Making a recovery

Good news: The surgeon feels that Joanne is out of immediate danger and she will begin rehab later this week! Her husband Gerry reports that she went for a walk today and walked all the way across the "bridge" on the fourth floor and back to her room again. It is such a blessing to see her on her feet again.

Joanne has been able to accept some small bits of non-solid food, but we need to pray that she can soon eat solid food so that her body has the nourishment it needs to regenerate. As her memory is returning to normal, Joanne has expressed how blessed she is to be alive and is thankful to God.

Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and support!

Joanne has always been worried about everyone else, and has been the model of a servant to others. Now it is time that we serve her in whatever capacity we can. As well as our constant prayers, here are a few ways we can help in a practical way:

       Joanne’s husband, Gerry, is diabetic and has other health issues as well. He needs to eat healthy and regularly to be strong for his wife. With all the comings and goings at the hospital, it is difficult for the family to get regular meals. With that in mind, it would be great if you could help to provide meals with the following things in mind:

a.   Healthy food without a lot of salt or sugars. Fresh and homemade is better; processed food – not so much.

b.   Dishes that can be reheated in portions when they are able to sit down and eat (soups, stews, casseroles, etc.)

c.    Make it taste good – a little extra care helps to show your love and support.

d.   Portions can be adjusted according to whatever you’re able to do. The main focus is to help keep Gerry healthy but, if enough of us help, there will always be something for the extended family that may stop by as well.
e. You can call Lisa at (506) 383-0603 to arrange dropping off meals.

      Of course Joanne will have no income for the foreseeable future. During the time of her recovery, they will still face the routine bills of mortgage, heat/lights, etc. A trust account has been set up to help them manage their bills while Joanne is laid up. Although her church and family are helping out, all donations would be appreciated.

        As far as visiting at the hospital, it would be best to wait until Joanne has recovered a bit more and is able to receive more visitors. 

    She and Gerry both have large families, so there is already quite a bit of coming and going and the most important thing right now is for Joanne to rest. When she is feeling up to having more visitors, please keep your visits short for the time being unless you are prepared to just sit quietly with her and let her rest. As you may know, hospitals can be fairly noisy places to sleep anyway, and we need to keep in mind what is best for Joanne in the early stages of recovery especially.

        Cards and notes will be most welcome and an encouragement to Joanne I’m sure. Even hand drawn pictures from the little ones are always something that warms her heart. I think it would be great that when she is more awake and able to sit up that she would find a room covered with expressions of love and support for her. Always try to include a personal note to tell her how much you’re thinking of her.

    Thank you for your care and support for Joanne!

January 27, 2013 in the earliest hours of the morning, Joanne Deveau suffered a tragic fall down her basement stairs while her husband was taking a shower. When Gerry went looking for his wife, he found her semi-conscious at the bottom of the stairs and helped her back to their living room.

Joanne was dazed and disoriented and said she felt sick to her stomach. Her family called an ambulance and she was transported to the Moncton Hospital.

It took hours and consultation with numerous doctors and surgeons to get a full diagnosis, but it was determined that Joanne had suffered a fractured skull when she fell backwards on the steps. That caused swelling around the brain and she was operated on Sunday afternoon to remove a blood clot that had formed. She also broke two small bones in her neck (which doctors hope will heal without surgery) and has to wear a cervical collar.

For the first five days Joanne was kept under close observation in the neuro ICU where she was mostly sedated because of the pain. On Friday, February 1st she was moved to a regular room on the fourth floor where she continues down the long road back to good health.