Support Tyler Heath's Road to Recovery

Tyler Heath was in a life-changing biking accident on August 24, 2024. He was riding his mountain bike and on his first jump, he fell over the handlebars and we think landed on his head. Thankfully, he was wearing a helmet. The people that were there riding called 911 and us to let us know what happened. He was rushed to Kennestone ER and labeled a high trauma (I think that’s right). He has a fractured and displaced neck. He was taken in for emergency surgery on arrival at Kennestone. The damage was far worse than expected and another surgery is now scheduled for this Wednesday, the 28th.

The neurosurgeon says the injury was worse than they thought. They went in the back of his neck and fused his C4-T1 but due to “devastating destabilization” they will have to do another surgery going in the front of his neck. They’re trying to take him off the ventilator because he is awake and, of course, wants to talk. Pray he stays strong enough to breathe on his own with no stress to his system. Tyler’s main concern right now is if he will ever walk again. The doctor said he hopes so but he cannot guarantee that just yet. We are praying for a miracle. Tyler has an indelible spirit and tenacious heart so we know he will overcome all obstacles the future brings. He will be in the ICU a minimum of 8 days after his surgery. There will be a long road to recovery but as of now, Gretchen’s main focus is to get him rested and to get him through the next surgery. We will continue to update as we get more info. Gretchen thanks you for all of the calls, texts, and mostly PRAYERS! They are definitely being felt. Please continue praying for Tyler, his family, and his healthcare team. We have a long road of recovery ahead of us but I have faith that he will be okay.

As this is just the first step along the path of recovery, we are not yet sure how much financial help will be needed but everyone knows we cannot pause incoming bills as we struggle through the tough times. Gretchen is staying by Tyler’s side and is unable to work at this time and will be taking care of all of his needs and bills as he conquers this mountain before him. Please help in any way you see fit.

Update from Gretchen:

The last 2 days have been pretty eventful. I know Tyler Heath shares a daily update, but mine may be a little different. I left super early yesterday to go to the dentist. Then I went and packed a lot of Tyler’s things since he won’t be able to live on his own for a while. I got back to Shepherd at 12:30 so we met in the cafeteria. As we were leaving Tyler asked me if I thought his right leg was bigger than his left. After confirming it wasn’t the way he was positioned, we came upstairs to show his nurse. During the past few days, we have also been learning about bladder/bowel control. While we’re waiting to hear from the Dr, I learned how to do an IC. In order to take him on a “push pass” this is something I have to know and be able to do on my own. The dr ordered an ultrasound but by the time they got here, I had left to go down the street to celebrate Beca’s birthday for dinner. I called Tyler while at dinner and he said “they told me I didn’t have a blood clot. They said I was fine, I just have lymphoma”. I knew that couldn’t be right ‍♀️ I said that’s not a good thing Tyler. So today we wake up and I told the nurse what Tyler had said and she laughed and said “no Tyler, they said lymphedema” big difference! But we still needed to find out what was causing it so his dr ordered an xray. During the xray I was able to talk to his occupational therapist (they’re the ones that help with daily life activities and help with our home setup). I showed her pictures and videos of our house and we are definitely going to be doing/needing more than I initially thought. It’s basically ramps, concrete walkways and door entrances but it can be a bit overwhelming knowing we only have 4 weeks left here!! After the xray, he then had to have a ct with contrast so that was a whole other ordeal getting dressed and getting an iv done rather quickly. About 2 hours later we saw his Dr at lunch and he said everything looked ok but there’s one spot they couldn’t see so he has to have another ct with contrast tomorrow. Tyler was looking kinda shaggy with the back of his head shaved so we came back to the room and I cut his hair! It looks SOOOO much better! Then he went to PT and I had to learn to get his wheelchair up and down a curb. This is another requirement for me to get the “push pass”. I got checked off on that then after PT I got to do his IC all on my own so now I’m all checked off!!!! The dr still has to sign off on it but I should be able to “push him anywhere within one mile of shepherd” in the next day or so!!!!!! I’m so excited!!!!!! We can go to a restaurant or cvs or even the grocery store. Tomorrow I’ll be working but I’m going to make sure the nurses call me and let me know as soon as they get the ct back I don’t need another lymphoma scare! lol!

With all that said, please pray for great ct scans, but also for answers, as this is a little scary (even though they told us it’s fine). In addition to that, if anyone knows a contractor that specializes in handicap accessibility, please let me know. We need to quickly brainstorm what our best options are going to be for ramps and walkways. I would love to have an elevator but that’s just not in the cards at this time. We have been gifted a chair lift for getting from the basement to the main level but we have to make sure it will work with our home configuration.

Thank you so much to everyone for your prayers, your gifts (monetary and others), your time, your calls/texts. It has not gone unnoticed. We are so appreciate of everyone and every thing!!!!!!! Love and hugs to all!