August 31 Update

O God, for another day, for another morning, for another hour, for another minute, for another chance to live and serve Thee, I am truly grateful.

One of our prayer warriors sent this prayer in another email regarding a cancer survivor, and with it being only minutes away from Jodie's birthday - those words make me think of Jodie and how grateful I am for her and to have been able to have her in my life for 23 years. This is probably the most special birthday to me because so many times we get caught up in the excitement of "birthdays" and getting presents that it's often forgotten to just be thankful and how blessed we are to have life and spend it with people we love, those who God has blessed us with.

Tonight I'm more grateful and thankful than ever to be able to celebrate this birthday with Jodie. I was only 3 years old on the day she was born but I do remember it. I remember pouting because everybody kept telling me that I wouldn't be the baby anymore and I'd get a new sibling (my dad wanted it to be a surprise but my mom didn't so she found out and didn't tell anyone - except that Beth found the "pink" baby clothes Mama had hid in her closet). Beth, Bubby and I stayed at my grandparent's house while Mama was in the hospital and if I close my eyes I remember being there and remembering what their house looked like. I remember wondering what it would be like to have a new sister (because I already had one and she was just fine) - I didn't really realize what all this new baby stuff was going to be like. I had no idea that very "baby" would become my best friend. She, Beth and I have always been best friends - and sisters - we got to have our cake and eat it too. For that I am also grateful. Plus we have the best brother any 3 girls could have ever hoped for. What lucky parents we have! (ha)

Anyway, I guess I'm just rambling on but I wanted to share with you that because I wouldn't trade these 23 years with Jodie for all the riches in the world. And I thank God that He let us keep her - that's how I know He has great plans for her and I have faith that His divine healing will overflow upon her. We've all been racking our brains trying to decide what to get Jodie for her birthday, wanting to get her something she would need(we usually don't have this problem because she always picks things out and tells us what she wants) - and then tonight I got an email from the same prayer warrior that I mentioned above and she said she was sending Jodie the best present she could offer - PRAYER. And I realized - (duh) - That's ALL she needs! Sure, she'll enjoy the presents, but at this point all she needs is prayer.

Thank you all for those prayers that you've been sending up for Jodie since April 3rd. God is still listening and healing. Thank you also to the many of you who have sent her birthday cards - my mailbox has never been this full with mail (other than bills) and I read them all to her in the 1:00 afternoon visit today. I could tell she perked up when I was reading them to her and showing them to her. I just wanted to remind her how loved she is and how many people are praying for her. She's such a fighter. And I want you all to know that Jodie knows who is healing her - Jodie is a Christian, too, and she has faith - she's got God on her side! When we pray over her, she closes her eyes - isn't than amazing to know that she's praying along with us!

Now to recap you on her week - Since I emailed you last Wednesday: On Thursday Jodie had surgery to remove all the shunt tubes since she had an infection. The surgery went well and she recovered well. On Friday, the doctors decided that the fluid was not draining off Jodie's brain as quickly as they wanted it to in order to allow Jodie the relief her brain needed.

On Friday afternoon they inserted a lumbar catheter and were able to drain even more fluid over the weekend. Total so far: about half a bag of fluid from the lumbar drain and almost a full bag from her ventricular catheter in her brain. Jodie still has the infection so the doctors decided to use the ventricular catheter in her brain to administer the antibiotics. We were hoping that Jodie would be able to go to a regular room today, but she was spiking a fever last night and the nurse said this would probably keep her in the NSICU (Neuro Science ICU) for a few days longer. This afternoon, her nurse said she may be moved either tomorrow or the next day, depending on the doctors orders and if she keeps off the fever. One thing good about being in ICU is the continuous monitoring of Jodie by the nurses. Thank God she is responsive and obviously knows us when we get to visit her. To quote one of her friends from yesterday, “Jodie looks like an Olympic athlete compared to these other folks in here!)." That made us feel better since she had such a rough week—hopefully there will soon be positive news about her condition. It's also been rough on us to have to experience all this again - being back in the ICU has made us even more grateful and blessed for how far Jodie has come and what all she has been through. She's such a miracle!

Like I said earlier, I read her birthday cards to her today and will read them again to her tomorrow. Thank you all for thinking of her and praying for her on her birthday.

I will continue to keep you updated on her progress and her recovery.

August 25 Update - later afternoon

Just wanted to give ya'll a more recent update on Jodie.

At around noon today, Mama spoke with Dr. Esposito (Jodie's neurosurgeon). He said they took a culture of the area where her original shunt is and they found an infection there. (probably the one we've been wondering about and they couldn't find for weeks now!)

Anyway, in a strange way, this is good because had it not been for the problems of yesterday they may not have found this infection. They are going to do surgery on Jodie in the morning to remove all the pieces of the old shunt and pound her with antibiotics to get rid of the infection. They will hold off on putting in the new shunt for a couple of weeks until the infection is gone.
Please pray for her surgery in the morning and a speedy recovery from the infection so that the new shunt can be placed in the brain and the fluid can be drained.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.

Some have asked how to mail Jodie cards, and the best way is to mail them to my house (since I have no idea how long she'll be in ICU or if they'll put her in a regular room).
The address is: 1320 Poplar Blvd., Jackson, MS 39202

Take care and God bless,

August 25 Update

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3: 5,6

If you have faith, even as small as a mustard seed, nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20

I've listed these verses before, but they are 2 of my favorite and I refer to them often, as they give me such great HOPE and comfort. Just wanted to give everyone an update on Jodie. I think the last information we sent to the "group" was a couple of weeks ago from Beth. Since that email, Jodie has had several appointments with Dr. Yablon, her doctor here in Jackson. Due to our uneasiness and distrust at the Specialty Care Center, where Jodie has been a patient since being released from Shepherd in Atlanta, we decided the best solution would be to take Jodie where she would be most happy and the rest of us would sleep easier - HOME.

Two weeks ago (following the email from Beth), Jodie's cat scan showed there was fluid that had built up around Jodie's brain, thus leading the doctors and us to believe her shunt (to drain the fluid) was not working properly or possibly blocked. Jodie's doctors determined that we would wait a week or so, do another scan, and then determine the best (medical) way to proceed. Last Wednesday, Jodie had another scan of her brain and on Thursday she had an appointment with Dr. Yablon and Dr. Harkey (head of the neurosurgery dept. at UMC). During this appointment, it was discovered that the fluid around Jodie's brain was to an extent that surgery would have to be done to correct it and replace her shunt with a new one.

They scheduled this procedure for Tuesday (yesterday). We admitted Jodie into UMC Medical Center (here in Jackson) on Monday morning. She underwent surgery yesterday morning at 7:30 am to replace the shunt and correct the fluid-buildup problem around her brain. During the procedure, the doctors discovered blood around Jodie's brain and some blood and brain tissue in her shunt drain, that was causing the blockage. They decided they needed another scan of her brain to determine what steps to take regarding the blood and blockage, so they couldn't continue with the surgery (sent her to recovery and for another scan). The scan showed not enough blood to go back in and drain - but too much blood to put in another shunt at the time. So the doctors told us we would wait a few days to see if the blood either dissolved or resolved itself.
Needless to say, this news rocked us a bit. We were a bit uneasy at the news, until they rolled Jodie in the room from recovery. She looked great - and was responding to us remarkably well (following a surgery in her brain!) She was hugging us and even making sounds to try to talk. She was very alert. This gave us great Hope, despite the problems with her surgery, and that we were in the right direction to correct the problem and that this was just another "bump" in Jodie's journey. Before the afternoon and evening were over, our bump became a crater and we were on a "detour".

Sometime yesterday afternoon, Mama called us to say that she had had the nurses call for a doctor because Jodie was becoming lethargic and not responding well. In the meantime, her blood pressure dropped, her heart rate soured and her fever shot up. Dr. Esposito (another one of her neuro doctors) consulted with us that Jodie would need an emergency external catheter inserted into her brain to relieve the pressure by draining fluid and this would allow them to monitor her ICP's (inner-cranial-pressure). They transported her from her room into ICU and Jodie underwent surgery around 6:45pm. We were not able to see Jodie until about 9pm last night during visiting hours. The nurse told us that Jodie went through the surgery well and her ICP's stayed at a low rate. The report this morning was that her blood pressure dipped a little in the night so they had to give her some more fluids and they were monitoring her ICP's (got up to about 9 during the night) and her CBP's (cerebral brain pressure - this became low in the night and had them worrying, and the fluids they gave her should help with this.) We just received another report from Dr. White (who performed the procedure last night) and he reported that Jodie was stabilized and would be in the ICU (actually the NS-ICU) for a couple more days.

When we know more news and updates, I will keep you all posted.

Please pray for Jodie and our family in the days to come. We know that God is taking care of her and this "detour" is all in His plan for her. It's just hard to see how far she's come and then the scare of last night. Being back in an ICU waiting room and being around all the "tragedies" of other families again, put things back in perspective for me last night. She is such a fighter and I have no doubt that she will recover from this and be back on her road to recovery very soon.

Jodie's birthday is next Tuesday, August 31st and she'll turn 23. Jodie loves birthdays and if she could talk to us right now, she'd say (and I quote from previous years) "there's only 6 more days 'til my birthday"!

Jodie is in the NSICU room 13 - the number to the waiting room is 601-815-5356. Visiting hours are 6am, 1pm, 5pm, 9pm. We can all be reached on our cell phones or at the bunker (my house) and the number here is 601-968-9042.

Thank you for your prayers and God Bless you all.
Jennifer Eastland