Donations

In lieu of flowers being brought or delivered to the home, we ask that donations be made to Hospice of High Point, N.C. on behalf of the family of Oscar & Tarsha Williams. Donations can be made as a monetary gift or by dropping off drinks and snack foods, which are kept in the Family Kitchen & Dinning area. The smallest gestures make a huge impact on the family members of those who are patients at the Hospice facility.   

Thank you

Home-Going Celebration

The home-going celebration for Oscar Williams will be held on Monday, June 27th at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. The location is 1301 Alamance Church Road in Greensboro, N.C. Family hour begins at 11:30am, and the service will follow at 12:00 noon.Service will be held in the Chapel.

Blessings to you all

Wednesday evening, our loving brother Oscar Williams went home to be with the Lord. Although his illness had been a long and hard journey, it brings us comfort to know that he is now at peace, joining the one and only who he has so faithfully served with all his heart. There's no better peace than that, and no better place to be. Many thanks to all of you who have, and continue to give of your time, your support, and your prayers to Oscar and his family. No words can describe the love we've felt. Oscar was such a jewel to us all, and the lost we feel right now is great, but we hold on to the strength we find in God.

Funeral arrangements are not yet complete, but it will all be posted as soon as everything has been finalized.

Love & Blessings,
Family of Oscar Williams

Very early Thursday morning, around 2:00am, Oscar was taken back to High Point Reginald Hospital due to complications again. For those who would like to visit, he is in room 419. Please continue to keep the family in your prayers.  

Despite the numerous conversations with the insurance company, Oscar was moved last week. He is now back at Heritage Health in High Point. Thank God the transition was smooth, and he continues to be in a stable condition. For those who would like to visit, he is in room 113.

Please continue to pray for wisdom and direction as Tarsha faces all sorts of challenges regarding insurance issues, Oscar's position at American Express, Medicaid, disability, etc. Pray that God gives direction, and pray for peace and strength for both Tarsha and Griffin.  

The doctors are wanting to move Oscar to a nursing home but from past experiance, this may not be the best thing for him given the severe condition he is in. If he is moved it will probably be back at Guilford, and we're not feeling great about that. The possibility for infections and temp spikes can occur at anytime. Plus, currently he's been suctioned out about every 2 hours or so, and at the nursing home he most likely will only be suctioned every 4 hours. It's mainly the insurance company that is pushing this move, and they are holding the move off until Monday. We are asking for prayer that Oscar makes some improvement so that he can remain where he is, or that a bed opens up in the Sub-acute area of Kindred. This is more of a skilled nursing facility that is within the same building. Ultimetly, we want to see Oscar healed and at home so we ask that you please pray with us.      

Yesterday (Tuesday) Oscar was moved back to Kindred Hospital, and he is in Room 407. High Point Reginald did a good job caring for him during his stay. All of his vitals are pretty stable now and he will continue with the antibiotics until they are no longer needed. Prayerfully, Kindred will continue with their track record of being able to ween him back off the vent. Praise God that he has had several groups of visitors to stop and pray for him. We will continue to believe God for Oscar's healing until that super natural miracle is manifested in him. Thank you so much to all of you who are standing with us. Two scriptures that Tarsha has given us to stand with her on are:
**Jeremiah 17;14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed, save me, and I shall be saved; for thou art my praise. 

**Jeremiah 30;17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an outcast, saying. This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.


Praise be to God!       

Update

Oscar was admitted into High Point Reginald Hospital today, and he is in room 422. After testing they found that he has a urinary track infection. Obviously this has been going on for a while, but was just now detected. Due to the fact that he is on three other antibiotics for infections, the doctor has him on a strong antibiotic to fight this infection and will eventually ween him off of it. It's strong starting out because sometimes the body will build up an immunity against the antibiotics, and they want to make sure that they get rid of it. Oscar is back on the vent now, so that will be another thing to ween him back off of once this infection is cleared up. Most likely he will be going back to Kindred at some point. Thank you for all your prayers and your support.          

Please Pray

Hello all,

Oscar was moved yesterday afternoon to Heritage Health Care in High Point. A few hours ago he was rushed to High Point Reginald Hospital with complications. His blood pressure is elevated, his temperature was at 104, and he was vomiting. Please stop and pray for him if you are at all able, and pray for Tarsha that God will give her peace and strength. She was nervous about the move because of this very thing that happened when he was moved to Guilford Health Care. We know that God is in control of Oscar and his life, and we just have to trust what He's doing.     

Possible Move

As mentioned in the previous blog post, with Oscar being pretty much in a stable condition, the time has come where the doctors are discussing his discharge and his move to another level of care. There is a possibility that he could be moved as early as tomorrow (4/1/11). There were two options on the table that are close by. One which was Guilford Health Care, but there aren't any available beds at Guilford. The other option is at Heritage Health Center, located in High Point. More than likely, this is where he will be moved and Tarsha has had some time to view Heritage Center this week. Although she's a little nervous about the move, and the fact that the facility itself is much older, there are some plus sides to this move. One thing is that it's closer to Tarsha and Griffin, which cuts down the travel time some, and the other thing is that Griffin will now be able to start back visiting his Dad. Kids were not allowed to go to the rooms at Kindred, especially during flu season. Please pray that the whole transition with this move goes smoothly, and that Tarsha would be at peace as she continues to trust God through this all.       

Staff at Kindred Hospital have been doing a good job weening Oscar off the ventilator. He is completely off now and they have moved it out of the room. Last week was good for the most part, but he did have some of the same challenges come back up again concerning his temperature, heart rate and kidneys. The doctors will continue to keep an eye on that. It has been explained that these type of events will often happen due to his low immune system. Coming off the ventilator completely is a blessing all in itself and we thank God for that, but the flip side is that once he's back in what the doctors refer to as "custodial care", they begin wanting to discuss options of other facilities for him to go to. We ask that you pray with us so that when that time comes, he is placed where he can get the best care available. Thank you all so much for continuing to keep Oscar, Tarsha & Griffin in the forefront of your minds. It's a blessing that they are around so many loved ones who really care.      

Back at Kindred Hospital

Approximately three weeks ago, Oscar was moved back to Kindred Hospital. Thank the Lord, all the concerns we had when he was at Wesley Long are better now. His vitals are all pretty stable right now and it looks like the pneumonia has cleared up. There was an issue with his kidneys, and now even that has clear up. The doctor's have been slowly weening him form the ventilator, and he has spent several hours off the vent over the weekend. Soon, we believe he will be completely off. Oscar does have some type of infection in his left eye, so the doctors will continue checking on that as well. We continue to solicit your prayers for Oscar, as we all know the main issue is the damage that was done to his brain stem from the stroke. We will continue to stand and believe God because we know that He is more than able. Much love to you all!          

Update

Hello all,

We just wanted to give a brief update on Oscar. He is currently still at Wesley Long, but was moved last week to ICU. Due to the fact that he does have pneumonia, his breathing has been restricted and had to be put back on the ventilator. He is stable now, but they are considering moving him back to Kindred Hospital. Kindred does have a pretty good rate of weening patients from the ventilator, so we are hoping this will be the case once again. We had a family consultation with the doctor last week as we often learn of different changes going on from day to day, so please continue to keep Oscar and the family in your prayers. Much love to you all.  

Follow-up

Oscar remains at Wesley Long Hospital, but has been moved to the fourth floor. We did find out that he has MRSA. This is a bacteria that lives on the surface of people's skin and inside the nose. It is easily spread from person to person, but most healthy people are able to fight it off and often times are not even aware that they have it. For those like Oscar, who have a weakened immune system, it is more difficult for this to happen. As much as we love Oscar having visitors, we now have to urge everyone to take extra precautions when visiting. It is already required that visitors cover up with robe & gloves provided at the hospital, but we also ask that you wait a while before visiting if you yourself are ill. It's that time of year when common illnesses are going around, such as colds, the flu, and viruses, so all visitors, including the hospital staff, have to make sure that we don't compromise the health of the patients.

Thank God Oscar's vitals are stable, and are now just about where they were before he was admitted last week. His new room number is 1416, and thank you so much for keeping him in your prayers. God bless!

Long Night

Hello all,

Yesterday Oscar wasn't doing so well. His temperature went up to around 103 and his heart rate was around 122. Normal heart rate should be about 60 to 80. Family and friends quickly rushed to be with Tarsha as they worked on him for a while trying to get things regulated. Soon they realized they needed to get him to the hospital. He was taken to Wesley Long around 6:30pm, about an hour later, the doctors said they believed Oscar has pneumonia.Throughout the night it was mostly praying and waiting. A few hours later all his vitals were stabilized, but the doctors now think it may possibly be some type of infection, and not pneumonia. Around 1:00am, everyone went home to try and get some rest. Today they will continue to do testing as they try to rule things out. They will then be able to make a better diagnosis of whats going on. He also has some type of skin irritation going on round his scalp area that they will be looking at as well. Please keep Oscar in your prayers   

New Location

We wanted to let you know, as mentioned before, we've been experiencing some restrictions with Oscar's health insurance. The insurance company will no longer cover his care at Kindred Hospital, so we've had to consider other options. At one point the few nursing home options that were available to take him were out of town, which would limit his visits from family and friends. Now that Oscar is breathing on his own, and is no longer on the ventilator, another option opened up right here in Greensboro.

Oscar has now been moved to Guilford Health Care Center, located at 2041 Willow Road. and he is in room 128. Visiting hours are from 10:00am until 8:00pm. Two great things about the location of this facility, is Griffin now is not limited on how often he can visit his Dad, plus the location is right next to Mt. Zion Baptist Church where Oscar and his family worships. This most likely will make things even easier for member's of his church home to drop by for visits.

We learned the other day that Oscar had his eyes opened for about 5 minutes. He wasn't blinking, it was more of a blank stare, but we thank God for any activity he shows. There was another EEG done last week, so we should get test results in sometime soon. Monday was Tarsha's first day back to work, and things went pretty well. The kids were very happy to see Mrs. Williams back, and she had lots of hugs to pass out : )       

Happy Birthday Oscar!!

It was great spending the evening with Oscar on his birthday. Family and some friends dropped by to visit and to share some love. We all gathered in the cafeteria for ice cream and cake, and we sang the happy birthday song to Oscar using a cell phone that was held to his ear. Each of us went up to his room by two's to be with him, pray, and to give thanks to God for all He's doing in Oscar's life. Oscar was off the vent for about 5-6 hours on Wednesday, and as of Thursday, they have completely moved the ventilating machine out of his room. We are so very thankful, and he looks great. He's a little smaller, and now has a mustache and a goatee. Can you imagine "Smooth Oscar" with a goatee? Thank you all for your love and support                 

Huge Step Forward

We wanted to share some good news. Before when the nurses at the hospital have tried weening Oscar off the vent, there were complications with his heart rate, and due to the fact that his breathing was too fast, the weening process was not successful. Yesterday they tried and there was some improvement, so they wanted to make more attempts sometime next week. Today when Tarsha arrived at the hospital, Oscar was breathing own his own. It was explained to her that they tried again since he did well yesterday, and he had been breathing on his own for 2 hours, PRAISE JESUS!! They will reconnect him shortly, and do this again in the morning, and each day hereafter as they try to extend the length of time that he is breathing on his own. This is a huge milestone in the process of his recovery. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.   

Keep Praying

We've been continuing to pray for Oscar's healing, and we thank all of you who have been joining us. His condition has not changed yet, but he is completely in the hands of the Lord. At times, there is movement with his head and his eyes when he is spoken to, and this is encouragement to us that he can hear what's been said. One of the nurses encouraged Tarsha and a good friend while they were visiting to keep talking to him. She explained that cells regenerate while he is resting, so talking to him should continue to be part of his recovery. Once again, Oscar has been moved to another room. His new room is number 206. This is only due to it being a better fit for staffing at the hospital. Oscar's birthday is Thursday, Jan. 27, so some family & friends will be at the hospital to love on him that evening. Thank God for family & friends!!  

 

A few things you can be praying with us about is a quick recovery of an infection Oscar has in his tracheotomy right now. He has been given meds to help clear it up, so hopefully it will all be gone soon. Visitor's will need to make sure they robe up, and wash hands before and after all visits. Another thing to pray about is the fact that we are in search of another health care facility for Oscar. Based on his diagnosis, the insurance company has stated that they will no longer cover the cost for his care at the hospital. This means he would need to be moved to another level of long term care, and options available to cover the cost are either to pay out of pocket or to apply for Medicaid. Lastly, many of you know that American Express in Greensboro will soon be closing down. This is where Oscar is employed, and right now we don't know exactly how this will affect him. In all of these things we just continue to trust God, lay all this in his lap and depend on Him. Some days are really hard, but when they are we can stand on Psalms 61; 1-2. Hear my cry oh God, attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.       

Oscar Update

Hello family & friends,  

The update on Oscar's condition currently remains the same. Based on testing done last week, he does not respond to sound, touch. or pain, and results from another CT scan are the same as the first. There are several doctors in charge of his care, but none of them are very optimistic about his recovery. This is why we ask that you continue to pray with us for guidance, and most of all for the complete healing of his body. The doctors are not very hopeful so It's up to us as believer's to hang on to that hope we have in Christ Jesus. It is a blessing that the doctors and nurses on staff are still progressing with all his other needed medical care. The doctors have been trying to wean him off of the ventilator, but as of last week it wasn't successful due to his rapid breathing. They are not sure why his breathing patterns are too fast right now, but they will continue to explore possibilities until they find the cause before attempting to try weaning again. He is being fed the approved amount of nutrition needed according to his height and weight via a tube in his stomach. They also have someone occasionally making sure his skin looks good, and they perform "range of motion" activities. This is something like physical therapy to keep his arms and legs from being stiff. We are facing some challenges with the insurance company as well, dealing with what they will and will not cover, so this is another prayer request we want to put out there. As always............thanks for your prayers

New Room

We know that Oscar occasionally has visitors at the hospital, so we wanted to make sure you all knew that he was moved. His new room number is 210, visiting hours remain the same (10:00am - 8:00pm). Visitor, please sign in at the front desk in the lobby. 

We also want you to know that an account has been set up for Tarsha and Oscar to receive gifts of monetary donations. These donations are and will be used to help balance out expenses occurred due to the current situation. Cost of gas from traveling back and forth to the hospital, and the cost of medical care can be very expensive. Please don't feel obligated to donate, but certainly if you feel lead, it will be greatly appreciated. Donations are accepted at any NC State Employee Credit Union. It's in Tarsha William's name, and ask for the "joint account". As always, thanks so much for all you do, and for your continued prayers.  

Thank you

We wanted to say "Thank You" to those of you who were able to come out to the prayer vigil and pray for Oscar on Friday, Dec. 31. For those who couldn't come, thank you for taking time out to pray wherever you were. It means a lot to Tarsha and the rest of the family. Most of us all know Oscar as a dear friend or brother in Christ, and our hearts are heavy knowing that he, Tarsha, and Griffin are going through this difficult time. On the other hand, it is a blessing to know that they are so loved, and have so many people standing with them.

Thank you so much to those of you from American Express for your prayer's, support, and for adopting Griffin during Christmas. He had a great time opening all his gifts. He was a little under the weather that morning, running a fever, but it didn't seem to stop him from enjoying himself. There are no words that can express our appreciation what you all have done. God has a plan for Oscar, and while not yet evident to any of us, we continue to look to him for guidance and comfort.