Deanna Babcock - Thoughts and Prayers (Page 10)

CA Cheryl,

Good luck on your first Tri today. You'd only be coming in last if you didn't try to do it! I know too many people who would still be sitting around talking about what they can't do anymore because of the knee replacements.

I just began reading this thread last night. Deanna and all the family will be in our prayers!

God Bless,

Doug

If you can come up with something, maybe you can post it somewhere for people to download and print themselves? It would be a faster and cheaper way to go. I think, that with as many people following this thread as there is, the postage would be enormous!

Good luck on your Tri tomorrow!

Doug

That's what I get for nor reading the entire thread before I posted......

Great job on the graphic!

Doug

Wow, I just found this thread and I am lost for words. I am nurse and used to work in an ICU, Deanna will be in my prayers! I am posting to see her progress and want to help in donation!  Looking for the paypal link. 

DEANNA - SATURDAY, AUGUST 18
Hi Folks,
Great news from Deanna. Considering where she started, what seems to be baby steps are great strides for Dee Dee!
If you check the posts on the Beginner Triathlete web site, you know that there are a lot of athletes dedicating their events (mostly triathlons) to Deanna. Well, today I did one for Dee Dee. My first triathlon ever. I did the Sprint Class (500 meter swim, 10 mile bike ride, and 3 mile run (I walked most of it, but did run across the finish line). I got 1st place in my age group (60-64) and a respectable place among the Sprint women over all. Entries were full at 400 people! Jerry and Dee's dad (my brother Brent) were there to cheer me on. I wore my t-shirt & visor with a Deanna logo on it.
Cheryl Read on.....

[email protected] wrote:
Good morning everyone, a very good day for Deanna yesterday. She was
pretty alert and noticing when people would enter the room, talk to her,
or leave the room.

The great news is that she was off the assisted
breathing yesterday. There were no breaths being provided and the
tracheotomy tube wasn’t even connected. They had her on what is called a
“collar” which blows air towards the opening in her throat that is
enriched with some oxygen and moisture. Deanna was like this breathing on
her own and keeping her oxygen saturation in her blood over 94% for over 7
hours. This is a major milestone on the road to her recovery.

Her kidneys seem to be kicking back in, as they are producing a much larger
volume of urine. Deanna also was doing her own physical therapy, grabbing
onto hands and pulling herself up to sit. She was able to pull herself up
under her own strength, an amazing feat for someone who has been bedridden
for the last four weeks.

Deanna was able to sit for pretty long periods
of time (a couple of minutes) unassisted and she held her head well. Her
strong muscles will play a huge role in her stay in the physical
therapy/recovery section of the hospital in the future.

They are weaning her off the Diprovan still and this makes her more alert, but also more cognitive of pain as well. She continues to improve everyday and will
even throw out a wave to people coming or going from the room. She tries
to communicate with some hand signals because she can’t talk with the
tracheotomy in. The hand signals are a little hard to understand because
the drugs and sleep have probably made fine motor skills a little tough
for her. Her fine motor skills are still relatively honed because she can
get to an itch on her face and scratch it or pull a small cord attached to
her fingers.

More good news from yesterday is that the “Dollars for
Deanna” fund got a huge starting yesterday from a very generous restaurant
in South Carolina that Deanna had visited over the 4th of July last year.
Bellacinos Restaurant business in Irmo, SC is contributing $1000.00 to
Deanna's fund. So, if anyone swings by Irmo, SC, please swing by to get a
good meal and leave a thank you and a big tip. Deanna makes such an
impact on all the people she meets. Hopefully this is a good start to her
rehabilitation fund. Keep Deanna in your thoughts and prayers as she
continues to recover.
-Chris

DEANNA - SUNDAY, AUGUST 19

Hi Folks,

Deanna is doing well. I'd just like to mention that if you're the thoughtful, caring person who sent her the monkey, don't dispair -- the monkey may become a symbol of he fight and determination which is a major factor in her life these days!!

Cheryl Read on.....

[email protected] wrote:

Deanna had a very active day yesterday. She was put back on the vent last
night, but was off the respirator for most of yesterday. She continued to
pull herself up and sit up when given a hand to pull up on, although she
was a little weakened due to dialysis.

Deanna was very opinionated about what she wanted and what she didn't want. She shook her head no when asked certain questions and told people to go with a motion towards the door. When we turned on the TV, she did not like that at all. She motioned to turn it off and gave us a no head shake. She didn't want the
stuffed monkey that was sent to her in the mail and actually threw it from
the bed. All these motions are a little lethargic because of the Diprovan
that continues to be fed to her.

Little by little she is making steps towards leaving the ICU. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
-Chris

DEANNA - MONDAY, AUGUST 20
Hi Folks,
As Deanna moves through another week in ICU, we can visualize the big picture. But there is really no way to imagine this minute by minute, hour by hour process of recovery that Deanna is enduring! As we go through our week of normal living, lets also keep Debbie (Dee's mom) in our thoughts and prayers as she spends her days watching this process and her nights in a hotel room over ICU -- that's anything but normal! Although, it is really a blessing that she can be there.
Cheryl Read on.....

[email protected] wrote:
Good morning. Deanna is much more alert as the doctors continue to lower
the amount of Diprovan being given to her. They were at 12 mLs per hour
Saturday, and as of 3 pm yesterday, she was down to 3 mLs per hour. This
is allowing Deanna to become more aware of what's going on and begin to
tell everyone what is going on or what she wants with hand signals and
nodding. There were even a couple grins cracked yesterday.
She really wants to get out of the bed, sliding her way down towards the edge every chance she gets. Yesterday, she seemed very thirsty and a wet sponge
didn't' cut it.
The respirator was off again yesterday, just providing
oxygen and moisture. Deanna continues to improve and hopefully she'll be
in the recovery unit in no time. Continue to keep her in thoughts and
prayers.
-Chris

There has been a third logo created for Dee that is excellent. I hope I am successful at pasting it here.






Attachments
----------------
TRI 4 DEE.jpg (11KB - 17 downloads)

CONGRATS on not only your first triathlon, but at such a wonderfully done one as well!!

A bunch of us had our triathlon up in Wisconsin this weekend, and the tatoos we had were AWESOME!!

I have battling through an injury that flares up on the run, and it got really bad yesterday for some reason, but right as it was getting bad, and I wanted to walk, I thought of Deanna, and I got this amazing feeling throughout my entire body, chills too, and I kept going.

I thought of her the whole last mile, started to get a little chocked up by how amazing she is, and not only did the pain go away, but I had my best race time to date, and I know it was because of her!!

You all continue to be in thoughts and prayers, and not far from my heart!!

KEEP FIGHTING DEANNA!!

miami9296,
WOW, congratulations! Bought tears to my eyes reading about how you got throuth your enduring race! Hope you're feeling as good today as I am!

DEANNA - TUESDAY, AUGUST 21

[email protected] wrote:
The good news from Monday is that rehab looks to be closer than we
thought. As soon as Deanna is off the respirator collar, which provides
extra oxygen to the tracheotomy, she is going to be moving out of ICU and
going to the rehabilitation center.

This is not the rehab we're all probably thinking of, it's more of the cognitive work using fine motor skills and relearning little things. Hopping on the treadmill or taking a jog in rehab is a little further down the road.

Yesterday, she was very mad and angry with the situation. She is very frustrated and wants to get out of bed. She got to sit in a recliner-like chair yesterday for about an hour, but she still wants to get up and walk out of the room. Sitting
in the chair seemed to tire her out, and she asked to get back in bed by
the end.

She gets very frustrated when she can't express what she wants,
needs, or is feeling. With the tracheotomy still in and unplugged, she
cannot talk. She tries to talk, but no sound escapes.

She seems to be very thirsty and wants a big glass of water, but she can only have a wet sponge as of right now because she may aspirate any water she drinks with the tracheotomy. So, basically, it all hinges on getting the tracheotomy
out and getting her breathing on her own. As soon as this happens, life
will be a lot easier for her.
As for her lungs, they seem to be improving everyday. She has deep,
purposeful coughs. They are dislodging a great deal of mucus and
phlegm from her lungs.

One laugh for the day was when one of her current favorite songs was played for her, an immediate thumbs up was thrown. The song "Ticks" by Brad Paisley gave this result.

The doctors switched medications she was on for depression to see if this would help her more, because some people react to antidepressants
differently. Having Deanna angry and awake is a great step towards
recovery.

Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
-Chris

Wow, you are such a fighter Deanna. Keep it up! You are awesome.

I have been thinking about things that have happened during my lifetime that have affected me in a powerful, life-changing way. I know of 4 things that have humbled me and tremendously cleared my perspective on what is truly important in life. And this is one of them.

When I heard about Deanna, I couldn't believe it. My mind had a powerful way of messing with me because it didn't WANT to believe it. It took a long moment of silence until it sunk in. And suddenly my mind was hit with (fast balls) of questions. Why? How? Can't be. No way. Her?

And suddenly the reality of it froze me into a standstill.

I could not even imagine the pain and the fear of going through what she is experiencing. It had a way of shaking me up pretty hard. It just transferred onto me somehow...the grief. The tears. The questions. I became burdened by it. And the feeling was almost unbearable that I became a non-stop water pump of tears.

Despite my previous unawareness, I have come to realize that through tragedies such as this, the pain is taking me into a greater perspective. To a whole new level. A higher height. Into a whole new realm of thinking.

Because when things happen to people, it causes ME, who am on the outside, to think about GREATER things in life. Things that matter. Like thinking of others before myself. Like sharing my faith with my friends and co-workers. Like character. Like purpose. Like how my life NOW affects my eternity.

I am fully aware now, that through each impact, my perspective gets clearer every time. It keeps me walking on a straight path. It keeps my eyes focused straight ahead instead of looking side to side. It keeps me from wobbling when I walk.

Some of us need to become blind before we can truly SEE.

We grieve through the tragedies that take place in life, not only in our lives, but others. Then we think, you know, how would someone get through something as tragic as this? How would they keep a steady mind and not lose hope? But I am realizing more and more that God takes those tragic events and uses them for far greater purposes than we know or understand. We do not see the bigger picture. Sometimes never. Sometimes not until later on.

Those big tragedies are just little pieces of a giant puzzle that God is putting together. Now what does it take to put together a puzzle? Time and patience. And we need to learn to be better puzzle players! Because eventually… if we stick with (endure) a trial, it will all come together in one big picture later on. We will see the BIG picture.

As I was driving home today, I was thinking, you know, we are people who like to plan things out. We like to know what's going to happen. We like to be independent. We like to make our own decisions. We like to be in control. And then I thought, when are we most vulnerable, and what is a person‘s greatest fear?

Having no control.

And as reality proves time after time, there are some things that are completely out of our control.

And Deanna is facing that right now.

Deanna has been climbing some high ropes, being an NCSU grad student and athlete. But most importantly, as a Christian, what makes her a conqueror already is her faith in God. And that is ultimately what will carry her. (Through this) I believe she will discover strength that she doesn’t even know she has. And I believe that through this God will give her the key to unlock great mysteries and wisdom (of life) that few will ever get to understand or see in their lifetime.

If I, one person, who am on the outside looking in, have been changed and grown so much toward my Heavenly Father through something like this, how much more the person who‘s going through it?

OUR goals, plans, and dreams can be put to a halt in the blink of an eye. We should learn from this. And I don’t mean just a head knowledge. But a heart knowledge that changes the very life we live, NOW. Our desires. Our priorities. The way we carry ourselves. The way we treat others. The way we speak. The way we think. The way we live for the Lord. Ultimately, our eternity.

WE DON’T UNDERSTAND LIFE. WE DON’T HAVE A CLUE. It's crazy to think that something so tragic can be turned into something so glorious. I believe that what Deanna is going through will be used for a greater, higher, and unfathomable purpose…

And I truly believe that through her experience, God is going to use Deanna as a powerful witness unto people everywhere, even people whom she has never met.

Deanna will indeed live a full life, until the Lord’s will for her is brought unto completion.

I was reading through some of my journals just the other week and I came across a conversation we had online. My graduation date was nearing in and I was really discouraged and fearful about my plans after college. And Deanna said something to me that was hysterical, yet unforgetful…
”yea, well if all else fails you can just live in a tent and eat pancakes. That’s my
plan."
“No I’m serious. My future is secure. The tent’s in my car right now. All I gotta do
is drive out to Oregon and live in the national forest. It’s free, and you just have
to move every two weeks. I might have to collect pop cans to feed my pancake
addiction.”

I believe that “Deanna’s present suffering is not worthy compared to the glory that will be revealed in her,” and that “God’s strength perfected in her weakness” will take her across the finish line of glory.

Jen Setterington

Jen Setterington
Those are incredible words! Thought provoking, reassuring. This has become such an incredible journey that Deanna has to walk through, but I believe you are right about her destiny! You did an awesome job describing this as well as Deanna herself. She does love pancakes and I hope she will be able to have a plate full some day real soon!
Cheryl

DEANNA - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22
Hi Folks,
From the sounds of Chris' update today, Dee will be able to talk pretty soon and somebody is going to get an ear full!! Think about it -- 33 days without talking -- even the last 15 or so days! How wonderful that will be for her!
Cheryl Read on.....

[email protected] wrote:
As of 3:30 yesterday, the air provided to Deanna was down to 28%. As we
understand it, this is the lowest the tracheotomy collar will go, so she
is very close to being able to breathe without it. As soon as Deanna is
off the oxygen rich air and can breathe ambient air on her own, she will
be in rehab and out of ICU. They are talking about moving Deanna out of
ICU pretty soon because of how well she is doing.
Deanna is getting pretty frustrated about not being able to
communicate what she needs or wants. She was trying to mouth words,
write letters on the bed with her fingers, use a letterboard, and
paper and pencil. Her fine motor skills are just not there yet and
she gets very frustrated when she can't express herself. That will be
another plus when she's off the tracheotomy, she can begin to speak
and let everyone know what's going through her mind.
She had physical therapy and seems to be doing very well with it. She
was pretty tired however, from dialysis and a very active day on
Monday. Keep Deanna in your thoughts and prayers as she is almost out
of ICU. Lucky day number 33!

-Chris

When my dad had his Trach in, he was able to speak if he covered the hole with a finger. Of course, the machine can't be hooked up......

Doug

Oh my gosh - I couldn't go 33 minutes without talking!  That's great news again - can't wait to hear she got out of ICU and is talking up a storm.

WONDERFUL NEWS!!

Keep fighting Deanna...we're all thinking/praying for you everyday!

Amy

Keep fighting to get stronger Deanna! We are all pulling for you. I pray for you every morning!
Wes from Charlotte

Crazy Aunt Cheryl...

So good to see what you look like now!!

Love the race pic with the shirt for Deanna, and the visor too!!

Good stuff!!