Pray For Tay :: Taylor Strand official benefit website!

T H E S T O R Y

At 12:30 am on Saturday, April 5th, 2008, Taylor was involved in a fire pit accident. She was rushed to St. Cloud Hospital. From there she was immediately transported by air ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center. She is currently in critical condition but stable. Taylor has third degree burns covered on 80% of her body. She's incredibly strong and is already on her way to recovery.

Please see below for updates on Taylor. As soon as we receive an update we will post them.

THURSDAY, JUNE 05, 2008 03:47 PM, CDT
They began doing some range of motion with Taylor. They changed her positioning with her arms. Instead of being out to the sides, she now has her arms at 90 degree angles with her palms facing up. Her left arm is taking a little longer and is currently at 70 degrees. (This is for all the kids that say "What do we have to learn this for?") She also has her hand covered with a special glove similar to Isotoners. That's great because it means she's moving forward. They are working on her mask to get it to fit perfectly, but because she had surgery on her eye it has become a challenging task. I have faith in our HCMC angels and know that they will find a way. They began to lighten up on the sedation medication and have increased her pain medication. I'm wondering how long the waking up process will take but we really have no idea what to expect. So we'll continue to go day by day or week by week. Tomorrow will be nine weeks. I'm thankful time is going by fast. Since she has been inactive for so long, her ankle muscles are starting to weaken. Juli constantly does exercises with her feet and ankles to help strengthen them so they can lay in a normal position. Another thing they do for her is put braces on her feet to help with positioning. Her feet must be sensitive because she's had pressure marks after they take them off.

MONDAY, JUNE 02, 2008 02:51 PM, CDT
Taylor got out of surgery around 1:30 so it didn't take as long as I thought it would. I have a lot of good news to share again!

As you know, Taylor has been in the hospital for over 2 months now. The first day she was there, we were all scared and weren't sure what to expect. She has overcome so many obstacles, and we sure are grateful for that. I know we are all so excited about how well she has been doing. It is often hard to write while giving you a true picture of what Taylor looks like, or what she has gone through, or what the family goes through on a daily basis. Sometimes I wonder if my words are too positive but then realize that is what keeps us all going, a positive attitude. Although she is doing great, she still has a long road ahead of her. We all know that in life a positive attitude travels a long way. Today was a big day for her, and I'm eager to share it with you.

Awhile back, I wrote about how Taylor's fingers on her left hand were at risk. What I meant by that is she didn't have blood circulation to her finger tips because they were burned. The blood vessels in fingers are smaller and therefore were burned beyond repair. Because of this, the doctors were unsure if they would be able to save her hand and fingers. The good news is they were able to after all. They did however have to do a procedure called debridement. This is where they removed the dead skin. They did this on her left hand on only three fingers (pinky, ring, and middle). By doing this, she only lost three of her finger tips. When you think about the alternatives, it is pretty darn good. They also replaced her skin from the top of her left hand and lower wrist. They fixed her left eye which was drooping a little at the bottom so they put on more skin. They worked under her right arm and soon hope to be able to look at her back. The surgeons hope that they are completely done from her elbows on down on each arm. I'm excited about that because that means her body has accepted the new skin. It will be at least 2 weeks until her next surgery.

They are going to start waking her up now but at a very slow pace. It will be a gradual process, and please remember that they will closely monitor her blood pressure and pulse to determine her level of comfort. There are still many medications out there to control any pain she may have. As she wakes up, they can begin doing range of motion and other exercises. The more she can do on her own the better off she is for gaining strength, especially in her hands. Again, we all thank you for being so positive, generous, hopeful, and encouraging.

Jaime

TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2008 10:57 PM, CDT
Taylor had her bandages changed again today and she is doing well. She now wears her mask for four hours at a time and is doing well. Some adjustments need to be made gradually to ensure her skin heals smoothly.

Of all the patients ever at HCMC, Taylor is one of four patients to receive cultrued skin. The first patient was from 1985. Taylor and another patient from the burn unit are the last two. I was surprised to hear this because I assumed this was a new practice. The specialist that saw Taylor last week will be at HCMC every two weeks to see Taylor. Let's pray she continues to see that Taylor is the "best".

MONDAY, MAY 26, 2008 06:05 PM, CDT
Today is another great day! They have made some changes again with Taylor's medication to lighten her sedeation. She has been moving her hands and legs quite a bit today. She also opened her eyes again and they look less glazed over than before. Juli put her face in front of Taylors and asked her if she could see her, and she nodded yes. Then she turned on the music and asked her if she could hear it, and she nodded yes. Then Juli asked her if she liked it, and she shook her head no. It is encouraging that she is taking baby steps to waking up and is responding to questions. Juli saw her hands without the bandages today and was very happy with what she saw. They replaced her feeding tube today and took x-rays to make sure everything is working the way it should. Again, I'm happy to share good news!

FRIDAY, MAY 23, 2008 07:49 PM, CDT
Her vitals are still as stable as can be. She has started wearing her mask which she will wear two hours at a time. That will gradually increase as the days go by until she will eventually wear it full time. It has been 7 weeks today and I am amazed at how well she is healing.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2008 03:30 PM, CDT
They removed the bandages from Taylor's chin and neck area. As you know, the surgeons are very impressed with how she is healing. On top of that, there are four specialists in the United States who travel around to see patients with cultured skin, such as Taylor. One of these specialists, who specifically travels in the midwest, came to look at Taylor and said she has never seen ANYONE look better than her!!! Juli said out of anything to be best at, she's glad she's best at that. That brings tears of happiness to my eyes! Way to go Taylor!!!

TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2008 07:19 PM, CDT
Taylor continues to do well. As you know she was fitted for a pressure mask to help her skin be tight and smooth. They think she might start wearing it sometime this week and will continue to wear it for 1-2 years. They tried lightening her sedation medication, but she was restless so they increased it agiain. The family would like to say thank you for cards that have been sent to HCMC. They are all read to Taylor and then are hung up in her room on the wall. Once Taylor wakes up, they will be read to her again. I know that receiving letters and cards at the hospital gives the family something to look forward to.

We'd like to send our thoughts out to one of the nurses in the burn unit, Deb, who lost her son on Friday. He was 18 years old and was in a car accident. If anyone would like to send a card to her you can send it to the HCMC address with attention to nurse Deb in the burn unit. I've only heard wonderful things about her and she is such a caring individual. She has shown our family nothing but love and support. Keep her and her family in your prayers along with Taylor.

I also know many of you were concerned about Taylor missing out on school. She is very fortunate that the school and hospital are going to collaborate so that she won't miss out and will join her friends next year in 9th grade. This is great news and Taylor will be thrilled to get back to school with all her friends.

MONDAY, MAY 19, 2008 10:06 AM, CDT
Taylor first...Juli spoke with the nurses this morning and Taylor is doing great. They are changing all of her bandages today which they do every two days. Her vitals continue to stay strong. We still have a lot of "wonders" but time will only tell. Juli shared with us that whenever she is in Taylor's room talking with her, her pulse goes up a little bit, but whenever she says prayers with her, her pulse goes down. I think that is pretty amazing how powerful that is. She also shared that one time she was at her bedside and even though she had medication to keep her heavily sedated and "paralyzed" in a sense to allow her skin to heal as it should, she mozied her leg on over to Juli and before you know it, her leg was up by Juli's shoulders. I'm sure she wants you to know she is aware and is a strong fighter!

FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2008 07:02 AM, CDT
Taylor is doing excellent and her vitals are great. I forgot to mention yesterday that they think her lungs are doing okay so that is great news. They also fit her for a special mask for her face that she will wear at one point, maybe in a week or so. The reason for the mask is to smooth out her skin and also protect it. It sounds like her skin is healing great. She'll have a couple more weeks now to just rest.

THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2008 10:45 AM, CDT
Surgery #8: Juli just spoke with the surgeon's, Dr Smith and Dr Pelter. They worked on her chin and chest. Dr Pelter said that she has gone from 80% (we have also been told it was 70% of her body) to a possible 50% of her body. This means she is really healing a lot on her own! On Saturday they will do a dressing change and start to reduce her sedation. It will be weeks before she is talking. She won't have any surgeries for two weeks. So another surgery down and she soared through it!

SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2008 08:11 PM, CDT
Taylor is still doing really well. After her recent surgeries, the nurses are doing their best to keep her as still as possible. As you know, Taylor is a strong young lady and wants to move around. Because of this, her blood pressure and heart rate were a bit elevated. Over the weekend, the nurses began a new medication that is helping her to be still and rest in comfort. This will help her skin heal, and she will be ready to go for her surgery next Thursday. It also puts all of us at ease in knowing her vitals are as stable as can be.

I'd also like to recognize the amazing nurses at HCMC that are caring for Taylor. They are so involved in making sure she is getting the best care possible, and we are so thankful for them. They are a huge part of Taylor's progress and want to say thank you from all of us.

THURSDAY, MAY 08, 2008 12:48 PM, CDT
Taylor is out of surgery!!! I'm happy to report that it went very well and the surgeons were extremely impressed. One surgeon worked on her face and the other on her right hand. They were very generous with skin on her hand not only for cosmetic reasons but for strength since it is her dominant hand. From a medical aspect, the surgeons/physicians were so impressed with Taylor and said that she has a lot of strength and is a good healer. They are going to keep her heavily sedated for at least another week to heal until her next surgery which will be next Thursday. They will work on her left hand and also do a dressing change at that time. Her vitals are great and she is just doing wonderful considering what she has been through. I'm also happy to report that her lungs seem to be doing ok as well! Their HOPE is that within the next 6-8 weeks, Taylor may be awake and able to mouth words. I know she can do it!

MONDAY, MAY 05, 2008 02:17 PM, CDT
Taylor is out of surgery! She did so well that the surgeons were able to work on her thighs, stomach, and the tops of her arms. Tomorrow they will do her tracheotomy. (I remember hearing from Juli that it is good news when they are finally able to do that......so YEAH Taylor!!!) It sounds like they will do another surgery on Thursday but don't have a game plan yet as to what they will do.

SUNDAY, MAY 04, 2008 02:06 PM, CDT
I have something wonderful to share with you today! Taylor opened her beautiful brown eyes! With Juli on one side and Wayne on the other, Taylor would track her eyes toward their voices as they spoke to her. She's not able to see very well yet as she has three differrent types of drops put in her eyes frequently throughout the day. Once the drops lessen she will be able to see just fine as she heals. She nods her head to respond to yes and no questions. The doctors say her vitals continue to be within the normal area. When I heard this news I was so excited that she has made one more step towards recovery. Tomorrow morning will be her 5th surgery. Her skin cultures should be back from Boston and they will work on as much of her body as she tolerates. Until then......positive thoughts!

THURSDAY, MAY 01, 2008 06:59 AM, CDT
Today Taylor will have a little movement. She'll go in for another bath and will have a bleach cleansing to help with infection on her skin. This is quite normal. Remember she won't feel any pain during this process because she will be completely sedated. The doctors are feeling confident right now about going ahead with the surgery on Monday morning. They will cover as much as her body can tolerate.

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2008 10:14 PM, CDT
Taylor continues to do pretty well. Her vitals have jumped around a bit but for the most part are stable. She's still heavily sedated and sleeps almost all of the time. The doctors are still looking into the fluid in her lungs and are trying a new antibiotic to treat it.

MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2008 11:20 AM, CDT
Taylor made it through her 4th surgery with flying colors!!! The doctors are very impressed with how strong she has been during her surgeries and comment on it often. Her vitals are still stable and were throughout the surgery. They were able to work on her upper torso and under her arms. They said her arms and neck are looking good and healing just as they should. Tomorrow they will change her dressings. This was Taylor's only surgery scheduled for this week. She will have a break now, and I'll let you know when I find out when her next surgery will be. Keep doing what you are doing because your prayers are working.

SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 2008 06:17 PM, CDT
It was a pretty quiet weekend for Taylor although the visiting room was packed full of family. She's been sleeping most of the time but continues to respond with her legs. Her vitals are stable. I've always been confused about that so I called my cousin Jen, and she told me that vitals include blood pressure, temperature, pulse, respirations, and oxygen saturation. Because they are so stable, she's able to sleep and gain strength for her 4th surgery tomorrow morning. It is expected to be fairly quick and will be on her upper torso. They are also going to take a look at her neck and arms to see how she's healing. Taylor is so strong and brave. I'm confident she will have another successful surgery.

SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 2008 8:26 PM, CDT
Taylor continues to rest comfortably and is still heavily sedated. She received one pint of blood today. There have been three pints so far with surgeries. She will continue to rest until Monday when she'll have her fourth surgery. Many visitors were here in support of the family today.

FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2008 3:33 PM, CDT
The prayer chain was unbelievable! It was so amazing to see so many people come together. Taylor's friends from school made a banner that said "courage" with signatures and notes written by everyone. We began by gathering at the middle school and walked down and around to Summit Apartments. From there we joined hands in silence as we prayed. It was so amazing. People came out of their homes to see it. Helicopters were flying overhead. News stations were there to capture the magical moments. The song "Someone's Watching Over Me" by Hilary Duff was playing. To say it was powerful would be an understatement. After a few moments of silence, pink balloons were released and we all gathered together in an intersection for a prayer led by Pastor Larry from Living Waters. As we walked back to the middle school, there was a quiet buzz of conversations about Taylor and what this all meant. Wayne and I were talking about how this has brought so many people together and that part of this is a blessing. As Pastor Larry would say...."it's a community learning to love". Thanks to all of you who were able to make it as well as those who couldn't that were praying and thinking of Taylor right along with us. Right before the prayer chain began, I got a call from Juli and she said to call her the moment it was done to tell her all about it. Even though she wanted to be with us, she was right where she needed to be and that is with Taylor. I know they could feel our prayers.

THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2008 12:22 PM, CDT
Taylor just got out of surgery. The surgeons said she did great again! Her vitals remained stable the entire time. They were able to use Integra on her face and said her nose and lips look really good. Today they worked on her lower stomach and thighs. They looked at her neck again and hope she heals quickly so they can move forward with the tracheotomy. On Monday, she will have her 4th surgery where they will do the rest of her torso and take a look at her neck again. They will then give her a break, and time will determine what will come next. In the meantime pray and think about her often. She's doing it! She's a fighter and can feel all of your prayers.

MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2008 12:01 PM, CDT
Yesterday the doctors changed Taylor's pain medications and she was able to sleep well through the night. After a good night sleep, she went into surgery this morning at 7:30 and was out by 11:00. Juli and Wayne spoke with both surgeons and they said that her vitals were stable the entire time and she did very well. They were able to remove dead skin from her face, neck and chest area. Since she's tolerating the surgery so well, the doctors are able to be more aggressive, covering more than one area at a time. They used a couple different options as I was explaining in a previous update. On her face they used cadaver skin. The reason for this is because they wanted to be sure her skin was 100% clean, and they were not certain at this time. As soon as her skin is ready, they will replace it with her own. They were able to graft skin from her scalp to put on her neck where she will receive a temporary tracheotomy. This is a surgical procedure on the neck to open a direct airway into her trachea (windpipe) until she is ready to breathe completely on her own. She gets help from machines 40% of the time to help her breathe. She breathes on her own 60% of the time. For now, her body needs to focus on other things so this procedure will help her with that. Another reason is so the tubes are closer to her lungs and also to get the tubes out of her mouth so she will be more comfortable. Taylor will be very happy as she's been trying to pull them out for awhile now. She won't be able to talk right away but in time will gradually begin with speech therapy.

Tomorrow they will remove her bandages, clean her, and redress her wounds.

Thursday will be her third surgery where they will work on her torso and one thigh. I feel confident that she will do just as great as her first two surgeries. Keep up the prayers and know she is in the best hands.

SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 2008 09:46 PM, CDT
I know you have all been waiting very patiently for updates and I thank you. She has been quite restless, moving her legs often. She's been moving her lips, trying to talk and wants to pull out the tubes. Her vitals continue to remain stable which is positive. They did find that Taylor has some fluid in her right lung. They are testing that fluid to determine if it's pneumonia or bacterial. From there they will give her the proper treatment to fight it off. She also has an infection which HAS NOT traveled to her blood stream. This is good. They are continuing to give her medication to treat that as well. She has a fever which is not a high risk concern at this time and is very typical of what she's gone through. They have changed her pain medications because she's became tolerant and the ultimate goal of course is for there to be NO pain. The surgeon who worked on her right arm will be doing her surgery tomorrow. It will begin at 7:30 and end around 12:00. They are going to focus on her face and neck to remove dead skin. They are going to look into her blood supply so remember during this process you can donate your blood to help Taylor or kids like her. Some very important decisions will be made by the surgeon about what is best for her face. There are three options. The first option will be to use shark collagen called Integra. (yes the ocean creature) It has some of the same natural components that our own skin has and is known to have the potential to decrease scars. The second option would be to use her own skin from the back of her scalp. If this is used it will be permanent on her upper face. The way they would do that is by shaving her head, and injecting a saline solution. This would cause it to swell and become nice and smooth. After that they would take a very fine layer of the top skin, and use that on the top portion of her face. The third option would be to use cadaver skin, just like that on her arms. If they do that option, it would not be permanent. While she is healing, they will put something on to keep it smooth. There is a possibility that her body could reject the skin, just like other organs. In the meantime, her skin cells are growing in Boston, which will be extremely fine and delicate. They are able to harvest from her scalp up to 8 times, but prefer not to from the back of her legs or lower back. The surgeons have positive outlook on the way her facial features look which is great. The swelling has gone down and her lips are less swollen and you can now see her teeth. On Wednesday or Thursday she will have another surgery where they will take a look at her arms and see how her skin is doing. They expect everything to go well with no worries as she is remaining stable. One of her eyes is beginning to open but the doctors say they'd like it to stay closed for now to help elongate her skin.

The doctors are limiting visitors to only, Juli, Wayne, and grandparents. Up until now, they have been letting some special guests go in to visit , but because there is such a high risk of infection as well as over stimulation, they are now going to be strict. Taylor comes first and during her healing process Caring Bridges will be a wonderful way of visiting with Taylor. I look forward to updating you tomorrow after her 2nd surgery.

SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 2008 01:08 PM, CDT
Taylor will be going into her second surgery in the hopes of working on her face and neck. She will be needing a lot of blood for this surgury. Not a bad thing because that means there is function and blood flow. So if you are able, it would be nice to donate blood in honor of Taylor and all those out there in need.

SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2008 11:26 AM, CDT
I just received a text from my sister Juli. She said that Taylor is still sleeping a lot but is still responding. I'm glad she's getting some good rest in before her next surgery on Monday morning. It sounds like there is a lot in place in support of Taylor and the family which is so comforting.

THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2008 02:54 PM, CDT
Taylor came out of surgery about an hour ago. The surgeon came to talk to the family about what took place. Originally, they intended on removing skin from her lower face, neck and one arm. During surgery it is so important for them to keep her temperature warm. Because heat escapes quickly from the head area, they thought it would be best to do both of her arms instead. Two surgeons were in on the surgery. One worked on her right arm and hand removing burned skin. The other surgeon later worked on the left arm and top of left hand. They went nice and slow to make sure Taylor maintained heat and a stable temperature. There are three layers of skin. First is the epidermis, second is the dermis, third is the subcutaneous. Below that is the muscle and then the bone. On her right arm, the burn went down to the third layer so her muscles are not burned which is good. They covered her arms with cadaver skin which she can have up to a few weeks until her own cells grow and can be replaced. Her arms are wrapped with bandages soaked in an antibiotic to help her heal. Three or four of her fingers on her left hand are still at risk. She does have a bladder infection but is on an antibiotic to treat that. Her next surgery is scheduled for next Monday at 7:30am where they plan on working on her neck and jaw area. Her blood pressure and temperature remained stable during the entire surgery and allowed the surgeons to do their work without other complications. For now they have a special blanket that wraps around her filled with hot air to help her stay warm.


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