Christmas miracle?????

Yesterday, our patient visited her skin graft doctor at UAMS, who she really likes, and learned that her elbow is doing well and this is good news. He also looked at the areas on her left thigh where the skin had been "borrowed" and they have been healing well also. She had concerns however about the swelling in that leg that had slowly been going down but in the past few days had actually gotten worse.

They had originally told her that the swelling was due to the injuries (knee scrape, skin removal, and bone from hip for neck fusion) and would continue to recede and be normal before too long. This leg is the same one that a blood clot had been located in during her time in ICU and they had placed a filter within her vein to catch it, should it break loose. Dr. Yuen, her skin doc said she should not be having this much swelling and it was most likely a vascular issue so he sent her over to see the vascular doctors immediately and they found she has several blood clots.

They decided to put her on blood thinners for the next 5 days via two shots a day in her stomach. They will have another look at her at the end of these 5 days but said they want her on blood thinner pills (Cumadin) for a month. They had taken her off of them prior to the arm surgery that she was supposed to have had a few weeks ago. Now, on these meds, she needs to be very careful not to cut herself in any way, including shaving or flossing. Of course, the arm surgery must not be considered until this situation has been fully corrected.

I'm so sorry for Mom to have her arm surgery delayed for so much longer because the pain is really difficult and she is getting tired of having it. She is still in good spirits, however, and wishes to remind everyone to continue praying for her, especially now. She said she didn't want to post any bad news at Christmas but she knows she needs your prayers over this blood clot issue.

Thanks go to Pam Anderson and Kimber Rule, neighbors who are also nurses, who are working together to help out where they need it and Pam for giving her these two daily shots this week.

Leslie is arriving tomorrow to stay for the week and my family hopes to visit for a couple of days as well.

Merry Christmas!

Lookin' Gooood

Wow! Doesn't she look great! Mom is so thrilled to have lost 30 pounds! She is expecting to lose a little more when the remainder of the swelling/water weight she still has is diminished.

Yesterday Mom and John got out for a couple of doctors appointments. She is moving around more and able to do more all the time. It takes all her energy and she gets to rest when she returns but she is feeling stronger each time. If we could just get that left arm to stop spazzing and giving her pain, she could say she felt perfectly peachy.

She had her left elbow looked at and the news there should be better but because she is always resting on that elbow, the skin graft that was done there has not healed as well or as fast as expected. They melted a little balloon into her arm brace to prevent her from having to place pressure on it all the time. Unfortunately, they said she may need another skin graft on that area to ensure that it is strong.

This means that the orthopedic corrections to her arm may be postponed even more. We hope not. Perhaps they can find a way to work it out. The best news is she was able to lift that left arm higher than ever before today and she was able to grip and hold a cup in her right hand today for the first since she started PT. Keep doing your exercises Mom!

I made it home just fine yesterday. We were on the phone with Mom on our way to see Matt perform in his Christmas program when we hit a deer. We are all fine but it really scared Matt. He was so shook up he was not up to performing in the show. We will have to find another opportunity to put him to work in his elf outfit.

Corn Chowder, Coaches, and the effects of exercise

Uncle Jim, while he was snowed in with us, took on the task of coaching Mom through her first hand exercises. he was very helpful and a very encouraging trainer. He read through each exercise and demonstrated them for her. He also helped her do another set this afternoon before he returned to Hot Springs. We all had a great time visiting with our Uncle Jim. Thanks Jim!


I filled in on those exercises once yesterday afternoon. I can attest to their effectiveness. This morning when I awoke I was aware that my right hand, which I used to perform the exercises along with Mom, was sore and a little stiff. Ha!


Fresh home made corn chowder was delivered by Jim and Nancy Foster yesterday and we enjoyed that for lunch today. Thank you for the delicious and comforting soup!


I did some shopping today and bought a little Christmas decor for Mom's room. I delivered it with a rhyme. I said "For you who spends so much time up here I brought you a little Christmas cheer". You have to see it to appreciate it. I'll just say it added a little color and comedy to a certain piece of temporary furniture that we all hope will be unnecessary soon.

It was so good to see and visit with Diane Holt today. Thanks for coming by.

Tough get tougher

Monday marked the first workout day for Mom's right hand. I had no idea they have an entire space devoted to hands at UAMS. There, they have treatments and therapies for any type of hand injuries. Many other hand patients were there getting therapy.

None of us were aware that there was so much stiffness involved when a body part had not been used in so long. Mom's fingers are so stiff they must be forced to move the smalled bit. Her left hand is worse and it is just frozen in place and still very swollen. The therapist said the movements should have been started sooner than now. This arm is just going to have to wait for she still needs another surgery to repair the wrist and elbow where they are rotated. This can't be done and a cast can't be worn until her skin graft and elbow injury are healed sufficiently. In the mean time she is encouraged to keep moving those fingers, even the smallest amount.

The therapist, Mary, began yesterday by wrapping Mom's arm in warm towels to relax it and warm up the muscles. This felt good. Her therapist gave her several exercises which she is to perform 10 times each three times a day. These were such simple little moves that we can all do without effort but Mom really had to work hard to appear she had moved at all in some fingers. Even though she is using her right hand fingers each day, these moves are some that she does not make and take extra effort.

We are working on a routine for her to follow each day to ensure that she is doing her exercises. She began them in the kitchen this morning but sitting up and moving her head to read the instructions caused her neck and shoulders to strain and she became tired quickly. She was only there for a while and had to return to lie in her bed for a little nap.

Refreshed, this afternoon, and sitting in her newly remodeled den (where we have a fire in the fireplace on this cold day,) Mom has done her second round of exercises for today and we are so excited because she was able to touch her thumb to her ring finger and pinkie!

Uncle Jim came by yesterday to visit before his doctors appointment and is still here. The weather has us all snowed in together and we are enjoying visiting. I made some chicken noodle soup for lunch and we all ate a delicious dinner together with Dean thanks to Georgann Ozment and Suzanne Godwin. Thanks so much! There was plenty for all of us and it was delicious.

Good friends, good attitude, and good food

Well, I (Diane), arrived this afternoon to spend some time helping out with the assisting of Mom that Dean, Mindy and John have done so much of and done so well. John is still such a trooper, not to mention such a gentle, loving and kind attendant, no matter what the circumstances. I hope to help out enough to give him some time to take his walks, visit with friends, and feel free to run errands or ? He got a few of those moments this evening visiting with some neighbors.

Each time I arrive to visit, I always expect to see Mom looking more "normal" or somehow appear to be more progressed through this healing process and living her life as she had before and in many ways she is. I always have to shift gears, however, and remember that she is still in pain and struggles to do some of the most basic things that we are all doing so effortlessly.

There is no substitute for being here to know what she is (and has been) going through and I am frustrated with my mind's way of minimizing and forgetting [the severity of her injuries and extent of her pain] when I am not present. Her body is still reeling and adjusting to the task it is obligated to perform in healing and restoring her to health. She is much stronger yet still fragile and as much as I want her back to herself again, I must be patient and trust the process.

Tomorrow we will get a visit from Uncle Jim and his friend Mable from Hot Springs before lunch then we are off to physical therapy for both of Mom's hands and arms. Although she has had the cast removed, her right hand is still delicate and weak and she must be very careful with it. This is not easy. She picks up some of the smallest, everyday things but even they can bee too much for her wrist. Her left arm is difficult to lug around and it stresses her shoulder which makes it uncomfortable to be in any position at times. Hopefully, this PT will make a big difference. She will be going each week and doing exercises in between.

Thanks go out to John's former partner, Gene at Merrill Lynch, his wife Paula, and many associates and friends for your gift of a prepaid card for food and all the fabulous restaurant menus and reccommendations! Yum! Last night they enjoyed Layla's and saved some leftover gyros for me too. Yum!

______________________________

Linda says: I never forget how grateful I am to be healing but I do admit that healing can be hard and it takes a lot of patience so I still need your prayers, especially for Monday.

Cast Off!

The cast was removed from Linda's right arm today. She still needs to be very carefull with it and has a new slip-on support brace she needs to wear most of the time. This is good news! She will be able to get back to doing many more things for herself that she has needed help with, like checking her emails! I've been helping her keep her inbox from getting out of control but she still has around 300 or so that she'll need to go through.

We heard from Mindy that she arrived home to her family in Saipan. She missed them very much and I'm sure she is VERY glad to be back home. Thanks for coming and helping so much Mindy! You are a blessing to our mother and all of us.

John says everything is now is just routine and Mom continues to get stronger every day. She is enjoying moving around the house more and starting to get back into her life a little at a time. She is so grateful to be getting her hair washed with shampoo and water!

I plan to be in Little Rock from Sat until Thursday to help out wherever I can. --Diane

Sunday visit with Dean & Laine

Dean & his daughter, Laine, visited Nana today. Laine brought two of her friends, Brittany & Julie, who were very gracious and Mom sure did enjoy meeting them and seeing Laine & Dean.

I hope you can enjoy viewing this photo montage. We were playing around with my new computer that has a webcam to take these photographs. It was created using Office 2007, so I'm not sure that it can be viewed by everyone's system. That's why I posted some of them separately. If you have RealPlayer, it can definitely be viewed that way.

Mom is doing so well. John frequently escorts her around the house, and she's working hard at becoming more self-sufficient. It takes her a little longer, but she's so determined. She wants to try walking outside tomorrow. ~Mindy

Loving Casey

Linda can only use four fingers on her right hand. Casey says, "Four fingers are all right with me."

It's good to be home with a friend.

Linda observes that Casey is very considerate of her injuries and hasn't tried to climb on her and paw her like usual. He has been very obedient when she asks him to get out of her way.

We want our Nana back!

Get better Nana!
These kids want you to come for Christmas and visit us in the woods again.
They miss you and want to go hiking and camping with you.
This is the best picture of you two with Matt and Shannon, Jag and Riker!

No more hospital gown!!!

I helped my mom dress in normal clothes for the first time since she drove off on her scooter that Wednesday morning of October 8th! She had two doctor's appointments with Xrays taken in between. She even got to eat out at a deli & coffee shop located in UAMS. She was out from 8am to 2pm today, and is exhausted and resting now.

Her first visit was with the phenomenal Dr. Yuen, the plastic surgeon who performed the skin graft and who has treated the WHOLE patient so well. She has a new dressing over the skin graft area with a larger wrap above her elbow and down toward the wrist, covered by a specially made splint that will protect her elbow better and prevent bending. He remarked today, that even though delaying the orthopedic surgery longer is not ideal because she is healing so well, she may have better recovery than they normally can predict. She is a very strong individual who has a great attitude and probably will do better than expected.

The Xrays were for the appointment with Dr. Ahmed, the neurosurgeon. The neck is healing well. She was told to keep wearing the neck brace another four weeks whenever she's up and around, to prevent sudden movements.

My flight schedule, for returning to Saipan, has changed. I will leave a day earlier. I depart on Tuesday morning. I will miss Mom and John. I wish I could stay longer, but I need to be with Thom, Garrett, and Brooke too. I'm grateful that the visiting home health aids will be able to see her three times a week, in addition to the visiting nurses. Dean will be available part-time. Also, several friends have offered to come over for short spells if John needs to go out for errands. And, Diane may come during the Christmas holiday. Mom is walking around better, but she is still off balance and it is so dangerous if she falls because she can't support her weight on her arms, so we like to follow her closely in case she needs some support.

Mindy

Home again and feeling fine

I just talked to Mom on her speaker phone and she sounds GREAT! The pain she had yesterday is gone and she is again in good spirits and feeling grateful for her progress, the help she has recieved, and the new cast on her right arm, even though they moved her thumb further out and told her she was not to be using it as much as she had been.

She said a nurse told her she bit her lip so hard it bled, even under anesthesia, because of the pain during the procedure. The pain afterward was great but she remembers a sweet nurse telling her they were giving her more medicine for the pain and it was going to be better.

It was better and she went back home last night. She has lots of new bandages from her shoulder to her wrist on that left arm but there is much less pain today.

We talked about my children and the good Thanksgiving food we had. She wanted more mashed potatos but they are gone. We discussed my coming back to help her more this month after Mindy returns to Saipan. I will be there before Christmas but when and how long is not known yet. We want to encourage John to take a much needed break and visit some of his family during this time. - Diane

Pain added to pain

This is Diane, I just got a call from Mindy at the hospital. Mom was being wheeled out of recovery and the report was a bit sad.

Rather than cut into her arm and perform the surgery that we had all expected today, the doctors decided to attempt manipulating her bones back into place. The orthopedic and skin graft doctors concured to postpone surgery due to a risk of infection and to avoid compromising the healing progress that has been made with her skin graft.

Unfortunately, what they did to her today caused her great pain and she immediately asked for the maximum amount of relief possible.

They will keep her for observation this afternoon and possible release her to return home if they determine she is in good condition to do so. Pray she may but also that the pain subsides and the heavy meds are not necessary for too long.

#2

Linda is #2 on the surgery list tomorrow morning, which might begin around 10am. It is likely that they will discharge her by the same evening rather than having her stay another night.

Off to UAMS again, to check in for surgery

John and Linda just left to drive to UAMS this afternoon. It's cold, wet, and windy outside; it felt good to her. I'm going to stay indoors. John will call me if I need to bring anything to the hospital that they need. We heard from Diane's husband, Steve, that there have been snow flurries up in Eureka Springs. I wonder if I will see snow in Little Rock before I return to the tropics in ten days.

As soon as I have any news about the surgery schedule, I will post it. ~Mindy

Family Gathering

Mom came home before noon on Thanksgiving Day. She sat in the living room for a little while and we brought Casey up to her. At first, he seemed confused about her, the unusual cast on her arm and her neck brace, but after several minutes his nose told him that his momma was home. Mom let him sit beside her right side on the sofa and he rolled over snuggling his nose toward her in his lap. This made my mom so happy to finally see her baby. She didn't worry about him hurting her at all, and Casey seemed to understand that she needed tender loving care. He's been very sweet. Mom carefully climbed the stairs and slept the first night in her own bed! John set up a homemade bell for her to call us, using the lid from a saucepan and a carabiner! It works well!

We didn't allow ourselves to feel pressure about preparing our Thanksgiving meal, waiting until Friday to sit down for it. We are very grateful to one of our neighbors who kindly fed Dean, John and me from their magnificent Thanksgiving spread on Thursday, and sent a plate home for Linda--she had a small taste of each thing.

I spent some time organizing the medications that have been prescribed into an Excel spreadsheet that I printed out. This will help us keep up with the time schedule. She's on at least ten medications, which may be changed after her surgery. I can easily make changes and reprint the list as needed. Before I had made the list, we had made a mistake the very first time we gave her a pill! Two medications began with the letters "lev," and we accidentally gave her the wrong one. It was her thyroid medication, and she had already been given it that morning by the nurses at Select. Oops. No harm was done, but it scared us, and made us study the instructions well so that we know what we're doing. I called a nurse to ask several questions too.

We prepared a wonderful feast on Friday with minimal stress, served buffet style, and using the regular china instead of dusting off the fine stuff. Mary provided the turkey, dressing, & gravy. Diane and I cooked side dishes, and Shannon baked the pumpkin pies, and Matthew set the table! Dean washed all of the dishes! It was quite a feast, enjoyed by all. Unfortunately, Mom was only able to nibble a little of it because she has had no appetite for a couple of days, but I'm sure it will return before the leftovers are all gone.

Sunday afternoon, Linda will be checked in to UAMS for orthopedic surgery on Monday, followed by one or two nights at UAMS. Today, a visiting nurse came to give us her orientation and next week, after returning home again, home health nurses and home health aids will begin regular visits to help us at home as needed. John and I can handle most of the hourly duties but bathing and woundcare help will be greatly appreciated for the skill of the professionals. We're just practicing at this.
~Mindy

Note from Linda:

Loving thanks to John, Diane, Mindy, Dean, Shannon, Matthew, and Mary for all your wonderful help. Even though I was upstairs, it was a joy to hear everyone together today in the house, and enjoying a Thanksgiving dinner that you made possible.

Love,
Linda

Surgery scheduled for Monday & A Little Bad News.

She's pretty worn out from the transport to and from UAMS (the ambulance was a little late both ways, so it was the waiting that wore her out). and she was not very hungry even though she had missed lunch. She barely ate supper but hopefully she will rest well. She received a lot of extra pain medicine today in anticipation of a lot of handling of that left arm to determine what will need to be done on Monday.

John picked up her prescriptions in preparation for tomorrow. Dean and I spent the evening with Mom, having a lively discussion with her and her roommate, Ms. Beatrice, a very nice lady who is very pleasant even though she is also in a lot of pain. Ms. Beatrice reminds me a little of my sweet-natured Grandmonie who was suffering from very similar circumstances (congestive heart failure which also led to the amputation of one leg) when I was a senior in high school. Sadly, we can hear patients crying out in other rooms who seem to be in even more pain.

The bad news is that Mom's cast on her right arm will need to stay on about six more weeks due the severity of the break. As you may recall, it had been broken in five places and was like putting a puzzle together. Added to this is the fact that her left arm will also be in a cast following the orthopedic surgery, probably also for twelve weeks. Unfortunately, the orthopedic surgery must compromise some of the skin graft's success.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Thanks for your prayers and concern.

~Mindy

Rewind; Plan B.

Instead of being discharged today, they decided to get her to UAMS' Ortho. Clinic and back via ambulance. She will sleep at Select Specialty Hospital one more night, so that all the arrangements can be handled properly, i.e. prescriptions filled, then be discharged on Thanksgiving morning.

She's getting bathed and ready to go now. John and I prepared some clothes for her to wear--I'm sure she's happy to have a change from wearing hospital gowns for seven weeks! She has a 12:15 pm appointment. I hope all goes smoothly. ~Mindy

Left Arm is Broken! Linda To Be Discharged Wednesday!

The results from the Xray of Linda's left arm revealed today that her radius is fractured. It is rotated outward causing a separation from the ulna near the elbow and severe stress near the wrist also. There may be a detached or torn tendon due to the hard, swollen area on the inside of the wrist.

The original Xrays were reviewed also, and it was determined that these breaks were not visible at that time due to the angle of the view and her severe swelling and other injuries (the de-gloved skin that required the skin graft). Anyway, clearly the skin graft and saving her arm were the priority during the initial trauma, and even if they could have known about the break it is unlikely that they would have performed the orthopedic surgery until after the skin graft.

A psychotic patient in the room next door is constantly saying "Hey, hey....hey, hey..." (she builds, getting louder through the night). We think Mom's arm was signaling us with the unusually severe pain she was having, like saying, "hey, hey, you need to Xray me," to get the attention it needed now that the skin graft is safe. Just a couple of days ago, she was allowed to leave her dressings completely off and just let the air hit the area. Everything seems to happen for a reason.

Dr. Yuen and Dr. Holland seemed to work overtime, collaborating to quickly arrange a consultation with the Orthopedic Clinic at UAMS tomorrow. Thus, Mom will be discharged tomorrow morning in order to visit Dr. Gruenwald's team before noon. They want to make sure it's done tomorrow due to the Thanksgiving weekend coming up. They will have to plan extensive orthopedic surgery to repair the damage. We don't expect the surgery to be scheduled until after the holiday, but they will determine that tomorrow.

This news is rather devastating because this means another very serious surgery, but it is still one more step along the road to recovery. No wonder she had such great pain in that arm--it was more than just sore from inactivity and the recent exercise--and now another solution is in sight.

Roommate Blues

Mom's new roommate was not treated very gently by two nurses the other day. Mom and I were witnesses to it; we've told the doctor/director and they are thoroughly investigating the incident. Our neighbor was in a lot of pain, had earlier asked for her pain medicine, but these nurses insisted on bathing and moving her first in such a rough manner that she was bleeding afterward, which required some emergency attention (her leg had been amputated just the other day). It was so sad. Mom asserted herself by asking for a particular nurse who is very gentle and he did an excellent job of soothing the patient and knowing exactly what needed to be done. We 've been around long enough to know which staff members are outstandingly good, but also the ones to watch out for. I hate that any patient is ever treated any differently from any other. This is also causing stress for Mom, but we have been lucky that she had the freedom of a private room for over two weeks until now. She will be free from hospital stress by Thanksgiving, but her neighbor will probably be hospitalized for much longer. Our heart goes out to the other patients, especially those who have few or no family members to advocate for them.

The Xrays are going to be viewed by an orthopedic surgeon--Mom may get to have the cast removed from her right wrist before discharge. On the other hand, literally, she is having some swelling and pain in the left wrist. The doctor says that it is edema caused from her increased activity and should subside as long as she tries to elevate the wrist whenever she is reclining. Her legs cleared up so we believe her wrist will be fine.

Because of her rapid weight loss, Mom's skin had been looking rather loose and without muscle tone, but I am simply amazed at how well her skin's elasticity is returning and her muscles are toning up again, within days after her increased exercise. We are lucky to have such healthy resilience in our family. I've never been very consistent about weightlifting but I have noticed that I easily build muscle. My sisters and I were once asked if we were decathletes when we were teenagers, even though we really weren't very involved with sports besides inheriting natural muscularity. I suppose that we would have done well among the cave dwellers in the past. I was embarassed by my own strength when I was a child, because I thought girls should be feminine and delicate, but I'm grateful for it today.