Jennifer Thornton Fitts

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place.

As many of you know, on April 11th Jennifer suffered a hemorrhagic stroke (which is a brain bleed) which we are 99% sure was caused by hypertension. Jennifer collapsed while she was at work and was rushed to the hospital where they determined it was quite severe and had her med-flighted from Cape Cod to Mass General Hospital in Boston (MGH). MGH is one of the best hospitals in the country and one of the top four for Neurosciences. Thank God we live where we do because these doctors saved Jennifer's life. We are very fortunate.

The outlook in the ER was grim (I'll leave it at that), but the incredible team of doctors and nurses worked their magic to stop the bleeding over night. The following day she underwent surgery to remove the clot of blood in order to reduce the pressure on her brain and thus reduce the swelling of her brain. She did extremely well in surgery, they were able to remove over 60% of the clot and there were no complications so the neurosurgeons were very pleased.. She spent about 8 days in the Neurological ICU where she was closely monitored and cared for to manage her stability through the critical post-surgery days.  This is where all the little blessings and baby steps of recovery began.

Jennifer has since been moved out of the ICU to a Neruosciences recovery unit and each day we have been blessed with progress. From seeing slight movements of her left limbs, to removing the precautionary neck brace, breathing again on her own, opening her eyes, re-learning how to swallow and now beginning to communicate.  We are so impressed with MGH that we cannot even fully express it! Unbelievable! It has been quite an incredible journey.

It will be a very long journey, but Jennifer has been an incredible trooper. She is aware that she has much work ahead, but she is determined and we believe she will make great strides as she begins daily routines with physical, occupational and speech therapy.

We so appreciate all the love and support everyone is sending our way. We need you to keep the prayers and good thoughts coming as Jennifer continues her recovery!

This site will allow us to keep you updated on her progress and allow you all to share words of hope and encouragement should you wish.