I know, I know, I am the biggest slacker in the world. I know it, so I won't even try to defend myself.
Things continue to go very well for us on the "Katie" front. Every day she gets a little bit better. Her memory is very good (I can no longer lie to her about what a great husband I've been all these years, she knows better). She still struggles a little with remembering things that happened today, but even that is getting much better. Her left eye still has a little bit of blurriness, but that is improving as well.
She is down to one therapy now, speech (cognitive). Physical and occupational are all done. Her speech therapist continues to be amazed at Katie's ability to reason and think at a very high level. Speech therapy will be done by the end of the year.
One thing to pray for is while Katie was in the hospital her drivers license expired and she will have to take a written test as well as a driving test before she can get her DL back. This will be challenging for her as her reading is still a little on the slow side.
Good news on the "brain" side. Another angiogram (sp?) was taken and it appears that her arteries are beginning to straighten out. The vascular Dr was very pleased with the results and said that the dissected artery where the bleed took place is healing nicely. Also, she does not have any other convoluted arteries in her body, which is a good thing. The clots are still in her leg, but the Dr's are no longer worried about them "traveling" to somewhere else in her body.
Katie is still on Cumadin for the clots and blood pressure medicine, though they have been able to reduce the BP medicine as her body regains normal function in this area.
Her hair is growing back nicely and most times we can hardly see the scar. Pretty soon we won't be able to call her "spiky".
Kyle and Karen moved back to their home about 3 weeks ago and so far we are managing. Katie's mom lives in the house directly behind ours, and she has been a lifesaver for us. She comes over during the day and helps with Sawyer and takes Katie to her Dr's appointments. This has allowed me to go back to work (as I write this I am in a hotel in Kansas City on business). We couldn't do any of this without Sue!
As far as Sawyer is concerned, he is doing great. For the most part he is sleeping through the night (8-9 hrs a night) which has been great for us! One concern with Sawyer that I haven't told you about is that he has a slight heart murmur. We knew this from the day that he was born and I have taken him to a pediatric cardiologist and they have confirmed that he has a "floppy valve" in his heart. So far there haven't been any issues with it and we go back when he is 9 months old for another echo of the heart. The Dr is optimistic that he will grow out of this. So, we pray for him regularly. Just as with Katie we trust God for his healing and are not worried. Otherwise he is growing and is a very happy baby. You should see his huge smile!
Thanks again to all of you who continue to serve us by bringing us meals, this continues to be a huge blessing for our family! Also, thanks to all of you who continue to pray for us as we know that God hears the cries of his children and does good things for those that love Him and are called by His name.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Wednesday morning
Well this last weekend was a great one. Busy, but a very good one. A week or so after Katie's surgery someone brought tickets for us to go to Adventureland here in Des Moines. It's our local amusement park. So on Saturday morning Katie, the girls, myself, and Sue all got packed up and headed to the park. The weather was great, and other than the large crowds, we had a wonderful time. It was good exercise for Katie, and she even got to go on a few rides. Of course my fearless little girls had a blast as they always do. We had lunch there and then headed home around 2:30 as Katie was wearing down and needed her nap.
On Sunday I always head to church much earlier than the family as I help set up and practice with the band in preparation for our Church service. Church was good, but we had to head home as soon as possible to get everything ready for Katie's party. I mowed the grass and a bunch of people from church came and helped set up chairs, tables, and the grill. Sue and Karen cleaned the house and by 5:00 we were ready to go. The morning had started out cloudy and cool, but by the afternoon the sun was out and it was near 70 (kind of reminds me of Katie's situation). As the sun went down we built a fire in the fire pit, and a bunch of us sat on the back patio and talked until around 9:00. We had a number from Methodist hospital show up and it was so good to see them all again. Mac from the radio and his wife came, and Christina from Channel 5 came and did a follow up story on Katie. Katie did a great job with the interview and of course, was the hit of the party. All together we guess 100+ people came throughout that night. It really was a great time and Katie had a blast.
On Tuesday I took Katie to her therapy sessions as Sue had a Dr's appointment to go to. While we were with the speech and physical therapist, Katie ask if they thought she would be done by the first of the year as she is wanting to get back to work. Both said that she would be done with them before that. Katie was excited as this shows that she continues to improve and is close to being able to do all the things she used to do.
Good news on the baby front! For the last week Sawyer has been sleeping through the night! He goes down around 9pm and doesn't get up until 6am. All I can say is, "that's my boy"! So, I've been getting up with him in the mornings and I have been enjoying the time with him from 6-7am when the girls need to get up for school. Every morning he wakes up with a big smile on his face, makes my day.
I know that I don't post as much as I used to, and I know that has not endeared me with most of you. But, while things are going well, there just are not as many changes as there used to be. Katie is getting better every day, but in small ways, not big ones (I'm also working full time now and not sitting in a hospital room looking for something to do). Just rest assured that if something bad happened, updating the blog would be one of the first things I would do. And the same would be true if something really good happened.
The other day Katie bought some thank you cards as she is feeling really guilty about how much everyone has helped us but we (meaning I) have not sent out any "thank you cards". I tried to tell her that we tried to keep track of what everyone had done, but by the first couple of weeks it was basically out of control and we couldn't keep up. So, on behalf of Katie and the family, I want to say thanks so much to all of you for everything you have done and are doing (we had Famous Dave's delivered last night, thanks Hanson's!).
On Sunday I always head to church much earlier than the family as I help set up and practice with the band in preparation for our Church service. Church was good, but we had to head home as soon as possible to get everything ready for Katie's party. I mowed the grass and a bunch of people from church came and helped set up chairs, tables, and the grill. Sue and Karen cleaned the house and by 5:00 we were ready to go. The morning had started out cloudy and cool, but by the afternoon the sun was out and it was near 70 (kind of reminds me of Katie's situation). As the sun went down we built a fire in the fire pit, and a bunch of us sat on the back patio and talked until around 9:00. We had a number from Methodist hospital show up and it was so good to see them all again. Mac from the radio and his wife came, and Christina from Channel 5 came and did a follow up story on Katie. Katie did a great job with the interview and of course, was the hit of the party. All together we guess 100+ people came throughout that night. It really was a great time and Katie had a blast.
On Tuesday I took Katie to her therapy sessions as Sue had a Dr's appointment to go to. While we were with the speech and physical therapist, Katie ask if they thought she would be done by the first of the year as she is wanting to get back to work. Both said that she would be done with them before that. Katie was excited as this shows that she continues to improve and is close to being able to do all the things she used to do.
Good news on the baby front! For the last week Sawyer has been sleeping through the night! He goes down around 9pm and doesn't get up until 6am. All I can say is, "that's my boy"! So, I've been getting up with him in the mornings and I have been enjoying the time with him from 6-7am when the girls need to get up for school. Every morning he wakes up with a big smile on his face, makes my day.
I know that I don't post as much as I used to, and I know that has not endeared me with most of you. But, while things are going well, there just are not as many changes as there used to be. Katie is getting better every day, but in small ways, not big ones (I'm also working full time now and not sitting in a hospital room looking for something to do). Just rest assured that if something bad happened, updating the blog would be one of the first things I would do. And the same would be true if something really good happened.
The other day Katie bought some thank you cards as she is feeling really guilty about how much everyone has helped us but we (meaning I) have not sent out any "thank you cards". I tried to tell her that we tried to keep track of what everyone had done, but by the first couple of weeks it was basically out of control and we couldn't keep up. So, on behalf of Katie and the family, I want to say thanks so much to all of you for everything you have done and are doing (we had Famous Dave's delivered last night, thanks Hanson's!).
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Radio Show
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
www.983wowfm.com
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.
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