Tommy Update 9/23/09

Dear Family and Friends,

4 months ago today Tommy's accident occurred. I have attached a recent photo of Tom, his lacrosse jersey that was cut off in the ER hangs above his head! Thank you for all your continued support. We read every text, email, letter etc. Tommy is taking one day at a time in the halo. He is quite sedentary due to halo pin issues. A lot of you ask "How does he sleep?" He has a hospital bed which allows him to recline to a (somewhat) comfortable level. He has another 2-3 weeks left until the next CT scan to evaluate the healing progress. We are hoping for more good news.

We are moving forward on building a foundation to help other injured athletes. "Advocates for Injured Athletes " inspired by Tommy Mallon will be launched on Oct. 24th. more details to follow.

We have met and /or spoken with many professional, very special people over the last 4 months. I have been in touch with Steve Stenersen , the CEO of US Lacrosse and Eve Becker- Doyle CEO of National Athletic Trainers Assoc. Both individuals were genuinely interested in Tommy. Whenever there is an injury of this magnitude hopefully something good can be learned by the process. My mission is to spread the word about Rikki's role in saving Tommy's life and saving his neurological function by immobilizing him. We are hoping his injury and the immediate treatment he received will shed light on the importance of having a qualified,confident athletic trainer on the field.

Tommy's CT Scan Update

On Wednesday we received preliminary reports from Tommy's CT scan. The results show evidence of healing in progress. This is GOOD NEWS! The goal of the time in the halo is to allow healing of the fracture lines to prevent having to fuse Tommy's skull all the way to c3 vs. a fusion of c1-c2. There are no clear answers yet....but there is evidence of fracture lines fading. Dr. Taylor would like Tommy to remain in the halo an additional 2-4 weeks. As most of you know managing the halo issues have not been easy for Tommy. He was given the option of having a completely new halo put on or trying to tighten the loose pins and complete the course in the halo he is currently wearing. He chose the later so we are heading to the doctor this morning to have the pins tightened. This is a painful process so please keep him in your thoughts. We hope to continue the full course of treatment in this halo.
Throughout this process I have been channeling my time to develop some type of program that would help other families. We have founded Injured Athletes, a foundation inspired by Tommy Mallon. www.injuredathletes.org The foundation is in the VERY beginning stages but hopefully it will grow to help many athletes and families. I have attached our overview and mission. If you would like to be involved please contact me.
Thank you for your continued love and support.

No news yet on the scan results...but while waiting for the news it is emails like the one I received this morning from Coach Bickley that sustain me and keep me focused.The coaches came to visit Tommy and ended up staying for dinner...you may post this note and the email below. Thank you to all those who continue to support us.
Love,
Beth


I left yesterday thinking this is why I Coach! Go over past memories and laughing about them! Cook and I had a great time and we experienced what family is all about. I know you guys have been through a lot, but last night reminded me that through all your trials, your family is so Tight. The blessing through these trials is the tightness you guys share as a family. You cannot put a price tag on what you guys have. Praying for Tommy as he goes through this and want to thank you guys for your example. I went yesterday thinking I could be an encouragement and left being the one encouraged. God is good



See ya

Coach Bickley

Phil 1:20

Wednesday's Scan..Pray for Tommy

Tommy has a CT Scan tomorrow ay 9:30 to evaluate healing. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Friday Update

We just returned home from the Dr.'s office. Tommy's pin was too infected to tighten so they had to remove the pin and create a new pin site. He is now on two different antibiotics and pain meds. Hopefully he can sleep a little now.
His CTScan is scheduled for Sept 9th at 9:30. We are hoping the scan will show a significant amount of bone healing. The second part to the treatment decision moving forward is the amount of ligament damage. We will have more information on the 9th and be able to determine a direction. In the meantime, Tommy is at home not moving around a whole lot as we need the halo pins to stay firm for another week.

Tommy

Tommy is going to the doctor tomorrow at 8 a.m. One of his pins is infected and one or all may be loose.... will keep you posted. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers....this has been a long 3 months for him.

Wednesday Update

Tommy is back on antibiotics tonight for the same persistent infected halo pin. We are hoping it does not get any worse and we can complete the course in the halo. This week we will have his CT scan date set. This CT scan will help evaluate the level of healing during the time in the halo. We continue to hope for perfect bone healing and the transverse ligament of the atlas intact and strong.
Thank you to all of you who continue to follow Tommy's progress. Your cards and emails genuinely mean so much to us...THANK YOU.
Tommy has been ichatting with some of his friends....the house is quiet now with most of his classmates gone to school. We hope he is able to start his college career in January.
Love to you all. We will post the CT SCAN date once we secure it.