Since Miss Dillon was missing grading her students' assignments, she created a list for herself!

- List by Kelly, designed by Maggie

 
On Sunday, five days ago, I was visiting Kelly in the hospital with Erica, Jordan, April, Austen and Brett. We were totally breaking the 2-person limit in Kelly's ICU room (which has a window that lets in natural light, by the way!), when Brett asked her this question. I live under a rock these days when it comes to professional sports--baseball in particular. The only cards I know of come in sets of 52. I was confused, but Kelly sure wasn't. Despite being quite loopy from pain killers, she quickly responded, "Kicking butt and taking names." 
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This photo is from Sunday, Oct 13, when (in order of appearance) Jordan, April, Erica, Maggie, Brett & Austen (taking photo) visited Kelly in Room 10, when Kelly was full of witty one-liners (including the one about the Cards). Please note the lovely poster Austen bought for Kelly from the National Sheepdog Finals in Middletown, VA. Our friends threw a big Southern-style field party & pig roast over the weekend and Austen's car made an obligatory stop at the races down the road. http://www.nationalsheepdogfinals.org/ in case you're considering competing in 2014. DVDs are available from this 2013 race; study up!

While I still don't follow baseball, my ears have perked every time I hear talk of the Cardinals this past week (admittedly, it comes mostly from the only folks from St. Louis in the room, the Dillons and Brett). So when they beat the Dodgers tonight, sending them to the upcoming World Series, that was a NYTimes alert I actually paid attention to. In the same way so many of you are sending cheer to Kelly via Instagram #goodvibesKelly hashtags, love through the mail in the form of dark chocolate and pears, laughs in her inbox from ridiculous animated gifs... I couldn't help but think that the Cards got a little extra help tonight from a dedicated Warrior Woman Fan named Kelly, rooting for them from room 10, with the window, in the back left corner of Intensive Care Unit 3G.

Change is a constant in the hospital: Kelly's heart rate goes up, comes back down. Her blood pressure does the same. Surgeries are scheduled... sometimes they're delayed. We've all learned to be nimble and patient--Kelly, of course, more so than anyone else. So it's worth passing along the update that, yes, Kelly is back in the ICU as I've reported here. I believe we posted on Monday about her move into a shared room, but after a fever spike on Monday night, she's back where nurses are constantly monitoring her health. As much as we don't like for her to be in the ICU, we do feel good the 24-hr supervision of our Warrior Woman! 
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Kelly's father, Todd, took this photo today. Kelly looks great, doesn't she?! A smile on her colorful face, socks for arm warmers (her vascular doc made sure to poke fun at her style), braided hair... nimbleness spurs creativity in this unit, and patience brings improvements. 

Kelly's bright eyes and pearly whites reflect today's marvelous medical breakthrough: 
pain management success. 

The docs have given Kelly the gift of a nerve block in her left leg. You may notice the two gold & green rods connecting Kelly's femur to her lower leg... there's a lot going on in there with rods & incisions, and it's been excruciatingly painful for Kel when she's not (and even sometimes when she is) completely doped up on narcotics. She told me today over the phone that she feels "like a whole new person", with the nerve block, and Debbie happily reported that Kelly was giddy all day. Todd added, "It's as if she just got out of San Quentin." No pain for the first time in a week will hopefully enable her to sleep well and function normally during the day. MIRACULOUS! GREAT NEWS!! 

In other medically-related updates, Kelly's surgery #4 went well yesterday. However, the docs were unable to start in on the bone repair they'd hoped for. They found a bit of lingering skin infection, which kept them from beginning orthopedic work. Nonetheless, cleaning up unviable tissue and making sure everything else looked good in there were small steps of progress. Surgery #5 is scheduled for Monday. 

I took a quick visit to the hospital this evening after work. In the family waiting room, I found not only Todd and Debbie, but Connie too! Visiting the Dillons from Louisville, KY, Connie was a roommate of Todd's from way back when! Here's to hoping our Arkansas Ave Family of roommates (past & present!!) is still there for each other years from now. 

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Todd & Debbie (Kelly's parents) and Connie
I also had the pleasure of hand-delivering a package that our dear friend Lois sent to Kelly. Included was a HUGE bar of dark chocolate (enough to share!!) and these homemade healing cards. Yes, Lois. We're photo documenting it all and embarrassing you on the internet. It's for a worthy cause :) 
I'll sign off with a note to reiterate how much it means to Kelly to be surrounded by the warmth of your love. Kelly's community both in DC and afar have reached out, even if they don't know her, with so much positivity and support. Kelly told her mom today that she couldn't imagine going this alone. "I'd be so depressed," she said. So please know, your presence, your notes, your kind words of encouragement and cheer, your posts on Instagram, your magazine collages, your hand-written notes, gifts of books and food... it makes a difference. You are the fuel for this Warrior Woman's fire right now, and she'll need you in the weeks to come. 

Stay tuned for more from us here at the Arkansas Manor. Word on the street is that Erica has set up a page where we can organize dinner & other food offerings! Yahoo! And does anyone know how to embed animated GIFs in the Weebly template? I've tried pasting the copied url into an "embed code" frame, but it doesn't show the images. Humph, I have something funny I want to share! Solutions? K, thx.

I'm out like a fat kid in dodge ball, peace y'all! 
Maggie & the clan of warriors on Arkansas Ave
 
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Todd Dillon, Kelly's father, just sent this photo of Kelly from her room in the ICU. This girl is prepped, and ready to head into surgery #4. Thumbs up, smiling, it takes a true warrior woman to maintain the positive spirit Kelly's emanating here. 

The love and support from friends and family like you truly helps! Keep it up, continue to post to our #goodvibesKelly hashtag on Instagram, and please get in touch if you're able to help the Dillons out by providing a warm meal! 

Love, 
Maggie, the Dillons, and our roommate family on Arkansas Ave. 

Dinner offers, please contact Maggie: [email protected]

 
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Debbie and Todd sent an update on Kelly's progress that we'd like to share with you all, along with a photo from family friends, the Salvaggios, of Percy's 1st painting on his easel where colorful strokes (which I'll interpret as leaves, going along with our Signs of Fall Instagram Assignment #1) express love and send spirits to Kelly in DC. 

Debbie reports that Wednesday was a restful day, allowing Kelly to sleep, eat and prepare for another round of surgery coming up tomorrow, Thursday, in the afternoon (in the "hospital time zone", who knows exactly when). Due to tomorrow's surgery, Kelly won't be up for evening visitors.

This will be Kelly's 4th surgery in 7 days... wow, is she a warrior woman. 7 has been my lucky number ever since I overheard an elementary school crush mention it was his, during a gym class one day. Thus far, it's served me well :) We're crossing our fingers for more progress, another step forward.


This road to recovery will be long, tackled one step at a time. As Kelly said the other day, sometimes even "one minute at a time." Her pragmatic approach and bravery cease to amaze. I'm reminded of the summer I spent leading a bike trip across the country, from Charleston, SC to our Pacific coast finish line in San Diego, CA. The end goal was clear, and we knew heading west would take us there. While that goal remained constant, calculating the miles between here and there did little to motivate, and proved to be daunting. Day by day, we tackled mile by mile. But I often focused my energy even more acutely on the tangible milestones I faced: the top of a hill, a bend in the road, the final push to the grocery store, the sign up ahead. Each conquered goal led to #LittleMomentsOfJoy (check out Lois Parshley's Instagram Assignment #2 to share your own daily moments with Kelly), and tiny victories. Aside from the fun & games on bicycles part, Kelly's journey seems to present a similar design. 


Kelly seems to have an intuitive wisdom for how to best tackle this beast of a challenge life has recently thrown her way, digesting and tackling the moments of adversity one-by-one, without hesitating to crack a joke now and again. Her mother, Debbie, wrote tonight that somehow her great sense of humor is prevailing! We've experienced many brilliant (possibly pain-killer aided) one-liners. She added that Kelly is brave and remains "cheerful in all weather" (a quote from Lonesome Dove, a family favorite I've heard Kelly speak of on more than one occasion). 

To be only slightly more medical here, Kelly still has a fever (which started on Monday night) and is getting multiple antibiotics to fight 2 bacterial infections. The docs are working hard on giving her body the proper tools to fight these microbial battles. 

Thursday's surgery (#4) will be to check her leg and begin some of the repair to her bone (damage was mainly to the tibia). Since the accident, Kelly's been sporting some particularly shiny rods on the outside of her leg to keep the bone in place while the docs tackle damaged arteries and muscle. First things first! and, again, one step at a time.

Debbie and Todd gladly report that Kelly is definitely feeling the love of her friends and family and is responding well to your energy and care.  Keep sending the good vibes, and we'll report back soon! 

Peace and love, 
Maggie & the Arkansas Family

 
Happy Hump Day everyone! If you're thinking about visiting Kelly tonight, please keep in mind that between 7-8pm is the "changing of the guards", a less convenient time to swing by than before or after that hour. You can visit until 9pm! 

Debbie is working up another report back from the hospital for me to type up and share with y'all, so hang tight and keep your eyes peeled! Soon to come. 

I spoke with Kelly a couple times on the phone this afternoon, and she seems to be in high spirits. Jordan left school early to hang with her, Debbie and Todd in the hospital. 

Almost 400 people within Kelly's community of friends and family have viewed this site in the past couple days--wow, is she loved and cared about! We'd love to hear from you in the comments sections of these posts, and Kelly would love to hear your words at this email: [email protected]

Keep on posting to #GoodVibesKelly on Instagram and sharing the signs of fall you're noticing in your daily lives! And check out what others have posted in the "keeping in touch" section of the site. 

Leigh-Golding, a friend from DC, is cooking up enchiladas for the Dillons at the hospital tonight (and any other visitors who happen to time their visit just right :). We look forward to working with more of you to bring warm, home-cooked meals to the Dillons during their stay. 

Lots of love, 
Maggie & the Arkansas Family
 
Kelly and many of her DC friends have a Monday night tradition of gathering at the Red Derby, a neighborhood bar – and local institution – for half-price Derby burgers, cheap drinks, and fine conversation. Kelly’s friend Pier had the brilliant idea of bringing “the power of concentrated Derby goodness in little parcels of half-priced glory and full-tilt love (with sweet potato fries)” to the hospital on Monday evening so that Kelly could partake in the Derby fun. We sat outside of the main entrance in the crisp early fall air, chowing burgers and making cards , while small groups took turns bringing the Derby love to Kelly’s new room. It was a wonderful weekly tradition made even more special in its power to adapt to unexpected circumstances. 


For any of you who haven't had the joy of participating in Derby night (either at the traditional 14th St. location or the new MedStar location), we welcome you to join! Please email [email protected], and I will make sure you get added to the "Derby is for Winners" Google Group and receive all Derby night-related announcements.

-April & the Arkansas Ave. Family

 
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Today, Kelly signed up for Instagram! (well, Maggie signed Kelly up for Instagram). Her new handle is @warriorwomankelly and we're encouraging everyone who wants to send her good vibes to use the hashtag #GoodVibesKelly. 

We've even offered to dish out Instagram Assignments, in case you're looking for some extra inspiration :) 

Assignment #1: Signs of fall 
The fall season is upon us, with leaves floating through the air, pumpkins abound, and apples asking to be picked. Share your fall experiences with Kelly by using the hashtag #GoodVibesKelly

 
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On the afternoon of Friday, October 11, Kelly was struck by a car outside her house in Washington, DC. With the help of her roommate Austen, neighbors, friendly strangers and a quick emergency response, she was brought to Washington MedStar Hospital Center. Kelly's left leg took the brunt of the impact and she underwent surgery Friday evening. Her mother, Debbie, arrived Saturday morning. 

Friday's surgery was the first of a few that Kelly will have to repair the impact to her leg. The main concern on Friday was repairing arteries that were damaged from the impact in order to get the blood flowing to her foot and through the leg. Kelly's roommates, Austen and April, along with her boyfriend Jordan, were with her in the hospital as she underwent treatment. 

Saturday was a painful day for Kelly, beginning her recovery from the accident and her first invasive leg surgery. As she told Maggie in the hospital that afternoon, she has a fabulous team of nurses and trauma, orthopedic and vascular doctors by her side monitoring her health and planning her recovery. Kelly was in the ICU Friday night through Monday evening, and now resides in a shared room in the vascular wing of the hospital. 

On Sunday morning, Kelly's team of surgeons performed a routine second surgery. Kelly has been quite the trooper so far--like a true Warrior Woman. 

Kelly's injuries were quite serious, and her doctors are performing miracles; we're glad to know she's in good hands. 

The amount of cheer flowing into her hospital room is immense! Let's be sure to keep it coming! We're crossing our finger for a private room in the hospital ASAP so that we can bombard the walls with decorations!! So keep an eye out for a photo booth, make sure to bring any contributions you might have to the Bag of Fun, and keep in touch through this website! 

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    Kelly's roommate family here in Washington DC, hereby known as the Arkansas Family will be collaborating with Jordan (Kelly's boyfriend) and Kelly's parents, Debbie and Todd, to bring you updates on Kelly's recovery! 

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