Working Hard

Dad is working hard at rehab. Robby and I snuck in to see him this afternoon and he was napping after working so hard all morning. We visited for a little while and he was quiet but he did talk a little to us. We took a birthday card in for him to sign and give to mom in the morning for her birthday! Dad was an amazing card person - always picked the best ones - and had the most beautiful hand written notes in them. I always cherish the cards he sends for our birthdays and anniversarys. Tomorrow our brother Tommy comes home from China. Dad and I talked about that alot and of course it makes him very emotional. He can't wait to see him and hold his hand.

We are thinking about taking dad to church this Sunday if the weather is ok. Dad also has 2 doctors appointments in Winchester next week so we will make the trip on Monday and Tuesday to take him to those, one is for his gall bladder and the other is a follow up to the pulmonary embolisms he had. Hope the weather cooperates for us.

Keep praying for dad to get stronger! We know he is working hard, and we can't wait to see what he can accomplish. Again, if you have a few minutes to stop in and see him - please do, it will mean the world to him! Love to all!

Rehab Continues

Well after all the excitement on Monday, I have not had the opportunity to blog. Things have been relatively quiet the past 2 days. Dad continues therapy and its going well we feel. Although we do think he is still having a hard time being there - when he is busy in therapy he's fine, but I think when he is not in therapy - he is in deep thought...he's just very quiet. I think maybe he doesn't feel he is making any progress - he wants to see more progress. We try to talk "patience" into him, but that's a hard thing to teach an old-dog who was as active as my dad. He does very much enjoy visits from familly and friends. Please try to stop in to see him, even if it's for just 5 minutes, that really encourages him and mom. He really perks up when the kids come see him to get a "hi-five".

Please pray that dad will strengthen his muscles and regain the knowledge of how to support himself sitting and standing - I know that he has to be getting better. . . it's just a slow process.

A Fantastic Day & Record Blood Drive!

Wow - thank you so much for coming out and supporting us at the Blood Drive in honor of dad! We had a record 100 people show up to give, and we collected 83 good units of blood - which equates to 249 people's lives who will be possiby saved by this one blood drive! We had 10 new donors, 2 of which were Dad's grand daughters. . . see their picture at right. Good job Michelle & Kristen!

Dad made a surprise visit around 5:15pm and stayed for an hour. He was so happy to see everyone, including his Pastor Kevin - he didn't want to let go of his hand (picture at left). Everyone at the drive wanted to shake dad's hand and hug him and he enjoyed every minute of it. It was so good to see so many friends, family and supporters come out to the drive. Dad was so emotional seeing you all there - and it meant the world to my mom to be there for a little while with him too. There were a lot of kids there who just couldn't wait to give Mr. Shug a high-five. It was a special Blood Drive too because most of our family was there to help in some way- thanks Sarah, Robby, Lexy, Rob, Pam & Kelly, Timmy & Josie, Heather & Kristen, Donald Greenwalt . . . it was an honor to serve along side each of you in some way!

We had such an amazing night! I really think it was good for dad, even though dad was exhausted within an hour. He had a long day with therapy and his new rehab doctor came to visit him today for the first time. We were thoroughly impressed with this doctor and his outlook for dad. He talked to dad very compassionately and frankly and really encouraged him. He explained to dad that not many people survive a stroke like the one he had and that must mean dad still has a purpose here. . . and it was his job to get him as close to his old self as possible so that he could return to doing the things he once loved. He encouraged us to begin taking dad back to church and to some other activities that may make him feel a part of our world. After meeting with his doctor today, we are definitely convinced we are at the right place for right now.

Thanks for your prayers & support! Love to all!

Dad's Got A Roommate

Hey folks, not a lot to report today. I thought Dad looked really good and he was alert and pretty content. He did have a small episode of nausea in the morning and some aches in his left leg, but overall, he is doing well and resting well there. Dad got a room mate today who will only be there for a week or so...he was in another room, but maybe he and dad were more suited for roommates or something, not sure why he was put in dad's room. He seemed to be a very nice man who is retired and living at The Woods Resort, he is just there for a short - term rehab stint. But I think it will be very good for dad and mom because it is company for them when there is no one visiting and also encouraging to dad because he can clearly see that this man is not a "nursing home" patient, but a rehab person like he is. And I think it will make mom feel better about when she leaves dad there, that he isn't alone at the end of that hall all by himself. She has been going there every day from 8am til 8:3opm. We are going to try to take some shifts with her so that it isn't her there all the time with dad. . . although she always says, "if I wasn't here, I wouldn't know what to do with myself without Shug." Point well taken, but we are going to at least try to get her to go to the kids games/activities some and maybe visit her sisters, if possible.

Tomorrow is the Blood Drive in honor of dad at The Living Room - our church that is located in the Berkeley Plaza. The drive is from 2pm to 7pm. . . there are over 50 appointments already, but they will also be taking walk-ins as well. . . the evening hours have most of the openings. Please come out and support this event - we are still going to try to bring dad out after therapy for a very short visit if he isn't too worn out from therapy tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you there if you can make it!

Quiet Saturday

Hey folks, not much to report today. Dad had therapy this morning and has been resting the rest of the day. We visited him for a few hours this afternoon in between the boys basketball games and just took him some dinner on our way home. He has felt pretty good today and his blood pressure has been pretty good. No nausea for a couple days. He was a bit quiet today with me, but with the kids he is always his "high-fiving" self. Mom said she read the newspaper article to him about the Blood Drive Monday that was in the Journal today and it made them both very emotional. . . dad would always come to the blood drives after work to give and stay most of the evening, while mom was my right hand at the drive working the canteen. We are hoping that if dad is not too tired Monday after his therapy that we could bring him over to the Blood Drive maybe toward the end. That is just a possibility, not sure yet.

If you have a few minutes and can stop in to visit dad and mom - that would be great. It helps to pass the time for them when there is no therapy - like Saturday afternoons/evenings and Sundays. He is in room 149A - go thru the doors, take a right a the first main hallway, then go to the nurses station and take a left, and his room is all the way at the end on the left. Thanks for your prayers and support. . . we appreciate you all!

An "OK" Day

Dad has had a pretty OK day today. Not as good as yesterday. . . but he was just so tired today. Probably it's all catching up to him with this new routine and additional time in therapy. He did participate in all skills of therapy today and even though his blood pressure was a little low, after a quick nap on the therapy table, he was able to finish his afternoon sessions. Mom says he has been sleeping ever since they brought him back around 4:30. Hopefully he'll get a good enough nap to feel like eating his dinner and staying up for a bit in case folks come to see him tonight. Please feel free to visit him. . . and mom. His dinner time is around 6pm - so by 6:30/6:45pm. . . he is ready for company. I am sure that Sunday he will not have any therapy and would love some company! If you want to bring him and mom a snack or something that is non-perishable to the room, that's fine too. I think we all feel pretty good about the decision to have dad participate in this Rehab program. . . I am extremely impressed with his therapists. They seem to have a real desire to see dad reach his full potential - maybe its because some of them know dad and maybe remember him from his days serving in the community in so many different ways. Whatever it is, I really feel like this team of professionals will be very successful with dad - what a blessing they have been in just 3 days!

Thanks for thinking of us and checking in today!

Nausea Returns - updated

It didn't take long for dad's nausea to return. . . his patch was removed Tuesday night when he was admitted to the new rehab facility and this morning the nausea has begun again. (If you didn't read the post that day, the reason they removed the patch was because their pharmacy & his new rehab doctor discovered that the patch and the potassium pills his been taking are contraindicated. . .meaning when using them together the patch delays the gastric emptying of the stomach – and could cause a very serious condition where it holds too much potassium – which could put him at high risk of heart attack.)

He did have a really good physical therapy evaluation and session yesterday at 4pm. Mom said he was exhausted last night, but still was able to enjoy a visit from Pam and her family (including one of his great -grandbabies!)

This morning mom said when she arrived at 8am, he was a little melancholy, but perked up after his bath and when his grandson Matt arrived to see him. He was able to go to speech therapy this morning, but threw up 2 times. His blood pressure has been low today too - it was only 87 over 59 this morning and we found out today that his weight is just 189. . . 80 lbs. lighter than the dad he had the stroke! We are hoping that the doctors are going to re-assess his medicines and figure out the best formula for his blood pressure and his nausea and get those 2 things stable once and for all! That's our prayer for dad - afterall. . . dad can't get in his therapy if his vitals keep fluctuating and he throws up every time they move him!

Still waiting to hear if dad made it to afternoon therapy - not sure. I'll be seeing him this evening and will give you another quick post then. Thanks for checking in! Just heard from mom - she said dad had great afternoon speech and physical therapy sessions. . . he was able to stand up in a supportive box for 2 minutes and mom said it made him feel so good. She said he has not had anymore nausea since they gave him a pill for it at lunchtime. She even asked me to bring them some Chik-fila tonight when we visit. Can't wait to see them! She said he feels like he accomplished a lot today. I'll post later if time permits.

Hard At Work

Dad made it thru his first night and has had a very busy morning. He looked great this morning when I saw him. He had already worked with the Occupational Therapist John - got his first "shower" since October 16th and had his Speech Therapy session as well. When I left, he and mom were going to relax until lunch. He may have another session of Occupational Therapy with Alicia this afternoon, but then his Physical Therapy evaluation is not until 4pm. He seems to be in a very good mood and says he likes the staff. He said he thinks he can "work here". When they asked him where he was - he told them he's "at work." He is still asking us how long he has to stay and when are we leaving to go home. . .but I do think he is much more at ease and does understand why he is there now. The staff is doing an excellent job of making him at home - and have shared encouraging stories of others who have come there unable to walk and have left the facility walking with a cane. We are very pleased with the way the doctor and nurses have already been right on top of dad's medicines and health issues. . . they have already discovered an important issue with "the patch." They had to take it off of him because it apparently interacts "dangerously" with his potassium medication and could cause a heart attack (if you are wondering why winchester did not catch this situation - we are too - and we will be following up on that! could this meds issues have cause him other complications? hmmm!) Well, we are not sure yet what they will do to handle his nausea - but they said they will attempt the many other options out there. They also have observed other things with his meds that they want to check into, like the amounts of BP meds he's taking. . . so already we feel that we have a team of people who are working hard for our Shug! I have to say today I feel much better about everything and truly feel like this was the right place. Thank you God!

Tucked in - but not really settled

Well I just got home a few minutes ago after dropping mom off at her house. Needless to say we left Heartland in tears tonight - after we left his room of course. When we arrived, he was a bit confused, he wanted to know how many days he had to stay there and as the night went on, he became even a bit upset and worried about why he was "staying". Lots of new surroundings for him to get used to and new people. . . they are all very nice and promised to take good care of dad tonight. He was very very anxious before we left, mom was very stressed out about the whole thing so we just decided to head out around 9pm and see how he does for the night. Mom will go there for breakfast at 7am and Pam and I will get there by 8:30. . . we have a meeting with the admissions & nurses and therapists to go over his schedule. We tried to explain it like this to him - "you are here to work hard in therapy and you will see people here at all levels of need - but you are to focus on yourself only and getting better and when you do that - we will get out of this joint!" He wanted to start therapy 2night - and then go home. He was not happy about getting ready for bed there and realizing he was staying. So while we did get dad tucked in, I would not say he is settled. . . not quite yet. He is very "on-guard" tonight. . . and that's okay because so are we. . . after 30 days of taking care of dad on our own - let me tell you, it was very hard to leave him in the care of people who just met him today and are not as familiar with his history. But our faith and trust is in the Lord - we know He will watch over dad and protect him - and we believe the biggest testimony is yet to come. . . dad will get better. And it's our job to cheer him on every day.

Please do us a favor - if you come to see dad, please always talk about the place as a rehab center, not a nursing home. And please, talk to him and encourage him about getting better thru therapy - he needs our strength, love and support. He is in Room 149. . . when you go thru the doors make a right down the hallway, and then at the nurses station, make a left, dad's room is all the way at the end of the hallway on the left. His room mate, whom we didn't get to meet, left for the hospital today for some kind of surgery and may not return for a while.

Thanks for all the prayers, text messages, and phone calls of support today. . . you made our day somewhat bearable! Stay tuned for how his first night goes in rehab.

"Lets Get to Work"

Dad looks great today. About 2:30 this afternoon, Pam and I sat down with dad and talked to him about the great opportunity we have for him to get better at a great facility here in town - where he can get therapy 6 days a week. He immediately said, "let's get to work then." He told us he's been wondering when he would "get back to work like he was doing before" (meaning rehab). He said, "it's nice here (referring to our house) but I need to get back on schedule." So right now we are waiting on the doctors office to send the remaining paperwork via fax to the facility before we can take him there. Taking him there is going to be the hard part I think. I am not sure he understands that he is going to be staying there overnight, but we'll see how it goes. I do believe he really wants to get better and he would do anything to get better. I was just talking with his occupational therapist with home health, who ironically also will be working with him at the new facility and she said that many of those on the therapy team know dad and are excited about getting to work with him. That was a God sign for me - I have been praying all day about this and I asked God, "if this is not what we are supposed to do. . . then give us a sign, but if you feel this is what is best for dad, then help us to get all of the paperwork thru before midnight."

I have a favor to ask all of you. Please don't tell people we are "putting dad in a nursing home." We are not. We are blessed to be able to get dad into a "post-acute rehab" program, which happens to be at Heartland. And although for years, locals have known this facility for its nursing home services, they now have a brand new "therapy gym" with a full staff of certified and trained therapists who work with people who are post-surgery/post-hospital/post-acute rehab to get better thru a "short-term" stay. I know I may sound sensitive about it - and honestly I am. Dad needs therapy daily and he can get it there while under the care of a great nursing staff too. Don't worry, we'll be there every day and we invite you to come see him and encourage him to get better too. It won't be long. . .when the weather gets warm and baseball season starts. . . that we'll be bringing him home again, stronger & better - and hopefully for dad we'll be bringing him home with the ability to really enjoy life again!

I will post later tonight after we get him settled and when I get home. Right now, I am going to enjoy watching tv and talking with my dad before its time to leave.

It's Time for More

Hey family, friends and Shug fans -
We received word today from dad's doctor and therapists that they are almost sure that by tomorrow we will be able to admit dad into a Post- Acute Rehab facility where he can receive three skills of therapy (speech, occupational & physical) - 6 days a week. His insurance will cover 100 days - 100%. So, after much prayer and consideration, we have decided that if we are going to give dad the very best opportunity for rehabilitation, that we must get him into a more intense program like this... right now he only gets 3 days of physical therapy and 2 days each of speech and occupational therapy - now he will more than double his therapy days. Believe me when I say, this decision has not come without many tears and emotions. We have loved having our dad here at home - being able to just relax with him here - and take care of him. But if we don't take advantage of this opportunity - we would be robbing our dad of the care he needs, the kind we can not give him because we are not trained. This is not a permanent placement - it is only for the time period mentioned above and then we can bring him home again and resume the type of "in-home" therapy we are doing right now.

Please pray for us and for him during this transition. It has to happen fast though, because it has to occur within 30 days of his discharge from Acute Rehab, so that means, by Tuesday at midnight (tomorrow) if everything gets approved today. . . we will have dad at Heartland in Martinsburg, on the Post-Acute Rehab wing. We really hope that dad doesn't see this as a step backwards, but honestly, he was regressing with his therapy at home. Like I said before, we missed the 2 weeks when we came home over the holidays because home health was all on vacation or booked, then when we got started, we had too many interruptions with health issues and weather related situations.

We plan to share the news with dad in the morning. If he knows too soon, he may worry about the move and think about it all night long. We want him to have a peaceful 24 hours here before we take him there tomorrow. The hardest part will be getting him settled in with his meds schedule and being there overnight without mama and getting used to a whole new team of nurses & therapists who will be helping him get better. I know I am going to cry - I already have. . . I just so badly wanted him to be able to get better here at home. But I have to swallow my personal desire to have him here at our homeplace - because what's more important is that he gets better and we realize that at the current stage he is at in his rehabilitation, he needs so much MORE than what he's getting now.

Lots of Company!

Dad's enjoyed lots of company today. All kinds of family members have stopped in for a "Sunday"visit. . . including my brother Tommy's family. Tommy is still in China with the company he works for "Dupont" - he is part of the American team helping setup a new plant in Bejing. He is very homesick (as to be expected!) and so we promised him a picture of his family on the blog - so here you go big bro! We love ya! Dad enjoyed seeing your grand babies and children and wife today! Just 2 more weeks til we get to see you in person!

Dad's doing fairly well today. . . his blood pressure has been up and down all day. We are of course monitoring it and adjusting his meds accordingly. Lexy and I are here for the night since there is no school tomorrow. . . we'll post again tomorrow and let you know how his therapy goes.

A Good Saturday

Glad to be able to say dad has improved today from his rough day yesterday. His blood pressure has come up and is between the 90s & 100s and he responded well to his morning Occupational Therapy, as well. He has eaten most of his meals today, even though they are small, but we are definitely better today that yesterday - so thanks again for praying us thru that "rough" day. Again, we are happy to report that the "patch" has continued to keep dad free of nausea. Amazing what the right medications will do for ya!

Have a good Saturday - we luv ya!

Another Rough Day

Hey folks - sorry for the late post - been at it all day with dad. His blood pressure dropped to 53 over 37 at 11 am this morning and of course we went into emergency mode to figure out what was going on. Doctor ended up holding his BP meds until Sunday to get his BP back to normal. Wednesday when we were dealing with high blood pressure (very likely due to his throwing up all day) the doctor adjusted his medications to get it back down. . . then it ended up going too far down. . . so now we are trying to bring it back up. When he goes that low - he is so lethargic and pale and we really had to keep a close watch on him today to keep him hydrated.

Pam is on her way now to get some Outback for dinner. He's talked about a steak for a while now. So we thought we'd try to get a piece or two in him if we could. He is still eating very little these days - and he really needs to build his strength back up.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers - especially mama. She is worrying so much about him- this week has been so hard for her emotionally, with the throwing up, the high blood presssure issues, the medication changes, then our low blood pressures today. When he has a bad week medically, she worries about the ground he is losing with his physical therapy. Plus, with the bad weather this week, several of his therapy appointments were cancelled or postponed til next week! He really hasn't been able to progress much this week in the area of therapy due to all of the medical complications & weather related issues. We spent a good portion of the day really considering closely how we can get him the best therapy - more often and more consistently. Please pray that God will show us the best way for dad to get better as soon as possible!

A Better Day Today-upated

Dad is doing better today - he slept all night and that helped. His blood pressure is back under control now and he only got sick once this morning. . . which was before we got the nausea patch back on him. Since having the nausea patch back on (around 10am) he has not thrown up and has been able to keep a little bit on his stomach at breakfast & lunch.

He started out with a good session of physical therapy then mid-way thru the exercises, it got to be too hard for him and he did not want to participate - so the therapist basically did the exercises with his legs for him. Not sure what happened with him there. (We live for the day when Dad can sit alone without assistance or stand up. His left side has been gaining some strength little by little in the arm and leg, but he just doesn't "understand how to use it". We still use the hoyer lift to put him in and out of his wheelchair and into his recliner. He has not been able to be stood to his feet since he was in acute therapy before Christmas.)

Dr. R came to visit this afternoon and he thought he looked better than the when he saw him a week & 1/2 ago. We are going to just monitor this change back to the patch and see if that works. He has had a very busy day with physical therapy, doctors, nurse for a blood draw & urinalysis, occupational therapist - whew. . . all on top of having such a bad day yesterday.

Thanks for your prayers - we'll keep you posted if anything changes tonight. We did go ahead and cancel his appointment tomorrow in Winchester with Dr. Webber due to the weather, which was just a follow up to his "pulmonary embolism" episode back in November. As for the gall bladder, Dr. R. said it still may be part of the issue lately and it may be getting a little worse, but we are scheduled to see Dr. Boyd February 4th and go from there.

Enjoy the snow!

Somethings Going On. . .

We are not sure what, but somethings going on with dad. He has been throwing up all day today. He hasn't been able to keep anything down. We are perplexed because we really have not been able to pinpoint what's going on. . . it could be the gall bladder, it could be that stomach virus lingering OR it could be the nausea he suffers from the stroke that was controlled by the patch which they switched out to a pill form on Saturday. We and Dr. R are leaning toward the last. . . and maybe his gall bladder as well. We spoke wtih the doctor on the phone tonight because dad's blood pressure had been high all evening. The doctor did do a few medicine adjustments, mostly relating to his blood pressure medicines and holding some meds that he didn't have to have since he is having trouble keeping things down. Plus, tomorrow the doctor is going to call the insurance company and "fight" to get that patch back for his nausea. We had been told by others that when they switched him to the pill, that we may experience this kind of thing. . . it seems the patch is more expensive and the insurance company didn't want to approve it, we had been paying for it out of pocket until they suggested the pill format which they would cover. . . but now we know why - it's obviously not the same effectiveness. We plan to get him a patch first thing in the morning and Dr. R will be there to see him by the afternoon for dad's checkup. We should know more after that. It would make sense, he's been throwing up more and more ever since he started this new medicine - Saturday! Reason we don't think its a virus is that he is not running a fever, and in between his sick spells, he really seems content and perky. He even did well with PT today, until she sat him up on the side of the bed and then he got sick.

He did enjoy a special visit tonight with Pastors Kevin and Beth. They came over to see him and visit with mom. He was very happy to see them. We are praying he sleeps well tonight and that tomorrow we will be able to get him what he needs to feel better. Thanks for your prayers! Goodnight!

Somebody's getting stubborn!

Dad has been getting a bit stubborn the past few days with his medicine. I was concerned yesterday it was just me and I told him if he didn't take his medicine that I might get fired as his "nurse", but then when I arrived at mom & dad's this morning, my brother Dave was crawling around on the floor looking for the pill dad had thrown on the floor when he tried to get him to take his morning doses. Last night for me, he spit them back into the water bottle at bedtime and at dinnertime he chewed them and spit them out. Then for mama tonight he wasn't cooperating either. Guess he is just getting a little bit tired of all these meds - and I don't blame him, he has a slew of them and we have even added more to them lately.

Dad was in a pretty good mood today - and talking fairly well. But I guess I have to explain that when I say good, I am meaning "good for what he's been thru" not good as in good like what he used to be. The fact is, he is not even able to recite his alphabet with the speech therapist, he always stops at "q" and needs a lot of help along the way to even get that far. He will be speaking about something just as plain as can be and making pretty good sense, then seconds later he is talking about something that none of us can make sense of. Also, Dad has been experiencing a good bit of nausea and heartburn - so when he has his check up with Dr. R this Thursday, we are hoping to figure out if it's his gall bladder acting up again or something else.

I have to admit, today I was driving home from work and I just began to bawl. . . I miss my dad so much. I miss the strong, encouraging, positive and overall amazing man he's been in my life. I just cried out to God - please bring my dad back. . . I mean don't get me wrong, everyone of us thank God daily that he is alive and doing fairly well for what he's been thru, but it is just an unbelievably difficult thing to go thru. . . helping mama take care of his very basic needs, doing almost everything for him. . . seeing her miss her best friend - it is very, very hard emotionally - we would do anything in the world for our dad - no matter what he needs believe me - we are 100% committed to his care. We do trust God, and we have not given up hope at all. . . it's just that we might be getting a little impatient, but we are working on that too (pray for us!). Please pray that God will give us a miracle and bring our Shug back - I just can not fathom life without the impact and influence of our dad in this world. We will not accept this illness without a hard fight. God - we are crying out to you - bring Shug back and bring him back soon! Love you all!

Getting Better

Things are getting better around the Kisner household. Mom is better and dad is coming around. Today was not one of his better days. Although he slept all thru the night, he just did not feel as good as he had been last week - today he was very lethargic, very soft spoken and even very sluggish during physical therapy. We went to see his neurologist Dr. Fowler and she felt his catscan was right where it should be at this point in his recovery. However, because of the "regression" we have reported in his cognitive thinking since she last saw him when he was in the hospital mid-december, she decided she is going to have his thyroid levels rechecked as well as his urine to make sure we are not missing anything with those things. She also is trying a new medicine with dad to help improve his cognitive thinking beginning tomorrow. Dad did pretty well on the trip, but boy by the time we were on the way home, we couldn't get him home quick enough. He feel asleep almost within 15 minutes of getting into bed and is still snoozing! Thanks for checking in today- sorry I didn't post yesterday, the day just got away from me!

UPDATE TO THE POST. . .Just wanted to say that when dad woke up from his nap - he was much more alert and talkative. I am so happy and relieved - I was a little concerned earlier with his demeanor - but boy do I feel better now. He is even laughing a little too. Nothing like a little nap to make a person feel better! Check him out with Robby & Brady in the picture!

Sick Day at the Kisner House

Well today was a very quiet day.  Dad and mom both were under the weather with a touch of that intestinal virus.  They both slept most of the day, with lots of helpers thru out the day staying with them to keep watch over them. . .his brother Calvin was here, my brother Tommy's sister-n-law Bitty was here and then Mary Kackley finished out the day until me and the Blair gang arrived for the night.  Dad had Occupational Therapy this morning, but got sick and threw up half way thru it - so they had to get him back in bed where he stayed til dinner. Me and the kids are here this evening to spend the night and keep them company.  Mom is feeling much better, still a little bit of an upset stomach.  Dad looks better now too.  He ate a little dinner.  He and the boys are watching football right now.  Robby says he's going to stay up with pappy as long as he needs him - even if it means all night!  We are praying all this sickness soon passes - it has gone thru all our our family now . Hopefully it's behind us.  We have a road trip Monday to the neurologist- hope the weather cooperates!  We'll post tomorrow!  Good night friends!

A Good Friday

Dad is still doing well. . . but mom is a little under the weather. She has been trying to rest all day. We are keeping close watch on her...trying to let her do as little as possible. Dad is having speech therapy while I am back in his office doing this post. His therapist said she was looking forward to seeing him again - that dad is such a fun patient - imagine that! Now you know the "real Shug" is still alive and well, even though his body may be under the weather!

He did rest very well last night - slept all night! Still no official word on the catscan - so we are believing the old adage- "no news is good news"! We go to the neurologist Monday afternoon for the full report.

Thanks for checking in - we love ya and appreciate your prayers!

What a Special Day!

Dad had a great birthday - so great he couldn't sleep last night! He stayed up til 4am and just could not get to sleep. He had a lot of company and that probably just really stimulated his brain waves and he was up all night thinking about everyone! Thank goodness he did finally get some rest and when his Physical Therapist came - he was ready for action. He did a great job with his exercises today and sitting balance. He was very comical with his therapist and he really did an amazing job - now it's our job to keep him exercising all the time, even when the therapists aren't here. . . they said we should do it as often as he will cooperate. I love working with dad and watching him achieve things with his left side - he smiles and laughs - he gets really encouraged when he does well in therapy.

Then after therapy and lunch he had a special visitor - his nephew Nate came by with Aunt Becky. Nate Sowers, for those of you who are not WVU fans, is the pride of our family. He is on the WVU Football team and is an awesome player for the Mountaineers on special teams and defense. Nate just returned from the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona where they kicked OU's butt! And I might add that Nate had the 1st play/tackle of the game - when his named was announced for that play. . . we all knew it was going to be a great game! Dad told Nate he was in training to play football with him! He was referring to his therapy! He showed off a little bit before they had to leave and kicked his leg and squeezed my hand. Thanks for visiting Nate - you made our day!

We still have not heard anything about his catscan or results of his blood work this week. . . if I hear something today- I will post again. Thanks so much for everyone who is praying for us and bringing food and helping with caring for dad 24 hours a day. I know that when we are thru this difficult season - we will look back and it will be us that has received so much more than dad has - because thru our time of rallying around dad - we are learning what's important, how to be patient, how to trust God for the impossible and that when the chips are down, families and friends join together and give the support that is needed to make it thru times like these. Thanks for being a part of our world - we couldn't do it without each and everyone of you!

Happy Birthday Dad

Today is dad's 72nd birthday! He ought to remember. . . the one question they ask neuro patients everytime they come into the room to give medications and take vitals is "Hello Mr. Kisner - can you tell me your birthday". He will have a pretty busy day today- he has home health early in the day, physical therapy at noon and hopefully occupational therapy in the afternoon. Then I am sure we will celebrate quietly his birthday!

Dad did pretty well yesterday. Sorry for not blogging, I was busy at work early and then went to their house at noon, took dad to winchester at 3:30 and was at there house til 7:30. Anyway, we took dad to Winchester for his catscan and the ride to and from went very well - the van we are borrowing is awesome. We'd love to be able to get one ourselves. He was very comfortable in it. The ride made him a little nauseous and then after the catascan, he was throwing up a little bit (of course they probably handled him differently than we do-and shook him up too much). But when we got home, he was very content.

He also had a good day yesterday during physical therapy and we are very happy that they are adding a third day to his week - he really needs that!

Thanks for checking in - please lift up tons of prayers today for dad - we are still believing and expecting nothing but a recovery to independent status for dad - our God is big and we know He can make it happen if we believe!!!!

Enjoying the weather!

Dad had a pretty good day today, despite a good bit of nausea.  He has been fighting that since Saturday night off and on.  Today his doctor also took him off of some potassium pills for a few days and we are trying some zantac by doctors orders because he is having so much heartburn. We also had to back off his blood thinner to bring his INR back down.  His blood pressure has been a little high, but we just keep adjusting his meds to accommodate.

Pam and Mom took him outside in his wheelchair today to enjoy the beautiful weather - he enjoyed that a lot.  His Speech Therapist came this evening and she was thrilled with how much better he was this week compared to last Thursday - that was the day he had to have a doctors visit because his blood pressure was so low.  The therapist asked when she left if he was always that jovial and funny - hah!   Of course he is!  He was trying to make a joke out of everything she showed him on the flash cards.  

Tomorrow's a big day - pray for us as we'll drive him in the wheel chair van we are borrowing. Pam and I will be taking him to Winchester for the appointment.  Mama will probably stay behind and get some much needed "downtime".  She just won't stop - and she really needs a little break.  

We are still praying for some major breakthroughs in dad's strength and ability to understand enough to start getting better and more mobile.  We still have had only one physical therapy session since he has been home - that's a lot of days without - even though we try to do the therapy exercises with him - it just isn't the same as the professionals.

Thanks for checking in!  Keep praying for that "full recovery" miracle!

Quiet Sunday

Dad slept very well last night and had a quiet day today mom said.  When I left last night at 8pm, he was drifting off to sleep and boy was he tired, confused and emotional.  But most of that came from a rough night's sleep on Friday evening.  So today was much better - he even did some therapy with my brother Tim & his wife Kristi, the sitting balance on the bedside.   We did that last night with him as well before dinner, and mom and I think that may have been what made him sick at supper- but the therapists want us to sit him up like that with someone on both sides of him and have him put his feet on the floor and practice balancing himself without falling forward, backward or sideways - it's not an easy task for him and can make him nauseous.

Dad has a big week ahead of him.  We will be taking him out of the house for the first time on Tuesday - for a catscan at Winchester hospital.  Then Wednesday is his 72 birthday!  He will have 2 days each of Speech, Physical and Occupational therapies, as well as his nurse 2 days and home health aide 3 days.  That ought to keep him busy!  He told mama last week (believe it or not the night of the Fiesta Bowl) that he was bored and ready to go back to rehab (I think he just meant therapy!).  His friend Sheriff Randy Smith brought him an incredible framed piece with every Sheriff of Berkeley County on it - that mean a lot to dad.  

Praying for a "big week" in dad's progress - strength, a sound mind and peaceful nights.  Love you all!  

One Day At a Time

Last night dad didn't sleep so well.  But so far he has had a pretty good day today.  He really enjoyed visiting with his "boss" Mark Rogers this morning.  Mark (who ironically used to work for dad as a teenage boy at dad's service station "Shug's Sunoco") stopped by this morning after breakfast to spend a little time with dad and they cut up with each other and laughed.  I really enjoyed seeing dad this way.  They have a very special friendship and its nice to see they can still continue it.  We also got to watch our church's Christmas Experience production on dvd and dad and mom both really enjoyed that too.  Dad liked seeing so many of his friends and the children that he has so affectionately "high fived" at the front door.  Then my cousin Shannon Mong came by to spend time with dad while I went to my son Brady's basketball game.  Shannon was so good with him - she did therapy with him and helped mom put him from his recliner into bed.  We are so blessed that she is able to help us one night a week staying with us - especially with my brother Tommy now in China.  He arrived there yesterday safely - but is already ready to return.  We love ya Tommy and miss ya (this blog will be his way of keeping tabs with dad and us daily).

I think overall dad is progressing - it's little baby steps each day, but yes, God is working in him and getting him stronger and even though it is not on the timeframe we would like - we will not give up until dad is better.  God is with us every day and we just have to be reminded to take things "one day at a time."  

Keep us in your prayers- PRAYER CHANGES EVERYTHING!

The Doctors Report

Thank you God for special people in our lives - thank you for our special friend - dad's doctor who came to see dad at home last night to assess his condition. He thinks dad's condition yesterday may have been a result of meds - and he has reduced his amount of blood pressure meds to hopefully get dad's pressure more normal, which will help him respond better to all of us. We are going to watch that closely and see if this makes a difference. His Doctor feels its best for Dad to wait a while longer on the gall bladder surgery until he is stronger and can tolerate a return visit to the hospital - it would be too much right now he felt. Dad's having a better day today - he slept well last night and seems more alert. I'll post more later. . . thanks for the prayers. . . I believe with all my heart that "PRAYER CHANGES EVERYTHING."

A Rough Day

Not all days can be good ones, and today was one of those rough days. Dad has been very quiet, soft spoken and confused. He had periods of low blood pressure. He got nauseous and had to apply some special cream to his hand they gave us that helps control the vomiting. He did have physical therapy today - and he was a bit rusty - but that's due to not having any "real" therapy since Dec. 24th when he left Rehab. We can only do so much with him by ourselves - so they are probably going to add an extra day to his physical therapy cause he really needs it. He was even having difficulty sitting on the bed today without a lot of assistance and he had really been doing well with that before he left. Since he was discharged on Christmas Eve (and then with the new years eve holiday). . . the home health people were delayed in working him into their schedule and now he is regressing some. The therapist assured us that she would catch him back up - but it's frustrating that we fell behind like that.

We have contacted dad's family physician here locally, whom fortunately we have known all of our lives and is like family, and he is going to make a "house call" in a few minutes to see dad and make sure that nothing medically is occurring other than a "bad day". His speech therapist this evening said she thought we should have him evaluated because he was just not very responsive to her either.

Please keep dad in your prayers tonight.
I'll post again tonight when I get an update.

A Pretty Good Night

Well we watched the movie We Are Marshall and he followed it pretty well. Then we couldn't get him to go to sleep until about 11pm but he did sleep til almost 5am and then went back to sleep at 7am for another 2 hours. He seems very well rested today and less confused. He has had a visit from his Nurse - and his vitals are good. He met his Physical Therapy team and they will have the first therapy session tomorrow at 1pm. Now we are waiting for the home health aide to come at 1pm today for his bath. He really wants to get out of that bed, he keeps dangling that right leg off the edge. Thanks for the prayers regarding his sleep - hopefully the rest of his day will go well and he can enjoy the WVU bowl game tonight. Right now he is watching a dvd of one of his favorite singers - Pavoratti and he is singing along... mom likes to hear him sing like that.

Happy New Year

Hey everybody - happy new year! I am staying here with dad tonight cause my brother tommy is still sick. New Years Eve was a little bit confusing for dad - he woke up at midnight to the sounds of police cars zooming by the window and he must have been dreaming because it really made him confused - he was up for a while trying to get settled back down. He did catch up on his rest some today. We took him off his sleeping pill three nights ago and think he may just be having some trouble with adjusting to that not in his system - so hopefully tonight we'll be past that 3 night period of adjustment and he will have a better night than the past 3 have been.

He has sat in his recliner most of the day. We may try to watch a movie with him in a little while -me, mom and him want to watch We Are Marshall. Mama is doing well - but by the end of the day she is exhausted, even with us here to assist her - there are just some things only mom can do and she just works so hard at caring for him.

Can't wait for dad to meet his physical therapist tomorrow. Also, his home health nurse should come to help mom with his bath. I'll let you know how his night goes with resting. When he doesn't rest well - it always impacts his thinking and ability to follow your instructions. Please pray that he will begin to rest better at night.

Thanks for all you prayers - we sure do need and appreciate each and every one of them!
Go Mountaineers tomorrow in the Fiesta Bowl!