|
| | | 
Graphics
|
| Drago,
i remember your name, not so much from talking to you, but from Leah telling me about you.
please let her know i continue to pray for her everyday, as well as pray for all of you to continue to have the strength that you will need to continue in this very long journey, wherever that journey takes you.
all my love to Leah, always
her online sissybodie ..aka bev~to fear love is to fear life, those that fear love are already three parts dead. - author unknown
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| |
| | | | From: AutumnLady1941@aol.com
Date: 03/09/07 22:09:01
Subject: Leah Update
Hello to all,
Today I had a very pleasant visit with Leah and saw for the first time a glimmer of hope in my heart. I can't really put a finger on what it was that made me feel that way except that she was "brighter" in her laughter than she ever has been when I've been to see her.
It started when I volunteered to help an aide clean her up just so we could visit. I will call it a very necessary thing to do. I had her rolled towards me and I said to her, "Damn, Leah. The dog just ran out from under the covers with his head down, ears back, and his eyes watering." She spontaneously broke into silent laughter with her shoulders and almost entire body shuddering with laughter. Even her mouth was wide open with a grin. I hadn't seen that since right after she woke up from her surgery.
She kept her eyes open almost all the time we were there and spent most of two hours smiling appropriately and laughing with her friend who had gone with us. He walked over to the bedside and told her it was time she slapped him silly and again came the shuddering laughter. It was a joke between them somehow and she recognized it was him.
She appeared to recognize names of people from Dockwave and The-Pork that she knew and had written messages to her. When names were mentioned , she did not have a frown and a "who is that" look on her face. Yolanda, she was especially glad to hear your name pop up. (So was I-long time no see..)
I talked with the social worker and the plan now is to send her to Mt. Vernon in approximately two weeks. She indicated that she was glad I had finally consented to her being moved to that facility and related that the head therapist was concerned that she might not be able to continue therapy and he believes that she will come out of this much more if therapy continues. At first I was very much against this particular move as it will take her 167 miles from here almost to the Oklahoma border, but after talking to the people at Rusk and learning that is where they want to send their people who they believe can get better with extended therapy, I consented with a conflicted heart. My heart wants her here where I can watch her, but I also want her to have the best chance she can have at getting back to a near normal life...whatever it may be.
Please feel free to send her cards: Leah E. Barnett--% Rusk Rehabilitation Center-Room 248--315 Bus. Loop 70 W--Columbia, Mo. 65201
She either was worn out or was pretending ..as she can do sometimes..when we left. She had been up in her chair for some time and we had kept her going for almost two hours. By the way...she is losing weight and looking good. I brushed her hair out for her and tidied her up as much as possible. She hasn't gotten any shorter and it's hard for me to reach her. She will forever be my doll.
Please continue your prayers and don't let up for a second. Believe me when I say that the prayers have made me strong enough to do what has to be done and has pulled her through this far and evidently according to her dr's given her a good chance at recovery. I cannot thank all of you enough. You have worked a miracle with God's help.
Love to all...April
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tell me, and I'll listen
Show me, and I'll understand
Involve me, and I'll learn"
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain." |
| |
| | | | Please give Leah my ever loving love and support and I know she will continue to get better. You will miss her but she needs the best care available.
Lots of love,
David (Spunkmeister) |
| |
| | | | From: AutumnLady1941@
Date: 03/16/07 17:19:35
Subject: Leah Update
Hello All,
This morning I got up much earlier than usual to go to Columbia to see Leah in P. T. It was well worth the trip. Today she took three steps. Yesterday I received a call that made me cry again, but this time it was tears of joy. She took four steps yesterday!
She has to have a lot of help, but as I said to her therapist, it has been three months since she set her feet on the floor. I'm sure she will have to relearn how to do this task we so often take for granted.
One of her biggest problems is that she does not keep continuity of motion. When getting ready to stand, she may cross her feet and put her legs under her chair. Or, when the therapist has her on the edge of her chair, and has her hands on the bars to stand, she may lean back into her chair and just sit there. She does not at times open her eyes...more often she keeps them shut than she does open.
She does not seem to comprehend which leg is her left or right unless they are touched. Is this something she needs to relearn also? I don't know. But, I am encouraged that any thing like this has occurred at all. I never thought she would take a step again.
Leah no longer has her trach and is beginning to speak normally. Sometimes she whispers and sometimes she speaks in almost a normal tone of voice. Her speech is usually clear, but there are times when she babbles. When she babbled, I just said to her, "Boy, Leah. I hope you know what you said because I sure don't", and she would laugh almost out loud at both of us.
She indicated that she hurt when she tried to get up, so I asked her nurse if there was any way of getting pain medication for her to take before going to therapy. The nurse was very glad that I had mentioned that and was going to ask the doctor about the idea. (Duh!)
Around the 28th of this month, she should be transferred to Mt. Vernon, Mo., to Missouri Rehabilitation Center where she will under go a two week evaluation. If they feel she is making progress, she will stay there. If they don't, she will probably be brought back to Jefferson City and placed in a nursing home closer to us. Everybody please pray hard that they can keep her. After today, I truly feel in my heart that she can make progress.
I have told her that she will have to work very, very hard in her therapies and this is one thing I can't do for her. I can only tell her that I want her home with me and she will have to be able to do much and many things for herself as I cannot transfer her or do any lifting on her. I have told her that I know it will be hard work, but the rewards will be great if she can only come home. I told her that we want her home with family so we can enjoy her as we once did and she can laugh with us again. I told her that her life may never be what it once was, but it can sure be good. She told me she will try. And, I do believe she will.
Please pray as much and as hard as you can as this next month will be very crucial to her recovery.
Thank you for your prayers thus far and please know that we both appreciate them very much.
As always,
April
From: Drago2887@
Date: 03/17/07 08:09:38
Subject: Leah Update
Hi...This is Drago...Leah's adopted dad...I am walking on clouds today after AutumnLady's and my visit with Leah...My ole heart swelled with joy when April received that phone call from Rusk and them telling her that Leah had taken 4 steps...4 STEPS...Can you believe it??? I was ready to go to Colombia right then...But had to wait until today...And let me tell you...There has never been a more wonderful sight to these old eyes then when I sit and watched her stand again...Yes she needed help to get out of the chair...Who wouldn't after being bed fast since December 10...That is 4 months...And this from a girl we were afraid might not even live...Who says prayer does not work...Huh???...I fully believe this is all coming about because of the prayers that have been sent on Leah's behalf...YOU... All of you...Her friends who have prayed for Leah's recovery is as much responsible for this as the doctors and nurses who take care of her...And all I can say is THANK YOU ALL...From the bottom of my heart...But please...Don't stop now...Leah has a long way to go yet and she needs those prayers now as much as she ever has...If you could have been there and watched the interaction between Leah and April...Talking and laughing...The tears of happiness just flooded my lap...It was something I never thought I would ever see again...It was truly wonderful and again...Thank all of you for your support and prayers....
Drago
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tell me, and I'll listen
Show me, and I'll understand
Involve me, and I'll learn"
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain." |
| |
| | | | From: AutumnLady1941@...
Date: 04/01/07 12:35:07
Subject: Leah Update
Hello All,
I know it's been a seemingly long time since the last update, but it's also been a series of , "We'll do this, no, we'll do that," and up and downs. Now that she is settled in at Missouri Rehabilitation Services in Mt. Vernon, Mo., I will try to catch you up on her progress.
I think I'm getting senile myself with all that has happened and I'm not even sure where I left off. I think she was in the hospital and there was talk of sending her directly to M. V., instead of back to Rusk. I called to check on her and she wasn't there and they weren't sure where she was. Not a happy camper at that time. Don't "camp" well anyway.
I found her at Rush Rehabilitation. She had been there for three days and no one had bothered to inform me of the transfer. Thank goodness things had slowed down for me and I was able to spend much more time with her. I went to see her one day and she was in Speech Therapy talking up a storm. I couldn't believe my ears. She had lost her trach and found her voice…is whispery sometimes, but if you remind her, she will raise it for you. You may have to remind often. That's fine with me...I can do that.
They had lost her shoes and as soon as I bought her some, she can stand with much help and even take a few steps. I tried to help get her ready to get out of bed and into the Hoyer Lift and that will be the last time for me. I nearly did myself in and it took me two days just to be able to walk. I'm afraid my days of being much help to someone who needs a lot of physical help are over.
Two days later, I went to see her again. If possible, she was talking even more and better. Everyone ran over to see her and they were amazed at the difference. And, her wit is just like it was. She had convinced the people at Rusk that her hair was naturally red when there is a very obvious line of demarcation where it has grown since doing and color. I asked them how much red they saw in the hair that was growing out. It's as dark brown as it ever was without a hint (or tint) of red. She just heehawed about this. The little darlin' told me she had something "private" to tell me. When everyone had left the room, I pulled my chair up to her and pulled my chair closer to hers and told her she could tell me now that everyone was out of the room. Imagine my chagrin when she told me, "I can't tell you...it's private." Again, the laugher rang out. She can be such a turkey at times. It's so good to hear her sense of humor is intact even if her timing and the people who are together may be mixed up. The therapists seem to think this will correct itself in time , at least somewhat. Who can really say at this point?
Now comes the downside to the story.Leah is having much difficulty with her walking and I'm trying very hard to get her an evaluation while she is at the rehab center. I told them yesterday that the hip was ready for replacement prior to her brain event and I felt that if she could walk on it better that she would be up and going like a house afire for them.
Also, I fear that someone has pulled her up in bed by using her affected arm and may have a torn rotator cuff. They are going to x-ray it, but I told them that an x-ray might not show any problem. They were quite amazed at what all I knew about such things. I hadn't yet told them I was charge nurse at a nursing home for seven years. I saved that for later. I figured it was private...lol They may end up sending her to the hospital in Springfield about 25 miles from where she is.
This time, I think I may have convinced them that she needs something stronger for pain than tylenol, especially before she goes to physical therapy. This is something I have been begging for since almost forever, it seems. They were unaware that she had ben on anything prior to her event. I told them she took three pain pills a day just to be able to care for her son and to keep on her feet. I also explained that I had no idea how many times I had straightened her leg when it went behind her and turned backwards.
No one had passed on that she had three compression fractures prior. It's a good thing I got there when I did. They may have thought she was brand new before this all started. I can guarantee them she wasn't. I told them about her bi-polar problems and how hard she had worked to be able to live in the real world to the point that she had been given guardianship of Theo...by the way, she has never mentioned him since this all happened. She has seen him, but I'm not quite sure she knows the relationship yet as I heard her tell someone that he was her nephew Dayne. I told them that her hip problems started at the age of seven and that she had gone through, I thought, it was 9 operations on the two of them and she had fought to be on her feet as she was told she would be in a wheelchair by the age of 30. I also told them that I did not think that time had come and with the hip replacement, they would see her up and about in a very few days.
I also told them that when she did have her hip replaced, that was when I was going to get mine replaced also. I recently found out that my right hip need replacing and I told her we would go through that together and make it a contest between us to see who could be up the fastest. She thought that would be fun to have her contest with an old lady. By the way, folks...I'm only in the family because she adopted me when she was a baby. She said that was the only way to get me in because I was too crazy just to be there. Look at the pot calling the kettle black...lol
Continue your prayers for us and I need more help. Would you please visit her as often as you can , if you live anywhere near. They told me she seems a little depressed about being so far from home. Call her and send cards. (Lee, she has her dolphin with her. She had it ride with her from Columbia to M. V. I saw it in her hot little hands as they put her in the van.) Charles and I went to see her yesterday and it was a very long day for us. But, she's worth it. I can stand any pain for my kids.
Her new address is: Leah Barnett Room 642
Missouri Rehabilitation Center
600 N. Main St.
Mt. Vernon, Mo. 65712
ph. nbr. (417) 461-5461--call after 6:30 P. M. and the will transfer you to her room and assist her with the phone call. She needs your personal and physical support. ( I will check to see if they have a way to E-mail her.) They said to let the phone just keep ringing as they may not be at the nurses station just when you call, but they will answer asap. There is also a toll-free number you can call.
1-866-900-5663---I know she would be glad to hear from any and all of you.
None of you will ever realize how much your prayers have performed a miracle. If she whispers..tell her to speak up. She will need reminding many times of what she has to do to get better. And, keep us in your prayers.
I'm taking a short vacation to Iowa to see relatives later this month. I fell I need a break. Pray that I don't stay angry, and frustrated, and upset all the time. This has been so very hard for me and I want to pay a little attention to myself fr just a few days and hope I feel better. I know it will help. Your prayers have helped me so much already and I know the help will continue.
Love to all of you,
April
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tell me, and I'll listen
Show me, and I'll understand
Involve me, and I'll learn"
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain." |
| |
| | | | any more news on Denver's health?
Friendship is what shows us that we are not alone in any joy or any sorrow - friendship quote by Pam Brown |
| |
| | | | From: drago2887@...
Date: 07/09/07 14:02:15
To: elusive
Subject: The Good & The Bad
Dear elusive...
I received your letter about friends of Leah asking for an update to her condition... Well there is good news and there is bad news... Leah is back here in Jefferson City after spending a month at the rehab center in Mount Vernon... While there she improved a lot in helping to get her up put of her chair and trying real hard to walk... Her speach improved a little to the point that she was starting to be understood a lot better... They finally felt that they had done all that they could and found a Nursing Home here in Jefferson City that had the measure of rehab that Leah needs and I must say it is working... The other day I went out to see her and she was in physical therapy and I was able to watch her take 50 steps... I almost cried... 50 steps... From a girl who we felt would never wake up from the coma she was in... I was so proud of her... How was I able to witness this without her knowing I was there… Leah will never be back on line I am so sorry to say... Leah is blind... We were going to get her some glasses because we thought it would help her see things better... She was taken to a eye clinic and the doctor said there was nothing he could do for her... I know this is hard news for her friends… It was so hard for us... We are lucky… we still have her and that is something... We also still have little Theo... Little???... That kid is growing leaps and bounds... But Theo is still a part of the family... He is now under the guardianship of Leah's niece... But Theo still knows who his 'Mother' is... And Leah is starting to remember a little about Theo...
Some other bad news...Leah's real father also had a stroke last month... But he never made it... He had the stroke on Thursday and died on Friday... For Phil I think that was best... I did not know him that well... But I think it would have killed him to be like Leah is... His wife had a stroke two months ago and she is like Leah in many ways and is in a nursing home down in Texas... Well...That's it... I will try and answer any emails from anyone weather I know you are not and will pass on anything to Leah from you... Those of you who carried Leah in hearts and in prayers... Please don't stop... I believe those prayers have gotten her this far and who knows... Maybe they will get her back so she can answer her messages herself... Thank you all God bless you from the entire family...
Drago
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tell me, and I'll listen
Show me, and I'll understand
Involve me, and I'll learn"
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain." |
| |
| | | | thanks for the update elusive *soft smile~
my thoughts are still with Leah's family & many of her friends... Leah will be missed in chat for sure.. am sorry to read that she's gone blind & that she's lost her real father to a stroke but the main thing is that Leah's family still have her...
Friendship is what shows us that we are not alone in any joy or any sorrow - friendship quote by Pam Brown |
| |
| | | | Hey Kadeek
Send me a pager
I wanted to go visit Leah but need to know where she is
So can you tell me where?
Please! |
| |
| | | | From: AutumnLady1941@...
Sent : November 2 2007 13:21
Subject: Re: Leah update
Hello All,
I went to visit Leah today and she was in high spirits. She laughed and laughed (at appropriate times). She has a new w/c and thought it was funny when I ran over my own foot trying to get her out of her room-where there is very little navigational space. I can't recall right now what I brought up, but she laughed at that because she had been thinking about it, just last night, she said. Now that recollection may have been a week ago or last month, but she does recall thinking about it. Heavens, my days get twisted sometimes and I'm sure it's worse where she is. I would love to be able to bring her home.
They reported to me that she has been eating her table food much better and without too much problem-it is still pureed-but she ate all of her breakfast this morning. When I fed her and I was in the home for a week for my rotator cuff surgery, she only ate one or two bites. This is a marked improvement. I am personally impressed.
Her arms were mottled, but I honestly think it was because she was chilly and some of it went away with a blanket. She uses her arms and hands very little due to probable torn rotator cuffs and I doubt if she can even take a few steps because of her hips. I'm sure it keeps me down more than her. I keep remembering how she was and it breaks my heart. Please send her cards and letters. They are very good at reading them to her and it makes her day much better: Leah E. Barnett Room 204-% Golden Living Center-3808 W. Truman Blvd.-Jefferson City, Mo. 65109. She would so much love to hear from you. When I told her I had gotten a letter asking when my next update would be, she asked from whom and remembered you, Elusive. She said, "She lives in Canada". So, she is not out of it as much as she was at first. If anyone knows how to obtain a computer that she can talk to and will talk back to her, please let me know. I think she has progressed enough to be able to use one. I think she would enjoy that, also. We would see that she had the internet access to it somehow.
There really isn't much more I can say about her right now . We had a great visit and had a laughing good time like the good old days. It sure made me feel better. I'm considering keeping her overnight for Thanksgiving and Christmas if all goes well. That will be decided later. It depends on whether or not I can get her ex-husband,Joe, to help me here.
If you don't hear from me before, all of you have a very Happy Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday! That's the one I insist our family all be together and no arguments for the duration...lol
My best to all,
|
| |
|