200 feet

I was psyched to walk 200 feet holding onto the pole this morning. Blood sugar levels are better today and with some med adjustments it should be fine. Losing fluid in legs and saw my kneecaps this morning! The tree trunk legs are not quite twigs yet!!!!!! Not that they ever were!!!!! It was a long day knowing it was the first day of school and I was here instead of in my 6th grade classroom. Hope you are all having a great day and be sure to give your loved ones an extra hug today.

Gratitude

Hello dearest family and friends ! Day 3 in Room 958...each day feeling a little better and realizing how much I am grateful for. My memory is a little vague so reading the blog helped me to remember the past week. Thank you Tom for your endless support, love, patience and for creating/updating the blog. I love you with all my heart. Kelcy and Keegan you two are the greatest kids and I love you with all of my being. This has been a tough time of year to not have your Mom around. I wish you both happy school years and memories. Keegan you were my hero that day taking me in the ambulance and sitting by my side all day long until Dad flew back home. Thank you Andrew for spending the afternoon with us. No miles could separate the love and support I received from the Cleary family. I love my pink roses Linda and Mark---they brighte n 958! Thank you church family, New Caney 6th grade campus teachers, friends around the U.S. for your prayers, support, e-mails, calls, love and and the ways you found to help us through this time. Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude.
Had a little scare this afternoon when my blood sugar level dropped to 56---so glad Tom was here! I had just told the doctor an hour earlier that something wasn't right. Had my first candy bar in who knows how long. Feeling better now and being carefully monitored.
It is emotionally tough knowing that school is starting tomorrow without me. Again, I have been blessed with a great sub and friends who are helping her. Thank you Jeff for bringing my plans in.
Prayer is powerful-----please keep them coming. love marie
p.s. Remember how purple is my favorite color-----no longer after looking at my bruised arms---thinking about bright green for a new fun color!

11:15 am

WE ARE IN A NORMAL HOSPITAL ROOM! Dunn Tower Room 958. Marie's actually able to see visitors, so go for it!

Thursday August 20, 2009 9:00 am

Hard to believe it's been a week since Marie woke up with pain and a swollen leg! The transfusion seemed to do the trick -- her hemoglobin is back up and they're looking to transfer her to a regular hospital room today. No idea how long she'll be here yet -- they have to get the coumadin (blood thinner) regulated before she can go. Today -- for the first time in seven days -- she actually sat up in a chair. A milestone in my book. She's bleeding a bit at all her IV sites, and had a bloody nose this morning, reminding us all just how thin her blood now is after all the TPA and Heparin they gave her. The doc is putting her on a diuretic to try and get some of the fluid out after they pumped so much in for her low blood pressure. She's still quite swollen. But seeing her sit up lifted my spirits a good deal, and I couldn't help but think that the light at the end of the tunnel brightened a bit. Kelcy heads back to school today, and Keegan starts high school Monday. I start teaching class Monday at UHD as well while still working full time at BCM. So the next week or so could be pretty darn adventurous. Let's hope we can get Marie home and in full recovery soon. Recovery -- I actually typed the word! The light just brightened again.

10:30 pm

Just checked in on Marie -- she's doing well, but still in the ICU for the night. Her hemoglobin was very low due to the procedure and all the blood loss, so they transfused two units of blood and will test again in the morning. She's pretty loopy from the pain meds, which makes conversation a whole lot of fun. Hope we can get her up to speed to transfer to a room tomorrow; it's not fun sitting in the waiting room with forty other people for two hours to visit for twenty minutes (though I must say, we are all bonding quite a bit out there).

11:30 am

Marie is still in ICU, and will probably be there most of the day and possibly tonight. They're trying to regulate her hemoglobin and PT levels. Her hemoglobin is at 8.2 (low) and they'll check it again at 4:00. If it stays stable, they'll send her to a regular room, but if it drops they may need to do a transfusion. She's losing blood mostly in her urine, which is to be expected after the procedure. The next step is to get her on a therapeutic level of heparin and slowly switch to Coumadin before she can leave. No idea how long that will take. It's all a balancing act right now. But she's in MUCH less pain, thank goodness, and can finally drink liquids again.

9:30 am

Marie made it through the second procedure and is headed back to ICU, but hopefully not for long. They have her nearly clot-free, so we're hoping the pain will start to subside. I'm hoping to get her up into a regular room soon, but we'll see.