Saturday, August 30, 2008

One month down

Terry's accident was 4 weeks ago today. He is currently recovering well from all surgeries, but they have been unable to control his blood pressure. He is on very heavy bp medication, but still continues to fluctuate to very high numbers. A specialist has been called in to determine the cause and will hopefully find a solution. The second chest tube was removed today, so only one more left.

2 comments:

ken said...

had a great time at your track today terry ....all our thoughts and prayers are with you .....

Anonymous said...

Terry,
Glad to hear that your doing better. Takes a long time, that I know from personal experience. I'm still on meds for my cough,flu or whatever so will not make it to the dinner. If I give it to Dana or one of the kids it would come straight to you. Not worth the risk. You are in our thoughts, and do what the nurses say, some of them really know what they are doing.
Uncle John and Aunt Cathy

What Happened?

On Saturday, August 2, at approximately 11:30 a.m. Terry McDowell was involved in a head-on collision on Ormond Road in White Lake Township, MI.

An unknown young-adult fell asleep at the wheel, crossed over into the opposite lane, and struck Terry's van head-on. Police are still investigating.

Paramedics rushed Terry via helicopter to Beaumont Medical Center's Trauma Unit. He is in stable, but critical, condition and is currently in the Intensive Care Unit.

From what we know, there is no damage to the spinal cord or brain. He will undergo more X-rays and scans today to determine if there are further injuries. His injuries, as of Sunday, Aug 3 at 10:00 a.m. include:
> Broken right femur
> A compound fracture in his left femur
> A broken tibia
> A shattered ankle
> Slight cut to his liver
> Dissected aorta
> Fractured pelvis
> Unknown back injury
> Three broken ribs

Terry underwent 11 hours of surgery on Saturday evening. The first surgery was cardiac surgery to repair the damage to his torn, or dissected, aorta. They performed non-invasive heart surgery and used a stent to repair the aorta. The surgery was completed without complications.

The second surgery was orthopedic surgery to repair his broken bones. He came out of surgery strong, but remains in critical condition due to the complications that could arise from heart surgery and a compound fracture of the Femur.

He is expected to remain in the ICU for at least 48 hours.