Updates for Friday!!!

These are updates posted by my friend's husband today regarding her status...he's been posting from his Blackberry at the hospital since it all started on Tuesday, and I am just grateful that technology is allowing this so we can stay on top of the updates without having to bother him for information.

6:36AM UPDATE: Another good night. Breathing contnues to improve. Heart is about the same. Waiting for doctors to look at it and figure out if the meds are working. A lot of tests are scheduled for today-chest Xray (looking for fluids in lungs), head CT, and a variety of heart tests. It's possible she could be taken off the breathing machines in the next 2 days. Lets keep our fingers crossed. I'll update later.

10:33AM UPDATE: They successfully drained the fluids from her lungs. This could be a daily thing. She off for a CT scan of the brain. The heart remains the primary concern. They are trying a new med to get the heart going. Time is our biggest friend. We have made progress but our worst fears are still possible. We feel your love and thank you!

12:19PM UPDATE: Still waiting on CT results. They just gave her a bath and washed her hair (what is left). That brought her resting heart rate down so she seems to be relaxed. They are starting a cranium test for clots. Waiting is the hardest part. Thank you for all of your love and support. She is going to love seeing all of this.

4:13PM UPDATE: The doctor looked at the CT from this morning next the CT from two days ago. The swelling is starting to come down in her brain. This will improve her motor skills as the swelling comes down. They started a new treatment for her heart this morning. We will know more tomorrow. The doctor said there is a tiny light in the tunnel. Prayers are working!

9:56pm UPDATE: It's been a long day of tests. She is sleeping peacefully. Finally went out with the family for dinner. Good to see the world outside the hospital. Light day of tests tomorrow. Still looking for improvement with the lungs and heart. Looking forward to spending a few hours with the kids tomorrow. Good night everyone and thanks again for your prayers and support.

I will continue to post updates as I get them on Facebook. Thank you for reading...and thank you even more for praying!

A new day...

Today was a new day, and we got an update first thing from my friend's husband. She had an angiogram around 5 a.m. and they determined that her brain is clear and clot-free...no problem areas remain there. Such great news! The most recent update came around 2:20 p.m., when her husband notified everyone that the doctor ran some tests...her heart isn't getting any better, but it's also not getting any worse at this point, so we'll take that as a positive thing. Her breathing is becoming easier, so hopefully that means the fluid in her lungs won't be as much of a problem. And the fever she had in the wee hours of the morning is gone. Always a good sign. He also said that the doctor has "upgraded" his own opinion of her case from "dire" to "cautiously optimistic." I know that means she may not be out of the woods yet, but as far as I'm concerned, optimistic is the way to be.

Our crusade to get as many prayer warriors as possible praying for her has been continuing. I sent an email through the prayer chain at a church I attended a while back, and that was forwarded on to everyone. Last night we started a Facebook group just for this situation. Less than 19 hours after the group was started, we found out that 100 people had already joined the group. That's 100 people, just on Facebook. 100 prayers. And many of those people are praying constantly. It's such a small triumph, but we know it's helping. At least I feel like we're able to contribute in some way. Feeling helpless and useless is not a good thing.

THANK YOU for continuing to follow this journey. We have hope that everything will be ok, and knowing that there are so many people praying for a positive outcome just helps bolster that support even more.

More prayers needed

My friend's husband updated us on Facebook at 8:42 pm. She was given a full-body ultrasound that did not reveal any other clots in her body (they removed two from her brain last night), so that's good news. More good news is that when she's awake, she's responsive. She blinks to answer yes/no questions, so that's great.

The downside is that her heart is operating at less than 50% capacity. She has pneumonia, and there is fluid in her lungs. These are not good findings...but I know that there are so many people who are praying for her, and I know that prayer is the most powerful weapon we have at this time. I feel so helpless, and I wish there was more I could do to help...but for now, I will continue to recruit more prayer warriors for her army.

Thank you for reading these posts, and for praying for my dear friend.

Progress

The latest update on my friend is that she woke up from her coma this morning...she opened her eyes. She is also wiggling her toes and squeezing her hands, so that's definitely progress. I continue to pray for her and I know she will continue to do well...thank you SO MUCH if you've been reading and praying with me.

Prayers please...

A very good friend of mine collapsed at the gym this morning and was taken to the local hospital where they found a blood clot in her brain...she was life-flighted to a hospital in Jacksonville 45 minutes away. I heard all of this news at 11 a.m. this morning, and the last update I got was about an hour ago from her husband on Facebook...at that time she'd been in surgery for two hours. I don't know how many people read this, or how often, but I'd like to ask that anyone who does PLEASE say a prayer for her and for her family during this time and for the near future. She's a wonderful mom to two wonderful kids, and I know that there are lots of people praying for her between family and friends...but I firmly believe there's no such thing as too much prayer. Thank you in advance for helping her out.

UPDATE at 10:40 p.m.: She was done with surgery somewhere around 10 p.m., so the good news is that she survived the procedure. Her heartbeat is irregular, so that's a concern at this point, and her lungs are causing concern as well because during this process she has developed pneumonia. We'll know more tomorrow...they are keeping her in an induced coma to help her recover. Please continue your prayers for her and her family, as well as all of the medical professionals overseeing her care.

The Weather Outside Is...

BEAUTIFUL! The weather in Florida is known for being hot, and humid, and just not my cup of tea. I'm one of the few Florida residents you will ever see getting excited when the temps drop for the winter. I grew up as a Navy brat, moving up and down the east coast. We lived in Canada for two years when my dad did an officer exchange program. We had three feet of snow at Christmas time and loved it! Not saying I need three feet of snow in Florida, because people can't figure out to drive when it rains here as it is (and snow would just really mess everyone up!). But I LOVE the winter weather so much because it's nice to put on a sweater and cuddle with the kids under a blanket and watch movies. You just can't do that in the summertime, unless you're willing to face the wrath of the electric bill when you run your AC system way too much.

Anyway, today was the first time in a while that we had temps in the low 70's. If this was the warmest it ever got in Florida, I could be a very, very happy woman. I'll survive when we get back to the 90's and even the low 100's, but I'll be secretly thinking back to today and remembering how nice it was to open all the windows in the house and air it out. Everything just smells so clean when there's a fresh breeze passing through the house. It (almost) makes me want to start spring cleaning . Almost.

It's almost 10:15 p.m. (EST), and our windows are still open. They'll get closed before I go to sleep tonight, since we're supposed to get rain off and on for the next day and a half and it's forecasted to start around 1 a.m. But they've been open for a long time and it's amazing how much better the house feels. I have been so messed up with allergies (because my car is now yellow instead of gray, which means pollen is out in full force already!) that I haven't enjoyed being outdoors much lately...but bringing the outdoors inside just feels so great. With some luck, maybe the rain will wash away some of the pollen and ease my stuffy head. And wash my car off while it's at it.

Tonight I'm counting my blessings and being thankful for this beautiful weather.

A Mini-Reunion

My blessing message for this post is that I am thankful that we had the opportunity to reconnect with one of my cousins!

My cousin Tim and his wife and three daughters were in Orlando this past week for a vacation. They traveled from Canada to take the girls to Disney and Sea World for a week of fun and laughs and memories, and I really hope they got all that and more. My parents and I drove down to Orlando (it's only 2 hours from my home, so not a bad run at all) on Wednesday this week and met them for breakfast on Thursday morning, and then we all went to Sea World together for the day. We drove back home Friday and then Tim and his family flew back to Canada this morning.

I haven't seen my cousin in at least 12 years. I don't even know if it was summer of 1997 or 1998 when I last saw him...it's just been so long that I don't remember! I only got to meet his wife once or twice, and I had never met his daughters (his oldest will be 11 this year, so none of them had been born when I was last in Canada visiting family). My parents try to visit him once a year during their annual trip to visit my mom's sisters, so they've gotten to watch his girls grow up. They're all very sweet and kind and just as pretty on the inside as they are on the outside. It was so nice to meet them and spend time with them. Megan and Jeremy were also very happy to have them along for the day at Sea World! I confess that my kids weren't exactly on their best behavior that day though. I suppose when you figure they had less than eight hours of sleep the night before (as opposed to their usual 10-11), and no break for a nap at the park all day, I couldn't have realistically expected them to be perfect angels. All in all, it was a wonderful day, and I took lots of pictures to remember it by. Kate, the youngest, and Ali, the oldest, were both chosen to participate in a show at some point during the day, so that was also very entertaining!

Jeremy took a special shine to Tim (even if he didn't want to smile for the photo at left...he kept asking Tim to pick him up and show him all the animals). I think Jeremy really missed his daddy on the trip. Unfortunately, Steve had to work and couldn't join us in Orlando, but we're planning to get down to Sea World for a visit again sometime soon, just the four of us. My parents now have Fun Cards and can go to Sea World from now until the end of the year with those, so we will probably ask them to join us, too!