Day 20

ANOTHER DAY WITH OUR BOY! How darn lucky. (Plus how handsome is he in this picture) Last night Britton got another CT scan, and an X-Ray, and after the doctor was able to look over them, he has decided that they will wait to do the surgery until either friday night or saturday! Everything looks fine, it's just they want to make sure things are perfect and in the best shape possible for surgery. So if they can do some tweaking and honing, the chances of things going better, especially post op, are more likely. They want to get his sodium and CO2 levels as stable as possible, so they will be watching those closely. They also want to continue to drain more fluid off the brain, there is still quite a bit of fluid in the back, so the more they can get off before the surgery the better the outcome. they have to be careful draining the CSF (cerebral spinal fluid) though, if too much is drained too fast, it is very dangerous, so they are very cautious about how much and how long they drain for. They would really like to see Britton taken off of the ventilator before he goes into surgery. WAIT WHAT??? you heard me;) So if that is possible, they would detach him from the vent, and attach a oxygen mask to his trach! Pretty cool, if it all works out! So...we are just wating, watching, and hoping that everything goes well enough these next couple of days for them to be able to perform the surgery!! Keep those prayers comin, I know you are:) We are so thankful. We see them being answered every single day.

Happy Hump Day

Last night the ophthalmologist came and checked out Britt's eyes! We were really nervous and anxious to see what she could tell us. Let me just say that it is a very scary thought...not knowing if your little brother will ever be able to see the world again. BUT IT WAS ALL GOOD NEWS. we were so relieved! Such a miracle. They say that it is very rare for one pupil to be quite larger than the other, and for his eyes to not be dilating at this point...but she said everything looked great! No nerve damage, no hemorrhaging, no nothin! Thank you for the prayers!!! So hopefully within time, they will start to show some reaction! On the brain end of things, the neurologist has decided that he will reattach the skull along with some titanium on the right side of the head, in hopes that Britton's brain will be able to absorb the fluid on its own, avoiding the shunt for now. He is also going to remove a baseball size portion of the skull on the left side, to try and get rid of the hematoma, and then replace it. They are going to try and drain as much fluid off of the brain today as possible! He will be getting a CT scan tomorrow, and as long as things look good and ready for the operation, the doctors will go ahead and do the procedure on either Friday or Saturday!

https://vine.co/v/bP1Y7ZPUzpM  <--- this is my favorite vine he has ever made hahahah

New News

Just got word from the doctor, and i'll try to explain what he told us as best as i can. So...He thinks that Britt is ready for the skull to get put back on. But they haven't made a decision quite yet. Putting the skull back on can be a good thing or a bad thing, it is just trial and error, they kind of have to just go with what they think and hope it works! The good outcome would be them putting it back on and his brain learning to reabsorb the fluids on its own, and as they make the incisions again, they hope that some of the fluid a some blood from the hematoma will be able to drain off. The bad would be if the skull no longer performs the functions the way it used to, or infection, or the body reacting to it poorly, making the pressures in his brain go up again. He said we could potentially go backwards for a little while if that were the case. He isn't going to make a decision until we have the ophthalmologist come tonight and look at his eyes and the MRI he had on them. They want to get every inkling of what could possible be going on with his eyes before they decide what to do. So within the next couple of days the doctor will make a decision on what he think will be best to do next. These neuro doctors are amazing. Everyday i thank the lucky stars that for some reason St. George has 3 of the best neurosurgeons in the country. This trauma unit here in St. George is fairly new. what a blessing, right? Anyway, the doctors, they are so great. so kind. so smart. so in tune. and they love our Britt just like we do. they believing in him too. He is in the best possible hands, and i couldn't be more grateful! So now i pray that his little eyes will be okay, that whatever damage that has been done to them will be able to heal eventually, and that they will start dilating and responding properly. And also that they will be able to make the best decisions for my brother, that their minds, hearts and hands will be led by the spirit. And he will respond well to whatever method they choose.

Please continue to keep sweet Cassidy and her family in your prayers. As well as Dallin and his family:)

The Man With a Plan

I thought that the days of crying sad tears might be coming to an end....but last night i was reminded that we've still got a long way to go, and that the sad tears will probably never fully go away. See, this whole thing...really is the epitome of a roller coaster. One minute my emotions are fully in tact and i have myself put together, with a big smile on my face. And then the next minute I'm crying, sleep deprived, and scared. We had a good day yesterday...all of us! Britt, my dad and mom, me, and my brothers! All around it was just a quiet and smooth day. I went home, got the little boys some food, and sat down on the couch. Britton always hogged the couch, sprawled out, taking up as much room as possible so no one could sit on it. He would hide the remote control so we were forced to watch what he wanted to watch. Sitting on the couch made me miss that, miss him, and his little tendencies, that you don't think you like at the time...but learn that you do. Our house isn't a home without him. Our family isn't whole without him. There is just something missing, and it's our britt. I need him back. My mom walked into her room and found me crying, i tried to go somewhere where no one could see or hear me, but she walked in and asked me what was wrong. "I need my brother back." is all i could say. I need to see his clothes laying all over the house. I need to yell at him for not flushing the toilet. I need him to be here so I can eat what's left on his plate when he isn't looking. These little things that you don't think you really care about too much in a person...but when they aren't around much anymore, you realize that you do care. a lot. It's the stupidest things, that i miss. I made the mistake of getting on the computer to get some pictures for the blog. As i was looking through them it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I had looked through these pictures a million times. The ones where he's playing baseball, and football, the ones with his friends, the hunting ones, the ones at the beach. I had seen them all before. We have been taking pictures of him each day he has been here in the hospital, and as i kept scrolling they started coming up.  It breaks my heart to see my handsome little brother this way. And I just can't wrap my head around the fact that one minute he was this normal, healthy, boy...and the next, everything had changed. A complete 180. World flipped upside down. I would do anything for it to be me laying in the hospital bed, instead of him. The thing that hurts the most is not knowing what lies ahead for him. I don't know if he will ever be able to do the things he loves again. I don't know if he will ever be able to play football, basketball, or baseball again. I don't know if he will ever be able to think and process things the same. Or if he will be able to walk and move normally. I don't know if he will ever be able to see again, or hear the same. I don't know if he will remember. who he is, who we are. That's the thing with the brain and this type of injury....we don't know anything. And that is the scariest part. Of course i want my brother to wake up and recover, and i know he will. But i want him to be happy too. I hope and pray that he will be able to make a full recovery, and continue to do the things he loves and be the happy boy i've always known him to be. I guess though, knowing the type of person he is...he will always find a reason to be happy, even if it's hard. We don't know a lot of things....but I do know this; i do know God has a plan for my brother. and his plan is perfect. He knows him and he loves him and would not give him a task he was not capable of handling with the utmost grace. Britton is a fighter. He is strong. And if i know him like i say i know him, he will come out of this situation, better, stronger and even more amazing than he ever was before.

Britt is holding steady so far today. Still doing most of the breathing on his own. Still looking like a total stud. We are waiting to hear from the doctors about the MRI and CT scan results...and what they plan to do next! So once i hear from them, I will give you all an update! Pray for good results:) Britt still isn't able to have visitors back here, they recommend to us that only immediate family, at least for now...once he is able to have visitors i will let you all know! I know he would love to hear from you all, but he isn't quite able to yet!

More about B

A few years back, Britton and his friend Seth, went through this phase where they loved making basketball videos and putting them on YouTube. They did all these trick shots, and dunks, and all sorts of things. They would spend ALL DAY, making one. But they are pretty sweet. I just got done watching all of them, and i can't stop laughing! Those two are too funny, always having a good time. And some of those shots are pretty sweet...not gonna lie! 

Go watch this one :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GppevQ3vQF8&index=5&list=UUnn_ZTQJ6vN92hCE06y-V7Q

So there was this one time when Britton cracked his head and broke his arm because he "fell" off the bed. Well...you see...mom....dad....don't get mad, but i actually pushed him. OKAY, THERE I SAID IT. I pushed him off the bed and he cracked his head and broke his arm. He didn't fall. I told him if he ever tattled on me I would make him wish he was never born. SO THERE YA HAVE IT. It was me. Technically it wasn't a lie...i was just kidding about it for 13 years. I was young, and dumb and scared of getting a spanking okay?! I'm sorry Britt. But I will admit, i am very impressed with your loyalty in not ever tattling. PHEW. that felt good to get off my chest. 

We have this hoop nailed to the wall upstairs in our game room, and we would play 2 on 2 all the time. Me, greyson, ledger and britt. We would have dunk competitions, and judge each other, we would play hoop shoot and HORSE, and every other thing you could think of. My parents thought the ceiling downstairs was going to give way, because we were always going so hard in the paint up there;) I think we broke every light in there, and both fans, and there are a good amount of holes in the walls. We definitely had our fair share of injuries playing up there. A head to the wall going full speed...mhmm.

Britt has always been such a handyman. When he was little he loved to make things. He was like a little inventor. Always had scissors and duct tape in hand. He would make the funniest little contraptions out of a bunch of junk, and find a use for it. And he would take things a part, just to put them back together. 

We probably spent 99.9% of our childhood playing the nintendo 64. Oh and having Rock Sales. Yes. That is what i said....Rock Sales. Not lemonade sales, like normal children. Rock sales. And we would make BANK!!! like, a whole $2.50...EACH. We would gather up rocks we thought were "cool" and sell them. And people would buy them hahahahaha. We would make my mom take us to the rock store, i cant remember the actual name of it...but each time we would fill up a little leather pouch of rocks. Sometimes we would sell those for profit;) And the nintendo...when we would get to go to "game stop" and buy new games...it was like Christmas morning. Whoever lost had to do pushups. 

Day 16

After speaking with the Doc this morning, this is the run down: They are going to just hold tight today and watch what he does and what goes on. Then tomorrow they will get another CT scan, and decide where to go from there and what to do next. They are considering 3 options. Putting his scull back on and watching to see if his brain can absorb the fluid on its own. Putting in a shunt and his skull back on. Or just putting in a shunt. They said there is no right answer. It is just trial and error. So we are hoping that Britt's little brain will be able to absorb the fluid on it's own, so he doesn't have to get the shunt. As you continue to pray for my brother, please pray for the doctors and nurses. That the spirit will be able to guide their minds and hands to best know how to help my brother:) His left side of his body, wasn't very responsive today. And His eyes are still not responding. They are going to have an optometrist come and take a look. They don't know why his eyes are unresponsive or what it could mean. The fluid in the right side of his head has come back, where it was sunken in yesterday, it is pertruding out again. So they are going to continue draining today, hoping to get rid of some of that! I've started to pray for more specific things lately...rather than just a giant miracle. Just little things, in hopes to progress little by little. A wise friend told us its like a little kid crying to their mom, telling her they dinner....and she just says hold on i'll make it in a while, and the little kid keeps crying. But if the little kid says mom i want a fruit snack, the mom gives them the fruit snack because that is a lot easier than making a huge meal right away. Just like prayers!! It is easier for Heavenly Father to answer our prayers if we ask for little specific things, instead of the whole burrito!haha So we are going to start asking for a little bit at a time. Now we hope to see his brain start absorbing its own fluid, and for his eyes to show some sign of reaction. And hope for good things to come:) There's also a young man named Dallin here in the ICU with Britt. He is 23 years old, married, and has a baby on the way. He has a similar injury to Britt. He was admitted into the ICU exactly a week after Britt. He and his dad were herding their cows back to their ranch in Kanab, when one of them got away from the group, so Dallin took off on his horse to cut the cow off, and his horse stumbled and Dallin shot off, the horse rolled on him. He was life flighted here, and is currently in a coma, suffering from a traumatic brain injury also. He is in need of your prayers, as well as his family. His sweet family has been such a strength to us during this all. They are such amazing people, so kind and so in tune with the spirit. Obviously we wouldn't wish these circumstances on anyone, but it has a blessing to have each others love and support during this hard time for both of our boys.

Praying + Playing For Britt

Thanks to all who played for Britt these past couple of weekends. You'll never know the impact it has had on us. You guys are so amazing.