It's been a rough week. The move to Parkview has been filled with many obstacles and new challenges. The stimulation of the transition seems to have brought on a new phase of Jim's injury and it's not a pleasant one. He's very aggravated and confused. He does not do well when I am not around but has become more mobil. He impulsively gets out of bed, causing much anxiety to the staff and myself. He is not steady on his feet but is getting stronger every day making him harder to navigate. This particular rehab floor does not typically provide sitters for this type of patient so I've needed to stay at the hospital from morning till night, for his safety. After Monday, they were able to secure a nighttime sitter who comes at 11pm till 7am. This has all been extremely hard on Jim. The immediate future plans are up in the air due to paperwork and authorization from pending insurance sources. Please pray that this will be worked out in the near future to help Jim get the best care he needs.
I hate to keep asking for your prayers, but God listens to his people and the need is urgent. Thank you for allowing us to be so open and needy. You are being used by God for great things and a powerful witness to many. Thank you all.
Sue
The diary of the progress of Jim Maley
Dad with Alena at Christmas
The story as we know it...
On Friday morning (Jan. 19th) around 10:50am, i recieved a call from my brother Joe telling me that he needed me at the house. I asked him what for and he told me that dad had hurt himself somehow...he had a black eye, his nose was bleeding and was "a little beat up". I immediatly got into my car and started heading that way. I called Joe back and asked him for more details and he told me that he was having a hard time getting dad up. I told him to call the EMS and he said that he thought Jason had already done that and he was on his way. When i pulled up, i saw the EMS was already there. I walked in and i saw Jason, Anna, Joe and several EMS people along with dad sitting on a gurney. They imediately took dad out in the EMS...not knowing what was wrong...just that something really wasnt right. We followed the EMS to parkview ER and had to go wait. Mom met us there as she flew across town to get there. We had to wait a long time (it seemed like days!) before we were told what was going on. The chaplain kept coming out to "brief"us...but thats all it was, a "brief". Finally, the ER doctor called the family together and told us the news...dad has a broken neck and he is bleeding in and on his brain on both sides....this is very serious. "Its a bad deal" the ER doc kept on saying, but we had to wait until the surgeon would come in and take a look at the CT scan before we could find out for certian what was wrong. Dr. Young finally came in and said that he had looked at dad and his scan. Dr. Young was very "matter of fact" with us which was good. We needed that! He told us very similar things to what the ER doctor told us. He said that dad had broke his neck, C2 to be exact. He also said that he was bleeding in several areas in his brain. He needed brain surgury immediatly. On a scale of one to ten...with ten being the worst...dad was a "plus 10". Dad went into surgury and was there for 3.5 hours or so...he came out of surgury fine but we found out the damage was worse than they had thought. They had to remove some of the damaged area and he would be on life support. We were told that the next 3-10 days are life and death...or very critical.
What we think what happend is something as follows: Dad was sleeping down in the basement which is a normal thing. Between 8:30am and 10:30am, he tried going upstairs. This info is a little sketchy because we werent there, but based on some of the info that we have seen, we think that he tripped on the stair going up and fell...hitting his right eye on the stereo and then hitting face first on the ground. This created the damage that we are aware of.
We spoke with the cardiologist today and found out that dad has also had a heart attack with in the last eight days, but they have not figured out exactly when. There is a thought that this might have caused the fall be we are uncertain.
Dad is in stable but "second to second" condition. If and when dad comes out of the "coma" state, there will likely be many months of therapy that needs to be done, plus until the brain issues are resolved, they can not even think about looking at his broken neck.
To sum it all up...dad is in very bad condition. We thank you all for all of your prayers and support and all of the food and gifts. Your love for my dad and our family is amazing and we are extremely grateful. We will continue to update you as we know more. Please continue to pray!! Pray for dad (jim) for healing. Pray for mom (sue) that she can continue to be strong. We do know that we most likely havent seen the worst yet. This is when we need your prayers the most. Please feel free to enter your thoughts on this blogspot as we will update you as we know more. We are very thankful for the love you all have shown.
9 comments:
Dear Sue, A wise girlfriend once reminded me that by my not sharing a need of mine, I was actually withholding from her the opportunity to be blessed (by helping with that need). Likewise, we feel blessed by getting to pray for you and Jim so please don't stop sharing those needs! We will continue to pray...hang in there. God is good, all the time.
Dale, Karen, Matthew, & Taylor
Sue,
We don't know each other, but I have been following Jim's progress because my husband and I knew him once upon a time. Please don't feel bad about asking for continued prayers. What you're going through now is in some ways much more difficult than it was when the situation was more acute. I know - my first husband suffered a head injury many years ago, and we experienced many of the frustrations you are dealing with now. I'm not a religious person in the conventional sense, but I have great compassion and hope for you and your family, and faith in Jim's ability to recover. I hope you will find comfort and strength in knowing that others are thinking of you and pulling for you, as well as the comfort and strength your religion provides.
Best regards,
Sue Perl
Susie Susie... please be assured
your brothers and sisters are literally waiting to know what specifically we can bring before sweet Jesus on your behalf..it is our
privilige (sp?) to pray for a family
so used by Him....again thank you for letting us walk along side in this latest adventure the Lord has allowed
for you. We love you.
helen & steve
Sue,
Prayers are being said now, and for as often as you will need them.
You are awesome, and your family is thought of often.
regards,
The Gallagher's
Sue, I'm sorry I haven't been up since the first few days of Jim's accident. Four days after Jim's accident my father was diagnosed with terminal liver & lung cancer. He and my mother have moved in with Peggy and I to care for him until he goes home. Please stop feeling as though your requests are burdening anyone. We check your website several times a day and use it as a source of inspiration and encouragement. We print and tape your website commnets and requests on our bathroom mirror to remind us that God will never burden us beyond what we can bear, and when burdened He will provide us a way to stand up under it. Finish the race. The Keeper of the end can and is using you in a mighty way. We love you. Ted and Peggy Garton
sue (& tribe):
echo to all posted words--it is a blessing and privilege to be able to come alongside you in "real time" thought and prayer when we are unable to be physically near...thank you for being willing to be transparent. thank you for taking the effort to communicate when so much is pressing down on you.
praying psalm 23 amidst...knowing in that in His timing He will make you lie down, hydrate and nourish, allow you rest...claiming His promise that even when you walk in the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil--HE IS WITH YOU. thank you for sharing, friend. you & jim are loved.
sarah
Sue and Family,
I wish you and yours a blessed Easter !
One of God's many promises fufilled for you and your family.
The Gallagher Family
Dear Sue and family,
Once again, thank you for taking the time to post an up-to-date progress report on Jim.
Please, never feel that asking us to pray is a negative thing in our lives. I remember feeling this way some years ago when we were going through a long, hard time, but I think these feelings can come from Satan trying to defeat us. It was during those hard years that I learned the power of praying specifically for our needs and asking others to do the same. We count it a privilege to go before our Father's throne on your behalf.
We love all of you and hope God has continued to make Himself real to you during this Easter season.
We are asking God to help this stage of Jim's recovery pass and that soon you will see some really positive things. It is hard to stand by and watch a loved one suffer and struggle, but we know that they are not alone in their illness. We are asking God to comfort Jim and make His peace known to Jim in a new way.
We are also asking that the details of insurances, etc. would be worked out so Jim's treatment would not be hindered. It's so hard to deal with this type of thing while you are going through such an emotional, heart-wrenching ordeal.
We love you and are standing by you.
Ken and Rosa
Thinking of you! Aimee said she saw you this week when Anna was doing her hair. I know this is a difficult time, and my heart aches for you. It is good to know what to pray for, thank you for keeping us all informed.
Much Love,
Merrie
P.S. Anna, Aimee really likes her hair.
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