First, I would like to say THANK YOU for everyone’s thoughts, prayers and encouragement!  The number of people reaching out has been unbelievable.  This is a true testament of the number of people our mom has touched, and the depth of these relationships.

I will try to update regularly.  At the very least I will try to update when their is a significant change.

I’m sure you’ve all heard her talk about her ‘girls.’  I am Karen, Ginny’s middle daughter from North Carolina.  My younger sister Kristin, lives in LA, and my older sister Kathleen lives in Madison, WI.  I have the two grandsons she is so proud of, Kevin, 16, and Andrew, 20.

On April 23, 2018 my mom suffered a stroke on her left parietal lobe.   They believe it may have been caused by her high blood pressure (when she went to the ER her BP was 195 over some other high number I can’t remember!). 

She spent four days in ICU at Beaumont in GP.   Once her blood pressure was stabilized, she was moved to rehab at St. John’s on Moross where she is now.

As a result of the bleed on the left side, her right arm and leg have been significantly impacted.  Her left side was slightly affected and has some deficits.  However she has persevered and now has significant use of her left arm and leg.  She is feeding herself, doing a bit of drawing, and learning to adjust to her left hand as the dominate hand-at least for now (she is right handed).

Conversely, her right side is making great strides but it is slow, as expected.  When first admitted, she could not raise her arm or leg.  Now she can raise both her arm and leg and has some (limited) use of her hand.  Walking will take awhile, but again, progress is happening!

As you know, she is very strong and determined as she has ever been.  It’s hard for my sisters and I, however, to see such an independent and active person at lunch with a friend at noon on April 23, become so dependent and inactive just a few hours later.

Her spirits are up and down but she is one fierce therapy patient!  The brain is an amazing thing and listening to the therapists talk about how the brain heals is fascinating.  She receives 3+ hours of therapy daily.  While it is exhausting, we ensure she gets plenty of rest through the day.  

My son Andrew was in town this past weekend with me.  He spent a great of time with her listening to music, going through some old photos, and doing some drawing together.  

My sister Kristin and I are taking turns flying in every other week until she is stable.  I say ‘stable’ because she still has some concerns with the brain bleed, and it seems like every day there is some type of issue to address (if you’ve been through this you know what I’m talking about!  Nothing is predictable, standard or routine yet.) 

Thank you for your continued support and prayers.  
We will keep you posted. 

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