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.