Quite a Day !!

Dear family and friends,
It was a very eventful day for Anita and the Carwile Family. From the time I arrived at the hospital things started to happen. Eric and Lisa somehow got all their gifts and things into the car and arrived about 11:30. Thank goodness there is a family room on the floor for visitors and guests to wait in if they can't be in the patient's room. That's where lunch was for part of our family. Cheryl, Frank and Kenny rolled in to avoid the crowds on our anniversary celebration, then Allison, Kenny and Kayla came with all the food and decorations for Anita's door and the room. Anita passed on hospital lunch to eat fried chicken, potato salad, and cherries along with some iced tea. Oh yes, she did have one or two pieces of shrimp cocktail, ed ate the rest of her share. Decorated chocolate cake for dessert and a toast in special champagne glasses of sparkling apple cider. The gift of the day was a framed picture of Anita and myself taken in wedding attire, forty years ago. It was a grand take over of our section of the hall which the staff graciously allowed along with offering their congratulations to us. Other visitors included The Kimes, The Stewarts, St.Johns, Palmers and Barbara Marshke. Anita enjoyed it all and I'm sure will rest well tonight, as will I. Allison and Kenny took a big siesta today along with Kayla. Their house started to get back to normal, with me getting to move back downstairs.
Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and Anita will be have some testing done on her left arm to determine if there is good blood flow to support the soon to be repaired wound next to her elbow. She's a pretty brave girl when is comes to knowing about these things ahead of time.
We are looking forward to 2008 where the buzz word will be rehab. Dr Spence checked in for a brief moment to wish us a happy anniversary and to remind Anita to keep me straight. He said she was looking good, but I've known that for more than forty years ! Take care and keep the faith, its' that important. ed

A low key day - stayed in the room

Dear Family and Friends,
Today was a day of family visits, including Katie and Addie who brought their new dolls to show Grandma. (which she bought prior & Allison wrapped) After the visit they headed to North Point Mall to visit the American Girl Store because Katie got an American Girl doll for Christmas. Anita was visited by Allison and Barb Palmer in the afternoon while Ed went home to check email and regular mail.(which was not delivered as anticipated, will try again Monday)
The evening nurse was Anita's first nurse when she came out of ICU. She was so excited to see how much progress Anita had made in the nine days since then.
We met the Dr. who will make some future decisions about Anita's neck, making sure it's OK. She has scheduled an MRI for Monday and Anita has requested some sedative to get her thru that confining process. We trust you are able to be with and enjoy family and friends this holiday season as we are doing. More to come after our invasion of Atlanta Medical Center tomorrow to be with Anita and celebrate our 40th anniversary in modified fashion. Take care, ed

Step 2 of 3

Got the elbow a little more cleaned up today. One more step towards closing it up and getting a skin graft, hopefully early next week. A number of doctors visited and she had some x-rays on her neck. We got the neck brace off and that is very exciting and much more comfortable.

Some good family and friends visits and Mom got to listen on speakerphone to three little girls opening Christmas gifts. It was quite chaotic, but lots of fun. We are so thankful for Mom and her early shopping.

As we learn results from some of the other tests run, we will pass it on. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Allison

Catching up, how are you doing?

Dear Family and Friends,
Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ, but sometimes time goes into high gear with family arriving, getting together, friends welcoming each other and making sure children don't get caught up in hyper gear. The past two days have been moving along quickly, even for Anita. We have put to good use the speaker phone on the cell as she talked with family members from around the country. I continue to share with Anita each day wishes and cards .
Wed.- She had her open arm wound surgically worked on by the plastic surgeon, but he did not do a skin graph. That will come two to five days from now. Another doctor noticed, like we did, that her eye movement wasn't in sync and will call in a specialist to take a look. Anita's voice is getting stronger and we're working hard to supplement the hospital bill of fare. Last night she ate a whole Big Mac!
Eric and his family are coming in today so we can exchange Christmas gifts (Anita had done some shopping in Oct and Nov) and plan a scaled done celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday. The anniversary dancing will have to wait for six months.
Yesterday BJ's son Cal and his family paid a visit with their youngest 8 month old which we hadn't seen, her name is Sienna. Anita enjoyed making faces and getting her to smile.
Take care and keep the faith, ed

Merry Christmas!

What a joyful day this was as we celebrated Christmas this morning with our daughter, Kayla, and my husband's family and Dad. My Mom joined us via speakerphone for a little bit and got to hear the funny quips of a 3-year old opening presents. We also got it on video. It was a nice family time.

Barb Palmer visited with my mom this morning and we appreciate her and Forrest so much for what they have done and continue to do for our family. My dad then spent the day with Mom as she was visited by her doctor and prepped for tomorrow. She goes back in for a slight surgery to clean-up and hopefully graft her elbow. We really need to get that cleaned up and on its way to fully healing. It is so susceptible to infection right now. Prayers for a successful surgery tomorrow.

She drank her first protein Boost (Yuck! In the words of Mom) and re-discovered the yumminess of peanut butter and banana sandwiches. She ate the whole thing!

Thanks for all the calls and visits today. We hope you had a wonderful day with your family and friends. We are so thankful for ours.

Blessings to all this evening!

Allison

If I promise to come back

Dear Family and Friends,
Today was a day for lots of visitors, physical therapy, lots of ice to eat and a cheering team to encourage eating more food. The highlight of the day was a visit by the CPC Choir Director, Dave Vandermeer, and his traveling carolers. Anita really enjoyed hearing all the carols and many of her favorites. (we were about half way into listening to the Worship service from Dec 16th that had been recorded on a CD.) Anita was in rare form making quips and comments between carols. The members present were never known just to say hi, sing and say goodbye!! It was a great conversation, but Anita did confess she was not in great alto form, currently closer to bass. She (and I) are very grateful for all the special support from her friends in the choir.

I have started showing Anita get well and Christmas cards that have arrived from so many of you. Her reaction to my question, would you like to see some cards, is "you have more?"
The classic of the day has to do with the fact that while she is starting to grasp reality, there is still much about her situation that hasn't fully been comprehended. Anita has many injuries to heal. As I was about to leave tonight she said to the nurse in all seriousness, "We're going to be celebrating our 40th anniversary on Sat and our children will be joining us this coming weekend. If I promise to come back could I join them in our celebration?"

Smile and a tear. ed

Joy to the world

Thanks for the beautiful music.
Mom, you really must eat.
Love to all. Allison

And a One and a Two

As Kayla would say, "Good Job, Grandma!" I visited with Mom today and the physical therapist came and Mom did some leg lifts. She is supposed to do them a few times a day so if you stop by for a visit, she can show you her workout. She really can lift both of her legs great with a little assistance, though not too much bending of that left leg, yet.

She is somewhat on solid foods, but still not eating much. I tried to bring her some food from the outside, but she wasn't very interested. Dad is going to try again tonight during his visit. Hopefully, she will come to her senses and realize it is better then the mushed peas and potatoes they are serving her.

Thanks so much to everyone that has brought a little festiveness to her room. She has a great view outside and now some nice Christmas things to enjoy inside.

Safe travels to everyone this holiday season. We are thinking of you and how kind you have been to be thinking and praying for us.

Allison

Recovering, talking, and hungry...

I left Ed and Anita this afternoon after a pleasant visit in her newest room with the best view yet, #543. Anita made it through the procedure this morning where dead tissue and other grime was removed from her left elbow. While it remains an open wound, a machine is currently draining it appropriately. Anita is becoming more talkative and, since she missed some food earlier, even hungry.
Dave Vandermeer came by to see Anita and brought a CD of the music from last Sunday's worship service for her to enjoy.

~Jonathan

Excited about a new view

Family & Friends, today was the day we heard that consensus was reached, Anita is out of ICU. She is ready to have a window, and get to a cooler room. She is up in the Penthouse, 8th floor, room 867. She's not ready for a phone quite yet. Tomorrow she is goes on regular food, off the liquid from a tube diet. Today Anita did not eat much, probably because she was receiving 57 cc's of liquid every hour all night. ( the nurse unhooked her at 8:30 tonight) Tomorrow they are going to scan her gall bladder, it's looking a little bloated, decisions will have to be made after the exam. Then Anita will be able to eat her applesauce and purred (sp) breakfast for the speech therapist. Friday they will work on her open laceration, remove dead flesh ,clean it up and pull it together, with a down the road possibilty of a skin graf. Anita didn't look too excited when she heard this was on the schedule. Consider she has never heard she was going to be operated on, prior to today. (Comas help reduce anxiety ) Gary Charles, our Sr. pastor, was in today when the good news came down. He talked with Anita , it was a good visit. Anita has good feelings about her stay in ICU, but I have a feeling she is not aware of how much her body has been through and how much more is to come. Today we moved two inches forward and now she is on a new plateau. Stand by , more progress reports coming your way. Take care, & keep the faith. ed

Movin' on Up

Mom will be released from ICU this afternoon and moved to another room! My fingers are crossed for a room with a view. We are excited, yet anxious at what the transition will bring. More details to come.

"you're leaving, when can I leave?

Dear Family & Friends,
The rule of thumb is becoming everyday is new with surprises. Today the speech therapist fed Anita applesauce and thick apple juice. She is excited about that! Conversation is still not always consistent, but she was out of it for two weeks, drugs do take time to wear off and Anita is still trying to figure out how many days she has lost. Tonight she did tell the nurse that she was in a car accident two weeks ago.
She loves to move that right leg and she is moving the right arm, splint on the wrist n all. The only less than exciting news today was that the neurologist wants to keep the neck collar on until some more swelling goes down. ( one week) They have stopped the I V process. While she is still not fully aware, Anita did say today, " when can I leave, I want to stand up and the biggy, can you take me to a nice little restaurant to eat"! ( with the emphasis on eat) The speech therapist has promised her grits and scrabbled eggs tomorrow morning. I was there when she told Anita.
There were rumors of leaving ICU in a few days, but I couldn't confirm
that all the big decision makers in Anita's medical life were in on that. We can hope for a groundswell.
On the sweet side, Anita has quickly learned to pucker her lips and make a kissing sound when she hears and sees it from a visitor close to her. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. Stay tuned for more progress. ed

Seeing Anita from the inside

Dear Relatives and Friends,
Today was a day to see AND talk with Anita during my morning and early afternoon visits. Also, got to talk with her hip doctor who showed me many xrays of Anita's joints and in some cases a half dozen screws holding her hip bones in place until they can heal and grow together. I saw the laceration just above her left elbow and it was not a pretty sight. Because it is not healing very quickly and is too close to the shoulder, the doctor prefers to wait on surgery, maybe even a month or two. The laceration is so severe it will likely require a skin graft. As far as the hip is concerned, Anita will only be lying flat or sitting in a wheelchair for the next two to three months until it is healed enough to have weight put on it. She did start speech therapy today with the first step to see how quickly she can start taking food orally and take out the food tube. Unfortunately, Anita did not pass her first swallowing test and will need some more effort tomorrow or the next day. I didn't ask how often she will be coming.
All today's news seems to be on the blunt side, but it's better to deal with truths then shallow hopes. Hooray, we didn't have to wear gowns or rubber gloves! Anita is still wiggly
on the right side wanting to get rid of the foam wedge between her legs. Tonight, they gave her some pain medicine and she was back in la la land. Not a very exciting visit for Allison, but the on duty nurse took time to explain some of the ways she helps to make Anita comfortable, good to hear. Take care, ed

P.S. Allison here. I appreciate my dad sharing his thoughts on the day. Try to keep up! He is all over the place. ;^) Seeing my mom doing better is always exciting, even in small steps. She appeared to be sleeping very deeply and soundly. Sweet dreams, Mom. Though Mom was asleep during our visit this evening, it was nice to visit with Kate this evening after we left Mom. It was good to share a laugh and a prayer. Laughs and prayers are appreciated so much by all!

The voice is gaining volume and clarity

(Ed Here) Dear Friends,
Today was a good day when Anita's eyes were wide open and she made some serious effort to talk with us and respond to our questions or comments. She is anxious to move her legs (particularly her right one) and clearly wants to get rid of the foam wedge that keeps her legs separated. Also, she wants a drink of water, but not yet. (still has the liquid feeding tube in her nostril) Likes to have her teeth brushed so she can get a bit of liquid before the nurse vacuums out the water and paste. She got her hair washed today by putting on a shower cap type thing that you massage externally, then you take it off and dry her hair. Wa la !!
As you might guess Anita got a little too active this morning, so they gave her a little sedative to calm her down. Our next visit was rather quiet with us doing most of the talking. The nurses continue to talk with her and she is good about doing what they ask - wiggle your toes! Tomorrow they are going to do an MRI on her neck area to make sure it's alright to take off her stability collar that she is still wearing. Also, some rehab therapy people are coming in to work with her legs particularly. I am doing OK now and working on the fine art of drinking H 2 O more frequently during the day.
Hope you had a great weekend; mine went from worse to good and Anita went from good to better. All in favor of more, say I!
Ed

Glad to have one back home

Dad was released this morning from the hospital and is doing well, though didn't get much sleep. We need to keep him hydrated.

We had a couple nice visits with Mom, though she is very anxious and fidgety as she is coming off her sedation medicine and becoming more aware of her situation. She acts like she is going to just jump out of the bed and take-off if she could.

She still has a slight fever, but her doctor says she is doing very well and might be out of ICU on Monday. The orthopedic surgeon is supposed to check on her shoulder on Monday, as well.

I continue to pray for restful sleep for all of my family as well as to all of you. Thank you for your continued care and support.

Can't make this stuff up

I apologize to all the faithful readers who have been missing updates. We really didn't have much to update for the last two days, but, boy, did today make up for that. Eric and I are here in a collaborative effort to bring you the events of the day. After a long day of travel, Eric was finally able to make it to Atlanta to get in on the activity.

Let's start by saying we are negotiating a group rate at Atlanta Medical Center.

Dad is visiting with Mom this morning and gets a little light-headed. He goes to sit down on the chair and next thing he knows he is looking up off the floor at about 4 nurses gathered around him. He also got a little nauseous and agreed to go to the emergency room to be checked out. They determined he was dehydrated and he exhibited some signs of renal failure. He was admitted and is now spending the night on the fourth floor so he can continue to receive fluids and they will check his levels tomorrow. Mom's on the second so we got a good workout today going back and forth.

Now, not to distract from the exciting events with Mom. She had the ventilator tube removed this afternoon and is on her way to speaking. Right now, her voice is really soft and raspy, but I am sure by tomorrow she will be ready to go. She is still fighting an infection, but hopefully they will figure it out in the next couple of days so she can get in her shoulder surgery.

Thanks for your faithful support. We pray for some restful sleep for our whole family wherever they may lay their head this evening.

can't have cake and eat it too !

Dear Friends, No collaboration with Allison or Jonathan tonight, ed's turn to write.
It was a very uneventful day as far as blue eyes were concerned. Anita was a little more sedated than yesterday and not very aware of me visiting her. Sad for me and good for her, more rest and healing taking place. Temp. down again into double digits and breathing number up again with the machine doing less. Bonaza with doctors today, one called me back and one I ran into, in the hall. Trauma dr. says she is making good progress, breathing is doing well, probably will make sure she can breathe well enough so no decision about putting the ventalator back in will be an issue after it is removed the first time. Surgeon checks regularly to see if infection near left collar bone from possibly the intravenous connection is resoloved. Surgery on shoulder could be two to four days from now, but don't try to pin me or the dr. down on that one !
Bandage holding the ventilator secure in Anita's mouth, running toward her left ear, has been adjusted downward an inch or so, less pressure on her cheek under the eye so that it can open more easily.
Had to cancel our anniversary celebration trip to San Diago last night, scheduled for Jan 11th. We'll try again later in 2008. Thank you for checking in, more postings to come. stay with us in keeping the faith. ed

Praying for the temperature to drop...

While it remains a concern that today the temperature in Atlanta approached 80 degrees, all of our prayers are focused on Anita's temperature decreasing and they are slowly being answered. Her body temperature has dropped down and is back in the double digits. Once her temperature stabilizes, and infection is ruled out, a decision regarding repairing her shoulder may be made. A nurse told Ed she is pleased with Anita's response in her fingers and her toes which helps to rule out many other issues.

At some point today the medical staff plans on adjusting her ventilator. It has been set in a position that may have impaired her ability to open one of her eyes completely. With a little adjustment they may be able to provide Anita a little more comfort.

Jonathan

It never gets old

Though such a small gesture, a nod from my mom speaks monuments. Dad and I went to visit her this evening and we had a good visit. Her fever has broken slightly and they continue to work to get that down.

When we go to leave Dad says, "I love you, putz. And, I know you love me, too." Mom gave a big nod to that statement and Dad and I both turned to mush.

Her amazing strength keeps us strong, as well as, all of your continued support.

Another country heard from...

I wanted to share some thoughts and feelings about my most recent visit with my mother. This is her son, Eric, and I thank you, to all of you, that I know and don't know. This has been extremely challenging to say the least and your support and care through calls, e-mails, and comments posted on this blog have been so special for all of us. I hate that it is this event that has allowed us to hear from some we have not spoken to in a while. It's good to know that lack of communication has not dulled the care from so many of you.

Mom is doing well and continues to eat well and is doing better about breathing on her own. The shoulder surgery has been delayed as was mentioned earlier and we look forward to antibiotics knocking out the infection to allow her recovery and the hopefully last surgery for a while to take place. This is not a critical surgery so there has been no rush, but it will obviously be another important step.

The respirator is what keeps Mom in the ICU. Once she can breathe on her own a little better and they can remove that, she wll be ready for a room (shoulder surgery or not). We hope that both can take place though before she is moved. We have enjoyed the outstanding nurses of ICU, but we will gladly bid them farewell upon her improvement.
She had a bit of a fever that cropped up this morning. They gave her some Tylenol and some cold blankets and the temp seemed to be coming down a little today already so we hope that continues.

We all appreciate it as you keep Mom in your prayers and providing her words of support. She will have much time on her hands once she is rehabbing and she will have a lot to read during that time. I suspect that once they take the respirator out she will spend her first week talking non-stop. It is a time that we all have never looked more forward to.

While you keep her in your prayers I ask that you also think of others that we enountered this weekend. The ICU waiting room is a grim fraternity of mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, friends and loved ones all waiting on information for their own family. They were there day and night as we were and unfortunately all of the stories probably will not have happy endings. Please keep those whom you know and those whom you have not met in your thoughts as they go through this terrible ordeal.

Constant prayers and concerns for Mom have consumed us to the point where not much consideration has been given to the man that made the terrible choice that has affected Mom. He is a 23 year old that has changed our lives forever. He has also made a choice that will affect his life forever as well. He will have punishment from our justice system now and punishment from his conscience forever. The Lord asks us to pray for his soul as well. It is a great challenge for me as he has done something unthinkable to someone so special to me and my family as well as all of her friends. Please help me and him as we deal with this continuing saga.

Thank you again for your support.

A little more patience

We had a good visit today with Mom. Unfortunately, she has developed a slight infection and they are postponing her shoulder surgery. She is on new antibiotics so hopefully this can clear up quickly.

She was a little more sedated today, but still mostly awake for our visits. We setup a radio so she can enjoy some Christmas music in between visits.
Thankfully, she continues to remain stable and doing well. We just need a little more patience.

Everyone's encouragement and prayers is helping us to stay strong. Thanks so much for your continued support.

She'll be shopping in no time

Reading some comments, I am so glad that people are looking out for Mom's greater calling....deal shopping! I know she has shopped for many an occasion for Central, for family and for friends. Eric made a comment today on one of our visits with her that Kohls had called and were concerned that their December sales were down. I think we could hear a faint chuckle. If you don't know Mom very well, she loves Kohls! I will have to introduce her to online shopping.

It feels good to lighten the mood a little, though she will head back into surgery on Monday. It is amazing how alert she was during our last visit this evening before we left. Now, I am left thinking how she is tonight processing the bits and pieces of information she has learned throughout the day from us and her nurses. I pray for peaceful sleep.

It is a little quiet in her room so I think we are going to try to take a cd player tomorrow and a couple cds. Mom loves music and I hope it will bring her some comfort during the times when she is alone. Eric reminded me that I better bring some extra batteries, b/c I don't want to unplug anything. Oops! :)

Though undesirable circumstances, we had a nice family visit this evening. Our thoughts are with Lisa and the girls as they stayed behind in N.C. for this trip. Lisa, I hope you feel better soon and get some rest.

Thank you for the continued prayers. GOOD night.

Happiness is...

seeing your Mom's eyes. I have just had my first visit with Mom today and she is awake. The nurse says she has been alert starting last night and is nodding to answer questions.

Dad and Gary visited with her earlier this morning, as well. When Gary asked if they could say a prayer together, Mom nodded her head. Dad has been able to hold her hand and let her know that so many people are thinking of her and sending their love.

Medical stats: She is up to 57ccs of nutrition and is breathing only 8bpm with the ventilator providing the other half of her breaths on her own.

We are very excited about this progress, yet overwhelmed by the emotions that come with seeing Mom and wanting to talk to her and have her remain calm as she cannot talk back.

The doctor confirmed this morning that they will operate on her shoulder on Monday morning.

Eric will be here shortly and we are excited to share this special day with him.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stay updated on Mom and for your continued prayers.

Blue eyes, progress, and continued prayer...

Ed has been able to visit Anita several times today. He is settling into a pattern of being with her every two hours. At one point in a visit today while he spoke to her, Anita opened one of her eyes and Ed celebrated seeing that beautiful shade of blue once again. Overall, Anita is resting well.

From a conversation with the trauma doctor earlier, we learned the medical staff is pleased with Anita’s progress. They plan on increasing the amount of nutrition she is receiving today from 10cc’s to 25cc’s. The next major decision from the medical staff is when to work on her shoulder. Hopefully this decision will be made in the next few days.

Let’s continue to pray for Anita’s strength and comfort and lift up all of the Carwiles to God’s care in prayer throughout this difficult situation. If you would like to contribute meals for Ed, Kenny, and Allison send me an email at jscanlon@cpcatlanta.org and I will coordinate what is needed by the family.

Jonathan

A peaceful night to come

I joined Dad back at the hospital tonight to find Bill and Martha Kimes and Jonathan keeping him company. How wonderful visitors are these nights.

We went to see Mom and got a very informative report from the nurse. Mom is stable and doing well. She is well covered trying to warm up after being on the cold operation table. They have run some more tests so we will get the results of those tomorrow. They installed the filter to prevent blood clots so that is reassuring. They are also going to start feeding her to see how she responds. It has been 5 days so I am sure she is a little hungry. She would probably prefer prime rib, but baby steps. :)

We don't know any more about her shoulder so look forward to hearing about that tomorrow.

It's been a long day, but thank you to all the visitors and calls to Dad. We are surrounded by so much love.

Peaceful dreams, Mom.

One down, one to go

Here at the hospital. Dad spoke with Dr. Schlatterer, lead orthopedic surgeon for Mom today. After four hours, she is in recovery from hip surgery only. This is the average length for surgery of this extent and he said she did very well. He was concerned about some redness on her skin near her shoulder so they decided to wait and postpone her shoulder surgery for a few days. Unfortunately, that means she will now be in ICU for a second week.

We hope to see her soon, but if not, she needs her rest so we will wait to hear from the doctor to determine if Dad and/or I comes back this evening. Dad will return tomorrow and is typically here around 10 am.

I will update again tonight, if we learn more.

Thanks for your prayers.

Going in for surgery

Mom really needs your prayers today. We have just learned that she is headed back in surgery this morning for shoulder and hip repair. We were anticipating the hip repair and knew the shoulder might be a possibility so we are glad that she is strong enough for the doctors to want to go ahead and take her back in.

Though we are surprised by the sudden timing (she may be in surgery before dad even makes it to the hospital), I think it is just because we were unable to connect with the doctor yesterday. They feel like they can go in and repair the hip and try to make the socket tight so that she might not need any hip replacement in the near future. Please pray for the doctors who will be working on Mom today that they will have clarity of thought and precision of hand.

Dad will be at the hospital today (by 11 am) and probably for most of the day waiting for Mom to get out of surgery. I am back at work today though plan to get to the hospital this afternoon. If anyone can make it down I know he would appreciate the visit.

Thanks for your prayers.

We had a nice visit

Amy and Allen Mast and Jackie Jenkins just left as we are here in the hospital this evening. We had some good laughs enjoying our fond moments with Mom. Thanks for the visit. How was that contraband biscuit, Jackie?

Unfortunately, never crossed paths with Dr. Spence so we can only go on our time with the nurse and surgical resident. We learned that they lightened Mom's sedation so that they could cut down the ventilator and have her try to breathe on her own with support as needed. She did so well this morning that she did it all day. Now, she is pooped (as her nurse would say). They were giving her a break this evening, but were pleased with how well she breathed on her own. Way to go, Mom!

Her fever has broken so hopefully they will be able to insert the filter tomorrow.

We give thanks for all of your care and prayers. They really mean so much to us.

Just in from the Hospital

Though we don't know all the details, yet, the nurse informed Dad that they are lightening Mom's sedation medicine and bringing her to a lighter sleep. This began last night and into today.

Dad was able to go to the hospital this morning and learned they are going to place a blood clot filter in mom's veins to act as an umbrella and catch any potential blood clots from her legs and keep them from traveling to her lungs and brain.

She is running a slight fever so they have given her some fever reducer and are monitoring any further infection symptoms. This fever might hinder the procedure above from happening today.

Unfortunately, Dad was not able to see her doctor (Dr. Spence) before Dad had to leave for an appointment so he is to call him this afternoon.

Dad and I will be returning to the hospital this evening, possibly sooner rather then later, depending on what we hear from Dr. Spence and what we learn about them possibly trying to wake Mom up.

Dad had a touching moment with Mom this morning when he went to see her and speak with her. Mom's eyes teared up and ran slightly down her cheek. We truly believe she can hear us when we speak with her and are anxiously awaiting the next few hours and day as she might possibly wake up.

The Story Unfolds

I now understand the adage, "Only time will tell".

Today, it told alot. Dad and I were able to visit with Mom's doctor and learn that she remains stable and will learn her results tomorrow. For now, everything looks good. Please keep her in your prayers.

We were able to meet with the investigating officer and were informed how the accident actually happened. It is not as simple as we thought, nor how Dad thought he saw it. Traveling from the other direction was a car slowing down to turn left into a neighborhood. Another gentlemen, came up behind at an excessive speed and was unable to stop behind him. He swerved off the road to the right to miss this car, but then swerved back and lost control crossing back into traffic and into Mom's lane hitting her front left side. The guy turning was a key witness and shared this story with the officer and thankfully was able to remain unharmed. We still don't think Mom saw it coming because it happened so quickly out from behind the stopped vehicle turning. More unfortunate news is we learned that the driver was driving under the influence of alcohol and there were two other people in the car that fleed the scene after the accident. The driver suffered minimal injuries and was released that night with a DUI charge.

As I now process this news of actual events of Saturday, I am angry and enraged, but am remaining calm and focusing my energy on Mom and her incredible fight. I want to continue to be here for my dad and keep positive energy towards mom's recovery. I know this is a similar story of many other accidents involving DUI and that we must continue our fight for Mom and continue the fight against letting people drive drunk.

And what a fight this is. Dad, Kenny and I were able to go see Mom's vehicle today and it is a miracle that Mom survived. I definitely believe she is meant to keep on doing good things on this Earth. It was like she was completely captured in this capsule and the car just crumpled around her breaking the force. We could see how it was long and difficult to get her out and know for sure that when they are ready, mom and dad will be purchasing another Honda Odyessy. I truly believe that car saved her life.

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.

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December 4th update - Allison & Dad

We are so glad to see that the word is getting out.
We are here at the hospital waiting to talk to the doctor about what the next step is. We visited with mom this morning and she remains stable. We will be here for about another 2 hours or so (depends on when the dr. makes his rounds - this is a very unknown timeline).
Dad and/or I will plan to return to the hospital this evening to see her again. We expect to be here between 8:00-9:30 after we have been able to eat dinner and get back down here.

End of Day December 3rd

We want to thank each and everyone that has called, come by, emailed, prayed or thought of us during these last couple of days. The outpouring of love and heartfelt care really means a lot.

To catch-up for those that have only heard bits and pieces to this point, here is what happened:

On Saturday evening at about 9 pm, December 1st, Mom was driving home in the Honda Odyssey after having had dinner with the Palmers (Central friends) with Dad following close behind in his truck. Driving on a residential road, frequently traveled by us to get to their home, Mom came over a slight hill where a gentlemen in an SUV, not stopping at a stop sign, had made a wide right turn coming into her lane and hit her front left side almost instantly. Though very unfortunate that Dad witnessed this tremendously horrible accident, he was able to safely stop behind her and be with her almost instantly.

Mom was responsive at the scene and talked to Dad slightly and remained very calm.

It was difficult to get her out of the vehicle with the jaws of life being unsuccessful and only able to get open the back right passenger door. After about 30-40 minutes (time is very fuzzy for Dad understandably), they were finally able to remove her sliding through the very back door. She was airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center arriving at the hospital a little after 10 pm. She was immediately assessed and cared for by the fine trauma team on call. She was awake upon arriving at the hospital and cognitive of having been in an accident and being at the hospital. Due to the extent of her injuries and pain, they induced a slight sedation to help her relax and help her body combat the trauma it had just experienced. She has remained sedated since her arrival.

A note to make at this time that Dad shared with me, as well as others of you, is while Dad was waiting for the fire and police to pull mom out, some nearby neighbors who had heard the crash came out to see how they could help. After seeing the severity of the situation, they gathered in a circle and said a prayer for mom and our family. Dad went over and placed his hand on their shoulder and was truly touched by their gesture of a complete stranger in need. Thanks to God for these women during that initial time!

Here are her known injuries to date, most sustained on the left side of her body:

Broken arm at the point just under her shoulder blade

Deep laceration above her elbow damaging soft tissue and source of a lot of blood loss

Fractured elbow

Dislocated and fractured hip

Fractured knee cap

Lacerations and sprain of her ankle


Head laceration above her right eyebrow with slight bruise on her brain (very common for head trauma)

Cracked ribs

Right hand/wrist fracture and severe dislocation

Status - It has been almost exactly two days from her arrival to AMC. Here is where we are at after a long, hard day for Anita (Mom):

She was successful today in her surgery for the injuries to her left and right arm and the repair of her kneecap. Her head injury has been sewn up and they are monitoring any possible damage to her brain. She still needs surgery for her hip, but they are going to wait to see how she does in the next 24 hours before deciding to pursue any further action.

The things to monitor at this point are infection and blood clots. They will be monitoring these closely.

She remains under a heavy sedation with multiple pain medications, but is resting peacefully and remaining stable.

We want to use this site as a way to keep in touch with everyone and give updates and serve as a place to post messages or ask questions or let Anita know anything at all.

Mom is an amazingly strong women and we have hope that she will continue her fight through this critical first week.

At this time, Dad is staying with us for the next few days so we can be together as a family and provide him with support, in addition, to what many of you are providing as well at the hospital.

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers!

With love to you all,

Allison (daughter)