Well - Summer 2012 - (Page 10)

Cindy Burnham is hugged by her friend Nomee Landis while talking to Bruce Carins, MD, about her husband’s condition. Rick Allen’s mother, Anne Allen, is reflected in the mirror. Allen have second- and third-degree burns, but he also suffered trauma with an upper arm amputation and had wound infections on his torso. “Everything we did was contingent on if another area was healed enough for us to proceed,” says Dr. Cairns. “It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, but the consequences could be life and death.” Not all of Allen’s injuries were apparent Jan. 3. He developed inhalation problems about a week into his stay at the hospital. “For two months I have no memories, except dreams,” says Allen. “I dreamt I was underwater, diving a shipwreck.” Allen, who grew up in Texas watching Jacques Cousteau documentaries and took his first scuba course as an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University, later learned those dreams occurred when he was put on a respirator. Doctors were initially concerned about Allen’s slow and deep breathing patterns, but Burnham assured them they were normal for someone who loved to dive as much as Allen. “I explained that Rick’s breathing was mimicking his actions in the ocean,” says Burnham. “It was him in his Zen space.” Rick Allen shows off his new stainless, carbon fiber and titanium arm created by UNC Prosthetics. The arm is designed for salt water, which is highly corrosive. Family Involvement Proves Essential Allen may have been asleep and deep-sea diving in his dreams, but his wife was overseeing his care at the bedside. Burnham, a senior photographer for the Fayetteville Observer, decided that the best way she could handle Allen’s injuries was to treat him as an assignment. “I had my ‘concerned wife’ face on for three days,” says Burnham, whose injuries were not life-threatening. “Then it was like a job. It was my way of dealing with the grief.” Armed with an iPad, a thick three-ring binder, supportive friends and a camera, she took a decidedly active role in Allen’s care. “We welcome participation from the family, always,” says Dr. Cairns.“We need them more than they need us.”The Burn Center is an inherently multidisciplinary care center, relying on daily meetings between doctors, nurses and social workers to determine each patient’s plan of action. Dr. Cairns says they also rely on family members to advocate for a patient’s needs. “There was one point where they were looking to take off skin from his back for a graft,” Burnham says. Knowing how scars and itchiness on his back would bother Allen when he resumed diving, Burnham made a suggestion to Allen’s surgeon Samuel Jones, MD, the associate director of the Burn Center. She asked that the skin be removed from Allen’s chest instead of his back. 10 Summer 2012 Well

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Well - Summer 2012

Well - Summer 2012
Contents
UNC Health Care News
Community
Partners in Health Care
Summer Safety
Diving In
Nutrition
Calendar

Well - Summer 2012