Ok, Peaches & Herb, I see you: Reunited and it feels so good!  Despite the absolute hot mess of chaos at BWI on Saturday morning, we made it to Atlanta. We arrived more than the 3 hours in advance of our flight as BWI recommended, but we did not make our 9:50 am flight. We did, however, make a 3:50 pm flight after finally clearing security at 10:45 am. Thankfully, every adult - and most kids too - (with the exception of one cranky grandma who lost it) we encountered in the lo

There are some days where it’s too much to feel like the day has been a win (or even a draw). Instead, I’ve been trying to identify important occasions or situations that are wins and last week, I dubbed them “ victory moments .” We’ve had quite a few in the last 10 days.  I know this update has been awhile in coming: spring break delayed its writing and sending. And believe it or not, March 22 marked 6 weeks since David’s accident. Longest 6 weeks ever.  Thankfully, after 2

The setbacks we didn’t have in Baltimore found us in Atlanta. After David’s surgery, the medical team worked to grow the cultures to figure out what infection was responsible for opening up his wound. But in the short-term, the IV antibiotic the infectious disease doctor gave him was the nuclear option. While necessary at the time, it resulted in a secondary infection that led to David being confined in his room and his bed. On Tuesday, David conferenced me in with the doctor

While we’ve been quiet this week, there’s been a lot happening - and we wanted to catch you up! First, an update from Atlanta:  David’s progress from surgery continued this week, albeit more slowly than of course he wants. David’s neurosurgeon Dr. Frankel came back a couple times to check on him, including on Thursday to remove the drains from the restitched surgical site. Because of the infection in the wound, David will now need to be on some hard core antibiotics for 6-8 w

A quick update from Atlanta - David’s surgery went well and he’s in recovery. He now has four layers of sutures plus one on top keeping everything together. I think Dr Frankel was determined to make sure this time it sticks and nothing opens up again.  Our friend will be waiting for David when he returns to his room in Shepherd. Tomorrow, David will be able to resume his rehab, with healthy respect for the sutures on the back.  Thanks to all who sent such kind texts today!

It was one month - four weeks today - that our lives changed forever. We immediately felt so much love and caring from each of you and in that time, we’ve had many more moments of gratitude than piles of shit. Unfortunately, the piles of shit aren’t going away and one of the larger ones was dealt to us on Friday. I asked David to explain what happened: “Things became very busy for me on Friday afternoon (he said sardonically). My surgical site opened during OT on Friday, and

After two back to back days of surgery and medical procedures (really do not recommend), I was released from Piedmont Hospital on Wednesday. They were able to wheel me through the tunnel between Shepherd and Piedmont where the walls are covered with fun hand painted murals so I could go straight up to be with David. Our new friend Alex, who works at Shepherd and came to us by way of another dear friend, met me at the Shepherd line. It felt like some sort of military prisoner

Hello friends! Our next post was supposed to be about a day in the life for David at rehab, and while we’ll do that, first, some breaking news.  On Tuesday, I made a tragic mistake of being hungry for the first time since David’s accident - and then picking up a grill cheese sandwich from the cafeteria. While that childhood/ comfort food staple may have sounded like a good idea at the time, it set off a whole chain of regret: apparently the grilled cheese knocked loose a gal

Greetings from Atlanta! Greetings from Atlanta! We got the call late Monday morning: the air ambulance crew would pick us up around 5:30 pm. It had been touch and go on  through the morning on whether we’d get out on Monday, and we were trying not to get our hopes up - would we get the insurance clearance early enough so that a plane & crew could arranged? But once it was confirmed, various hospital staff who supported David from Day 1 stopped by to say goodbye, wish us good

As you know, our amazing team created  TeamSward.com  to be a one stop shop. We are so grateful that you all have been following along on Caring Bridge, adding your well-wishes for David, and please keep them coming because we most definitely need all of them and more in the coming months. As of this post, we're moving the posts I have been making on CaringBridge to Team Sward so everything is in one place. You will still be notified when a new post has been made and again,

There’s a Barenaked Ladies song called “Who Needs Sleep” that I listened to a lot in grad school that includes the chorus, “Who needs sleep? You’re never gonna get it. Who needs sleep? Tell me what’s that for. Who needs sleep? Be happy with what you’re getting - there’s a guy who’s been awake since the Second World War.”  That might sum up David right now. While it sounds like last night went a bit better, the poor guy can’t catch a break. Yesterday, I told the trauma team th

Ya’ll (I’m practicing my Southern - scroll down to read more) continue to amaze and overwhelm us with your support for our family. The Meal Train filled up overnight and TeamSward.com is hopping (our soon to be home for these updates and much, much more). We appreciate you heading over there and also sharing it.  Yesterday, David (with some pivotal, wise and wonderful input from Doug and me of course) made the decision to go to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta for his rehabil

One week ago today, David was rushed from Movement Climbing Gym in Rockville up to Baltimore Shock Trauma after a freak accident. Since that one blink of an eye when everything went wrong, everything has somehow gone right. The medic made the correct decision based on their assessment to bypass local hospitals and take him straight to Shock Trauma; we got the right surgeon and surgical team; Shock Trauma’s team of ICU, trauma, neuro, and social work are the best of the best.