Jan and Sean are responsible for this work of heart..I merely plagiarized some gift ideas from a similar experience we went through at work last year.

I like the idea of the cleaning service. Also if she has a favorite author or magazine, books and subscriptions might be enjoyed. These might also be enjoyed by family members that will be at the house helping her when she gets home. If the fund continues to grow, ordering a few days worth of meals from a local restaurant that will deliver will also benefit the whole family when she first comes home.

Thanks again JMX for your updates. And I like the idea of a home catering service for a little while - someone did this for an aunt of mine when she was recuperating from a stroke - it was a Godsend... because their "servings" were more than she could eat, she ate half one day and half the next, and we had the caterer drop a main meal by every two days. Very, very helpful...

Cleaning service without a doubt, JMX thanks for keeping us updated, I cant imagine the ordeal your going through. I pray that you keeep the faith and strength through the rest of this ordeal. I dont think it would be wise if she was told about the AA incident that occured today as it might add to stress and she doesnt need to deal with!

MY heartfelt love and prayers for you and your family.. Jill I know you will pull through and one day will be reading this, we are all rooting for ya. I worked for the airlines for several years and I know the stress and demands that are placed among airline workers. Im proud that you were there on the front lines of the battle, now we are here on the front lines for you.
For every dollar that has been donated is only a small token as to how we feel. We all love you and want you to know that!

I spoke to my brother Mike today and he said Mom sat up yesterday and opened her eyes for a bit. She did not say anything but did squeeze his hand a couple times when asked to, so she's definately aware of what's going on to some degree. She is now having the vasospasms, but no stroke so far. When he saw her this evening, he said she seems to be improving and that there have been more doctors visiting her to figure out why she is not more awake at this point. This may end up a protracted recovery but we're hoping for the best. I am expecting a call from her surgeon tomorrow AM and will let you all know what's up as soon as I can.

I must say that my brother and I are very touched by your efforts regarding the "Jill Fund". Times like these can certainly be a financial nightmare. Fortunately American has a pretty good benefits package and it seems Mom was wise enough to opt into some supplemental disablity insurance coverage. It looks we've figured out a way to make sure her basic expenses are covered for now, but if this becomes protracted it could get complicated. Unfortunately Mom didn't have any Advanced Directives in place (nor do I, but I'm looking into it now and you should too if you haven't already) so Mortgage companies and the like aren't able to share much info with us due to current non disclosure laws (understandable). This means finding out where she is financially and what needs to be done has been troublesome. Should this go on for an extended time (more than three or four weeks without her being lucid) we may have to look into a power of attorney thing (any friendly lawyer friends of Mom out there?).

Hopefully it won't come to anything like that, but of the ideas posted I think the idea of help with cleaning or catered food seems like the best use of whatever funds are available. A spa would be nice but we may be dealing with more basic needs depending on how things go.

Please don't take this post to be overly pessimistic, just a realistic assesment of some of the issues at hand. My brother and I have a lot to consider, but you can rest assured that we're doing the best we can for our Mother.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

jmx

PS: Today's events really bothered me, especially as I had just flown out of JFK yesterday afternoon on a fully loaded (JFK to LAX) AA 767. My heart goes out to those families.


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A man's got to know
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I will say another prayer tonight. Your mother is a rare and wonderful woman.

Im here on FT searching for an update on Jill.... Im hoping its good news.

Tuesday news:

I spoke with Mom's nurse tonight and he said that they have started putting her in a chair for short periods so she can sit up, and that she is opening her eyes more. I have not heard from her surgeon yet. She is not speaking much but seems to recognize my brother Mike and continues to squeeze his hand when asked. It seems that this is an improvement over the last two days. Her doppler brain tests also indicate that her vasospasms are not acting up at the moment.

That's it for now.

jmx

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A man's got to know
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I finally spoke with Mom's surgeon today. He felt that she was getting better and seemed more alert although still not talking. She is not recovering as fast as he'd like. He said her brain scans indicate that she should have the potential for significantly greater recovery, but that, of course, there are no guarentees with something like this. She does have a fever and the doctor said that they are going to change her anti- stroke medication to see if that lowers the fever and helps her become more alert.

Thanks for the support.

jmx

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A man's got to know
his limitations

Today's news:
I spoke with my brother Mike tonight (he lives 5 min from Wakemed where Mom is staying). He said that she is now sitting up and watching some TV although she is still not eating or talking (can you imagine Jill not talking???). The nurses said that as long as she's on anti stroke meds she'll likely to remain somewhat sleepy. Mike also said that whenever he would call her name, she would look at him and went beyond squeezing his hand, to actually rub his arm once. I know these may sound like little things, but they're all good signs.

As far as the other posts about donations and various resourses, we are very appreciative but are not in need of anything at the moment. We may well need some assistance in the future. Our thanks go out for the offers. As for plane tickets, I have been contacted directly by several of Mom's closest FT friends who've offered tickets (you know who you are!) and they've even gone so far as to cross co-ordinate it so I can probably get there on nearly any airline depending on what the flight schedule needs to be. This goes beyond touching. There is not much we can do for Mom at the moment but talk to whatever higher being you believe in on her behalf. She will benefit the most from support after she gets out of the hospital. Once she is able to take outside communications, I'm going to try to get a computer set up in her room if she's going to be there for an extended period so she can communicate with the world at large. In the interim, travel assistance for me (as I'm on the left coast) might be very helpful in the near future, but if anyone really deserves a little extra support right now. it's my brother Mike and his girlfriend Marie. They're right there, and are shouldering the greatest part of this whole adventure. Mike leaves for work as an electrician at 6:00 AM, works all day and then visits Mom at 6:00PM and 9:00 PM after working all day. While we consult each other about what to do to keep Mom's affairs in order (bills, insurance etc.), I consult, while he has to find the time to execute what needs to be done.

Your thoughts, prayers and other support are most appreciated.

jmx


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A man's got to know
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Please pass along my own interest and extention of get well's.

A donation via PayPal is being made on behalf of the TalkBoard for FlyerTalk and myself. We all wish a speedy recovery and a return to FlyerTalk, which isn't the same without Jill.

Please pass along my own interest and extention of get well's.

A donation via PayPal is being made on behalf of the TalkBoard for FlyerTalk and myself. We all wish a speedy recovery and a return to FlyerTalk, which isn't the same without Jill.

Randy Petersen

jmx,

I'm right down the road. I'm able and willing to spell your brother however he needs it - I can easily give a half day one or two days a week. PLEASE ask him to call on me..

Pam

Finally some news:
I spoke with both Mom's doctor today and my brother, here's the latest. According to Dr. Boone, Mom is medically in good condition. Her CAT scans and Doppler studies (these are the ones that check the Vasospasms) are continuing to improve. He said we're most of the way out of the woods as far as the stroke thing goes (hurrah!!!). He also mentioned that she is more awake and should be ready to start eating on her own soon. He is a bit concerned about her lack of speaking still, but overall his outlook was very positive considering the severity of her initial situation. Dr. Boon indicated that she might be moved out of ICU as soon as Monday which means she could start receiving visitors on a regular basis.

Mike said that when he was there at 6:00 she was wide awake and that when he called her name, she would look at him and say, "What?" emphatically. Anyone who knows her can visualize that reaction. She's also been put on Ritalin to help her wake up, and got her stitches out today. Mike also mentioned that Mom seems to move her right side a bit less, but the doctor will be doing testing and evaluation as she becomes more aware and can respond to commands (or requests) better.

All in all a pretty good day. It looks like her recovery is going to take a while, so her support system is going to become more valuable as time goes on.

Don't hesitate to email me with any thoughts or questions.

Thanks to all for the support.

jmx


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A man's got to know
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Thanks for the continuing updates, which I know MANY of us are reading. (Also thanks to our friend in Atlanta for "administrative services". This is a wonderful, caring community. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Standby4321 (edited 11-21-2001).]

Bringing this to the top as Jill has now been moved out of ICU and we would like to send our first gift.

Thanks to all that have donated, and to those that have not, donations are still welcome http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

New update:

I've only been updating the "RDURES in hospital" thread because with all that's been going on, maintaining three threads has been a bit too time consuming. For anyone looking for a more detailed account please check that thread.

Over the weekend I actually spoke with Mom on the phone. It was not a long conversation and mostly consisted of me asking her questions and her giving one word replies. No came across clearly while it seemed like she was having to work harder to get out a yes answer. She did start the conversation with hiya. This is very encouraging to me. I'm going to fly back this Friday to visit her for a day or two and so I should have a more detailed update after spending some more time with her. Thanks to Efrem for the award ticket (I'm not playing favorites among all those generous FT folks who offered tickets, he just happened to email me a question right as I was thinking of making a reservation). With regards to phone calls to Mom, if you call and ask to be put through to her room, it'll just ring as she's not quite up to answering the phone on her own yet. When I spoke with her, my brother called me from her room and held the phone for her. I hear the best way to try to talk to her is to call the main switchboard and have them call her ward to see if a nurse is free to help facilitate the call. That's it for now.

Thanks for all your support.

jmx

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A man's got to know
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Good news:
I spoke to Mike tonight and he had interesting commentary on Mom. He said that when he got there to visit her, she hopped out of bed, went to the restroom by herself, combed her hair, put on and tied her shoes and then gave them (he and Marie) a short tour of her rehab facility. She also recited the directions to the AA SERO where she works and several important phone numbers.

On the heels of our conversation I called her and we spoke for most of an hour (does that tell you she's coming back?). Even compared to the day before yesterday, her improvement is amazing to me. Between my conversations with Mike, Mom and Mom's case worker, she may be able to bypass the convalescent care and try a sort of adult day care for a couple weeks where she would stay with Mike and Marie at night. It's all up in the air at the moment, but she is now actively participating in the process. We had a good discussion about her insurance issues and various financial things, and she was completely aware of the issues at hand.

I would say that her largest issue at the moment is her perception of time. She can recall an amazing amount of data, and converse about current issues, but when certain things happened in the past will occasionally stump her, or she'll make a statement about a past event, with the time line totally out of context.

The good news is that she's getting better in a pretty good way.

She will likely be moved just after Christmas and I will advise contact info at that time, but I think she's at a point where she would really enjoy some holiday calls (being in teh hospital at christmas must suck) from folks who knew her before the injury (I only say this as familiarity is helpful at this point in her recovery and unfamiliar things are more confusing).

You can reach her by calling Wakemed hospital (919-350-8000) and asking for Jill Griffin in the rehab wing.

Thaks for all the support,

jmx


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A man's got to know
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I am in.!

Time for the cleaning service!!!

I just spoke with Jill and one of her concerns was that she needed to go home and clean her house. This is not something she needs to be worrying about.

For those who have not yet contributed and wish to the link is

https://www.paypal.com/xclick/busine...&no_shipping=1

Janet



[This message has been edited by jan_az (edited 12-22-2001).]