1/10/04

On January 1 Pat suffered a ruptured aneurysm in her brain. Tests revealed three more aneurysms on one side of her brain, and another one the other side. She underwent angioplasty surgery on the discovered three aneurysms on January 3. The doctors are very pleased with the results of this surgery. The fourth aneurysm will require traditional surgery sometime in the future. There doesn't appear to be any significant damage; just the expected disorientation from the surgery.

She will remain in intensive care for a few weeks. Because of the limited space in ICU, she cannot receive flowers. Your cards and prayers will be very much appreciated and will help her through this difficult time. (Cards can be sent to the address at the bottom of each page of the website.)

Today, January 10, she had a good day, and the doctors are pleased with her progress.

Today things are stable and every day things are stable is good. Pat is beginning to be restless and uncomfortable when awake. Doc's are keeping her pretty sedated, as we want stable blood pressure. They are still keeping her blood pressure high to keep the vessels in the brain full and open.

Still in the wait and watch stage, But I think we are safe to move from hour to hour watch to day by day watch.

After adjusting her cover, I asked her if it was OK and she "NO it needs be right as you come through the door where they can see it!" She was very put out with me about this.

Things are looking better today. We are probably past the period when brain spasms are likely to occur. This lessens the likelihood of strokes. Pat was very alert and more than a little restless today. She is still very confused and keeps trying to pull out her tubes. She has kept me VERY BUSY today.

She talks to me regularly but doesn't make much sense yet. She told me today that she "has fish but doesn't have any bones for them." Go figure! She is watching TV (sort of) I changed the station and asked her if she liked the new show and she said it was "better than tennis."

This weekend they want to see if her body will begin to cycle of the fluid around the brain on it's own. Each of us makes about 16 oz of this fluid a day and it circulates through the brain and is absorbed back into the body via the spinal cord. When the brain gets filled with blood the path way for the fluid to drain back into the body and be absorbed hardens or clogs. The next hurdle is to get this to function again. In the event that it doesn't the Docs will install a "shunt" from the brain into the central body cavity. Sounds bad but in the area of things kind of things it's pretty normal. Over half of brain patients have to have a shunt installed. Some people return to normal after while and others have the shunt in for the rest of their lives.

We had a real good day today. Pat rested well last night and was bright and alert this morning. She responded well to the doctors questions and although still confused, she showed us a few minutes of her old self. Boy was I glad to see that old spark!

She had some tests today and they really tired her out. She was taken down the test area in the hospital, brought back and taken down a second time - all part of the same test. At this time even being rolled around the hospital takes the wind out her sails.

We are watching some TV tonight. Pat is watching with her eyes closed like she does at home. This a special skill she has developed after years of practice.

The docs say that we have turned the corner now, are out of danger of strokes and brain spasms. The Next step is to start to encourage the brain to start doing its jobs again, and to withdraw the various drugs and IVs the have doing the brain's work while it was swollen with blood.

Although there are still many more hills to climb, things look a lot better this evening.

Today was the best day since New Year's Day and I happy to start the year over from today!

I'm happy to report that the worst thing that happened today is that I dropped my pen and broke it!

Pat is doing great! All vitals are stable and she is more awake and alert. Also more restless and uncomfortable! We gave her a bath today, washed her hair, untangled it and shaved her legs. She really felt better when we finished, but it tuckered her out. I'm going to apply for work in a spa when we get home!

I got a call from hospital security today, they said it concerned my RV. I thought "here it comes - they are going to make me move it! I called the number and they told me that a dentist whose office is right across the street from the hospital wanted me to park in his lot, where he has full hook ups (electric, water and sewer) for an RV. He is a RV'er and has set this up for RV friends to use it when they are in town visiting! Boy, how nice! I'm looking forward to having all the hot water I want in the shower tomorrow.

Well, that's all the new for tonight. Our plan is to rest her through the week end. We are letting her sleep through the night, without the usual "wake up and check out" every hour.

I'm going to take a break from this e-mail on Sunday, so the next one will be Monday.

We had another real good day today. Pat is restless and wants to get out of bed. We hope to get her body's "brain drain" to work, so they can take out the tube in her head. The drain tube is the only thing that's stopping her from getting up and around, or at least trying. Tonight we worked at eating our own dinner. It went pretty well, but tuckered her out pretty bad.

We are making steady progress and today I saw brief periods of "My Pat." I sure was glad to see her.

Today Pat is much improved. We are looking forward to having the drain tube removed from her head tomorrow and moving across to the intermediate care side of the ICU. She is very uncomfortable from being in bed for 18 days. She is also suffering from ICU syndrome. This caused by the schedule of waking the patients every hour to check their vitals and responses. This causes sleep depravation and disorientation after a few weeks. All in all, I think she will improve a lot when she can get up and around.

This morning the doctor operated to put in a shunt that will drain the fluid from Pat's brain to her body where it can be absorbed. This is a procedure that is done with most patients who have had bleeding in the brain and in the world of brain surgery, it's a very routine procedure.

She free of all the tubes and hook ups now and we got her sitting up on the side of the bed for a few minutes today. We will probably see if she can stand tomorrow.

Pat and I are both feeling a lot better tonight. Tomorrow we start the long road back to normal. I'm not looking forward to the journey, but I sure want to see the destination!

Well, this process is three steps forward then two steps backward! We have had some of both in the last 24 hours. As I reported last night they put in a shunt to drain the brain fluid to the central body to be reabsorbed. Last night it appeared that the drain wasn't working but they wanted to give it a chance to kick in on it's own so we waited .... and waited and waited..... at 3 AM, they decided that the shunt wasn't going to work, so they took her back to the operating room at 5 AM for another operation on the shunt. Turns out that the valve on the brain end of the shunt was not working, so they put in one that will open with lower pressure.

Pat has been very groggy today while she recovers from the procedure. Doctor expects that it will take longer for her to sharpen up this time, as she has had her brain messed with and general antistatic twice in 24 hours.

The good news is that we got her up out of bed late this afternoon, and she walked about three steps. She has been sitting in the recliner chair for dinner and a couple of hours after. Snoozing a lot but sitting up none the less.

Well, this weekend is going to be much different from what Pat and I had planned.

Instead of dancing with my bride, I'm treasuring the few steps she can take with aid of a walker.

Instead of staying up late enjoying our friends and family, we are putting Pat in bed at 8:00 as she is exhausted from sitting in a chair beside her bed for a few hours.

Instead of the wonderful menu that Pat had planned tonight's dinner at our house for the out of town wedding guests, I was thrilled that she ate half a sandwich by herself.

Yes, it's much different from what we had planned but I am truly grateful for these little things and the miracle of still having her with me on this weekend. I am grateful also that she doesn't really know what day it is or remember what we had planned.

It's not the special weekend we had planned, but it is indeed a special weekend. She is getting better.

Today was a wonderful day after all. Not our wedding day as planned; but the first day I've had a real conversation with My Pat for 20 days. She was up sitting in a chair for 2 hours at lunch and she ate by herself after I cut up her chicken for her. At dinner she was up again for an hour and ate a hamburger by her self.

Several times today we had pretty normal conversations. She is still unaware of the day or the date, just as well, but she told me she feels better. She remembered the jacket I was wearing and when I asked where I got it, she told me correctly that I had bought in Alaska.

She still doesn't know my name but says I her "honey." That's good enough for me!

So friends, I'm writing with a much lighter heart tonight. I'm thankful again for the small things and I'm sure now that we will face the big things ahead together, as planned.

Thanks for your friendship and the many kind notes that you have sent me. Pat and I are very fortunate to have such wonderful friends and devoted families.

Disappointing news today. After a weekend of really making good recovery, we hit a serious bump in the road today. Early today Pat's head began to swell around the area of the shunt. The CT Scan showed that there was bleeding around the shunt. They operated late today and took the shunt out of her head, replacing it with an exterior drain much as she had before. She will return to the 24 hour monitoring area of the ICU for a week while the fluid and blood drains off the brain.

While this is a big setback, it's not a crisis. We just need to back up a week and start over. I have great confidence in her doctors and the nursing care here in the ICU.

I will give you another update tomorrow. We are in a new room and my ability to hook up to the phone line is hampered significantly, so if you e-mail me I may not have time on line to answer. Please bear with me. I'll post these updates as regularly as I can.

Pat spent most of today sleeping off the effects of last night's surgery. She was awake briefly and ate her soup and Jell-O for dinner. We have been on this watch three or four times during our stay here, and I think we both know our roles in this process. Pat's is to rest and get better; mine is to take care of everything else.

The plan, as I understand it, is to let the new external drain work to clear out the blood that accumulated around the old shunt, then in about a week, install yet a third shunt in a different location and try it again. So our new time table is to be here at least two to three weeks more.

As much as I hate this set back, I look around me here in "neuro ICU" and see how lucky I am. Several families have lost much more than time. I'm not going to complain about a few more weeks. At least we have them.

Well, friends, things are looking up today. Pat was awake and bright most of the day.

The doctor came in this morning while she wasn't talking, so he said "talk to me" and she replied "What about?"! He clapped his hands and said "Open the blinds, turn the lights, get her sitting up some order her solid food. She's ready." I was ready too and we had a nice day today. Pat sat up in bed, watched some TV, sat on the side of the bed and worked with the lady from physical therapy; I smiled.

We had a very good day today. Pat sat up in bed, and with some help from the nurses, she put on her makeup! It was the nurses' idea to surprise me. When I came back from taking a much-needed nap in the afternoon to find her sitting up and wearing blush and lipstick.

The plan is to continue to drain the fluid from the brain for the week end and make a new plan on Monday. Pat continues to gain ground every day and hopefully we can get a good jumping off point next and install a new shunt.

We are looking forward to a quiet weekend, watching a little TV, and maybe having a few more small victories.

Well, friends today marks the end of the first month of in the hospital. In many ways it's Pat's one month birthday in my mind, since I was sure that I lost her when she stopped breathing as we waited for the rescue squad. I gave her mouth to mouth as best I could, and she started breathing again. (When we get out of here, I'm taking a class to learn to do it the right way.)

There is not too much to report since I last wrote on Friday. We seem to be in a "Catch 22" mode. They think she is draining brain fluid some on her own, and want to give her body a chance to that on its own, but it's not quite doing the whole job right now. I think we are just waiting to see whether she picks up the slack on her own or gets a new shunt. It looks like a couple of days of evaluation on this. Soooo we wait and watch, something I getting quite accustomed to, but don't like.

Pat is comfortable. She rests or sleeps a lot, but seems a little brighter each time she wakes up, and is waking up more often today. Her friend Sally brought over some of Pat's fabric cut into 4" squares and some cut-out stars. We made a project of putting the stars on the squares several times today. This seems to please her and she was getting pretty good at it by the end of the day. She is feeding herself again, but the effort takes all the wind out of her sails, and she falls asleep quickly after each meal.

Today the Doctor decided that since there is still some blood in the brain fluid, we will continue to drain with the external drain through the week and over the weekend. On next Monday we will address the shunt option again. It appears that she is draining some fluid on her own.

I think that the Doctor wants to be sure to steer clear of problems this time. So we are in 'wait and watch' mode until Monday. Pat and I will use the time to rest, gain strength, and do some rehab work.

Today she sat up, stood for a few minutes, and took a few steps. Pat also put on some lipstick (always a good sign) and studied her fabric squares. She is still very tired and rests or sleeps about half the time.

We usually watch Oprah at 4:00 in the afternoon and She likes to watch Alex Anderson on Simply Quilts at 7:30 in the mornings.

These uneventful days are just fine for now. We will rest and prepare for next week.

We started off the day real good. Pat was very bright and awake this morning. She put on some lipstick, washed her own face and brushed her own teeth. Things we all take for granted, but they are huge tasks for her now.

This afternoon she was hit with racking back spasms. We battled that all afternoon and finally had to use muscle relaxer pills and morphine to get her comfortable. A shame, since a couple of trips to the chiropractor at home would do the trick. Of course we can't do that here because no chiropractor would adjust her with all the ICU stuff connected and the tube in her head, and the hospital would not permit it either. Tomorrow I'm going to look for a massage therapist to come in and work on her.

The good news is that Pat's doing well except for the back spasms, and I think we can get that under control. So I'm just sitting it out here again tonight with a good book, waiting.

The back spasms that plagued Pat yesterday are under control today, thanks to muscle relaxer pills and an hour treatment from a massage therapist that I had come to the hospital. Then this afternoon she got a bath, sat up and put on her makeup. She was quite pleased with herself by dinner time.

In general we are resting, and trying to avoid any thing that would set her back. The new shunt is tentatively scheduled for next Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how her brain fluid looks by then.

I have made plans to have the massage therapist back tomorrow again and probably Saturday if she will come.

Today the Doctor had to replace Pat's I-V, and couldn't get a vein in her arm any more, as the IV use of antibiotics causes deterioration of the veins after this long. They installed a "Central Line" through her chest. She had one of these earlier, and it's probably a better way to supply the antibiotics anyway.

Pat is getting brighter each day, and was quite talkative today, although much of the conversations make sense only to her! The massage therapist came in again today and gave her a good back massage. I have made arrangements for her to come again tomorrow. The back massages have helped greatly to stem the back spasms, and Pat is much more comfortable now.

She had physical therapy today, and put on her makeup again. We worked on some simple hand to eye coordination tasks today as well. She had a good day, although she is becoming restless and wants to "explore" the wires and tubes that are attached to her. I must watch her closely to be sure that she doesn't pull out any of them.

So we plan to ride out the weekend, and look forward to next week and the new shunt.

On Saturday my shooting pals were back in Tyler for the monthly shooting match. Gene Ingram, one of my shooting pals from Dallas, picked me up and his wife sat with Pat while I went to the match. I think Pat and I both enjoyed the break, and I won first place in my class. Pat seemed to enjoy the blue ribbon that I brought her. However, she got restless in the evening and pulled out her I-V line.

Sunday Pat was restless again in the evening, and it was a chore to keep her from pulling out her tubes again. We kind of wrestled all evening and by 10 p.m. we were both worn out. At least this seems to make her tired enough to sleep through the night!

Today was uneventful. Pat rested, had a visit from the massage therapist, and sat up on the side of the bed for about half and hour. The Doctor says we are "good to go" for the new shunt! They have Pat on the surgery schedule for tomorrow morning.

So we continue to reside here in the "world's most expensive spa and hotel." The service is good, but the atmosphere leaves a lot to be desired.

Instead of going to surgery this morning as planned, we have been pushed back until Thursday at 1:45. Apparently there is a landslide of surgical patients, who have more immediate needs and we must wait our turn. Of course the plan may well change before we are done.

Today was quiet except for another new I-V line. The fourth one since Saturday night. They stopped the I-V fluids and are only using the I-V line for the twice-daily antibiotics now. After tomorrow and the new shunt, we should be off the I-Vs completely.

I'm going to stay with Pat a little later tonight just to make sure that there are no last minute problems overnight. We just have to get through next few days without problems, and we can be working at getting ready to go home. I'll keep my fingers crossed as well as being an extra grouchy watch-dog tonight. That's about all I can do.

I'm writing a little early today, as I know many of you are waiting to hear how the shunt surgery went. The answer is very good!

Pat is back in the room as of late this afternoon, and seems to be doing well. We won't know if the shunt is functioning properly for a day or two, so I'll put off any celebrating for a while, and just be happy that there were no complications with the surgery.

The plan is to watch her here for a day, and then move to the intermediate care side of the ICU "pod." I'll be glad when we begin to make some real progress again. Being "on hold" since January 25 is getting a little old.

My treat today was to have lunch in the cafeteria instead of the room. It was nice to look out the window and see the sunshine for a while.

This was a great day! Pat walked out of the room and around the desk. She is still a long way from ready to go home, but we made some good progress today. We are concentrating on keeping her awake and interested in something all day today. We want to wear her out today, so she will sleep tonight.

It was good to see her up and out of bed today, but it was also an eye-opener as to how far we have to go. In the next few days, we will have to make decisions about how to proceed when they discharge her from the hospital, but she is still in good enough shape to go home with just me to take care of her.

In general I'm VERY, VERY, VERY happy tonight!! I think we are finally turning the corner toward recovery.

Just a quick note to tell you all that Pat is doing much, much better today. We moved to a regular room today and when we got her the nurse was asking her the day, date etc. as they always do. She told them that it was the 14th and when we said that it was the 13th she said "well I thought I heard someone say it was "Valentine's Day and that's the 14th." YEAH!! She also told the nurse that I was John Van Pelt.

We made two rounds around the desk today, (with the walker) and took a wheel chair ride outside. (it was 75 degrees here today) and looked at the flowers.

So I'm John again and Pat is coming back. Still a long way to go and she is very weak, but she is coming back to us.

We plan a busy day tomorrow walking, wheel chair ride to outside, and some reading.

I can't remember a better Valentine's Day. Pat is doing great. She is a little stronger each day. She walked (with the walker) two times around the desk and down the hall this morning and again this afternoon. Her balance is very good and her coordination is coming back rapidly.

We have moved to a regular room yesterday and Pat is able to sleep uninterrupted all night now. This change alone has helped her alertness during the day.

So now we work on physical and cognitive therapy issues until the doctors are ready to release her. I expect that to be later this week. We still have a long road to travel but together we can do anything.

Pat is putting on her own make up every morning with very little help. We had one make up mishap when she mistook the lip liner for the eyebrow pencil and ended up with red eyebrows. We hope to start a new trend in the fashion so watch for it on Glamor Magazine soon!

It's hard to determine what the exact release time will be, but it's supposed to be in the morning. That means that it could be 4:00 in the afternoon. Hospitals are in their own time zone, separate from the rest of the world.

Because of the bleeding around the aneurysm on the right side of the brain and the stroke on the left side of the brain, Pat has problems with more than one function center of the brain, and the result is several therapy needs at once.

I have been busy today looking for a good out-patient program for Pat after we get home. I found a very good concentrated therapy program in Dallas, and we have an appointment for evaluation next Thursday. This program specializes in these kind of cases. She will need additional physical therapy as well, so our life will revolve around therapy of one kind or another for several months.

I may not get an update out tomorrow night, but assume that all is well if you don't hear from me. I'll let you know how things are going as soon as we get settled.

Yesterday was a little hectic but wonderful. The doctors discharged Pat by 9 AM and all we were waiting for was some kind of spray that they spray on the incision after they take out the staples, so we waited, and waited and waited. Finally, after lunch I became grumpy; VERY GRUMPY! So at 1 PM we finally left the hospital. We got home at about 4:00 in the afternoon. Our friends Gene and Donna Ingram, who have helped us so much already, drove over from Dallas so that there would three of us and a couple of nurses to get Pat up the stairs and into the RV. Then Donna rode back in the coach with us to help Pat during the ride. The ride back to Dallas was uneventful, and Pat really enjoyed watching all the scenery. Pat really was glad to be home, and stayed awake and alert until she hit the wall at 9:30 in the evening. What with ordering Meds and supplies, getting dinner together, and getting the house set up for Pat, I ran out of energy before getting off my mail to you who have been so faithful in following our progress.

Today was another good day. Each day Pat gains strength and confidence in herself. Today she more aggressive in starting and following conversations. She also did several actions on her own that I have previously had to prompt her to do. AQS sent me a DVD of her segment on their new show. We watched it together this afternoon (several times) and it really boosted her sprits. My thanks to Sylvia Thomas at AQS for the early preview. The show is great, and I encourage you all to watch for on the Lifetime women's channel. [Saturday, April 2, 9:30 Central time, on Lifetime's Real Women channel] (E-mail or call AQS for more details).

Ann and I spent time in the office this morning, starting to get me up to speed on our business. The new scissors are in and they are great. We have them on the web site now, and they are ready to ship!

Well, readers, we are on our way to recovery and making great progress, so stay tuned for future updates. I will make every effort to get one out every day, but life is sometimes a little crazy here so I may miss one now and then. Bear with me and assume that all is well if you don't here from me.

"There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home..."

Pat is walking with her cane and not the walker for the last couple of days. We have a routine now. Out of bed about 8, breakfast, a walk around the house or out by the pool, a rest, lunch and some kind of activity, a rest, an afternoon walk, a rest, Oprah at 4, dinner and a rest after dinner, bed at 9 or 10. We have a special activity each day. Today Pat's hairdresser came and did her hair; tomorrow we hope to get her nails done. The weather was great in Dallas yesterday and today, so we took a short ride in Pat's car.

My plan is to stick with this routine for the rest of the week. We have an appointment for evaluation at the Texas Women's University, stroke recovery clinic on Thursday and will probably start rehabilitation classes there next week. Pat tires easily and becomes agitated and confused when she is tired, so we keep plenty of rest and naps in her schedule.

So we are getting on track now and sleeping better at night (both of us). The days are busy for me as I can't leave Pat alone much and the office work is always calling when I get a minute to myself. I'll try to keep these updates coming, but it will probably only be a couple of times per week.

Let me take this opportunity to say THANKS to each and every person who sent a "Healing Heart" to Pat for the wonderful heart quilt. There were so many hearts, that BOTH SIDES (see pictures) of the quilt were filled with your love, thoughts, and prayers! And a very Special Thanks goes to Sandra Wucher for putting them all together and doing the quilting! Pat enjoys the quilt each and every day, remembering all your kindnesses. It was so �heart warming� to receive it when we arrived home from the extended hospital stay.

Pat is doing very well. Her strength is good and getting better everyday. Although she is doing very well, she still has a lot of problems with memory and is often very confused. The brain is working at rebuilding itself, and this takes time and a lot of rest. She requires a long nap both morning and afternoon, and goes to sleep by 9 every night. We have been able to get out some almost every day, and she was scheduled to start therapy last week. However, we had a glitch.

My mother was taken the hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa last week and took a bad turn over the week end. So Pat and I had to make a quick trip to Omaha on very short notice. On Sunday night (March 20), I got the call that I'd better come up right away, so I got Pat packed up and we loaded the motor home and pulled out of Dallas at 11 AM on Monday. We drove to Wichita, KS the first night and made it to my family farm in southwest Iowa about 30 miles south of Omaha by 5 PM on Tuesday. Traveling in the motor home is comfortable for Pat as she can lay down on the couch whenever she need to nap.

The good news is that Mom has recovered very well, and has been moved from the hospital to a skilled nursing home for continued rehab. She had fallen and hurt her neck a couple of weeks ago and wasn't recovering well. When she fainted in the doctor's office on Thursday, she was taken the hospital where they did more tests on her neck and determined that it was fractured!

By then she was very run down and had gotten pneumonia; in the confusion she was given a heavy dose of morphine for the neck pain and went nearly comatose! This was when my sister and brother moved her to the "real" hospital in Omaha. It was also when they thought I should come up, as mom was pretty bad. Now she is doing well and should recover as long as no more problems occur. It's now a matter of getting the neck injury healed up and getting her strength back.

We are getting a nice visit in with my daughters and grand children while we are here, so the trip has an up side. I'm planning to head back when I'm sure mother is on the right track. I hope to get Pat's therapy program back on track by early April.

So that's the news from us on this Easter weekend. I hope this finds you all well and having a nice holiday weekend.

I am sorry for not keeping you better informed this past couple of months. Our schedule has been keeping me busy during the days and tired at night. We have been going to therapy Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for most of the day and using the rest of the week for Pat to rest so she can do it again come the next Monday! She still needs at least two long naps during the day and I like to have her get more when she appears to need it.

Pat has finished her first course of therapy and has done remarkably well. She is back to 100% physically. She looks great and I think that helps her cope with the other problems she still has to work on. She has improved more than her therapists expected in speech and learning areas and is testing about 80 to 95 percent of normal in most areas. She still has considerable problems with "word finding" and memory.

We meet with the neurosurgeons on Thursday of this week (May 5) to set up her next surgery to "clip" the remaining aneurysm. We expect this to be done in sometime in May (now June). Then comes another period of recovery and back for more therapy during the summer.

We are continually grateful for Pat's progress so far and expect that she will fully recover with time and good therapy.

I will keep you informed during her stay in the hospital and try to keep up after we get home. It's easier for me to write while Pat is in the hospital as I have the great nursing staff at East Texas Medical Center of Tyler to help with Pat's care. After I bring Pat home I have much more to do to take care of her and I don't get to my writing duties as often as I would like.

Thanks for all the love and support that you have shown to Pat and me over these last few months.

Pat is doing very well. We visited her neurosurgeon and set up the next surgery for June 22.

While in Tyler we saw two eye doctors about Pat's loss of sight in her left eye. Both agree that there is blood in her retina from the initial brain aneurysm and it will eventually clear up, there doesn't seem to be any damage to the retina itself.

Pat and I have taken over the job of packaging the fabric marking pencils while we are resting in the afternoon. This is a good project for us and we are getting very efficient at it! Pat is really pleased to be productive, just resting and recuperating is not enough activity for her now. She is happier when she is productive; our Pat is coming back!

We plan to head up to Iowa next week for a visit with my family over the Memorial Day weekend. We plan to take the RV and "mosey" up and back.

That's all the news for now. I am sorry for not writing sooner but the days seem to get away from me now that Pat can do more.

Pat and I returned home from our trip after spending Memorial Day week with my family in Iowa. My mom is doing much better and we kidnapped her from the skilled care facility and she spent the week at the family farm with us.

Mom is ready to move to assisted living and is just waiting for an apartment to open up, so she is really doing quite well, and we all enjoyed the week at the farm. Pat and mom relaxed and both did really well. We did quite a bit of "sneaky" therapy by getting the flowers put out at the cemetery and walking around the yard at the farm each day. I was in charge of getting us to the area restaurants for meals, and I even cooked dinner a few times at the farm.

Memorial Day we had the whole family out at the farm for a cook out. The weather cooperated and we enjoyed a fine Iowa early summer day. I ran the grill and my daughters ran the kitchen and cleaned up. All the kids played outside and enjoyed the great weather.

Pat and I left on Thursday and took our time getting back to Dallas. We stopped in southern Oklahoma for a two day shooting match and then stopped overnight to visit with Pat's friend, Ann McNab, in Nocona, TX. Ann and Pat stitched a little. Pat was satisfied with her first attempt to stitch since January.

We are back in Texas now and Pat is resting and doing some gardening. We are getting ready for her next surgery on June 22. I hope to get my laptop back in use before we go, so I can post updates from the hospital each day for you all.

Just a note to tell you all that we have checked into the hospital at Eastern Texas Medical Center in Tyler again to have Pat's last aneurysm operated on.

Pat will have surgery tomorrow at 7:15 AM. It is expected to take 3-4 hours so I will probably not have much news until afternoon. We will be moved to a different room after surgery, so it will probably be evening before I get set up for another report on Pat's condition.

Pat wants to tell you all how much she appreciates your calls, cards and e-mails of support during her illness. She sends her love to you all.

FLASH: Pat's surgery went well; She got out of surgery about noon and hopefully will be at her room by the end of the day. More to come soon - check back.

GOOD NEWS!

Pat's surgery was successfully completed at about noon today. The doctor was happy with the way the surgery went. Pat is back in the room this afternoon, though she still has a breathing tube in overnight until she recovers completely from the very heavy sedation required for this type of brain surgery. The doctor expects that they will remove the tube in the morning.

Pat is still pretty much unconscious, but she has squeezed my hand when I talk to her.

I am writing this mail at about 5:00, as she will probably be more active this evening and I may be to busy to write then. She is likely be a handful when she starts to wake up, and I want to keep a close eye on her.

Things are looking good tonight in Tyler!!!!!!!

Thanks for your love and support,

John

=============

Early this morning Pat went back for some additional surgery to take care of some bleeding. She is back in her room and doing OK. Doctors say she will sleep most of today.

Our webmaster will be out of town, so we will not post another update until Monday.

Bumps in the road......

Overnight it was suspected that Pat was having some bleeding in the area of her brain where the surgery was done yesterday. This was confirmed by CAT scan early this morning and she went back into surgery again. Blood and clots were removed from the area of the brain near where the work was done yesterday.

The shunt that had been installed in February to drain brain fluid when she had her previous problems was removed during this surgery and a piece of her scull was removed and left off to allow for her brain to have room to swell without doing damage while she recovers from today's surgery. Doctors were pleased that there was no brain tissue damage and the swelling in the brain was minimum.

We are now waiting and watching for the next 24 hours to see how she comes out of the effects of the sedation. We are all confident that Pat will bounce back now that the blood is removed. I guess that I will have to break in another chair here while I wait for Pat to heal. It seems probable that we will be here for a while as she will require at least one more trip to surgery to reinstall the shunt and replace the removed piece of skull.

It is now 8:30 PM and Pat is resting comfortably, sleeping off the sedation from today and yesterday's surgeries. We don't expect much activity until tomorrow morning.

So it appears that we are again doing what I call the "Tyler Two Step." That is two steps forward and three steps backward.

Thank You for your love and support.

John

Today Pat was able to nod and wiggle her fingers after lots of urging. The Doctor was pleased with that and said he wasn't even expecting that much for another day or so.

Pat is resting comfortably and nods to me when I talk to her although it's an effort.

It was some comfort to know that the doctor didn't find this extended unconsciousness out of the ordinary. This is information that would have been nice to know yesterday!

They plan another CAT scan early tomorrow to check on the swelling.

So again tonight I am waiting for Pat to join me in Tyler.

John

==================

Today was a good day!

Pat is responding to commands. She moved her fingers and toes when we asked today and nods her head when I talk to her. She showed us 2 fingers on each and when asked and moved toes on each foot when asked.

She is still not really awake because of the swelling in her brain but she is hearing and understanding us. The doctor says she not out of the woods yet but is doing very well. Today's CAT scan showed the swelling in the brain but the area where the blood was removed is not bleeding any more.

Time now to wait for her brain to heal from the trauma of the surgery and for the swelling subside.

Encouraged in Tyler today.

John

Dear Friends and Family:

Today's report is pretty much the same as yesterday's. Pat is resting and we are waiting for the swelling in her brain to subside. She nods to me and squeezes my hand when I talk to her, but it's an effort. Doctor says this may last 10 days to 2 weeks depending on how long it takes for the swelling to subside in her brain. So it's another uneventful report.

Boring is good for us now so I'll take it!

Thanks for your love and support.

John

Continued good news today!

Pat is awake and alert. They took the breathing tube out this morning. Pat's throat is sore and she can't talk because the ventilation tube makes the vocal cords swell. This will last a day or two. We expect that she will be able to swallow well enough to eat in a few days. Then we can remove the feeding tube.

Pat is staying awake during the day and sleeping well at night. She is very alert and responds to us well, even giving orders via hand signals.

She has questioned why her head is all wrapped up in a turban and wants to know how she is doing. I've explained it all to her and she responds that she understands. She seems pretty sharp when she is fully awake.

So the wait now is for the swelling in the brain to go down, then they can look at when they do surgery to replace the bone in her head. Probably be a couple of weeks at least.

So we have taken several steps forward today in the Tyler Two Step.

Dancing in Tyler tonight!

John

Dear Friends and Family:

Another great day.

This morning's CAT scan looked good, the swelling is continuing to subside and the area of the operation shows no new bleeding. All signs are good!

Pat is doing super! She is eating on her own, sitting up in a chair beside the bed and standing for a little while. She is getting stronger each day.

She is also getting restless and can be quite a handful when she decides she is going to do something like get out of bed or pull out her brain drain or her IV line! She still has no voice, this is caused by the irritation of the vocal cords by the ventilation tube. That doesn't stop her from ordering me around with hand gestures.

So the news is good from Tyler tonight.

Thanks for your love and support.

John

========================

Dear Friend and Family:

Well it's another good day. It looks like Pat's brain is draining it's own fluid like normal. This means that she may not have to have the shunt put back in when they operate to replace the piece of skull bone that they removed to allow her brain to swell without causing any damage.

Pat had another real good day today. This morning she washed her face brushed her teeth and put on her makeup. The makeup is the tip-off that she is lots better. She sat up in a chair beside the bed most of the morning and eat lunch there.

She is providing us with some entertainment today as well.

There is a board in the room where the nurses record her weight. Her weight in kilos is posted along with the date each day with a magic marker pen. Pat insisted today that I erase the board because she didn't want everyone to see her weight. She is also annoyed that it's posted in kilos because she can't figure out what she weighs.

All in all she is in good spirits even though her voice is still hoarse to the point that she can hardly speak. They expect that to last a couple of more days. She is receiving breathing treatments each day that should help her voice and increase her lung power. She is still pretty mixed up and we are on constant watch to make sure that she doesn't pull any of her remaining tubes.

So we are moving ahead nicely in Tyler this evening.

Pat sends her love to all of you.

I thank you for your love and support.

John

=====================

A friend of mine, Karl Goodhouse in Chicago, wrote me today and said it that Pat's good recovery sounded like we had switched from the "Tyler Two Step" to the "Waltz".

I thought it was a great line ..... so I'm stealing it.

Pat's doing well again today. Sitting up, getting up and generally doing GREAT!

So .... tonight we are doing "The East Texas Waltz" here in Tyler.

Thank you for your love and support.

John

Dear Friends and Family:

Another good day. They took the drain tube out of Pat's brain today. She is apparently draining her own brain fluid normally now. This means that she probably will not need to have the shunt put back in her head after the next surgery.

Pat's friend Sally visited us today, bringing me fresh laundry and taking my laundry back to Dallas for me. The weekly shuttle has begun! Pat was happy to see her and we enjoyed the visit. Pat is getting a little restless as she starts feeling better. I have to watch her though because she still hasn't got her wheels on the tracks all the time. Today she insisted on putting salt and pepper in her apple juice ... well, maybe she will start a new drink trend.

At the risk of being boring ....... another great day.

Thanks for your love and support.

John

==================

Dear Friends and Family:

Today we made a little progress. They upgraded Pat's status to "intermediate care". This meant a move to the only intermediate care bed available which is in a two bed room. Not so much of a problem except the family of the other patient is pretty noisy!

I'm hopeful that tomorrow we can get some kind of idea of what the next steps are and when they can replace the "bone flap" as they call it, in Pat's head.

There has been some talk that they might send her home without the bone flap for some period of time and then bring her back for the surgery to replace it. I think it depends on how much the swelling goes down. I hope they don't send us home that way as it will be extremely hard to take care of her a home and protect the "soft spot" in her head. She is still not functioning too well mentally and has no regard for her own safety.

As I said maybe they will tell us more tomorrow.

Overall it's been a good day and we are making steady progress.

Thanks for your love and support.

Happy 4th of July to you all.

John

======================

Well the holiday is over and the hospital is back to normal today. Don't go to the hospital on a holiday!

Pat's doctor was in today and ordered a CAT scan. This is to look at the swelling in her brain. So tomorrow we should know something more about when they are going to operate to replace the bone flap in her head.

Otherwise Pat is doing well. They took her catheter out today so she is completely "unhooked" now. She walked around the desk this morning and was pretty strong for the whole "lap". Tomorrow we plan to do two laps around the desk! (such excitement)

We are still having a problem getting her to talk above a whisper. She is having trouble coordinating her breathing with her speech. Apparently pushing air against the vocal cords during speech is necessary to make volume when we talk. Pat can't seem to get the two things working together yet. Just one more thing that happened when they mess with your brain. Everyone feels that the problem will correct itself in time with some help. The problems with her swallowing are gone today and she is eating well without problems.

So it's another good day in Tyler and all is quiet tonight.

Thanks for your love and support.

John

===================

Good news today! They will operate on Friday morning to replace the skull bone in Pat's head. It looks like they will not replace the shunt that she had before. Her brain seems to be draining the fluid on its own now. All of this is good news and we hope for a successful out come on the first try this time.

The only big thing that happened today was that they decided to take out the "central line" IV that was in her jugular vein and replace it with an IV in the arm. She isn't getting anything through the IV but the doctor wanted to have one in "just in case". It took them three different people and all day to get an IV started in her arm (actually her hand). I really think the new IV is a CYA kind of thing. But the central line has been in since the 22 and that runs the risk of infection. I just hate to have them beat her up so much trying to get a new IV started when they are going to have to put another central line in her for the surgery in Friday anyway!

Other than that we are just waiting for Friday's surgery and looking forward to getting Pat well and home again. Hopefully we are on that road now.

Thank you all for your love and support.

John

Dear Friend and Family:

Well, here we are again the night before surgery. Pat is snoozing and it's just as well, She will need the extra rest to get through the next couple of days. We are really hoping that this is the last trip to the operating room.

They came in today and put back the central line that they took out yesterday! They did put it in another site because the first entry point was getting infected. They are having a terrible time finding her veins even for the central line in her neck. They finally had to bring in a machine to locate the vein for the line. She has had too many IVs and central lines and her veins just won't support them anymore!

So we spend another restless night in Tyler.

I pray this the last time she has to go through this!

Thank you all for your support for both of us throughout this terrible time. It's your love and prayers have been a great comfort to both of us.

John

========================

Friday 12:30 PM

Dear friends and Family:

Not the best news today......

We have had another set back this morning. When the doctor opened up Pat's head to replace the bone flap they found infection. The doctor reinstalled the outside drain for her brain fluid and closed her up again without replacing the skull bone.

She is back in her room now and still sleeping off the sedation. The course of treatment is to identify the infection and treat it with antibiotics for ten days to two weeks before going back into surgery and replacing the skull bone.

Seems like she can't get a break these days!

John

Dear Friends and Family:

Pat is slowly regaining consciousness She opened her eyes and gave us a thumbs up and wiggled her toes on command. She is dozing and we are letting her sleep most of the time. All her vital signs are all good.

They are waiting to determine which antibiotic to use on the infection.

So we have switched from the waltz back to the Tyler two step.

Thank you for your love and support.

John

========================

Pat is doing well tonight. She is still mostly sleeping but she did wake up and open her eyes a couple of times today. She smiled at me and squeezed my hand, even when she didn't open her eyes. I got her to eat a little this evening so they won't have to put a tube in her for feeding. All her vital signs are perfect and she seems to be responding to the antibiotic treatment.

I think she will come around a little more each day now. Each time they put her under it takes longer for her to come out of it.

So it's a quiet night in Tyler tonight.

If you will forgive me, I will forgo tomorrow's update unless there is something important to report. I will pick up again on Monday. Tomorrow night I am going to try to get a little more rest.

Good night and thank you for your love and support.

John

======================

Dear Friends and Family:

Pat is doing well today. She still sleeps or doses most of the time but she has opened her eyes a few minute at a time several times today. She tried to feed herself at lunch but could only manage a few bites before she was exhausted.

We look for this to be about the status quo for the rest of the week. The nurses (always a better source of information than the doctors) tell me that treatment and recovery from the infection will slow her coming back from the last trip to surgery. I figure that her brain has been operated on 7 times since the first of the year! Guess she has earned a little extra rest!

In better news, Pat's new line from Timeless Treasures is out and it's a knock out!

It's called the Jacobean Rhapsody Collection. It's beautiful colorful and elegant as only Pat's designs can be! Ask your local shop when they are getting it. We think it's the best yet.

Thanks for your love and support.

John

======================

We had a real good day today. Pat is more awake and we even had her standing by the bed for several minutes today. I'm sure she could walk a little, if not for all the tubes and wires that are attached to her.

The doctor says her blood work shows that the infection is getting better. All her vial signs are good and she is getting stronger each day. She was able to feed herself most of her dinner before she pooped out and I had to take over. She is sleeping now but I plan to wake her at 9 for a TV program she likes to watch.

So we are again just hanging around here in Tyler. Waiting to each new day to make Pat stronger.

Good night and thanks for your love and support.

John

======================

Today the doctors changed the dance again. They have "clamped" her tube that drains her cerebral fluid to see if she will drain it herself. This isn't really anything new as we have been through it a few times before. However no one bothered to tell ME about this until 5:00 this evening!

Pat sat up this morning and ate pretty well at breakfast and lunch, but at dinner she fell asleep in "mid-bite" and I had to give up trying to feed her. This game of drain and not drain is a pain in the butt! I've been through it all before several times before but it's stressful all the same. On a brighter note, if she can drain her fluid herself we may not have to have a shunt put in when we replace the bone flap in her head. They will do a CAT scan early tomorrow to see if the fluid is building up or draining. I will be here to catch the Doctor myself in the morning when he sees the scan!

So it's an old familiar song we are dancing to tonight, but not one of my favorites.

Thanks for your love and support.

John

=====================

Well the brain drain experiment was a flop! Her brain filled up with fluid. I thought so last night and the CAT scan confirmed it early this morning. By 6 AM I had met with the Doctor and he unclamped her drain. By 10 AM Pat was up, awake and walked around the ICU unit desk!

She ate lunch by her self and ate dinner herself too. Although the effort requires a 2 or 3 hour nap after each meal. Generally she was much brighter today.

The bad news is that she will probably require a shunt when they replace the bone flap. At this point that's the least of my worries.

So the news is mixed tonight. On Balance I'm very happy that Pat is back to some semblance of normal and can continue get stronger.

Good night and thank you for your love an support.

John

=====================

Dear Friends and Family

Today is another good day. Pat walked around the ICU desk again today and sat up in the recliner all day, eating both lunch and dinner there. She is doing well and getting a little stronger each day. Doc's say that she will be on the antibiotic treatment until at least next Friday.

Pat still is having trouble speaking above a whisper. The collective thinking between the doctors, nurses and speech therapists is that she has a combination of problems. The area of the brain where she had the blood removed is the part that helps to "initiate" and organize things that the body does. Pat seems to be having some problems getting her diaphragm and her vocal cords to work together. She probably still has some swelling in her brain as well that isn't helping the situation. We think that time and some speech therapy will solve this problem.

So we are looking forward to another weekend in beautiful downtown Tyler, Texas!

Thanks for your love and support.

John

Dear Friends and Family

A hot, humid day here in beautiful downtown Tyler Texas. Pat and I stayed cool in her hospital room where the temperature is mind numbingly consistent. Pat is getting a little stronger each day. She moved to the recliner before lunch and stayed there until after 8 tonight. She is eating well and staying awake a little longer after meals each day.

All is pretty quiet on the weekends here unless there is an emergency case that comes to the ICU unit. We are just sitting tight and watching every rerun of Law and Order on TNT. It's one of Pat's favorite shows and she likes to see the old episodes that we have missed when traveling. By now we have eaten everything that they serve at meals at least twice, seen every TV show a dozen times and even the summer junk TV shows are starting to look good! When Pat sleeps I have read, and I've finished three or four books. Pat's friend Sally brings me clean clothes and new books each Sunday, takes my laundry back to Dallas and drops it off for me. I don't know how I would cope without Sally, Ann, and Terry. They are really good friends. Thank goodness for them.

So all the news is pretty boring from Tyler tonight. Boring is good right now.

Thanks for your love and support.

John

=================

Another good day. We are on pretty much the same schedule each day now. Breakfast in bed, up and into the chair about mid morning ( walking on weekdays when the physical therapy people are here), lunch in the chair then a nap, dinner in the chair and back to bed about 8 PM or so.

It's a pretty boring day, but we like boring right now.

There is not too much going on over the weekend here. A few new patients in the ICU and I hate to see the worry and sadness on the faces of the families. This is a pretty scary place when someone you love ends up here. I've seen so many come and go (one way or the other) since we first arrived on January 1st. They do send a good percentage of the patients home it seems and that's encouraging.

I'm grateful that Pat is doing well, even though it's been a slow grind. I've seen enough to know how lucky we've been. I'm sure that some part of that luck is due to all the love and support she receives from all of you.

Thank you,

John

Dear Friends and Family

All the doctors agreed today, that Pat is ready to have another surgery to replace the bone flap and put in another shunt. She is strong, rested and not showing any sign of infection.

We're waiting to see when they can get her on the surgery schedule. It will probably be later this week. I sure hope things go well this time and we can start to get Pat on the road to recovery again.

Pat was awake all morning, walked around the ICU pod and had lunch in the chair. Then she conked out for the afternoon! She ate sitting in the chair and stayed up until 8:40. In general she is stronger each day.

So we are still sitting tight in Tyler again tonight, but making progress.

Thanks for your love and support

John

Dear Friends and Family

Well, the date is set. They are going to do surgery on Friday morning to replace the bone and put a new shunt in Pat's head. If all goes well we should be on the way to getting her out of here and well. I sure hope we don't have all the complications with the shunt this time around. They installed another new central IV line today.

They could not get a new line in her chest because all the vessels they normally use won't support the IV line any more. They put this one in a large vessel in the underside of the right upper arm The old one had been in for a couple of weeks and it was on the left side of her neck, near where the shunt tube will go. The doctor doesn't want anything on that side.

Pat is getting stronger each day. She is walking each day and sitting up in the chair most of the day. She is wake for much longer periods of time now. She is good and strong for the surgery on Friday.

So, we are taking two steps forward today in Tyler.

Good night, and Thanks for your love and support.

John

=======================

Dear Friends and Family

Another good day today. Pat felt very good this morning and walked around the ICU area twice! She was very strong all day.

We just need to make it to Friday without a problem!

So we are looking good in Tyler tonight!

Thanks for your love and support.

John

================

Dear Friends and Family

First, thanks to all of you that have sent us notes today encouraging us for tomorrow's surgery.

We had another good day today. Pat is very strong and I expect if we didn't have the surgery to do they would be looking at sending her home. I hope she bounces back quickly from this next surgery.

I'll post you all the news tomorrow night.

Thank you for your love and support.

John

=============

Dear Friends and Family

Pat returned from surgery about noon today. She has been awake for a short time twice since then and has had a little soup and Jello to eat. She has talked to me a little and it pretty bright. Right now she is sleeping lightly and doing very well.

The doctors replaced the bone piece in her head, installed a new shunt and repaired a small hernia that they found when they made the incision in her abdomen for the shunt tube. This was apparently caused by the previous shunt placement. She had been having some pain in this area for a couple of weeks before we returned here but we couldn't pin down the cause. It was lucky that they caught it and repaired it while she was in surgery, avoiding having to have another operation later.

So the news from Tyler is good today.

Thanks you for your love an support.

John

PS Our webmaster is on vacation until Monday so this will not get posted in the website until next week. If any of you are on any digests or chats where people may be following Pat's progress please post this latest update.

=================

Dear Friends and Family

Well, I'm going to stop reporting success after surgeries. Last night everything went to hell.

The shunt wasn't working and the over night CAT scan showed Pat's brain filling with fluid. The new IV line that they installed Thursday went bad during the night and Pat's arm was the size of a ham this morning. They did manage to get a new IV in her hand. No one is very optimistic about how long it will last.

The doctor adjusted the pressure on the shunt this morning and they will do another CAT scan overnight. Meanwhile Pat was not very good today. She could barley stay awake long enough to eat her meals and couldn't talk at all.

A very discouraging day! I hope tomorrow will be better.

Thanks you for your love and support.

John

===================

Dear Friends and Family

Today was a better day. The adjustment that the doctor made in the shunt yesterday seems to be working. Pat is much better today. She is sitting up, talking and eating by herself. The doctor says id she continues to be this good tomorrow she will be upgraded to intermediate care.

At the risk of jinxing her, I'm guardedly optimistic tonight.

One of my friends called the set backs, "dancing in place" Another hopes we will switch from the "Tyler Two Step" to the "Richardson Rumba" soon.

So I'll sign off from this episode of "Dancing with the Quilt Star". I hope this will be a short lived series with no reruns!

Things are good tonight in Tyler and we thank you all for your continued love and support.

John

Today was another good day. I like this new trend!

Pat walked around the pod today and sat in the chair all day. The doctors changed her status from ICU to intermediate care so we are making progress. Tomorrow we move across the pod to an intermediate care room.

So we are doing the East Texas Waltz again and working up to the Richardson Rumba.

Thanks for your love and support.

John

==============

Dear Friends and Family

Pat had another good day today. They gave her a shower today and she worked with the person from the therapy department for an hour or so this morning.

They did an evaluation on her mental status today. That news wasn't very good. It appears that she may have even more problems than the after the last surgery. They are going continue the evaluation tomorrow, but it looks like we are in for many more months of therapy particularly in the area of speech. Pat still can't coordinate the vocal cords and diaphragm to produce a "voice" above a whisper. Since this round of surgeries were on the left side of her brain, the problems are different than after the last time, since those procedures were on the right side of her brain.

Doctors think she may be strong enough return home by the first of next week. Both of us will be looking forward to that.

Thank you for your love and support.

John

=================

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Dear Friends and Family

Well, the day started out with a change of rooms. We moved to an intermediate care room on the same pod as the ICU rooms. At 8 PM tonight they moved us again to a room in the "A" pod across the hall from ICU. This is a regular room with doors that close, and thus no one waking you up during the night. Pat will be able to start getting a lot more rest at night now.

Pat had another good day today. She walked down the Hall to the shower room this morning, and then walked around the ICU pod twice in the afternoon.She is using a walker and going very slow, but she was a lot stronger today.

A much better day today in Tyler.

Thank you for our love and support.

John

==================

Dear Friends and Family

Pretty quiet here in Tyler today. The doctors said that we will be discharged on Monday for sure if nothing unravels before then. So we are looking forward to getting home and starting the long road to recovery.....again.

Pat is getting stronger each day. She is staying awake for longer periods of time each day.

She walked twice today. She is getting fairly steady on her feet but still needs some assistance when walking.

So again tonight we are waiting it out in Tyler.

Good night and thank you for your love and support.

John

==================

Dear Friends and Family

Pat's doing very good . We are concentrating on building up her walking time. Today we walked over the ICU pod and saw all her old nurses in ICU. We did this once in the morning and again in the afternoon. The distance is about 300 yards for each trip. Tomorrow we are going to work on some steps so that Pat can climb into the motor home on Monday to go home. She is working with the speech therapist everyday. She is whispering a little louder . I guess that's some progress.

Pat says to tell you all thanks for thinking about her. She hopes to see you all soon.

Starting the weekend count down in Tyler. Looking forward to Monday!

Well, we have another good day behind us.

Pat walked to and from the shower room today. After her shower She got dressed in slacks and a shirt. Now that we were "all dressed up" we decided to go for a walk. We walked to the ICU nurses station to see the nurses that took care of Pat while we were there. Then after lunch we walked down the hall and looked out the window for a while. Then later in the afternoon the physical therapy lady came and we tried going up and down a couple of stairs. Pat did great on everything that we tried. By 8:00 she was sound asleep!

She still has a long way to go but she is off to a good start!

Only one more day until we go home and I'm sure ready. It will be good to sleep in our own bed for a change. Pat seems to make even better progress when she is home with her own things around.

Counting down in Tyler.

Thanks for your love and support.

John

=================

Dear Friends and Family

Looks like we have just finished our last hospital dinner! Pat also had her last treatment of IV antibiotics this afternoon. She is completely "unhooked" now and ready to get out of here tomorrow. Pat's friend Sally is coming to ride back to Dallas with us, just so Pat doesn't try to get up during the trip. It will be late tomorrow when we get home and get settled in. I will probably skip the update tomorrow night. So consider no news as good news. I'll resume when we get into a routine at home.

Things look good and what Pat needs most is be home and rest a lot. When she is rested we will start therapy at the stroke center again.

Tyler as been good to us, especially the staff and doctors at East Texas medical Center, but leaving is the next step it getting Pat well again.

Happiness is Tyler Texas in my rearview mirror.

Thank you for your love and support.

John

================

Well, we made it through the first 24 hours at home. Pat was very tired yesterday when we got home and it was all I could do to get dinner and medication in her before she crashed. Today she was up at 8:00 AM, stayed awake (mostly) until 10:00, slept most the afternoon but was very awake for dinner and the evening until staying up until 9:00. She is walking with a walker and doing pretty well getting around the house.

I'd say she is 50% weaker than the last time we came home from the hospital and quite a bit less "with it" mentally. This surgery and the complications have taken more of a toll on her than before. I think it will be a longer and more difficult recovery than last time. We will just hang in there and get through it, however long it takes!

I will try to keep you all informed as we work to get Pat through the recovery period. I may not have the time or the energy to post each day, but I will try to keep you all currant on Pat's progress.

It's great to be home.

Thank you all for your love and support.

John

================

Pat usually takes a long nap about 1 or 2 in the afternoon and I clean up lunch dishes, do some more laundry and try to do some work in the office. At about 4 Pat usually wakes up. She is the brightest from after she wakes up until after dinner. That's when I can see little bits of improvement.

She is walking a little stronger and needs less help getting up from the chair, although she still can't get up by herself. At least I know she will be where I put her until I move her! I don't have to worry about her wandering into trouble (yet). I do have to be careful though, today she ate half her napkin when I was busy clearing the lunch dishes! Guess it looked better than lunch!

Dear Friends and Family

Our first few days home are going pretty well. Pat is walking around the house with just my light assistance to insure her balance. She is pretty slow but she is doing very well with a little help. She still can't get to her feet on her own but she needs less lifting each day to get up. Pat's appetite is good and she is getting stronger each day. She still isn't talking above a whisper and is very confused most of the time.

Tomorrow we will make our first trip out. I need to get the motor home back to the storage lot. Terry and Pat are going to follow me in the car. I think Pat will enjoy the ride and a short change of scenery.

We are both resting and getting our wind back after so much time at the hospital.

All is going well for now.

Thanks for your love and support.

John

=============

It's been a few days since my last update and Pat is a little better each day. She is walking pretty well but very slowly. Her balance is getting better and this week I plan to get her out to the pool garden for a few more "sneaky therapy" walks to inspect the flowers.

Pat's friend Nancy Busby from Arizona visited us today and Pat really rallied for the visit. It did wear her out but she enjoyed the change in activity very much. Nancy will be back near the end of the week and we will get in another visit then.

So we are making very slow progress here in Dallas but we are headed in the right direction.

Goodnight and thanks for your love and support.

John

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Dear Friends and Family,

Please forgive me for not getting you news on Pat for on a more regular schedule. Pat is doing well and getting stronger each day. She is walking very well with a little assistance from me. We are well into a regular routine now, and she is responding well to the structure.

Pat is comfortable and content most of the time. She is making about much progress as can be expected for now. I'm in the groove of running the nursing home and doing several loads of laundry each morning.....getting to be quite a little house wife! Fall semester at the therapy center starts in mid-September and I think we will both will be ready for the change by then. The new activity each day will do us both good. I'm planning a few short outings for us next week to start building her up for therapy. I think we will start "doing lunch" out a few days next week. ( at the drive through).

Pat's friend Nancy Busby form Arizona was in town this weekend stopped in for a couple of visits. Pat perks up when she has a visitor. It tires her out and the visits have to be short but she seems to do well when she has company or talks on the phone.

Thank you all for the notes and cards. Pat really enjoys getting mail (just like a little kid). She stacks the cards up and reads them over many times. I'm not sure she understands what is written but she knows that people care about her and that seems to make her happy.

Thank you all for your love and support.

John

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The news is still good today; but this is a slow process. Pat is a little stronger and has been pretty lucid times for short periods this week. She is very restless at night now. She sleeps well for periods of time, then starts moving her arms and legs almost constantly for long periods of time. Sleep is something that I catch when I can these days. I'm hoping that as she stays awake longer during the day and evening, she will sleep better at night. She is just not aware of what she is doing most of the time yet.

We see the doctor for a follow up at the end of the month and start therapy in September, so I'm trying to work her up to longer stretches of awake time. Her voice is starting to work sometimes now, but I have to push her to use it, she wants to whisper all the time.

That is all the news tonight.

Thanks for your love and support.

John

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We are still making slow progress.

This past couple of days Pat has been quite a lot better. She is more aware of her surroundings and is starting to find her voice a little. She shows noticeable signs of improvement this week. I'll feel better when she starts to do her makeup in the mornings! With her, that's a sign that she is getting "with it." She doesn't show any interest in doing it yet.

On Sunday we celebrated Pat's birthday. It was a quiet event with steaks and an ice cream cake from Braums. Usually Pat likes to let the day pass without much fanfare, but I though this year a little celebration was in order.

As I have said there isn't really much to report from here these days. We are in a steady routine of meals, showers, laundry and rest right now. Just trying to get Pat ready for therapy that starts next month.

Thanks for your continuing support and loving thoughts. Thanks to all of you that have sent cards and notes. Pat really enjoys getting mail.

John

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Dear Friends and Family:

Well, we have gotten through another week! Pat is continuing to improve a little every few days. She is getting stronger and uses her voice a little more each day. She seems to reserve her voice for "important" callers and visitors while still whispering to me and Terry. I think that it is still uncomfortable for her to really "talk" for any length of time. She continues to be very confused most of the time which is normal, but even that has improved a little this week.

Pat is walking pretty well but still has some balance problems. We walk around the house where we can use the walls and furniture (and yours truly) to lean on, but use the cane for added security when out of the house. We spent some time this weekend by the pool and did a little "water walking" in the pool for sneaky physical therapy. We even took a ride to Braums for some ice cream. Thank goodness for "drive through" windows"

So the report is good for this week. We go the doctors in Tyler for follow-up visits this week. We have appointments starting at 10 AM and it's a two-hour drive, so Wednesday will be an "early call" for us and a full day.

Thank you for your continued love and support.

Dear Friends and Family:

It seems that some of you didn't receive my e-mail of Thursday August 29th. I have copied it below for you .

The news is still pretty good. Pat is getting stronger each day. I have her starting some therapy next week to work on the muscles in her back and shoulders. We are just taking it easy this week end and hope to get in the pool on Monday for a bit. The weather has moderated a little over the weekend, for it's only in the mid 90's and the humidity is lower.

Everything is going well and we are just waiting tor therapy to start.

Thanks for your support.

John

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Dear Friends and Family:

Pat is walking pretty well but still has some balance problems. We walk around the house where we can use the walls and furniture (and yours truly) to lean on but use the cane for added security when out of the house. We spent some time this weekend by the pool and did a little "water walking" in the pool for sneaky physical therapy. We even took a ride to Braums for some ice cream. Thank goodness for "drive through windows"

So the report is good for this week. We go the doctors in Tyler for follow up visits this week. We have appointments starting at 10 AM and it's a two hour drive, so Wednesday will be an "early call" for us and a full day.

Thank you for your continued love and support.

Dear Friends and Family:

Well, it's a little over a month after the day when we arrived home from the hospital and Pat is making noticeable progress. It's slow going but she is continuing to have more and longer periods during the day when she is thinking fairly straight. Nights are still not too good. She is restless and up frequently from 2 am on. I think the nights will get better next week when therapy starts at the stroke center. We begin our sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the extra activity should make her sleep a little better at night. This week we started physical therapy two days a week on Mondays and Wednesdays so we will be busy doing something each day Monday thru Thursday.

The start of therapy comes at about the right time for us. Pat is showing signs of being bored at times during the day and I think she is ready for more activity. She improved rapidly after starting therapy last spring and I'm hopeful for the same kind of changes this time. I'm looking forward to getting us out of the house on a regular basis too. Cabin fever is beginning to get to me the last couple of weeks and the change of pace will be welcome.

I want to thank you all for the cards and notes to Pat. She really enjoys getting mail.

So for now we continue the slow dance in Dallas. It's a little boring but it sure beats the Tyler two step!

Thank you all for your love and support.

John

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Dear Friends and Family:

Well, we survived the first full week of therapy! Pat did well all week but was very tired on Tuesday after a full afternoon of learning therapy at the stroke center. She did better on Thursday. We are now in a pattern of doing physical therapy on Monday Wednesday and Friday, and cognitive therapy at the stroke center in Tuesday and Thursday.

This week at the stroke center they did testing to evaluate Pat's problem areas. I watched on the monitors from another room. It's heart breaking to watch someone who as so capable and smart struggle to repeat a compound sentence back just seconds after having it read to her. I know she will improve with work and time, just like before, but it's really very difficult to see her struggling so hard now. However, one look around at some of the others at the stroke center makes me very thankful for what I have! Some of the other patients and their spouses have it much worse that we do.

So I'll leave you tonight with the news that we are getting along well and looking forward to improvement in the future.

Thanks you all for your love and support.

John

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Pat had another pretty good week. She did have a couple of days when she didn't feel "real with it" and was very confused, but by the weekend she had bounced back and was feeling good again. Pat is still having considerable restlessness at night; I think that last week's increased activity just got her over-tired. We plan to adjust her therapy schedule at the stroke center. We hope that she will tolerate the reduced sessions better.

We did get some "girl stuff" done last week; a manicure, pedicure and a trip to the beauty shop for Pat's first hair trim. These things seemed to perk her up. She is also starting to show more interest in putting on her makeup in the mornings.( that is a definite step toward normal for Pat). Pat has gotten considerably stronger in the last two weeks. She is walking very well on her own, and uses her cane only when we go out of the house just to insure balance. Pat can now get up and down from the couch and bed by herself now. This is a good improvement but does mean that I have to watch her more closely, as I can't assume that she will stay where I put her!

This week's funny comment came today. Terry and I made a very large breakfast/brunch with eggs, pancakes,bacon,biscuits and gravy. At about 3 in the afternoon Pat announced that she was hungry. I reminded her that she had eaten "40 pounds of breakfast" and I asked what she wanted now; she replied "40 pounds of lunch". OK, I'd been told!

I had some calls this week from friends and family worried about the effects here in Dallas of hurricane Rita. I'm glad to report that the storm went well east of Dallas. We did not even get any rain at our house. Just a little cloudy windy weather on Saturday.

That's my report for this week from high, dry and HOT Dallas.

Thank you all for your continued love and support.

John

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Dear Friends and Family:

First, I'm sorry to be a little tardy in getting out this update. The reason is that Pat is doing a lot better....... which keeps me hopping! She has made a big leap forward this last two weeks. She is much stronger physically, walking slowly but without any support, She is very steady on her feet now and can get up and around without my help. But like any "mom" knows, with increased mobility comes increased exposure to problems and dangers. I really have to keep an eye on her for her own safety. Her voice is steadily improving.

Pat's ability to think and reason have improved greatly, she still has periods of serious confusion, but she is much better able to handle daily interaction with the world around her. We have been getting more sleep as a result of a new night time schedule. Pat stays up now until 10 PM (mostly awake). Then she goes to bed after a bathroom break, then I get some work done until around midnight. When I go to bed I take her to the bathroom again. She has been sleeping until around 5 AM before needing use the bathroom again. This sure beats getting up every 1-2 hours like we were doing for over two months. The increase in sleep has helped both us think a lot better!

Pat's improvement in the last couple of weeks in therapy have been remarkable. For instance when shown a picture of a boy sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar, she is able to describe what is happening. Only a couple of weeks ago she only described it as a "picture of a boy."

Her thought process is working much better. It's still tough to watch her struggle but the struggle is producing results. I cannot say enough good things about the Texas Woman's University Stroke Center and their program. Pat would be in much worse shape if not for them!!!

Pat is "helping" me make coffee each morning.She gets along pretty good on this but needs supervision. The other morning I turned away for a minute and turned back to find her ready to dump a bag of cat food into the water container on the coffee machine. So you see we have come a long way but have far, far to go yet. The good news is that so far no one has put the cat in the microwave.

It is indeed a long journey from where we are to where we want to be, but this week I can see a small light at the end of the long tunnel. Pat's determined and she will make it to the other side of the tunnel!

So I'll end by thanking you all once again for your faithful love and support. It's these that help us face each new day during the long pull toward regaining our old life.

John

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Dear Friends and Family

I will take a few minutes to write and tell you that Pat is still making progress. She is reading well with good compression. She still has almost no short term memory and is still pretty confused in her thought process. She is however getting better each week.

This week I had to cancel another job that I had hoped Pat would be ready to do. After consulting with her therapist, I felt it best to cancel a date in June 2006 that required three days of full day classes and a lecture. This was for "Quilt Colorado", a job that Pat had really looked forward to doing. Pat's therapists and I felt that she would probably not be ready for such a big