It has been three weeks today that Trey had his car accident. He is still on the trauma floor at Vanderbilt, but we received the great news today that he will be transfered in the morning to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. This is a place that specializes in brain injuries and it is exactly what Trey needs. We are all so thankful the insurance approved this move!!

Trey has come a long way in three weeks.....a long, long way. He still has his trach and a feeding tube, but all other tubes are gone. He looks like our boy again without so many things hooked up to him. His lungs are healing so great and he is off all antibiotics. Blood pressure is great and pulse is great. We are thankful.

The best thing....last Thursday he woke up! He looks at us when we say his name. Now, he still has a lot of healing and recovery, but we are seeing miracles everyday. I have always called him Trey boy....well now he is miracle boy. He is a kid that wasn't even expected to survive the helicopter trip to Vandy and as of tomorrow we are off the trauma unit!

Trey still has a lot of obstacles ahead of him and we have encountered many many naysayers. We have been told the damage is too great and there is too much wrong in his brain to overcome....but we are calling on a higher power to help in the healing we need. He has already shocked and awed the doctors and nurses here and so he is off to Georgia to give those folks a run for their money.

We are a very close family. Trey is my brother's oldest son, but I love him enough he could be my own. No one can tell us if he will ever walk again or talk again or finish school. But I have faith that God has big plans for this special kid and I can't wait to see what he accomplishes.

This can't be real....

How did we get here? That is how I feel every time I go into the hospital and see my nephew in that bed, hooked up to all of those machines...this can't be real....

But I know it is real and we are all praying and encouraging Trey to find his way back to us. 

I spent the night at the hospital again last night. My sister and I. Sleeping in the visitors room....well not really sleeping...mostly waiting. My sister is a physician...it is so nice to have someone to interpret the medical jargon that goes over the heads of us normal people.

I went in to check on Trey at 3:00 am and he had experienced a blockage in his lung....they were doing many things to treat this and I was assured it was "normal"...or to be expected with all of the severe trauma he had suffered to both lungs. I, of course, was alarmed. I debated doing to wake my sister, but decided just to stay with Trey while the nurses got him settled down.

He began to kick his legs. The nurse commented to the doctor that the blockage had aggitated Trey and he had been kicking a lot and was strong. I was holding his hand and felt him squeeze my fingers. I informed the nurse that Trey played soccer for his high school and that he was a kicker.... Well clearly Trey intended to demonstrate his ability because when I talked about soccer he started kicking the end of the bed....such a great thing to see!!  

What an awesome feeling to know he hears me and is responding to what we are saying....this is what I have to believe.

Trey is no longer sedated but has not opened his eyes... While it has only been a little over two days, it feels like months since the accident. I just pray and wait to see those beautiful blue eyes! 

He has a tracheotomy for the ventilator now...but the vent is turned way down, so he is breathing mostly for himself. One chest tube came out today...every little step is progress. Slowly, I believe he is healing. The ct scan still shows no change - good news! I am so ready for him to come back to us....and so we wait and pray.

Two steps forward one step back....

My nephew Trey is such an awesome kid. He is funny and bright, a good student and a kind heart. I hope my son is as much of a gentleman at 16 as Trey is. He is a great dancer and looooves music....I wish we could play Fall Out Boy or Paramore in the trauma unit..his favorite bands. Trey is a friend to everyone he meets. He is an amazing cousin to my little guy...even with the 12 year age difference.

We continue to have two steps forward and one step back. He was off the ventilator and now back on. His neuro exams are good...but not great. I have faith he will get back all of the qualities that make him Trey...but for now we pray for healing. I just want to see him breath on his own or open his eyes.

Thanks for your prayers and well wished....they mean so much!

Prayers

My 16 year old nephew Trey was in a very serious car accident tonight. He was life flighted from Kentucky to Vanderbilt University Trauma center. He has many injuries including collasped lungs, cracked kidney and liver, fractured pelvis, 4 broken ribs, bruised intestines, lacerations to the face. He had his spleen removed a few hours ago. The most serious condition is bruising in the frontal lobe and left ventrical of his brain. He is on a ventilator and heavily sedated and we are praying.

I live just outside of Nashville so I was the first here to meet him when the helicopter arrived. It was beyond devastating. This little boy I held in my arms when he was born. He should be going to the prom Saturday night and picked up his tux today. He bought red converse tennis shoes to wear with the tux....he is a fun kid.

I can't remember seeing something so terrifying. Phone calls like those seem unreal. You hope you are being punk'd. But this is real and I am typing from a waiting room in the trauma center. My brother and sister-in-law are brave.

The doctors believe things are going as well as can be expected. Neuro tests, so far, are positive. Brain injuries are a wait and see kind of thing. I can't wait to see him open his eyes.

Prayers or good thoughts, please, for our Trey boy and our family.

And they're off...

The first Saturday of May is a very big day for Kentuckians. The running of the Kentucky Derby. It is the one day of the year we dispel every stereotype associated with the bluegrass state.  Ladies don silk suits, fancy dresses and elegant hats and men wear linen or seersucker suits and straw fedoras.....and we all wear shoes!

The Derby is often referred to as the most exciting two minutes in sports, which is true, but it is so much more. The Kentucky Derby is long steeped in history and southern charm. It is not just another horse race....it is THE horse race and the classiest way to spend a day.

I have been fortunate to attend the Derby several times. Truly one of the best experiences in my life. We lived in Louisville for a few years after law school and I was lucky enough to get access to a third floor box in the grandstand at Churchill Downs. Let me tell you...these are not easy to come by...and we made the most of them. 

I love to go to the races, but the Derby is just different. It is absolutely magical. Going to the paddock to see the horses with their massive beauty and power, sipping mint juleps surrounded by people in such proper attire. Spending the entire day watching and betting on races and trying to choose your horse for the BIG race. Pomp and circumstance is not usually my thing but this feels like a whole other time....a throw back to a different era.

As the main attraction draws closer you hear Dan Folgelberg's Run for the Roses playing and then you hear the announcement for the singing of My Old Kentucky Home. The words are put up on the infield tote board. Everyone stands and everyone sings...and some of us cry. I will never understand what it is about that song....all I can say is God bless Stephen Foster. 

Anyway, next comes a trumpeter playing the call to the post and the Derby contenders parade onto the track and head for the starting line. As the horses break from the gates you hear the announcer's famous line....."and they're off!" For the next two minutes everyone is on their feet, screaming and jumping and hats are flying. In as quickly as it begins the horses are rounding for the finish line and you can feel the vibration as they approach....and then its over and there is a new Kentucky Derby winner....a 135 year legacy behind them. 

Derby eve in Louisville is always spent at a Derby party. Those who don't attend the Derby begin the celebration in the middle of the afternoon and it goes on all day. I don't think there is a better excuse for a party. Now that we live in Tennessee we host an annual Derby party and every year the guest list grows. I was schooled in what makes a fittin' Derby soiree in the years I lived in Louisville. Now I'm not big on rules, but I am huge on tradition and because the ultimate Derby party is one big tradition I follow it closely.

The most important ingredient for a Derby party is the Mint Julep. I make my mint-infused sugar syrup myself and I only serve Woodford Reserve Kentucky bourbon....it is the best...trust me I've tried them all! You always serve a mint julep over shaved ice and with a straw, as a julep is to be sipped if enjoyed properly. We have a big collection of Derby glasses, the glass used to serve juleps at the track.....one of the few things I collect and fun to have for the party. 

The menu at my Derby party includes beef tenderloin with Henry Bain sauce, country ham biscuits, benedictine sandwiches (a cucumber cream cheese spread), marinated asparagus, cheese straws, fruit with freshly whipped cream, lemon bars and of course Derby pie (random trivia - Derby pie is a trademarked name.) Though I hate to show my own neuroses, I will admit that I cook everything myself and everything from scratch....no catering allowed!

We make sure there are plenty of televisions so everyone can see the race, we stand for the singing of My Old Kentucky Home, we all choose a horse to root for and we make certain everyone has a fresh julep at all times! It is a wonderful day. Derby day is one of my favorite days of the year. The heritage of the event, the majesty of the horses and the southern hospitality. It is a hell of a reason to have a party.

So come the first Saturday in May next year, if you are so inclined, channel your inner southern charm and throw a Derby party. School your friends and family in some Derby history, download the words to My Old Kentucky Home, provide racing forms so everyone can choose a horse, look up recipes for Mint Juleps and benedictine, get yourself a fancy hat and have a damn good time!

p.s.  Congratulations Mine that Bird, the 135th winner of the Kentucky Derby and the second biggest upset in Derby history