Please read below for Meredith's final update!

I just wanted to leave you all with one thing (my final update) which is so important to Meredith and I, especially during the Holidays!

Truly relish your time with family and friends, hug and kiss your loved ones every chance you get and never forget to tell them how much you love them!  These are very important and powerful (SIMPLE) gestures you can do every day that will make so much difference in not just your life but others as well. 

Lastly, move forward, cease to complain.  Your words, actions and faith will move others.  Make yours send everyone (including yourself) in the right direction.    If you can add one more act of kindness in a week, you will add 52 moments of inspiration to your year.  Push it to two a week and you add more than 100.  Imagine the possibilities!?!

Lastly, Meredith...you are my hero, my soul mate for sure.  I am so proud of you and what you have accomplished.  YOU are as tough as anyone I have known and will ever know.  Your attitude is what seperates you from the rest, your will and desire to lead  our kids, to teach and to love is unmatched.  Thank you for making me a better person, every day...for you are what makes life so sweet!  Your right, I am sad the posts will cease but then again, I am so proud and happy that they can! 

God is great and will continue to work his plan for all of us but one thing I do know, we are all better people because of you Meredith.

I leave you with the end of our first post and story that Lacy (Meredith's sister) and her father Skipper wrote:

On behalf of myself (Chris), Austin, William, Nolan as well as the Seawell and Gorham Families, thank you so much for your prayers, thoughts, emails, letters, facebook messages - the outreach of support through all of Meredith's friends and friends of the families just reaffirms to us what we already know--What a GREAT wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend she is to ALL of us! 

GO BOO!!!

I wanted to thank you for believing in me. 

Before the stroke I wasn't sure how strong I could be until it was time.  Your prayers woke me up after the stroke and calmed me.  The 7th DAY after my stroke I was feeling fine but I couldn't talk.  Your prayers helped me get my speech back and now my speech is getting better every day.  Your prayers lifted me for my heart surgery and it was a success!  I had a part in that but your prayers saved me.  Your prayers did it.  You saved me.  YOU KEPT ME ALIVE!!!

I don't how to repay you for your kindness and prayers.  I pray every day that God will lift you up and bestow upon you the kindness you have shown to me.

This will be my last journal.  I am better than ever and I am feeling strong!  Chris is going to hate it because he has found it helpful to let all of you know what is going on.  Because of him......lets just say that Chris is an inspiration to me!!  I love you Chris with all my heart and soul.

From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU for keeping me alive.

NEVER GIVE UP!!! 

Meredith Gorham

This is Meredith again!!  Hooray!  My heart surgery was a success!  Let me tell you a little bit about it...

I was wheeled in to the surgery room and they started prepping me.  There were 7 to 8 doctors and nurses in the room.  The anesthesiologist gave me some drugs (cocktail) to relax so that I could not to feel the pain in my groin.  I was awake the whole time (I dozed off for about 20 minutes or so).  They started putting the patch in my heart and it did not hurt at all!  The surgery took about an hour and 45 minutes.  GOD IS GOOD!!!

Dr. Harrison had 5 tubes in my groin and he took out two tubes when the surgery ended.  Me, Chris, my Mom and my Dad went to the hospital room.  I had to be still for four hours so my groin wouldn't bleed out.  After four hours another Doctor came to take the 3 tubes and press on it for 15-20 minutes.  I was fine but about 10 minutes into it all of the sudden I got a little woozie.  The nurse gave me a bag of IV fluids and the doctor tilted me back so the blood would go to my heart.  15 minutes later I felt fine.

The next day they did an EKG, a bubble study and a ultrasound.  The ultrasound of my heart indicated that the patch was already closing!!  I was discharged at 1 pm.  I could not pick up anything over 10 pounds for 3 to 4 days.  I can pick up my boys now, I can pick up grocery's (my boys eat a lot!).  I can pick up anything!  Chris does not think so...I will give him 2 weeks tops!  Oh!  I can run in 2 months!  YAY!

I am better then ever.  My speech is 85 to 90% and I CAN NOT spell worth a hoot!!  Ha, ha!  God is good.  No...God is great!  After the stroke I was very calm.  At the hosptial I could say three words and now my speech is getting better.  My hand is slowly getting better, it just takes time.  I had my heart surgery and it was a success.  God works in mysterious ways.  God has a plan for me and I will take it....one day at a time!!

Thank you for all your prayers and support!!  God Bless!!

Meredith