UPDATE: THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009

Well today has been another very good day for Paula, as was yesterday. She actually has been getting up and down to go to the bathroom and walking in the hall with physical therapy, EVEN putting on her face (make up) to look beautiful or as we joked and said, "to become more human", lol. Occupational therapy came in yesterday to give her some exercises she could do to help her get stronger while laying in bed. I told her it was so she could build her some "guns" (biceps that is). Proud to say she is actually ordering her own meals, not pureed any longer, from the cafeteria and eating a great lot of the food she is served. This also includes the milk shakes and chocolate ice cream she worried about all morning yesterday melting while she was finishing up her shower, lol. She still got to eat it cold! She also has been complaining they send her to much food so as one of the nurses said if they are stating facts that something could improve they are definitely feeling better. I must say, I believe that statement whole heartedly.

It seems as the doctors are going to try to move her towards the top of the transplant list in the urgent section of the really, really sick people waiting for a transplant. After having a conference of all of the doctors they still are against doing the TIPS procedure for fear it may "TIP" her in the direction we do not want her to go. SO......They are still working diligently on getting her nutritional status back up to par as well as making sure they symptomatically drain her belly of fluid. They are keeping a close eye on her kidneys and her pulmonary hypertension to make sure nothing gets out of hand. They are entertaining the idea of maybe, "MAYBE" sending her home soon to await a transplant. Hopefully all will go well and with caution she can be more comfortable at home. This would also be a great relief on all of the family as well, especially her mom and dad. They have been real TROOPERS and haven't missed a beat. Thank God their health has allowed them to do so well. I am also so thankful the doctors have stepped in to make sure she is taken care of so well. Sometimes I still get all of their names backwards, but they don't seem to mind...lol. There are so many of them it is like meeting for Thanksgiving! (not really, just kidding).

I will keep everyone updated if I hear anything. Keep the prayers going and pray for a liver for Paula as this is the only thing that will prolong her from becoming an ANGEL too soon. Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive throughout this time. It has been one heck of a ride and unbelievably it is still not over and the hard loops have not begun. So pray for strength and longevity for her as well as her family.

With lots of thought and love....... Rachele ;0)

Update 4.28.09

I am sitting here with Paula. She is looking better! She has on new green jammies that Grammy bought her. She is doing a little exercise with Occupational Therapy. The kidney doctor said her levels are a little better than yesterday. Baby steps...

One issue that has come up is that she is all out of sick days. She has a few vacation days she is using. We are working on other options, but she desperately needs to keep her insurance. If there is anyone at Norman Public Schools that would like to donate a sick day or two, Paula would really appreciate it. If you would like to donate a sick day please contact me. You can call me at 203-9358. *Karena*

We are also really excited about the benefit Garage Sale/Bake Sale on June 6th at Westside Walmart. If you or anyone you know wants to donate to the sale or bake some items for us to sell, we would really appreciate it! Email me karena@normannerds.com or call me 203-9358

We will be talking about all this and more tonight at the volunteer meeting. 7pm at the YMCA in Norman. Please come and help us help Paula!

God Bless,
Karena

--MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2009--

HELLO:: Today was another good day for Paula. She had a whole lot of visitors yesterday and appreciated every minute of it. Today I am glad to report was much of the same. The doctors have been trying to communicate from each of their standpoints so Paula can have the best care possible. They have decided to hold off on the TIPS procedure for a few days while they try to reduce the amount of fluid on her belly. She actually answered the phone for me today!!! I was definitely shocked.....I must say! She seemed to be her usual self (at least for the minute before her energy ran dry, lol) always thinking of others instead of herself. We all know that is PAULA... She is in good company tonight (as she has been for the last several nights she has been in the hospital) with Tracy keeping her in line. It has been incredible help to have volunteers for sleepovers to keep her in line at night. Hopefully with prayers she will eventually be strong enough to get to go home, but for now she feels comfortable with the care she is receiving from her family, doctors and the staff at the hospital. Keep the support coming as she will have her good days and bad days, as well as her family, and it will take all of the support she can get to help pull her through this tough time in her life. As always, hope for the best, shoot for the moon and land on the stars!! That is an incredible journey she and all of us try for every day. Good Night and don't forget to say your prayers for Paula and her family tonight, she definitely deserves them all. DON'T FORGET THE MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT, TUESDAY @ 7...HOPE TO SEE MANY OF YOU THERE.... ***RACHELE***

***Saturday, April 25, 2009***

Well today has been a somewhat good day for Paula. We got her up out of the bed and she actually got a REAL shower today with a good exfoliation of her dry skin and a wonderful massaging head scrub...(the lil things in life we all tend to forget about that make us feel so good!) Dr. Jalil came in mid day and had a chat with Paula. He is going to try and shoot for maybe Monday to do the TIPS procedure. Her white count is back down in the normal range, but a few of her other lab values were a bit off. So she got a pint of blood today and will be rechecked to see if she needs more to help stabilize her and prepare her for "hopefully" Monday's procedure.

It is now official that we can all donate blood in her name at any of the OBI blood donor sites. This will help compensate the amount she would have to pay for the blood products. Also if she cannot use it then rest assured there will be someone else who can, it is a great cause, who knows maybe one day you might have to require some blood!! If you decide to do this when you get to the donor place, inform them you are donating blood in honor of Paula Crawford (I will be setting up her acct on Monday with OBI and will post other information if needed). So if you need more info about this, please feel free to contact me @ rbr.reagan@sbcglobal.net or 405-831-5320. We are still planning on meeting Tuesday night @ 7 at the Cleveland County YMCA for her fundraising meeting (if any changes we will be posting to let you know so check back frequently). Hopefully all who wish to volunteer to help Paula's cause can attend. It would be great for her to know all of you support her! I was told today Carol/Susan (Heather's in-law family) had a garage sale and sold donuts to help out!! They made $34 for Paula!! YEAH!! This is awesome. Any little bit helps and gets us excited for the next event.

She has received many cards, flowers and phone calls and is so truly appreciative of them; however, she is still very weak and is not ready yet to converse on the phone too much. So if you try to call and cannot speak with her it is just because she is trying to harbor her energy to apply it to her getting better, not to be offensive!! She does truly love and care about each and everyone.

So hopefully this has caught you all up to date and PLEASE, PLEASE, keep her in your thoughts and prayers as this is a very terrible time and is very scary to her and her family. It is a harsh reality check that no one ever wants to go through. She will have a long, long road to recovery and is not quite out of the woods at this time.

Will post again hopefully tomorrow, if not then definitely Monday to keep everyone up to speed.

Thanks for all of you who have been following along. Paula really does appreciate it!

***RACHELE*** ;0)

update 4.24.09

Paula is still in 7 East room doing 766. She is a little better. One prayer was answered for sure- she is back on the active transplant list! Hopefully she is going to get that call soon!
She has developed a bit of pneumonia. They are also a little worried that she has an infection since she has had fever and elevated white counts. They are doing different cultures to see where that is originating. Dr. Ali said kidneys were back to normal! Yeah - Praise Jesus!

She has really enjoyed all the visitors, cards and flowers. Keep lifting her up and pray for that transplant!

Update 4.22.09 round two

Well, good news! Paula is out of ICU and in a private room. She was able to stabilize on her own. They are going to do a procedure tomorrow called TIPS (Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt) This will help with the blood flow through the liver and help her get stronger so she can make it to transplant! Please continue to pray for Paula & the family, but also for these wonderful doctors and nurses as they work to strengthen Paula!

Her new room number is 766. This is on 7 East. Her new phone number is 945-5766. Cards can be sent through the hospital link and they will deliver to this room.

Paula wanted me to say Hi to everyone and let you know she has really appreciated all the visitors she has had. She loves you all.

Goodnight * Karena

Update 4.22.09

Well, what a beautiful day! Paula is doing a little better today. She has been sleeping a lot. They have gotten the Blood Pressure medicine completely stopped (this is the medicine that they were not wanting to keep her on very long). They are taking out a couple of lines in a little bit. They are the catheters that measure the pulmonary and heart pressures. They will continue to monitor these functions in other ways. She has been a little nauseous, so they are giving her Reglan to help her tummy. Her BUN & creatin levels are still elevated, although her urine output is OK. They have taken the word Dialysis out of the equation, so that is good for now. They also have decreased her fluids so they do not overtax her kidneys. She has a great intensivist on staff and today her nurse is the current Nurse of the Year!! Keep the prayers coming...

Update 4.21.09

Today Paula is still in ICU. They have been able to stabilize her with medication. The bummer is that they need to take those medications away. The medications they are using to stabilize her are not meant to be long term. They were trying to ween her off some of the medicines today but unsuccessfully. Her heart rate and blood pressure both went down. So they had to go back to the dose that keeps her stable. They are also still giving her lots of fluid. She is still pretty dry. She is feeling a bit nauseous today. She is very thankful for all the people have been up to visit her. She had quite a few visitors today, some from a few hours away! She really appreciates everyones support.

We will be having the fundraising meeting tonight at the Cleveland County YMCA for anyone interested in volunteering. We will discuss different fundraising ideas and finalize the plans for the Garage Sale.

We are planning the sale for Saturday, June 6th at the Westside Walmart parking lot. We will also be having a bake sale/lemonade stand there as well. We will need able & willing bodies to work the sale. We need stuff to sell! If you know anyone who has donations for the sale- we will pick them up, or they can be dropped off at Eric & Karena's house (2117 Iowa St Norman) before June 6th. Also if anyone is willing to bake items for the bake sale we would love it! Please call Karena and let her know what you can do! 203-9358. or email karena@normannerds.com

Update 4.20.09

Unfortunately Paula's condition has made a decline. Her kidneys are not working the way that they should. The doctors are not sure if this is due to the pulmonary hypertension, the liver problems or due to the fact that she is dehydrated. They are moving her into ICU so that they can figure this out and give her more constant medical attention. They are currently in a procedure to insert a catheter to monitor her heart and lung arterial pressure. Hopefully this will give them the insight they ar looking for. Right now Paula needs our prayers more than ever....Please reach out to everyone you can to pray for her and for the family.

They have moved her to ICU bed#12. This is on the 7th floor. The visiting hours are :
8:30 am- 6pm & 8:30pm - 6pm.

Update 4.19.09

Well, not a lot of new news over the weekend. Paula has been feeling worse this weekend. She is taking a new medication that makes her nauseated. So then they are giving her a medicine for that and it makes her sleepy. She has slept a lot the past two days. She is not eating as well, since she feels sick so luckily they are feeding her through an IV. They have postponed the right heart cath for when she is feeling a bit better. I will keep you posted.

She has had visitors. I spoke with Heather this evening and she had the kiddos up there, which I am sure brightened Paula's day. Grammy & Poppy of course are there with her everyday. Please pray for their strength. They will need it being up there everyday, but honestly, where else would they be...She's their baby!

Hopefully, I will get to go up and see her early this week. We have had kids with Strep so we did not want to chance taking that up there. I will pass along the comments and prayers I have received. I am sure she will tell me what she wants said in my next update!

keep the prayers coming...they work!! **Karena**

Update 4.17.09

I spoke with Paula this morning on the phone and she let me know she had a good night's rest; however, they have started her on some medication for her pulmonary hypertension and it has caused her to feel very tired, weak and nauseated. They also are continuing to drain the fluid off of her tummy, which compounds the weakness. It was mentioned about it being a gloomy, rainy day so hopefully this will be a relaxing day for her to get some well-needed rest. She has been thankful for each and every person who has visited and sent their condolences. She personally said thanks and to let everyone I have been in contact with know she sincerely loves them!! So keep her in your prayers as this is going to be a very long journey. ****Rachele****

Paula's Updat 4.16.09

We have created this blog as a great way to get info about Paula out daily.
Today Paula is still in Baptist Hospital (Room 782 bed2). She was admitted on
Tuesday, April 14th after her scheduled liver Dr. appointment. She made the choice to be
admitted so that they would get her built back up! She has had fluid on her abdomen
that builds up and makes it hard for her to eat, which makes her very weak. They have drained
12+ liters of fluid! Wow! The fluid will continue to build up but they are trying to keep it drained so she will be more comfortable and have an appetite. They are giving her nutrtion
through her IV as well. Dr. Jalil was just in and would like to see her stay through Monday. She has a right heart cath scheduled for Monday and he thinks it would be better to keep her and get her as strong as possible for that. Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy are just coming in to tire her out!

Paula has had quite a few visitors at Baptist. Her parents, Roland & Gene are with her everyday, all day. Heather has spent the past 2 nights in her room with her. Scott & Melissa have been visiting between school schedules. The grandkids are visiting her and giving her lots of hugs! Her niece, Rachele is also checking in and keeping things in line!! Carys & I (Karena) came to visit and and brought her a new little friend- "Fuzzy Bear". She is a cute little pink Build-a-Bear that Carys made just for Grandma. Fuzzy is going to keep her company while she is by herself in the room.

Paula would love to hear from anyone. She has a direct phone line in her room 945-5792. You can also log on to the Integris website and send cards. Just click on this link... https://www.integris-health.com/INTEGRIS/en-US/Locations/BRHC-miami/GetWellandeCards/BRHCEcard.htm

We also have made a facebook page for Paula if you are a facebook person- add her and we will be keeping you up to date there as well!

If you would like to send a personal letter you can email Paula at prayersforpaula@gmail.com .