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Craig Vetter injured

Today's update

from Carol Vetter:
"Aunt Arlene was at the hospital when they scoped Craig. I was so tired I decided it wasn't smart for me to drive home, so Zak came over with her and drove me back. Trouble sleeping.. She let me know they found his esophagus was ulcerated. I haven't spoken with the doctors, but it sounds like the ulcers may have been caused by their putting the ventilator down him 3 times. Who knows... but I am hoping this is the cause of the blood loss. I prayed they would find something and it looks like they have.
I am going back to take over at the hospital at midnight. I will soak in the tub before I go because it takes so long to get ready, I won't have much time to sleep anyway. More food delivered this afternoon. You all are so kind. I am taking some of it to the hospital tonight so Zak and Arlene and I can have a party....I don't want Arlene driving back alone at midnight. So grateful for my family. Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment. I bet it will be great news."
 
From Duane on the /2 forum:

Spoke with Carol, Craig's wife, at length and it is nearly all positive. Yesterday he got up and could walk well. He did his exercises and is still strong. He brushed his teeth and got a shave. He can carry on a conversation and do fairly well.

Carol feels very good about the care that he is getting in the ICU. However, he wants to go home. He still must be restrained most of the time because he can't compute well. He removed his neck collar when her back was turned. He didn't know that he had a broken neck, and doesn't care.

She was told that it is impossible for the insurance co. to consider moving him. However, she knows all of the important people. She called one of the local community hospital board of directors that they know well. She got the name of the person who handles the patient intake for the rehab program. She has known him since he was a kid. He will make it happen and they hope that next week Craig can be moved to the nearby place.

Craig has led such a life of doing what he wants regardless of the results. I commented that it will be hard to know what action is due to brain injury and what is just his nature. She laughed and totally agreed. They have to tell him often that he isn't in charge.

At the new place, it is closer to home and she has many friends in the medical field that we anxious to donate time to his recovery and plain old baby sitting.

Carol is very happy with the recent developments.
 
From Duane Ausherman:

Craig was supposed to be moved today, but at the end of the conversation with Zak, he got a text from his mom that some person failed to do some evaluation and it may be delayed until tomorrow. He is going to be moved to a closer hospital and start a more advanced rehab program.

In any case, he would be moved out of the ICU at his current hospital. They are the local trauma hospital, so they are very capable of the excellent care that he has gotten there for the past month.
 
Read this from Duane on the /2 list:

Just spoke with Carol for lots of details. Craig was moved at 5 PM, yesterday, Tuesday, to the local hospital in Monterey. He is now in an intensive physical rehab program for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon for speech therapy. As Carol entered to see Craig, all three of the people she met were old buddies, one a former tenant of a rental of theirs, one the mother of a student with her boys etc.

They have an employee that spends the entire night next to Craig and he will be restrained. Carol is greatly relieved with this policy.

The last night at the old place he pulled out his trachea tube by himself, but he could breath OK, so they left it out. Basically, he has no ability to understand and/or cooperate with medical treatments. They had him walk down the hallway to the end and walk back. He was using his walker, and had a person on each side to steady him, but that tired him so much that he slept for 3 hours.

One funny incident happened when he was served his food. He knew what it was and what he was supposed to do with it. He blessed it and put his hands down under the covers and yelled “Carol” because he wanted her to feed him. No, they don’t allow that and he has to feed himself. He wasn’t happy at no longer getting constant attention by being spoiled and having to do something for himself.
 
From Duane, things are looking better:

Craig has now been in a local community hospital for 3 full days and getting daily physical and speech therapy. His first day with the physical tasks, he did poorly. The next day showed a dramatic improvement, as if it was a different person. One of his friends was allowed in and he recognized him instantly, not bad because even last week he was sometimes unable to recognize a well known person.

He is sensitive to light and has tinnitus that he complains about often.
 
From Duane:

Got an update from Zak Vetter last night. In general, Craig is improving in nearly all aspects. He is able to make more sense talking, his moving is better and he performs his physical therapy tasks better each day.

He only is able to eat maybe 1/2 of what he needs. He gets the rest through his stomach tube.

He is in a good place and he likes it a lot. They take very good care of him and Carol is quite happy with the new arrangement at this hospital.
 
Another one today, this one passed on by Duane from Carol, Craig's wife:

Busy, busy, busy, I am learning to get away from the hospital. When Craig comes home in two weeks, it will be harder for me to have my own time.

He is walking better, learning to stand and sit using the walker, they took the catheter out hoping to get his bladder working. Still has a tube in his stomach because he’s not eating much. And, it’s not because the food isn’t good. It’s quite good. His balance is bad, but then again so is his hearing. He’s probably only got 10% hearing. We are working on getting ENT back. His therapy is severely hampered by the fact that he can’t hear.
 
Saw this from Duane today:

I got some good news from Zak last evening. Craig is generally doing well and improving day to day. Here is an example. A family friend was in his room for only 30 seconds as he was being moved to his physical therapy. They didn’t even speak. That afternoon Craig mentioned to Carol that he had seen Larry in the morning. He actually remembered the short sighting of Larry. That is big.

About the schedule of sending him home in two weeks, both Carol and Zak are doubtful that Craig can do it. The hospital still hasn’t removed his ear blockage of ear wax, so he is still nearly deaf. A local friend who is a Dr. has been asking why and gets no answer. Instead, they have mounted speakers next to his ears so that he gets some amplification of conversation.
 
From Duane:

Just spoke with Zak and he reports that Craig is much better today. He ate 75% of his food, instead of the 30-40% from the past few days. He seems nearly normal in conversation and needs far less help. He was excited to hear that the roof of a rental house got finished today and asked for photos.
 
Thanks For The Updates On Craig Vetter

Really appreciate you passing this information along.


Wayne Koppa
#71,449
Grayling, MI
 
This was posted by Duane late yesterday:

Craig will be released from the hospital tomorrow around 3 pm. He will get professional help brought in for two hours a day. They have the place modified to accommodate his needs.
 
Thanks for the update Kurt. I've been anxiously following this thread from the beginning. Did a little research on Mr. Vetter as a result. Found some connections to Rantoul IL.
 
Found some connections to Rantoul IL.

Chanute AFB perhaps? Rantoul is, perhaps, the coldest place I have ever lived. And north central Illinois is also the flattest place I've ever lived; not much of anything to slow that prairie wind down. Five miles to the south of the old Vetter plant, east of Rantoul, you could plainly see the spire of the Lutheran Church in, of all places, Flatville.

4433558597_d901f6cb59.jpg
 
Chanute AFB perhaps? Rantoul is, perhaps, the coldest place I have ever lived. And north central Illinois is also the flattest place I've ever lived; not much of anything to slow that prairie wind down. Five miles to the south of the old Vetter plant, east of Rantoul, you could plainly see the spire of the Lutheran Church in, of all places, Flatville.

4433558597_d901f6cb59.jpg

It is only that way when the corn and beans are down. During their growing season you can't see more than 100 yards in any direction...if you aren't any taller than a beanstalk. Stay low and those winds won't seem near as fierce.
 
Chanute AFB perhaps? Rantoul is, perhaps, the coldest place I have ever lived. And north central Illinois is also the flattest place I've ever lived; not much of anything to slow that prairie wind down. Five miles to the south of the old Vetter plant, east of Rantoul, you could plainly see the spire of the Lutheran Church in, of all places, Flatville.

4433558597_d901f6cb59.jpg

Yes Chanute. My mom and dad were stationed there in the 70's and 80's. I lived on Chanute as a kid from third grade until my sophomore year in high school, when we moved about 25 miles up the road to a farm house in Buckley Load. I graduated high school with Tom Meentz of monster truck fame in '85 from Paxton High School... Go mustangs!

My dad had this bike...

image.jpg

To which I believe Vetter designed and sold the faring to Honda. This bike was the bike that motivated a young missile tech, Bill Maxwell, to take up riding, beemers, as it turns out, and after a long career in the Airforce Bill sold me my first bike in 2008 when I retired from the Army.

image.jpg

He also taught me how to ride. It's a small world, I wrote about it in on the October 2009 issue I believe, a 4 page first bike story. The coincidence too great not to chalk it up as fate. Bill came to my neck of the woods recently I was able to put him back on the R1200RT "Ursula", I could tell he missed his old bike.
When I read about Vetter's incident I realized somehow he's part of the story too.
 
Posted on Facebook today:

Carol is typing the for me as my typing wasn't great before the accident and it is worse now. I wanted to tell you all how great it is to be home. As I get better, I will be "writing" on here myself. Thank you all for you prayers and kind thoughts. This has been the most difficult thing I have ever had to deal with in my life.
 
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