there, he recognizes people and gives some good one liners. However, he does't want to speak much.

They are planning on moving him to Rehab soon. He was able to walk 75 feet today, but it wiped him out, so he has a long way to go.

Everyone wants to know what they can do... If it were me, I would want to know that my family was taken care of. If you live close, I have asked Shannon to come up with a list of things she needs, whether that means watching kids, mowing the lawn, fixing the sprinkler, etc. She would also be appreciative of gift cards from walmart, Smiths, etc. We are not sure when/if Craig will be able to return to work, so she is being very careful with the finances.

Thank you everyone for your concerns. We went to church services at the hospital today and the speaker read a scripture from the book of mormon;

2 Ne 2:2 says "Nevertheless, Jacob, My first born in the wilderness, thou Knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thin afflictions for thy gain."

We need to trust that the lord will help craig and all those who love him to recover.

Craig is strong and there are a lot of people praying for him, but it is still tough to see him like that.

Enusre

He is doing better today. He is communicating more, but still doesn't want to open his eyes much. They actually got him to drink ensure after they told him they wouldn't make him eat the hospital food. He ended up drinking about four of them. Hopefully the extra calories will help his body heal. The family is praying for a full recovery, not a speedy recovery. We don't care how long it takes for him to heal, so long as he is the same sweet father and husband he was before. Again, thanks for all the prayers...and keep them coming.

Kids get to visit

Ethan, McKenna, and Abigail got to visit on Saturday. He was responsive enough to tell them he loved them. Of course it was hard to see their dad like that, but they are brave kids.

May 23, 2010

He is communicating much better today. He seems more alert, and even initiating conversations. He is eating better. They even got him to walk 75 ft. with a lot of help. He seemed embarrassed that we saw him walking.

Today was a little better. They had him up in a chair when his children got to see him for the first time since the accident. He was more alert, but still likes to keep his eyes closed. He did open them just long enough for a decent picture with his kids (hopefully we will get that posted soon). They are going to try to get him into a rehab clinic in Murray that has a special head trauma unit. This is supposed to happen on Monday if things go as planned. While Shannon was trying to feed him she kept reminding him that if he doesn't eat, that they will put in a feeding tube. He said "tell them to take a flying leap". Hopefully that spit-fire in him will help him recover fully...even if it takes a while. Keep praying, I know that they are helping .

May 21, 2010

Today Craig was moved out of ICU to an Intermediate Care room. Still no visitors please. He will be moving on Monday to a Rehab Center. They did get him to eat a few bites of food, but he said his stomach hurt. After trying some anti-nausea medication he later ate half a lasagna (he told Brooke it wasn't very good). Shannon is trying to annoy him just to get him to respond. He told her that her voice was making her head hurt. Somehow that made her smile. We are optimistic that after he gets enough sleep he will recover quite quickly. Keep praying for the whole family. Love to all.