Chris Burns Update: An Idea for all of you....

Thursday, May 15, 2008

An Idea for all of you....

So many of you have sent emails to Chris letting him know you're praying for him and thinking of him. Thank you so much! I was thinking it would be a good idea to send him email's on a lighter note: jokes, funny videos, pictures... things to cheer him up :) His email is ChrisBrns@gmail.com. Mine is CandiceBurns@cfl.rr.com, in case you need to get a hold of me. OR you can just them on this blog and he'll see them here too. Thank you to all of you!!!

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Help Chris with Medical Bills

Chris has been through many surgeries and many nights in the hospital. The bills keep coming in, and we are doing everything we can to pay them. Chris has continued to work, on crutches and remotely (much harder than he should be) to pay our monthly bills. I have taken a job to help with the bills, and will continue to help Chris with his business. Also, his little sister will be moving in with us to help care for Chris. The medical bills, however, are another story... We know the Lord will provide and has begun to already. Many people have asked us how they can help, so I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to do so. If you would prefer to send a check or other items to help, our address is 1301 Hampton Park Lane Melbourne, FL 32940. We owe a very substantial ammount to various medical offices, surgeons, and labs. We are very grateful to all of those who have prayed and helped us out. The Lord has blessed us tremendously!

July 31, 2008

So, to update everyone one more time. Chris is doing amazingly well! He can walk (with his brace), he can ride his bike, and he's been going to the gym! Dr. Callahan says he can go into any water now, very exciting! We'll be moving to Venetian Bay on US1 in Palm Bay on September 1st. It's a beautiful condo on the river, with no stairs! :) It'll be good for Chris to have space to relax, and not have to go up and down stairs when he needs things, and the view is incredible. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. We are truely blessed beyond belief!

July 2, 2008

Life is changing everyday.... Yesterday was Chris's last day of IV's!!! Praise God! We are so happy that part is over! He's getting right back into the groove of working and walking and feeling good! He can walk with no crutches or anything! He wears his brace for support, but he's doing wonderfully! The doctors are all very happy with his progress. He made up his mind to make this work, and he's doing just that. :) He is blessed with health, and a quick recovery. The Lord is awesome!!! I've been at my job for a month now, and loving it! John and Cyndi are incredible people to work for! When Chris gets his license (within the next couple of weeks) Hannah will be working with me at Brevard Endodontics. It's time to offer up praise to God! His plan is slowly unfolding and working out beautifully, just as He had planned all along. :)

June 11, 2008

I haven't updated in forever! I'm so sorry, life has been crazy! Chris's leg is doing much much better. After only 1 week out of the hospital, he took a few steps with no crutches! Completely miraculous!!! His leg looks amazing, and Dr. Peden is sooo happy! He caught some sort of sinus cold yesterday and is basically miserable as far as that goes, but Advil and some Sinus meds are helping a little. Hannah is here living with us and we're so thankful to have her! She's been a huge blessing! Driving Chris around, cleaning up the house, so wonderful. I started working for Dr. McCann last week and am really liking it! Actually, Hannah may join me there soon! Keep Chris in your prayers and praises. He's doing well! Only a few more weeks of daily IV's and then life will slow down for us :)

May 27, 2008

Hello everybody! Praise report time! Chris is doing soo well! He crutches all the way outside a few times a day. He also has full flexion of his knee, which is amazing! AND his CRP is down to .96 (it started out at 15). Praise God! His wounds are healing up well, and getting smaller everyday. Dr. Peden was able to take out his retention sutures yesterday. They were making him itch. So, he was able to sleep like a baby last night. Dr. Callahan says he may be able to "shave off a day" and Chris could go home Thursday! That would be soo great! He's looking forward to relaxing in his own home :) Oh, his iron levels are low. His body may have trouble absorbing iron, says one doctor. If that's the case, then I'm pretty sure that can all be fixed with diet. :) Thank you again for all of your thoughts, prayers, and support!!

May 23, 2008

I've been slacking... so here's an update :) Chris is doing MUCH better these days! Adam came for a nice visit today and got Chris talking about computers again. It was great! He's crutching himself all the way down the hall and back, even in circles at the end, lol. He shaved today, and looks like a millon bucks! I'm soo happy to see him like this! Dr. Peden says everything looks great! Dr. Callahan even says he may be able shave off a day of hospital time! Pray that the last cultures they took come back negative, and then he's good to go!

May 19, 2008

Good morning! It's about 8:15 and we're hoping Dr. Peden comes in and takes some of these stitches out. They're starting to bug him and pull on the cotton, ugh. Dr. Hepler came by this morning to say hello to Chris. He really cheered him up. Chris's stories are hilarious when he tells them to other people, haha. Last night was intense... something's going on with the lady in the room next to us and she was moaning and crying and arguing with the nurse all night! Poor nurse :( Needless to say, we didn't sleep much. Everyone that sees Chris keeps saying he looks ready to go, so pray that they find a way for us to do his antibiotics at home. That would be amazing!

A little while later... Dr. Callahan stopped by and wrote on his orders that he plans on discharging Chris on the 30th! AH! Pray for us! We're bored already, lol. BUT if that's what he has to do to get rid of the infection, it's not so bad :) Chris looks like himself again, cheerlful and playin guitar hero. Nice! His leg is looking great! It's not gross anymore, that's the good news. Thank you for your prayers and support! We have incredible friends and family!

Another Surgery....May 15, 2008

Chris goes in for surgery again at 10:45 am. Pray for Dr. Peden, that he will have steady hands, wisdom to know what to do today and over the next few days, and strength and patience to get through it all. We are blessed to have such a skilled doctor. He has been awesome through all of this! My mom is on her way down here now. Chris is patiently waiting for Joe to come wheel him into the OR, and begin surgery. (We're getting pretty comfortable with the people around here, lol.) Thank you for your prayers, I will update later after surgery....

He finally went into surgery at around 2... it's now about 8pm and he's back in his room. Dr. Peden said everything looks good. They washed his leg out again, and it should be the last time! Praise the Lord! We are VERY grateful for Dr. Peden. Thank you for your prayers today! It looks like only one more week in the hospital! Chris is in very little pain compared to the previous times, and sleeping like a baby. I'm soo glad to see him resting!

Tomorrow will be a blood transfusion, 2 units. He's lost a lot of blood through these 5 surgeries, and open wounds and everything. It should be just fine though...

May 14, 2008

It's almost 7 am and the nurses have already come in twice to get some blood from Chris. They were first checking his levels, and second getting his blood type. It's strange how they can't use the same blood for more than one thing. He's lost so much blood through the surgeries and checking his "levels", that they are considering a blood transfusion. He's pretty upset from this rude awakening... no fun! Doug (his dad) came for a few hours to visit and say goodbye before he heads back to Oregon. Keep praying for Chris's strength. :)
A few hours later, Dr. Peden said he'd hold of the blood transfusion! Yay! I'm so glad for that! I almost forgot to mention, we're preparing for another surgery tomorrow. It's at 10:45. Cleaning out the knee, hopefully for the last time. :) Dr. Peden came in to change his bandages and said it looks good, from what I could tell I think it looks much better too! As he says, "we're coming out of the woods now." Praise the Lord!

Thoughts from our family members....

From Ronell: 2008 has been a special year my family that we will never forget. Beginning with the phone call I got from Candice that Chris was stuck in his crashed car and his phone kept calling her. The hours following in the emergency room were quite emotional. Chris kept asking if anyone else was hurt. It was too soon to get accurate information...but in the end, thank the Lord, no one else was hurt. We brought him home to our house that night with glass still in his arms, torn jeans and a hole in his leg. We put him on our bed and before we could get him cleaned up...he fell asleep. The next day we drove him to his first appointment with the orthopedic doctor..and on the way we stopped and got his personal things from his crushed car. The next few days he made great improvement..and he and Candice went back to their home. He couldn't drive so Candice became a full-time chauffer...but he seemed to feel better every day. A few weeks later we got the news that he would have surgery to basically re-build his leg. Since then, it has been a long hard road. We'd get a little good news and hope...then bad news. Bob, Nathan and I tried to help Candice and Chris as much as possible. From car repairs to house work....and especially we tried to keep encouraging them. I have to be honest...there have been many times I thought...I don't know what else to say to them because every time they would seem to get some good news, or Chris would start feeling better, or Candice would get a little break from her daily nurse/chauffer duties..BAM something would happen to set them back. It is hard for a mother to watch her children suffer. We have all cried so much this year..but through it all we have trusted the Lord for good. It has brought us all closer to each other and to the feet of God as we can only trust in Him and hope for good days ahead. Each time a friend or family member would come to help, or call, or send a card...Candice and I would cry. It was such a feeling of relief and blessing to know that others care. That is why this Blog-web thing is important. This is a way for everyone to express their encouragement and love...and those words will be the healing touch that Chris needs.
Ronell Ballinger (Candi's mom)

From Hannah : Since the whole accident I never really understood the severity of any of it until I saw my brother. Anybody else in this type of a situation would have been moping around or even sad about all of it, but no, he was uplifting and laughing, gimp and all. Thats what I love about Chris. He has always been such an inspiration to everyone around him. Its been terrifying hearing about all his surgeries and infections, I still get scared and I can only think that he is feeling the same feelings, only tenfold. How brave you are Chris to be going through all this, but please please please believe that it will all be over soon, you will get better. We are all praying for you and telling others about you to help! I love you very much and cannot wait to see you and Candi again!
Hannah Burns (Chris's sister)

From Bob: Ecclesiastes 11:5 - "Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of a woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things."
Bob (Candi's dad)

A BIG THANK YOU!

To my parents for being here for the surgeries, and taking care of us. You have been absolutely wonderful through everything, helping us to stay strong and keep on going! Thank you Vicki for coming just in time for me to get some rest and keep from getting sick. You are the best mother in law, I am very thankful to have you! Chris is blessed to have you. Thank you Doug for coming to visit, it was very special to Chris. You came just in time to lift his spirits. AND thank you Hannah for coming to live with us! You are an awesome sister! Thank you Nathan for taking care of "man" things that need to be done at my house, baking my birthday cake, and playing with Chris. You're the BEST brother in the whole world!!!! And last but not least thank you Adam and Peggy for taking care of all of our business! We are so blessed and thankful to have you!

May 12, 2008

Finally, we have a positive update from the doctor! His surgery was longer than expected, but as Dr. Peden says, "we're coming out of the woods now." Good news! They removed his PCL yesterday, and cleaned out his leg again. Dr. Peden says the scar tissue is building nicely, and he has 90 degrees flexion and can straighten his leg too! He is still in a lot of pain, and on many pain medications. Please continue to pray for Chris's healing! He has such a positive attitude and knows the God is in control, through all of this. We are blessed to have people all over the world praying for Chris, and we are receiving answered prayers right now! One more surgery to clean out his leg, and a year of antibiotics, and then they should be able to "redo" his initial surgery. Praise the Lord!!!

May 5, 2008

Surgery #3... wasn't good. My mom, dad, and I sat in the waiting room for hours, expecting good news. When Dr. Peden came out and asked to speak with us in a private room, I instantly felt panic. It turns out his lef was VERY infected, from top to bottom. They had to take out all of the grafts and hardware due to infection. It was the worst... I cried, we all cried. But again, we were blessed. If they had waited any longer, Chris would be at serious risk of losing his leg and his life. He will be in the hospital 2 more weeks from this point, and have 2 more surgeries to clean out his knee. This infection is rare and out of control! It keeps mutating, and they're having a hard time figuring out how to kill it. Please continue to pray for him!

April 11, 2008 An email from Ronell

4/11 Thank-you all so much for your prayers. Chris came home from the hospital yesterday! He is back to the routine of Candice driving him to the medical office every day for a 2 hour IV hook-up. Because the office is in Vero, this is a 4 hour adventure every day. WAY better than being in the hospital 24-7. After 2 weeks he will by on oral antibiotics for 2 months. This is a resistant organism that is infecting his leg
but the Infectious Disease doctor said it is treatable with
antibiotics alone...no more surgery!
Thank-you again for your continued prayers...as Chris has another 6 months or so of recovery still ahead.

March 18, 2008

It seems like it's been years, but Chris is recovering well. It's been 5 weeks, and he is a master at using crutches (and hopping on one foot)! He's in a lot of pain still, and unable to drive. So, at this point I am driving him to and from work, and doctor's appointments. In the midst of it all God has blessed Chris with new clients while he's recovering! We're praying that he can get on a better pain management regimen so he can sleep through the night. Physical therapy is going well and he is slowly but surely regaining mobility.

February 6th: Surgery

Chris, my mom, my dad, and I arrive at the surgery center at 7:00 am, expecting a 2-3 hour surgery where Dr. Peden will reconstruct what is already there. A few hours passed, my parents and I left to eat some lunch quickly and came right back. A nurse passed to let us know it would be over soon. We continued to play card games, and read magazines... waiting.... A few more hours passed, and nurses continually came out letting us know it would be over soon. After 8 1/2 hours of surgery, Dr. Peden came out to talk. Chris's tendons were not just torn, they were shredded. Dr. Peden had to use cadaver grafts, screws, buttons, and washers to put his leg back together. After all of that, we were sent home. Chris was in intense pain during the car ride, and all we wanted was to lay him down in bed. We went to our house expecting only a minor surgery. My dad basically carried Chris in and set him on our recliner. After only 30 minutes, he was in excrutiating pain. He began screaming! The nerve block that was intended to last 12 hours had already worn off. Thankfully, Dr. Peden gave me his cell phone number. I called, and he immediately ordered many new pain pills for Chris. Thus began our two hour schedule of pain killers. He had different pain killers at all different times. I created a "schedule" and gave him the correct pills every two hours to keep the pain down the best we could. He was absoutely miserable. Not exactly what I had expected.

January 14, 2008

We were able to go home today! Until this time we stayed at my (Candi's) parents house. Our bedroom is up 18 stairs, and only 4 days after the accident Chris was able to crutch his way up! It was such a miracle! I have been driving my mom's car up to this point. I was deathly afraid of driving my Mazda 3 after the accident. The doctors and paramedics all told us that he wouldn't have survived if he wasn't driving the Mercedes. I looked at several crash ratings, and the Mazda did not win. I began my search for a new, safe car!

The day of the accident - January 10, 2008

The day of the accident....

Chris was on his way home from work on January 10th around 6:00pm. While driving home on the highway, he had what the doctors call a vasal vagal reaction, meaning he passed out. Chris had his cruise control set, and crossed the median hitting a Semi Truck head on. The truck jack-kniffed and tipped over, carrying 7 or 8 new vehicles on it. Chris sent spinning back into the median. It was actually to his advantage that he was passed out, because his body was relaxed and he incurred very little injury considering the size of the accident. Chris had angels surrounding him that night. He woke up surrounded by paramedics trying to figure out how he survived. You can see the pictures of his accident on the website. His car was torn to pieces. I, Candi, received a phone call from a passer by who stopped to see if Chris was alive. She let me know that he was breathing and his toes were moving, she stated that the cops would call me when they knew which hospital Chris would go to. His phone was stuck in between his seat and his center console. It called me several times, and I could hear him crying out in pain. It took everything I had to remain calm until I knew what was going on. After an hour and a half of cutting Chris out of the car, I received the phone call that he was going to Holmes Regional. When I first walked in and saw him, I was shocked. He looked awful. Chris was shaking and his leg was bent comepletely sideways. It looked broken. My family and I waited in the ER while they performed many tests to be sure Chris was good to go home. And thank God he was!!! Many prayers were going up that night for him, and the Lord answered!

Chris Burns Update

Thursday, May 15, 2008

An Idea for all of you....

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Hospital Info

We have been blessed with one amazing Doctor

The two of us.....

Help Chris with Medical Bills

Blog Archive

About Me

July 31, 2008

July 2, 2008

June 11, 2008

May 29, 2008 Prayer Time

May 27, 2008

May 23, 2008

Knee Surgery Rocker #1

Another Day at the Office

Wall of Stitches