Mar. 25, 2008
Happenings in the Duke household - and another Cindy update
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Dear Blog buddies, I'm so sorry that I haven't written in a month or so. Life has been making my head spin what with care for the Garrett family and then a wonderful visit from my mom and sister beginning the day the Garretts left. Now we have a house full of sickies (well, at least a few of us have sniffles but it sure feels like a full house!). One of these days I'll post an entry about mom's trip, but for today, here's the latest update on Cindy and her family. Thank you for continuing to pray for these dear friends! Maggie P.S. Hop over to my dear husband's blog to see pictures of Sam's baptism. In case the link doesn't work (which has been a problem the last couple of times I've tried), Darren's blog address is :www.a1000tongues.com * * * * * * 16 Mar 08 "Sorry I haven’t written in a few weeks. We are now in Washington, DC. Cindy is in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Her immediate problems still have to do with the basic healing of a badly broken body. She is still on the ventilator as her ribs continue to heal. She has had multiple small surgeries since the late February update from Israel. A chest tube was reinserted to clear the fluid which continues to accumulate around her right lung. The y will go in with a scope and vacuum out a large accumulation of a soft clot tomorrow. She has also developed two blood clots in her arms (one superficial and one deep). She is on blood thinners and these are being monitored. The surgery on her neck has been postponed a month to allow the neck to heal on its own. That will be at the 8 to 9 week point since the accident. Hopefully, the surgery will be much less drastic and invasive than if performed after that first week in Israel. A coma is described on a scale from 1 to 15. 15 is normal and a 1 is with no responses to any stimulation. Cindy started out as a 3 and has progressed to a 9. She can open and close her eyes slowly, sometimes on demand. I really can’t tell if she hears or understands, though there are times when I know she does. She normally has a good day where she can blink an acknowledgement which is then followed by two days where she doesn’t respond and just seems tired. Her heart rate increases at the sound of voices. I don’t know if she can see…the nerve that actually sends the picture to the brain is different from the nerves that control sight (pupil dilation, focusing the lens, eye movement). She has little control over her eye movements, but her blinking has become symmetrical and she opens her eyes when familiar voices are heard. She now responds to pain and the doctors have her on a morphine drip. She has a feeding tube that goes directly into her stomach from outside her abdomen. She no longer has any tubes or hoses in her mouth or nose, and I know she is much more comfortable. She has a line in her arm which allows administration of drugs without damaging the vein. The occupational therapists and physical therapists work her over twice a day to keep her limber. Her cervical collar allows her to be rotated and turned every two hours. I am amazed at the care and attention to detail shown by everyone (the Israeli medical staff, the med evac team from Germany, and now the multitude of teams that treat Cindy here at Walter Reed). Let me assure everyone that any bad press you may have heard about Walter Reed has been nothing but sensationalism from some journalist, at least from what I’ve seen here. I thank the Lord every day for the professionalism, genuine caring attitude and high spirits exhibited by the men and women of Walter Reed. These guys are the best at what they do and I am so thankful that we are here. I will write more later. It has only been a month, and Cindy is making improvements each week. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Thank you for all your help and prayers. Please feel free to call me at **********. I am looking for a good school district and advice on where to buy/rent in the DC/Virginia area. May God bless each of you, David" |
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Mar. 25, 2008 - Dear Maggie,
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Posted by Mar. 25, 2008 - Untitled Comment
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