Prayers for Preslie

You just never know what the day might bring. One year ago today I would imagine began about like this one today has. The chaos that ensued that evening is hard to wrap our minds around. Things can go to hell in a hurry.
You learn a lot about yourself and those around you when tragedy strikes. Total strangers will show you more love than you’ve ever known. Gods presence becomes apparent. There is an abundance of both hurt and healing. It’ll change you.
Preslie is doing good today. She has completed two semesters of college since that day. There’s been some recent discussion about tweaking her major due to her voice limitations but that’s trivial. She recently purchased a new vehicle and even drove a few miles on the interstate a week or so ago. She has a boyfriend that we all adore. Lots of really good things in her life and all deserved. We could write a book about all of her problems but this post isn’t about that. This post is to bring all of you who prayed so hard for her and helped us through our worst days up to speed with her progress.
In short, we’re doing real good over here and we wanted to thank all of you one last time for the love.

7/3 ~ 7am
First of all, we want to sincerely thank everyone for all the support. We can’t express our gratitude enough. It has been almost a month to the day of Preslie’s accident and literally every need we’ve had has been met without us asking. What a great community we get to call home.

Speaking of home…. We got to bring Preslie home yesterday! She’ll start outpatient therapy at Elk City on Tuesday. She has a long way to go in her recovery but we’re so thankful that she’ll be able to be at home during the process.
Preslie wants to feel normal so bad right now and is going through the emotional struggle of knowing she’s not. In her mind, she went to work on a Friday morning and woke up a few weeks later fighting for everything. She doesn’t understand it and she is super emotional. The right side of her body is still lagging. She has to wear a patch on her right eye because she continues to have double vision. Her right arm is still healing so it’s hard to know the extent of its use at the moment. She can walk with some help but she is very unstable. Her memory is still hit and miss. She continues to fill in some blanks and is retaining more of what we tell her.
While all of that isn’t ideal, we don’t take for granted the fact that we still have her and we’re so thankful that we were afforded the opportunity to go forward with her in our lives. We’re going to work hard to get our old P back. We know there will be hard days but we also know that everyday is a blessing and we’re thankful for whatever each day brings us.

We want to thank the Hydro Fire Department, the ambulance service, the air evac team, the doctors and nurses at OU as well as Select Specialty Hospital. A life that we love was saved because of you and we can never thank you enough. Hopefully at some point in the near future we can thank a few of you in person.

We’ll probably do a few more updates later in her recovery but this will be the last one for a bit.

Thank you all so much..

Love ~ Cole, Shellie, Alie & P

6/28 ~ 7pm
Preslie has continued steady improvement. Today they completely removed her trach. Praise God! Unfortunately, there were some issues with her feeding tube today. The tube that she’s had since they initially admitted her at OU clogged up this morning. Not terribly uncommon but when they were pulling it out to replace it, the end of it became lodged in the back of her nose and they couldn’t get it out. It’s not causing her any pain but obviously can’t be left that way. Tomorrow morning, they’ll do a scan on her to see exactly what the issue is so they can get it out. Tomorrow was supposed to be her swallow test to get her off the feeding tube. Hopefully they can go ahead and do it. She’ll probably have to retain a feeding tube for a few more days regardless of the results but she’s getting close to getting it pulled. Everything else (Neuro status, mobility, etc.) also continues to improve.
She’s an incredibly lucky gal. Thank you all for the prayers and continued support.

Y’all!! Our first time with all 4 of us being together in 21 days.. 🥰

6/24 ~ 10:30pm

They capped Preslie’s trach this morning and she has done fine with it. She’s controlling her airway fine to this point, hopefully it stays that way. She’s still a few days away from getting the trach removed completely. Her talking has gotten a little better but has a ways to go.
It takes some time to get the muscles in the throat built back to the point she can safely eat and drink. She’s not there quite yet. Once she’s able to get food down they’ll pull her feeding tube and she’ll be moved to Jim Thorpe for more rehabilitation. Hopefully that’ll happen next week.
Thanks again for all the prayers and support.

6/22 ~ 9am
This morning the respiratory nurse installed a speaking valve onto Preslie’s trach. With this they can begin some speech therapy and start the process of weening her off the trach completely.
Her physical therapy continues to get a little better every day. She’s not exactly running down the halls but nobody else here is either.
Her arm is still really sore from surgery. After seeing the wounds from where they inserted the pin, that comes as no surprise.
Her Neuro status is a little better. She retains only part of what we tell her and her memory is still hit and miss on things prior to the accident. I would anticipate this improving as well but it’s difficult for anyone to speculate with any degree of certainty as to how much and how long it’ll take.

Please keep her in your prayers. She’ll have a lot of frustrating days in front of her.

Preslie got her bracelet today💙💙

6/19 ~ 8:20 am
It’s been 15 days since Preslie’s accident and the reality of how long her recovery is going to be has set in. We all just want to go home. She’s improving a little everyday and we thank God for how far she has come and we have faith she’ll make a full recovery. She continues to be really emotional and doesn’t not want to be left alone for any length of time. We’re hoping they can at the least down size her trach early next week so she can start trying to eat and drink on her own and they can remove her feeding tube. She can communicate to us a little by text message which has been super helpful. The right side of her body is much slower than the left. Her physical therapy has went well despite it tho.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.

Show your love and support for Preslie! Contact:

580-799-4379 Brandon
580-497-6986 Kyra

$5 each

All proceeds will go to help with expenses during Preslie’s recovery.

6/17 ~ 10:00am
Preslie was moved from OU Medical to Select Specialty Hospital late yesterday evening. We’ve been impressed with them so far. It’s a better environment and a really nice facility. We’re not sure how long she’ll be here, it’ll all depend on how she responds to things after her trach is removed, mobility and so on. The Physical Therapist graded her mobility at a 3/10 this morning. I think a 6/10 is the target prior to her leaving. Her neuro status continues to improve and she’s awake more than she’s not. She can type a message to communicate. When she’s tired, they don’t always make sense but most of the time it gets us where we need to be. She’s been super emotional the last 24 hours and does NOT want to be left alone.

Thanks for the continued prayers.

6/15 ~ 7:25pm
Preslie had another good day. Neuro function continues to improve. She remembers a lot of things and there’s obviously a few things that she doesn’t. She is starting to retain a lot of what we’re telling her which is really encouraging. She has some double vision in her right eye when she tries to focus in on something. Hopefully it’ll take care of itself as her healing continues. A long term care facility appears to be in the near future. This girl is tough. Thank you all for the continued prayers.

6/14 ~ 3:30pm
Preslie decided last night that she was going to go ahead and bust out of this joint. It was a failed attempt but she definitely has everyone on their toes now.
Aside from that, it has been mostly uneventful since the last update. Vitals remain good and she’s doing well on the trach. Physical therapy continues to go good. She took a few more steps today than she did yesterday. Detangling her hair is on the horizon and it will be the next miracle assuming they get it done.
Thank you all for the prayers and support.

Preslie was moved to an inpatient trauma room this afternoon. This is a step below where she was and a move in the right direction. Her neuro status improves a little every day but continues to be a slow process. She slept a lot again today but she did wake up more frequently. She was tracking everything that was going on in her new room and watching everything the nurses were doing. She has gotten herself accustomed to the nurses routine and had started doing things without them having to ask. Yesterday, we told her that she might be able to see Alie when she got moved into a different room. When Shellie walked into her new room today, she wanted to know where Alie was. She also remembered her nurses name from yesterday and was able to let the nurse know which college she goes to. Everything is obviously a yes or no head nod because of the trach but she is very much on top of things when she’s awake which is encouraging. Thank you all for the continued prayers and support.

PRESLIE IS BUSTING OUT OF ICU! PRAISE THE LORD!

The tracheostomy (freedom to move) was just what she needed. We are so excited! Please continue to pray! Like we have said, this is a marathon. Preslie still has an exceptionally long road ahead with therapy and rehabilitation.

We will sing HIS praises in the hallway!

6/12 ~ 6:00pm

Tracheotomy procedure went well. Preslie is currently breathing on her own, with no assistants, via the trach. Even though Preslie still can’t talk, it’s easier for her to communicate to us with the vent tube out of her mouth, and it’s a relief for both her and us now that it’s gone. She’s still drowsy and sleeping 90% of the time, but we feel like today was a step in the right direction.

Thanks again for the continued thoughts and prayers, keep them coming.

Please don’t forget her in your prayers.

6/12 ~ 8:00 am
Preslie is still stable this morning. There were two brief instances overnight where she stopped breathing and the ventilator had to carry her momentarily. Unless something changes with her level of alertness, they will go ahead and proceed with the tracheotomy sometime after lunch. The good news is that the trach will allow her to move forward with some light rehabilitation and which will hopefully start clearing some brain fog. She is still sleeping a lot, even without medication. Thank you all for your love and support.

Update! We were hoping for a breakthrough-day today, but it didn’t happen. Preslie woke up this morning long enough to FaceTime her dad and Alie (which went really well) but went to sleep shortly after. She has been asleep since. She had a rough night last night and it has left her spent today. Unfortunately, because if this the vent will remain and a tracheotomy is looking like a possibility. She has to be more alert before they can try removing the vent to prevent having to have a tracheotomy.

It’s been a long hard day! The Parkhurst family apologizes for the delayed update. They plan to try to do a morning update and a evening update in the future. They appreciate your prayers…keep them coming!

Update 6/10

Preslie started running a fever last night. They did a blood culture test and started antibiotics. Her temperature was still 100 this morning. Hopefully this does not turn into something serious. Please pray specifically for the infection to subside. The medical team does not seem concerned, but is worrisome for Cole and Shellie.
Preslie did go into surgery this morning at 8 am to fix her broken arm; It went well. The plan today, post surgery, is to start her on steroids to boost her lung function. If all goes well, they will try to pull her off the vent again tomorrow. We pray that it goes better than it did yesterday as it remains the biggest stumbling block to her short term recovery.

Update 6/9

This morning Preslie was the most alert that we’ve seen her. The physical therapist was able to get her up on her feet and she followed all commands. Everything is slow for her and requires effort but from a pure cognitive response standpoint, it’s the best we’ve seen.
The ventilator remains the elephant in the room, probably more-so for us than the staff.
That being said, nobody knows for sure why she struggled so hard to breath yesterday when she was pulled off the vent. She is/was actually breathing on her own while on the vent, it was just making it possible to keep her airway clean. Hopefully this gets cleared up soon and they can get her off of it for good.
AND she did wave at here momma while she was sitting up!!!

Update 6/8

Preslie is about the same as yesterday. She is still very critical and is not communicating a lot. She sleeps most of the day. She will nod her head to some questions if she is awake, but that is rare. Keep the prayers coming for Preslie! She will be in ICU for awhile and Cole and Shellie are the only ones allowed in the room. Please pray for strength for Cole and Shellie as they sit with Preslie. ❤️

Friends and family! We are calling on you for a little help! The Parkhurst family and the medical team are working to stimulate Preslie’s cognitive functioning. If you have funny up lifting stories or would like to pump Preslie up please send a video message. You can tell a funny story about your relationship with Preslie or a message to cheer her on. We hope these voices and faces will stimulate her. Please make them fun and uplifting! You can send them directly to The Parkhurst family or message them to the page and I’ll pass them along!

Continued prayers! Love you all!

Update 6/7

There has not been a lot of change. It is two steps forward, 1-1/2 step back. Her vitals are still good, but they still cannot determine the extent of her brain trauma. She is only conscious for short a short amount of time. She will respond to simple commands, but it is slow and not always clear. She is still on the ventilator because they cannot trust her to control her own air way due to the head trauma. Today the goal is to get her mentally stimulated to the point where we can get her off the ventilator. It has been an extremely emotional time for the Parkhurst family. Please pray specifically for Preslie to be able to have the ventilator removed and to follow commands consciously. Also, please pray for strength for them all!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/pray-for-preslie?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&fbclid=IwAR1vVOUqFTDBS-mF-hs0Cyf4PPWf_CWtAlCSManLsFEEB321BtvO2AZKebc

Pray for Preslie, organized by Tisha Justus This precious young lady was in a horrible car accident. She is in ICU. She is fighting a battle but no… Tisha Justus needs your support for Pray for Preslie

As I was in church service I prayed and it was laid on my heart to declare that our God would fully heal Preslie! Our God is a loving and healing God! I declared it!

Well...God showed up! Keep the declarations and prayers coming! Preslie is still on the vent, but she stood up today! She even gave the medical staff two thumbs up. Praise the Lord! She was also calm and worked hard. This is huge!

Cole and Shellie said, “Thank you for the prayers! Please keep them coming!”

Update June 6th

Preslie had a little set back last night. She is working really hard and is a little uneasy, so they put her back on the ventilator and sedated her. She is still breathing on her own; however, this will allow her body to heal faster. She is responding to commands!

We all have to remember this is a marathon and not a sprint. Cole and Shellie are overwhelmed with the love everyone has shown. They haven’t been able to respond to everyone, but they want you to know they truly appreciate each of you. Keep the prayers coming!

Keep the prayers coming! They are putting a feeding tube in now because she isn’t swallowing well enough!

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46:1-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/111/psa.46.1-7.niv

Psalms 46:1-7 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam | New International Version... God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam

As of this afternoon, June 5th:

Preslie has been off the ventilator a few hours. She is successfully breathing on her own. They have reduced her pain medication and are trying to bring her out of sedation. She has squeezed their hands when she was asked to! Praise the Lord! She is a bit agitated and is in a lot of pain. Please pray she can fully come out of sedation.

The team of doctors are unsure of the amount of head trauma. The orthopedic doctor has reviewed the test results from her arm injury and feel that surgery is not needed.

Please join me in prayers as the Parkhurst family has a long road ahead.

We received the horrible news of Preslie’s accident late last night. She was cut from her vehicle and medi-flighted to OU Medical Center after a semi rear ended her car. Cole & Shellie have been overwhelmed by the support and prayers through phone calls, texts, and messages! Please continue praying fervently!

This page will be used to keep those who love Preslie updated throughout her journey! This will allow Cole & Shellie to devote their time to Preslie.