Update August 7,2007 1:24 AM
Just wanted to pass on a little update before I head off to bed. It was a long day today, but one where we started to see a few rays of sunshine peeking thru the clouds. We still have a long road ahead of us, but small steps can really be a boost to those of us here at the hospital. We are fortunate to have a wonderful supporting group here. The calvary arrived yesterday to help care not only Leah and Rachel, but to also help care for Britanie, John and I. Leah's parents arrived along with my Uncle Jerry (my dad's brother) early yesterday afternoon, and Britanie's good friend Julia (her friend Austin's mom, and who treated Brit like her own) arrived late last night. These folks have been instrumental in making sure that we eat, talk, cry and begin the healing process, and also care for our two girls. Bill (Leah's Dad) is a former pastor, and Jerry is a deacon with the Catholic Church, so both have been helping us heal spiritually. Julia and Judith (Leah's Mom) have been wonderful in making sure we have been eating, brushing out the ladies hair, and giving lots of hugs to all of us that need it. Britanie, Dad and I have been taking turns having breakdowns, and overwhelmed with emotion, but with the help of our family we are able to be strong for each other.
We also have been blessed to have Dee and Jim (I don't know a last name, its all kind of a blur right now) who are the aunt of Leah's brother in law, who have opened their hearts and home to us. Dee and Jim are currently housing Leah's folks, and Dee prepared a wonderful home cooked dinner for all of us tonight, and saved us all from having to eat hospital food. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to have a romantic vital sign monitor lit supper for two with Leah, who voiced her vote of approval for Dee's cooking.
I am happy to report that Leah had a very good day in terms of making progress. She is doing extremely well and was leaps and bounds better then she was last night. We went to physical therapy this morning (actually they came to us) and we managed to get Leah standing. The nurses were also making Leah sit up in bed, much to her dismay, as this position is quite painful. We started slow, only making her sit up unsupported twice today for 30 minutes each time. This afternoon, we had a steady stream of nurses, doctors and medical techs in to look at her and poke and prod her. She did manage to get a little sleep, as the PT was very demanding and wore her out. Late this evening, they unhooked her from all of the monitoring equipment, and unplugged the IV tube, and told her she is going to have to start taking on her own fluids under her own power. This is a very good sign. We also moved away from the morphine and IV based pain killers to Percocet, so she is much more alert and her appetite is a little better. She and I enjoyed a nice home cooked meal in her room, and I teased her that this was going to be the most expensive date that she and I had ever been on.
She will be going in for a CT scan in the morning to check on her carotid injury, but all preliminary signs look excellent. This is more of a double check type of exam, and the neurologist basically says this is just precautionary. She also had a little visit with a psychologist, who talked a little with her and I about the accident and what she will be going through. She did experience some nightmares and dreams about the accident, so tonight they decided to help her get a good nights rest and gave her a sleeping pill.
Rachel had a very long day. We started the day with her awake at rounds, and Dad had the opportunity to talk to her about Renee. As I stated in the previous post, we were able to come to the decision to have her buried in Stillwater, OK where she and Zack made their home, and met and fell in love. Rachel has some severe injuries to her ribs (there is some confusion between us as to which side, but some of that is due to dealing with lots of other injuries, either way, she has a lot of broken ribs that are causing her pain.) She has a very large gash on her ankle that is very painful as well. They kept her heavily sedated, and have not removed the neck collar due to her being unable to tell them what is hurting up around the neck. We are able to communicate at times with her, but she seemed to be in a deep fog due to all the drugs.
Late this evening, they changed her over to Percocet as well, which will hopefully make her more lucid and able to talk with us more easily. She did eat some vanilla ice cream, and drank some apple juice. She is in great pain, but today was able to talk to us for the first time since Saturday. The doctors are concerned that she cannot lift her head and are running more tests,
but they tell us to be hopeful that it is just severe bruising to the ligaments in her neck and nothing more. Her few words have indicated that the greatest pain she is suffering is a broken heart, as she keeps whispering "Renee" over and over and making crying noises. Her
eyes are mostly swollen shut though, so her tear ducts are not functioning normally. Seeing her this way has been very difficult for all of us, and the difficulty in communicating with her has only added to our pain. Bill did stop and say a prayer with us while she was with us, and she managed to say thank you and that she loved Leah and that he needed to take care of me. The moments we pray together seem to really move her, and help heal some of the emotional pain we all know she is suffering.
As my sister Britanie said, this is truly the trial of our lives, and we are having to fight hard to stay strong. All of the kind offers and prayers we have received have been wonderful, and the outpouring of generosity and love we have been shown by family, friends and complete strangers is wonderful.
I did want to close with an email from Zack's mom that I felt was very touching and moving, and may give you all some insight as to how he is doing:
We also have been blessed to have Dee and Jim (I don't know a last name, its all kind of a blur right now) who are the aunt of Leah's brother in law, who have opened their hearts and home to us. Dee and Jim are currently housing Leah's folks, and Dee prepared a wonderful home cooked dinner for all of us tonight, and saved us all from having to eat hospital food. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to have a romantic vital sign monitor lit supper for two with Leah, who voiced her vote of approval for Dee's cooking.
I am happy to report that Leah had a very good day in terms of making progress. She is doing extremely well and was leaps and bounds better then she was last night. We went to physical therapy this morning (actually they came to us) and we managed to get Leah standing. The nurses were also making Leah sit up in bed, much to her dismay, as this position is quite painful. We started slow, only making her sit up unsupported twice today for 30 minutes each time. This afternoon, we had a steady stream of nurses, doctors and medical techs in to look at her and poke and prod her. She did manage to get a little sleep, as the PT was very demanding and wore her out. Late this evening, they unhooked her from all of the monitoring equipment, and unplugged the IV tube, and told her she is going to have to start taking on her own fluids under her own power. This is a very good sign. We also moved away from the morphine and IV based pain killers to Percocet, so she is much more alert and her appetite is a little better. She and I enjoyed a nice home cooked meal in her room, and I teased her that this was going to be the most expensive date that she and I had ever been on.
She will be going in for a CT scan in the morning to check on her carotid injury, but all preliminary signs look excellent. This is more of a double check type of exam, and the neurologist basically says this is just precautionary. She also had a little visit with a psychologist, who talked a little with her and I about the accident and what she will be going through. She did experience some nightmares and dreams about the accident, so tonight they decided to help her get a good nights rest and gave her a sleeping pill.
Rachel had a very long day. We started the day with her awake at rounds, and Dad had the opportunity to talk to her about Renee. As I stated in the previous post, we were able to come to the decision to have her buried in Stillwater, OK where she and Zack made their home, and met and fell in love. Rachel has some severe injuries to her ribs (there is some confusion between us as to which side, but some of that is due to dealing with lots of other injuries, either way, she has a lot of broken ribs that are causing her pain.) She has a very large gash on her ankle that is very painful as well. They kept her heavily sedated, and have not removed the neck collar due to her being unable to tell them what is hurting up around the neck. We are able to communicate at times with her, but she seemed to be in a deep fog due to all the drugs.
Late this evening, they changed her over to Percocet as well, which will hopefully make her more lucid and able to talk with us more easily. She did eat some vanilla ice cream, and drank some apple juice. She is in great pain, but today was able to talk to us for the first time since Saturday. The doctors are concerned that she cannot lift her head and are running more tests,
but they tell us to be hopeful that it is just severe bruising to the ligaments in her neck and nothing more. Her few words have indicated that the greatest pain she is suffering is a broken heart, as she keeps whispering "Renee" over and over and making crying noises. Her
eyes are mostly swollen shut though, so her tear ducts are not functioning normally. Seeing her this way has been very difficult for all of us, and the difficulty in communicating with her has only added to our pain. Bill did stop and say a prayer with us while she was with us, and she managed to say thank you and that she loved Leah and that he needed to take care of me. The moments we pray together seem to really move her, and help heal some of the emotional pain we all know she is suffering.
As my sister Britanie said, this is truly the trial of our lives, and we are having to fight hard to stay strong. All of the kind offers and prayers we have received have been wonderful, and the outpouring of generosity and love we have been shown by family, friends and complete strangers is wonderful.
I did want to close with an email from Zack's mom that I felt was very touching and moving, and may give you all some insight as to how he is doing:
I have some very sad information to pass along; and although e-mail is not as personal as I would like, it will pass information along quickly and, if possible, with less pain. Zack's wife (Renee) was killed in a tragic car accident yesterday afternoon. He was at work and she was on the highway with her mother and sister-in-law (both in the hospital now in Denver, CO).. They were on their way to a family vacation in Colorado Springs. The trip has been planned for over a year; Zack just found out 2 weeks ago that he got a great job opportunity with the Athletic Dept. at OSU--so he had to cancel his plans for the trip--they were very disappointed but decided she should go because it was her family. He had plane reservations to fly out next Saturday to meet up with her and drive her home. We were at the lake when we got the call from Jesse to come home. He went to Stillwater-picked up Zack- and he is now with us--waiting and waiting and waiting. We are devastated. We have loved Renee since we first met her--7 years ago--and at that time--we knew they would be together forever. They married three years ago--on July 17th (they did that on purpose) and had the entire reception sing Happy Birthday to me (after announcing my age!) I feel lost and numb right now. But mostly, I know that I need to be strong so I can help Zack. It is so difficult because I already miss her beautiful smile and the sound of her laughter. I can only be here--but Zack is just--I don't know. We have no idea when the services will be. Right now--Renee is somewhere in Kansas--her parents are in Denver--the rest of her family is in Omaha--and we are in Shawnee--and their home is in Stillwater (where I believe the services will be held). We will get it together somehow. Just thought I would let you know. Renee has only been my daughter for 3 years, but I had grown to love her so much. I have to figure out how to help Zack get through one day at a time--and convince him that he will smile again....someday.
Your prayers at this time for our family would mean a lot to us. Thanks, and love to you all.
Jane
RENEE KRISTIN HALL RAMSEY
DECEMBER 19, 1981 - AUGUST 4, 2007
Thanks again for all of your love and support in this very trying time.
J
Thanks again for all of your love and support in this very trying time.
J
posted by Jay at 2:19 AM
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