Nicole's Fan Club

Updates

• (11.14.02) Nicole went in for surgery at 7:30 this morning. The doctors said that the procedure could take up to twelve hours so it'll be a while before we get anymore news. Erica said that Nicole seemed to be getting stronger with each passing day. Yesterday Nicole even opened her eyes when Mr. and Mrs. Mahan were in the room and focused on them....they said she even smiled a little. God really seems to be answering our prayers.....so keep Nicole in your thoughts and pray for the surgeons steady hands through the procedure.
• (11.14.02) Nicole got out of surgery at about 2:45 this afternoon....which is really good since they thought the surgery was going to take a lot longer. The doctor said that removing the extra blood vessels from the base of the brain was pretty easy, he said he basically just had to peel them off. So he was able to open her up and close her up again rather easily. There was a small part of the cerebellum that was worked on but all that means is that Nicole may have a little bit of a coordination problem, but will probaply get over it since she's so young. Right now she is still in the ICU and they are monitoring the brain pressures to make sure that the fluids inside the brain are equalized. They are taking really good care of Nicole at the hospital. They have taken her off the paralyzing agent so that they will be able to monitor her reaction to the surgery hopefully soon. God has answered our prayers everyone!! But keep praying because she still has a long recovery process to go.
• (11.15.02) Well not much to update today, but Nicole seems to be doing well. They've taken her off the Adovent which was the paralyzing agent she was on. Now she's only on Morphine, so this is a good sign. Erica says she probaply won't be waking up anytime soon, maybe in a few weeks....but the doctors are monitoring her progress and say that she is moving along in the healing process quicker than they had anticipated. The Mahan's are going back to Thousand Oaks tomorrow (11.16.02) but just for a short while I believe. Vicky Mahan has been staying at the hospital in a motorhome donated by a generous family friend. She will most likely be staying there through Nicole's recovery. They have guards making rounds nightly....so don't worry she's pretty safe. Many people have been saying that Nicole getting through this is a miracle and I'm sure that all of your thoughts and prayers have had a lot to do with that. So keep on praying cuz we all know that Nicole is going to surprise us and heal quickly. Take Care everyone.
• (11.16.02) NICOLE WOKE UP TODAY!!!! Nicole opened her eyes this morning sometime after nine. The nurse told her that she was in the hospital and had just had brain surgery, she seemed a little shocked but understood. Scott and Vicky were able to see her this morning around 10 and were able to talk to Nicole and she would nod yes or no to answer their questions. They say that Nicole is still in her twilight stage but is fully out of the coma! They hope to take her off the ventilator this afternoon! This is great news everyone. Nicole continues to astonish us all.....and we all know it's thanks to God. He's been listening to your prayers everyone....and he's going to keep on answering them, we just have to keep praying until Nicole is fully recovered. Which at this rate may be sonner than expected.
• (11.17.02) They took Nicole off the ventilator today and she has been talking and interacting w/ the nurses and her parents a lot today. They've taken her off the morphine too, so she's no longer on any sedatives. She's still not completely out of the sleepy state but we could tell that Nicole is back. Praise the Lord!
• (11.19.02) Sorry for the delay! It's Erica... Nicole's sister. I wanted to take a minute to update and let you know that Nicole has been up and talking for the third day in a row. She is definitely ready to be out of the hospital... she tried to climb out of bed today! Nicole is awake, but she is in a state a lot like how you feel when you get woken up out of a deep sleep... she is aware but a little disoriented and she has to be reminded a lot and things need to be explained a lot. However, she is doing really well. They clamped off the catheter that was draining fluid from her brain yesterday. They have to watch it for 24 hours though before they can completely remove it. For those of you who don't know... Nicole took it upon herself to pull out her feeding tube on Sunday, so they are feeding her
• (11.20.02) After a little bit of a tough day yesterday (Nicole was pretty agitated in general... my parents had to spend a lot of time with her calming her down and trying to comfort her) Nicole is having a very good day. She still has her groggy states in which she seems to be incorporating dreams into reality, but today she had a period of time in which she was really lucid. So, little by little, each day brings new improvements. The nurses were planning on moving her out of the ICU this afternoon and onto the fourth floor (the neurology floor). Nicole is definitely wanting to be out of the hospital so I am thinking she is going to continue to amaze everyone and get herself out of there really soon! Keep checking back for more updates!
• (11.25.02) Hello again! I hope you are all well and ready for the latest update... Nicole is steadily improving! I got the chance to go down to Long Beach on Friday... I spent from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon in her room with her (and who said hospital chairs can't make for great beds!). Nicole is experiencing daily headaches, which is normal, and she is generally dizzy most of the time. When she is able to keep her eyes open (she has been getting morphine at night and vicadin during the day to help with headaches) she has double vision. All this is expected so we are just trying to keep her spirits up. In reality, it is probably more the other way around... Nicole has been keeping us doubled over in laughter! She happens to be VERY honest right now which makes for some pretty interesting conversation. Plus, what with trying to get her to eat, hushing her frank talk to the doctors and trying to decipher what she means when she doesn't quite use the right word, there really isn't a whole lot of time to be bored. We are hoping to move her closer to home tomorrow to begin in-patient rehab! She is definitely making speedy progress! If you have any questions that I haven't been able to answer here, go ahead and write to me (ELMVB1@aol.com) and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible! Thank you for the prayers and keep the support coming! :)
• (11.27.02) Yay! Yesterday was a success! Nicole was taken by ambulence from Long Beach Memorial to Los Robles Hospital in Westlake. She began three hours of therapy this morning at 8:00 (poor physical therapist... he doesn't know what he's taking on!) and she will continue with three hours a day for a couple weeks. After that she will continue to go on an out-patient basis! So, we are looking forward to having her home for Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for! God bless you!
• (12.05.02) Well, sorry for taking so long on the latest update. Nicole has been in Rehab for about ten days now and she is doing fabulous. Her expected date of departure is December 16th (later than we had hoped but actually a good thing). The doctor and therapists want to keep her in the hospital to continue seven-day-a-week therapy since she is responding so well. Actually, from the day that she entered rehab, Nicole has improved a whopping 50%... this is absolutely phenomenal! So, if staying in the hospital is going to help that much more, then we'll take it! As of right now, Nicole is to the point of walking with only the hand of my mom or her doctor for support. She has been doing speech and writing worksheets with little to no problems. The major thing that will just improve with time is her short term memory. She is still a little fuzzy about why exactly she is in the hospital and she has problems remembering things from day to day. But she can have visitors! So, if you have any questions about that write to me or get in touch with my dad at home. Ok, well, happy holidays to you all!
• (12.08.02) So, it has been a month! It's incredible how far she has come... Nicole gets to go home for a few hours today! Her doctor started her on a new drug a few days ago that works like Ritalin to stimulate her to keep her awake. Apparently, it is working so well that she has become even more like her old-self (think ENERGY). So, he has allowed her to go home for a bit. They bumped back her release date to the 15th since she has a doctor's appointment in Long Beach on the 16th. Nicole is very anxious to get out of the hospital. She says she misses her friends and her dorm room a lot. (So, all you Long Beach kids... know that you all really make a difference to Nicole!) Keep sending her your love and if you can drop by to see her in person... visitors really help her stay positive!
• (12.19.02) Nicole has been home for a few days now. She was released from the hospital last Sunday and enjoyed a day with her friends in Long Beach on Monday. She continues to make daily progress and her ultimate goal is to get back to CSULB. That seems to be the driving force for her to keep working hard. Nicole's personality is back to normal... she's wise-cracking, joking, and even punching me! (Her strength seems to have returned rather quickly!) We are working on preparing for this Christmas and our house is slowly but surely taking on the Christmas feel. Nicole continues to receive therapy Monday through Friday out of our house. These are enough to wipe her out and she is usually in bed by eight or nine o'clock every night. However, she has been really good about doing her exercises and working to get better! I hope that all of you feel as blessed during your holiday season as we Mahan's do. Thank you for all the love and support you have shown us through this difficult trial. May our loving Father continue to show his grace and mercy on us all! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This page was created for Nicole Mahan. Nicole suffered a burst blood vessel at the base of her brain on November 8, 2002. Friends took care of her and she was eventually brought to Long Beach Memorial and is in the critical patient area. We wanted to create a place where those concerned about Nicole could get updates on her condition and send messages to Nicole and her family. This site is constantly under construction so please bear with us. We will try to post up pictures soon. Please continue to pray for Nicole and her family....we know that God has been listening and has blessed Nicole and the Mahan's with many small miracles already. Thank You for visiting, come often because we will try to update daily.
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