Bear tracks is about the SOC Class of

DONATE BLOOD for Vicki - go to any Carter Blood Care donation site and give them Vicki's # 049157. Carter will donate 1 unit of O-negative blood to Vicki for every unit of any type of blood given.

4/29/ 2010 This email was sent by Vicki Britt's niece and our classmate Macklyn Parker Smith. Thanks to Macklyn for sharing it with the class.

Jimmy,

Thought I would update you on Vicki. Bear with me if this is long. She had surgery on 2/25 and had an LVad, Left Ventrical Assist Device implanted. Her surgery was quite long, longer than anticipated and there were complications. She remained with her chest cavity open for 5 days and they kept her knocked out and her body paralyzed with drugs so as not to move around. She spent a month in ICU on the ventilator. She then transferred to a regular room and a few days later went back to ICU for a couple of days. Since then she has remained in room 604 at UT Southwestern Medical Center on Harry Hines. It has been a long road to reach the point where she is today. She has come a long ways since surgery and it is anticipated that she will go to a Methodist Hospital Rehab facility next week...located off Camp Wisdom and Hwy 67. This is a life changing event for Vicki as there are of course restrictions she faces day to day such as carrying around the battery pack for her LVad, not getting it wet, etc. etc. A number of us are scheduling training for her LVad so when she stays with us we will know how it works and what to do should the occasion arise. At this point she cannot walk or stand without assistance but rehab should help her with the every day kinds of things that we all take for granted. She is looking forward to leaving UT and getting on with her rehab although she realizes it will not be easy. She enjoys visitors and also receives calls on her cell phone if anyone wishes to speak to her...817-905-5598.

I hope this info has been helpful and I know Vicki appreciates all her friends so very much. Thanks for thinking of her and keeping her in your thoughts.

Regards,

Macklyn

This is a website established by Vicki's family to keep up with her
progress as well as write notes to her:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/vickibritt

Macklyn

This is an update on Vicki...thought you would like to know. This was posted on Caring Bridge by her daughters. Since they wrote this update Vicki did have a colonoscopy and they found she has an ulcer which has probably been bleeding a few days. Tomorrow they are sending a radiologist to see her and decide what to do next.

Macklyn

It is Wednesday and I just wanted to give everyone an update on Vicki. She is being moved back to ICU, on the 6th floor as we speak. Apparently, she is having some bleeding along her GI tract. They limited her diet and took her off the Kumadin (blood thinner) to see if they could resolve the bleeding. Right now, that hasn't worked and they wanted to move her back to ICU, so that they can keep a better eye on her. They have talked about a colonostopy , but have not made a decision yet. They are giving her blood to supplement. We will keep you posted on any changes. If you were planning on visiting her, remember the visiting hours are a little different in ICU. There is no phone in ICU, but she might still have her cell phone on.