So many adorable things for the girls. Over 1000 diapers and wipes. YIPEE!
Thank you to all who made it so special.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Update on Dad's Condition(picture taken 2 weeks ago in Gatlinburg LAUREL FALLS HIKE
First of all...thank you so much for your continued support and concern of my father as he battles through his 2nd stroke. Your phone calls and texts have been much appreciated.
For those that have asked...here’s what happened and the latest update. For those who may not have heard...here ya go.
On Oct. 10th at about 11PM, he had his second stroke. He knew it was happening and was fully cognizant of the situation. He called my mom (who happened to be in Nashville at the time visiting Amber before her baby shower) and told her he thought he was having another stroke. Long story short...EMT’s took him to Dyer County hospital where he informed them of his past heart/stroke history.
For those of you who may not know, my dad had a stroke about 6 years ago after his quad-bypass surgery. The day he was supposed to go home from the hospital, he threw a clot. It slowed him down a bit, but didn’t incapacitate him by any means. After therapy, he was able to get back to a full life...although much slower and with a permanent limp on his right side.
Upon arriving and hearing of his situation, the doctors immediately gave him a Tissue Plasminogen Activator (TPA) shot, which is very effective in thinning the blood and breaking up/clearing a clot if administered within 2-3 hours of a stroke. Unfortunately [and unbeknownst to the doctors...which I’m still curious as to why...i’m guessing there wasn’t a CT scan at Dyer hospital???], my dad did not have a “clot” stroke, but a “bleed” stroke. Well, you can imagine what a strong blood thinner like a TPA shot would do to a person that’s bleeding internally...it only exacerbated the problem and he immediately took a turn for the worse, becoming virtually comatose. When they saw his reaction to the shot they immediately put him on an ambulance to a more advanced facility...Jackson-Madison General Hospital, in Jackson, TN. about 40 minutes from my parents home in Dyersburg.
Mom, Lara, Amber, Jonathan, and I got to the hospital at different times throughout the day, Saturday the 11th. When we first got there...he wasn’t very responsive at all, and just looked kind of glazed over. We spent as much time as they would allow us in his ICU room. We just continued to stimulate him in any way possible when allowed in the room, making sure he had familiar faces in front of him and that he could hear our voices. He just looked completely exhausted...so, we left him around 10PM Saturday night to get some much needed rest before they let us back in at 9AM Sunday morning. He looked much better the next morning, but here’s the current status.
He’s completely paralyzed on his right side (with the exception of some slight twitching reactions to stimuli...which is a start), but does have use (although limited) of his left side. He has a strong grip with his left hand, and can actually feed himself, although the swallowing bit isn’t up to spec, just yet. But, no need for a feeding tube at this time, which is GREAT news. He can’t do thin liquids just yet, because of lack of control of his mouth and swallowing. But, has done well with thicker things like mashed potatoes, pudding, etc. Hey...it’s a start.
He can’t speak whatsoever at this time...but, seems to by trying as he’s grunting more now. If he is cognizant of what’s happening and can hear/understand us completely...i can only imagine his frustration. He’s not very responsive to specific commands, so we really just don’t know what all he’s comprehending. He’s showing emotion...so, we’re pretty sure he recognizes us, but when given a specific command like “blink once for yes, or squeeze our hand for no”, he doesn’t seem to respond very well...and, when he does...it’s very delayed. The bleed has affected about a ¼ of his brain, according to the Neurologist and CT scan. So, it’s fairly significant. She said he’s actually doing much better than she expected after seeing the damage of the bleed. Right now, we’re just hoping it’s stopped bleeding so the body can start to mend the damaged/bruised area of the brain. He may improve drastically or not much more than what he is now...only time will tell.
We hope to have him out of ICU within’ the next 2-3 days. Again...thank you so much for all the support. I’ll keep you posted on his progress. Much love: the Thurmond family.
For those that have asked...here’s what happened and the latest update. For those who may not have heard...here ya go.
On Oct. 10th at about 11PM, he had his second stroke. He knew it was happening and was fully cognizant of the situation. He called my mom (who happened to be in Nashville at the time visiting Amber before her baby shower) and told her he thought he was having another stroke. Long story short...EMT’s took him to Dyer County hospital where he informed them of his past heart/stroke history.
For those of you who may not know, my dad had a stroke about 6 years ago after his quad-bypass surgery. The day he was supposed to go home from the hospital, he threw a clot. It slowed him down a bit, but didn’t incapacitate him by any means. After therapy, he was able to get back to a full life...although much slower and with a permanent limp on his right side.
Upon arriving and hearing of his situation, the doctors immediately gave him a Tissue Plasminogen Activator (TPA) shot, which is very effective in thinning the blood and breaking up/clearing a clot if administered within 2-3 hours of a stroke. Unfortunately [and unbeknownst to the doctors...which I’m still curious as to why...i’m guessing there wasn’t a CT scan at Dyer hospital???], my dad did not have a “clot” stroke, but a “bleed” stroke. Well, you can imagine what a strong blood thinner like a TPA shot would do to a person that’s bleeding internally...it only exacerbated the problem and he immediately took a turn for the worse, becoming virtually comatose. When they saw his reaction to the shot they immediately put him on an ambulance to a more advanced facility...Jackson-Madison General Hospital, in Jackson, TN. about 40 minutes from my parents home in Dyersburg.
Mom, Lara, Amber, Jonathan, and I got to the hospital at different times throughout the day, Saturday the 11th. When we first got there...he wasn’t very responsive at all, and just looked kind of glazed over. We spent as much time as they would allow us in his ICU room. We just continued to stimulate him in any way possible when allowed in the room, making sure he had familiar faces in front of him and that he could hear our voices. He just looked completely exhausted...so, we left him around 10PM Saturday night to get some much needed rest before they let us back in at 9AM Sunday morning. He looked much better the next morning, but here’s the current status.
He’s completely paralyzed on his right side (with the exception of some slight twitching reactions to stimuli...which is a start), but does have use (although limited) of his left side. He has a strong grip with his left hand, and can actually feed himself, although the swallowing bit isn’t up to spec, just yet. But, no need for a feeding tube at this time, which is GREAT news. He can’t do thin liquids just yet, because of lack of control of his mouth and swallowing. But, has done well with thicker things like mashed potatoes, pudding, etc. Hey...it’s a start.
He can’t speak whatsoever at this time...but, seems to by trying as he’s grunting more now. If he is cognizant of what’s happening and can hear/understand us completely...i can only imagine his frustration. He’s not very responsive to specific commands, so we really just don’t know what all he’s comprehending. He’s showing emotion...so, we’re pretty sure he recognizes us, but when given a specific command like “blink once for yes, or squeeze our hand for no”, he doesn’t seem to respond very well...and, when he does...it’s very delayed. The bleed has affected about a ¼ of his brain, according to the Neurologist and CT scan. So, it’s fairly significant. She said he’s actually doing much better than she expected after seeing the damage of the bleed. Right now, we’re just hoping it’s stopped bleeding so the body can start to mend the damaged/bruised area of the brain. He may improve drastically or not much more than what he is now...only time will tell.
We hope to have him out of ICU within’ the next 2-3 days. Again...thank you so much for all the support. I’ll keep you posted on his progress. Much love: the Thurmond family.
29 Weeks
Ultrasound yesterday (October 14th) 30 weeks gestation. Doctor is very pleased how the progress is going. He said I was a good patient doing all that I need to be doing. Eating well, drinking plenty of water and taking it easy.....kinda!
Sadie is on my right and Trista is on the left. Trista actually moved so now they are fighting with thier feet to see who can cram which foot under my Right Rib!
Sadie weighs 3lbs 1 oz and Trista weighs 3lbs 6oz.
Monday, September 22, 2008
26 Weeks Preggo
I know I look big and I am feelin it. Can you imagine that I have 3 more months to go to get to my due date of December 22nd. Doc. wants me to get to Nov. 22nd at least!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Womb Mates
Getting pregnant was definitely harder than we thought but we really were in no rush.
We did only try for three months.
April 19th was when that little pink line showed up. The first 5 weeks were GREAT. By week 6 I was not feeling so hot and anything after that till now, week 15, has been just shy of miserable! Chris has been so good about wanting to go to every doctors appointment with me. Awe! Even the pap smear one :). I could feel him squirm in the chair. It was then that the doctor went ahead and set me up for an ultrasound at 9 weeks-way earlier than usual but he said my uterus seemed larger than normal and he wanted to make sure my due date was correct.
Ultra Sound done on May 29, 2008 and sure enough. All the questions got answered as to why I was SO SICK and my uterus was larger than normal. TWINS! I think camera's need to be in those rooms when a couple is told they are having twins. My first thought was- "oh boy, now I'm really nervous". And my second thought was "that is two of everything and I am going to be HUGE"! Wow, what a miracle to see those two tiny heartbeats just going crazy! Of course I cried.
Cant wait to go back in 4 weeks to find out the sex, we cannot wait. So, until then......
We did only try for three months.
April 19th was when that little pink line showed up. The first 5 weeks were GREAT. By week 6 I was not feeling so hot and anything after that till now, week 15, has been just shy of miserable! Chris has been so good about wanting to go to every doctors appointment with me. Awe! Even the pap smear one :). I could feel him squirm in the chair. It was then that the doctor went ahead and set me up for an ultrasound at 9 weeks-way earlier than usual but he said my uterus seemed larger than normal and he wanted to make sure my due date was correct.
Ultra Sound done on May 29, 2008 and sure enough. All the questions got answered as to why I was SO SICK and my uterus was larger than normal. TWINS! I think camera's need to be in those rooms when a couple is told they are having twins. My first thought was- "oh boy, now I'm really nervous". And my second thought was "that is two of everything and I am going to be HUGE"! Wow, what a miracle to see those two tiny heartbeats just going crazy! Of course I cried.
Cant wait to go back in 4 weeks to find out the sex, we cannot wait. So, until then......
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