In Loving Memory...

Craig Cutler Merrill, age 69, passed away October 8, 2011 due to injuries he suffered from a bicycle accident in Salt Lake City.

Born March 14, 1942 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Dr. Rowland Hyde Merrill and Margaret Cutler Merrill, he was the fourth of five children.  He attended East High School and served an LDS mission to West Germany in 1963-64.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Pre-med and a minor in German Language and Literature at the University of Utah.  He married Mardean Workman December 16, 1965.  Craig later attended medical school at Temple University in Philadelphia, yet desired a change, which resulted in his completing a Master’s degree in Public Health Administration at the University of California Berkeley.

Craig is preceded in death by his parents; brother, Rowland Jr. and sister, Margot.  He is survived by brother, Bill; sister, Pamela Prunckun (Ed); and four children, Kristi Sivertson (Aaron); Rebecca Mallon (Jeremy); Jacob Merrill (Heather); and Jana Stephens (Greg).  Craig also has five grandchildren, Cortni, Noah, Jaxson, Nash, and Sofia, whom he loved dearly.

Early in his career, Craig held positions teaching biology to inner-city youth in Philadelphia and helping to improve conditions for migrant workers in the state of Utah.  The highlight of Craig’s career was his position as an Assistant Administrator at Primary Children’s Medical Center. He acted as the liaison between the hospital and the architects.  The last years of his career were spent working in the Diabetes Control Program for the Utah Department of Health, where he received recognition for his published works.

Craig loved nature.  He raised sick and injured birds back to health.  He loved to camp, fish, hunt, and explore North America with his family.  He had a good eye for spotting wildlife and enjoyed discovering the beauty of God’s creations.  He had a passion for history, reading, travel, and cycling.  Craig could not pass up an opportunity to bike on a scenic road or in good weather.  He began biking at 54 and was able to complete several century tours and charity rides. He got a kick out of each of his grandchildren and always seized the opportunity to steal a hug or kiss.  He was always willing to help an individual in genuine need.  He loved a good challenge and was a great competitor, whether it was a game of cards, ping pong, cycling, or debating politics.  He was grateful for his pioneer ancestry.  He relished the friendships he made in every phase of his life.

During the last two years, Craig and his wife, Mardean, served as ordinance workers in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.  He was a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many callings throughout his life.  He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

The viewing will be held at Jenkins-Soffe Mortuary, 1007 West South Jordan Parkway, on Wednesday evening, October 12, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm and prior to funeral services at the Rose Canyon Stake Center, 7079 Rose Canyon Road, Herriman, from 10:00 to 11:15 am on Thursday, October 13.  Funeral services will begin at 11:30 am.  Interment, Herriman City Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Primary Children’s Medical Center are appreciated.  Here is a link for how to donate:

http://intermountainhealthcare.org/hospitals/primarychildrens/donations/Pages/MemorialsHonorariums.aspx

At Peace

My sweet Dad passed away this afternoon surrounded by his loved ones:  his wife Mardean of 45 years, his children Kristi and her husband Aaron, Becki and her husband Scooter, Jake and his wife Heather, and Jana and her husband Greg.  Dad was only 69 years old.  He had sustained injuries from a bicycle accident over a week ago that had become insurmountable.  Our hope, prayers, and togetherness has perhaps made us a bit stronger and linked us a bit closer to one another over this last, heartaching, week.  The feelings of shock, fear, hurt, hope, sorrow, gratitude, and sadness experienced by my family this week has finally surrendered itself to being at peace with God's will. 

On a personal note:


Dear Dad,
I love you and miss you already.  You were my biking buddy, and my competitor!  You taught me to be frugal yet were generous with your time and resources to those in need.  On several occasions, we took insulin to ailing individuals.  You taught me how to balance my checkbook, be smart with my money, and not to waste anything--to a fault.  I enjoyed debating with you, though, usually for the same side.  Like you, I appreciate education, a good card game, and exploring the United States.  You taught me to stand up for myself but also when to give in.  I understand you well because I am a lot like you.  Your passion and your sense of humor, with a secret twinkle in your eye, I understand.  You allowed me to make my own decisions but I learned to value your opinion.  Even when you had the right to complain, you didn't.  You taught me not to feel sorry for myself.  You were down to earth, reasonable, warm, and willing to admit imperfection.  The last day I saw you before your accident, you were able to perform the most of fatherly duties in giving me a blessing.  Thank you.  Dad, you loved me and I have only wanted to make you proud.

Love Jana

The family would like to thank all of who offered their help and support throughout this difficult week.  We would not have been able to cope as well without all your compassion, kind comments, delicious meals provided, and help watching over our children.  Many have also helped to put us kids' minds at ease for the sake of my mom.  We know she is in good hands.

Thank you!

We will plan to post my dad's obituary here, if you wouldn't mind checking back later....

We Love Our Dad

Dad had an MRI late last night.  It's comparable to the CT scans, moderate injury.  Dad continues to make no progress towards consciousness.

The family is spending the night together.

So Many Unknowns

A hard day.  The nitroglycerin cream that the vascular surgeons thought could help my dad did not work.  It had been placed on both hands and both feet, but was bad for his skin and did not appear to have any benefit.  Dad is off the BP medication completely.  The negative consequences of which may be too unsettling for me to comment on.

He is not responding as they would expect, coming off the sedation and paralytic.  There is very little response if any.  Sometimes a mild gag reflex, sometimes pupil dilation, but absolutely no movement as there has been on previous days.  Since this is the case, they have taken him off all pain medication, figuring they would make it as uncomfortable as possible.  Usually, an individual in such a situation would try to shift or wince.  The CT scans indicate a moderate brain injury, however there are other indications of quite a severe one.  So they have removed the bolt from his head, indicating the ICP was stable, below 20 over the last day, for the purpose of performing an MRI.  The MRI will tell us a lot more about what is going on with his brain.  He had not been moved down to get the MRI by the time we left.  We hope by tomorrow it will have been completed. 

Some of my parents' best friends, Greg and Sandy, showed up today.  Greg seemed to learn different information from the doctor than me.  He was a lot more encouraged by the news and really rallied our spirits.  Our dad needs to WAKE UP.  He needs to get his hands and feet moving and get the blood moving.  Greg and, Kristi's husband, Aaron gave him another blessing.  (Thank you.)  Each of us kids (me, Jake, Becki, Kristi) have so much hope and love for Dad.  I hope he was able to feel the presence of all of us there in the room.

Mardean's Comments

I have appreciated so much having Jana take charge of the blog, and being so diligent and accurate in keeping it updated.  It has been hard for me to even process all the information, aside from the trauma of knowing Craig's condition.  Words cannot express how grateful I am for everything; both temporal and spiritual, that has been done on our behalf by many family members, and many many friends and ward family. Thank you so very much!!  The Lord has richly blessed us throughout our lives, we have wonderful supportive children, extended family and loving friends that mean so much to us.  Thank you for the comments and love and concern.  Much love, Mardean

Guinea Pig

A good day.  Dad has been taken off the paralytic and the sedation.  This means he is doing more work on his own.  He is breathing on his own.  Yes, he is still on the ventilator.  Instead of his chest just fluttering, today, it was also rising and falling, more like normal.  The BP medication has been reduced to very little now.  The heart catheter has been removed.  All good signs.

He has not yet awakened.  He is, in fact, in a coma on his very own.  Each person is different; there is no telling when he will start responding neurologically.  He has had a C-collar around his neck, cradling his chin, since day one.  Until Dad can respond about where he has feeling, we will not know if there is a neck injury.  The scans do not indicate so. 

There is much concern about his hands and feet and vascular surgeons have been by to speculate.  This is where my dad becomes the guinea pig.  They proposed to spread a cream, something like a nitroglycerin cream, on his hands and feet and placing coverings on them.  This has never been done on other patients.  The cream will hopefully help to dilate the capillaries to allow more blood flow.  If this works, great.  However, the danger comes in possibly decreasing blood pressure--something they've been trying to increase in order to keep the ICP down.  The nurse was going to start slowly, seeing how Dad's BP would respond first to having one hand done, then the other, and then each foot.

Our family held a "fast" that ended yesterday evening.  We would like to thank all of you that particpated in the fast, have been praying for, and thinking of my father.  There has been such an outpouring of support and concern.  Thank you all.

Thanks Cheryl & Greg

Dad was placed in a regular bed again today which is quite a process with all the tubing and IVs.  He has been tilted down at about a 30% angle.  Last I counted, there were 17 bags of some kind of fluid or another being pumped into him.  The process of moving him to the bed this time was not as taxing on his brain as the last move.  Staff say they will not be using the rotating bed again, at least for awhile. 

They have put in yet another tube to allow air to escape from his chest.  With his injuries, air gets trapped around the lung and actually pushes down on it, making it more laboring to inflate.  Fortunately, he continues to do more of his body's work himself.  They have been able to reduce the blood pressure medication by about half because he has been able to start maintaining that better on his own.  This is good because the medication constricts all the capillaries and reducing this will help with circulation.  Circulation is a concern because his hands and feet are so cold and blue.  It has been hard to learn about consequences that may arise because of the treatments that have to be carried out...

InterCranial Pressure (ICP) for a healthy person at rest is a 5, as much as 15 when lifting something heavy.  Maintained ICP of 20 or more can be damaging.  This is certainly a number we keep our eye on when we are visiting.  When being moved to the rotating bed it entered the 30s.  I have seen Dad's ICP in the 20s pretty regularly.  But it is up and down periodically.  While Becki and I were there today it was around 17 and went as low as 13-14.  The nurses say they think that people in these states can hear what's going on because blood pressure and ICP rise, but I'd like to think that we relax and comfort him!

Xrays were done on his wrists to compare them because there are some abnormalities.  Not sure if one is broken but it will be splinted.  Since Dad is so swollen, he is weeping blood and fluid through some areas of his injured skin.  His hands were so swollen today, I don't even recognize them.  We were so glad to see a nurse elevate them and warm them.

Today is the first day that he will be on a feeding tube. 

We feel like there has been bits of progress, yet other things are digressing due to necessary treatments of other areas.  This whole thing is like a nightmare and each of us feel a bit numb because we can't do anything more than we have been.  We just have to leave this up to God and put our faith in the doctors and nurses that have been so caring.  They never leave his room.  One nurse we noticed would hold his hand and she said she had gone home the night before and just wept.  There are some special people caring for my dad.  Also, it was comforting to meet Mom's friends who have their own experience with such trauma and what positive outcomes/miracles can happen.