Friday, November 27, 2009

November 27 at 8:10

Now that we are home safe and sound I won't be posting so often on Facebook but thank you for all your encouragement and prayers.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

November 25 at 9:30

Wendy Michelle Towle is going home tomorrow with Ashley, boys, and the dog!!

Friday, November 20, 2009

November 20 at 10:30

I was thinking now would be a good time to let u know what you can expect Ash to be like when she returns home and how you can be most helpful. Please pass this information on to people who may be interested and don't have Facebook. Ashley has suffered from TBI -Traumatic Brain Injury. This does not mean she is retarded.... The effects of TBI are much like that of a stroke. She looks pretty good all things considered.

Part of her head was shaved when two monitors were inserted into her brain in Nero ICU but her hair has started to grow back. She'll most likely be wearing a hat in public. Ash has a weak voice and is more subdued then before. She has problems with short term memory so she will need to keep a good calendar and lists.
She also has some amnesia from the 3 months or so before the accident. She will recognize and remember u but might not recall the last time she spent time with u. She can also feel easily over stimulated and emotional so a lot of people around her asking her a bunch of questions may adversely affect her.

She DOES NOT remember the accident and hopefully she won't. Ashley has damaged nerves at her brain stem that will need time to repair themselves. Because of that damage she is unable to adequately swallow. She will not be allowed to eat or drink anything by mouth for some time. All her nourishment will be put through a feeding tube leading to her stomach.

The damaged has also affected part of her tongue making it more difficult to use. You may notice her voice sounds different. Speech therapists will be working with her so she will regain better control of her swallow and speech. Ashley's body is weak and unsteady. Walking takes a lot of energy and causes more pain.
She will need to use a wheel chair in public and a walker at home for a while. She also will need to wear a neck brace for 6 more weeks. A wound care nurse and 3 different therapists will each be visiting Ashley at home 2 or 3 times a week for the 1st month. After that she will go to the outpatient therapy 2 or 3 times a week.

The following are ways you can be helpful. Please...
Call to remind Ash of any plans you may have w/ her. Don't expect her to do much talking. Don't bring her food or make lunch plans with her. Call ahead if u want to stop in for a visit. If you think you may be sick please don't expose her. Her ability to fight off infection is decreased. Most importantly encourage her .to work hard at her recovery. For so long her life has revolved around field service and RBC work.

She wants to keep busy at that so it's means she needs to work very hard at her recovery. You may WANT to tell her to 'take it easy' and mean well by it but please don't. She really wants to push ahead to recover to the fullest extent possible. We don't know how fast or well, but she is hoping for a FULL recovery and is not willing to believe otherwise at the moment.

It would be good for people around her to have the same positive attitude. We miss you all and can't wait to be home again. Everything is going as planned so discharge should be November 26th. Ashley's blood count is now normal and her skull fracture has healed nicely. We hope to see all our friends in Red Bluff at the Sunday meeting following her discharge.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

November 17 at 5:11

Today Ashley finally had surgery to put the feeding tube directly into her stomach. Everything went fine but she is in a lot more pain now. It should improve with in a week.

Monday, November 16, 2009

November 12 at 2:52

Ashley's white cell count has normalized. No idea where the infection was or where it went. The surgery scheduled today for the feeding tube as been postponed. Maybe tomorrow it will finally be taken care of.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

November 12 at 10:19

Ash is working hard on the physical therapy. She hates being here & is hoping to come home early. The Dr. gave us a tentative date of Nov. 26th as a discharge date if all goes well. Yeah! Ash is still struggling with some sort of unidentifiable infection. Her heart & lungs are clear. They now plan to ultrasound her sto...mach. They are hoping things will improve so they can put the feeding tube into her stomach on Mon.

Monday, November 9, 2009

November 9 at 8:04

Ash worked very hard today. She climbed up and down a staircase with 14 steps. Using hand rails of course. She is getting a lot stonger but still has real problems with balance. Her vision is blurred and she sees double which adds to her balance issues. She was finally able to shower for the first time today! Now she is sleeping VERY well.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

November 8 at 9:36

The fever is gone for now but her white blood cell count was high. The arrangemnts to have the feeding tube put into her stomach have been placed on hold until they are sure she can safely tolerate another surgury.

November 8 at 6:11

Ash is on antibiotics and is responding well. She had a great day in therapy today.

Friday, November 6, 2009

November 6 at 10:45

Ash worked hard in rehab today. The speech therapist examined Ashley's vocal cords and discovered they are not closing properly and that is the reason she speaks so quietly and is most likely the reason she can't swallow properly. Arrangements are being made to have the feeding tube go directly into her stomach. She ha...s develped a fever with chills tonight and they are now doing new blood draws and a chest x-ray.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

November 5 at 10:59

If your fine with just a short visit then I think it would be good for Ash to see all the people who are cheering her on. I'm relunctant to tell people to come visit only because it's such a long drive and chances are that Ash will only be up for visiting just a few minutes or so. She is still in pain, often confused &... now working hard w/ rehab which will make her even more worn out.We do miss you all dearly.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

November 4 at 9:30

Ashley moved to the physical therapy wing this evening!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

November 3 at 2:12

Today Ashley used a walker. It was really difficult because her left side is much more weak then the right. Doctors are talking about sending her to the Physical Therapy wing of the hospital so she can have help to get up more and also work more with speech therapy.