My Grandma

Can I just request some happy thoughts? My Grandma had a brain aneurysm and is currently in the ICU awaiting brain surgery in the morning. She is the only grandparent I feel a connection to, and I could just use some happy thoughts.

Thanks

I'm sure she will do fine, she is in my thoughts.

I hope you and your grandma do okay :hug:

Nothing but good vibes going to Grandma. I wish her nothing but good luck. Please remember the doctors that will be working on Grandma! A little prayer for them as well.

Jim Smith

I will keep you and your grandmother in my prayers.

Samuel,
I hope that your Grandma will come out of this OK.

Samuel
I will pray for her right now.

:D

Thanks guys, it means a lot.

She is in surgery right now. She will be out for at least a week or two before we know if there is any damage .. but she was responsive when we fist got to the ER, she knew who we were and was talking alright. Hopefully that is a good sign .. but I am not a doctor, I don't know how these things progress.

Oh Samuel I am so sorry to hear this ....I will keep you both in my prayers. Please let us know how she is doing!

Ill say a few prayers for you, your family, and the speedy recovery of Grandma.

Mike

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/loiswillman

Our family has your family and your Grandmother in our prayers and our thoughts.

God Bless.

im sry, and good luck, she will be in my prayers. :)

The news today is scary.

The doctors have said she should have woken up by now, and she has not. The also did and EEG scan on her and the results were abnormal. It could be a mixture of things, but .. it's not good. Either one is not good.

I thank the member that have expressed their support and well wishes.

I am sitting here wondering if I will ever talk to my grandmother again. It is a scary thought. Some may know .. some may not know about this part of my life but I have to share. I came out of the closet to my family as a gay man last year March, and waited until the Friday before she had this happen to come out to my grandma.

Part of the reason was she means so much to me, that I feared her response. She responded with nothing but love and support. I just .. opened up to her days before she had this major health event, one that may have her forgetting the conversation happened, or forgetting who I am .. or even worse having her never talking again.

Scary stuff.

All the prayers to your Grandma

People make AMAZING recoveries. No matter what the doctors say, people suprise us all the time

Dont give up hope. If the doctor says things are looking bad, take it with a grain of salt, really channel your energy into believing that she will get better

I am not religious but I feel that if you focus your thoughts, its a connection that can be made even to somebody who is unconscious, and it helps them heal

Best wishes to you and your Grandma! Don't give up! she will be fine! :please:

I wish your grandmother the best of luck. I hope she comes out of it and makes the best recovery, you will be in my thoughts.

You and your Gandma are in our prayers. The next few weeks will be scarry (i've had 2 family members go through this also); but God works in mysterious ways so keep thinking positive and be there for her and leave the rest to the Lord. :)

Shes in my prayers, I hope that she gets well and that the recovery gos great.

I drove up there tonight. Mom, grandma's neighbor, and I visited with her and when mom said "Lois, it's just us" grandma opened her eyes and paid attention for about a minute. Dad also got her to wiggle her toes on command.

Little things that lets us know that if nothing else, she can hear .. understand, and respond to things. She is also recognizing people because certain people are getting certain responses. She will wiggle toes for her son, but will grasp her husband's hand.

Thanks for the support. It's a long road and huge process. We have just begun.

I thank you all again for the support.

One thing I have not mentioned was I saw one .. one for sure that signed my Grandmother's Caring Bridge site. I want to extend my and my families thanks for doing that. Currently my sister and grandpa are printing the guest book entries off daily and reading the new ones to grandma at her bedside.

Grandma doesn't respond to much, but she does respond to hearing things like "people all over the country are thinking of and praying for you". I have never seen my sister or grandpa smile so much to find out that random strangers care enough to leave a quick note.

Just saying, it's appreciated by not only grandma, but the entire family.

Good Luck! I am praying that she comes out of this ok. The hardest thing about growing up, is losing our loved ones. This is just a reminder to spend each moment like it is your last, and never be afraid to tell someone you love them. :)

Special wishes go out to you, and your family.

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Originally Posted by Samuel

The news today is scary.
I am sitting here wondering if I will ever talk to my grandmother again.

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Just keep talking to her, I'm sure she can hear you. :)

Hey Sam I know that the last thing you want to hear is my sob story but 2.5 years ago my mom had a stroke while boarding a plane from Texas to iowa and she didn't know she was having one she only though she had a bad headach and lightheadedness and she got on the plane bad idea but she got to iowa ok and got in the car and family she was with noticed somthing was wrong and asked her what's wrong and the last words she said was "I think I'm having a stroke" they rushed her to the hospital and they had to go through all if her stuff for about 2 days to find my grandma and grandpas phone number and they though she was at a conference in new York And they rushed down there my mom was in the hospital for 3 days and I had no clue what was going on they only told me she was sick and that she needed me down there so I went down there and when we got to the airport and they told me she had a stroke every one but me knew and It hurt that they would keep somthing this huge from me and when I got to the hospital they had proformed emergancy surgery on her removing a part of her skull and it was scary because there were tubes comming out of every area and through all of this she couldn't talk or anything she had her eyes closed andwas in ICU for 3 weeks and before we left after 5 days of spending every waking moment in the hospital just incase somthing went bad she turned to my grandma and did her best to mouth the words i'm sorry my brother was so hurt he could barly see her in this position me and my mom were closer then her and my brother and I think he regret it from that moment on but I just asked for ten minutes with her just me and my mom and I stood in there a young 13 year old boy staring at his mother clinging on yo life and I just said I love you the loard does works of magic and he will heal you if I have a say so in it he took me dad he isn't taking you too and then I stood there and looked at her and when they told me it was time for me to go I just looked at her and said I forgive you after about 5 weeks they told us she wouldn't beable to walk talk or carry on any sort of convorsation but not she is walking fine talking better and better ( about 3 word sentaces) and proving the docters wrong according to the doctors she was supposed to die... Moral of this story is don't let a doctor tell you what is going to happen because mericals happen and my mom is proof just beleive in every thing your grandma does and just spend like 10 min alone with her and spill everything out you will feel so much better and she will love to hear everything and tell her how your day is going and what your doing beleive it or not they love to keep in the loop I pray for you and your grandma!!! Good luck with everything.

Sam,

I'm not sure how I missed this earlier, but your grandma will be in my thoughts and prayers. She sounds like a tough lady with a beautiful spirit, and she sure does have a lot of people who love her, if her page is any indication!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Crashingphoenix

Hey Sam I know that the last thing you want to hear is my sob story but 2.5 years ago my mom had a stroke while boarding a plane from Texas to iowa and she didn't know she was having one she only though she had a bad headach and lightheadedness and she got on the plane bad idea but she got to iowa ok and got in the car and family she was with noticed somthing was wrong and asked her what's wrong and the last words she said was "I think I'm having a stroke" they rushed her to the hospital and they had to go through all if her stuff for about 2 days to find my grandma and grandpas phone number and they though she was at a conference in new York And they rushed down there my mom was in the hospital for 3 days and I had no clue what was going on they only told me she was sick and that she needed me down there so I went down there and when we got to the airport and they told me she had a stroke every one but me knew and It hurt that they would keep somthing this huge from me and when I got to the hospital they had proformed emergancy surgery on her removing a part of her skull and it was scary because there were tubes comming out of every area and through all of this she couldn't talk or anything she had her eyes closed andwas in ICU for 3 weeks and before we left after 5 days of spending every waking moment in the hospital just incase somthing went bad she turned to my grandma and did her best to mouth the words i'm sorry my brother was so hurt he could barly see her in this position me and my mom were closer then her and my brother and I think he regret it from that moment on but I just asked for ten minutes with her just me and my mom and I stood in there a young 13 year old boy staring at his mother clinging on yo life and I just said I love you the loard does works of magic and he will heal you if I have a say so in it he took me dad he isn't taking you too and then I stood there and looked at her and when they told me it was time for me to go I just looked at her and said I forgive you after about 5 weeks they told us she wouldn't beable to walk talk or carry on any sort of convorsation but not she is walking fine talking better and better ( about 3 word sentaces) and proving the docters wrong according to the doctors she was supposed to die... Moral of this story is don't let a doctor tell you what is going to happen because mericals happen and my mom is proof just beleive in every thing your grandma does and just spend like 10 min alone with her and spill everything out you will feel so much better and she will love to hear everything and tell her how your day is going and what your doing beleive it or not they love to keep in the loop I pray for you and your grandma!!! Good luck with everything.

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I know you have had your own trials. It's never easy, and I am sorry your mom went through all that, and that your family life isn't what you want.

Couple things.

1) Punctuation much?
2) Thanks man.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Sam,

I'm not sure how I missed this earlier, but your grandma will be in my thoughts and prayers. She sounds like a tough lady with a beautiful spirit, and she sure does have a lot of people who love her, if her page is any indication!

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Thank you Robin. Thanks for everything. :)

She's in my thoughts! Sending good vibes your way... Stay well, hon, I know how tough it is to see a family member going through that.

Sam she is older give her time....the body can do amazing things! Maybe her body just needs some extra time. I am praying for your Grandma and your family...stay positive!!

She is awake .. ish.

She is aware, and mouthing words. Squeezing hands. Still not in great shape, but a lot of questions are answered with those little things. She .. is still grandma.

2 things she has asked for 1) Coffee and 2) Patches (her dog).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Samuel

She is awake .. ish.

She is aware, and mouthing words. Squeezing hands. Still not in great shape, but a lot of questions are answered with those little things. She .. is still grandma.

2 things she has asked for 1) Coffee and 2) Patches (her dog).

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Awesome to hear of the improvement! Every little bit counts and so does every little prayer. You and your family are still in ours! :)

She just asked the nurse to come and get me. I was sleeping in the waiting room, the nurse woke me up and said she wanted to see me, so I went down there and she was trying to mouth words to me, but I just can't understand most of it. It's hard, and I feel bad. The cool thing was the nurse said her heart rate started declining as soon as I walked in the door.

She then drifted asleep.

Some cool things I thought. Grandma not only knows me, but asked for me and feel better with me around. I know it may seem stupid, or like common sense stuff, but all those things put my mind further at ease about .. everything.

This weekend's updates have really lifted my spirits! Thanks for thinking of us in these difficult times.

My thoughts will continue to be with you, your family and your Gandma.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Samuel

She is awake .. ish.

She is aware, and mouthing words. Squeezing hands. Still not in great shape, but a lot of questions are answered with those little things. She .. is still grandma.

2 things she has asked for 1) Coffee and 2) Patches (her dog).

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Great news!!! But please keep a guarded position on Gravdma. She still has a long way to go. She may experience set backs, but I hope and wish she does really well. Good luck!

Jim Smith

Quote:

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Originally Posted by j_h_smith

Great news!!! But please keep a guarded position on Gravdma. She still has a long way to go. She may experience set backs, but I hope and wish she does really well. Good luck!

Jim Smith

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I am aware of her delicate position. they are thinking about having to give her more blood now.

Update

She has been moved from the ICU to Acute Care
She is off the ventilator
She can talk a little now .. but not much
I have seen her laugh and smile a lot now
She can sit for short periods of time .. 20 minutes or so, holding herself up.

She has been moved from one hospital to another for physical therapy. She is breathing on her own now 100%, and can move and gesture. She is still improving.

That is good to hear. I hope she pulls through :)

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Originally Posted by Samuel

She has been moved from one hospital to another for physical therapy. She is breathing on her own now 100%, and can move and gesture. She is still improving.

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Way to go Grandma. Great news! I wish nothing but the best for you, your family and your Grandma!

Jim Smith

Ill keep her in my prays ;

-Daniel

She got to see her dog this weekend. That is here in the bed, Patches (the dog), and Grandmpa holding Patches.

http://www.caringbridge.org/tres/ima...hVdqpmnNCR.jpg

That's so awesome Samuel!!!! :banana:

Samuel,

I'm so happy that your Grandma is doing better. I will continue to offer prayers for her and the rest of your family.

God Bless....

She is in a nursing home now. She had a really bad infection that halted and reversed some of the progress made, but she is starting to show signs of a comeback.

I guess I am just updating this thread because .. all I ever doo here anymore is post about non-snake related things.

MY GRANDMA IS DOING AWESOME!

She had a brain aneurysm on 6.8.2010, and just today she is able to feed herself. She was progressing slowly, and early this week she got a shunt put in .. and the difference is .. HUGE. I am head over heals, over the moon giddy with excitement.

Tonight I had the first actual conversation with her since June. She can talk! I am .. SOOOO happy. I came out to her 2 days before she was rushed to the hospital .. she greeted my gayness with open arms.

For a while there I was scared that I might not ever get her opinion on a boyfriend .. or invite one over to her house to meet her or partake in her thanksgiving feast. It's just the little things .. wanting to share her with my significant other, and now I see it as a possibility again. I am .. so .. thrilled.

great to hear samuel! My girl works in the brain injury unit at a hospital here in the twin cities, so I get to hear about this sort of thing all the time. Progress is a great sign, and progress enough to be able to speak and feed one's self is a FANTASTIC sign!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Samuel

MY GRANDMA IS DOING AWESOME!

She had a brain aneurysm on 6.8.2010, and just today she is able to feed herself. She was progressing slowly, and early this week she got a shunt put in .. and the difference is .. HUGE. I am head over heals, over the moon giddy with excitement.

Tonight I had the first actual conversation with her since June. She can talk! I am .. SOOOO happy. I came out to her 2 days before she was rushed to the hospital .. she greeted my gayness with open arms.

For a while there I was scared that I might not ever get her opinion on a boyfriend .. or invite one over to her house to meet her or partake in her thanksgiving feast. It's just the little things .. wanting to share her with my significant other, and now I see it as a possibility again. I am .. so .. thrilled.

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Glad to hear that she is well on her way to being back to normal ! :) We are all still sending positive thoughts and prayers her way!!!

I am so happy to hear she is doing better! we will continue to pray

I'm sure she'll pull though.
Everything does work out for a reason.
A very close family friend of mine (who might as well be my grandpa), slammed into a tree at 70 miles an hour while skydiving and he's getting better everyday. He had horrible internal bleeding that took a rather long time to stop. So far it seems he'll be done with skydiving (which is his greatest passion AND his job), and he's gonna be on a long road to recovery.
I have a very positive thought that your grandma will pull through her operation and be fine. After all if someone I knew who was on life support and was told wouldn't make it one moment to be almost his normal self in a week or so is amazing.

So don't stress to much, please, you also have to be conscious about your health. But like I said, I'm sure she'll make it. Especially if she's a strong headed women.

I'm glad that you and your family can talk with her once again and that she can see her dog. I hope for her continued improvement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxI-Y1ObhRA

Samuel,
I just wanted to let you know a story...
My grandmother (who I no longer speak to, due to some personal issues between her, my mother, father, siblings and I) had 3 strokes last April, and on top of that her diabetes spiked, making her blood sugar numbers go into the 600's (and your numbers should never be over 170). Her blood pressure was also very, very high.
Despite all that, she recovered in the hospital, after a few scary moments where we though she might have been in a coma. She never went into one, and about a week later she was out of the hospital, doing fine.
Now she has lost most of the vision in her left eye, and has some balance issues, but she is well enough to be living on her own, without help.
I do know a bit about aneurysms, and they can be very dangerous, so I'm glad your grandma is ok.
:)