Amanda Franklin, We'll miss you.....

Is your kid Student Of The Month? Beat up Student Of The Month? Lets hear all about it!
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Amanda Franklin, We'll miss you.....

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Last edited by AlisoBob on June 4th, 2011, 1:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by AlisoBob »

From Matt, Amanda's brother......

Good morning all. Let me first express on behalf of Amanda, Kyle, Myself and both of our families so many thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes. We are all so fortunate to have such a wonderful support network in all of you.



We are still waiting for updates and it could be many hours, days, or weeks before we know exactly how the recovery process will play out between Amanda and Kyle. I can however report that Kyle was not injured and or burned as badly as reported earlier by the media and is expected to make a full and rapid recovery. I can also say that the updates we are receiving on Amanda are increasingly optimistic and though she has a long road of recovery ahead of her, the doctors are giving us the impression that things are not as bad as first reported and her chances for a full recovery are getting better not worse. The first 24 hours will set the tone for the story ahead.



I also have to extend a very sincere thanks to my brother-in-law Kyle who I strongly credit for the fact that my little sister is still with us. Having witnessed the accident and being on of the first on the scene, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that he made no less than five quick decisions in the air and on the ground that gave her a second chance at life!!



When the engine quit, Amanda was on the top wing in the rack. Kyle continued to fly the airplane in a straight and level fashion as long as he could to give Amanda every opportunity to unstrap and get into the front cockpit where she would have the best chance in the event of a hard landing. He also resisted the tendency to turn for the pavement which typically induces a fatal stall/spin situation. He avoided a landing in the pyro field which could have proven to be fatal, and faced with the only other option of land in mesquite woods, Kyle landed into the wind drastically reducing the forward speed at impact. Upon reaching the scene, I noticed that he set the airplane down in the only Waco sized piece of ground in that dense woods that didn't have tall trees in it. Kyle sustained the majority of his burns trying to pull his wife from the wreckage and when his efforts produced no results, he stayed in the cockpit and transmitted a repeating distress call about the post impact fire that had started. I honestly believe this motivated the rapid responders to press through the brush and douse the airplane at a more rapid rate which meant the split second difference that saved Amanda, who was still in the plane.



The first responders on the scene did an excellent job of responding to the situation in a rapid manner. Having a professional air boss teamed up with professional CFR personnel made a world of difference that could be the single most important factor that both Amanda and Kyle are still with us.



Please continue to send your thoughts and prayers this direction because we sincerely believe they are helping. I will pass updates along as I receive them.



Sincerely

Matt
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Post by arleybeer40 »

that fukin sucks.
Brit must be gay because he always says hes gonna have a fag
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Post by AlisoBob »

The latest about Amanda.....

Image


Up to this point most people did not no the extent of Amanda’s injuries, that was because we were still finding them out ourselves.



As of today Amanda is in “stabilized” condition but please keep in mind that “stabilized” does not necessarily mean “stable”, she remains in the Burn Intensive Care Unit.



She sustained a significant inhalation injury from inhaling smoke and fire, because of this, she has a breathing tube and a machine helping her breath.



She is burned on almost 70% of her body. 64% of which are “Full Thickness” or “3rd Degree” burns. This includes her face.



She sustained numerous fractures to her face and orbital bones around her eyes. As far as they can tell she can still see fine.



She also sustained fractures to her neck and back. In other words she has a broken neck and back but at this time she does not appear to be paralyzed.



That is the bulk of her major injuries and there are many more that I will not list. But the good news is she’s young, healthy, athletic, in great shape and she’s a fighter. The doctors keep bragging on how strong she is and how well she did in her 1st surgery. Amanda goes back in for her 2nd surgery tomorrow morning around 7am. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. I will let you know how things go tomorrow.

Kyle




If you would like to help Amanda please donate at ether of the following two fund sites:

www.moonlightfund.org “Franklin Fund” (tax deductible) or

www.icasfoundation.org “The Kyle and Amanda Fund” (non tax deductible)

Thank you for all your support and prayers

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Post by AlisoBob »

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp ... 7#42190777

They were on the "Today" show this morning....

:cry:
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Post by Rhino89523 »

Total bummer :cry: I hope she makes as full of a recovery as possible.
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Post by AlisoBob »

Todays update:

Sorry I have not been keeping up with the up dates. Between the doctors, my physical therapy, fund raising, emails, phone calls and everything else, I have a hard time keeping up with it all. Sorry.



I am doing fine and I should be discharged from the hospital on Sunday or Monday.

Amanda is doing very well for the most part. They rotated her and her bed to a 45 degree angle for about 40 minutes today which is very good for her. My physical therapist came running in to my room the tell me about it and what a big step it was for Amanda's recovery. Amanda is also down to 30% on her ventilator which is also really good.



Amanda did have a surgery yesterday on her hands and unfortunately it did not go really well, but it could have been even worse. The doctors had to amputate half the length of her fingers and thumb on her right hand and the same on 3 fingers on her left. They were able to save her thumb and pinky on her left hand. In technical terms they amputated the Distal phalanges and the Intermediate phalanges.



She goes back to surgery this morning around eight to try to fix all the fractures in her face and around her eye. I saw the x-rays and the doctors have a lot of work. I pray they do their best work ever.



I asked the doctors today about how long it might be before Amanda is awake and talking. They guessed about 2 months. Amanda has a very long, hard and expensive road ahead of her. I ask everyone to pray for her and for those who are able to donate to one of Amanda's funds to please do so. Every dollar counts and the Franklin and Younkin families will forever cherish your support to help Amanda. Thank you all and God bless you. I will let you know how things went tomorrow night.



Thank you again, love you all,

Kyle


:cry: x 491

To donate please go to: www.moonlightfund.org
or
www.icasfoundation.org

.
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Post by AlisoBob »

Finally....... Somewhat of good news reported.....

Hi All,

Amanda is doing very well after her surgery today. They were able to fix all of her facial fractures without complications. She is now resting comfortably back in ICU. I went to see her about an hour ago and she is looking much better. I would like to give a big thank you to all the fantastic doctors, nurses and everyone who has taken such great care of Amanda and I here at the Brooke Army Medical Center.



As of now Amanda does not have any more major surgeries coming up soon. Just recovery time.

Once again thank you all for your kind words and prayers.



Kyle
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Post by AlisoBob »

Image

Amanda is still doing well. She breathed for 8 hours on her own yesterday which is a great sign. They have been moving her around a lot, sitting her in a chair and performing other physical therapy on her. They've also been changing her bandages a lot, including her facial bandages. They said her face looks good. I really feel for her because I know bandage changes do not feel good and that was just on my arm. Her pain meds have been lightened up for her to be more responsive during therapy.



Amanda said her first words yesterday, sadly they were "Help Me."Amanda has always had a extremely high pain tolerance so for her to say that really breaks my heart. Another concern that was brought up was whether or not she would be able to have children because of scarring on her stomach area. 2012 was to be Amanda's final wingwalking season because we had planned on starting a family. I am hoping we still can.



They postponed her surgery today till Monday to give her skin graphs more time to heal. That brings up something that a lot of you have been asking. "Can I donate my skin to Amanda?" To all of you who have offered that is a amazing and selfless gesture and I thank you. But, I have talked with the doctors and they normally use cadaver skin because for a live person to donate that person would have to go threw a surgery similar to mine and be in the hospital for about two weeks. It's just easier to use cadaver skin because either way Amanda's body is going to reject it in a week or two. They just use the donor skin to cover the wound till they can cover it with her own skin. But again thank you all for the offer.



That is about all I have for you all today. I will let you know of any changes in her condition.



Thank You,

Kyle
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Post by AlisoBob »

Amanda had a really good day yesterday. She breathed the entire day on her own. She was following commands, answering questions and asking questions. She's starting to realize where she is and what happened. But, please keep in mind, all of this is very limited. She's not talking like you and I. She's talking threw her trake and answering very simple questions. She is on a lot of pain meds and is not all there yet.



Today on the other hand was not the best day. They informed us as they were taking her into surgery that none of her skin graphs on her back had taken and most of that was done with her own skin which she has very little of. The doctor also told me that he would be very surprised if he would be able to save any of what was left of her fingers.



After the surgery, we were informed that things were not as bad as they had thought. Her back was 60 percent good, 40 percent bad. Some of the bad was her own skin but still better then all being bad. They skin grafted more of her skin to her back and thighs. They replace and put more cadaver skin in places that needed it to help prevent infection. (Cadaver skin will usually last about two weeks before the body rejects it.) Her fingers on her left hand looked ok for now however they did unfortunately have to amputate all of her fingers on her right hand. She only has a little bit of her thumb left on that hand now. They finally removed the burnt skin from her neck and replaced it with cadaver skin. The neck is apparently a hard place to graph and doesn't heal very well. Amanda used 6 pints of blood in todays surgery. I can't describe to you how she looks, much less how she must feel. Knowing that's my beautiful girl under all those bloody bandages is absolutely tearing me apart.



Her next surgery is Wednesday they are going in to work on her face. They plan on taking the skin from her scalp and putting it on her face. This is the best skin for her face and we were all thankful they didn't have to use it today on her back. That had been a possibility sense they still don't have her cultured/grown skin yet. It takes 6 weeks to grow.



That's all I have tonight. I'll let you all know if anything changes, otherwise my next post will be Wednesday night.



Good night, thank you all and God bless,



Kyle
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Post by AlisoBob »

Amanda has been doing very well the past two days. Thursday was the first time I got to see her move. I was talking to her on her right side and she lifted her right arm and made some nosies like she was trying to talk back to me. It was great to see.



Physical therapy has really been working her hard. They sat her up in her bed yesterday and Amanda held herself up for about 10 mins. Then they turned her and made her stand up. She stood on her own for about 15 seconds. It was a wonderful thing, she's moving along very quickly. They are doing all this because come next week Amanda will not be able to move much. Monday the doctors will take the skin from her scalp and graph it on to her face. From what the nurses said her face already looks great with just the cadaver skin on, they thought she had already had her face done. So it sounds like things are going to turn out good there. Later in the week her cell grown skin should be ready and they will graph it on to her front (arms, legs, stomach, etc.) This skin is VERY fragile and after they graph it they don't want her moving a lot. So I would imagine they are going to have her pretty sedated. She is doing so well and being so strong. None of this is easy for her I can see the pain in her face but I can't tell you how proud I am of her.



I am getting ready to go see her now. I have some info on the blood donations and a few other things I will post later tonight.



Have a great day, God bless,

Kyle
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Post by Tharrell »

This is a heartbreaking thread to follow.
As tough as I think I am, this guys description of his beautiful wife tears me up.
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Post by AlisoBob »

Yup......

Image

She's as beautiful on the inside... and as tough as a 10 ply tire.

Makes you wonder sometimes.... Why did it have to happen to her??? Or did it happen to her because she's strong enough to deal with it?

Image

Lifes strange like that sometimes....

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Post by britincali »

Very very sad thread and the most heartbreaking thing Ive read in awhile "help me", I wish her well and am honestly touched by her husbands loving posts.


AlisoBob wrote: Makes you wonder sometimes.... Why did it have to happen to her??? Or did it happen to her because she's strong enough to deal with it?

.
Why would you ask such a stupid question? She's a wingwalker for fucks sake, do dangerous things and bad things happen, put yourself in bad spots and the chances are eventually you'll get bit. Fact of life.

We play with bikes, they hurt bones break people die, we still do it.

She flew daily in an old single engine plane then got out from her seat and climbed onto a wing...... Dont be shocked when fuked up stuff happen's.
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Post by AlisoBob »

You obviously dont understand the bigger "plan" of life.
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Post by AlisoBob »

It was great to see Amanda today. When I came in they had her facial bandages off so I got to see her face. She looks much better then I had originally thought. The doctors did a great job fixing her facial fractures and almost all of her facial features are intact. Her nose, lips and ears all look great. Once again they are planning on Monday for her facial graphing.



What made today so special for me is that I know for sure she knew I was there. I came in to see her and started telling her about the day and she raised her right hand (the side I was on). I held her hand and she tried to talk a little and then opened those beautiful blue eyes. I haven't seen her beautiful eyes in almost a month. She was acting like she was ready to get up and walk out of there with me. She was very animated with me so much the nurses wanted me out of there so she could rest. (rest in a hospital, ya right)



I love my girl and she is going to make it threw this. Her strength and will is amazing.....she is amazing!



Kyle


As bad as this is.... Kyle's message made my day.
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Post by britincali »

AlisoBob wrote:You obviously dont understand the bigger "plan" of life.
OK now im lost, please explain o great one........
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Post by AlisoBob »

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Amanda's eyes.....
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Post by AlisoBob »

Amanda's surgery went well today for the most part. The doctors graphed skin from her scalp to most of her face today. They did not do her forehead because of a possible infection concern. They will try to finish her face next time. But, from what I hear she looks great. They are also going to wait on graphing her "grown skin" or "epy cells" as they call it till later next week, (was planned for later this week). Apparently Amanda has some significant infections in areas they wanted to graph, nothing life threatening they a sure me. It's just the "epy cells" are VERY fragile and an infection could destroy them. It takes almost six weeks to grow them and to lose them to an infection would set Amanda back considerably. Otherwise when I saw her today, she was resting and had just gotten back from surgery. I talked to her some and started disc 2 of her "Two and a half men". I'm hoping to try to talk with her later this week. Something I forgot to mention is that she has been off the ventilator for over a week now.....like I said, "I love my strong beautiful girl."



As for me, I went to lovely Physical Therapy today, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It's not that bad and I'm not complaining, trust me I'm not. I'm just ready for my fingers to stop being one giant blister factory!



Thank you all again for all your kind words and thoughts, goodnight and God bless,



Kyle
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Post by AlisoBob »

Franklin Crash Investigation Update

By Glenn Pew, Contributing Editor, Video Editor


Investigators have found anomalies with a fuel servo on Kyle and Amanda Franklin's Waco UPF-7 biplane as they probe the March 12 crash landing and fire. The 1940 biplane was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-985. That engine was supplied by Tulsa Aircraft Engines, which is one of the few outfits that specialize in repairing the type. The NTSB chose the company's facility to host its examination of the engine. It found that the engine itself may have been capable of functioning normally prior to impact, but investigators couldn't say the same for the fuel servo.



"It didn't come within specifications on a couple of settings," NTSB investigator Aaron Sauer told Oklahoma's NewsOn6.com. That means the investigation will continue on to Precision Airmotive, which acquired Bendix Corporation (and its fuel servos) in 1988. The engine may not be completely off the hook yet, because its bottom two cylinders were damaged during impact and were replaced so that the engine could be started and tested. The crash injured both Kyle and Amanda, mainly when fire spread after impact. Kyle was able to escape but reached into the fire while attempting to free his wife, who was trapped in the forward cockpit. Kyle has since been discharged from the hospital, but his wife is still there, recovering from third-degree burns that cover 70 percent of her body.
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Post by AlisoBob »

Looks like Amanda's infections are going down. Talking about taking her back to surgery on Monday, not sure yet. This will be surgery number ten for her, I think. Seems like a lot more then that. The nurses put her on the tilt table again today. She wasn't real responsive after, moved her arms some, I could tell she was in pain so I ask them to give her something once they got her back into her bed. She will be starting season two of "Two and a half men" tomorrow. I think we went threw season one, two or three times but it's okay she's seen them all a million times anyway. Someone told me Charlie Sheen is coming back to the show. Amanda will be glad to hear that. It will give her something to watch once she can. Doctors seem to be happy how things are going, for the most part. As for me, no new blisters tonight, just the old ones again. Therapy wasn't that bad today, but they have me rapping my hand in a fist for 30 mins to an hour everyday now. Got to be able to grip that control stick. ;-)



Talk to you all tomorrow, God bless,



Kyle
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Post by iggys-amsoil »

britincali wrote:
AlisoBob wrote:You obviously dont understand the bigger "plan" of life.
OK now im lost, please explain o great one........
You just don't get it do you?...............

Bob's in Love, as I am with my own mechanic knowing that I should not be.

I guess you'll just have to wait til your late 40's earlier 50's to understand. Life starts to become precious,... even more so if you have children.
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Post by AlisoBob »

No, Igg-Ro.... thats not it....


Image
Cousin Rachel

http://www.wsf.org/family/photoalbum/ph ... elrowe.htm


This is Rachel, my sisters daughter. She was born with Williams Syndrome. Its like Downs Syndrome, but with a lot of health issues tossed into the mix.

When my sister announced she was pregnant, I cringed a little. Not because my sister is a bad person... quite the contrary.... BUT.... she has rather high expectations for things.

She has two masters degrees, and if her child didnt have at least a Phd, then the kid was never going to hear the end of it. I felt the kid was going to educated to death.... and not have much fun.

Now with Rachel, when she learned to tie her shoe laces, or count to five.... that was a HUGE accomplishment....... and all the focus my sister was going to put towards the Phd is now being applied to get Rachel the best therapy, the best medical attention, and the best future she could possibly have.

I really believe Rachel was born to my sister for a reason. Both to keep a normal , happy kid from being book wormed to death.... as well as keeping a special needs kid from being tossed into a dark institution where they would never be seen or heard from again.

Rachel has made TREMENDOUS improvements with my sister. She was onlt given a 50/50 chance of making it past 4 years old. Shes coming up on 12 now.

Lifes really weird sometimes..... and maybe Amanda didnt die in the crash and from her burns because something is waiting for her down the road... Maybe she's going to help or save a person worse off than herself.. maybe her injuries will create some kind of new method to tread burn victims.. who knows.

All I know is that she shouldnt be with us, but she is .... and hopefully theres a reason why.
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Post by AlisoBob »

Sad news from Kyle tonight..... :(

How do I start this.....I'll start with the good. Amanda's doctor came out after her surgery today to talk with us. He was very happy with how she looks now. They took off all the old cadaver skin and bleached out all of her open wounds. They were not able to completely clean her back side because they didn't want to mess up her facial graphs, which I am told look great. (note: all of her open wounds are covered with cadaver skin to help protect from infection till she can get her own skin put on.) As of now they said she looks and smells good. They will take her back in tomorrow to clean her back side better and check what they did today. And if need be tear everything down and do it again, same goes for Saturday.



The bad is that they are having to do this. This means her infections are getting bad. Before her infections were just on top of the surface, but they are starting to see signs of colonization now. Her doctor was very up front with us, and I thank him for that, this is the point were if they are not able to get this infection under control, she could die from it.



This has been a hard day for us all. Today was the first time sense the day of the accident that I felt like I might actually loose her. Even as strong as she is, after all her body has already been threw, I don't know if it can fight off this bad of an infection. I have always been a fix-it person, I can fix anything, but God help me I can't find a way to fix this. I would give my life in a heartbeat to get her out of this.



We will know more in the next few days.



Thank you all, God bless,



Kyle
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Post by AlisoBob »

Good News!!!!

Goods news today. Doctors said they are very happy with the way Amanda is looking. She looks clean of infections and for the first time the cadaver skin is taking. Which means it will work better at keeping out infections till they can get her own skin on her. As long as everything keeps going well, they will try to put on her epy cell skin next week sometime. They are currently planning on taking her in on Monday to finish up her face and work on graphing a few more areas on her back side.



Jeanie said Amanda opened her eyes for her today and lifted her arm up for her. That's great to hear. I'm getting ready to head over to see Amanda right now before her sleep regiment starts. They are trying to get her to sleep and rest most of the night and try to have her awake during the day.



Let you know if anything changes,



Goodnight, God bless,



Kyle
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