Holly in Bad Hang Gliding Accident

[SWriverstone]

Thanks everyone...your words are encouraging! Holly's got an iron will (after all, she's a Marine)...but sometimes it's the strongest people who fall the hardest. (Know what I mean?) I think she'll be fine...but she definitely tends to be the "strong silent type" who will often just bear her suffering instead of leaning on me (or anyone else). So I'm just hoping she'll let me know when/if her spirits take a fall. I think she will, and I'll be there for her.

Surgery Tuesday---fingers crossed. (I'm sure it'll go fine.)

Scott

[Hugh]

Scott and Holly,

Prayers from 3,000 miles away. Amazing details of Holly's recovery. I hope everything continues to progress as well as it has so far.

How about some alpine details about Holly. What gear does she ride, favorite mountains, ability? Goofy or regular? Inquiring minds want to know.

The plan: Get well, get back on carving gear and come on out to CA next year.

Peace,

Hugh :)

[philistine]

I'm so sorry for you and Holly. You are both in my prayers for the upcoming surgery and recovery.

-Jason in Denver

[alpinegirl]

strawberries are great for increasing the volume of a smoothie/shake while providing cool things like flavor, some of those crazy nutritional things and fiber (maybe?). play with fruit and make sure she gets protein (as was previously mentioned). liquid diets get old fast, so be creative with what you're mixing up. it's amazing what can be sucked up through a straw. pump fluids.

conversationally though, just be patient and listen when she's speaking. few things are quite as frustrating as exerting the effort to say something and have somebody brush you off just because you can't articulate it as clearly as usual. oh, and volume can drop too. but most phonemes in the english language can be formed through clenched teeth, it just takes some getting used to.

i'll be praying for you guys.

[SWriverstone]

Continued thanks for all your well wishes! Holly's back at the Naval Medical Center after spending some restful time at home over the weekend. She loved sleeping in her own bed and got some serious Z's.

Today's a pretty relaxed day in the Surgical Ward...not much for Holly to do but rest and eat so she'll be as strong as possible for the surgery tomorrow. Another BOLer---Mark Brown---stopped in for a visit this morning. (Thanks Mark!) And he came bearing wonderful gifts---SES DVDs and the issue of Snowboard Journal with the BOL article! I read all your quotes in the article to Holly, and she enjoyed it immensely. (We'll watch some shredding on the DVDs later...)

Someone asked about Holly's carving...like me, she's brand new. We both started carving this past winter. We picked up freestyle boards/soft boots in the fall and rode those for a month or so 'til we discovered carving...then immediately switched to hardboots and never looked back!

Holly bought a new pair of Suzuka Deeluxes and TD2s, which she used on a Rossignol VAS 166 board. It might not have been the optimal first board, but she adapted to it fine and was doing well by season's end. Now we're both hooked and can't wait for this coming season to start! Our experience at Okemo last March with all the other carvers was great.

Not much other news on Holly for now. Surgery is at 9am tomorrow, and will be a long haul---at least 6, maybe 10 hours. I'll be nervous as hell all day, but I know she'll come through strong and be fine.

I'll update everyone sometime late tomorrow to let you know how surgery went!

Thanks again,

Scott

[SWriverstone]

Not much new to report on Holly's condition. She's sleeping now after a busy day of appointments and visitors. She had a few Marine Corps officers visit...one was Mary Kate Bailey and her husband...the other was a Major, Holly's company commander---whose name I can't recall (my apologies to the Major!). Holly greatly appreciated both visits.

She also had a surprise visit by Tex Forrest and Sandi Martina from the flight park. Tex was piloting the tow plane when Holly crashed, and I know he was beating himself up a bit over the accident. Visiting Holly was good for them both. He's got a great sense of humor and made Holly laugh---good medicine. Finally, a snowboarding friend came to visit, bearing fun snowboarding DVDs for us to watch.

Holly and I had a final meeting/exam with Capt Markwell, the ENT (Ear/Nose/Throat) doctor leading the surgical team. He wanted to scope Holly's nasal passages to determine whether she could be intubated through her nose during surgery. The decision was no---her nose is too beat-up for that, so she will have a tracheotomy instead. Though it sounds horrible, Dr. Markwell assured us it's not a big deal, and actually safer for Holly as it's a "sure bet" surgically speaking, with virtually no risk. Holly will be required to have the trach tube in her throat for a few days following the surgery until the swelling in her nose diminshes enough for her to breath safely that way.

Dr. Markwell also told us that he *hoped* Holly's jaw wouldn't remain wired closed for more than two weeks (and---depending on how well her recovery goes---possibly as little as a week to 10 days). He was fairly certain the jaw wiring would not be required for a long period (in other words, not for 5-6 weeks). This due to the improvements/reliability of the titanium plates and pins used to repair her face.

---

I'm sure Holly is a bit nervous, but she isn't showing it. She wants to get on with it and get on with her recovery---she's looking forward! I'm very nervous, though I have full faith in Dr. Markwell and his team. I think my nervousness comes more from what I imagine could be a tough first day or two after surgery. If Holly isn't too uncomfortable and disturbed by the jaw wiring or the trach tube, I'll be a lot happier.

That's about it. Holly's surgery starts at 7:30am tomorrow (Tuesday). I'll be here at 5am to be sure I can accompany her to the pre-op room, where they'll let me stay with her until she's ready for anesthesia. Dr. Markwell told me they'll be able to provide us a couple updates during the surgery, which I appreciate.

I'll email with an post-op update tomorrow night and/or early Wednesday morning!

Scott

[ar(angel]

Just stopped by to check things out and saw your post, sounds like Holly is on the road to recovery already. Best wishes from my household and good luck with the surgerys,

take care,

Paul

[SWriverstone]

Last night, Holly and I watched the '04 ECES and SES DVDs. It was GREAT!!! We were both smiling and doing the running-narrative to everyone's runs..."Wow! Awesome heelside!"..."Whoops---blow out!"...and "Holy cow---look at that slope! It's SO WIDE!"

It was a great morale booster, and got us both almost drooling over the upcoming season. I got so excited I could hardly keep still, and said over and over "Man I miss carving!"

So thank you Mark Brown for the DVDs...and kudos to the team that produced them---they brought us a LOT of happiness!

---

Holly's in surgery now, so it's a long day of waiting for me. I'll post an update when it's all over.

Scott

[D.T.]

Best wishes for Holly's surgery today. Hope everything goes better than expected!!!!:)

The human body can do amazing things. A few years ago I shattered my forearm (ulna) from the midpoint into the elbow joint. The doctor's told me that at most, I might have 30% range of motion in the elbow after everything was healed and rehabilitated. They expected the recovery process to take a year. I was lucky and had a great surgeon and physical therapist. The surgeon went with a non-traditional method for this type of break and re-assembled my arm with a 9-inch long plate and thirteen screws (typically they would have used multiple halos and pins to hold everything in place). The break occurred the end of December, in June I was kayaking (in the freezing Colorado run-off) again, all physical therapy was complete, the only problem was pain caused by the plate slightly protruding away from the bone at the elbow. Any time I slightly bumped my elbow, I would be doubled over in pain. That August they removed the plate and some of the screws; everything has been great in the five years since. And their predictions of only having 30% range of motion were not quite accurate, I have about 95% range of motion. Sorry to be so long to get to the point, but as I said in the first sentence, the human body can do amazing things. It will take some time to heal, but very soon, this accident and the healing will just be a memory!

Best wishes Holly! Scott, I do not know what you are going through, spending all your time at the hospital, the worrying, the waiting, the anticipation, but my girlfriend does. You are a great person for doing so and being there by Holly's side!

Dustin

[SWriverstone]

Thanks Dustin! These stories do a world of good...it's always encouraging to hear that others have made it through and are doing so well now!

Scott

[SWriverstone]

It's been a long morning of waiting. Finally, the head nurse called my cellphone to report that all is going well. As of 1pm (after 4-5 hours of surgery), they had just finished positioning and repairing her jaw. Now comes the more difficult part---repairing the other facial fractures, particularly those around the top of her nose.

The nurse assured me Holly is doing fine. Whew! Surgery will continue for at least another 4 hours, possibly more. Stay tuned!

Scott

[SWriverstone]

The surgery continues. We (Holly's parents and I) got a call around 4:45pm telling us it would be another 2 hours or so. At 6:30pm we went down to the surgery waiting room, full of anticipation and anxiety. We waited...and waited...and the phone rang, and we almost jumped out of our seats to answer it. It was 7:15pm.

"Holly's doing fine," the voice from the OR said, "and they're working on the plates in her nose right now. It'll likely be another two hours."

We slumped with frustration and mental exhaustion. Two more hours. What a marathon---12 hours of surgery and counting. So now we're looking at around 9pm. This is definitely the longest day of my life. I've tried to sleep (closing my eyes) but couldn't. I want to cry, but I'm not even sure I can do that.

Look for another update sometime after 9pm tonight.

Wearily,

Scott

[SWriverstone]

This will be my final update tonight. We just heard from the OR again. Holly is in the final stretch---all hardware is in place, and they are now closing all the incisions and applying bandages. They said maybe one more hour, so we're looking at 10:15pm. (14 hours of surgery!)

They said Holly is doing fine, and some good news: they did *not* make the large, ear-to-ear, over-the-forehead incision (which was their "Plan B"), and made all repairs either through her mouth, or through a smaller incision beneath her eye (or eyes?) and across the bridge of her nose. We hope this will mean a bit less swelling, and a bit less recovery time.

Though we may get to see her briefly, I'm sure we won't communicate with Holly tonight---she'll likely be far too out-of-it. That's okay. I'll be able to sleep knowing it's all over and Holly is okay. She'll spend the night tonight in a closely-monitored recovery room, and hopefully come back up to her room tomorrow.

I'll be crashing like a ton of bricks when this is over. I'm thankful, and modern medical technology is (in my opinion) almost as miraculous as the miracle that saved her in the first place.

More tomorrow.

Scott

[Erik J]

Wow... my wife and I send our best wishes to the both of you.

[Steve Dold]

Same here Scott, some of us aren't posting but are following along intently and hoping for the best. It sounds like everything is going well. She sounds really tough.

Steve

[kinpa]

Originally posted by SWriverstone

For example, her jaws will be wired shut. This seems like it would be a nightmare. I don't know if I could stand it. There seem to be lots of people here who have been through some similar experiences...does anyone have any knowledge of (or experience with) jaws being wired shut? I'm just imagining all sorts of small issues...not being able to brush teeth, barely being able to talk, the critical importance of keeping the nose clear to breath (since you can't breath well through your mouth when it's wired closed)...constantly feeling hungry because the body isn't used to an all-liquid diet, etc.

Hey Scott... I haven't checked BOL in awhile and was so shocked by this post.... it sounds like Holly is a real fighter and I'm sure she'll be fine in the long run....

I broke my jaw 25 years ago when I was nine in a bicycle accident. Even though it was so long ago, there are still some vivd memories... For one thing, my older brother thought that I wouldn't be able to talk much with my mouth wire shut.... Boy, was he wrong!!!! Not even a little wire can keep me quiet! HAHAHA.... Anyway, I also lost some front teeth so I was able to stick the straw in pretty easily. I remember my birthday cake (an ice cream cake!) for my 9th birthday was thrown in the blender and sucked up through a straw! I think I also had some baby food on a little straw that I slurped up. As someone else posted, it's amazing what the human body can do. My other memory of that summer was that's when my parents got divorced, but that's a whole different story....

Well, stay strong..... take care of yourself too..... and I'm sure Holly knows how lucky she is to have someone as caring as you by her side.

Kathy

[FTA2R]

just got back from carving camp / vacation, quite exhausted. i will be in touch soon, Scott. sounds like the 2 of you are stayin' tough.

Barry

[SWriverstone]

Holly is doing as well as can be expected after 15 hours of surgery. The doctors came to see us around 10:45pm last night. They said everything went fine. Once into surgery, they found many more fractures than were evident on the CT scan. Holly's face wasn't just cracked in a few places, it was shattered into many pieces over large areas. Piecing everything together and securing it in place was meticulous, time-consuming work.

Now Holly is quite literally the "Terminator," with a largely titanium face. No more easy trips through airport gates. <weak smile>

I first saw her in the recovery room close to midnight. I was completely floored...not by her physical appearance (which was better than I expected) but by her extreme anxiety, rapid, shallow breathing (through the tracheotomy), and generally helpless and miserable state. It tore me up. I held her hand briefly, stroked her hair, told her I loved her...then had to get away. After 20 hours of waiting, it was all too much, and one of the most difficult moments in my life, but I imagine far more difficult for Holly. She cannot see (her eyes are swollen shut), cannot speak, cannot open her mouth, and breaths through her throat.

I wandered back to the lodge, somewhat shellshocked, but mercifully fell asleep quickly. I couldn't bear silence, so I turned on the radio and fell asleep to jazz.

---

Holly is back in her room on the 5th floor this morning. I just peeked into her room and she was sleeping, so I didn't bother her. I honestly have no clue what her discomfort level is. I hope minimal.

---

I hope some of you aren't tired of these posts. Please understand that besides keeping you all in touch, writing these updates is good for me. It gives me a valuable chance to sit, think, and calm my thoughts of the days' events. Now that surgery is over, I'll start limiting future updates to one a day.

And to pilots reading these messages, please bear in mind the physical and emotional devastation that accompanies an accident like this. I have far greater empathy now for others who have been through it. I am nobody to lecture and don't mean to. I'm still reeling from the lasting consequences of a few effortlessly simple flying-related decisions and events that could happen to any of us. Enjoy the wonder of free-soaring flight, and remain vigilant and careful. Complacency can be deadly. (Ditto for carving, whitewater paddling, motorcycling, and all the other sports we all do!)

I haven't loss sight of how lucky we are that Holly is still here. <weak smile>

Thanks,

Scott

[Phil]

Keep posting bro. I am glad to hear that things are progressing. Hang in there.

[SWriverstone]

A tracheotomy sucks. It's hideous, for starters. As I sit by Holly's bed when she's resting, I'm glad she can't see me, because I can't stop from staring at her trach tube. All sorts of terrible associations run through my mind...Frankenstein...the Borg (from Star Trek)...a third eye...it's just not right, terribly un-natural.

Holly's having a tough time dealing with it. She constantly feels like she's having trouble breathing. It must be like trying to breath through a straw. On top of that, it is tightly sutured to her neck. (Sorry to be so graphic, but that's reality.)

She's miserable, uncomfortable, and anxious...and the doctors are all applauding and saying she's doing FANTASTIC! It's a case of "medical tough love." When the patient is kicking and groaning, the doctors all say "Good! Good!" <weak smile> They obviously prefer a fighting patient to a passive one...and Holly is certainly fighting. I thought I'd lose it when one doctor casually hosed down her lungs with saline through her trach tube. She gasped, hacked, coughed, groaned...and the doctor smiled and said "Good! You're doing great Captain!"

This is all tough to bear...and I keep telling myself "She's doing great. She's doing great. She's doing great." A new nurse is assigned to Holly tonight, and she's fantastic. She's here on temporary assignment away from her normal duties on board the Hope, a Navy hospital ship. She's a world class nurse, very no-nonsense in her blue Navy jumpsuit, confident, knowledgeable, and compassionate. God bless nurses. (And doctors too.)

So now we wait. Holly's next difficult step is to try drinking and swallowing. If that goes well, they will remove one of the Borg-like tubes that runs through her nose to her stomach. Then, she must gradually learn to breath through her mouth again, while the tracheotomy is still there.

The best-case scenario is that she'll have the tracheotomy removed sometime Friday, and might even be able to go home sometime this weekend. It all depends on how strong she is...and how hard she fights. I know she wants out of here...NOW...so she'll fight. She's showing her strength as a Marine. (If anything, we need to prevent her from trying too hard too soon.)

---

Next door is a 21-year-old Marine who was shot through the bottom by a .50-caliber round. Then there is another Marine who was riding his motorcycle and had a head-on collision with a car. Still another young woman has a brain aneurism. We know all their parents now, as we all sit together in the family lounge. It sounds depressing, but I've never seen such enormous resilience, compassion, and strength in people. The family lounge is a mutual support center, a place where we all share our stories and concerns. All good.

With Holly's parents keeping an eye on her, I walked back to my room at the Navy Lodge this afternoon and crashed. I slept soundly for 2-3 hours, and woke feeling much better. Otherwise, we spend our time alternately sitting with Holly, talking in the lounge, checking in with friends and family, and making trips down to the lobby for coffee or a snack.

It's been a strange journey, my whole world narrowing down to this facility and Holly. Every day will get better, though...and that keeps me going.

Scott

[Mark Brown]

Originally posted by SWriverstone

God bless nurses. (And doctors too.)

Amen, brother!

Thanks for the post - keep strong for Holly!

[Guest Randy S.]

Wow Bob. That's scary. The good news is that nearly all planes are designed to be able to withstand a wheels-up landing, once. That's not a joke - some kit planes can't take a wheels-up landing, but most can. Its the one set of wheels down landings that are problematic.

Prop plane? That means they probably still have their luggage since it was likely in the rear, rather than underneath. I bet she was terrified.

Scott, keep the updates coming. Stay strong and positive. I'm sure she loves hearing you talk to her, even if she can't respond.

[SWriverstone]

Last night (Wednesday night) was the worst yet. Holly was having difficulty breathing through her tracheotomy all night. (Try breathing for an hour through a straw, and you get the idea.) She hacked and coughed, and hit rock bottom. She was miserable, and at one point wrote "I quit" on a dry-erase board I got for her.

I left well past midnight, miserable at having to leave, but knowing I needed sleep. I didn't get more than 3 hours' worth. I woke at 6:30am this morning to a phone call from the head nurse, who told me all hell broke loose with Holly during the night. Suffice it to say she was not happy, and made this very clear to the nurses. They had to move her to a room closer to their main desk.

When I hurried in this morning, Holly squeezed my hand, then took the dry-erase board and wrote "This was NOT the right treatment for me. I hacked and coughed all night and got very little sleep." I didn't know what to say, because in my opinion, it *was* the right treatment. She then wrote, "How much longer do I have to stay here?" I said possibly no more than 2 more days. She then wrote "But I am no longer participating in the program." She had all but given up, and it broke my heart.

All I could do was offer generic reassurances along the lines of "Stay strong," or "We'll get through this," or "not much longer before you're out of here." It seemed pathetic. I wanted concrete information and actions, but didn't get any 'til midday, when one of the ENT doctors, a woman she likes, came up and told Holly to come down to her clinic.

After getting a new IV, Holly swung her legs from the bed, stood up, and forcefully pointed to the door, as if to say "Let's GO!" I offered to get her a wheelchair, and she shook her head---no way. She was going to walk. When we arrived at the clinic, the ENT doctor downsized Holly's tracheotomy tube so she could begin breathing around it---a critical step toward restoring normal breathing through her throat. This made a difference, as I heard Holly speak (faintly) for the first time...a sign that air was flowing through her vocal cords again.

Then came a grueling session of jaw wire-tightening, which Holly did not enjoy. But our final reward was when the doctor laid out some concrete next steps: if Holly could drink and keep liquids down, they'd remove the stomach tube (from her nose) tonight. Then, if she could breath normally tonight with her tracheotomy tube plugged, they would remove that tomorrow. It was exactly what Holly needed to hear---her orders, as it were.

Breathing easier, she slept on and off through the afternoon. She also drank some water and cranberry juice, which she kept down. She was counting bigtime on getting that stomach tube removed, and tonight it happened. What a relief! She was instantly happier---one down, one to go. She celebrated by drinking most of a cup of beef broth.

So from the depths of last night, we're looking at a much better evening tonight. We all need it. I'm exhausted, and need a good night's sleep. So does Holly. We're keeping fingers crossed that she'll pass the "breathing test" tonight and get the trach removed tomorrow. The doctor says if she does, it might be a record for how soon a patient's trach is removed after surgery. (If anyone can do it, Holly can.)

So that's it for now. I'm headed downstairs in search of food (Probably Subway...again!) And holly should be more comfortable tonight. tomorrow will be a critical day---especially if the trach is removed---and could determine whether she'll go home this weekend.

Scott

[rikytheripster]

sounds like intense irritation and restlessness was setting in; so good to hear that one tube is down, with one to go.

Good luck with the trach tube breathing test!

Am sure Holly will pass, no probs.

[dr. sandman]

Stay strong .... BOTH OF YOU!!! It will no doubt continue to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride for quite some time. From all of the entries above, there is no doubt that you are both strong and highly driven individuals. Together you will get through it and some time from now look back and be able to just say "whoa, was that wild or what?!?!?" For now, enjoy the daily triumphs and allow them to cloud the struggles.

A problem is not so much a blockade or challenge but more so an opportunity. Make the most of it.

Best wishes and regards