Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

It is very painful to lose a parent. My thoughts are with you on this difficult day.

Sharol

I am so thankful that you people made it through the storm last night. I watched the weather off and on past midnight last night. Sure hope everyone else did okay without great losses.
Yesterday was a pretty awful day. One of my sons and daughter in law came down to visit and to see my Mom. I couldn't believe how awful she was doing. She was gasping for air and the morphine wasn't working and her O2 SAT wouldn't come up. We left about 6 and went to eat. We got back to the house about 8:00 and they headed home to Manhattan. About an hour later the phone rang. They had transferred Mom to the hospital by ambulance. They had been unable to get her O2 above 59. They took exrays.
Basically the doctor said she was trying to die. Her lungs just aren't doing able to do the oxygen carbon dioxide transfer any more. They put a special bag on her to add with transfer and put her on 15 liters of oxygen which is the highest setting. I finally left well after midnight when she was finally sleeping.
I will probably be camping out at the hospital today. I was afraid to leave last night. I guess one of the scariest things is they have no single rooms. They all have two beds. They had removed everything from the room but her bed and one chair. That made me think they didn't think she could possibly make it. Watchign her suffer is ripping my heart out.

 

[Hawkeye95]

I am so thankful that you people made it through the storm last night. I watched the weather off and on past midnight last night. Sure hope everyone else did okay without great losses.
Yesterday was a pretty awful day. One of my sons and daughter in law came down to visit and to see my Mom. I couldn't believe how awful she was doing. She was gasping for air and the morphine wasn't working and her O2 SAT wouldn't come up. We left about 6 and went to eat. We got back to the house about 8:00 and they headed home to Manhattan. About an hour later the phone rang. They had transferred Mom to the hospital by ambulance. They had been unable to get her O2 above 59. They took exrays.
Basically the doctor said she was trying to die. Her lungs just aren't doing able to do the oxygen carbon dioxide transfer any more. They put a special bag on her to add with transfer and put her on 15 liters of oxygen which is the highest setting. I finally left well after midnight when she was finally sleeping.
I will probably be camping out at the hospital today. I was afraid to leave last night. I guess one of the scariest things is they have no single rooms. They all have two beds. They had removed everything from the room but her bed and one chair. That made me think they didn't think she could possibly make it. Watchign her suffer is ripping my heart out.

Oh no, Danz. I'm so very sorry to hear this about your mom. I'm glad you can spend time with her. I'm thinking of you and will be saying many prayers for you, your mom and dad and family.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Danz, my heart is just breaking for you. This is how you begin to let go. The suffering is horrific to witness and the feeling of complete helplessness is overwhelming. Take a minute to just breathe. Eat. Make sure you are drinking lots of water. Your body is under a lot of stress and it needs your help too. Find little moments to focus. Ask for help when you need it. I know you're focused on your mom and your family because it's what we do, but this is your mom. There isn't anything like losing your mom. Try not to be shocked when you and those around you react poorly to the stress. Hang in there Danz. I wish there was something I could do to give you your miracle and make this go away.

 

[rvroman]

Well, we have at least one tree we have to completely cut down due to damage, and quite a few limbs downed. My husband packed us up and we ended up driving towards hutchinson until it was all clear to come home. The drive home was the longest drive of my life, we heard about all this damage right on top of where our house is. There is so much damage around us, I am so thankful that we experienced minimal damage. I hope everyone else is safe, I was so worried about all of you.

Danz I am so sorry to hear about your mom.

 

[Trish44]

I'm so glad you're all.OK, I was worried. It really was a bad night for weather.

Danz, I'm so sorry about your mom, my thougjts & prayers are with you today.

I had one more chick hatch last night, so there are two in the hatcher now. We have to make a trip to Wichita today & will deliver some of the chicks to their new home.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Well, we have at least one tree we have to completely cut down due to damage, and quite a few limbs downed. My husband packed us up and we ended up driving towards hutchinson until it was all clear to come home. The drive home was the longest drive of my life, we heard about all this damage right on top of where our house is. There is so much damage around us, I am so thankful that we experienced minimal damage. I hope everyone else is safe, I was so worried about all of you.

Danz I am so sorry to hear about your mom.

Do you guys not have a basement? We holed up downstairs. Glad there was no significant damage. I noticed we have an apple tree leaning to the side, but that's really it. We have to clean up the yard-- stuff just blew in from everywhere. Trash, etc.. I'm not looking forward to bagging up all that stuff. I'm glad we didn't lose any trees-- we can't afford to! LOL We hardly have any trees as it is! I'm going to have to figure out how to 'right' my tree out there.

 

[tntblake]

I'm so sorry, Danz. I will be praying for you and your mom. I cannot imagine how you are feeling right now.

We are fine. We rode it out in the basement with a mattress over us. It was the scariest night of my life. I was sitting up against the wall in the southwest corner of the basement and could feel the walls shaking. The kids took it pretty good. They were good until it was over and then they started sobbing. We are just getting up and around after being up until 3. I guess we better get out and take a look around and see what/if there is damage. I'm glad the other Wichita area peeps are ok. Has HEChicken checked in? She should be ok since she lives north of me but just want to make sure.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Well, last night was certainly wild!

The big one was on the west side of Derby and we're on the east. The wind was crazy wild.

So, here's my crazy story. HEChicken has been here so she knows what a ridiculous night we had! Our basement is separate from our house but immediately behind it so we have to make our way through wind and rain just to get there. It has a concrete top and will someday be a greenhouse. There are no stairs because that's covered with doors that open and close for ventilation and light for the 90+ chickens that live down there! The entrance is down a ladder and through a daylight window.

Seriously.

Earlier in the day we rehearsed how to get everything necessary into the basement quickly. We had quilts packed in rubbermaid containers already in the basement ahead of time. When we decided to go before the weather got really wild here, we put the "head to the basement" protocol in place. (No we're not military but last night felt like it) In short order we had all ten of us, our laptop, ipads, important papers, meds and 4 dogs, 2 cats and 2 bunnies in their own crates all settled in. I had counseled the drama queens on the necessity for calm and focus in such an event and they were great. All of them were great. They mobilized into action, kept the talking to a minimum and boom, we were there. The kids immediately put fresh wood shavings everywhere and then laid down quilts to lounge on. They got their fav chicken and the other chickens moved to an opposite corner to observe. (Hope none of the SSX drop from the stress of sharing their digs!) Then we started to talk and laugh about how ridiculous the whole thing was. We had a blast, all laughing at ourselves in our Green Acres basement. We chatted until the power went off and then the kids drifted off to sleep. My DH maintained his city slicker dignity by sitting in a towel covered lawn chair! He wasn't cranky or anything but had this look of total disbelief on his face. That's a guy a girl could really love! We had quite an adventure!

We loaded everything up and made our way back upstairs around midnight. The kids would have been happier sleeping over in the basement but DH and I were intent on sleeping in our own bed. DH hooked up the generator and we watched the weather for awhile. Then the power came back on so we called it a night.

Can you imagine us hunkered down in the basement with all those kids, chickens, dogs, cats, bunnies and supplies. It was totally hilarious! I win the prize for craziest chicken lady ever!

So glad everyone made it through with minimal damage.

tntblake, that sounds terrifying! I'm thankful you didn't take a direct hit and everything's okay.

 

[HEChicken]

KarenS, I can picture that - what a great adventure (since there was no damage). Your kids will have memories of last night forever, I bet.

All is well here - DH made us all go to the basement for awhile but we were watching the radar and could see the tornado wasn't anywhere near us so we headed back upstairs again. The wind was something though, and the rain/hail hitting the windows was deafening. I had one crazy chicken who had decided to sleep on the deck stairs last night. I was concerned about her getting drenched and cold in the rain but also about her exposure if debris started flying around so I carried her to the coop and put her on the roost. She grumbled the whole way but later I commented to DH "I bet she's sitting there thanking me right now". He said "Oh yeah, I bet that's exactly how she thinks". Too true.

I brought my silkies in to sleep in their basement coop so felt confident they were okay. The rest....I had to hope that their accommodations held up to the wind. By morning all was well with all the animals here, and we've already heard from our barn manager that everything is fine there too. A few downed limbs but no injuries to horses or property. A lot of mud though. Ugh. I'm feeding tonight so must remember to take my wellies.

Glad to hear from most of the other Wichita folks that they've survived the storm relatively unscathed. For those still without power, hope it comes on for you again soon. I got a txt from DS's baseball coach this morning saying his power was out and he was looking to borrow a generator. There are so many homes without power it may be awhile before it comes back on.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

HEChicken, tell him we have one he could borrow. Give him my cell, if he hasn't already found one.