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[sandragonfly]

yikes..gotta go now!

but oughta tell you I read and in case I won't be back tonight --wanted to welcome you home!!

welcome home!!

it's always good to hear your words and see you happy! (getting happy, to be exact) been always thinking of you..

hugs!!
..gina

[Laura's Babies]

Regina called me this evening with yet another update. His surgery tomorrow is to put the Epicel on his shoulders, arms and legs. The Epicel is his own skin, grown in a lab somewhere from a few cells they took from one of his unburned areas... they took a piece, sent it off and somehow they grow it.. We were orginally told that the surgery tomorrow was to get him ready for the Epicel and they were to do that Monday...

[catnapper]

Aw gee Laura, What a great update. I was almost in tears over you meeting his angels. I'm so pleased to hear the strides he's made and to see that you were comfortable enough to come home. Its been a long, tough month for everyone.

Prayers will still come to him, your family, and his angels.

oh, PS:
I don't think anything other than an "ordinary Joe" would have done what they did. Ordinary Joes are the salt of the earth, wonderful people. The ones who think they are above "ordinary" are the ones who would have run for their own lives and left Eddie behind. For that, there's nothing "oirdinary" about them - in fact they are pretty remarkable.

[rg_girlca]

Well said Kim about the ordinary "Joes". I couldn't agree more with what you said.

Welcome home Laura. It must have been such a rollercoaster ride for you and your family.
I happy to hear that Eddie continues to do reasonably well.
Prayers haven't stopped for him or your family.

Prayers also going out to Eddies Hero's.
Hopefully soon, they will stop having nightmares from this terrible accident.

[Corinna]

Welcome home and thanks for the updates. What is it with the men in your family . Brandan and Eddie wanting to get up so soon after all that truma to there bodies. (ps how is Brandan doing? my mom and her swim group are praying for both eddie and Brandon. they would like updates)

[Laura's Babies]

Corinna, I have continued to keep up with Brandon. GET THIS!! Brandon GRADUATED on June 12!!! Can you believe that? From what happened to him in March, he was able to graduate in JUNE!

He still has a lot of doctor visits on a regular basis that he has to keep and the last time I asked, his jaw was still wired together but he is very apperciative of the life he has and is enjoying it. I understand his accident brought him and his Mother even closer and he loves her all the more and constantly lets her know how much he apperciates what she has been through. I have a picture of him that came in his graduation invatation and I will get that scanned and posted for everyone sometime in the next few days.

I am waiting today for word about Eddies surgery today! He goes in at 10am (if they are on time) for the Epicel. To me these are the most important surgeries and mean one less surgery he will have to have. Fingers, toes and all paws crossed for great results like with his torso!!!

[QueenScoopalot]

Welcome home Laura...hope you have your babies back with you as I know you've missed them something fierce! I'm glad that Eddie is doing well, and am praying for Eddie, and Eddie's Angels that things will keep progressing in a positive way. That must have been an emotional meeting for you and The Angels. Glad you got to give each of them a hug and thank them in person. Hopefully Eddie will be walking out of the hospital soon, and be able to thank them all as well. When are you going back to work again? If you are going out again soon, I hope there's someway you'll be able to have updates daily on Eddie's progress.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I agree with Kim - "oridinary Joes" can't be beat! How wonderful that you were able to mee them, I can't imagine how emotional it was for you and Regina to meet these guys. I would have been a blubbering idiot and wouldn't have been able to carry on a decent conversation the whole time!

Glad you're home, and aren't you leaving on the boat on the 22nd? Just enough time to get things organized on the home front and then you're off again - what a whirlwind!

So glad to hear Eddie continues to improve. I have no experience with bad burn cases like this, but with anything this severe there are bound to be ups and downs along the way. He has surpassed the doctor's expectations every step of the way so far, so hang tough and he'll be in rehab in no time.

{{{hugs}}} to you.

[Logan]

Laura, every report seems to get better and better. Our prayers continue.

Logan

[Laura's Babies]

Copied from the family web sight on Eddies page, posted today by his wife Regina. She says:

Eddie has just returned from surgery and is settled back into his room. They applied the epicel to both arms from shoulder to wrist and, with what they had left over, part of the front of his right thigh. The rest of the areas that still need the epicel were covered with the dermagraft (I think that's the term). So begins another week of peeping in the window. His heart rate was lower than I've ever seen it hanging at around the mid 50's and I did see it drop into the upper 40's and was alarmed, one of the resp techs told me once that they don't panic until it's 50 or lower but his nurse told me that it was at that level consistently through the surgical proceedure and they continued with it so I guess that the doc's and resp techs didn't panic. His blood pressure was a tad low but didn't appear to be dangerously so. He appears (from the doorway) to be resting comfortably, no alarming bells and whistles going off so I dashed up here to do the update.

Speaking of resting comfortably he's getting a new bed. The one he is currently using has a sand storm type effect going on in the lower part of the mattress (it's an inflated thing) but isn't the one he's supposed to be using, the one originally ordered for him isn't the one that the company sent so a company rep came out today to check it out and the right bed will be arriving soon, something called a Clinitron, reputedly the most comfortable mattress in the world - I'm all for that! It's the bed he has but more, I think the sand storm thing is full coverage so that all of him is kept moving more as a preventative to bedsores and similar complications. Can't wait to see what the new fancier model will do!


Let's keep praying for God to give Eddie strength and awesome recuperative abilities and perhaps a rebuild on his reserves. And always thanks for the blessing that we have Eddie today and the progress that's he's made to date. Glory to God, appreciation for Eddie and thanks for those awesome prayer circles and the careproviders and docs that put so much of themselves into the job.

Signing off for now,

Regina

MY NOTE: That bed Eddie is using right now is a $30,000 to $40,000 bed and that thing is awesome. It keeps inflating and deflating, shifting his body around to move the pressure points so keep him from getting sores. It also VIBRATES which knocks him out as soon as it starts and he immediately wakes up when it stops. I asked him one time if I could crawl up in there with him when it was vibrating and he laughed at me. I am really in awe of him getting a BETTER (?) one?

[Freckles]

Laura, thank you for no pop-ups on your family home page. Now it's so much easier to check for the latest updates!

[MULTICATMOM]

HEY, I'M BACK... IT SOUNDS GOOD. WHAT'S EPICEL? ARE YOU STILL IN VA?

CONTINUED PRAYERS FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY!!
IT'S AWESOME THAT BRANDON GOT TO WALK WITH HIS CLASS WHAT A GREAT MEMORY TO HAVE!!

[Laura's Babies]

MCM, THEY TOOK A SAMPLE OF HIS SKIN CELLS AND SENT IT OFF TO GROW HIM HIS OWN SKIN...IT TAKES 2 TO 6 WEEKS TO GROW IT IN A LAB (IN MARYLAND I THINK THEY SAID). THEY CAN NOT USE LIVE DONAR SKIN ONLY SKIN FROM THE DECEASED OR HIS BODY WOULD REJECT IT. CADAVER SKIN HAS EVERYTHING REMOVED FROM IT AND IT IS ONLY USED AS A COVERING UNTIL THE EPICEL IS READY. (THANK GOD FOR PEOPLE WHO DONATE AND MAY GOD BELSS THEIR SOULS)!!!

I AM HOME NOW, GOT BACK WEDNESDAY BUT AM LEAVING FOR WORK THIS NEXT WEDNESDAY. I WILL GO BACK TO NORFOLK WHEN I GET OFF BUT I MAY GET TO COME HOME BEFORE I GO... THAT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW EDDIE IS DOING AND IF REGINA NEEDS ME ASAP OR WHAT. I AM LIVING OUT OF SUITCASES NOW DAYS.. I CAME HOME TO GET MY WORK STUFF TOGETHER, TAKE CARE OF A FEW THINGS AND GET NEW GLASSES BEFORE I TAKE OFF. I NEED TO SEE A DENTIST BUT JUST DON'T HAVE TIME....