Taylor had a very busy day today. She did the stimulation with her legs and arms. She went down to the playroom for a little while. She even had her trach changed today to a smaller one. The new trach is easier to clean, smaller and does not rub her chin like the old one. Since she is now on full time pacing they will soon cap the trach and only use it for emergency purposes. Today Taylor also got a visit from the wheelchair place. She got to customize her new stroller wheelchair. It will be Princess Red with a Black back and her name written in Pink. She is very excited. Taylor also got a special visit from Debra one of her favorite nurses from UC Davis. Debra stopped by and visited with Taylor for a while and caught up. Debra was very impressed with the progress that Taylor has made since leaving the medical center. She got an earful now that Taylor is speaking so much better than when she was at UC Davis.

Taylor did not sleep well last night however she was in a great mood. She was given some Visa gift cards to shop with on the Internet. Taylor took a nap later to recharge. She was visited by child life and drew some pictures and was even able to draw the letter T very well. She continued her stimulation exercises and did very well. She got some new braces for her feet. Her exercise bike will be here in a couple weeks for her to start her activity based rehab. She started the day on the phrenic pacer and will now be on it permanently.

Taylor was overwhelmed today by the pictures and videos from her benefit roping yesterday. She was amazed to see all of the trailers and people at the arena. She really enjoyed reading the get well wishes that people wrote on the posters. She also enjoyed each gift that she received. Everything about the day brought a smile to her face. Taylor and her family truly appreciate all of the support that was given at her roping. It is inspiring to see the roping community that Taylor loves open their hearts and show how everyone cares for one of their own.

Today Taylor was on the pacer for 14 hours. She slept most of the day. Even though she went to sleep early last night she did not stay asleep long. Today she was able to squeeze in some physical therapy between naps. She continued her stimulation on her arms and legs. Her left shoulder has been showing signs of improvement and has gotten as strong as her right shoulder recently. The stimulation has been working on her legs and the doctors are eager to start Taylor on the bike in the middle of February.

Taylor's benefit roping was a huge success today. The turn out was tremendous and everyone had a great time. Thank you all who attended and made the event so successful. A special thanks to all that helped organize the event.

Taylor had a good day. She was on the pacer for 12 hours today. She got to go to the playroom and was even able to decorate some cookies. She had some visitors stop by as well and she had a great time. As she is on the pacer more she can have younger visitors in the playroom area. Her spirits remain high. She did her exercises and got to bed early tonight.

Taylor was very tired today. She had little sleep last night. She must have been so excited she got her nails done again to sleep. Now her nails are red instead of blue. Taylor paced on the pacer from 8 am until 6 pm tonight. She did very well. She slept most of the day. She finished the night with some pasta and reading everyones emails. She was still tired after sleeping all day, the nurses are hoping that she will sleep tonight. She better save her strength because she is going to be on the pacer for 12 hours tomorrow.

Taylor was very surprised to hear about the turnout at the spaghetti feed last night. Her family is very appreciative of every ones generosity. They want to thank everyone that helped make the night a success. It is a great testament to the community to see such a turnout for on of their children in need. The support from the dinner was more than anyone could have dreamed. The food that was supposed to last all night was looking sparse 30 minutes into the night.

Today Taylor spent a lot of time out of her room. She is going to the second floor a lot and playing with the other kids. She continues to do her exercises and stimulation. The doctors have increased the amount of time that she spends on the pacer and off of the ventilator. Tomorrow they are expecting Taylor to be on the pacer and off of the ventilator from 6 am until 8 pm. She is handling it very well. She has regained her appetite and tonight had a tuna fish sandwich and pizza.

Taylor had a great night last night. She woke up this morning in a great mood. She was eager to get out of her room today. She sat in her chair for over 3 and a half hours this morning. One of those hours was on the phrenic pacer. She did her usual exercises with the therapy doctors and then later got back into her chair and went downstairs to watch the ballet in the playroom. Taylor said that she hopes everyone has a good time at the benefit spaghetti feed in Colusa this evening.

Taylor woke up to a breakfast of toast with mixed fruit jelly this morning. After breakfast Taylor did her stimulation therapy. Taylor had two sessions of using the phrenic pacer today. Each session was an hour long and the doctors will add an additional hour to the day tomorrow. Tomorrow they hope to get her out of her room without the ventilator and only the phrenic pacer. She has had a strong appetite lately and has been in a great mood. Today she also made a fort that covered her with a blanket to hide from the nurses. Unfortunately they still found her.

Taylor woke up this morning to the task of getting into her chair and breathing on the phrenic pacer for 30 minutes. She did great on the pacer and even allowed for the tubes to be taken off and have a valve put on her trach to allow her to talk even easier. She did great. Later in the afternoon she got back into her chair and went down to the playroom on the 2nd floor to watch a puppet show.

Today Taylor was in a great mood considering she got little sleep. She got her toes repainted today because she did not like the color. She was playing with the Child Life specialists this morning. At about 10:30 the doctors came in and prepped her for sitting in her chair and running the Phrenic Pacer. She did great on the pacer and it was working fine at a setting of 2 instead of the usual 5 or 6 the doctors expected. Taylor was comfortable on the pacer and tomorrow they will leave her on it for an hour.

Taylor slept well last night for the first time in a long time. She got her hair washed today. She also got a pedicure and a manicure today. She got a little break from her exercises today. She got in her chair once at the end of the night. She did not go outside of her room to see her brother today. She wanted to stay in her room in the chair. Tomorrow the doctors are anxious to get her phrenic pacer going. The family doesn't know what time they will try her phrenic pacer. All is expected to go well. Check tomorrow for an update on how Taylor liked the phrenic pacer.

Taylor still is not sleeping well. The doctors are working to get her figured out. She did great with her exercises today. She got into her chair and was able to go to the floor where the playroom is. Tomorrow their goal is to get her to go outside. She has continued her therapy each day. She is a little cranky sometimes but is doing what the doctors tell her. Today she played go fish with one of the child life specialists and Taylor beat her and won a spinning top. Now that she can leave her room she will be able to see her brother Tanner. She has missed him and he has asked to see her on many occasions. Taylor has been eating and drinking well. She has also been talking well and is talking the ear off of any person that enters her room.

Taylor slept in today. It was probably a combination of not sleeping well last night and the fact that she knows the doctor's come do her exercises in the morning and she was trying to sleep through that. She did not get to skip the exercises. For the first time since she was at Shriner's she got out of her room. She was in her stroller and got to go outside of her room in the main nurses area. She took a little nap in the afternoon and then played with the child life specialist and had more rehab with electrical stimulation of her muscles. She has been doing very well and trying very hard with her exercises. She is still on schedule to start using the phrenic pacer on Monday. Taylor wants to thank everyone for all of the emails and comments on her site. She has enjoyed reading them.

Taylor had a good day today. She worked really hard with the physical therapy today. She got up at the side of her bed and sat there twice today. She even got into her chair for a little while today. She developed a leak in her IV and had to have it replaced in her hand. She finished the evening in a great mood and was talking past her trach with ease. She was in a teasing mood.

Taylor had an interesting day today. She is thoroughly enjoying being able to talk again. No more stares and puzzled looks from family trying to read her lips. We are able to know her desires loud and clear. She was able to visit on the phone today instead of just listening to callers talk to her she got to input her opinions as well. She worked with physical therapy today and they attached small stimulators to her arms and made them move. She seemed fairly impressed with the whole procedure and was anxious to share the news with any visitors. She said that the stimulation didn't hurt and it felt good to move her arms. She had a visit from a friend that plans on attending her benefit roping and she informed him that she would prefer that he rope with a pink rope so he was headed home to place an order for a pink rope. She, as has been her style, stays in great spirits and loves to tease and play pranks whenever possible. Her great attitude makes it so much easier for the family to deal with her hardship. She takes what she is being dealt in stride and makes the most of any little thing she gets to do. She is still looking forward to being able to get out of her room and venture to the play area and the other parts of the hospital and see what's out there. All in all, another pretty good day!

Taylor had a great morning. She got an early morning visit from a friend of the family from Elk Grove. Also today the doctors changed her trach to a different one that allows her to talk easier. She was able to talk before but only on a limited basis. Now she is talking easily and all of the time. The family told the doctors they might want to keep the other trach handy because Taylor can really talk a lot and they might want to reinstall the one that quiets her down. Taylor was very excited to have the ability to talk and she had her first real conversation over the phone since the accident today. She continued her muscle stimulation and exercises with the physical therapy doctors. Taylor called it an early night tonight because she slept very little last night.

Taylor has had a great day. She got a lot of exercises done early this morning. Taylor was very artistic and was drawing on her computer using the stylus in her mouth. Today the doctors used stimulators to flex Taylor's muscles in her shoulders. They said that she did very well. This evening child life stopped by to play with Taylor. She was having them help her with a scrap book that she started. The doctors removed the bandages covering the implanted devices from the surgery. They are little bulges uder her skin that are not very noticable. The doctors told the family that they will start using the installed pacer next Monday. All in all Taylor had a relaxed and enjoyable day.

Taylor had a great day today. She got a lot of visitors. She got into her chair a couple of times. Some of her day was filled with watching movies. She really enjoyed checking the emails that people have sent her as well as reading the comments on this page. She got to spend a lot of time with child life today. They came back a second time tonight to paint with her. Taylor also got her nails done today and her new paint on her nails look great.

Taylor got little sleep the last couple of nights. However she is still in a great mood. Taylor enjoys playing on the computer. She reads all of the emails and enjoys replying to them. She now has a LCD projector in her room so that she can have the computer screen fit on a big wall that makes it easier for her to see. Taylor also likes watching movies on the big wall. She definitely has the coolest room in the ICU. She has enjoyed getting chocolate milkshakes while she watches movies on the wall. This morning she found out that it is not all fun and games. She did her exercises and worked very hard at them. She did the stomach crunches and shoulder exercises on her own. After her workout she hit the showers, or at least got a bath. She is planning on getting into her chair at least twice today. The doctors came by and discussed altering her sleeping medication to help her sleep. They also said that they plan to have her start on the phrenic pacer on the 22nd. They mentioned that they will start at 30 minutes and bump it up about a half hour each day. The hope to have her breathing using the phrenic pacer 24/7 within 2 weeks of starting to use it.

The doctors tried to move Taylor to her chair today. She got in her chair without incident. She sat in her chair for about an hour. She got a visit from Child Life today and enjoyed doing some craft activities. Her temperature has been normal today. Taylor had a great day today after not sleeping much last night. She called it early tonight. Hopefully the nurses for tomorrow get their sleep tonight.

Taylor was in good spirits this morning. Her main doctor just returned from a research meeting at the Philadelphia Shriners Hospital where he spent some time discussing Taylor's case with other doctors in the field. He checked in with Taylor this morning and said that she looked well. Taylor is still running a little fever and is on medicine to reduce it. Taylor had a visit from the hospital teacher and is continuing her education. She tried to get into her chair but was placed back into bed when her heart rate dropped. Doctor's feel it may be to soon after the surgery and that her body was telling them to wait.

Taylor had a relaxing day today. She slept in and started off in a great mood. Taylor got a visit from "Pinball the Clown". She ran a little bit of a fever today and the doctors are giving her antibiotics in the off chance that it is an infection. Taylor has started to eat some food again today. She gave up her ravioli's for pizza tonight. Taylor enjoyed watching country music videos on the computer and some new DVDs that she got on the TV. Just before bed Taylor had a relaxing bath. She is getting closer to the day when they are going to start testing her phrenic pacer. She is looking forward to getting out of her room in the ICU and in a normal room in the hospital. Taylor is looking forward to seeing her friends again once she makes the move.

Taylor had a good night. She slept well after the surgery. She is still trying to adjust to the differences in the hospitals. At U.C. Davis she got used to the nurses not bothering her at night. At Shriners she gets woken up every four hours for a breathing treatment. She woke up in a grumpy mood and was not interested in anything that the doctors or nurses had in mind for her. Taylor even turned down a visit from "magic the clown". Later she cruised the internet and her mood changed after listening to some music and playing. She later asked for the clown and finally realized how much pull she has in the hospital when they announced over the loud speaker to have the clown report to Taylor's room. Taylor also got a visit from the hospital teacher who said that she would contact Taylor's teacher in Chico and keep her going with her school work.

Taylor woke up eager to get her surgery out of the way. Her doctor came buy to discuss the surgery with Taylor and her family. She wanted some juice this morning and is unable to have any until after the surgery. Taylor had her own photo shoot this morning. The family was asked if Taylor could be photoed for research purposes and also for the Shriner's magazine. The family was promised that her photos would not end up on any billboards or mass media communications, so they agreed to let Taylor be photographed. Taylor continues to collect little cardboard boxes from each time they suction her. She has collected 23 boxes so far. Sometimes Taylor asks for suction just to collect the little boxes. Taylor is getting used to the nursing staff here at Shriner's however she says that she really misses the great nurses that she had at U.C. Davis. Taylor came out of her surgery today in a great mood. The surgery lasted about 5 hours and the doctors said that everything went perfectly. The pacer implants are functioning as expected. Taylor is unable to eat for about 2 days. Taylor has said that the first thing she wants to eat is pasta with the white sauce. The doctors expect to start using the pacer in about 10 days to two weeks to give Taylor's body time to heal. Once they start weaning her they expect to have her off of the ventilator within 2 weeks.

Taylor was in great spirits today. She continues to be in the best of moods given the situation. All of her new nurses are already very impressed with Taylor. She has continued to get into her chair and sit even though she can't leave her room. Today Taylor got her nails done. She choose a light blue with sparkles for her fingers and toes. She has regained her appetite and had a great lunch of fruit and a cheese quesadilla today. Taylor continued her appetite into the night eating her chicken nuggets. After her dinner she did some shopping online at Target.com with a gift card from the Burnett family. Taylor is aware of her surgery tomorrow and is eager to get it over with.

Taylor had a good day today. She is adjusting to her new surroundings and her new nurses. She is handling the move and adjustments with the same remarkably wonderful attitude as she has dealt with everything else during this entire ordeal. Her new room is MUCH bigger than her old one. Taylor's room is currently in the Burn ICU unit at the hospital. This is due to the fact that they have more staff that is capable of handling the ventilator. Currently she can not have visits from children. The hospital does not want any outside kids in the burn unit. Taylor's family is hopeful that she will be out of the burn unit within a month so that Taylor's friends may visit her again. She is on the fourth floor at Shriners which gives her a bird's eye view of her ex-hospital. She has a huge picture window looking out toward UCD Med Center. She got in her chair a couple of times today but she is confined to her room because of the VRE bacteria that she has. They will test her again soon to see if she is still carrying the bacteria or not. If she tests clean then she will be able to get out and around more but for now she has to travel within her own room. She had a much better appetite this evening. She ate almost all of her green beans, some of the french bread and some of the honey dew melon that came with her dinner. Shriners doesn't have the internet so she isn't able to do any surfing or checking of her e mails for a couple of days but the first of the week we plan to have that problem remedied and she'll be back to browsing again. On Monday she is scheduled to have the phrenic pacer put in and the doctors expect her to be a little sore and quiet for a few days after the surgery. When she is healed up from the surgery they plan to start her with a little more physical therapy and hopefully she will be able to be off of the ventilator for longer periods of time each day. She has to be gradually weaned from the ventilator.

Taylor woke up excited for her big day. She wanted to move to the more kid friendly Shriner's Hospital. Taylor is currently in the Burn Unit ICU due to the fact that they need to care for her ventilator. She is expected to move out of the Burn ICU unit once she is weened off of the ventilator in about a month. Taylor was moved just after noon to her new room. She was excited about the view. Taylor can see the helicopters land on the roof of the U.C. Davis hospital next door. Also her room is about three times the size of her old one. She has been very pleased with the nursing staff at the new hospital. She settled in for the night with a tummy full of pizza and watching a movie. She is scheduled to have her Phrenic Pacer surgery on Monday.

Taylor finally has her future move figured out. She will be transferred to Shriner's across the street tomorrow and await her phrenic pacer surgery on Monday of next week. The Philadelphia Shriner's hospital is sending a bike to allow Taylor to do the "activity based rehab" that is similar to the Christopher Reeves Center. Taylor and her family are excited to get this type of treatment so close to family and friends here in Northern California. Taylor's nurses are sad to lose Taylor but they are excited for her future. She has made many friendships with the nurses that have cared for her and many of the nurses have promised to make the trip across the street to visit Taylor. Taylor is excited for the move. She is looking forward to the kid friendly environment. Taylor has been adjusting to her new wheels and is getting more excited about her trips in the stroller. Her appetite has gotten better and continues to improve. She had a dinner of salad and tri tip tonight for her last dinner in the Pediatric ICU in.

Taylor got a good night's sleep again last night. She had gone for trips in her new stroller twice yesterday and managed three trips in it today. One of her trips even included a swing outside. Today the family had a meeting with Taylor's doctors and discussed the pros and cons of the Christopher Reeves rehab facility vs going to Shriners as well as the pros and cons of the phrenic pacer. After weighing all the information the family has decided to stay here in Sacramento and have Taylor transferred to Shriners. She will have the phrenic pacer put in and if she improves enough that she is able to breathe on her own the pacer will simply not be powered. The doctors assured the family that they could pursue aggressive rehab here comparable to what the Christopher Reeves Foundation had to offer. They have also contacted the Philadelphia Shriners, which the doctor at Christopher Reeves is affiliated with, to obtain the bicycle that the Christopher Reeves Foundation uses in their rehab program to make the exercises Taylor will be doing as progressive as what they would have been back in Maryland. Taylor also had a great appetite today downing half of a cheeseburger. She continues to remain in remarkably good spirits, continuing to be the prankster that she has always been.

Taylor had a great night sleep last night. She woke up this morning to some exercises and a bath. The family talked to doctors at the Christopher Reeves center to arrange for her transfer to their facility. The transfer people from each facility are speaking and are waiting to hear back from the insurance company for approval. Taylor received her new loaner stroller while they build her a personalized one. She was less than impressed but she got to go places that she couldn't in her cardiac chair.

Taylor stayed up late last night to see the fireworks to start the new year. The family continued to talk to the doctors at the Christopher Reeve's Center. They are wanting to hold off on installing the Phrenic Pacer. They are optimistic that they can get her breathing on her own again. They also would like to run some MRI's and the installation of the pacer makes that impossible. Taylor my be proving them right. Last night she was working and made some breaths on her own. She worked hard at it but the ventilator machine indicated that she did indeed take a few breaths on her own when she tried. She also showed some promise in her leg movement. When the nurses came to cath her Taylor said no and closed her legs twice. It is still unclear as to whether this was intentional by Taylor, the nurse thought so, or if it was reflex. In any event the fact that both legs moved at the same time without stimulation is a great sign of possibility in the future. Today she got in her chair in the morning after breakfast and did some exercises with the occupational therapy nurse.