Good evening friends and family. We had a surprise this morning. About 7:00am (visiting time was over) our night nurse ran out of the burn ICU to find us. She said "I want you to come quickly because Clay has his eyes open & he wants to see mom & dad." We went in to say "Hi" to Clay. I'm sure we looked unrecognizable. We are required to wear head covers, masks, & gowns when we enter the ICU unit. We pulled them off for just a second so Clay could see that his parents were in the room. With tips from the "burn" childlife specialist & encouraging words of our own, we continually reassured Clay. The nurses have been telling us for the past few weeks to get as much rest as we could, while Clay was sedated. We realized today that our work is just beginning; but, we welcome it. Now that Clay's eyes are open, he can see all the strange machines, tubes, & bandages that surround him. What a strange, new place Clay has awakened to. He can't move or turn his head much, but his eyes can follow us around the room. The hours between visits seemed so long, knowing that Clay was waiting for us to walk back in his room. He cried often, but we constantly reassured him. At the end of each visiting hour we would tell Clay that the nurses needed us to step out of the room for a short time. We told him that they needed to give him medicine, new bandages, etc. We reassured him that we would be outside the doors.
Uncle Jace & Aunt Dana drove in from Omaha, NE today to see Clay. Dana (Deidra's twin sister) flew down right after the accident & was encouraged with the progress she saw today. We are going to head to bed so that we have the strength to help him tomorrow. Thanks to everyone! Good Night!
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So glad for the wonderful news!! Thinking of all of you!!
ReplyDelete-Brook and Kaitlyn Smith
Such fantastic news! He can finally open them pretty eyes to see what has been going on for the past few weeks. We are so thankful for the progress of yall's little trooper has been making. God is truly an awesome God!! Thank you so much Chance and DeeDee for keeping us posted on his progress. Continually thinking about you guys and praying..
ReplyDeleteLove and Prayers,
The Kirby Family
This is great news!! We are praying so much for all of you. We love you!
ReplyDeleteKelly, Reno and girls
Thank you so much for keeping this blog so up to date. We have followed along each and every day. So happy to hear good news over and over these last few days. Big Hugs!! Scott, Renita, Brooke and Blaire Sansom
ReplyDeleteChance,Dee Dee, and Boys,
ReplyDeleteAwesome news!!!! I'm sure it's such a thrill to see little Clay's progress and also such exhausting work for you, Chance and Dee Dee. We hope you can stay strong and rested. All five of you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Lots of Love,
Bob and Tammy
Yay! I am doing a halleluiah dance for all of you! Annie and I have been praying for his eyes to heal quickly so he could see you. God really is answering our prayers! I know it seems slow, but He really is with you and I promise He won't leave you or Clay. Please tell him we are praying for him! I am so glad you posted the picture of your whole family so we could see who we are praying for. We continue to pray for Cody and Carson as well! Your family is beautiful! We love you and will keep praying for a very quick recovery. Get some rest! Love from Mexico, The Wood family
ReplyDeleteClay my little friend what great news!!I will sleep well knowing that you had a good day. Today Grace had her first softball practice. It was alot of fun and I think she liked it. I baked 4 pecan pies before practice and 2 pumpkin pies after practice and before bed I made two pans of lemon bars. They are all wrapped and tied with a pretty orange ribbon.(I heard that was your favorite color)Tomorrow morning I will take them to the bank for your BIG bakesale. We love you!!
ReplyDeleteThe Darrow's
Linc,Kristine,Kade and Grace
How comforting to get to see his Mommy and Daddy!! And for you guys to see your little guy! We are continually thinking of you and praying for you.....
ReplyDeletewith our love,
Chris, Bambi, Mia, and Ryder Barrett
So glad for more good news! Thanks so much for keeping us updated on this blog. Please tell Clay that 'his' workers are thinking about him & love him (and his parents, too!) Love, Susie
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful encouraging news!! I'm sure that was a beautiful site!!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome News!!! How exciting for you all to finally see his eyes open and for him to see Mommy & Daddy. Each day seems to bring one more reason for celebration. The road ahead seems long, but like any goal, you take one step at a time - one day at a time and rejoice with each little progress. The news brings tears to our eyes! Love you all - tell Dana we said hi, too - Dawn & Pam
ReplyDeleteWe are feeling your joy and excitement! If there was any way we could rest for you and it would help on your end, we would be doing it for you! We are thankful for the wonderfully good news!! Thank you for posting! We are thinking of you today....
ReplyDeleteThere are two things better than opening their eyes...the first words they say to you and the first time you can crawl into bed next to them and hold them tight! So thrilled for you that you got to see his beautiful eyes again, taking it all in. What a blessing! Just a suggestion that was helpful to us in helping "anchor" Brian when he was in the burn ICU is we had a family photo blown up to poster size and laminated at Kinko's and hung it in his room so that when he would wake up confused wondering where he was he could look at the picture and know he was safe in his room. The med's do funny things to the mind and to him it was how he reassured himself. We continue to pray for you and tell others your story so they too can pray for you. God's richest blessings on you all.
ReplyDeleteWhat GOOD News---we can't wait to open your Blog each AM and read of your progress little Clay!!!
ReplyDeleteYou're a real "little Fiter" Keep up the good work. Marvin & Bonnie Broughton fron Thunder Bay.
Wonderful to hear Clay has opened his eyes. I have not taken my baby blue braclet off since I got it. Love Love Carlita
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing that must have been for you both! God is an Amazing God! We are so excited for you both and especially for Clay! The Girls group on wed. night at our church, got their picture made so that we could send it with a book for him, how exciting to know that now he can see pictures when you all read him books! That is just great! My heart is jumping with excitement as the tears flow...we are praying for you all!
ReplyDeleteLeigh, Tony, Derrik, Desiree, Caleb and Isaac Pollock
I was so thankful this morning to read that his eyes are seeing. I was so worried. It is a lot of work the constant reassurring, and encouragement he needs right now. So many of the medications can create amnesia which is great in many ways. However, it can be confusing and scary for him. You two are awesome parents and remember that God have him to you because YOU are who he needs. Love you guys.
ReplyDeleteLori
FYI-Good morning-this news is absolutely AWESOME!!!!! As for the bake sale, well, let's just say First National Bank was flooded and the sweets were flying off of the table-you are loved!
ReplyDeleteKandy
PSALMS 121:5-8
ReplyDeleteJehovah himself is caring for you! He is your defender. He protects you day and night. He keeps you from all evil, and preserves your life. He keeps his eye upon you as you come and go, and always guards you.
I was so excited to read that he was able to open his eyes. I will continue to pray for you guys. Hang in there and try to get some rest.
ReplyDeleteJason, Nicole and the Boys
Hang in there buddy! It sounds like your Mom and Dad and the Doctors and Nurses are working hard to make you better! I see the Shriners passed around your name and are trying to contact your Mom and Dad to help too. We will keep you in our prayers!
ReplyDeleteBrad
PS - Mom and Dad, call the Shriners at 800.237.5055 - I saw comments from them and they want to help Clay.
Praise God! How exciting! I'm continuing to pray for Clay and all the family, as well as the medical team. God bless!
ReplyDeleteYeah Clay! The power of prayer is evident in these miraculous reports. We all continue to lift you up to The Healer. Life is a trial mile by mile, life is hard yard by yard, but life is a cinch inch by inch...because step by step and prayer by prayer God will always get you there. Your family, friends, community, and those of us you may never know personally are crawling every inch with you, but most of all, Jesus is with you, holding you, loving you, He will never leave you. Ya'll are an amazing family, cling to Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."
ReplyDeleteSending love, hugs, and endless prayers,
Trey & Ronda Thompson
In regards to the Shriners....
ReplyDeletePlease DO NOT call the 800 number. Contact me at my email. Everything is in place for discussions.
The 800 number would not be of help at this point
because we have worked behind the scenes for possible next steps.
PA Smith
Ft Worth, TX
pasmith216@aol.com
What exciting news, Clay is such a trooper. We will keep praying, you all are not out of our thoughts very long. God Bless all of the Fite family, take care and thanks for the updates!!
ReplyDeleteMcClendon's
We are thrilled that Clay opened his eyes and got to see Mom and Dad! We will continue to pray for Clay (he is such a little Fiter), Mom and Dad, Carson, and Cody. Take care of each other and know that God loves you and will not forsake you...God is good.
ReplyDeletePatti and Chance Hornsey
We have read with happiness the updates since the accident. We hope all will continue to go well for all your family. We have fond memories of carrying DeeDee out to the car on Wednesdays when we lived in Amarillo. That 'fighting' spirit goes into the younger generations because of the older. So keep 'fiteing' Love and prayers, Edna and Leonard
ReplyDeletehello folks,
ReplyDeletei don't know how ressuring I can be, but i think I know a little of what Clay may be going through.
I don't know why he was "asleep", but I know I was "asleep" (in a coma) for a while. This has been twenty years ago, but I know that when I "woke" up everything was different.
It has been a long time, five times as long as Clay has been with us, but I have discovered some things.
The younger a person is the better the prognosis. I really don't know much about burns, but from when I was in the Navy debriding 2nd degree burns I can kinda relate to Clay's pain.
I didn't have any pain in the hospital, but now I do, and this is twenty years after the fact.
Another thing I found out was; keep a sense of humour. AND REMEMBER GOD IS IN CONTROL! Nothing matters but salvation.\
Don' worry, be happy.
JEFF kING