Hospital Day #14 - 12/15/23 - A Day of Praises & Prayer Requests

Hospital Day #14 - 12/15/23 

A Day of Praises & Prayer Requests

Brittney had a full day! Here are some of our praises & prayers!

Praises!

• Brain bleed is still stable & there are no clots in her 4 stents (right carotid and vertebral arteries)
• Our ICU & Neurosurgical staff are super awesome!!
• Brittney’s improvement has therapy staff thinking maybe only 1 week of in patient therapy instead of 2 weeks…maybe even mentioned that she is working hard enough to be able to go straight home (which is our prayer!)
• A God-glorifying physician from another state helped Brittney get her Cleveland Clinic appointment moved up from March 5 to January 5 to be evaluated for the rare condition she has (Fibromuscular Dysplasia = FMD)) with the Director of their Cerebrovascular Center; we are praying that this appointment helps us find answers and solutions
• Brittney felt well enough for a midnight and 5am ice cream party last night.  She had bursts of energy to make a video for her 1st graders, for her coworkers, and for you! She got to spend some time with her aunt, uncle, grandfather, parents, and 4 girlies!
• She was able to quickly fall asleep in spite of the pain throughout the day - her poor brain gets EXHAUSTED so quickly now, she can’t take in  much before she needs to sleep again

Prayer Requests:

• To be safely home by Christmas! We will likely need to stay at U of L Hospital for another week for close observation (she has to be on blood thinner for the stents, but the blood thinner is super dangerous for her brain bleed)
• To be able to stay in ICU or an individual room that is restful (her brain is super sensitive and easily over-stimulated now)
• We really need God’s hand of miraculous protection from any more of her arteries tearing, bulging, blocking, or bursting - Brittney’s condition with FMD continues to be extremely serious
• For Brittney’s comfort - she feels miserable, a lot :(
• For Brittney’s endurance, rest, and strength - this is a frustrating and physically & emotionally draining experience for Brittney 
• For our girlies resilience, faithfulness, and understanding during a hard season of life
• For me not to annoy Brittney any more than necessary with my version of humor (she’s spent two weeks stuck alone in a hospital room with me!)

James 5:16 “pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (ESV)

Here is a place where I’ve archived the posts from our 14 days of hospital stays so far.  www.jonathancarl.org 

Help us send Brittney cards! Details here: http://www.jonathancarl.org/.../hospital-day-13-1214-pm.html

Hospital Day #13 - 12/14/23 PM - A CARD BLITZ!!! (Card Shower)

 Hospital Day #13 - 12/14 PM

CARD BLITZ!!!

Brittney loves cards!! If you know Brittney, she loves sending cards...especially at Christmas!  Several of you have asked about sending cards.  Will you send Brittney a card?  

Our address: 

Brittney Carl

111 Terri Rose Ct.

Hodgenville, KY 42748

(FYI if you use my address to TP or spam my house I will get disproportionate revenge bahaha)

Some ideas to include:

• Family photos (with names written on the back) - this will help her brain heal with memory therapy
• Favorite verses (written out) - to practice reading & lift her spiritually
• Family updates - she cares about others so much & loves hearing how people are doing
• Impactful statements - she is encouraged to know the difference she is making on people’s lives
• Musical cards - so I can annoy her when it is time to wake her up
• Humorous cards - laughter is good medicine!
• Written Prayers for her health - prayers are the best medicine!

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

UPDATE: Today’s CT shows no new bleeds!  Carotids are staying clear of clots! After almost 24 hours of massive headaches, the right meds knocked her out for a great long nap.  THANK YOU for praying and for your encouragement.  God is so good!  Feel free to share this :) 

Hospital Day #13 - 12/14/23 AM - Every day is a gift from Jesus!

Hospital Day #13 - 12/14/23 AM 

(changing the way I track these posts, after 3 days at Baptist Hardin, 7 days at U of L & on 3rd day of U of L again )

Every day is a gift from Jesus!

This morning we’ve been enjoying the darkness instead of the sunrise in the UL Stroke ICU.  Brittney’s headaches the past 16 hours have been the worst of her life.  A darkened room and lots of medicine help, but your prayers are the best.  Not much to share this morning, but we are rejoicing that this morning’s CT scan reveals no new bleeding on her brain!!!  She just worked hard at speech therapy, a frustrating and exhausting task right now.

God is continuing to stretch and grow us.  He is teaching us to see every day as a gift from Him.

Ways to pray:

• Headaches to diminish rapidly and to go away
• Good rest between the hourly neurological checks
• Continued protection from brain bleeds and blood clots
• Therapy improvements - speech, occupational, and physical therapies will be a big part of our life the rest of December.  Please pray for Brittney’s strength as she works hard to heal her brain’s connections as the blood on her brain is resorbed.

Psalm 103:1–5 “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! [2] Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, [3] who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, [4] who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, [5] who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (ESV)