Month: December 2010

Hi dear friends. We played dominoes tonight! We were visited by friends in the middle of two separate games and talked and then played on! Carol won two and Chuck and I won one each. Chuck plays like Mom. I line mine all up, all planned out, organized, and Mom and Chuck seem to just play from the pack. Mom’s friend Helen used to say "Grace! you need to organize!" and Mom went on to win….. Carol and I decorated the inside with all my Christmas toys and Nativity angels and figures and I’ll enlist Dave to help tomorrow to light up the outside if it stops raining and warms up. Today was a make soup day, but instead I made salmon and snow peas. Brrrrr on the cold wave from the north. Tomorrow our dear helper cousin Carol leaves and Chuck goes to PT. All is moving forward thanks be to God. Have a wonderful Friday! Love Susie

Hello dear friends. Today of course America remembers Pearl Harbor. As we sat on interminable wait-hold in the surgeon’s waiting room today we played 20 questions (or so it seems to Chuck.. Carol on one side, me on the other asking questions…). me: "What happened today in history?" Chuck: "Pearl Harbor" me: "and when was that?" Chuck: "December 7, 1941." When the neurologist asked the date, Chuck fumbled. (psst… famous day in history). We were "out on the town" visiting doctors from 9:30 to 2:30. Yes a brain gets tired, and if an injured brain gets tired, it gets jumbled. And so that is what we are dealing with. Of course many of us don’t know what day it is until we look at the paper. I keep the calendar on prominent display so we can check the day and date because doctors seem to think it’s important. Chuck got all the other questions right and he absolutely stood up and strode to the door and back when the neurologist told him to. Both doctors say Chuck’s rapid healing is remarkable. We have an EEG on Monday and if it is good (all the other EEGs have been clear) we can stop one of the seizure medications. The other has to be with us a little longer until we are sure there are no more seizures. Carol takes blood pressure and it’s that of a young athlete. Tomorrow is PT at 9 and hope a 1 1/2 mile walk after. Dave walks with Chuck upon request! Most days he and Chuck go at 9am. It’s cold here!!!! We were freezing today in the doctor’s buildings and offices. Something about "you could hang meat in here." We have on our flannel jammies and are watching on demand movies. Then it will be off to bed to remember God’s wonderful angels that he sends, and to thank God for the blessings he sends. "Only Goodness and Mercy will pursue me all the days of my life." Thank God! Love Susie

Knock the heals of your ruby slippers together to change them into sneakers and come to our "home." Cousin Carol arrived from Ohio as the snows started in the north. She took Chuck to PT at 8:30 am on Friday (Dec 3). Between Carol and TWO PT guys, Chuck worked very hard, and then we whisked him off to the Keys where he absolutely wore himself out playing with buddies Steve and Perry. Perry was wonderful working on the boat, mowing the lawn, weed eating, and other clean up items while Chuck either tried to help or sank into a chair very tired… Moose burgers and socializing at the Moose lodge did him in. I think Chuck learned a lesson (I hope so…). When you are only a month out of surgery, with a traumatic head wound, you just can’t do every single thing you want to in the high gear that Chuck is accustomed to. You need to nap, and rest, and … well just let the healing take place. On Sunday morning, Chuck said, "I can’t rest here." Interesting … is it because you don’t have ogre Dave taking you for long walks and not doing what you want to do??? So we packed up and came on home. All rested up, Chuck is back at PT today with nurse Carol. His blood pressure and pulse are "those of an athlete," says Carol. No sick man here… unless you count the stunned brain.

I appreciate if you would recommend books or web sites for me to read so I become knowledgeable on head injuries. I bought a book Tammy recommended called My Stroke of Insight by Jill B. Taylor, PhD. She is "a brain scientist" who had a massive stroke in the left hemisphere at age 37. The book records her journey through the stroke and back. I’ve read for example the last pages "forty things I needed most" like "I’m not stupid. I’m wounded. Please respect me." I like that term "wounded." I’ve also read something interesting that I need to turn to when I ask "how long?": "I thought I had lost forever the ability to understand anything mathematical. To my amazement, however, by the fourth post-stroke year, my brain was ready to takle addition again. Subtraction and multiplication came online around post stroke year four and a half, but division eluded me until well into year five!" She offers all kinds of ways she "got things back" like using flash cards. Isn’t that interesting! Chuck did not have a stroke and his injury is "bi lateral". Carol says it is mostly surface which is why he seems to be recovering so quickly. We still have to understand the effect of the bilateral thalamic infarcts. What we are dealing with is the coming back online of the brain… some cognitive deficits that most doctors said he would probably recover. We meet with neuro surgeon and neurologist tomorrow. I will pepper them with questions while I am understanding this is "wait and see; go slowly; no one knows." Today is a beautiful day and we look forward to so many more beautiful days. May God bless you on this "Saint Nicolas Day"… Do you remember when we were little and we put shoes out at night on the feast of Saint Nicolas and we got presents! Love and God bless you. Susie

Hi dear friends. The recovery from a brain injury is all "up in the air" and scary. Have I used this word "scary" before? It ranks right up there with uncommon and unique which describe Chuck’s injury. Every day, with friend Dave, Chuck walks a vigorous 1 1/2 mile swinging his cane "for exercise" (and me tagging along behind saying "OK boys, wiggle your fingers, stand up straight, long strides!"). Today they went off alone while I wait for a call on the neuro surgeon appointment and a neurology doctor’s appointment. We had visitors last night after rehab (we celebrated the sunset inside as it is a little chilly). "Winter is acomin’ in" at about 60 degrees and windy. I know this is a balmy summer’s day for some of you! But we are bundled in sweatshirts and socks! During the visit Chuck talked about things and I kept thinking, his memory is not impaired at all. Usually Debby and I look at each other and nod as if to say, "See he remembered that or that…" last night Debby was somewhat behind me, but I knew what she was thinking. His memory is good, just need to clear up the fog in his brain which might take a while. Slowly, with baby steps. OK my dears. Feel free to visit our balmy winter sunshine! Even with Susie not outside pulling weeds our back yard and lake is gorgeous in this pre-winter splendor. God bless you and keep you safe. Love Sue

Good morning dear readers. I am looking out at sunrise and thanking God for yet another beautiful day, and for some reason I clicked on April 2006 (over on the right is a list of months. See April 2006? click on it – just for fun…) I saw first, a photo of the house next door (Mike’s house) and the first "mural" I ever painted. Mike is the posting expert, so Mike when you come at Christmas, please help me to attach photos of my "latest" murals. Then I saw what looks like a Good Friday meditation (come back to this in Lent – or now is OK too), but scroll on down and find "The Battle of the Nightgowns." My sister Sarah and Mom witnessed this "event." Some times I can’t believe the gifts God has given to me, like writing. I hope you will read the battle of the nightgowns (now that many of you are engaged in winter) ("what’s that?" my "little Susie side" asks, "don’t know kiddo," I answer, "I’ve been bare foot in Miami all my life…") Anyhow. Enjoy my little battle story and try today to "use your God-given talents" to brighten up someone’s day! For that is our role as talented children of God. Enough for today. I have piles of papers to clean up. God bless you! Love Susie

I know there are many books and papers on the brain, and lots of doctors who have "neuro" as a specialty, but many parts are uncharted and unknown territory. I did some reading on "bilateral thalamic infarctions" and I ran into the words "uncommon and unique" words which Chuck’s neuro surgeon used in the hospital. … Just what we needed to hear. And now I’m reading it. We will work our way through this by reading and asking questions. As if he knew I have 50 questions, Chuck’s neurosurgeon cancelled our first appointment today to do an emergency surgery (Do they "plan" emergency surgeries?) Shame on him; avoiding me like that… We had the CT scan on Monday and the doctor will have it when we visit him… I pray for the words, "back to normal, now work hard!"
Chuck worked on the computer for the first time this morning. I’m the one who woke up at 4am, not Chuck… But he started moving and then I felt like I could get up. Yikes it is dark out at 4:30am…. He logged his FHP time for November, sent it off via email, responded to emails, and read a lot of emails. After about an hour, he was flagging, and I moved him away from the computer. He is taking a little nap before Dave comes to walk at 9 (we are up to walking about 1 1/4 mile and doing it vigorously.) PT guy said that was OK. We have PT this afternoon. Therapists said he has to work to relearn cognitive skills, and not to push (use baby steps, go slowly – words Chuck never understood; me either…) … Chuck and I both have to be confident and willing to work hard to relearn skills that his "stunned brain" has temporarily forgotten, like touch typing: I needed to say, "use both hands" and he picked it right up. Reminders of how to do things is the way the therapists do it. Knowledge is not gone… the brain just has to find it. Healing is an awesome thing and we continue to pray for total healing. We look forward to a visit from Chuck’s cousin Carol tomorrow until the 10th. Carol, I, and any other beautiful women of the neighborhood will engage Chuck in lively conversations as he’s supposed to be working on ability to listen to three or more women talk at once and figure it all out. Remind you of a little joke? "Doctor will I be able to play the piano?"… "yes" … "oh good because I couldn’t before!" Imagine if Chuck learns to listen to three women talking at once and figure it out… that will be fun! God be with you this December as we prepare to celebrate God coming to earth, and as we remember "God is with us" Emanuel. Love Susie