October 31st - Update

Happy Halloween everyone - so it's been a few days since I last posted an update and that's because there hasn't been much to report.  Nicole continues to make progress.  They have given her a smaller trach and moved her off of the respiratory critical care floor and to a regular room.  We are hoping the next move would be home!  I did take Lily down to see her this past weekend and it proved to be good therapy for Nicole.  Lily handled it great (until she had to leave of course), and hugged and kissed mommy all weekend!  I will post another update in a few days.  Thanks again for all of your support!

Tom

October 21st - Update

Hello everyone - just wanted to let everyone know that Nicole continues to make a little progress every day.  They have taken he catheter out, one of the IV lines and she is continuously breathing on her own throughout the day with little support from the breathing machine.  They have her out of bed and walking as much as she can handle.  It has been very emotional for her and she misses Lily so much.  I am praying that they can see each other very soon. 

Tom

October 16th - Update

Hello everyone - Nicole has been taken off of the breathing machine for the most part. The put in a temp trach on Friday and she seems to be adjusting well. They moved her to the Respiratory floor and out of the CCU. She has started to get out of bed and walk around a little to get some exercise! She is still having trouble swallowing and moving her eyes but she is making progress! Compared to where she was a week ago she is doing so much better!

Tom

October 13th - Update

Hello Everyone - Nicole is still in CCU but continues to make progress according to the Neurologists that saw her yesterday.  They did take her off of the breathing machine briefly yesterday to see if she could handle it and it was pretty challenging for Nicole.  They put her back on the machine and have decided to give her a trach tomorrow morning.  This will be much more comortable for Nicole and she is really looking forward to getting the tube out of her throat.  Her spirits seem to be good and she is as spunky as ever!  We are just going to have to take it one day at a time and pray for continued improvement! 

Tom

October 10th - Update

Hello everyone - Nicole is still in the CCU and is definitely making progress!  Her eyes are wide open and her breathing is really good.  The Pulmonary Dr. told us today that he would like to get her off of the ventilator soon so we are hoping that will happen over the next couple of days!  We do have another neurologist from Wake Forest coming down to Charlotte to examine Nicole and review her case to offer an outside perspective.  In all of the research that we have done on GBS is that it just takes time for the body to recover.  We have seen some good progress over the last couple of days!  Again, thanks for all of your well wishes and prayers!

Tom

October 8th - Update

Hello Everyone - just wanted to provide a quick update as I have not been able to over the last couple of days.Yesterday the Neurologist diagnosed Nicole with a variant of Guillian Barre.GBS is an autoimmune disorder that affects the peripheral nervous system. Her doctors are 99% confident in this diagnosis. With that said, we are in the process of getting her records to other resources for a second opinion to confirm that diagnosis. The good news is, that if it is GBS, it is a treatable condition that just takes time to reverse itself. This could take days, weeks, or months. It affects each patient differently.Nicole will pull through this. I know she will. She is too strong to let this bump in the road bring her down! Again, we appreciate all of the prayers and well wishes. You have no idea how much they mean to all of us!

October 5th - Update

Hello everyone - well we are a week post surgery and they have Nicole in the Neurological ICU for close monitoring.  They have her sedated and on a breathing machine because of the amount of secretions she has been dealing with.  This is helping her rest comfortably.  They do bring her out of sedation every couple of hours to conduct neurological exams.  I had spent some time yesterday communicating with Nicole and her spirits seemed good as well as her attitude.  She kept on telling me (actually writing) that she "wanted a Coke so bad!"  Nicole is a very strong woman and I know she will pull through this.  We are really in the middle of a waiting game with some test results pending.  The doctors keep saying that it just takes time.  We appreciate all of the well wishes and prayers.  Please keep them coming.

Tom

Dinner Drop Offs - UPDATE

Hi Everyone - First of all, thanks to everyone who signed up to drop off a meal to Tom & Nicole!  Once Nicole gets home from the hospital, I know the meals will be a huge help. In them meantime, I spoke with Tom tonight and suggested that we hold off on the dinner schedule until she's home. I will post a note on the blog and will send a few of you emails when things are back on schedule. Thanks again and let me know if you have any questions.

Laura

Update - October 3rd

Hello everyone - this is the 5th day after surgery and Nicole's heart is doing great!  She is still in the hospital as other complications have arisen.  She is still unable to swallow and she still is having difficulty focusing.  They did an MRI of her brain and they did find a couple of tiny dark spots which would indicate a very minor, minor stroke.  The doctors here feel that her current symptoms are not related to the MRI results.  The doctors are trying to figure this out but have said they honestly have never seen this before after heart surgery.  Despite all of this, Nicole has a great attitude!  She is trying to smile as much as possible and stay positive.  Hopefully the doctors will have some answers soon and a course of action.  Thanks again for all of your support!

Tom

Update - October 1st

Hello everyone - a better night last night versus the previous one!  She did sleep more and seemed to be a bit more comfortable.  Her heart is doing great . . . great rythym!  They took the temporary pacemaker out this morning so the only thing she is hooked up to is an IV!  Nicole is still dealing with not being able to swallow.  They did an endoscopy yesterday and found that her esophogeal muscles are extremely tight and she cannot move them.  This could be because of trauma the tubes caused during surgery but the doctors said this will pass but they don't know when.  So, as you all can imagine, she gets fired up when she can't have her hot tea in the morning or her daily Coke! 

The goal for the day is to do a lot of walking and to take a shower (she's been limited to sponge baths for the last few days).  At this time, because of her swallowing challenges, we do not know when we will be able to take Nicole home but I will keep you all posted.  Thanks again for all of your support.

Tom