Hospital Day #23 - 12/24/23 PM - Prayers Needed Tomorrow - NO BRAIN BLEEDS (restarting a 2nd Blood Thinner)

 

Hospital Day #23 - 12/24/23 PM - Prayers Needed Tomorrow - NO BRAIN BLEEDS (restarting a 2nd Blood Thinner)

Brittney had a great finish to her Christmas Eve, saying  “I feel like a kid at Christmas…and it’s not because of the presents…I just can’t wait to see everyone.”  I love how the love of Jesus overflows her heart with a love of others.  We absolutely cherished some great family time today and look forward to more great time with our crew tomorrow.  Regardless of location, we are so blessed to be able to spend time with one another as we celebrate Jesus’ birth (https://www.trustworthyword.com/christmas) 

ONE BIG PRAYER - Brittney’s clear CT scan today (thank you Lord!) allows for her to begin the 2nd of her two blood thinners again tomorrow. The doctors have waited two weeks post-stroke to start it back up (at a half dose this time) because of the danger of her brain bleed restarting.  So while she has remained safe from clots and brain bleeds the past two weeks on one blood thinner, this necessary step of returning to two blood thinners (to keep her 4 carotid/vertebral artery stents from clotting) is a serious step.  So please pray tomorrow (and the rest of the week) that specifically Brittney has NO BRAIN BLEEDS (and still no blood clots too :)).

Thank you prayer warriors!

Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (ESV)

Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (ESV)

Hospital Day #23 - 12/24/23 - Merry Almost-Christmas!!!

 Hospital Day #23 - 12/24/23 - Merry Almost-Christmas!!!

While we would have loved to be home for Christmas, we are thankful for the watchful care of our U of L health care team.  Brittney has had a wonderful start with worshipping our Lord Jesus with our church family by watching our church service online. We then had a sweet visit with Brittney’s aunt, uncle, and grandfather before resting and having lunch.  We had a followup CT on her brain bleed to ensure things are clear to restart one of her blood thinners tomorrow.

Brittney keeps perking up with energy and initiative.  She showed off her walking and standing skills to her family and even read through two bags of cards on her own. She so loves all of the notes and photos from friends and family.  She wanted to make the video to tell everyone how grateful we are for your prayers and love for us, but also for how you’ve cared for our U of L and Baptist Health care teams!!! Y’all are amazing lights of Jesus’ love.  Keep shining!

We’ve attached a photo from the distribution of gifts at Baptist Health too.  All of the hospital nurses and staff have been so grateful for your gifts.  They all keep working so hard through the holidays with such cheerfulness!

Ways to Pray:

• For Brittney’s brain bleed to remain stable after restarting a blood thinner tomorrow
• For continued protection from blood clots and strokes
• For Brittney’s carotid and vertebral arteries to stay open and sufficiently provide blood to Brittney’s brain
• For continued recovery of her stroke losses - particularly reading, writing, and cell phone use - all of which can still be very challenging
• For a Merry Christmas for all of the U of L and Baptist Hardin hospital staffs!!!

Matthew 5:14–16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (ESV)

Hospital Day #22 - 12/23/23 PM - Best Day Yet! Treats for all of the U of L Nurses & Staff!

 

Hospital Day #22 - 12/23/23 PM - Best Day Yet! Treats for all of the U of L Nurses & Staff!

Brittney had her best day yet since her stroke (12 days ago).  She slept great and woke up with an appetite.  She was surprised by PT taking her out for a few laps and climbing a flight of stairs.  Through the day she continued to do well with minimal headaches, good rest, and more energy.  She worked independently on some of her speech rehab homework and was even able to watch a little TV.

The giving for the U of L Hospital nurses stations kept rolling in and we are currently at over $11,500! Way to go.

Our hometown stepped up big time with The Sweet Shoppe putting together 35 sets of fudge trays and cookies and Hinton’s Orchard & Farm Market putting together 35 bags of fruit and homemade apple cider donuts.  This was a monumental task by two amazing groups of people.  If you see any of our friends from the Sweet Shoppe or Hintons, please give them our love! The McDowell clan filled their van to capacity and brought 25 sets of everything to U of L hospital.  The other 10 sets are being delivered to Baptist Health Hardin hospital tomorrow (Christmas Eve). Plus we were blessed with some incredible artwork from the McDowell kids that the nurses and staff loved!

The gift cards became a challenge when I discovered, after loading $5,000 of cards in my cart, that Sam’s only allows a purchase of $500 of gift cards per day.  I knew I needed $9,000 worth of cards but was unsure how to make that happen. Thankfully a nearby Panera Bread (Middletown) had 600 gift cards available.  Their manager and one other worker spent a solid 90 minutes scanning and loading 900 $15 cards.  This is a perfect gift for our U of L friends because there is a Panera Bread store attached through their hospital walkway system.  As a bonus, Panera threw in $1,800 more in gift cards too!  We ended up getting over $11,000 of gift cards to give to the nurses and medical staff of U of L and Baptist Hardin....WOWSERS!! God is so good!!

By about 6pm we had all of the gifts assembled and started getting them to all of the nursing stations we could find across the hospital.  They were touched by your love and generosity. We were able to tell them how grateful we were for their selfish service to so many families everyday, but especially over the Christmas weekend.

As we journeyed through the various parts of the hospital….maternity ward, neurological ICU, trauma ICU, surgical ICU, oncology, burn unit, psychiatric ward we were all reminded about how blessed we are.  Brittney especially loved getting to visit some of her pervious nurses and units from the 9th and 7th floors.  We are so grateful for the care we have received.  We thank God for every day He gives us and know that Brittney’s health could be much worse than it is.

I can’t put into words what a blessing you all are to us and to so many medical staff families within U of L (today) and Baptist Hardin (tomorrow).  Y’all rock! Thank you for letting Jesus’ love shine through you!

John 13:34–35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. [35] By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (ESV)