Raney Grantham: A Progress Report
Many of you know Raney Grantham. A 2004 Pillow Academy graduate and current Ole Miss student, Raney is the daughter of Lynn Ross, and they are both members of First Presbyterian Church in Greenwood. Weeks ago, Raney fell and hurt her arm. Things were going well until recently, when complications with her arm became evident.
The following information is coming to me via Raney's cousin, Kathryn Spencer, of Grenada. Kathryn is a close college friend of mine and is diligently reporting the progress of her cousin. I will keep you posted (most recent information at the top) as information becomes available. Comments may be left below as words of encouragement for Raney and her family.
Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 3:19 PM
GREAT NEWS! Raney has just been moved to her own room at UMC. She is still really sore and pretty tired, but what a trooper! Everything continues to look clear, but they are keeping a close eye on her. Since last Thursday, she has not gone 48 hours without "clotting up," so we are still on our knees praying to pass that mark! She is in Room 245 South.
I am planning on compiling some of your responses that I've received to let her know how wonderful y'all have been! If you have anything that you would like to add, please comment below and I will include it.
Although we are all so excited about this great news, I can't get ahead of myself. They still have to stitch up the incision from her elbow to her wrist. And if everything continues to go well, she still has a long road of recovery ahead of her. Please continue to pray for her progress and strength during therapy.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 1:22 PM
I spoke with Momma at 12:30 PM and Raney is out of surgery with full circulation restored to her entire arm. This is such good news! They took Raney to Jackson last night and she and Lynn arrived in the ambulance around 3:30 AM.
When I talked to Momma at 7:30 this morning, they already had Raney in surgery and it lasted almost 5 hours. The doctors removed a small portion of the vein in her leg and used it to bypass the clotted vein on the inside of her right elbow. They also ran a balloon from her wrist to her elbow and then from her shoulder to her elbow.
This cleaned out her vein and hopefully removed all pieces of the old clot that had solidified. She is in recovery now and they are running a scan on her upper arm to ensure everything is clear. Lynn should be able to see her around 3 PM.
Lynn and Momma really like the doctors there (UMC) and they seem to be doing OK. They have already rearranged the emergency room furniture.
The next 36 hours are very crucial in that nothing unexpected comes up. At this time, the most important thing is for the clot to be entirely removed and that it will never come back! Raney has experienced a tremendous amount of excruciating pain, so pray this is the last of it. Also pray that everything from here on out is all downhill and Raney's condition progresses.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - 10:18 PM
This morning (Tuesday), Raney had emergency surgery to remove another clot in her lower arm. It was a section of the old clot that had broken off - this is good and bad because new ones are not forming but old pieces are still there. This is her third surgery since Saturday night.
When I left the hospital this afternoon around 3:30, she was opening her eyes and tapping her fingers, but completely exhausted. From what I hear, the arteriograms (pushing dye through her veins) is extremely painful. She has had at least 2 of these that I know of.
Momma (Lynn's sister; Raney's aunt) just called to let me know that one of Raney's fingers is cold and no longer receiving blood. As of right now, we are unsure of whether or not they will keep her in Greenwood. They can only do so many surgeries before it does more harm than it does good.
This is an extremely serious situation and please continue praying for Raney and Lynn. After her first surgery, one of the doctors said it was a miracle that she still has her arm because of the length of time the clot had been there. He said it was medically unexplainable and had to have been "divine intervention".
Our prayers are so important right now. Please pray that Raney does not become anxious - she is very aware of her arm but may not realize the seriousness of it all. Please pray for strength and progress. Also for knowledge and guidance to help the doctors and Lynn make the right decisions.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - 9:45 AM
Raney was admitted to the ICU in Greenwood last Thursday with a bloodclot in her upper right arm. She was in surgery Saturday night for 3 hours and the doctors were able to clear the clot and restore circulation to her arm. However, the muscles and tissue in her arm began to swell and she was in a good bit of pain.
She went back into surgery and they did a fasciotomy to aleviate the pressure. This included making an incision from the inside of her elbow to her wrist that they did not stitch back up to allow for expansion of the muscles and tissue.
New News: Yesterday, the doctors were watching her blood count because it was low. Today, they discovered she was losing circulation in her lower arm again and are going to do an arteriogram to find the exact location of the clot, but believe it is in her lower arm. After these results, they plan to take her into surgery, which should be later today.
Please keep her and Lynn in your prayers, as well as the doctors. Although Raney has been sitting up reading magazines to keep up with fashion outside of the ICU, pray for inner strength and quick progress. Thanks so much for your prayers and support. I will continue the updates.
The following information is coming to me via Raney's cousin, Kathryn Spencer, of Grenada. Kathryn is a close college friend of mine and is diligently reporting the progress of her cousin. I will keep you posted (most recent information at the top) as information becomes available. Comments may be left below as words of encouragement for Raney and her family.
Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 3:19 PM
GREAT NEWS! Raney has just been moved to her own room at UMC. She is still really sore and pretty tired, but what a trooper! Everything continues to look clear, but they are keeping a close eye on her. Since last Thursday, she has not gone 48 hours without "clotting up," so we are still on our knees praying to pass that mark! She is in Room 245 South.
I am planning on compiling some of your responses that I've received to let her know how wonderful y'all have been! If you have anything that you would like to add, please comment below and I will include it.
Although we are all so excited about this great news, I can't get ahead of myself. They still have to stitch up the incision from her elbow to her wrist. And if everything continues to go well, she still has a long road of recovery ahead of her. Please continue to pray for her progress and strength during therapy.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 1:22 PM
I spoke with Momma at 12:30 PM and Raney is out of surgery with full circulation restored to her entire arm. This is such good news! They took Raney to Jackson last night and she and Lynn arrived in the ambulance around 3:30 AM.
When I talked to Momma at 7:30 this morning, they already had Raney in surgery and it lasted almost 5 hours. The doctors removed a small portion of the vein in her leg and used it to bypass the clotted vein on the inside of her right elbow. They also ran a balloon from her wrist to her elbow and then from her shoulder to her elbow.
This cleaned out her vein and hopefully removed all pieces of the old clot that had solidified. She is in recovery now and they are running a scan on her upper arm to ensure everything is clear. Lynn should be able to see her around 3 PM.
Lynn and Momma really like the doctors there (UMC) and they seem to be doing OK. They have already rearranged the emergency room furniture.
The next 36 hours are very crucial in that nothing unexpected comes up. At this time, the most important thing is for the clot to be entirely removed and that it will never come back! Raney has experienced a tremendous amount of excruciating pain, so pray this is the last of it. Also pray that everything from here on out is all downhill and Raney's condition progresses.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - 10:18 PM
This morning (Tuesday), Raney had emergency surgery to remove another clot in her lower arm. It was a section of the old clot that had broken off - this is good and bad because new ones are not forming but old pieces are still there. This is her third surgery since Saturday night.
When I left the hospital this afternoon around 3:30, she was opening her eyes and tapping her fingers, but completely exhausted. From what I hear, the arteriograms (pushing dye through her veins) is extremely painful. She has had at least 2 of these that I know of.
Momma (Lynn's sister; Raney's aunt) just called to let me know that one of Raney's fingers is cold and no longer receiving blood. As of right now, we are unsure of whether or not they will keep her in Greenwood. They can only do so many surgeries before it does more harm than it does good.
This is an extremely serious situation and please continue praying for Raney and Lynn. After her first surgery, one of the doctors said it was a miracle that she still has her arm because of the length of time the clot had been there. He said it was medically unexplainable and had to have been "divine intervention".
Our prayers are so important right now. Please pray that Raney does not become anxious - she is very aware of her arm but may not realize the seriousness of it all. Please pray for strength and progress. Also for knowledge and guidance to help the doctors and Lynn make the right decisions.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - 9:45 AM
Raney was admitted to the ICU in Greenwood last Thursday with a bloodclot in her upper right arm. She was in surgery Saturday night for 3 hours and the doctors were able to clear the clot and restore circulation to her arm. However, the muscles and tissue in her arm began to swell and she was in a good bit of pain.
She went back into surgery and they did a fasciotomy to aleviate the pressure. This included making an incision from the inside of her elbow to her wrist that they did not stitch back up to allow for expansion of the muscles and tissue.
New News: Yesterday, the doctors were watching her blood count because it was low. Today, they discovered she was losing circulation in her lower arm again and are going to do an arteriogram to find the exact location of the clot, but believe it is in her lower arm. After these results, they plan to take her into surgery, which should be later today.
Please keep her and Lynn in your prayers, as well as the doctors. Although Raney has been sitting up reading magazines to keep up with fashion outside of the ICU, pray for inner strength and quick progress. Thanks so much for your prayers and support. I will continue the updates.
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