DAY TWO IN REHAB - EVENTS

This was a very good day. Penny showered and dressed herself, walked even better, did a workout with exercises, walks and did a flight of 4 steps up and down. We were trained on how to get her into and out of our car and they qualified me to do her walks and trips to the bathroom. She was moved to a private room and they have added a cot for me at nights. She is still having problems sleeping at nights and maybe this will help. We were also told that release papers were being prepared for Tuesday.

Remember Psalm 34:4: "I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."

- don and penny

DAY TWO IN REHAB - Pictures

Judy Lamson and daughter Sarah Eastman visiting.

Penny is eating better.

Peter & Suzie (Allen) Quimby with 8 weeks old Landon.

Below: New nurse giving Penny instructions.

End of Day 1 in Rehab

Penny has been having a speech problem (mostly whispered). The Speech Therapist checked carefully and says this is normal and should totally clear within a month. The Occupational Therapist worked with her twice and says there is no further need of an OT. Now all she has to do is reach a point where her stamina is acceptable which all say will be only a couple of days at most. So, we are into a long weekend (holiday) and release is set for Tuesday if the Lord wills it. I do get to take her out on Sunday for two or three hours. I'm looking forward to that, but not as much as she is.

Again Thank You for all your prayers,

- Don

CHANGE OF PLANS - REHAB

Medically Penny is doing well and could be released tomorrow, except that she does not have a good energy level. She does the walks, but is extremely slow and resting a number of times in her walks. Her surgeon today released her to go to rehab and it happened in a very short period. I returned from making arrangements to keep our rental car and found them wheeling her out of her cardiac floor room and headed to the Acute Rehab wing. We have no idea how long this will take, but know that it is in His hands and are resting in peace in that knowledge. I keep getting asked if I am taking care of myself. The last 3 nights I have had good long rests and am doing well.

Your continued prayer for Penny is much appreciated and I would ask that you include praying for those back home that have helped us so much and are taking care of those responsibilities that we normally enjoy.

- Love, don

8:45pm Wednesday:
Penny continues to improve. She walked 3 times today with less resting periods along the way. She was off oxygen totally when I arrived at approx. 7:00am, had taken her first shower since coming to the hospital and was resting waiting for breakfast. Her hemoglobin level was up from 7.0 to 7.9 and her INR was 1.5 for the doctor types among you readers. Her doctor came by this afternoon and says she is doing well and baring any new problems will be released from the hospital this weekend and is shooting for Friday. He OK'ed our plans to be in an INN on the coast of Maine overlooking a harbor for the first couple of weeks after leaving the hospital. We will be approx. 80 miles from here, but the necessary followup blood test can be done (and results sent to him) from a hospital near our INN. The big thing now is to build up strength thru walking, eating well and good rest inbetween.

Back on cardiac floor

Penny is back on the cardiac floor (5:00pm). She has walked 3 times today and eaten 3 small meals and still getting lots of rest. Her color is much better and her roseasa in her cheeks is even showing up.

Penny resting in the middle of her walk.
A real sweet, caring and helpful

nurse technician.

- Don Brown

Moving Again

Grammy's nurse just told us that they have a room for her on the cardiac floor. She is getting ready to be moved back out of CCU right now, it will probably happen within an hour or so.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

-Elisabeth Brown

Quick Update

Grammy is doing very well today. She had a good night last night. Still very tired and weak, but steadily improving. She is still having trouble with A-fib.

She will probably be moved back to the Cardiac floor later today. They are waiting for a room to become available, so it may not be until this evening.

-Elisabeth Brown

A Great Day!

Grammy has had a much better day today. She went for a short walk this morning, ate a good breakfast and lunch, plus a reasonable supper.

Grampy & Rosanna spent the afternoon catching up on laundry, while I sat with Grammy. She was awake/resting in her chair for about 3 hours (she didn't seem to really rest good at that point though) then she had a bath and went back to her bed where she slept for a few more hours (and she slept REAL good then).

While she was sleeping Grampy, Rosanna & I went to the cafeteria and had our supper, and when we returned she was sitting up, eating her supper, and I noticed right away that she seemed to be thinking clearer. Grampy mentioned that this was day 10 since they had come to the hospital and she replied, "DAY 10! I thought this was the Monday after Norm's party! Have I really been here that long?" Then a little later she mentioned to Grampy, "I was wondering why you said you had to do laundry today!"

During supper, Aunt Judy and Uncle Mike came by to see her, and we all had a great visit, Grammy was able to understand and communicate much better today, but we are keeping our visits short so that she doesn't get over tired.

The nurse will probably take her for another walk before she goes to sleep. She is starting to get a little sleepy now.

Also, Grampy talked with the surgeon earlier and he said that Grammy is doing well, and that he is not bothered by this small bump in the road.

Praising the Lord for His goodness. He IS faithful!

-Elisabeth Brown

CCU Progress

I just came from spending several hours sitting with Grammy. The surgeon was in to see us again and said that the x-rays they took this morning show that her fluid is draining well. Praise the Lord!

Grammy will be staying in CCU until at least tomorrow. She is getting very good care there, and the room is quiet.

Thanks for your contiued prayers!

Elisabeth Brown

A Bump In The Road...

Andrew went home last night with the rest of the family, leaving Rosanna and I (Elisabeth) here with Grampy for a few days. We apologize for the delay in posts. Yesterday was a busy day for all of us and we were too tired last night to do an update. I went to see Grammy first thing this morning, got some info from Grampy (medical terms ect...) and am now sitting here in the cafeteria to bring ya'll up to date.

Saturday Night:
Grammy had a rough night, did not sleep well, got tangled in her cords and sheets, had trouble breathing, and some anxiety set in. She called for Grampy at 6am and shortly afterwards she settled down.

Sunday:

Grammy slept most of the day, did not eat hardly anything for breakfast and lunch. She had been on Percuset (sp?) which as probably too much drugs for her. Sometime during the day her heart went into A-fib (Atrial Fibrillation) again. This had happened once before in CCU shortly after the operation. They decided to put her on Warfarin (Coumadin). Around 5pm she woke up and had a good supper, while visiting with the Brown Crew. Around 9pm she began to have breathing problems again, anxiety set in, and there was a problem with her oxygen levels that was baffling the doctors and nurses. She was beginning to have another night like Saturday, so the decision was made to do X-rays and move her back to CCU, where the doctor on call was spending the night with two other patients. They found her fluid levels (in her lungs) were high, and gave medicine for that. Around 11pm she went to sleep and slept most of the night.

Monday Morning:
Grammy is doing much better after a good night sleep but is still very weak, her iron levels are low and they are working on those. Grampy talked with the surgeon this morning, and he feels confident that things are going good. This is a minor set back and probably means that she will not get out of the hospital until around Thursday.

That gives ya'll an idea of what has been going on medically with Grammy. When I went in to see her this morning she asked me to read several passages of scripture to her while she waited for her breakfast. During breakfast Rosanna & I had a wonderful time with her as we discussed how good the Lord has been to all of us this last week. He is so faithful!

Thank ya'll so much for praying for us!

-Elisabeth Brown

A WORD FROM GRAMPY: Being on Coumadin may make a change on our tentative plans on where we will stay after Penny is released. For those who were not aware of our plans, we were planning on a restful 10-14 days on the coast of Maine, returning to EMMC for staple removal, then going to St. Stephen to be close to our son, daughter-in-law, and grandchidren for a few days before heading back to EMMC for a final check-up, x-rays, etc... After which we had planned to fly home.

Staying with Grandpa at the Riverside Inn

Hey All, This is Andrew.
I am sitting in a hotel room not far from E.M.M.C.
I arrived yesterday evening and plan to stay with Grandma and Grandpa (Lord willing) until Sunday afternoon.

Here are some photographs taken today:

Rosanna, Grandma, Dad and Mom visiting together this morning.

Sitting down on the walker, instead of walking;
But witnessing while she sits.

Saying Hello to a nurse friend.

Special Thanks to the Group from Brown's Security Systems for the beautiful flowers.

Grandma is looking stronger and healthier all the time!

Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalms 106:1

Enjoying time with family

I (Elisabeth) asked Tim if he wanted me to give the update tonight, he was tired and didn't protest, so here goes...

Dad, Josh, Rosanna, Nathanael, Andrew & I all drove down to Bangor this afternoon and met Grampy & Tim for supper at Pizza Hut before going to the hospital. We had a wonderful time and it would only have been better if Grammy & Mom could have been with us. Then we headed back to the hospital to spend the remaining time until 8:00 with Grammy.

It was such a joy to walk into Grammy's room and not see machines and tubes everywhere. Since I last left the hospital (on Wednesday afternoon), Grammy's condition has greatly improved. It is amazing the difference that 48 hours has made! She is still very tired, but that is to be expected. She has been through a lot this week!

After visiting with Grammy, Josh & Dad headed back home for the night (Mom and Josh are drving down again in the morning), while Nathanael, Rosanna, Andrew & I settled into the hospital's hotel. Tonight is our changing of the guard, as Andrew will be taking Tim's place staying with Grampy for the next few days (you'll hear from him via the blog soon).

After settling into our room, we all met up with Grampy downstairs in the hotel lobby and just enjoyed being together! If things had gone as we had planned, Grampy & Grammy would already be back in Louisiana and we would not have had the blessing of this extra time with them. God is good!

Anyway, that is a little update on what is happening here. Praising the Lord for all he has done! He is faithful!

-Elisabeth Brown

Update from Floor #4, Phone Instructions, Visiting Hours

Hey Everyone,

I am sitting by the windows in Room 424B, on the 4th floor of Eastern Maine Medical Center, looking out over the Penobscot River. We now have a Room with a view, even better than thed view from CCU.




Grandpa has requested that family and friends please not call Grandma's room directly. This is because Grandpa and I cannot always be in the room, and when we are absent Grandma would need to reach for the phone, and we are trying to avoid that type of strain on her at this time. However, as an alternative, you may call Grandpa's cell phone at 318-471-9470. Thank you for your cooperation!

Please note: Visiting hours here run from 8:00am-8:00pm ET.

Above: Grandma taking a walk yesterday.

Thank you all for your prayers. If you wish to send comments to Grandma and Grandpa through the blog, we will do our best to share those with them.

-Tim Bown (Fri, Mar. 21, 11:45am ET)

A Moving Experience!

Hey Everyone,

Grandma is moving! After some time in CCU, she is now getting settled in at Room 424B. She will be sharing her new room with another patient, which will mean that she will now have specific visiting hours. I do not know what the what the specific hours are yet, but I plan to post them here in the near future. Thank you for following her progress, and please continue to pray for us!

-Tim Brown (Updated Thu, May 20, 10:11pm ET)

Waiting for Word

Hey everyone,

I know many of you are waiting for word on when Grandma will be moved out of ICU. Well, Grandma, Grandpa and I can sympathize, as we are waiting for word right now as well. We are expecting to hear from the doctor shortly. Grandpa has been told by some staff members that Grandma is progressing faster than they would normally expect in a case like this, and the fact that they are considering moving her seems to be a positive sign!
I must say, we have been impressed with the professionalism and courtesy with which we have been treated by the staff here. They are excellent people, and yet another example of how good the Lord has been to us!

-Tim Brown (Thu, May 20, 6:29pm ET)

Penny Brown just back from the operating room (6pm Tue., May 18)

Penny Brown Today (1pm, Thu., May 20)

-Tim Brown (with permission from Penny Brown)

New Every Morning

Good Morning! I got to bed very early this morning. :) I got up a few hours later and went out to have breakfast with Grampy. We then returned to the hospital to see Grandma. She looks and sounds really good this morning! If things continue to go well, they may move her out of I.C.U. and back to the regular cardiac unit on another floor later today. Thank you, Lord!
On another note, after a cloudy and somewhat rainy day yesterday, the weather here is beautiful today! Earlier, Grandma enjoyed an opportunity to sit up and look out her window, which provides a great view of the river. It was a great reminder of the majesty of our Lord. He is faithful, and His mercies are new every morning! Praise His name!

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." -Lamentations 3:21-23

-Tim Brown

Night Shift Update

Hey again,

I have just watched Grandma take her 2nd walk of the day. The staff here will aim to do this 3 times a day going forward (no pun intended).
Grandma is currently sitting up and enjoying the fresh air. She has been communicating frequently with the staff and with me during the last 2 hours or so. God is good!

- Tim Brown

That's Progress!

Hi everyone!

I took a nap this afternoon as I figured I would need to stay up late with Grandma, to allow Grandpa to get some sleep. Anyway, I woke up just in time to watch Grandma take a short walk, her first since the operation (this was accomplished with the support of a walker and the assistance of a nurse). That's was a sign of progress, and she will likely be taking another walk shortly. Thank you, Lord! Grandma has been resting well, although she awakes briefly from time to time, and does communicate with us some.
Thanks so much for your prayers!

-Tim Brown

God is so good...

I am so thankful that Grandma is doing so well. And Thank you to all who have been upholding her in prayer. God has been so good (HE IS ALWAYS SO GOOD)!

Just a quick update:

I went in to see Grandma around 10:30 last night and got a short chance to see her awake. This was a real blessing to me because I really didn't want to head to Bed before I knew she was awake, so I am very thankful that the Lord gave me that chance to see her awake.

We spent the night in a hotel that is connected to the hospital. I was able (thanks to the Lord's peace) to have a restful night's sleep. I woke up around 5 am (eastern) and couldn't go back to sleep...so I decided to get up, shower, and spend some time in God's word before going to see Grandmother.

I got a quick chance to see Grandma before breakfast this morning...she was resting and looked real tired, which is what I expected to see (only she was doing a little bit better then I was thinking she would be doing at that time). And she had been siting up for a little bit just before I got there, which I think is amazing.

I enjoyed breakfast with Grandpa, Elisabeth, & Tim during the hour that we couldn't be in ICU. We had a short, but good talk over breakfast! It was so refreshing to just talk and joke with each other!

Over the morning, I was able to see Grandma several times and enjoyed just being in her room with her, even though she was sleeping and I saw a definite improvement during that time.

I had the privilege of fixing her hair half-way through the morning and really enjoyed doing it. And she seemed to really enjoy having it done.

We left the hospital in the early afternoon, just after some dear friends stopped in for a visit. I am now home, which is two hours from where I would like to be right now, but I am so thankful that I got to spend so much time there yesterday and today.

Thanking the Lord for his Mercy,

Rosanna Brown