Shades and smiles
Tag: friends
1000 pieces!
Our friend, Michelle, gave us a puzzle to try to put together. After a couple of weeks of working with the boys, we finished it!
Fun with friends
Our friends had a birthday party for their two-year-old today. As always, there were lots of laughs and a piñata and new this year were edible bubbles and sack races!
Weekend away
My friend, Michelle, and I don’t get much of an opportunity to catch up (uninterrupted) when we see each other. A few weeks ago, she threw out the idea of a pre-baby girls weekend. (She’s expecting another sweet baby and we both know that life gets more complex when adding a new member to the family.) Anyway, we accomplished the feat of finding a weekend that worked for both of us and decided to keep our plans to a minimum. In fact, the only thing we decided on by the time we pulled our of her driveway late Friday morning was that we would head south in I-35. We figured we could stop once we didn’t see snow anymore. That put us smack dab in Des Moines, IA. Not exactly a common place to road trip to, but for us, it wasn’t about the destination. Rather, we were hoping to get a chance to talk, laugh, and sleep. All of which we accomplished. Well, maybe not so much on the sleep end, but it was still nice to sleep through the night and not be woken up by a child.
On Saturday, we did get out to see the botanical gardens in downtown Des Moines, had dinner at a taco restaurant (food was tasty, but the service was terrible,) and saw the 9:30pm showing of I Can Only Imagine, before continuing to talk until almost 2am. We got up Sunday morning, had breakfast at the hotel, and found a church nearby that had mass at 11am. After mass and a stop for a cup of coffee, we headed for home.
Both of us are grateful for our husbands who managed things on the home front so we could get away and recharge. (Here are the Shecklets with the homemade pizzas they had for dinner on Friday night.)
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. 💗
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.
Leaving
Fr. Coffey stopped by to visit. It was nice to see him again. The nurse brought in discharge papers. We are going to be leaving the hospital soon. Please pray that the dizziness isn’t unbearable on the ride home and that I can give Veronica all that she needs at the house.
Beautiful
I was able to see Veronica in the PACU. Fr. Joseph said that I was there with her for an hour and a half yet it seemed like 15 minutes. Her caregivers are helping manage her pain. She is talking when she is awake. Right now she is being moved to the ICU. I will spend more time with her tonight in the ICU, then go to bed to prepare to help care for her tomorrow. She is so beautiful.
T minus twelve hours
We spent the day talking with highly trained medical professionals. We revisited the choice of procedures again. The doctors wanted to give Veronica the choice between a long shot of keeping her hearing, or a procedure that would give the neurosurgeon the best chance of getting all of the tumor out. She chose to stick with her original decision and will lose her hearing as a result of the surgery.
After the appointments, we went with Fr. Joseph (who flew in from STL to be with us for the next few days,) to the Marine Recruit Base. There, Fr. Joseph and his friend Fr. Joe Coffey concelebrated Mass for us. Afterwards, Fr. Joe took us on a tour of the Navy base on Coronado. Veronica said it was a nice distraction from tomorrow’s reality.
We had a nice dinner at Hotel Del Cornado and spent a little time walking on the beach and listening to the ocean. Veronica is now tired enough to sleep to be ready to get to the hospital at 6am.
Last mass with two “working” ears
Unbeknownst to me (but not that he was keeping it a secret,) Jake reached out to friends of ours at our church prior to our last mass there before leaving for San Diego with this message:
“As you may know, Veronica and I are leaving for San Diego on Sunday afternoon. In this blog post, Veronica mentioned the music at St. Paul’s. We have discussed our last pre-op Mass as a family a few times. If your schedule allows, would you please sit near us during the celebration of Mass at St. Paul’s at 8:30 this Sunday? Being literally surrounded by our Parish Family during Mass will help Veronica greatly. I don’t intend for this to be a surprise but a simple show of support for her.”
There is something about the physical presence of someone who you know cares about you that can bring a sense of peace – even for a short amount of time. I experienced that peace this morning. Yes, there were tears, but also a true understanding that God is in control and I have an army of prayer warriors supporting me as I face surgery and the start of recovery in the coming days.
ETA: The following post was written by a friend on Facebook on 1/22/18.
Yesterday after Mass, I had the privilege of witnessing an amazing outpouring of love and support for a beautiful young wife and mother of four who will be undergoing brain surgery tomorrow. Her husband, Jake had arraigned for people to sit around or near Veronica during Mass as a sign of love to her. What happened after Mass will forever be etched in my heart and soul. After the final song, 15+ women surrounded Veronica and gently, lovingly placed their hands over her and prayed as she wept and released her suffering at the Foot of Christ’s Alter. When I lifted my head, I saw Jake sitting at the end of the pew surrounded by 15+ men with their hands outstretched in prayer beseeching God Almighty for strength, wisdom and peace for Jake and Veronica. Several of the men were holding their young children as they prayed. I can’t fully describe this beautiful outpouring of love and support from The Body of Christ, but I’m confident the Lord heard our prayers and will shower them with grace to follow this path placed before them. Please pray for Veronica tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. Central time as she takes the next step in faith and love. God bless you, Veronica Cimperman Sheck.
P.S. I might add that we are praying for a miracle that Veronica will NOT lose her hearing in one ear when the tumor is removed. Like my husband said, “Praying that Norman (the tumor’s name) will just peel off and leave everything else in tact.” Doesn’t hurt to ask.