Wed. Evening Update 6/5/13

Hi Everyone,

There is so much to talk about I don't know where to begin. The MARS caused quite a commotion at U of M today. Very important big cheeses named Dr. Bartlett and Dr. Campbell were in to check things out. We had no clue who they were, but were told they were very important doctors. Actually, Sis had told us about Dr. Bartlett before and said that he had invented a very important piece of medical equipment called the ECMO. You can google it if you want to know more. I believe I remember hearing about it from an episode of Grey's Anatomy. That is as far as my medical knowledge goes. There was a rep from the company that sells the machine that was here all day as well as some biomedical engineers from U of M. Dr. Sonnenday was here when the MARS was started up. It was a very exciting time. Lauren had a nurse today named Rob that is very mechanically savvy. He was trained on how to use it and seemed to catch on to everything very quickly. They didn't get started until around 3:00pm and ran it until 8:00pm. They are hoping to get it started up earlier tomorrow and run it at least six hours. They will also run it Friday and be off the weekend, then decide if they will run it next week if they see signs of improvement. Please pray that this helps Lauren get better. I had a huge surprise today when I came back upstairs from breakfast and two of my best girlfriends, Dawn and Debbie, along with Debbie's daughter (and Lauren's bridesmaid), Jill, and Debbie's husband, Jim were sitting in the lounge. We had a wonderful visit and they brought all kinds of snacks, magazines, and books for us. It was so nice to see all of them. We all ate lunch together and went to see Lauren. Debbie even said a nice prayer for Wo. I love you guys so much. thanks for the wonderful surprise!! Yesterday, Lauren's good friend and bridesmaid, Cindy and her brother, Rick came to visit. Cindy had a very hard time seeing Lauren how she was and I felt so bad for her. Rick kept everyone laughing and was really nice. They stayed until about 9:30 and left for the long ride home. Before Rick and Cindy arrived, a friend of Sis and Bruce's and doctor at U of M named Ehsan, and his beautiful girlfriend, Sara, brought us some wonderful Mediterranean food for dinner. It was so delish and very thoughtful. We had chicken, lamb, beef, rice, salad, hummus, pitas, and baba ganoush?? not sure how to spell it. They were two of the nicest people and we were amazed by how generous they were. Thank you again, Ehsan and Sara. We received quite a few cards and flowers today from some wonderful people. I want to recognize all of them and say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Beautiful flowers from :

The Grape and Granary - Thank you so much, Pastor Family.
Mike Kozup - An arrangement larger than we have ever seen and a sweet stuffed teddy bear.

Cards and gift cards:

Bianca Leonardi and Ashley Pizzute
Cindy and Rick Anderson and Cindy's boyfriend, Anthony
Flaherty Family
Tammy Tomello
Dawn Lewis
Jim, Debbie, and Jill Butler
Derek and Erin Klaus

Again, thank you so much. Your generosity is so appreciated. We have a large part of a wall covered with cards in Lauren's hospital room. My Mom and Dad are coming back tomorrow. I'm sure with my Dad's very mechanical mind, he is very excited to see the MARS machine. Well, I am super tired and it is my turn for hospital duty, so I will leave you now. Thanks for all the prayers and concern. We love you.

-Pam

Lauren and I a few years ago getting our Christmas tree.