Mom and Dad arrive

Nann and Craig Pettey arrived at the hospital to see Ashley.  She was even more alert and lucid than during Julie's visit.  Hopefully it was comforting to Mom and Dad to see their beautiful daughter feeling and looking better.  Her memory is still not 100%, but it is certainly improving.

Ashley is enjoying all of the comments and well wishes on the blog, e-mail, and Facebook.  Thank you for being great friends!

It looks as though we may be spending the night in the ER.  Small price to pay to see my true love get better with every passing moment.

Up and out of bed

Ashley says that she still feels like her head is going to spontaneously combust (independent of the Bings' comment), but she is very thankful for all of your expressions of concern.

She has gotten up to use the restroom and is trying to keep down some Jello and 7up at present.  Julie Bahr came to visit and really brightened Ashley's spirits.  She is adding new memories, but is still not retaining everything.  She keeps asking some of the same questions: "Did I scare Micah to death?  Are both of my parents coming?  How do they know that my brain isn't bleeding?"  It is very interesting to see how, without the benefit of remembering what has been said, she comes up with the same questions and statements over and over.

We are still in the ER (!), but will hopefully make it to the ICU before nightfall...

The Magical Bingham Visit

Ashley is maintaining about 25-50% of her memory from the time that Adam and Shalisa came to visit.  That is her new reference point.  She doesn't remember this morning, the accident, the hospital, the ambulance.  But she remembers the Binghams' visit and a little less than half of the things that I have told her since that time.  

She still has a nasty headache, and on feeling the back of her head the only descriptive word that comes to mind is "boggy."

Thank you to everyone for your expressions of love and concern on the blog and via e-mail.  I have read most of them to Ashley during her wakeful moments.  She wants to know how in the world everyone knows about her accident, but is very grateful that so many of you are thinking about her.  And now she will start to remember your messages of love.

"I fell off of my bike"

Ashley had been asleep for about 30-45 minutes.  She woke up and smiled at me.  I asked her, "Do you know why you are here?"

"I fell off of my bike," was the reply.

Best news I've heard all day!

Slowly improving

Ashley is starting to remember more.  Adam and Shalisa Bingham came back (with Chick-fil-A, which was GREATLY appreciated) to visit again.  About 5 minutes after they had left, I asked Ashley if she remembered who had been in to visit her.  "Adam and Shalisa" was the reply.  She also remembered that I had talked about a dog running in to her bike, that I had told her that her parents were coming, and that the kids are at the Mumford's house.  Certainly not ready to take on the Stanford-Binet, but much improved from this morning!

Dr. Ofori is not worried about her at all.  In his experience, the memory issues can last a few days, and the impaired cognitive functioning can last a week or two.  But regarding long-term prognosis, he feels confident that Ashley will be completely back to 100%.  That made me feel fantastic!  He ordered a repeat CT scan in the morning, and is planning on keeping her at least 24 hrs, maybe longer.  I think Dr. Ofori is from Africa, given his accent, but I didn't pry.  He was very pleasant and seemed very capable.  Pretty rare combination in a neurosurgeon!

Ashley's bicycle accident and head injury

This morning at about 7:30 am central time, Ashley fell off of her bicycle and hit the back of her head.  A dog had run out in front of her and hit her front wheel.  She was wearing a helmet and was traveling at about 16-17 mph.  She was unconscious for about 2 minutes, according to Dr. Micah Bahr, who was riding with her, along with Lisa Mumford.  They were training for the Altus AFB triathlon next Saturday, 18 July.  She woke up confused and could not remember anything about the incident. She was able to remember her name, my name, the kids, etc.  But she was not, and is not at this time, able to form new memories.  

It has been about 7 hours since the accident.  The CT scan showed a small fracture in the back of her skull, and very small areas of probable blood in the front of her brain.  She is alert, recognizes me, and can carry on a conversation.  But she instantly forgets anything that I tell her, and keeps asking me why her head hurts and what is going on.  The technical term is post-traumatic amnesia.

We are in the hospital in Lawton, OK, awaiting admission to the ICU.  Dr. Ofori, the neurosurgeon, has just been in to see her.  He feels very confident that she will regain her short-term memory sometime in the next few days.  I feel very comfortable with the medical care she has received so far.

Update: Ashley has remembered something for the first time since the accident.  Our friend, Adam Bingham, drove out to visit us in the ER, and Ashley remembered that he had been here about 20 minutes ago.  Things are looking up!

A New Sister!

This is Lizzy.  

Lizzy has been in our family (our extended Merback Family) for about 3 years now.  Doesn't she look just so snug in the middle in that picture! But yesterday it became official!  Not that we NEED some authority to tell us who we love, who we don't, who is ours, and who isn't but it sure does make it seem more permanent, make one feel more committed, more accepted and more a part of us.   Lizzy was adopted yesterday.  JOey officially comes from a family of 5, has two sisters, I have two sisters-in-law and the kids now have 5 aunts.  Woo-Hoo!  The more the merrier!  Especially when more means Lizzy!  Welcome to the family Lizzy.  I/We love you so very much and look forward to watching you grow, learn, decide, experience and love.

*to be sealed on July 28 in Reno, NV