YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

I know many of you must be thinking... is there something I can do to help. Kelly is doing very well right now. We await awakening of the body and mind. A slow and tedius process, but moving ever forward. Remember... baby steps.

Here's how you can help! Constant and POSITIVE energy/stimulation will assist in the wake up process, which may include live music, telling stories, showing photos, hand/foot massage, reading a book or a multitude of ideas this creative group can devise. By the way... we had a yogi chanter with nikki this morning...WOW... talk about positive energy!

It's still important to call with a time that is convenient for you... I know the "schedule" must seem cumbersome, but without it, everyone comes at once or not at all. On occassion our visitors don't meet the hospital "schedule" which means you may get booted during baths, turning, etc. Please call Kelly's cell at 312-4310.

PROTECTIVE ENVIRONMENT INCLUDES: Positive vibes and energy. Positive comments.
NOT INCLUDED: Questions or discussion of what happen, what the doctors say, what the future holds.

Kelly's Latest Milestone

Hi Everyone! Thanks so much for continued love, support and prayers. I have a milestone update to report. Kelly has been off the ventilator for the last 36 hours -- no misinformation this time... the vent machine is unplugged! In a nutshell, Kelly is not on any type of life support! He is sustaining on his own. He opens his eyes, and appears responsive to voice interactions - especially music. I know many of you would like to drop by to visit... please feel free to leave a voice mail message on Kelly's phone 316-312-4310 and I will do my best to return your call and schedule a visit time. PLEASE DON'T DROP BY to visit... it helps us all SO much if we can schedule a special time with Kelly so he doesn't get to overwhelmed.

Thanks again so much for the outpour of love, care, concerns and prayers... we depend on you all for daily strength.

Best wishes and Happy Easter to all.

Kelly, Marilyn & Dustin

Kelly, Tom, Tommy (Winfield 97'ish)

Beatin' the Bug!

We received some “misinformation” regarding the ventilator… turns out Kelly is breathing on his own but still dependent on the vent. We also had a setback; Kelly contracted a bug, acinetobacter. This is a hospital infection being brought to the state by soldiers in Iraq which preys on trach patients and those with weak immune systems. There are several different types, some resistant to antibiotics, but we are seeing improvement.

Kelly is participating in daily physical therapy. Some days his eyes are open other days he sleeps a lot. He continues with his daily baby steps, however he remains in “coma” state. Once we beat the bug, we can get back to concentrating on creating a growing state of awareness.

Please know we need and appreciate your continued love, support and prayers. Visitors are still being kept to a bare minimum and we hope that you can understand and appreciate we are giving Kelly the best possible care in a protective environment. Your cards, calls, prayers and good wishes continue to be a major support and rock in all our lives. Our daily activities would not be possible without the outpour of love and goodwill we feel surrounding us.

Bless you and your families… take care of each other and know we keep you all in our prayers as well.


Marilyn, Kelly & Dustin

The New News

What an amazing core of loving and caring friends we have. Thank you so much for your ongoing and continued care and support. You have no idea how much it helps to hear your kind words and to know that your positive thoughts and prayers are coming, so don't worry about leaving to many posts on the website. We love to read them. Kelly has made some baby steps today. His latest improvement - breathing on his own.

Words cannot express our appreciation of your continued support. It is our wish all of the wonderful people who love and care about Kelly could visit him and wish him well. He's just not ready yet. Your posts on this blog give us daily strength. Know that we are taking the best possible care of Kelly. We know we don't have to say it, but we will anyways. Please keep the positive thought, vibes, prayers, and whatever else you've got comming Kelly's way.

Love you all,

MJ and DJ

The Latest on Kelly:

Hello everyone.

First of all Kelly, Dustin and I want to thank you so much for your outflow of love, care, concerns, tears, cards, donations, support, tough love and more. Actually, words cannot express how much we appreciate your generosity and love.

I know many of you have heard rumors, guesses and possibly nothing about what happened or Kelly’s condition. If you are experiencing these and other emotions, it is my hope this post will put you at ease.

On March 9, around 12am Kelly suffered from a sudden cardiac arrest. He had no symptoms, had not been ill… to date we still don’t know what caused this event. He did not have a heart attack or a stroke… as I understand it, the cause was more of an electrical malfunction in the heart. The echo showed no signs of heart damage. Kelly suffers from acquired brain injury (not traumatic) and is diagnosed with anoxic brain injury (lack of oxygen). He is on a ventilator, but is breathing 60% of the time on his own. His heart is strong and pumping on its own. Kelly has not regained consciousness yet, however the EEG shows active brain waves. He is currently taking daily baby steps… and this is why we haven’t been able to offer much information. In the next few days we hope to move him to a specialty care hospital that specializes in coma arousal therapy and anoxic brain injuries. Kelly is looking at a long-term recovery. We continue to see small improvements (opening eyes, toe wiggles and head movements) which continue to encourage a positive outcome.

We understand you all feel many concerns and would like to visit Kelly. We are highly protective of Kelly’s environment which allows no room for negativity or tears. We don’t discuss anything about what happened, will happen or his condition in the room. As a result, visitation is very limited. It is overwhelming to try to accommodate such a massive amount of visitors and return phone calls. I know that may sound harsh… but we have to put aside our own needs and feelings… Kelly is our number one priority. We will post updates on the blog, but not on a daily basis… remember… baby steps = milestones. We will report milestonesJ

Please be patient and continue to send your generous love and prayers. It is truly in His hands as to what the outcome will be… we are here to serve, provide unconditional love and support to Kelly. You, the friends and family who love and care about him through your continued support give us strength on a daily basis. We love to read your new posts and comments on a daily basis… we love and need you all.


All our love,
Kelly, Marilyn & Dustin

Having Fun In the Hospital

Thanks Richard for the picture, everyone who sees it has a question or positive comment. Usually something like "why does it say blind dog?" I just laugh and tell them that it's a blues thing. I would teach them about Muddy Waters inventing electricity too, but I don't want to overwhelm them :)

Dustin Would Like Your Help With This:

Hi everyone, this is Dustin (Kelly's son) and I have been thinking about making a book for Kelly while we are waiting for him to get better. I am thinking it would be nice to put something together that includes all of his friends and families greatest memories or stories with Kelly.

This idea has been sparked from so many stories being shared in the room at the CICU and the good feelings associated, so please feel free to repeat some of the ones from the room that you have already told.

I also would like to include photos in the book so if you have a relevant photo to the story that would be great.

Please send your story to kellyblinddogstories@yahoo.com and attach the largest format of photo that you have.

Thank you for your help on this, I think he would really enjoy this. Maybe down the road if anyone else would like a copy I can see about that. For now I just think it would be a great gift for him.

Also, there will be another update coming later today about Kelly's status. I can tell you for now that not much has changed, but his lungs are really clearing up and he has been opening his eyes quite a bit today.

Love you all,

Dustin

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To Our Many Friends and Family:

Hi everyone,

Mississippi Blind Dog Kelly Slack along with his family thank you all so much for your continued thoughts, prayers and support. Kelly remains in critical condition. We are anticipating a slow recovery, but he is taking baby steps toward improvements everyday.

We understand so many people would like to visit Kelly in the hospital, however, critical is CRITICAL. Constant, well-meaning visits at this point in his recovery may be detrimental to his overall recovery.

KNOW... we love you all very much.

Also, please feel free to leave comments on this page. Especially stories of your favorite times/memories with Kelly. Really anything you would like to say about/to Kelly, Marilyn, or Dustin would be appropriate to leave on the comments page here.