Updates on Laurie's Recovery

Please note these are paper flowers as I don't think real flowers are allowed in the ICU  Mom continues to make amazing progress. All of her many many tubes, wires, and devices are now gone, allowing mom to be like Pinocchio and exclaim: "I've got no strings to hold me down!" And off she goes. She had a salmon dinner last night complete with a beignet for dessert and an omelet with bacon for breakfast (all far better than peptide 1.5). She even decided to take a stroll around the ICU as shown in the below video. As Mom continues to get stronger, her biggest challenge right now are her lungs and throat. During CPR the doctors think she aspirated blood and stomach contents and probably hurt her lungs from the compressions. Her throat is still weak from the breathing tube and she gets very tired from talking. The more she talks the more she coughs and it is hard for her to clear her lungs. Doctors say it will clear over time but that she should take it easy. They also wa...

Once you get Mom moving it turns out she doesn't slow down. Today she's been on a walk around the ICU, eaten some crackers, and generally been up and working. The plan is to move her from the ICU in Murray straight to an in-patient rehabilitation facility in Odgen as soon as this afternoon. In Cassidy's words, she is progressing so fast that she's beating the bureaucracy, so she may have to be temporarily moved to either the general hospital population in Murray or a rehab facility in Murray while they wait for the paperwork to catch up.  While Mom is progressing very quickly, she still needs a lot of rest, so we would request that those of you who would like to visit wait to do so until Mom is a little further along. We have been sharing comments made here on the blog with Mom, which she loves. For now that's the best way (other than prayers) to send her your love and concern.   We also want to express our gratitude for all of the prayers and fasting on Mom's b...

  Mom continues to make amazing progress. She was able to take a short walk around the ICU today, and on top of that, she was able to eat some actual food. She is making amazing progress.

The big news this morning is that Mom got a good nights sleep for the first time in a week. As many of you know, sleeping after major medical issues is hard, and no one thinks of a hospital room when they envision a comfortable place to sleep. Thanks to good nurses, however, Mom got a solid 6 hour stretch of rest. Today will be more physical, occupational, and swallowing therapy. One way you can tell that Mom is progressing is that doctors, nurses, and therapists are all talking about getting her out of the ICU. There isn't a firm time on that yet, but we're hoping it will be early next week. She'll then move to a normal hospital room in Murray, and then will likely be moved to an in-patient rehabilitation facility closer to home for a few more days of intensive work with all those therapists before going home. It's a long road ahead, but we are all encouraged that we're starting to look to what's next. This morning we also were able to give Mom the sacrament. I...

The big news for this afternoon is that Mom was able to get out of bed, stand up, take a few steps, and sit in a chair. It's a small thing normally, but a very big deal right now. She has spent most of the afternoon in the chair. She is very mentally active and talkative, which we all love.

For many of you tomorrow is Fast Sunday. For those of you that are fasting, we'd like to request that you remember Mom in your prayers. There is power in those prayers. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man (or woman or child) availeth much" (James 5:16). Thank you for all of the praying and fasting you have done on her behalf. 

Mom is continuing to improve little by little. Being conscious means she's conscious of all her discomforts. Thankfully she's not in a lot of pain. She didn't get much sleep, but her spirits are high. Today will be another busy day of therapists coming to work with her.  One thing we're hoping for today is better dining. Right now Mom is "eating" some vaguely yellowish goo called "Peptide 1.5" through a feeding tube. If you are ever at a restaurant and they have "Peptide 1.5" on the menu do NOT order it.

Mom is making great progress today! She has done physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy (to work on swallowing). It's a lot of work bring in the ICU! I can't express how wonderful it is to be able to talk with her again. She is constantly thanking the doctors, nurses, and technicians, and apologizing for everything. It's exactly what we would expect from Mom. She's still on some heavy-duty pain medication, but she's off of most of the other heavy stuff. Her current favorite thing, other than telling us she love us, is ice chips, which she can have as many of as she wants.  Mom asked me to express to everyone how grateful she is for all of your prayers and concern. She also apologized for "worrying everyone". She was horrified to learn that stake conference was delayed on Sunday after she collapsed. She is still the same conscientious, polite, selfless person she's always been.

    If you have ever seen anyone with a breathing tube you will know that it is very uncomfortable. As soon as mom had hers removed last night, she wanted to give a message to all of you who are praying for her and so interested in her recovery. Here is a short video of her talking. She is still coming out of sedation so her mind was a bit foggy and her speech is slow. We are all overjoyed that Mom is with us and we echo her words that "[WE] LOVE EVERYONE!". Thank you for all your prayers. In this crisis, we have had the ability to feel all of your prayers, not in some metaphorical meaning of the word "feel", but in a literal, physical sense of the word. They lift us up and give us hope when the road gets hard. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Please keep them coming as mom has a long road of recovery ahead.    

  The big news this morning is that Mom is awake and talking! Her breathing tube was removed last night. That was quite the ordeal, but Mom was tough. She is now breathing on her own and receiving oxygen. Her breathing is strong and the nurses are very happy with it. With the breathing tube out Mom is able to talk. She says her brain feels slow, which is likely a combination of all the medication she is still taking and being sedated so long. She says that when she closes her eyes she sees "psychedelic things", so apparently the 60's have finally caught up with Mom. The nurses say this is normal and usually fades pretty quickly. Mom wanted to express how much she loves all of you and how grateful she is for all of the prayers on her behalf.  Mom is still in the ICU, which means visitation is still very limited. We really appreciate your continued prayers on Mom's behalf. 

Mom had a quiet time last night and this morning. She was awake for longer than she has been in the past this morning. She was able to listen to us and answer yes and no questions by nodding or shaking her head. She could move her head a little, wiggle her toes, and squeeze her hands. We explained what had happened, though it's not clear how much of that explanation she will remember.  This afternoon Mom got a pacemaker upgrade. The doctor called her new one "the Cadillac of pacemakers". It is a pacemaker with an integrated defibrillator. If it ever detects Mom's heart going into what happened on Sunday it will immediately shock it back into rhythm. We are told that the shock feels like being kicked in the chest, but that's far better than going through all this. It is wonderful that such technology is available so that we never have to do this again. Mom is still on the breathing tube and is sedated. We are yet again hoping that the breathing tube will be able to...

Our mother, Laurie Nelson, had a sudden cardiac failure on the morning of Sunday, September 21st. She collapsed at a church building in Ogden, Utah. She very quickly received excellent CPR from a doctor, a nurse, and an EMT who were at the church. She was transported to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden where she received an emergency pacemaker and was stabilized. There they did an exploratory procedure and found that this was not a heart attack and that she did not have any blockage in the blood vessels around her heart. She also did not have a stroke.   In order to perform some more complex tests, Mom was then transferred by helicopter down to Intermountain Health Center in Murray, Utah where they have the best heart clinic in Utah and one of the best in the country. In Murray, a specialist was able to diagnose Mom with a rare condition known as arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. This condition causes fat to build up between certain cells in the heart. This can degrade the electrical ...