Update from Laurel's Mom December 2008 - 4 Months

Hi. Just wanted to give all of you who have been praying for Laurel some updates and more prayer requests. In November, there was a wonderful benefit dinner and auction put on by people in her home town that raised money to help them with their monthly expenses for the next year. (The doctor has said that Laurel cannot work for about a year, and Rusty was laid off from his job in October. Unemployment benefits started a few weeks ago.) So this was really a blessing!! The town has been so supportive of them and helped in many ways.

We were able to attend the dinner and were privileged to meet Jim Dean, the man who risked his life to save Laurel's, (as well as a young man who helped him move her to safety). We also met his wife and they are wonderful people. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to try to express our gratitude to him. Laurel has nominated him for a Red Cross Hero's Award in Vancouver, WA. We are praying that he will receive this honor.

She came home from the hospital the first of October, and has been doing very well. Her spirits continue to be good - with much gratitude for her survival and just to be able to enjoy her family and friends. We saw her at Thanksgiving, and of course that was what it was all about this year. We also have been so grateful for Rusty, her husband, who has cared for her and filled in for her physical limitations at this time with such love and joy. He is a treasure.

She goes to physical therapy 3x a week and is working very hard to be able to use her right arm and hand again. The surgeon has said that she needs a new grafting surgery after the first of the year under her arm where she does not have enough flexibility and elasticity to give her arm full motion (i.e. she has to eat with her left hand, and can't comb her hair, etc). She can write with her right hand (slowly) which is a big praise. I'm afraid she has been overdoing it with writing thank you notes to people after the Benefit. She says she has pain more often lately.

The latest - our prayer requests - is that she heard yesterday from the Insurance co of Mr. Storby (who hit her car when he came around a blind corner and had broken limbs and other injuries) that they are suing her for the accident. They did not have Insurance on their car at the time of the accident. It is a very large amount, and they have no idea what they can do (having no resouces) at this time. The other thing is that her Medical Ins says they will not pay for any more physical therapy, even though the Dr says it needs to continue. He says they do not understand that burns are different than other needs for physical therapy and usually need much more time. These new things are, of course, very stressful for them. We covet your prayers for them and their growing reliance on the Lord, and for the resolving of these new concerns.

We are so grateful to each of you for your concern and faithful prayers for our loved one during these past months. Thank you. Have a wonderful Christmas and remember to honor the One who gives us Life.

Love,

Lawrie and Lyla

Letter/Update From Laurel's Mom, October 2, 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

Laurel is being discharged today from the hospital!!  She is still far from
healed, but she is so glad to be going home.  Her husband has been trained in
bathing and dressing her burns this past week and he is pretty good at it!!  She
is feeling pretty strong and has a book of physical therapy exercises to
continue working with her right arm and hand and right leg.  She can walk and
does pretty well with her left hand.

She will be seeing the surgeon in a week to check on her grafting sites, and
will be able to do her Physical and Vocational therapy (near her
home).

Thank you all so much for your prayers and concern.  Praise God for all He has
done and will do in Laurel's life.  We are so blessed!!

Please continue to pray as the whole family adjusts to a different life than
they have had.  Please pray that the grafts will continue to heal and no further
surgeries will be needed.  Pray  for their encouragement  - her husband Rusty
has a lot on his shoulders at this time.  They are still looking for a different
home.

We love you all.

Lawrie and Lyla

Thank you all for so many prayers. I will continue to try to update this site. 
Hopefully Laurel will be able to update it soon herself so you can hear straight 
from her how she is progressing! Tiffany

Friday, September 26, 2008

Wow, I am really sorry it has been almost two weeks since I updated this blog. And alot has happened.

Laurel was moved temporarily to Emanuel Hospital. Then she was moved to rehab up in Washington. She was looking forward to that step, and toward making progress. Also, the kids are allowed in her room. So this is a major step. And I am sure also a welcome relief from the burn center where she was for a month. (Although as I say that, a month doesn't seem very long considering her condition upon arrival.)

Now that she is there, it seems as though they are in a rush to get her out of there. I don't understand this and am anxious to get more details from her mom and dad this evening. That first night of the accident, the burn doctor said it would be alot longer than that in rehab. So I am not really clear on why they'd send her home, seemingly so prematurely. There is concern about the grafts not being completely healed, movement still being restricted, how she can get along at home without medical assistance, etc.

I will see her parents this evening and hope to talk to her myself shortly. Thanks for caring and for your continued prayers for Laurel and her family.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Sorry this update has to be quick but I did want to post since she had surgery this week.

Laurel's surgery went well on Tuesday. They were able to do the rest of the skin grafts, finishing up by grafting the skin on her forehead and back. Her greatest fear going in was the anxiety (FEAR) she feels upon waking up. She spoke to the anesthesiologist about it beforehand but wasn't sure he'd heard her.

When I talked to her on Wednesday she said it was like waking up from a nap and the best time out of all of them! Another big answer to prayer.

I got to visit on Wednesday and she looks great. A pastor and his wife from our church met me there and we prayed together. She is an encouragement to others at the center, particularly a little boy she cheers on as he takes forced, painful walks down the hall each day. And she is already talking about volunteering there when she is fully recovered.

I have to say that I admire my cousin. I am sure she doesn't feel strong, and probably doesn't want to be alot of the time. But her trust in God, her ability to do the next thing, and to keep laughing and crying (sometimes at the same time) are strength indeed. Wow. I am so proud. She is an example to me.

Sunday, August 7,2008

I was finally able to see Laurel again today. I got to wait with her as she was in what we called Purgatory. It was, after all, a holding spot! No T.V., lots of extra beds, medical supplies, nurses computer and blood testing area. And who knows what all was behind curtain number two? Thinking we were alone, we had been chatting and being silly for awhile when we heard talking on the other side of the curtain.We stared at each other, I am sure both of us rehearsing what we'd said in the previous 30 minutes or so! Thankfully it was just a nurse over there, not another patient!

Her ICU room, sadly, was needed for a new patient and she was the current resident most ready to be moved. So we waited in there while they cleaned both her old room and her new one. Then they moved her into a new room with an actual bathroom in it. I'm really finding beauty in things I might normally take for granted. Toilets are beautiful. And hers has a garden view -- and, YES, a curtain Silly!

Her new room has a garden view too. It actually looks right out onto the shelter where we had our pretend campout last week. So maybe as she sits there and looks out she can hum a few bars of Kumbayah as she recalls:)

We had a very good visit. In addition to our chat of everyday life, we peppered in some laughter and some tears. It was the most time I've been able to sit with her at one time and we made the best of it:) I have to say I was about moved to tears when she pulled up her sheet and I looked at the graft site on her "donor" leg, where they harvested the good skin for her right leg. It is so raw looking.

Her mom and dad came over for another visit Friday and Saturday. On one of the days, they pulled the curtains, closed the door, and settled in for a movie, complete with snacks. Laurel really enjoyed it and appreciated the nice long visit.

Her Uncle Rick, Aunt Paula and GG came by earlier today for a visit after church. Her Grandma gave her a robe she really likes. She will get alot of use out of it now too, what with her own bathroom and all! And don't let me forget to mention that, in addition to getting into her recliner, she can now get up and hobble around some with a walker! Now THAT is progress!!!

Laurel said she will be having her (hopefully) last skin graft surgery on Tuesday. They will be grafting a smallish spot (comparatively speaking) on her back and on her forehead. The doctor was hoping those two would heal enough themselves but they are not, so will go ahead with the graft.

For her forehead they will use a donor swath from her head, which means she will have to start over with growing out her hair. Or maybe just go from here then sport a side ponytail for awhile:) They explained to her that caucasians have yellowish skin from the neck down and from there up we are more pink. So they needed a graft that will match more closely.

I was glad when she told me her first thought was that she hoped not to have a hairy forehead afterwards, as I wondered the same thing and felt so vain. And you did too, didn't you? But no. The hair follicles will stay and the skin will be moved. New skin, complete with hair, will grow -- but only on her scalp.

After this surgery, they are hoping she will be able to be moved to the rehab facility in Vancouver within a couple weeks. She will work on movement of all affected areas, but much of it will have to wait until the grafts are healed. They have informed her that she cannot bump any of her wounds. If blood pools (which we would call a bruise), it apparently prevents the blood from circulating through and healing the graft so can be pretty serious.

Please pray for continued grace and peace for Laurel and her family. She specifically asked for prayer for her hubby, R. He is doing a great job holding down the fort and realizing just how much Laurel does at home. But all of the trauma of his wife being injured so badly is something that is hard for anyone to accept and it is very painful for him. She asked that we would please pray that he will be able to lean on the only One who can calm the storm. They are seeing prayers answered daily, but it is still so very hard to make any sense out of any tragedy, especially one that strikes your loved ones.

A Photo At The Burn Center

Here is a picture of Laurel from Saturday with her brother Rob.

You can see how beautifully her nose has healed. It is even better now and you can barely even tell it was burned!The same goes for her chin, which was pretty raw at first. You can also see there are injuries to her fingers, there in the bottom left of the picture. You can see a bit of bandaging on her right arm. That bandaging is pretty much covering her right side and both legs.

Tuesday, September 2

The two younger kids (S&L) especially need prayer right now. They have started school and maybe this will give them some sense of routine which may comfort them. Things have been so out of the ordinary for them these past weeks, plus worry for their mom, being homesick but knowing home isn't the same right now, changes in school, not a whole lot of definitive answers about when their mom will be home and things will regain some normalcy -- all of these things must be very difficult for them.