One more week!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas filled with all of God's blessings! Today we had the discharge meeting we have all been anticipating. All the therapists and doctors created a tentative date of JANUARY 5TH to discharge Macey from rehabilitation! We just cannot believe that she only had to stay here a little over a month! The past couple days Macey has had her hundreds of staples from her head, back, and pelvic area removed. This is a process Macey absolutely dreads! Luckily they are all gone now! The neurosurgeon also came to meet with us to discuss a few options in putting the bone flap to her skull back in. There are two options that have both pros and cons. Option A put a plastic computer generated skull in that will take 6 weeks to create and will fit like a glove. This would mean 6 weeks from now they would have to re-shave her hair and come back to Long Beach for surgery. Option B is use her own skull that has been preserved for the past month that will grow into each other. The doctor said during the time of her original surgery it was very dramatic and urgent, and usually he keeps a good eye on what is done to the skull, but he admitted he handed it to a scrub-tech to put it on ice. He said he is sure everything is fine with it, but you never know. He stated the infection rate of both options is only about 2 percent, so it was completely up to us. Macey decided on using her own skull because it is part of her body and will hopefully mesh with no problem. This way we can be on our merry way out of this hospital and not have to be readmitted in a 6 weeks! If anyone has any knowledge or prior experiences on the plastic or regular cranioplasty options please let us know your feedback! If plans stay as is Macey will be discharged from rehabilitation on the 5th and transferred into surgery for her skull that day. She will need to stay here for a couple days to recover after surgery, and they project we should be free to drive home the 7th or 8th! Hallelujah!!! Macey then will start out-patient therapy at Center for neuro skills in Bakersfield. She is still non-weight bearing for another 4 weeks. Macey has been succeeding tremendously in tons of occupational, speech, and physical therapy in her wheelchair. Praise God we will be out of here in about a week and a half! He has been so good to us! I realized I haven't written one blog post that hasn't portrayed Macey's positive progression. We are so blessed we didn't have any bumps in the road. Macey's recovery has been so smooth for such a short amount of time. This is only due to the grace of God and the power of prayer!

God Bless and Happy new year!

Merry Christmas

The Christmas holiday does not slow down the pace of Macey's rehabilitation. Christmas as well as today will be filled with non-stop therapy, with a few added holiday activities! On Tuesday all of Macey's doctors will have a meeting to schedule a predicted day for discharge! We could not believe after only a couple days in rehabilitation, they are already thinking of a day to release her from the hospital! I wanted to dedicate this blog to specifically thank God for everything He has given my family. Doctors are blown away with Macey's recovery and the only explanation is the grace of God. He has used my sister, of all people, to bring my family and thousands of families around the world together and closer to Him. He has united thousands of people that may have never even met Macey to remind us we are all His children. He has used Macey to remind us there is a God that performs miracles and makes us realize how every breath, blink, and word spoken is a gift. Each day God creates for us is a blessing in itself, not a given right. I used to think why would God do this to such a kind beautiful young woman, but that is exactly why He did this. I praise God that He used Macey to expose her hundreds of friends and family members to His abilities. On this Christmas I just pray that everyone will look around at your family and all your precious blessings. He has created a beautiful world, hasn't He? Thank you Lord for giving me my sister this Christmas. Macey's miracle is the best gift we could have ever received. Merry Christmas and thank you all for your continuous prayers!

God Bless

Rehab!

As of yesterday Macey was transferred down to rehabilitation. She has moved from level 7 to 4, now down to the rehab, closer and closer to the exit! In-patient rehabilitation is very structured, and they have warned her that she is going to be pushed very hard. She has occupational, speech, and physical therapists. Macey will have therapy 4 hours a day, and they say their average patient is in rehabilitation from 18-21 days! Macey still needs her bone flap to be put back in, and we are very apprehensive to transfer her back to Bakersfield until that is placed back. Pray that Macey pushes herself to get out of here as soon as possible. We all know it will be tough and painful, but it is something she has to get through! God has blessed her so much and He definitely isn't stopping now! Thank you all for your continued support.

Roll Out!

Macey has had lots and lots of visitors keeping her busy for most of the day! Thank you everyone for the continued support. Everyday we are blown away by all the gifts and emotional support from people that have never even met our family, let alone Macey! God has an amazing way with his children! Today was an extremely exciting day for Macey. She was allowed to put on her own pajamas, no more hospital gown. Macey also got out of bed for the first time and into a wheelchair! It was so amazing! The therapist taught her how to wheel herself, make turns, and stretch. She even got permission to go outside! We cheered her as she went through those sliding glass doors. World here's Macey! God created a beautiful sunny day for Macey to enjoy! The wheelchair was very uncomfortable for Mace, so she was quick to get back into bed. Tomorrow she should be transferred to the in-patient rehabilitation level. So there will be a lot more wheelchair experiences! Whoooo GO MACEY!

Ready to get out of here!

Macey is doing phenomenal for a little over two weeks! They already want her to move into the in-patient acute rehabilitation part of the hospital. This focuses only on rehab which means they are not worried about her medical condition. They said she would be in in-patient rehab for 2-3 weeks then ready to go home!!! We're waiting on the approval of her brain surgeon to see if she can go home without the brain flap and then would have to come back to have it put back in. That is quite the hassle and risk of taking her back and forth with that missing. Once Macey is done with the in-patient rehab, she will start out-patient rehab where they said she should regain all her strength back by 3-6 months. Macey is very anxious to get out of this hospital, or even let alone get out of bed to go to the bathroom! She asks every 5 minutes hoping one of the nurses will change their mind! Also Macey asked if she could have a wig, so of course my mom and I went shopping for one! We got a cute short brown hair style that she absolutely loves! Also Macey's new favorite obsession is massages. She is milking it for all its worth! Keep the prayers coming, Macey is so thankful for everyone's support! God is so good!

I'm free!

Last night we got a phone call around 3am from the nurse saying that Macey was scared and really wanted her mom. So of course my mom sprinted down to the hospital, this is when we are thankful we are staying literally feet from the hospital! They visited until she fell back asleep. This morning, I text my mom saying I was in the lobby and to come get me when I could see Macey. Five minutes later I got a call from.....MACEY! My mom gave her the phone and she said, "Hi!" I said, "Oh my gosh, your first phone call in two weeks, how do you feel?" She replied with, "I'm free! Come in my room and see me!" So I sprinted up to the 7th floor and there was Macey in her bed all smiles. She had had a MRI the night before to clear her from her neck brace and restraints. There was my sister, no neck brace, no hand or leg restraints, just beautiful Macey. The nurses said she is going to be moved today to a different floor! No more ICU! Her nurse last night, which she calls Blake Lively, because they look so much alike, wrote her a very sweet letter. We read her the letter, which she balled though out the whole thing. The nurses from ICU have been everything we could ask for and more! We will definitely all be back to visit once she is completely recovered! In her new room she will not need a one-on-one nurse, just a sitter 24/7, this could be a family member or the hospital could assign a sitter. Obviously we volunteered! Macey stated, "Of course you said yes, what else are you going to do, waive bye Macey, see ya later!!" She is literally a crack up! Pray for a safe transfer and adjustment into her new room! I am walking around with a smile all day long because my sister has the same smile across her face! Thank you Lord! You are unbelievable! Ahhhhh thank you!!!

Macey is BACK!

Macey slept non-stop since yesterday's pelvic surgery until about 11:00 this morning! Those who know Mace know how much she loves her sleep, and finally she got a whole night and then some of it! When we visited her this morning once she woke up, she was completely herself. Macey didn't say anymore weird random comments and seemed very peaceful. She seemed like herself again! No more demanding, ADD Macey, well for now at least! I reminded her that her finals for this semester were put on hold and we even registered her for next semester, getting all her first choice classes (thanks to the dean of students!) She replied with, "Wow, that's awesome! Thank you!" Macey knows her pelvis was repaired and definitely continues to ask for more pain medicine. She cannot wait to get wheeled outside, hopefully by the beginning of next week. I keep reminding her of that, and she is definitely focused on that day! Macey's coloring and her face is almost healed, with a few remaining stitches on her left side. We also got the first smile and laugh out of Macey since the accident, when recalling a funny memory with her! I'm just so happy to get the real genuine Macey personality back. Thank you God for letting her sleep and also having Mace verbalize to us when she needs to nap! Also I am reading a book called "Mistaken Identity" that was given as a gift to Macey and the family (Thank you). This book is Macey's story to a tee, so much it shocks me as I read it. The book reminds us of His plan, and gives so much comfort. "God is still a good God, and His promises are true...I know the living God, and I will worship Him next to my sister again someday."