Thursday, May 31, 2007

Facing Death


I haven't posted anything for the past two days because I have been emotionally tied up. My very dear friend and co-worker, Bonnie, was in a head on collision on Tuesday night. I received a phone call at 4:30 that morning from another of her friends. I was told that she had been in a terrible accident. Through tears I heard that they did not know if she would live. She had a torn aorta, her left arm, face and right foot were crushed. They were considering amputating the arm but were holding off because of the aorta tear. They were giving her a 25% chance of surviving the day.


All I remember is saying. God, I am sick. I am so sick..... And feeling this total shock and foggy sensation. I work next door to this lady and over the past 4 years we have grown close. We have taken a ton of college classes together and we plan our lessons and she is the only person at my school who knows my story that you all know. She is one of the most trustworthy and level headed people I have ever met.


Because the medical and trauma center here does not have a doctor who deals with vascular surgery of this severity, they air lifted Bonnie to a larger hospital 150 miles away. But, they had to wait on an airplane to take her there. There is so much smoke in the air from the Florida fires that it could not land.


There she was met by a team of doctors who stood around her bed and discussed what actions to take and in what order. They decided to deal with the arm at the same time they worked on the aorta so she went pretty quickly to surgery. The aorta was not torn completely through and had only leaked a small amount of blood into the chest cavity or she would not still be with us.


Bonnie faired very well in the 5 hour surgery. Her aorta is all patched and they have decreased her sedation so she recognizes family. She is moving the fingers on her left arm that they "reconstructed" - scary word. While she was enroute I prayed fervently for the nerves in that arm. I felt like I was willing them to grow together and be healed.


Her face is so swollen she cannot open her eyes. I suspect work on her face will have to wait until the swelling goes down.


Bonnie is doing so well that they plan on orthopedic surgery on her foot tomorrow. And the doctors are telling her husband that she has some hard therapy ahead but he can see her back in her classroom in about 6 months! That was the most wonderful thing he could have said.


For several hours I was facing the loss of one very, very dear to me. I was in such shock that I started shivering - and I NEVER get cold. I am always HOT! I am menopausal! Slowly good news filtered over here and we have hung on to every word of it.


Please pray for Bonnie. People all over the country are praying for her. I want to hear the doctors say, "You are kidding, I can't believe she is doing this well!" She is moving fingers that she came close to losing - that is one big one. She whipped the odds, that is two. Now for #3!


Bonnie loves flowers and plants so I picked the picture above for her. Bloom on Bonnie!

12 comments:

Neva said...

Dear Di,
I am praying right now!

Peace
Neva

di said...

Thank you Neva. I knew you would! You can go to www.carepages.com (or google care pages) and sign up and then look up "bonnieblooms" and keep up with her progress if you like.

TREY MORGAN said...

Been praying, Di, and I'll continue.

Monalea said...

Di,

I'm so sorry to hear about your dear friend. I will be praying for her, her family, friends and you!

Monalea

di said...

Thank you all, I knew I could depend on you three to check up on me and pray for Bonnie.

She had a busy day today and seemed tired tonight when the family went in to see her. They have placed her left arm in a vac of some kind that sucks out the dead tissue and they can watch for infection and bleeding.

The right wrist is in an air cast.

AND....she has moved to the trauma/burn ICU and out of the neuro ICU which is sort of a graduation.

It is hard being 3 hours away and loving someone so much. A crowd of teachers went over today but I decided to wait until the first of the week to go over when most people will have come home.

I just might get to see her that way.

Neva said...

Checking in to see how Bonnie is and how you are.
Still praying.


Peace
Neva

di said...

I went over to see Bonnie yesterday on Monday. She was sedated and couldn't open her eyes but did try when I called her name. I did all my old nursing things (yes I used to be a nurse) and checked her toes and fingers sticking out of her casts.

She looks like herself so that made me feel better. Though she has a fairly long cut on her chin and a couple of tiny ones on her forehead her face survived intact. She will have to have a metal plate placed over her upper jaw and she lost several upper teeth that will need something done for them.

They worked on her arm yesterday (Monday) and will take her to surgery again to complete the lower arm stuff tomorrow (Wednesday). Each time they also have to clean and debride the upper arm and that takes a while.

I am so glad she is sedated when they do this because the pain would be horrendous.

Her outer upper arm looks like a long roast out of the meat department. No skin on it at all. That will be the last thing they do - a skin graft.

It has been a hard week. The wreck happened on Tuesday at 11:30.

Rick,and their grown daughters were doing well and seeing them calmed me down as well.

Thank you for praying! Oh. Can you add the two firemen who first arrived at the scene to your list. They have gone to Florida to fight the forest fires.

Di

Neva said...

You got it.

Peace
Neva

Monalea said...

Di my friend,

How are you? I continue to remember you and your friend.

Love,

Monalea

Neva said...

Checking in---still praying.


Peace
Neva

Neva said...

Just letting you know I am still praying for you and Bonnie both.


peace
neva

di said...

Thank you Neva and others for your continued prayer. I really haven't dropped off the face of the earth. Very busy with painting my house and somehow Bonnie's accident sort of knocked the umph out of me. However today I think that might have turned around. New umph has found me. Time to return to some blogging.

Di