Doctor, Doctor Gimmie the News

Well, as promised here is an actual medical update...no more editorial posts about whatever topics interest me (like BodyWorlds).

Yesterday, Dad's chauffeur (Mark) drove him downtown to Baylor for another visit with the widely acclaimed Dr. Bidiwala and faithful physician's assistant, Tiffany.

First order of business was getting the stitches out of his head. At last a procedure that was pain-free! I'm sure that feels better, but I had grown accustomed to his Herman Meunster look. At least it won't freak out his hair-cut gal anymore as I heard it did when he nonchalantly told her to "cut around the stitches from the 4 holes they drilled in my head, oh by the way, I had a brain aneurysm."

The doctor took him off the anti-vasospasm medicine and also lowered his steroid dosage. Dad will continue on the steroid for a little while longer as it prevents any brain swelling. He is still taking the pain meds as needed, which at this point, is about every 6 hours. The headaches are decreasing both in duration and intensity. This is a huge praise--thanks for your prayers!

Additionally, Dad got the order for outpatient rehab and will start that in the near future. The doctor did allude to that fact that possible over-aggressive weight lifting could have triggered this episode. He qualified that with some strenuous "maybes" but as you can imagine, Dad is wanting to err on the side of safety these days. Although it will never be completely certain what happened, there is enough circumstantial evidence to create a possible link. (Dad also confessed to pretending a hidden camera was watching him muscle up that last rep, at which point his great strength would be known throughout North America, but don't mention that I told you).

Dad's days consist of lots of rest, little spurts of work (authorized, don't worry), walking, and trying to regain his lost weight through a strict regimen of Mexican food and BBQ. He told me the other day that he got bored for the first time, which I took to be a great sign.

He is still not legal to drive until he is clear of the pain medication, so staying around home seems to suit him for now. The doctor continued to stress that the recovery will have ups and downs, but Dad looks GREAT. Another angiogram is scheduled for a couple of months from now, so hopefully he will use this time to forget the pain the last one caused him. The rest of us will be bracing for the aftermath.

More than anything, each time we talk, Dad mentions the overwhelming blessing he feels to simply have each day. I think at some point during every conversation he says, "Do you know that we have the best friends in the whole world?" And of course, I agree.

As we're in the middle of Holy Week, it's amazing to reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made for each of us on the cross. If that was the only blessing we received as believers, it was enough. Our family stands back in awe to think that Christ chose to bless us again, this time by sparing a life so precious to us. His work as he left the tomb was enough, but displaying his amazing power today is humbling to our very core. We are grateful beyond words.

Our hearts resonate with Joshua's, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15