{I wish I had better news}

I figured that this is the best way to keep everyone updated since we are not all together during this difficult time. Friday night started like a normal night when the family went to Hopeland Gardens to go see the Christmas lights. We left Papa at home since he said that he did not think that he could do the walking that was involved. When we got home he seemed very confused and was acting very tired. About an hour after Papa fell asleep the doorbell rang. It was the North Augusta Police Department. He had called them while we were gone. He thought that the whole family had gone missing and had called for help.We had no clue that something crazy was going on in his brain while we all slept. When we were all awake on Saturday morning, John noticed that half of Papa's face was drooping and his eye was closed. He was also very confused and mumbling his words when he spoke. Long story short, Nana, Uncle Baxley and John ended up taking him to the hospital on Saturday because we all knew that there was something very wrong. It turns put that Papa suffered a major stroke. He also has a 100% blockage of his middle cerebral artery. He is very confused, cannot walk, and goes in and out of reality. He knows who we are some of the time and then 5 minutes later he is convinced we are dead family members or Santa's elves (no kidding). The doctors are very unsure about what the future is going to hold but have told us that we have a long road ahead to get Papa on the path to recovery. He is not in a life threatening situation right now but he is going to have to go to a rehabilitation center to learn to do most of the basic things again. This is not how we anticipated spending Christmas break but we feel very blessed that we are able to be here during it and to offer my grandmother the support that she needs (she is amazing by the way. My Nana is the strongest woman I know.) Christmas will spent a little bit differently this year but who cares. Please keep Papa in your prayers that he will regain a full recovery. I will try to keep everyone updated via blog, Facebook, texts and phone calls. Thank you to everyone that has offered their support. We love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas.