Family Reunion~Rearranged
For the last year, Brad's parents have planned the first ever 'Goodwin Family Reunion.' It was to be this week in Placerville, CA. Family from Hawaii, Utah, California and Washington would spend this week together. It was a year long feat to get all the flights and work schedules arranged and we were all very excited!
Sunday evening, the day after Mary’s hemorrhage, Nana and Grandpa decided to postpone the reunion. At first we felt really disappointed and ached for them because this was such a special event. But within a few days, we could see the Lord's hand in even this situation. Because of the reunion plans, Brad and our young married kids who have internships, college, and new careers were open and available to be here with Mary and with us.
Even more amazing is that Phillip was offered a freelance film job~in Portland~that starts on Monday. He and Jessica will be here until July 11. What a memorable reunion we will have here!
9.5 on the pain scale
I think my updates have given a false impression of
‘Mary's back! And in just a few days, she'll be home and good as new.' There’s a fine line between sharing the facts and not scaring anyone or sounding discouraged. We posted a video on facebook of Mary that was very optimistic, and we love those moments, but they are quite rare at this point.
Mary has had severe trauma to her brain. The brain is amazing! It has great adaptive and healing qualities, but at the same time it affects everything about our bodies. The blood clot and other swelling are causing great pressure on the surrounding cells. Since the blood gathered over her left temporal lobe, Mary's speech and consciousness are greatly affected. Dr. Shanno expects that it will take up to 6 weeks for the blood clot to dissipate and the swelling to be gone. Even after that, it may take months for Mary to fully recover.
Sometimes an IV and pain meds don't even make a dent in her agony.
Yesterday she said to Dr. Shanno:
'Ok so is there anything you can do about this part right here?' (pointing to her left forehead)
'I will give you $1500 if you will please, please fix it right now. Just take it out~do it right now!'
Catherine took the night shift and this early morning, Mary was in the most pain we've been aware of so far. Nothing was working. After 30 minutes of direct powerful pain meds, she pointed to the pain level chart and was still at 9.5 on a scale of 1-10.
We are very hopeful for a full recovery for Mary, but as of now~it's a long road ahead...
'I have 2 sisters.'
What a blessing to have 4 adult children, including spouses, to help Mary right now.
~Phillip has been able bring out Mary's humorous side that they share together. (Yesterday she did a perfect impression of 'Tracy…' from YouTube~classic Mare)
~Jessica gave Mary a head massage yesterday and Mary said, 'This is the best thing anyone has done for me since Saturday.' When the nurses asked about her family she said, 'I have 2 sisters~Catherine and this one here, Jessica.'
~Catherine has barely left the hospital since she arrived Sunday. It's hard to separate her from Mary. She has been my rock.
Mary said, 'I want to be you, Catherine.’
~Kris arrives Friday, from CA for the weekend. He has so patiently shared Catherine with us. They are newlyweds from just last month!
'Wait a minute, people know I am here?'
Yesterday, Mary was so amazed that people are aware of her and she is so touched when we tell her someone called or prayed for her.
'Wait-they prayed for me? How do they know I'm here?!'
We have been so grateful for the love and prayers offered for Mary. Even though we are happy Mary is out of the ICU, yesterday was hard for her. She loves to visit with people and her memory of people is intact, but we can see the exhausting toll that it takes on her.
*So for the time being, we'd love to welcome visitors to see Mary from 4-6 p.m. at the hospital. She does best when she visits with people for about 15 minutes. If she is with her Doctor, Nurse, Therapists or in pain, we will have to make adjustments.
This will allow Mary to spend the rest of the day sleeping, healing, and working to recover.
Here is a nice greeting from Mary. She is looking forward to being 'done' in a couple days, but we know that it will take longer. She has been so happy and optimistic and hardly frustrated with her hospital stay.
Thanks for all of your love and support, we feel those blessings every day.
Love,
The Goodwin Fam
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