Update #25 on Kevin

Today, we spoke with a physician’s assistant, Greg Daly (not spelled like that, but don’t remember). He told us that he has been gone for two weeks and is now catching up with Kevin’s info. After examining Kevin and talking with us, he put in a slew of new orders. The family is excited because it seems like this doctor is wanting to try do some things that we have been hearing about.


After a week and a half with no new CATscan, this doctor is ordering one. After a week or more of no new ventilator changes, this doctor has ordered new changes (they are in fact in effect already). They have lowered the amount of times the vent helps Kevin breathe from 10 per minute to 8 pm. They lowered the pressure that they were filling his lungs with from around 20 to 15. They also lowered his PEEP settings from 8 to 6. Not sure exactly what it is (Positive end-expiratory pressure), but it helps decrease the work in breathing.

After a week of not hearing from the Neurosurgeon, this doctor was going to look and see if the Neurosurgeon had left any notes. He was also ordering something like a sonogram for Kevin’s left arm. It is more swollen than the right. He said there could be fluid build-up, or it could be the fact that the arms are the last to heal or show signs in a trauma or it could be a blood clot where the IV pick goes in, and this is why he is ordering a sonogram. There isn’t too much concern about the clot moving, normally he said clots don’t move around from the arms.

They also sat Kevin’s bed up like a chair, so that he was sitting up. They sat him up for about an hour. Tomorrow, they want to put him in one of the pink recliners.

Kevin’s favorite sports team is the Oklahoma Sooners. They are playing their first game of the season tonight. Some of us are watching it in the waiting room, some of us are watching in his room. It’s turned up loud so maybe the sounds and noise of football wakes him up. But then they lost, so that wasn’t good thing.

And they finally shaved him, so it looks more like Kevin.

We put our trust in God. We wait and we pray. We hope and we prepare.

Thanks for your prayers,
Matt, Angie and family

Update #24 on Kevin

It was our night at the hotel last night. We heard this morning that Kevin moved his head slightly. Apparently, his head was leaning to one side and he moved it from leaning to straight ahead as if looking up. We’ll celebrate every new movement and every continued progress.


Matt, Angie and Family

Update #23 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

First things first. Kevin two procedures this morning and they both went really well. He had a tracheostomy put in his neck for respiratory functions and a feeding plug into his stomach. Afterwards, they bathed him and he is resting now from all the procedures.


Afterwards, Angie was in with him and saw him make something like a swallow action. The nurse told us that since the tubes are no longer in his throat, he will now just swallow the secretions that they have been siphoning out until now.

We are in the process of moving our communication lines to a more purposeful direction. If you would like to receive or continue receiving email updates you need to go to http://www.prayforkevin.com/ and choose to subscribe to Google Groups “Pray for Kevin” on the upper right side of the page. You can also go directly to http://groups.google.com/group/prayforkevin and sign up there too. We will be posting all updates on www.prayforkevin.com and we welcome all comments and notes to the family and Kevin.

If you use Twitter, you can sign up for bite-size updates at http://twitter.com/pray4kevin You can even choose to follow these updates and have them sent as text messages to your phone. These will be all throughout the day, around 140 characters or less each time.

I will continue posting updates on my Facebook account under “My Notes” section, but if you are in the Taking Christ to Italy: Go Verona group we will cease putting regular communication there too. Instead we have a group on Facebook called Pray for Kevin, it is found at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=140853109176 or listed under groups that I belong too.

Over the weekend I will be using the old format of communication, as well as the new format. Sorry if you get double or triple messages. After the weekend I will focus only on the new format of communication, after allowing time for people to join what the want to receive.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this transition, we don’t want to leave anyone out!! We are also considering silicone bracelets for people to wear who want to show their prayer support for Kevin. We just have to explore how to pay for these.

Today is Kevin’s son Kohl’s 19th birthday. Pray that we have a great celebration in the midst of tragedy and craziness.

Thanks for your prayers. Thanks for your encouragement. Thanks for your love. Thanks for your help.

Thanks,
Matt, Angie & Family

Update #22 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

They did the UV filter procedure and Kevin has been back in his room for a couple hours. The procedure went well.


They have the tracheostomy planned for around 10 AM tomorrow, but as one doctor told me, they aren’t really schedules in hospitals. We met the doctor who is doing the feeding plug (into Kevin’s stomach). He is really great and gave us his number if we have any questions, day or night. He said he will do the feeding plug procedure, which takes about 8 minutes, sometime before or after the tracheostomy.

Tomorrow is Kohl’s birthday. He is turning 19. Pray for Kohl and the family, since we would love to have Kevin there for his son’s birthday.

Growing up, there was different times where I wanted to be like my big brothers. I remember when I was real little watching Kevin and his confidence. As a teen and young adult, Kevin’s favorite song was by Mac Davis. It was called, “Oh Lord Its Hard To Be Humble”. Here’s the chorus…

“Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
when you're perfect in every way.
I can't wait to look in the mirror
'cos I get better looking each day
to know me is to love me
I must be a heck of a man.
O Lord it's hard to be humble
but I'm doing the best that I can.”

I remember Kevin standing looking into the mirror, smiling and singing that song….to himself and any of us that could hear him. It’s interesting, that for years I fought against the moniker of “little brother”. At a certain point I was as tall as my brothers, and then passed them. When my brothers would introduce me to people, the reply would be….”your little brother? I don’t think so. Maybe he’s your younger brother.” Oh what I would give to have Kevin introduce me as his little brother today.

Thanks for your prayers and heartfelt statements. Thanks for contributing to 742-DINE and our hotel costs. Thanks for doing laundry and bringing snacks and drinks out of love. Thanks for praying us through this.

Thanks,
Matt, Angie & family

Update #21 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

The night we flew in from Italy (arriving four days after Kevin’s accident) Angie and I went straight to the hospital. Exhausted and tired from our travel, yet on a high from finally arriving to my brother’s side, we stayed with him our first night in the hospital. Such a strange sight. Tubes connected to him. Bags hanging around him. And a myriad of machines examining him. There were beeps of all kinds. Simple beeps, beeps with melodies. All alarms to some changing condition of Kevin, either from blood pressure, heart rate, lung pressure, respiratory rate, etc… It was all so foreign to us. It was like learning another language all over again.


The night before last, Angie and I stayed once more with Kevin. In fact, since that first night we have stayed there every other night. On the off nights staying at the hotel (like last night). There were still machines and tubes and beeps, but there were less. Less tubes going into my brother’s body. Less machine controlling him, where he has regained some functionality. Less beeps and alarms going off throughout the day and the night. The beeps that do go off are less foreign to us. For example, we understand for a certain beep it just means he coughed whether we saw it or not. We have done well learning this new language. As difficult as it has been.

Early yesterday evening, the elders from Cedar Ridge Christian Church came up and prayed over Kevin. They prayed for healing, restoration and for the family to lean on Christ.

Kevin’s flood restoration has been going well. There were some hiccups yesterday with insurance agents, but that seems to be handled and some semblance of peace restored there. Kevin’s lower kitchen cabinets have been taken out and other steps are being taken to remodel the damaged home. The family has to go through every single thing that was in the house and determine if damaged is it worth saving. I stopped by the warehouse that has all the stuff. It was the first time I confronted that world. I was at the hospital whenever the cleanup was going on, and I never saw the flood. When I first saw furniture that I have only known in Kevin’s house, I felt sick to my stomach. This was wrong. These things didn’t belong here. And it further hit me that Kevin was unable to go through them himself at this time. The next thing, that hit my mind was how it reminded me of our furniture and possessions that had been in storage in Italy for a year and a half. We finally moved to our new apartment in June and we didn’t expect to be back in the states for another two years. Then the accident. Thoughts of Italy, bring thoughts of our team that I am leading, as well as thoughts of our little dog, Brinkley, whom we miss dearly and is staying with our teammate April in Verona. Lots of questions swirl in our minds as we are faced with a future of uncertainty.

In the hours before we left last night, Kevin’s legs were particularly active. Not moving much, you understand, but slightly rocking. Kevin’s left shoulder was seen pulling back for the first time and his vitals were stable. The IV filter procedure that I mentioned in a previous update would be done in radiology, they wouldn’t need to go to an OR. During the procedure they have to see what they are doing and in radiology they can monitor with something like a sonogram, for instance.

Also, thanks for those of you who gave towards 742-DINE. The family used it last night. It worked out great. They brought the food in 40 minutes. If you do want to give towards that, the account number has changed. For the Crosser family the account number is 4374300. Thanks!

Thanks for praying,
Matt, Angie and family

Update #20 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

This morning the team of doctors came in. While Dr. Bergen and a couple others did Kevin’s examination, Dr. Wang updated Angie and I on what they were thinking for the next few days. They want to place an intravenous filter in a large vein going to Kevin’s lungs. This would catch any blood clots that might come loose and enter Kevin’s lungs, which would be bad. The filter is shaped like an umbrella and inserts into the vein. If scheduled this procedure would be tomorrow.


After that procedure goes well, they will plan the tracheostomy procedure. It could be done in his room, or down in an OR. Dr. Wang said if she does the procedure she will most likely do the feeding tube move to the stomach at the same time.

The nurses got him bathed again (a daily routine) and shaved. Two of the nurses saw different notes to Kevin on the wall and commented on them. They were reading them. One of the nurses told us that you can tell something about a person, when you see their room, and see the people coming and see family and friends staying with him all day every day.

Remember a great way to help the family is by contributing to 742-DINE (918-742-3463). You can find out more about it at http://www.742dine.com/. But you can just call that number and give them the Crosser account number which is - #5553900. Our family has been blessed beyond belief with offers of help and assistance, such as dinners brought up, errands run, household chores at Kevin’s house and other involved family members. We are so grateful.

Thanks so much for your kind words of encouragement and prayers.

Thanks,
Matt, Angie & family

Update #19 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

Today has been somewhat slow as far as developments go. The new doctor, Dr. Wang started off today with a splash. She came in with a team of about seven doctors! It sounded like a medical TV drama. Angie and I were at the hotel with Jacob, Mom and Dad. Taylor and Kohl were staying with Kevin. They didn’t have much to say, but I assume more will come as Dr. Wang continues the week. She did say that it looked like they would be doing the tracheostomy and moving feeding tube this week.


Kevin’s house has been dried out. Carpet has been pulled completely out. The restorers are working on the next step. They are pulling the molding off the doorways. Doors have already been removed. Some spots they will be cutting sheetrock up to 36 inches high in some spots to be replaced.

In early evening the elders from Highland Park Christian Church in Tulsa came up to anoint Kevin with oil and pray over him for healing. Including three staff, there were ten men representing the church. It was a great experience and very encouraging. Tomorrow elders from Cedar Ridge Christian Church will be coming to pray over Kevin also.

A little while ago, several family and visitors were back with Kevin. They were testing his feet for reflexes. They ran a key across the bottom of Kevin’s feet and several times he had a reaction. His foot would pull away several of the times when his feet had been scraped.

Angie and I are staying with Kevin tonight. In the morning, we’ll hear from the doctor again. And I know that we’ll hear from many of you too. There are some verses from Daniel that keep coming to my mind. I know that Kevin would want me to share them with you too. In Daniel chapter 3, there is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The king had set up an idol and they wouldn’t bow down to it. The king threatened to throw them in a fiery furnace….

“16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." ”

In regards to Kevin, we know that the God we serve is able to save us from this tragedy and rescue us from this pain and sadness, but EVEN IF HE DOES NOT…….God is still on his throne. God will still care for us. God still loves us. Eternity with Him is still possible for those who know Him.

Thanks for praying for Kevin. Thanks for praying for miracles. Thanks for praying for our family.

Thanks,
Matt & Angie

Update #18 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

This afternoon, we met Dr. Wang. She is one of two new doctors coming to Saint Francis Hospital tomorrow. They will be running all of the Trauma ICU. Dr. Wang came by as she was meeting the patients. She told us that she wanted families to be involved. In the mornings, she will come by and check on Kevin, afterwards talking with the family and making herself open to questions. She seemed to have a very optimistic spirit.

Family friend, Jack Foreman, saw something while he and his wife Shirley were visiting today. I saw him leaning over and looking at Kevin intently. I asked him what he saw and he said “his arm moving”. We watched and watched. We didn’t see it move again. But that was the first time that anyone had seen his arm move since being in there. The doctors would call it a reflex, but it’s a reflex that he had not done so far!!

Later on, Dr. Fayer came back in and we told him that we met Dr. Wang. He said she was great and the hospital staff was excited to have her on board. He will continue coming through, as well as Dr. Fell, the neurosurgeon. I asked if there was something we were waiting for in order for them to place the tracheostomy. He said there was. On the ventilator machine, there is a setting called PEEP. It has something to do with pressure on the lungs and making it so they don’t collapse. It has a setting of 8. The respiratory therapist later told us it should be at a “5” by we’ll want to confirm that with the doc tomorrow.

The family has been taking turns staying at the hotel that was set up for our family. My parents have been staying there every night for the past week. It has been great to have this resource for the family. For those staying there, breakfast is ready every morning and one less thing to worry about. Staff have been there to help my mom get the ramp/wheelchair out of the car when we could not be there. Maids take care of washing towels, cleaning the bathrooms, and clean the room. More that we can keep off our plate for now. We are so thankful for those of you that sent money to help cover the cost.

Thanks for praying for Kevin and the family,
Matt & Angie

Update #17 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

During the night Kevin did well. He had two B.M.’s which was really good. The doctor said he is digesting and that he heard bowel sounds. Both of which are also good. The doctor also said his labs are looking better. The X-rays still showed something, like pneumonia, but that X-rays can sometimes lag behind. He said that the antibiotics seem to be working.


Doctor Fell, the neurosurgeon, came in and went through his exam. There was response on Kevin’s right foot to stimulus, but not on the left. After the exam he said there is no neurological change in Kevin’s condition and that he would check back with us in a couple days. He has been coming daily.

Throughout the morning, Kevin has been slightly rocking his right knee. There has been a few times on his left knee too. At one point, I stayed in there while Angie went out for a minute. When she was leaving the room, she touched Kevin’s foot and told him she would be back. Kevin moved his left leg in response to the touch.

We are encouraged by so many of you. Your prayers, your words, your giving to the housing, your giving towards meals, your time taken to see Kevin and encourage the family. We are sustained through God and God working in you. I hope as you join us in this process, whether that be through email, facebook, text messages, face-to-face, etc… that you would be compelled to see Christ.

I can’t tell you how many times Kevin introduced someone to me, then wanted me to share with them about Jesus. I told him that he didn’t need a minister or missionary, that he could do it and for many years now he has been trying to do this. I do wonder what Kevin would think about all of what is going on around him. Friends and family coming out of the woodwork, describing in the second breath how many times he helped them with something. I know he would want us to take this opportunity to examine our hearts and make sure they were right with Christ. If any of you would need to talk about this, know that I would count towards fulfilling a desire of Kevin’s to share with you. There are also several other area ministers that have been up and are available to chat about these things as well.

Thanks for praying,
Matt & Angie

Update #16 on Matt's Brother, Kevin - Slow Day

This has been somewhat of a slow day. Emotions are high in the family, which also brings its challenges. Kevin has had some extra movement today. A few times when he has coughed today, it’s not only his chest that moves when he coughs, but down his body into his legs. A couple times it was only his left leg, then later it was both legs shaking when he coughed at the same time. In the past only his chest and head would move when he coughed.


Then at another point, the nurse was changing his feeding tube out. Her fingers got too close and Kevin’s mouth clamped down. He bit her! She had teeth marks afterwards. They said the coughing and the biting were reflexes. Not sure what it means. His stomach has been having some trouble digesting, but he did have a good B.M. this morning.

Most of the family worshipped together this morning at Highland Park Christian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Then brought lunch up afterwards to eat together. We are starting to feel like we are being stretched to our limits. Pray for our family to continue to rest, pray, trust God and love one another.

Thanks for praying for Kevin,
Matt & Angie

Update #15 on Matt's Brother, Kevin - Another Way to Help

I forgot to include in my last update another way to help the family. We received word through our food coordinator (Chef Jeff) that an account was set-up through a local service called 742-DINE. Someone had started the account with a donation and he told me that anyone can contribute towards it. He will continue setting up meals throughout the week. If anyone would like to donate to the 742-DINE account, they just have to call that number, 742-DINE and tell them you want to contribute to account #5553900.


Not too much has changed today for Kevin. His vitals have stayed stable. The only exceptions were his heartrate racing for bit until they gave him a betablocking drug. The nurse only gave him ½ of what they had been giving him and he still responded well, so that reduction is good.

Tonight the family was asked to come to a ceremony at the Tulsa Oilers hockey game tonight. We may not all stay for the game, but they are honoring Kevin tonight by making him an honorary Oiler. They are presenting his kids with an Oiler jersey tonight before the game. Kevin has worked with the Oilers on different things in the past.

Thanks again for your prayers,
Matt, Angie & Family

Update #14 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

Another night gone by and Kevin is progressing in some areas. Dr. Fayer, the general trauma doctor, was in this morning. He said his vitals were looking good. The antibiotics are looking good and working. He does think has some pneumonia somewhere in his lungs, despite the fact the cultures never picked up on it. Kevin had several bouts of coughing last night, which is getting the gunk out of his lungs. Kevin had a small B.M. last night which was great. During the night, when the night nurse was in here with Kevin, Kevin threw up some of his food from the feeding tube. There is always the possibility of some of it getting in his lungs, but she thinks they were able to get it all. It was very good that he did while she was in here. Dr. Fayer said that the plan was still to do a tracheostomy and move his feeding tube next week some time. The feeding tube will actually go directly into the stomach.


The respiratory therapist was just in giving Kevin his routine breathing treatment. She also said that she just switched to a completely different circuit on the ventilator from a dry mode to a heated wet mode with moisture. She said that they do this after seven days. It acts kind of like a humidifier that goes directly into the lungs. She said that this allows the secretions in Kevin’s lungs to stay moist and easier to expel.

The worst area of Kevin’s injuries is in his brainstem. It is in an area of the brainstem called the Pons area. This area controls the heart, the stomach, respiratory system, coughing and consciousness (the urge to get up). It is why the doctors are most concerned about his injuries, but having better respiratory control, coughing, etc…. are encouraging signs that at least part of the area is working. Pray for Kevin to be healed.

I wanted to share a little more about Kevin. This is directly from a personal profile that he wrote about himself.

“My name is Kevin and I shoot straight. I like to joke around though and enjoy meeting people .My children are the highlights of my life next GOD. My Mom ,Dad, brothers, sister-in -law ,and their children are very close to me also .I have many special friends and extended family and they know who they are. I love my job at AMERICAN AIRLINES I’m a EXECUTIVE BOARD OFFICER for the TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION LOCAL 514.I love softball , hunting, and being involved in the community. I like to help people. I think this is what God intended us to do .I have the honor of setting on several boards. Vision 2025 , Red Cross Chapter, Red Cross Blood Services and recently I've been asked on the INCOG federal reserve Board. I know every day matters so live it like you should.”

Pray for our family as we go through this extremely difficult process. It strains and stretches, pulls and tempts to break us. My family has always been close, yet during these times our bonds are tested.

I so appreciate the last line of Kevin’s profile. ”I know every day matters so live it like you should.” This is how we should all be living.

Thank you for your prayers,
Matt, Angie and the Family

Update #13 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

So the night was uneventful for Kevin. This morning they took his neck brace off. Apparently, the neck fractures that we didn’t know about until yesterday had aligned correctly which allowed them to remove the neck brace. A nurse told us today that she thinks he might have a fracture on his finger on his right hand, therefore they are going to do an X-Ray. His legs had the same response to stimuli as the last two days. Again no response in the eyes. His fever broke yesterday, but it has fluctuated today. I asked last night and they told me that there was still swelling on the brain and that the swelling has not changed in the past two CATscans. We don’t know what, if anything, will change once the swelling goes down. They switched the ventilator back to the mode where Kevin is doing the breathing and the machine is helping. That is a good thing. It is also only at 40% oxygen and he is taking deep breaths.

I realized that so many of you are graciously praying for my brother with no idea who he is. I thought I would take a quick opportunity to tell you about my big brother. He’s forty-seven, dark hair, tanned olive complexion, six foot tall. He has three kids, Taylor, Kohl and Jacob. Kevin is a guy who would give you the shirt literally off his back. I can’t tell you how many guys that were in a down time in their life stayed for weeks/months on Kevin’s couch. Most of those guys have gone on to live a better life now. Kevin has been there for them. Kevin is the king of networkers, bringing people together that may not have ever known one other. Yet, each of those people were not just contacts, they were truly friends and often brothers.

Thanks so much for your prayers,
Matt & Angie

Update #12 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

This afternoon we met with the general trauma doctor. He said Kevin’s stitches could come out of the right side of his head and from his ear. He also gave us the results of the CATscan of Kevin’s face. There are a few fractures in Kevin’s facial area, including above the nose and within the jaw. He is calling in a plastic surgeon to verify what needs there would be. He verified from the X-Ray of Kevin’s neck that he does in fact have two fractures in two different vertebrae.


They removed the chesttube from Kevin’s punctured lung, so that seems to be a good sign. Apparently, his lungs are doing better. They have lowered the oxygen from 45 to 40% (it had been at 100%) so that is another good thing. Kevin’s fever broke this evening and he was doing well tonight.

After, going through another rollercoaster day, Angie and I retired to the hotel that is setup for our family. Last night we stayed in Kevin’s room, tonight Taylor is staying in there.

Thanks again for all the love and prayers,
Matt & Angie

Update #11 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

Last night, Kevin struggled with fever and fast heartrate. They gave him several breathing treatments and the respiratory therapist explained very well the tracheotomy that they intend to place in Kevin’s throat sometime next week. They did several tests over the last day, EKG – came back normal, routine sonogram on Kevin’s legs (looking for blood blots) – came back clear, X-ray of Kevin’s neck (apparently, Kevin also has two fractures in his neck, but for some reason they hadn’t told us yet) and finally, a CTscan of Kevin’s face to determine if there are fractures (we understand this to be a routine exam too). They were going to put Kevin on antibiotics because they think he does have either pneumonia or bronchitis. This is a setback. The neurosurgeon did reflex tests again on Kevin. No pupil response yet. Today his eyelids did not try to close with the Kleenex/eye test. However, both of Kevin’s legs jerked when the doctor pinched a toe on each one.


The family has been able to take some time off since we arrived, which has been good. Greg has been over at Kevin’s house today while the water removal is going on. A few of us have been holding the line at the hospital today. Sometimes there are struggles with discouragement, sometimes we don’t give into the temptation. We continue to cry out to God to heal Kevin completely even as the doctors give us very little hope.

This morning, while the physical therapist was with Kevin, she taught Angie how to move Kevin’s limbs to help avoid joint stiffness. She works on that as well as massages his feet and hands to keep circulation going. She can now teach some of the other family members how to do this as they return to the hospital.

For those that have offered to help, we have been trying to get a couple things organized. First, we have a food coordinator, Jeff Congdon. Jeff is the Senior Minister of Sandusky Avenue Christian Church in Tulsa. If you are wanting to bring meals up, cook food, pick up food etc… for the family at the hospital, you can give Jeff a call or shoot him an email. His cell phone number is 918-408-7680 and his email address is jeffcongdon@sbcglobal.net. This will help release the family from dealing with the coordination of meals as well as take care of “double-bookings” and confusion.

The other way you can help is that Highland Park Christian Church in Tulsa has set up a couple hotel rooms for our family to stay at together while we go through this crisis. Some of us are from out of town, others from town but wanting to be with family. The hotel rooms allow us to have an extension of the waiting room for our family to be together. If you want to help offset the cost of this you can contact Brian Jennings at Highland Park Christian Church. The number is 918-627-0783 and the email is brianj@hp4Christ.org.

Every once in awhile we come up with things we need or errands run. These are mainly done in a random manner. Thanks so much for your prayers, words of encouragement and visits. It means a lot. If you want to pray for my family by name:

Kevin Crosser (brother in hospital)
Bill & Jeanne Crosser (Dad & Mom)
Taylor, Kohl and Jacob Crosser (Kevin’s kids aged 21, 18 & 14)
Greg Crosser (brother)
Brandon & Brittany Crosser (Greg’s kids)

Thanks for your love,
Matt & Angie

Update #10 on Matt's Brother, Kevin - The Good and The Bad

Okay, so good news and bad news.


The bad news actually has nothing to do with Kevin’s body. It has to do with his house. Some family friends were checking on Kevin’s dogs and they found that Kevin’s bathroom had flooded the entire house. The hallway had ankle deep water in it. We have already gotten the information on Kevin’s home insurance. Also, one of Kevin’s friends has a restoration company. His company is already taking care of the situation.

Better news has to do with Kevin himself. He had a racing heartbeat earlier in the day that took some time to care for. They finally got it under control and ordered an EKG to check Kevin’s heart. The report came back that Kevin’s heart was fine. When his heart rate increased, we were playing one of Kevin’s favorite groups, Coldplay, while Angie and Taylor were talking to him. So maybe he was making a connection.

A little while ago, the kids had brought up a board game into Kevin’s ICU room. They put the game on a bed table and were playing the game around Kevin’s bed. They were even taking Kevin’s hand while making it hold the dice and had him “playing” with them.

Today Kevin had another CATscan. When the main doctor visited this afternoon, he told us a couple of things. He had said that today’s CATscan would provide good information on where Kevin’s brain is exactly damaged. It is easier to see now that the bleeding has mainly stopped and the swelling should all be down. He also said we would need to be looking at the possibility of inserting a tracheotomy. This is a procedure to open a direct airway for ventilation. It is more comfortable for the patient and better for longterm patients. This will probably be sometime next week.

Thanks for all your prayers,
Matt & Angie

Update #9 on Matt's Brother, Kevin - Steps Forward

There hadn’t been much change in Kevin’s condition overnight. Vitals were good. They have reduced pain meds to morphine (as of late Monday night). Angie and I had a good night’s rest. We got my parents to go and rest away from the hospital as well. We came back up around 6:30 AM and had just missed the doctor. The neurosurgeon did not come in until around 11:30 AM.


When he was in, he was checking his stimulus reactions on his feet and hands. There was no reaction on his hands, but when he pinched a toe on Kevin’s left foot, the foot jerked away. The doctor said that was a good reaction. However, he followed it up with the notion that even someone who has a severed spinal cord injury can do that reaction. We find the good news in the fact that Kevin’s foot has not reacted this way so far.

Then he proceeded to check Kevin’s eyes. With light there was still no pupil dilation/reaction. So then he pulled open Kevin’s eyes, and poked his eyeball with a wad of Kleenex. Out of six pokes, Kevin’s eyelids on his left eye tried to close (blinked as a reaction to pain)! I know it is only one out of six, and I know that he may be somewhat involuntary to pain, but it hasn’t happened so far. And once out of six times, is better than none out of six!!!!

Then there was the statement where the neurosurgeon said, that I actually found encouraging. He said, Kevin does not have a dead brain, he has a badly injured brain.

We go through different stages of grief, excitement, laughter, joy, sadness, etc…. Thanks for your prayers, words of encouragement, food, offers of assistance, etc…

God is sustaining our family.

Praying,
Matt & Angie

Update #8 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

Today was a long day of ups and downs. Kevin had some respiratory issues, so they had to tweak the ventilator settings. The neurosurgeon and doctor have not given us much reason of hope citing different issues. However, we know from them that there is a chance he could wake up, we just aren’t sure what limitations he might have. He did have a B.M. which was the first time in the hospital and an important step of progress.


Many people came to the hospital. Some brought food and snacks. Our intermediate family was surrounded by love from God’s people and other family members.

HPCC got my family a place to stay throughout Sunday. Angie and I staying there tonight and tomorrow we stay back up at the hospital. We will try to work on some kind of family rotation. We also are working on a medical journal for Kevin, citing all the things that the doctors are telling us.

Pray that our family could stay strong during this time of trial. Pray that we stay unified even as the enemy would have us shattered. Thank you for your help and kind words, but especially thank you for your prayers.

We will head back up to the hospital around 6 AM to meet with Kevin’s doctors. Please keep praying.

Thanks,
Matt & Angie

Update #7 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

So, we got in last night and came to the hospital. Kevin had earlier stopped moving his leg. The thought was maybe he gotten worn out. We were told that he had moved it over thirty times. Angie and I have been very happy to be home with family and friends through this incredibly difficult time. In Italy, we were in a waiting game. We couldn’t walk down the hall and see him, or talk to him. But now we can. Angie and I have not hardly left his side since we arrived. We stayed in his room last night, giving other family a bit of rest.


An hour or so after arriving, Kevin was having trouble breathing, so they gave him a sedative/pain killer. Kevin had x-rays taken during the night, which has become somewhat regular. Two doctors came in this morning at different points to explain their areas of care. One doctor said they think he might be getting a touch of pneumonia, his lungs had blood in his lungs, which raised the possibility of pneumonia. The neurologist talked about several things. First, he said one area of major concern is that his eyes are unresponsive, no dilation of the eyes when confronted with light. The brain stem, where there are three blood clots (signifying damage to his brain stem) is the seat of consciousness. This adds to the fear that he could never wake up, since his eyes aren’t responsive.

The neurosurgeon said while the leg moving, itself is a good thing, it doesn’t tell us anything other than that the leg can move. For instance, it does not tell us if he can move his arm on the same side of his body and his leg. It does not tell us if and when he will wake up. But we will cling to the good of the leg moving and look for more good things like eyes opening. The neurosurgeon said we can talk to him as much as we want. He also said that it may still take a couple of days for all the sedative and major pain killers to wear off.

My prayer is for my big brother to wake up and take up the helm that he has held for his many years of protector and guardian of the family…whether we always liked it or not.

Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement and offers of assistance,
Matt & Angie

Update #6 on Matt's Brother, Kevin...GREAT NEWS

We are in NY at JFK airport waiting for our flight to Chicago and found out that Kevin is moving his right leg and had a tear in his eye when Greg (our other brother) kissed him. It rolled down his face. We can’t wait to get there! Please keep praying!!!


Matt & Angie