About Marilyn

I thought I'd add a post that tells all about Marilyn - the extraordinary person that we all want back with us. So this is a little story of who Marilyn is - please add your own on this post.

I met Marilyn about 7 years ago when she moved to Dolores. She moved there to work for Indian Health Services at the Shiprock Hospital as a Nurse Practitioner. Marilyn has a passion for cardiology and she eventually spent two years in Chinle, AZ working on a cardiology study on the Navajo. She graduated from Vanderbilt - a fact that she is very proud of, a truly academic background. In the realm of family practice she worked for Valley Wide Health in Durango and Mancos and now works at our own Dolores Medical Center. The thing that has always struck me about her is her diligence in really taking great care of people. She analyzes and thinks through every diagnosis - never making assumptions. She uses her knowledge and seeks additional knowledge to do her very best for people every day.

A Nurse Practitioner is an advanced care giver. Marilyn has the knowledge and legal authority to make referalls, prescribe medication - in short make most of the decisions a doctor would with the advantage of being able to spend time with each patient. So that's the work skill side of Marilyn.

I won't wax poetic here about our nearly 4 years together, how wonderful she is (she is) etc. Suffice it to say that Marilyn has stood by me strongly and consistently. We're going to bring her back 100%. I'm excited to read your stories and impressions of Marilyn. I'll keep reading all the posts on this blog to her too.

Signs

This afternoon and early evening Marilyn woke up a few times. This evening, she gave us two big signs. First, the nurse asked if she was in pain. Marilyn shook her head , no. Then we gave her a pen and a pad (right hand, Marilyn is left handed) and asked her to write her name. She scribbled for a moment and then clearly wrote an "M".

We've moved..

Today we moved to Kindred Hospital..note address at right. Marilyn is comfortable, well cared for and okay. She has not woken up but when she opens her eye (left eye doesn't open well right now) she tracks, looks at what we show her and seems to understand. More later...

Left Side

One area of recovery that I am getting some conflicting info on is how much Marilyn's left side will recover. Currently she can feel on that side but her ability to move is very minimal. This is all associated with the brain stem bruising. OT and PT will tell more in weeks to come, but please send your energy to her LEFT SIDE.

Wednesday October 10th

Marilyn has been moved from ICU to a regular room in the neurology wing of the hospital - note the address update at right. She is still not awake, but her track is generally upward. She also has been accepted at Craig Rehabilitation Hospital, which happens to be one, if not the best hospital of this type in the country. As the waiting list is long, we will likely be moving in the interim to a rehab hospital called Kindred Hospital which shares doctors with Craig...Much more on this to come as lots is still up in the air..

Tuesday October 9 update

On the right I have added our family and friends who have been by our side and visiting since our arrival in Denver. Thanks to them, Marilyn has not been on her own at anytime - always someone by her side. The list is ever growing, bringing Marilyn strength and healing each day.



Marilyn has not woken up but she remains responsive to the various stimuli around her. The hospital already has OT's , PT's, and Speech Pathologists working with her and she has done quite well, although she seems very tired at times. We hope to be moved to a main room and out of the Neuro ICU tomorrow, which will be great. I am here every day and every night with her - her parents, my parents and our friends have helped me so much in being able to step out for fresh air, make phone calls - just deal with all the stuff this situation has presented.

Our focus now needs to be on her waking up. Please send her the thought.. Wake up, Marilyn, wake up.

Gareth

Marilyn Update From Sunday 10/7

Hello all -


Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. Here is an update on Marilyn. Her condition remains stable. Today she was able to keep her right eye open and tracking us as we talked to her. She even smiles a couple of times. She still remains unconcious though and has yet to approach anything that one would consider "awake". Today the doctor told us that for the most part, her injuries will heal. The most significant injury is that of the brainstem which has caused her left eye to dilate and not respond and her left side to not be very active. She will need a lot of rehab and this is the most questionable area - we can only hope that it comes back. Further injuries were found - two skull fractures and another minor fracture on her C7. Important that the C2 and C7 fracutres are non-displaced - no spinal injury. This is also the first time that we were given any type of time frame as to what we are facing - 6 months to 1 year for recovery. So - we're going to be here in Denver for a while - my best guess is a month or two, just really hard to say until she wakes up. But we will come home. We will come home. For those of you that are coming up this way - Marilyn and I can't wait to see you. Thank you we love you,

Gareth and Marilyn

Hi friends,

We have established this blog to keep you up-dated on Marilyn's recovery. This will make it easier for Gareth to keep you informed and still give Marilyn his full attention. THIS BLOG WILL BE UPDATED DAILY TO LET YOU KNOW HOW MARILYN IS PROGRESSING.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: This email was sent out by Gareth on Saturday, October 6:

By now you have heard the terrible news about Marilyn. On Wednesday, October 3rd we were riding beater bikes down into the village of Vlicabamba, Ecuador when the brakes on Marilyn’s bike gave way on a downhill. She was unable to slow down the bike hit a dirt burm and was ejected nearly 30 feet into the air. It was a horrific and unexpected accident. We were expecting to have a quiet, relaxed day. With significant difficulty we were able to evac via air ambulance and she is now a patient at the Neuro Intensive care Unit at the University of Colorado hospital, Denver.

Her injuries and condition are as follows. She remains unconscious but responsive to touch and voice. She suffered a closed head injury – difuse axonal injury – small injuries on different parts of her brain. In addition she has bruising on the left upper portion of her brain and in the brain stem which has caused her left eye to be dilated and unresponsive. She has good motion on the right side of her body and poor motion on the left. Her prognosis at this time is unknown – the recovery will be very slow. We do not know if she will be able to return to her work as a nurse practitioner.

The experience has been mentally draining and has left us on precarious financial footing. The air evac ($60,000) was not coverd by insurance and has placed a significant financial burden on us. While Marilyn is in recovery I will need to take over her financial obligations. We will be establishing a charitable account in Marilyn's name to help defray these expenses. For now, I want to let you all know how much I appreciate your thoughts and love – please keep sending them. I will talk to each of you in days to come – for now reliving the experience with one person at a time is just too much. Please forward this to anyone who loves Marilyn that I probably have missed – not thinking fully clearly at the moment.