Hello everyone, our last post was on May 8th as we have been busy with the move from Santa Rosa to Santa Clara. Eric happily left Santa Rosa and arrived at the Spinal Rehab facility in Santa Clara on Tuesday.

Doctors began with an overall mental and physical assessment to determine his readiness for the program. He passed the mental exam (phew!) but they concluded that one of his wounds was not healed thoroughly enough for him to begin a rehab program. As you can imagine, this news was a bit frustrating for Eric.

Considering how close we came to losing Eric and how serious his injuries were, it really shouldn’t be a shock that he needs more time to heal. But it certainly was disappointing news after we were all cheering him on to begin rehabilitation. The doctors expect Eric will need to spend the next several weeks in a skilled nursing facility in the Santa Clara area to allow his wounds to heal further.

He was anxious to get started on his rehab right away but was worried about his rib injuries slowing him down. So the good news is that time he needs for his wounds to heal will also allow his ribs to heal. This will allow him to enter rehab much stronger and ready to work hard. Once his wounds are fully healed he will be back to the Spinal Rehab Facility to begin the rehabilitation program. We’re not sure exactly when Eric will be moved to a skilled nursing facility, or which facility, but we’ll update the blog as soon as we know more.

Official Post by Eric!

Hello everybody. This is Eric Arnold. First I want to take a moment to offer up my very heartfelt thanks to everybody out there who has been supportive in one way or another. I would not be able to make it as far as I have without the help of some very special people. Some of you are in the racing community and some of you aren’t, but I can’t say enough about what you’ve done for me and will do for me in the future. Thank you so much for everything.

Most of you know me as a pretty reality-based person so let’s talk quickly about where we are today. The current status, and I emphasize the word current, is that I am paralyzed below the waist. I want to put that out there very quickly because I know there’s a lot of conjecture and it’s a very scary thing for people to wonder and have that kind of thing hanging over their head about someone they care about. Accepting the full reality of the situation is the first step in actually being able to address it and start fixing it. So again, the current status is that I am paralyzed from the waist down. I have no movement in my legs at all. So I guess that makes me a paraplegic. That being said, that’s today and we don’t’ know what tomorrow is going to bring. There is a lot of swelling and damage. As the swelling goes down it is like an onion and new layers are revealed. The hope of me and everyone else is that over time and with therapy things improve and I regain some motion if not all. But for my own mental state anyway, I just need to publically acknowledge my current condition so I can keep a straight head on.

Just a quick little list of injuries for those of you who’ve been wondering, cause I know we all have a macabre streak or at least everyone has a natural curiosity: I destroyed three vertebrae, two lumbar and one thoracic, I busted and or dislocated five ribs, I ripped open an 18 inch gash in my sacral artery which is where all the blood came from on the track, and I punctured my right lung. Along with various other bruises and contusions that I know most of the racers at least are very familiar with. The good new s is most of the healing is underway. Other than the paralysis it’s all recoverable from.  There’s a boatload of titanium in my lower back, as usual for this kind of injury, so it’s kind of the standard take me apart and put me back together in a much more orderly way than I came apart. I was in surgery for over 10 hours and ran through nineteen total units of blood between heading to the helicopter on Sunday  and leaving surgery on Monday.

As far as the actual incident, that’s all it is to me in my mind, a pure racing incident. My bike came together with someone else’s bike on the grid, I am not sure who exactly and it doesn’t really matter to me other than I hope that they are okay. I went down on the track and some poor unfortunate soul ran over me, if not more than one. They think maybe two. But any of you who have raced know that your visual in that situation is almost none. My only hope is that in the whole accident I was the worst one injured and everyone else heals up fine and everybody moves on to whatever they feel most comfortable with in their racing career. 

One reason I am writing this is that I am finally being moved out of Critical Care Unit and downgraded to the Intensive Care Unit.  I am awaiting a move to Santa Clara Valley Hospital where they have a special spinal cord unit full of people who do nothing all day but deal with spinal cord injuries and spinal cord therapy. My family and I have all been told that these guys are the best in the business and there’s no place better I could be going so I am very confident about that. The current plan is for me to be there some time Monday, May 11. It’s a very regimented program, as you can imagine these should be, but there will be plenty of time for visiting in the afternoons and evenings. I just don’t know enough yet to tell you more details. Once I get settled in after a couple days and I understand the routine better I’ll post some visiting hours. During the normal daytime I think it will be busy like a job, at least that’s the way I’m looking at it, so give me a couple days to nail down the when and the where for visitations.

One of the reasons for going through this program is its intense focus on making people as functional as possible regardless of the level of mobility they regain. So I will be focused on doing everything I can to being the quality of my life back up as best I can with their help and your help.

My mom and my family have been a great support to me in this time and they have been amazed at the level of support that you all have been giving to both myself and them. On behalf of my mom, brother, and sister I just want to thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers offered on behalf of me.  I am a very lucky person to have had this happen to me at a time in my life when I am surrounded by so many great people.

I will keep you updated as I can. I don’t have internet access as of yet, but I may have it at the facility in Santa Clara. If not, I‘ll continue to use Shahin, Ethan, and other friends to keep getting as much info to you as possible. Feel free to reply to these posts to let us know if there is any more info that you’d like to get. 

Today is day 2 of the clear fluid diet. Eric is feeling stronger every day and this afternoon we’re going to open all of the cards he’s received at the hospital. 

The doctors also confirmed that Eric will not have the second surgery this week. He may have it later depending on his progress, but overall this is great news! It allows him to continue his healing process, including daily occupational and physical therapy, and most importantly it means he can move to Santa Clara’s Spinal Trauma Unit early next week, possibly Monday. 

Eric's occupational therapist used to work there and today he spent over an hour giving Eric the inside scoop on what to expect. Everyone is really confident that Eric will receive top-notch treatment. Check out their video if you want to know more.

Today was Clear Fluids day! Eric enjoyed hot tea, broth, and jello! He had a huge smile and said the hot tea made him feel really good.

Eric's neurosurgeon returned and ordered an MRI to determine if an additional surgery will be performed. The MRI was done from 2-4pm. The doctor will meet with us tomorrow to discuss the results. The nurses hinted that there may not be a second surgery, so we're hoping they're right!

No surgery means Eric would move to the Santa Clara Spinal Trauma unit on Friday or Monday and begin working toward regaining as much mobility as possible. He's anxious to begin the journey, as are all of us. An additional surgery means at least another week in ICU in Santa Rosa.

We will update the blog after we meet with the doctor tomorrow.

No new news today... Eric continued to be tortured (Eric's words, not mine) by his Physical and Occupational Therapists. Eric says they deliver pain with a smile, and it doesn't hurt that they're cute!

His Neurosurgeon has been out all weekend and through today... they expect him back tomorrow and we are hoping to get a better update from him. As tomorrow will be his first day back, we don't expect that the surgery will happen before Thursday or Friday.

Eric has made new friends with his sleep-apnea machine and likes it more than he likes us! Eric's mom (Helga) is back in town and by his side today.

Today was a long day for Eric as he did not get much rest. We left him at 5 pm to try and sleep. You see, Eric has a love/hate relationship with his Physical Therapist. She worked him hard today and he sat at the edge of his bed for 17 minutes. Eric is doing great even though all of this work is very painful.

As you all know Eric, he has embraced this new challenge (Physical Therapy) and is going to beat it come "h" "e" "double hockey sticks" or high water! Way to go Eric!

Eric got another day of rest yesterday... but that didn't come until after he sat at the edge of his bed for 15 minutes! Thank you all for giving him his space to heal, I think that has gone a long way towards his recovery.

Yesterday was a good day... Eric's day-shift nurse did a great job of keeping everyone out of Eric's room and let him sleep. Eric slept most of the day and got one solid four hour block of sleep in. As you all know from my previous posts, Eric is in much need of rest so he and recover from his last surgery.

We still don't know a date for the next surgery, but it will likely be near the end of the week. The Doctors don't feel he has healed enough and want to give him time to recover... I know I keep sounding like a broken record, but we really need to leave Eric alone as much as we can so he can rest and recover.

From Friday's post you are all aware that the Doctors are concerned with any complications and want to reduce the risk of infection or pneumonia by reducing the foot-traffic in his room. I want to thank everyone who has taken this to heart and have been waiting patiently to see Eric. I know a lot of people want to come see Eric, but again I appreciate all of you putting your wants and needs on hold for what's best for Eric.

To give you all a chance to speak with Eric (virtually) am setting up another blog that will allow you all to post to it. I have added the emails from those I have on my email list... those people will have the ability to post. Anyone who does not have the ability to post (that wants to) please send me your email address and I will add you to the blog as a contributor... I can add up to 100 contributors. Click here for the "Get Well Eric" GOLB

We will continue to post updates here on this BLOG, but you will be able to send positive messages to Eric on the "Get Well Eric" GOLB listed above. Remember that the purpose of the "Get Well Eric" GOLB is to send Eric uplifting and positive message to help him keep focused on getting better fast.

Eric remains in the ICU and is still in serious condition. We were able to meet with his trauma doctor and he is concerned that Eric is not healing as quickly as he would like to see; however, he was able to remove his chest tube. The chest tube helped repair most of the lung’s damage but there is still a section that is not inflated. This puts Eric at great risk for serious complications, such as pulmonary edema and pneumonia. Either of these complications would be very difficult for Eric to endure at this stage. The doctor is very concerned that we do everything we can to help Eric avoid these complications.

The best way to help him right now is to limit his exposure to others and allow him time to rest. Your support means so much to Eric and he will need all your positive energy in the coming months. Thank you for working with the family to save your visits for later on in his healing process. Eric is concerned about this new news and has asked that no visitors come until he is past this stage and the risk of complications is reduced.

There is plenty of blood at the local blood bank, so they don’t technically need people to donate directly to Eric’s surgery. You can contribute to your local blood bank in Eric’s honor.

However, if you’d like to make the drive to Santa Rosa, A Positive donors can donate directly to Eric’s surgery if they follow these directions:
Blood must be donated at
Blood Bank of the Redwoods
2324 Bethards Drive
Santa Rosa, CA
707-545-1222

Donations take 3-4 days to process and the earliest day for his surgery would be Wednesday. Donations are accepted
Friday and Saturday from 9am-3pm and
Monday – Thursday 12pm-7pm.

There is no cost for donating directly to Eric. You’ll need to provide the blood bank the following information.
Patient Name: Eric Arnold
Hospital Name: Santa Rosa Memorial
M.D. Requesting: Dr. Eichbaum

Here is some great information about blood types and compatibility:

http://bloodcenter.stanford.edu/about_blood/blood_types.html

Thank you Cheryl!

Eric sat at the edge of his bed for five minutes yesterday, it was with the help of the nurses, but it was a great step forward.

We now know that there will be another surgery, and it will likely be next week. The doctor would like to wait until Eric is recovered a bit more from his first surgery. This new schedule means that Eric will be staying in Santa Rosa for another couple of weeks.

This new surgery means that Eric will need more blood for the surgery. If you are type A+ or compatible, and would like to donate blood to Eric directly rather than in his honor, hold of on donating for a bit. We are trying to dig into what is required to donate directly to Eric and will let you know the details as soon as we have them. It will require that you come to Santa Rosa to do it.