Update on Miles Beam

Mike Dishman · **Posted:** Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:37 pm

Hi Everyone,

As many of you know, Miles Beam had a stroke a couple of weeks ago. Audrey asked me to share the attached with THSCC, so I'm posting it here and sending it to the old THSCC e-mail list.

Miles is going to continue to need visitors for quite some time. Audrey asked that we avoid discussions with him as to how long he's going to be in rehab. She's concerned that he may become discouraged if he realizes how long he's going to have to be there. (He's in the rehab section of Wake Med on New Bern Ave).

If you go right at 4 pm he may be sleeping as he gets very tired from rehab, so visiting around 5 pm or later on weekdays may be best.

Thanks,
Mike

FROM AUDREY:

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you so very, very much for all your prayers, visits and acts of kindness to our family. Here is an update on how to currently pray for Miles:

Praises:
1)He passed the swallowing test on Tuesday which allows him to get away from thickened fluids and pureed food. He is hugely grateful to be off of "grass clippings!"
2)He is in excellent hands at the rehab center. The therapists are fantastic.
3)Miles' car club friends have claimed our yard as their responsibility to care for.

Prayer Requests:
1)Miles has a constant headache that interferes with everything else. Pray for it to go away or for effective medicine to dull the pain.

2)His CT scan on Wednesday showed that while the brain swelling has started to go down, there is still too much brain swelling to safely start him back on a blood thinner. They will do another CT scan early next week and reassess then. Not starting blood thinner now protects him from having a brain bleed, but delaying starting the blood thinner leaves him at risk of developing another clot and having another stroke. This is a very tricky situation. Pray for protection from additional clots forming, pray for the swelling to go down, pray for wisdom on the neurologist's part to start the medication not too soon but not too late.

3)Miles just wants to come home. Pray for him to understand the need for rehab and to become driven to succeed at learning how to use his left leg and arm again.

4)Pray for Miles' and my faith to believe that a miraculous healing is still possible (immediately or eventually, as God wills).

5)Pray for God to be glorified in this situation.

Miles is very grateful for visitors. He says they are the highlight of his day. We have been told Miles should be in rehab for at least several weeks, so please consider the green light to be turned on for visitors! Visiting hours are 4:00pm to 8:00pm Monday to Friday, and Noon to 8:00pm Saturdays and Sundays.

Gratefully yours,

Miles and Audrey Beam

RobLupella · **Posted:** Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:59 pm

Tell Miles he needs his left foot for the clutch and to control the car when he shifts. :-)

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

Thanks for posting this, Mike. I stopped by at 5 PM today and hung out with Miles and two men from his church while he ate dinner. His sense of humor is intact and his speech is improved (just about normal) since I saw him last week.

If you go by to visit and he's not in his room (2D19, if I recall correctly), keep walking down the hall to the dining room and pull up a chair at his table.

Here's a map of the WakeMed campus -- Building D is the rehab center.
http://wakemed.com/videos/maps/RaleighMapExternal.pdf

Ron Spencer · **Posted:** Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:55 pm

Visited Miles this evening. He was in pretty good spirits considering the challenges he is facing. His head ache is a bit reduced so he was very happy about that!

In rehab today he said he got to put his own shoes on. To us that doesn't sound like much but for him, a true milestone (if you forgive the pun!!). He said he has noted some control of his left leg which is fantastic!

Indeed as Art noted his speech is actually very good. And his sense of humor is intact.

Of course he enjoys having visitors to break the monotony of the day. Anything that distracts him from the head ache is appreciated.

I know he is very appreciative of all that have visited and I'll speak for him when I say please, keep visiting.

Ron

Les Davis · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 2:04 pm **Posts:** 2059

Stopped to see Miles today, the man's sense of humor has not been compromised a bit, he made me laugh more times in the hour or so I was there more times than I can count. He's clearly making progress and that is great news. I think that if anyone can pull through this its Miles Beam, he's a great man and an inspiration.

Brian Marks · **Posted:** Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:49 am

I missed that last part with the hours - see it now.

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Fri Sep 02, 2011 6:08 pm

Club Members:
I would like to suggest we set up a rotation to care for Miles Beam’s grass, at least until we find out the long-term prognosis for Miles. Audrey called me yesterday to inquire about our intentions for the coming week.

This will be quite simple, if we have more than just a few volunteers to perform this duty for our long-time friend and his wife Audrey. We should do what we can, when we can, to keep the yard from going to seed and making it presentable, especially for the day when Miles comes home from Wake Med!!! If we do it right, each volunteer may only have “duty” every 2 or 3 months. Maybe less! But it’s a commitment we have made, so we need to follow through.

To that end, here’s the scenario as I see it:

Miles’ son Brian will be regularly mowing the lion’s share of the nearly 1-acre lawn using the riding mower (a real cool John Deere with all the bells and whistles). Our only job, really, is to do the edging and trimming behind Brian, and hop on the mower to cut the steeper embankments that Miles does not want Brian cutting. The rest of the maybe 1 to 1-1/2 hours total is spent just watching Brian whilst consuming mass quantities of Audrey’s ice tea.

Miles has been less conspicuous in the Club for a couple of years since he started his consulting business, and newer members probably do not know the countless hours Miles put in behind the scenes to make our Club successful and fun.

Maybe we can get Mike Whitney to set up an on-line spreadsheet where folks can sign up for specific weeks/days.

Some of us live within a few miles of the Beam homestead, and will probably pull duty often. But, we could sure use the help of as many hands as possible to share the duty and turn this project into a social event, rather than a chore.

If someone can bring this up at the next Club meeting, that would be great, too. I will miss the meeting, unfortunately.

Comments?

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Mon Sep 05, 2011 11:11 am

Any volunteers for this week?

Emmett Willis · **Joined:** Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:30 am **Posts:** 69

I live near Miles. I cannot get out there today but we should be able to work something out later in the week if the weather cooperates.

Give me a call
389-4018

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Tue Sep 06, 2011 8:58 am

I can help this coming weekend or this week. I'd propose a few dates and times and see what folks can do in regard to the yard work

Charlie Guthrie · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:14 pm **Posts:** 832

We really need a schedule or some idea when is a good time to assist/watch Brian. Now that school has resumed he probably has some structure to his schedule.
What's the general location of the Beams household (for those of us not in that neighborhood)?
Charlie G

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2011 7:41 am

Lots of us are at VIR this weekend, but Miles Beam is in the phonebook. His address is just off Lake Wheeler Rd. outside the beltline.
If you want to help, just call Audrey ahead of time to make sure someone is there.
Suspect trimming/edging would be the major task ready for remediation

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2011 7:48 am

if we are going to do anything, I vote we roll tonight. If his yard is anything like mine, the recent rains really made it jump. If we can start around 6:30-7, and we have about 2 folks on weedeaters and 1 on a push mower, we can be done in an hour or so.

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Mon Sep 12, 2011 8:34 am

OK.
Thursday, Sept. 14
6:00 PM if you can make it, or whenever, but make it before 0-dark thirty..
Any help will be appreciated, or just show up with a weed-eater, edger, Push mower, push-broom or leaf-blower or laser cutter.

We should be able to knock this out in 1-1/2 hours tops with 4 people.
That's .75 hours with 8 people.
That's .375 hours with 16 people.
That's 3/16ths of an hour with 32 people... About 11 minutes

3917 Bluffwind Drive, Raleigh.
Park on the street.
Hope you can join us!

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

Brad Mackey wrote:

laser cutter

???

THSCC Forums

Update on Miles Beam

Who is online