03 Dec Sandie Birdsall in ICU After Surgery

Sandie Birdsall is currently in an Intensive Care Unit in Edina, Minn., having undergone emergency surgery for an aneurysm on Monday, December 1. Sandie and her husband, Brent, served as UB missionaries in Sierra Leone and, until 2007, as senior pastor and wife at College Park UB church in Huntington, Ind. Brent is currently on staff with a non-UB church in Minnesota.

On Tuesday, December 2, Brent gave a detailed description of things on his Facebook page, and then added an update today (Wednesday). You can read it after the link below.

Thanks to so many of you for your prayers and concerns. The last 36 hours have been somewhat of a blur for me, but let me try to give you a cliff notes version of what happened.

Monday – 12:39 p.m. Sandie called me at my office in great distress, thinking that she was having a stroke. She also called 9-1-1. I raced home and arrived just minutes before the first responders.

The EMTs quickly assessed Sandie’s situation and took her to the ER at Fairview Southdale Hosp. in Edina, MN. By the time I reached the hospital, Sandie was already having a CT scan. They saw that there was an intracerebral hemorrhage, but needed more accurate testing.

Sandie was quickly scheduled for an angiogram. They detected an aneurysm (1 cm) which was the source of the bleeding. The one doctor was able to diagnose, but was not able to make any intervention. There are only three doctors in the state of MN who routinely do the intervention. One doc was at a nearby hospital and was able to get to Fairview Southdale in a timely manner.

I was told the intervention may take 1 to 3 hours. It was much closer to 1. Some of you have already done your internet research. The procedure is called coiling. A platinum coil ( they said it looks like a “slinky”) was coiled into the aneurysm so that it was stabilized and secured and thus the risk for further bleeding or rupture was greatly diminished. All of this was done by about 6:45 p.m. We thank God and are grateful for speedy and competent care at each juncture of this six-hour ordeal.

Tuesday – 8:00 a.m. Today I met a host of doctors involved in Sandie’s care. She is by no means out of danger. She will be kept in ICU for 10, maybe up to 14 days. They are monitoring her very closely because there are two complications that could arise. One is a constriction of the blood vessels in the brain which elevates the risk of stroke. The other is a buildup of pressure in the cranial cavity, which may require external measures to alleviate.

One doctor said it will be six weeks before Sandie gets back to “normal.” Another said, “She is 1/4 the way through this crisis”. Thus it is imperative that we all continue to pray.

Up to this point, Sandie has shown no signs of stroke. She demonstrates mental acuity when asked questions, and when given commands like, “Squeeze my fingers with your left hand, shrug your shoulder, raise your eyebrows, touch your nose with your right index finger, etc.” she is always able to do them accurately and when necessary with vigor. We are grateful for how well she is doing in light of the grave danger that she faced.

In the midst of this crisis, I am grateful for the marvel of 21st century telecommunications. I was quickly able to contact all four kids and also Sandie’s parents who winter in AZ. I was able to reach out to my current congregation – Berean Baptist Church – and was overwhelmed with their love and support. I was able to call dear, long-time friends from Huntington, IN and know that many more joined us in prayer for Sandie’s well-being. For this Pastor-guy, who is used to being strong for others, it was humbling, but reassuring to be on the “receiving end” of the care-giving process.

Wednesday update:
I begin by saying that I know Sandie was dangerously close to death on Monday afternoon. A few kind nurses have gently told me how much worse it could have been if Sandie’s aneurysm had burst instead of leaked. I was also told this morning by Sandie’s attending neurologist that there had been a great deal of bleeding (no amount was specified) so the body’s task of getting rid of that blood from around the brain will continue to be a monumental task. Therefore, I’m keeping you all aware that Sandie remains in ICU because of the severity of potential complication.

Second, the good news – Sandie called me this morning. She asked me to bring her glasses and contacts. She’s sitting up in a chair. Her nausea has lessened and she rates her headache at a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. [All day Monday she continually said it was a 10 and that she had never in her life hurt so badly. On Tuesday it was down to a 7.] So while I’m sorry that her head continues to hurt, I’m so grateful that the excurciating pain has subsided.

Sandie was offered breakfast. Those of you who know her know that she never eats breakfast, even when she’s healthy. Thus I obliged and ate the scrambled eggs and toast while she enjoyed a popsicle and Sprite.

So please know that Sandie is doing much better. I thank you again for your prayers.