May 31st Update

Day 30  First of all I have to give such thanks to the people that work at the hospital and live in Sonora and Jamestown, without their faces peeking in or having them tell us what happened last night when we were gone, and they were here caring about Nicole when they didn’t have to, coming up to her floor on their breaks and after their shift, me and Glenn wouldn’t have made it without you. There is no thanks that will ever be appropriate. To the Nurse in Crystal Falls, To the Trama Nurse in Jamestown, To the respiratory therapist who’s mom has been my friend for about 24-25 years, To the respiratory therapist that lives in Coulterville, To the Nurse I grew up with in Jamestown. Get in line, God’s gettin his rewards ready for all of you.

Today Glenn and I had to face the fact that we’ll have to cut down on the time we spend with our daughter the next couple of weeeks in order to visit a hand full of therapy hospitals that Nicole must be sent to. There is a certain criteria for the care she’ll need. She is in a coma due to catastrophic brain injury, that is her diagnosis…very different from the places that could take her in a consious condition and teach her how to live again, the one’s we all hear about. When it’s called catastrophic that enters one into a completely different set of facts and considerations to learn about. It’s stuff we’ve never even heard of.

I’ll have to change these updates to maybe every weekend or so.  The travelling is a factor as well as the prognosis from dr.’s who tell us the fastest stages of changing in her coma have already happened and from here on out things will be moving along even slower. So enter the next chapter of our lives: Accept the fact that we’re in the stage that will last a year before we know what we’re dealing with. So we’ll have to measure things now in seasons of the year instead of what may happen tomorrow. That’s not reality.

We do like your short little words of encouragement that come in now and then. That helps more than you know. Also feel our catastrophy has made a difference in other people’s lives already, had a lady tell me she’s changed her way of driving because of this story.  Had someone else say they hug their kids now with both arms.  THOSE MESSAGES ARE REWARDING AND GIVE US FUEL TO CONTINUE ON. Thanks, Our daughter is still the same, nothing has changed (or taken a turn for the worst, we’ve never had to go down that road) it’s just that the real deal is that we will have to make some required changes in our lives and had to come to the reality that we are no longer equipped as parents to care for our daughter like we’re used to doing. That has changed and we have to change with it.

There are a lot of you who have asked what you can do to help, there’s a fundraiser in the works, if you’d like to be a part of it email justyragan@hotmail.com you can let her know in what ways you can be of help.Give her some time to reply as it is in the very early stage of organization. Glenn and I have been very open and honest with the world since this has begun, I will share with you now that we had a Blue Shield “catastrophic” policy on Nicole. It was the highest deductible for a lower monthly payment, the best coverage you can buy for people that hardly ever had to go to the Dr. The deductible is $5,000. plus we are to pay 20% of all medical expenses, for each calendar year. When Nicole hit the emergency room in Modesto, 1 hour after the accident, the expenses were already over $22,000.  We have assets and do not receive government assistance, don’t qualify for welfare, but filling out all the paperwork they give us anyway.  Until this point, we’ve made it entirely on our own, the one’s that know us have seen us work. I’ll leave it at that. I’ll be in touch, sorry message is so long tonight. Love and pray for Nicole, Bon & Glenn Kolpack

May 30th update

Today was a nice day. We had a new nurse that was very careful and cautious. She thought Nic’s was a little to stiff feeling today, which she stiffens up here and there, you can still move her around when she’s like that and she’ll actually lighten up and let you move her. (She didn’t let you move her lets say the first 12ish days when she stiffened up though.) So the nurse gave her a small shot of sedation and a small shot of pain med and thought that maybe she had digestive problems, ordered an ultra sound on her tummy, and called the brain dr to see if she should give Nic some muscle relaxer med. So after ultra sound came back ok, yeah there was poop in her intestines, brain dr. said no to the muscle relaxer med but ordered a CT scan on her head just as a preventative to make sure nothing has changed that we may not know about. So Nurse or dr will call us 2nite after CT is read,  but brain dr said he doesn’t anticipate seeing anything different than the last one, (which looked like a normal 1 if you’re a seasoned reader, you’ll remember that,)  but again, they’ll call.  I know i’ve did my share of complaining bout this stuff, but a day like today makes me glad to have the staff working on Nic that we do because they are very cautious and preventative with problems that can occur they head em up at the pass then knock em off before the problem actually gets to my baby! Good day, good stuff. Let Nicole know in your prayers that she’s safe, everyone is helping her and it’s ok to wake up now. When I tell her that as i’m huggin’ her around her beautiful head, I can feel her with a feeling of relief and steadyness come over her, you can see it too. She likes those words, so do I. Love Kolpacks         …………………..OH BRAIN DR JUST CALLED…………….yep, same as the last one. ttyl

May 29th update

What a difference a day makes! She’s opening both eyes a it.  They took her off the blood pressure med last night. Physical therapists are working on her. Big Day, Good Day. Have a good 3 day w/e with your families, hugs your kids with both arms for me. Pray some more and Thank you.

May 28th update

DAY 27  was a reminder day from our Dr.’s. Had a big group into Nicole’s pad for a long time and a lot of evaluations. The news is a stark reminder that were in for a long ride. Like around a year in hospitals. The only rule of thumb is that where ever Nicole is in 2 years is pretty much where she’ll stay..As long as there’s no turns in other directions, which we haven’t had. That’s what we do know. There isn’t gonna be any quick wake up then we get to drive her home that day. She has tylenol and once in a great while a shot of pain med or sedation, well she only had that after they gave her the once over today. She definately gets riled up..we take that as a good thing, she doesn’t want anybody messen with her. Please talk to her in your own way and let her know she is safe, everyone is helping her and it’s ok to wake up now. Then pray. Thank you for being with us. Kolpacks

May 27th update

Today was a good day. Nic’s looks so good and the fact that she’s off  the steady drip feels so good. (Well to us, don’t know about her!) Her movements seems very good and more progressive than even yesterday. She is still hiding her eye’s but dad examines em anyway, and to us they are doing the right things, Dr.’s say so too. She lifts up her head and some of her shoulders probably about 3 inches off the bed. These are all signs of the waking up stage Dr.’s say. So She is only on a small to medium dose of (neosenephryn) type medicine so her blood pressure doesn’t go too low. After she is off that they will move her to the other side of the hosp floor.  That along with her waking up would be a beautiful combination.  It would eleminate the double plans we are now having to consider: If she’s awake, then we move her later to this group of places. If she isn’t, then we move her to that group of places. Pray that she wakes, we are ready.