Home Sweet Home

Last Friday Janet went home.  We all know there is really no place like home.  She's delighted to be in her own surroundings and enjoying the beautiful remodel that has now been completed.
This week and next her dear Mary Kay friends are bringing meals in. Many thanks to Susan Brookshire for organizing this great gift, she has been one of the many angels who have been constantly there for Janet's needs.  I am hoping more friends will volunteer to bring meals for Janet and Jim over the next several weeks, perhaps some will even come during the coming months.  This is a tremendous help in keeping Janet out of the kitchen where she could over tire .... yet still allowing her to work on gaining strength and working through her PT schedule.  Thank you to every one who has stepped up to the food line!

Although she is home, the work schedule continues for her and it is all the more time consuming too.  She will be going to Merci for outpatient rehab at least 2 days a week.  Each day at home, Janet has PT to do on her own .... with still quite a schedule to maintain!  Once a week she will travel in for her blood test to monitor her blood thinner, the Cumiden.
Today was the first visit back to her doctor.  He is pleased, it was a good appointment!  Her blood pressure was good!  She is going back in a month for another check up.  At this time, Dr. Ghani doesn't feel like Janet is ready for bypass surgery, although she has made tremendous progress.  Potentially he will do more stints in the interum while waiting for her to gain enough strength for a bypass surgery.  Dr. Ghani asked her how she felt about returning to work and she said she did not believe she was ready.  He agreed with her and they mutually decided to asses that each month.  Good plan!

She and Jim are working out a schedule with the help of their daughter, Troy, and some friends allowing Jim to accomplish work around the property and insure that Janet is not ever left alone. Currently her good friend, Cindy Lacey, is in town and is spending time with her to allow Jim some freedom.  I was so pleased when she told me that if Jim went outside she was careful to keep her walker near that has a small utility bag on it.  Inside the bag she keeps her phone, her house phone and other things she could need immediately.  She is, wisely, being very cautious.

Janet's doctor asked her if her chest hurt.  "No", she replied.  After a chuckle he said that it should because they beat up on her pretty good....but that she is the reason they go the extra mile and work so hard on people.  We spoke of the power of prayer and the miracles we have seen for her .... and again she has expressed her grattitude for all who have prayed for her and included her in prayer circles and prayer chains reaching farther than any of us can even begin to imagine.  Her doctor has told her he has witnessed a miracle and I beleive everyone who has joined in prayer across the miles knows too that she is a living miracle!  I thank each and every one for the gift of prayer that has been offered for my sister-in-law, Janet. 

Calls are great .... but please try to call after 2:00.  Remember she still has an exhausting schedule to keep up of PT and we don't want to give her any excuses to miss a session ;-)    If she can answer she will, if not, she will try to call back.

Visits are wonderful ..... but please call before going all the way out to the house and make sure it is a good time.  Make sure she is up to it and that your visit is not in conflict with a PT workout or with one of her trips into town. 

As much as she so much wants to see you, she is juggling a huge schedule right now so just please double check and plan ahead.  Short visits are perfect because they do not tire her ..... but if you happen to have time to land for a few hours it might be good to ask if there is a time Jim needs to run errands or do work outside.  If you could just saty with her for that time, that would be a tremendous help to them.  Then you could have more time, even if Janet needs a nap while you are there.  And, she might!  I was delighted when she told me she does schedule a nap every afternoon. 

When I talked with her today I could hear more strength in her voice, significantly more!  She is getting stronger each week but we know what a long road she has traveled and how far she has to go.  It has taken much work and dedication from Janet.  Now she has a new goal.  Janet would like to be able to walk without her walker with-in the next month.  She now sometimes walks a little without it but will keep it near for security .... wisely.  It is a good goal and one that is reachable.  Lets keep her in our prayers as she reaches for this next goal.

INTEGRIS Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation

One of the most difficult things we all deal with in a prolonged illness and recovery, of any kind, is the waiting. We wait for progress that which is small and that which is large. We wait for news; we wait for just about everything. We even wait to see her, wondering when will be a good time. I know it seems for you, as it does for me, that it has been a very long wait for news. We just all have to accept that things do happen slowly. Very slowly. I think too that we do all have to consider that the waiting is perhaps the very longest for Janet.

Last Wednesday Janet moved from the Oklahoma Heart Hospital to the Jim Thorpe Inpatient Rehabilitation Center. She is in the west wing of the 6th floor in room 621 at Baptist Integress Hospital. Janet is receiving four therapy sessions a day. Her work sessions are in the areas of occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy. These are very long hard days of exhausting work. But she is in a wonderful place.  I have posted a section on the right of films where you can see for yourself what an incredible program she is in!

I once visited a very close friend who was in a rehabilitation center following the removal of a brain tumor. He did not have his phone nor did he have even a laptop. Considering his profession was in IT that was a surprise to me. But I found the facility had serious rules there and very strict routines, all developed to benefit their patients. Although I wanted to, I did not visit often nor did I call much while he was there because I had seen firsthand how much pressure, stress and exhaustion his routine was causing. We all wanted him to devote himself to only one thing ... getting well. I missed him very much but I can tell you that today we are still very good friends and he is now only as far as my phone, my email, my Facebook page, or a lunch together. I do know from my personal experience that this time too will pass with Janet.  How long?  Well, it will be however long it takes!

Although Janet's phone is on her table we are asking that you hold off on calling her directly, texting her or emailing her. At least for now. She is having a bit of trouble working her phone right now so we don't want things to pile up on her. There will be time in the future for that again. You can call the hospital and ask for the desk on her floor.  If it is a good time they might put you through to her room.  But for now, let’s avoid the cell phone.

She is having a few visitors. Jim is going up in the evenings. Her brother, David, stopped in last Friday and he will see her again this week.  Her good friend Terri saw her yesterday and told me she ‘saw the Janet she knows and loves’.  She has told me that Janet is tired.  She said Janet is hurting but the laugh and the smile and the attitude is all there. She is losing the fluids that have caused so much swelling and has lost quite a bit of weight.  Although this is not how any of us want to lose weight, Janet is excited to be able to see her cheekbones again! J  She made it down the hall & back on her walker.  We are thrilled she is regaining strength on her right side and is able to use her fork and she even has cut up chicken. It is a slow and painful process to re-learn so many of the tasks we each take for granted but Janet is a fighter and Terri said she is ready to fight the fight. 

I am planning to wait a while before going from Tulsa to see her again.  I do hope to see her at least once before my own scheduled surgery in mid June.   I know how grueling Janet’s schedule is and I know how hard she is working.  After all this is a 7 day a week gig for her!  Having heard about David’s visit on Friday and then Terri’s report from Monday I know she is making great progress already! 

Her good friend, Susan, has not been there at all this week.  She has been down with a stomach virus and has graciously avoided sharing it with any one …. Especially with Janet.  This is something we all, also need to be careful of too.  If anyone is feeling the least bit ill, please don’t go. 

If you feel you need to go, it is very important to call the desk first and ask. She may be in a therapy session or she may be resting. But it is possible you could slip in at a time when she is not in a therapy session or resting. If so, I am sure she would love to see you but please stay only a very short time, perhaps only 10 or 15 minutes.  If you do decide to inquire through the desk you might also ask if she has had other visitors that day before trying to go yourself. We all have to remember why she is there and allow her all the time she needs for her recovery.   

I know Janet would very much love receiving cards and notes from you.  Your words of encouragement, your wishes to get well and your prayers all mean the world to her.  Please take a minute and send her a card or note when you can to: 

Janet Henthorn   Room 621

Jim Thorpe Inpatient Rehabilitation Center

Integress Hospital

3300 NW Expressway

Oklahoma City, OK 73112 

Phone: 405.949.3435 

You can also post your comments here on the blog knowing that Janet will, in time, be reading this herself.  If you wish to contact me directly you can email me at cyn_elliott@yahoo.com.

In this journey we have seen the power of prayer at work.  I know Janet is very appreciative of your prayers and of those in the many prayer chains she has been included in.  Let’s continue to pray for more great progress in Janet’s rehabilitation and the strength for her to work very hard.

A Visit With Jannet

I visited Janet at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital yesterday.  It was more than going to see her again because this time it was a real visit.  It was my first time to see Janet awake and able to talk to me.  There are no words to describe how much this huge change meant to me...I will leave it that it was another prayer answered to have this time with her. 

Elated, more prayers answered, her feeding tube was removed yesterday morning!

Janet is still very weak.  Although she is managing time up in a chair and is able to stand with assistance she is still unable to walk.  Her knees and ankles are still quite swollen from the fluids used when she was chilled.  The nurse told me there is really nothing for her to do about this except to try to keep them elevated.  Over the course of the past few weeks Janet has had many drugs administered and it will take time for them to wear off for this and other side affects she is experiencing.  Once again more time is the answer. 

 

Without the feeding tube, her nurses are monitoring what and how much she eats.  Counting calories!  She was munching on a lovely bowl of fruit a friend brought to her and a few almonds.  As three almonds slowly disappeared she told me how much she loves them.  But then she told me now hard it is to eat and to breathe at the same time.  She is working to manage the two together.  She also told me it is very hard to talk and to breathe too.  I could see she was reserving and managing her comments to save on air.  The nurse came in, Janet reported the three almonds for the count.

Today, perhaps tomorrow, she is going to be moved from the intensive care unit to a regular room.  Janet told me she is going from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility and in her words, “I think I need that but I know it will be hard work”.  Her nurse joined our conversation and told her of one she had personal experience with.  Janet was interested and upbeat when hearing about it.  The nurse also told her she could be moved to one even before she can walk.  Janet has said she believes exercise in a pool and using parallel bars to walk with would be a great help to her.  Later this week I am going back to Oklahoma City to spend a day with Jim looking at some possible places.

  

Janet shared with me that she is going to have to learn to write again.  Our conversation went something like this…

Janet, “I can’t write.”

Me, “you can’t?”

Janet, “No, I tried, can’t do it. I’m going to have to learn”

Me, “You will.”

Then with a big smile she said, “Yes, I will, but I can still type” 

I wondered how she knew that, but she was pleased so I was too.

I do believe Janet will learn to write again.  We also know this might be but one of the daily tasks that we all take for granted she will be working to relearn.  It will take time.  Janet knows her one job now is to get better and that it is going to be hard work.  The one thing she is not looking forward to is the bypass surgery in her future.  And who of us would look forward to that?  But she does know it is a necessary part of her over all wellness plans.

Janet relayed a conversation she had with her doctor. I believe you should know about it too.  He came into her room and said to her, “You know you are a miracle, don’t you?  You were not supposed to live.”  It was then that she told me she knew many people were praying for her and how grateful she is for their prayer.  I told her I believed it to be hundreds, maybe thousands and I asked if she knew about this blog.  She said she knows some and asked me to include some things in this posting including her gratitude for so much prayer.  She said she knows it is not only the blog, but the people she knows and even greater the wider circle of people they know and those beyond that other's know.   Janet has a strong faith and she knows, along with incredible medical care, that the power of prayer has saved her life.

I have missed her so much.  It was good to see her and to talk with her.  Yes, I have seen her a lot but this is the first time in weeks we could actually talk.  We talked about a scrapbooking event that is coming up and she said she knows she can’t go, but said that she will be back.  She talked about her Mary Kay business knowing it would be a while before she can get back there too.   Our banter was mostly just normal things for us. 

Janet did have a lot of company yesterday.   When I arrived, around 5:30, she was exhausted.  She told me she appreciated seeing those who had come by very much but said that her day had really been too much for her.  Her doctors and nurses want to put a sign on her door prohibiting any visitors and she is really hoping that does not happen.    For now, the doctors have asked that the number of people who visit and the length of time they stay be very limited.  She does not have much stamina and wears out very easily.  Wisely, Janet asked us all to leave even telling Jim to go home and feed the animals and have an early night. 

She has loved the cards she has received so I thought I would include an address for you. 

Janet Henthorn

Oklahoma Heart Hospital

4050 West Memorial Road
Oklahoma City, OK 73120

When she moves to a rehabilitation facility I will update an address for you.  Post your comments here, as it won’t be long before Janet reads this entire blog.  I know she will love seeing that you have been here for her every step of theway.

This week, I know Janet would enjoy a card or a note from you.  I know she will read each one as she regains her strength.  And one more thing I might ask.  Each time you pick up a pen to write something down, perhaps that could be a reminder to say an extra prayer.  Knowing writing is a task Janet will be working to do again, give thanks that you are able to and pray she will master this task again soon.

Prayer is powerful!  Thank you for your prayers.

Janet is Improving

David visited Janet in OKC yesterday, Tuesday, to find that the ventilator is gone!  Again, more prayers answered! 

Now Janet is able to speak, although her throat is sore and she is still very weak.  She is unable to walk on her own yet, still needing rest and to regain her strength.  We are hoping her feeding tube and all related tubes will be removed soon and that she will be a bit freer when she is strong enough and able to navigate around her room on her own.   She is spending time up in her chair and focusing on the television. 

David spent about two hours with her and she was responding to various questions.  He asked her about family member’s names and other things he knew she should know the correct answers for; most of his questions she was able to answer correctly.  There were a few things she was a bit off on, but that was not totally unexpected to us.  With more time, we hope more memories will straighten out a bit more.

With each day now it seems we are seeing big improvements.  Comparatively we know they are.  It seems that way to us now following our long wait for the smallest pieces of positive news along the way.  Janet is not yet entirely sure what all has happened to her but she knows she is not in very good shape yet.  And of course, she is making noise about going home.  Something Jim has told her is not going to happen right now.

The many nurses who have cared for her around the clock are very excited about her progress.  There is excitement for her up and down the other pods on the floor and individually they are looking in on her.  The team at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital takes their jobs very seriously and they care deeply for their patients.  I think more than any of us these wonderfully skilled people know they are seeing miracles in Janet’s progress.  We are still grateful she is under their watch as she improves.

So much behind us; so many prayers answered.  Having come through the trauma of a second heart attack and two prolonged events during her first day with two more following, the chilling and rewarming of her body for the induced coma and the extended period of sleep after, not to mention the struggle to keep her blood pressure and heart rate in control we all feel very blessed to have Janet awake and as far as she has now come. 

With all of our many blessings we know Janet’s heart is still very fragile.  As Janet learns more about the events of the past weeks, we pray for her to have the patience and understanding of her need to continue resting and gaining her strength.  We hope for the same patience and understanding of all who love and support her through this time.   Her doctors have told us she will need to stay under professional care until her heart can be repaired.  Getting well can be a full time job and it is not easy for any of us to ask for help.  We pray for Janet to have understanding for herself, that she will direct the determination we all know she has towards her own health and for her to have the patience to endure. 

For our many blessings we praise God.  We appreciate your prayer as Janet’s journey continues.

More Prayers Answered

Last evening, about 7:00, we received an elated call from Jim.  He had walked into Janet’s room and she was sitting up in a chair.  He told us she was alert, knew hot from cold, responded to his voice and responded to his daughter, Troy!  Her nurses said she had had a very busy day.  Although not ready to come off of the ventilator, this is incredible progress!

More prayers answered!  Janet has regained consciousness!  We continue to pray for positive responses and that she is soon able to breathe on her own.  We thank the Lord for the blessings he is bestowing on us.

Progress!

On Saturday, another quick trip to OKC and back for David and I.  First, I need to make one small correction to yesterday’s post.  Along with the balloon pump, Janet’s temporary pace maker was removed last week too.  Well, unlike many of the other huge apparatus we have now kissed goodbye, this one was a small device and no one had mentioned its absence to me.  I am not the best for peeking around but I do ask questions and yesterday that one came up.  So we will count this as another prayer answered!  Thank you…

A blessing to Janet, and one I know she would appreciate, is that her room is now much quieter with the absence of these machines.  It also makes a difference for us when we visit.  Where there were once as many as fifteen bags of medications there now are only a couple of bags hanging.  With the balloon pump and icing machines no longer at the foot of the bed, the room seems so much more open.  Best and most obvious to me is that the crash cart is no longer in the room now either. 

Everything the medical staff could possibly need is on this hospital floor.  From a complete lab to portable x-ray machines, all the way to equipment for CT scans, for echocardiograms and that for obtaining an EEG.   Most of the time, the equipment comes to Janet.

With the urologist signing herself off of Janet’s case, the neurologist entered the scene on Friday night.  He performed a complete neurological exam on Janet and followed it with both a CT scan of her brain as well as an EEG on Saturday morning.  Just as the family has had questions I know many of you have too.  With great joy I can share with you that more prayers have been answered!  His findings were that there is electrical activity in her brain.  More, he found that there is no neurological reason why Janet is not yet waking up.  Nor is there any neurological reason why she is not yet off the ventilator.  For both he has said that Janet just needs more time.  Every person is different, everyone responds differently and some just need more time than others.  So we continue to wait and to pray.

Although not yet conscious, Janet had her eyes open much of the day.  Jim found this a huge positive sign and a great comfort.  He has been remarkable throughout all.  Many of you may know that Janet and Jim are in the midst of a massive remodel of their home.  Jim has continued to see this through with new walls now painted, new flooring installed and blinds yet to hang he is nearly ready to have the furniture moved back in.  Each day he has told Janet of the progress at home, knowing she will be so pleased when it is completed.  His daughter, Troy, has been at the hospital often.  She has also been out at the house often just hanging out with her dad.

This week an automatic email came out from Janet announcing a new Mary Kay book.  This prompted us to remember Janet’s business!  Knowing she would want her customers taken care of her friend, Susan has been working with Jim to gather names and messages.  Jim and Janet’s long time friend, Janeen, has been sitting with Janet and Jim each evening after work.  Her friend Terri has been looking in on her many mornings.   I will be eternally grateful to all three of these wonderful gals for looking after this family and for helping me in spreading this blog of information to Janet’s many other friends. 

Janet is among the most blessed with friends.  Jim has expressed to me how grateful he is for the many who have called, messaged, offered help, and who are praying with us.  He has said, Janet has so many friends that are like her family and he is right.  My sister-in-law is very blessed.

Waiting is hard, it is hard for us and we know it is hard for all of Janet’s friends.  The nurses have expressed how much they know this but that Janet needs time, rest and prayer for now.  Each of us are spacing our visits to Janet while balancing our tasks at home and at work.  We have been told this wait can be weeks, and possibly more weeks.  We are so grateful to know how many will be there when the time does come for Janet to go home and for now how many prayers are being offered.

Some have asked why I chose this blog as a medium.  Some have suggested Carringbridge (which I am familiar with) or similar pass worded sites.  Frankly, this is a simple medium you can get to through your email, your Facebook page or your phone.  You can comment and share your thoughts.  You are welcome to email me pictures of Janet (cyn_elliott@yahoo.com) and I will share them here.  This blog is not set to be found on Google or other search engines.  You are likely reading it because you are a friend of Janet, her family or her friends and someone has sent you the link. Please click to follow this blog and you might consider entering your email address so when I update it you will automatically be notified.  I will try to post at least once a week for you.  Our progress happens slowly.  Today 102 people have viewed this page, so far.  In the past week it has been seen 929 times.  Not only are we trying to give you accurate and up to date information, I know we have gathered a huge circle of prayer for Janet with this blog. 

We have had many prayers answered but we are still on a long road.  We are asking specifically for prayer that Janet will breathe on her own and that she will soon wake up.

“For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them."  Matthew 18:20

Progress this week!

David and I both went to visit Janet yesterday.   Although he had been there during the week, it just felt time for us both to go again.  The 100 miles between us once seemed just a short hop across the turnpike.  There are days now when I feel it is just so far.  I know you know.

Each day has been filled with progress, slow as it seems on day by day basis.  Collectively Janet has come a long way.  One by one, prayers are being heard.

The chilling pads were removed early in the week.  Although her body temperature was brought back to normal by Saturday afternoon, the pads remained to help control her temperature.  The body will try to rewarm itself and having the pads still in place actually prevented her from spiking a fever. 

Janet’s heart is now beating without the assistance of the balloon pump that was removed on Tuesday morning.   She still has the temporary pace maker in place.   Knowing that her heart is beating on its own and we’ve had several days without incident is truly an answer to our prayers. 

Through the week her nurses have been reducing her medications.  Janet is on insulin to control her blood sugar and is receiving only an occasional dosage of pain medications. Her blood pressure and her heart rate are stabilizing on their own now.  More prayers answered!  What a difference to see only a couple of bags hanging above her, when just a few days ago so much more was necessary.

Her pulmonologist has daily been working with the ventilator to remove it.  Yesterday he tried turning it to a C-pap setting.  But at this setting Janet would have to initiate the breath for the machine to complete it.  Her doctors believe they will be able to remove the ventilator; Janet is not ready to breathe on her own yet.  A few more prayers and a bit more time and I believe we will see that machine go soon.

A feeding tube was added this week, something the doctors told us last week was not needed.  Progress!  She needs food!  Earlier in the week there was concern about her kidneys but she now has a good urine output again.  So good, the urologist has signed herself off the case!   Another concern earlier this week was pneumonia but she has been given antibiotics and we have been told this is also not a concern now.  Two more prayers answered!

 We know Janet’s many friends are waiting and praying with us.  Our family is very grateful for the wonderful people surrounding us all, near and far.  We know the waiting is excruciating.  Not only for us but for Janet’s many friends too.  We know too that prayer is powerful. 

Thank each and every one of you for waiting with us and for your prayer.  In that, we ask that your prayers for Janet include the return of Janet’s ability to breathe on her own so the ventilator can go away.  She is no longer receiving any medications to sedate her.  We also ask for prayer that Janet will soon regain consciousness on her own. 

Janet has fantastic medical care.  The doctors continue to do everything possible for her.  We have been told this is going to take time. We have been told It can take weeks and weeks.   I know how powerful prayer is …. And that is what we need the very most now.  Let us all pray that this coming week brings us more answers to our prayers for Janet.