Pictures

My sister says my blog needs pictures, so I figured out how to get them from my phone to computer. One day I will be smarter then my smart phone. So I took a few pictures of my favorite things here in Taytons hospital room. In no particular order, here they are:

All the fun baloon and packages is his room. Sorry I didn't dare move all of his iv things, but look we are cutting down on the medicines.

All the amazing doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, and other people I am forgetting. There are five other people in this picture that I couldn't fit in. Sometimes it gets a bit crowded in here, but I am so grateful for everyone of these people. We are making some amazing friendships with the staff here. I hope no one ever has to come here, but if you do they are amazing! They help make miracles happen.

All the cards he gets, I hang on the wall, as you can tell we are running out of room. Can't put anymore below because there is a bio-hazard garbage can that gets used once in a blue moon and I can't put anymore on top.

Overflow wall, and you can't tell in the picture but it still goes over quite a ways, but then the medical supplies start getting in the way. But I love to hang these up because I feel so much love and support from everyone. Also a few other things that I didn't take pictures of are a picture of Jesus holding a little boy, and pictures of our family, and our little boy having fun. We even have his flag football team picture. I love it! Then we also got a Utah State banner hanging up and being at the U of U we sometimes get some crap about that but I think we are turning them into Aggie fans. Tayton is a huge Aggie fan. Don't tell Paul Milsap this, but he signed a autograph for Tayton and it said keep fighting which was really sweet and I hung it up, but I think Tayton would be more excited if an Aggie player signed it. shhhhh don't tell. He will still be excited about Pauld Milsap but we really don't follow the Jazz. We are true Aggies!

This isn't really one of my favorite things, but I think they look so funny on him. They are his new boots to help support his feet. They don't have any kid sizes so we have to put him in adult sizes.---------- So today has been a pretty good day, nothing bad or crazy so that means a good day in my book. Since the procedure last night this amazing little boy of mine has lost 900ml of fluid in his lungs/chest and over 1000ml in his stomache/abdomen area. So when Tayton came in he weighed 49lbs. Yesterday he weighed around 69lbs. That is 20lbs of fluid. Could you imagine almost half your body weight with excess fluid. So getting this fluid off is huge. His breathing is so much better, and I know he feels so much better. Hopefully we can keep it up. I have been listening to his lungs everday and they sound much better today. And for the first time since we have been here, his white blood cell count went down! I am one pround mom. The doctor even did another ultra sound and found some more fluid but not enough to put another tube in his other lung or other side of his belly. So happy and glad it is doing it's job and getting rid of the fluid.-------------- Also Happy Birthday to my beautiful, amazing mother. You are the best mom and grandma a kid could ask for. We love you so much and hope you had a great day. -------- Thanks to everyone who came to the fundraiser tonight. Wish I could have been there, but I need to be here with my amazing little boy. I heard it was amazing, and so many people helped donate items and time. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am so amazed at the generosity of others. I feel so loved and blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives. Have a great night and I love you most Tayton!

2 weeks

So two weeks ago today was our guys accident. I thought for sure two weeks ago we would be out of the hospital and everything would be great. Not what I expected two weeks later, but I feel so great today. --- Last night was a little rough, we left the hospital and he was really peaceful. I got back to the Ronald McDonald house and I took a shower, and got ready for bed. Every night I call the hospital to see how he is doing. The nurse didn't aswer my call and I knew something just wasn't right. I finally got a charge nurse to speak to me and she said Tayton was having a really hard time breathing and the doctors and nurses were all in his room. I asked if we should come back up but they said his room was pretty full and just to hold tight and they would call me back when they had him under control. That was the longest time of my life, and I have nevere prayed so hard. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and called and the nurse was calling me at the same time. She said I could relax and that he was just fine. My heart was still racing and I couldn't sleep. Finally I was able to calm down and fell asleep around 5:30a.m. I had the sweetest dream about my little Tayton that we were at home and watching a movie and he was so happy. Then the stupid alarm woke me up at 6:30 and I didn't want to wake up, I wanted to go back to my dream. But I had my ultrasound apt at the hospital. Good news, is that my baby is doing great.--- So then we went back up to Taytons room and his vitals were really good. His fever went down and he was really calm. Still I was upset and crying and just a wreck. Later I noticed what time it was and it was the same time as the fire two weeks ago and I just cried. Then our Stake President came in with a member of the 70 from our church. (I think they timed that just perfectly.) I was so stressed and felt so anxious. I was able to get a preisthood blessing that was exactly what I needed and they told me exactly what I needed to here. I know that they are Heavenly Fathers messengers. I felt so stressed and angry before they came and I honestly did not know if my son was going to make it. I always have had hope that he would make it but never really knew for sure. After they left I can tell you without any doubt in my mind, my son is going to make it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know it, I feel it, I know it is going to be hard and we will still have lots of challenges ahead of us, but I will fight through everything I am given just to see him smile again. He is so worth it. And just the joy from feeling that comfort is huge.--- Also why they were still here, the doctor came in and explained what the next step for Tayton was going to be. They were going to insert some sort of tubes by his lungs to drain the fluid out, and also by his belly. I'm not going to say I wasn't scared about the procedure but I knew everything was going to be ok. I feel like this procedure was going to be huge to relieve some of the pressure off him. They made us leave the hospital why they did the procedure and I felt fine. I knew everything was going to go great. And everything did go great and as of 8:45 alsmost 400ml of fluid has come off his lungs, and 650ml came out of his belly. His breathing was a lot better.--- Now I know this doesn't mean the rest of this process is going to be easy. I know it is going to be the hardest thing I will have to do, but like I said before, I can't give up. I won't give up. I have faith that he will get through this. He is so worth it and I can't wait until I write down that my dream is a reality. That I get to be home and watch a movie with my son. It won't be anytime soon but it will come. Miracles do come. Hope you all have a good night and thanks again for all the prayers and support. Kali

Up day

So we started out the day a little rough. I called this morning right when I woke up to see how he was doing, and they said his kidneys weren't doing so good when they upped his water pill medication. I just started to bawl and couldn't eat breakfast. I was just devastated. I just felt like I couldn't do another bad day. - - So we got to the hospital and the doctor asked why I was crying. Then I told her about the kidney thing and she said we are just going to lower back on his medication and things will be fine. Also they got his blood back from the lab and it was the best it looked in 4 days. So they past two days they have given him a paralyzing drug to let his body rest. His blood pressure was getting pretty high and same with his heart rate. But everyday they have to stop the paralyzing drug to make sure he is still ok. They said they will just take him off for a while then put him right back on. When he came out of the medicine he was still sedated but his heart rate and blood pressure went back normal. He was doing great and they didn't have to put him back on. - - - His swelling has gone down a bit and he even opened his eyes for the first time in 4 days. He moved his feet and his arms. It was so fun to see that again. I can't wait for when he gets to sit up and talk to me. The doctors said he doesn't do anything by the book but today was a very critical day and he made improvements, so that is huge! - - - I also had a doctors apt. today and my little girl is doing great. That was a big stress relief. I got to see my little Tanna today and that was so fun to get a big hug and kiss for her. Thanks to everyone for helping out with her. I got some amazing packages from friends and family. It will be nice to have projects to work on here so I don't go to crazy looking at white sterile walls all day long. - - - Thanks to everyone for all the prayers, letters, cards, packages, dinners, and everything else that you do for us. We feel so loved. I know were not out of the woods yet and we will still have our ups and downs but at least we have some up days. So grateful for my little family and I am so blessed to be Taytons mom. Love you bud, keep having good days. Keep improving, love you most! Mom

A little better day

So today was a little better. His fever went down a bit and his chest x-ray looks a l ittle better too. Still a really bad infection but at least some ounce of improvement. His white-blood cell count did go up a little higher and he also needed his 4th blood transfusion today. He is still a pretty sick little boy but he is still fighting and stayting strong.- Also some good news is we had the cardiologists from Primary Childrens come over and check out his heart. His heart is still pumping really good so I was excited to not hear bad news. Basically what they said is he needs to loose all the fluid. So they upped his "water pills" medication so hopefully we will see more pee. We still need to pray for pee. His body just doesn't want to let go of the fluids. I have been coming up with pee cheers today.- So I am very gratful we are figuring this out. He still has such a long way to go and I am so blessed to have had a better day today. Yesterday was rough, so glad today went a lot better. Now we just have to stay this way. No more complications please. I love you Tayton, I am so happy to be your mom. Just let your little body rest and recover so you can get better. I know you can do this, you are so strong and so amazing. Love you most, mom

Rough Day

Yep thats pretty much all I am going to say. It was a rough day. Lots of tears and perhaps even a mental breakdown. Don't worry I left Taytons room so he couldn't hear me. Maybe tomorrow it will be better. Good night, keep fighting Tayton, you have no other option but to keep fighting. Love you more bud, mom

Small Miracles

So last night I was alone in the room with my little boy. I was talking to Heavenly Father in my mind. I was explaining to him how hard this was and I just need a tiny miracle to keep on going. I said I know he won't be able to get off the respirator and walk tomorrow, but just please show me a tiny miracle. Then I noticed his temperature which was 38.7 degrees celcius. I said just lower it to 38.6 for me. I said I'm walking out the door to go tell the nurse something, and please just give me a little bit of hope. I walked back in the door and sure enough his temperature was 38.6. I just started to cry then I ran back out to the nurse to tell her of my little miracle. I know God loves me. - It's hard right now to see the big pictue, but maybe in a few weeks I will look back and be grateful he was sedated through all this because it is exlremely painful, and what a huge blessing it would be if he couldn't remember it. - It is still the hardest thing I have ever done to see my boy in this much pain. I am not a patient person and I want things to happen so fast. Levi saw Taytons shoe he was wearing and I can't believe he wan't burned any more then what he was. Also I spoke with some parents who spoke with the fire chief about they accident. The fire cheif said the accident should have been much worse, and they are lucky to be alive. I am just gratful my little guy is still here. I don't care how long it takes to recover, as long as he is still here. Keep fighting my tough little dude, you are amazing. I am so proud of the stregth you have. But just keep getting better. Love you most, mom

More complications

Uggg, I'm getting so tired of posting things like this but today we had more complications. He definately has an pnemonia and it is not fun. They said it happens from being on the ventilator this long. Aslo we found out some of his major organs are enlarged. Not good news. His vitals have stayed pretty good today and we got to see his skin graphs and it looks like for the most part his body is accepting them. There are still a few areas that look a little questionable but we will just have to wait and see. - He had some more troubles with breathing for a while but they seem to have it under control. Hopefully tomorrow we will have better news. In the mean time keep the prayers coming. I love you bud, keep fighting!

He's a trooper!

Isn't he the cutest boy you ever did see!

I'm pretty sure he won't mind me posting this picture of him on the Air Med. I think he will just be mad because he won't remember flying in it. I think someone from the media took this picture. My heart still drops to my stomache when I hear the helicopters fly in. I just pray for the person and their families.

Today has been a pretty good day. Not a ton of progress but his face is looking so much better. The swelling has gone down a lot in his face, and his vital signs have stayed where they need to all day. They also turned his oxygen down to 60% and he has been pretty stable with that, so overall a pretty good day. - Some other news we learned today, is they think why he has been having such a hard time breathing is because he inhaled some of the fumes, and this is a side effect from those fumes. The bad part about that is even though the swelling is going down a bit his little lungs are not ready to be taken off the ventilator. It looks like it will be another week. And now that he has been on a ventilator for 8 days he has an infection in his lungs. So he now has a fever but they will put him on some antibiotics, so hopefully that will help. He also got his second blood transfusion. Our new goal is to be out of here before Christmas. I wish I could post pictures of his room and all the cards, and packages he has been getting, but I really have no way of getting them from my camera on to the computer. We are taking pictures, but I won't put any up of Tayton until he tells me to.- Also today I snuck Tanna over to Primary Childrens to the toy room. They had volunteers there who had craft and paint kits for the kids. It was really fun for her and we had a good time. She made a star, duck, and a car for her brother. She also painted him a picture and we hung it up in his room. She loves her big brother and he loves her so much. I had a good time with Tanna and I loved being with her.- Thanks again for all the prayers, we still need them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was bitter sweet. We started out the day pretty rough. Tayton was really struggling with his breathing today. He was breathing really fast and not getting enough oxygen. It was not fun. They had quite a few different respiratory therapists come and try to help but nothing was working. Finally they called a therapist from down in the NICU and he got his breathing under control. Yesterday Tayton was on 40% oxygen and today he is at 75%. Not the improvement I was wanting but he's still here.- On the positive side he really responded to the water pills today. He was peeing!!!! Never thought I would be excited for pee. It was too much though so they are halfing his medication. They said they want him to loose the fluid gradually, not all at once. So your prayers really worked, thank you. But I think it is hard breathing when you have all that fluid, so hopefully we are making progress with the fluid which will help everything else.- Also we saw his skin graphs today. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was hard to look at. The doctor said it looked just like it should so that is good news.- My parents brought our little Tanna down today for Thanksgiving. It was nice to have all my little family together and my parents did bring us a plate of Thanksgiving food, so we did get to eat some turkey.-If none of this had happened, I would most likely be out black friday shopping. Trying to get some good deals for Christmas. I must say because of this trial, it has definately put things into perspective for me. I don't care about toys, electronics, or other material items. I am so thankful for my precious little family. I am so grateful to be a mother to my wonderful children. I am so happy for the little miracles that I see with my son. I am grateful that I get to be a mom again to a baby girl in April. It's hard being pregnant right now with all the stress going on, but hopefully by April Tayton will have improved a ton, and I can handle helping Tayton with everything he needs and also take care of a 4yr old, and a newborn. I am so greatful for great doctors and nurses who take such good care of my precious, precious, son. I am greatful for my religion, I don't know how I could keep going. Just when I feel like I can't get through another minnute, I feel someone holding me. I know it's Gods helping me through this. I remember when Tayton was two, he cut himself on a can lid and had to get stitches. I had to leave the room because I was crying so hard. This has definately made me stronger. I hope no other mother has to see their son like this. Anyway, have a Happy Thanksgiving and I am again so grateful for all I have and that I had another day with my Tayton, Tanna, and Levi.- Tanna wants to write on the blog, so here she is- tannatannatanna

Slow, slow, process

Today the doctor came in and basicall told me that Taytons progress is moving slower then a snail, but at least he is moving. I am hoping we can move it maybe to a turtles pace. So I will explain a little more about the fluid problem. I guess when you get burned you loose a ton of fluid. It comes out of the burns and so they have to give you tons, and tons of fluid. Taytons little body is in shock and all of his tissues are holding on to all the fluid, instead of sending it through his body. So they put him on basically some really good water pills to try to get him to pee. The water pills work for the first couple of hours, then he pretty much stops. So today I prayed for pee, and when it came we did a pee dance. I never thought I would be so happy to see pee.- Once his little body will let go of the fluid the swelling will go down. Then is the swelling goes down we can take him off the ventilator. Then when he is off the ventilator they can take him off the sedation medication. So he will really start improving once the fluid goes through his body. That is how I understand it, I'm sure nurses and doctors have a more technical way of saying it, but thats what I understood about it today. So pray for pee!- Tomorrow we get to see how the skin graphs did. I am also praying that they will look good and that it won't require any more surgery. So a pretty slow day, but at least his is progressing some. Keep working hard bud, I love you so much. You are so tough and I know your little body will get through this. I would switch you places in a heartbeat. I know you'll make it through!- Oh and I have also been reading some stuipid comments that people leave, which I won't be doing anymore. But some mom said, well that is why I never let my kids out of my sight. It just made me mad. Any mom knows you can't keep your kids in your sight the entire time. Don't think it can't happen to you. Things can happen even when your watching. I know my kids friends, I am watching the clock when he comes home. If he is two minutes late, I am out looking for him. How many kids walk home from school every day. He wanted to walk home with his friends before we moved. He said he didn't want me to pick him up that day because it was a nice day and he wanted exercise. The first weeks of school I walked with him, I made sure I knew who he was walking home with. I knew the parents of the boys he walked home with. He just came across a bad situation, and it was a horrible accident. That mom may watch her kids now, but really there comes a time when they have to start being independent. Taytons is going to be a lot later now in life, but I was trying my best. None of my kids will ever walk home from school ever again, but it doesn't mean they will be protected from everything. Show me a mom who can protect their child from everything. OK, sorry I'm done venting.

Day 6

So I was counting and we are on day 6 in the hospital. So basically today he was just trying to heal and relax. He is still sedated because of the ventilator but he does move a lot. It is a little scary when he starts to move around because you can tell he is in pain and not enjoying the ventilator. Hopefully we can get him off the ventilator soon but we have to wait for him to stop holding on to all his fluid. So please pray that he can get his body moving the fluid. - For some reason when I start a new paragraph it doesn't show, so if I'm jumping around it means a new paragraph. Tonight my parents came to the hospital to watch Tayton so we left and did some grocery shopping, then we took it back to the Ronald McDonald house. Paul Milsap from the Utah Jazz came and signed autographs and served us dinner. He signed a picture for Tayton that said keep fighting and then gave him a Jazz blanket. I am sure Tayton would have loved seeing him. Then after dinner they had some activites for the kids. Out of all the games in the world they had lego games. Tayton loves legos and I know he would have had a blast. We didn't stay because I wanted to get back to my little guy, but thanks to my mom and dad for watching him for a bit. - They are having a fundraiser for all the boys at the Peak on Nov 30th. I hope you can attend, because I want the other families to know people care about them. I know you all care about us and I feel so loved, I want to make sure the other families have that too. But please keep Tayton in your prayers, and right now please pray that his little body can get his fluid moving again. Once he can do that, then we can make some major improvements. So thanks again to everyone for all their help. I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my lives. I am so lucky to have my little guy. I am so grateful to be his mom!!! It is the hardest thing I have ever been through to watch my son be in pain and know there is nothing I can do. I feel so helpless but I know over time things will improve. This is just a hard lesson for me to learn patience. I am still so amazed at the love and generosity of others, when I am on my feet again I will pay it forward.

Big Surgery Day!

So today was the big surgery day. He went in for surgery around 8:00 a.m. and got out around 1:30. So quite the surgery but the doctor said she took her time because she did not want to limit his ability later in life. She said his little hands look as great as they could look. I guess where they take the skin from gets really painful, so hopefully he will recover from that. But the biggest concern is still with his body adjusting to the fluids. He is still on the ventilator and still really swollen. He is still sedated and will be for the next couple of days. He just needs time for his body to heal. Levi and I are staying in the Ronald McDonald house. It is a wonderful place and when we get back on our feet we plan on volunteering there. Today I aslo met a man who had been burned over 75% of his body. He has been here for over 6 months. He is recovering great and it gave me hope that he can get through this. Tayton was only burned on 14% of his body, so if someone can recover from 75% he definately can recover from his. Today I am feeling comforted that he is going to make it but it won't be an easy thing to do. I honestly don't care how long it takes, or what he will look like when it is all over, I just am happy he is still here. Also today I keep thinking about his future and maybe how this is going to change him for the better. Who knows, maybe he will even be a burn surgeon one day. I just know the Lord has great things in store for my little guy. I am also for such a great husband who has been my rock. He keeps me strong when I have my metltdowns. He gives me the strength I need to get through the day. He also got some letter today from the kids and teachers at Willard Elementary. It was so fun to read them and when Tayton is alert I know he will love to read them. And I am so greatful for all the help that everyone has given us. There is no way I could make it through without it. I can't believe the kindness of people I love of complete strangers. I am overwhelmed at how many amazing people there are in this world. So thank you to everyone for the prayers, gifts, letters, and everything else. We really appreciate it. Keep the prayers coming please.

Day #4

So as some of you know last night was a little rough on Tayton. I came in this morning and saw him and pretty much just lost it. I think it is finally sinking in that this is my reality. I saw some major improvemnts yesterday but then last night and this morning it was hard. The swelling did go down a little and they gave him some medicine to help the tissues in his lungs release fluid and it was working. He is still struggling with his oxygen levels, and his little heart rate is still high, again things they say are normal with burn patients. I honestly just thought that on Thursday I would take hime to the Brigham City ER, they would put some burn cream on, wrap up his bandages and we would be home. I laugh at myself for thinking it would be that easy. I have never really seen or heard about burn victims and I never knew what a slow and hard recovery they have. The doctor keeps telling me I can't put a time frame on things. I keep asking how long will it take until this happens, or when can he do this. She said I will get nothing but dissappointed if I keep trying to put time limits on things. I was asking when he could go back to school and she said if he goes back to school before the school year is over will be amazing. She said getting released from the hospital and going back to school are totally seperate things. So I just need to be patient and take each day at a time. Today they just kept him pretty sedated and he didn't communicate much. He did open his eyes a little more today and I got to see his beautiful big brown eyes. But he needs lots of rest because tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. is his big surgery. Oh and some other good news they may not have as much skin graphing to do as they originally thought. I guess we will see how tomorrow goes. Oh also good news, the only other boy from the accident should go home tomorrow. I am so glad he gets to go home but I will miss his cute little face coming in to check on Tayton. Alot of the police officers wives donated this huge basket of toys, food, movies, cards, and all sorts of other fun things for us. I am so appreciative of them. Then we also got some fun get well cards from the primary kids at church and just amazing other gifts. Thank you so much to everyone, we really appreciate it. Well I am actually going to try to get some sleep tonight, I am running on empty but my mind just doesn't shut off. But pray that surgery goes well.

Up's and downs

Today started out really good, the swelling in his face went down a little which meant he was improving. He seemed to be a little more alert because they were bringing down the sedatives. I played some of his favorite songs for him today, and when Eye of the Tiger came on he started moving his feet like he was trying to show us his awesome dance moves that he does. I was able to tell him how many people were being so generous for him. He was kicking his feet and he even was able to open his eyes for a moment. His eyes are still so swollen so he can barely open them. He told us by wiggling his feet that he could see. It was fun to have reaction with him and you can tell he is trying so hard to talk but can't with the ventilator in. He keeps trying to push it out with his toungue. Poor kid, but hopefully we can get him off the ventilator soon. My family told me we had so many people come and help with the move today. I just want to tell everyone how appreciative I am. I wish more then anything I could have been moving today instead of being where we are, but at least I get to be with my son. Today my sister brought Tanna to me. I haven't seen her since the Brigham City ER and I was really excited to see her. She seemed to be a little stressed about seeing her brother and didn't want to go see him. But I still took her in because I want her to know the reason why I am not with her is because I'm trying to be there for Tayton. She only stayed a minute in the room then I took her back to our hotel and got her a bath and we had a great mommy-daughter talk. After our time alone together we went back and saw Tayton and she did so much better and Tayton even waved to her. So it looked today like things were getting a lot better. So we decided to take Tanna out to her favorite restaurant McDonalds. Then we took her shopping and got her a dream lite. We got back to the hospital and found there has been a few complications with Tayton. His oxygen levels were getting pretty low. So they are trying to figure out why. They did some chest exrays and found that the tissues in his lungs are holding to much fluid. They are putting him on special medication to get the fluid out of his lungs. I guess this is a normal complication for someone with this severe of burns. So hopefully the medicing kicks in and we also have to adjust the ventilator tube a bit so it is more centered in his lungs. His right side was getting more oxygen then the left. So that is where we are at now, just waiting for good news that the medicine will kick in and start getting the fluid out of his lungs. I know we are getting lots of prayers but please, please, please keep them coming. I think if we can get over this little hump of swelling and fluid problems, we should be ok. Also we still have to worry about ingfections but he hasn't been getting a fever and his white blood cell count looks to be ok for now. Thanks again for all the love and support, I can't tell everyone that enough. Keep fighting my little man, your being so brave and if anyone could make it through this it's you. You are the toughest little boy ever! I am so proud to be your mom and I could never have the strength you have. Your amazing and I am so blessed to call you my son. I love you most! Mom

He's a fighter!

Not much to report today. He did make some very minor improvemnets but he is a lot more swollen today. The doctors and nurses tell me that is normal for burn victims. The peak time for swelling is 24-48 hours, so we have about 18 hours left for swelling. It's so hard to look at him when he doesn't look like himself. They put in a feeding tube today so he can get the nutrition his little body needs. I found out today it will at least be until Thanksgiving until he is taken off the ventilator, so he will still be in critical condition until they take it out. He seems to come in and out and he tries to communicate. He will wiggle his feet and it's fun to know he can hear us. We read him some storied today and let him listen to the movie Brave. I thought it was appropriate because he is being so brave. We are so appreciative of all the love and support we have gotton. I wish I could respond to all the messages individually, but just know we appreciate everything that has been done for us and our family. I had my surgery in May here and I knew back then this was the best hospital. The doctors and nurses here are amazing. They know how to help me cope, and they are so good with Tayton. Couldn't ask for any more. I am just so greatful he has made it this far. Two of the other boys got released from the hospital today, so that made me happy. We still have one of the other boys here in the hospital with us. Please pray for him too. I know of his situation but for respect on their family I won't say how he is doing but he could use some prayers too. Thanks again for all you have done for us, the messages really help us and I feel the support and love from everywhere.

Tayton

It's been a horrible day and I can't sleep. I feel like everything is bottled up inside and writing is the best therapy for me. So here is Taytons story. Today he was walking home from school, then I heard him come in the door just screaming. I looked at him and gave him a big hug and asked what was wrong. Then I smelled him and got a good look at him. He said the boys lit a big fire and he was burned. I looked at him and closer and couldn't believe what I saw. I told him to get in the car and we headed for the hospital. Why I was driving I called 911, and they told me just to wait for an ambulance. Seeing my boy like that, I couldn't wait. I drove about 70 miles per hour on the back road of Perry. I got him to the hospital and they took really good care of him. They started putting burn wraps all on his arms and face. He then said that some older boys were lighting gasoline on fire and he was just watching. He was screaming and crying, the skin was falling off his arms and his poor little face was just black, all of his hair on his head was burned, eyelashes burned. I never wish that on any parent to see their child like that. Well the hospital sedated him and put a breathing tube in because his throat got burned and they were worried if it got to swollen he would have a hard time breathing. Soon they had life-flighted him to the UofU burn center. We left the hospital and it seemed like the longest drive of my life. We got to go in his room and his poor little face is so swollen it doesn't look like him. He has 14% of his body burned. His hands and arms are the worst with 3rd degree burns on them. His face is 2nd degree burns, but on the positive side his lungs and throat seem to be ok. They have him sedated and plan on keeping him that way for the next couple of days, because of the pain and the breathing tube. It looks like he will have surgery on Monday maybe Tuesday for skin graphs on his hands, not sure on his face yet. We are going to have a long recovery ahead of us. At least 2-3 weeks in the hospital and months and months of therapy and recovery. He is still in critical condition right now and the next 24-48 hours are going to be the hardest for him. They are very optimistic he will make it through. He is a fighter and I'm praying for a miracle. Tayton seemed to have been burned the worst out of the five boys. So please teach your children about fire danger. I know 2 of the other boys he was with, but I didn't know the other two. I can't believe something like this could happen just from walking home from school. I just think he saw the older boys and was curious what they were doing. I am just greatful he wasn't the one lighting it on fire. I am feeling every emotion. I'm sad for what happened, happy he is still with us, mad at lots of things, including myself for letting him walk home and not teaching him enough. I just want everyone to hug their kids tonight and make sure they tell them how much they love them. I am so greatful for an amazing family and support system. I will try to keep you all updated on his progress. Thanks for all the prayers and messages. We still could use them. Kali