Nothing new from Jenn today, talked to her late yesterday evening - she is in some discomfort, but healing, bored and ready to get on with things. She went back to the hospital today to have 35 staples removed, and I haven't heard how that went.
They are provided breakfast at the house, but have to provide other meals for themselves - they can either order in, or go to the mall - which they do usually, to get out of the house. Jenn still has a very strong sense of humor, the four in the house have all sustained injuries, and she said "we make quite a sight at the mall - one of us is using a walker, I scare them to death, and Tim doesn't know where he is".
As I hear stories from her and her mom, it seems more and more that what she has accomplished is remarkable. At the crash site, Tim and the driver were pulled out first, as they thought they were the most badly injured - when they pulled her out of the car, Jenn told her mom that Tim and the driver were laid out on the grass, and looked dead. As badly injured as she was, she said to herself "we are not going to die here - not here, not now" and went over to Tim and started screaming at him to wake up, knowing that sleeping with a head injury could be fatal. She kept after Tim to stay awake, and even in the ambulance on the way to Lilongwe, on oxygen, she helped the doctor with Tim.
Brenda believes that her dedication to helping Tim kept her adrenalin going, and gave her the strength and desire to save herself.
Great story, there is so much more but that will be up to Jenn to share at some future point.
She will be coming home in the next 2 - 4 weeks, don't have a definite date yet. She is quite anxious to come home, but dreading being "unemployed again at 24". She still needs your prayers and support to help her get through this.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Update from Pretoria 1-10
Quick update - Brenda (Jenn's mom) and Micki (her aunt) arrived back home Friday morning, and are really glad to be back. Jenn called me Thursday morning from the guest house, and I received the e-mail below from her. That is the last update I have received - I think the e-mail explains why.
Thank you again to all of you who have been following our "saga" - and for your wishes, thoughts, and prayers.
Hey there, Just a quick note b/c internet is expensive here, but my phone died, and I don't have the right adapter for here. I hope mom and micki made it back alright; tell them thank you again--it's not enough, but it's all I've got for now. The guest house is beautiful; kind of like a 5-star very boring vacation, but it's weird to be staying somewhere so nice right now. The other volunteers are nice, and things are going well. I've got some pain, but I'm trying not to take any pain meds. At any rate, thanks for everything; I'll keep you posted when there's more to say and more time to say it.Love you lots,Jenn
Thank you again to all of you who have been following our "saga" - and for your wishes, thoughts, and prayers.
Hey there, Just a quick note b/c internet is expensive here, but my phone died, and I don't have the right adapter for here. I hope mom and micki made it back alright; tell them thank you again--it's not enough, but it's all I've got for now. The guest house is beautiful; kind of like a 5-star very boring vacation, but it's weird to be staying somewhere so nice right now. The other volunteers are nice, and things are going well. I've got some pain, but I'm trying not to take any pain meds. At any rate, thanks for everything; I'll keep you posted when there's more to say and more time to say it.Love you lots,Jenn
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Update 1-8-08
Jenn was moved out of the hospital early this morning, to a guest house where Tim and two other PCV's are staying. Yesterday, the doctor asked if she could walk, so she got up, and walked from one end of the hospital corridor to the other, then went down a flight of stairs. They did convince her to take the elevator back up. I talked to Brenda at 11:00 local time last night, Jenn wore them out trying to keep up with her.
The woman in the bed next to her gasped, and said "I don't believe my eyes". All of her doctors concurred that they couldn't find any reason to keep her in the hospital any longer.
Tim will be in the halfway house another two weeks, then returning to Malawi - Jenn will be there at least 5 weeks, it turns out - the docs said "are you kidding? Two weeks? Don't you know we just removed a tube from her lung yesterday, and just took her off of oxygen?" Perhaps we were a little overly optimistic.
Micki and Brenda are on a plane over Africa as I write, trying to make it home tomorrow - they may get bumped in Dakar at 3:00 am local time, bummer, but they thought this was their best chance - and they are ready to come home.
If you ever have to go through this ordeal, stay at the Centurian Forever Hotel near the hospital - they have treated Brenda and Micki like queens, a very nice experience. I am jealous - my Raz dog is the one that gets treated like a queen here, I am the cup bearer - as in a cup of dog food.
Jenn will have computer access at her guest house, if she feels up to it she may answer some e-mails, and, hopefully, she will take over her blog. Dad's blogging days are about to come to an end - hurray!! Jenn is much more interesting, and can give you a lot more insight into what has happened / is happening.
Thanks again for your support. Couldn't have done this without you.
The woman in the bed next to her gasped, and said "I don't believe my eyes". All of her doctors concurred that they couldn't find any reason to keep her in the hospital any longer.
Tim will be in the halfway house another two weeks, then returning to Malawi - Jenn will be there at least 5 weeks, it turns out - the docs said "are you kidding? Two weeks? Don't you know we just removed a tube from her lung yesterday, and just took her off of oxygen?" Perhaps we were a little overly optimistic.
Micki and Brenda are on a plane over Africa as I write, trying to make it home tomorrow - they may get bumped in Dakar at 3:00 am local time, bummer, but they thought this was their best chance - and they are ready to come home.
If you ever have to go through this ordeal, stay at the Centurian Forever Hotel near the hospital - they have treated Brenda and Micki like queens, a very nice experience. I am jealous - my Raz dog is the one that gets treated like a queen here, I am the cup bearer - as in a cup of dog food.
Jenn will have computer access at her guest house, if she feels up to it she may answer some e-mails, and, hopefully, she will take over her blog. Dad's blogging days are about to come to an end - hurray!! Jenn is much more interesting, and can give you a lot more insight into what has happened / is happening.
Thanks again for your support. Couldn't have done this without you.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
You ABSOLUTLEY won't believe this!!!
Jenn just called me from the hospital - she has progressed so rapidly, she will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow - Dr. Cedric, the PC Medical Officer, said it it almost unbelievable. She is extremely excited, they took the stitches out of the area around her eye today, there will be some scarring, but that should be easily fixed with plastic surgery.
Brenda and Micki went to see her in the hospital ward today - and she wasn't there! They had to hunt for her, and found outside enjoying the sun.
She will be staying in a halfway house with Tim for about two weeks, until they are well enough to fly, then Tim will be returning to Malawi, and Jenn will be coming home.
Jenn asked me to tell everyone how grateful she is to you for your support, your prayers, your calls, your e-mails, your text messages - she told me she would get back to each of you as soon as she could "get my head around all of this - it is pretty overwhelming, getting back into the world is going to be hard". She loves and appreciates you all.
Final note - Brenda and Micki will be trying to return tomorrow night, or Friday night - which means they will be home by mid-day Friday or Saturday.
Thank you all for everything you have done to support us during this time - you can never know how grateful we are that we, as a family, have friends like you. There are not sufficient words to express our appreciation.
Brenda and Micki went to see her in the hospital ward today - and she wasn't there! They had to hunt for her, and found outside enjoying the sun.
She will be staying in a halfway house with Tim for about two weeks, until they are well enough to fly, then Tim will be returning to Malawi, and Jenn will be coming home.
Jenn asked me to tell everyone how grateful she is to you for your support, your prayers, your calls, your e-mails, your text messages - she told me she would get back to each of you as soon as she could "get my head around all of this - it is pretty overwhelming, getting back into the world is going to be hard". She loves and appreciates you all.
Final note - Brenda and Micki will be trying to return tomorrow night, or Friday night - which means they will be home by mid-day Friday or Saturday.
Thank you all for everything you have done to support us during this time - you can never know how grateful we are that we, as a family, have friends like you. There are not sufficient words to express our appreciation.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
PHENOMENAL NEWS FROM PRETORIA 1/6
Jenn called me today from her hospital ward and we talked for 15 minutes her voice is still raspy, but clear, and she sounds more like Jenn - she has been moved out of High Care into a regular hospital ward, ALL of her tubes have been removed, and she has been taken off oxygen. When she arrived at the hospital, she had scabs covering most of her face - they have mostly come off, and the skin is normal underneath!!
She is looking forward to taking a shower by herself tonight, and wearing her own clothes - including a pink nightgown her mother took to her.
The eye doctor examined her vision thoroughly, and her eye is fine - stitches should come out tomorrow, and we'll know more about her appearance then. They also have a macular facial surgeon who will be looking at her soon.
Prognosis is that she will be in the hospital about a week longer, then move to a halfway house for two weeks, then be flown home.
Her mother said "her recovery has been amazing. It is happening so fast, that she may not realize how seriously she was injured". She also restated again how wonderful the hospital staff and hotel staff had been to them.
Brenda and Micki are planning on leaving on the 8th, Brenda hopes to be back home Friday morning. Jenn will be lonely, so feel free to give her a call - remember, it is 8 hours later there (central time).
She is looking forward to taking a shower by herself tonight, and wearing her own clothes - including a pink nightgown her mother took to her.
The eye doctor examined her vision thoroughly, and her eye is fine - stitches should come out tomorrow, and we'll know more about her appearance then. They also have a macular facial surgeon who will be looking at her soon.
Prognosis is that she will be in the hospital about a week longer, then move to a halfway house for two weeks, then be flown home.
Her mother said "her recovery has been amazing. It is happening so fast, that she may not realize how seriously she was injured". She also restated again how wonderful the hospital staff and hotel staff had been to them.
Brenda and Micki are planning on leaving on the 8th, Brenda hopes to be back home Friday morning. Jenn will be lonely, so feel free to give her a call - remember, it is 8 hours later there (central time).
Monday, January 5, 2009
Update Jan. 5
Jenn had a good day today - she still has a tube in one lung, but she has been walking around on her own power, and sitting up more - according to Brenda, a significant improvement.
Tim will be discharged to a halfway house tomorrow, which was upsetting, but he will be back and forth to the hospital, and can visit Jenn when he's there.
The doctors are talking about one more week in the hospital, then a move to a halfway house for Jenn for two weeks, then a trip home. She will not be able to return to Africa, because of the removal of her spleen, and that is upsetting, because she has worked so hard to get there, learned new languages, etc.
Brenda and Micki are still there, and have not made plans to return. They have been moved to a new room, 109, at the Forever Resort in Pretoria. They can be called in the evening (1:00 PM CT, 2:00 PM ET) at 01127126446000, ask for room 109. Least expensive way is a land line with a calling card.
Tim will be discharged to a halfway house tomorrow, which was upsetting, but he will be back and forth to the hospital, and can visit Jenn when he's there.
The doctors are talking about one more week in the hospital, then a move to a halfway house for Jenn for two weeks, then a trip home. She will not be able to return to Africa, because of the removal of her spleen, and that is upsetting, because she has worked so hard to get there, learned new languages, etc.
Brenda and Micki are still there, and have not made plans to return. They have been moved to a new room, 109, at the Forever Resort in Pretoria. They can be called in the evening (1:00 PM CT, 2:00 PM ET) at 01127126446000, ask for room 109. Least expensive way is a land line with a calling card.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Text me
Jenn's new cell phone has text messaging - so text her!! Her number is 01127798570961 - I don't know how soon she will be able to respond, but she would love to get messages!! Also, she has voice mail (once they figure how to make it work). At some point, when she is able to move about more, she will also have access to a computer, so she can read your e-mails.
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