I love this picture of Tyson's casket. The flowers were so beautiful. The flowers were bright colors because that was Tyson's favorite. Most of all I like that my lip stick is on his casket. I think it's cool that my lips will rest with him. Thank you for this picture Casey. It means so much to me.
Halle wrote Tyson a letter, so Jared helped her put it on Tyson's casket. Thank you for taking the time Halle. I know Tyson loved it.
Last year for Christmas Janelle's parents gave us these sketches of Tyson. They were done by Jean Keaton. She's from Salt Lake. Usually she only does these for people who are already deceased, but she made a special exception for us. We're so grateful she did. They bring us a lot of comfort.
Tyson's funeral was really nice. It was great to be surrounded by friends and family. It will be an interesting transition but I know we'll all be just fine. Don't know what we'd do without the hope the Gospel brings. We're looking forward to things going somewhat back to normal. It'll definitely be a big adjustment. Thanks to everyone.
Thank you all again for your comforting and encouraging words. It will be wonderful to go back and re-read them when we have rough days.
Tyson's funeral will be Saturday the 7th at 11:00
Viewing from 9:30 to 10:45
LDS West Stake Center Building
725 South 1100 West
Cedar City, UT 84720
Tyson was released from the hospital from his bout of pneumonia last Friday the 23. He really was recovering quickly after they removed the tube and was smiley and happy (as you can see from the pictures from his birthday) .
We had him on oxygen for about the first 4 or 5 nights and he was doing really well. He had a great week this past week. He was smiling a lot and awake a lot and it was nice to have Grandma Karen in town because she got some really nice pictures of him and the other kids playing with him. It was wonderful to have Grandma Romney there while he was in the hospital also - she was a tremendous help. Tyson loves both of his Grandmas soooo much.
Yesterday Tyson took a turn for the worse. Tyson started having seizures in the morning and his oxygen level was going down. When Josie (his nurse) got there in the morning he looked blue and was having a big seizure. An ambulance was called and they got him to the hospital. Once he was there his oxygen level was dropping again and his heart rate dropped to the 40's so they intubated him again (put the tube back in). I was so happy that I got there in time to be with him.
Tyson seemed to be doing really well, they took him up to the PICU and his ventilator settings looked really good and all of his tests were coming back good. When he was first sedated he started to wake up a little bit and he was responding to us touching his cheek and talking to him. He moved his eyes and blinked and moved his shoulders a little.
We were hoping that he'd be able to get the tube out the next day and maybe be discharged by Sunday - it seemed like he was doing really well. Later that afternoon his nurse noticed that his pupils weren't responding to light the way they should. They started doing more tests including an EEG and a CT scan of his head. Last night around 8 pm the results came back about his CT scan. It revealed that his brain was swelling and the swelling was causing damage to the point where he no longer had brain function. They still had to run a few tests and do some specific exams to confirm the diagnosis, but we knew it wasn't looking good. The only things keeping him alive were the machines helping him breathe, once that support was taken away he'd be gone.
This morning they ran the tests again to verify he was gone and they declared him dead at 11:15. We're sure gonna miss our sweet boy. We feel blessed that he went the way he did, so that he can be an organ donor and help some other sweet kids out there.
We're so grateful that we had him for 5 yrs, we'll cherish all of our memories with him and look forward to the day when we'll get to be with him again. We know he's in a better place and he's finally free from the confines of his mortal body. I imagine him running and playing with his Great Grandpas and his aunts and uncles and Arlene Arnold too.
We're so grateful for all of the love and support we've received from friends and family over the last five years. We are so thankful for the people we were able to meet and the great help that we had taking care of our boy.
We know a lot of you may not have had the chance to meet Tyson, but if you have and if you like, we'd love to hear about some of your experiences with him. If you'd prefer not to share them on the blog you could always email them to jwmack@gmail.com. Thank you for your prayers and support. We feel of your love.
We won't know anything for sure till Monday or Tuesday, but we're planning on having his funeral in Cedar City, UT next Saturday. If any of you would like to come, you're more than welcome to be there. We love you all.
Tyson was extubated in the morning of his birthday. He did very well. He was able to breathe on his own. I can not think of a better birthday present than this. What a blessing. Tyson still has pneumonia, but is still improving. He could be in the hospital for a few more days to a week. We are very grateful for him and his beautiful spirit he brings into our home.
