Services Info (Updated)

Services are confirmed for Monday at 2:00pm at First Baptist Church in Friona. There will be no formal visitation. In lieu of flowers our family requests any donations be made to the benevolence fund at First Baptist Church, Friona.

Home

Tonight at about 7:30 Dad's body stopped breathing. Brent and Mom were by his side as he took his last breath, and Wendy had been with him today. We have great comfort in knowing that his soul is in Heaven with his God and Savior. I am so thankful for the Hope we have in Jesus Christ of eternal life and we are assured that Dad knew that Hope. We will miss him greatly. It still is hard to comprehend that Dad won't be with us anymore. But we will see him again- what a day that will be.

Thanks to each one of you for your love and support during this time.

Hanging On

First, sorry there have been no updates in a while. We are all amazed at how long Dad has been holding on. Dad was in great shape at the time of the accident and his body is still fighting to stay alive. He was disciplined with his eating and exercise so most of his body with the exception of his brain has still been functioning. There are starting to be accumulating signs that show his body is shutting down. We are learning more about how amazingly our bodies are created. God created us to fight for survival and the least important body parts/functions shut down first so that we can survive.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support.

God Remains Faithful

This is not the way we wanted this situation to turn out but we know that God's ways are higher and better than ours. Early on when they told us that Jerry would probably be able to walk and care for himself but could never drive, work, make decisions, or be left alone for fear he would burn the house down - we tucked those things way back in our minds. All along we knew that we could live with this but always wanting something better. Then progressively they told us they would need to put a central line in, then brain surgery, then a feeding tube and a tracheostomy - none of which I wanted him to have, but when it came time for each of these decisions we were at such peace for these things to happen knowing it was for Jerry's best. Then day after day, we saw essentially no improvement except for a brief time which we now think it was a time for him to tell us good bye.

Then came the ultimate decision to place him in hospice which at the time we knew it was best. At this point he could not swallow, make any movement nor make any response.

We know due to all the prayers going up for him and all the prayers going up from his family if it was in God's will he would have been healed. And today we still are asking and hoping God will heal him. But today we know that he is going to be healed ultimately, knowing Jerry would not wish to be left in a coma but to be in heaven with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We love him so much and do not want to let him go but I was thinking " when would I be ready for him to go?" I think God knows this time better than I do and will take him to Himself when He is ready

I want to thank everyone who read this blog and replied.

This time has been a very sad time for us but at the same time it has been such a special time for our family. We know God more intimately than we ever have before. He has been very real to us. He has promised "to never leave us or forsake us " and we know this is true. "He is faithful even when we are faithless." This is true. Jerry's favorite verse is "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."

I will close with Jerry's favorite song

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me
All the days, all the days of my life
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever
And I shall feast at the table spread for me
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days, all the days of my life.

In Hospice

(From Wendy)

We cannot thank our precious friends and family enough for your prayer support, visits, encouragement, and countless expressions of love, care, and concern. When we met with the doctor this morning, he assured us that everything medically that can be done has been—that Dad is not expected to wake up. He explained that the cumulative trauma to his brain is severe and irreversible. He also did a final CT scan this morning to bless us with the peace of mind to confirm the diagnosis with a final assessment. He recommended that we transition him to hospice care, and he was moved to BSA hospice this afternoon.

We feel a tremendous peace and know it is God carrying us through this difficult situation. Every prayer has been answered in God’s sovereign way. While it is not the outcome we hoped for, we know this is best for Dad. We are thankful to know heaven awaits him when the time comes. He looks comfortable and peaceful. The staff here has been wonderful, and the environment is sweet.

The Lord gives peace that passes all understanding. We thank Him that we do not walk through any of this alone.

Wendy for the family

No Change

I just wanted to quickly update those of you who are checking this. There has been no change over the weekend as far as response from dad. Everything such as his lungs, vital signs, etc. with the exception of his brain injuries looks good. The swelling is still a big concern and we hope to be able to talk with the doctor today. Thanks for your concern and prayers.

Still Praying

Last night, I saw Dad for the first time in about 2 weeks. I was comforted by how good Dad looks- his eye that was black has improved a lot and his face looks good and he just looked like he was resting. If I wouldn't have heard yesterday's news about the brain stem swelling I would not have had any idea he had a setback yesterday. We have not seen the doctor yet today to get an update. The nurses have told us he had a steady night. We're hoping to find out from the doctor if he plans to do another CT scan or if he just wants to continue the medicine. So we don't know a whole lot new today.

Personally, I'm taking special encouragement in Romans 8:26-28

" 26In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
27and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. "

We see some of the good that is coming out of this situation but we trust there is more than we know. We're praying for Dad to be healed but ultimately know the Spirit is interceeding for us according to His will.

Full Day

Today was one of the tougher days we've had. Brent and Mom visited with the doctor early this afternoon. He informed them that the area around Dad's brain stem is swelling. This is concerning to the doctor. They are going to give him medicine to try to reduce the swelling. The procedure to drain the spinal fluid that was done Wednesday night is having the desired results for the front part of the brain.

For a short period today they completely removed the ventilator to allow him to wean off of the machine. They've since replaced it for the rest of the night. Please continue to pray that the pressure will stay down especially on the brain stem.

Water on the Brain

Dad had another CT scan today.  When the neurosurgeon looked at the results this afternoon, he noticed that portions of his brain had swollen since the last scan.  The doctor said that the brain was producing more cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) than it was able to absorb, so he needed to perform a procedure called a ventriculoscopy which they did tonight about 7:00pm.

This is actually the same procedure that was performed on dad when he first got to the emergency room in Amarillo on the 28th.   The initial ventriculoscopy was done to drain blood and CSF to reduce pressure on his brain.  When they performed the surgery last week to remove the blood clot behind his left eye, they removed this original drain.  Since then, the brain had swollen again with excess CSF, so they needed to perform the procedure again.   

The doctor was able to use the same incision as the original procedure and dad again has a drain for the excess CSF fluid.  They'll be monitoring the drainage from the tube in dad's head for the next several days.  His brain may eventually catch up and be able to absorb all of the CSF that his body is producing in which case they will again remove the drain.  If not, they may need to insert a shunt into his head which will divert the excess CSF into his abdomen.

Early On

Brent and Mom got a chance to visit with the doctor this morning about dad's condition. He told them he thinks he is doing good overall. He reminded them that we are still early on in the recovery. Dad still remains in a coma but his temperature has remained down, pnemonia is almost gone, and today was breathing almost all on his own. Last night after the trach was put in when they were having to change out his central line the nurses saw him mouth the word "Oww". He could not speak with the trach in but was responding to pain. In case you're wondering as I was, we're told that even if Dad is able to breath on his own the trach is still needed so they can suction out anything if necessary.

The plan is to move him to a long term care facility outside of the hospital next week. As I understand this is a good sign that he is stable enough to move out of ICU. They are also beginning to do some physical therapy with him to help with range of movement. Brent and Mom keep mentioning that Dad just simply looks better which is great to hear.

Tracheotomy

Last night they performed a tracheotomy and put a feeding tube in Dad's stomach. This procedure went well and when Brent and Mom saw him after this they thought he looked much better. We believe this is much more comfortable for him than the breathing tube down his throat from what we have heard from other's experiences.

The last two days have been less encouraging as far as visible responses from Dad. However, they have noticed some periods where he has appeared to be very relaxed and more comfortable which is good. The original doctor returned from vacation Monday but they have not had a chance to visit with him yet. We hope to get an update from him soon.

Encouraging Signs

Yesterday was another encouraging day to see responsiveness from Dad. When Brent came in for one of the visits Dad tried to raise an arm as if to say hello! They are confident by his responses that he is aware and can hear- which is an answered prayer in itself. He appears to be tired easily when moving, responding, etc. which is obviously expected after two brain surgeries, pnemonia, eye infections, and two weeks of laying in bed. The pnemonia also is improving.

They are planning to perform a tracheotomy on Tuesday. We are praying that this could be avoided as it will temporarily keep dad from being able to talk. If they need to do it we are ok with it but would be glad if he didn't have to have another surgery. The tracheotomy will be more comfortable to him than the breathing tube he is currently on and is necessary to avoid infections/complications from having a breathing tube for two weeks.

The original doctor that did the first surgery in the ER is expected to be back from vacation this week, hopefully today. We're keeping in mind this is a long process and are thankful for even the small encouragements along the way. No matter the result God is faithful and has been to us each day.

Furrowed Brow

Most of the time, when a parent looks at you with a furrowed brow, that's not necessarily a good thing. You know the look - the raised eyebrows that say "Don't try that again...." But tonight, the furrowed eyebrows brought good news. As we visited dad at 5:00pm tonight, there was a real sense that he was aware of us, hearing us, and responding with his eyes. He has been pretty much unable to respond to us since the accident, so those little movements with the eyes were so encouraging. But our best moment was toward the end of the 8:00pm visit. As mom and I were leaving, mom said "Good Night, Jerry. We'd sure like to have you say good night to us. Can you move your eyebrows for us? " And then he did!

As I'm reflecting on things tonight, I'm so thankful to dad for all the times that he did provide guidance and direction. Thankful for the furrowed brows that did mean "stop that", or "be careful", or "watch out". But tonight, I'm most thankful for the furrowed brow that meant "Good Night". It has been a good night!

Day 14

From Mom

We just came out of Jerry's room after visiting hours. They said he has moved his legs some however we saw no movement while we were there. We actually got to see our neurosurgeon and the other doctor who takes care of all his other functions. The neurosurgeon said possibly Jerry has his nights and days mixed up and may wake up later today. He says it is still early so not be discouraged.

Today both eyes are infected . They said it could be from the swelling still and from the dryness due to his infrequent blinking. Please remember this in your prayers. The doctors said his chest x-ray looked better We know that we will have ups and downs and are leaning on the Lord for encouragement.

I just wanted to list a few things that have helped us and I know I can't even remember them all. It has been years since we have sung

Nothing is Impossible
when you put your trust in God
Nothing is impossible
when you're trusting in His word.
Hearken to the voice of God to thee.
Is there anything too hard for thee?
Then PUT YOUR TRUST IN GOD ALONE
AND LEAN UPON HIS WORD--
for everything, everything, yes everything is possible with God.

I woke up probably the 3rd morning and sang that to Brent and it meant so much to us. We felt the Lord had put that in my heart. One particular song that we sing nearly every day is

I will sing praise
I will lift my voice
I will sing praise
I'VE MADE MY CHOICE
I will sing praise in all I do
I will trust in YOU.

No matter the storms that come my way
No matter the trials I may face,
YOU'VE promisled that YOU will see me through.
I will trust in YOU

We've been encouraged by reading the Psalms, Romans 8, much of Corinthians, Ephesians and many more passages. So many of God's promises seem to leap off the page to us and they are so encouraging. Also just knowing who He is. Our Great Physician, our Comforter, our Rock , our High Tower, our Peace, our Joy, our Hope, and many more things we can't begin to list. We know that God is seldom early but never late and we're holding on to that.

When we sing the Old Hymns the words just go deep down to comfort in a way nothing else can. They are much easier to remember than some of the newer songs today.We love the old chorus He's everything to me and it says it all.

My brother Bob came and sang with us and we really enjoyed that. Everyday we have had some form of encouragement: songs, scriptures, a word from someone telling of others who have gone through similar things. But of course one very precious thing is calls and visits from dear friends who all tell us they are praying for us and that is the MOST IMPORTANT thing. We know that the LORD hears and is answering. We feel an lncredible peace that is from Him alone.

We love you all!

Lucy Beth

Some trust in horses and some in chariots but we will trust in the name of our Lord.

Good Day

Dad has had another good day.  There hasn't been a lot of change in several days, but that is actually a pretty good thing.  The nurses in ICU continue to tell us that every day that we don't lose ground is a good day.  Dad is still holding strong and steady.  His vital signs are good and he continues to take more spontaneous breaths on the ventilator.

The neurosurgeon called mom today and was encouraged with dad's progress.  Yesterday, he didn't see much change, but today he saw some small movements in the eyes and hands, so that is encouraging.

When mom and I visited at 5:00pm today, we really sensed that he was trying hard to wink his eyes as we spoke to him.

Dad does have pneumonia and that is definitely something we'd ask that you join with us in prayer about.  As he has been in bed for so long, his lungs have begun to fill with secretions.  The doctors have him on 3 different antibiotics now.

We continue to see small improvements and have been very encouraged today.  We'd definitely like things to go more quickly, but understand that the brain does take considerable time to heal. 

They'll probably remove the tubes in his mouth on Monday and perform a tracheotomy as well as place a feeding tube into his stomach.

The Lord Sustains!

From Mom:

I just want everyone to know how very much we appreciate the comments from you. I want everyone to know how much you can depend on the LORD JESUS CHRIST to sustain you in times of trouble. From the beginning we knew that this is a walk of faith and not of sight.

One of the first songs the Lord impressed upon us was Dennis Jernigan's song When the Night is Falling paying particular attention to the chorus.
How I love you child I love you.
How I love you child I love you,
How I love you.
This song ran over and over through the first and second day assuring us once again of His unfailing love for us. Then we remembered how God has us in our hand and Jesus has us in His hand and nothing can touch us unless it is filtered through those hands of love.

I can't tell you right now all the times the lORD has encouraged us but it has been every day and just at the right time. Every time we go into Jerry's room Brent and I sing songs to the Lord and read many of His precious promises to us and pray over him. We actually get excited and have an overwhelming sense of peace that passes understanding. We can truly say that we are thankful for this time in our lives because we have come to know the Lord in a way we have never known Him before and the songs we are singing go deep into our souls to minister to us and encourage us.

Psalm 41:3 is just one of the verses He has given us as a personal encouragement.Love in Christ to all who read this We can't begin to thank those of you who have called or come to see us and we love you.

Lucy Beth Hinkle

Thursday

Well, we've had another stable night. Dad seems to be recovering well from surgery. He's still sleeping, but they are trying to let him wake up. He's still on a ventilator, but they are trying to wean him off of that. They've got it set to allow him to breathe over the respirator if his body tries to do that and he's been taking 7 or 8 breaths a minute on his own. They'll still need to reduce the oxygen level and he'll need to breathe even more on his own before he can totally come off of the ventilator, but these are good signs so far.

They've resumed the tube feeding today. They waited until about noon to resume that as they were waiting on his gut to wake up and begin making the normal sounds. He's at half right now and they want to see if his body will tolerate the feedings. I'm sure he was hungry since they took him off the feedings for yesterday's surgery.

He has been running a slight temperature pretty consistently for the last day or so. The doctor came by this morning and said that he had a slight pneumonia beginning in the lungs, but they are treating that with antibiotics.

He hasn't been moving yet. As he wakes, we'll expect to see more movement. Before they took him into the medical coma, he was fairly active and had to be repositioned on the bed several times because he was moving so much. We'd sure like to see that start happening again. The nurses have told us that the medicines they were using to keep him sedated might take several days to completely wear off. He's been off of the sedatives for at least 36 hours now.

Our spirits are still high. We continue to trust that the Lord is working to heal dad. We are so thankful for the prayers and words of encouragement that have been sent our way. We continue to hear about similar injuries with great results. We have just been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love. Please continue to pray; we know that there's just no better thing to do.

Successful Surgery

We are thankful to hear from the doctor that the surgery went as well as could be expected. He told us we are not out of the woods yet but hopefully ths procedure will help. Recent brain scans showed there were two clots behind the left eye that were merging to form a large mass. The mass that they removed was about the size of a tennis ball! The doctor was confident that they removed the harmful mass without damaging healthy tissue.

They are going to discontinue any further sedation and paralyitics. So when the ones in his body wear off we will be able to see where he is at without being sedated. We are praying and trusting that this will relieve a lot of the pressure in Dad's head and allow him to heal. Ps 41:3

Surgery

Dad had another good night. Pressure in the brain has remained good. He's got a slight temperature, but that evidently is not uncommon with the head injuries. I noticed this morning that dad has been breathing spontaneously a few times each minute (the ventilator is set so that if he tries to breathe on his own, it lets him). The nurses have said that he still has a gag reflex and all of these things are positive signs. They've had him heavily sedated for several days and that medicine takes several days to completely cycle out of his system, so he's still not awake.

The doctor came in this morning and said the latest chest x-ray looked good. He's going to change antibiotics today just as a precaution. The neurosurgeon called this morning and he plans to do surgery this afternoon. The latest CT scan gives him some indication that trying to remove the blood clot could improve his condition.

Honestly, all of this brain injury stuff is hard to fathom. We're just trusting in the doctor's training and experience for most of this. Ultimately, the Lord is in control of everything, and we know that He isn't surprised by anything that is happening. The other good news is that He created this brain that even the doctors can't figure out.

Holding Strong

Dad is still hanging on. His vital signs remain stable and the pressure in his brain is still in the desired range. The doctor has decided to start taking him off of some of the medications today to see how he will respond. The paralytic agent they've been giving him may take 36-48 hours to completely cycle out of his system. As the medicine wears off, they will continue to monitor the brain pressure. The doctor has tentatively scheduled surgery for Wednesday afternoon. We haven't yet had a chance to visit with the doctor about the surgery, but will before they go in.

Staying Stable

The last two days have been mostly uneventful. Dad continues to be on strong sedation medication as well as paralytics to ensure the brain pressure and activity stay down. The doctor seems to be pleased with the results of this treatment so will continue this strategy for now. A new doctor took over the case today. We have heard many great things about this doctor. Brent and Mom did not get to meet him today but hope to get the chance to tomorrow to get filled in on where he thinks we're at.

I would like to take this chance to thank each one of you on behalf of our family. Your prayers, phone calls, visits, emails, and other acts of kindness have really ministered to our family during this time. We can feel God's presence sustaining us through your prayers and we sincerely appreciate each one.

Catching Up

Best laid plans.... I have been meaning to keep this site updated daily and plan to going forward. But obviously this week has been extremely hectic. I want to continue the story from the first post on the 31st picking up after the ambulance picked up Dad at church.

He was taken to the local hospital and we are thankful for the care he received there. Brent was with Mom at the hospital. After initial tests it was thought that a stroke was probably the most likely cause of the fall. So dad was Careflighted to a bigger hospital where he would be able to receive a shot that stroke victims can receive to minimize brain damage. After registering, etc in the ER the brain surgeon saw him and was very concerned. I had made my way to the hospital from my wife's family. So Brent, Mom, and I listened as the doctor told us Dad's brain was severely injured and he "didn't know if he was going to make it." There were multiple pockets of air and "blood all over the place" in and around his brain. The only option we had was to try a procedure to drain fluid off the brain and relieve the pressure. We would later learn that the pressure was so intense it nearly literally pushed the brain out of the bottom of Dad's head. But the procedure was done successfully and relieved a lot the pressure. At this time we were still thinking a stroke must have caused Dad's fall. We now know there was no stroke or aneurysm but have been told that the brain damage will be the same as what a stroke victim experiences.

I will continue catching up another time....

Good Day

I talked to Brent tonight. Today has been a good day for Dad. We are thankful the pressure remained satisfactory through most of the day. There have not been many changes today. We are going to stay on track with the current strategy of aggressive medication for 3 more days and then re-evaluate where he is at. These medications are strong so they can't continue to use them long term. There is a possibility that if they do not work surgery will be necessary. But thankfully they currently are working as they should so we are praying these will continue to keep the pressure down. One of the medicines that Dad is on is a paralytic so he is not moving at all and is not taking any breaths on his own.

Good News

I received a text from Brent Saturday morning, the 3rd that the pressure had stayed down all night. Mom and Brent had both slept well. Praise the Lord!

Eventful Day

Friday the 2nd was an eventful day. The first visit of the day the doctor told Brent and Mom that Dad had a rough night. The intercranial pressure had been high for a lot of the night. This caused the doctors and nurses to aggressively treat Dad with medicine to keep this down. The first brain surgeon from the ER that has remained Dad's doctor met with Mom and Brent to let them know the treatment plan needed to change from one of slowly backing off of medication to aggressively treating with medicine to ensure the pressure stayed down. This meant that it would be at least another week before Dad could be off of sedation and the breathing tube.
The doctor also let Mom and Brent know that he was going on vacation for about a week as he was overdue for some time off. But he has transferred the case to a second doctor, who was influential in his career. He said that when he was in school this new doctor inspired him to become a brain surgeon and has respected him ever since. Around 5 pm the nurses let Mom and Brent know that surgery might be necessary during the night if the medicines could not keep the pressure down. A large clot behind the left eye was causing a lot of pressure and it might be necessary to remove the clot. Due to the large amount of medication in the night shift the nurse was dedicated to Dad only (usually have 2 patients per nurse).
Mom and Brent didn't visit much with Dad during the 8:00pm visitation hour because the brain activity and brain pressure indicators were higher than they wanted them to be and thought it best to not stimulate Dad. So they left the hospital earlier than usual to try to get rest as there was a possibility the night could involve surgery. We were praying that was not necessary though because when removing the clot it would be almost impossible to not also remove some healthy brain tissue.