Rejoicing

Well, Mom is just now getting to see some of the blog this evening. Dean came to the hospital and reconfigured her laptop to recieve wireless internet there. We were having trouble before so KUDOS Dean! Good job!

She said she is doing so much better. She is so happy to know that Mindy will be here on Monday afternoon. The same day they have scheduled her for a skin graft on her arm. Her timing was good to arrive at this time. Mom will be glad to have her helping, especially since she cannot use either of her hands and we're not sure how long this will be the case. She has to have someone hold the telephone for her when I call because the phone is too heavy for her wrist. She even has trouble turning the volume on the tv.

This will be getting better fast just like the rest of her. I wish I could go and see her now but it will be a week or so. I could actually be more useful to her now than when I was there before.

John mentioned yesterday that they don't expect her to remain in the hospital too much longer. Perhaps once she has healed well enough after the skin graft? We'll see.

She's going to read the blog today!

I just got off the phone with my mother! She is now in a private room (435) and said she has a dream team taking care of her. They have started her on physical therapy and are helping her a lot since she can't use her arms. She said she will have a skin graft on her arm soon.

They have taken her off of the morphene! She said she was hallucinating on it. She thought she had come to my house for my son Matt's birthday but she didn't see Shannon, his sister. Now she is doing well on Perkaset (sp?) and slurs a little but knows what she's talking about!

She is still trying to put the pieces together about what happened and how long she was unconscience. She is concerned for what we have been through and is so appreciative of everyone for all the time, visits, prayers, and thought for her recovery.

I told her the good news about her hostel website going live TODAY!

She is very excited to get to read the blog this afternoon. She keeps hearing about it.
Sent her some messages!
_________________________________________
Welcome Mom! This is your site. Call me and I will put your words on it until you can write and can do it yourself. I'm sure all of your wonderful friends would love to keep hearing from you.

OK - Now she's famous!

This is in this week's Observer section of THE ARKANSAS TIMES! http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=605992b8-ed8e-40f9-8bb0-9a0bd035d59a

Plucky is a word that describes world traveler Linda Fordyce, who with her husband, John, has been working several years to get the Firehouse Hostel and Museum on the grounds of MacArthur Park up and running.
Fordyce was seriously injured recently by a vehicle when the front tire on a motor scooter she was riding went flat. Her daughter, Diane Newcomb, talked to The Observer about it, since the Times had done a story about her backpacking parents and their hostelling hopes.
The Firehouse Hostel will fill the historic Craftsman-styled Firehouse No. 2, just south of the Arkansas Arts Center, with firefighting memorabilia on the first floor and bunk rooms and suites on the second. The non-profit has a 50-year lease on the property from the city.
Last year about this time Fordyce laughed that she was someone who “liked living close to the ground” but was out trying to raise $2 million.
Instead of flowers, The Observer is thinking, how about a contribution to the Firehouse Hostel? The address: P.O. Box 2753, Little Rock 72203. A website is being created: Firehousehostel.org.
________________________________________
I'm working on that website! Should have it up tomorrow.
Mom will be so pleased!

I had to look up plucky: brave, courageous, spirited, gutsy
YUP!

Small steps!

Today Mom got to sit up in a chair! This was no small feat, it didn't last too long, and it exhausted her. They are trying to get her up moving more. This is good.

John says she is still eating lightly, soft things and resting a lot. He didn't try to wake her this afternoon when he visited.

He also said they will be moving her into a better room (private) where he can also stay the night there with her. That should make things easier for him. I hope she can get more sleep in the next room. It's hard to sleep in a hospital when they come in and do something every hour and there are so many beeps! I think ICU is the worst for noise but then, most of those patients don't notice.

I don't know if she knows about this blog yet. It has been mentioned but we don't know how much she retains so far. She is still so medicated, things are unclear. I look forward to her getting to read it and catch up on her celebrity. I hope that she will take it over for herself and everyone who has been reading this can continue to keep up with her from now on. I think she would enjoy this.

Changes

Last night Mom was moved from ICU and into a regular room on the same floor. Unit 4C

No news at this time about her condition other than she continues on pain medication with silliness as a side effect.

She was given a hamburger yesterday. Not sure if this was a mistake but John tried to give her small mushed up bites. Her throat is still not ready for that much food yet.

Reality check

Poor Mom, when John told her today was Wed she said she needed to get out of there so she could go to her 50th reunion on Friday. He had to tell her it was two weeks ago and she missed it. She will be hearing from her friends and catching up. They made a terrific book for the event.

She is starting to understand what happened and how long she has been out. She is still disoriented and confused and may be for a few days.

They gave her some real food today. Jello!

John says she is very appreciative of the nurses and doctors for keeping her alive and telling them so. They have been great. I took a photo of John and Mom up to her room last week so they could see how she normally looks, at her best. They commented that in the ICU they rarely get to meet any of their patients for most of them are out cold or on life support.

Best of all, they may be moving her out into a private room tonight or early tomorrow. I'll post the number here when I get it.

Thanks for keeping up with her and all of your prayers.

Mom and Casey - hard at work

Anncha, who works at the hostel with Mom, sent me this picture. Thanks Anncha!

Casey is considering a blog of his own. He says he misses his Nana very much and is wondering what happened to his job. He asked me to take him in the car each time I left while I stayed with him.

He's really doing fine, eating all his meals, and doing other dog things. He attached to me and stayed very close, like he does with Mom, but I just can't have him putting his mouth on my hand all the time. Ick!

He thinks he's a big lap dog and I let him crawl in my lap while I sat in Mom's big chair. It will be some time before Mom can go walking with him but I'm sure he will sit with her much when she gets home.

Mom had been shopping for a side car to put Casey in while she rode her scooter. I guess they will just have to take the Cadillac from now on.

High as a kite but feeling no pain

Well, Mom continues to improve and is sitting up better and talking. The two times I talked to the nurses today I was told she was goofy and confused. At first I thought she was right back to normal but then I remembered they have her on lots of pain medicine. He he ha ha
I know she will laugh about this too.

She was talking nonsense about cats in the hall and pizza parties and said she wanted to go to her room. This sounds funny but we sure don't want her to be like this too long. She is feeling no pain but morphene is a heavy duty narcotic and we hope they don't use too much of it for too long. They said they had stopped giving her the fentenol (amnesia) completely.

Dean said they asked them to switch to something to help her sleep rather than being so high because she isn't sleeping as much as she might. We'll see. We don't want her in pain.

I wish I could be there but am needed here for now. It's too easy, from this distance, to believe she is so much better and forget how much more healing she needs to do. I may be able to return on the weekend and hope to see Mindy when she comes on Monday.

The nurse on the day shift mentioned that they may start looking for her a room and move her from ICU soon. This is good!

Diane

Good News! Good News!

All of your prayers are working! Mom has had a big day of good changes!

Best of all, they removed her respirator tube! She can communicate! The first thing she wanted was water. That tube was so uncomfortable and even though they treated her regularly, she had little choice but suffer with a dry mouth. She has to whisper for a while and we are hoping her voice will be back to normal soon and not at all affected by the tube.

Yesterday they had taken the drain tube from her neck and today they removed the two she had in her lungs. They also removed another arterial port thay had in her groin. They had two for taking blood samples.

Today they also replaced the suction bandage on her arm with a fresh one and placed her in some special boots to keep her feet flexed and her calves stretched so she won't get too used to the relaxed position she has been in and have too much trouble getting back on her feet. This will also help with the plantar faciatis that she has struggled with previously.

She no longer needs a feeding tube in her nose and they have seriously reduced her sedation, just keeping her comfortable on pain relievers.

We never expected so much so soon but we'll take it! She can rest easier and continue to heal much more comfortably now.

Thanks again everyone, for your prayers and loving thoughts.

I wish I could have been there today.

Thanks Mary for being with us so much throughout this ordeal. It helped a lot!

Other good news: I'm about to get Mom's beloved hostel live on the internet, very soon. Also, look for a mention in the Arkansas Times!

I'm still here

I am in Eureka now but will keep on blogging what I can. I'm addicted.

John called around supper time to tell me that he is taking on a new routine and running home during the off hours between visiting hours. They had let him in anytime but we were told to adhere to their schedule so that we stay out of the way when they do what they need to do during those times.

Mom's sedation meds were slightly reduced and she woke a lot more today than yesterday. She smiled at me again today. Laine and Dean came to visit and said hello too. She still needs to be sedated quite a bit but they need to be able to assess her and they can't if she is out.

She has a lot of fluid (edema) again now and this will just have to pass. We're glad to see that they keep feeding her.

There is a lot to this process that we may never understand. We have to trust them to do what they do but I let them know they need to be gentle with my mother and make sure she is comfortable. Some of their equipment and handling has given her marks that are hard to accept but seemingly unavoidable.

We really want to see her off that respirator but there is no clear end in sight. She is initiating much of the breathing herself now. Keep praying that she won't need it soon.

Continue to pray for her healing and visualize those brilliant angels in her room each night.
Diane

John Fordyce, an extraordinary man

Mom and I always joke about John being an alien because he seems to be able to do more than the rest of us and eat way too much sugar, or at least more than we can handle. We women, having to watch what we eat, how much of it,and what time of day we eat it, are jeolous of him because he gets away with everything we can't.

I still think he's an alien sometimes but I would like to say that he really is such a delightful gentleman and I enjoy his company so much that I am really going to miss seeing him every day after I go home tomorrow. I don't ever get tired of hangin' around with him.

I often forget his age because he maintains such an energetic attentiveness to whatever it is he is focused on and his perspective on things is always fresh. The past 10 days have been hard on us. I have been wiped out each night and so thankful to be in a comfortable bed but John has only spent one night in his own bed, preferring to stay close to Mom and sleep, as best as he can, in the ICU waiting room. I know he is tired and tired of the routine but he knows where he needs to be and cheerfully and graciously continues to be right there.

I'm tremendously thankful that my mother has such a wonderful man by her side. I can't say that I have ever met a more charming and honorable man and we are all blessed to have him in our lives. I wish I could make this easier for him and have tried but, continue, and get through this, he must and he will. He's a real trooper, for sure!

Someone take him a Frostie and give him a back rub this week, would ya?



Prayer for Mom tonight: Dear God, send your angels, bright and beautiful, to light up the room where my mother lies, to envelope her in their song and cradle her with their love. Be her sentinel and shield her from the dark. Keep her close and safe, for us. Amen

Saturday, October 18, 2008

This morning, when I left to come to the hospital, I felt as if I have been going to a new job each day for the past week and a half. This new scene in my life has become familiar. I am almost through the initial training period. I’m not sure I like this job but hope that I am performing at an acceptable level. I had no idea it would be this tough.

It’s hard to sit around all the time and worry about someone. There is nothing to do for her but take care of myself and the part of my life that still goes on beyond the hospital and what is happening around her. I feel useless but needed. I feel obligated and rediculous. I’m agonizing over the reality of the impossible situation of helping and not helping.

I know that my presence and efforts here are not useless or ineffective. I do realize that I have been an important part of what has transpired around this tragedy. I know that I am appreciated for what I have done and have been told the same by many I have talked to. I just feel frustrated to have not been able to reverse this reality, to make it not so, to turn back the clock and prevent it from happening.

The doctors and nurses here have been great and I have not been too much of a pain to them but only because I understand the immediate need of what they know to get her beyond critical and into healing. I’ve already asked them to give her Vitamin C which they have NEVER HEARD OF! They gave her some a few times and I have asked again to make sure it is administered daily. She needs good nourishment and my next step is to see that she gets glycol-nutrients (cellular nutrition) in the form of Ambrotose or the generic same. The problem is sufficiently educating and convincing the doctor of it’s efficacy and catching him on duty to order it. Right now they don’t want to hear about it.

We are so relieved to see them feeding her but it has been so little and so unappetizing. They couldn’t feed her at all for the first week. They are giving her vitamins and medicines, iron, and who knows what. It was orange the other day and green today. I guess that’s good. Those are antioxidant colors. This afternoon she got a big creamy looking shake that the nurse said includes a fair amount of calories and nutrition.

Nurse Mack is a big man with lots to say. He has been very nice to explain everything to us. He’s been doing this for 30 years and really cares. He’s taking good care of Mom, who is resting in a heavily sedated state today, while we discuss the state of our nation, economics, history, politics, healthcare, and escaping it all to live on an island in the Caribbean.

There is a lot of rambling today because I brought Mom’s laptop and kept a running dialog with myself to have something to do. It helps to keep busy. I don’t know who all is reading this but it sounds like this blog is getting around a bit. Sometimes I hold back on things I would pour out of my emotional state and other times I tell it like it is. Thanks for listening.
Where’s the chocolate?

Good night prayer

John returned to the hospital and called me to give a last report for the night.

She will remain heavily sedated for quite a while. This was another day of trauma for her. It feels like a setback. It's really hard to see someone you love so much in this state. We know it is part of the process and she will still recover but she has a lot of healing to do.

The MD who is caring for her arm said they need to change her dressing every other day and she will need to have a few more surgeries on it. There will be pain for some time and nerve damage. She lost some muscle but he said she will eventually be able to use her hand and arm without too much difficulty. She still has her arm! and her hand! Thank God!


Lord, hold my mother in your arms tonight. Cradle her with love and healing light. Take away her pains and wrap her in your protective embrace. Send her beautiful dreams of her favorite places and let her know that she is safe, provided for, and loved. Amen

Wwhheeewww

It was a long day. Everything went as it should and Mom was returned to her ICU room around 5pm. We saw her briefly then came home to eat.

They completed all three procedures and said there were no problems. She looked rough when we saw her and it was a little dificult. She had to be lying on her face for several hours so she looked puffy. They have a drain in her neck to handle that wound and another attached to her arm which has it's own suction. This is to draw blood to the wound and give it plenty of blood flow that will prepare it for the skin graft. They haven't told us when they will do that.

This was the first time we actually saw her arm and the wound there is large. It is most of her forearm. We hope they will be able to patch it up well.

They will keep her sedated and on the respirator for some time now. Not sure when we will get to talk to her for a while.

John plans to stay there, close to her again tonight. He wants to thank everyone for their prayers and visits. Please continue until she is out of danger.

We talked about many things while we waited today. The waiting room rotation of families with injured loved ones is always interesting. Dean came up with the name Trauma Drama for a reality show to document some of it. Last night there were approx 50 people filling up the hallways, most of them teens and young adults who had come in for a 19 yr old man who shot himself. He did not survive and they were only holding him until his family arrived to release him from life support.

This morning I returned from the bathroom to report that the same toilet tried to get me again. It flushes automatically before you are done. YUK! From there the conversation went to exploding toilets and John commented that some of these people who find themselves here probably freak out, not knowing exactly how to use one and frightened by it's performance.
I don't know about that but I wish they would put a proper vent in the only restroom for this waiting area!

Waiting for surgery

Dean, John, and I were talking to each other in Mom's room this afternoon and I was relaying a story about Casey to them when I noticed her eyes opening so I told her that I was just telling them about Casey stealing my underwear out of my room and putting them in his bed. She smiled!

I'm pretty certain it was a smile. She wants so much to talk and we have a hard time with these one way conversations but we try to fill her in on things. I told her about her surgery tomorrow. We keep talking to her but still are not sure how much she remembers each time. I told her about the blog and how famous she is, I told her about the hostel work I did and that Casey has attached to me (I can't go anywhere in the house without him) but he keeps looking for her.

One thing is for certain, she is a fighter! The nurses have commented on this as well. She is ready to get out of this mess!

Tonight's nurse said she will most likely still be in ICU for another week after this surgery and the respirator may not be removed right away. Because of her broken ribs, she will not cough and breathe deeply enough. She said if they determine that she needs the respirator for a very long time they will have to consider a tracheotomy so that the hose is not pressing on her vocal chords too long. We hope they don't need to do this.

The waiting room has filled up tonight, yet again, with another large family. I'm trying to convince John that he would do well to sleep the night in his own bed. I reminded him that it is a very quick drive here in the middle of the night when there is no traffic. She is very stable right now and I think he feels it might be ok but still, he does not want to leave but he is for tonight.

We went out for a nice Chinese food dinner tonight. John's fortune cookie said that he will face no obstacles in the coming week!

Tomorrow will be a long day. They will take her down at 8 for the first procedure to insert the vein filter and then to the neck surgery. A doctor told us tonight before we left that they also plan to fix her left arm a little better with a procedure that will prep her for a skin graft.

Keep her and us in your prayers.

Thank you Judy Snowden for the great message you left hanging on her tv today! It reads: Fear Not Tomorrow For God is Already There

Healing and resting

Mom is continuing to improve and regain her health. She looks better now, having shed much of the fluid and swelling she had a few days ago. She also had a yellowish tint to her skin and eyes which has cleared up considerably.

Although she remains on the respirator, they have adjusted the mode and O2 levels to the minimum necessary to assist her. We all want her off the vent so she will be more comfortable and need less sedation but they can't take it out until after her surgery.

They gave her some more blood this morning. She has been getting some food through a tube but it goes very slow and in very small amounts. This is helping her get better and stronger and we hope they continue but with surgery upcoming they stop. We don't have a time scheduled for surgery tomorrow but I think it may be in the morning.

They still haven't intalled the vein filter. Not sure when but hope it will be soon so there is no longer a risk of that blood clot in her leg getting to her lungs or heart. It needs to be done before the surgery. They may do it first when they take her to surgery.

This neck surgery is a serious procedure and it is an absolute miracle that she is alive to get it. I'm so thankful that the first people on the scene did not move her and the EMTs and/or trauma people put the neck brace on right away. We have been told that the majority of people with this type of injury don't survive or become paralysed because the bones are not supported and press on the spinal cord. She still has ligaments there but they are too weak to do the job well. They said her injury is a level III. The docs are very confident that she will be fine and only lose a little mobility in her neck.

John and I are still with her as much as we can be but not so much in her room as just in the hospital. They keep it very cool in the ICU. I can't stay too long and just let the nurses to what they do and Mom get her rest.

Thanks for the lovely prayer poem.

A Prayer for You

I thought of you so much today
I went to God in prayer,
To ask Him to watch over you
And show you that we care

My prayer for you was not for rewards
That you could touch or feel,
But true rewards for happiness
That are so very real.

Like love and understanding
In all the things you do,
And guidance when you need it most
To see your troubles through.

I asked Him for good health for you
So your future could be bright,
And faith to accept life's challenges
And the courage to do what's right.

I gave thanks to Him
For granting my prayer
To bring you peace and love.

May you feel the warmth in your life
With God's blessings from above.

from The 12 Step Prayer Book (1999) Hazelden.

neck surgery

The neurosurgeons are going to wait until Friday for her surgery to give her more time to reduce fluids. She is doing better today since they fed her last night(the first time ever). At 3pm they had not fed her today but we are hoping they will. They had to find out from the vascular surgeons if and when they were going to install the vein filter.

Her pain meds have been reduced and she woke up quite a bit today. I wanted so much to talk with her but she was in pain and moving her neck around too much. We tried not to stimulate her so she wouldn't move too much.

I'm helping, at the hostel office, do some of Mom's work raising money.

It's been one week since the accident

I arrived this morning to learn they have again postponed her surgery. There are still concerns about turning her onto her stomach due to her lung function. They aren't sure if they are still leaking air or not but the pressure of turning her, combined with the moisture is not the best conditions for her at this time.

The neurosurgeons turned off her pain meds this morning to check her nervous system. She was more awake than we have seen her this whole time. She moved both feet and arms which was GOOD! She was very uncomfortable with the respirator down her throat and tried to say so. I understood her telling me she was thirsty and we wet her mouth and throat. She let us know she was in pain so she was returned to a sedated rest. It is so frustrating to try and understand her when she wanted to talk we guessed at things and she nodded. She cannot use her hands, they are both swollen and bandaged and she is too medicated. We really don't want her moving her neck however. She is in a delicate state.

The medicine she is on is called an amnesiate or something like that. She won't remember anything and can't remember anything every time she wakes. We explain to her each time what happened and her condition. It's sad to see that reality hit her again and again but she won't remember it that way.

Yesterday they removed an arterial port which was used to collect oxygenated blood samples. They didn't need it anymore and it was a possible site for risk of infection. Today they will be inserting a filter into her vein to trap a blood clod they located in her leg. This will prevent it from getting loose and traveling into her lungs or heart.

We talked a long time yesterday with young, handsome doctor Jack who showed us her x-ray photos and explained many things. We could see the air in her chest all along her right side and accross her shoulders. He also showed us the darker areas of her liver where it has bled. The broken ribs are many, a couple are complete, some are fractures and this is where air has leaked from her lungs. All and all, they said she is mending well and is very fortunate.

The nurse this morning had a couple of days off and said she can see much improvement since she was last here. We really like her. Her name is Rebecca and she's pregnant.

John and I are into the routine here. He got a much better night's sleep last night in a different waiting room that has a door and less people. He is not sitting by that phone all the time anymore. We are tired of eating and sitting around so have been going on walks. I take my cell phone so we can be called. John still does not want to get a cell phone, just yet, but he is considering it at this time.

We have to laugh about the social drama going on in the waiting area. People spend the nights together and get to know each other a bit. There was a couple who had been here a month but they never talked to each other and he just played a little game boy and kept his hearing aid turned off. Another woman has been here (who knows how long) and says her son is in protective custody because someone wants him dead. He was hit in the head with a cinder block but we don't know where he is. She has one eye and looks like a voodoo preistess. John has taken on the fatherly role in the room and told her when she came in around 2 am that she shouldn't be out so late. The last couple of days the room was been taken over by a large family who seem to have come out of the holler for the first time in a long time.

I'm not going home until I have to. Sunday or Monday as it stands. I appreciate my friends back home who are offering to help with my kids. I miss my home and family but must stay here with Mom and John until.....

Tuesday surgery postponed

We thought Mom would have her surgery this afternoon but they called at 6 am and wanted to move her in early. When I arrived I learned they had decided to postpone until tomorrow to give her more time before doing it. She will have to be turned onto her stomach and they are primarily concerned with her lungs, which they said were a little too moist today.

She still has swelling and a lot of fluid retention combined but they are giving her diuretics to reduce it. I thought and hoped the venilator would help reduce moisture in her lungs but it really doesn't. This is difficult.

The oxygen levels on her ventilation have been reduced which means she is doing more on her own. They had hoped to ween her down and take her off but not before surgery. They don't want to have to reinstall it.

John and I were able to say hello to her this morning. She heard his voice and turned her head toward him. She seemed confused and frustrated. It's so hard to be unable to communicate with her but we told her what happened and that we are here and everyone is praying for her and to relax and know she is in good hands. She was uncomfortable and was given some more medicine and has been sleeping since.

We can only wait and pray for now. She is making small steps of progress.

Thanks again for you love and prayers.

Diane
I saw the comment about the email I sent to raise awareness of the hostel. This isn't an email but is found by an internet search. I don't think it is appropriate here, now. I don't want to give the impression that I'm using her illness to raise money but I have written a letter to the newspaper and Ark Times and posted the same on LR Craigslist and a LR forum, mentioning her devotion to the hostel and how I would like to see things continue and progress in her absense. I know it will mean much to her, when she is better, to know that so many people have taken up her flag and continued on her quest.
I do have many ideas and suggestions to work on. If anyone wants to help me I would welcome it, I'm just not organized enough to put volunteers to task at this time.
Look for the http://www.firehousehostel.org/ to come online very soon with info. That is my number one goal at this time.