What a long night Brenda. There was a problem with the ventalator tube. There was a leak in the tube which needed to be fixed because this could potentially allow bad things into Brenda's lungs. The respiratory therapist pondered different options all night, and this morning I awoke to her and Brenda's two night nurses, crowded around her bed trying to fix the cuff (the part of the ventilator that is in her throat). After about an hour they finally figured it out, the tube that inflated the cuff was kinked. Now it is the start of a new day and hopefully it will be easier than the night she had. Keep praying![...]

First off, Happy Thanksgiving!. We have much to give thanks for today. Brenda came out of surgery about an hour ago and it went very well. The operation consisted of skin grafts on the left side of her body, exempt her face. The burns reached to the middle of her back on the left side. On Monday she will have the same procedure, but on the right side her body. Monday they are hoping to put in a trache, basically this will take the tubes our of her mouth. She will have a tube attached directly to her throat, this will be more comfortable for her. We know that many people are wishing to send flowers or fruit baskets, but we ask that you stick with sending cards. She likes having cards read to her. Please know that plants of any kind, are not allowed in the burn unit. She will never see the flowers and Jack will have to take them home. If you would like to send flowers, please wait until she is out of the burn unit and I will let you know when that is. Happy Thanksgiving, and please keep praying![...]

Last night Brenda went through a treatment that had a negative effect on her body. It was a simple respiratory treatment, but her blood pressure dropped dramatically. They had to give her blood in order to get her blood pressure back under control. Today,Brenda had her whole body cleaned and that happened around noon. Swelling has gone down and her procedure is still on schedule for tomorrow. She is scheduled for the 7:30 time slot, but if she gets bumped the surgery won't be until Friday. She will be getting a skin graft on her face and arms. This is about an 8 hour process, so those of you who were hoping to visit, you may want to hold off because she will not be available. And also Thanksgving is family time. Friday they will go back in at 10:00 a.m. and try to do the lower part of her body, they are basically going to do as much as they can. When I entered the room today her eyes were open and the nurse asked her to nod her head to let us know if she was in pain. She nodded yes so she was given more medication. The fact that she is able to give us these signals wonderful. Keep up the prayers, they make an huge difference! [...]

Hey guys we are going to make a book for Brenda. This will be like the book you sign and write in when you visit a hotel or go to a wedding. Cards and letters are appreciated and if you come to visit feel free to write her something. Also if you cannot visit you can send an email and we can print the email and put it in the book. Thanks Guys! Email [email protected]. Keep praying, we have a long ways to go.[...]

Her swelling has gone down! She was given lasex to help remove some of the fluids, but she is getting rid of a lot of it on her own. She is still on the ventalator and is going to be for a while. Just to let you guys know that whenever she recieves a card we read it to her because we know that she can hear us.Her day consisted mainly of rest, a dressing change, and an eKG to check her heart.Everyone needs to keep in mind this is going to be a very long process, she is no where near being out of the woods.Those of you wondering about nourishment, she is on a feeding tube in order to keep up her strength. The nurses are still adjusting her medication , but they are going to take her back off the blood pressure medication. John was able to leave the hospital today and he is at home resting. By the way, Jack loves the visitors and phone calls of love and support. Keep in mind, he is very tired so try and keep questions to a minimum, we know it is hard, but try and keep up with the blog. The Brands family would like to thank everyone who has been praying for her, we are witnesses to how much good the prayers are doing. Tomorrow she will be going on what is called a Trolly. This is a room where they are going to wash and clean her up. Her first skin graft is still on schedule for Thursday. Today we ask that you pray for no pain![...]

Brenda just came back from getting her dressing changed and we have the results from a few of her tests. Her lactic acid level in her blood is normal, her carbon monoxide levels are normal, her kidneys are doing great, and she is retaining liquids. We believe that they are going to start giving her medicine to help her urinate starting tomorrow. This will help bring down the swelling. Anyone who has seen her in the past 2 days will know how swollen she is, the doctors say that starting tomorrow she will look totally different. She will hopefully be getting her first skin graph on Thursday, keep in mind she has 3rd degree burns. Unfortunately, she is still in critical condition. Keep praying. [...]

It is November 19, 5:05 a.m. I woke up at about 4:30 to a new voice in Brenda's room. By the way the nurses acted around him, my guess was that he was an important doctor or a specialist. He was toying with the machine that controls her breathing. Ever since about 2:00 p.m. yesterday she had started taking this miniscule breathe in between her large breathes. The nurses have been calling all sorts of doctors to gather any opinions about why she would be doing this or what it is they could do about it. After about a half hour the new man finally figures out how to regulate her breathing. The short breathe is only problematic because she shouldn't be taking it. I asked the new man what the problem was with the small breathes and he said it could be a problem with the machine, she could be having hiccups, or she is fighting the machine, etc. They needed to fix it in order to make sure she was getting the proper amount of air. Next time you pray for Brenda, simply pray..... Just Breathe.[...]

November 18, her heart rate and blood pressure are finally under control and that is a good sign. The nurses have been giving her medicine so that there will not be scabbing in her lungs. She has mild inhalation damage which is a good sign. Basically, she did not inhale to much smoke and the X-Rays of her chest look good. Many issues they come across in the burn unit is severe damage to the lungs because patients breath in the deadly smoke. Thank God she had minimal damage. Appreciate the small things. Her kidneys are doing well. That is another organ they have to watch because sometimes certain enzymes are released, because of burns, that cause kidney damage. Keep in mind this is an hour by hour situation, we will post updates when they come, also keep in mind the less updates there are, the better. [...]

Saturday November 17, about 8 p.m. Jack, Brenda, and John were all at John's house. John and Jack were inside the barn and Brenda was outside by the fire pit. She then tripped on a stone and fell into the pit. Luckily, she called for John and he responded quickly. John ran outside first and immediately pulled her from the fire, which resulted in burns on his hands. Jack then came out and helped by putting out the flames on Brenda. 911 was called and she was then transfered to Miami Valley Hospital where she started treatment. The first 8 hours were touch and go, and no one was certain of her chance of survival. John also started his treatment at Miami Valley Hospital and there will be and update to follow. The burn specialist came in to talk to Jack and gave somber prognosis. Basically there was a 48 hour window for the prognosis to either improve, or become worst case scenario. Her heart rate was out of control, but finally around 7:00 a.m. the nurse and doctor finally got her heart rate and blood pressure under control. [...]