Help Bring Aiden Back - Updates

Going Home!

16 April 2020

Hi everyone, like many of you we have just been living in our bubble. While in lockdown Aiden has been working hard everyday to regain his strength, body movement and stimulate his brain. Everyday he has meetings with his team of physiotherapists, speech therapist and psychologist who set exercises for him to do. This is something that will continue over the coming months to help with his recovery. However, today he has been told that due to his hard work and exceptional recovery over the last month, he will get to do this from HOME instead of at rehab!!! When lockdown is over Aiden is allowed to go home to Vania and Craig’s with the goal to get him strong enough to get him back to his own house. This is so unexpected and makes us all so happy and proud of his dedication and perseverance. He has been working so hard and at times it has not been easy for him but he has continued to push through. Aiden still has a lot of work ahead and will not be able to resume his normal life for awhile yet but the fact that he will get everything back to the way it was is absolutely amazing!

I also want to add a MASSIVE THANK YOU to all of you for your messages of love and support and to Aiden’s support team, (there are too many to name but you all know who you are), Aiden would not be where he is without you and his immediate support team would not have coped without all of you either! With that said, the biggest THANK YOU goes to Vania, she still has not been home since the morning of the accident, she has been by Aiden’s side day and night since this happened and has supported each step forward and each stumble backwards. She has been his nurse, his champion, his warden, his teacher, his friend and best of all his mum. Her persistence and perseverance has obviously been passed to Aiden and has kept them both going over the past months. So Vania you deserve a massive thank you from all of us who love Aiden (and you), THANK YOU for working so hard to Help Bring Aiden Back to us! 💕🙏

Note: Pic taken today 👍

Share this update

0 comments | Login to leave a comment

6 Weeks In

22 March 2020

Hey guys, 6 weeks now since Aiden’s accident and he continues to do so well! Below is an article written today by the NZ Herald.

Aiden was started on a solid food diet this week and as he tolerated this well he has had his feeding tube removed. Being able to consume more calories will help in his daily process of gaining weight and rebuilding muscle to help with his physio needs. His physio has been going well and, this week, Aiden got himself to the side of the bed, sat up and put his feet on the floor! Then he actually stood up for 2 minutes! With all the movement this does cause him pain and discomfort so it’s a matter of managing, getting his strength up and not adding too much to the pain that comes with that. In true Aiden fashion his brain monitoring is going well and he continues to astound the doctors and nurses with how well his brain is recovering. He is having some issues with his eyes, one in particular and this is due to where one of the major hits was to his head, this will be monitored closely. Unfortunately Aiden is still waiting on a bed at the rehab facility so he will continue to stay on the ward at Wellington hospital at this stage. He has had his visitors limited now to mostly just Vania (his mum) due to Covid-19 but through Vania is able to keep in touch with his family and friends.

Overall Aiden is still recovering so well and although he has some bad days his spirits are high and he’s continually pushing past any barriers that his brain or body put in front of him, but really that’s no surprise to any of us now is it. Keep it up Aiden, you are an inspiration to us all 😃😜💕👍

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12318837

Share this update

0 comments | Login to leave a comment

5 weeks since Aiden’s Accident

16 March 2020

Hi everyone, bit late on Aiden’s update but here is where he’s currently at.

Aiden was transferred up to the Neuro ward on Tuesday evening last week and had a relatively quiet week. At the moment the focus is on getting his strength up and continually assessing his brain. Aiden lost nearly 20kg while in his coma so he is very weak and needs to put weight back on and have his muscles worked each day by the physio team. At the moment he has no strength to hold his head up for longer than a few seconds, hold a cup, roll him self over etc so this part of his journey will take time and a lot of effort on his part, it is also very painful for Aiden so some days have been pretty tough this week. Today they started Aiden eating a ‘real food’ diet as he has been on soft food and liquid this last week and he still has a feeding tube as well.

On Friday last week Aiden was taken by ambulance to Lower Hutt hospital to meet with the plastic surgeon. During Aiden’s accident most of his right ear was sliced off and they discussed how and when they will be able to recreate a new ear for him. It will be awhile before this can be done but we are pleased they are on to this so soon.

Aiden’s voice has still not come back but they are monitoring this and said it will take time but we can still hear him and his long term memory is doing really well. Aiden had a great weekend hanging out with his family and friends but it looks like he will be staying on the Nuro ward at Wellington hospital for a while yet. Overall Aiden’s spirits are good, he is so determined to get better as fast as he can and he is working hard each day to achieve his goals. We’re very proud of his progress and he continues to astound us and his medical team with how well he is progressing 👌💕

Share this update

0 comments | Login to leave a comment

Aiden’s Talking!!

10 March 2020

Hey guys, another little article about Aiden’s status in the Times Age yesterday. He also had his life support system removed yesterday and did so well that this morning they removed his tracheotomy, this means he is off all life support measures and is stable and doing well. With the life support system removed he is now able to talk, at the moment it is very light whispers with no real sound but he is able to communicate in full sentences. Aiden is still being feed through a nasal gastric tube, which has a continuous flow of liquid food into his stomach but he is now started eating some soft fruit, yoghurt and fruit juices. Later this afternoon he will go up to the Neurology ward at Wellington hospital if he remains settled throughout the day. Again he has shown how determined he is to get his life back.

Last night Aiden had 3 of his best mates come and hang out with him for a few hours and he absolutely loved it, this helps to remind him how to be himself and what he is fighting for. Thank you again for all the support everyone, it helps all of us get through each day 🙏💕💕

Share this update

0 comments | Login to leave a comment

3 Weeks Now

4 March 2020

Hi everyone, it’s been 3 weeks now since Aiden’s accident and he is doing so well. The last 5 days his ICU team have been focusing on getting Aiden’s strength up, this means regular physio visits throughout the day where they adjust or turn off his life support system for a certain amount of time so that Aiden has to breath for himself. This helps to rework his lungs and chest muscles with the aim to get him breathing on his own. He’s done so well with this that they may look at keeping him off the life support for most of tomorrow to see how he goes! They have also been getting Aiden out of bed and getting him into a big chair that can be moved around, so Aiden has had a few visits outside this week so he can get some fresh air and sit out in the sun.

Because Aiden was in a coma for so long his muscles wasted away and these will need to be reworked as well, before he can begin moving his body himself, but Aiden being Aiden, he has been continually lifting his left arm and left leg on his own as much as he can and is also wiggling fingers on his right hand and actually raised his right leg today too. He is a lot more aware of his surroundings now and does respond with raised eyebrows and head nod or shake to some questions to tell us what he wants or needs. While on the life support he can not talk but his friends made him a playlist of his favourite songs, which when he listens to, he has been tapping his fingers and mouthing the words to some of the songs, which is amazing.

Aiden is an incredibly strong guy, the amount of trauma and damage he is dealing with is huge and he is pushing through, everyday getting stronger and doing more. His doctors and nurses are amazed at his progress and we love watching him do a little more each day. Even when it gets tough for him he’s still pushing through and it makes us so proud. Please keep up with your messages of support and encouragement for Aiden he still has a long road ahead but we can all help him get there 👍💕🙏

Share this update

0 comments | Login to leave a comment

Aiden’s Awake!

28 February 2020

Hey guys, we have some awesome news! Aiden is awake!

On Tuesday night they turned off the coma drugs to see how Aiden would respond and gave him a tracheotomy. This takes the breathing tube out of his mouth and enters through the throat, this is more comfortable for him when he wakes up. He remained in a stable condition so they continued to monitor him off the coma drugs. Wednesday was a quiet day with not much in the way of changes or responses, except a little eye opening and movement as before. But by Thursday morning Aiden was blinking, more eye movement and he responded to some of the nurses commands of blinking a few times. So far today we have even more improvement with some hand squeezing on command, toe wiggling and a lot more facial expressions! These small steps are amazing progress and although this is early days and Aiden will continually be assessed with a long recovery ahead, we are beyond ecstatic that he is improving a little day by day. Please be aware this will be a very slow process for Aiden as he will have to relearn everything again so we are limiting visitors at this time but we will keep you up-to-date as to his progress. Thank you all so much for your support, prayers and positive thoughts, please keep them up 👍💕

Note: Pic attached is the last pic Aiden took of Sunday nights moon 💕

Share this update

0 comments | Login to leave a comment

Small Positive Steps

21 February 2020

Hi everyone, Aiden has had a few small positive steps forward so we wanted to update you all. The last couple of days Aiden has remained in stable condition, in his coma, and his pneumonia has been responding to the antibiotics but he is still battling with this. The focus has been keeping him stable and getting the fluid up from his lungs.

Late last night they decided to turn Aiden’s paralytic drugs off, as they are no longer really working for him. This means he is still currently in his coma but he will now be able to feel more and his brain will have more stimulation. They will monitor closely to gage his reactions and make sure he is handling this ok. During the night he remained stable and seems comfortable at his current coma level. If he continues to be stable being off the paralytic drugs they may look at reducing his coma level slowly over the next few days but as his condition can change so quickly it will be assessed regularly.

We will keep you all updated when we have more information, please feel free to leave a positive comment below for Aiden as we read these out to him and we are sure he can hear us. Thank you all again so much for your love and support 🙏💕💕💕

Share this update

2 comments | Login to leave a comment

22/02/2020 by Regan

So good to hear some progress. Even if its small, its sitll great 😁 keep trucking Aiden
28/02/2020 by Koren Sutherland

Thank you Regan, I’ve just updated again above. Aiden is now awake! Very early days but and will be slow progress but he is now conscious, we are beyond happy!

Aiden’s Current Condition

19 February 2020

Hi everyone, we have a brief update today on Aiden’s condition. He is still in an induced coma and his ICU team are still trying hard to manage his brain pressure and keep him stable. He has pneumonia from the life support system and this is causing some issues but they do believe the antibiotics are working to fight the infection. As the pneumonia has caused fluid to build up in his lungs they will focus on keeping him as stable as possible so that the body can absorb the fluid, without adding any more stress to the brain. There still has not been a lot of change overall since the accident and the focus is on managing his condition step by step.

We will update again when we can but please continue with the prayers and positive healing vibes. We are all so proud of Aiden’s fighting spirit and your continued donations, words of encouragement and support definitely adds to this so a big THANK YOU from all of us 🙏💕💕💕

We have also set up a Facebook support page called - Help Bring Aiden Back Support Page where you can follow Aiden’s progress and leave him positive messages. I will include a link below. Again thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts 💕

https://www.facebook.com/helpbringaidenbacksupport/

Share this update

0 comments | Login to leave a comment

Aiden Still Critical

16 February 2020

Aiden’s family would like to thank you all so much for your support and kind comments. We have been overwhelmed by your generosity. Aiden is still in critical condition in Wellington ICU and although it has been a devastating week your support has been giving us the strength to push through. We will update again when we can but in the mean time listed below is an article written today by the NZ Herald about Aiden and the generosity of you all. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12308986

Share this update

0 comments | Login to leave a comment