Scott Finally Had His Procedure

I spoke with Wendy this evening. Good News--Scott's bronchoscopy went well and the doctors were able to get a lot of fluid out of his lungs. He was at a very low oxygen level prior to the procedure, but is now at 97% oxygen. With the tube out of his throat, he'll be a lot more comfortable than before. He is less sedated and will hopefully start to really improve.

Scott is considered a respiratory case still. This means that when he is moved, possibly in the next week or two, he has to be moved to a bed in ICU. Unfortunately, there's a possibility that he will be moved to Baldwin Park. Wendy is obviously hoping a bed opens up for Scott closer to her, either in Riverside or Fontana.

Due to my schedule, I may not be able to post over the next two days--but I'll try. Thanks again for checking in. Continue to hope for better and better news!

Posted by Paul Palomino

Still Waiting on Tracheotomy; Scott's House

Still waiting for the tracheotomy. They told Wendy tomorrow. I know Wendy is frustrated as I think we all are. We all want to hear that there is grand progress and things are moving quickly.
I am positive that there will be something more to report soon!

I know that so many of you have offered to or know someone who can renovate Scott and Wendy's home to make it wheelchair accessible. Wendy is game for anything! She just wants Scott to be comfortable and capable in his own home. She would really love it if someone could come and look at the possibilities and draw up some plans and get the ball rolling.

Posted by Tricia Beaman

Charitable Bank Account Set Up for Donations

Wendy's friend posted this information earlier, but the formatting somehow cut off the right side of her message, so I deleted it and am posting the same information I received from Martha Logue. Martha is a close friend of Wendy's also. She's been in contact with me over the last week regarding this account, which took a bit to set up.

If you would like to make a donation to the Ortiz Family, please send checks made payable to Gwynne Ortiz (Wendy's legal name) to:

The Ortiz Family
Charitable Donation
c/o Southland Credit Union
10701 Los Alamitos Blvd.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720

Checks can also be made out to The Ortiz Family, or Scott & Wendy Ortiz. Martha advised me that she has applied for TIN for this account that the IRS said would take 60 days to receive.

Also, my wife and I received many checks from the very first post I made on this blog. The first two contributions received accounted for 2/3 of the money needed for the food we purchased. We made up the difference for the other 1/3. We are going to sign over and forward all of the other checks we received to this account. Thanks to all of you who contributed. Scott's entire family have expressed to me how thankful they are to all of you for the support you've given so far.

Tracheotomy Postponed

I spoke to Candy just now. She said the tracheotomy was postponed until tomorrow.

It's good to see posts coming in from Wendy's good friend Tricia and Scott's sister Stacy. Thanks to all of you that plan to support them in the upcoming fund raisers. If you haven't been to this site in the past couple of days, page down to see more information on these.

Tracheostomy

As you know, Scott has been on a respirator since he came out of surgery on Tuesday. While I was there he was on a pretty heavy duty one, which they had to keep him heavily sedated and restrained. Then they stepped him down yesterday before we left, back to the regular respirator. They've been getting a lot of bacteria out of it, and decided to keep him on it. My mom, Candy spoke to Wendy a bit ago and they are waiting to do a tracheostomy. There's no word if he will be on it forever or for a few days but it's mainly because his oxygen levels dropped through the night. Hopefully this will able him to speak, as the last few days he became very frustrated with the respirator. But I'm not really sure how a trach tube works? Keep up the prayers for Scott and for Wendy to be strong while she is there.
--Posted by Stacy Zwart

Wendy Upate and Fundraiser

I spoke with Wendy this morning as she was on her way back in to see Scott. If all goes well, they are hopeful that they will be removing the breathing tube today. I am praying that once we get over that hurtle they will be able to give Wendy a better idea as to when they can transfer Scott closer to home. We don't want Scott moved before he is ready but, it would be such a blessing for the family to have him near. It is tearing Wendy up needing to be with both Scott and her boys. She has so much support and help with Christian and Caiden. They are all so well loved and cared for by everyone. But, she is really concerned for their emotional well being during all of this and it's difficult for her to leave them for days at a time. But needless to say, being by Scott's side is her main priority.




Wendy would like everyone to know that she is overwhelmed with all the love and support she is receiving from everyone. She is feeling your prayers and can't even begin to put in to words how much she appreciates it all! Thanks doesn't begin to express it.
--posted by Tricia Beaman

No News Today; A Note from Wendy

Scott's cousin, Carrie Whitsell and I spoke this afternoon. She had been in touch with Wendy, who is with Scott in Bakersfield. Wendy wanted me to relate to everyone how wonderfully she feels the staff at Kern Medical Center have been to Scott. She feels his level of care there is excellent.

The hope is that tomorrow the respirator will be removed. If so, they will be able to perform a CAT scan to see if the damage repaired in Scott's neck is healing properly. If you read this tonight or tomorrow morning and are the praying kind, please pray that Scott's lungs will be cleared of any remaining fluid so this can take place. Thanks everyone.

Still on Respirator but Alert

I spoke with Candy again this evening. She said she and Stacy had a good visit with Scott today. He opened his eyes and knew they were there. At one point, Candy told Stacy they should go back to the hotel and they got up to go. Stacy looked back and Scott was making a face, so they stayed with him and held his hands. They tried to go a few more times, but he squeezed their hands and wouldn't let them. Finally they had to leave during the next shift change, when the visitors are required to leave the room.

Candy said they apparently do chest X-rays each morning to see how much fluid is still in his lungs. They apparently need his lungs clear before they can remove the respirator. The respirator has been in since the surgery the other night.

Scott is a very popular patient among the group of doctors that see him. One of them told Candy that there is something very special about Scott because the entire team is really pulling for him in a special way.

I will be away most of the day tomorrow and will try to post any new information I receive tomorrow night. Wendy and Candy and all the family know how much all of you are praying and thinking of them. Keep those messages coming.

Fever is Down

I just spoke with Stacy who is with Scott in Bakersfield. His temperature has lowered to 99 degrees for about half the day today. He is on a new respirator that seems to be more comfortable for him. He is still very sedated and resting.

A Note from Stacy; More Info fom Candy

Scott's sister Stacy was kind enough to further clarify my last entry. I wanted to post it here:

"Just to clear things up..the recent surgery was to repair the (vertebrae) in his neck. He won't be transported until he is stable with infection and capable of moving. He is still on a respirator and we're waiting on another (bronchial) treatment on his lungs for the bacteria/infection."

I've invited Stacy to author articles/posts of her own on this blog. I'm also inviting Tricia Beaman, a close friend of Wendy's, to post articles on Wendy's behalf. It's nice to see information coming straight from a family member.

I received a message from Candy last night. She said that Scott is still on a respirator (intubated) and has a fever of about 102 degrees. They are trying bring the fever down and find out what's causing it. A pulmonary specialist will try clearing his lungs again today. His blood pressure is good. He is sedated, but alert.

Clarification

I've been reading through the entries I've made this week and just want to be clear that the family was told that Scott is permanently paralyzed. No operation can be done that would allow him to walk again. The recent surgery was not to repair his spine, but to enable him to be transported. As far as I understand it, he is still in very serious condition. The immediate concerns would be the risk of pneumonia or infection, etc.

Thanks to those of you who've added notes in the guest book on the right. It's awesome to see how many great friends and family he has that are continually praying for and thinking of him.

Scott's Mom, Candy

Scott's mother, Candy Zwart called me this morning. We had a great time talking about Scott. She related several stories to me of their time this past week. She is very positive and upbeat. She knows her son will come through this, as she likes to say, 'in typical Scott fashion'.

One of the stories she told me is already familiar to you if you've read this blog. After the trauma team left Scott, they reported to the lead doctor that would handle his case. They reported to him Scott's name, what happened to him, the type of injuries he suffered, etc. What he told Candy later was that as the trauma team were recounting all of this information, he kept waiting to hear what the time of death was. At one point, he interrupted them to ask, 'You mean he's breathing?' He'd apparently survived where others wouldn't.

While I was talking with her, my daughter needed some tissue, so I told her where to get it. When Candy heard this, she told me that Scott would've loved to have a daughter. On Super Bowl Sunday, a close friend from Scott's childhood was there, Crystal Johnson. She was pregnant with a girl. Scott told her that he liked the name Hayden Elizabeth. Well, Hayden Elizabeth was born yesterday at 5:30.

She said that Scott is supposed to be in physical therapy 36 hours after surgery. That should be today. She expects that Scott will be in this hospital through to the middle of next week and will hopefully be moved to Anaheim Hills. He is at Kern Medical Center on Flower Street in Bakersfield.