Lifting Up Dad From Our Knees.....: Just keeps getting better

Monday, April 30, 2007

Just keeps getting better

Dad moved to the VA Hospital on Thursday, April 26. Mom says that he had the best day yet on Friday. Dad took the move very well, we worried about set backs but there have been none. The staff at the VA Hospital are very attentive to dad's needs and continually teaches him independence. He told us this weekend that he like that they let him do things. He has already charmed the nurses with his humor and has started drawing again. He gets frustrated but know with time he will only get better. We are all excited about his progress.

Today they are going to do another swallow test so hopefully he will be getting some real food soon. The halo is due for review on May 3 so we should have so up and coming news on the removal of that.

If you are able to come to Indy and see dad he is missing the company. Andy and Anna and thier entire families came down over the weekend and Joe has been here since last Thursday, he really enjoyed this. Things will be quiet during the week as everyone goes back to work so feel free to come and see him when you can.

Thank you for your continued dedication of prayers. Continue to pray for dad's healing and that he will have patience in the recovery.

Have a great day!! Kelli :o)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...: GLAD ALL IS GOING WELL FOR JIM AND FAMILY CONGRATS ON THE NEXT STEP UP IN HIS HEALING

ALTHOUGH WE HAVE NOT BEEN IN TO SEE YOU, YOU ARE NOT OUT OF PUR THOUGHTS OR PRAYERS I HAVE RE SUBMITTED HIM TO OUR PRAYER TEAM AT CHURCH.

gOD HEAL AND CARE FOR ALL OF YOU DURING THIS TIME
LOVE THE STIERS; April 30, 2007 at 11:18 AM
Anonymous said...: Wonderful news!
so glad the move has gone well and
that you are pleased with the new
staff.
continuing to pray.
love you
helen and steve; April 30, 2007 at 11:59 AM
Anonymous said...: Hello
Everyone Jim kept up the good work Bill And I will be down to see you soon. We love you.Sue you take care of your self tell Keli we said hello. see you soon.Will call you again in a day or two.
Love Bill And Norene; April 30, 2007 at 8:29 PM
Anonymous said...: Thanks for sharing the wonderful news. We will continue to pray for Jim and all of you. We are humbled to be kept in "the fold". Please tell Jim we said Hello.
Praises to our King for His healing ways.

God Bless,

The Gallagher's; May 1, 2007 at 9:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Wow, what great news! We will pray that the swallow test will go well and that the halo will be able to be removed very soon. We're so glad that you are so much closer and that you can be with Kelli. That is certainly a wonderful blessing. Isn't it amazing to see God's hand in all the little details. Oh, how he loves us and cares for us! You're in our thoughts and prayers.
Ron and Minda; May 1, 2007 at 9:42 PM
Anonymous said...: Dear Maley's,

We are so thrilled to hear that the trip to Indy went well. I looked out my window at work about the time you were to be leaving. It was so rainy and dreary, but I prayed and asked God to give you a safe trip and encourage your hearts.

We praise God that Jim took the trip well and that he continues to make progress.

We will be in prayer for the swallow test and the possible removal of his hallo.

Ken was glad he was able to stop up and visit with you and Jim before he left for Indy.

Take care. We'll look forward to future blogs as you have the time.

Love and Prayers,

Ken and Rosa; May 2, 2007 at 8:53 AM
Anonymous said...: Hannah, thanks for the update on your dad's progress. Our prayers go out to you and your family and our thanks go to God for providing healing and a great and wonderful family that you have.

God bless all.

Tell Jim I still have the knife collection that I need for him to appraise.

Steve Doctor and family; May 2, 2007 at 10:27 AM

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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.

Lifting Up Dad From Our Knees.....

Monday, April 30, 2007

Just keeps getting better

7 comments:

Dad with Alena at Christmas

The story as we know it...

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