Sunday, October 3, 2010

Hello again to all. We are going to post & give an update on Clay's recent surgery; but first, we wanted you to know that we received tragic news today. Dr. Purdue (co-director of Parkland's Burn Unit for 22 yrs.) died this morning. He was riding his motorcycle and was hit by a 24-yr.old drunk driver. Our hearts are heavy & the tears won't stop. Dr. Purdue (& his team) were the first ones with Clay when he arrived on Care Flight at Parkland last year. He did the majority of Clay's surgeries and his expertise helped save Clay's life. We will forever be grateful for everything he did & I only wish I could tell him again how he touched our lives. We were looking forward to seeing him at Clay's next burn clinic appointment.......he will be missed very much. We pray for his family, too.

Aside from this sad news, Clay's surgery went well. Clay had an early morning surgery & the doctor let us come back home that afternoon. Clay has to keep his left leg in a splint (straight) for 3 weeks; but, he is allowed to walk on it. The doctor also took a large, keloid scar off of his stomach and performed a Z-plasty on a scar on his back and under left arm. The Z-plasty is a plastic surgery technique that is used to release scar contractures and improve function. Clay was not in a condition to go to school last week; but, he is ready to go to school in the morning. His teacher came to our house to do his lessons this past week & his therapists came to see him. We are grateful again for each one involved in his recovery process and care.

We also want you all to know how thankful we are for you. We do not want precious moments to slip by without expressing our thanks.
Amidst the tears I have cried today, a hymn came to my mind and reminded me again of the importance of TODAY because we may not have tomorrow. ~Deidra

"Today is mine, tomorrow may not be.
How brief this life, how long eternity!
Swiftly & surely sands of time will run-
Finished earth's day, eternity begun.

Today is mine to do His righteous will
And self deny, His purpose to fulfill;
Today is mine to find this source of rest;
Doing His will we prove His will is best."
(Hymns Old & New)

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Hello again to all. School is in full swing and Clay loves school! He just attends for half a day but wants to go full days. He loves to get on the bus with his brothers in the mornings and I pick him up at 11:00am. First grade has lunch at this time, so I arrive each day just before lunch period. Clay has eaten in the cafeteria a couple of times with one of his therapists. This therapist wants to go to the cafeteria with Clay a few more times before he eats there on his own. She (therapist) says it's tricky for him to grasp his lunch tray. She is not comfortable yet with letting Clay go on his own (I'm not either). He would love to go each day to the cafeteria, but doesn't want me (mom) by his side everyday. He wants to have the freedom to go on his own. Clay does get to go to the cafeteria in the mornings and sit with his friends until it's time to go to the classroom. Cody has been a big help with Clay at school. Carson is now in the Jr. High school; so, Cody is Clay's "big" brother when they are at the Elementary school.
Parkland hospital may come and present a "school-reentry" program for Clay again. He seems to be very comfortable in his classroom and with his teacher. His teacher this year is the same one who came to the house last year for his "homebound" studies. Several of Clay's little friends are in his class, so that helps. Clay has also started piano lessons this year. Although he will not be able to play much with his left hand, he is excited about learning. His piano teacher has taught for many years and has been very helpful. Carson took piano lessons from her for 5 years. Her husband is Cody's piano teacher.
Clay's next surgery is still scheduled for the 27th. Although, we have discussed a few changes with his Plastic Surgeon. Initially, the plan was to place a tissue expander under the scalp, excise a scar on his back, excise a scar band on back of knee, take tissue expander out of leg, and wrap the expanded skin around the back of knee. This surgery plan has changed some. One of Clay's therapist has monitored him in the classroom. It was noted that Clay could be more functional if the scar bands under his arms could be released. Also, Clay has been favoring his right side as he walks. He says that it hurts to stand up straight because of a contracting scar on the right side of his stomach. Therefore, his doctor will release scar bands under his arms and on his stomach and work on the knee (as originally planned).
Although life is busy, we don't want to forget that our strength comes from God. We are thankful again for your thoughts and prayers. Sincerely, Chance, Deidra, Carson, Cody, & Clay

Monday, August 16

Hello to all! Well, once again, a month has already slipped by since we last posted. We enjoyed our annual church convention in July. Carson & Clay went to South Texas again, the week after convention, with my sister and aunt. Cody wanted to stay with us & enjoyed all the special attention without his brothers around. My older sister and her family had to fly back to Argentina on Aug.2. They spent most of their summer in the states visiting family & friends. They get to move back to the U.S. next year & it will be nice to have them back home. We enjoyed our time with them this summer.
We took a family vacation to Colorado on Aug.5. My twin sister and her family live in Denver & there's so much to do around that area. We enjoyed the cool mountains and came back to Texas to face triple-digit temperatures. Clay enjoyed the cooler temperatures the most! A strong storm moved through our area while we were on vacation. We found the boy's swingset in pieces when we arrived back home, and an insurance adjuster is coming in the morning to asess our roof damage.
We met with Dr. Trussler (Clay's Plastic Surgeon) on Aug.3 and his next surgery is tenatively planned for Sept. 27. Dr. Trussler will take the tissue expander out of Clay's leg, remove the scar band on the back of his knee and wrap the expanded skin over that area. He will also excise a scar on Clay's back. This is the scar that itches the most and is very bothersome to Clay. Dr. Trussler will also place a tissue expander under Clay's hair at the front of his scalp. I guess it's time to start expanding his hair. I didn't exactly know how to react when the Dr. mentioned this; but, Clay started bouncing up and down and said "Yeah! Now I can be an alien for Halloween! Oh, and mom, could you tape two antennae to my expander?" If you can picture this......it will look like Clay has a bubble on the front of his head. Our reactions were both so different-Clay was excited and I was worried.
Clay will have his largest surgery (neck) closer to the Christmas holidays. Dr. Trussler wants to keep the tissue expanders in Clay's shoulders until December. We will put the last dose of saline in the shoulder expanders this week. Then Dr. Trussler wants to keep them under the skin for 3 more months. This will enable the stretched skin to become stronger. I hope this makes some sense. Sometimes it is difficult to explain. All these procedures, that were once so foreign to us, are now what we have become accustomed to. As a result, my explanations may be as clear as mud to you.
School starts next week. Carson will be in Jr. High, Cody will be in 3rd grade, and Clay will be in 1st. Clay will only attend school for half a day. He can still be qualified as a "homebound" student if he attends no longer than half a day. We need the "homebound" services for when he has his big surgeries this year. We are praying & trusting that God will show us what to do about our "school" situation.
I need to post some more pictures when I get a new camera. I accidently dropped my camera into a bag that I was delivering to Goodwill. The camera and memory card are gone. The memory card had pictures of Clay's hospital stay, and pictures throughout this past year of his recovery. I called the Goodwill store and went and searched through boxes myself; but, to no avail.
Thank you again for your continued care-we are grateful! Take Care!

Tuesday, July 13th

Hello to everyone still watching this blog. Clay turned 7 years old yesterday. He gave us a little scare last week and we were not sure he was going to be out of the hospital in time to celebrate. He spent some time in South Texas with his brothers and cousins recently. Upon his arrival home on Wednesday night he felt a little warm and feel asleep during meeting. The next day he slept late and we went to a benefit lunch for him in Graham. As we were going in to eat Deidra noticed he was holding his left hand. When asked about it he told us it hurt and he thought it had a sunburn. We looked it over and noticed it was swollen and there were red streaks starting up his forearm. He was lethargic during lunch and we called his surgeon in Dallas to determine our course of action. He asked that we bring him to Dallas to the E.R. as quickly as possible. When we arrived he had a temperature of 102.2 and was quickly placed in a room and put on an I.V.
We spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at Children's in Dallas. The doctors are still not certain what type of infection he had acquired but by Saturday he was back to his old self and spent the majority of the day exploring the hospital. We think he captured too many frogs while at Corpus. We asked him about this and he said, " There weren't many frogs there this time but I caught a bunch of toads." Anyway he is home on an oral antibiotic and does not seem to be suffering any ill effects. As soon as they had his fever under control Clay really enjoyed this hospital visit, it was the least painful trip he has ever experienced. Everyone is busy at the Fite house. It seems as if this summer is flying by. Hope everyone is doing well and maybe we will see you somewhere soon.

Friday, June 11 (2010)

Lt. Zach Hart & Lt. Austin Hendrickson helping Clay "fly" in the simulator.

Cody in flight simulator

ENJJPT Class 10-06

Thank you for serving our country!

Clay & Cody with 2Lt. Austin Hendrickson

ENJJPT(Euro-Nato Joint Jet Pilot Training) Class 10-06; Katie in white; Cody& Clay in front; Chance & myself standing between Major Scott Segal & 2Lt. Austin Hendrickson along with all the other special pilots.

Clay trying on a helmet



Clay in the flight simulator

Sign that we passed when we entered the base.

Hello to all! Yes, once again, it has been awhile since we have posted any news. First of all, I have uploaded some pictures to Clay's blog. One of the pictures is included with the previous posting (in April). It is a picture of the boys (and a cousin) standing behind Clay's miniature steer. The group of pictures, included with this post, were taken yesterday. We were invited to Sheppard Air Force Base yesterday evening. Katie Crosbie with Channel 3 in W.F. has been following Clay's story since his accident. She has now become the boy's adopted aunt :-) and she accompanied us. She is friends with many of the airmen at the base. One of her friend's, 2Lt. Austin Hendrickson, wanted to do something special for Clay & his brothers. Austin, along with his ENJJPT Class 10-06, planned a special evening for the boys. They served pizza for dinner & as Clay was eating his pizza, he said "Mom, it's like we are having a pizza party!" They gave them a framed T-38 picture (signed by the pilots), shirts, and patches. They took us to the Sims (simulators) where Cody & Clay got to "fly" for awhile. Then they let the boys try on the helmets and parachutes. We were able to walk out to the flightline to look at a T-38. Last, but not least, we got to go to the RSU (Runway Supervisory Unit) to watch the night take-offs. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience and what a top-notch group of gentlemen! Thank you for this! You all may be wondering why Carson (our oldest) wasn't mentioned; but, he is enjoying his time at one of our church conventions in Colorado (he'll return home on Sunday). Believe me, Cody & Clay will be ready to tell him about their experience with the pilots.

Clay had his first dose of saline placed in his tissue-expanders on May 24th. The PA and nurse taught us how to insert the saline at home. This is helpful because it saves us from having to drive to Dallas on a weekly basis. Chance helps me do it each time because I don't like to insert it on my own. Cody helps as well & gets the supplies together(it's a family affair). The port to the expander on Clay's left shoulder has slipped under the expander and will have to be surgically repositioned. Clay's next surgery will be next Friday (June 18). Dr. Bidic will perform surgery on both of Clay's hands and reposition the tissue expander port. He will deepen the web space between Clay's fingers on his right hand; and, he will have to do some skin grafting on Clay's left hand as he deepens the web space and releases a scar band. This will not be Clay's last surgery; but, it will be our last with Dr. Bidic. We will meet our new Plastic Surgeon this same day (recommended by Dr. Bidic). As I mentioned, Dr. Bidic is moving to the East coast & a new Plastic Surgeon will take over Clay's care.

All in all, everyone is doing fine. The company that Chance works for (Tower Extrusions) had their annual Jr. Golf Tournament last Saturday. The boys enjoyed it and Clay played too. Last year, at this time, we said that Clay would probably never be able to hold a golf club again. He proved us wrong and amazes us in so many ways. Many lessons have been learned from him. Carson's orthodontist told him that it is time to put braces on his teeth. Carson will have braces put on in a few weeks. He never could wait until he got braces, and now he's not too sure about it.

We want you all to know how thankful we are for your continued encouragement. We always mention that we will try to post more often, but life doesn't slow down much (and we are not sure how many still follow this blog). I'm reminded again of one of the boy's favorite hymns "Time is fleeting, flowers are falling, Life will soon be past; Pause and ponder where thou goest: Time is flying fast".

Heartfelt thanks from the Fite Family!

Friday, April 30

Hello to all~once again, it has been awhile since we have posted any news. Clay had his surgery yesterday morning and we were able to bring him home last evening. Today was a day of rest and healing for Clay -he was in bed for most of the day and likes it that I (mom) brought him everything he needed. :-) Clay rarely complains about pain but this surgery seems to be the most painful, so far, for him. Doctor Bidic placed three tissue expanders under his skin during the surgery. Clay has expanders in his shoulders and one in his left leg(below the knee). The incisions need time to heal before the skin expansion begins; therefore, it will be about three weeks until we put the first dose of saline in the expanders. His left leg is bandaged and wrapped in a splint. His shoulders have bandages as well. We will go back to the doctor next week to have his dressing/bandages removed. At the hospital, a PT helped Clay learn to walk with a walker. A little walker and wheelchair were delivered today because Clay is not to put any weight on his left leg until the incision is healed. The discharge orders also state that he is not to do strenuous activity for 3 weeks. We may be looking at a loooooong three weeks. :-) After this, Clay will have the expanders for up to 6 months with weekly saline injections! For all of you who will be seeing him this summer, he may look a little "puffy".
We received sad news from our plastic surgeon (Dr. Bidic) this past month. He is moving to the East coast in June (we wish him the best but will miss him greatly). We met with him a few weeks ago in Dallas and discussed our options. We will not make any decisions until we know what is best for Clay. Clay will have another surgery with Dr. Bidic before he moves, and we hope to have it scheduled for the end of May. Dr. Bidic will do another surgery on both of Clay's hands.

Clay was being too rowdy a few weeks ago; so, I told him that eating a piece of broccoli would calm him down. Carson and Cody don't mind eating broccoli but Clay doesn't like it. It took him about 10 minutes to swallow his small piece of broccoli. I told him that if he got too rowdy again he would have to eat another piece. He calmed down quickly!
Clay also got hit with a baseball on April 1st (not a joke). Cody accidentally hit a foul ball and it hit Clay's left eye. He wanted to practice baseball with the boys and ended up with a black, swollen eye.
Cody and Clay got to show a miniature steer a few weeks ago at a steer show in Stephenville. Chance was allowed to help Clay show his steer and then Cody got to show it by himself in front of a different judge. Clay got second place in his class and Cody got third in his class (two different judges). It was good practice for Cody since he will be old enough to show animals, through 4-H, this next school year. Clay received a $3.00 check and was so excited. Uncle Mike, Aunt Susan, Chloe, Uncle Justin, Aunt Heidi, Lily, Cadence, G'Pa Jake and Karen all came to watch the boys show their little steer. I may have to post some pictures of that on here....
I didn't mean for this to get so long. It is almost midnight, so I need to close for now. We will continue our sporadic posts and want to thank you again for your care! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Hello to all! Once again, sorry for not posting in awhile. If we would post more frequently, we would not have to try to remember all the events of the past weeks. Seems to me that our days are passing by so quickly and I want God to show me how to make the most of every moment. I also feel the need to clear my head and thoughts often. Last month, we forgot my mother's birthday and this month we forgot my mother-in-law's birthday!! We called my mom after her birthday and I cooked a meal for my mother-in-law Monday evening (three weeks after her birthday)~Goodness!! So, if we happen to forget your birthday.......it is not intentional. :-)

Clay had a follow-up doctor appt. last Monday (22nd). A small area around Clay's donor site was infected; so, we were glad to see Dr. Bidic and have him take care of it. We are thankful for Dr. Bidic (Clay's Plastic Surgeon) and for his two Physician Assistants (Kaylee & Savanna). Clay's next surgery will be April 29th at Children's in Dallas. Dr. Bidic will place expanders under the skin on his shoulders and an expander in his left leg. Clay still has his trach and it cannot be removed until he has more mobility in his neck. The scars still prevent him from tilting his head back. Having the trach in place enables the doctors to safely intubate him for surgeries. Once the expanders are placed under the skin, saline will be added weekly to expand his good skin. The expanders will be in for several months-until enough skin is expanded to bring around to the front of his neck. The same thing will be done for the scar band behind his left knee. He may look like he has shoulder pads this summer-"saline" shoulder pads. :-)
We have had warm days this week and Clay has started saying "I'm hot" and looking for shade.
It is almost time for his lesson with his "homebound" teacher, so I will let this be all for now.
Thank you for your continued care and kindness~you are special to us!