Home At Last

Yes Shelia is at home and starting her therapy and exercising and is doing great!
She is working on her appetite and moving all over the downstairs part of the house.
We are so grateful to everyone for their prayers and calls. we are also grateful to those that made it possible for us to be with her and not worry about where to sleep or what was happening at work. We thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts and wish the Lord's Blessings on each and every one of you.

durant, here we come!

john talked with dr. shulkin and now mom is going to be transferred back to durant possibly tomorrow! she needs physical therapy and nutrition encouragement. she is so excited to be coming home!

She's Walking

Shelia just walked 2 laps around the icu . She is looking forward to going home

Hair Day

Today Shelia was able to get her hair washed and dried and she sure is looking good.
Her hair is looking so blond! She has had a swallow study and is now able to eat and drink. she has sat in a chair for a couple of hours today and said she is ready to drive home. I don't think so. She wants Sean to pull the car up and sneak her out! She needs strength and coordination exercises and a little more desire to eat solid foods.
We are so happy and Thankful to our Father in Heaven. He has blessed us abundantly.

Thanksgiving Day

This day was truly a day of Thanksgiving. Shelia is breathing well and is alert. She is still unsure of why she is here but that will come.
She got to see some of the Grandchildren and was so excited! She clapped her hands waved. she looks so good.

FREE AT LAST!!!!!!

SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING YESTERDAYS SUCCESS, BUT IT HAS DEFINATELY BEEN WORTH THE WAIT BECAUSE NOW WE ARE FREE! LET ME EXPLAIN, TODAY MOM WAS NOT ON THE VENTILATOR BUT THE TUBE WAS IN PLACE WITH OXYGEN ON, SHE DID AWESOME LIKE THIS FOR 9 HOURS. ABOUT 5:30 PM, DR. SHULKIN CAME AND DECIDED TO EXTUBATE BECAUSE SHE DID SO WELL. NOT ONLY DID HER BREATHING TUBE AND OG TUBE COME OUT, SHE NO LONGER HAS TO WEAR RESTRAINTS ON HER WRISTS! SHE IS STILL RECEIVING OXYGEN BY MASK, BUT THIS IS ROUTINE. ALSO, PHYSICAL THERAPY HAS BEEN WORKING WITH HER FOR A COUPLE DAYS NOW, AND SHE IS ABLE TO GET OUT OF BED INTO HER CHAIR. SHE IS VERY ALERT AND CAN MOVE HER ARMS AND LEGS AROUND, SHE IS A WIGGLE WORM!! EVERYDAY SHE KEEPS IMPROVING SO MUCH. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING AND HOPEFULLY SHE WILL BE IN A REGULAR HOSPITAL ROOM BY NEXT WEEK!!!!

what a day!

the morning started off very rough with vent training because she was coughing a lot and had copious amounts of secretions needing suctioning. she began to get extremely restless and anxious, so the nurse let her rest on the vent after this rough start!! about 2:30 the vent mode was switched back to cpap and continued on until about 10:00, she did awesome this round. she is very strong and wants to get this tube out and get out of bed, so we know she is not giving up, we are just getting started.

THE SWEETEST THING

yesterday when john leaned down to kiss her forehead, she puckered up. today she was very alert with eyes open, raising and lowering arms and legs, nodding yes and no when asked questions, reaching for hugs from brooke, tammy, and i (tiffany), she gave a beautiful smile today---so precious--- today was a huge step forward on our way to recovery!! ventilator training began with good success, it alternates between cpap mode and back to assisted control on vent every 3 hours. she did awesome in cpap mode, she was breathing on her own while keeping her oxygen sats up and respirations between 15-20bpm. sedation is still being lowered. everyday brings joy to see her recovering so smoothly and knowing she is in God's hands. everyone please keep her in your prayers, God is listening!!

She's Getting impatient

Shelia's sedatives are wearing off and she is moving around in bed and trying to get comfortable. She is responding to questions but is still a little sedated. I hope she can be more aware tomorrow so the vent training can begin. Thanks for the friends that are coming to see Shelia. Getta, Sharlette, Rindi for coming so far to say you care. Connie for your care and concern, Thanks.
I have no way of expressing the comfort I have felt from all of the prayers given on our behalf. I trust in the Lord and have an abiding faith in his love for our family. Thanks for all of those that are working around the clock to make sure that I don't have to worry about anything except Shelia. I love you.

a beautiful nod

Shelia nodded in answer to a question today. The doctor is slowly weaning her from the sedatives. But it seems like forever.

BETTER NEWS!!

just received a call from dr. shulkin. lungs now look better on x-ray, so the plan is to start "vent training" in morning. hopefully things will go as planned!

not as planned

today the doctors decided to restart sedatives to ensure lots of rest. this way everything can heal without added stress. our goal is to have her lungs clear up as soon as possible. getting past this pneumonia is her biggest struggle right now. the doctor plans to keep her on the ventilator until he feels like she has a fighting chance to wean off. thank you to everyone for all of your prayers!!!!

Grandma's don't look like this!

She has 13 grandchildren and looks 21

15 Days. 6th Day in Dallas.

It's time to have her wake up. She is still on the ventilator and the doctor has completely removed her sedatives. We were trying to wake her up today.  She somewhat opens her eyes when her name is called, but closes them right away.  Her white count is down to almost normal which is great news, we have been waiting for that to come down.  Her kidney function has gone down and we hope they will kick in and start removing some of the sedation out of her body and get back to normal too.  We hope that tomorrow she is more alert and they can start weaning her off the ventilator.  It has been 2 weeks and too long.  Her 13 grandchildren and 7 children want their Nana and Mama back.

Prayer Request:  Pneumonia to be gone.  Kidneys to fully functional.  To wake up.  To breathe on her own.  We covet your prayers and are so thankful to all that have stood with us during this time.