A Grateful Update

Shame on me for not updating sooner.  I have written an update on the Facebook page "For the Love of Keith Longmore" set up by my kids.  I'm on here because Jayne showed me how.

God has been very merciful to me and my family.  Surgery on my hip a month ago has been very successful.  My range of motion is almost back.  I have a series of stretching exercises I do each day, and now have begun using some of the leg strengthening machines at the gym as well the stationary bicycles.  I ride about an hour a day for the equivalent of eight miles.  That is eight miles an hour.  My normal is  fifteen to twenty miles an hour.  So I have some work to do.

I can get in and out of my own bed and can shower on my own.  My walking gait is normalizing.  All the hospital equipment we had in our home is gone.  No hospital bed, no wheelchair, no walker.  To top all of that off, I have been cleared to go back to work on the 15th of January. I will have a slightly reduced teaching load to see where my stamina is, but I'm pretty excited to be back in the classroom.  I'll be teaching the Gospel and World Religions and the second half of the New Testament.

My orthopedic surgeon told me to walk, walk, walk.  He is an avid bicyclist himself and he said to ride to my heart's content on the stationary bike, but no pavement riding until March when he said, "There better not be a speck of snow or ice on the road."  He also encouraged me to ride bike paths, of which we have a great one nearby.  Then when I have my bearings down, I can do more riding where ever.

I'm even driving again and Karen made me get a second car.  Her reasoning is that if we had had a second car, I wouldn't have felt the need to take a motorcycle last summer.  I didn't argue with her.  We bought a second Honda Element.

My home health nurse has discharged me.  My awesome physical therapist has his last session with me today and then he will discharge me.  I still have a lot of work ahead of me in continuing to get full range of motion back and to overcome the stiffness that comes along with my injuries.  But the prognosis is full recovery.  I am six months ahead of schedule.  The initial schedule would have still had me in the hospital.  Many thought I would be in a wheelchair the rest of my life.

Again, and I'll never be able to say it enough, thank you for all your prayers and expressions of continued prayers.  One of the greatest things I learned from all of this is the very real power of prayer, and of love and friendship.  I'm not quite done so your continued prayers will make good things great.

I am grateful to be alive to see the birth of our first grandchildren, twins.  They are still in the NCU, but are doing well.  They should come home around the first of the year.  Names:  Adaline and Everly.

May the New Year to come be full of blessings for all of us.  When the world seems so dark and ominous, don't forget we are in the last days.  But we have had many assurances that as we live the gospel, we can still enjoy a great measure of happiness and contentment.  I know that to be true.  Even when things are hard, God can bless us with happiness.  I love all of you.

New surgery date

They have rescheduled my hip surgery for this Wednesday with a three day hospital stay.  A new adventure begins!

Change of Plans

My orthopedic surgeon called a couple of days ago and said that after looking over the CAT scans and consulting some anatomy books and a collegue, that he felt he was not the surgeon for the job.  The extraneous bone growth is laying alongside my femoral artery and that is a rather high risk surgery for someone not used to that kind of thing.  So he referred me to a surgeon that specializes in orthopedic tumor removal.  He is used to sensitive things like this and can access difficult places in creative ways.

So. . . no surgery tomorrow as scheduled.  I will meet with Dr. Scott on Tuesday for consultation and suppose that a surgery date will be set then.  In the meantime, I am improving and getting my right leg stronger which will help in recovery after surgery.  I even walked across the street to church on Sunday just holding Karen's hand.

Again, and I'll say it often, I am the answer to your prayers.  I still need them, though.  I'm not quite done!  My love to you all.

Keith

All About Gratitude

To all my friends and Family:
I'm up and running well enough now that I had Jayne show me how to use this blog.  I was going through the many cards I received from so many.  I am a very blessed man to have so many that have prayed for me and expressed their concern and well wishes.  I will repost this on the Facebook
"For the Love of Keith Longmore"

I simply cannot respond to all who wrote, visited and called.  Though this is against the age old rules of etiquette, I hope all of you won't be offended by this kind of an expression of gratitude.  I have been told over and over by my caregivers and doctors that my recovery is nothing short of a miracle.  One professional told me there were seven things that happened to me, any one of which should have killed me.  I sincerely want my friends and family to know that I am an answer to your prayers.  God has given me a second chance to do my best to bless my fellow man and woman.

I am walking now without the aid of a walker.  Actually I waddle more than walk, but that should be taken care of with the hip surgery I will have on Thursday.  My physical therapist says I'll be going great guns by Christmas.  The lead trauma surgeon (who refused to give up on me) told me yesterday that I should be riding my bicycle outside this spring.  Woo hoo!  I'll have the spring and summer to get back into good condition before going back to teaching in the fall.

My employer and my insurance company have be VERY good to me.  The support group around me has been awesome.  Almost everyday one of my colleagues from work comes to visit me and even take me for a walk around the block.  I have heard from dear high school and college friends.  That has touched me deeply.  This has pulled my crazy family together in nice ways.  They have taken good care of me.  My wife has been a rock.  I married well.

I will still get on here occasionally until my recovery is complete.  I've had a few requests to do so.  May our most powerful God bless you for your love and concern.  While the world races toward evil and darkness, those who choose to follow God can still bask in His Light, Safety, and Strength.  My testimony of God's power is solidified in my trials.

Thank you again.  My love to you all.

Progress!

Dad had an appointment with the orthopedist on Monday to determine whether or not he was allowed to bear weight on his pelvis, and he received the 'okay' to start walking! A week before they anticipated! And just the day after being approved to start walking, he walked as if he never skipped a beat! And today, he walked 100 feet with his walker, without any assistance! What a stud! He has had the best attitude! Only 3 months after the accident, and he's already walking. They weren't expecting him to walk until January! Not only is he walking now, he will be walking unassisted by the time he comes home on October 17th (: We are ecstatic about this sudden progress, and can't wait until he's home and walking on his own! Dad wants to thank everyone for their continued prayers, he couldn't do it without them! We love you! Thanks for all the support for our family (:

Recap!

mom and dad home together at last (:

memes a girl in our ward made for him.

Me taking dad back to church!

A lot has happened since I last had time to update the blog, so here's a recap of what's happened since! His doctor told him he couldn't bear weight for another 6 weeks, which means he can't stand or start walking on it until his next doctor's appointment on Oct. 13, so he is still in the rehab in American fork for now, which is a GREAT facility, we have been very pleased with them. It is top notch there (; His time there ends 4 days after October 13, so we are now trying to figured how to prep our house to be more accessible for him. Now that he isn't in pain anymore, aside from his hip, he has become very mobile! We have mastered the art of moving him in and out of his wheelchair, to the point that I can now help him move him into a car! And my parents car is the perfect height as well. So needless to say, I busted him out of that rehab this Sunday, and we went to church! To his own ward! He was so excited, and the ward was even more excited to have him back! As soon as we wheeled in, one of his elders quorum presidents practically lifted his chair up the stairs, and he got to sit on the stand during church, like a bishop (: and he thought he would only be able to make it for the first hour, because he gets really stiff and uncomfortable, but he sat through all 3 hours! We were so excited (: Once we were on our way back to the rehab, he said, "you know what? I'm doing great. Let's go home!" so for the first time in 2 months, my dad came home (: He was so excited to see his dog, and she was all over the place with excitement! And it was a surprisingly easy transition to the couch for him. He even got to stay for  Sunday family dinner! He had lots of visitors too, so he didn't end up going back to the rehab until 9pm. Now that we have that system down, we are letting everyone know that on Sundays, he will be at home, not Stonehenge. So still feel free to come visit! The address is 1717 N. 200 W., Orem, Ut. 84057 (; If you give us early enough notice, you might even be able to join us for dinner! (; That might be his permanent recovery place sooner than we know because he is doing so good! Just today he called me, bright and early, and when I answered, he said "Jayne. I STOOD. BY MYSELF." He was so excited! He also started pedaling last week, and he was more excited about standing than pedaling, which, if you know him well enough, he would rather pedal his bike than do anything else in this world haha. His physical therapist is so impressed at his progress that his therapist almost gets more excited than he does (; So needless to say, he is doing GREAT! This super speedy recovery has been a miracle. We have no doubt it's because of your continued prayers for him. He has never been a stronger believer in the healing power of prayers than he is today. He still needs them though, his fight isn't over (; We are so extremely grateful for everyone's support, love, service, and prayers. We are so blessed to know such amazing people in our lives! We love you all. Do remember to come visit, hoo! Visitors are what get him through his boring days, and each and every one of you that visit, give him a little more strength to carry on (: I can't imagine anyone being able to have a better attitude about life, and everything that had happened, than my dad. He has been SO optimistic about everything. He is, by far, all of the nurses favorite patient. He's really knew maintenance, too, so I'm sure that has something to do with it (; He looks like a spring chicken at that place! Whenever he talks about being there he always says "I feel like I'm 17 here", and it's true haha everyone is at least 20 years older than him. So he can't wait to start walking so he can come home! We can't wait either (: So again, we ask that you keep him in his prayers, and come visit! Visitors get him through the day (: We love you! Thank you everything you do to help our family (:

Dancing with the Druids at Stonehenge (;

Dad had his doctor's appointment on Thursday, and the doctor said he still can't bear any weight on his right side (where his hip had popped out), and he can bear some weight on his left, but it's not recommended. He won't be able to start bearing weight for 6 weeks. Due to that response from the doctor, there is nothing more they can do at the specialty hospital. So has been moved to Stonehenge in American Fork. This is a very new facility, only a year old, and we have already been so pleased with them! He has the best of care, and all the attention he could ask for (; He has been the talk of every place he goes because of how much progress he has made in such a short amount of time. And not to mention, the fact he's alive! As he was leaving the other hospital, all the nurses he has ever had, lined the hallway, and cheered for him as he was leaving. It touched him so deeply, he cried. We're going to miss that place! But I'm sure this hospital will be just as wonderful (: He might only be there a short time, they are talking about the option of home health, but my mom isn't sure about that yet, she wants him to have the best possible care and attention he will need. But after those 6 weeks, he'll for sure be home! But we all hope it will be sooner (: His new address at Stonehenge is 538 s. 500 e., American Fork, Utah. Room 122. Please, come visit! Visitors kinda keep him going, and cheer him up (: So don't hesitate to come whenever you can! And as often as you like! They don't really have set visiting hours there. He is also in a position to take calls and texts on his phone now, so feel free to contact him that way too (: We love you, and appreciate all you do!

Next stop...

Keith has been doing so great, they're booting him out of the rehab he's in now, because there's nothing more they can do for him. He has a doctor's appointment on the 28th with the doctor who put weight bearing restrictions on his pelvis, and the doctor will tell him if his pelvis is healed enough that he can bear any weight at all. If he can bear weight, he can either go back to the Utah valley specialty hospital, or go to the Provo in-patient therapy there, but if he can't bear right, they'll try to keep him in the Murray hospital again (although none of us like that option), or move him to Stonehenge in American Fork. He has been doing so great with all the therapy they give him. He can now stay sitting up at the edge of his bed without support, and he can even carry himself over to the commode! They also made him push himself around the whole perimeter of the hospital in a wheelchair yesterday, which he didn't exactly enjoy, but he said he loves that they push him to do things they know he can do. They are saying he still won't walk for another 3 months or so, but considering they were saying 6 months a little while ago, that's great news! Dad has also been able to take his own showers! Yesterday was his second shower and his therapist left him there for 20 minutes because he knew my dad didn't want to get out any time soon, so he showed him where the call button was, and finished up with some other patients. Dad loved it! He has actually been pretty spoiled (; and he is the talk of the hospital! Everyone is absolutely shocked at the progress he has been making. Every nurse and therapist in that hospital knows my dad, and thinks he is a miracle man! Which he is (; They were all so bummed when they heard he was going to leave soon. We will miss the exceptional care and service at Utah Valley Specialty Hospital, they have been so good to all of us. But we are ecstatic he is moving on because he's doing so well! It is such a huge blessing.But I would recommend getting your visits in within the next couple days because we don't know where he'll be after that! So feel free to come visit anytime today or tomorrow, between 9am and 9pm (: he would love to see you! Thanks AGAIN for all of your prayers, love, and support for my dad and my family. We are blessed beyond comprehension! We love all of you, and hope to see you soon!

Oh, the love!

Upon request from my dad, I am posting these videos of students from his ward that he is bishop over. 2 days after the accident, on his birthday, all of these amazing people came to my parents house, and cleaned it cleaner than we have ever had it! They got things done that we have been trying to get around to doing for years. Not surprising, every person had wonderful things to say about my dad, and to both of my parents. These videos touch my dad, and my mom's hearts so much, they wanted everyone to see how amazing these people are (: Our hearts are so full of gratitude for the service they offered my family. Not to mention, these poor college students brought home cooked meals to our home for 3 weeks, so my family wouldn't have to worry about cooking. My dad's ward has been such an extraordinary blessing in this trial, we can't thank them enough. They are all so full of love, and so ready to serve anyone in need, they are such a wonderful example of the good in the world. So if any of the YSA 247th ward reads this, know how much we love and appreciate all you have done, and are doing for our family! You guys are truly special people (: As are all of you, praying for my dad, and my family to get through this trial. He has been making such tremendous progress! He is just blowing through therapy, they already have him sitting up in a cardiac chair for a couple hours a day! They have also started him on physical therapy, down in their gym. Walking will be the last thing he does, but he will have some serious muscles up top by the time he walks! It seems like they shorten the recovery time on a daily basis! It's a huge blessing he was so healthy before this happened. 

There have been many people coming to visit my dad, and bringing him food, drinks, cards, and all sorts of gifts, and he absolutely lives them all, and the company, even more! He has seen many old friends visiting, and many new ones! He never tires of visitors (: I have to say, although we aren't surprised, he is quite the favorite with every nurse that even meets him! He has such an extraordinarily positive outlook on his situation, and life in general, that all of the nurses think it such a treat to work with him! Especially because of his jokes and puns (; I can't think of a time he gave a nurse a straight forward answer!

Each and every one of you is a blessing in our lives, and we can't sufficiently express our gratitude, except to say, we love you all. Every day, he says he knows people are praying for him, because he can feel it. So thanks, to all of you (: 

The worst is over now!

Keith has been doing so great! He has had a lot of physical therapy, and he has been rocking it like a champion! Thanks to the fact he's such a healthy guy, he had been breezing through all of his tests and therapy (: they gave him a serious of 3 swallow tests this week to see if he can handle breathing, swallowing, and talking without the trachea tube... And he passed with flying colors (: so they plugged it for 48 hours, as a trial, and he did great! So they have finally removed the tube! And he has been eating real food, abs he even got the soda he's been waiting for this whole week (; they also switched him from the nighttime feeding tube, and they are anticipating being able to take the feeding tube out altogether today, along with his nasal canula. He is finally going to be tubeless (; he has been cracking jokes left and right to everyone that visits him, and he never stops giving the nurses a hard time, and they think he is hilarious! He's probably their favorite patient (; I hadn't known they plugged his trachea, and I came in one day and he said 'oh hey, Jayne!', and I about fainted, it was such a surprise! But a pleasant one (: and dad can't stand passing up a chance to scare someone, or take them by surprise! I'm pretty sure he lives for that (; He had a group of students come in the other day, saying they just got back from rock climbing, and he said 'hey! So did I!' And when he kept trying to get us kids to take him home (whenever my mom wasn't there ;), he said to Anne, 'We gotta go! We're going dancing tonight!' All of his excuses as to why he has to leave the hospital have been pathetic, but hilarious! Even at a time like this, he's trying to make everyone else feel better, and always lightening the mood! He is truly an amazing man, and we just love him! When they first plugged his trachea, the nurses asked him if there is anything he needed to tell them that he hasn't been able to yet, and he said 'I just want you to know how amazing my wife is!' And all the nurses thought it was just the sweetest thing (: When I was telling him my mom never left his side at the hospital, and only came home 3 times in the whole 3 weeks he was there, he said 'I guess she kinda likes me'. I think my parents are more in love now than they ever have been (: it has been such a great experience for all of us kids to see how my parents pull together with such faith in such a trying time, knowing they are going to make it through, without a doubt. We are so incredibly blessed to have such faithful parents that never doubt their own strength, or the strength of the Lord. We always say our dad is the strength of our family, but we realized, my parents are a team, and together, THEY are the rock of our family. We are so blessed, beyond comprehension, and our gratitude for all the prayers and blessings we have received, is beyond words. My dad told my mom a story a couple days ago, from President Monson, that was something like this 'a woman was very sick, laying in a hospital bed, not sure if she was going to live, and she felt an overwhelming feeling of warmth, and when she opened her eyes, she said she could see spots on her, glowing, and more kept appearing until all she could see was light. She immediately started feeling better, and when she was better, she told president Monson about the experience, and he said, those were prayers said in your name'. My dad feels the same way as this woman does, that all of your prayers have been giving him strength, and motivation to carry on. So this is coming from him, he asks you continue your prayers and fasting for him. Although the worst is over now, he has a similarly difficult trial, but much more time consuming, and it will be equally draining. Please, continue to remember him in your prayers, and my sweet mother as well, so she will be blessed with the strength she needs emotionally and physically to help my dad through this trial. My dad has so much love and gratitude for every one of you, and so does our family. Now that he is speaking, he would just love all of you to come visit! Though the comments and warm wishes posted will still reach him either way (: We love all of you, and thank you for all you do to help my dad and our family! Much love!

He's outta there!

Keith was moved out of the Murray hospital yesterday, and is now situated at the Utah valley specialty hospital  in Provo. This is a great hospital, and we have only heard good things (: he is very antsy, and irritated, so he has not been having a very good experience. But he has been very interactive with everyone! Lots of smiles, and he mouths a lot of stuff, we can usually understand (; he has been sassing everyone and cracking lots of jokes! Ladies and gentlemen, he's back! (: He has been all about going home. He kept trying to have us lift him out of bed, so he could come home, and at least twice an hour he said he wants to go home. Then he kept asking for a soda, and would get so frustrated when we told him he couldn't have one. There has been a lot of eye rolling, and shrugging, because sometimes we can't understand the mouthing. But he definitely gets his point across however he can! (; this new facility does allow visitors that aren't family, as long as it's only 2 or 3 at a time and you must sign in up front. The hospital is called Utah Valley Specialty Hospital, in Provo. The address is 306 W. River Bend Lane, Provo, Utah. 84604. He is in room 251 (: Come on over! We are so grateful for all of you, and your prayers and caring for my dad and family. We love you all, and would love to see you soon!

Change of Scenery!

As of today, it has been 3 weeks since Keith's accident. He is making a lot of progress, especially in the last few days. Although, he does have an infection in his lungs (they think might be pneumonia), and has acquired a bladder infection recently as well. It has been decided that they are not going to operate on his head anymore, because the risk of infection is greater than the need to operate. They were planning on moving him from the Murray hospital on Monday, but because the bladder infection came up, they thought it best to hold off. They were then talking about moving him today, but if the infection is pneumonia, they have to wait a little longer. He has already been there a week longer than they were expecting him to be, so we are praying he can be released soon! He will be moved to a progressive treatment/rehab center in Provo, called Utah Valley Specialty Hospital. There are only 3 centers like this in the state of Utah, so he will be in great hands. And he's only a couple miles away from home too! So he will get lots of friends visiting (: They put the speaking tube in yesterday and asked him a bunch of questions, and he answered them pretty clearly, which is a good sign. He thinks it's still July, and when they asked him where he was, it sounded like he answered Lincoln City, which is where he and my mom were supposed to be vacationing in Oregon at the end of July. He still doesn't understand why he's in the hospital though, which really frustrates him. All he was saying was 'I want to go home' and 'I don't want to be here', so it's pretty clear he's over the whole hospital scene (; They think he might have some short-term memory loss, but he remembers all of his kids, and my mom, and recognized all of us, so it also might just be the brain swelling. He will have to have some sort of assistance breathing for the next couple months, until his lungs are back to normal, and he is going to have to be in a wheel-chair for about 3 months as well, because he can't put any weight on his pelvis at all. He will be doing a lot of physical therapy for his legs in bed though, and he will get lots of therapy on his arms right now. Being in bed for 3 weeks, he has lost most of the muscle in his legs and arms, but they don't think it will be much of a problem, with some therapy. Keith is very restless, and uncomfortable, as you can imagine, so he has not been a happy camper! It kills him to be incapacitated like this, because he is such an independent, hard working, stubborn man! So he doesn't do well being stuck in a bed all day, not being able to do anything for himself. And not knowing why, makes it even harder. The doctors say the brain usually blocks out the accident altogether, and most of the time in the ICU as well, so he will have lots of questions! We realize more now than before, how difficult this recovery is going to be on him and his spirits, so please, please pray for him to handle it well, and leave lots of encouraging messages! He will never get tired of them (: and he will need them, for sure! Thanks again to all of you for your prayers thus far, and for all of the love we have received from all of you!

Recently...

There is not much new progress with Keith lately. They have discovered some fluid in his lungs, so they are going to be watching that closely to make sure it doesn't turn into anything serious. He has been very responsive, understanding questions and trying to reply. He has also been trying to talk, but it's just mouthing right now, but we can usually make it out (: He is doing so much better, they are predicting he will be moving from the ICU by the end of the week (: At that time, he will be accepting visitors (: We will keep all of you posted as to when that time will be. But my mom is always accepting visitors, and phone calls! (; We are grateful for every one of you, and love you ALL!

Progress!

Sorry for the late update! Sunday Keith started to breath a lot on his own, so they have been weaning him off the ventilator day by day. He does pretty well, except he just gets tired so it gets slower. But it's big progress! He is also much more alert than he ever has been. He tried to talk all the time, and mouth stuff to us. He still has a tube in his trachea, so words don't come out, but yesterday he mouthed 'Good Morning' to my mom! So he is also acknowledging who we are now. He recognizes voices as well, and he can smile. There is some brain swelling, which is why he has been so slow to come out of it, and it seems like he is sedated, but he will completely come out of it and be able to talk and everything once the brain swelling goes down. This isn't anything serious, it is expected with such trauma. But once there is no more swelling, they will operate on his head. They have also allowed him to be sat up, so he is no longer stuck laying down, and he looks SO much more comfortable. This has already been quite the process, so we just have to be patient and remind ourselves, BABY STEPS! Things seem to be falling apart all over, but we remain strong as a family and look to God for strength, and we can't express our gratitude for the blessings we have received. Although much that happens seems to be totally unnecessary, we know there is much learning and growing for us to do out of every situation we have been confronted with. And we know your prayers are the reason we are so optimistic and they are the reason for our strength through these hard times. Again, you can't know how grateful we are for each and every one of you and your prayers. Thank you all, and much love!

P.S. They are starting physical therapy today! Yay!

Setback

Keith had a setback today. They had to insert another breathing tube through his trachea because he stopped breathing on his own, and they feared the breathing tube was too irritating and they want him to relax. He also stopped responding like he was responding before, which they aren't too worried about, but it is unexpected and something they have to look into. We'll post as soon as there's a change!

Good News!

They removed Keith's breathing tube this morning! They decided he was breathing steadily enough, that he could handle it. He still struggles a little, which I'm sure is because of the pain, and he has been coughing a lot as well, which we assume is just irritation from the breathing tube, and not being able to clear his throat. But so far he's holding his own! Which is great news (: Thank you so much for your prayers! WE LOVE YOU ALL!

Pray, pray, pray!

We have just found out that he stopped breathing the way the respiratory therapists wanted him to be breathing, so they won't be removing the tube. His white blood cell count is also way up, which is common after surgery, but they think that because of the breathing, it might be an infection in his lungs, such as pneumonia, then they will have to keep the tube in for a while longer. We will know what the plan will be within the next 24 hours. This is quite a set back that we were not anticipating, but we know things will work out for the best. Much love to all!

Rib Plating - Check!

Keith went into surgery this morning to get each of his broken ribs plated, and came out only a few hours later, and all went well! The 2 most important surgeries are over and things are really moving! The respiratory therapist has been monitoring his breathing, and he is breathing all on his own and how they want him to be breathing! So they are expecting to take the breathing tube out tomorrow, and see how that goes! Once they take the breathing tube out, and with his ribs fixed, he will be in a lot less pain and he should be able to fully wake up, and start talking! A nurse that befriended my mom at the hospital went out of town today for 8 days, and said she probably won't be seeing my mom again, because they should be moved to the progressive treatment floor! This wasn't expected to happen for at least a couple weeks. He has been doing extremely well for his condition, everyone is shocked. Everyone but the people that know him, that is (; Everyone that knows Keith knows he's a fighter! And he is the healthiest, strongest 58 year old man I know! I have no doubt he will only continue to surprise everyone will his exceptional progress! I had the chance to communicate with Keith's Aunt, and favorite cousin, and all they have to say about that is 'That's the Longmore spirit! He comes from some hearty stock. that one'. And I have no doubt he can just picture his Grandpa Longmore in his head telling him to man up! There's still work to be done! So my dad, being the obedient grandson he is, listens to him (: There is really no surprise in how well he's doing with how big of a trooper he is. Sometimes that man can be a stubborn son of a gun, but it comes in handy with situations like these (; When he moves to the other floor in the hospital, he will be able to accept visitors, and that should be soon! So we'll keep all of you posted as to when you can come see him (: We are so excited for him to be fully responsive and awake! The hardest part of this whole thing is not being able to communicate, so this will be such a stress reliever for all parties involved (; As soon as he is fully awake, we will start reading him all of your get well wishes to him! So feel free to leave as many as you want! Again, we thank you for your prayers and support! We just can't thank you enough! Your love and support has helped us through this hard trial more than any of you, and even more than we, ourselves, will ever know! Please, continue to pray, because we know that's where my dad's, and all of our strength are coming from. We will update when he wakes up, or when they move onto another surgery. We love all of you! Don't you forget it! (:

Coming up...

Just a super quick update! The leakage has completely healed now, so Keith will be able to get his ribs plated tomorrow morning. They have decided the rib surgery is now first priority because the ribs that had a clean break, have been moving, and they don't want it to get any worse. He is still semi responsive, but mostly to pain. They have taken him off the sedatives, but he is on the full dose of Fetanol now. He is a big guy though, so the pain reliever just doesn't quite seem to cut it (; He has continued to open his eyes and look around, but everything is still like a dream to him right now. The nurses have been taking very good care of my dad, along with my mom! My dear, sweet mother still hasn't left his side. She just can't bear the thought until he is totally stable, with no risks anymore. We love all of you and are so appreciative of your support and wanting to help, and we will let you know as soon as he has moved out of the ICU and can take visitors. At that point, we would love to see all of you visiting! Thank you all for your prayers, and I will keep you all updated after the surgery tomorrow!

Update for the Weekend!

Keith was supposed to go into surgery for his rib plating on Saturday (his birthday), but showed signs of leaking from his head. Due to his skull being crushed in the front, there was a hole where cerebral spinal fluid started draining through his sinus's and leaking out of his nose. This is not life threatening, but it did add complications, so they had to postpone the surgery until a later date, which is undecided at this point. They will be doing a lumbar drain (putting a needle in his spine where the spinal fluid is) to continuously drain the fluid so his head will heal faster, so that they can continue with the rib plating. Only 2 of his ribs aren't broken, so they will be plating each rib individually, but they can't risk the surgery with a head injury like that. On a different note, there has been surprising progress for this stage of the game! My sweet mother hasn't left his side since the night of, and Saturday, the nurses finally made her go home and sleep a full night's sleep, so I had the pleasure of spending another night at the hospital. As she was leaving with my brother and sister-in-law, she said he seemed to be trying to open his eyes while they were there, and it looked like he smiled at them. Just after they had left, I was talking to him and said 'It's Jayne, the nurses finally sent mom home to sleep, so you're stuck with me tonight' and he opened his eyes and looked straight at me and put his hand out to me. This is very unexpected this early, they weren't expecting him to open his eyes for at least another few days, let alone be so responsive to voices. From Saturday night on, he has been opening his eyes whenever we talk to him. He does feel the breathing tube now, which aggravates him, but he is starting to breath a lot on his own as well. Being awake and not being able to talk probably aggravates him more than the tubes though, I'm sure, cause all he wants to do is crack some jokes! But hopefully, that will come soon enough (: This is such a good sign that he is opening his eyes so soon, and even showing emotion! It is such a blessing that he kept himself so healthy, so the recovery process will move right along! We have been so very blessed throughout this whole ordeal, words can't describe our gratitude to God, and to all of you, being so supportive and willing to help and just being there for us! You will never know our love and appreciation to all of you! There is no doubt that he is alive, and making such great progress, because of each and every one of your prayers. We would also like to request you guys keep that young girl that was driving the car, in your prayers as well. We can't imagine what she is going through right now, and we just pray that she will be comforted in this time of trial. He still will not be receiving visitors, probably for at least another week or two, but we will keep you updated of that situation as well. Thanks again to all of you for your prayers and concern. Much love to all! 

P.S. For those who want to share their love, or memories of Keith, I have created a facebook page called 'For the love of Keith Longmore', so please, join the group, and post! I made this page mainly for him when he is having a hard time during the recovery process, so he can look at all the people who love him and are cheering him on, and it will lift his spirits. This page has also been such a comfort to the rest of my family as well, when we get discouraged. Words can't describe the comfort we feel after reading all of the memories from people he has met from all walks of life, and the lives he has changed since he was in high school! So please, please join the group and post as much as you want (:

First Surgery Down

Dad had surgery today on his cracked pelvis, and after 8 hours of surgery, everything went well! He does have a few fractures that they can't safely reach, so they will have to heal naturally, but they fixed the worst part of it. He also responded to all of the nerve tests as well, so that is a great sign. His pelvis was his most serious injury, and what they were most worried about, so the worst is over now! 

They will be doing surgery on his ribs tomorrow, plating each of the broken ribs. He is still sedated, and probably will be for the next few days. He has absolutely top notch surgeons, so we are very blessed that he was able to be moved to the Murray hospital so quickly. 

 Thanks again for all of your support! We really will never be able to thank you enough for all of the love we have felt in these past 48 hours. Even though we haven't been able to respond to many attempts to contact, due to how hectic and stressful this whole ordeal has been, please know that we have received them and appreciate each and every one of you and the love you have for Dad and our family. 

P.S. Any birthday wishes will be read to him tomorrow during our mini birthday party in the hospital room

What we know so far...

Hey guys!  We wanted to start a blog to keep everyone updated on the happenings with Keith's recovery. We feel so overwhelmingly grateful for all of your support and love. We have never met anyone that hasn't loved Keith, so this time is hard for us as well as everyone who knows him.

We have had a lot of questions from people wondering how he is doing and what happened. We wanted to explain what happened, as far as we know, and how he is doing now. We will be regularly updating so that everyone can keep tabs.

Keith was riding my motorcycle home from bishop interviews on Wednesday night going north on University Avenue. A 19 year old girl pulled out in front of him going left and the motorcycle struck the vehicle. He laid down the bike and ended up under the car. Her delayed reaction time caused him to be dragged under the car for a bit which is the reason he has sustained most of his injuries.

He came into the ER coherent which was a big surprise to the ER team and the cops. They said this was great news for him to still be himself. He has fractures in his skull and his head was broken open, he has many fractured ribs and will need plates in his ribs for them to heal, he also has a fractured pelvis in many places and will need screws and plates to put that back together. He covered head to toe in lacerations and bruising and will require plastic surgery on his head and face.

He was brought to Utah Valley Hospital and was there until this afternoon. The only surgeon qualified to do the surgery on his pelvis is going out of town in a few days so he was not able to do the surgery. With that being said, they had to transfer him by ambulance to the IHC hospital(great and spacious building) in Murray. He made it alright and they worked to stabilize him again.

He has been under sedation and pain medication to avoid the pain. They took him out of sedation briefly to test his motor skills and did another CT scan which showed no change from the lats CT scan which is good. He is being intubated and cannot breathe on his own at the moment.

My mother has not left my dad's side since the accident, so he has always had someone there, keeping him company. They are working on getting him more stable and getting him off of the breathing tube as well as strengthening his heart so that he can be off of some meds and breathe on his own.

We were told that they will try to stabilize him enough in the next few days to perform the surgeries. From there he will be in the hospital for weeks and then intensive rehab for months. He will not be able to stand for quite some time and will have to learn how to walk all over again. They said a full recovery should take about a year.

We are hoping that he can continue to stabilize and get better so that they can take care of the surgeries and continue his improvement. We appreciate all of your love and support and help that we have been given already. We will be opening up a Facebook page for anyone to post kind messages and memories for him to read when he is able to. Right now we please ask that no one visit unannounced. Please contact one of us on Facebook or call before coming over to the house or coming to the hospital. My dad will not be ready for visitors at the hospital for some time.

Keith is a fighter. He is strong. He has done nothing but help people and inspire people his whole life. We have been so extremely blessed this far, having him still with us today, and not sustaining more injuries than he already has. We pray that he will get through this and be himself again. We just can't wait for him to wake up and crack some silly joke.

Newspaper article.

Here is the updated newspaper article from The Daily Herald Read full story here