PRAISE THE LORD
Can you tell that I am excited? Abi has been resting on and off today, mostly off. She is on the Orthopedic floor, which is the 6th floor. She is off the morphine, so now she is makeing sense when she speaks, well as much sense as she normaly does. She had an Ultra Sound on her legs today and they were fine. The will do a minor surgery tomorrow to remove the filter that was placed to catch any clots. Her aunt and uncle came to visit her and gave Charlette a ride home. Hopefully she will get some rest before she comes back up tonight. Abi is in good hands, I'm here watching over my baby girl. Two of her fellow workers were also up and they had a good visit. Josie didn't even cry, although we thought she would a couple of times. The word is that she will be moved to Rehab on Monday. I am having a hard time fathoming the speed of her recovery. I just PTL for his healing hand on my Abi and his direction and guidance over the Medical Staff. The staff here at the U have treated us with the utmost respect and kindness. I would like to send each one of them a dozen or so roses.
Now, for visitation. There are no restrictions on visitation, as long as it doesn't affect the patient care. Any age can come and see her, which I know will thrill the children that she has taught and been with in the various churches that she has been at. There is an old addage that "a good visit is a short visit", but I don't know what kind of time that is refering too. I know a lot of you that come up will be coming across the valley, and we want everyone to get a chance to hug her and see her. The hospital staff will be monitoring her and will stop visits if it starts to affect Abi's care.
THE ABI GAME IS NEXT FRIDAY
Discovery won their game last night as the other team was afraid to show up and play them. Freedom lost their game, so that means Discovery and Freedom play next Friday at 6:30. The winner will go on to play at 8:30. Abi is a part of both churches, and said she will not predict a winner. This will be a LOVE GAME FOR ABI. We will have a t-shirt there for her friends to sign. Please plan to come to the game, sign a book for her, sign the shirt and get your picture taken that we give to her. The games are at the Redwood Rec Center at 3100 So. Redwood Road.
More later, Thank you all again for all your prayers.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
GREATER NEWS
Abi is being moved from IMCU to the Orthopedics Floor as I write this. I don't have any details as to visitor restrictions and such, but will post when I have the info. WOW, I'd to a big dance if I could, but I'm sure I would hurt something.
GREAT NEWS
Charlette just notified me that Abi has made great strides today. They got her up on the side of the bed and told her not to put any weight on her left leg and they would help her to stand on her right. Before they could help her she stood up by her self. The neck brace has been removed as the C 7 vertibrae is not broken as originally thought. She has been sleeping of and on and is very cognisant of what is going on. She has been talking, which most of us figured that would be the 1st thing to come back. We should all be ready for non-stop chatter, and I'm really okay with that. All I can say is PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to everyone for their prayers and your continued prayers. Thanks to everyone that has been such a blessing to the family. Most of all I want to thank Charlette, Stacey and Josh for making sure that someone was with her 24/7 for the past 12 days.
Please continue to pray that she will be moved to a medicin bad where we can get her some flowers and her friends can visit with her. There will probably be some restrictions on the amount of visitors she can have as she will still be on pain meds and can easily become agitated when things aren't going right. Wait a minute, that is the normal Abi, so may just sooner.
Our softball team will be playing tonight for a win in her honor. Thanks again everyone.
Thanks to everyone for their prayers and your continued prayers. Thanks to everyone that has been such a blessing to the family. Most of all I want to thank Charlette, Stacey and Josh for making sure that someone was with her 24/7 for the past 12 days.
Please continue to pray that she will be moved to a medicin bad where we can get her some flowers and her friends can visit with her. There will probably be some restrictions on the amount of visitors she can have as she will still be on pain meds and can easily become agitated when things aren't going right. Wait a minute, that is the normal Abi, so may just sooner.
Our softball team will be playing tonight for a win in her honor. Thanks again everyone.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
more restful day!
Today has bee a more restful day for Abi they have changed her meds again. Finally they have gotten her to a point where her pain is manageable. I think we are just going to wait and see how long this works. HOPEFULLY FOR A WHILE! Abi is coherent for the most part. Her meds are allowing her to be alert, she is not nearly as agitated. Her white blood count is starting to come down which is a huge praise! We are really seeing some progress now that she is able to rest. She is still in isolation, but she doesn't know any better. I don't think she really cares. As a matter of fact most of what she answers is I don't know or I don't care! She does know that she wants to go home. It is hard to tell her that she can't go home.
She can read and write also she can still do math. She has more issues with standing but she is getting stronger. It only takes a few minutes to wear her out, which is to be expected.
All in all it has been a good day!
She can read and write also she can still do math. She has more issues with standing but she is getting stronger. It only takes a few minutes to wear her out, which is to be expected.
All in all it has been a good day!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Isolation?
I stayed the night with Abi last night. It was a rough night for her. They have changed her meds, and she has a feeding tube. Because of the feeding tube they had to restrain her again. I was able to let her arms free as long as I was in the room with her. It was hard to rest because every time she moved her arms I wanted to know where her hands were and that she was not pulling on the feeding tube. Finally I got tired of her scaring the crap out of me and had them restrain her. It was the middle of the night. After about an hour they let 1 hand go so that she could move and turn. But the hand on the left where they had the feeding tube was still restrained.
Abi has a colitis, and infection in her colon. they are stopping the feeding with the tube and only using the tube to deliver antibiotics to the gut directly. Like I said she had a rough night and she only slept about 2-3 hours for the entire night. Yesterday was also rough.
They took off her morphine and are using other drugs that they thought would help control the pain better but they don't. She had a pain level of 8 all night long. The good thing about this medication is that Abi knows where she is and what is going on. She knows everything about it. She remembers things from one minute to the next, and she was using the nurse call button on her own by 4 this morning. She was extremely agitated. By the time 5:30 am rolled around she was finally getting into a deep sleep so they decided it was time to come in and poke and prod and ask questions. And she slept through most of it.
Because of the infection, they have placed Abi on isolation. The nurses have made it clear to us that no one is going to be allowed to see her for a few days at the very least. I was able to talk them into letting one immediate family member come in and sit with her during the day and another come in at night but that is all they will allow.
If the nurses would not have placed this restriction on Abi's visitor's we would have due to the nature of what is happening to her right now. She needs to keep all of the dignity she has intact. We want Abi's friends to see her as they know her and not have to experience anything gross. I know Abi would be highly embarrassed if anyone came in today or last night. So for the next few days she is going to rest and keep getting better.
Last night to distract her from the pain I pulled out her notebook and started reading some of the things that people have written to her. She was shocked to hear that she had been in the hospital for 10 days and she had 5 surgeries. She was shocked at her injuries as well. Abi loved hearing some of the things her friends had written and she would smile or get all happy that someone had taken the time to come and see her. I asked who had come down and all she remembered was that Josh had been there as well as family but she knew that Steph had spent the day with her. She was bummed that she did not get to go to the Michael Franti Concert last night. So as I read to her and showed her all the people who care for her she was brightened and also surprised by all the love.
PLEASE PRAY the doctors are very worried about her white blood count. It is TOO high, the doctor told me and he was very somber about it. He is worried about damage to her colon from the infection and does not want it to get to the point that it has to be removed. please pray. I know GOD has worked many miracles on behalf of Abi. I know He will do more. I prayed with her last night for peace and comfort, and healing. She specifically asked if I would pray for her healing. Mom is at the hospital today as well keep her in your prayers that she would be able to be strong for Abi and also a good distraction.
Thank you all for the wonderful encouragement from my post about CONCERNS.
It means alot! We love all of you!
Abi has a colitis, and infection in her colon. they are stopping the feeding with the tube and only using the tube to deliver antibiotics to the gut directly. Like I said she had a rough night and she only slept about 2-3 hours for the entire night. Yesterday was also rough.
They took off her morphine and are using other drugs that they thought would help control the pain better but they don't. She had a pain level of 8 all night long. The good thing about this medication is that Abi knows where she is and what is going on. She knows everything about it. She remembers things from one minute to the next, and she was using the nurse call button on her own by 4 this morning. She was extremely agitated. By the time 5:30 am rolled around she was finally getting into a deep sleep so they decided it was time to come in and poke and prod and ask questions. And she slept through most of it.
Because of the infection, they have placed Abi on isolation. The nurses have made it clear to us that no one is going to be allowed to see her for a few days at the very least. I was able to talk them into letting one immediate family member come in and sit with her during the day and another come in at night but that is all they will allow.
If the nurses would not have placed this restriction on Abi's visitor's we would have due to the nature of what is happening to her right now. She needs to keep all of the dignity she has intact. We want Abi's friends to see her as they know her and not have to experience anything gross. I know Abi would be highly embarrassed if anyone came in today or last night. So for the next few days she is going to rest and keep getting better.
Last night to distract her from the pain I pulled out her notebook and started reading some of the things that people have written to her. She was shocked to hear that she had been in the hospital for 10 days and she had 5 surgeries. She was shocked at her injuries as well. Abi loved hearing some of the things her friends had written and she would smile or get all happy that someone had taken the time to come and see her. I asked who had come down and all she remembered was that Josh had been there as well as family but she knew that Steph had spent the day with her. She was bummed that she did not get to go to the Michael Franti Concert last night. So as I read to her and showed her all the people who care for her she was brightened and also surprised by all the love.
PLEASE PRAY the doctors are very worried about her white blood count. It is TOO high, the doctor told me and he was very somber about it. He is worried about damage to her colon from the infection and does not want it to get to the point that it has to be removed. please pray. I know GOD has worked many miracles on behalf of Abi. I know He will do more. I prayed with her last night for peace and comfort, and healing. She specifically asked if I would pray for her healing. Mom is at the hospital today as well keep her in your prayers that she would be able to be strong for Abi and also a good distraction.
Thank you all for the wonderful encouragement from my post about CONCERNS.
It means alot! We love all of you!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
concerns
I know that there are concerns for every one involved. I want to clarify any questions that we may have, on medicating others and Abi's morphine. As for my mother she has had 3 nights that she has been medicated. Out of the 9 nights that Abi has been in the hospital we have only given mom medication for 3 of those nights and it is only when she is so exhausted that she has lost all common sense and concern for herself. The first night it was a tylenol pm the second and 3rd nights it was a valium. That is all she has had.
As for Abi she is on a morphine pump, she can have a bit of morphine every 10 minutes. We absolutely do not push it on her unless she is agitated and trying to move a lot (the doctors and nurses want her as still as possible because she is still on full spinal precautions) and is crying out that she is in pain, Please remember the doctors have set this up and she is trying to rest but is unable to due to the pain. She also has a head injury, that causes a lot of confusion. If Abi is resting well we let her rest we don't care if she goes 10 minutes or 3 hours with out morphine as long as she is not suffering. Let's go over Abi's injuries again just so we can clarify why she would need a lot of pain meds.
L3 vertebrae fractured
Sacrum broken
12 inch incision on her abdomen left open
5 surgeries that she is recovering from
sutures in her hips and her head
Pins in her broken in 3 places pelvis.
spleen removal
head injury with a brain bleed
not to mention that she has a really bad sore throat from her ventilator, and now has a feeding tube down her nose.
I hope this clarifies that we are not force feeding anyone medication on a daily basis and also that Abi is getting the utmost care. I know her doctors and nurses are working round the clock to get her better
Today they put in a feeding tube and also restrained her again. The last thing they did was give her a shot for the pain that would last longer than the morphine, because it wasn't covering the pain for her.
As for Abi she is on a morphine pump, she can have a bit of morphine every 10 minutes. We absolutely do not push it on her unless she is agitated and trying to move a lot (the doctors and nurses want her as still as possible because she is still on full spinal precautions) and is crying out that she is in pain, Please remember the doctors have set this up and she is trying to rest but is unable to due to the pain. She also has a head injury, that causes a lot of confusion. If Abi is resting well we let her rest we don't care if she goes 10 minutes or 3 hours with out morphine as long as she is not suffering. Let's go over Abi's injuries again just so we can clarify why she would need a lot of pain meds.
L3 vertebrae fractured
Sacrum broken
12 inch incision on her abdomen left open
5 surgeries that she is recovering from
sutures in her hips and her head
Pins in her broken in 3 places pelvis.
spleen removal
head injury with a brain bleed
not to mention that she has a really bad sore throat from her ventilator, and now has a feeding tube down her nose.
I hope this clarifies that we are not force feeding anyone medication on a daily basis and also that Abi is getting the utmost care. I know her doctors and nurses are working round the clock to get her better
Today they put in a feeding tube and also restrained her again. The last thing they did was give her a shot for the pain that would last longer than the morphine, because it wasn't covering the pain for her.
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