Friday Night's Update - Critical Condition

Today Dad was having trouble waking and didn't know the correct year and couldn't tell them his name, etc. So he was taken in for a CT Scan in the early afternoon. A blood clot was found in a ventricle within the brain. There has also been some bleeding within a ventricular cavity in the brain. Later this evening a second CT Scan was done to see if there was any change. At that time things were basically the same - not any better but not any worse. The hope is that this clot will break up and begin to reabsorb. Otherwise, Dad will have to go through another surgery where a ventric drain will be put in through the skull into the ventricle to drain some fluid to relieve pressure. This will not be done unless absolutely necessary due to the many complications that could arise by doing so. He will be monitored through the night and as long as his symptoms stay the same nothing will be done. Then between 6 and 7 a.m. Colorado time, he will go in for another CT Scan to check for any changes.

There is also a possibility of a yeast infection that he is being treated for while we wait for results on the blood cultures that were taken this morning.

I will continue to update as I know more. Thank you for praying.

Thursday and Friday's Update on Dad

There are still no signs of bleeding for which we are very thankful. Dad has been very groggy yesterday and today. He was given something to help him sleep the last two nights and he seems to have trouble waking fully from it.

He is still on clear broth and will be reevaluated again this afternoon.

Physical Therapy is being done on his left arm and the Orthopedic Surgeon is coming in today to check both arms again. I will let you know more when I know more.

Thank you all again for your prayers and care through this time in our life.

Beautiful Colors of Fall

A Maple Tree on our street.

The Northern Red Oak Tree in our front yard. It is beautiful this year.

Our Thundercloud Plum Tree.

Tall Grass next door. I don't know the name of it, but I really like the looks of it.

Happy Birthday, Briana!

Six years ago today our first girl entered this world. Where has time gone? Today we pause to celebrate with her. She along with her oldest brother set the dining room table with my winter china, tablecloth, and napkins. I forgot to get a picture until after the kids were at the table putting food on their plates, but if you use your imagination you can envision what it looked like before anyone sat down.

Again, I attempted to make a cake. As you can see I am definitely out of practice. I attempted to make a Pastel Four Layer Cake. I didn't use their icing recipe, but used my mom's instead. It has been so long since I had made it that I ended up with too thin of a consistency. It does not look near as pretty as the original picture looked. But it tasted good and I believe Briana was happy.


The kids getting ready to eat.

The cake!

Briana

Briana checking out that #6.

The inside of the cake.

Briana waiting to open her gifts.

Her excitement is building! She is opening her first gift of the day.

She loved the sweater!

We love you, Briana! And, we hope that you had a great day!

Love,

Dad and Mom

Wednesday's Update

We have good news today. There is no sign of bleeding at this point for which we are very thankful. Dad is no longer being sedated and has been taken off the ventilator. He, of course, is really exhausted after all he has been through.

He has been restarted on his blood thinner.

In regards to food, he will only be given clear broth today and then will be reevaluated tomorrow to see if he can tolerate swallowing food.

Thank you all for praying.

Tuesday's Update

Dad remains stable and all bleeding appears to have been stopped. He remains sedated and on the ventilator. If everything continues to remain stable with no new bleeding, they will begin to wean him off the ventilator tomorrow. His blood thinner will be started either tomorrow or Thursday depending on how things go. The doctors still feel the benefits outweigh the risks in regards to leaving him off the blood thinner.

Until tomorrow,

Monday's Update

Dad went in for an angiogram today. While no major bleeding was found, there were some abnormalities in some of the vessels. If I understand it correctly, they blocked off an artery that supplies blood to the face along with blocking some smaller vessels that they thought might be causing, or could potentially cause, some problems.

Dad is currently being kept off all blood thinner for several days in hopes of getting all bleeding stopped. At this point they feel the benefits from doing this outweigh the risks. Either tonight or tomorrow the ENT doctor is to recheck Dad's nose and throat to be sure everything is going okay. As long as everything checks out okay then they will begin to wean Dad off the ventilator again.

We are thankful that he has come through all this procedures. I will update as I know more.
Thank you for praying!

Another Update Today

Dad was losing so much blood that they took him into surgery this evening. Several areas high up in the nose were found bleeding at the rate of 1T per minute. Those areas were cauterized in order to stop the bleeding.

Other concerns were also found so he has gone in for another CT scan. We will hopefully know more tomorrow from the results of the CT scan.

Dad is being kept sedated and is on the ventilator again. He will be kept that way until at least Tuesday morning.

We do thank the Lord that Dad came through the surgery. Please continue to pray.


Addendum: The CT scan did not show enough so Dad will be going in first thing in the morning for another angiogram.

Sunday's Update on Dad

The bleeding in Dad's nose started up again last evening. It slowed considerably through the night, but then it started back in this morning. The doctor ended up having to come back in and clean out his nose and repack it again this morning. He has lost enough blood through all this bleeding in his nose that he is going to be given blood today.

He was up in a chair this morning before the bleeding started back up again and seemed to be stronger as in being able to sit up in the chair.

Please continue to pray for Dad and Mom.

Friday's Update

Dad is more alert this morning and the bleeding has slowed considerably. He was able to eat some applesauce this morning. As long as he is able to keep it down, he will be able to continue the intake of soft foods. He is still in ICU and will be there for a little while longer yet.

I have placed a permanent link on the side of my blog for the sending of emails to Dad and I have also placed the mailing address there too.

Thank you all for praying.

A Quote by Dad

Wednesday evening when the doctor was in to flush and repack Dad's nose, Dad said to the doctor, "Stop, stop, I just can't take anymore of this, you are going to have to find somebody else to do this to." While we were able to laugh, I am sure Dad was absolutely miserable when he said it.

Thursday's Update

It has been three weeks today since Dad's accident. Dad's nose has continued to bleed today and one of his ears started bleeding. The bleeding got to be so much he was actually taken off of his blood thinner for awhile to help slow the bleeding. The doctor is saying the bleeding is surface and/or residual bleeding. Dad is being kept on a low dose of sedative to keep him from moving too much in hopes of getting the bleeding to stop. He is still in ICU and it is looking like he will be for a few more days at least.

Update on the Bleeding

The doctor was in this evening and did another flush of Dad's nose to clean it out, etc. He was also able to find the source of the bleeding. It is a surface bleed in the nose itself. Because it is a surface bleed, it doesn't look like surgery will be necessary. He repacked Dad's nose with dissolvable foam and another flush will be done tomorrow.

Continue to pray for both Dad and Mom.

Here is the link if you would like to send an email message to Dad - http://www.swedishhospital.com/PatEmail.asp.

If you prefer snail mail, the address is:

Swedish Medical Center
501 E. Hampden Ave.
Englewood, CO 80113
ATTN: Francis Weingard
Critical Care Unit Pod A Rm. 3-135

Asking for Prayer for Dad

Dad's nose is bleeding again. His nose has been packed with a foam that will hopefully help it to clot and stop bleeding. If this doesn't stop the bleeding, then he will have to be taken back into surgery tonight. Please pray for him.

Today's Update

Dad was able to go off of the ventilator today. Now the goal is to get him to swallowing so he can begin to take in liquids via his mouth.

All the stitches have been removed from his left arm. And therapy is continuing on it.

We are still not sure when the stent will be put in his right carotid artery. We should hopefully know more tomorrow.

Thank you all again for praying.

Thank you, Lord!

We are thanking the Lord that Dad has come through surgery this morning. Everything went well and things have been repaired. Tubes were put in both of his ears and as things begin to heal the tubes will work their way out, in around 6 - 9 months from now. All fractures are healing nicely and there was no damage to the major arteries inside the skull like was thought possible. The doctor will begin to wean Dad off the ventilator this afternoon.

As far as we know, Dad will only have one more surgery to go through where a stent will be put in his right carotid artery. We will know more later this week as to when that will be.

Thank you for praying and for continuing in prayer.

Instructions for Sending an Email Message to My Dad

Things remain pretty much the same with Dad today. He will be going in tomorrow for major surgery at 7:30 a.m. Colorado time, 8:30 a.m. CST, and 9:30 a.m. EST.

If you would like to send Dad a message via email you may do so by clicking here. In case the previous link doesn't work you can go to http://www.swedishhospital.com/PatEmail.asp. These emails will be printed and brought to him. You will be asked for your name and email address and then you will need to put in Dad's name (Francis Weingard) and his room number (CCU Rm. 3-135). Following all of that, you can then input your message and send it on its way.

If you prefer to send messages and/or cards via snail mail, the address is:

Swedish Medical Center
501 E. Hampden Ave.
Englewood, CO 80113
ATTN: Francis Weingard
Critical Care Unit Pod A Rm. 3-135

Again, we thank you for praying and continuing to pray.

Today's Update on Dad

Dad has had many tests run yesterday and today. There have also been many exams by numerous doctors. He is being kept sedated and on a ventilator. He will remain on the ventilator until after surgery on Monday. At which time they will begin to wean him off of it.

He is currently being fed through a tube that goes into the stomach. He has lost a lot of weight so he is being fed that which will help with weight gain, provide nutrition, and help the healing process.

The bleeding is not coming from the left carotid artery like was thought at the previous hospital, but from a vessel behind the nose. There are many more complications besides the bleeding. Here are a few of the problems that will be repaired during major surgery on Monday:

Fractures behind a sinus area that will have debris and fragments removed.

All the packing in the sinus areas from this past Monday will be removed.

Possible vascular repair.

It is believed that there is fluid leaking from the brain which will be repaired by grafting membrane from the nasal passage to repair the area where fluid is leaking.

There is a fracture in his jaw joint behind his left ear that is causing the buildup of fluid - this will be taken care of by the placement of a tube in his left ear.

Checking of both ears to see if there is more damage to be repaired.

This Major surgery is scheduled for Monday at 7:30 a.m. Colorado time - which is 8:30 a.m. CST and 9:30 a.m. EST. Please continue to pray for Dad as he goes through surgery and for Mom as she waits.

There is also damage to his right carotid artery such that they will need to put in a stent. This will not be done until towards the end of next week or possibly later. It will be done after Dad has time to recover from the surgery on Monday and build some strength.

A praise note - his lung that was partially collapsed is now fully fuctioning.


Here is the address for Dad, if you would like to send a card.

Swedish Medical Center
501 E. Hampden Ave.
Englewood, CO 80113
ATTN: Francis Weingard
Critical Care Unit A Rm. 3-135


Thank you for continuing in prayer with us and a thank you to all of you that have left comments.

Update on Dad

Please continue to pray for Dad as they will be flying him to a hospital in the Denver, Co area today. We still do not know the next step that will be taken in regards to the repair of this artery, other than the fact that is beyond what they can do where he is now. So continue to pray for wisdom for those that will be making this decision.


Pray for safety as my sister and possibly my Mom (we don't know yet if she will be allowed to go on the flight with him) make the five hour drive to Denver today. Also pray for another sister of mine, her husband, and family as they too are on the road to Colorado today.


Thank you all for praying and for continuing in prayer.

Update: All have arrived safely at the hospital. Dad has already had tests run and we are now awaiting news from the doctors.

Happy Birthday, Curtis!

Today our oldest turned 11 years old. It was quite a day. One I am sure he will not forget.

#1. I forgot it was his birthday until one of the other kids wished him 'Happy Birthday'.

#2. We had to hurriedly get everyone together, call my husband home from work, and drive 1 1/2 hours one way to meet my sister so she could take my parents car to Colorado.

#3. I attempted to make Curtis a 2 layer jello cake - don't bother to try it. As you can see by the picture things didn't turn out as anticipated. The first layer went on great and then as I tried to get the second layer out of the pan and put it on top it crumbled. So I ended up just breaking that layer into pieces in the lid of my cake dish. I covered that layer with the cool whip/cream cheese filling and cherry pie filling. Then I transferred the other layer, which began to crack as I moved it, to the top and finished topping it off. It tasted great, but definitely didn't end up looking like I thought it would.

In an attempt to make the evening a little more festive, Curtis and Briana decided we would eat in our dining room with fine china, crystal glasses, cloth napkins, and candlelight. With all that has been going on, I didn't think to take pictures of it. It was rather nice though.



The Cherry Dream Cake

Happy Birthday, Curtis! I hope you enjoyed your day despite the extreme busyness of the greater part of the day.

A new puzzle!

Sam looking on while Curtis opened up his gifts.

I didn't get any pictures of the rest of the evening but we finished it off by watching the final presidential debate. Then, in fulfillment of Curtis' request, we enjoyed crackers and cheese ball for a snack.

Please Pray for Dad

In regards to the bleeding in Dad's sinus cavity, the doctor believes it is coming from his damaged left carotid artery. This could be life-threatening. The doctors are trying to decide the next step. Please pray for wisdom as this decision is being made.

There is also a large possibility that Dad will have to be transferred to another hospital in order to repair this problem. Wherever this repair is done it will be a major surgery with serious risks involved.

Thank you for praying.

Please Continue to Pray for Dad

Please continue to pray for Dad. Things are really serious in regards to the bleeding in the sinus cavity. I will update later when I know more.

A Little More Than An Occasional Update

It has been decided that Dad is going to need more care than can be given in the Neurotrauma Unit so he has been put back in ICU.

Update on Dad

Dad came through surgery and is in recovery. The sinus areas were packed off and that packing will remain for at least five days before they can go in and remove it. He will remain in the Neurotrauma Unit at this time. This surgery is a setback and will mean a longer hospital stay.

All of his therapy on his arms will continue as planned. Thank you all again for praying.

Please Pray for Dad

Dad has been taken into surgery this morning. He started bleeding in the sinus cavity so it is imperative that something be done to stop the bleeding. Again, things are complicated because of his artificial heart valves.

Thank you,

Another Update on Dad

On Friday the cast was removed from Dad's left arm and it was replaced with a hinged splint. Therapy has been started on that arm.

Today Dad was moved from ICU to the Neurotrauma Unit. Another step on the road to recovery.

Tomorrow he is scheduled to have the cast removed from his right arm and then therapy will begin on that arm, also. One of the first goals of therapy is to have Dad work on being able to feed himself.

At this point unless there are major changes, I will probably only update occasionally.

We thank the Lord for his touch on Dad and we thank you for all your prayers.

Update on Dad this Morning

I talked with my sister this morning and she said that Dad's fever is gone, for which we are very thankful. All the levels in regards to his blood are looking good.

They are going to try to get him up in a chair today and if things continue to improve he should be able to move out of ICU before too long.

It is definitely going to be a long time of recovery as so many body systems were involved with the various injuries. Please continue to pray for him as he faces many months of recovery.

We thank you all for your many prayers and we thank the Lord for his touch on Dad thus far.

Today's Update on Dad

Dad has been rather tired and sleepy today. His blood pressure was high throughout the day, but they have gotten it stabilized with medication. He is now running a fever. Please continue to pray for him.

Thank you,

We are Thanking the Lord!

Dad came through his 5 hour surgery on his arms amazingly well. The orthopedic surgeon came to talk to us and was very pleased with how things went. She was able to put his left arm back together using only one plate instead of two. She said she went through 3 drill bits putting the screws in, which made her very happy. His bones are very hard and strong. She repaired his right wrist with a metal plate. She also had to insert a pin, because the ligament was torn from his ulna. This pin should be removed in approximately 6 weeks.

Any wrapping and or casting on his left arm will be removed by Friday, at which time they will begin therapy. At that time his arm will be in a hinged splint. It was originally thought that Dad would only have 45 degree extension of his left arm, but the surgeon was able to extend it fully and therapy will be done with that goal in mind. The wrapping and casting on his right arm will be removed on Monday and therapy will begin.

The next 24 hours will be crucial as they cannot start to thin his blood again until 4:00 tomorrow morning. The surgeon was amazed at how well things went together. That was definitely an answer to prayer. The surgeon said she definitely felt the presence of God during surgery. The nurse said in regards to his brain bleed that she has never seen one stop and reverse as quickly as his did. They usually cause extensive brain damage. She agreed that it was definitely God, because there was nothing they could do to intervene. So A GREAT BIG THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS. God is good!!!

Written by: Heidi

Posted by: Dixie

Today's Update on Dad

We are thankful this morning that Dad's double vision has cleared up. This is a good sign in regards to the bleeding.

They gave him blood yesterday and are giving it again today to try to strengthen him for surgery tomorrow. At this point, they have decided to go ahead with surgery at 9:30 AM Colorado time, which is 10:30 AM Central Time and 11:30 AM Eastern time. They will be doing both arms. This will be a major reconstructive surgery of 6+ hours complicated by his artificial heart valves. As best I understand it, this means that it greatly increases his risk of bleeding, stroke, and/or heart attack due to the fine line that must be walked in regards to keeping the thickness and/or thinness of his blood just right for him in this circumstance.

Please pray for him as he goes through surgery tomorrow. We appreciate your prayers. I also wanted to let you know that your prayers are being heard. Mom said that throughout the day on Sunday she could feel the Lord's presence there with them in the hospital room. Thank you again.

Dixie and Family

Update on Dad

At this point, things are pretty much the same as yesterday. The new changes from yesterday are that the cardiologist is concerned about his heart, he is in a lot of pain because they are unable to give him any pain medication due to all the complications, and they are saying that the bleeding on the brain is not necessarily stopped. But they do know it is slowed because of certain neuro responses they are seeing.

Your continued prayer support is greatly appreciated.

Dixie & Family

Urgent Prayer Needed for My Dad

My Dad is in critical condition now. He has had some bleeding on the brain, but it is stopped at present. The whole situation is touch and go at this point due to the need to keep his blood thin enough that it doesn't cause a stroke or heart attack, but yet thick enough that he doesn't start bleeding on the brain again. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Dixie and Family

Prayer Request - For My Dad

My Dad (Francis Weingard) was in an auto accident on Thursday morning and is in ICU in St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, CO. He has two skull fractures, a ruptured right ear drum, a ruptured vessel behind his nose, three fractured ribs, a bruised heart, bruised lungs (one lung partially collapsed), a fractured right wrist, a severe compound fracture of his upper left arm and elbow. He had no memory of the accident but today is beginning to realize what happened to him. Actually, all of his short term memory has been relatively poor since the accident. The cardiologist believes that he also had a heart attack sometime after the impact.

On Thursday evening Dad underwent surgery. The doctor set and splinted his right wrist, cleaned out his left arm, put in a drain, and temporarily pinned it.

Sunday morning he will undergo more exploratory surgery of his left arm.

Then on Wednesday he will have extensive reconstructive surgery of his left arm and right wrist.

He has artificial heart valves which require him to take a blood thinner. But the surgery requires him to stop taking his blood thinner and this greatly increases the risks of surgery for him.

Our greatest concerns at this point are the possibility of his arm becoming infected, the possibility of complications associated with the surgeries, and the short term memory loss that prevents him from fully understanding where he is and why he is there.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Thank you,


Dixie and Family

'My Name is I Am'

I ran across this quote today as I was reading and just thought I would share it.

"I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly God was speaking: "My name is I am." I waited and God continued: "When you live in the past, with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not I was. When you live in the future, with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not I will be. When you live in this moment, it is not hard. I am here. My name is I am."

~ Helen Mellincost

If you don't use Google Reader and are visitng my blog...

If you don't use Google Reader and are visiting my blog to see our vacation pictures, you will have to scroll down to previous posts. I am posting all my pictures using the dates that they were taken so they will not show up on top. I am doing this so that when I look at the posts later on I can see when it happened.

These posts will be posted under the dates September 5th through September 14th.

Jeff was able to transfer pictures tonight so you should start seeing posts appear as I have a little time here and there.

Enjoy,

Fall Centerpiece

The centerpiece on my kitchen table. My sister made the table runner for me and she also gave me the cracked glass candleholder. I did the flower arrangement in the cornucopia quite a few years ago. If my mind serves me correctly, I believe I made it when we still lived in Wichita, KS.

Flowers

Just a few closeups of various flowers we saw while on vacation in Massachusetts. As soon as I have more time and can get Jeff to transfer the first half of our vacation pictures from his work laptop to the desktop I will blog about our vacation.