Hospital Day #21 - 12/22/23 PM - WOW!! Giving Update….Y’all Are Amazing!!! God is so Good!
So God has blessed us today in so many ways. We had some sweet visits from wonderful friends. We “down graded” out of ICU which is a big step forward! We miss our ICU staff so much but are thankful for steps towards heading home. The Lord answered your prayers and we got a wonderful individual/private room too…so perfect for the rest Brittney needs for healing! Some generous souls brought beautiful flowers and TONs of food for our ICU nursing staff as well as our new nursing staff. We finished with a great visit from Mia and Brittney’s parents. Finally, Brittney is able to read again!!! We are so thankful!!
On top of all of these blessings, your giving is already nearing $9,000!!!
Which means we will be able to bless the hospital staff with some yummy treats plus some gift cards too!!! We can’t thank you enough. When we get to start distributing the treats and gifts, we will let you know what a blessing you are :)
Philemon 4–6 “I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, [5] because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, [6] and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” (ESV)
Hospital Day #21 - 12/22/23 - A Big Ask…Christmas Treats for all UL the Nurses & Staff???
We have had so many people ask how they can help us, and our main request has been prayer & cards.
But as we prepare to spend Christmas Eve & Day at the hospital, we are so grateful for the many nurses & hospital staff that spend these same days away from their families to care for us. So in honor of their sacrifices, we’d like to bless them in a small way this Christmas weekend.
The Goal: Stock up every nurses’ station in the UL hospital (~25) with some sweet treats to eat on along with an encouraging note to love on the ~1,000 workers over the 6 shifts ahead (Sat-Mon).
How to do it? That is where we need you!!
Can you give towards our goal? If we have $150 per nurses’ station (x 25 stations = $3,750) we can bless them in a special way!
Digital payment is the best, but if you prefer to mail a check, can you please just private message me so I can add it to our total?
If we don’t get enough, we’ll just do what we can with what we get! If we get more than enough, we will try to cover Baptist Hardin Hospital also (where Brittney went through the ER 3 times and also spent 3 days at in November)
Can you help serve? While we could potentially DoorDash all of these treats to the nurses’ stations, I think it would be more personal and cost-efficient to have a small team to purchase, pick up, and deliver to these 25 nurses stations.
If you are interested in being part of this team, please text or message me. It will probably all have to be ordered tonight (Friday) and picked up & delivered tomorrow (Saturday). I haven’t fully thought this through, so there is a lot of flexibility in how to best make it happen :) Once the team is put together, I will connect you all with the group leader and plan!
VIDEO NOTE - The first video show Brittney trying to eat the day after her stroke. The second video shows her eating today, 10 days post-stroke. God is answering your prayers!!
Brittney trying to eat - 1 day after her stroke
Brittney trying to eat - 10 days after her stroke
Hospital Day #20 - My “Tachy” Wife (A Great Day) + Stroke Rehab - What Brittney Lost & Is Working to Gain Back
Today was a great day! We had no major issues other than trying to get to the bottom of why Brittney is having a rapid heart rate (tachycardia) sometimes. The nurses keep referring to her as “tachy” which is great since she so often calls me “tacky.” Sweet revenge bahaha.
She had a second great day in which her headaches were well managed with pain medicine. We are so thankful for this answer to prayer! Brittney didn’t collapse today and did great with her therapy sessions :)
The process of improvement after a stroke seems frustratingly slow but still encouraging nonetheless. The first weeks and months are the most important for a stroke victim’s recovery. Every stroke victim’s brain is affected uniquely, so I thought it would be a great time to share a little more specifically what stroke rehabiltation looks like for Brittney currently and how you can more specifically pray for her rehabilitation.
When Brittney first arrived at the ER 10 days ago for her hemorrhagic (brain bleed) stroke…
She could not remember her birthdate, hometown, address, the current year, the current month, or where she was at
She could not count to 10, read a clock, do simple addition, use numbers to assess her pain level
She could not think through simple processes or the correct order of tasks to accomplish (going to the restroom, washing your hands, eating, etc.)
She could not walk, stand, or use the remote in bed to call the nurse
She could not see to the right (loss of right eye peripheral vision)
She could not identify simple objects or their purposes (TV, phone, pen, glove)
She could not repeat phrases (“no ifs, ands, or buts about it”)
She could not hold her right arm or right leg up for very long (since her brain bleed was on the left side, it affected the right side of her body)
She could not use her right hand to accomplish simple tasks (apraxia)
She could not find the right words to communicate (aphasia)
She could not read, write, or text
She could not watch TV or use a phone
I don’t know how to medically explain stroke rehab, but things need to be “re-taught” so that a new connection is made.
For example…with washing hands…Brittney still had in her mind somewhere how to go about washing her hands. But she had to be “re-taught” step by step how to wash her hands in order to reestablish the connections to make it happen. Not every task needs to be re-taught, but some things become bridgeways that open up more rapid growth.
In the 10 days since her stroke, Brittney has worked hard to regain these abilities and thanks to God…
She can remember her birthday, hometown, address, the current year, the current month, & where she is at
She can could to 10, read the hour hand on a clock, do simple addition, and use numbers to asses her pain level
She can think through simple processes and orders of tasks
She can walk (short distances), stand (for a short period of time), and independently use the bedside remote
She can identify most objects and their purpose
She can repeat most phrases (longer ones are harder)
She can use her right arm and leg with increased strength and coordination - so much improvement already!
She can communicate pretty smoothly until her brain gets tired
Here are some specific ways to pray relative to Brittney’s stroke rehabilitation!
She is barely starting to be able to read and write again, please pray for rapid and full return of those skills
She hasn’t yet regained her right eye peripheral vision, please pray for that to be fully restored
In depth questioning and reasoning is still very hard, please pray for clarity of mind during the harder sessions of therapy
She can’t handle cell phones, TVs or texting quite yet as they overwhelm her brain - please pray for those skills to be regained soon
Her brain gets super tired, super easy - please pray for her brain to gain endurance
Her body gets fatigued quickly as well - please pray for more physical energy and stamina
I am sure there will be a lot more specific ways to pray for her stroke rehab, but for now, this is a great start. All the therapists, nurses, and doctors are amazed at her progress and optimistic for a full recovery. We know nothing is impossible for our Lord!!
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
STAY TUNED…tomorrow we have a challenge to bless all of the nurses and med techs in this large hospital as they work through Christmas Eve & Christmas Day…but this BIG CHALLENGE will need a lot of help to make it happen!
Here is a place where I’ve archived the posts from our 20 days of hospital stays so far. www.jonathancarl.org
