Posted on 01/25/2007 9:37:13 AM PST by GretchenM
Edited on 02/14/2007 3:30:51 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
My aunt and uncle sent this out to our family at 6:30 AM today. Carrie is my young cousin, a very gifted artist, and the second eldest among her siblings. She and her family are in Michigan.
Prayer reqeust from my aunt and uncle (Carrie is their granddaughter).
This morning on her way to work Carrie's car slid on the highway and into a tree. She has very bad injuries, especially to her head. Her brain is swelling and she is now in surgery. They plan to open her skull to allow for the swelling, and she is not responding.They don't give her parents a lot of hope. We are telling everyone so you can join us in praying for our dear Caroline. They called her parents about 7:45 this morning and they're at the hospital now.
I’m praying for Carrie’s overall well being, and especially to keep away any infections.
Prayers for Carrie & Family ~Pandora~
Sunday prayer bump for Carrie and her family.
Amen and AMEN!!! I am slowly doing a catch up after being down myself for a few days. Praise be to God, the GREAT PHYSICIAN!!...
I cannot tell you how exciting it is to read these progress reports. My heart overflows with gratitude to God.
We will continue to pray for her eyes!
Polly
prayers that everything is going well since surgery
Prayers for Carrie & Family ~Pandora~
Prayers for Carrie & Family ~Pandora~
Gretchen how is Carrie doing? It has been over a week now and no update? How is Gretchen doing?
Dear AmericanMade76, thank you for asking. I have been doing simply awful all week and still am not up to par. The only news of Carrie I rec’d was that she is able to eat almost a whole popsicle. Her parents are getting ready to host a themed, open house graduation party for Carrie’s sister, the high school senior, to be held jointly with a neighbor’s daughter. The whole family is very busy right now, going every which way, which I think accounts for the very brief info relayed by my uncle and aunt. I’m hoping for more specific news this weekend.
Gretchen, I am sorry you are not feeling well. Just take care of yourself. I am just glad Carrie’s family is busy and involved, and that she can eat a whole popsicle.
Prayers for Carrie & Family ~Pandora~
get well soon Gretchen. I will add you to my prayer list too. I am thrilled that Carrie can down a popsicle. That must taste good to her.
Polly
Prayers for Carrie & Family ~Pandora~
Prayers for Carrie & Family ~Pandora~
Continued prayers today from Los Angeles.
Polly
Prayers for Carrie & Family ~Pandora~
I am especially grateful to God for giving Carrie's family so much peace in such a taxing time. "Hear my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness!" Psalm 143:1From Carrie's parents
Many people continue to pray for Caroline and wonder how she is doing. We certainly appreciate all the concern and prayers for her and for our family.
Carrie is doing well. She has been home now for a longer time than she was in the ICU. I certainly like the home situation better. I am not counting days and dreading doctor visits like I was before. Plus, I have more of a say in what nurses I like!
She has 24 hour nursing care and we have adjusted to having extra people in the house all the time. The younger kids have been amazing and flexible with all that is going on. I am proud of them.
We encountered some problems with respiration since we got home that I wasn't anticipating. It was VERY frustrating. Carrie needed her airway suctioned or got oxygen treatments pretty regularly. However, since Mother's Day, we have seen a huge improvement in this area. She is breathing very well and keeping the oxygen level in her blood at the high levels it should be. This means that she is swallowing well, too. We were very happy to see this development. She hasn't needed backup oxygen for more than one month and hasn't needed suctioning more than a handful of times. Prior to this, she needed her airway suctioned out at least 3-5 times per 12 hour shift. It has been a HUGE improvement.
Her eyes are both open and sometimes they really seem to focus together. She has a new trache in which allows her voice box to work. So we can hear her sigh and cough. It is a delight when we haven't heard her voice in so long.
She is receiving therapy from several angles: physical therapy, occupational therapy, sensory awareness trials, etc. Now that her needs have shifted away from primarily medical, I am anxious for her caregivers to provide her with as much stimulation during the day as she will tolerate. We are trying different techniques such as reading and talking to her, playing music, massages, exercises, smelling different smells, showing her photos and bright colors, and so forth.
She still receives her food through the stomach tube. About once a day, we have been giving her some flavored ice chips or part of a popsicle. She does well with this. She also gets some nutritional supplements that will help her brain to heal.
We had a graduation open house for our daughter, A, [in combination with a neighbor who was also graduating] on Sunday. [My uncle built an ice cream cart which was emptied and refilled right away ;=) and built some junior-sized picnic tables for the younger guests; they put up three tent canopies; Carrie's mom and helpers made 150 croissants, etc., for around 300 people; what a way to honor the grads!]. Many people paid Carrie a visit as well. Our oldest daughter, L, had done her makeup and Carrie looked especially nice. We were able to get Carrie outside for some fresh air and sunshine. This was her first time out for the enjoyment of it. Usually if she went outside, it was to be loaded into the ambulance. It seemed to agree with her, as she was very relaxed for the 2.5 hours that we were outside. The nurse even did one of her feedings outside, so we could say she had a picnic.
Many people ask us if she is responding, and I have to say, not in the usual sense that we would like to see. But we have learned that she responds on some level. We can tell if she is relaxed or not, for instance.
We are learning many things that we never anticipated, and certainly wouldn't choose this trial. Head injuries are not fun. But we remain hopeful that things will change for the better, and we unashamedly put our complete trust in God.
With appreciation,
M and D
Prayers for Carrie and her loving family and friends.
God bless Carrie and all those that are providing the support she needs.
Prayers sent
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