Update on Caring Bridge - Sarah Henry

BACKGROUND STORY UPDATE

Written Jan 7, 2013 5:01am

Dear friends & family of sweet Sarah,

We wanted to post something that would "recap" the past few weeks for those of you following Sarah's journey.  All new updates will continue to be posted daily. 

Sarah's Background Story written by Anita Thomas (Sarah's mom)

On December 14th, Sarah had a small stroke while driving with Ava and Halle.  She was able to pull over and call Greg and 911. She was taken by ambulance to the ER and Greg was able to take the girls with him. Sarah had several mini stroke symptoms in the days before but did not think too much about them.

I was called while we were in  Florida visiting Joel (Sarah's younger brother) and his family. I flew to Austin on Saturday, December 15th and Bill drove our car to Austin and arrived on Sunday, December 16th.

Sarah was in ICU at Seton Medical Center in Austin, flat in bed, but  still very much our Sarah. She was was herself all the way until Tuesday morning (December 18th) when she went in to have a stent placed in her carotid artery.

On Monday, December 17th, they had performed a carotid arteriogram and saw an injured left carotid artery. Sarah agreed with the doctors and decided a stent was best choice over long term blood thinners.

On Tuesday morning they performed the procedure to place a stent in the area they saw injury and clotting the day before on the arteriogram. It was at this point that they found another area in the same artery that was damaged and came to us in ICU wanting to get approval for a second stent.  After both stents were placed, they woke her up and did neuro tests...which she passed well.

Then, with the improved blood flow to her brain, a massive stroke happened in the left frontal lobe. They continued to monitor Sarah closely through that evening, and she took a turn for the worse in the middle of the night.

They came out then to tell us and they acted like it was most certainly fatal, and said we needed to call family, which we did.  The only thing they said they could do was cut part of her skull out (a bone flap) to relieve pressure and wait. So on the morning of December 19th, Sarah underwent a craniectomy. 

Joel flew over from Florida that very morning and was there. Bryan, Amber and Katie, and Mike and Sara would all come on Friday. And the Henry family all arrived through that week as well.

You cannot believe the outpouring of prayer, love, & tears from her church and friends here in Austin.

The waiting room was full for three days. We cried, prayed, pleaded, sent out requests...and waited.   

She looked pitiful. Swollen head, left face, & left eye, tubes in mouth, swollen tongue and in a coma.

We kept vigil over her and prayed.  Two days before Christmas she came out of her coma.  And she opened both of her eyes for the first time on Christmas day! 

In the days since Christmas, she has been slowly progressing. Her neurologist told us to look for baby steps and be thankful.  Some days there were a few, and some days there were not.  But overall it has been uphill.

For the next week she had the vent in her mouth and throat,  it looked very painful and I am thankful that some of this time she was in a deep sleep, mainly drug induced.

She was on a lot of different medicines. The vent tube was removed and a trach was put in on Thursday, December 27th.  She looks much more comfortable and relaxed without the vent tubes.

Every day she has had an ultrasound of her neck area, sides and back, to check the pressure there and adjust her meds to help keep the pressure even lower. 

 

Her temperature has been elevated a little due to brain swelling and trauma.

On December 29th, OT and PT  started.  They set her up on the side of the bed, a very sad and hard thing to do.  She looked lost and afraid that day.

On Sunday the  29th she had a visit from her pastor, Zac Allen, and she was really smiling and awake for him. She enjoyed that visit.

She also had the nasal feeding tube removed and inserted into her stomach. This is also more comfortable.

Each day she has had  PT and/or  OT, sometimes both. She has been on the side of the bed 5 times and each time is  stronger and  more in control of her body. She has been in the Barton Chair and seemed to really enjoy it. She is sitting with the help of  PT, not alone. She uses her left hand to wipe her mouth and face.

Today, all the swelling is gone and no bruising. She has a trach (but breathes on her own) and has a stomach tube for medicine and nutrition. Her left side is OK but her right side is not...though it does have good muscle tone. Sometimes she moves the right hand and foot with painful stimuli. 

She can read her cell phone,  press people that you ask her to,  called me on my phone, uses the TV control...just a lot of things that are miracles when we thought she would be with the LORD.  She is not able to speak yet and will go through rehabilitation to hopefully regain that function.

She tires very easily and needs lots of rest especially after being stimulated with PT or people.

We are trying to get her into TIRR Hermann in Houston. The hospital in Austin has sent her file and we have called. Several people here also will try to help.

She will need months of rehabilitation but we see Sarah inside the beautiful face...no hair...beautiful face.

She said she was ready and not afraid to die if she did, but she did not want to leave her children.

The Lord has brought us on an awful, awesome, terrible, blessed  journey. And many people have been saved and turned their life to the Lord.  Sarah had a strong testimony for her faith before the strokes...but she is stronger than I ever knew and I am so blessed to be her mother.

Much love.

 

Most Recent Update

Dear friends & family of sweet Sarah,

Today was a very active day!

Sarah spent the day very alert with several friends who "tag-teamed" time with her while her parents (Anita & Bill) and I travelled to Houston to visit TIRR Memorial Hermann. And Greg and the children journeyed home to Austin from a long weekend in Arkansas.  Everyone is safe and sound tonight.

All of Sarah's friends sent glowing reports of Sarah smiling and laughing. She sat for an hour in the BARTON chair.  She was read to by friends. She choose the food channel and watched a cooking show. She applied her own lipgloss! She took off her own compression boot. She got a manicure. And she got a lot of loving massages. (Girls, I hope I got all of the reports from the day on here!) Everyone felt very encouraged by their time with Sarah today and we trust she is sleeping with the angels right now after a very busy day!

Our visit to TIRR Memorial Hermann was also very encouraging. We toured the facility and were very impressed by all of the latest & greatest equipment, the specialized medical professionals, and the knowledgeable and kind dispositions of the staff.

We asked a lot of questions and were reassured by all of their responses. When we showed them a photograph of Sarah and her children; there were tears. We were touched by their genuine tenderness and care.  

We are rejoicing that there is space available at TIRR for Sarah!  Please, please pray that all of the paperwork falls into place in a timely fashion and that we do not hit any snags. Sarah could be transferred as soon as Wednesday or by the end of the week. Please pray for favor. She would likely spend 4-6 weeks inpatient at TIRR and then return to her home in Austin for outpatient therapy for several months. (!!!)

As we were walking down the long hallway back to the front doors of TIRR, Anita & I were looking at all of the portraits hanging on the walls telling many stories of survival and resilience.  We locked eyes and smiled as we were thinking the exact same thing...we know one lovely lady who will soon grace the walls of that hallway with her beautiful smile and story of miraculous healing. 

Speaking of healing, please continue to pray for complete healing for sweet Sarah.  And please also pray for healing for Greg and his mother, Jan, as they have both been under the weather.  Pray also for the health of the children and all of the family taking care of Sarah and the children.

We will be sure to keep you posted as we learn more about the transition process to TIRR....stay tuned! 

Jesus Calling Daily Devotional - from January 6th

I am able to do far beyond all that you ask or imagine. Come to Me with positive expectations, knowing that there is no limit to what I can accomplish. Ask My Spirit to control your mind, so that you can think great thoughts of Me. Do not be discouraged by the fact that many of your prayers are yet unanswered. Time is a trainer, teaching you to wait upon Me, to trust Me in the dark. The more extreme your circumstances, the more likely you are to see My Power and Glory at work in the situation. Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, try to view them as setting the scene for My glorious intervention. Keep your eyes and your mind wide open to all that I am doing in your life. 

Ephesians 3:20-21 " Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen."

Romans 8:6 "So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace."

Isaiah 40:30-31  "Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lordwill find new strength.They will soar high on wings like eagles.They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."

Revelation 5:13 "And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: 

   “Blessing and honor and glory and power
      belong to the one sitting on the throne
      and to the Lamb forever and ever.”
Much love.