Back row: Tyler, Jayce & Gabe 
My neice, Allyson
My neice, Gracie
The Boyz... Jayce, my nephew Gabe, & Tyler
Clockwise: Jim, (Tyler), Gabe, Jayce, Gracie, Addison, Haley, Allyson, (Olivia) & my brother Chris
Clockwise: Tyler, 2nd cousin Haley, Addison, & Jayce
You know this group ;)
Addison & her new-found cousin, Haley, were inseperable from this day forward... 
Catching snowflakes on my tongue
The BEST thing about Michigan winters is the outdoor cooler! 
(Mary Free Bed.....mom's new home for the time being)
If you haven't been following the care pages site, please visit to view the progress on my mom's recovery. The link is posted in the previous post.
Jim and the kids left for Florida yesterday morning. I miss the kids. Even though they have been up here for two weeks, I haven't spent any time with them. They have been consumed with attention from their cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. I am grateful for this, but saddened at the same time. I feel torn. Torn because I need to be here and I feel that I need to be home, too.
I have gotten the OK from my bosses to take off the rest of December; it's a slow time for us anyhow. I will be in Michigan as long as it takes for me and my brother to feel comfortable with the care my mom gets and until I know my mom will be okay. She is doing well and I hope she continues to make great progress. I still pray and ask for all of your prayers - prayer for mom and for my family. It's a difficult time for several of us. The stress levels are high and our frustrations with the nursing staff is ridiculous. (By the way...mom moved to Spectrum Health's Long Term Acute Care Facility last week Thursday.....in the "old" Kent Community Hospital.....did you just shiver when you read that? I know I did when I heard it)
I have a good support system up here. My family is awesome. I miss my mom's "side" of the family and forgot how much fun we all have together. Laughter is the best therapy and we certainly are getting lots of it when the family is together.
Ok...so now that I've bounced from here to there and back again, I'll close this post.
If you chose, you can follow my mom's progress at: www.carepages.com -- search (upper right corner) Nansfight
You may have to register to view the updates and comment, send prayers, etc. I believe all that is needed is an email address and a password. An email would be sent to you each time I update the site, other than that, there is no spam that is sent to you.
Please continue to pray.....
I think I have the date right......
This morning we awoke to some negative news. The roto-bed (as they call it) caused more harm to my mom than good. Her ICP (internal cranial pressure) increased, which is bad - the opposite of what we are trying to do. Even though the purpose of the bed was to help strengthen her lungs, our primary concern is her brain and the pressure in her head.
At about 11am mom was back into a "conventional" bed, sitting at a 50 or so degree angle. Her ICP did go down and is maintaining in the low teens. This is good news.
Her chest Xray from this morning was better than yesterday's Xray, but that could be from the movement of the bed from last night; we aren't sure yet. A culture is being done on her left lung to see if she has pnuemonia. If she does not have pnuemonia, there is something that is causing the bottom portion of her left lung to "squish" (for the lack of a better term).
Things are progressing slowly and we are playing the waiting game, taking it hour by hour and day by day. Your prayers are requested on behalf of my entire family. Thank you.
Everything was supposed to go fine....cut and dry, so to speak. Instead, complications arose and my mom is now fighting for her life.
A quick synopsis of the events over the last five days:
Tuesday - brain surgery (10 hours)
Tuesday night - massive stroke affecting 75% of my mom's right brain
Wednesday - brain pressure is too high...swelling from the stroke is creating too much pressure on the left side of the brain
Thursday - first thing Thursday morning mom goes back in for surgery to remove a good sized portion of her skull to help relieve the pressure
Friday - brain pressure is still a problem, but is being controlled by medication
Saturday - lungs begin to collapse, but not to the point where it requires emergency action....she is moved to a bed that will rock her side to side to keep her lungs healthy
We are very much concerned about the brain pressure (swelling of the brain). Prayers are DEFINATELY needed still, and GREATLY appreciated.
ALSO: Friday - my grandfather died, much sooner than expected. He is in a better place now and I pray that he is watching over my mom and helping her fight this battle.
I will be staying in Michigan until my mom is out of the woods and is on her way to recovery (if it is God's will). Jim and the kids are here as well.
I know many people are willing to help in any way possible; all I can ask is that you pray for my family to stay strong and healthy and pray for the doctors, that they will hold the knowledge and skill to save my mom's life.
How do I explain the feelings and emotions going through me right now? I'm not sure, but I'm going to take a stab at it.......
So I leave Tuesday morning for my flight back to Michigan. I will be flying in as my mom is about halfway done with her surgery. The doc says she has a 95% success rate, so that's a good thing; but I can't help but feel the anxiety. I know I have to push aside the unsettled feelings I have over a certain someone that will doubtlessly be occupying the same space as me at the hospital. Not to mention it's been almost a year since I had talked to my mom before hearing about the news of her brain anuerism. There's many unsetteled thoughts and feelings between us right now. I'm going to be as strong as I can be, for her.
Sick to my stomach, unable to eat, anxious, uncomfortable, nervous, not wanting to face reality... yeah, that's about where I'm at right now.
Somehow I thought getting this out of my system would make me feel better, and it has squished about 2% of what I've been feeling lately.
Again, please say some prayers - my grandfather isn't doing better. His radiation treatments are being doubled as of this week, he is now on oxygen, has a walker, and uses a wheelchair outside of the house (if he has the engery to get out of the house). He's not doing good and I'm not ready to lose him.
Please pray for my mom, pray that she makes it out of brain surgery just fine on Tuesday and has a speedy recovery.
Thanks for "listening" and thanks for your prayers.
