Copeland Family Fire

Whitney (11:07am PST, Friday 5/27/22) Eye check up for the boys! The Dr. was surprised at how well Krew’s eyes look after such trauma. Prescribed an ointment at night to keep his eyes lubricated until his upcoming eye surgery is scheduled. It will help with any redness & dryness.  Kyle’s eye site is looking about the same. Good in the right eye, ok in the left. There is a lot of scar tissue in his left eye, that most likely will never go away. The best news is the surgery has significantly reduced the watering and sensitivity he was experiencing. He is able to open his eyes during the day a lot more now! Still not driving or going into the sunlight much. He will continue steroids in both eyes.  Second round of Laser this morning. Making that Surgery #12 for Krew. He’s in recovery now. He was a crazy boy this morning in the pre-op making all the nurses giggle and smile!

Whitney (4:25 pm PST, Tuesday, 5/24/22) The anticipation of Pepper’s dressing change this morning was very similar to that of Christmas Eve.  Before the beginning of her dressing change I uttered a simple but direct prayer. I didn’t need to hear the Dr. say it. Once I saw with my own eyes I knew, our prayers had been answered. The grafts look amazing! All the grafts have taken up to this point. They all are adhering well and look healthy. The next few days are crucial. Pepper will have sedated dressing changes everyday for the rest of the week.  All 4 antibiotics have been discontinued at this point. Her appetite is slowly returning. She has no restrictions when it comes to getting up and stretching with occupational therapy. No more bed rest!!  On top of all of this, Pepper received a author signed copy to her favorite book series last night. Keeper of the lost cities. It was amazing to see her face light up! @shannonmessanger Thank you for your special thoughts and heartfelt prayers.

Whitney (3:00 PM PST, Tuesday, 5/24/22) Krew did fantastic getting his cast off! “Ew I have a stinky arm”. Haha  He was a bit disappointed when they took it off and he couldn’t move his fingers right away. He was concerned that his fingers were broken, “I can’t grab things”. We cried a little, but by the end of the night he was in the tub moving about.  Dressing changes on his left wrist 2x/day for the next week or so. Until the graft site heals.  Krew is scheduled for Laser surgery #2 on Friday. It is same day and he will be in and out in about an hour. The laser treatments help with scarring and reduce itching and pain.  They will be doing both arms and right hand.  He will have another release done (same as left) on his right hand and one of his eyes sometime in June. He is doing well.

 Whitney (7:23 am PST, Friday, 5/20/22) Surgery #41 in the books yesterday morning. The Dr. was very pleased with how everything is looking. Cadaver skin was placed on all open areas on Sunday. Bacteria counts are down. We have a window.  This morning Pepper will have all open areas covered with her own skin, again. The 3 antibiotics she has been on for 10 days will continue this week to keep the bacteria away.  The resident (working with the burn team) found me in the cafeteria and said, we are rooting for Pepper. We are all going to be in there listening to “This is what we came for” (Calvin Harris) on repeat until the surgery is done. This made my heart happy.  Please join our family in lifting up extra prayers for Pepper this morning.

Whitney (2:20 pm PST, Friday, 5/13/22) Our sweet girl. We have had a glimpse of her in the last couple of weeks. She was free from intense pain, off all her opioids, regaining strength, surgeries were a week apart (or more) and she’s really been looking so forward to the future, even making plans on how to decorate her room.  Then the damn phone rang. I am very much in the loop of all of her care, sometimes I even get to share my opinion with the drs. They humor me. The voice that came over the line was filled with sadness and disappointment. “The bacteria is back, and it’s not looking great”. We decided to hit it hard and fast. 2 antibiotics through the IV, administered slowly for a longer window of coverage. New topical antibiotics for both bacterial and fungal infections. Surgery every other day with bedside changes being done in between.  Pepper has been crabby. She has been in so much pain lately. She has been claustrophobic in her dressings, causing her bouts of anxiety. The anti

Whitney (8:37am PST, Thursday 5/12/22) Krew did amazing during his 12th surgery that lasted 6 hours. We think he is so incredible!  The Plastic surgeon ended up doing more work than originally anticipated. What started out to be just a chin and mouth release turned into a full release on almost his whole face. We are so happy with the results! Krew was having difficulty breathing, we were having to put something we found on Amazon up his nose, it’s a snoring device that holds the nostrils open. He no longer needs them, he can breathe great on his own but we will continue to use them for precaution.  He also was having difficulty opening his mouth. His speech is better, his smile is back, and he can now take larger bites. It got to the point that he was only drinking smoothies because eating was very difficult, and more like a chore.  The plastic surgeon mentioned yesterday at his follow up appointment that if we had waited a little longer maybe even two weeks, it could have been a much

Whitney (6:30 am PST, Friday, 5/6/22) Krew and Dad are heading to surgery.  Krew is getting a “release” on his left hand and chin, which will help him regain most of his range of motion in his left wrist and help his mouth open wider, it’s currently very small… a starburst is about the biggest bite his mouth can handle. Getting his hands working properly is a priority and today’s surgery will be a leap forward in getting his hands firmly on the path of rehabilitation. Kyle is getting eyelid surgery for both eyes, which will include grafts and release incisions around each eyelid. His eyelids will be sewn shut for 5 days to allow the grafts to take and heal properly. Currently, his eyes never shut fully and they water constantly. Prayers appreciated busy upcoming weekend. We are so grateful for family members that are here to help. Here they both are, patiently waiting in pre-op. 

Whitney (12:00pm PST, Wednesday, 5/4/22) Krew graduated PT! After being discharged from the hospital, Krew was not interested in being independent much at all. He struggled to walk and hated standing up. After about 8 weeks of PT he’s now running, wrestling, and jumping on everything. He’s checked all the boxes for PT. He will continue with Occupational therapy (hands).

Whitney (8:27am PST, Tuesday, 5/3/22) Pepper, living her best life!  She’s doing well, the doctors are very happy with where her wounds are at. The shower last week revealed about 75% of the grafts took from her last big surgery. Leaving her with only 3% of her body with remaining burns.  She is walking without a walker, and going outside to “warm” up. She is loving sitting up in what the nurses call the Cadillac chair. It has a tray that she can eat on, color on, allowing her hands to be working on something almost all the time!  Morning shower or dressing change every morning this week to watch her wounds daily. If it’s too dry she’ll go to the shower room, if it’s too wet she does a dressing change at the bed. Every day the doctor comes in and checks and decides what the next morning will bring. Sedation still proves to be difficult to recover from, but by 1pm every day she’s doing pretty good.