Feb 28 Settling in

Issues are being worked out in the new place, but overall it is an okay place right now. The PT and OT are on top of things and working with Leslie. I think they will be able to get her to the place she needs to be to go to Herrick. The PT said Leslie is stronger than she thought she would be and is making a valiant effort in moving herself about. She loves visits, so y'all who are nearby come on over for a visit. Please keep praying for Leslie in terms of sleep, nutrition and adequate pain control and most of all to know deep inside how very loved she is by God and the rest of us too.

Feb 27, 2007 a new home

I spent most of the day in the bay area. Unfortunately some of it was waiting to talk to the intake RN at Summit South which did prove to be a very valuable conversation. As it turns out Leslie is in need of being in a facility like Elmwood to go at the pace that she is able to handle. From Elmwood she will probably go to Herrick, an acute rehab facility, which will offer a more strenuous program. Both Leslie and I met with her doctor at Elmwood and were impressed with his compassion, demeanor and plan for Leslie's recovery. When you visit Leslie at Elmwood, you may not be impressed with the facility, but it is close to her home and friends and that is strong medicine indeed. Visits welcome. By the way, Leslie said no flowers please. Cards are great.
info:
Elmwood Nursing Home
2829 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94705
(510) 665-2800

Feb 26 a new place

Blogging from long distance again but here goes: Leslie has left Highland and is now at Elmwood in Berkeley. We had hoped to get her to Summit South and will try to do that tomorrow. I think it will be a better place for her as it is associated with Summit Hospital in Oakland. Change is hard for any of us and the move was hard for Leslie. Hopefully tomorrow the issue of where the best place for her will be firmly decided. The good news is that even though she is still hurting and bruised and healing from various fractures, she does not qualify to be in a hospital and that means she is better.

Feb 25 Tube Free

Leslie is still in TCU 16 and our prayer for tonight is that she would stay there until tomorrow and then would be moved to Summit Hospital or Summit South, a skilled nursing facility. Great news is that she is totally tube free. The near future is rehab rehab rehab, a long hard course of therapies back to independence. Wow. I am so thankful Leslie is here and able to DO rehab. Aren't you? THANK GOD - His mercy toward all of us is great.

Feb 24, a visit today

Today I drove to Oakland, picked up my brother Phil and we headed to the hospital to spend the day with our sis Leslie. We had fun talking and sharing ( mainly Phil talking about life in LA ). Then a doc walked in and turned our great day south - he said Leslie would be moving to the floor. That information sent Ray and I into high gear to explore possible alternatives. This is a move that we were told would not happen, but in reality that is the way things go, especially at a county facility. I feel bad that we did not anticipate its occurrence and here it is the weekend and transfers are much more difficult to maneuver. So the prayer I am asking for is God's peace for Leslie in the midst of all this, a good nights sleep and a good day tomorrow wherever that ends up being. All in all Leslie is getting stronger and might be ready for acute rehab on Monday. Please pray for her mental and emotional state. That is such an important aspect of her rehab road to recovery. Pray. Visitors needed and welcome.

Feb 23 - 4 weeks tonight

Well friends and family, it has been a LLLOOOONNNNGGG 4 weeks to be sure. I just spoke with Leslie and her voice is stronger and she sounds emotionally stronger too. Please pray for her physical therapy sessions. They are painful. That is just the nature of the beast, and the beast will get better as time goes by, but it will be slow and arduous. I wish I could make it easier for her and as I said that to her I realized that our prayers for peace have been answered so now we need to pray for less pain and more stamina to endure PT. Latest transfer news is that we are shooting for Monday and relocating at Alta Bates Hospital. Hope and pray that all works out. I spoke with her surgeon and angel Dr. Sadjadi and he said she is a MIRACLE WOMAN - but we all know that.

Feb 22, 2007

From Leslie and those who have been with her today comes this report: "She is hanging in there." I think she is experiencing a great deal of frustration of the present situation (pain and lack of mobility and independence) and fears of the future rehab process. Her voice is getting stronger. She dreads PT because of the pain. Tonight she'll try a sleeping pill and see if that helps. Visits are needed and welcome. In fact we are posting a calendar in her room so that visitors will not necessarily overlap but be spread out over the day and evening. So now is the time, com' on down and uplift her spirits and encourage her with lots of love and kindness. She may be moving to Alta Bates soon. Will keep you posted. She is now in TCU 16. Pray for peace in her heart and healing in her bones. Love you all.

Feb 21, 2007

Wow. I saw Wonder Woman today. She is amazing. Today was obviously a better day for Leslie. She slept better last night and we all know what sleep can do for the mind. Today she experienced painful moments being turned and working with Physical Therapy which is to be expected for sure with all she has been through. She will not be heading to rehab this week and she is relieved at that because she does not feel strong enough for 3 hours of PT yet. But she laughed and made a joke today. What good news. She was not confused, but still a little fearful. Visits are welcome and you may want to check with the family about times that they need people to be there with her. I see her getting stronger all the time and it does my heart good. One of her angels, Rodney ICU RN, came by to see her and give us a card and a gift for Alice. He was one of the RNs who helped saved her life that terrible Friday night. He said he even called the hospital on Saturday to see if Leslie had survived the night. AND SHE DID. What a sweetheart. Her nurse today, Mimi, also a real gem.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH........ Even though there are hard days ahead, today was a joy.

Feb 20, 2007

Dear Fans & Friends,
Leslie did to have a stellar day today since last night she did not sleep. She is somewhat disoriented and uncomfortable. So we had a step back, but that is not totally unexpected. There will be good days and bad days and this was not a good one. We need to be encouraging to Leslie with visits and cards. If you want to be a visitor, then call the house and leave a message with the hours and days you are available. Keep praying and sending love.

Feb 19, 2007 President Leslie's Day

Hip Hip Hooray for President Leslie. Well almost. I had the great opportunity of spending most of the day with Leslie and she is doing BETTER AND BETTER ALL THE TIME. She is in TCU now, in a quiet private room. Yesterday I said we need to hold down the visitors and this is what we have come up with for the next several days. If you would like to sit with Leslie for 2 hours and be there for her, that would be great. We need a person in the early shift ( sometime between 9am-3pm ) and someone in the later shift (6 -9 pm). This will give the person who is with her a break. She wants company, but tires easily and sometimes the person would just be sitting and reading quietly. Call the Reigert house if you think you would qualify for this special position. On other news of the day, she got her hair washed by the "Paradise PEEP Pamper Portable Parlor", plus a manicure and foot massage. What wonders a shampoo and new "do" do for the soul. (I think Brittney should have called us before she shaved her head.)Leslie is beginning to joke a bit and that is good. She did comment that there is a book in all this. Well of course. Leslie is eating more although food does not taste all that good yet. Thanks for your love and support and we thank you LORD for your goodness to us.
Hip Hip Hooray.

Feb 18, 2007

Dear Fans of Leslie,
She is out of ICU! She is in Transitional Care Unit now. It seems like we are entering a phase where we need to limit the number of visitors and that visits should be at least an hour. Leslie needs quiet, positive support and not a lot of people visiting in and out. Tomorrow I will tell you how we are going to arrange visitation since I don't know yet how that will work out best. She is very tired and needs to build up her strength for the coming rehab. Medically she is doing great and has been up in a chair for a short time. I heard all of our collective sigh of relief as well as the grateful thanks and praise to the LORD for His healing and merciful hand upon Leslie.
God is good.

Feb 17, 2007

Well friends, it is as hard for me as it is for you not to be with Leslie today but I will pass along the great news of what I have heard:

1. Leslie moved to a new room, number 4, in ICU. I think it is a good move because the room she had was right across from the nurses station and it was VERY noisy.

2. She is eating a bit of real food!

3. I think she got out of bed and in a chair. (That was the plan but I am not positive that it happened.)

4. She is only on oxygen while sleeping. Unbelievable!

5. She got a bath today (probably a bed bath) - I am sure that felt good.

That's it folks, better and better, farther and farther down the road of healing and restoration. Keep praying..........

Feb 16, 2007 What a week

This is the best week ever. I had the awesome privilege of seeing Leslie today and spending several hours holding her hand, massaging lotion into her hands and left foot. It was wonderful. I described to her the last 3 weeks of watching her take little baby steps from the brink of death to yesterday's giant leap over the "Grand Canyon" when she got extubated, off the ventilator plus the removal of other various tubes. NOW she is making strides down a long hard road. For us looking on she is in an obviously better place from 3 weeks ago. From her perspective she is just waking up to the brutal realization of what has happened to her and the long term rehabilitation and healing of her bruised body that lies ahead. All this to say she needs our love and support now more than ever before. She is tired of course, but she does need reassurance that we are there for her. Cards are welcome. Visits are welcome. She is still in ICU but may be moving soon to a transitional care unit before going to a rehab facility. Keep praying for her body, mind and spirit to be completely healed and restored. And give her love, love love.

Feb 15 2007 best best day

HALLELUJAH. So much progress in ONE day. The endotracheal tube is out, the ng tube is out, the feeding tube is out, the morphine drip is off (she is now on a PCA, patient control anesthesia, basically she gets a small dose and can augment if necessary), the central line is out. She is on O2 with a nasal cannula, and she can talk on the phone. Just a whisper right now, but her voice will come back. She wants to go home (not yet:). So much good news I can hardly contain myself. I get to see her tomorrow morning and hug her(lightly) and love on her. I can hardly wait. I will try to keep from shouting Hallelujah and doing my cheerleading routine, BUT YOU KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT EP EP EP EP. Thank You LORD for answering our prayers with a resounding YES and keeping Your Hand upon our sweet Leslie. Come and visit, but know she does get tired (duh). She may be moving to Alta Bates at some point in time. We will keep you apprised as always. Keep sending your love and prayers. We still have a long road ahead.

The Happiest Valetine's Day EVER

Well, it could be a little better if I was in Oakland, BUT I did get to speak to Leslie on the phone and Alice relayed her mouthings to me which was WONDERFUL. (I had to have knee surgery today or I would have been there for sure) She is more and more alert and awake and her ventilator settings and morphine drip are decreasing.
GREAT, WONDERFUL, STUPENDOUS, MARAVILLOSO, FANTASTIC, SUPERB, GLORIOUS, FABULOUS, SWELL, NEATO KEENO, ETC. NEWS AND PROGRESS.

More to come I am sure.............

Feb 13 even better than yesterday

Dear Fans, Leslie is even better today. Ray said she is
WRITING
on a board and
NOW THE DOCTORS SAY SHE NEEDS VISITORS
So put your running shoes on and get yourself over to Highland. No visitors who are sick (duh) and please wash your hands with the antibacterial foam before you touch her
(you would be surprised how many germs are hitching a ride on your hands)
I can't come visit until Friday so give her hand a squeeze and tell her her sis Jamie loves her
Wonderful News
Please PRAY that she will get off the ventilator by the end week EP EP

Feb 12, 2007 HALLELUJAH EP EP

Well, Let me tell you I screamed HALLELUJAH and a WHOOPEE when I got to the parking garage today, because I wouldn't do that in the hospital because I am fairly good at controlling my cheering. YES YES YES Leslie is BETTER and very responsive. The funniest thing was when my dear mother asked her if she was comfortable, Leslie rolled her eyes as if to say, Mother are you serious? She smiled at me and squeezed my hand and when I asked her if she like my hand massage, she nodded. Oh it was glorious to make that connection with her. Can you tell I am smiling and crying at the same time? Also she was breathing on her own ( a trial off the ventilator assistance) She is still intubated but this was a 'test" of her own ability to breathe and maintain good oxygenation and she did great EP EP EP. Her O2 sat was excellent and her PEEP is now 6 (normal is 5). She is wiggling toes post ortho surgery. What a day. Thank you Lord for answered prayer and healing for my sweet sis. (EP - exclamation point) Next hurdle is getting off the ventilator. I can hardly wait.

Feb 11, 2007

Sorry I am so late in getting this out. I have not been at the hospital today and am relying on others for info. Good news, exclamation point, hereafter known as EP. Leslie's surgery went well and she is back in her room #17 ICU. PEEP is down to 6EPEPEPEPEPEPEP. Normal PEEP is 5 so we are almost there. Nothing else new that I know of. After surgery she was groggy, but is opening her eyes. I will check with the noc RN in awhile, but unless they know me, they will not tell me much over the phone. Mom and I are going to see her tomorrow, so will update this more thoroughly at that time. As always please interceding in prayer for my sweet sis.
Thanks. JKH, Head Cheerleader

Feb 10, 2007 - a red letter day

Dear Fans of Leslie, this is a great day. My mom and I just g0t back from a day in Oakland and it really was stellar with more to come I am sure. When my cousin Rick and I went in I said hello to Leslie and she opened her eyes and turned her head slightly towards me. She still is pretty loopy (who wouldn't be on 10 mg of morphine every hour). Her friend Vicki said she squeezed her hand slightly. Then her friend Sandra Gilbert went in and Leslie smiled at her. Sandra came out crying with joy. Dr. Mark, somewhat skeptical (he's an M.D. and they need to be) questioned whether or not she REALLY was responsive until he and I saw Leslie open her mouth when the RN told her to so he could swab her mouth. THEN Ray came in and he too had not seen any deliberate movement, but Leslie actually did something he asked her to do ( first time ever:)), she squeezed his hand when asked to do so. SOOOOOOOOOOOOO.................... all you quasi-fans, get on board and CHEER LESLIE ON TO VICTORY. Or you will lose your fan club membership status and to rejoin the club will cost you BIG time. Not only all those good things, but also, more wrinkles are appearing on Leslie's face. Now most of us do not rejoice in such things, BUT this means that Leslie is losing the excess fluid she has been hoarding and holding on to. PEEP down to 7. Yeah. Tomorrow Leslie will have her ortho surgery unless too many trauma admits bump her to Monday. Keep praying as always and rejoice in
the progress we see before our eyes. And oh by the way, she is still wiggling her toes on command when the RNs do their assessment. (Did you know toe wiggling is a nursing parameter - really, us RNs have to do something to make us smile throughout the day) Sorry this is so long, I think I am a little loopy too.

A Toe Wiggling Day Feb 9

Yes, it is true. Leslie is WIGGLING HER TOES ON COMMAND, EXCLAMATION POINT, EXCLAMATION POINT. Can you tell, I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited. This is a truly momentous day. Her O2 is down to 35%, the docs are giving her a diuretic to remove some of the excess fluid and also turning down her pain medication a bit to wake her up more and SHE IS WIGGLING HER TOES. Praise the Lord, exclamation points.

Feb 8, 2007

Hallelujah
Good news for Leslie-lovers.

Leslie squeezed the RN's hand 2 times today.
Chest tube #3 is OUT. No more chest tubes! Her O2 setting on the ventilator is down to 40% and she is doing well on that setting. She is afebrile - no elevated temp. and Alice reported that she was biting on her endotrachael tube, maybe trying to tell us -
"GET THIS THING OUT OF MY MOUTH SO I CAN TALK TO YOU"
So many good things happening today and I am not even there to see it, but I am greatly rejoicing in her progress and God's faithfulness to hear and answer our pleas for our sweet Leslie.

p.s. for some reason this blog will not let me add exclamation points which I had after almost every sentence :)

02072007

I love the way this date looks, don't you? Cousin Kathi, Sister Jamie & Mom Mignon ventured over the Altamont to visit the sweetest sister Leslie today. Progress is slow, painfully slow for those of us Leslie-lovers who want it NOW, but there is good news........... Leslie has been afebrile (no elevated temp) for 24 hours now and tomorrow the doc may give her a diuretic (to eliminate some excess fluid) and stimulate the kidneys. She has been making adequate urine all along which is good but is still "hanging on" to a large amount of fluid. Her lung function is adequate on the ventilator but she is not showing an ability to get off of it at the present time. The ortho surgery for her ankle is pending but no rush on that right now. She is opening her eyes but is still not willing/able to follow commands. Please keep praying and get others to join the prayer team too. blog mgr, jkh

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Feb 6, 2007 evening

Too many good things to wait until tomorrow. Leslie now has only 1 chest tube left. The ICU staff is in the process of weaning her off the ventilator and waking her up from sedation. She is still getting plenty of pain medicine because of her extensive injuries. She's also now initiating all her breaths and is just on assist mode which is also good. She is opening her eyes to the sound of her beloved's voice (Ray), but not able to or wanting to follow simple commands (she has a mind of her own :) - right?) more manana...........

alert for all friends and family

the ICU RNs have asked that only immediate family visit and for immediate family visitors refrain from touching because Leslie is in alot of pain and touch is not a welcome sense at this time. keep praying always

Feb 6, 2007

Yeah!!!!!!!!! Leslie is now minus 2 chest tubes, and only one to go. That means that her lungs are healing of their punctures. The docs decreased her sedation and indeed she has woken up more. She is still on morphine for the pain so don't worry about that. She will not have the ortho repair done until she is afebrile and a bit more stable as that surgery is not something that needs to be done in any emergent way. So again we are making progress, little by little and for that we are grateful. I, Jamie, am so grateful to God for His healing hand and mercy upon us all, especially to my sweet sister.

feb 5 2007

Feb 5 2007
Today we, Gaga & Jamie, went to see Leslie and she is not making visible progress to the naked eye. To the medical eye she is making tiny movements in the positive direction, like eliminating some of the excess fluid and slowing down on the chest tube outputs. She is resting comfortably on a morphine drip, and her ventilator rate has decreased while still maintaining appropriate blood oxygen saturation. The plan is to take her to the OR soon, but we don’t know when, to repair her ankle fracture. She still very much needs our prayers, so prayer warriors battle on for her healing and recovery. We have a long road ahead. For those of you reading this on an email, we started a blog for Leslie for daily updates:
www.lesliesvictory.blogspot.com

alice's comment on feb 2

mom had an operation 2 days ago to close her stomach. it was successful but wiped her out. she now has pnemonia which the doctors said is normal and they started treating her for it immediatley. she is doing better today, is off her blood pressure medication. her peep is at 8 and her temperature is down. her swelling is also going down. she is feeling the love.

feb 1, 2007, late last friday night (1.27.07)

I wanted this blog to get started because so many people are wanting to know how our dear Leslie is and what on earth happened to her. Late last friday night Leslie and Vicki were crossing the street (Oxford at Addison) and a UC shuttle bus struck her. she was rushed to ER at Highland General Hospital and at first her injuries did not appear that bad, but quickly she had difficulty breathing besides the tremendous pain she was in, and an incredible effort started to keep this sweet sister of mine here on earth. Chest tubes, endotrachael tube, ventilator, CT scan, x-rays, IV fluids, medications..... One of her RNs, Rodney, told me she said she wanted to die, and he told her no way, we are going to help you and save your life. Rodney and 4 other RNs escorted her to CT and stayed by her side through the ordeal. He is one of her many angels in this story. Drs. Sadjida and Ha operated that night because she couldn't expand her lungs due to increased abdominal pressure. More heroes. Their wisdom saved her life that night. We rallied around her as best we could with tears and prayers, hugs and worried looks. Dawn arrived and we were all still there, Leslie too.........YEAH!!!!!Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

feb 2, 2007

Early Saturday morning we sat dazed waiting, unaware of the week ahead. I shall try to recall some events............

but first of all today's (2-02-07)update:

Leslie is doing well, making baby steps along a LOONGGGGGGG road ahead. She is still on the ventilator and making slow progress in coming off that, but progress in the right direction. She is dealing with pneumonia but that is being controlled with antibiotics and her fever has come down. Her blood pressure is stable and she is not needing any medication to control that. Her kidneys continue to do their job and have all along. She is being medicated for pain and to keep her from fighting the ventilator so if you go in to see her she may not physically respond, but it has been proven that people hear in these situations. So go in and tell her you love her and you are routing for her and we will see her through this ordeal. She needs our strength and encouragement and we need her too.

feb 4, 2007

Okay so we missed a day......sorry...between phone calls and eating and a little sleep it is hard to blog, but here goes:
Leslie is doing well today, holding her own and starting to get rid of the build up of fluid in her body. She actually squeezed Brenda's hand today and opened her eyes. They switched her pain med to give her better relief and that is working well. We all want to see major positive progress but we are only seeing minor positive progress which is far better than going backwards. The doctors want to take her to surgery one more time to fix her broken ankle and that will probably be sometime this week. The fact that she has endured 3 major surgeries and a CT procedure and is still moving in the right direction is positive however small it is. We must all keep praying for her and cheering her on. Though she may not respond in an obvious way, short visits of love and encouragement are welcome.