Update on Tyler

Cindy called and wanted me to post the following information for you guys...

Tyler came through surgery fine yesterday. They had him asleep at 7:30 am and they were done by 8:30 am, by 2 pm they were back home in Munday. The doctors stretched his shoulder and injected steroids. There could possibly be the need for this procedure one more time before November when they decide if he will need another skin graft.

Both boys are driving to physical therapy three times a week. Trey heads to W.F. and Tyler goes to Abilene. Please keep praying for them, as they are still dealing with the effects of that fateful day.

Never forget the miracles that walk amongst us.

Cindy just called and Tyler and Tonya are back in Lubbock to see the Dr. They have known for some time that Tyler would have to be put to sleep again to break up scar tissue in his shoulder in order to get more range of motion in his right arm.

Tyler will go into the hospital in the morning at 5:30 A.M. He is suppose to be the first one on the list. The Drs. will work on the scar tissue and he will have cortisone injections into the shoulder area. If all goes well he should be released tomorrow night.

Cindy says she thinks this will be the 17th time Tyler has been put to sleep. Check back tomorrow for another report and we pray this will be the last time.

One year ago

In many ways it seems like years have past since May 18, 2008 and in some ways it seems like yesterday. God is an amazing God and He WALKS WITH US AND HE TALKS WITH US AND HE TELLS US THAT WE ARE HIS OWN. God is on the throne and He hears our cries. He has us in in palm of His Hand and He knows our name. Is. 43:1. I would just like to Praise God for the many miracles He gave us this year and Thank Him for His Many Blessings not only to the Thompsons but also to the Body of Christ at large. We are all changed. Our faith has been stretched and we have been fit together as a Body. I believe He has a purpose left for us and I pray we will be faithful to hear His call and do His will in the days to come. Thanks to everyone who prayed, loved, helped, cried and stood with us.

God is Good ALL THE TIME.

One year ago...

One year ago, a multitude of neighbors and friends waited anxiously to hear the status of 3 very brave young men. The road to recovery seemed unimaginable. The burns were too deep, the wounds too severe. There were too many things that were insurmountable....

Yet, incredibly a year later... we are all still in awe.

I still recall the tears and pain in the voices of the family member over the phone. I remember waiting... and waiting ... and praying... I remember wondering if life as we all knew it would every be the same. I wondered about Cindy, mother of two terribly broken sons, I wondered how she didn't go absolutely crazy with grief and fear . I consider the wives who courageously stood through by their husbands as they faced grueling medical procedures and discouraging prognosis's and faced uncertain futures... and I marvel.

...Nevertheless...

...Here we all are one year later and the only thing we can say is "Thank you GOD, Thank you GOD, thank you, GOD!" You are mighty to save! You have chosen to give us mercy and we are humbled by your kindness and love. You are the only one who is capable of authoring such an incredible tale of valor, suffering, and victory... to YOU be the Glory forever. Amen

Update Wednesday, April 1

Tyler had surgery to break up the scar tissue and adhesions in his shoulder and elbow this morning about 7:30 (Wednesday). The Dr. said it wasn't as bad as they were expecting when they got in there and he had good range of motion while asleep. They gave several injections in the elbow and shoulder of Kenolog which is a steroid.

Dr. Griswald called the Hendrix Rehab center in Abilene and they made an appointment for him at 11:45 tomorrow. They expect him to have agressive rehab three days a week for two to six weeks. This will help keep the scar tissue from reforming and to keep his range of motion.

Hopefully this will keep Tyler from having another skin graft. Please pray it is successful.

Trey is getting use to the braces and is doing good on everything else.

Still not quite to the finish line... an update from Tonya

Tyler had a doctor's appointment in Lubbock yesterday, and got to see his main burn doctor (Dr. Griswald). Tyler was hoping to just be able to have one more scar release surgery to give him the full range of motion that he needs with his arm, but Dr. Griswald is not ready to do that just yet. We will go back to Lubbock next Wednesday, and he is going to have an outpatient procedure done. They are going to put him to sleep and do very aggressive therapy on his shoulder and elbow joints, in hopes to break up the scar tissue that has formed in there. They are also going to do cortizone injections all around his shoulder joint and elbow. His doctor is hopeful that this will be effective. After 6 weeks, he will reevaluate and decide what should be done next. Tyler is very frustrated and is worried that he is just wasting more time. He is beginning to get some feeling back in his right foot, but he still has excrutiating pain in it at times. We are quickly approaching the year mark of the accident, but prayers are still needed. Please pray for the restoration of Tylers shoulder and elbow so that he may resume the activities that he loves to do, and for the pain in his foot to subside and the feeling to return completely. We just want to thank everyone for the continued concern and constant prayers that have pulled us through day after day. Words cannot express how thankful and blessed we are to have the support of such wonderful friends. May God bless each and every one of you!

Just a note...

Tyler and his family was at church on Sunday and I must say that I was amazed by how good tyler looked. he was his usual outgoing self.. He said that the pain is getting less everyday...

To those of you who still visit this blog... remember that God is faithful. Every time I see these guys, I see walking miracles...

Blessings to you all!

Praise God from whom ALL BLESSINGS flow

The Drs. came in and took Tyler out of the airplane splint today (Friday morning). They took off his bandages and the graft looked good. Before the surgery Tyler could only raise his arm 90 degrees (from hanging down at his side to straight out) and when they took the bandages off he could raise his arm 130 degrees which would be 40 degrees better than before the surgery. YEA! The Doctors believe Tyler can make more progress doing therapy and perhaps be able in time to do 180 degrees which is perfect. They dismissed him because he knows what he has to do and the Doctors believe that Tyler will do it and so does anybody who knows him. He will exercise and will be working with a local therapist. They put the splint back on and he will only be able to take it off 30 minutes a day. Don't know how long he will have to wear the splint. It is very uncomfortable.

Thanks again for all the prayers and calls. Please continue to pray because he will need a lot of strength to finish the job. Tyler we are so proud of you. Keep up the good work.

Thursday update on Tyler

Cindy called and she had talked to Tonya this afternoon. They came to take the staples out of the leg where they had harvested the skin for the graft. The Drs. will check the graft tomorrow and if they believe it is taking Tyler will probably be released. There will be a long road of rehab to do but we are praising God that this is over and believing the graft will take and Tyler will be back on the road to complete recovery. Thank you all for your prayers and please do not stop because the battle may be won but the war is not over. He was in a lot of pain today. Tyler needs strength, patience and comfort from The Holy Spirit and Tonya needs it even more. Thanks for all the calls.

From Cindy 8:30AM:
Just talked to Tyler and he said his night was a little better than the first one! They were getting ready to take the staples out of his leg where they harvested the skin for the graft.

Tyler starting to recover, Doctor reviews on Friday

From Cindy:
Tyler had a rough evening last night as was expected but is recovering with a good lunch today. The staff is trying to maintain his pain as low as possible. That's easier said than done. On Friday, the doctor will review the healing then make the decision whether or not Tyler will go home Saturday or stay longer for possible rehab.

Trey is still experiencing pain in his teeth ( possibly nerve damage). The orthodontist has recommended braces but cannot go further because braces will increase the pain that is already there.

Please continue praying for encouragement and strength for Trey, Tyler, Ronda, Tonya and the kidos.

wl

Update post-surgery...

Larry just called and Tyler is out of surgery. They have him in a splint that I he must wear until Friday. They said he might be home Saturday but they doubt it.

Remember to petition the Lord on Tyler's behalf. The area where they took the skin is VERY painful. It must be very frustrating to feel as if the family is taking a step backwards... going through something again they thought was in the past...so please bend a knee and ask for God's strength & protection during this time...

In the name of Jesus let this be the surgery that puts "Ty-Ty back in the saddle" so to speak...

Father God! You are mighty to save and you are faithful. Rescue Tyler from any frustration, pain or discouragement... We ask for complete restoration in the Name of the One who paid for our sins and whose name is HEALER!

TYLER, now in surgery

Tyler just now went into surgery, at 12:30. They expect to have him in recovery at 2:30PM. Father God, protect him now from Satan, sickness, sabotage and sin. In Your beautiful name, Jesus. Amen.

Check back here for more, shortly.

Tyler's next move...

Just a quick update...

Tyler is scheduled for another skin graft on Jan. 6. They will hopefully remove scar tissue in the shoulder area and then do more skin grafts in that area. They will remove the skin for the graft from his upper left thigh, which I believe is the first place they took it.

As you all know, this marks the beginning of another painful detour for Tyler and Tonya. I imagine that this surgery will be hard for Tyler for many reasons. This surgery most likely means another painful recovery. This is why we must all pray really hard that God would have mercy on Tyler and relieve the stress and pain. We pray that God would shorten the healing time and totally guide the doctors with every move. We pray that the Lord will strengthen Tonya and the kids as they walk through this time.

I know that this has shown me how I take for granted so quickly my own health and comfort.
As we move about our lives in comfort, free from bandages and pain, let us keep Tyler in our prayers constantly.

An update from Tonya!

Tyler went to Lubbock yesterday and met with Dr. Griswald, he is Tyler's main doctor and is also head of the burn unit at UMC. He told Tyler he is a little reluctant to do surgery on his shoulder because Tyler's burn was so bad and so deep, that is is going to take his body 8 months to everyone else's 6 months to build up the elasticity in the skin. He told Tyler that he has never had a patient that had burns this bad ever actually live to make it to rehab, so he isn't quite sure what to expect. However, there has been little, if any, change in his shoulder in months. So, Tyler will meet with him again on the 18th, and they will make the decision about the surgery. If he decides to go ahead and do it, then it will be after the holidays, probably around the first part of January. The surgery will be a little more than we expected. They will go in and cut his shoulder and add skin to it. He will have to go to the burn unit again for 6 days with his arm in an airplane splint(this was one of Tyler's worst memories from his stay at the hospital). Then he will come home with the splint on and have to wear it for 2 weeks. It will be another miserable experience for Tyler, but at this point I think he is ready and willing to do whatever he has to to get back to normal

Many of you may remember that Tyler was supposed to go back to the dr to find out if he would need more surgery... Well, the first appointment was changed due to an emergency on the Dr.'s end, so they rescheduled for today.

Also, Trey has recently started the orthodonic prep to fix his teeth. Ronda and Trey went yesterday to get impressions done...

But on a lighter note, the boys went to the Ranch Rodeo in Amarillo this weekend. Trey was able to participate a little and Tyler needs to wait a while longer.

Just a thought: Remember where we all were only a few months ago... We were praying that Trey and Tyler would not die. We were fasting and praying like crazy, hanging on to every word to every report... and here we are today... I am so proud of this family and the friends that have held them up during this whole time... God is so good. Let's not forget the miracles that he has done...

Tyler needs our prayers again... please press in...

Tonya sent me the following information in a couple of emails... Please pray for them as the battle is not totally behind them yet.

Tyler is more than likely going to have to have one more surgeries on his shoulder. He has scar tissue that has formed and will have to be cut to allow more movement for him. The doctor won't make the final decision until his appointment on November 18th (6 months from the accident).

PLEASE pray for Tyler's foot, he is still having alot of pain and swelling at the end of the day. Everything was healed up and looked good on the x-rays at his last appointment, but please send out a request to pray for the pain to subside.

Pray For MARK BROWN

Mark Brown, son of Gene and Dorothy Brown was diagnosed with colon cancer. They expect to do chemo treatments in Wichita Falls immediately. Please remember him and family in your prayers.

Gloria Herring was in an accident last night on her way back from Seymour, during a down pour of rain. We have heard that she is thankfully, OK. Remember the Herring family in your prayers.

The doctor would like Tyler to come in for a November check-up on the progress of some of his skin grafts.

Cathy's Report

Subject: Cathy

Wednesday morning, Cathy just called me and is feeling much better, is going to walk a little today, had a shower yesterday, got the IV to her heart out yesterday.

She said please keep praying, she has a long way to go, but your prayers helped her along the way. I appreciate your love so very much. Mary Cartwrigtht