#prayersforanissa

The first time I met her.. she grinned and the room lit up.  She laughed at my shoes and agreed with Sugar that they were totally Lucy Does Dallas shoes.  This was Blissdom 2009.

In the last year and a half.. she has worked her way into a suite in my heart.  She is compassionate, funny, silly, snarky and stronger than I could ever imagine being.

She, is Anissa Mayhew.. @anissamayhew on twitter,  the driving force and power behind Aiming Low and someone whom I am proud to call friend and confidante.

Tonight, we got news no friend wants to get.  Her husband let us know, Anissa had a stroke and was in ICU.  This is not her first stroke.. nor is it the first obstacle her amazing family has faced and yet, Anissa approaches it all with Faith, Humor, Strength and an enviable sense of being completely grounded and level-headed.

My heart is shattered and hopeful and I am sending to each of you.. tweet  with #prayersforanissa because that hashtag is the only one that holds true meaning, send prayers, thoughts, love.. whatever you believe.. send your powers to the ether for our friend, our leader, our light and our source of laughter and inspiration.  Anissa.

The Aiming Low website.. Anissa’s baby… has a form that you can fill out to send love, support or offer your help.  Please respect the family and do not flood their phone or home.. use this form to offer your support…

From everyone at Aiming Low:

More than anything, Anissa needs your prayers and positive thoughts but to the many people in the Atlanta area who have offered help to the Mayhew family, we have set up a form for you to fill out so we can have everyone’s contact info in one place and your information will be kept private.

Things that would be helpful right now are gift cards to restaurants and gift cards to the movies or to Blockbuster (to help keep the kids’ occupied) and gas/hotel gift cards for her extended family. We will be setting up a PO Box on Wednesday and posting the address here along with any updates. Please don’t send anything to the hospital or the Mayhew home. If you have questions, please email helpforanissa@gmail.com

We ask that you please respect the Mayhew family’s privacy by NOT calling the hospital and we thank you all SO MUCH for your outpouring of love and support for Anissa and her family.

With thanks and love,
The Aiming Low Team

This post gives all the information on how to contact and how you can help

update: 12PM from Anissa’s Husband Peter: 11/18/09

12 pm Eastern UPDATE FROM ANISSA’S HUSBAND:

What we know is she had a massive stroke.

She bled into the brainstem and pons areas of the brain. She is no longer sedated but still unconcious and unresponsive. Vitals are mostly stable except for a lowgrade fever most likely due to the damage to the pons. The pons control the bodies ability to regulate temperature. She is still on a vent and it is unclear if she is capable of breathing on her own. She has had an mri/mra/ct today. An eeg is pending. We’re in a waiting game now for survival first, and ultimately for her to wake up.

UPDATE 2: 12:37 CST from Peter to the AimingLow girls

She’s had more bleeding in the left thalmus.

She has bled into the spinal fluid.

Also has more swelling

UPDATE 3: 3:45 CST From PETER

From Peter:Not much change.

Second bleed was not good.

I brought the kids up.

She responded slightly, then a lot of movement 20 minutes after they left.

She’s fighting and has reached for me. Hard to say the reason, but she stops when contact is made.

Feeding tube is in
Please Pray.

UPDATE 4 FROM PETER 4:32 CST

Neurosurgeon just stopped in.

We talked about the second bleed.

I mentioned in the past 30 minutes her movement had picked up:
– she was searching natalie’s hand for a ring we think
– she was moving her left leg and arm more deliberately
– she was having some facial expressions

So, he rubbed her sternum and said her name loud. She tried to open her eyes! Did it again, and the eyes opened wider. She keeps trying to reach the tubes and such.

Very encouraging!

KEEP PRAYING PLEASE

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