Deanna Babcock - Thoughts and Prayers (Page 18)

Welcome home.

Awesome. Simply awesome. Thanks for the update.

You're Amazing.  I would love to think that if I experienced a tragedy like that, that I would have your strength to be rebounding like you.

Shoot, not much anyone can say now...I just want to keep seeing you training logs...doubling your speed in two weeks...I would love to do that.

I've been out of touch lately going through my own pt, the "end" of the racing season for me, and just trying to get caught up at work, so I haven't been on here lately, and I was so amazed at the news of not only you are home, but that you are doing so amazingly well, getting back into the pool, walking, and I absolutely love the sass!!

Deanna, you continue to be in my thoughts and prayers, and I am so inspired by your amazing spirit and that wonderful attitude!!

Can't wait to hear the continued progress updates!!

Keep up the good work girl...you truly are so inspirational!

Amy Noie

I knew it, it won't be long before you are beating grandma to bingo.     Poor grandma.

Please keep updating Deanna! I love hearing about the progress. I sure the heck won't take my legs for granted. I never even thought about swimming being off balanced, etc with one leg. Does your quad muscles build up more having your new leg? I hope you don't mind me asking. I am curious of the mind/body/muscle connection that you/your body is going through.

Thank you, Deanna. Your witty updates on your amazing journey inspire me so much. You are the real deal. Now go kick Grandma's butt (or give her a bump with your car)!

Pam

Wow! Driving a car! Swimming, going to bingo . Love your humor, just don't hit any cyclist!  Sounds like you are doing great thanks for the update!

You should probably avoid hitting cyclists, but if you do happen to hit them, please do me a favor and hit the fast male cyclists, age 35-39. Really, I need all the help I can get.

Congratulations on getting out, getting faster and getting back in the pool!

Ditto on the male 35-39 speedsters and maybe the 35-39 women...40-44 women...

Edited by tripastor 2007-09-27 2:16 PM

Hey Deanna,
This is Jon, you only met me briefly in the hospital as you were getting ready to go to rehab. Sorry about the bad timing:-(. But I am the lifeguard that first jumped in after you. You have the honor of being my first save in over 10 years of Lifeguarding. Let me tell you, it was a scary thing, I cant imagine what it must have been like for you. You must get tired of hearing this, but you are a miracle to us Lifeguards. I wish I could have gotten to know you before I left Raleigh( i just moved to Louisville, KY with my new wife), but I am glad I was able to help. Just to twist your gray matter a bit here is a interesting tidbit, not sure if you believe in fate, etc. but I hadn't planned on working at the pool this past summer, but I needed a summer job and they needed lifeguards. And I only worked for about one more week after the incident until it was time for me to leave to get married...and you just happened to get into trouble when two of the oldest lifeguards at ncsu were on duty (Phil and I).lol. Take care Deanna, and as a fellow runner/athlete, keep running!:-)
-Jon-Robert Williams

Wow, I just read this thread for the first time and "Wow" is all I can say. Deanna your tragedy, struggle, and the strength that you permiate through your writting is nothing short of amazing. You are trully a beacon, someone that shines perspective to the rest of us that learn about you. I also look forward to the amazing accomplishments that are surely to come from you. Thank you for the perspective.

Deanna,

I'm one of the paramedics who responded to your accident this summer. We often don't get to see such positive outcomes. You have brought a smile to each one of us who responded. On behalf of all who came to your accident, we wish you the very best and a continued recovery.

Deanna,
I was the attending paramedic on your call, and let me say that you are an inspiration to all of us. Your story is one of success on so many levels; from all your hard work to do what you do, to the day of your incident, to your recovery and positive attitude. You are the person who reminds us of why we do what we do, and will be one of very few that we will always remember! I was simply awe struck while reading your post, and I will be sure to be mindful while driving on the roads of Raleigh! From all of us, we wish you the best!
If you have the time, I would be really interested in keeping in touch and hearing how your recovery continues!

Until then,
-Ryan Kenney
NREMT-P
[email protected]

Deanna:

Keep strong on your road to recovery. You continue to be in our thoughts and prayers.

As you would expect, I have been following BT's thread concerning my daughter, Deanna. My appreciation is indescribable, unmeasurable.

The following is my thank you note to the guys who flew Debbie (mom) and me to Raleigh from Tawas, Michigan that first night:
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October 5, 2007


Mr. Kenneth Bainhill
3290 Kimberlin Road
Glennie, Michigan 48737

Dear Ken-

This story about miracles and guys who contribute to them:

It was Friday night, July 20th, shortly after 7:00 p.m.when my dear former wife, Debbie Babcock and I received that dreaded phone call from Dr. Linda Paradowski, M.D., at the Neurological Intensive Care Unit of Wake Medical Center in Raleigh North Carolina. She said our daughter; Deanna had a swimming accident and was there in critical condition. She said we should make arrangements to get there as soon as possible.

Frantic, we got on the phone and on the Internet to find a plane flight to Raleigh that evening to no avail. The last flights out of Michigan would be leaving Flint and Detroit at 9:00 p.m. and there was no way we could get there in time to make the connection. When we called Dr. Paradowski back to say it didn’t look like we would get out of Michigan until about 9:00 the next morning she related the gravity of Deanna’s critical condition and advised that we should make every effort to get there as soon as possible. They had already called the Hospital Chaplin! You know what that means!!!

Word went out across the county that Brent and Debbie’s daughter had an accident, was critical and they needed a flight to Raleigh Durham immediately. Then we received a call that Dave Bronson and Jim Moran would fly us out to Raleigh yet that night. We were to await their call.

The details as to how it came together are rather blurred and vague given our state of our distress but we were to be at the Iosco County Air Port at about 10:30 to depart. It was absolutely amazing as to how our friends came together in our time of extreme need and with your plane, put together transportation to Raleigh Durham that night. Miraculous! We arrived at RDT at around 3:00 a.m. and were at Deanna’s bedside by 4:00.

As you may know, by now, Deanna was training for an iron man contest in Florida this coming November and had some sort of Cardiac episode while swimming at North Carolina State University where she attends graduate school. She “arrested” and filled her lungs with water. They got her heart started again but because of her arrest and having filled her lungs with water, they couldn’t get enough oxygen to her. Miraculously (again) the life guards in conjunction with Wake-Med Trauma Center had been trained with the new hypothermia protocol where they cool the body down to prevent organ damage during oxygen deprivation.

When we got to the hospital Deanna was on the hypothermia machine by which they cooled her body down to 93 degrees while they worked on getting her oxygen back up. It was touch and go for the first 12 hours and now we know that the medical personal (except Dr. Paradowski) were not too optimistic. Deanna survived the first 12 hours and then the first 24 hours. Miraculous (again!). By Monday morning 60 hours subsequent to the incident, optimism prevailed. Her oxygen was finally coming back up. There were no signs of organ damage (or brain damage). Miraculous (again!).

When they began to warm her body up and bring her out of a medically induced coma they couldn’t get the circulation going again in Deanna’s left leg. Wednesday they had to amputate it just above the knee but that is as bad as it gets. She survived!!! Miraculous (again!).

Now Deanna is adjusting to her new life. She has a new prosthetic leg, a new first floor apartment and a new (slightly used) car with an automatic transmission replacing her former stick shift. She is getting back into her graduate school program and her fitness program as she looks forward to competing in a ½ iron man this spring.

The miraculous events referred to above were not coincidental. That was God intervening in a very evident and positive respect. The whole experience has substantially strengthened my faith in God and Man Kind.

Please accept the most sincere gratitude of myself, my dear former wife, Debbie, my dear daughter Deanna, her brother, Brent Jr., Grandma and Grandpa Nelson, everyone, for the major part you played in facilitating our presence at Deanna’s bedside to contribute to her strength and will to survive. Thank you for the selfless, unquestioned and generous act of contributing your facilities to alleviate our desperation.

By duplicate originals of this letter to Dave Bronson and Jim Moran I am, again, relating to them, too, the depth and breadth of my appreciation. I am confident that you will experience the reciprocal of your generosity and grace as the wave good karma radiates from its positive source: YOU GUYS!

Sincerely,


Brent
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That's sorta' the story in a hutshell.There are so man people to thank!!! I'd appreciate it if you, Jon-Rbt Williams and Rykn Kenney would drop me a note as I would like to thank you guys, personally, too.

[email protected]

Thank you for sharing your emotions with us... i am truly touched.