Can you see the moon rising? 5 months ago I was terrified of walking on the street bc my balance got so bad. Even the driveway was iffy. Today I either don’t care, or I adjusted successfully. Technically, walking outside of our driveway is not an officially sanctioned unsupervised activity. But in these circumstances, no one is around to stop me 🤣🤣🤣 but don’t worry, I was careful and brief. I still fatigue super easily. But I was very confident and managed my level changes and lateral movement like a champ in order to get the right angles. Thank you guys and @fyzicalgermantown #avmsurvivor #strokesurvivor #lifeismysport #learninghowtolive #shreddedgrace
You’re like a pro 🤣🤣😑
Daddy walked outside yesterday w me and Boo Boo. Ernie started this practice 🤣🤣. Daddy did great, but within ten minutes of very slow walking my hips were SO SORE 😳. David immediately did some exercises and stretching to help me out. He had a complicated explanation about my ligaments and summarized, DON’T DO THAT 😑. Me: Ummmmm, that’s your advice? 😑. Yesterday I made Randy explain the mechanics of the side lunge. I get the most compliments on my form when I do a side lunge bc I’m pretending to be him 🤣 but I do it this way bc he said so, not bc I understood. Now I get it. I asked bc I think about this movement a lot when loading the dishwasher. A couple weeks ago my family saw me and Daddy doing his home exercises. Later my niece said, You’re like a Pro. Me: I’ve been well trained myself. And I use all the same lines 🤣🤣🤣. These movements impact my daily life, and I’m so glad to keep Daddy company during his Recovery. His neurosurgeon appointment has been rescheduled for next week, and he gets a 💗 echo on Friday. Pic: my friend, Matt!! He’s my other tag besides my Medical ID. I took this at the gym this morning. #avmsurvivor #strokesurvivor #lifeismysport #learninghowtolive #shreddedgrace #brainaneurysm @hopeforhankey
Getting Ready for OP
Daddy did great on stairs and car transfers! Our PT is getting him ready for outpatient 🙌. We are going to try the hemi walker next week #strokesurvivor #lifeismysport #learninghowtolive #brainaneurysm #shreddedgrace
Prayer Request: the Path Forward
We got Daddy a new 🧠 MRI yesterday. It was incredibly beautiful outside. A sweet lady saw me taking pics in the parking lot and was SO CONCERNED bc I had to lean against a pillar🤣🤣. Mommy picked this violet for me. That’s Daddy sitting in his transport chair in the background. Boo Boo posted a prayer request for “the path forward” after it was clear I’d live, but while I was still asleep. Daddy shared this prayer request while we were in the waiting room. || Please pray for the Lord’s continued overruling as we meet the Neuro Surgeon next week and consider how to address the aneurysms. We are getting 💗 images, too. Thank you for your love and prayers. #strokesurvivor #brainaneurysm
Our new routine…and prayer req
UPDATE: Daddy is doing well at home. It has been 3 weeks since the event and we continue to look to the Lord as we take it one day at a time and find grace renewed daily. We are settling into a routine of in-home Rehab (PT, OT, and ST) with plenty of home exercise. We have other appointments, too, and are so busy we are not receiving Visitors but remain so grateful for your expressions of love and care. Please pray (1) Daddy will graduate to outpatient Rehab in the coming weeks (2) Successful mastery of independent walking and stairs (3) Further imaging – 💗 and 🧠, and meeting the NeuroSurgeon. (4) Strengthening and appropriate rest for all of us. #strokesurvivor #brainaneurysm #shreddedgrace
Resolution and Request
I saw D and R 2 weeks ago, right after Daddy’s Event 😑. Randy looked at me like, 😳 [blink blink]: What do you need? Me: This is gonna be like that time you caught me sleeping on a table instead of running and you said, We will do whatever you need afterwards (RandyCode: if you are bleeding, unconscious, your leg is falling off, I WILL FIX IT 😑), but I want you to run longer on Monday. || I DID run longer that Monday, and this time Randy made a similar promise. DAVID 🙄🤣🤣. Next Day – Me: D, c’mon – I need to practice carrying around some heavy stuff today. D: YOU ARE NOT CARRYING ANYTHING. 😑 Me: Well then, How are you going to build my confidence, SMARTYPANTS?!?! D: We ALREADY BUILT your confidence. That’s what we’ve been doing this whole time. You’re strong, and you know it 😑. Me: okay, fine. 😑😑😑 || These guys 🤣🤣. Update: **I’m declaring my balance problem that appeared simultaneously with the hearing loss q418 as Resolved.** My gait improved 3 days ago. It was forced into resolution by my desire to assist Daddy in navigating some crazy new spaces. The Guys have coached me – R 🤼♂️: the low man wins, pay attn to level changes and lateral movement. D: spread the floor with your feet. I had a couple fantastic mobility days, but my hip started getting grumpy again, and the R knee got sad. Had some weird spots appear on legs, but that happens, and they are fading. Request: I heard a couple funny sounds in my R (good) ear, similar to how the L started. If my R ear goes, I’m toast – it becomes dangerous bc I won’t hear alarms. Right now I’m fine, though bc I have one great ear. Please pray it stays that way. #avmsurvivor #strokesurvivor #lifeismysport #learninghowtolive #shreddedgrace
My BP is so fabulous 🤣🤣
Daddy just finished PT. 🙌 I asked David – ish questions like, when he does X, what muscles should he think about, and where is the origin of the movement? And then I heard Randy’s voice in my head during hip exercises. Daddy got a green Theraband. Randy prefers manual resistance bc the assumption is that he has superb kinesthetic memory 😑 and he adjusts as we go along. We had our OT intake, grab bars will be installed tomorrow, and we are also pursuing follow ups with docs. PRAISE: Daddy is standing up stronger daily 💗🙌. So grateful for Mommy, Siblings, and friends 💗💗💗 and the opportunity to pursue Recovery. Hilariously, my blood pressure is the BEST it has ever been 🤣🤣. I am in the Green Zone. I am NEVER in the Green Zone. That thing never has anything nice to say to me except once last Christmas it gave me 10 points “for trying.” 😑😑😑 I.e. i measured and logged it. Siri, Alexa, My Fitness Pal, and my BP cuff patronize me. My BP wasn’t even this good when my Vigilant PCP started meds 2x daily. I think it’s bc Daddy now has to sit there and let me hold his hand 🤣🤣🤣💗💗💗. It also helps that I write books about this stuff, although for the record, I am APPALLED 😑💗. PRAYER: (1) Good rest, especially at night for Daddy, and therefore Mommy (2) Daily exercise (3) Logistics of docs, help, space changes, new routines. Thank you so much #strokesurvivor #brainaneurysm #SERIOUSLYmyownfather😑😑😑💗
Good morning, Daddy! 🤣🤣😑
The only reason I gave Daddy his phone was bc he said he wanted to read his Bible on it. 🤣🤣 ok, fine – that’s a pretty good reason 😑💗. We are still establishing a routine and setting up appointments. Wake up call at RIO (3rd Hospital) was 7.30 am. OT’s would LITERALLY troll the halls for patients they could wake up. One day, my OT flipped my lights on saying, GOOD MORNING!! I know you’re awake bc the bloodsuckers were just in here. Me: 😳😳😳😑😑😑. The “bloodsucker” was the phlebotomist I gave a hard time 😏. Right now I’m NOT giving Daddy a hard time, I promise – I am only “encouraging” the exercises PT recommended and I made up in my head throughout the day – my siblings and I are united in our desire to push for gains through movement and also to promote rest bc restorative rest is vital to neuroplasticity. We are a super hardcore bunch, just like Daddy. But not as hardcore as Mommy 💗💗💗. We cannot not aspire to that 🤣🤣💗. We are using my little red Quardio to monitor BP. I got got it that time my breathing got messed up and my BP required additional meds. It’s super easy to log, graph, and share w your doc. Thank you for praying.
Daddy Update – the first week
Daddy met with his Neuro, PCP, Vascular Surgeon and PT this week. There is more clarity. 3 PROBLEMS: (1) “mild” stroke (2) multiple blockages (ranging from 65+% to 100%) impeding blood flow to brain (3) 2 small to medium unruptured aneurysms. 3 STRATEGIES: (1) Rehab in home. Pray that we push for major gains this month and Daddy will rest appropriately. Like me, resting is an area of growth for him. (2) Vasc. Surgeon does NOT recommend surgery presently bc it’s riskier to intervene than to live with this level of blockage. Follow up in 6 months (3) Neuro is consulting with Neuro Surgeon to see if Daddy’s aneurysms merit intervention. Presently we are using diet and safe exercise to manage stress and blood pressure. Daddy has been devoted to daily exercise (cardio and weights throughout the day) forever. He has managed hypertension since his youth. There are physical ups and downs. Pray (1) we are able to help him exercise (2) for the Lord’s healing (3) that we will engage the right in home help asap ||| Thank you SO MUCH for your kindness and prayers. And thanks to the friends who have done such practical stuff 💗. No visits yet, please, as we have more appointments to set up. Thank you for all your expressions of care for Daddy. It occurred to me that you might think it’s funny that I call him that. I NEVER called him that until I got sick. When I woke up it was only Daddy!!! and Mommy!!! Ok, mostly Mommy 🤣🤣🤣💗💗💗||| This situation is more nuanced than I thought. I did not see Daddy after the ER and I think none of us understood the physical implications nor the multiple levels of complication. Special thanks to my brothers and sisters who gauged the situation and MADE IT HAPPEN this week. “IT” = making sure we are okay, moving furniture, helping Daddy and Mommy, making me laugh, etc. xoxoxo
LearningHowToLive.org
“We train for Resilience… Confidence…LIFE.” I did not know this was Trainer David’s philosophy, I just show up and (mostly) do what he says. We NEVER discussed the day we met until an event when he was asked his first impression of me during Q&A. So in front of 70 people the man says without skipping a beat, “Well, it was like she was talking AT me with a list of requirements
– like, if you cannot help me, I will find someone who can.” 🤣. I had no idea I came off as so belligerent. I thought I was being nice that day. When David evaluated me at my first session in Nov 2013, Daddy came with me and maintained a perimeter of 3 feet at all times. He was “reading” a huge commentary on Isaiah. 🤣🤣. Oh, Daddy. His covert skills are honed. He’s continuing to be determined to move his left side more. 💗. #avmsurvivor #strokesurvivor #lifeismysport #learninghowtolive #shreddedgrace
