Thanks
everyone for your love, support, and prayers.
Merry Christmas 2023
Christmas Past Last 35
Years
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Christmas
Past & Present Last 35 Years
Christmas Future
May 19, 2012 Race for
Cure
Click here to see all the pictures from Race for the
Cure 2012
May 14, 2011 Race for
Cure
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Cure
2011 Happy New Year
Family Christmas
Pictures
Mary now has a defibrillator / pace maker. We had a bit
of a scare when we found out she was allergic to the pre
surgery antibiotic. The procedure was delayed for about
90 minutes fortunately everything went well. Mary was in
the hospital overnight. She is home and ready for a
nice relaxing Christmas.
She has some
more tests on December 28th but we do not expect any
surprises.
Mary is doing
great. Her
heart ejection fraction is still about 20%. The Doctors
have decided as a precaution to implant a defibrillator.
This procedure is going to be done on December 21 and
should only require an overnight stay.
We will post
her status when we find out more information. Here is
the definition a
defibrillator (A defibrillator implant is a device that
can be placed under the skin of the chest to monitor the
electrical activity of the heart. In the event of
life-threatening changes in heart rhythm, the
defibrillator implant will send small pulses of
electricity or higher energy shocks to your heart to
return it to a normal heart rhythm.)
Happy
Thanksgiving 11/25/2010
Roctober 10, 2010
Mary says she feels great and she appears as normal as
Mary can be.
She had more tests and we all expected her results to be
closer to normal. Unfortunately her heart ejection
fraction is still between 20 & 25%. We were disappointed
with the results, but Mary put it in perspective saying
"Well at least it didn't get worse".
Happy July 4, 2010. Yes that is Mary! She has gone
blonde! She is doing great, her heart is still not where
we want it to be but you would never know it.
Spice likes Mary's hair. Spice is the one on the left.
May 16, 2010 "Everyday is a gift, that's why they call it
a present.", that's how I feel everyday. Wow Mary
continues to improve, she has more good days then bad.
We did the one mile walk for "Race for the Cure" and
were part of "Team Helen Phelps".
Click
on this link to see more pictures of RFT Cure.
April
14, 2010 Mary continues to improve. Mary's heart rate is
coming down. She is doing great she just has to be
careful and not do too much. She is losing her hair in
some places due to the trauma she has experienced (they
tell us it will grow back).
*note Her hair loss is still not as bad as mine.
We are thankful for everyday.
March 11, 2010 It has been one month since I have posted
anything. I just wanted to let you all know Mary is
doing great. We have had some ups and downs and her
heart rate is still high but slowly coming down. She has
not been released for any therapy due to her high heart
rate but by the time she is released for therapy she
will not need it.
Our dogs are
just as glad as I am Mary is home.
February 12, 2010 Mary is able to due most things on her
own. She is doing amazingly well. She has had so much
therapy this week. She has improved in so many ways. We
are learning to live with cardiomyopathy, and
arrhythmia, which we are in hopes will improve once the
thyroid is in check. Therapy will be on going OT, SP,
and PT. I still have a lot of concerns with her low
blood pressure, high heart rate, but Mary shows no ill
effects and has such a great attitude.
February 8, 2010 Home Sweet Home. Mary was released
today. They think this was just a stomach flu, but due
to her weakened condition the Doctors felt they could
not take a chance. She is feeling better and is fixing
supper (this is great for me). Tomorrow she has an
appointment with the nurse practioner to discuss living
with heart failure. She will also start more
therapy this week. Good to be home !!!!!!
February 7, 2010 We are hoping Mary will get out of the
hospital Monday. She is feeling much better and
everything seems to be under control. We got to watch
the superbowl together. Mary has such a great attitude
and excepts her situation, but is anxious to get home.
Unfortunately I think I caught something so I am a bit
uncomfortable.
February 6, 2010 Mary is doing much better today. She
was able to eat and they have given her medication to
control the vomiting now they are trying to control the
diarrhea. We are in hopes she will be able to come home
on Sunday.
February 5, 2010 Mary got sick and could not hold her
medications down on Friday. She was admitted to Grady
Memorial Hospital and they are intravenously giving her
fluids and her meds of course this was on Friday at 3:30
pm with all the snow. (She finally got her room at 9:00
on Friday).
February 3, 2010 Mary had to visit the Cardiac
Doctor today. They found that her heart rate is still
very high, (which we check everyday). So they increased
her Coreg, and they are thinking this is still thyroid
related. Mary is doing great. She has no pain, no
symptoms of heart problems (even though her blood
pressure is low and her heart rate is high). We have
gone shopping, had the pleasure of meeting one of the
Doctors that saved her life. We saw so many good friends
while shopping at Meijer in Delaware.
January 29-30, 2010 Home Sweet Home... Mary is home
thank goodness. Mary said "Look out I'm back". We still
our concerned about her heart and will not know anything
about her heart until after 2/17/2010. All things
considered she is doing fantastic.
Mary with the
Inflatable bear that the Phelps put on our front porch
to welcome her home.
Mary glowing
after her radioactive Iodine
January 26-27 2010
Friday is Mary's
release date. Yeah! She has to have the radioactive
iodine-131 to treat her thyroid on Friday. She will be
an out patient at Doan Hall after her release.
Mary walked half of the OSU Tunnel that connects Dodd
Hall to Ross Hospital. She worked on coordination-
standing up and down on foam pads. We also worked on
walking up and down stairs.
January 25, 2010 Mary is improving everyday, today was a
very full day of therapy. Mary showing off her domestic
skills and intellectual prowess.
January 24, 2010 We had a very good day. Mary and walked
a lot today, in between watching the play off games, and
exercising her arms and legs. All in all an almost
normal day.
January 23, 2010 Helen took pictures of Mary and I
walking together- we walked about a half mile. Her
thyroid gland starting releasing more hormones. So she
is on medication for a few days until she can take the
radioactive iodine. She had very little therapy today,
so we pushed the walking and threw her squishy
ball (working on her throwing and catching with both
hands). We had a good day and celebrated by eating
supper by candle light (battery candles).
January 22, 2010 Mary is doing great improving everyday,
she had another long but good day of therapy. (She
walked over 1800 feet today.) We started working on
walking up and down 6" steps.
January 21, 2010 Mary had another busy day of therapy
and she is very tired. She has pushed herself and it
shows with her steady improvement. I have been cleared
to assist her in walking. (The next big obstacle will be
climbing stairs.) We are very fortunate and want to
thank everyone for there love, support, & prayers.
January 20, 2010 Mary's is walking assisted (with out
the walker) and even walked backwards. She has been
walking over 500 feet a day. This means she no longer
has to take the blood thinner shot in the stomach, and
they finally removed the tube feed from her stomach
yesterday. She had a busy day with about four hours of
therapy. Tomorrow they are going to schedule most of her
PT in the afternoon so I can assist.
January 19, 2010 We were assuming they were going to run
more extensive tests on her heart today, that did not
happen. Mary has to see a Heart Failure Cardiologist to
determine what the next course of action will be if any.
As of right now her heart ejection fraction is still at
25%. Mary is getting stronger every day and it is a
pleasure to see her work so hard. Helen surprised Mary
today by bringing up there mother (Muzza). You could see
there faces light up when they saw each other.
Helen, Muzza
& Mary in her room.
January 18, 2010 I had to go to Cleveland for work so I
was not able to go to any of Mary's therapy sessions.
They discovered why Mary is walking so pigeon toed, and
that is because of her hips being so weak. So Mary has
been given more home work to strengthen her hips.
January 16 & 17, 2010 Mary had one therapy on Saturday.
Mary walked with assistance and a walker a total of 675
feet. On Sunday we worked on her coordination throwing
and catching a Squishy Ball. She was able to put
her shoes on, so we cruised the hospitals. Mary has a
great attitude, and shows improvement everyday.
January
15, 2010 Wow ! One week has passed since coming to Dodd
Hall. Mary is now responsible for taking her own meds,
has gained control of her bowels, dresses herself, can
wheel her own wheelchair, and is learning to walk. Mary
looks forward to therapy and pushes herself. We want to
stress the point that the Doctors, Nurses and therapist
at OSU are the greatest. We are so fortunate to have the
health care we have in central Ohio. In the next few
weeks we will learn how to Mary prove our house.
Mary walking with her therapist Kristin.
January 14, 2010 Mary is making steady improvements.
Mary walked with assistance and a walker a total of 400
feet, she worked on her arms with 2 lb. weights. They
are now starting to train me on how I can assist
(today's lesson was transfers).
January 13, 2010 Some things never change
Mary playing with her therapy putty.
Mary walked with assistance and a walker a total of 180
feet. (She only had walked 20 feet previously). She is
determined to walk 500 feet; once she does she will no
longer have to take the blood thinner shots in her
stomach. Mary's continues to improve a little each day.
This machine works her arms and legs she worked
out a total of 40 minutes 5 minutes on 5 off.
January 12, 2010 Mary continues therapy she is making
small but steady improvements. She had a number of
tests. The tests show no signs of permanent neurological
problems, or brain damage (sigh of relieve). When Mary
was at her worst they believe her body shutdown. Her
body was just maintaining the major organs (with a lot
of help from modern medicine, Doctors & Nurses). Now is
just the pain staking process of rehabilitation. The
only negative is her heart ejection fraction is still at
20-25% normal is 55-75%; hopefully it will improve in
time.
January 11,
2010 Mary working at her occupational therapy OT.
Mary is
working hard in therapy. She had some more tests on
other glands and so far it appears the only gland that
is giving her problems is the thyroid. Her blood
pressure is still running a little low. Her heart is
still only at 25% and we are still hoping it improves.
January 10,
2010 Mary and I worked on her home work and she did
well. She is gaining more strength every day. Her blood
pressure has been a little low but acceptable. Mary's
appetite has returned; she is eating well and says she
feels good. She is wearing sweats and a T shirt. She's
anxious to get started on her therapy next week. The
Doctors plan on running more tests on her Monday.
January 9,
2010 Mary had therapy for a hour and half today. She
stayed up in the wheel chair most of the day. Mary's
blood pressure read very very low. An alert tech and
nurse thought maybe the cuff was not fitting Mary's arm.
The tech got a smaller cuff and it did not fit her arm.
As it turns out Mary's arm is between sizes (since she
has lost so much weight). They got a large cuff and put
it on Mary's thigh and her blood pressure was normal. We
are in hopes that this means that all the recent low
blood pressure readings were wrong. Mary continues to
improve. She now can write almost as well as before.
Sunday she will not have therapy but will work on her
homework.
January 8,
2010 Mary said something that I think rings true. "When
I feel sorry for myself, I look at the people that are
in therapy and some of them have a lot more to over come
then I do. I realize I'm very fortunate."
Mary and I have played a lot of sports together and I
have seen this determination before, this picture says
it all.
Mary working
on standing
She has come
so far in the last 24 hours. She sat up most of the day
in the wheel chair. She had three and half hours of
therapy, ranging from occupational (OT), speech (ST), and
physical (PT). With assistance she dressed herself, showered,
brushed her hair and went to the big girl potty. Wow!
What a great day. We still have some concerns low blood
pressure, and high heart rate. I am confident with the
team of Doctors she has they will find out what is going
on. Mary's endocrinologist that came in late on
November 24 to review Mary's history and treat Mary made
a statement that I would like to share.
She
said "Mary renews my faith in medicine".
January 7,
2010 Mary is now at her fifth hospital Dodd Hall she got there at a round
4:30 pm. She got sick which is a concern and we are
hoping is just a case of nerves and her heart rate was
on the high side. She was evaluated by a
neurologist and there are some concerns about her legs,
but I was very impressed with her movements. Her therapy
starts tomorrow and will be at least 3 hours a day.
January 6, 2010 Mary was suppose to go to Dodd Hall
only to find out it was delayed. OSU required Mary to
have a Dobbler Ultrasound of her legs to make sure she
had no clots (She did not have any). Mary was assisted
out of bed and helped into a wheel chair. She was
wheeled to the rehab room were she had a good work out.
Mary
had kind of a melt down she was frustrated when she
tried to walk, having trouble lifting a three pound bar,
and having no endurance. (She use to work out with a 50
lb bar, and walk on treadmill at 4.4 mile an hour rate).
I think she was hoping she could walk today with out any
problem. Her melt down only lasted for about 2 minutes
and after we felt sorry for ourselves we worked on her
legs and I noticed improvement in her legs. Mary and I
discussed her progress so far and she is about 30 to 40
days ahead of the average. Patience Patience Patience.
She is scheduled to move to Dodd at 1:00 on Thursday.
January 5, 2010 Mary's therapy continued today, with
assistance she stood up three times. Mary started eating
food today first time since November 23. We had a scare
today Mary's heart rate increased and she had an unusual
heart arrhythmia. She had to lie perfectly still for
about 15 minutes and was given a beta blocker,
unfortunately this caused her blood pressure to go very
low. She was back to normal with in 20 minutes; we would
all like to know why this happening but right now no one
knows. She is scheduled to move to OSU Dodd Hall for
rehab tomorrow. I am sad to report the death of my aunt
Jackie White who was an enormous wealth of knowledge and
support for me
January 4, 2010 Mary working with her therapist's on the
tilt bed. She got to throw a beach ball and showed her
arm strength is improving.
Her
trach tube was removed a
nd she now only has a band aid
over her neck were it was. (She has to be careful when
she coughs). We are in hopes she will be excepted into
Dodd Hall Acute Care Hospital or Riverside Acute care
Hospital. She could be admitted to her 5th hospital as
early as tomorrow. Her blood pressure is rising a little
and her heart rate is lowering a little bit which is
good. Her endocrinologist came in and said they will
give Mary the radioactive iodine when she is admitted to
her next hospital to kill her thyroid as long has heart
function stays were it is.
January 3, 2010 Mary continues to improve.
Her blood pressure is down and heart rate is up. She will
probably need more adjustment in her meds. We continued her work out today,
great attitude.
January 2, 2010 Mary wants to wish everyone a Happy New Year. We were
both very moved by Tonia's kind words and song on New Years Eve and
everybody's generosity. We watched the Bucks beat the Ducks. Yeah! Mary is
continuing to improve. She is still trying to control her bowels and she is
apologetic to the nurse and tech when she has to be cleaned. Like everything
else it is going to take time. We are continuing her therapy. (Jeff
Lalanne's torcher work out or as Mary calls it Jacka@@ Lalanne's work out).
She has been sitting up in what Mary calls her high chair at least once a
day (she still requires the nurses to get her in the chair but she is
starting to get some movement in her trunk). Her blood pressure is very low
today and they took her off her heart medicine today. She is breathing very
well and we are in hopes she will get the trach out on Monday. We are in
hopes she will start solid food on Monday. She is able to eat popcicles and
drink water, have puree and ice chips. She is making steady improvement and
wants to go home. We discussed that she will have to go to one more hospital
and probably a skilled nursing facility.
Happy Mary Mary New Year
December 31, 2009 Mary continues to improve she actually
stood up with help today. They are adjusting Mary's
heart medicine adding an ACE inhibitor. Her blood
pressure was up which is good. She wants to wish
everybody a Happy New Year.
December
30, 2009 Mary is continuing to improve she is really
making improvement with her motor skills and physical
therapy is working with her. Her blood pressure is low
so they are going to try to adjust her medication. She
was lifted into a chair with the help of 3 nurses and
sat for about 15 minutes but her back hurts and she is
dizzy. She is working hard to overcome her incontinence
which is hard because of having that fms in her so long.
She is doing well with her trach and in hopes of getting
it out soon (she has done well with the swallowing
test). She wants out of there but she knows it is going
to take some time. I was not able to spend as much time
with her today due to some vehicle issues.
December
29, 2009 10:00 PM Mary is doing great her attitude is
incredible. She had me call her mother and I know it was
up lifting for both of them. We worked on her motor
skills and she continues to improve. Her right leg is
our biggest concern, it is just not as responsive. I
stayed in the room when they dressed Mary's chest were
she has the seven holes were the vad tubes were, they
look much better and are healing nicely (still very deep
and still seeping a little).
She has come a long way and still has long way to go. I
am seeing steady improvement from Mary. We hope we do
not have any set backs but if we do we will deal with
them.
December
28, 2009 10:00 PM Mary had Helen call me at work today
what a treat to hear Mary's voice on the phone. They
replaced her trach with a collarless trach which allows
her to talk easier. Mary got to eat blue apple sauce
today as part of her swallow test. We are in hopes she
can eat normal food we will know the results tomorrow.
Mary was moved to a different room, which is good, she
is not in as intensive care unit. Mary had the fms
removed today or what Mary calls her poop shoot. She
will have to learn to control her bowels now. She had an
echo cardiogram which did not have the news we were
hoping for it revealed her heart is still functioning at
25% (they are increasing her heart medication in hopes
of making it stronger). One of the Doctors thinks she
might have had a stroke which might be causing problems
with her right leg and left arm. This has made Mary more
determined having me work with her on her motor skills.
She is getting stronger everyday hopefully she will not
have any set backs.
December
26, 2009 10:00 PM
We worked on moving Mary's arms, legs, feet, hands and
fingers. She is improving but it is a long process we
did six sets of ten on each body part over the course of
twelve hours. We are hoping they can get her up in a
chair tomorrow. Mary has a great attitude, and her
sense of humor comes out even making fun of herself. She
got sick yesterday from her medication so they are
giving her something for her nausea. She can not speak
with the speak valve due to back pressure which causes
breathing problems. They feel she needs a cuffless tube.
I do not see them replacing this tube very soon due to
the blood vessel that broke yesterday. Mary is
determined to speak so she is speaking without the
valve. Her voice is very soft and weak but she is
speaking. She is making great progress just not as fast
as all of us want.
December
25, 2009 10:00 PM
We had a scare on Christmas day. Mary had bleeding
probably caused by her coughing that broke a blood
vessel were her cannula goes into the trach. She bleed a
lot but her hemoglobin level remained normal. They
are going to scope her lungs on Saturday to make sure it
is
nothing major. She is doing well otherwise all her
levels are remaining steady.
Merry
Mary Christmas
2009
|
Mary is truly a
Christmas miracle. Being able to spend Christmas with
Mary is the greatest Christmas gift I could ever have.
Mary and I want to thank all the family, friends and
Diamond Innovations employees who gave so generously to
the Mary Warren Quick Recovery Fund that was set up by
Jeff & Helen Phelps, & Toy Russo. Let me assure you the
money will be used wisely. I feel like Jimmy Stewart in
a Wonderful Life.
December 24,
2009 10:00 PM Mary had physical therapy, and
occupational therapy today. She is able to move
her toes, she is having trouble with drop foot. She was
in a great deal of pain when moving her feet, but has
made some good progress. We are going to work with her
twice a day for the next 4 days while the therapist are
away. The Cardiologist talked with us today her heart is
still functioning at 25% he is in hopes that it will
continue to improve. Mary is on an ACE inhibitor and
lasix for her heart. The endocrinologist talked with us
today. She explained that the thyroid medication she was
taking was damaging her bone marrow, and was hard on the
kidneys and liver. Since right now her thyroid is in
check they are going to monitor her TCH level and not
going to give her anything unless absolutely needed.
Eventually Mary will need to have a Thyroidectomy or
Radioactive Iodine Treatment (RAI). As it turns out Mary
had a number of classic thyroid symptoms that everyone
had missed. Mary now has
developed a sugar problem and they are controlling it
with 3 shots a day of byetta. Mary's swelling is finally
starting to go down and she is
still not taking any pain medication. Happy Christmas
eve to everyone.
December 23,
2009
10:00
pm Mary is in good spirits. She is continuing her
occupation therapy, physical therapy, what a long
tedious and frustrating process for Mary. They had to
remove the trach tube that allows her to talk due to
Mary have some breathing difficulties. She is having a
test on her liver on Thursday. All her numbers are
looking better and she looks great. Helen brushed her
hair which made her feel better. Thanks
everyone for your love, support, and prayers.
December 22,
2009
10:00 pm Mary is adjusting to the Select Specialty
Hospital and is working hard to overcome her physical
problems. Mary had
therapy today and she did very well. Her arms are moving
better her right wrist was very swollen and they had to
loosen her patient identification badge due to the
activity. She has about 50 extra pounds of water weight
which is hard for her to take because of her exercising
and loosing over 30 lbs in 2.5 years. The more active
she becomes the more she will loose this water weight.
The pulmonary Doctor saw her today and placed a
different trach tube in that will allow her to talk. The
Doctor told her it would take a little while before she
could talk. She had tried a few times with out success.
I was thinking that her first words would be something
special. Her assigned MD came in and talked to her, he
told her she would be here for approximately 25 to 40
days. So after the Doctor told her that her first word
was CRAP which Jeff, Helen and I could make out clearly.
Her next words were to Helen "itch my arm" in a very
weak raspy voice.
December 21,
2009 11:45 pm Mary was transported by ambulance
to the
Select Specialty Hospital she is in the SCU Unit. This
hospital is suppose to be one of the best rehab
hospitals in the state. Mary continues to be able to
move her arms. The swelling is starting to go down in
her legs and she can wiggle her toes. She still
can not push the nurse call button which concerns me.
She is very weak and has lost all of her muscle tone
which is normal for a person who has been down as long
as Mary has been. I hope she will be able to talk soon
because a few times I could not read her lips. She is in
good spirits and she wants to come home but realizes she
has to get better before she can make the move home. I
even saw a smile on her face a few times and saw her
laugh a few times when Jeff Phelps had made a couple of
jokes. She is on her way to recovery but she is still in
critical but stable condition. Mary has come a long way
but she has long way to go. Thanks
everyone for your love, support, and prayers.
December 20, 2009 9:00 PM Mary's numbers continue to go
down. She looks great and she is doing well moving her
arms and is not quite as swollen. She is very alert and
very sharp; I can't wait till she can talk. We did have
a little scare, her heart had to be monitored due to a
very irregular heart beat, but when I left everything
was fine. Mary had visitors from the OSU football team
and got an autographed football. They were impressed
with the old hags from Ohio state pictures of the
clapper sisters spelling OHIO and I recited there cheer
which made the players laugh. That seemed to make her
day. We are hoping she will be moved to the rehab
hospital on Monday.
December
19, 2009 3:30 PM. Helen has been great working
with Mary rubbing her arms and legs. Mary is moving her
right arm amazingly well. She actually raised her arm
and scratched her face. She still does not have the
ability to press the nurse call button. Over all she is
moving her arms pretty well, her legs are still very
swollen and hard for her to move. She looks good and all
her numbers are coming down including that bun number. I
fell asleep holding Mary's hand and actually think I was
snoring. She looked at me and said go home. She still
can not talk due to the trech tube. We heard a rumor
Monday she is moving to Select Specialty Hospital for
rehab.
December 18,
2009 6:00 PM Mary is resting she is still very weak and
swollen. She now has the peg tube (feeding tube) placed
in her abdomen. It is nice to see her face with
out the feeding tube in her nose. She continues her
therapy and she told me she frustrated the therapist
today (although she did not use those words). She is
impatient with her progress but she is doing okay. All
her numbers are almost normal with the exception of her
bun number which is coming down gradually. I think she
will be going to a rehab hospital in the next two weeks.
She is still in serious but stable condition. I can't
wait till she can talk. Thanks
everyone for your love, support, and prayers.
December 17, 2009 2:30 PM Mary is going to have to have
a peg tube put in her abdomen (feeding tube). She is
very alert, she still has some fluid on her lungs. Her
therapy is going slow but she is making some
improvement. She has set up three times since the 15th
with the aid of a device called the mighty max kind of
like a hammock that goes under her. Her poor legs are
very swollen and it causes her pain when she moves them.
Her bun number continues to go down (yeah). She is still
making good progress it's just slow. I am sorry I did
not post anything last night. Our roadrunner was down
last night, and I was preparing documents for the SS.
Thanks everyone for your love, support, and
prayers.
December 15, 2009 9:00 PM Mary tried to say
something to me and I did not understand until I was on
the way home. She was trying to say "call me when you
get home". What can I say she was concerned about my
safety. She had therapy today and was set up on the side
of her bed. I know it bothered her how swollen her poor
body looks. Helen explained to her that this was only
temporary. Helen was with her during the day and think
this helps her a lot. Mary's bun number finally started
going down (a big sigh of relief) She had a CT scan and
it revealed some water on her lungs. She is going to go
back on the ventilator tonight only to keep her lungs
more inflated. The doctors are probably going to give
her something for her depression. Her mind is good her
body is progressing slowly and it ticks her off. Her
echo cardiogram showed her heart function was improving.
I wish you could see her facial expressions they are
animated and you can see her strong spirit.
All things considered she had a very good day. Thanks
everyone for your love, support, and prayers.
December 14, 2009 9:00 PM Mary wants to go home that is
an understatement. She lets me know and her looks tells
me that I am not a very good husband because I do not
help her out the door. Mary has no concept of how sick
she was, and unfortunately her body is not keeping up
with her mind. Helen worked with Mary and rubbed her
hands arms and legs. I had the pleasure of spooning her
ice chips tonight which she had 3/4 of a glass of
ice and she had a juice. Considering she has the trech
tube in her throat it is no easy feat. She had a echo
cardiogram, this evening and they had to use an
esophageal suction to remove a pocket of
infection, which they told me went well. Her motor
skills are coming along very very slowly but once they
get her in a Cadillac chair I am in hopes they will
improve. She has gone over 24 hour with out the aid of a
ventilator which is great. Her bun numbers are still a
problem, we will just have to wait and see. To tell you
how Mary is progressing mentally. I was explaining to
her our expenses and I had a meeting with social
security on Thursday. I told her that I was going to see
if I could get social security Medicare disability for
her. She looked up at me rolled her eyes and clearly
said DUH You Think.
December 14, 2009 05:30 AM Mary continues to be in good
spirits of course she wants to go home. She was not able
to move her arms as well today. She will require a lot
of therapy and as long as her body cooperates she will
be fine. Her bun number is still a big concern but she
did not go on the ventilator last night which is a very
good thing. Progress is still in baby steps. She is
being checked for the cdiff bacteria over the next 48
hours so we have to wear a gown and gloves. They
will be working on a long term strategy for her therapy
and recovery this week. She was trying to communicate
with me and got frustrated because I did not understand.
I did understand one of the words she used which I can
not repeat.
December
13, 2009 12:30 AM When I left the hospital I waved at
Mary from the door. She raised her left arm and tried to
wave, what a fighter. Mary continues to work on her
motor skills which is a very slow and hard process. They
have removed her main lines and she is not taking
any pain medication and hasn't for 3 days
(I would be demanding a morphine drip). When I talked to
the doctors they were amazed at her progress so far and
are already talking about moving her to a Select
Specialty Hospital for Long-Term Care in the next few
weeks. She was getting very frustrated when trying to
work her arms. I could see her frustration and said wow
your doing great, she looked at me and mouthed the words
Bull S... One of the nurses she had worked with
previously had her last night. She told Mary she was
glad to see her doing so well and not to be so hard on
her self. She told Mary that when she was admitted to
the hospital she was one of the sickest people on the 30
room floor. A chill went through my spine considering I
have observed this floor does not have the best
mortality rate. She does not want me to leave and
mouthed to me "I want to go home now" Her bun numbers
continue to rise and is a concern, all her other
numbers are almost normal. I am looking forward to when
I can talk to her. She wants me to come in before I go
to work today which I will. She is still not out of the
woods but making good progress. I know everyone wants to
see her but please respect her dignity. She does not
want people to see her this way. So please only
immediate family. We will all celebrate together when
she is home.
December
12, 2009 6:00 AM
Mary is
breathing on her own and is only put on the ventilator
at night. She still can’t talk do to the tracheostomy;
but If you could see the expression on her face when I
say something stupid to her, you know she is back
mentally. For example when I start singing to her
she shakes her head and you know she saying shut up. The
therapists are working with her, but this is going to be
a long hard process. I told Mary I think once she can
flex her muscles in a body builders pose that they
probably would let her go home. So a couple of times I
looked over and she was trying to lift her weak arms up
and flex her muscles. Her white blood cells count has
increased slightly and her bun number continues to rise
which causes me concern. I am just hoping her kidneys
start functioning more efficiently.
Sorry I did not post
anything last night. I fell a sleep on the computer and
when I woke up I had pages of a(s). I know some people
are concerned about my health. Let me tell you I am
great. When I see Mary’s her face light up when she sees
me. I feel like a million dollars.
December 11,
2009 5:30 AM Mary was very tired after getting her bath
this morning and was sleeping comfortably. She continues
to improve, unfortunately her recovery is going to
take time. We just have to keep her from getting
discouraged.
December 10,
2009 9:30 PM Mary continues to do well. Her body is not
at the same pace has her mental status which is very
frustrating for her. The big thing for her is not to get
discouraged. Her bun number is rising but they are
trying to kick start her kidneys so she will not have to
have the hemodylaysis. She continues her therapy which
is a slow process. She does not understand exactly what
happened to her and she wanted me to explain to her. I
explained to her that she was very sick, she had a
thyroid storm which weakened her heart and she required
a BiVAD/PVAD pump to relieve her heart temporarily. It also
caused problems with her kidneys and liver. So she had
to be patient with her recovery. She didn't want me to
leave. So I promised her I would see her in the morning
and come back after work. Thanks everyone for your love,
support, and prayers.
December 9, 2009 8:00 PM Mary is something else! I am
sitting beside her holding her hand. She releases my
hand and starts raising her very weak arms. I ask her
"are you trying to get out of bed" she shakes her head
yes and gives me a Mary look like what do you think. One
of the therapist happened to be walking by the room when
Mary was raising her arms, the therapist talked to
Mary's Doctor and they started her physical therapy
ahead of schedule. She is mentally ready to leave,
unfortunately she is going to require extensively
therapy. The big thing for Mary is not to get
discouraged. Her numbers are all going down and she
still requires hemodialsysis. She is one solid bruise
with some major holes in her abdomen. As long as her body
cooperates she is on her way to recovery. I am
cautiously optimistic, she is one strong lady. Once again thanks for
all your love, support and prayers. Since I start back
to work on Thursday I will only be posting at nights.
December 9, 2009 9:15 AM WOW Mary is very responsive,
and she really doesn't want me to leave her side. She
still is not able to talk due to the
tracheostomy.
They have removed the continuous dialysis machine and
she will have hemodialysis 3 to 4 days a week which
should remove a lot more water from her system. She has
a long way to go and I will not go over all the things
she has to over come but just know she is improving
under the best care and her mental status seems to be as
good as it ever was ?? Thanks for all your Love, support
and prayers.
December 8, 2009 4:50 PM Mary is out of surgery. The
surgeon told me everything went well. The two large
drainage tubes have been removed, and another smaller
drainage tube has been added. The tracheostomy was done
and we'll have to see how she tolerates it. Her numbers
continue to improve. Before she went in I asked
her if she wanted me to be in her room after surgery she
shook her head pretty vigorously. So you bet I'll be
there.
December 8, 2009
1:15 PM
Before Mary went back to surgery I asked her if she
wanted me to sing for her she shook her head
Emphatically NO! She is having a
tracheostomy so
they can remove the trach tube and also make it easier
to regulate her oxygen. They are going to remove the
drainage tubes from her abdomen and insert another one.
The procedure will take approximately an hour and an hour
and half to get ready with all the tubes and IVs she
has in her. She is very responsive today and does not
want me to leave her side which makes me feel like the luckiest man alive. She has a long way to go, but
what a difference a day makes.
December 8, 2009 If there was any doubt about Mary's mental status it was
answered today. I asked
her if this was her password xxxxxxxxx , (no I am not
going to tell you her password), she distinctly shook
her head that was her password. Her color is looking
better, she is still very weak, swollen and very poked.
Her numbers continue to improve. They are going to do an
mri of her head today just to make sure there is no
infection in her skull. She is still on the continuous
dialysis and they are removing more fluids then they
are giving her (which is good). They still are not
going to
remove the drainage tubes from her abdomen. They are
going to perform a tracheostomy so
they can remove the trach tube and also make it easier
to regulate her oxygen.
December 7, 2009
6:05 PM
Mary’s numbers keep improving. She is responsive to
verbal commands from the nurse. Of course I had to ask
her questions which she responded by either yes or no
responses (weakly shaking her head). She is still on the
continuous
dialysis and they are removing more fluids then they
are giving her (which is good). They decided not to
remove the drainage tubes from her abdomen and let her
numbers improve. They are talking about a tracheotomy so
they can remove the trach tube and this will hopefully
help in
her responsiveness. Thanks for everyone's love, support
and prayers.
December 6, 2009
5:30 PM
Mary’s resting comfortably today. She is
responsive to verbal commands from the nurse. They cleaned her up,
and changed her position in bed which took a lot out of
her. Her levels are all coming down slightly including
her white blood count which is still elevated but coming
down slowly. Her catscan did not reveal any pockets of
infection. She needed another blood transfusion today.
She was a couple quarts low (I know bad sense of humor).
She is still on continuous dialysis, and she is going to
require more blood platelets when they become available.
They decided not to remove the drainage tubes from her
abdomen today. I think in part because of the shortage
of blood platelets. I talked to her as usual and let her
know everyone is asking about her and sends their love and prayers. Every time I
have gone in she has been resting so peacefully I just couldn’t wake her up.
December 5, 2009 6:30 PM I have to say I feel like a
grade school kid. I told Mary I loved her and told her
everyone loved her and was thinking of her. Then I asked
her to squeeze my hand if she loved me and she squeezed
it ever so softly. I found myself with such a lump in my
throat that it was hard to talk. I apologize for all
this mushy stuff, I just needed to know she was there
for me like I am for her. We have a long long way to go
but this has been a great day for me. Hopefully we will
find out what is causing her white blood cell count to
be elevated.
Once again Thanks
for everyone's thoughts and prayers.
I ask that everyone please do not send flowers, gifts
etc. her room is not equipped to handle it. We will all
celebrate when she is home...
December 5, 2009 5:45 PM I asked Mary if she could
squeeze my hand and she faintly squeezed it. (I almost
broke down). She is so weak and very sedated. She has
had her catscan and is back on dialysis. I am trying to
let her rest but am anxious to get back to her.
December 5, 2009 12:30 PM Mary is resting and very
sedated. It's hard for me to let her rest because I want
to talk to her so bad. Let me assure you all that I am
letting her rest. I just can't believe I could be so
emotional about her moving her toes or thumbs. Hopefully
this is the start of a lot of good news.
December 5, 2009 7:30 AM Yea! Yea! Mary responded by
moving her toes and thumbs and squeezing the nurses
hand, the nurse told me it was weak but definite. Of
course when I was in the room she didn't do it. All her
numbers are coming down with the exception of her white
blood cell count which is elevated. She is going to have
a catscan today. This will hopefully determine were her
infection is coming from. She is very weak and sedated
and far from out of the woods but making positive signs
of improvement. I always start her day telling her I
love her, and how much everyone loves her,
thinking of her and praying for her.
December 4, 2009 5:30 PM Mary is very sedated. She seems
to be resting as comfortably as she has since this whole
ordeal started. Her levels continue to improve. Her main
line tube has been replaced. There is an increase in her
white cell count and they hope to find the source of the
infection. Unfortunately she is not responsive but she
is very sedated. Once again Thanks for your thoughts and
prayers.
December 4, 2009 2:45 PM There is not much change and
honestly I do not expect any change for a while. They
have increased her sedation, and her kidney bun numbers
are improving. They are going to replace her main line
tube and check for infection. I am still hoping for
response to voice commands but it will probably be
another day. Once again I personally want to thank
everyone for there thoughts and prayers.
December 4, 2009 7:30 AM Mary's numbers continue to
improve. She has an increase in white blood cells which
means the possibility of infection. She still is not
responsive to voice commands but they still feel this is
related to her kidney and liver not being under control.
They have backed off the sedation while the Doctors make
there rounds. All we can do is stay the course.
December 3, 2009 11:30 PM No change. Mary required
more sedation this evening and seems to be resting more
comfortably. I was going in more frequently
in hopes of getting some kind of voice response. I
talked to the Doctor today they are waiting like all of
us for her kidney function bun number to come back down.
They believe that once this number comes down she will
become responsive, once she is responsive and conscious
they will remove her from the ventilator.
December 3, 2009 8:15 AM
Mary is stable but serious her
numbers are starting to look better. She is on dialysis
and we are hoping as the treatment goes on
she will start responding to voice commands. Waiting is
very difficult for all of us. I always talk to her and
let her know how much everyone is thinking of her.
Status December 2, 2009 7:30 PM. Mary is stable but
serious condition she had some bleeding from some small
ulcers in her stomach. That was probably a
result of her breathing tube and her laying on her back.
She is heavily sedated and we are hoping she will be
communicating as her levels improve.
Status December 2, 2009 3:30 PM Mary has had the PVAD
removed her heart is now sustaining her
(Thank
God). She is being closed up right now. Short term is
dialysis to regain kidney function, regain liver
function. and clearing the infection in her lungs. Long
term they will address her heart problems. The irony is
her heart function will be the same as before this whole
ordeal started.
Mary's status December 2, 2009 12:15 PM Mary is going
into surgery between 1:00 & 2:00 the surgery will take
about 1 1/2 hours and 1 1/2 hours to close her up. They
plan to remove the PVAD start her on dialysis and
take another biopsy of her heart.
Mary's status December 2, 2009 10:15 AM
Not much has
changed in Mary's condition she now has a lung infection
which is being treated by antibiotics. They are planning
to take her to the ER and see if her heart can function
on it's own and possibly removing the PVAD. Which is
good thing this means her heart does not seem to be
diseased. She is still non responsive which they
attribute to her kidneys not getting any better. I know
Mary would be amazed of everyone's love and support.
Mary's status December 1, 2009 7:45 PM There is a
glimmer of hope I saw her blink normally twice. I no
it's not much but it is a big change since her eyes have
been open most of the time.
Mary's status December 1, 2009 4:45 PM Unfortunately
there has been no updates they are taking xrays of
her liver.
Mary is still not responsive to voice commands, and this
is one of the hardest things for me to take since we
have never missed a day talking to each other in 26
years. The Doctor explained to me that until her
kidney and liver levels are more in check she may be non
responsive. He also told me there is no indication of
any brain damage, which makes me cautiously
optimistic. She is probably going to go on dialysis
today. They are going to perform a biopsy of her heart
to determine if she may need a heart transplant. She is
improving but not at the pace that I want.
Mary's status November 30, 2009 7:30 PM. Mary was given
a TEE test to determine if her heart was strong enough
so the PVAD device could be removed or at least
minimized, unfortunately they do not think her heart is
strong enough to sustain her at this time. Mary is still not responsive to voice commands,
like she would listen to me anyway, but she is heavily sedated. All her levels are improving
and her Kidney and Liver functions are not normal but
improving.
She is very tuff and has the best care possible.
Mary's status November 29, 2009 3:45 PM Mary is not responsive to voice
commands, which has me concerned, but the Doctors told
me that her levels are better and they do not seem to be
as concerned as I am. She is heavily sedated and her
Kidney and Liver functions are not normal but improving.
She is very tuff and has the best care possible. We are
hoping this is just a small set back. Thank you all for
your support.
Mary's status November 28, 2009 2:15 PM
Stable but
serious
her color is good she still can not talk due to the
breathing tubes. Mary is very restless which is causing
her to be heavily sedated. Today she is not responsive
when we talk to her due to the sedation. We are only
visiting every 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hour so we will not
cause her any unneeded stress. Her Lung functions seems
to be almost normal she is having some difficulties with
her kidney's and liver but this is not unusual for
someone in her condition and is being treated. The
Doctor has told us it is going to be a long process and progress will be in
baby steps. Mary is under the best care that we could
ask for.
Mary's
status November 27, 2009 3:00 PM Mary is stable but
serious her color is good. She still can not talk due to
the breathing tubes. She is responding some what to
voice commands. Mary is under the best care and Mary is
a very strong person.
On November 23, 2009 Mary suffered
major heart failure in the emergency room of Grady
Memorial Hospital in Delaware. She was
administered CPR and oxygen in seconds and was
resuscitated. She was life flighted to Riverside
Hospital were she was given a Intra-aortic balloon pump,
and an external BIVAD/PVAD device to
pump blood for her to avoid heart failure. She was then
life flighted to Ross Heart Hospital which is were we
are today. They believe this was caused by a thyroid
storm.
Remember
"Enjoy life you won't get out alive" |
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