Terri's Story
Terri has been on a health journey trying to get to the bottom of intense skin rashes. Through this 2 year journey she experienced a lot of food fear and ultimately eliminated food after food from her diet because she felt so many of the foods she'd eat exacerbated her rash. This food fear led to extreme weight loss and mal-nourishment.
Then on April 25 this year, Terri took a long hot bath (because it often soothed her skin), and then went to shower and wash her hair. During her shower she collapsed. Her son and husband were home and immediately tended to her and called 9-1-1. Her husband performed CPR for 10 minutes until help arrived where they shocked her three times and got her to the hospital. She coded again in the ED but they got her back again. After some testing they determined it wasn't a blood clot or aneurysm and admitted her for hypothermia therapy. The studies with this newer therapy have been promising to help preserve brain function etc following cardiac arrest. (When the heart stops, blood flow and oxygen aren't flowing to the important organs and areas and can cause damage. This is why CPR is important to try to keep blood flow pumping.)
Following 2+ days of cooling then warming her, the nurse noticed some seizure activity and she was transferred to a different hospital for more intensive neuro monitoring. The neuro monitoring with EEG, MRI of the brain, and physical assessments for multiple days did not look good. Based on these tests they believed she had suffered an anoxic brain injury from not enough oxygen to the brain when her heart stopped. They considered her permanently unconscious. Her heart was also incredibly weak. Everyone did their best to follow her living will and wishes and organ donation was persued. About two hours before starting end of life care, the Dr felt she started responding to pain stimulation. So everything was paused and we gave her more time. 48 hours later, she woke up and came off the ventilator. What a miracle!
The days and weeks that followed were full of questions, and baby steps of improvement. The family and staff were often shocked with the glimpses of capabilities she had. They were even more surprised that her heart function improved so drastically, and then a repeat MRI didn't show the same damage that had been previously seen. Was the original damage on the MRI actually just inflammation from the seizures? Her family considers it more miracles and the Lord's favor over her!
She has so much more healing to do. Being on the ventilator for 13 days is incredibly hard on the body. She's been in rehab facilities and working hard in physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. She tires easy and often deals with aphasia - trying to find the right words. She may still have some microscopic damages on the brain but she has great potential for full recovery. When therapy got her up in the skylift to practice walking... the light switch clicked! She left rehab walking with a walker and able to get to the restroom with assistance. She came home August 19 and continues with her therapies and home healthcare. She even got her feeding tube removed! Neurologically, we have good evidence of long term memory, personality and emotions. Short term memory is a challenge that we’re praying continues to recover and full restoration. She's getting stronger and also forgets she needs help to get around sometimes so she's fallen a few times. We're hoping she can have more safety awareness and keep herself safe! See a video journal documenting her journey here.
We all appreciate your prayers, support, and love. This has been an incredibly long and weary journey for everyone. Thank you again for your help and love!
As we navigate the recovery journey, constantly buying new tools and equipment, and also go through more testing and appointments, we want to encourage Terri while also supporting their financial needs with the medical bills and rehab facility burdens. Please feel welcome to email us some encouragements, or if you feel led to help with the financial burden, the go fund me link is available here.
Thank you for your continued love, support and prayers!
