Doc Smith

Doc's started with the flu on Sunday, February 18th and upon visiting the doctor two days later was found to have pneumonia as well.  The illnesses continued to worsen as the days passed.  By Sunday, February 25th, Doc was lethargic and showed signs of memory loss.  A visit to the emergency room immediately followed.  Upon initial examination with a brain scan it was thought that Doc had suffered from a stroke.  It was also confirmed that he had meningitis, but viral meningitis which is better than bacterial meningitis.  The diagnosis of a stroke would not be confirmed until an MRI could be conducted and on Monday evening Doc was able to get through an MRI successfully.  The results came back on Tuesday morning and showed inflammation of the brain which can be normal for people with meningitis but also showed that a stroke had NOT occurred as originally thought.  As the days have progressed in the hospital, he has shown signs of improvements in some ways but not where we’d like him to be.  At this point we are worried about possible long term effects since he also shows signs of  regression while receiving treatment.  As of writing this we are awaiting a bed to open at MUSC (Charleston, SC) where we believe he'll receive more specialized treatment for his condition.  


The number of people reaching out for updates and to offer support has been overwhelming which is only a sign of how much Doc is loved and cared for by so many people.  For that I can't thank you enough!  THANK YOU!!  I am going to use this site to keep family and friends updated in one place.  Please feel free to share with others and visit back often for updates and news.  While encouraging texts, phone calls and emails are all great I feel like this is the best and most efficient method of providing updates to all.    


We greatly appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement.  


Sincerely, 
Ashley Froneberger Smith