RIC Discharge...

After spending over four months at RIC it is now time for us to go home. Friday we will be discharged and will return home. We have been blessed to have been able to spend the time here with talented and dedicated doctors, therapists and caregivers. We will miss them, but it's time to go home.

Sherrie's medical issues with her cold and digestive system seem to be doing okay. She is becoming more and more alert and talkative (not all understood) and can communicate pretty very well through yes, no and head nods. I asked her if she was ready to go home and she said yes. While coming home brings it own set of concerns, I feel good that this is what is best for my sweetheart. All along we have relied on our Father In Heaven to direct us and others and I know He will continue watching over her.

Our plan will be to attend outpatient therapy sessions 3 days a week and then have therapists come into our home 2 days/week. It has been an interesting path since her surgery. We had high hopes that after a successful crainioplasty, we would see her take off. Instead, she has had to deal additional challenges that have been heartbreaking for me. Nevertheless, she has remained strong and determined. Even when she is totally worn out, she will want to continue and push through.

The last time we came home, she progressed very well. We have high hopes the same thing will happen this time. Her reaction when we had her home for Thanksgiving tells us this will surely happen.  She enjoys her home and loves being around her children and grand babies. They are a big part of the healing process.

We remain very grateful for Heavens blessings. I continue to be amazed at how things will fall into place that end up being the best for Sherrie's care. I am learning that while I may not understand "why" I do have faith the things that are going on in our life are not coincidental, but carefully directed by a loving God who loves His children.

Giving Thanks...

Over the last week we have been waiting, watching and praying that Sherrie would get better and she would continue her recovery. We were hopeful her cold would go away, but it seemed to get a little worse. While it was hard for me to see her struggle for breath, she handled the each incident relatively well. As of today, we are grateful that it seems the cold is going away and the cough is not as frequent.

With the feeding tube incident, we have been working Sherrie slowly back to a normal feeding schedule. We are grateful she seems to be on a good path. Despite the challenges, my dear wife continues to push through each therapy session and is making good progress.

The highlight of the week came when we had the opportunity to bring Sherrie home for Thanksgiving. All our children and grandchildren are in town and so this was a wonderful blessing. The night before, our daughter in law Jess, our daughter Brittney and our oldest grandaughter Kenzy, went to RIC and cut Sherrie's hair and gave her a manicure and pedicure. When they showed her her new haircut, she gave them a big smile and thumbs up. She loves the pampering!

Thursday morning we worked through a couple of therapy sessions and then brought her home. It was so nice to have her in her own house for a while. It was wonderful spending time talking with her and watching her interact with her children and grandchildren. Every time she would see one of her grand babies, she would motion them to come closer and them reach to give them a hug and kiss. We witnessed some very special moments as the strong bond between generations was a wonderful tender mercy sent from Heaven.

The girls got Sherrie ready for dinner and we all met together as a family to give thanks for many many blessings that have come our way. It was a very emotional time for our family. Sherrie was very alert and would often reach for one of her famous rolls or blueberry salad. At one point she kept tapping me on the leg and pointing to the table. I asked her if she wanted the salad and she said yes. I brought it closer and she took the spoon and took a big scoop and was headed toward her mouth. I told her we needed to get her swallowing better and then she could have all she wanted.

The holidays are full of wonderful traditions and memories at our home. This year will be different not having Sherrie front and center. Nevertheless, we will hold firm to our faith and hopes that she will continue to make progress and this will be the last season we do not see her fully engaged. The path to my sweetheart's recovery has been interesting to say the least. While we wish it were over, we continue to see how the Lord gives us strength and hope to get through another day. Sherrie had a wonderful day with her family on Thanksgiving. She knew it and she told us with her words and actions.

Another trip to NW Mem'l..

We had our meeting with the gastroenterologist tuesday who ordered a scan that showed her feeding tube had moved from her stomach into her small bowel. I received a call that they were going to send her to the ER at NW Mem'l where a surgical team would do a CT scan and determine what needed to be done. They wanted to make sure there was no tear in her bowel which could require surgery. When she went to the hospital, she was very dehydrated and was sleeping quite a bit. My concern for my dear wife was quite high.

We got her into the ER and they immediately gave her fluids. It wasn't too long before she started to come to life and was much more alert. At one point the nurses were asking the myriad of questions they need to ask and inquired if Sherrie were pregnant. When asked, Sherrie just started laughing surprising all of us. It was good to see her smile.

Scans were run and we were pleased to learn that no surgery would be needed, but her tube was not positioned properly so it would need to be replaced. Not a difficult procedure, but it would not happen that night so she would be spending time at NW as an inpatient. In the meantime, she would be fed nutrients through an IV line and all feeding through her feeding tube would stop. There was a need to let her digestive system calm itself down for a few days before getting back to her normal process.

Wednesday was spent waiting for time with the interventional radiologist. Sherrie didn't have the procedure done until early evening. The procedure went well. They replaced her tube and all went well. We now looked forward to this being the cause of her troubled digestive system. My sweetheart went in on tuesday afternoon and it wasn't until 5p on friday that we returned to RIC. It seems as though the fun never ends for this sweet girl.

Thorough the weekend, she has been on a continuous feed at a very slow rate. We pray this is the answer to her issue and she can get back her energy and feeling better. She continues to have a little cold which causes her to cough from time to time. She is more alert than she was a week ago and for this we are very grateful.

Tonight, our daughter in law Carol, took Sherrie for a walk down Michigan avenue to see the Christmas lights. She was very alert and was waving her hand and blowing kisses to her grandchildren as Carol took a little video. Our prayers continue to be focused on Sherrie getting past her cold and digestive issues. Each day we hope this is the day she has more smooth sailing. We continue to be grateful for answers to prayer. I can't explain why things happen, but I do know that Sherrie is watched over by her Heavenly Father.

Six month update...

It has been a little over a week and we are pleased that all sutures and staples are out. The doctors decided to do it in steps. Sutures were first and staples came out today. Sherrie was very blessed to have a very talented plastic surgeon that did a very nice job. It is now time for family beautician Jess to determine whether we go short or style a new look.

Since the surgery, Sherrie has been busy with therapy sessions. She has done pretty well in all her sessions. It is rather common for her to take a pen in her hand and write a note. She writes very small and it's not as nice as it was, but it is noticeable. The other day she was asked if she wanted to write a note to Ron and she wrote "I Love You". Needless to say, my heart melted. I miss my daily conversations with my sweetheart and pray for her ability to have a conversation with me soon. In the meantime, I will be very grateful for a small note, out stretched arms for a hug and a kiss and a faint but understood "I love you".

Over the last two weeks she developed a cough due to extra drainage getting in her wind pipe and over the past week she has had trouble absorbing her food and water leaving her dehydrated and very tired. She pushes through her PT sessions where we have her up and on her feet walking, but the other sessions have been a struggle for her to stay awake. This has attracted the attention of her doctors so we are now in a process of elimination to see what may be making her bowels so unstable. We have had a series of X-rays, DVT (deep vein thrombosis...looking for blood clots) reviews, blood tests, cultures and all have come back negative. The next step is to have a gastroenterologist look at her to see whats going on inside her bowels. She otherwise is healthy with no fevers. I am so grateful for this.

All of this has been very concerning and so we do what we know we should and rely on prayer and the tender mercies of God. I have to admit it is very challenging seeing her have another hurdle to jump. She has had so many. Just as I begin to get discouraged, I am reminded that we have been here before and in each case, prayers have been offered, blessings have been given and my sweetheart receives strength to overcome. We have no doubt she is watched over by her loving Heavenly Father.

We are now at the six month mark and we have seen so much. We pray the next days, weeks and months see Sherrie making great progress. I don't know the timing, but we will continue in faith and hope that all will be well.





 

November begins...

We finish another week and my sweetheart continues to make progress. Her surgical site is healing well, she is off all antibiotics and we should have staples removed this week. Although she has not told me, I believe she feels better having this surgery and I am sure she looks forward to getting a full head of hair.

This last week she developed some extra secretions. We don't know if they are from sinus or saliva, but  from time to time it will get heavy enough that she will aspirate causing her to cough. It has been frequent enough that it will interrupt her sleep leaving her pretty tired during her therapy sessions. The biggest impact comes during her speech sessions where we are trying to get her swallowing reflexes going. The good news is that she seems to be getting better and is not coughing as much. We pray that this week will allow her to get back on track.

We have relied very much on prayer and fasting during this journey. We believe there is great power that comes to those who pray for others and for those who are the recipient of these prayers. Our faith coupled with theirs in an attitude of fasting (going without food or drink for 24 hours) and prayer can bring forth needed blessings from Heaven. As a family we have been doing this, praying the Lord will be with Sherrie as she overcomes this recent development. This is normally done by adults, but I was touched as I received a text from our daughter who said that Kenzy age 9 and her brother Skyler age 7 decided that they wanted to join the fast for their grandma Sherrie. As you can imagine, this can be very difficult for a young person and there were times that they complained about being hungry. Wisely, their mom and dad told them it would be okay to have something to eat, but both said they would be okay because it was for their grandma. My heart was touched at this sweet gesture of love.

I called and spoke to Skyler this evening and thanked him for this very touching sacrifice. He said, "grandpa, grandma is doing better, right?". This little boys faith was not only touching, but a great reminder to me that faith indeed precedes the miracle. I am sure the sacrifice of two of our grandchildren will be accepted in Heaven and their Grandma will surely be blessed. We know that little children hold a special place with our Heavenly Father and His son.

Despite this recent challenge, Sherrie is otherwise healthy and strong. We pray that this week is one where we see progress in swallowing (she swallows when we she feels fluid collecting at the back of her throat. We need her to be able to rapidly swallow on command as they introduce things like apple nectar, applesauce etc.,)  hear her using her voice more and becoming stronger in her ability to stand and walk.

Thank you for your continued concern for my sweetheart. We continue to make progress in inches and for this we are extremely grateful.