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| Nikki in front of the mural she will finish painting when she is out of the hospital. |
I am starting this blog to keep everyone informed and involved in Nikki's ongoing progress. As some of you may be aware she was in a terrible bicycle accident on Thursday, August 16th. She is currently in the ICU at St Vincent's Hospital in Billings.
She has very severe liver damage. Her doctor said that most people with her injury die before they get to the hospital, she continues to beat the odds and is in stable condition. She is scheduled for relatively minor surgery at 2-3 this afternoon, they will be checking her packing which is keeping her internal bleeding to a minimum and replacing her wound vac.
Nikki has had some trouble with her breathing so they put her on Nitrous Oxide and they have since been able to drop it down to almost nothing. Her liver has a build up of ammonia from being injured and her numbers have improved greatly from yesterday.
She still has a very long road ahead but she continues to beat the odds, thank you to everyone for your outpouring of love, prayers and support. I want to give a special thank you to Christy my sister in law, without you calling the ambulance Nikki would not be here today.
Monica Forsberg ( Nikki's sister)
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| Nikki, Veronica and me (top to bottom) |
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| Maryanne and Nikki |
Monica
(8/23/12) Hi Everyone,
Nikki made a major leap today, she is breathing almost completely on her own! She is scheduled to be closed up the rest of the way tomorrow and Dr. Maier had also planned on performing a tracheostomy to help improve her breathing but when talking to her respiratory therapist she may not need it. She is getting better every day but today was a big day for her!
Thank you again for all the love and prayers being sent her way, Monica
(8/24/12) Hi Everyone,
Nikki is doing great, the doctor sewed up her stomach muscles today. He did a tracheostomy today to help her breathe easier. Her breathing is doing great and she is breathing on her own, the added oxygen just helps her breathe deeper with all the sedatives they have her on. She continues to do better every day, this is the first day that I have no doubt that she is going to be just fine.
I have some beautiful inspirations from my Mom concerning Nikki's condition:
"If you see a large puddle full of muddy water... would you sit down in the middle of it and splash until you were covered in mud, or would you stay back from it and think about other things. When you worry and fret, you cover yourself with mud. Praise me instead. I will take care of the mud and the filth. I separated the sea and the rivers from the land. I can solve all your problems. Praise me."
"I will knit her back together one stitch at a time. Praise me. I knit much faster than you can knit. Praise me for putting her back together quickly."
"Make your souls bare. Take out all your accomplishments, all you own, all you want. Let me be born in your empty soul and I will fill you with immense love. Let me be born in you. Listen to me- let me grow and be a part of all you are and do."
(8/25/12) Hi Everyone,
Nikki continues to get better, today she's been a little more alert. We have such wonderful neighbors, thank you Larry and Pamela for all the facebook group prayers and thank you Mike and Terry for the wonderful dinner. I am so thankful that Nikki is where she is, with out the wonderful care she's received at St. Vs she would not be with us today.
Monica
(8/26/12) Hi Everyone,
Nikki is really active today. I was up at the hospital for around 5-6 hours today keeping her company. She has had pneumonia so they suctioned out her lungs today which went really well and should improve her breathing even more. I am really looking forward to Nikki getting rid of that tracheostomy tube so she can talk, I am not a great lip reader and it can be pretty frustrating. It is so hard to see her frustrated or uncomfortable and have no idea how to help her.
Monica
(8/29/12) Hi Everyone,
Nikki is doing great. She is in good spirits and they had her sit up a little bit today. She was quite disappointed that her feet didn't touch the ground (she is ready to start walking and standing, at least in spirit). She is running a low fever, they are concerned with infection. They are draining a fluid build up from the sac around her lungs and also from behind her liver which had gotten lascerated.
I am so thankful Nikki is in good hands, Monica
(8/30/12) Hi Everyone,
I spoke with Nikki's doctor tonight and he said that her fever could be from infection or it could be from her body reabsorbing the blood in her system. She is doing well enough to be getting bored lying there, she looks great and still has her sense of humor. I have been bringing her movies to watch (she's going for action flicks) hopefully she is out of the ICU soon. Monica
(9/5/12) Hi Again,
Nikki is doing great! Tomorrow is three weeks since the accident and she is looking great. They have her breathing on her own more every day, getting rid of that Trach is one of the milestones before they let her out of ICU... hopefully very soon. Monica
(9/11/12) Hi Everyone,
Sorry it's been so long since I've updated everyone... it's been pretty crazy. Nikki is still doing really well, she has had some trouble with fluid buildup in the sac around her lungs. Several days ago they had to put a drain in because the fluid was putting pressure on her lung and also her liver. It seems with every step forward there is always another challenge for her.
They are having her breathe more and more on her own, they are getting ready to take her off the machine so she can move out of ICU. I heard that she was on her own breathing for 5 hours and then for 3 hours today.
Hopefully She will be out of the ICU very soon. Monica
(9/18/12) Hi Everyone,
Sorry it's been a while since I've written. Nikki is out of ICU and in a rehab room now. She got the trach removed today and they actually gave her juice and apple sauce, the first food she's had in over a month. She continues to improve and is going to be coming home before to long. Thank you for everyone's love and prayers. Monica
(9/26/12) Hi Everyone,
Nikki was released from the hospital today!
