Update for August 7, 2007 1:00 AM
Another quick update for today before I go try to sleep. Sorry I didn't get to it earlier, but I spent most of my day sitting with Leah, doing what I felt was necessary for my own well being and hers. We had a good day today, the girls both made good improvements today, and really helped lift the spirits of those of us who are not hurt.
We got up early this morning so we could be there for rounds, and get the latests from the doctors. Dr. Katubig (aka Dr. Burt the trauma surgeon) stopped by with around 10 interns and doctors to check Leah out. We had a bit of a disappointment this morning, as the carotid injury has not progressed as fast as he would like, and there is still some swelling and bruising there. He took her off of the aspirin, and placed her back on cumidin and another submolecular slippery stuff that prevents clots (the nurses words not mine.) Leah will be taking cumidin for the next few weeks, and will be receiving two shots a day of the super slippery drug. This will help prevent clots from forming, and helps to limit the possibility of the damage at the carotid from passing into the brain. All in all a minor setback, but one that was quickly overshadowed by the good stuff that happened today.
On the bright side Leah was sitting upright in a chair for the rounds, and was able to sit for almost an hour in a chair before tiring. The nurse also unhooked all the monitoring devices, except for a quick check every few hours. We also were able to get the IV removed, as her fluid levels and nutrition levels were looking good, after being touch and go for a while back on Saturday and Sunday due to the food poisoning she had dealt with all week. Once they removed the IV fluid cycle, they also went ahead and removed the catheter. She managed to walk about 10 steps over to the restroom and use the facilities all by herself. She of course needs a little assistance getting in and out of bed and getting settled, but the walking and relieving parts she is able to do completely on her own. Little does she realize that this is a subtle bit of PT for her, as the nurses continue to pour water for her and encourage her to drink. This makes her have to use the restroom more, and therefore walk more. This is a really good bit of exercise for her and one that the PT tech said was good for her. Leah also stated that her goal was to go down to see Rachel, and have a nice little hand squeezing moment with her. She got around 10 steps, before we loaded her up into the wheelchair and let her go down and talk to Rachel.
This is a good point to bring Rachel's status up to date. Yesterday we were having a lot of difficulty with the pain medication blocking a lot of her lucid moments. Late last night, they changed her over to percocet to help clear the fog, while still controlling the pain. This techniques seemed to work a little bit, as this morning we were able to have a nice conversation with Rachel. She was able to talk with us a little bit and also able to say what all was hurting. She did end up also sustaining a sprained neck, and she is currently having to keep her head movement to a minimum. She did however look about a thousand times better then she did last night, and her spirit seemed much better,tho it is apparent that at times her heart is still very very broken. She did eat 4 bites of pancakes, but decided they tastes a bit like cardboard, so she made Britanie eat it for her. She did drink down her milk tho, and also drank a little juice. This was quite encouraging, as she had been quite uninterested in food.
She and Leah had a nice chat, told each other how much they loved each other, and managed to wave at each other from a bit of a distance, as wheel chairs and hospital beds tend to be quite bulky. We said a prayer as a family with Bill, and the prayer seemed to help put her and Leah at rest. Both of them quickly tired however, as that was a lot of excitement for the two of them, and both wanted to take a quick nap.
Once again Dee cooked a wonderful meal for us, and served us in the conference room of the ICU ward. Leah felt strong enough that she decided to join us, and we wheeled her into sit with us as we demolished the delicious food, laughed, and shared stories and jokes. I can not tell you how much that homemade food helps a person feel good. Rachel was not yet ready for this kind of meal, so was anxious to get her tomato soup, cottage cheese an cracker meal. She got quite impatient and managed to grouse a bit because it was taking so long to get her food. This kind of spirit is the Rachel we were looking for, and her improvement helped lift our spirits quite a bit.
We did have a bit of a downer, as we did have to deal with funeral arrangements for Renee. Zack had the hard job of sitting down and planning Renee's funeral, and finding a burial plot. For people who wish to send condolences to Zack, he can be reached at ostatezack@yahoo.com, or call me and I will try to get you his number.
The funeral will be held at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Stillwater, OK on Friday, August 10th at 10 AM, with Father Kenneth J. Harder presiding. Interment will be in Fairlawn Cemetary, Stillwater, OK. Strode Funeral Home is Stillwater is in charge of arrangements. A quiet viewing will be avaliable on Thrusday night at the funeral home, and will be attended by Britanie, John and myself. We will be flying out of Denver on Thursday morning, and will return Friday evening. We will be leaving the girls in the capable hands of Jerry and Bill and Judith. An online obituary can be viewed at Strode Funeral Home's website.
Please continue to email us and the girls, the emails were wonderful, and was a joy to share with them. I think you all for your wonderful out pouring of support and prayer and generosity, and can't even begin to put into words how much this means to all of us. I must also take the time to thank the people at Swedish Medical Center, and especially the nursing staff of the ICU. They have been wonderful in accommodating all of us, and treating the girls to some of the best care that we could have ever hoped for. I would also especially like to take the time to thank Dr. Larry Miton of Oklahoma and his wife Paula for stopping on the road to help us in our time of need, and who I have had the pleasure of delivering a report on the girls status to. Leah also had the opportunity to thank him on the phone, and I am sure if my mother had been awake at the time would have like to as well. I realize that all of these people are professionals, but the way that they do their jobs, and the help and the care that they provide is exceptional, and the best that one could ever hope for should one end up in this situation.
Thanks again for all the love and prayers, I must now go follow the doctors orders and get some sleep.
Jay
We got up early this morning so we could be there for rounds, and get the latests from the doctors. Dr. Katubig (aka Dr. Burt the trauma surgeon) stopped by with around 10 interns and doctors to check Leah out. We had a bit of a disappointment this morning, as the carotid injury has not progressed as fast as he would like, and there is still some swelling and bruising there. He took her off of the aspirin, and placed her back on cumidin and another submolecular slippery stuff that prevents clots (the nurses words not mine.) Leah will be taking cumidin for the next few weeks, and will be receiving two shots a day of the super slippery drug. This will help prevent clots from forming, and helps to limit the possibility of the damage at the carotid from passing into the brain. All in all a minor setback, but one that was quickly overshadowed by the good stuff that happened today.
On the bright side Leah was sitting upright in a chair for the rounds, and was able to sit for almost an hour in a chair before tiring. The nurse also unhooked all the monitoring devices, except for a quick check every few hours. We also were able to get the IV removed, as her fluid levels and nutrition levels were looking good, after being touch and go for a while back on Saturday and Sunday due to the food poisoning she had dealt with all week. Once they removed the IV fluid cycle, they also went ahead and removed the catheter. She managed to walk about 10 steps over to the restroom and use the facilities all by herself. She of course needs a little assistance getting in and out of bed and getting settled, but the walking and relieving parts she is able to do completely on her own. Little does she realize that this is a subtle bit of PT for her, as the nurses continue to pour water for her and encourage her to drink. This makes her have to use the restroom more, and therefore walk more. This is a really good bit of exercise for her and one that the PT tech said was good for her. Leah also stated that her goal was to go down to see Rachel, and have a nice little hand squeezing moment with her. She got around 10 steps, before we loaded her up into the wheelchair and let her go down and talk to Rachel.
This is a good point to bring Rachel's status up to date. Yesterday we were having a lot of difficulty with the pain medication blocking a lot of her lucid moments. Late last night, they changed her over to percocet to help clear the fog, while still controlling the pain. This techniques seemed to work a little bit, as this morning we were able to have a nice conversation with Rachel. She was able to talk with us a little bit and also able to say what all was hurting. She did end up also sustaining a sprained neck, and she is currently having to keep her head movement to a minimum. She did however look about a thousand times better then she did last night, and her spirit seemed much better,tho it is apparent that at times her heart is still very very broken. She did eat 4 bites of pancakes, but decided they tastes a bit like cardboard, so she made Britanie eat it for her. She did drink down her milk tho, and also drank a little juice. This was quite encouraging, as she had been quite uninterested in food.
She and Leah had a nice chat, told each other how much they loved each other, and managed to wave at each other from a bit of a distance, as wheel chairs and hospital beds tend to be quite bulky. We said a prayer as a family with Bill, and the prayer seemed to help put her and Leah at rest. Both of them quickly tired however, as that was a lot of excitement for the two of them, and both wanted to take a quick nap.
Once again Dee cooked a wonderful meal for us, and served us in the conference room of the ICU ward. Leah felt strong enough that she decided to join us, and we wheeled her into sit with us as we demolished the delicious food, laughed, and shared stories and jokes. I can not tell you how much that homemade food helps a person feel good. Rachel was not yet ready for this kind of meal, so was anxious to get her tomato soup, cottage cheese an cracker meal. She got quite impatient and managed to grouse a bit because it was taking so long to get her food. This kind of spirit is the Rachel we were looking for, and her improvement helped lift our spirits quite a bit.
We did have a bit of a downer, as we did have to deal with funeral arrangements for Renee. Zack had the hard job of sitting down and planning Renee's funeral, and finding a burial plot. For people who wish to send condolences to Zack, he can be reached at ostatezack@yahoo.com, or call me and I will try to get you his number.
The funeral will be held at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Stillwater, OK on Friday, August 10th at 10 AM, with Father Kenneth J. Harder presiding. Interment will be in Fairlawn Cemetary, Stillwater, OK. Strode Funeral Home is Stillwater is in charge of arrangements. A quiet viewing will be avaliable on Thrusday night at the funeral home, and will be attended by Britanie, John and myself. We will be flying out of Denver on Thursday morning, and will return Friday evening. We will be leaving the girls in the capable hands of Jerry and Bill and Judith. An online obituary can be viewed at Strode Funeral Home's website.
Please continue to email us and the girls, the emails were wonderful, and was a joy to share with them. I think you all for your wonderful out pouring of support and prayer and generosity, and can't even begin to put into words how much this means to all of us. I must also take the time to thank the people at Swedish Medical Center, and especially the nursing staff of the ICU. They have been wonderful in accommodating all of us, and treating the girls to some of the best care that we could have ever hoped for. I would also especially like to take the time to thank Dr. Larry Miton of Oklahoma and his wife Paula for stopping on the road to help us in our time of need, and who I have had the pleasure of delivering a report on the girls status to. Leah also had the opportunity to thank him on the phone, and I am sure if my mother had been awake at the time would have like to as well. I realize that all of these people are professionals, but the way that they do their jobs, and the help and the care that they provide is exceptional, and the best that one could ever hope for should one end up in this situation.
Thanks again for all the love and prayers, I must now go follow the doctors orders and get some sleep.
Jay
posted by Jay at 2:02 AM
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