update

Dear family and friends,   Kim and I send you our love and hope everyone is doing well in business and health. It has been along time since I have updated the blog, We have had a roller coaster 3 months, with many, many good days despite the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis and glaucoma. But unfortunately the arthritis  just kept getting worse so I had to start taking a drug by injection called Humeria, which made me very sick.   Then they also made me stop taking the drug that has helped me the most with the scar on my spinal cord, it helps the central nervous system. Apparently it would over time ruin my eyes so.... that was 4 weeks ago and I have really, really been struggling.without it.   It helped my leg pain and gave me energy. That is the thing that is so hard and depressing  my lack of energy to do the things I love. I am now on another medication so we will see how it works.   Kim has had some good news from  work, he was promoted to general sales manager of Houston !  We are all very excited for him and know he will do a great job.  He also went to Columbia for a week for a Sales / customer meeting.  He had a great time and was very impressed with how lovely the people and country was.  There were numerous police with semi-automatic over their shoulders, but still very nice people.   We now have skype so if anyone wants to contact that way we would love to SEE you!   I still have been working as much as I can remodeling a few kitchens which helps my spirits and since it is summer, trying to have the kids over to swim etc.  We are planning to go to the Cayman Islands with them in late August, so prayerfully I will be much better by then.   Danny, Stacy, Daniel, Emmalee and Lucy are all well and happy as the rest of our family here in Texas.  Stan, Sharon's husband will have a scan in a few weeks too confirm that he is still in remission from cancer.   Thank you for your continued prayers..it has been a long haul and we appreciate your love and concern.  I still believe that with the Lord there is always hope for recovery and He is always working on our behalf.   God bless you all Our love,thanks and prayers, Anne and Kim

Update on Anne's health

Dear family and friends,   Thank you for your concern and prayers, we hope that you and your families are doing well. Since my last update on Jan. 17Th.  I started having some new symptoms after the steroids  got out of my body.........Joint pain that got worse over the weeks and not only in my knees but in my shoulders, hips and feet.  So we had several blood tests to see if it was steroid withdrawal, it wasn't.   So the first week in March I saw one of the best Rheumatologist in Texas who diagnosed me with inflammatory arthritis and skin lesions that are very similar to my brother's autoimmune disorder, psoriasis. Wayne has had this since he was 19....NOT fun!!  This was a emotional blow  to both Kim and I just having to deal with another health problem. I am on another medication so maybe in a couple of months it will help everything.   I sometimes get very discouraged that this has changed my life so much,  I always had the energy of 3 people,  but Kim, my family, the Lord and your prayers give me alot of support and courage.  I am  grateful that on my good days I don,t look or act ill at all!! Hopefully, the good days will grow longer.   Thank you so much for all the support you have given to me May God richly bless you and your family Love, Anne

Blog

Dear Family and Friends,   We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.  Please forgive us for not doing a good job on updating the blog.    With my shoulder surgery, therapy, some work and the holidays ....Stacy, Kim and I have been totally consumed.  My shoulder has healed and my therapy is over, but the shoulder still is not  pain free.  I am off of all steriods after a year and it has been Hard........ they really cut my pain and gave me alot of energy.......so the adjustment hasn't been easy.   I felt good at Christmas and New Year and then went down hill, now we will find out how I really am and how much progress I have really made since last year.  At this time last year I couldn't drive, take a bath, work or put on make-up....( that's really bad at my age !! ...... the make-up part ]      So the Lord has been very merciful to answer our prayers and for that I am very, very grateful to Him for this.  He deserves all the praise.  Thank you for your constant love,cards and prayers. Please, know that we can never repay you for this, just know that I am praying for you to.   Kim and I are going to pursue...the neck surgery option this year just to make sure that I do or do not really need it.  It would not help if I have a scar on my spinal cord...nothing would help that except medication and excercise hoping that the brain will stop sending pain signals to my body.   So, when things change or when I find out some new piece of information we will let you know.    Again, we love you so much and thank you for standing with us during this very long and confusing,ordreal.   His love and mine, Anne

Update 10/20/10

Hi,
Sorry I don't update very often anymore. Please feel free to email me at anytime if you want to know how Mom is doing. I keep my cell phone with me at all times and I can receive emails on it, so you won't have to wait very long for a reply. My email address is: purplestacy@mac.com

Mom is doing well after her surgery. She had run out of therapy visits back in the Spring, but just recently discovered that they had given her 16 more, which was such a blessing from God because the insurance company apparently NEVER gives more than the allowed visits.

She still struggles with the pain cycle at times. And some days are better than others. She can drive and do some decorating work, but she has to limit herself because when she gets tired the symptoms come back.

Her shoulder is doing well, but she still has 3-4 months of recovery mainly because of the pain cycle. The more therapy she does, the more symptoms she has so she has to go slower with that. She is doing water therapy which is much better on her shoulder than regular PT.

She also does have scarring on her spinal cord (don't remember if I've mentioned that before) that is permanent and may always cause her problems. The MRI before the shoulder surgery showed that her neck is worse than it was earlier in the year, but we won't know the extent of this until the shoulder completely heals.

Thank you again for hanging in there with us through this process and for all of your prayers. Mom is constantly telling me that if you all weren't praying for her she doesn't know how she would make it through the days and weeks ahead.

So thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your continued prayers and for asking about her when you see me somewhere. It means a lot to me.

Surgery! - update

Good Evening,

I haven't posted an update before now because Mom had some issues that I wanted to get results/reports on before I did.

The surgery went really well. The doctor was able to repair her bicep tendon and he cleaned out her rotator cuff.  He also said that he believes her recovery will only be about 4 months instead of 6, so that is excellent news.

She is having a bladder issue. We aren't sure where it's coming from. We think it might be a combination of things.  The meds she's been taking for so long and the meds from the IV might have sent her bladder into a spasm.  She cannot release anything from her bladder really.  She went to the doctor had to drain it today and will possibly have to do it again tomorrow.  He put her on antibiotics to help.  She is in a lot of pain from the bladder, much more than her shoulder.

She's very upset by this as you can imagine. And in her words, 'it can't be just one thing, it's always more than one and makes it even harder.'

Please pray for her recovery from both of these issues.  She can deal with the shoulder if her bladder would just stop hurting! 

She will start physical therapy next week on the shoulder.

Thanks again for all your prayers! Please keep them coming! She covets them!
Stacy

Surgery!

Well, after a long and winding road Mom is finally having surgery. But it's not neck surgery, it's shoulder surgery. 

For several months she had been feeling really well.  But then my kids spent the night one night and she was dancing with EmmaLee and she sort of pulled her shoulder and in a way started the pain cycle all over.  Her right arm has been hurting for weeks now. She went to see the shoulder doctor again and got another cortisone shot, but it didn't help or even touch the pain. This doctor finally said she should have surgery to repair the damage and remove the bone spurs. Not being totally comfortable with that, she sought a second opinion.

She eventually got a recommendation to see another very well known doctor who she's more comfortable with and is apparently the best at this kind of surgery. YEA!

All the doctors agree she should have the surgery ASAP and it's scheduled for Tuesday, September 7th at 9:30 am.  Kim is taking the week off to stay with her.

She will be in a sling for 4 weeks before she can start to resume normal activities at a slow pace. 

Please be praying for her this coming week, not just for the surgery and the doctors, but for her and Kim as well. Mom is having a hard time with the fact that she once again won't be able to cook, or drive, etc...  She's been there and done that and it's a little overwhelming to think she won't be able to do them again even if it is only for 4 weeks.  She is a little afraid she might not ever be able to do them again.

Please pray that God would take these thoughts away from her and that they would be replaced with His Word and she would be encouraged.

Thank you so much for taking this journey with us and praying for her.  It's been a long road and it's not over yet, but things are looking up and I am personally excited for her and can't wait to see how much better she feels when her shoulder is healed.

We love you all!
Stacy

Prayers Needed for Mom

Mom exaggerated how well she was doing when she typed the blog update herself last week.  She actually had been doing very well until my kids spent the night with her and Kim. She decided to dance with EmmaLee and she ended up hurting herself and causing some pain.  We left for vacation right after that happened.  We returned and she had gotten a little better and that is when she decided to write the blog herself and write some thank you notes.  Well, typing on the computer and the writing of the notes made her arm/shoulder hurt and she has been in agony ever since.  Her arm seems to be getting a bit worse each day and she's trying not to use it much, but it is her right arm, and she's right-handed, so it's a bit difficult not to use it.

She asked me to write to you and ask you to pray. We know that God will not give us anything beyond what we can handle, His Word says that. Please pray for her, encourage her, and ask God to draw her to Him so that she can rest in Him and the comfort that only He can give her.

We love you and and thank you so much for taking this journey with us through prayer.

Stacy