Mom is home!

My mom went home from the rehab facility today! She still has a great deal of rehab to do but this is such a huge blessing. Thank you for all of the prayers.

Tribute and Praise!

My mom was taken off the ventilator at 9:30 last night and is doing well. They have her alternating between oxygen and a BiPap machine which provides constint pressure support for her lungs. She is talking today, and her mind is definitly doing well. Her funny/sarcastic/caring self is back. I have missed talking to her dearly and was so happy to see her awake last night and be able to hear her talk today. Please continue to pray for her recovery as there are still many obstacles in the way.

Her website is: www.caringbridge.com/visit/debbiecox

Tribute to my Mom: I decided to list a bunch of words that I believe describe my mom. Too bad I'm not a walking thesauras because I would have many more.
Here Goes: Mom, Grandma, Sister, Friend, Kind, Caring, Loyal, Trustworthy, Sarcastic, Empathetic, Selfless, Giving, Good, Big Heart, Worries, Smart, Strong, Proud, Passionate, Loving, Amazing, Beautiful, Talkative, Resourceful, active, and all around wonderful! She is the greatest woman I have ever known and I am so glad that God has been healing her.

Until!

website for my mom

My family has set up a website for my mom. It's www.caringbridge.com/visit/debbiecox
Please continue to pray for her and leave messages on her site for encouragement. I appreciate all that you are doing.

Update

Yesterday my mom was diagnosed with Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). This diagnosis carries with it a 55% chance of survival. There is nothing the doctors can do to prevent it or to cure it. They can only support the patient while their body heals itself. This was the diagnosis we were praying would not occur. Yesterday was very rough due to this and the fact that last night she seemed to be taking a turn for the worse. At one point we were asked to leave because her blood pressure was so low, her oxygen sats were quickly falling and they were taking the crash cart into her room with lots of people just in case. Today she seems to be doing better and hopefully she is steadily improving from here on out. We are all emotionally and physically exhausted and it is making it hard to be patient with the doctors, situation and each other. We are continuing having problems dealing with my dad, who during all of this show's very little true remorse for the things said to my mom in the past. During this time we are also trying to figure out how to pay my parents electric bill so the electricity will remain on, the water bill and a number of other things that are now in the legal channels and my dad says he has nothing to do with. Maybe I shouldn't be talking about this here, but I need somewhere to vent without venting to my sister or my husband, both of which are amazing. It amazes me how the strong people in the family really show up when things are tough and the people that should be being the strong ones turn out to dissapoint you. I am getting so exhausted and my prayer is that I am able to rest at night and know that the doctors and nurses are taking care of my mom and that she will still be there in the morning. Next post will be a brief update and a tribute to my mom, who happens to be one of the greatest women I have ever known.

Until~

Praise and Prayers

Today my mom appears to be doing a little bit better. Not a whole lot, but a little bit, and I will take what we are given. Her x-ray showed a small amount of improvement from yesterday. Today is the first day that it has looked better. She is requiring less medicine to keep her blood pressure up and her O2 sats are better today than they have been all weekend. She is still on the ventilator and today she needed a blood transfusion. The longer on the ventilator the more complications we can come across. I am praying that in the next few days she will be able to come off the ventilator and start to wake up. There are so many things I would like to tell her, such as how she is the greatest mother that anyone could ever ask for. I find myself driving home from the hospital and wanting to call her phone to talk to her but then I realize that she can't answer and it makes me so sad. I appreciate all the prayers and I know that they are the reason she is getting better. Please continue to pray for her and for our strength as we continue to endure long hours of waiting.

PRAYERS ARE NEEDED

I don't even know where to begin. My mom is in the ICU with aspiration pneumonia on one whole side and a third of the other. This morning they had to intubate her and put her on a ventilator to breathe for her. I wish I could do something and I know that all I can do is pray. I have prayed so hard for her to get well. Second to Jonathan she is my favorite person in the whole world and I don't know what I would do with out her. Please pray that God will allow my mom to be able to overcome this and that myself and my sister will be strong enough to deal with all of this and my dad. My dad has a history of depression/anxiety and this morning I had to take him to the ER to be treated for his anxiety because he was loosing it. I don't think I am strong enough to deal with 2 sick parents, it's hard enough to deal with one. They don't know how long she will be intubated for or how long it will take her to get well. They also don't know if she will go into Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome or not. If she does there is a 50/50 chance of survival. Right now we are dealing with a lot better odds. Please pray that the doctors are doing the right things, that as a family we are able to be with her and support her, that her body is able to rally and heal and that we remain strong. I will continue to update if I get a chance. Thank you for your prayers.