Note from #3
I found this next to my nightstand today (it had fallen off accidentally.) Shecklet #3’s words were just what my heart needed today.
Month: February 2018
Spiritual bouquet
I’m four and a half weeks post-surgery and people from our parish continue to pray for us, ask how we are doing, and offer to help/support us however they can. Recently, I’ve been able to personally tell a few of them how grateful I am that they take the time to check in with me. As Jake mentioned in a past post, if you look at me, you can’t even tell I’ve had surgery. Pre-surgery me had thought I’d be back doing most of what I did before by now, but post-surgery me now understands just how long retraining my brain is actually taking.
Jake and I are part of a ministry at the church that serves the 4th-6th graders by organizing social activities once a month. In addition, I was invited to join the Family Formation Core Team, which meets monthly to pray for the parishes using the Family Formation program, discuss the various ministries at the church that reach the elementary school age kids, (including the one we’re involved in,) and pray for each others’ intentions. I’ve been MIA for the last several meetings, but the Core team has been lifting me up in prayer. Today, this beautiful spiritual bouquet was delivered to our house. On the back of the flowers are the prayers and words of support from members of the Core team. Once again, I’m so humbled by the beautiful show of support for me and my family while I’m on the road to recovery. 💗
Snow play
We finally received a decent amount of snow and the temps stayed mild enough for the Shecklets to go out and play in it. More may come tomorrow, so hopefully more outside time is on the agenda.
Shecklet #4 is 5!
Love this kid to pieces! She turned 5 years old today and has grown so much! She loves to count, point out letters and numbers, and plays so well on her own and with her siblings. I love to hear her play make believe with Barbies, Shopkins, and Legos. We gave her a teepee for her birthday this year – and she asked to sleep in it tonight 😊
Physical Therapy – baseline
I had my first PT appointment on Friday and have my second one, tomorrow. The assessments I went through were comical. When you only have one balance nerve to keep you upright and you close your eyes while standing with one foot in front of the other, you fall over. When you close your eyes and turn your head from side to side, you fall over. When you try walking with your eyes closed, you can’t walk in a strait line and your physical therapist has to stop you before you run in to anything. Looking at my current abilities, I suppose there are two reactions I could have had – laugh or cry. I chose (and continue to choose) to laugh.
Based on my performance, you can probably guess what kind of exercises I was given to work on. Twice a day, I need to stand with my feet staggered, eyes closed, and move my head. I also have to turn 45 degrees and then back to my original position with my eyes closed. During testing, the therapist saw that my eyes make a slight jerky movement when they move from right to left. She gave me an eye exercise to work on that issue as well.
As part of the review of the appointment, my therapist asked how realistic I thought it would be for me to work on the exercises she assigned on a daily basis. My response was, “I’m extremely motivated.”
Color changing unicorn
Shecklets 3 and 4 received a package while Jake and I were in California and inside were two unicorn mugs. Their Uncle Jason and Aunt Bri thought they’d enjoy the fun surprise that takes place when you add hot liquid to the mug. It’s so much fun being a girl!
Three weeks ago – the patient’s perspective
It’s hard to believe that these were taken three weeks ago.
Before I was wheeled into the OR, Jake whispered, “I love you” one last time into my right ear. Hearing those words in that moment gave me a last boost of courage to face what I knew was going to be a very rough 24-48 hours. When I woke up from surgery and looked at the clock on the wall, the entire wall fell to the side. This happened every time I opened my eyes. It was nauseating. Yesterday I walked three large laps at the mall with my mother-in-law and today I walked around our block on my own. It is amazing how quickly our brains can adapt to major change.
I’ve been reflecting back on the last three weeks a lot lately. So much has transpired in such a short amount of time. I had brain surgery and was discharged from the hospital three days later! That blows my mind. When I left the hospital, I was still dizzy, and not completely balanced, but mostly capable of walking on my own. That blows my mind. The prayers and emails, texts, and blog post comments continue. That blows my mind. (And also makes me smile.)
There have been a few people throughout this ordeal who have told Jake that they started praying for me after not having been to church or praying in years. Others have shared that reading about what my recovery has entailed has caused them to “reset” so to say and not take for granted the simple things in life that they are able to do without thinking twice – walking, picking something up off the floor, driving kids to and from. I’ve even heard that kids have told their parents they are praying for me (without any prompting.) <Insert my tears here.>
After I was told I had a brain tumor last fall, I began to pray for healing. It seemed like a logical prayer request. Little did I know I should have been more specific. God saw it fit to start healing areas in my life that I didn’t realize needed healing. It took facing Norman to bring me to a place where I could see that my perspective on certain relationships needed a major adjustment and helped me realize areas in my life that were broken. It has been hard – probably the hardest six months of my life, and I know He’s not done with me yet. But I’m grateful for the chance to see how God is using it all – my diagnosis, surgery, and recovery, in ways I never imagined.
Three Weeks
We have tried to have a normal week as a family. It went pretty well aside from #4 and #2’s medical care needs. A while back I had a conversation with one of Veronica’s cousins about what kinds of things people post. Somewhere he had heard or decided that opening a bottle of ketchup is something that is post worthy, otherwise posting about normal life can get boring. I feel like I am at that point. We didn’t open any bottles of ketchup this week, but a number of normal things happened.
We have asked #1 and #2 to use their alarm clock rather than relying on us to get them up which has resulted in a much more orderly morning routine. #3 felt a little left out of the 6 am alarm, so #1 and #2 now wake her up when they are awoken. #2 is a little reluctant to rely on a machine to make sure he gets up on time. It was interesting to see him think about the risks of this change. We didn’t tell him that we would get him up if the alarm clock didn’t work. I am hoping he figures that out on his own. I have been happy with how both #1 and #2 have taken ownership of this. On Saturday #2 had a basketball tournament, and the rest of us went to a birthday party. It was good to be out and see friends. #3 went to another birthday party in the evening.
Somewhere along the way, I caught a nasty bug. So I have quarantined myself in the basement bedroom, and my Mom came back to the house to help with the kids. She has continued to help Veronica by taking her places for exercise and therapy and encouraging her. It has been a good change of pace for Veronica to have someone to talk to other than me.
Veronica told me this morning that she can tell a difference in her energy this week as compared to previous weeks. I am glad she is starting to recognize these improvements. It has been disheartening to not be able to share the joy with her of all of the progress that I have seen because she has been in the thick of it.
Sixteen
More of the same today. Veronica had a major pain in her head this morning but only needed Tylenol to feel better. Shecklets #2 and #4 continue to get better. #4 hasn’t complained about her skin at all, and it seems to be receding now. Overall a normal day on the path to recovery with walking and vestibular exercises.
Fifteen
After the last two days of excitement and exercise Veronica had a low key day today. We didn’t go out for any walks. #4 hung out near me or Veronica all day, so we could monitor her condition. She worked on her computer while I did work on mine. Her skin looked the worst this morning, but it seemed to be getting better by this evening. The doctor said that it will take 3 days for the meds to leave her body. Hopefully tomorrow Veronica can get back the focus on her recovery.