My Sweet Brother

The email from my mom earlier today:

Title: Progress

Drs. Q (pulmonary) & M (neurosurgeon) have been by. Dr. Q says there has been improvement but left lung is still full of fluid so in a few minutes he is going to do another bronchoscopy (tube down to the lungs to clean them out) and more treatment/observation. Don't expect extubation today but moving in the right direction. In the last 24 hrs, meds & treatment have pulled off 6 liters of fluids which helps get rid of secretions. Jeff's color is better & he is mostly resting due to drugs. He is not in any distress, vital signs are great & heart rhythm is great. Dr. M is just waiting for extubation now.

You can't imagine how your prayers, thoughts, support have held us all. If ever you need us or the strength you have given us, we want to be there for you as well. Wishing each of you a great day and great health. Again thank you & love to all.  ~ Jeff's Family

:)

It still shakes me to my core that we could've lost him on Sunday.  Ugh.  After six liters of fluid being pulled yesterday, another two liters were pulled from his body today.  Holy crap.  Can you imagine????  I went by the hospital after work and was happy to see that Jeffrey looks much better than he did Sunday.  When I got there, I took Jeffrey's hand, kissed it and told him I was there.  He immediately signed, "bye-bye."  I told him as soon as he got better that we would go bye-bye.  Neurological intact?  CHECK.

I told my mom and Rick to go downstairs and get some dinner while I hung out with my lil brudder.  We interacted most of the time they were gone, but Jeff did not open his eyes due to the sedation he is still receiving.  We talked about his bag (those of you who know Jeffrey at all know about that damn bag), a large teddy bear the caretakers from his home & work brought him, and talked about bye-bye, medicine and the bag again.  He reached for his face, so I released his restraints.  Jeffrey touched the ventilator tube and straps across his face.  I told him all of that was to help him feel better and they'd be gone soon.  Before he had the chance to try and pull it all, I clipped the restraints back down.  He isn't FULLY restrained, but enough to where he can't do any damage.

Jeff did cough a few times which set off alarms. Thankfully, I was aware of this but it's hard to stay calm when you see red alarms flashing, hear loud alarms beeping, and look at the hero of your life turning red in the face.  Add to that the nun's habit looking bandaging on his head, about six to eight bags of IV stuff with their pumps, a huge machine pumping air into his lungs, compression sleeves connected to air tubes on his legs, a simple blood pressure cuff, the numbers on every single monitor, and all the sounds & smells of an ICU . . . it can be just a tad scary.

The sweetest part of my alone time with Jeffrey was when I handed him his "toy" (teddy bear).  I signed toy and told him aloud that he had a toy.  We felt the soft fabric fur, touched his eyes and nose, and then - instinctively - Jeff started to pet the bear and stroke its fur.  He has the sweetest heart, and that made me love him even more than I thought was possible.

We hope for extubation tomorrow or Thursday and pray that Jeff's lungs and body can handle it.  We are all ready to have our man back, and that would be a big step.  Today was the first time I felt like my brother might survive this, and I'm going to ride that feeling as long as I can.

Keep fighting, Jeffrey.  You have so much love to give you strength and prayers from SO MANY that are letting God know we love you, too.  Thanks - as always - for your prayers.

Jeff Update: Monday 8/22

This will be very brief since I'm completely spent after surviving the first day of school.  Jeffrey is still critical but stable.  The ICU staff and the many, many other medical staff that help him are amazing.  For that, we are blessed.

Preliminary biopsy results are coming in, so we hope to know more soon.  Of course, there is a strong chance we will never know why Jeff had the seizure that began all of this, but we can hope.  Please continue your prayers that my brother's body can get some rest and healing from the ventilator and sedation.  Doctors hope to slowly wean him from the vent over the next couple of days.  It's going to be a process that will take longer than we might like/want, but it is what is best for Jeff.

Thanks for everything --- Jeff's Family

Prayers for My Hero

This is going to be as detailed as I can get in my exhausted, emotional state without being too much.

My brother, Jeffrey, has been in the hospital for eight days now.  As you may or may not know, Jeffrey is handicapped and has been through more trials in this life than anyone should have to endure.  Jeff has a smile that is contagious and a laugh that can make you lose your own breath in laughter.  He had a generalized seizure on Saturday the 13th while with our Mom and her husband.  They were shopping at W.al.mar.t and thankfully paramedics were shopping in that same store when 911 was called.  After they checked him, Mom decided to take Jeff to the ER of the hospital where she works.  They decided to admit him, and he's been there since.

In trying to determine the cause of the seizure, doctors found that Jeffrey has chronic mast.oiditis and fluid in his ears.  A lum.bar puncture was planned and happened last Tuesday (I think).  His proteins in his fluid were more than double of the high end of the normal range which is a sign of inflammation.  After infectious diseases ran a battery of tests on the spinal fluid, blood cultures & such, it was found that Jeff has no viral or bacterial issues that may have caused the seizures.  Therefore, a meni.ngial biopsy was then scheduled for last Thursday to determine the cause.  The surgery went extremely well & Jeff was scheduled to stay in the ICU for observation that night.  His poor head is bandaged like a nun's habit, but he was comfortable on pain meds and doing well.  Friday is went things went to crap.

The ICU doctor - who just so happened to be the doctor who saved Jeff's life twelve years ago when he was in the same hospital with a collapsed lung - was on the ICU floor when he noticed Jeff's oxygen didn't look good.  He determined that Jeffrey had an obstruction and within minutes, Jeff was sedated, his lungs suctioned for mucus, and placed on a ventilator.  He has been on it since (now over 48 hours).

Our hopes were that extubation would occur today, but when the respiratory team tried to wean him off the vent, Jeff's fragile lungs and body couldn't handle it.  They left him intubated, but even with the ventilator doing most of the work, Jeff's oxygen saturation was subpar.  Medical staffers finally got everything under control right around the time I got to the hospital.  When you have a mom that is a nurse, you follow her lead.  When things started going downhill, Mom got scared.  When I spoke with her by phone, I got scared.  Everyone got scared.  And we still are.

I know there are probably more details, but between working twelve hour days preparing to return to school tomorrow and worrying about Jeffrey, my world has been rocked.  I will ask for some specific prayers at this point, but general prayers for Jeff's healing will be gladly cherished as well.

Specifics:
Pray that Jeffrey can be extubated and his lungs will function independently.
Pray that biopsy results return with a cause of the seizure that can be easily treated.
Pray for my more than tired Mom who has spent all but a few hours one night in the hospital with Jeff.
Pray for the continued wisdom and caring of the medical staff caring for Jeff.
Pray for comfort and peace for our entire family and for all who love my brother (which is MANY).

Updated - Photos

I had a major fail with my last post about the Guest Suite because the slide show wasn't working.  Come to find out, Picasa changed my default settings so all of my albums were visible to only me.  Oops.

The photos have been updated in the post, so go check it out!

Summer Project 2011: The Guest Suite

Did you ever see the episode of FRIENDS where Monica & Rachel lose their apartment in losing a game to Chandler & Joey?  Monica moves all of their stuff into the guys' apartment, decorates, has everyone over for snacks and drinks, and Monica falls asleep once they get there?  That is me.  Todd went out of town, and I finally got started on my summer project!  


Remember my 2010 project was the family room?  And in 2009 I did the laundry room before our home was torn apart and put back together again?  Did you forget that in 2008, I redid an old rocking chair after IKEA-hacking and setting up my scrapbook armoire/craft area?  Have you been paying attention? :)


Our guest suite is what some call a "mother in-law suite," whereas we have a bedroom and full bath in its own hallway separate from the rest of the living quarters.  Unfortunately, after I sold the bed in that bedroom, it had become a functional bathroom and storage room.  You could walk into the guest room, step over a few things to get to the closet and leave.  It seriously looked like a scene from the show Hoarding: Buried Alive, except things weren't piled quite as high as an insane person's room.  Embarrassing, yet true.


In just over two days for my 2011 project, I cleaned out our guest bedroom, closet and bathroom.  With bunches of help from my mom, I painted the walls, spray painted almost anything in reach, and redecorated the whole thing.  I bought new bedding, removed old and added new furniture, removed shutters and installed blinds, cleaned out everything, made a couple of trips to Goodwill, set out a few loads for bulk trash, reorganized the closet, drawers, cabinets, and more.  I won't tell you what the rest of the house looked like in this process, but it was BAD.


Exhaustion and pride are the only two words I can think and feel at this point!  I have during and before shots, but I'm really too tired to find them right now.  So here is the after:




The walls look a lighter blue than IRL because the color has more of a gray tint to it.  I love it though!  Still to do: curtains, new lamps, paint doorknobs & shower door frame, organize gift wrap into underbed storage boxes, take MIL's clothing, furs, bags, & shoes to resale, send photos off to be scanned, and more I can't think of right now.

Goodnight.

Todd & Kristin's Vacation - Part Uno

Destination Destin!  I already told you about the first few characters we encountered along our way, and there were more!  First stop: Mobile, Alabama - July 15/16, 2011

When we arrived in Mobile, it was POURING.  Coming in from the droughts and record-setting heat of North Texas, it was really odd to see it rain this hard in the summer.  Our lodging for the night was at the Holiday Inn in Downtown Mobile's Historic District.  It was recently remodeled and really pretty!  Our room was large and comfortable, so we slept well.  I would definitely recommend the hotel to others.

We ate dinner at the original Wintzell's Oyster House and YUM!  The nice front desk clerk at our hotel gave us coupons for free gumbo, so that was partly what led us there.  We started off with the gumbo, then Todd had oysters and I had seafood au gratin.  The beer was cold and the food was tasty!  I've actually been craving Todd's oysters, and I'm not an oyster girl.

The next morning the rain had let up for a while, and we headed out to see some friends.  Breakfast was at Spot of Tea only a block or two from our hotel.  I had the Vanilla French toast with some eggs and bacon.  I shared some of it with (well, it was stolen by) one of my favorite little people - my lil' Goddaughter, **PAYTON**

I'll share my food with this little bird any day!

Miss Restless Pants (who did really well at breakfast!) was ready to get out of that highchair seat belt, and she finally did.  Across the street is a splash pad, so Miss P knew it was time to run, play and get soaking wet.  She did all three very well!

Payton steps on the fountains.

Payton's Daddy and I both told her that drinking from the fountains was yucky, and that led to this:

Drinking

from

every

single

fountain!

I was cracking up watching Payton go from one fountain to the next, all right in a row.  Stubborn, silly girl!  She ran & ran (sometimes too far) & ran & ran.

Her Mommy and Daddy ran and caught her . . .

And once she slowed down, we took a few posed shots . . .

Todd & Kristin --- the vacationers

kekis and her mini-kekis

Payton loved the flowers

She finally has hair!  :)

Last, but not least, one of my besties Sarah!

We enjoyed our short time in Mobile, but it was time to head to the beaches of Destin!

Family Time

As a family, we are preparing for Whitney to leave for college.  She's our first to fly from the nest, so many of us (esp. her Mom, her Papa, and me) are struggling with it.  While Whit will do awesome, it's hard to believe that she is an adult now and will be on her own.  It is a time of excitement, fear of the unknown, and filled with pride.

Another bbq at Papa & Marilynn's was planned & we all had a great time!  Everyone was there (meaning my sisters and our families).  Here are some shots of Whitney with the family before she breaks our hearts heads out on her own and takes on the world!

Whitney smiling while True (age 5) acts silly.

Whitney is great with little kids - ha!!  (Whit & Hayden, age 2)

Whitney & her Papa (my Dad)

The first four of my beautiful nieces - Courtney (15), Kilee (11), Ashley (16) & Whitney (18).

Me with Whitney . . . my "Sweetie Girl," my first niece, my love.

Go get 'em Whit - and Hook 'Em!!!!