In God's Hands

Mom phoned with the following news from the hospital:

• Grandma Foreman remains in good spirits.
• She surprised the doctor by grabbing his arm.
• They have been slowly weaning her from the respirator.
• She is breathing more and more on her own.
• Tomorrow they will try to remove the respirator.

This is day four of GOOD news! Praise God!

As I receive more news, I will pass it on.

Keep the prayers going. I firmly believe that the good news is a result of prayer and God's blessings raining down upon her.

Psalm 48:1 "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised"

The news coming from the hospital continues to be on the positive side. This is day three of good, positive news.

Lester is with Grandma Foreman today and shared the following information with Mom:

• Grandma Foreman seems to be in good spirits.
• She is making them laugh even though she cannot speak.
• Vital signs are good.
• Blood pressure is 112/52
• Things are looking good. If the good keeps happening, she very well could be OK.

I have not received a lot of news today, but wanted to share what I have received:

• Grandma Foreman continues to show small signs of improving.
• Last night she seemed a little restless.
• Today she seems to want to rest a little more.
• X-rays have yet to show significant improvement to the lungs.

I will update this information as I receive more news.

Mom phoned me after having talked to Arline. Arline shared with her that it appears the respirator is having to do less of the breathing for Grandma Foreman. The monitors indicate that she is doing more breathing on her own. There is indication of some physical strengthening. She was able to sit up in the bed for a short period of time with the assistance of a physical therapist.

Again, Arline explained to her what the doctors have diagnosed. Again, Grandma Foreman rolled her eyes at that.

During one of the visits today, Arline asked her if she will be able to pull out of this. Grandma Foreman's response was a nod of YES.

Aspergillus is what Dr. Broussard has diagnosed my grandmother with. If you'd like to read up on it, you may visit the web site listed below.

http://www.aspergillus.man.ac.uk/patients/articles/whatisaspergillus.shtml

I received a brief call from Arline. Dr. Broussard saw Grandma Foreman this morning. He said to Arline that he likes what he sees, but that she is not near having the respirator removed.

There is not much more to add to the information that I shared during the morning of March 12, but I wanted to let you all know that I did see Grandma Foreman yesterday afternoon/evening.

She was awake. As we approached her room, she was facing the door with open eyes. Her expressions showed that she was glad to see us, but she cannot speak due to the respirator. We asked her different questions and by the expressions on her face we can understand her response.

My dad had not seen her since last Sunday. It was difficult for him to see her on the respirator and thought we were bonkers in thinking that she showed signs of improvements. I assured him that after seeing her on Friday, I could vouch for the fact that her condition on this day definately showed some improvement.

I am anxious to hear from Arline this morning. I am hoping that she is able to see Dr. Broussard when he makes his morning rounds so that we can hear his opinions on her progress through the weekend.

Check here often for more news.

Prayers are powerful! Keep them going for her, and for all of us.

Arline saw Grandma Foreman during the early morning hours and the mid-morning hours. She phoned Mom with the following report.

Grandma Foreman was very much awake.
She realized the Rosary was on TV.
She indicated that she wanted it louder.
She indicated that she wanted paper.
With very swollen hands, she barely was able to write, but managed "could get".
Arline asked her, "get what….socks?, etc."
She wrote, "doctor". "New" doctor.

Mom mentioned that this might mean that she is asking for a new doctor.

Arline explained to her that along with the pneumonia and bacterial infection they also believe that she has mold/fungi in her lungs. She explained that this might have come from compost piles. As Arline was explaining, Grandma Foreman rolled her eyes as though to say that she didn't believe that. (Those of you who know my grandmother will know that this sounds just like something she would do.)

During the next visit, Arline explained to her that she was now in the hospital in Lake Charles and was in the care of a lung specialist; a new doctor.

Mom said that Arline was disappointed with the weekend doctor. It seems that Arline had to recap all of what has taken place in order for him to understand the situation. The reason for this is due to the fact that he mentioned her having diabetes. Grandma Foreman has never had diabetes. She has had to have some insulin, but Dr. Broussard (her doctor) has explained that this was due to her being on the IV for a long period of time. The weekend doctor also did some adjusting to the medications prescribed. This makes us a little nervous because Dr. Broussard is not there. Dr. Broussard will return on Monday.

Mom and Dad are going to Lake Charles this afternoon. I will be going along with them. I hope to be able to give another report to you either late tonight or early on Monday.

Today, I am reminded of Matthew 19:28: But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Today, I decided to create a blog so that our praying family and friends can visit my blog site to read the most recent information coming from the hospital. I have named my blog "In God's Hands" because today the doctor was asked, "So...., now it is in God's Hands?" The doctor responded, "Yes".

Arline phoned Mom this morning. She was at the hospital. She had seen Grandma Foreman as well as the doctor. He reported to Arline that there was some minor improvements to her condition. Even with this news, he recommended that the family prepare for the hospital stay to be a long one. One that could go on for weeks and weeks.

Later this afternoon, Arline phoned again. After visiting with Grandma Foreman, she reported that the blood pressure was low and so was the glucose levels.

Our hearts are aching. Our eyes are crying. Our prayers continue; though most of the time we know not how to pray.

Pray with us. Pray for us.

Today is March 10^th. This is the 17^th day of hospitalization.

Arline phoned this morning. It seems that Grandma Foreman's condition had become more critical. This morning, she was running a fever. The doctor reported that she has yet to respond well to the medications that he was treating her with. This is causing him to believe more strongly that her condition is caused by fungi/mold in the lungs. He named this condition Aspergillis. He mentioned that he has treated persons with this since the recent hurricanes. The way to properly diagnose this is with a biopsy of the lungs. He does not want to do this because he feels it will only place her in a more critical situation. There are medications that can be prescribed for this, but they cause risk to other organs of the body. At that time, he mentioned that her having to work so hard to breathe was causing her to burn up he caloric intake from the PulmaCare which is fed through the feeding tube. With this in mind, he was considering placing her on a respirator.

The doctor feels that her chances of surviving this condition has fallen to about 20% and feels that she is now in a semi-conscious state.

Mom and I headed for Lake Charles. As we arrived, we found her very weak. The Bi-Pap machine had been replaced with the oxygen tube to the nose. Her breathing was very struggled. Her blood pressure was low.

During the afternoon visit, the doctor arrived. He spoke to her and shook her gently. She did not respond. He commented that she was simply having to work too hard to breath and made the decision to place her on the respirator. After this procedure was done, we were able to see her again. He mentioned that doing this will alleviate her struggles to breathe, therefore allowing more oxygen intake. He mentioned that we might even see a slight improvement in her condition and perhaps a bit more consciousness after her being on it for the entire night.

Our concern remains very high. They are truly doing all that they can. The doctor is being very caring and compassionate with her, and with us.

Please continue praying.