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Support for our shining star Olivia

  • Liv’s update

      22 February 2024

    Hi all, Liv has been making some great milestones since Amy’s last post.

    Liv is now trying a lot of puréed foods and getting to the stage where she is eating enough to be able to put on weight from it so the nutritionist will be able to work out how much to reduce via the feeding tube, I’m sure it won’t be long until she can eat solely by mouth, she’s loving being able to have potato and gravy and ice cream again and a beer 🍻

    Liv’s upper body strength is getting stronger she can now help the nurses turn her by pushing up on the sides of the bed, her hand control using the tablet and typing is getting faster and she even sent us a text message to say she loves everyone, it was so amazing to read. Liv’s long term memory is great but also means she has a lot of PTSD from the accident, her short term memory comes and goes especially when she’s tired, but she loves to see friends and familiar faces so feel free to call in, she would love to see you. Liv made a special visit out for lunch last weekend for Suzie’s surprise birthday lunch she did amazing and is looking forward to more lunches out and about. It did take her a good three days to recover as she gets so tired but she’s working really hard with the support of her physio, speech therapist, nutritionist, and the amazing nurses at St John of God.

    At the moment all Liv’s needs are being met and all the wonderful donations you have contributed are set aside for Liv when she needs things to help her down the track 💗

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  • Olivia's update by her Sister-in-law, Amy

      6 December 2023
    Posted by: Suzanne Oughton

    It's time for another update on Olivia. These past weeks at St. John of God have been a blend of challenges & achievements in her rehab. Liv has regained some movement in her arms & hands, allowing for much needed hugs & fist bumps. Her use of 'yes' & 'no' cards for communication has been a significant step forward, enabling her to join in conversations with her family, & friends. We now know she is able to understand a lot of what we say & starting to show understanding of some written language which is amazing. We also know how frustrated & angry she is with not being able to talk BUT she is determined to get back to having her say & yelling at us…bring it on Liv!

    Her room, now with Christmas decorations, adds a cheerful ambiance, despite the amusing Santa decoration on the window (his hands look like nipples!). Oscar and Leon, said Liv’s room could use more colour, so watch out Liv cause your room will turn into a gallery.

    Talklink came this week to assess for an AAC (Augmentative, Alternative Communication) device for Liv. This will give her new ways to communicate using technology, express herself & aid her rehab.

    Every week, we witness Liv’s determination. Her journey, with its ups and downs, truly exemplifies resilience & strength. We cannot thank you enough for the continuous support & love shown to Liv & our family. Your encouragement & thoughtfulness mean the world to us as we stand by Liv, cheering for every bit of progress she makes.

    X Amy

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  • Olivia’s coming home!!!

      9 November 2023
    Posted by: Suzanne Oughton

    Olivia’s time at Puawai Rehabilitation Unit in Dunedin is coming to an end.

    She has spent the past several weeks working hard with the incredible team down there, and has made some amazing progress.

    Liv is more alert and spending most of her day awake and working hard on her rehab.

    She’s been focusing recently on ways for her to communicate. She began with using Yes/No cards by focusing her gaze on the correct answer. Using base questions to assess the accuracy of her answers this gave the team confirmation that Olivia is fully understanding and comprehending what is being said to her. Over the past couple of days this has evolved into Olivia pointing with her fingers and gaining more control of her arm and hand movements. She is recognising pictures of objects and even words.

    The biggest highlight for me was to have a fully embraced hug from my beautiful daughter. As you could imagine this was a very emotional moment for both Olivia and myself.

    The team at Puawai have been absolutely fantastic and have supported Olivia both physically and mentally during her stay in Dunedin.

    Monday the 13th of November is Olivia’s discharge date. She will be flying back to Christchurch and heading to St John of God in Halswell to continue with her rehabilitation.

    Once she is settled in, there will be more opportunities for Olivia to have visitors.

    We are all so excited to have our girl coming back home and look forward to her next milestone, whatever it may be.

    Suzie

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  • Dunedin Update

      15 October 2023

    Hi all

    Just a wee update on Liv over the last couple of weeks.

    Livs settled into the rehab facility well, the first week was pretty tough going with not much happening, Suzie was busy meeting the staff and working out a plan for Liv moving forward. Suzie, Sonja and Amy were able to attend the meeting with the medical lead, occupational therapist, physio, social worker and neuro physiologist and all sounded good and they have a good plan in place. They have to have an element of flexibility due to her brain injury and evolving progress and will change the plan as needed based on how Olivia is progressing which is great. Its hard to give a timeframe for how long she could be there, how long things may progress/develop etc as all can change day to day.

    Visitors are allowed in anytime and she would love to see some familiar faces. It also helps Suzie while she returns to work knowing that someone is visiting when she can’t.

    Thank you to Sharyn for spending the week with Suzie it was great to know she wasn’t alone and had family support while she was down there.

    We are all looking forward to the long weekend to spend some much needed time with our amazing Liv and can’t wait to see her and give her lots of cuddles.

    Keep jumping those hurdles Liv you are doing so well and we love and miss you so much ❤️❤️❤️

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  • Liv’s next chapter

      1 October 2023

    Evening all,

    Liv’s had a great week with no fevers, the nurses and physio have had her sitting on the side of the bed and shes getting stronger each time holding her head up more and keeping her back straight, it takes a lot out of her but she’s doing so well. A bed has finally opened up in Dunedin so tomorrow Liv and Suzie will fly down and get her all settled in. We will miss you so much, with our Chch hospital visits coming to an end and Liv’s next chapter of recovery beginning, let the road trips to Dunedin begin!!

    This is a great opportunity for Liv to be surrounded by specialised physios and speech therapists to help her keep progressing. Liv’s weeks are going to be really full on so the weekend will be her time to rest and have visitors.

    We wish you all the best Liv, keep fighting beautiful, we will see you soon ❤️❤️❤️

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  • Update for Liv

      25 September 2023

    Good evening all,

    It’s been a few weeks since the last update for Liv and a lot has been happening behind the scenes.

    Liv had the trackie removed last Monday and has been doing so well with her breathing through her nose and mouth. Liv is still having regular fevers each week so has had blood tests daily and CT scan and MRI scans but all coming back clear, Liv has had a lumber puncture today to see if there are any infections that can’t be seen on the MRI, the results should be back in tomorrow.

    Liv has made a few sounds since having the trackie out which is so amazing to hear, hopefully it won’t be too long before we hear some words 🤞

    Thank you for your continued support over this difficult time, the family have their good days and their not so good days but are staying positive and any prays and messages are greatfully received.

    The Aunties are busy organising the High Tea fundraiser for this Friday at East Maddison Eatery and have 20 slots left if you are keen to come along and support Olivia, Suz, Dave, Andrew, James and Emily please contact rachbaileynz@gmail.com to book.

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  • A milestone for Olivia

      13 September 2023
    Posted by: Suzanne Oughton

    Today was a big day for Olivia and a day of anticipation for the family as it marked the first step towards getting the tracheotomy out and a step closer to rehabilitation.

    Today Olivia was seen by the speech therapy team who completed an assessment to look at how she is swallowing , managing her saliva & protecting her own airway before they can take the trache out. This involved putting a spaghetti noodle sized camera down her nose and Olivia managed this amazingly!

    The outcome was very positive. Olivia had beautiful white healthy vocal cords, minimal saliva hanging around her airway & everything looked healthy and well hydrated! They trialed deflating the balloon that was sitting under her vocal cords (which stops anything from going down to her lungs) to see how she could manage her airway & she really showed off to us all …beautiful swallows when she needed to clear saliva & coughs to clear her airway. All positive signs…A massive milestone achieved today & one step closer to getting the trache out & one step closer to getting to rehabilitation.

    Seeing the attention and care from all the staff at the hospital is amazing & reassuring to the family to know Olivia is in amazing hands & is getting the best treatment.

    You have got this girl! It may be small progress but it is still progress & you are still moving forward! Olivia you have a ridiculous amount of people cheering you on so you go girl!

    - Amy Oughton (sister in law)

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    • 15/09/2023 by Sarah

      This is such an amazing news. Such a big milestone for someone who went through what she went through. You got this girly. Keep going. You are the definition of strength. Sending you plenty of hugs.

  • Update for Liv

      7 September 2023

    Good evening all

    It’s been an emotional and challenging week for Liv and the family this week. Tuesday night mum had a call from the hospital to say Liv’s temperate and heart rate had spiked again, which they managed to bring back down slightly by the morning however Liv appeared to be more alert on Wednesday and more aware of her surroundings which really unsettled her and sent her heart rate spiking to around 197. The doctors and nurses managed to settle her down with some anti anxiety medication. Liv had an MRI scan that evening and some more tests undertaken to make sure there was nothing else playing a part in Liv’s discomfort. Mum confirmed Liv was more calm today and had a much better day and had her eyes open most of the morning. Thank you so much to Andrew for being such a rock for mum n dad yesterday, it was a really tough day for all of you ❤️

    Liv you are so brave and strong, we are so proud of you sweet pea and you have the most amazing family supporting you all the way ❤️❤️❤️

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    • 08/09/2023 by Jackie

      Thank you so much for the updates - we are thinking of Liv all the time and wishing her all the best. Its great hearing of her milestones and knowing that she is still fighting herself to get better. Take care 🥰

  • Latest update on Olivia

      2 September 2023
    Posted by: Suzanne Oughton

    Since the last update (sorry it’s been a while), Olivia has had another small hurdle to overcome. She had several days of being settled and still making little improvements. Unfortunately Olivia’s temperature spiked so she had a chest X-ray which showed at the top of her abdomen was a pocket of air. The only way to investigate this was to have a look inside her abdomen. The conclusion was that it must have been from the insertion of the PEG feeding tube. Thankfully it showed that Olivia’s abdomen was healthy otherwise. Since the surgery Olivia is still managing well with the temperature and yesterday was really settled and comfortable. We are still seeing really positive signs from Olivia as she follows with her eyes as we talk to her. Yesterday I spent time with Olivia and the physio and I spoke to her and calmed her as the physio worked on Olivia’s muscles and joints. It was very clear that she was responding to me and staying relaxed and calm while the physio helped loosen her muscles.

    Every day Olivia is surrounded by family who give her strength, courage and love, and also pass on the support and messages we are receiving. Your support is so important to us all not only for Olivia, but for the family to keep us positive and strong. Please know that this is greatly appreciated and that Olivia is fighting every step of the way with all her courage and strength.

    Xoxo

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  • The latest update on Liv

      24 August 2023
    Posted by: Suzanne Oughton

    Liv has had a couple of restful days this week with lots of sleeping and yawning. She was meant to get a peg put in today but unfortunately they couldn’t find a good insertion site so they will try again next week sometime. Olivia has continued to move her body and flicker her eyes on occasion and has opened them a few times in the last few days. Olivia is in her own room now as of Monday, so we can sit as a family and play her favourite music and bring in some more of her personal belongings.

    Again thank you all for your support and know that we are passing this onto Olivia.

    ❤️❤️

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    • 25/08/2023 by Sarah

      Such amazing news. Keep fighting Olivia you got this girl. Your bloody proof no matter what life throws at you that you can get back even if it takes awhile and come back stronger. Love you gorgeous ❤️❤️

    • 29/08/2023 by Danielle

      Wow you are fighting so hard please don't stop fighting Liv you have got this. Any new updates on liv? My fiance sean Rayner would love to know when he can come and visit Liv and you guys. Much love to you all.

  • New update for Liv

      20 August 2023

    Evening all,

    Liv had a lot of visitors Saturday Dad first then Matt and Gary, Rach and Nana, myself, Ella, Breana and then Mum, Sonn, Emz, James n Rose, big brother Andrew and Amy and she managed to open her eyes a little for each of us and we could see her eyes have started moving a bit more and often pointing towards the person speaking, Liv’s been doing a few big yawns which the wonderful Amy has said is controlled by the brain stem all of these little steps mean so much and show she is fighting hard. Mum has said after a big day yesterday Liv has been asleep most of the day today, hopefully resting to prepare for more little wins this week.

    The community supported Olivia’s fundraising Golf Tournament on Friday and the family are overwhelmed with all the love and support from everyone it was a very emotional day for all.

    Thank you for your continued support of Olivia and the Oughton family no words can explain the gratitude we all feel towards you all💕

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    • 22/08/2023 by Danielle

      Wow Liv has had quite a few wins so awesome to see. Keep up them hard mahi Liv your doing amazing. Thank you to the family for updating us on liv

  • Update today

      17 August 2023

    I had a wee visit to see Liv today along with her wonderful Aunties and Nana. Liv’s been having some full on days the nurses have been busy getting her in and out of the bed and showering her, putting her in the chair. Liv was sleeping peacefully during our visit but we spoke to the nutritionist today who explained how much food they are feeding her precious brain to make it strong.

    We are so so proud of you Liv keep fighting like we know you can ❤️

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  • Progress for Liv

      15 August 2023
    Posted by: Suzanne Oughton

    Olivia has had a couple of very big days!!

    On Monday Olivia was moved from ICU up to the Neuro Ward. This is where she will begin her rehabilitation journey. She has a massive team of nurses and doctors dedicated to brain injury recovery and is in the best of hands.

    For the family this means a big change also, with more restrictions on visiting hours as her daily routine will be quite busy and exhausting.

    This morning when Dave and I went to visit Olivia they had her sitting up positioned in a chair, and as we approached, we realised her little eyes were open for the first time.

    As you can imagine this was quite an emotional moment for us. By the time our visit was over she was asleep again, after a very busy morning.

    Everyday we are seeing Olivia make more improvements, maybe very small but nonetheless progress!!!!

    We understand people are eager to visit, but unfortunately the ward are extremely strict with the number of visitors Olivia has, so until further notice we cannot add to her visitor list.

    We know you will be understanding of this and it is appreciated.

    As always, thanks so much for the support , love and prayers. It’s truly appreciated by us all.

    Suzie Dave Andrew James and Emily

    XOXO

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    • 15/08/2023 by Danielle

      Wow this is incredible news fam, well done Olivia your family sure do have a strong daughter/sister hopefully she will be talking to you all soon. She sure is a fighter thank you for updating us all, I don't know you guys personally but my husband and MIL do very well. Stay strong family and way to go liv your getting better each day.

    • 16/08/2023 by Jackie

      This is such great news - go Olivia :).

    • 17/08/2023 by Sarah

      This is amazing news. Wish her a very speedy recovery. Hearing she opened her eyes is just amazing. She is amazing human being and so glad she is doing better. She was one of my best friends at lhs. So proud of you Olivia keep going girly you got this. Thank you Susie, Dave, Andrew, James and Emily for the constant updates.

  • Liv’s update

      13 August 2023

    Hi all,

    Liv is doing well today still sleeping peacefully but a couple of wee wins, since she’s had the tracky inserted she is doing really well breathing on her own, her breathing is getting stronger and stronger each day.

    The nurses have put some music on and she seems to be enjoying it moving her toes and feet and flickering her eyes.

    If Liv’s breathing keeps going well over a 48 hour period they will look to move her into a ward this week where they will put her into a chair and move her a bit more to keep the joints moving.

    Thanks again for everyone’s amazing support for Olivia ❤️

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    • 14/08/2023 by Danielle

      Wow this is absolutely impressive. Way to go liv Stay strong Liv you can get through this, stay strong to fams you guys are all doing amazing. Thank you so much for the update.

  • Olivia’s update.

      9 August 2023
    Posted by: Suzanne Oughton

    Olivia has had another restful day.

    There isn’t really too much to share at this stage but I will try to give you as much info as I can.

    Olivia is doing really well with her breathing, so hopefully in the next day or two she will be breathing solely through the tracheotomy. As this will be hard work for Liv, they will give her a rest at night and have support from the ventilator.

    Her blood pressure is good at the moment and she is not needing medication to control this.

    Olivia still has a high temperature and heart rate gets a little high when she’s coughing or being moved for her 3 hourly turns.

    She had a lovely hair wash this afternoon and the nurses are taking such amazing care of her. Those nurses are absolute angels, we just can’t speak highly enough of them.

    Once again we would like to thank everyone for their support and love.

    They say it takes a community to raise a child. All I can say to that is we are so incredibly grateful for the community support for Olivia.

    She truly is a special person with such a strong love for life.

    Xoxo

    Dave Suzie Andrew James and Emily

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    • 09/08/2023 by Danielle

      Thank you for updating so glad she's doing well with her breathing. Keep up the awesome job Olivia you can do this you can win this battle. Thank you for updating everyone. Kia Kaha family.

  • Quick update

      7 August 2023
    Posted by: Suzanne Oughton

    A quick update on Olivia for you.

    Olivia has been taken off her sedation medication, and is clinically still classed as not responsive. But in saying that she is initiating her own breathing. She currently has a very high temperature and yesterday was struggling to control her blood pressure and heart rate. When I left last night they had started her on antibiotics and given her medication to help with settling things down.

    On a more positive note Olivia is moving her arms occasionally and gripping her hands. There is also a lot of eye flickering and the occasional head movement. So for now we are taking those small things as positives.

    Again we all thank you for the support, love, prayers and good vibes for Olivia. As I have said before she really is a little fighter so we are keeping hopeful as much as possible.

    Dave Suzie Andrew James and Emily

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    • 09/08/2023 by Danielle

      Hi everyone just wondering is there any new updates on Olivia? Hope everyone is doing ok

      Stay strong

  • Update on Olivia’s progress

      5 August 2023
    Posted by: Suzanne Oughton

    Olivia had settled day yesterday and was stable and doing well. She is now off all of her sedation medication and is still making the most of her sleep.

    At this stage she’s not responding but it’s only early days and she has had a huge amount of medication in her system. The doctors have said her progress is as expected with her brain injury and that this is going to be a long term plan for recovery. Olivia’s neck and spine injuries are looking good, with no damage to the spinal cord.

    At the moment visitors are still restricted to family. We understand people really want to visit, but at this point it’s best for Olivia to maintain this restriction for her rest and recovery.

    The support, love and prayers for Olivia and the family are so greatly appreciated. Knowing that we have this allows us to fully focus on Olivia and be with her as she recovers.

    Keep those prayers and good vibes coming for Liv, and know that she is fighting with all her strength to come back to us,

    Dave Suzie Andrew James and Emily

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    • 05/08/2023 by Danielle

      Thank you for the updates on Olivia, I check daily to see how she's going. Sending love to Olivia and the family.

    • 06/08/2023 by Jackie

      So good to hear Liv is fighting hard - thinking of you all. Thanks for the updates 💕💖

  • Livs update

      3 August 2023

    Good evening all, today was a very trying day for the family and they are doing so amazing.

    The doctors tried to reduce the sedation this morning but her brain pressure rose too much and she had a temperature last night so they had to stop, they will try reducing sedation again tomorrow.

    They managed to get her the MRI scan this afternoon but won’t get the results until tomorrow and have undertaken some tests to see what’s causing the high temperature.

    Liv has lots of her favourite photos surrounding her with some of her most treasured memories of her family and friends ❤️

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  • Olivia's update for today

      1 August 2023

    Evening all, Liv had a decent night last night with a bit more medication to keep the brain pressure down, they took her through for a CT scan but the flat surface caused the pressure to go up and down too much so unfortunately they had to abort the mission. They are aiming to do an MRI on Friday and if that goes well they will try and take her off the sedation briefly to see if there is some flinching around the eyes from the pain, we are all hoping for some signs of movement. The wonderful nurses have plaited her hair and are taking good care of her for us.

    Dave, Suz, Andrew, James and Emily thank you all so much for supporting Olivia and the family through this tough time and are overwhelmed with all the kind messages and donations.❤

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