Unexpected Thanksgiving

Yesterday, after a long night and anxious morning, our son David said, "Well, I hate that Gran Gran is in the hospital, but in a weird way, it was nice to wake up on Thanksgiving morning praying."  Such true words spoken from the heart of a boy who loves his grandmother dearly. 

Thanksgiving didn't quite turn out as we expected. We enjoyed our annual vegetarian meal, prepared by our kids, on Wednesday evening. They invited Mark's parents to join us, knowing that Jackie loves all things vegetarian. We enjoyed the evening together talking, playing games (please note, the girls won every time!), and making a Shook family music video which is now circulating the world in cyberspace. We finally called it a night around midnight. 


3:50 a.m. the phone rang. When I answered, Mark's dad, Damon, told me that he had just called an ambulance for Jackie. She had a severe headache and was vomiting uncontrollably. Mark raced to their house, encountered the ambulance on the way, and led them there.  Her blood pressure was off the charts, and she was rushed to the nearest emergency room. A CT scan revealed a small bleed in the back of her brain due to her blood pressure. 


I finally woke the kids up at 5:30 a.m. to have them pray for their Gran Gran. Of course, no one slept after that news. 


Jackie was admitted to the ICU. She had an inter-cranial pressure gauge inserted yesterday to monitor the pressure on her brain. The bleed is very close to her brain stem. Increased pressure on the brain stem could cause her body to stop breathing on its own; so, she was placed on a ventilator as a precaution. The 3p.m. CT scan yesterday showed no change, which is good. Hopefully that means the bleeding has stopped. We are awaiting the results of the 5a.m. CT scan today. For now, she is in a medically induced sleep to allow her brain to rest and heal, her blood pressure is under control, the pressure in her skull is at an acceptable level, and her vital signs are stable. The next 72 hours are critical. 


Thank you for your prayers for Jackie. Please pray for complete healing with no residual neurological effects, protection from infection, and for peace and strength for Jackie, Damon, and all the family. 

"Her children arise and call her blessed; 

her husband also, and he praises her: 

'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.' 

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; 

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." 

Proverbs 31:28-30