7/31 1:24pm

Blake had his second physical therapy session today. He did very well, but was in much pain afterward. Next leg surgery likely to be Wednesday.

7/30 8:55pm

If fungal infection wasn't enough, CAT scan revealed Blake has a pulmonary embolism in 1 lung. Pray medicines work to rid him of the infection and dissolve the clot.

7/30 2:52pm

Blake has fungal infection and was placed in isolation. Katie and Steve must scrub up and put on gowns and gloves to enter his room.

7/29 9:38pm

Blake's condition is steadily improving. The nightmares have apparently stopped. He is eating relatively "normal" food, however, he has lost a lot of weight. Given that he was on a liquid diet for two weeks, that's to be expected.

He began physical and occupational therapy this morning. He did really well although he was in extreme pain for most of the session.

Some of you have been asking when you might be able to visit Blake. He is not in a "regular" hospital room. The step down from ICU is called the Trauma Intermediate Care Unit. Here's what goes on during his day:

After being seen nearly every 90 minutes through the night, Blake is usually awakened around 6:30 each morning by some residents who look him over and review his vital signs. From then until around 7:00 p.m. he is visited by a steady stream of nurses, therapists, trauma doctors and residents on rounds, and surgeons. These folks are sometimes lined up outside his door waiting to see him. Between these visits he needs to order and eat his meals, go to the bathroom, get bathed, brushed, and squeeze in some nap time. His pain medications generally "knock him out" for short periods.

Blake is regularly seeing a Speech Therapist, Psychiatric Nurse, Respiratory Therapist, and, after today, Physical and Occupational Therapists.

Katie and Steve spend a good deal of time in the hallway outside of Blake's room to permit him some semblance of privacy and dignity. So, you see, he really doesn't have much time to visit with anyone.

Blake has asked us to extend his thanks for the prayers and well-wishes. He hopes to see all of you someday soon.

7/28 2:08pm

Blake's appetite is improving; he ate nearly all of his breakfast. He is feeding himself, but needs a little help cutting food since one wrist is fractured.

7/27 6:07pm

Praise be to God! Blake was moved out of ICU late last night and into the Trauma Intermediate Care Unit. He should also be getting his first taste of real "chew food" with tonight's dinner and is allowed to finally drink water (he has been requesting that for several days).

His day today has been a steady stream of doctor's, nurses, and therapists - they were literally lining up at his door. Between that, his food and bathroom needs, he did not get much rest today.

Katie spent the night with him last night and neither of them got much sleep. Blake should be good and tired tonight and needs a decent night's sleep. We appreciate all of your thoughtfulness and prayers; Blake is not out of the woods yet. He is still facing multiple surgeries, therapies, and rehabilitation. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

7/26 3:58pm

Blake is resting comfortably today; getting caught up on some sleep. He had an EKG done this afternoon, but they haven't been told the results yet.

7/26 11:47am

Blake is sleeping better now but is also more acutely aware of his pain. Steve stayed the night so he would have a familiar face when he would wake up.
White count continues to decline slowly.
Breakfast: Pureed french toast, thickened orange juice, milk & coffee.
Doctor's ok'd move to "step down" unit but don't know when that will happen.

7/25 8:50pm

Blake finally got food. Ate a few bites and fell asleep. He has feelings of paranoia each time he awakens. Speech is improving but his voice is very hoarse.

7/25 4:13pm

Blake had his food test to see if he was cleared to eat "regular food" today. He ate pudding while they x-rayed it going down his throat and he was cleared to eat. He is in much better spirits because he hasn't eaten since the day before his accident. He will have to start on pureed vegetables and fruits and work his way up to solids.
The plastic surgeon stopped in and checked on his leg skin grafts and said they were looking good.

Hopefully he will get 1-2 days of rest now and we are also hoping he sleeps since its been a few days.

RESTRICTED VISITOR NOTICE

Steve & Katie have decided that visits to see Blake be limited to family only for the time being. Blake is very delusional and he becomes upset and confused with all of people visiting right now. He seems to do best when he can focus on one or two family members and they stay with him during the entire visiting hours. The family really appreciates all of the support thus far, but this is what is best for Blake's progress at this time.

Hopefully Blake will become less and less delusional here soon and his visits may resume. I will post when he improves.

Thank you again for everything everyone has done to contribute to Blake's recovery!

7/25 6:39am

Blake had an ok night. Slept awhile but awoke suffering anxiety. Sees helicopter blades in the ceiling. Had to be medicated; is sleeping. Behavior Health will be consulted.

7/24 9:39pm

CAT Scan tonight at 8:00pm. Don't know results yet. Blake needs several days of rest to allow surgeries to heal. He is only slightly verbal and incoherent. Not ready for food by mouth.

7/24 3:36pm

Blake came through today's surgery ok. He's still in a fog and only occasionally makes a coherent statement. Steve got to feed him some ice chips. He has to have a CAT Scan yet today.

7/24 8:06am, 12:10pm

Blake is out of surgery but Steve & Katie have not seen him yet. Doctor said it went well today; skin grafting done on right knee and various other wounds closed.

7/24 8:06am, 9:00am

8:06am- Nurse reported Blake had an ok night. He slept, but only for an hour. He is speaking, but only in single word responses. Has not put a sentence together.

9:00am- Plastic surgeon met with Steve & Katie before 9:00am. He wants to do skin grafts asap, so back to surgery in the next 20 minutes.

7/23 8:28am

Blake had a VERY hard time coming out of anesthesia. Didn't speak until 8:20 tonight. The first thing he said out of the blue was "Tresden". Steve & Katie showed Blake some pictures of him.

7/23 3:02pm

Blake is out of surgery. The doctor didn't rotate calf muscle or graft skin. Closed some fasciotomies and removed leg pump. Wants leg elevated above heart for a day or two. Doctor may want to check leg arteries. Blake may be facing an 8-10 hour reconstruction surgery on his right leg.

7/23 11:48am

Blake just went for surgery. Please keep him in your prayers, he told us he was scared.

FYI- the ceiling tile was wet in his room last evening - he will be moved to another room in the ICU post-surgery.

7/23 9:42am

Not a good morning. Blake is incoherent and has been digging around at a leg wound. He also keeps pulling his blanket off, exposing himself. We need to suspend visits this morning.

7/23 6:57am

Blake didn't sleep again last night. Very agitated this morning; pulling off heart monitors. Anesthesia does not provide good REM sleep. Surgery slated for 11:00am today.

Forgot to mention that last night he wanted me to tell everyone "Hi".

7/22 10:50pm

Blake had a good evening. Recognized all of his visitors and showed some sense of humor. He has a distorted concept of time and he hates the IV's and respiratory mask.
From Lori - I was happy that he wanted a big hug when he saw me. He looks so good and is doing very well.

7/22 2:49pm

Blake is out of surgery. Skin is grafted on left leg and fasciotomies closed except outer right leg. Plate attached at left ulna. Maybe calf rotation surgery tomorrow.

7/22 11:23am

Surgery time was moved up. OR staff came for Blake at 10:45am. Blake did have a very lucid conversation with surgeon and anesthesiologist.

Blake today

7/22 9:30am

Blake is awake this morning and whispering. Has lucid moments, but delirious. No sleep last night. Recognizes us; gave his Momma a kiss. Doesn't remember last night's visitors.

7/21 9:41pm

Blake has become very alert; realizing his condition and recognizing people. He can't speak with the tubes in his throat and becomes aggravated when no one could understand him. He watched America's Got Talent tonight.
Surgery scheduled for 12:30 tomorrow.

7/21 1:24pm

Doctor's rounds were late today. Blake is responding very well to verbal commands; wiggled toes and gave us a thumbs up! Surgery still a go for tomorrow.

7/21 9:20am

Blake had a good night. Just a bit restless and feverish. Temperature at 101 degrees. Had left chest tube removed late last night.

7/20 7:58pm

Sorry for the late posting - just got back from the hospital. Surgery took 4 hours - right femur repaired with a rod. Lower legs cleaned and redressed. Left ulna not done. Will need skin grafts. The doctors removed the external frame off of the right leg and added a "boot" for ankle. Legs wrapped with an ace bandage. Next surgery on Wednesday to fix his wrist. He is still on the ventilator but he is breathing on his own now.
He looked much better today. Puffiness is completely gone from his face now, got another face shave and they left the sideburns and added a "soul patch". He's still rockin' even under sedation :)

7/20 3/24pm

They took Blake into surgery at 3:15pm. Should take approximately 2-2.5 hours. Prayers are needed.

E-Cards

Blake received 40 e-cards over the weekend and 1 snail-mail card. Katie & Steve wanted him to rest for surgery today, so they are waiting until later to read them to Blake. Keep the love coming!

7/20 10:23am

Praise God! Blake is responding to verbal commands! He opened/closed his eyes, stuck out tongue & nodded head when asked. Pumped fluids no longer tinged red.

7/20 6:42am

Blake had a restful night, sedation only slightly reduced. Still running temperature around 100 degrees. Leg surgery still scheduled for 1:50pm.

7/19 9:20am

Blake is scheduled for surgery tomorrow at 1:50pm for his legs and his broken arm. He did get the right chest pump removed today. Been at bit restless but overall not a bad day.
Blake repeatedly opened his eyes as he heard his name in a familiar person's voice. He is still not following commands such as blink your eyes.

7/19 7:39am, 9:30am

7:39am- An ok night. Restless, so his pain meds were increased. Temperature went to 101, now down to 99. Attempts to awaken only get "purposeful movement" (trying to pull out tubes).
9:30am- Blake is a bit feverish, checking for infections - may need more antibiotics. Also maybe suffering from delirium. We are waiting for doctors to make morning rounds.
10:14am- Doctor who first treated Blake made rounds today. He had not seen Blake since Monday and was pleased with his progress. Surgery tomorrow; left arm and right thighbone. Post surgery will begin weaning sedatives. Plan to remove right lung pump today and left one tomorrow.
Keep praying for God's healing hand to touch Blake.

7/18 8:10pm

Second CAT scan on Blake's brain came back negative for neurological damage. The night nurse was not surprised by his inability to awaken. Sedatives and and time spent in wreckage both factors.

7/18 11:00am

Blake needs your prayers. He's not responding the doctors like they feel he should by now. Ordered another CAT scan - just in case. Going to stop sedatives and try to wake him.
Note- they think its the sedatives and they are going to try another kind.

7/18 6:40am

Sedation had to be increased. Doctors had wanted to reduce it and remove ventilator tube. Hemoglobin count low; gave him 2 units of blood which was the first needed since Monday.

7/17 5:48pm

Blake's medicines are being changed tonight. Weekend goal is to keep his vitals stable & wean him off of the ventilator. Tube feeding has been restarted.

E-Cards - on 7/15, Blake received 11 cards, none on 7/16, but he received 48 e-cards today! They came from all over Ohio and across the US - friends, family, former teachers, etc. Katie & Steve read them to Blake and will keep them for him to look at when he needs encouragement in the coming months. Thanks everyone!

7/17 2:52pm

Breathing progress is good. Blake's already been stepped down to 30% oxygen on the ventilator. Machine is set to 8 breaths per minute and he's taking 21.

7/17 2:02pm

Steve & Katie are back in ICU with Blake. Vital signs are good and he is resting. The doctor plans to put a rod in his right thigh bone on Monday and hopefully remove the right external rods.

7/17 12:53pm

Steve & Katie met with the orthopedic surgeon at 12:40pm. He closed open wounds, lengthened support rod on left leg and closed faciatomies on insides of lower legs. More surgery scheduled for Monday. Blake is in recovery now. They are cleaning him up and then Steve & Katie will get to go see him.

7/17 10:23pm

Took Blake into surgery at 10:10am. Vitals are good. Pastor (Uncle) Dan is here. We met and prayed with the anesthesiologist and surgical nurses.

7/17 8:09am

Blake's condition is the same as last night. Vitals are good. Leg surgery scheduled for 9:05am today.

7/16 8:31pm

At 5:00pm, he awakened, opened his eyes, moved hands and blinked eyes when asked. Second tube to drain the lung of fluid was attached at 5:30pm. Had to give Blake more pain meds.
Another good day.

7/16 11:25am

Blake's blood pressure dropped & fluid built up in the right (uninjured) lung. Its called "sympathetic effusion", caused by trauma to liver immediately below. Chest tube will be inserted to drain the lung.
Steve & Katie agreed to put Blake in a study for feeding trauma patients. He will be fed via tube around the clock rather than "meals"

Facial hair update - Sideburns are intact :)

7/16 9:18am

From Steve: Blake looks good this morning. They've reduced his fluids a bit because he was getting too much and leaking. His face is less puffy. They washed his hair and shaved his whiskers.
From Lori: I hope they left his sideburns!

7/16 6:51am

Another good night. Taken off sedatives but not pain medications to "awaken" post-surgery. All good. Re-sedated. More surgery on open legs wounds tomorrow.

7/15 5:55pm

Blake is out of surgery.
"Power washing" on legs went well. The wound on his left kneecap has been closed but there was not enough skin to do the right knee. Next step is consultation with the plastic surgeons. Further leg repair might be Friday or Monday. They will be working on Blake's legs for the next 8-10 weeks.
Abdomen has been closed. Hope to begin feeding him via tube.

Some people have had questions regarding whether or not Blake is in a coma. He is not in a coma and hasn't been. The doctor's have him heavily sedated so he won't fight all the tubes but he does wake up and is responsive.

Good, good day :)

Dusty & Chesha arrive

Dusty, Blake's oldest brother with my new sister-in-law, Chesha have arrived safely from Hawaii. Nick is taking them to the hospital now to be with the family. Its so good to have everyone together now.

7/15 1:52pm

Surgical team came for Blake at 1:15pm. Should take several hours.

E-Cards (Electronic Greeting Cards)

Some people have already done this, but if you would like to send an electronic greeting card to Blake - go to the below link on Grant Hospital's website and fill out the information. The hospital prints them out and gives them to Katie and Steve. Steve said they will read them to Blake and keep them for when he wakes up.
Info needed: Blake Quincel, Grant Medical Center, Room is ICU

Grant Hospital Electronic Greeting Card Link - Click Here

7/15 12:12pm

Blake should be going into surgery at 12:45 today. His temperature is back up a bit. They have reduced his oxygen to 35% which means his lung function is good.

7/15 9:45am

Still don't know surgery time. Depends on the OR availability. Nurses may not know until 20 minutes before. The Orthopedic surgeon just saw Blake. His temperature has returned to normal.

7/15 6:57am

Blake had another good night. His temperature had gone up to 102. Nurse told he'd be in surgery this morning at 9:30 but she has not seen it posted yet (as of 6:45am).

7/14 10:59pm

Nick, Parker and Lori went to the hospital tonight. He had a ton of visitors again today. Its clear from the visitors, phone calls, text messages and e-mails that Blake is well loved and has a very strong support system. Believe me, it is helping!
Nick & Lori went back to see him tonight. They removed the neck brace and raised him up in the bed a bit so he wasn't laying flat. We told him that the Olde Cellar Band performed as "Spleen" (Uncle Tim penned this name as what they performed under as a tribute to Blake) at Millstone Bike Night in Logan without Parker or Nick and good friend, Scotty Bratcher filled in with OCB. They had a record crowd. Many, many, many thanks to OCB and Scotty! We also told Blake that we loved him and gave him your love as well.
Condition update - His right arm is not broken as they originally thought. Just his left arm as well as his legs. The doctor's were concerned today because his urine was darkening but it was from dehydration so they increased his fluids. It is back to normal coloring. He is having trouble keeping the fluids up because of all of the open wounds. They were also concerned about the dehydration because his muscles could potentialy break down into the blood and try to filter through the kidneys. This would then turn the urine to the color of Coca-Cola and cause permanent kidney damage.
Tomorrow he is going to have exploratory surgery on his exposed abdomen. They are checking for internal bleeding, which they don't think he has. Yesterday he was given 20 units of blood but hasn't needed any additional since. If there is no bleeding, they will then close up the abdomen. They are also "power washing" his legs during this surgery and see what the damage is. He is scheduled for surgery on his legs for Friday if all goes well tomorrow.

Please pass this blog on to anyone. This is probably the most efficient way of getting the most up to date information out to everyone. Also, any cards, gifts, etc. cannot be sent to the hospital because he is still in ICU. Due to the fact that he is still in critical condition, his visitors are restricted to only 2 at a time. Visiting hours are in short stints as well. Please consider waiting to visit until he can be moved out of the ICU to a regular room. You are always welcome to visit family in the waiting room until then though.

7/14 2:30pm

Jamie took Tresden to see his daddy and is happy ICU let him back there for a 20 minute visit (since he's under 12 years old). Tresden did really great. He told Blake all about his Pokemon themed birthday party since his birthday is the 21st.

7/14 10am

Blake now has a pulse in his feet which means blood is flowing to them. He is losing as many fluids as they are putting in because of all the open wounds. He is having an x-ray on his knee today and another CAT Scan on his chest. Will hopefully get an update from the doctor this morning.

7/14 11:51am

Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday to close abdomen, clean and assess legs. More surgery on Friday. Currently, the legs are cut at the knees. Left leg tendons are severed from the kneecap. Pray there is enough tissue to reattach.

7/14 7am

Steve said Blake had a good night. Heart rate rose last evening due to medications but returned to normal. Still stable.

Accident

If you haven't heard by family or on the news, Nick's brother Blake was the person driving the van that crashed into the back of a semi-truck this morning. He was sent to Grant where his spleen was split in three places. He had a collapsed lung, liver damage and alot of blood lost. Both legs are broken and exposed to the bone and his arm is broken. He had several surgeries, one to remove the spleen and another to repair his legs - which will be one of many leg surgeries.
The good news is the CAT Scan results showed no head trauma or spinal injury. He is still listed as Critical in the ICU. Hopefully he will continue to improve. He did wake up but they quickly put him back out so he wouldn't fight the tubes.

Thank you so much for the prayers, emails, calls, visits and thoughts. We know Blake is fighting and we are going to fight right along with him.