First Outing

Good Evening!
I just wanted to update you really quickly on mom's condition.  The new medicine is really starting to help. She is doing really well. She had a great week last week and even did one day of physical therapy.  She will start regular PT in January.

On Sunday, her good friends David and Dianna were singing at Second Baptist West Campus and since that is right across the street from her house, we all went. Danny and the kids and I spent the afternoon at the house and then went with her and Kim to hear the music.  It was a great performance as always.

Mom also had new ornaments for the kids to hang on her tree.  I've included pictures below.

I'm sure she'll read this and get mad at me if I don't tell the story behind her Christmas tree.  I hate 'blowing my own horn', but while they were at the Mayo Clinic, I mentioned to our friend, Mark, on Thankgiving Day, that I wanted to hire him to decorate my mom's tree for her.  He is a talented Christmas Tree decorator and I knew he could make it look like she did it herself.  He said the only time he had available was the following morning. So we decided to make it a surprise. I gave him the key to their house and Mark, his wife, Mary Jo, and my mother in law, Karen, all went over to Mom and Kim's and decorated their house, and tree for them. When they got home later that day, there was a big surprise waiting for them.

It was a ton of fun surprising her and Christmas is her favorite time of year and I knew Christmas just wouldn't be the same if her tree wasn't up. It already was going to be different anyway.

So, THANK YOU to Mark, Mary Jo and Karen for decorating Mom and Kim's tree.

Mom did really well at the concert.  She got to see several of her friends there too.

Thank you for your continued prayers.  The medicine really is starting to work better and we are so grateful that God has allowed it to work.  Please don't stop praying, she has a long road ahead of her with the therapy starting in January.  My prayer is that she'll have some sort of 'normal' by the beginning of the summer.

Merry Christmas!

Some Improvement

I went over to Mom's house yesterday. She wasn't feeling well and needed some company.  Later, Kim called and told me to get her ready to go to the doctor's office. She didn't want to go, but complied. 

Here is what happened at Dr. E's office:

*She hasn't had the electrical stimulation therapy since last Thursday. She thinks it was making her feel bad, but we aren't sure.  She will try it again later.

*She is on a steady dose of the new medication for now. She'll increase it later, probably in January.

*She does have bruising and scarring on her spinal cord that is permanent. At this point she cannot have neck surgery of any kind because of the condition of her neck.  The only reason they would do surgery is if she was in danger of being paralyzed.  She's not there, yet.

*She does have Chronic Pain Syndrome (CPS).  It started in the neck and has traveled around her body because it was left untreated. Most patients with CPS have more severe pain and symptoms at night (which is the case for Mom).

*She has to work through the pain so that she can get to physical therapy. She starts that hopefully on Friday, December 18.

The visit with Dr. E. was EXCELLENT.  We had a lot of questions answered and we all left feeling hopeful.  Dr. E said that he already thought she was getting better.  I asked him upfront if she would get well and he said yes. She does that the permanent damage to her spinal cord and her reflexes are 'brisk'. That will also not ever go away.  The physical therapy will last 3-4 months. 

She's trying to focus on other things now. She is listening to music and CD's of her favorite preachers.  She also met us at the door today, already showered and dressed. She was more active today than she has been and tonight is not doing to badly with the help of her pain medicine. 

here is how you can pray for her:

*pray that she sleeps at night. i'm sure you know how awful it is to be exhausted and not be able to sleep. She has been waking up several times a night in pain and discomfort with the spasms.

*pray that she is assigned the right physical therapist, and can continue her treatments here in Houston without having to travel back to Mayo Clinic for their rehabilitation program.

*pray that she will be able to stay focused on the improvements she's seeing and not on the pain.

*And pray for Kim too. He's doing such an amazing job taking care of Mom, but it can be exhausting.

Please feel free to leave a message. Mom and Kim both read them.

Therapy

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy and there wasn't really much to report.

Mom continues to be in horrendous pain. She has good and bad days. She is much worse in the evenings and better in the late morning and afternoons. I do think the medicine is starting to help some. She would probably disagree, but I can hear it in her voice. I've tried encouraging her to listen to Christmas music to help get her mind off of it and on to the birth of the Savior. 

Today she starts day 1 of a ten day electrical stimulation therapy.  We're not exactly sure what this will do, but the physical therapist at Mayo said that it wouldn't hurt Mom and to let her know how it went. It may or may not help.  We'll have to wait and see.

She would love to hear from you that know her personally or if you just want to call her and tell her you're praying for her. She is in so much pain that it doesn't cross her mind to all people. But feel free to call her. If you want her number let me know.


She will hopefully be starting regular physical therapy the week before Christmas, if she's up for it. But I'm thinking it will be more like January.  She will need help getting to and from the PT, so if you would like to help, please let me know.


We appreciate your prayers! and love you all!