Update on Tavis...It's a little graphic

Travis was able to get his big surgery done yesterday. They had not done it previously because the day he arrived in Utah the doctors decided his left eye could possibly be saved. They did a three hour surgery and said they were "encouraged" by what they saw but it's a "wait and see" situation. They had to wait five days after that operation before they could fix the rest of his face.

In those five days Travis came to more and now knows what is going on without having to be reminded. He has not be able to have anything to eat or drink by mouth because they didn't want to risk any of the bacteria in his mouth finding it's way into his lungs because of his trach. He had a feeding tube put in on sometime around Tuesday or Wednesday. My aunt was hoping that would relieve a lot of his discomfort. He hadn't eaten since Thursday so that's quite a while to feel hungry. I struggle to fast 24 hours let alone 5 days. We learned with my mom that nutrition is a huge part of your body being able to heal. It takes a lot of calories and is extremely important that you get the nutrients your body needs.

They also weren't putting the cap on his trach so he could talk...I'm not sure why. But I can imagine the frustration that must give a person. You can't talk, eat or drink. No fun! My aunt says he will look at her and hold his fingers up and gesture to her "just a little bit, just this much water." Oh...that would be hard as a parent to have to say no when it seems such a simple innocent thing.

The surgery yesterday ended up taking 14 hours. Could you imagine being those doctors and nurses. That's a LoNg day! He had 42 or 47(I can't remember) fractures in his face but they weren't just fractures they were shattered. They cut from the top of one ear across his skull and down to the top of the other ear and folded his skin back to be able to fix the upper half of his face. And then also cut along his neck to fix his jaw. I am not sure of all that was put in in place of the broken bones but there was a lot of talk about screws, and bolts and I would assume a few metal plates.

He handled the surgery well. My mom said he is in a lot of pain today and swollen. They were not able to fix his eye socket completely without causing damage to the eye they are trying to save. He will have to have another surgery on it later down the road.

They did find that most of his teeth are still there. They are chipped and he will need braces to realign them but he only had a few knocked out.

His right eye is ok. So he will have vision in atleast one of his eyes. If everything goes as planned he should be able to come home in the next few weeks and continue his recovery at home.

It will be interesting to see how the person who hit him is charged. He fled on foot from the accident. Completely uninjured. He has been in trouble with the law since he turned 18, he is now 26 but none of his prior charges have had any real if any punishment. He does have previous DUI charges. My cousin hired and attorney for Travis and is hoping that this time a charge will stick and he will get prison time. If they are waiting for him to kill someone before they decide he is a problem I think they have enough evidence!