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Update - Great News! 5/15/2016

Gregory Case’s wife, Elena, wrote Saturday night, “Gregory has made remarkable progress!” The previous three days were filled with two steps forward and one step back. The biggest challenge seemed to be his mental state, delirium, and general inability to comprehend and participate in his recovery. As Friday ended, the hospital was discussing that he be re-intubated and placed into an induced comma. Gregory’s sister, a nurse practitioner, who has been with Gregory and Elena through the entire ordeal, called her friend, a cardiologist/surgeon. He advised getting a neurologist on the recovery team.

The neurologist consulted with the ICU doctor and along with his nurse they developed a plan to review and remove as many of his medications as possible (figuring that the delirium could be caused by the interaction of these medications). They removed 15 different meds and exchanged some others they thought would be better for him. By mid-day Saturday, Gregory started to come out of the fog.

Drum roll please….. Elena said, “Gregory spent Saturday afternoon sitting up in a chair talking to us. He wanted to learn all about what has happened since his surgery. And he wanted to know how the stock market did this past week! All doctors have said this was a miracle surgery.”

Elena has asked that you continue to send your prayers and healing thoughts their way.

Original Message from Ricky 5/13/2016

Many of you know Gregory Case who shoots the still photography for The Quilt Show. On Monday night (May 9), Gregory began experiencing chest pains, neck pain, and other typical symptoms of a severe heart malfunction. He was rushed to the ER in Pueblo. After 21 hours in the ER, they ascertained he had an aortic aneurysm. It did not burst or he would have died instantly. He was life-flighted from Pueblo, CO to Colorado Springs for immediate surgery. Due to lack of blood to vital parts of his body, his kidneys were failing and his legs were not getting blood. There was the possibility of amputation and perhaps, if he survived, life-long dialysis. He underwent an 8-hour surgery to repair the aorta from his heart to his brain stem.

He is in ICU and the good news so far is that there are small signs of improvement. His kidneys seem to be recovering and his legs are going to be okay. However it is too soon to determine if he is getting proper blood flow to other vital systems. He is not out of the woods. There could be other complications due to this traumatic experience. He is uncomfortable and mentally aggravated (which is not unusual for the situation he is in) and that is not helping with the immediate recovery as he needs to be up and moving.

Personally, I have faith that he will pull through and that there won’t be any lasting damage. He will have a slow road to recovery. The scenario was bleak for the first three days. I spoke with Elena, his wife, and she indicated that the last two days have brought the slightest improvement and any improvement is a step forward so we are taking that as hopeful signs that he will recover. There is no way to determine what his “new normal” may be from here forward.

Your thoughts and prayers for Gregory and Elena are much appreciated.

(Photo: Gregory & Elena)