An Update on Carson

I’m happy to say that after 50 days in the hospital, Carson was discharged today! He still has a ways to go with recovery, but is now at a point that rehabilitation can be done on an out-patient basis. His hospital stay consisted of about 2 weeks in intensive care during which his life really was in God’s hands. Amazingly though he fought off the infection which overtook his entire body. The remainder of his hospital stay entailed general pediatric care and then in-patient rehabilitation. His injuries were severe, but his recovery has been nothing short of miraculous. Meningitis causes the spinal fluid around the brain to swell, so as this happened, his brain and every function controlled by the brain (everything) sustained injury. He also suffered a stroke on the right side of his brain from the pressure.

In the first 2 weeks the recovery was of his vital functions – breathing, blood clotting, kidney function, you name it. In the last 5 weeks, it has been physical recovery. He has gone from almost an infant state, re-learning to swallow/eat/drink, sit/balance, and simply having the strength to hold his head steady to the point now where he is learning to walk again. His muscle memory is coming back very quickly, and it’s a matter of building strength again and getting his brain to ‘connect’ with his body as it continues to heal. He is making amazing progress, and has such a positive outlook. It’s never a question of ‘if’ something will improve for him, but ‘when’. He talks about playing football when his legs are better. His mind is sharp – he remembers his family, friends, what he learned in school, and seems to not have any mental impairment. He talks non-stop and makes everyone around him smile; at just 7, his outlook on this whole experience has been inspiring. One issue has been short-term memory, but even that is improving. He sometimes suffers from headaches which Doctors say are common with brain injury and should subside over time. He did lose all ability to hear in his left ear, but his right ear is 100%. His left eye does not track with the right which causes him to see double (and may be contributing to the headaches). With therapy it’s believed that this will also go away with time. Carson made a funny joke about this today...Jim, his dad, was saying 'don't look out the window - you'll see Lambeau Field!' to Carson (the Lagina boys are big Bears fans). Carson replied 'with MY eye that'd be twice as bad!' His outlook on everything has been just amazing.

Doctors think his rehabilitation will go out through April, but the fact that he is where he is today has been a miracle to witness. At the pace he's been going, his family thinks he will be home for good sooner than later. Until then though, it'll be weekdays in rehab (living in a hotel in Green Bay) and weekends at home. What a huge step to not be living in the hospital anymore. Pray for a happy and peaceful time for the Lagina family's first night back at home in 50 days. Carson was excited to go home and see the snowbanks.