Conference quark::human_relations-v1

Carol Champion has been in contact with Elizabeth's brother and has given me 
permission to post part of her mail to me concerning the accident. It seems
that the internal injuries mentioned may be extensive. liesl


<The exact details of the accident are still not available, but Elizabeth
<was in a head-on collision on the way to work from Peyton.  There are no
<broken bones, but she does have a concussion and internal injuries, the 
<extent of which is still not known.  She's expected to remain in the 
<Coronary Care Unit of Memorial Hospital for several days and may be in
<there for as long as several weeks.  Immediate family members are the
<only ones allowed to visit at this time, but flowers and plants can be
<sent to her in the unit.

Taken from Carol's most recent mail message to us. I will get the address of
the hospital and post it for those who want to send cards. liesl

The latest status on Elizabeth Younger is that she is in "stable but serious"
condition.  According to tonight's news report, she was broadsided by a van
in the intersection of Meridian and Hwy 24.  The three people in the van 
were not injured.  Police think that Elizabeth did not see the van coming 
when she pulled out into the intersection.

I talked to both her mother and brother.  Her condition has not changed and
she is not expected to regain consciousness for at least a couple more days.
Regardless, she is being kept sedated.  She has liver damage and internal
bleeding, but is not expected to have surgery.  She's in the Coronary Care
Unit as a precaution.  She is also on a respirator, forcing her to breathe
more deeply, and allowing more oxygen to flow to her brain.  A CAT scan was
done and results were normal.  Hospital staff is confident that there will 
be no permanent damage.

A dry flower arrangement with an adorable balloon will be delivered to her
tomorrow.  The flower shop suggested this, as this is an ICU ward and they
normally don't allow live plants.  Once she is moved to a room we can send
her a real one!

Mrs. Younger extends thanks to all of us for caring and tells us, "Don't
worry!  She's gonna' be all right!"

Thanks, Mom!

Carol

The hospital address is:

		Elizabeth Younger, Patient
		c/o Coronary Care Unit
		Memorial Hospital
		1400 E. Boulder
		Colo Spgs, CO 80909

    Thank you, Liesl.
    
    Please keep us posted as you find out how Elizabeth is doing.
    
    Tamzen

Not very much to say at this point.  She is still in "serious but stable"
condition.  We are encouraged by the fact that she seems to be aware of
people around her and responds accordingly.  For instance, "Are you hungry,
Elizabeth?  Wiggle your toes if you're hungry."  And she wiggled her toes!

She still has not regained consciousness, but she has started breathing 
on her own with minimal help from the respirator.  There is also no more 
indication of internal bleeding and her daily CAT (KAT?) scans are normal.

We continue to wait.......

Carol

A little bit of progress on our friend this week, but she is *still* 
unconscious and will more than likely remain that way for a couple more
weeks.  Her physical activity has increased remarkably and she somehow
seems to know who is in the room with her, i.e. - a nurse with a nasty
needle, or a friend, or family.

The respirator rate is now down to four, as she is slowly being weened 
off of it.  She will be taken off of it when hospital staff can be 
reasonably sure that she can protect her airway (by swallowing and 
coughing).

They started her on tube feeding, and a rehabilitative therapist has
started working with her to help maintain her muscle tone and dexterity.
The muscle tone of her left side was minimal last week, and is noticeably
improved this week.

And she looks awfully cute with a pony-tail on the top of her head.  :-)

Carol

Progress!!!!

She's regaining consciousness!  She's off the respirator and on an oxygen
mask.  Her vital signs are looking good.  She's opening her eyes more often
now and even tried to talk last night.  What she said was unintelligible,
but her vocal cords still work!

There's no solid estimation of how long before she's moved out of CCU, but
her doctor said that, if she continues to progress at this rate, she could
be moved inside of two weeks.

:-) :-) :-)

Carol

:-)

*Really* looking good now!  She is breathing on her own and has been
upgraded to stable condition.  She's still in the ICU/CCU ward, but
has been moved to a new bed and is not as "wired for sound" as she 
once was.  Her rehabilitative therapist has also had her on her feet
taking a few steps.

She's groggy, but definitely conscious and alert.  This morning she 
knew her name and age.  When I saw her this evening, I was able to
ask specific questions to receive nods or shakes of the head.  Once
in a while she would attempt to talk.  Although her voice is little
more than a hoarse whisper at this time, I could understand what she
was saying.

And I also had the pleasure of reading your cards and letters to her.
Needless to say, she was very touched and very appreciative of our
thought and caring.

She's doing better, but still has a ways to go - so, stay tuned, and 
keep those cards and letters coming!

Carol

:-)

    
    	Carol, do they have any idea how long she'll be in the hospital?
    

    A couple more weeks, at least.  Right now they're saturating her with
    a bronchial mist for ten minutes every four hours to help open her
    esophagus more.  She won't be moved to a regular-visitors-are-welcome
    room until her doctor is reasonably certain that she's out of danger
    of pneumonia.  Her doctor says that, at this point, a reasonable 
    assumption is two to six weeks, but that he reserves the right to
    change the prognosis.  Since it originally was "six months to a year",
    I don't think I'll argue.  :-)
    
    Carol
    
    

Saw Elizabeth again tonight and her improvements are now surpassing
the frequency of these updates!  She's been moved to room 745 at
Memorial Hospital and is now receiving visitors.  Her left side is 
still much weaker than her right and she does tire easily, so, to
those of you who plan to visit her, please keep it moderate.  :-)

I *would* also include the category of those abroad who may wish to 
call her, EXCEPT that she still is unable to talk above a hoarse
whisper and phone conversations are a little out of the question for
the time being.

She does appreciate company and has expressed that the cards and 
letters are a definite day brightener.  On her behalf, thanks to all 
of you for your cards and warm wishes!  It's a wonderful feeling to
wake up to all this TLC!

Carol

Hi, everyone!

Elizabeth has, indeed, been making more progress and has been moved to yet 
another room, as well as another hospital!  As of July 5th, she is at:

		Penrose Hospital  
		Rehab Unit  
		Room 326  
		2215 North Cascade Avenue  
		Colorado Springs, CO   80907  
		719 577-2145

She can talk on the phone, but her voice is still weak, so extended 
conversations are not recommended.

Elizabeth has been coming along fine in a lot of ways, but the rehab at 
Penrose is expected to quite a while.  I'm afraid we should expect her to 
be away from work for at least six months.  On the plus side, the ICU/CCU 
types are bowled over by her speedy recovery - they didn't expect her to 
be waking up until mid-July.  They have nothing but praise for her speedy
recovery.  :-)

And keep those cards and letters coming!  They're an absolute day
brightener and she *insists* on tearing them open and reading them
herself now!

Carol

    Her new phone number at Penrose is:
    
    		(719) 577-2133
    
    Carol
    

Elizabeth is out of the hospital now and back at home!

She's continuing rehabilitative therapy and won't be back at work for 
some time to come, but she'll be available via terminal (SSDEVO::YOUNGER)
for any questions we may have (please keep the work stuff at a minimum,
though - we want her to get BETTER).  :-)

Way to go, Elizabeth!!

Carol

    
>for any questions we may have (please keep the work stuff at a minimum,
    				       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>though - we want her to get BETTER).  :-)
    
    	This never seems like much of a problem :-)
    
    
    

>for any questions we may have (please keep the work stuff at a minimum,
    				  
>though - we want her to get BETTER).  :-)
    
    As a type-A personality, the work stuff may actually *help* me get
    better, not make me worse.  Hey, at least I'll feel useful!
    
    Elizabeth
    

    Welcome back, Elizabeth!!!

    Hurray! How wonderful to "see" you back at a terminal.