T.C. – The Comeback

Hello. Hope everyone’s day is going well. It looks as if its a million degrees outside here in Madison, but I’m still shivering in my room and begging for more heated blankets. This will be a two part post: an update and a request.

UPDATE
I can now wash the entire right side of my face with my right hand, which I couldn’t do last week. And I can anow operate my phone and text at the same speed as my mom (slow).

REQUEST
As of now, I don’t have finger function, but I can feel something. I’m working everyday to make it happen. So please focus your prayers and thoughts on the return of my finger function.

I will keep you updated on my progress and let you of any unique success stories as they occur. Again, thank you all so very much for your concern. Not a day passes that I don’t think of your prayers and thoughts, which empowers me and keeps me going.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Olympics begin in three days. Oh yeah.

On Monday, July 16 Thomas moved to the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison to begin inpatient rehab. He will likely be in Madison until late August, at which time he will move to Minneapolis, where he will start his outpatient rehab.

He program involves a range of interventions including physical, occupational, recreational therapy; as well as vocational rehab. He is adapting to a new hospital and personnel and was able, for the first time in 4-5 days, a pretty good night of sleep.

If today is representative, he will be busy from 8 AM to 3-4 PM. He is spending more time in a wheel chair and today cruised around several halls of the hospital.

It may be another week or two before he is ready for visitors.

If you want to send him a note, his mailing address is:

Thomas Cloyd
Rm 460
B4/4 Rehab
University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
600 Highland Ave
Madison, WI 53792

From Thomas “Thanks again to everybody for your prayers, thoughts and concerns. At times its been really hard to stay positive, but knowing that you all are there makes me see the brighter side of life. Knowing that I could/should have died in the accident, its good to know that I have second shot at life.”

Hello again everyone and thank you for all your suppport. I just finished reading all the amazing responses and messages for the first time. I can honestly say I am more inspired and driven by what you have said than at any other time in my life.

Update: I am moving to acute inpatient rehab with limited mobility. As I said, it is early in the game and with lots of work and a little luck… along with your support and positive energy…I hope to see improvement. Thanks you for everything, love you all. More updates to come.

Love Thomas.

Today Thomas reached another milestone. He pulled out of Rm 12, Neurosurgery ICU in a wheelchair under his own power! Family and ICU staff cheered (and cried) as he rolled out of the unit, down the hallway, stopping at the spinal cord rehab center where he begin leaning how to operate his chair. Later he moved into his new room at the spinal cord injury center. For dinner we dined on a Canadian bacon, pepperoni, mushroom and cheese pizza followed by milkshakes for desert. Needless to say his appetite is back. All the activity and effort was exhausting, but progress felt good.

On Sunday morning, July 8 while on a Wisconsin lake with friends, Thomas sustained a severe spinal cord injury as a result of a boating accident. He was rushed to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, which has one of the best spinal cord programs in the country. There it was determined that he had fractured his 5th cervical vertebrate and underwent a six hour surgery to remove bone fragments and stabilize his neck. He is able to breath on his own and his speech is fluent and coherent. We know his speech is fluent because we clearly understand his wiseass comments. He was taken to the Neurosurgery ICU to recover from the surgery where he is quickly recovering from the operation. Today was a big day as he was able to get into a wheelchair and visit the spinal cord rehab center where he will be moving tomorrow. He also ate a full meal from P.F. Changs. He will be at Froedtert for a while as he begins rehab.

On July 8 Thomas sustained a severe neck injury. He was rushed to a Milwaukee hospital where he underwent surgery. After a week, he moved to the UW Hospital in Madison, where is is getting rehab.