Mac has invited Katie to be a part of the show tomorrow and Katie has agreed. So, Katie and I will be in the studio on Friday the 26th. My guess is that we will be on between 2-3, but the show actually starts around 1:20.
www.983wowfm.com
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wednesday Night
Ok, here's the latest. No real big changes in the last week or so, but everything continues to be going very well. Katie's days consist of rest (lots of it), therapy (both with therapist and at home), playing with the girls, and trying to keep up with what Kyle is doing with her real estate business. So far Katie is doing great with everything.
So far no more TIA's. Basically all of the Dr's say that we are doing everything that we could (blood thinner and blood pressure meds). It's possible that more could happen, but so far nothing has happened and we are basically not worrying about it anymore.
The issues that still persist are short term memory and vision. However, both are improving nicely. It was so neat the other day on the way to church Katie actually remembered giving birth to Sawyer. She was so excited as all of the details of that day came back to her. Even though I say her short term memory is a problem, she is still much better than a week ago. Her left eye is still a little blurry, but it too is much better then it was even a week ago.
The biggest issue for Katie right now is probably tiredness. We're not sure if its residual from her injury, or a side effect of some of her meds (her blood pressure med has a common side effect of tiredness), but Katie needs a lot of rest. She takes a big nap in the afternoon and is usually in bed by 8pm. Being tired all the time keeps her from doing her therapy as hard as she could and keeps her from being as "sharp" as she could be.
We've meet with a lot of Dr's in the past few weeks and all are happy with how everything is going. On Tuesday we meet with Dr Carlstrom. Basically he did not have a lot of answers (not that we were expecting a lot), but he said that it's a real possibility that this could happen again. He also said that everything could heal up and be just fine for the rest of her life. We're going with the latter. It was cool to see Katie's response to this. She was not worried and was confident that God would fix everything in her head and that she would be fine.
I went down to the hospital last week and walked around to the different departments to make sure people knew about the party. Everyone I saw said they knew about the party and most said that they are coming. So, we are excited to have a bunch of people over on Sunday and to be able to say thanks to everyone from Methodist. I even swung by their PR department as they are wanting to put Katie on the cover of one of their internal magazines.
FYI - I will be on the radio this Friday with Mac from 2-3pm. You can hear it online at www.983wowfm.com
So far no more TIA's. Basically all of the Dr's say that we are doing everything that we could (blood thinner and blood pressure meds). It's possible that more could happen, but so far nothing has happened and we are basically not worrying about it anymore.
The issues that still persist are short term memory and vision. However, both are improving nicely. It was so neat the other day on the way to church Katie actually remembered giving birth to Sawyer. She was so excited as all of the details of that day came back to her. Even though I say her short term memory is a problem, she is still much better than a week ago. Her left eye is still a little blurry, but it too is much better then it was even a week ago.
The biggest issue for Katie right now is probably tiredness. We're not sure if its residual from her injury, or a side effect of some of her meds (her blood pressure med has a common side effect of tiredness), but Katie needs a lot of rest. She takes a big nap in the afternoon and is usually in bed by 8pm. Being tired all the time keeps her from doing her therapy as hard as she could and keeps her from being as "sharp" as she could be.
We've meet with a lot of Dr's in the past few weeks and all are happy with how everything is going. On Tuesday we meet with Dr Carlstrom. Basically he did not have a lot of answers (not that we were expecting a lot), but he said that it's a real possibility that this could happen again. He also said that everything could heal up and be just fine for the rest of her life. We're going with the latter. It was cool to see Katie's response to this. She was not worried and was confident that God would fix everything in her head and that she would be fine.
I went down to the hospital last week and walked around to the different departments to make sure people knew about the party. Everyone I saw said they knew about the party and most said that they are coming. So, we are excited to have a bunch of people over on Sunday and to be able to say thanks to everyone from Methodist. I even swung by their PR department as they are wanting to put Katie on the cover of one of their internal magazines.
FYI - I will be on the radio this Friday with Mac from 2-3pm. You can hear it online at www.983wowfm.com
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Update
The other day while Katie was at one of her PT sessions, she had an "episode". Basically her speech slurred, she became disoriented and confused, and lost some strength. The initial thought by the therapist was that she was low blood sugar. They got her some juice and things returned to normal soon. The next day (Friday the 12th) Katie went to her Dr. The Dr did not agree with low blood sugar, but rather thought it was a TIA. A TIA is best described as a "mini stroke". Same symptoms as a stroke (and low blood sugar), but does not last very long and has no lasting effects. So Katie and Sue headed right down to the ER to get checked out. The ER Dr's ran all the tests as well as a CT scan, and everything checked out fine. They agreed that she probably had a TIA, but do not think it was due to a small clot, which is the most common cause. So, they sent Katie home and advised us to meet with the neurologist soon.
What was really neat through this is Katie's attitude. At no time was she worried. In fact she even stopped for a sandwich between the Dr and the ER! I'm trying to talk to her on the phone to find out what is going on, and she's yelling at the drive up guy telling him what she wants on her sandwich!
So we were reminded once again that God is in control and for us to worry is really an exercise in futility. Basically there is nothing we can do other than pray that God will continue to heal Katie and prevent a bigger stroke from happening (TIA's often signal a more serious stroke).
What was really neat through this is Katie's attitude. At no time was she worried. In fact she even stopped for a sandwich between the Dr and the ER! I'm trying to talk to her on the phone to find out what is going on, and she's yelling at the drive up guy telling him what she wants on her sandwich!
So we were reminded once again that God is in control and for us to worry is really an exercise in futility. Basically there is nothing we can do other than pray that God will continue to heal Katie and prevent a bigger stroke from happening (TIA's often signal a more serious stroke).
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Anniversary Update
Well, the anniversary went great. First of all Katie was able to get all dressed up in a great outfit that some of her friends had got her for her birthday. Then we went to the church where we were married 10 yrs ago (Meredith Drive Reformed Church), and said our vows to each other. Again, this is always a bitter sweet event as you are faced with all of your short comings and yet there is great love and emotion, all at the same moment. After that we went to a nice restaurant and had a very nice meal (for those of you in the DSM area, we went to Flying Mango, highly recommend). We then rented a movie and snuggled on the couch. What a great night.
A couple of neat things that came of this night. First of all, every year I have the pleasure of speaking with Jane who is the office administrator for Meredith Drive, and of course this year was even better. She has been following Katie's progress and when she know that Katie would be able to go home, she was sure that she would be hearing from me soon. She was very excited.
Speaking of being home, I can't tell you how many people have commented to me that when I first announced that I was hoping to take Katie to the church that many did not think it would happen. So many are just amazed that the Lord was gracious to us and allowed us to keep this wonderful tradition alive.
Apparently Katie forgot that we don't give each other gifts for our anniversary (her idea, she's a penny pincher) and she got me a little something. Boy did I feel like a "hero" when we go to get in the car and she has a wonderfully wrapped gift for me and I have a card and a smile. She got me a bicycle helmet! I guess one head injury in our family is enough. I couldn't agree more.
A couple of neat things that came of this night. First of all, every year I have the pleasure of speaking with Jane who is the office administrator for Meredith Drive, and of course this year was even better. She has been following Katie's progress and when she know that Katie would be able to go home, she was sure that she would be hearing from me soon. She was very excited.
Speaking of being home, I can't tell you how many people have commented to me that when I first announced that I was hoping to take Katie to the church that many did not think it would happen. So many are just amazed that the Lord was gracious to us and allowed us to keep this wonderful tradition alive.
Apparently Katie forgot that we don't give each other gifts for our anniversary (her idea, she's a penny pincher) and she got me a little something. Boy did I feel like a "hero" when we go to get in the car and she has a wonderfully wrapped gift for me and I have a card and a smile. She got me a bicycle helmet! I guess one head injury in our family is enough. I couldn't agree more.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Thursday evening
Today was Katie's first day in therapy and it went very well. Katie really liked her speech therapist and surprise, surprise, her Physical therapist is an old friend from Cornerstone Community Church, Amy Johnson. We are so excited and thankful for this. She will get her schedule for the next month tomorrow at therapy, but basically it will consist of three hours of therapy a day, one hour each of speech, physical, and occupational. Most think that the physical and occupational will not last long, and that the speech will really become the focus.
Everyday she continues to get stronger and everyday her mind gets sharper. Katie still struggles with remembering things that have just taken place or conversations that have just happened. All along we have heard it said, the short term is the first to go and the last to come back. Well, we have seen that first hand. But we have nothing to complain about as Katie is alive and doing so well.
Please continue to pray for our wonderful kiddos. Sawyer is doing great under the watchfulness of Karen and my mom Ruth. He's growing right before our eyes, and most importantly he's getting closer and closer to sleeping through the night! Aubree is pretty much immune to all of the flux that is going on. Maybe it's her age, maybe it's her personality, but as I talk to her she is handling this as well as can be expected. She is also handling school very well and we are getting great feedback from her teacher. Tayler is also doing well, all things considered. However, she definitely is more impacted by the changes in our home and the changes in her mommy. Please pray for Tayler. Pray that she will be able make sense of all that is going on, at least as much as a 7 year old should be expected to make. Also pray for wisdom for me that I will have the words and compassion to give them some stability in their very changing world.
Again, I can't say thank you enough for those of you who continue to provide meals. Even though Katie is home, the meals are actually more needed as we have more to feed and less time. And, if you bring a meal you get to see Katie and baby Sawyer. You get to see me too, but seeing Katie and Sawyer should make seeing me tolerable.
Everyday she continues to get stronger and everyday her mind gets sharper. Katie still struggles with remembering things that have just taken place or conversations that have just happened. All along we have heard it said, the short term is the first to go and the last to come back. Well, we have seen that first hand. But we have nothing to complain about as Katie is alive and doing so well.
Please continue to pray for our wonderful kiddos. Sawyer is doing great under the watchfulness of Karen and my mom Ruth. He's growing right before our eyes, and most importantly he's getting closer and closer to sleeping through the night! Aubree is pretty much immune to all of the flux that is going on. Maybe it's her age, maybe it's her personality, but as I talk to her she is handling this as well as can be expected. She is also handling school very well and we are getting great feedback from her teacher. Tayler is also doing well, all things considered. However, she definitely is more impacted by the changes in our home and the changes in her mommy. Please pray for Tayler. Pray that she will be able make sense of all that is going on, at least as much as a 7 year old should be expected to make. Also pray for wisdom for me that I will have the words and compassion to give them some stability in their very changing world.
Again, I can't say thank you enough for those of you who continue to provide meals. Even though Katie is home, the meals are actually more needed as we have more to feed and less time. And, if you bring a meal you get to see Katie and baby Sawyer. You get to see me too, but seeing Katie and Sawyer should make seeing me tolerable.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Wednesday morning
Well, Katie is finally home. It happened yesterday in the afternoon. Now, she has a lot of follow up Dr visits, and ongoing therapy, but she is home and sleeping in her own bed. We had a great time last night with all the family around. And for those of you praying for Sawyer and mommy to bond, you should have seen the two of them together. I got a couple of pictures that I will try to post in the coming days. Pretty cool.
Today Katie and I are going to Tayler's school to have lunch with her and meet Tays teacher. It will be the first time Katie has been to the school as it just opened this year.
We continue to trust God for complete healing and continue to pray toward that end.
Today Katie and I are going to Tayler's school to have lunch with her and meet Tays teacher. It will be the first time Katie has been to the school as it just opened this year.
We continue to trust God for complete healing and continue to pray toward that end.
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