We cannot express enough how thankful we are for everyone and their kindness and generosity towards our family these past few days! -Brandi
Now the part you have all been waiting for....today's update (Thanks Julee for putting these together!)
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Day 3
The emotions our family is dealing
with today range anywhere from devastation to overwhelming gratitude. We still
haven't come to terms with what's happened, but the outpour of love and support
from family and friends is absolutely incredible.
Every
well wish and promise of prayer through text message, in person, and via social
media has truly made a difference to each and every one of us. We love you all
and are so grateful to have so many wonderful people in our lives!
Doug McGregor, Jeff's cousin, put his name in every LDS temple in the world! The world!! Can you believe that? The Internet is a beautiful thing! We are so grateful Doug gave of his time and resources on Jeff's behalf and know the extra prayers will bring numerous blessings.
In
less than 2 days we've raised over $6,000! We cannot express our gratitude for
all of those who have contributed. Whether it was $5 or $500 we will be forever
grateful for your loving sacrifice for our dad. Below is a screen shot of the gofundme page as of right now, 11:02pm. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Annette
and Peggy both report that Jeff has been sleeping a lot today. Annette was able
to read him a few emails before he fell back asleep. Peggy says, "Less Valium tomorrow!"
He
was seen by a physical therapist today who set 2 main goals. First, that he
won't get any bed sores and Second, that his hands and arms will maintain and
increase strength. She was very impressed with the strength he has already. No
doubt about it, he's in excellent shape!
The
anesthesiologist also dropped in to express how well Jeff did during surgery
and encouraged him to be patient.
A
drain for the cerebral leak was removed today. This gets him one step closer to
rehab!
He's
experiencing a lot of tingling in his arms and hands. The doctors say the next
2 to 3 days will be the worst, but they are optimistic that it will subside as
the swelling goes down. The strength in his arms is very good, his hands and fingers are
not doing as well yet.
No
changes with his legs yet, but he keeps feeling as if they are crossed or
folded when they aren't. He keeps asking about them. We are guessing it's
something similar to phantom pain where the nerves make you feel something even
though it's not there.
He
isn't too thrilled with the hospital food and being spoon fed is just salt in
the wound. Good news is that he's eating a little better despite those things. Annette tried to feed him his dinner tonight, but before she could even get the first bite on the fork Jeff was asleep again.
He wasn't too happy about being so sleepy and told Annette that because he slept all day he was going to be awake all night with no one to talk to.
Jeff has had many friends and family who have expressed interest in coming to visit him. He told Annette that he would rather they wait a few weeks until he is back in Utah and feeling better and less sleepy. Annette knows that she will need the help of our family and friends to keep our dad entertained while in rehab and when returning home. We will have to send out a sign-up sheet so that friends and family can come and BS with our dad in order to keep his spirits up and keep him from getting board. :)
Jay
left with Josh Lloyd today to take care of important business matters. He expects to
return midweek sometime and then Peggy will go home to take care of things.
She's planning on returning if it's needed. We are all hoping Jeff will be
transferring closer to home not long after and extra trips to Denver won't be necessary.
Our
gratitude to Josh for his help in all that's happened is immense. Our family
will be eternally grateful to him.
On
a lighter note Peggy had a funny story to tell. When Jeff was asked how the
helicopter flight went to the hospital he responded, "Well it was very
quick but it sucked because I couldn't see anything but the roof. They need to
put a GoPro camera on the bottom and a monitor on the roof so the people who
are on their backs wrapped up like a cocoon can see the view."
Just
to hear that his sense of humor and personality is still intact is a relief to
all of us. Our dad is still the same as always and we wouldn't have it any
other way.
If
you'd like to send Jeff a card or a letter through the mail he is at the Denver Health Medical Center.
The mailing address is:
Denver Health Medical Center
777 Bannock St.Denver, CO 80204-4507
We ask that if you were planning on sending flowers to consider donating the dollar
amount they would cost to Jeff's medical fund instead. We can just hear him saying.,"Why would you spend that kind of money on something that is just going to die in a few days?" You know Jeff, always practical! The gofundme link is located at the top right corner of this blog.
2 comments:
I really appreciate the details and reflection here. Thanks, Brandi, for keeping us all updated. The "Aunt Donna" branch of the family are praying for Jeff and for you. (oldest daughter of Peggy's baby sister Donna)
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