4/6/13

Laura continues to power on in rehab, she is getting stronger every day. Mum is making a list each day of things that Laura can do that she couldn't last week, and that list is growing longer. Her days are very busy and she is super tired at the end of the day, but its so worth the effort she is putting in and I think now laura herself is seeing progress. She is beginning to trust her body and is building her strength.

Go Laura !!!!!

28/5/13

Laura to has continued to make progress with her recovery. She has a busy schedule throughout the week with physio, speech and occupational therapy! It's tuff for her and very exhausting, but she's getting there. Weekends are quiet, so visitors are welcome.

Dad is back at work, and is chief building inspector (while the Reno happening for Laura's welcome return). Mum has organised a place to stay close to the hospital (thanks Kate, for your help). Mum will aim to get home for a few day a week and I will alternate with her for weekends,  so we are trying to get ourselves and Laura into a routine.

I Just want to thank everyone for their supports and best wishes throughout the past couple of months, it has been wonderful. We are blessed to have such a special family and friendships.

24/5/13

Laura has settled well into rehab at the Casey hospital. We are very proud of her she has done so well. It is not so busy here and the staff are great. They are in the process of taloring a program for her and the aim is to get her back to what she was  before the seizures started.
She is showing small improvements every day.
For those who have asked she is in ward D room 29.
Thanks to everyone that have  sent messages we read them all to Laura she is very grateful for all the good wishes.

22/5/13

Big news everyone! Laura is moving to rehab tomorrow. She will be going to the Casey hospital. Have not got much more info just yet, we will know more when she gets there. 

:)   :)   :)

21/5/13

Another good day, the feeding tube came out today! I talked to Laura and she said "I'm shit but I'm getting there" I think that is a fair call. She is doing extremely well, she even got into the wheelchair again today! She is sleeping a lot better which is giving lots more energy to use throughout the day.

Keep going Laura - your doing amazing big sis!!!

Lou.

18/5/13

Things are going well for Laura. She has had a really good week.
She is feeling a lot more control, her jumping legs have settled, she is able to concentrate more and her speech is improving.

The doctors are talking about her going to rehab as early as next week, they are just waiting on a bed. She has started taking her meds by mouth and is managing well.

15/5/13

Laura has had a very good day today. She even got to go for a spin in the wheelchair outside to get a bit of fresh air. Doctors are talking about rehab which is all very exciting.

Go Laura! You are amazing big sis!

Strength...

12/5/13

Laura has got through the weekend with minimal change, no seizures. she is still a bit uncomfortable, which is making sleep hard and resulting in her being very restless. Just a bit of a bump in the road, she'll get there....it's just a slow process. 

 I treated mum to high tea at the Grand Hyatt for Mother's Day. Thank you to my beautiful friend Helen for organising this and giving us the chance to give mum an afternoon out. 

Laura received a beatiful bunch of flowers yeasterday, thank you to Wally, Jenny and family. 

9/5/13

Laura had a good day today, she was feeling a bit brighter due to a good nights sleep last night. She was able to get showered this moring and had another good session with the physio.

I got a few words through the phone tonight, can't wait to see her tomorrow night!!

8/5/2013

Laura is now in the ward. She is doing ok, but getting tired easily and is a bit fed up. Fair enough really, after seven weeks of hospital life. She had a big physio session today, and is eating a bit more.

Slow and steady wins the race........

Right, I'm getting the hang of this now, here's a photo of some of the beautiful flowers Laura received 

Blog away.....

Think I've fixed the problem of not being able to make comments on my blog. Please give it a go now, I've changed a few settings.

Lou.

6/5/13

Laura has had a good day today, she had a really good night sleep last night. She is still a bit uncomfortable, which is to be expected. (And this is really a good sign, because it means she is completely off the sedation and is functioning on her own is starting to associate what is causing aches and pains etc.)

We think Laura is now ready for a trickle of visitors, one a day would be great. I know everyone is very keen to see her :) :)
 Contact mum and work out the best time and day, we need Laura to hear lots of normal day to day things about what's happening in your lives, to keep her thinking of other things (the hospital is not giving mum and dad much small talk to share with Laura.) even photos of things would be great.

Laura is still in the ICU, she is ready to be moved to the back to the ward although we are waiting on a bed.  We will let you know when this happens.

Lou

5/5/13

Got to see big sis today, she is looking so beautiful. So much better than this time last week.

She is still gracing the ICU with her presence, and has them wrapped around her little finger.
Who can not but love her....

She had her own little ICU salon (Laura style ) today with, head massage and wash, legs shaved, and an all over nutrametics apricot moisturising  (Thank Maxine!).

Laura is doing well although.......she was a little restless today, but nothing a good nights sleep won't fix. The seizures are defiantly slowing (I didn't see one in the 4 hours I spent with her). Doctors are happy with her progress.

Oh an Linda, she loved seeing the quilt. It put a huge smile on her face.
We love that smile.....thank you.

Lou. xo

Small steps forward for Laura today. The breathing tube was taken out this afternoon. She is still having small seizures but the doctors assure us that they are not doing her any damage and they are working on getting rid of them. She is awake and although her throat is sore she can talk again.

2/5/13 pm

Laura is still in the ICU, they have reduced the sedation, she is able to communicate and ask for what she needs. she is still having small seizures, but the good news is that they are slowing.

For those who are keen to see her, give her a bit more time. She needs to be as quiet as possible (you know Laura, she could talk under water!) so visitors = Laura stressing about not being able to communicate. :)

I've had a few people say that they are having trouble posting on this blog, please let me know about this....not that I'm an expert in this blogging business but I'm sure we could get it sorted. My email is loumow@netspace.net.au

Lou.

30/4/13 pm

Laura has had a productive day today. She is waking nicely from the sedation as is aware of things that are happening around her. She is communicating through squeezing mum and dads hands and shaking her head. The new medication seems to be working and her seizures are under control. The plan from here is to possibly take out the breathing tube in the next day or so.

Our Laura is a superstar, and keeps surprising us all, overcoming all setbacks in her way!
I think that laura is a true inspiration to all and I'm so proud to call her my sister.


Came across this in our staff prayer tonight and thought it was fitting......

Frequently remind yourself the God is with you, that He will never fail you, 

that you can count upon Him. 

Say these words, "God is with me, helping me".

(Norman Vincent Peale)

29/4/2013

Laura has had another quiet day today. No seizures for the last 48hrs so doctors are starting to slowly reduce the sedation.

28/4/13

Laura has had a very peaceful day, sleeping soundly and no more seizures. The doctors are happy, they have brought her temperature down, which is good. The plan now is to increase the breathing machine so Laura does not have to work as hard to breath and this will give her more energy to use elsewhere.

A full day of restful sleep.

27/4/13 pm

Laura has had what the doctors say is a sedated stable day. Although the breathing tube is in she is doing most of the breathing herself and only assisted when needed. The results have not come back about her infection - this is because one test they do they have to grow culture so that takes a bit of time.

Mum and dad are having a much deserved night off, and have headed out for tea. Well I made them....and demanded that mum has a glass of wine for Laura, I'm sure Laura would be quite fine with that (four sisters of course)!!!!

I don't think tomorrow will bring any more news but they are going to lower the sedation just a little. That way they can see if a new drug they introduced today is working.

Night all, thanks for the happy thoughts and well wishes

💗💗💗💗💗

Lou.

27/4/13

Laura had a stable night. She is now quite sedated and they have determined that the main cause of the recent seizures was due to an inflection. They are tweaking her medication constantly in order to bring things to normal levels. The inflection is being treated by antibiotics. She will be in the ICU for a couple of days to get her body strong enough to wake.

For all those who sent gifts and kind birthday messages to Laura, thank you. We have been taking photos of the flowers and reading out cards and messages to her. Although she is in an induced coma, our Laura has got acute hearing and we now know from last time that she is able to hear some things.

Thank you also for respecting our wishes for no visitors for the moment. As you will be aware Laura is our little worrier and can get stressed if she is not able to communicate and is aware someone is there. This at this stage that is enough to cause a seizure. We need to keep her as calm as possible.

I know this must seem like a massive roller coaster marathon ride for our precious Laura but everything possible is being done, a thing that we have to keep reminding ourselves. Please post any questions or thoughts on this blog. Due to Laura's privacy and dignity I will not be posting any photos of Laura.

Lou. oxoxo

26/4/13

Laura's birthday.

Not quite the birthday we had hoped for Laura, although she is receiving the care which she requires. She was moved back to the ICU in the early hours of Friday morning. This was due to multiple seizures, and a drop in her oxygen levels. She was placed back on the breathing tube at around 9am to maintain her oxygen levels and clear her congested chest. She spent most of the day sedated, catching up on much needed sleep. 

Laura's progress to date...

Laura has been at Monash Clayton since Wednesday the 20th of March.

This is mums daily journal entries....

Wednesday 20/3/13
Decided to start and document Laura's journey. We have been at Monash since 12.30 Wednesday 20th afternoon. It was such a difficult thing to leave Laura in the hands of the ambos from the ambulance helicopter. We started to head to Melbourne but had not seen the helicopter take off so Graeme made Dean go back to Sale till we saw it in the air. I had been awake nearly 36hours so slept in the car which was good it didn't seem to take so long to get to Melbourne. Once we were able to see her l had a feeling she would be ok the staff were really nice to her. Although one doctor in the early days was very abrupt and told me brain damage was a deffinate how devastated we all felt. Gradually the seizures started to come back. At first it was just the eyes but then the right side and hand jumping. Lots of tests the first day MRI EEG lumberpunture Ct scans and blood tests. Lots of time in the waiting room. Letting friends and family know. We have such supportive and caring family and friends

Welcome....

Hi everyone, welcome to Laura's blog. We have decided to give this blogging a go to hopefully keep everyone informed and take the pressure of texting.

Laura has had so many ups and downs over the past five weeks. We will try to keep everyone well informed through this blog.