Medical » Life After What?

Omaha Update - Rachel's Post Surgery Status 3-3-08

Mar 032008

A real quick update for everyone on Rachel’s status, post K&K (Knees and Knuckles) surgery on Friday. Both surgeries went extremely well, and they were able to clean out a significant amount of scar tissue and loose cartilage out of the knee. The doctor was very pleased with the results, and thinks that Rachel will have few issues with the knee after she has a little rehab.

Her knuckle surgery was also a success, and the doctor was able to get her large knuckles (knuckles closest to the palm) to flex almost 90 degrees, which was about an 70 degree improvement on range of motion. She had to have the fingers splinted so that the knuckles remained flexed over the weekend, but will be going in for some PT Tuesday morning to begin th eprocess of moving the knuckles and regaining the motion. This is very important, as the sooner she is able to move the knuckles, the sooner she will be able to gain some dexterity in the fingers, allowing her to be able to do things like use a pen, and pick up small objects.

Overall, the surgeries went well, and she seemed to be feeling pretty good.

Omaha Update - Leah and Rachel's Status - 2-28-08

Accident, Leah, Medical, Mom No Responses »

Feb 282008

I wanted to post a quick little update on Leah and Rachel’s continuing recovery. Both of them are continuing to make great strides towards a complete recovery, and are in very good spirits. Their hard work and stubborn will to get back to normal is shown in the latest results!

At the end of January, Leah met with the orthopedic doc, and was told that she no longer requires formal physical therapy, as her shoulder has made almost a complete recovery. Her clavicle had formed bone and was meshing completely, which means that the clavicle should heal without requiring surgery. Leah has returned to work full time, and no longer has to go into physical therapy 2 times a week.

Rachel continues to improve, with her skin grafts looking very healthy, and continued gains in flexibility in her right ankle, right hand and right shoulder. She had surgery on her right shoulder in January to clean out scar tissue and resolve a “frozen” shoulder. Prior to the surgery she was unable to move the shoulder more then a few degrees, and no further gains were being made in physical therapy. After the successful surgery, Rachel started PT on the shoulder the very next day, and very quickly saw gains in her range of motion. Just last weekend she demonstrated her ability to now get her arm above her head by “wall walking” her arm up. Walk walking is where you face the wall, place your hand against the wall, and pull your arm up the wall by “walking” your fingers upwards, while taking steps forward towards the wall. This moves the arm upwards, and stretches out the joint, and also helps to develop arm strength. A good side effect of this is that it helps strengthen her fingers as well!

Rachel did have another delay in her recovery however, as she kept noticing that her knee was very sore. She was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in her right knee, which requires surgery to repair. She also continues to have issues with flexibility in her large finger joints (the ones closest to the palm) which prevents her from gaining much more dexterity in the fingers. After consultations with the orthopedics it was decided that it would be good to have a combined surgery, and repair the knee and clean out the scar tissue in the hand at the same time. Rachel will be going in for surgery on the afternoon of 2-29, and will begin PT very quickly after.

We would like to thank all the folks who continue to pray for us, and keep us in their thoughts. Your encouragement and prayers help all of us to continue to improve.

Update 10-15-07

Accident, Leah, Medical, Mom, Omaha, Renee No Responses »

Oct 162007

Today was a long day, back to work after a busy weekend. As many of you know, Leah returned to work at St. James United Methodist in Bellevue last week, and we took one more step on the road to recovery. Leah was very pleased to get back to work, not only to once again use her brain, but also to start to give back to the folks at St. James who have been so wonderful to us. Going back to work was a bit of a challenge for Leah, as we had to work on getting her back behind the wheel, getting up early, and finding the stamina to stay at work and be active all day. She came home many nights last week, looking tired, but she seemed very pleased to be back.

Returning to work was also a bittersweet event for Leah as well. As many of you know, Leah and Renee spent many hours emailing and chatting with each other in between the various documents and phone calls, and many times would come home and call each other up on the phone to laugh and talk some more. The two of them spent so much time talking and laughing that Zack and I really never had much to talk about, as the girls had filled us in on the goings on so much that we had nothing new to share with each other. The time that the girls spent chatting with each other helped pass those days when the bulletin was done, newsletters printed and the phone was quiet. So as Leah returned to work, she was returning to a place where she and Renee had had many happy moments, but where now the little chat window would stay blank, and the email box empty…

Leah continues to attend PT sessions, and continues to show marked improvement towards a full recovery. She increased all her range of motion measurements by another 15-20 degrees, and has added some strengthening exercises to her 3 times daily routine. We now have different colored thera-bands (giant rubber bands of varying levels of resistance) hanging from the banister and door knobs, a hammer, and an assortment of various contractions such as pulleys and peg boards for her to use. She has almost completely recovered full range of motion in her wrist, and only has about 5 more degrees of rotation before she would have full range. She is slowly gaining strength in the hand, and each day is more capable of doing more.

Rachel is also continuing to make great strides down the road to recovery. Her skin grafts continue to heal, and are beginning to look a little less red, and more pink. The swelling continues to go down in the hand thanks to vigorous Occupational Therapy and lots of interesting little contraptions like her “bionic hand” which is a computer controlled machine that randomly flexes her fingers and hand to start to force the edema out of the hand and down into the arm. One of the areas of concern for the doctors is that there may be some vein damage under the area where the skin graft is on the wrist, and that may be preventing some of the fluids from being removed as quickly by the body. Her PT and little devices have really helped however, and the swelling has begun to go down, in fact enough that her fingers are beginning to look normal. Her foot continues to heal, and she was cleared to discontinue use of the walking boot. She is able to walk fairly well, in fact she and Dad resumed walking at the lake every day, although the walk is much shorter. Her more active movements helped to reduce the small clot in the leg, and at her screening last week, it was found that the clot had completely been absorbed. She was able to be removed from the blood thinners she was on.

She did receive a little bit of discouraging news last week, as it was found her ribs are not healing nearly as fast as they would like. Some of this is due to the other damage her body is having to repair, but some of it is also a result of her inability to use her right arm a great deal. As the muscles in the torso get used, they tend to move the rib bones back into position allowing them to heal. Her relative lack in motion in that arm is not allowing the muscles to pull the bones into place as effectively, therefore not allowing the ribs to calcify.

I would like to take a moment to pass on our condolences to the Duethman family who lost Terry earlier this month, and let them know that all of us in the Hall family are praying for you and are here for you should you need anything at all.

I would like to give a quick shout out to our dear friends Paige and Marc, who were married this past weekend in Oklahoma City. Congratulations you guys, I hope that you will have a happy, loving and joyous marriage, and Leah and I look forward to seeing you guys soon!

I would like to end tonight with a quick little thought about Renee. Tonight we had dinner with my parents and my aunt Kathy who is visiting from Florida, and while we were sitting around the table sharing stories, laughing and enjoying the wonderful meal my father prepared for us, I remembered how we always used to sit around the table with Renee and Zack when they would come and visit, laughing and talking long after the meal was over. That simple act of companionship and love personified and defined Renee. She was always one to share a smile and a laugh, lend a helping hand, or just be there for you. She celebrated life, and helped all of us live just a little bit more.

Thanks to all of you out there who help us, support us and pray for us. You keep us strong and with your help we will get better. We can never express our gratitude enough for the overwhelming support and generosity our family, friends and complete strangers have extended to us.

Update 9-11-07 Omaha Update - Rachel Makes it Home

Accident, Homecoming, Medical, Mom 1 Response »

Sep 112007

Very quick little update here… Rachel and John are safely home and resting comfortably. The flight was very smooth, no problems at either airport, and even the landing was smooth as silk. It was a little emotional as Jerry, my aunt Cheryl and Grandma Hall met me at the airport to welcome them home. Mom looked wonderful, was in good spirits, and when she saw us had a huge smile for us.

Grandma Kunc will be providing dinner for tonight, and then I am sure it will be an early evening for them, as travel can really take it out of you.

Thanks again for all the prayers, they seemed to have worked to get them home safely!

8/14/07 Update from Omaha

Leah, Medical, Rachel No Responses »

Aug 152007

Real quick update as I have an early day tomorrow with various appointments. We had another good day here in Omaha, Leah continues to be in good spirits and is showing signs of improvement on her PT. Some of the exercises continue to be difficult, especially as her back will get tight, and moving some of those muscles can be difficult once she is tensed up. We met with a family doctor and got a blood check to verify her cumidin levels (2.2, which was good), and set up some appointments for the next stage of the recovery. Leaving the hospital was a big accomplishment, but only a small step in a very long road.

We have had a number of visitors stop by and say hi. We really enjoy the visits, as they bring lots of cheer and a new face of someone who cares for us. We thank all fo those who have stopped by, and look forward to more visitors.

I would like to thank all of the people who have sent cards, flowers, and emails to us. All of these help keep our spirits upbeat. We can not express our gratitude enough to all of those who have pitched in and helped, talked to us, or in someway kept us in your thoughts and prayers.

We did have a bit of a down moment, as Leah felt very frustrated at her inability to do much. She realized that she is not going to be able to work much in the next few weeks, and is frustrated that she can’t help me more. She felt that she was a bit of a “burden and a broken person.” I attempted to allay these concerns, and have kind of expected some of these thoughts to arise, as Leah is a very independent and driven woman, who hates to not be involved in the action. I know that these next few weeks are going to be trying for her, and I hope that we will be able to deal with these concerns as the time comes.

Oh, please note my father’s update from Denver below. There is new room information and contact info. Please continue to send Rachel emails, as they very much help keep the spirits upbeat there in Denver.

Thanks once again to all of you out there.

Update 8-13-07 1215 AM - Half Way there

Accident, Leah, Medical, Mom, Renee No Responses »

Aug 132007

Just a quick note to update all of you. Today we managed to get half way to our initial goal of getting the girls safely home. There is still a long road ahead for the other half of this goal, but I fully believe that it is only a matter of time. Leah and I arrived safely into Omaha at 5 PM, just beating a large and powerful thunderstorm that dumped 2-3 inches of rain onto Omaha. This storm probably chased us all the way from Ogallala, NE, as the drive home was filled with lots of torrential downpours which made the rule of letting Leah walk around the car for 10 minutes every hour quite interesting. We managed to stay slightly ahead of the worst of it, and still got Leah the exercise she needed.

Our home is a huge relief as we are surrounded by familiar smells, our own comfortable bed, and our own non hospital white walls. Leah said that just being home made her feel better, and having that kind of attitude will go a long way towards healing all of us. It brightens my day to see her smile, and hear the determination in her voice while she does PT, as her desire to heal and live is very apparent. I know that both of us will have a significant amount of healing yet to accomplish, but being at this point feels like a major accomplishment.

I am sitting here with Leah writing this today, and she wanted me to pass on a few words to all of you.

“Thank you all so very much for all of your thoughts, prayers, and your concern for all of us this week. I can not express to all of you how thankful I am for your generosity and outpouring of love, and it is difficult to even try. I am on the way to recovery, but my heart is still with Rachel in Denver, and I hope that she will be able to join me in this first step to recovery. My heart is still very heavy, as I mourn the loss of my dear sister Renee, who was not only my best friend, but someone who brought joy to my every day life. I struggle with this part of my healing everyday, but know that I have to trust in God’s plan for me, and hope that He will help me heal in everyway, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I mourn for the pain that Zack is suffering, and want him to know that I love him, love him very deeply. I wish that I could help him make this pass, and will pray for God to help Zack through this trying time. Mom Dad and Britanie, Jay and I love you very much, and wish we could still be there in Denver to help you heal.

Thank you and I love you all very much. My gratitude can’t be expressed enough,
Leah. “

Obviously I typed that for Leah as she dictated that to me. Her typing hand is a little out of commission, and having to try to type, operate the mouse and wipe away some tears is a bit difficult, especially when you are right handed, but the only one that works is your left. I know that many of you will want to stop by and see her, and we would welcome that, but only ask that you call ahead, and check with us to see whats going on, as to much excitement can be a bit hard to handle. We also need to try to figure out some semblance of a routine, so that we can figure out what we may need from all of our friends who keep offering to help us.

We can be contacted at:

402.321.4167 – Jay’s cell, always on.
402.598.0612 – Leah’s cell, but probably not going to be heard unless it is next to her
402.991.8577 – Home phone.

We did have some visitors today, our friends the Schubert’s stopped by, and my Grandpa and Grandma Kunc and Aunt Wendy and Uncle Karl and their kids. It was nice to see all of them, and was good to hear laughter in the house from all the kids. I could tell that Grandma and Grandpa were hurting a lot, but hopefully seeing Leah and her smile will help their hearts to feel a little lighter.

I did talk to Mom today, and she sounded like she was making some improvements. As you probably read in the article by my father, John, she sat up a lot today, talked a lot more, and meet with the doctors to start working on pain. She sounded better, but I know her heart is still very heavy.

I want to thank Bill and Judith for driving us home, and getting us here safely. They did travel back to Missouri earlier tonight to take care of some stuff at home, but will be back soon. Their help over the last week has been instrumental in getting the girls back to where they are. It was amazing to see that they not only cared for the two of us, but also took care of Mom, Dad and Britanie. They also had enough compassion and love to talk to some of the other families, and helped to care for them as well. I don’t think I could have asked for any better in laws.

I would also want to thank Julia for coming up to help us. I don’t think I have given her enough credit for just jumping on a plane and coming to our rescue. She helped us all by smiling, sitting with us, hugging us, and running little errands. She might have felt like she didn’t do much, but her just being there for us helped us more then I can even say.

I would also like to thank my uncle Jerry. He just jumped on a plane, and wished he could have gotten there sooner to be there for us. He was a rock for my dad, Brit and I. He just quietly took care of us, making sure we ate, making us talk about our feelings, and just sitting there with us. He took care of the girls for us, letting us go take care of Zack and Renee. His unquestioning help, quiet calm talks, and strong hugs helped us all to begin to heal.

Thanks again, I must now go dose some meds out to Leah.

We love all of you, and look forward to seeing you.

J and L

Renee... Update August 9 /10 2007, 130 AM

Accident, Leah, Medical, Mom, Renee No Responses »

Aug 102007

Today we will lay Renee to rest in Stillwater, Ok. Stillwater is where she and her husband Zack and their dog Bosco made their home. Stillwater is where Renee met Zack, fell in love with him, and made him the happiest man in the world. Today I will have to see and feel the pain that Zack, my dad, Britanie and I have in our hearts.

Earlier today we had a visit with Renee, where she was surrounded by flowers from so many wonderful people, so many flowers that the funeral home ran out of room in the visitation room, and had to begin putting them around the waiting area. The colors were so bright and cheery, so like Renee, who in life was the most caring, kind hearted and bright person I have ever known. I am so fortunate to have had her in my life, as my sister, and as a best friend. Our lives were so intertwined, Leah and her best friends and truly sisters, Zack and I brothers. We could always get together, and it was like we had never been apart. I am going to miss her and her dumb jokes, I am going to miss her and her bright smile, I am going to miss her wonderful hospitality, but mostly I am going to miss her wonderful laugh, the laugh that made me forget my troubles, and see the funny side of life.

Renee I love you, and will miss you. There will always be a hole in my heart and soul where you used to be. I know that you are with me in my memories and in spirit, and are looking down on me from heaven, laughing at me right now, knowing that my tears are watering those memories so that they will grow. I love you so much, and I promise that I will do my best to take care of Zack for you.

Today was a hard day for all of us. We had to leave those that we love, and who need us to go and take care of two other members of our family, Zack and Renee. We flew out of Denver to Oklahoma City, had the usual misadventures with flying, but safely arrived in Stillwater, where we were met by many anxious family members. We hugged a lot, cried a lot, and comforted each other. We went over to the funeral home, where we saw Zack for the first time since the accident. Each of us hugged Zack and his family, and the tears flowed freely. We gave Zack the cookbook that his mom had hand written for Renee with all of her recipes that the two of them loved. Zack asked that it be given back to Renee, and we had taken it upon ourselves to find it, and make sure that this request was fulfilled. It was good for us, as this gave us something to do to help Zack. We cleaned it, dried it as it had been wet, and repaired the emblems on the front.

The visitation was good, lots of hugs, tears, talking and even some laughter. I had the chance to meet Zack and Renee’s wonderful friend Mario, who lived, laughed and loved them, and who Renee made sure was always well fed and cared for. We always teased the two of them that Mario was like of like their adopted son, and having had the opportunity to meet Mario, I can see why Renee and Zack made him a part of their family. Mario is strong, loving and compassionate, and is now turning the tables and is caring for Zack. Zack and Mario were going to spend the night at the house that Renee and Zack called home, and hopefully the night will be one filled with peace and healing.

I saw Leah for a short time this morning, and she looked much better. She and I had a chance to talk, and I managed to steal a kiss or two from her before I had to leave. I left her in the capable hands of her father and mother, and I knew she would be fine, as we all know who we really want when we get sick or hurt, and that is our Mom. Leah told me on the phone that she had worked on her walking PT, and had passed with flying colors, so much so that they told her that she did not any longer need walking PT. She did walk down the hall to see my mother, and walked almost 200 feet before she tired and needed to have the wheelchair to spell her a bit. Once she reached the room, she walked over and stood by mom’s bed and she and Mom had a conversation. Leah told me that it was an actual conversation, with give and take from both parties, which is a good sign that Mom might be starting to put some of the pieces back together again. Leah stood until she got to hot, and then sat in the wheel chair and talked. Leah also said she did all of her PT for her shoulder and managed to get all 10 repetitions completed of all the exercises. The nurse also told her to get ready to go home soon, but Leah said that she would be sure to wait until I get back.

I talked with Jerry as well, and he said that Mom had a good day today. She had the Occupational therapist in, and the psychologist who was going to help her get her brain back to a more normal state after the concussion. Jerry said that her appetite was good, even to the point of asking for an additional cup of ice cream. He also stated that she and Jerry had an hour long conversation, and that in his opinion she was in the best condition she had been in since we got here.

We just wanted to thank all of you for keeping the encouragement going. Every little bit helps, and all the prayers and the thoughts have to be helping, as we continue to see small little baby steps of improvement, each one a victory.

Jay

Update August 8, 2007 1150PM plus a note from Britanie

Accident, Leah, Medical, Mom, Renee 1 Response »

Aug 092007

Just wanted to drop a quick little update on here before I go to bed. It was a bit of a roller coaster day today. We had the bittersweet moment of Leah and Rachel heading upstairs to the MTU. It is a big step, but kind of like high school, you can’t wait to leave, but once you do, you really miss what you had. The nurses on the MTU floor have been wonderful, but there was something about being cared for like we were in the ICU.

The emotions are really hitting hard today, its hard to decide to leave our loved ones who need us to go care for another loved one who needs us. This morning we had to tell them we had to leave them, and they told us we needed to go, to serve not only as their representatives, but also to help heal ourselves and lay Renee to rest.

Dad has really been struggling, its hard to realize how much he wants to protect his children, and how hard it has been for him to be able to let her go. He is being so strong for all of us, actually we are all being strong, with moments were one of us is overwhelmed, the other two step in and help shoulder the burden. Dad really made my day this morning while we were traveling to the hospital this morning, as he pointed out a Magpie to me, and made a comment about how they always fly a bit drunkenly. This gave me a bit of cheer, as those of you who know my dad know that he is an avid birder who never misses an opportunity to point out an interesting bird. He has not pointed out birds, never even looking at them since the accident happened. The fact that he pointed one out to me, helped me know that he is working thru the pain, and that we will be able to get thru this with a lot of prayer, a lot of sweat, a lot of tears, and a lot of love and help from all of you.

Leah did manage to eat a bit of the supper Dee prepared for us, and especially enjoyed the stuffing . She also had an odd craving for thinly sliced ham, and her old ICU bed that was far more comfy. I left her as she was just barely able to keep her eyes open, as she was tired from all of the PT and the many trips to the bathroom (the trip to the bathroom in the MTU is about twice as far as in the ICU.)

Rachel had a long day, lots of PT and lots of visitors, and the discovery of the concussion helped explain lots of things that we had experienced. She did eat a lot today, but when we tried to get her to eat dinner, she said she was full, and was tired of eating. She also told dad that she just kept eating to be nice, cause everyone wanted her to eat so much, she felt she needed to.

I need to get to sleep, running on 3 hours a day is hard, and tommorow is going to be a long long day.

The funeral information is as follows:

10:00 AM
Friday, August 10th
St. Francis Catholic Church
601 S. West Street
Stillwater, OK 74074
405-372-6886

There will be a quiet visitation on Thusrsday evening. Zack let me know that Renee is now safely in Stillwater. She is surrounded by a wonderful collection of memories from their home, and is bathed in music from a recording of her senior recital from Texas Tech.

The funeral home coordinating the service is Strode Funeral Home of
Stillwater. Their web address is www.strodefh.com.

I did want to send out a little message from Britanie as I think a lot of her friends are reading this page as well. Below is from Brit:

Tomorrow around 12:24 pm, Dad, Jay and I will be boarding a flight to
Oklahoma City, OK, leaving our girls behind in the capable hands of my
uncle Jerry and Leah’s parents, Bill and Judith. While we know they
will be well cared for, it is incredibly hard to be apart from them
for more than a few hours… and so far it has only been those few
hours we have needed to sleep when it becomes to hard to do anything
else or grab a quick bite to eat when our stomachs finally growl
louder than the thoughts in our heads. Fortunately both the girls
moved out of the ICU and into the Multiple Trauma Unit today, so we
know they are making small steps forward… particularly in Leah’s
case as she is able to get out of bed on her own now, though still
only for a few steps and with much pain.

We return to Denver at 7:40 pm on Friday, August 10th, and will be
heading straight back to the hospital. We are hoping for Leah’s
release by early next week or this weekend, but were told today that
Mom will be here for at least 3 more weeks, “a conservative estimate”
according to her doctors and physical therapist. Her left lung
partially collapsed again today, and they discovered 3 more broken
ribs on the right side and told us she definitely had a concussion -
thereby explaining the double vision, seeing red and blue, and not
being able to remember or follow commands. The extreme tiredness can
also be partially attributed to this, in addition to her pain killers
and the psychological trauma. We were so excited to move upstairs
today, but her spirits were kind of low and she keeps talking about
how much easier it would be to just give up. We told her she can’t
talk like that. I really need my mother. My dad needs his wife.

So 3 more weeks in Denver. And I leave for Harvard in 2.5 weeks. My
mother says I have no choice, that I have to go.

I’m sorry to sound down today. I just really miss my sister and my
mom. I’m proud of Leah, but sad for her pain and wish she were better
even faster.

I love you all and will see some of you this weekend.

Britanie

Once again for all of you, here is a bit of contact info:

Rachel is in room 4435.

Leah is in room 4267.

You can contact me at halljw@gmail.com, Britanie at britanie@gmail.com or my Dad, John at jwhall2@gmail.com

Update for August 7, 2007 1:00 AM

Leah, Medical, Renee No Responses »

Aug 082007

Another quick update for today before I go try to sleep. Sorry I didn’t get to it earlier, but I spent most of my day sitting with Leah, doing what I felt was necessary for my own well being and hers. We had a good day today, the girls both made good improvements today, and really helped lift the spirits of those of us who are not hurt.

We got up early this morning so we could be there for rounds, and get the latests from the doctors. Dr. Katubig (aka Dr. Burt the trauma surgeon) stopped by with around 10 interns and doctors to check Leah out. We had a bit of a disappointment this morning, as the carotid injury has not progressed as fast as he would like, and there is still some swelling and bruising there. He took her off of the aspirin, and placed her back on cumidin and another submolecular slippery stuff that prevents clots (the nurses words not mine.) Leah will be taking cumidin for the next few weeks, and will be receiving two shots a day of the super slippery drug. This will help prevent clots from forming, and helps to limit the possibility of the damage at the carotid from passing into the brain. All in all a minor setback, but one that was quickly overshadowed by the good stuff that happened today.

On the bright side Leah was sitting upright in a chair for the rounds, and was able to sit for almost an hour in a chair before tiring. The nurse also unhooked all the monitoring devices, except for a quick check every few hours. We also were able to get the IV removed, as her fluid levels and nutrition levels were looking good, after being touch and go for a while back on Saturday and Sunday due to the food poisoning she had dealt with all week. Once they removed the IV fluid cycle, they also went ahead and removed the catheter. She managed to walk about 10 steps over to the restroom and use the facilities all by herself. She of course needs a little assistance getting in and out of bed and getting settled, but the walking and relieving parts she is able to do completely on her own. Little does she realize that this is a subtle bit of PT for her, as the nurses continue to pour water for her and encourage her to drink. This makes her have to use the restroom more, and therefore walk more. This is a really good bit of exercise for her and one that the PT tech said was good for her. Leah also stated that her goal was to go down to see Rachel, and have a nice little hand squeezing moment with her. She got around 10 steps, before we loaded her up into the wheelchair and let her go down and talk to Rachel.

This is a good point to bring Rachel’s status up to date. Yesterday we were having a lot of difficulty with the pain medication blocking a lot of her lucid moments. Late last night, they changed her over to percocet to help clear the fog, while still controlling the pain. This techniques seemed to work a little bit, as this morning we were able to have a nice conversation with Rachel. She was able to talk with us a little bit and also able to say what all was hurting. She did end up also sustaining a sprained neck, and she is currently having to keep her head movement to a minimum. She did however look about a thousand times better then she did last night, and her spirit seemed much better,tho it is apparent that at times her heart is still very very broken. She did eat 4 bites of pancakes, but decided they tastes a bit like cardboard, so she made Britanie eat it for her. She did drink down her milk tho, and also drank a little juice. This was quite encouraging, as she had been quite uninterested in food.

She and Leah had a nice chat, told each other how much they loved each other, and managed to wave at each other from a bit of a distance, as wheel chairs and hospital beds tend to be quite bulky. We said a prayer as a family with Bill, and the prayer seemed to help put her and Leah at rest. Both of them quickly tired however, as that was a lot of excitement for the two of them, and both wanted to take a quick nap.

Once again Dee cooked a wonderful meal for us, and served us in the conference room of the ICU ward. Leah felt strong enough that she decided to join us, and we wheeled her into sit with us as we demolished the delicious food, laughed, and shared stories and jokes. I can not tell you how much that homemade food helps a person feel good. Rachel was not yet ready for this kind of meal, so was anxious to get her tomato soup, cottage cheese an cracker meal. She got quite impatient and managed to grouse a bit because it was taking so long to get her food. This kind of spirit is the Rachel we were looking for, and her improvement helped lift our spirits quite a bit.

We did have a bit of a downer, as we did have to deal with funeral arrangements for Renee. Zack had the hard job of sitting down and planning Renee’s funeral, and finding a burial plot. For people who wish to send condolences to Zack, he can be reached at ostatezack@yahoo.com, or call me and I will try to get you his number.

The funeral will be held at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Stillwater, OK on Friday, August 10th at 10 AM, with Father Kenneth J. Harder presiding. Interment will be in Fairlawn Cemetary, Stillwater, OK. Strode Funeral Home is Stillwater is in charge of arrangements. A quiet viewing will be avaliable on Thrusday night at the funeral home, and will be attended by Britanie, John and myself. We will be flying out of Denver on Thursday morning, and will return Friday evening. We will be leaving the girls in the capable hands of Jerry and Bill and Judith. An online obituary can be viewed at Strode Funeral Home’s website.

Please continue to email us and the girls, the emails were wonderful, and was a joy to share with them. I think you all for your wonderful out pouring of support and prayer and generosity, and can’t even begin to put into words how much this means to all of us. I must also take the time to thank the people at Swedish Medical Center, and especially the nursing staff of the ICU. They have been wonderful in accommodating all of us, and treating the girls to some of the best care that we could have ever hoped for. I would also especially like to take the time to thank Dr. Larry Miton of Oklahoma and his wife Paula for stopping on the road to help us in our time of need, and who I have had the pleasure of delivering a report on the girls status to. Leah also had the opportunity to thank him on the phone, and I am sure if my mother had been awake at the time would have like to as well. I realize that all of these people are professionals, but the way that they do their jobs, and the help and the care that they provide is exceptional, and the best that one could ever hope for should one end up in this situation.

Thanks again for all the love and prayers, I must now go follow the doctors orders and get some sleep.

Jay

Update August 7,2007 1:24 AM

Leah, Medical, Renee No Responses »

Aug 072007

Just wanted to pass on a little update before I head off to bed. It was a long day today, but one where we started to see a few rays of sunshine peeking thru the clouds. We still have a long road ahead of us, but small steps can really be a boost to those of us here at the hospital. We are fortunate to have a wonderful supporting group here. The calvary arrived yesterday to help care not only Leah and Rachel, but to also help care for Britanie, John and I. Leah’s parents arrived along with my Uncle Jerry (my dad’s brother) early yesterday afternoon, and Britanie’s good friend Julia (her friend Austin’s mom, and who treated Brit like her own) arrived late last night. These folks have been instrumental in making sure that we eat, talk, cry and begin the healing process, and also care for our two girls. Bill (Leah’s Dad) is a former pastor, and Jerry is a deacon with the Catholic Church, so both have been helping us heal spiritually. Julia and Judith (Leah’s Mom) have been wonderful in making sure we have been eating, brushing out the ladies hair, and giving lots of hugs to all of us that need it. Britanie, Dad and I have been taking turns having breakdowns, and overwhelmed with emotion, but with the help of our family we are able to be strong for each other.

We also have been blessed to have Dee and Jim (I don’t know a last name, its all kind of a blur right now) who are the aunt of Leah’s brother in law, who have opened their hearts and home to us. Dee and Jim are currently housing Leah’s folks, and Dee prepared a wonderful home cooked dinner for all of us tonight, and saved us all from having to eat hospital food. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to have a romantic vital sign monitor lit supper for two with Leah, who voiced her vote of approval for Dee’s cooking.

I am happy to report that Leah had a very good day in terms of making progress. She is doing extremely well and was leaps and bounds better then she was last night. We went to physical therapy this morning (actually they came to us) and we managed to get Leah standing. The nurses were also making Leah sit up in bed, much to her dismay, as this position is quite painful. We started slow, only making her sit up unsupported twice today for 30 minutes each time. This afternoon, we had a steady stream of nurses, doctors and medical techs in to look at her and poke and prod her. She did manage to get a little sleep, as the PT was very demanding and wore her out. Late this evening, they unhooked her from all of the monitoring equipment, and unplugged the IV tube, and told her she is going to have to start taking on her own fluids under her own power. This is a very good sign. We also moved away from the morphine and IV based pain killers to Percocet, so she is much more alert and her appetite is a little better. She and I enjoyed a nice home cooked meal in her room, and I teased her that this was going to be the most expensive date that she and I had ever been on.

She will be going in for a CT scan in the morning to check on her carotid injury, but all preliminary signs look excellent. This is more of a double check type of exam, and the neurologist basically says this is just precautionary. She also had a little visit with a psychologist, who talked a little with her and I about the accident and what she will be going through. She did experience some nightmares and dreams about the accident, so tonight they decided to help her get a good nights rest and gave her a sleeping pill.

Rachel had a very long day. We started the day with her awake at rounds, and Dad had the opportunity to talk to her about Renee. As I stated in the previous post, we were able to come to the decision to have her buried in Stillwater, OK where she and Zack made their home, and met and fell in love. Rachel has some severe injuries to her ribs (there is some confusion between us as to which side, but some of that is due to dealing with lots of other injuries, either way, she has a lot of broken ribs that are causing her pain.) She has a very large gash on her ankle that is very painful as well. They kept her heavily sedated, and have not removed the neck collar due to her being unable to tell them what is hurting up around the neck. We are able to communicate at times with her, but she seemed to be in a deep fog due to all the drugs.

Late this evening, they changed her over to Percocet as well, which will hopefully make her more lucid and able to talk with us more easily. She did eat some vanilla ice cream, and drank some apple juice. She is in great pain, but today was able to talk to us for the first time since Saturday. The doctors are concerned that she cannot lift her head and are running more tests,
but they tell us to be hopeful that it is just severe bruising to the ligaments in her neck and nothing more. Her few words have indicated that the greatest pain she is suffering is a broken heart, as she keeps whispering “Renee” over and over and making crying noises. Her
eyes are mostly swollen shut though, so her tear ducts are not functioning normally. Seeing her this way has been very difficult for all of us, and the difficulty in communicating with her has only added to our pain. Bill did stop and say a prayer with us while she was with us, and she managed to say thank you and that she loved Leah and that he needed to take care of me. The moments we pray together seem to really move her, and help heal some of the emotional pain we all know she is suffering.

As my sister Britanie said, this is truly the trial of our lives, and we are having to fight hard to stay strong. All of the kind offers and prayers we have received have been wonderful, and the outpouring of generosity and love we have been shown by family, friends and complete strangers is wonderful.

I did want to close with an email from Zack’s mom that I felt was very touching and moving, and may give you all some insight as to how he is doing:

I have some very sad information to pass along; and although e-mail is not as personal as I would like, it will pass information along quickly and, if possible, with less pain. Zack’s wife (Renee) was killed in a tragic car accident yesterday afternoon. He was at work and she was on the highway with her mother and sister-in-law (both in the hospital now in Denver, CO).. They were on their way to a family vacation in Colorado Springs. The trip has been planned for over a year; Zack just found out 2 weeks ago that he got a great job opportunity with the Athletic Dept. at OSU–so he had to cancel his plans for the trip–they were very disappointed but decided she should go because it was her family. He had plane reservations to fly out next Saturday to meet up with her and drive her home. We were at the lake when we got the call from Jesse to come home. He went to Stillwater-picked up Zack- and he is now with us–waiting and waiting and waiting. We are devastated. We have loved Renee since we first met her–7 years ago–and at that time–we knew they would be together forever. They married three years ago–on July 17th (they did that on purpose) and had the entire reception sing Happy Birthday to me (after announcing my age!) I feel lost and numb right now. But mostly, I know that I need to be strong so I can help Zack. It is so difficult because I already miss her beautiful smile and the sound of her laughter. I can only be here–but Zack is just–I don’t know. We have no idea when the services will be. Right now–Renee is somewhere in Kansas–her parents are in Denver–the rest of her family is in Omaha–and we are in Shawnee–and their home is in Stillwater (where I believe the services will be held). We will get it together somehow. Just thought I would let you know. Renee has only been my daughter for 3 years, but I had grown to love her so much. I have to figure out how to help Zack get through one day at a time–and convince him that he will smile again….someday.

Your prayers at this time for our family would mean a lot to us. Thanks, and love to you all.

Jane

RENEE KRISTIN HALL RAMSEY

DECEMBER 19, 1981 – AUGUST 4, 2007

Thanks again for all of your love and support in this very trying time.

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