Head Fake

Just remember I said this was going to be a rollercoaster...

Around 6:30 this morning, the ambulance arrived at Mom & Dad's house due to some hyperventilation on Dad's part. After leaving the safe hospital womb, Dad had trouble sleeping. He was just a little anxious about Mom waking him up for meds during the night, getting the medication right (they are on a very strict regimen), and sleeping without being under the watchful eye of the doctors and nurses.

His temperature and blood pressure were both fluctuating quite a bit and it seems like nerves just kicked in and caused some panic. Mom dialed 9-1-1 and before they knew it, 6 paramedics from the Coppell Fire Department were all in the master bedroom with them. As a note of encouragement, 2 of the guys had been there for the original incident and were glad that things had worked out in Dad's favor.

The rest of the team (oh yes, did I forget to mention that two firetrucks accompanied the crew...with their sirens off, mercifully) checked his vitals and were very reassuring that this kind of episode is very normal for people returning home from the hospital after traumatic injuries.

Mom & Dad called Dr. Bidiwala who gently talked them through everything and reassured them that as long as Dad was pain free, he is okay right now. Mark generously spent his day off with Dad, just to be available. Dad was having some neck pain and other minor aches, which he's been told are par for the brain bleed.

Needless to say, the Special Guest Blogger will not be making his debut tonight...maybe tomorrow or later this week. However, he is reading his own blog now and continues to savor the words of laughter, love, and hope.

Tonight we are praying for:
*peace regarding the transition home
*sleep
*rest (comfortable calm during the daytime)

Psalm 29:11
The Lord will give strength to His people,
The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Even though in some ways it feels like a step back to have something like this happen, we are blessed for the reminder of our dependence on God in every situation...no matter how small. He is great to continually draw us to Himself...just a small glimpse of his love for us and desire for a relationship. We hope you feel drawn to Him, too.

Homeward Bound

Well, exactly 2 weeks after Dad's first-ever ambulance ride, he is free and clear to go home. Can I get an Amen?!

His neurosurgeon feels confident that he can continue his recovery there without incident. Of course, this looks like taking it easy for quite some time. That includes 90 days before he can begin running and working out again. On one hand, that's a little bit of a bummer. On the other hand, he couldn't run to the mailbox right now if he was being chased by a tiger so, oh well.

Sounds like he'll spend a lot of time strolling around the duck pond gaining strength. Rest, rest, and more rest are on the agenda, so if you are wanting to bombard him with visits, you might call and see how the patient is feeling before you drop in (that is not his request, but his over-protective daughter is just looking out for him).

Even though he'll take it slow, he should be at full strength before we know it. Dad's confidence might need more of a boost than his actual physical strength, but that will come with time as well.

Not sure if you knew, but Dad entered the ICU on Mark's birthday and is coming home the day before mine. That is the only celebration either of us need this year and the best gift of all.

Speaking of homeward bound, I am back in Denver today. The 3 charter members of my fan club met me at the airport with balloons and a charmingly hand-colored "Welcome Home, Mommy!" sign. Jackson and Lilly had grown a ton and Brad looked great (soccer coach uniform and all). It is wonderful to be home and I am tolerating more whining and crazy antics than usual. Brad is definitely a contender for the Dad-of-the-Year award for managing the kids, fixing Lilly's hair, showing our house, and working (sort of) while I was gone. God provided a great supply-line of friends who blessed us with many meals and lots of babysitting. They have encouraged us beyond words and we are forever indebted.

Dad has promised to actually write on his own blog tomorrow (so stay tuned), but I want to leave you with this verse. It so captures what this whirlwind of subarachnoid hemorrhages has been about...not just that Dad was miraculously healed, but that God is the one who we bless for showing Himself to us amidst these tough times.

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
I Peter 1:6-7

Victory Lap

Psalm 126:3

The LORD has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.

We (the caretakers) are overwhelmingly glad to report that Dad has had his best day thus far. His pain meds had been prescribed "as needed" which meant Dad basically had to have an excrutiating headache before he'd ask for more. However, we had a little pow-wow with the nurses last night and figured out that a four-hour pain relief regimen would do the trick. Sure enough, Dad's pain subsided in the dark hours of the morning and he (and his meds) kept it mercifully under control today.

Dad's main neurosurgeon was gone, so during rounds today his partner checked in and thought Dad looked great. "You really dodged a bullet," was his assessment of God's mercy in Dad's life. The doctor essentially gave him a knuckle bump and predicted he'd be hanging around the hospital just a little while longer. That said, even Dad is not quite ready to go home. What tomorrow holds is unknown and he wants to pass the 14-day mark (Tues/Wed) with flying colors and no vasospams, not to mention getting the headaches and pain management under control.

As you can see from the photo, Dad was cruising the halls in his 991's, pole in tow. He didn't seem weak, and as you know, he's been perfecting the Old Man Walk since his early 40's. Dad is taking it slow, recognizing the recovery will be done over weeks, not days. We are ready to interrogate the doctor tomorrow with a few more specifics as to a rehab regimen. But as another gracious gift, all the doctors feel a complete recovery is to be expected.

At church this morning, we were reminded that our joy is in our salvation, and for that grace alone, we overflow with grateful and thankful hearts. God's abundant blessing in extending Dad's life is just icing on the cake--and how sweet it is! If you need a jolt of God's goodness, or just to gain some perspective, check out http://www.irvingbible.org/index.php?id=82 and click on the sermon from 3/25. At the end of the service, Mom lit a candle...not for Dad, but as a light of praise to Christ, so all who saw it would know that God works miracles in lives even today.

As a sidenote, we (Brad & Nicole) also sold our house. Nothing is too hard for God.

The End of the Beginning

Philippians 4:6-7
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

As threatened, Dad finally moved off the ICU floor up to a luxurious suite on 16. That may sound sarcastic, but with wood floors, a lovely dining table and a private bathroom, this is the good life--a far cry from the dark, loud, community ICU. He is unhooked from most monitoring devices, but has a few tubes left to pump fluids and the all-important pain medicines. The hospital gown is gone in favor of cotton t-shirts and pajama pants and on his head, the Texas Tech baseball cap. Still tucked in a bag are the New Balance 991s...maybe for another day.

Although some things like clothes seem more "normal," the pounding headaches continue. As the nurses warned, this is definitely a rollercoaster of up and down moments. Dad has tried to describe the head pain, but says it's something pretty indescribable...like pressure is just building up behind his eyes with no relief. When he gets the right combination of medicine, it seems to work, but often leaves him so woozy and "out of it" that it seems just as bad. Ugh.

Dad is still within the critical 14-day period, so this is what to expect. Each day the doppler reveals that the vasospams are non-existent, so this is good, but somewhat confusing to be in so much pain without spasms.

We covet your prayers for God to ease Dad's pain. As Dad said, "Let's keep the hammer down on the praying." As family and friends, we keep wanting to hear the official "We're out of the woods," from the doctors...but those words have yet to come. While everything looks overwhlemingly positive, the doctors remind us that there are no guarantees. Of course, that's true for everything in life, but it is a different reality when various medical professionals are using those words every day.

The blessing of God's promises through his Word have sustained us. The morning of Dad's hemorrage, Mom wrote down and prayed the verse at the top of today's blog. Feeling anxious about several situations, she prayed through each one and surrendered them to God. Little did she know that God was preparing her for the ride of her life. Still, it's amazing how quickly we want to choose to worry about bumps in the road instead of continuing to trust God. We are really learning how faith and trust are renewed every single day and how trust is a choice.

We know you are praying and for that we are so thankful. As with all rollercoaster rides, there are moments of delight, terror, confusion and anticipation...and moments you feel them all at once. Thanks for riding the rollercoaster with us and thanks again for lifting Dad before the Lord, who does all things well.

Ready, Set...Sit

John 1:16
From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

Much to our surprise, when Mom and I walked into Dad's room this morning, he looked almost odd without the brain drain. That's right...no more tubes pouring directly out of his cranium. Now we just see the attractive shaved head, stitches, and blue Sharpie markings. (Between you and me, it's not a great look).

The doctor came in at 8 a.m., pulled that ventric out and put a couple of stitches in to close some holes. He is confident the headache pain is coming from some lingering blood, but he isn't concerned about the cranial pressure anymore. This is good news. The CT scan was clear (thanks for your prayers!) and for that we are most grateful.

We're also very hopeful that tomorrow Dad might leave the ICU. He is reminded of his blessed condition every moment as he is the only patient in several dozen beds who is conscious in this unit. We have seen many families leave in tears, never to return. It's been a humbling, tough, but necessary place to live for the past 11 days.

The doctors are adamant that Dad needs a quiet, slow recouperation. As you know, this is in contrast to his gregarious personality, but we are all observing that even a few minutes of activity is extremely tiring. For example: Dad sat on the side of the bed today--his first upright movement in quite sometime. There is significant dispute whether the time on the side of the bed was 15 minutes or 1 minute. Mom and I checked with the physical therapist and her report was on the very short end of that scale...in contrast to the 15 minutes Dad reported. Hmmmm...

We've been impressed with his patience in taking one day at a time. Other than when he first woke up, Dad hasn't asked how long the hospital stay, recovery, and restricted activity will be. I know he his probably chomping his lip to resist asking, but his restraint alone is a testimony of God-given contentment in this uncomfortable situation.

We thank you again for your prayers and love. That encouragement is lifting Dad's spirits when it's easy to be low. As he becomes more alert and has fewer hours of severe pain, he seems to have more time to contemplate where he is and what recovery will look like. And as we all know, thinking too hard can get you in trouble.

As you approach the throne of grace to find mercy & help (Hebrews 4:16) please pray:
*Dad will be patient to rest quietly
*He will have a positive attitude
*Decreased pain

Hold On

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot, and hang on." Franklin D. Roosevelt

Dad is definitely hanging on today and actually suggested the above quote...the morning was pretty low-key, but the infamous headaches were back this afternoon in full force.

This morning came a somewhat unwanted "T" party--OT's, PT's, ST's...all pestering Dad to make sure everything is still working. He is able to do his speech & physical therapy, but as you can imagine, he's very weak. Despite that, when the therapists all say they can't believe he's 61, he is good to go for another hour.

The neurosurgeon came by this afternoon, hoping to remove the brain drain. However, Dad was right in the middle of some intense head pain, so instead the doctor drained 20 cc's of fluid right before our very eyes. Who knew he had so much to spare? The headache pain didn't decrease, so the doctor decided to wait another day before setting dad free. The brain monitoring is what's keeping Dad in the ICU, so getting that removed brings hope of a normal room and disconnecting a few thousand cords.

Tomorrow morning we await the results of another CT scan. The doctors are making sure there is no water, spinal fluid, or blood in places it shouldn't be. Some kind of steriod was ordered to break up what might be left of some blood remnants in his brain. I guess blood can be pretty irritating when it hangs out in the wrong places.

Dr. Bidiwala emphasized agan that Dad has had 2 gold-standard angiograms read by the best radiologists in the business, so he is quite confident that a re-bleed is unlikely at this point.

DISCLAIMER: I want to reiterate again that we are not medical professionals. We are trying to relay info the best we can, but if you know more than we do, don't get worried until you call and clear things up.

We are relying on God for patience and perseverance today. Thanks for your prayers and please pray:
*headaches will lessen
*CT scan will come back clear
*again, rest & peace of mind and body

So many of you have shared this verse with us...it is our prayer.
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

That goes for all of you, too...
He is with you, He is your God, He will strengthen, help, & uphold you in whatever you encounter each day, no matter how big or how small. He is God. He can do it.

We love you all...dearly. You are God's vessels (hopefully without vasospams).
Carla, Nicole, Brad, Mark & Kari

"The Longest Day"

We are still basking in the grace of the mysterious, negative, no-sign-of-anything angiogram from earlier this morning. Little did we know what a blessing the news would be to help Dad cope with the incredible pain he's been in today. Seems like after having the dye blasted through his body, being clamped to a bed, and immobile for a few hours he's just having a tough day. Knowing that his brain is, on some level, okay seemed to make the physcial hurt somewhat bearable.

When I asked him what to call the blog tonight, he suggested "The Longest Day." He is still taking plenty of pain medication but discomfort, lack of sleep, and the intensity of the angiogram attributed to feeling low. He said he felt like he took two steps back, which the nurses assured us is normal.

The recovery from a brain anuerysm (which is what we're calling it for simlicity's sake...telling people that his brain just bled and we have no idea why freaks them out a little) is more like a rollercoaster than a steady climb uphill. He should expect to have plenty of great days followed by terrible ones--just the nature of the beast.

Mark should be up here soon to encourage dad and hang out by his side until he falls asleep. He takes pride in being the King of the Night Shift. Kari brought Rylie up earlier & Dad got to squeeze her adorable one year-old hand. True joy.

The thought of God's intervention in such a serious situation still takes our breath away. Our hearts are humbled each time another doctor (many of dad's colleagues in the healthcare field included) write or email to tell us dad has defied conventional medicine. God's grace is enough.

Please pray:
*relief from the pain
*rest for the mind and body
*wisdom for the doctor in determining the next steps

Following is the verse that Dad had been praying for our family regarding the sale of our house. I am far more privileged to share it with you in light of Dad's health.

Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

We hope it is clear, but we'll say it every chance we get: To God be the glory!