Love you Stan! Keep up the fight!
Finding the Fighter Within
Friday, May 31, 2013
May 31, 2013 update
Today was a better day. Stan got a feeding tube and is finally getting some food! The kidney specialist has upped the dialysis and this seems to be helping his swelling. Speaking of which, he was weighed when he first came into the hospital and then again yesterday. He had been up 60 pounds just from excess fluid. No wonder he was so swollen! The Dr has also lowered the heart machine so that his own heart is doing a little more of the work. Also, he has less blood pressure medications needed now too! Little things but combined they mean progress.
Donations
We are all so thankful for the amazing effort and hard work of Stan's medical staff at the hospital. He's had the best of the best and it shows. It's miraculous that he's made it this far and we are all praying to have more progress. But, as you can imagine, the medical bills are going to be piling up for Stan and Alisha. Many of you have asked what you can do. So, her sister, Heather, has set up an account at the Bank of American Fork for any donations. It's under "Fund for Stan Gurney". We are also working on getting a PayPal donate button on the blog.
Thanks for all your love and support,
The Gurney and Johnson Families
Thanks for all your love and support,
The Gurney and Johnson Families
Prayers Needed!
So the biggest concern for Stan right now, is that he is still bleeding too much. The heart machine that is saving his life, can cause blood clots and they usually give blood thinners to help. They aren't able to give Stan any due to his bleeding situation. It's a delicate balance of clots from the machine and excess bleeding. So it's imperative for him to be able to control his bleeding in order for him to make any more progress. Please pray for help with his bleeding!
Keep fighting Stan!
Keep fighting Stan!
Stan, "The Man!"
Stan, The Man is my my big brother! The other day as I stood beside Stan in his hospital bed I reminded him that he was Stan The Man who can do anything. If it is to be done he will find away. I told him to hang in there and be The Man!
I would like to share just a few thoughts of "The Man" Stan is.
Stan is five years older than me and has being doing something every minute I can think of. To get Stan to stop and sit just doesn't happen. He is never idle and always anxiously engaged in a good cause.
I have been thinking back to when Stan met Alisha. I remember it was so fun to see him be so smitten with Alisha. The grin on his face is unforgettable as we would tease him. I remember being in his Bronco doing drive bys. Stan loves Alisha. He treats her so well. I remember going camping and Stan has this wall tent he was so excited to use. I think Alisha hadn't been feeling well that day and Stan had gotten a lot of the packing done. I remember them rolling into camp and putting up the tent. Stan just kept bring blankets, pads, & a cot. I think he must have washed the blankets cause he brought one to Alisha to smell to see if he had done a good job. Alisha's bed in the tent was as close to the best comfort you could have. I bet Alisha is thinking she would love the camp beds he provided over the cot in the well lit waiting room. I have watched Stan over the years cherish Alisha a little more everyday. "What do you need dear?" Is always heard. Stan loves his dates with Alisha no matter how cheap or simple they are.
Stan's children know that if you are asked to do something you just get on it! He is a great dad. Stan leads his children by example everyday. There has been some tough times in the Gurney home but as a family they stick together, work through them, and grow together. Stan has a special relationship with each one of them. He is able to love each of them in their own special way. He knows just the way and thing to do to help them. Alisha and Stan work together so well to raise their family.
Stan loves our Haavenly Father. Stan is one of His trusted servants. I have noticed Stan's countenance and spirit grow over the years as he has served The Lord. It doesn't matter where he is asked to serve Stan does it 110%. We have FHE once a month. The Stanley Gurney news was Stan was put in the nursery. Oh we laughed and looked forward to his nursery stories. I remember the day Stan was set apart as a High Council Man. Stan's face that day was full of graditude, fear, anxiousness, and commitment. If Stan is asked to do something you know you are going to get the best job. Stan loves serving and has trusted in the blessings his family receives by doing so.
Stan has helped my family so much. He is always thinking of what someone could use or do. He calls me sometimes to say what about this, do you need this, or I am bringing this over. He helped us a ton build both of our houses. Oh the questions I would ask. He would help me learn mostly with patience sometimes not or I would get, I don't know figure it out! I think he just wasn't getting his work done cause I kept interrupting his. Stan the man stays with a the job until it is done and done right. A motto that is used in our family is "if you are gonna do it do it right! Stan lives up to this everyday.
GRANDPA GURNEY! Wow! We loved teasing him when we found out. I would call him Stan the Old Man! He is the best grandpa.. Trey is one lucky little boy. He has the best grandpa. His grandpa is going to show him how to do everything. Sunday I watched Stan at our house hold trey and play with him. I was thinking,my brother is the best. Look how cute and good Stan is with Trey. The Gurney family like to fight over babies and who gets them first but with Trey you have to take a number cause you know Stan and Alisha are first in line.
I told Stan at the hospital I need him to come up behind me and grab my shoulders like the loving brother thing he does. I need to here his, What's up sis? I need to hear his little laugh thing he does. This last Sunday I was telling him how entertaining it was to watch me try and put the horses in the trailer and get them home after Jace was thrown off Harley. He laughed at me as I said I just figured it out.
I have the best big brothers ever. I love to watch them be and work together. Things happen when they get together. Stan is a hard worker. I know Stan can fight through this. Stan is there for so many of us. Thank you all for your prayers and love. I look forward to find ways to serve Stan and his family. Like the miracles have began post it is our turn to help be helping hands in many more miracles. My determined big brother was planning on building his house over the next few months He would take on anything to save a few bucks. And the thing is you would think he had all the training he needed to do. Stan just dives in and figures it out and gets it done. And done the best and the right way. It is our turn to return the blessings to Stan that he has so freely given to those around him.
I know this is long and I could keep going on and on about Stan The Man. Please feel free to share your stories, memories, big or small. I know these can give comfort and help. I would love to hear from those of you reading this blog about "Stan The Man" and the kind of Man he is to you. We love you Stan and will be there for you and your family! Keep fighting and figuring it out brother!
I love you, Jalene
I would like to share just a few thoughts of "The Man" Stan is.
Stan is five years older than me and has being doing something every minute I can think of. To get Stan to stop and sit just doesn't happen. He is never idle and always anxiously engaged in a good cause.
I have been thinking back to when Stan met Alisha. I remember it was so fun to see him be so smitten with Alisha. The grin on his face is unforgettable as we would tease him. I remember being in his Bronco doing drive bys. Stan loves Alisha. He treats her so well. I remember going camping and Stan has this wall tent he was so excited to use. I think Alisha hadn't been feeling well that day and Stan had gotten a lot of the packing done. I remember them rolling into camp and putting up the tent. Stan just kept bring blankets, pads, & a cot. I think he must have washed the blankets cause he brought one to Alisha to smell to see if he had done a good job. Alisha's bed in the tent was as close to the best comfort you could have. I bet Alisha is thinking she would love the camp beds he provided over the cot in the well lit waiting room. I have watched Stan over the years cherish Alisha a little more everyday. "What do you need dear?" Is always heard. Stan loves his dates with Alisha no matter how cheap or simple they are.
Stan's children know that if you are asked to do something you just get on it! He is a great dad. Stan leads his children by example everyday. There has been some tough times in the Gurney home but as a family they stick together, work through them, and grow together. Stan has a special relationship with each one of them. He is able to love each of them in their own special way. He knows just the way and thing to do to help them. Alisha and Stan work together so well to raise their family.
Stan loves our Haavenly Father. Stan is one of His trusted servants. I have noticed Stan's countenance and spirit grow over the years as he has served The Lord. It doesn't matter where he is asked to serve Stan does it 110%. We have FHE once a month. The Stanley Gurney news was Stan was put in the nursery. Oh we laughed and looked forward to his nursery stories. I remember the day Stan was set apart as a High Council Man. Stan's face that day was full of graditude, fear, anxiousness, and commitment. If Stan is asked to do something you know you are going to get the best job. Stan loves serving and has trusted in the blessings his family receives by doing so.
Stan has helped my family so much. He is always thinking of what someone could use or do. He calls me sometimes to say what about this, do you need this, or I am bringing this over. He helped us a ton build both of our houses. Oh the questions I would ask. He would help me learn mostly with patience sometimes not or I would get, I don't know figure it out! I think he just wasn't getting his work done cause I kept interrupting his. Stan the man stays with a the job until it is done and done right. A motto that is used in our family is "if you are gonna do it do it right! Stan lives up to this everyday.
GRANDPA GURNEY! Wow! We loved teasing him when we found out. I would call him Stan the Old Man! He is the best grandpa.. Trey is one lucky little boy. He has the best grandpa. His grandpa is going to show him how to do everything. Sunday I watched Stan at our house hold trey and play with him. I was thinking,my brother is the best. Look how cute and good Stan is with Trey. The Gurney family like to fight over babies and who gets them first but with Trey you have to take a number cause you know Stan and Alisha are first in line.
I told Stan at the hospital I need him to come up behind me and grab my shoulders like the loving brother thing he does. I need to here his, What's up sis? I need to hear his little laugh thing he does. This last Sunday I was telling him how entertaining it was to watch me try and put the horses in the trailer and get them home after Jace was thrown off Harley. He laughed at me as I said I just figured it out.
I have the best big brothers ever. I love to watch them be and work together. Things happen when they get together. Stan is a hard worker. I know Stan can fight through this. Stan is there for so many of us. Thank you all for your prayers and love. I look forward to find ways to serve Stan and his family. Like the miracles have began post it is our turn to help be helping hands in many more miracles. My determined big brother was planning on building his house over the next few months He would take on anything to save a few bucks. And the thing is you would think he had all the training he needed to do. Stan just dives in and figures it out and gets it done. And done the best and the right way. It is our turn to return the blessings to Stan that he has so freely given to those around him.
I know this is long and I could keep going on and on about Stan The Man. Please feel free to share your stories, memories, big or small. I know these can give comfort and help. I would love to hear from those of you reading this blog about "Stan The Man" and the kind of Man he is to you. We love you Stan and will be there for you and your family! Keep fighting and figuring it out brother!
I love you, Jalene
The ICU "Healthiest Heart Challenge" 2013
Being in the ICU waiting room is not a place that anyone wants to be. We are constantly on guard when the door opens hoping to hear good news instead of bad, and we've had a lot the of bad. So, after crying buckets of tears, Heather and I realized we needed to have some laughter. So the logical thing to do was to tease and taunt Clay, Rachael's firefighter/paramedic husband, into athletic competitions. If you aren't aware, Heather has done a couple triathlons and is very active so it's a pretty good match up.
The rules are:
One event per night
Heather & Clay will take turns choosing the event
All events will be recorded and shared on this blog
Last night was Heather's choice: plank.
Enjoy!
The rules are:
One event per night
Heather & Clay will take turns choosing the event
All events will be recorded and shared on this blog
Last night was Heather's choice: plank.
Enjoy!
The Victor Speech
Alisha's Suite
I just wanted to show Alisha's new abode. It's about 500 square feet and has a public/shared bathroom. But it's home for now and we've tried to make it as comfortable as possible.
Our many miracles...
To begin we are grateful someone called 911 at the time they did. An extra 5 min can go a long way. Where Dad works in cotton wood heights, he was close to the hospitals, a couple hospitals actually. We are grateful that dad was not in the car driving and his coworkers were looking out for him. The one thing we have been extremely grateful for, we found out yesterday that the heart machine he has is a rare thing. It is a new piece of equipment, only been out about 2 years. There are only 2 of these machines in the state. One here at IMC and one at primaries. The paramedics were debating between bringing him here or St. Marks. Obviously he was meant to be here, we wouldn't have him here without that machine. This all makes us be so much more thankful for modern technology.
As some of you know Mom and Dad were just starting to work on building a new house.
Thankful to great family members, their building permit has been rushed through and someone has volunteered to dig the hole in the next couple days. Many others want to help, we couldn't be more blessed. Dad has always been such a fix it man, always willing to help absolutely anyone. I guess this is where carma comes in. We want to thank you all for that.
One more thing quick... as some of you know Jeff, my brother from Haiti, was diagnosed with RAD about two years ago. He has gone through all kinds of therapy and help. Jeff is doing so much better now. The thing we are grateful for now is timing, we are glad this has happened now versus happening before when he was first diagnosed.
This is only a few of our miracles and the ones that stand out the most to us, I'm sure there are more to come.
Dad sure is fighting for us, keep praying that it continues...
As some of you know Mom and Dad were just starting to work on building a new house.
Thankful to great family members, their building permit has been rushed through and someone has volunteered to dig the hole in the next couple days. Many others want to help, we couldn't be more blessed. Dad has always been such a fix it man, always willing to help absolutely anyone. I guess this is where carma comes in. We want to thank you all for that.
One more thing quick... as some of you know Jeff, my brother from Haiti, was diagnosed with RAD about two years ago. He has gone through all kinds of therapy and help. Jeff is doing so much better now. The thing we are grateful for now is timing, we are glad this has happened now versus happening before when he was first diagnosed.
This is only a few of our miracles and the ones that stand out the most to us, I'm sure there are more to come.
Dad sure is fighting for us, keep praying that it continues...
Inches of progress
One thing the doctors and nurses have been worried about has been Dad's bleeding. Where the heart machine tubes go into his chest his main is open which can make it hard for the bleeding to stop. Last night they did a procedure to clean out his chest and found a clot in one of the tubes. So where all that blood should of been going into his chest, it was overflowing back out- making the bleeding worse. We just found out this morning the bleeding has slowed and they were able to reduce some of his meds. Which will constantly go up and down depending on the circumstances. This is good news to us, one baby step at a time. They will continue the dialasys, which will ultimately help him but change up his meds a bit to keep him stabilized.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Starting on Tuesday May 28th
Stan's morning began just as most any other work day for him. He had asked for a couple of advils because he wasn't feeling great. This was nothing out of the ordinary for him so neither of us thought anything of it. He gave me a long hug and a kiss and left to work. We texted as usual throughout the morning. At 1:30 I got a phone call. The caller ID said it was Stan. When I answered it was not Stan but a co-worker Matt. Matt told me that he had been talking with Stan when he returned to his desk and asked Matt to just give him a minute. After a few seconds Matt could see he was not getting any better so called 911. The ambulance picked him up and as he got to the hospital, he went into cardiac arrest. Due to the fact that he flat lined for so long the doctors have been very concerned about whether or not his brain has been affected and to what extreme. Upon entering the ER, the paramedics began CPR. This was continued for about 45 minutes. During this time, they also used the shock paddles to start his heart. It didn't work so they had to put the catheter in his artery for the heart bypass machine while doing CPR. This saved his life.
It took hours after this for him to be stabilized. Before I could see him, the Dr's performed surgery to put a stint in his artery to open it up. It was closed off 100%. His blood pressure was very low and even with medications, would not go up. I still hadn't been able to see him yet and it didn't look like it was going to happen anytime soon. A couple hours later, his blood pressure was still very low and they were concerned about internal bleeding. I was finally able to see him just before he was taken in for the CAT scan to find the bleeding. He was swollen and looked horrible but he was at least breathing and his heart was pumping, sort of. About an hour or two later, they came back and said they found the bleeding and that it was a pocket of fluid around his heart. They drained the fluid but then needed to repair the hole that was leaking. They thought it was either his right atrium or his inferior vena cava but wouldn't know until they could visually see it. This was when I decided to bring my kids in so they could see him. I had tried to keep my kids from knowing exactly what was happening but at this point, I didn't know if he was going to make it. Every time a Dr came to see us, it was bad news and they finished with, "his chances of survival are slim". Our family did get to see him just before he went in for open heart surgery. His surgery began about 11:30 PM and was supposed to last 2-4 hours. Both sides of our family was here and the hospital was very accommodating, even going as far as letting us wait in an ICU room. During this surgery they wanted to move the heart machine to his chest instead of his thigh. While removing the catheter, they found that the artery was damaged and needed to be repaired. This part of the surgery ended up taking about 4 hours extra. He was finally out of surgery about 7 AM. It was still a couple more hours before he was stable enough to move up to the ICU. The surgeon ended up cutting a portion of his artery in his thigh out and replacing it with a synthetic tubing. During this surgery, his leg where the artery was cut, began to swell. They ended up needing to cut large incisions into his calf to reduce the swelling. These may require skin grafts to close. This was about 10 hours from my first phone call.
It took hours after this for him to be stabilized. Before I could see him, the Dr's performed surgery to put a stint in his artery to open it up. It was closed off 100%. His blood pressure was very low and even with medications, would not go up. I still hadn't been able to see him yet and it didn't look like it was going to happen anytime soon. A couple hours later, his blood pressure was still very low and they were concerned about internal bleeding. I was finally able to see him just before he was taken in for the CAT scan to find the bleeding. He was swollen and looked horrible but he was at least breathing and his heart was pumping, sort of. About an hour or two later, they came back and said they found the bleeding and that it was a pocket of fluid around his heart. They drained the fluid but then needed to repair the hole that was leaking. They thought it was either his right atrium or his inferior vena cava but wouldn't know until they could visually see it. This was when I decided to bring my kids in so they could see him. I had tried to keep my kids from knowing exactly what was happening but at this point, I didn't know if he was going to make it. Every time a Dr came to see us, it was bad news and they finished with, "his chances of survival are slim". Our family did get to see him just before he went in for open heart surgery. His surgery began about 11:30 PM and was supposed to last 2-4 hours. Both sides of our family was here and the hospital was very accommodating, even going as far as letting us wait in an ICU room. During this surgery they wanted to move the heart machine to his chest instead of his thigh. While removing the catheter, they found that the artery was damaged and needed to be repaired. This part of the surgery ended up taking about 4 hours extra. He was finally out of surgery about 7 AM. It was still a couple more hours before he was stable enough to move up to the ICU. The surgeon ended up cutting a portion of his artery in his thigh out and replacing it with a synthetic tubing. During this surgery, his leg where the artery was cut, began to swell. They ended up needing to cut large incisions into his calf to reduce the swelling. These may require skin grafts to close. This was about 10 hours from my first phone call.
May 30, 2013 update
After many many phone calls and texts, we decided to set up a blog to help keep people up to date without stressing Alisha or the kids out. So, check back here for current updates.
The most recent news is that he still has the heart bypass machine, and will be for 3-5 more days, but he went in for surgery for an internal echo cardiogram to see if they can turn down the machine to help with clotting. He is still bleeding more than they would like. It's a very delicate balance. He also is beginning continual dialysis to clean his blood. This is to be expected because the kidneys are slow to respond, the Dr's say. This should support his other organs so that they can recoup. He seems to respond to Alisha and the kids well. His blood pressure continually rises when she is in the room and talks to him. He also opened his eyes for Alisha and Rachael this morning.
Alisha sent me these pics of him from this morning.
The most recent news is that he still has the heart bypass machine, and will be for 3-5 more days, but he went in for surgery for an internal echo cardiogram to see if they can turn down the machine to help with clotting. He is still bleeding more than they would like. It's a very delicate balance. He also is beginning continual dialysis to clean his blood. This is to be expected because the kidneys are slow to respond, the Dr's say. This should support his other organs so that they can recoup. He seems to respond to Alisha and the kids well. His blood pressure continually rises when she is in the room and talks to him. He also opened his eyes for Alisha and Rachael this morning.
Alisha sent me these pics of him from this morning.
Please continue the prayers! They are helping!
We love you Stan! Keep fighting!
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