This site is intended to keep everyone up to date with how Melissa is progressing; the intent is to give her family the time they need to focus on helping her recover.
All updates or changes in Melissa's status will be posted here. Please feel free to send cards or letters to the hospital address listed below.
If you would like to send anything other than cards the family has requested that you consider a contribution to Melissa's Medical Care Fund. Although, it appears that Melissa's health insurance is good, there will be many healthcare and rehab expenses in the future.
"Melissa's Medical Care Fund" is held
at SunTrust Bank
Phone: 404-230-5555
OR
Mail To:
The Algreen Family
1450 Palisade Ave., Unit GTM
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
For those of you who do know about Melissa's condition, here is the "big picture". (Please scroll down for recent updates)
She was struck on her right side as she was crossing the street to get on the bus. The bumper of the car broke her tibia and fibula below the knee. Fortunately, the knee appears to be fine.
Melissa has a fractured pelvis and sacral all of which will heal in time.
Her liver, kidney, and especially her lungs were cut and badly damaged.
Melissa has been in a coma since she arrived at the hospital. Her brain is injured.
The extent of the head injury is impossible to determine until Melissa comes out of her coma. All tests thus far indicate that she has a great chance of emerging from the coma able to lead a normal, productive, and happy life. This is what we most urgently pray for.
Melissa has always taken excellent care of her body. Her body is repaying her by healing rapidly. Every one of her injuries is progressing wonderfully. The fact that she is still in a coma concerns us all, but the consensus is that she will open her eyes once she is ready. We are all impatient, but confident that Melissa will continue to inspire us all.
Attn: Melissa Algreen
Route 51-55 9W,
West Haverstraw, NY 10993-1195
(Please adhere to these hours. Helen Hayes strictly enforcing these hours)
9/15/05
Melissa's continues to fight for her recovery. She has made leaps and bounds with significant cognitive as well as physical therapy. She is truly a miracle and blessing from God. We are all so happy to report that she is awake and out of the comma. Her care has moved to another level as she is becoming more thoughtful in her cognitive expressions and is able to perform more tasks. She continues to show the therapiest her ability to comprehend the different levels of tasks being requested of her. She is always ready to work on her cognitive and physical abilites with her therapist as she pushes herself to get stronger. Here are some of the amazing events Melissa has overcome as well as accomplished: Her G-tube has been pulled and she is eating foods that are pureed , her swallow is getting stronger by the day so they have increased Melissa's food options so she can eat more solids. She is eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. Melissa can also hold her head and body up wright with minimal assistance. She is beginning to groom herself with our assistance. On a cognitive level, she is responding remarkably. She has been able to distinguish numbers and objects consistently. Melissa on several occassions verbally told the therapiest what numbers were being held up for her and names of some objects held within her vision. She is also opening the right eye more and more with the pupil diliating. She recognizes all her friends and family members. She is laughing at jokes and loves to look at magazines. Everyday, Melissa performs miracles and takes hugh steps toward her full recovery. The therapiest are starting to put some weight on her lower right leg with a calibrated machine that allows her to walk in motion and she does it! As she gets stronger .....she will be able to walk without the machine. Melissa is also starting to verablize more and more. Recently, she has told family members as well as her boyfriend that she loves us and they were the most beautiful words to our ears, hearts and souls. We continue to pray for her full recovery and strength of her right side. She is still weak on that side but pushes herself to get stronger. God has blessed us on every level. We thank all of our readers, friends, and family for their unweavering support and much love.
8/3/05
Melissa's recovery to date has been nothing short of remarkable. Her neurologist and care-takers are
proud of her progress. Although, she currently remains in a coma, there has been significant progress as she continues to fight her way back to consciousness. Her current rapport score is 8 and her JFK score remains steady at 10. She is working her way through what is called an agitation phase where she is in constant body motion and has no awareness of sleep patterns, thus making this an active period for her. Our family remains very hopeful that God will allow her to pass through this stage rapidly. Melissa's therapist and physician are confident that she will emerge from the coma within a few weeks. During this time, she remains aware of her surroundings through her left eye. Unless she is feeling ill, Melissa has consistently demonstrated cognitive improvement to commands. She is beginning to have purposeful movement....making this a positive sign for her recovery. Melissa's miracles are numerous but her are a few that remain on our minds: she is demonstrating her capacity to swallow voluntarily, she is able to crush ice when placed in her month.....even attempting to grab the spoon to feed herself., the left arm coordination is becoming stronger each day, the ability to track up/down with her left eye is more apparent and the most precious is her kisses to those she loves! She also has a tremendous amount of strength within her lower extremities. She is truly a blessing from God as he show's us her miracles everyday. Please continue to pray for her ability to open her right eye and experience more movement on the upper right side of her body.
7-22-05
Melissa continues to astonish us with her will to recover! Through God's blessing, she is performing true miracles everyday. This week, she demonstrated the ability to crush ice in her month. She is responding to commands on a more consistent basis and is attempting to speak. Melissa is also showing positive signs cognitively. A few days ago, the OT therapist placed a brush in her sight and asked, "Melissa, what do u do with a brush?"....she grabbed the brush and proceeded to brush her hair on the left side! Melissa is also moving her head more freely to the left and right side and is pushing to hold her head upright without any support. Her swallow abilities are progressing amazingly. Please continue to pray for her strength on the right side of her body as it is a bit weaker than the left however, she is showing localized movement on that side. Todate, her right eye remains shut. Her team of therapist moved her rapport number up to a 14 . They have also converted to the JFK rating scale because Melissa is beginning to respond move intently to various exercises. Her JFK scale number is currently a 10 out of 23 (23 = complete consciousness).