June 22 Update

Blessed is he who trusts in the name of the Lord. Proverbs 16:20

Just a quick update on Jodie and her surgery yesterday morning.

God heard all our prayers and brought her safely through her surgery and the procedure went fine. The shunt was placed in her brain to drain the fluid that has built up and they'll monitor her in the days to come to make sure it is working as planned.

By the time that Mama was able to go see her after Jodie came out of recovery, Jodie was wide awake and alert. Mama said she's pretty fidgetty today - so hopefully, God is getting her anxious for grand things to come. We're praying for miracles, just as we have since the beginning and we've already seen so many!

She's been fine since the surgery and was already back in therapy this morning. Several of her therapists went to visit her after her surgery yesterday and one tried to get her to stick her tongue out at them and she got as far as her teeth with her tongue, so that's good. I hope before long, she's able to stick it out as far as it will go!

Her medical team met today and have extended her stay until July 6 (two weeks from today) - so God gave her more time there. He answered our prayers, so we can't let up - we've got to keep on praying her better!!! Like John Hollis already told us, "Jesus is in Atlanta making Jo-Jo better", so it's up to those of us who love her and care for her to continue our steadfast prayers and specifically ask God for the needs of our hearts and for His will to be done. Of course our prayer is complete healing for Jodie. We have a strong faith that God will see us and Jodie through this with greener pastures and an awesome plan for our lives to look forward to.

Thank you all for your prayers, love and support. I'll continue to keep you all updated for as long as God gives me the words.

God's blessings,
jennifer

June 16 Update

Day 74

If you have the faith of a mustard seed, nothing will be impossible to you. Matthew 17:20

Glory be to God, who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would dare to ask or even dream of - infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes. Ephesians 3:20

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even when burned - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. I Peter 1:6-7

I am immersing myself into His word this morning because worry and fright have come into me. I beg of your prayers today and in the days to come. Despite Jodie's grand progress of the past few weeks, there is still a long journey in her recovery. We have praised the Lord and given thanks - all rightly due. I guess now, the realization faze is settling in - hard - and we've got big decisions before us. Please pray for God's strength and wisdom on us as we counsel for the future and quality of life for Jodie. We rely on Him now more than ever. And we need your prayers.

Please don't take this email as a "downer" - I just beg of you all to continue to lift up your steadfast prayers. We're not losing faith, it's actually growing and we're relying on God's grace and healing on all of us.

We just left a meeting with Dr. Leslie that was very hard on all of us. These next 8 days will be tough ones. In their meeting yesterday, they did not extend Jodie's stay - we're still on for discharge on June 24. But we strongly desire for God's will to keep her here under the care of these doctors and therapists.

Although, they desperately want to keep her, there is still more progression they need to see from Jodie. Dr. Leslie even told us that in their meeting, all of Jodie's therapists were crying because they don't want her to leave. This is hard on all of us - even those who have only briefly known Jodie. She has touched so many lives in so many ways. I know God has great plans for her, so we've got to keep the faith and PRAY HER through this.

Dr. Leslie told us today that he considers Jodie to be out of a coma. He said some doctors (he referred to them as "purists") might still consider her in light coma, but with all the progress he's seen in her, he says she's not in a coma. She opens and closes her eyes and has awake/sleep patterns, along with command responses and some movement. Though, she still lacks the speech element.

Specifically, I want to list for you the things that Dr. Leslie says they need to see in order for Jodie to stay in this therapy program here at Shepherd Center: speech; swallow; 100% following of commands and responsiveness; transfer of movement; and increased motor development skills. PLEASE PRAY specifically for Jodie to begin to advance in these requests. Those are directly from her doctor as things they need to see from Jodie in order for her to advance in her therapy.

I know you've all been so good in praying for Jodie, but I ask a favor of all you prayer warriors that in the coming days, in your free time and quiet times of the day and night, that your steadfast prayer for Jodie will be of these requests above. God is listening to us and He hears our prayers. Keep the faith and His will be done in Jodie's life and the lives of those who surround her and love her.
Keep her close to you in the coming days and lift your voices up to God, who still performs miracles and answers prayer. All our hopes and desires lie at His feet and we bow down to Him in honor and praise for all our blessings.

For those of you who've requested, I've included the contact information for Mama and Jodie here at Shepherd below Jodie's verse.

May the Lord Almighty grant you peace and blessings,
jennifer

June 14 Update

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

I have faith that God will renew Jodie's strength and allow her to walk, run and speak again! She sure is trying to and showing signs of it.

On this trip, Beth and I brought Candy with us. Candy is one of Jodie's best friends and she wanted to come and spend some time with Jodie and help us trigger some things for her. Jodie reacts so well to her friends and family. We were so anxious to get here after hearing of all the wonderful progress Jodie has had over the past 2 weeks. So, here's your update from the weekend....

Her surgery went great! The doctor said as soon as they put the incisions into her tendons, her feet popped right into place. Praise God! Meaning that no permanent damage had occurred in her feet. (this was due to the fact that her feet had "dropped" and had not been "moved" since the accident) They put casts on both her feet immediately following the surgery and these will stay on for 4 weeks. She's moving her legs all around even with those casts on! She's also very figitty with her feet and legs, so her therapist asked her if her feet were hurting and she pointed to "yes" on her sign. I'm sure they're driving her crazy and she wants to scratch them - I know I would. They gave her some medicine to help with the pain.

We've been asking her various questions and showing her pictures and asking her to point to the name we mention. She's been doing very well. I'll give you some examples:

· -Asked her if Candy was a Phi Mu? She pointed to YES.
-Asked her if Candy was a DG? She pointed to YES.
· -Showed her 2 pictures, one of Mary Allyn and John Hollis – asked her to point to John Hollis…..and she DID.
· -Showed her a picture of me (Jennifer) and a picture of her (Jodie) – asked her to point to Jennifer…..and she DID.
· - Showed her wedding picture of me & Hiram and one of Beth & Randy – asked her to point to Beth & Randy…. She had a hard time with this one – they were wallet size pictures so they may have been hard to see because she was unable to point to either picture.
· -Showed her PEOPLE magazine, asked her to point to Julia Roberts…and she DID. Also, asked her to point to picture of Laci Peterson….and she DID. Asked her to point to J.Lo but she didn’t (maybe since J.Lo has changed her nickname to Lola!).
· -Candy held up some chapstick and asked Jodie to reach for it and take it from her and Jodie took it from Candy.

Hope that gives you an idea of some of the responsiveness that Jodie is achieving. I think those are great things that she knows.

Every time we sit on the end of her bed, she tries to kick us off if we're in her way or if the person sitting on her bed stops paying attention to her, she'll kick you! Her friend, Brian, came to visit last night and printed some one-liner jokes off the internet. He kept us all quite entertained with those. He told Jodie if there was a bad one, then she could kick him - we saw her throw a leg at him a couple of times!! Brian brought his mom to visit Jodie the other day and he told us that his mom is convinced that Jodie can hear us and knows exactly what's going on - I think she's right!

One of her Phi Mu sisters, Maegan, and her mom, Linda, also came to visit Jodie. Maegan was in an accident several years ago and was told she may never walk. But, now she plays tennis on a college team! She was another inspiration for us to see and hear her story and see how far she's come.

Last night she threw her right leg over the side of her bed - we all sat up intently watching her. Then, she put her left leg over. So we decided to help her sit up on the side of the bed. I got behind her, Beth got on one side, Candy got on the other, and Mama got in front. We sat her up for a few minutes and then put her at a 40 degree angle - we did this a couple of times. We had to hold her and her head up, because she cannot hold them up herself. BUT, with God's strength and with everyone's prayers, we held up her head and slowly let go -- (get ready for this) Jodie held her head up for a few minutes on her own!!!! She didn't hold it all the way up, but she was holding it half way up - we were cheering her on the entire time! You cannot begin to imagine our excitement when she did it. We didn't want to exhaust her, so we laid her back down in the bed. After we left her last night, her nurses had to put a back board on the side of her bed to keep her from trying to get out.

Ya'll, she is getting there, we've just got to keeping praying her there! God is in complete and total control of Jodie's life and He is performing incredible miracles on Jodie. My family and I ask that you continue to pray for Jodie - don't give up and don't get discouraged. God is absolutely listening. Pray without ceasing!!

We will know after her medical staff's team meeting tomorrow afternoon more info on her extended stay. Please pray with us today that they decide that with this wonderful progress, that they'll keep her longer! That is our steadfast prayer and she is doing so good. We're so proud of her and thankful to God for all our blessings. We are also grateful to each of you for all your prayers and love and care for Jodie. You all keep praying and I will keep on updating you with her progress and recovery. We're going to pray her better!!! Also pray for God's guidance and wisdom on her doctors, nurses and therapists.

I also want to share with you this special story. There is a security guard here at Shepherd Center who is just the cutest older man (he said he's retired twice but he gets bored so he came back). He always speaks to us and asks about Jodie. On one of our earlier visits, he shared with Beth that his grandson was in a bad car accident and was in Shepherd's ICU. On our last visit, Beth asked about his grandson, and he shared with her the sad news that he had passed away and showed Beth the program from his funeral earlier that day. It was his only grandchild and he was so proud of him. He then told Beth he was continuing to pray for (Jodie) and that he knew she was going to get better - in his tragedy, he was still so kind to us and hopeful for our sister's recovery. Of course, it brought Beth to tears as she shared the story with us. We didn't even know this man's name but he had touched our lives in such a special way. Later in that visit, the man's name badge was turned where we could see his name and his name is HOPE! It sent chills all over us. He is God speaking to us for sure. We see him almost every day with a huge smile on his face and God's love in his heart.

May God bless you and give you peace,
jennifer

June 10 article in Ole Miss newspaper

http://www.thedmonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/06/10/40c7ec98c993a

Community raises $20,000 for UM student
by Mandy McAnallySpecial to The DM
June 10, 2004

The town of Winona, proved there is strength in numbers last Saturday, when more than 700 residents gathered at the Montgomery County Coliseum to raise $20,000 for UM Student Jodie Tharp.

Tharp, of Winona, was severely, injured in an automobile accident on Highway 6 about two months ago and is now in rehab in the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.
Jodie Tharp Benefit volunteers worked the face painting, dunking booths, cakewalk and other children's activities, while others organized the 300 items donated for the benefit's auction. Items for the auction included a football signed by Eli Manning.

Teams of workers also manned the concession stand, which sold almost $4,000 in baked goods, hamburgers and hot dogs.

Mac Ables, coordinator of the benefit, worked extensively with members and businesses in Winona and many others to organize the event. He said he is grateful for the help and excited by the outcome of the event.
"It was a complete success," Ables said. "People really turned out, and it was really a lot of fun. You could just tell the family was so touched."
Tharp's two sisters, Beth Tackett of Greenwood, and Jennifer Eastland of Jackson, spoke at the event.

Tharp's performance in therapy will determine her length of stay at the Shepherd Center. For now, she has progressed enough to extend her treatment until June 15th.

Ables predicts the proceeds from the various fundraisers, including the benefit, personal donations and the raffle to win a grill donated by Viking, which ends July 15th, will bring the amount raised to more than $30,000.

All of the donations will go to help the Tharp family pay for hospital and rehabilitation expenses.

June 9 Update - Day 67

O my soul, don't be discouraged. Don't be upset. Expect God to act! For I know that I shall again have plenty of reason to praise Him for all that He will do. He is my help! He is my God! Psalm 41:11

I just love that verse. Read those words again and let it sink in - God is telling us right there that we will have plenty of reasons the be thankful and He's reminding us to "be positive". No matter what happens in my life, I'm still amazed at the ways in which He choses to speak to my heart. The verse above was sent to my mom, Beth and I by a dear friend last week and I have found such deep comfort in it over the past week. I have written it on several cards that I've mailed to Jodie this week. The words just leap off the page to me!
The benefit that was held for Jodie last weekend was absolutely unbelievable. I cannot even begin to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for everyone who participated in any way in making the event so special and incredibly successful. The last rough estimate that I was told by Mac was they raised almost $20,000 that night. Praise God! God has blessed us with so many miracles lately, and that just adds to it. We will surely be able to provide for Jodie the earthly things that she will need to accommodate her in the months to come during her recovery. Again, words alone could never exemplify our thanks to all of you who contributed to the success of the benefit. I know that God will shower you all with blessings for your gracious kindness.

Now, on to the updates on Jodie. Okay, ya'll, I'm going to warn you, if after reading this you don't feel the desire to lift your hands or jump up in thanks and praise to our healing Father, God Almighty, then just slap me down. As I was driving home last night, I have this Christian worship CD that is my favorite and has the most uplifting songs on it - well, let me tell you, I was so thankful to God and singing those songs at the top of my lungs, I just wanted to pull over and have a worship service right there on the side of the road!
In the past week our girl has been showing out and putting on a show! In Mama's words, she calls it a "complete turnaround" that started Saturday (just think - that's the day of the benefit and we were all praying so much that day - God's working in our lives)! When I just talked to Mama, you could just feel the excitement coming through the phone. Mama said she is more alert than she has been - probably even since before the accident! She said her eyes are just wide open and bright - Mama said that she can sense that Jodie is focusing her eyes more on things and that it's more like she's actually looking at you and not just through you (NOT a blank stare). Mama said she reacts well to familiar voices - the other day they had Jodie in the hall in her chair and Mama walked up and started talking to someone and Jodie was turning her head toward Mama's voice to look for her. Mama even says that when Jodie hears someone call her name, that she'll turn her head to you in response! Her therapists and doctors have been commenting a lot on her alertness and progress.
They pushed her date back again - now it's June 24. This is good - remember, we take it one day at a time and God is in control of the speed!!!

Jodie is following commands more - at least about 75% of the time - sometimes more and sometimes less, but overall she's been responding well. Which is perhaps a little unusual of Jodie - as hard headed as we all know her to be !!!
Yesterday, Dr. Leslie brought his daughter by to visit Jodie. (I told ya'll, they just love her around there - but do you blame them?) Anyway, when she left, she asked Jodie to squeeze her hand and Jodie did and when she told Jodie "bye" Jodie lifted her arm (which is in a heavy cast) and wiggled her fingers!!! Mama said she has been doing that to visitors a lot the past couple of days. Our brother (Bubby) went over this weekend, and when he left, Jodie waved lifted her arm and wiggled her fingers to him.

Mama said she's moving her right arm well, somedays moreso than others - she takes it in spells with that arm! Mama also says that she fits great in her new chair, which by the way is Yellow - Jodie's favorite color. I can't wait to see it - I'm sure Mama has "jodie-fied" it up (or made it goofy looking if I know Mama - Beth and I will have to inspect and redecorate if necessary). They put straps on her legs when she's in the chair to help control her movements and Mama says that Jodie has been pulling her right leg out of the straps and giving Mama fits! (again, typical Jodie).

Jodie will have surgery in the morning on her feet. It's called a "tendon release" procedure. The doctors will go in and make small incisions into the backs of her heels (so small they don't require stitches). This will help get her feet in a normal position where they have somewhat "dropped" due to inactivity with them. They will put Jodie under anesthesia. This procedure is to take place at 6:30am CST in the morning (7:30 eastern time) so please remember Jodie and her doctors in special prayer at that time in the morning. I believe her doctors name is Dr. Wallace that will perform the surgery (just pray for him - God will know who you're talking about)! They will then cast her feet for 4 weeks. Jodie's PT, Margaret, already plans to have Jodie UP on Friday! This is wonderful. Of course, Jodie is not steady/stable enough to sit or stand by herself, but with the help and assistance of her therapists, they're going to start working with her on standing.

In her speech therapy today, they offered Jodie several different choices of soft foods, and Jodie pointed to apple sauce. Jennifer (her SP) helped her feed herself and Jodie did a good job of swallowing and Mama said she kept reacting to want more. Then they asked her if she wanted chocolate pudding and Jodie pointed to the "yes" sign they have taped on her tray (on her chair)! They plan on doing a "swallow Xray" on her next week, and if that goes well, they will be able to offer her a larger variety of foods - maybe even some with harder consistencies.

They ask her a variety of questions to stimulate responses from Jodie. Jennifer asked her if she had been a Tri-Delt (sorority) and Jodie pointed to the "NO" sign. Jennifer wrote OLE MISS and MISS. STATE on a sheet of paper and asked Jodie to point to the school that she goes to - Jodie pointed to OLE MISS! (well, hotty toddy to that one)! They also wrote "Margaritaville" and "Fireman" on a piece of paper and asked Jodie which one George Strait sings, being the avid fan that she is, she pointed to George! (she has a picture of him on her wall in her room at Shepherd that she took at his concert before her accident). Now, tell me that's not improvement!!!

BUT all this good news does not mean that we are to slack up on our prayers - I actually think He's telling us to intensify our reqeusts to Him. I absolutely believe and have complete faith that we are all praying Jodie back to herself and with our hard work and steadfast praying, God is healing her precious body and brain. Please continue to pray for Jodie. Now I know a lot of people are saying, "well, isn't this progres enough?" and YES it's wonderful but we have to continue to pray that she will respond and follow commands EVERY TIME - more consistently - that's the medical staff's goal for Jodie - for her to communicate consistently with them - so, prayer warriors, that's our prayer. Also, remember Jodie in her surgery in the morning.

Thank you all so much for your continued thoughts, support and prayers. Feel free to call Mama or send her an email - lots of you are asking about her and how she's holding up - and honestly, I think she does better than the rest of us! She's such a strong person, but please pray for her while she's there with Jodie and for the rest of our family who don't get to be there all the time and for everyone's travel back and forth.

May God bless you and keep you as you go through this week. May he wrap his arms around you with His love and peace. Keep your eyes upward!!!!

June 3 Article in Ole Miss newspaper

The following article appeared in today's edition of the Daily Mississippian. Click below to view the article.
http://www.thedmonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/06/03/40bebb2bdbe18

UM student continues recovery
by Michael NewsomDM Campus News Editor
June 03, 2004

For many trauma victims, the road to recovery is a long one, filled with ups and downs, and for former UM student Jodie Tharp, the same is true.

Tharp, of Winona, is continuing to rehab in Atlanta and seems to be making significant progress according to members of her family.

Tharp was a senior in the spring but was injured in a automobile accident April 3 on Highway 6, near the Water Valley interchange while returning to Oxford.
A person at the scene called an ambulance using Tharp's cell phone and then called the family. Tharp was considered comatose because of her low level of brain activity when she arrived at the Elvis Presley Trauma Center in Memphis.
In Memphis Tharp underwent a craniotomy, in which a portion of her skull was removed to alleviate some of the pressure caused by her injuries.

Tharp was admitted to the Shepherd Center in early May and has been making steady improvements each day according to members of her family.

Tharp works three to four hours per day in speech therapy,
"She tries to talk to people. She makes sounds with her mouth. She mostly communicates with hand signals," said Nancy Tharp, Jodie's mother, from her cell phone at the Shepherd Center, where she has been since her daughter began rehab.

Tharp undergoes physical therapy for three to four hours per day and spends her weekends seeing visitors, many from Ole Miss.

Last week, Tharp had a cast removed from her left arm and has been moving the hand and arm since then.

"She's going to therapy everyday making slow progress. She's trying really hard. She's come a long way," Nancy Tharp said.

Tharp responds well to familiar voices.

"You can't imagine the expressions on her face when I hold the phone up to her ear and a friend is on the line," Nancy Tharp said.

Jennifer Eastland, Jodie's sister, has been sending an e-mail newsletter to friends and family while her sister is in Atlanta.

The last update was a positive one.

"Last Thursday was quite a day to be thankful for. Jodie really showed out for her doctors and therapists," Eastland wrote. "When Mama arrived at the hospital that day, they were waiting for her to let her know that Jodie had been the most responsive yet that morning and had followed almost every command they asked of her."

Tharp will be at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta until June 15.

While Tharp has been in Atlanta, an event was being planned to honor her in her hometown.

A benefit for Tharp is planned for Saturday afternoon from 3 p.m. until at the Montgomery County Coliseum in Winona. Mac Ables of Winona organized the event.

"I don't know her, but I met her sister a few times. I knew she was in an accident and traveling back and forth," Ables said. "I knew she needed prayers, but I knew she needed some financial support as well."

Ables said the event - simply titled "The Jodie Tharp Benefit" - will have an auction in which 300 items, including a football signed by Eli Manning, will be auctioned for Jodie's benefit.

There will be carnival-style games, like a dunking booth, and games for children.

Many items for the auction were donated by businesses in the Winona area.
Ables said support has also come from many in the university community.
"We appreciate everybody at the university that has helped -the girls from her sorority and others," Ables said.

Ables said he has received 40 e-mails since he started planning the benefit.
The Montgomery County Coliseum is located just off Interstate 55 in Winona on Highway 82.

For meal tickets in advance or driving directions, contact Moore Memorial Methodist church in Winona at 662-283-3804.

Ables said donations can be sent to The Jodie Tharp Fund. P.O. Box 467 Winona, Miss. 38967.

UM student continues recovery
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06/04/2004
i don't know jodie all that well but...
nathan gorman
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