Friday, February 12, 2010

Slow Days, Long Nights

A little improvement today.  Elana was able to get out of bed and sit in a chair a half a dozen times for a few minutes at a time.  Still suffering from the diarrhea, nausea and dizziness but not as bad as yesterday.

Really not much else to say other than that.  Days are going by pretty slowly right now as Elana is frustrated at the slow pace of her recovery.  Even though the doctor explained what to expect after she woke up, I think she was so focused on the coma portion of the process that she did not spend much time thinking about how she would be feeling after the coma.  I can't say I would have done much different.  Your about to go into a coma for 6 days; the last thing on your mind is going to be how your going to feel after you wake up.  The only thing you could possibly be thinking is, "Will I wake up?"

My mom has picked up a cold so she can't come to the hospital anymore.  Therefore she is going to go home on Monday, because there is no point in her being here anymore.  Unfortunately, she could not get a flight out of here any earlier than Monday because of all the weather problems in Dallas the last few days.  My mom has been a warrior for the past two weeks.  Everyday, she would come to the hospital at 7:00 in the morning to relieve me so I could go back to the hotel to sleep.  She would stay in the ICU or the hospital room for over 12 hours a day helping to make sure Elana was cared for.  It is understandable that a mother or father would do whatever was needed to care for their child.  I might be wrong, but my guess is that there are not to many mother-in-laws who would volunteer to go to Mexico for two and and a half weeks to help care for their daughter-in-law. It goes back to one of my earlier posts about how my parents feel  about Elana and how they care for her as if she was their own daughter.

It's late here and Elana is sleeping.  She has not been sleeping much since she woke up from the coma.  Hopefully she can get a few hours of sleep tonight and make some additional progress tomorrow.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Guys,
    That sounds just like Elana. Awake & anxious to get going. I guess we are all learning a lesson in patience. In due time!!

    So sorry to hear that Abs isn't feeling well. She is definitely a very special woman and we are all (well Dabee & I for sure) so grateful for involvement. And referring to your earlier post, Abbey is aware as much if not more as any of us how incredible and special Elana is,

    Can they give you a b12 shot or can you load up on Emergen C, vitamin C? Can I send you some? We don't need you getting sick either. Seriously, Lance take care of yourself.

    Lots of love & lots of prayers,
    Amy

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  2. Well this time Amy said it best...

    Elana is ready to go, go, go... but it will all happen and I love that she is getting out of bed and moving around- that is awesome news!

    I am so sorry to hear about Abby. Please thank her again for me for being so fabulous and Lance, you do need to stay healthy, so Amy is right, load up on C.

    Today I'm sending you love and patience, along with strength. I also miss Elana so much, please tell her.

    XXOO
    Dabee

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  3. Hi Lance and Elana - Mixed blessings. For example - it feels great to be able to include Elana in my comment - reminds me not to underestimate the fact that she is alert enough to be pissed off about her 'slow' recovery - and that is VERY GOOD NEWS. Hi Elana - hang in there - it's all coming! Also, please tell Abby I'm sorry to hear that she is sick - and then please remember what an amazing blessing it is to have a family that cares so much about each other that you're all in - what a great foundation for a recovery and for a fearless life for all of you. Lance, it's all going to be ok. We love all of you and we're praying (with certainty) that each day will be a little better than the day before. Love, Jill

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  4. Sleep is an elusive creature once waking up from the coma. Seems to happen to all of us! As well as the weakness, frustrations at slow pace of recovery, etc. Hang in therer Elana! You rsystem is going thourhg a lot of worik. One person wrote me when I first woke up and likened the process to that of a baby just startng out on life. What do babies do? eat and sleep! Although you have not mentioned a problem with the eating, it was a huge problem for me. Everything tasted awful! I was so weak that my husband or father had to feed me. I did feel like a baby and I guess in a lot of ways we are. This is a new birth to our bodies. The body needs time to heal, learn a new language, figure out what the heck happened to it, and then process it all to moving forward. Stay positive, you are right where you need to be right now. It does get better! :)

    Lance, please tell your mother that she is awesome and give her my best wishes for a soeddy recovery from her cold and a safe trip home. My ohter also picked up a bad cold while she was in Mexico. I guess hanging around a hospital you do get exposed to many many germs. :)

    Lance, you are doing great! Thanks for keeping us posted and for being the positive energy for Elana.

    I wish you both a wonderful day today and look forward to heaaring the progress reports no matter how small and insignificant they seem to you at the time.

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  5. Hi Lance,

    Theo here: Good to read your updates, and man, I can sure sympathize with you. No, empathize.

    I had mixed emotions when it was me. Part of me wanted Fern to hurry up and get better, and part of me wanted her to take her sweet time and relax as much as possible. It's difficult to not be able to do anything, and also that the only way to get past it is to wait. Slowly but surely (maybe you've heard that before somewhere!!)

    The good part is that you're experiencing consistent progress, and we're very happy for you. Too bad that your Mom had to leave. Give our love to Elana, please.

    And I'm disappointed that your magicJack isn't working anymore... if it was, we probably would have heard from you by now (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

    One of the things that Fern and some other members of the Coma Club have found helpful is the fruit smoothies that are available but not on the nutrition dept menu. We had some trouble getting them, I'll confess, even when I asked Dr Cantu or one of the nurses to talk to Nutrition on our behalf - they didn't seem to understand. And it didn't matter whether we ordered in English or Spanish. Our success rate was about 30% (the other times we got plates of sliced fruit or even a can of Coke!!). Fern found that the smoothies very soothing for her throat, and would have liked one with every meal.

    Have a good day!

    Theo

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