All Kinds Of Miscellany

* Knock on wood, my diet is going well. The food has improved greatly since that awful turkey burger. I've been sticking with the plan, drinking lots of water, and haven't had any regular Pepsi. Really, Jenny makes it very easy! I'm sure I haven't lost an ounce but I'm giving it time. Something is bound to happen within the next few weeks. It's just so strange for me to be eating this much food. I haven't felt hungry once!

* I went for a check up on Tuesday and asked the doctor to send me for lab work to check my Thyroid as well. I've thought that I might have an under active Thyroid, hence the weight gain. I also have the dry brittle hair and sluggishness that goes along with it. I'll go have the lab work done this morning before I eat or drink anything.

* This weekend is camping club weekend and we're camping(RVing!) at the beach. I'm really looking forward to the cooler weather and the long walks on the beach. We weren't able to go to the last few campouts so I've been missing my camping club girlfriends like crazy. I can't wait to see them!

* I didn't go outside at all yesterday. I had a list of things to do but stayed inside and got stuff done in the house. I dusted all the shelves in our built-in bookcase and washed all the knick knacks, even doing a little rearranging. It's amazing how fast things get dusty!

* I prepared 10 packages of good mail for mailing, wrote out a sympathy card, a thinking of you card, and 7 thank you cards. I still have 4 more thank you cards to write and more good mail to package up but I need more mailing supplies. That's on my "to do" list for today.

* I spent over an hour yesterday just going through all of the stuff that has piled up on our kitchen table since vacation ie., mail, bills, and all of my Hobby Lobby stuff that I brought home from Colorado. Hey, we don't have a Hobby Lobby here in California so I always need to stock up. Plus, that's why I was able to package up so much good mail today!

* Do you remember my daughter's friend Macey that was hit by the car in December. Please keep her in your prayers right now. Macey had a specially made synthetic flap placed over a portion of her skull a few days ago and her lab work now is very high, possibly showing infection, and/or rejection of the flap. Months ago when they surgically put her own skull flap back in place, it became infected and therefore she needed a synthetic one made. She was very fearful of this operation and the possibility of another infection occurring. Macey is a beautiful 19 year old who just wants her life back. She's tired of wearing that darn pink helmet that she's had to wear all these months to protect her skull! I know Macey and her family would appreciate your prayers tremendously.

* I went into work after my doctor's appointment on Tuesday and although I miss my co-workers and the patients terribly, I didn't wish to be back there! They are so so short handed that it makes working horrible, extremely stressful, and needless to say, dangerous! We need 9 nurses per day to make the place run smoothly, yet they will only have 4 nurses on Saturday!! I feel so sorry for those 4 nurses! Upper management does nothing to help out and they certainly won't reward those 4 dedicated nurses. I did break down and give them 2 days over the next few weeks. I figure one day a week or one day every two weeks will suffice and it will keep my per diem status active. It's really a shame because I used to love my job dearly.

We've Got Great News!

Macey came home from the hospital Saturday afternoon! We are so happy for her and her family and so thankful for her quick recovery. It's a miracle that she survived her injuries but we all know that it's because of the grace of God that she is here with us today. Macey is a testament to the power of prayer!

McKenzie was over tonight and told us that after the accident, Macey scored 3 on the Glasgow Coma Scale. Doctors use the Glasgow Coma Scale to assess the severity of a person's brain injury. Scoring 3-8 is considered a severe unconscious state, with no meaningful response, no voluntary activities. Macey was a 3. Less than 3 is a vegetative state. Macey's recovery truly is nothing short of miraculous.

Macey will be receiving rehab treatment here in town and they have been told it will take up to a year before she is her old self again. Knowing Macey, that means it will be 3-6 months, tops! During the brain surgery after her accident, they took off a flap of skull to help relieve brain swelling. This flap was surgically placed back over her brain last week. Since this last surgery, she's not been able to completely use her left side and it's frustrating to her. Although Macey doesn't remember any of it, her left side was paralyzed after the first surgery too but thankfully she regained function. The doctors feel she will regain function once again soon. A big issue now is her mobility, of which she has none. When she was hit by the car, per pelvis was completely broken in two. It was fixed only a short time ago so she is to have no weight bearing for 2 months I believe. She'll be spending lots and lots of therapy hours helping her walk, but again, these hurdles are nothing compared to what she's already overcome. She's a fighter and she has youth on her side.

Thank you all again for your heartfelt prayers for beautiful Macey. We never know why God allows things to happen but we do know it's not our place to know the answers at this time. We'll have all of the answers and more when we get to heaven. In the meantime, Macey and her family are all home safe and sound.

God is good!

Mashed Potatoes and All Things Pink

Macey's sister Mckenzie (my daughter's best friend) started a blog about Macey and her recovery. Mckenzie reports daily on Macey's progress. Here is the link if you'd like to check it out for yourself:

http://mashedpotatoesandallthingspink.blogspot.com

Macey's picture pops up immediately on the right. She's changed her hair color since I last saw her in October but you can see what a gorgeous girl she is. She looks beautiful in the picture but is truly stunning in person! By the way, all of that hair had to be shaved off for surgery. I believe she has staples from her forehead all the way to the back of her head. It's ok though, it's only hair!

As you might have guessed, she loves mashed potatoes and all things pink!

Update On Macey And Brandon

Below is an update from Macey's family from just this morning...

"Hi everyone. Throughout the night and this morning Macey's condition has remained the same. She still has the fever and the ice blankets are still surrounding her trying to cool her down. She got a new nurse that has been very compassionate and willing to answer any questions. The brain pressure continues to fluctuate from 8-14, to put this in better perspective, the nurse informed us that "normal pressure" is 7-8 so she is still within a safe range. So please continue to pray that that remains the same, and for her temperature to go down so we can remove those ice blankets. She is still in the drug-induced coma and highly medicated so we haven't seen any signs of responsiveness, but she knows she has all the time in the world, and God will heal her in His time. We appreciate all the prayer requests that are going on this Sunday in churches around the world. It truly brings us comfort to know this is going on today. Macey has been given a new day with new promises and hope. Continue to pray. We'll update throughout the day. We love you so much Macey."

Please keep the prayers going. Also, if you will, please remember my son in your prayers too as he is still hospitalized. He keeps battling a temperature too. We'll be heading down to Orange County this afternoon to be with him. They're talking possible surgery and I just keep praying that it's not needed. If it has to be, it has to be, but Brandon is a 24 year old without insurance. Because he's over 21, we haven't been able to have him on our policy for a few years now. His hospital bill is going to be staggering as it is, much less if surgery is needed.

Oh, and guess what else! My front tooth chipped! I look like a hillbilly! My tooth was fine when I went to bed Friday night but I woke up yesterday with a chipped front tooth. I seriously must be grinding my teeth in my sleep these days. I'll have to hobble into the dentist's office when we get back home. I'm gonna look so pretty talking to Brandon's doctors with my front tooth all chipped up and walking on crutches!

I just keep reminding myself, this too shall pass!
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Update on Macey

First of all, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the outpouring of support you have shown to Macey and her family. I knew the blogging community would band together in prayer, and you certainly have. I'm sure the family can feel the prayers that have been said for them. Thank you so much!

Mckenzie and Courtney made it to the hospital safe and sound at about 1:30am this morning. Mckenzie's longtime boyfriend Tim was already there. He also goes to Arizona State but luckily had been attending a meeting in Los Angeles. He was the first one to get to the hospital. It's still sketchy how anyone was notified of the accident because they don't think Macey had any ID on her. I do know her roommate became worried when she didn't come home and that may have started it.

Mckenzie, Tim, and Courtney were allowed to go in the room alone to see Macey and of course they just lost it. Macey is in very very bad shape. Stitches, bruises, broken bones, punctured lung, head trauma, tubes coming out of everywhere, and they had to shave off all of her gorgeous long hair. My heart breaks for Mckenzie. It's certainly not a way to see your one and only sibling, and cherished sister. It's heartbreaking for Courtney and Tim too. These 4 kids are like siblings themselves having been best friends for many years.

So right now, this is what we know. No alcohol was involved by the driver. Apparently Macey was wearing all dark colors, jogging when it was dark, and the driver didn't see her. The doctors are saying it can go either way. She is in a drug induced coma due to her head injuries. They did remove part of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain and as of this morning, the swelling had decreased somewhat. Prayers are already being answered!

Again friends, thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for this family. The doctors say if she pulls through she could be in the hospital for months. It will be a very long haul for all of them.

(You will never hear me say one more word about my measly little broken ankle. Things were suddenly put into perspective when we heard about Macey, and rightfully so!)
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