Just felt like sharing this! when I think of my childhood---I always think of this.
my Dad played the guitar for us.
we would all pile onto my parents bed.
and jump around and be crazy.
he never told us to sit still.
he was good at it.
he enjoyed it.
we loved it.
he could sing too.
grandma's feather bed by john denver was one of our favorites.
anything by John Denver really.
bad bad leroy brown by jim croche was one of his.
when we "outgrew" his music choices
he tried to learn songs from "Grease" until his fingers were raw.
if that's not love---I don't know what is.
P.S.
there was also a song about chasing women.
we loved it.
we still know it by heart <3
i've never heard anyone but my dad sing it.
hearing the song now i realize
he sang it just perfectly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6Uq5VHGuPA
Monday, July 13, 2009
July 13th
I made it to the hospital at 8:30 a.m. only to find out that the nuero team had been in at 6 a.m. Sigh. So I sat w/ my Dad for awhile, read to him and told him about the Red Sox Game last night and how the tooth fairy ALMOST forgot to leave money for my son (I saw his tooth "box" sitting on the counter as I walked out the door and ran upstairs to put the money under his pillow---if any of you still believe in the tooth fairy and I ruined it for you---I'm sorry) and other small talk. He was moving his right side quite a bit while I talked w/ him.
The Nuerosurgeon did make his way to the waiting room where he spoke w/ us (my mom, my sister and I). The results from the EEG and the other neurological tests done last Friday looked good. The side of the brain w/out the bleed responds as it should while, obviously, the side w/ the bleed is weaker. That could be due to the swelling. Only time will tell. The ICP variance is due to the drain. When they clamp it off his pressure goes up--so he is not ready for that to come out yet. He said he is still critical as long as he has that swelling and the drain. It could still go either way. He said his movements are spontaneous and he doesn't follow commands. However, he did follow commands later in the day. The nurse would say "Kraig, move your toes" and he would. He's been very active today. Still not awake........but I'd say this is more progress and another step forward.
God is good!
Today marks 2 weeks that my father has been away from us. To say we miss him is an understatement.
The Nuerosurgeon did make his way to the waiting room where he spoke w/ us (my mom, my sister and I). The results from the EEG and the other neurological tests done last Friday looked good. The side of the brain w/out the bleed responds as it should while, obviously, the side w/ the bleed is weaker. That could be due to the swelling. Only time will tell. The ICP variance is due to the drain. When they clamp it off his pressure goes up--so he is not ready for that to come out yet. He said he is still critical as long as he has that swelling and the drain. It could still go either way. He said his movements are spontaneous and he doesn't follow commands. However, he did follow commands later in the day. The nurse would say "Kraig, move your toes" and he would. He's been very active today. Still not awake........but I'd say this is more progress and another step forward.
God is good!
Today marks 2 weeks that my father has been away from us. To say we miss him is an understatement.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
July 12th
Not much to report. My father had a quiet, uneventful day. His ICP was higher and he wasn't as active, although, he seems to be resting so peacefully and I even heard him snoring at some point. I'm telling myself he's tired out from yesterday and he needed the rest. Plus, it's Sunday--- a day of rest. 1 step forward and 2 steps back. I feel like tomorrow he will take a step forward again.
Tomorrow, we plan on being at the hospital, in his room, at 8:30 a.m. Neurosurgeons BEWARE! You'll not get by me w/out answering a laundry list of questions I have compiled for you. It's time for some answers.
More then.............
Tomorrow, we plan on being at the hospital, in his room, at 8:30 a.m. Neurosurgeons BEWARE! You'll not get by me w/out answering a laundry list of questions I have compiled for you. It's time for some answers.
More then.............
I Wish you Enough
I was just cleaning up my inbox and came across a bunch of e mails that my father had sent me. When I found this particular one, sent about a week before his stroke I sat and cried. I hope I can see his blue eyes again and laugh with him again. He has the best sense of humor.
It was about a father and daughter at an airport and when the daughter boarded the plane the father said "I wish you enough" and the daughter said "I wish you enough too Dad and I love you." A stranger asks the father what that means and he says "I am old and sick and this may be the last time we see each other. When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them."
He then recited the following:
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
It was about a father and daughter at an airport and when the daughter boarded the plane the father said "I wish you enough" and the daughter said "I wish you enough too Dad and I love you." A stranger asks the father what that means and he says "I am old and sick and this may be the last time we see each other. When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them."
He then recited the following:
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
July 11
So I woke up this morning to a phone call from my sister. She was wondering if I had checked in w/ the hospital yet---something I do every morning to see how my fathers night was and then I report to her and my mom---it's hard for my mom to make that call. So I got up while the house was still quiet and came downstairs with my husband. He had opened the door to the side porch so we stepped outside. It was one of those perfect summer mornings, temperature was just right, nice breeze, birds chirping, sun (FINALLY) shining and it smelled so good out there. It was the kind of morning that made me wish I drank coffee and read the newspaper so I could sit out there and do just that. Then I thought of my dad and how he'd love to do that and then I thought of something my mom told me he said every morning to her---be it 20 below zero or raining.... "good morning--look at this beautiful day God has given us". I couldn't help but think it was going to be a good day!
The phone call to the hospital was good news. His nurse said he had a great night, he was moving his right arm a bit and that his ICP (brain pressure) was at 2. WHAT? Are you kidding me? Our visit today was good. Dare we say he's turned a small corner? We walked in to find him w/out a single tube on his face and looking much more relaxed and comfortable!!! He is still not awake but he is breathing completely on his own. Every once in a while he forgets (he has been on a ventilator for 9 days) and that's a bit scary but he gets it right back. He was lifting his right arm up and moving it, moving his big toe on his right foot, his shoulder and his head. Lots of swallowing, moving his mouth and steady breathing when I read to him from his bible again. His fever was down, his swelling near the bone flap was down, his blood pressure is still a bit high but much better than yesterday. No results from the neurological tests yet.
Let's hope and pray that this is the first of many good days on his road to recovery. We know it's going to be a really long road but we've all signed up for the ride.
Thanks again to all of you who are reading this and praying for him. Please, if you're reading, leave a comment. I know when my Dad is well he will love to read about his journey back to us and to see how many people were praying for him!
Also, thank you to all of you who are visiting us at the hospital. It means so much to the entire family. If you haven't stopped by but want to, please do. We'd love to see you. The waiting room gets lonely sometimes and the clock ticks slowly.
The phone call to the hospital was good news. His nurse said he had a great night, he was moving his right arm a bit and that his ICP (brain pressure) was at 2. WHAT? Are you kidding me? Our visit today was good. Dare we say he's turned a small corner? We walked in to find him w/out a single tube on his face and looking much more relaxed and comfortable!!! He is still not awake but he is breathing completely on his own. Every once in a while he forgets (he has been on a ventilator for 9 days) and that's a bit scary but he gets it right back. He was lifting his right arm up and moving it, moving his big toe on his right foot, his shoulder and his head. Lots of swallowing, moving his mouth and steady breathing when I read to him from his bible again. His fever was down, his swelling near the bone flap was down, his blood pressure is still a bit high but much better than yesterday. No results from the neurological tests yet.
Let's hope and pray that this is the first of many good days on his road to recovery. We know it's going to be a really long road but we've all signed up for the ride.
Thanks again to all of you who are reading this and praying for him. Please, if you're reading, leave a comment. I know when my Dad is well he will love to read about his journey back to us and to see how many people were praying for him!
Also, thank you to all of you who are visiting us at the hospital. It means so much to the entire family. If you haven't stopped by but want to, please do. We'd love to see you. The waiting room gets lonely sometimes and the clock ticks slowly.
Friday, July 10, 2009
July 10
Today they put the trach and feeding tube in. Both procedures went well. My father seems much more comfortable w/out those tubes in his throat. We didn't get the full results from the EEG and the other tests BUT they did tell us that from the EEG they looked for seizure activity and found none--which is good. We are not anticipating any other results until Monday as it's the weekend-- but you never know. His blood pressure is still high and they seem to be having a hard time controlling it. He still has the fever too but his lungs still look good and so far the cultures don't show anything growing. No other changes. I will report again tomorrow. Today was a frustrating day. It's so hard to get answers from anybody at the hospital.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
July 9th
Today was a long and stressful day. It started w/ a phone call to the ICU where they told me his blood pressure was still very high and had been throughout the night. The nurse said it would be a "busy" day. She told me he had been off the sedative Propofol for 24 hours and that may be the cause of the high blood pressure (I'm talking 180-185). They needed to keep him off sedation to do the EEG and the other tests. They only managed to get the EEG in today. Once they did that they put him back on the sedative a bit and when I left he was resting comfortably (or at least he appeared to be). His blood pressure was 135-150, his ICP (brain pressure was good) and he was calm.
They also managed to get a Cat Scan in today. The results of that were encouraging. The cortex looks good (this is the outer part of the brain that controls memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language and consciousness). The bleed is already smaller in size and being reabsorbed by the brain. The ventricles have less fluid around them and have decreased in size. His overall ICP (brain pressure) is lower. Today he responded to pain everywhere except his left hand. That said, while this is encouraging, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. The results of the EEG will give them a better idea of what's going on, although, as I mentioned before, it's not 100%. Still watching his temperature and for a secondary infection. More tomorrow.
Thanks for all the continued thoughts and prayers, phone calls, text messages and Rhonda & Ali---thank you so much for dinner and dessert the last few nights. You have no idea how much that helps after a day at the hospital.
They also managed to get a Cat Scan in today. The results of that were encouraging. The cortex looks good (this is the outer part of the brain that controls memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language and consciousness). The bleed is already smaller in size and being reabsorbed by the brain. The ventricles have less fluid around them and have decreased in size. His overall ICP (brain pressure) is lower. Today he responded to pain everywhere except his left hand. That said, while this is encouraging, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. The results of the EEG will give them a better idea of what's going on, although, as I mentioned before, it's not 100%. Still watching his temperature and for a secondary infection. More tomorrow.
Thanks for all the continued thoughts and prayers, phone calls, text messages and Rhonda & Ali---thank you so much for dinner and dessert the last few nights. You have no idea how much that helps after a day at the hospital.
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