Terri and I have been best friends for what seems like forever. It was 1986 when we first met at United Pacific Life Insurance. She sat in the desk behind me. I had just turned 19 and this was my very first "grown-up" job. We became fast friends and have remained that way for over 24 years.
In 1991, at the age of 30, Terri had a heart transplant. In the 19 years since, she's been doing amazingly well.
On Halloween this year, Terri suffered a major heart attack. It came out of the blue, and thankfully, her husband Jay was home and saved her life with CPR. She has spent every day since then in ICU at the UW Medical Center. She was
unconscious for 11 days and finally woke up this past Wednesday. She was talking with us, albeit in a rather punchy-drunk manner from the meds, but she seemed to have "come back" to us. Yesterday we had a setback when somehow she had perforated her colon. They did surgery yesterday afternoon and tried to correct the damage. She now has 2 drains off of her abdomen and a colostomy bag. After getting her off the respirator this week, it is sad to see her back on it again. As they say, we take 2 steps forward and end up going 1 step backwards. If she can remain stable (her blood pressure is the real problem) they should be able to take her off the respirator this afternoon. I am on my way back to the hospital now. I've been there every day, with the exception of the day I had to be in Anchorage for my job. I can't imagine my life without her in it and Lord willing, I will never have to!
If there is a "good thing" that can come out of a tradegy like this, it is how close her family has become. I've been able to bond with her kids again, and I haven't had that opportunity in years! When you pretty much live together in the hospital waiting room for 2 weeks, you are bound to bond. I love them dearly and am very proud of the adults they have become!
Hang in there Terri. You are loved by many people, including me, and we want you to continue to fight and get healthy and out of that freakin' hospital as soon as possible!
Kaitlyn and Meghann are all settled in Neils Hall - C1 at Concordia. The decorating phase hasn't begun yet, so I'm excited to see how these blank walls transform when I head back to Portland next month. Neils Hall is very different from your standard dorm room. It is set up more like a duplex. There are 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms in her "dorm". There is also a full kitchen and lounge area. 2 bedrooms and a bathroom are downstairs where the kitchen and lounge is located - this is where Kaitlyn and Meghann live. There are 3 more bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs as well. Neils is a collection of 4 of these units. 2 are like Kaitlyn's and then the other 2 have a living room and dining table in place of the kitchen area. Pretty cool set up. The bedrooms are really small though, but isn't that what college dorm life is all about?? So far the girls are going through 3 days of orientation. Classes begin on Tuesday.....Good Luck Girls on your Freshman Year in College!
