Request for Sandi's Students

I know that this is going to come across as crazy to all of you but Sandi has gotten so much enjoyment out of the decorations and posters that her students made that I have a special request for them. Sandi is going to be moving to Walnut Lawn extended care facility early next week and we would love to have some new decorations for her room. She is getting people from other floors that want to see it and every time they bring up new student nurses they all stop by to see how cheery it is. If you have the time to make a few posters again she will be happy to have something new to look at!

Tuesday Again

We are well into week 4 here, Sandi will have been here for four weeks this Thursday and unless she gets some strength and can begin to eat solid foods a bit better she is going to be here for a while longer! I think she has watched more daytime TV in the past three and a half weeks than in her entire adult life combined but there is not much else to do and she gets so drowsy she can't concentrate to read either! I know, for all of us who know her well it is difficult to digest the thought of Sandi having to choose television over a book but these are crazy times! I will make sure to update you if anything major changes anytime soon, so far it has been pretty quiet and it is hard to argue with that. She is still strong, at least in the emotional sense of the word, now if only her body would follow suit! Keep her in your prayers, every last one helps!

Energizer Sandi...Week Three and still going strong

Alright, this is the second time I have written this post. I can agree with Sandi that it is completely annoying when you have to do it again, esp when you liked it the first time around! Hate it when your computer decides that it needs to be written again!

Sandi is still doing well. Not much has changed in the last few days. She has officially been here for three weeks now and I know that she would like nothing more than to get better enough to return home. In true Sandi/Polyanna fashion though she is looking at the bright side of things. She is much more lucid than she was when she got here and she has a nice big room which is bright and sunshiny when the weather permits and there is plenty of room for all of the family and friends that are keeping her spirits up. Some of the rooms here on the ward are not private and those of us that are staying with her at night are thankful for the couch and comfy recliners that allow us to rest here with her. She is also glad to have such great staff taking care of her, they will do anything for her and even stop in to say hi even when they are not her nurse or PCA that day. Sandi seems to have that effect on everyone she meets doesn't she!?!

The kids at her church brought in a new poster to help decorate her room.

She was surprised with this one and it has made her miss her kids at church too. Pastors Rod and Regina have been up frequently to visit and offer comfort and support to the entire family and we are making sure that she can read the sermons she is missing.

Lauren also got into the room decorating thing and brought in a picture that she created in school.

It is beautiful (even to those of us who really don't like clowns very much!) and her Aunt Jo is going to make sure that it gets properly matted and framed so that it can hang on her wall in her room. The colors go so well with the changes that Sandi made in her room after christmas!

I will do my best to keep you updated, keep the comments coming, Sandi gets a lot of joy out of seeing who is keeping up with her and wishes she could express her thanks to each one of you individually.

Slacking Off

It has been brought to my attention that I have been lax in my duties as the assistant keeper of the blog lately and that I should have been updating more frequently. The days tend to blend together and if I had not put the day of the week into the title of the last post I would have sworn it was much more recent than that!

Not much has changed and I am almost certain that most of you do not need or want to know the day to day goings on up here at Cox South. Sandra is feeling better still and is actually kind of bored and at loose ends now that she is feeling more stable. We are not sure if going home is in the near future and we are looking at her options if the insurance company decides that she does not need to be in a hospital situation anymore but we are very happy with the care and concern of the staff here. Many of the nurses and aides and support staff have come to see what the rest of us have always seen in Sandi and they are part of our day to day routine these days. We have been blessed to have great nurses that only want the best for her. She has a great group of people here that are seeing to her every need and are keeping her comfortable.

Most of the huge influx of family has slowed down and now that we know we are in for a longer duration we are trying to pace ourselves. I know that Sandi misses attending church and other functions where she was able to connect with her friends and students. Know that you are all on her mind frequently and that she is trying her best to improve. Keep the prayers and cards coming, they make for bright spots in her long monotonous days here in the hospital!

Tuesday Morning

It is a beautiful Tuesday morning and our primary wish is for Sandi to continue to do better. We really wish that she was able to get out and have some fresh air. She has been here for almost two weeks and her attitude continues to astonish us. She is able to get into a chair at the side of her bed for a while each day for a change of scenery but I think she would like to be able to get outside. She continues to improve against the doctors expectations but knowing her we don't really expect any different. She is not willing to accept what the doctors have told her is inevitable and is fighting against the odds, don't count her out yet!

She loves all of the comments on her blog and reads each and every one of them. We will do our best to keep you all updated as well as we can!

Posters, posters and more posters

Sandra was surprised by the many, and I do mean MANY posters and cards that were sent by her students from school. After she read them we posted them on the walls so that she could be surrounded by the love and prayers you are all sending her way. She is feeling much better and really appreciates all of the cards and things being sent to her. If she is feeling up to it tomorrow you may see a post from her, she is waiting get back on the computer!

Surgery

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update again. Sandra had surgery this afternoon in an attempt to make her more comfortable by removing the NG tube. Unfortunately the doctor was not able to do what he wanted but he was able to reduce some of the pressure in her abdomen which has made her more comfortable.

She is still not up to receiving visitors but the cards have been a joy to her. We will continue to share your comments with her.

Update

This post is being written by Sandi's sister Kristi.

The love and support of all of Sandi's friend's has been so much comfort to Sandi and her family. Sandi is currently in the hospital at Cox South.

As much as we know that there are many of you that would like to visit, she is not up to receiving visitor's at this time. Feel free to post your thoughts and good wishes here to the blog and we will make sure they are passed along to her.

Keep the prayers coming, every one helps.