REHAB DAY 3 • Wednesday, Oct. 31st

Dad has been moved to a private room - his new room number is 3305. This is going to be much better for him. Yesterday he got a room mate and it was too confusing and disruptive for him. So now that he has been moved to a private room, we feel he will rest better. He also is experiencing what is called "nueropathic pain" in his left shoulder which is due to the left side paralysis - which occurs when a joint becomes immobilized due to the lack of movement and the tendons and ligaments around the joint become fixed in one position. Patients who have a paralyzed arm like dad experience severe pain that radiates outward from his shoulder. Anyway, they are giving him a low dose of pain medicine to help with that. We won't get a real indication of how he is doing overall from the therapists and doctor until his one week evaluation on Tuesday. The nurses said he had been asking for his family a lot today. . . he really looks forward to his evening visits now. Even though he is tired, his face lights up when he sees someone he knows. Of course at this early stage we are not seeing any dramatic changes in anything, he does seem to be clearer with his speech, but there is still no movement on the left side and he still is somewhat confused about being there. Thanks for checking in - we'll give you an update tomorrow!

Rehab Day 2 - Tues. Oct. 30 PM

Just got home from winchester. It's really hard to explain how hard this phase is. . .but it is emotionally more difficult than being in ICU. Dad was so glad to see us. I think he really missed us not being there during the day like we had been the last 2 weeks. He was worn out from therapy. He had a full day of speech, occupational and physical therapy. First thing he asked was how long the drive was to get home. He wanted to get on the road and head home and we could bring him back for his work tomorrow, he said. Oh how we wish we could do that. His speech was clearer early in the evening. And he really enjoyed spending some time with his Pastor, Kevin Green. Not really sure about any of his vitals thru out the day - unfortunately the floor was too busy while we were there to get that information. I have a feeling that this part of our journey is going to feel like an eternity. One day at a time is easy for us to say - but as dad told us all night - this is the hardest thing I have ever faced in my life. Pray for dad to be encouraged and filled with the strength that only his Creator can provide. . .and please pray for his speedy recovery so we can bring him home.

REHAB • Tuesday, Oct. 30th

Well this is going to be a short post until after I see dad tonight. I spoke with his nurse this morning and she said he had an "uneventful night". It was very hard to leave him yesterday - but he really needed to rest up for today. He will have his first full day today... so we are anxious to see how he does and feels. He was a bit sad yesterday- but they said that was to be expected. You have no idea how hard it is to leave him there. . . but we know that he is in the right place with the right people and that God is control. I will blog when we get home tonight from visiting him. I am taking mom up around 4:30pm. Thanks for your continued support and prayers!

REHAB BEGINS • Monday, Oct. 29th

Sorry for the delay in a post today. . . we have been busy. Dad left Winchester Medical Center around 11am by ambulance and was transported to Winchester Rehabilitation Center (old winchester hospital on cork street). His room is 3308. He has had a very busy day already. He was being assessed by all of the teams that will be working with him - physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and his doctors and nurses. By noon, they had him in a wheelchair and in the dining room for lunch, when we arrived back from a tour of the facility. He is exhausted and they were letting him catch a little nap when I left. Pam and mom were going to meet with his doctor at 3:30pm. His daily schedule will be pretty intense. Up a 7am, breakfast @ 7:30, then occupational therapy, then physical therapy, then lunch, then more physical therapy and then dinner. They expect him to be quite tired this week as he adjusts to his new schedule. His nurse recommended that we hold off on visitors outside of his immediate family until the weekend. He really needs that time to adjust. He only has a half day of working with therapists on Saturdays and is off on Sundays. So we think by the weekend he may be up for some visitors, but we will let you know for sure on our daily post. Visiting hours during the week are not recommended until after dinner, between 6 & 9pm, but let's give him a week to adjust and get his blood pressure back down before coming to see him. He can however receive cards to his room. His address will be Winchester Rehab Center, 333 West Cork Street, Room 3308, Winchester, VA 22601. One other thing I need to correct from a previous post is this. . . I was under the impression that he was being admitted to a "3week intense program" - not exactly. What they meant is that dad's insurance covers 3 weeks of acute rehab. So where I was thinking at the end of the 3 weeks he would be maybe able to come home - that isn't a given. . .it's just when he will be re-evaluated to determine if they need to request to insurance for a longer stay for him there. All that being said - we are still believing for a miracle and to have him home by Thanksgiving - thanks for your continued prayer. We'll keep you posted on his therapy.

DAY 13 • Sunday, Oct. 28th

Today was dad's first day to sit in a chair. He sat there for about an hour or two. . . and then they got him back in bed. It wore him out. He is so tired. He is very nervous about moving to the rehab facility tomorrow - but wants to get better. He is just afraid that he will be too tired. I think it was such a big ordeal when they put him in the chair that he might be beginning to realize how much work is ahead. (I think being in the bed for so long has masked the paralysis on his left - getting up in a chair today was a realization to him of what the stroke has done to him.) Dad asked to call his brother Calvin this afternoon - and he did well talking to him. He told his brother that this stroke was really hard on him. He said that his "butt was dragging the ground, but that he was gonna make it." His blood pressure is still a little high - but they are keeping tabs on it and giving him extra meds when needed.

He talked about church - and asked who was doing "his job" for him. He was glad to know that his son David and grandson Robby are keeping his place for him. He said he wants to come back to church next week, he said, "i might need a chair and maybe a cane, but I got to get back there." Of course we'd love for him to be at his post greeting everyone next Sunday - but as you all know he begins his intense 3 week rehab tomorrow. Again, our family asks everyone to be praying specifically for dad's rehab journey - we are believing for miraculous things to happen there. It is our heart's desire to see our father able to come home at Thanksgiving and be able to live there as he continues therapy. It's amazing to see how even in the midst of very difficult times, that this amazing man is having such a positive impact on us all- his stroke has brought us all so close as we band together to pray him back to health. All these years dad has been such an incredible support to each of us - now we get to give back a portion to him.

DAY 12 • Saturday, Oct. 27th

We are sitting here watching the WVU Mountaineers football game with dad. He slept during the first half, but mom woke him up to help him eat lunch and he is watching it now. We did receive some very encouraging news last night - dad has been accepted into the 3-week inpatient therapy program at Winchester Rehabilitation Center. This is an answer to prayer- we so wanted him to be able to get into this intense program. We've heard some miraculous recovery stories from the nurse case worker there. He'll be transferred there Monday. Due to his rigorous 3 to 4 hour therapy during the day, he will only be allowed visitors in the evenings after 4pm. Also, the gastrointestinal doc came to see him today about his stomach swelling - he thinks its just due to inactivity and feels therapy will help. His blood pressure is hanging in the 150s over 90s & low 100s. . . not bad they say. As far as any movement on his left side, we are not seeing anything right now, but our hope is in the Lord. I like what our friend at church shared with us today in an email - let it encourage you as it has encouraged us. . .

"Sure, we understand that there will be some storms in life, so we prepare ourselves as best we can, but still some storms surprise us. They come faster than we expected, stay longer than we want, and leave us with a bigger mess to clean up than we could have imagined. The question then becomes, “What now?” Who do we lean on when the storms of life roll in? Who is our Rock in times of trouble? Psalm 18:2 reads, “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” "

Thank you for your prayers. . . we ask you to believe with us for a miracle over these next 3 weeks - so that when dad leaves rehab the week of Thanksgiving, that we will be able to bring him home with an even greater testimony than he already has.

DAY 11 • Friday, Oct. 26 AM

It's good to be out of ICU, but still trying to get dad to settled on 2nd floor Neuro Unit. He has been pretty disoriented- not making a whole lot of sense. But that could be because he was up from noon yesterday until 9pm and then only slept about 3 hours. We spoke with his neurologist this morning and she is having him evaluated today or as soon as possible to see if he can be a candidate for the Winchester Rehab intense 3 week program. . .that is so important that he gets in there. Today is probably not a good visiting day for dad because they did a catscan of his stomach because it appears so swollen and they believe it is bowel related. Today they will be trying to help him with that - so he may be a little uncomfortable. Here's the honest truth friends - dad is stable, he's not in a critical medical situation anymore. . . but we need your prayers more than ever to get him thru this phase of therapy. The doctor says the damage is pretty significant and in her clinical view - it's likely he will not have much meaningful movement on the left side again. But that's where our faith in God has to kick in. . . we need to believe for a miracle - we know that God is not done with Dad yet. He has way too many more people that he needs to be a positive influence on and I believe that thru aggressive therapy - that dad can do amazing things! Phillipians 4:13 - I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me.

Thurs. Oct 25 Afternoon UPDATE

Great news - dad is out of ICU! We arrived in his Neuro Unit room around 3:30pm. He is trying to adjust to a new setting and new team of nurses. Thanks to all of you for praying this step into action. What a good feeling to get out of the ICU. He is pretty confused today - a lot of different things happening to him with the move. I know so many people are anxious to see him, and I think after 24 hours on this floor to get him settled, by the weekend, he will probably be more up to a few visitors beyond the family. There has been no new progress in his clinical status - blood pressure is better, no real movement on his left side today, just a lot of confusion. This new room is very quiet - and I think once he adjusts to being here - he will sleep and be more comfortable - we are glad mom now has a couch in the room to rest on during her stay with him in the day - she can be with him all day now - she is doing so well thru all this - and she is such a wonderful nurse to him!

DAY 10 • Thurs. Oct. 25 • AM Update

Good Morning! Just spoke with dad's night nurse Josh and he informed me that dad's blood pressure shot back up in the wee-mornin' hours to 170s over 100s - so even though they tried to bring it down with the IV push meds, it wasn't enough so they did put him back on the drip meds for his Blood Pressure. We are not sure how this will affect him, or whether they will have to keep him in ICU again because of this. Mom and I are on our way up for the day and when we get a report from the doctor, I will post the plan for today. On the good side, Nurse Josh said he saw dad's left foot toes twitch some last night - so we'll take anything!!! Keep us in your prayers for safe travel to Winchester in this rainy weather and for Dad's blood pressure to get under control and get him onto that 2nd floor Neuro unit!!!!

Wednesday Oct. 24 • PM Update

Shug is still in the ICU - no bed opened up for him on the 2nd floor yet where the Neuro Unit is located. Some progress today - he began slightly shrugging his left shoulder today. . .which he hasn't done since his first day here. No temperature today and his blood pressure has been pretty good, only requiring a push of iv meds here & there, but nothing that would keep them from moving him when a bed opens up on the floor. He is listening to music from church that he loves and it seems to have really brightened him up. And he even said, "That (music) will help me get better and get me thru this better than anything." He slept better this morning with the music playing in his room, too. He still is very anxious about leaving - can't stop moving his right hand, I guess that's his only outlet for getting out that Shug energy. He even ate a good lunch today. He also spoke for the first time today about the fact that he understands he will be in the hospital several weeks to help him get better. We have been told that after he is stabilized on the 2nd floor and ready for re-hab (which could take anywhere from 2 days to a week). . . his next step would be to transfer to Winchester's Rehab Center for an intense 3 week inpatient program. For those who have requested to send a card to him - please just send to the Winchester Medical Center with his name at the top and patient after it. . . we don't know what room he will be in yet so - they will find him whereever he goes we've been told. (Winchester Medical Center- 1840 Amherst Street, Winchester, VA 22604.)

DAY 9 • Wed. Oct. 24 • AM Update

Looks like they are ready to move dad to the Neuro floor (2nd) now, however, at this time they can not move him until a bed opens up on that floor. So for now he remains in ICU. He had a CT scan this morning and it showed no changes. . . no more bleeding, but no improvement of the hemmorhage - more time is needed to heal that they say. No more fever. They say they have better control of the blood pressure now. Clinically he is the same - no movement yet on left side, and mentally still confused (pleasantly confused one nurse said - you know jolly shug). They are eager to get him on the Nuero floor to do more aggressive therapy now. Right now, he's having his Occupational Therapy and getting ready for his Physical Therapy. Mom is on her way up to see him with some of his favorite music to play for him today to help him with his "antsy-ness". Poor Shug - he is so used to doing so many things and going 100 miles an hour - imagine him being still in a bed for over a week now- that surely is adding to his confusion. Thanks again for all your kind words - they are so encouraging - we love hearing your stories about our shug. . . keep them coming, you are keeping us strong. We will post again later if he gets out of ICU or if he has any more changes.

Tuesday, Oct. 23 • Evening Update

At about 4pm, Shug's blood pressure shot back up to 178 on the top number. . . so they had to give him an IV push of meds to bring it back down. He was very disoriented during this time. . . he was not clear with his thoughts and was having some difficulty remembering things. After the meds took effect on his BP, we sat with him all evening and watched some game shows and held his hand. Since he ended up needing that BP medicine through the IV - he obviously did not get to leave the ICU today and we are just waiting to hear what's next. If anything else changes tonight we will let you know, but we will be leaving the hospital at 9p to take mom home for the night. So our next update will most likely be in the morning when we check in at 6am with his nurse. Good night!

Tuesday Afternoon Update • Oct. 23

So far, so good. . . as they say. Dad still remains off the IV meds for his blood pressure and it is ranging from 135 to 125. . . so that is very encouraging. He is breathing with very little help from oxygen now and that is good too. His fever is mild in the 99 range still. He was doing better at turning his neck today to the left. . . before he did not turn it toward the door when you entered, but now he does and really seems to have more mobility there. At this point in the day, we don't think they will transfer him out of ICU to the Neuro floor - they want to be really sure he can maintain all of these vitals. He seems to be getting more alert and witty - he is still bored as can be or so he says. . .and so tired and wants us to bring him some of his favorite music like opera or classical or "biblical" (i think he meant Christian music but he couldn't think of the word). He told me to be sure and keep telling everyone how he is doing - he seemed glad we were doing the website to tell you guys everything. We will be here for the rest of the day - so I will give another update at the end of the day. Keep the prayers coming!

DAY 8 • Tues. Oct. 23 • AM Update

Shug is sleeping this morning - he had more physical & occupational therapy this morning and it seems to wear him out. They stopped the drip meds for his Blood Pressure at 4am and so far, they have been able to keep it under 140. . . 139 is close, but we'll take it! His temperature is hanging in the 99 range, no word yet on the results of the blood cultures yesterday that they took to determine if anything other than pnuemonia was going on in his body. We have been told if he can maintain that blood pressure for a period of time - he may get transferred out of ICU - but as of now he's still in the Intensive Care Unit. I will post an update later this afternoon when we see what happens with his blood pressure. Thanks so much for the prayers and support - it's your stories about our dad that we are hearing from those who visit in the waiting room with us, call us or email that really keep our spirits up and keep us encouraged while our #1 encourager is recovering! We love you all!

Monday Evening - October 22 Update

Wanted to post a quick update to everyone. Shug's fever returned this afternoon and got as high as 102.5, but has since dropped to the 101 range. . . they feel it is due to the pneumonia, but have taken more blood cultures just in case there is some other bacteria growing that they may need to treat. He is still in ICU - still on the blood pressure meds via IV, so we still can't move him onto the neuro floor yet, they had to double his iv dose to get the BP down because it had gotten up to 170 early this morning. . . but by this evening he was alert and talking and he seemed to understand that he has had a stroke. Still no movement on the left side at all, but he did have a physical therapy session in the morning that wore him out so much that he slept most of the day. Keep praying for his blood pressure to stabilize so we can get him off the ICU and also for his fever to subside. Thanks for checking and we will post with you all tomorrow - oh, I am sure you can't imagine this but dad said tonight that "this place is so boring." Our Shug, he is starving for some real action!

How We Got Here

Last Tuesday, October 16th, our father "Shug" got up like every weekday morning at 5:30a.m. and headed into work at Wholesale Tire Company. According to his co-workers, he began feeling a tingling on his left side and just wasn't feeling right. He told Wayne to go on out and get started and if he felt worse he would call him. Shortly after, he radioed for help. An ambulance was called and he was transported to City Hospital in Martinsburg. The ER team who cared for him did an AMAZING job - their proactive and accurate care helped stabilize him in a very critical period. Shug has AFib (Atrial Fibrilation - a condition of the heart which causes irregular, rapid beating of the atrial chambers). This condition required him last Spring to go on a blood thinning medicine called "Coumadin". When the stroke occurred - due to his high blood pressure and blood thinner medicine - the doctors initially were concerned about being able to reverse the effects of the coumadin as they observed a very significant hemorrhage on the right side of his brain. City Hospital stabilized him, and sent him by ambulance to Winchester Medical Center where a team of stroke specialists and a nuero surgeon awaited. He spent most of the day in the ER stabilizing him. By Tuesday evening he was transported to the ICU in Winchester where he remains today.

Where We Are Today. . . Day Seven
Throughout the past 6 days, Shug has remained in the ICU as the medical team still tries to stabilize his blood pressure. He can not leave the ICU until they can take him off the drip meds for his blood pressure. They have tried for 2 days to ween him off the medicine but with no luck. He was fighting a bit of pnuemonia - and yesterday had a fever of 101+, but today thank goodness his temp is normal. We were a bit afraid Sunday afternoon as he went into a bit of a "stare" and was not responding to the nuero tests and began to talk with only a whisper. However, an emergency CT scan confirmed there was no more bleeding occuring in the brain and that if anything, the hemorrhage was a bit smaller. As of today, Shug has full range of motion on his right side, however, he still has no movement on the left.

As all of you who know him can imagine, he is really "fighting" being in that bed and unable to get out. He keeps telling us he wants to go home (of course he does!). He does talk to us when we ask him questions and on good days he may even ask you a question. He is still a bit confused at times - and talks about his job and what he should be doing there.

His loyal wife Jeannie - of almost 50 years - has never left his side (except at night when they kick us out at 9pm). She comes up to the hospital everyday from 10:30 am and stays until 9pm. She is an amazing woman who, even with her health issues, has been the rock for dad as she cares for him at his bedside. He likes to introduce her to the nurses as "the boss."

Currently, he can only have 2 family visitors at his bedside since it is the ICU. While I am sure he would love to see all of you - at this time, prayer remains our number one request. He can not have anything in his room (but his granddaughters did do a wonderful job putting posters of pictures together of all his grandchildren and children for him to see).

Please check back daily for more informaiton on Shug's condition. We will post an entry at least once a day or when his condition changes. Thanks to the hundreds of people who are already praying - Dad's faith is in the Lord - so we ask all of you to join him by putting your faith in the Lord too - for a miracle healing. . . for a normal blood pressure. . . for movement and feeling on his left side and of course. . . for our encourager "Shug" to return to us and fight with all he's got to beat this.