December 24

Merry Christmas!!!

Just a quick post in case people are still checking this blog ;)
Mom is still doing very well. They ordered her a "platform walker" (which has a 'platform' for her bad arm to rest in while she uses it) and so that is the next goal. Just a few steps each time for now.
Mom still has hardly any pain, although she did have a few days this week when her bad leg bothered her quite a bit. I think it hurts more than she admits, although the pain meds keep it pretty much under control.
She still has her "wound VAC", and that will remain until a) a skin graft, or b) the wound closes. It's certainly doing it's job though, and the wound is shrinking.
She's been out and about a couple times with dad. Various doctor's appointments, a shopping trip, and even a breakfast party with dad's co-workers from church!
We are all very thankful and excited to have her home for Christmas. I honestly did not expect it.
Thanks for all the Christmas cards, cookies, and caroling! Our own festivities are rather limited this year, and so many of you have helped to make it special. Thanks!

May you all have a blessed and restful Christmas.
Glory to God!
Love,
Naomi, for all the Jackinses

December 14, 2009

Hello all!

Naomi here again. Sorry to those who have had no word since my last post; we have been so busy at home and it rather escaped my mind for a while!

God has been so, so good. Mom is doing great! Still in a wheelchair of course, but it is easy to see progress!! She has a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, and a visiting nurse, all of whom visit a few times a week.

She has full use of her hands, although her right arm is still weak from her broken bones.

She can lift her "bad" leg up just a little! Amazing to see.

She is doing a lot of the transfer work on her own; we are basically just there to steady her/ the transfer board. I am shocked each time I watch her scoot across it! :)

She is still unable to wheel herself around in the chair. Our thicker carpet makes it too hard.

She still has her "wound VAC", which is slowly sucking stuff out of her hip wound. The wound is getting smaller though (about a 6"x 6"x 6" triangle--Brian), and she says it is only painful when they change the dressing.

She is getting bored of course; she spends most of her days in the recliner or in the wheelchair. While this may sound GREAT to many of us (myself definitely included!) it gets old very fast. She wants so badly to just get up and walk around a little! It is very hard for a busy, working mom to not be able to help around the house. I can't imagine.

Regardless of these frustrations, her attitude has been fantastic. Her patience, gentle spirit and smiles have made our job easy. It is definitely exhausting to be her caretakers sometimes, but I can truly say IT IS A DELIGHT! :) The Holy Spirit is giving her so much grace. I would be very impatient if I were in her place.

So praise the Lord for that!

I'm trying to think of little things for her to do; she folds laundry sometimes, for instance. Yesterday she helped me cut out Christmas cookies! It was wonderful. She loves just watching the household- she greatly missed that in her 8-or-9 weeks away.

She had a lot of visitors in the first week or so, and she enjoyed them all. It is a very pleasant way to break up the day!

We are still getting meals, and thank you all SO MUCH for that. It has helped greatly.

God has shown us how much we need Mom at home; I have seen a HUGE improvement in everyone's attitude. I personally have more energy, more peace, etc. Dad is tired all the time (we take turns spending the night in Mom's temporary, downstairs room) but he is certainly happier.

We still have several weeks before Mom can get out of the wheelchair, but just having her home is enough for now. I wish there were words to express how thankful we are that Mom will be home for Christmas.

Thank you for your continued prayers; God's constant mercy is so humbling. Mom gets better every day!

Much love to you all,

the Jackinses

this from Brian:

Last week we had two follow-up visits: the trauma team at Reading Hospital (the ones who saw her when she first got there on October 4) and our family practitioner. They were both very impressed.

More this week: tomorrow we go back to Philadelphia to be seen by the orthopedic surgeon who operated on Ruth's pelvis, and the next day we see the plastic surgeon in Reading, who will look at the vac area (where the skin was removed, mentioned above). Ruth feels pretty queazy about the idea of a skin graft. We would love for that not to be needed, but it is a rather large area and God will decide.

Just some details of how some friends have blessed Ruth:

1. One of our deacons came and installed a temporary sink she can get to. She loves it! (The powder room is too small and tight for the chair.)

2. Three lady decorator elves came and transformed her downstairs room into a romantic French lady's boudoir. (We had moved a lot of stuff out to make room for it to be her bedroom, but we hadn't done anything to make it feminine. It was literally four panelled walls and a window.) Now her hospital bed even has a skirt on it with a crocheted border!

3. A hairdresser friend made a house call. Ruth's hair grows fast and needed cutting. And (did we mention this before?) some other friends are letting us use their roll-in, first-floor shower. That first shower after two months was a great day, I can tell you.

The Lord says, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." He is a Friend like no other. May he bless you in 2010 as your thoughts, cards, love and prayers (and many other helps) have blessed us.

One more word: many of you have said how much you have been meaning to write, or call, or visit, or ... but haven't been able to get to it due to illness in the family, busyness or a hundred other reasons. Please know that we treasure just knowing you and it's okay. Many are the times we've wanted to do more for suffering families, but couldn't. Don't feel bad. Contacts come in their right times and we know you are there.

love to you all, and thanks especially to those we don't know, but who have been on this journey with us anyway.

Brian

If you out there who pray could cover one more big thing for us, it would mean a lot. The company where I worked before my job at the church was a craft kit company called Dimensions. They produce needlecrafts, paint-by-number, rubber stamps and other crafts. They were bought by a larger concern which is closing their Reading facility at the end of the year. Most of my friends from there will lose their jobs, or have already. If you would ask God to help them in this major challenge, we would count it a huge favor. We feel so bad for them, especially in this climate. Many of them have worked there for many years and it's very specialized work. They are excellent, kind and skilled people who are family to one another as they have been to us. Thank you.

Home!

Hello everyone, Naomi here.
Hope my father didn't bore you with his updates... haha. I believe the last blog was before Mom came home. Dad went to pick her up on Wednesday morning, and all went very well. The ride was fine, the transfer was good, and her new room downstairs is working well. Someone gave us a bed that raises both head and feet, sort of like a hospital bed.

It is SO RELIEVING to have Mom home! We are all so much more relaxed; it just helps to have her around. I don't think I realized until now how draining it was to be driving an hour just to see her. God gave us strength though, and we are so thankful to have her back. When I saw her sitting in the car in the driveway I started bawling.
She is doing very well; quiet, but happy. She says she just enjoys watching the bustle of the household. :)
The wheelchair is tricky on the carpet, and our doorways are very narrow, so she is dependent on us to push her around. She is spending most of the time on our reclining sofa.
Her wheelchair fits under the kitchen table so she can eat meals with us! Wednesday lunch was the FIRST time all 6 of us had been together in 7 1/2 weeks!
Her nurse and therapists will be coming a few times each per week. Once she is allowed to weight-bear she will go on to more therapy.
We have much to adjust to, but God has blessed us so richly. Taking care of her each day is a delight.
Please pray for time and energy. Things take quite a while even though we are helping her.

Mom is so patient with us as we learn how to take care of everything. God has given her such a gentle spirit- she is so content just to be home.
Thanksgiving was great for us; I cooked about half the meal, and my aunt brought the rest. Mom ate a full plate! She loved it. Can't imagine having Thanksgiving without her.

This stage for Mom will last probably through January. Her therapists are very pleased with how she is doing. Thanks for praying and caring for so many weeks. We pray you have all been blessed to see God's work through this. To God be the glory!

Love,
the Jackinses

Coming home Wednesday!

Hello, caring and attentive friends,

Brian here. Ruth had her home visit yesterday with the occupational and physical therapists. She did great and looked great.

(All I can say is, it's a good thing they didn't need to see the second floor, because we had ... stashed a few things there so the downstairs would be decent and navigable. Some of you know what I'm talking about ... in terms of clutter, especially with Mom out of the house ... like, our bedroom is now a disaster area. But that's another whole blog.)

The therapists were great too. They went through the downstairs with Ruth, observing her doing the things they've taught her (wheeling around corners, transfer to regular chair, etc.) and talked to us about slight modifications in our home that will help. We have the back room on one side of the house cleared out for a temporary (3-month) bedroom. We're getting a hospital bed, a wheelchair, a commode, her leg exercise device, the woundvac machine and whatever else she needs.

I told them she needs a hot tub. (They're checking with the insurance company. Foiled again!)

Wish you could have seen Rio, our border collie/golden retriever mix, when he saw Mommy. He went nuts with joy!!

Thank you . Next time we write, Ruth will be here with us. I pick her up tomorrow at 11.

Thursday, Ruth's sister is bringing the turkey, Naomi will make some pies, the boys can make the green bean casserole. We are grateful to know the God to whom our thanks is due, and grateful that he has answered your prayers and helped us in all these ways. It will still be a long haul, and frustrating/challenging at times, but we'll be so glad Ruth is here with us from now on.

Thank God---when there are figs on the tree and when there are none. He knows what he is doing.

love, Brian and all of us.

Home for the Holidays?

Hi Everyone,

Brian here. Unfortunately for you, Naomi has sort of disappeared into the world of homework, housework, helpwork (she babysits and cleans for a couple of families) and college applications.

(The first thing I should do is apologize for not pointing out that the rehab won't allow anyone younger than 14 to visit. A few people have taken their kids to see Mrs. Jackins, but they haven't gotten in---a letdown! We squeaked Ben in (he's 13) by swearing that his birthday is in January and that he won't swing from the chandeliers. No, I think it's related to the germ season and all. So---yes, you can visit, but not with the young'uns.)

Home for the holidays? I learned from our days at HUP to say "I'll believe it when I see it," but they are hoping to bring Ruth home sometime on the day before Thanksgiving!

She really is doing well learning how to maneuver. Which is not to say we won't have a lot to learn to be able to take care of her. They are coming for a home visit late Monday morning to inspect, prescribe, recommend and generally figure out what we need to do around here. Like, maybe some dishes. We haven't been washing any, just buying new and saving them all for when Mom gets home ... I'm kind of nervous about taking care of Ruth. Guess it will be like the rest of it: one day at a time!

You know that poem about the footprints in the sand? I have tried not to like it because it's so overused. But it is also so true. Christ (and you) really have carried us when we could not walk. Ruth, literally and the rest of us, figuratively. Thank you again for holding us up, and asking God to.

I'll try to write more when we know more.

love, Brian for us all

Dear Friends,

Oh, we're so sorry to let so much time go by without word. Brian here. It's six days since Ruth's move to the Rehab. We've mostly just been busy going back and forth. Also, the day-to-day changes aren't as dramatic now (thank the Lord, we don't need them to be!), so we will be posting less often.

But there are good things to report! Let's see ...

1. Many of you have asked about pain, or commented that you can't imagine all Ruth's pain. One of the blessings has been that she hasn't had too much intense pain. In Philly, they generally kept it under control. Back here, her doses of pain meds have been reduced but it's still not too bad. So you can be relieved and thank the Lord with us. She tends more toward discomfort, she would call it, when she hasn't changed positions in awhile, or these days when she's upright (in the wheelchair) too long. About an hour and a half is what she's up to, then bed starts looking really good.

2. All kinds of changes. All of her stitches are out, no more splints or immobilizers, she's using her right arm (though not for anything heavy), she's wearing pajamas and sweats instead of hospital gowns, she's eating better (i.e., more) every day. The one big device still at work is the woundvac on her hip, still removing fluid and reducing the area that was so swollen.

3. The Rehab is very nice. It is low and wide with wide hallways and pretty big rooms. She has her own room on a floor that can take only about 12 patients. In all, the center can admit 112. Unlike Philly, the cafeteria closes at 2 p.m., so no access for dinner for guests. There are vending machines.

4. Her therapy includes bathing and dressing herself, eating, learning to transfer from mattress to chair or commode, rotating her ankles and feet ... and she's doing great. There is also a machine that moves her lower right leg for her. It very slowly bends her knee up and then straightens it. she was on that for two-hour stints but it was pretty hard to take. She asked the nurses if she could do 2 one-hour treatments instead, and that has helped. Yesterday, too, she was self-propelling in her wheelchair using her left hand and foot. She made it through the hall all the way around the unit.

If you'd like to write, call or visit, that is possible.

Her phone number is 484-388-2995.

The unit desk is 484-388-2705.

You can write to her at
Ruth Jackins, c/0
The Reading Hospital for Post-Acute Rehabilitation
2802 Papermill Road
Wyomissing, PA 19610
or at home and we'll run it up. We go almost every day.

It would be a good idea to call before a visit, if possible. She has therapies scheduled all through the day, with some breaks, until 4:40 or so. She usually knows the next day's schedule by evening. Dinner is at 6:00; you can join her if you like (bring your own food).

Things to pray for:
1. Ruth's blood pressure was too low the other day, so she was going to have another transfusion. Nurses find it nearly impossible to find her veins, which are very fine and deep. There are no phrenologists (people who find lost veins) at the Rehab and it was going to be a big hullaballoo (to the hospital and back in an ambulance) to get the I.V. in. Fortunately, they checked her pressure just before they called the ambulance and it was back to the minimum acceptable level. Pray for her blood pressure and that they'll have someone on hand who can find a vein if needed.

2. Ruth is so tired of being in bed. She finds herself thinking things like, "This is silly. I need to go to the bathroom. I'm just going to get up and go." (Without a lot of pain, she doesn't feel her inability that much.) Then she reminds herself she is stuck for awhile. She needs patience as it will be awhile before she can do much. We don't watch T.V. at home and now we know why. What they say is true: 400 channels and there's still nothing to watch!! A friend gave us a portable DVD player, so I have taken her a couple of movies. She prays a lot. If you write to her or visit, share your prayer requests. She really will give them time and attention.

3. That she, and all of us, will be lights of Christ to the staff and other patients.

4. That increasingly they will be able to reduce her medications for pain, regularity, sleep, etc. and her body can start handling itself. She is on a blood thinner and that will be at least 6 months since she had a pulmonary embolism in one of her surgeries.

5. Strength in therapy, healing.

6. She misses home, "normal life and schedule" so much. And home doesn't feel right at all. It's been six weeks.

The Lord is good. Bless you all for your kind attention. Thank you for the many cards. We read them together and she loves thinking of each of you.

till next time,
Brian for us all.

Signed Out

Yes---after five weeks (practically to the hour) at HUP, Ruth traveled by ambulance to the brand-new Reading Hospital for Post-Acute Rehabilitation. The facility opened on October 20.

I don't know who was praying, but she slept most of the way, so THANK YOU Lord.

Our first impressions are great; we had good nurses, a great doctor who told us and asked us a lot, and they do serve lemon with their hot tea (an absolute must). Naomi was right; we'll miss the familiar faces in Philly and all their kindnesses. But Ruth really is ready for the next stage. She'll hit the ground running tomorrow (figuratively speaking) with different rehab evaluations and exercises from 9:30 to 3:30. They warned her that they fully expect to wear her out, but that patients are always so happy after a couple of days that they can do so many things again. Pray, as it will be quite a challenge. Pray especially that they will control her pain in the right way at the right time so that won't stand in the way of progress. Just sitting in a wheelchair yesterday became unbearable after an hour and a half. I mean, when it's your pelvis that was the broken part ...

The doctor explained their goals for this stay: this will NOT be to get her walking or anything. Her right arm and leg must be non-weight-bearing for 12 more weeks. At this point, they will be teaching her how to do the basics in taking care of herself and getting around the first floor of our home: sitting up, transferring to a wheelchair, to a commode, getting dressed, hygeine, etc. I asked for a rough time estimate, knowing that he didn't know much yet, and promising I would not hold him to it. He thinks she will be there for two to three weeks. I dangled Thanksgiving in front of her as carrot/incentive.

I of course will be asking them if they can also get her to chop onions (they make me tear up so) and darn my socks again.

Long day, gotta crash, thank you all again for making Ruth, the kids and me a part of your day and your thoughts.

She is still very tired. If you wouldn't mind, check with me or Priscilla before planning a visit.

We love you
Brian