Update August 8, 2007 1150PM plus a note from Britanie

Just wanted to drop a quick little update on here before I go to bed. It was a bit of a roller coaster day today. We had the bittersweet moment of Leah and Rachel heading upstairs to the MTU. It is a big step, but kind of like high school, you can't wait to leave, but once you do, you really miss what you had. The nurses on the MTU floor have been wonderful, but there was something about being cared for like we were in the ICU.

The emotions are really hitting hard today, its hard to decide to leave our loved ones who need us to go care for another loved one who needs us. This morning we had to tell them we had to leave them, and they told us we needed to go, to serve not only as their representatives, but also to help heal ourselves and lay Renee to rest.

Dad has really been struggling, its hard to realize how much he wants to protect his children, and how hard it has been for him to be able to let her go. He is being so strong for all of us, actually we are all being strong, with moments were one of us is overwhelmed, the other two step in and help shoulder the burden. Dad really made my day this morning while we were traveling to the hospital this morning, as he pointed out a Magpie to me, and made a comment about how they always fly a bit drunkenly. This gave me a bit of cheer, as those of you who know my dad know that he is an avid birder who never misses an opportunity to point out an interesting bird. He has not pointed out birds, never even looking at them since the accident happened. The fact that he pointed one out to me, helped me know that he is working thru the pain, and that we will be able to get thru this with a lot of prayer, a lot of sweat, a lot of tears, and a lot of love and help from all of you.

Leah did manage to eat a bit of the supper Dee prepared for us, and especially enjoyed the stuffing . She also had an odd craving for thinly sliced ham, and her old ICU bed that was far more comfy. I left her as she was just barely able to keep her eyes open, as she was tired from all of the PT and the many trips to the bathroom (the trip to the bathroom in the MTU is about twice as far as in the ICU.)

Rachel had a long day, lots of PT and lots of visitors, and the discovery of the concussion helped explain lots of things that we had experienced. She did eat a lot today, but when we tried to get her to eat dinner, she said she was full, and was tired of eating. She also told dad that she just kept eating to be nice, cause everyone wanted her to eat so much, she felt she needed to.

I need to get to sleep, running on 3 hours a day is hard, and tommorow is going to be a long long day.

The funeral information is as follows:

10:00 AM
Friday, August 10th
St. Francis Catholic Church
601 S. West Street
Stillwater, OK 74074
405-372-6886

There will be a quiet visitation on Thusrsday evening. Zack let me know that Renee is now safely in Stillwater. She is surrounded by a wonderful collection of memories from their home, and is bathed in music from a recording of her senior recital from Texas Tech.

The funeral home coordinating the service is Strode Funeral Home of
Stillwater. Their web address is www.strodefh.com.

I did want to send out a little message from Britanie as I think a lot of her friends are reading this page as well. Below is from Brit:

Tomorrow around 12:24 pm, Dad, Jay and I will be boarding a flight to
Oklahoma City, OK, leaving our girls behind in the capable hands of my
uncle Jerry and Leah's parents, Bill and Judith. While we know they
will be well cared for, it is incredibly hard to be apart from them
for more than a few hours... and so far it has only been those few
hours we have needed to sleep when it becomes to hard to do anything
else or grab a quick bite to eat when our stomachs finally growl
louder than the thoughts in our heads. Fortunately both the girls
moved out of the ICU and into the Multiple Trauma Unit today, so we
know they are making small steps forward... particularly in Leah's
case as she is able to get out of bed on her own now, though still
only for a few steps and with much pain.

We return to Denver at 7:40 pm on Friday, August 10th, and will be
heading straight back to the hospital. We are hoping for Leah's
release by early next week or this weekend, but were told today that
Mom will be here for at least 3 more weeks, "a conservative estimate"
according to her doctors and physical therapist. Her left lung
partially collapsed again today, and they discovered 3 more broken
ribs on the right side and told us she definitely had a concussion -
thereby explaining the double vision, seeing red and blue, and not
being able to remember or follow commands. The extreme tiredness can
also be partially attributed to this, in addition to her pain killers
and the psychological trauma. We were so excited to move upstairs
today, but her spirits were kind of low and she keeps talking about
how much easier it would be to just give up. We told her she can't
talk like that. I really need my mother. My dad needs his wife.

So 3 more weeks in Denver. And I leave for Harvard in 2.5 weeks. My
mother says I have no choice, that I have to go.


I'm sorry to sound down today. I just really miss my sister and my
mom. I'm proud of Leah, but sad for her pain and wish she were better
even faster.

I love you all and will see some of you this weekend.

Britanie

Once again for all of you, here is a bit of contact info:

Rachel is in room 4435.

Leah is in room 4267.

You can contact me at halljw@gmail.com, Britanie at britanie@gmail.com or my Dad, John at jwhall2@gmail.com