Seth and Caroline Sherry's Road to Recovery: August 28, 2012

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

August 28, 2012 - update from Seth

I (Seth) am in Joburg still, planning on flying back to Zambia on this weekend. PT is going well, I really enjoy my therapist and the facility is great. He mostly works on all of my soft tissue issues during our appointments and I do two 45min sessions of exercises on my own during the day. It's hard work, but I enjoy being active and sweating again! Most of my exercises I do balancing on a foam pad which is great for all sorts of reasons, but makes PT more dynamic which I like (the prospect of falling over and re-breaking my neck is great motivation to maintain balance). Mid September I can start taking my brace off and conditioning my neck to support itself.

Caroline and the kids seem to be doing well considering. Thomas is back as school and quite happy to be back in is element. Caroline Sr, has been overwhelmed by seeing all of our wonderful supportive friends and neighbors but is adjusting. Caroline Jr, is toddling all over and apparently is a fan of chinese noodles with a bit of spice. While no one was looking, she got into our friends noodles at the market the other day. Caroline's heel is doing well, she says it's looking better and the wound seems to be closing up well.

--Seth

Picture taken July 7, 2012 in Lower Zambezi

1 comment:

MattAugust 30, 2012 at 5:19 AM
Great update....I don't think anyone would have guessed that would write that 6 weeks ago. So happy for you and can't wait to see you again!
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Donations of Love

The Sherry and Raynor families have been overwhelmed by everyone's kindness and outpouring of love. Your individual and collective support has been tangible and made a real difference. Many of you have additionally asked how to make a financial donation to ease the immediate financial burdens. We have set up this site to make that possible.

On Saturday, July 14th, Seth and Caroline Sherry along with their children, Tommy (4 1/2 yrs) and Cali (1), Caroline's younger sister, Katie (18yrs.), and 3 friends - including Seth's best friend from Corvallis, Seth Wiggins, were all traveling by car from their home in Zambia to Zimbabwe. The driver fell asleep and the car rolled three times, crashing into a tree just at the front passenger seat where our Seth was seated. Though banged up, Seth Wiggins and the two other friends appear to have not been injured badly. Tommy was thrown 100 feet from the car and had a concussion and cuts to his head, Cali seems to have been spared any serious injury, Caroline has a very serious cut on her foot, Katie has broken ribs and lung contusion along with a serious concussion and perhaps other undiagnosed injuries. Seth Sherry was critically injured with a broken neck and back (C-1 & C-6 vertebrae).

As you can imagine, the care in a 3rd world country is lacking and compromised, particularly with Seth. Over a period of a day and half, it became clear that if Seth's life and limb movement abilities were to be preserved, he would need to be flown to Johannesburg, South Africa which the insurance company did arrange and Seth Wiggins accompanied him on the flight (where he remains to give perfect care and attention to our Seth). Caroline and family stayed behind in a clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe (the capitol) where they were in the care of local LDS church members. Recently Katie was transferred to South Africa to be in the same hospital as Seth to received more advanced care for her injuries.

In South Africa, all exams and tests were redone and the injuries more specifically identified. Seth continues to have movement in feet and hands though his shoulders and arms above the elbow have diminished sensation and movement (this however, has improved over the last couple days - a very good sign). Neurosurgeons have teamed together to provide the best approach to stabilize Seth's neck and back. The next step in doing so is critical and of immediate concern to prevent paralysis. Currently Seth has been fitted with a Miami Brace to stabilize his neck and allow swelling to decrease. He may face surgery in the coming weeks.

Caroline and the kids have recently been able to fly to South Africa to be with Seth and Katie. They are setting up temporary housing in Johannesburg. The future is unknown with Seth and Katie's time in the hospital. Seth has a long road ahead of him but he remains optimistic. Caroline has had to balance caring for others, making tough decisions, dealing with all the logistics, AND suffering with her own physical injuries.

There have been so many prayers, blessings, people in the right places, and miraculous help from LDS Church members in both Zimbabwe and South Africa. We appreciate your concern and prayers, they are deeply meaningful to us and important for Seth, Caroline and family.

Please leave uplifting comments here to be shared with Seth and Caroline to help boost their spirits and we will have them printed for them to read there in South Africa.

Donations will be used to cover medical expenses, temporary housing needs, travel, and the many yet unknown needs in the long road ahead. While we all wish this circumstance never existed, we do gratefully acknowledge your requests to help.

Click on the DONATE button to make a contribution on this secure site using bank, credit card, or Paypal money transfer. If you don't have a Paypal account you can still make a donation -- just click the DONATE button and look at the bottom left-hand corner of the Paypal page for instructions to donate.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

August 28, 2012 - update from Seth

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