Deanna Babcock - Thoughts and Prayers (Page 2)

 to update all...

The big news from yesterday was that Deanna opened her eyes briefly when
she was moved from neurology ICU to medical ICU.  The nurse even called
out to the waiting room to tell the family.  She continues to improve in
her vitals and they have taken her off many of the meds, including the
ones to keep her paralyzed, although it takes time for them to leave the
system.  Her color is much better - she looks like Deanna now.

Things do not look so bright for her left leg, but her right leg seemed
to be doing better.  Decisions on how to proceed were to be made
sometime today.

thanks guys keep her in your thoughts 

wow, that's really sad... I will definitely keep her in my thoughts and prayers

Get well Deanna

update...

deprived state. This surgery is deemed
necessary to stop a systemic infection from the
decaying muscle from further threatening her life.
The doctors will also operate on her right leg, and
perform restorative surgery to clean up the partially
damaged right leg muscles. They feel that her right
leg will be fine.

We are thankful that Deanna is alive and is becoming
responsive.

so she lost the leg today?, is that confirmed?  that is so sad   gosh.... that is so unfair

poor thing... here's thinking of you Deanna

Sorry to hear about the loss of her leg but hopefully the rest of her recovery will go smoothly.

Steve

Prayers said, card good to go.

Jon,

Thanks for posting here.  I'm really proud of your vigilance and your response to this athlete's accident.  In fact, I told my lifeguards here at Temple University about you guys today.  It must have been pretty startling to have to suddenly put all your training to use in such an extreme way.  Big thanks to you and your colleagues for doing so as you did.

well said! 

x2!

uonthebeach - 2007-07-25 9:22 PM Shes going to be an inspiration. Just wait and see, dont think that shes out of the game yet

I second that.
I just now found this sad post. I'm so sad about the leg(s) but very happy to see she is alive and improving otherwise.

Please continue to keep us posted on her progress!

update...

Hey all, good news for the 4th straight day.  Deanna is doing very well. 
It was basically a rest day yesterday.  She has been responding on command
to the doctor to move her hands and open her eyes which is a huge plus
from the brain activity department.  Her ponytail is back as one of the
nurses put it up in a “Pebbles Flintstone” style, so her hair wasn’t so
disheveled.  She yawned for her parents and grandparents when they began
to sing “you are my sunshine”.  Apparently, this song was a little too
boring for her.  They have been backing off the morphine and sedatives so
much that they actually had to re-sedate her because she was moving so
much and they were worried she may begin to pull at I.V.’s and tubes. 
They are maintaining morphine in concentrations enough to ease her pain
from surgery.  All is very optimistic and they are beginning to take fluid
out of her system through the dialysis machine.  They began with 100 mL’s
per hour, bumped her up to removing 120 mL’s per hour and now they are up
to 150 milliliters per hour because she is handling the procedure so well.
 This should help reduce her swelling.  Deanna continues to look better
everyday.  As the nurse, Brooke, was checking her vital signs at around 10
pm, Deanna opened her eyes and “tracked” the nurse.  Basically, she
followed her with her eyes.  This may not seem like much, but it is huge
because this is more than a brainstem reaction.  Paraphrasing from her
grandfather, he said that there has been more progress today than there
has been in the last 5 days combined.  Lastly, her respirator has her
programmed for breathing at 17 breaths per minute and lately she has been
at about 23 breaths per minute.  This is at least 6 breaths by herself and
she is most likely helping the respirator along with the other 17.  These
are all incredible signs that our friend is doing much better and that she
will continue to improve.  Before we know it, she’ll be out there running
again after a whole wheat pancake breakfast.  Keep her in your thoughts
and prayers.

here's a photo of deanna 

"Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off of the goal." 
- Luis Escobar

Ellasdad - Wonderful news.  thanks for keeping us udated.  I continue to pray for Deanna, and I think you're right.  Before long (actually probably after what will seem like a long hard recovery) she'll be back out there.  It is amazing what a young athelete can overcome.  My love and strength to Deanna.

Jon - every lifeguard's worst nightmare.  hope you and your buddy are doing ok.  Usually things have a way of all working out for the best.  It's often hard to see at the time though.

Ellasdad - thanks for the updates - I just read this thread this morning, and feel both sad for the loss of her leg, but happy that she seems to be recovering.  I put a card in the mail to Deanna this morning.

Dennis

can i start this update with i am so proud of my friends here on bt you guys rock....and the responses for a fallen triathlete have been awesome...

update as of last night....

things are looking good tonight for Deanna! This
evening she awakened and started to track people in
the room with her eyes. Deanna’s mom, wanting to
establish a more cognitive response, told Deanna, “I
am going to leave the room unless you raise your right
hand.” Deanna stuck her right arm into the air. Her
parents, her brother, and the nursing staff were
wildly excited with this response.

Deanna’s waking up is a difficult thing: many people
have expected her to wake up by now, but, in light of
the heavy amounts of sedatives she is being given
because of her surgeries she is unable to wake up.
The med staff is trying to minimize the pain she is
likely experiencing without compromising her ability
to be alert if in fact that’s the next step she is to
take right now. Every time she makes a small step
forward, she is re-sedated to minimize self-damage to
IV lines, etc. I will not mince words here – we are
all scared about how long she went without oxygen, and
what it may have done to her.

The cardiologist saw something today during his exam
indicating that Deanna may have experienced a heart
attack. Maybe a cardiac event is the root cause of
all this. This is speculation right now.

Deanna’s room in the Intensive Care Unit is becoming
covered with photos, race bib numbers, and lots of
cards and messages from so many athletes. Triathletes
from all over the country are writing to her. People
she has never met are pulling for her. Her parents
read every message to her, and the nursing staff tells
us that she hears your words as they are read to her.
Her mom, Debbie, told me that they had no idea that
the NCSU family and the triathlon family were this
strong, and that their daughter had this kind of
support network backing her up.

Please keep sending your prayers, good thoughts, and
cards Deanna’s way as we all look towards a good
outcome for her. You guys are fueling her recovery.