Quiet Weekend

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, I just got back from Texas. I talked to mom & dad every day over the weekend, but I just went in and saw mom & dad as soon as I got back in town and they seemed great. It was a quiet weekend - but lots of visitors to keep them company! Thanks everyone for visiting! Dad did get out and go to church Sunday afterall, even though mom was unable to go. . . he just didn't want to miss it!

Mom is a bit tired and has been having a little bit of wheezing in her chest so the Doctor decided it would be better if they put her on an antibiotic to catch any potential infection that could be brewing in her lungs. That's something that frequently happens to patients after major surgery. I am so glad she is in there and being carefully watched and cared for by medical professionals. Dad - he looked amazing - he was a bit emotional when I arrived - cause we hadn't seen each other since Friday. I was so glad to see him and share with him about the awesome time we had - I got to show them the pictures of Lakewood Church in Houston where we were this weekend - we even got to meet Joel Osteen and his wife Victoria. It was amazing!

I will try to get a better handle tomorrow on dad and mom's progress when I run into their therapists in the halls and give you all an update. But keep believing with us and praying that dad's miracle of walking again will happen this month - I'm believing - will you step out in faith and believe with me?

Day One Together

Well mom and dad had a great first day together. He slept well... she didn't, but she didn't sleep well at Winchester either. Tonight she looked very tired so I am hoping that she will be able to get some rest. She is still very sore from the open heart surgery. I think yesterday was very tiring for her as well. As for Dad, he's great. In his words he is "tickled to death" that mom is rooming with him now. Mom started some therapy today and she will continue that daily. Dad had a good day in therapy today too. They will both have therapy Saturday too. We are so at peace about them being at Heartland and being cared for by nurses and trained staff.

Stop in and see them whenever you can even if for a few minutes - they would love to see you all! Room 149 is the new Kisner abode!

Blessings to you all!

Reunited!

Hip hip horay! They are finally together again. Mom and Dad are now roommates! They are all settled into Dad's room - they moved his other room mate to another room. Mom is so relieved to be there and I am so relieved she is there too. She feels it will be best because she will have nurses taking care of her with her incision and her meds and of course, she will get therapy and that's very important. Plus, she will be right there with dad and we won't have to transport her back and forth to see him every day. . . it's just best for them and their health, not to mention it is going to make visiting them a whole lot more convenient. What a blessing God has given us. I have absolutely no doubt that God has had his hand on this whole situation and that this is His plan for them to be together as they heal and recover. Dad was telling the Aide while I was there that he fell in love with mom when she was only 14 - and the day he saw her walking up the steps of her church going to her sisters wedding, he told his friend that was with him - "see that woman there. . . I am going to marry her". . . and sure enough four years later - they were wed. . . now almost 50 years later, she remains the love of his life. Thank you God for such an incredible example in our lives of dedication, devotion and a love that lasts forever - they truly embody the vow of "in sickness and in health".

Doing Great-Plans Revised

You can't keep a good woman down! Mom was up and taking laps around the floor this morning. It wears her out, but she is doing great. . . so great that Dr. Roberts plans to discharge her either Wednesday or Thursday! Instead of bringing her home now for the 10 day period in which she needs 24/7 care- they have decided to transfer her to Heartland with daddy! So either Thursday or Friday I will be taking her and getting her settled in there with dad. She really seems to like the idea - and is relieved to have the opportunity to get some therapy right away.  The other therapy that she will do in a few weeks at the Wellness Center in Martinsburg is actually "cardiac rehab".  At Heartland, she will focus on walking - getting up and down out of bed and just returning to her normal activities of daily living while supervised.  Dad is sooooo excited about his new room mate - even if it is only for 10 days.  We had to make mom promise that she would not be dad's nurse but that she would be a "patient" otherwise she would get put into another room! 

If you are able to visit my parents this weekend - now you can in one stop!  We'll let you know if their room number is going to change.  We'll know more tomorrow.  

A Little More Progress

What a day. . . mom finally got out of ICU and into her private room on the Cardiac wing - Room 314 just before noon. She is doing well - she has all the tubes out and now the real work begins. They are walking her and doing rehab with her now to help her get to a point where she can come home. They are still keeping a close eye on the blood pressure - but other than that, she is about where they want her right now. I am going to try to catch her doctor tomorrow to get an idea of a care plan for her and the timing of it. With Pam unable to take mom home now, (due to breaking her own leg Saturday), we are probably either going to consider "transitional care" for the 10 days she needs 24/7 care or figure out a schedule of care at her house where we can all pull together and help like we did for dad when he was home in January. My brother Dave and I will be out of town this weekend, so it complicates things a bit, but we will figure it all out and I am sure everything will come together for us.

I met with dad's care team this afternoon for a progress meeting. With only 9 days left on his original 100 day stay - we have decided that dad can benefit from 30 more days- taking us thru the month of May at Heartland. His therapists say in the past 2 weeks he has definitely gotten stronger and improved his transfer skills. They did try a little bit of walking - taking steps - on Friday last week, but still feel this is going to be too much for dad to tackle. However, they will continue to try it out while he stays. They do feel that at the end of May- that will probably be where dad plateaus. . .so we are praying for a MIRACLE MAY for dad. He can do all things because it is CHRIST who strengthens him.

Keep praying and believing - Abraham and Sarah never lost faith that God would grant them a child, and even in their ripe old age, God made what might have seemed impossible - a reality.

Reunited

Mom & Dad were reunited today when dad visited her in the ICU in Winchester. Timmy & Tommy took dad up to see mom after church today. They had a real nice visit together. Mom remains in ICU tonight - she was given another unit of blood this morning and her blood pressure is still border line low - so they are not ready to release her yet to the cardiac floor. She continued to walk some today and situp in her chair. She was in pretty good spirits, but she is getting anxious to get out of ICU. We are praying tomorrow brings more stable blood pressures and gets her out of the ICU. When I went up to see her this afternoon - she tricked me into helping her to her bed from her chair and I wasn't supposed to! I felt so bad - the nurses were like - "what are you guys doing" - and scolded me for trying to help mom to her bed without their help. But mom was just so determined that I was allowed to do that for her. . . yikes! Then I went by and took dad some dinner and he was good - he was glad to get to see his sweetheart today - and relieved I think to see her so good. I will meet with dad's care team tomorrow and see how they think the past 2 weeks have been - if there has been any progress - and I am planning to give the approval to extend his stay there another 30 days thru May - so that we can get mom real strong before bringing dad home. I'll let you know how both of them are doing tomorrow evening.

Weekend Update

Mom is still in ICU, but doing well. She may get out on the Cardiac Floor tomorrow but for now they have to keep a close watch on her blood pressure. She also still has the chest tube in for drainage, so that has to come out as well before she leaves ICU. She had an active day - she was up in her chair several times and I got to watch her take a little walk out around the nurses station. She got really tired, but she did it and I was so proud of her!

Dad is doing great. He misses mom, but he is coping well. I got the ICU nurses to call his cell phone from their portable phone on the Unit and he got to talk to mom for the first time since Wednesday - they both were relieved to hear each other's voices. Dad is looking forward to church in the morning and then hopefuly getting to visit mom if she gets into her new room.

On a bad note, my sister Pam fell this morning on her steps and broke her fibula bone just above her left ankle. She will be in a cast and on crutches now for several weeks! I guess if things really do happen in threes. . . then we are all done now!

We are scheduled to meet with dad's care plan team on Monday and at this point, we are planning to continue his program another 30 days and then assess where he is and where mom is and determine what is best for his therapy and recovery.

Thanks for all the support and love each of you have shown our family through out our journey the past 6 months! We love you!

Mom's Still In ICU & Dad's Sitting Pretty

Mom is still in ICU but stable and improving. She looks a lot better than what she says she feels. But that is to be expected when you have your chest opened up and your heart operated on - right? She is talking and looking good - swelling is gone already. They will be keeping her in the ICU tonight again due to low blood counts, receiving another unit of blood and low blood pressure. They want to really keep close eye on her for next 24hours - but she is doing well the doctors tell us.

As for dad - he was sitting pretty today. We took him pictures of mama and he was relieved to see them. He was working hard in rehab for us. Sitting on his own on the table - he's up to 15 minutes now. My brother Timmy took him for a walk outside in his wheel chair at lunch time because it was such a gorgeous day.

Keep praying for them - they are both fighters - but they sure do need a strong team of prayer warriors thru this whole ordeal. If you have a chance to stop by to see dad this weekend - mom said she would rather everyone see him for her - than come see her - she is always thinking of her man!

The wait is over. . .surgery went smoothly!

Mom was all smiles when she left the prep room this morning around 7am to head for anesthesia and surgery. They had painted her orange with the betadine and gave her a pretty purple gown an cute blue hair cap. She was truly more beautiful than I have seen her in a long while. We just spoke with the doctor and he said her surgery went smoothly. They placed a "bovine" valve in after removing her "heavily calcified" aortic valve. He said Dr. Skyles (mom's cardiologist) had accurately diagnosed mom's problem - the valve needed replaced and she should feel much better and breath much easier after she recovers. She is in ICU and we are waiting to see her for the first time. They expect her to stay in the ICU for 24 to 48 hours as they monitor her recovery. They need to make sure her bleeding is under control. And they need to see her begin to move to rule out the 2% chance of stroke. So by this evening we should have a good idea if she is making good progress when she wakes up and responds. Then by Saturday she should be moving to a Cardiac Care floor as she begins therapy and recovery.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support the past 24hours. I know heaven was flooded with all of our requests this morning on behalf of mom. Thanks to everyone who is planning to stop in and see dad while mom recovers - that will help him so much get thru this time as he misses his wifey!

We'll post tonight or after we see her!

Ready for Surgery

Well today is the day before mom's open heart surgery and she was in great spirits. I picked her up this morning and took her to see dad at Rehab - midmorning I took her shopping to get dad's some spring pants for therapy - and then she spent lunch and some of the afternoon with him in therapy. We then headed to my sister Pam's where she had prepared a great meal for mom - her last before surgery. They told her she had to have her last meal before 5pm. They will head in town to see dad again this evening and take him some dinner. Then at 5am tomorrow we will head for Winchester for the big day! Mom is nervous, but also excited to get this surgery done. You know mom, she doesn't like to slow down and this bad valve has really kept her from her active lifestyle. She is looking ahead to summer and feeling great for her and dad's 50th anniversary July 12th! We are believing that they will be dancing at their party! (Dad loves to twist!)

As you can tell by the picture I took this afternoon - dad is very calm and peaceful right now about her surgery - he wants her to feel better too. He won't be alone tomorrow - my brother Dave will be there with him and some of our pastoral staff will join him early for prayer. Pastor Kevin will be with mom before she goes back for anesthesia to pray with her and then us. We are hoping to give dad updates via cell phone throughout the surgery.

Please keep our family in your prayers tonight - we trust God to guide the physicians and bring her thru this major surgery feeling younger and better. . . maybe not for a few weeks, but before too long.

Dads Looking Good - Mom's Preparing for Surgery

Dad had so many compliments at church yesterday. Everyone I saw was saying how great he looked. There was a sparkle in his eye I guess. He is continuing to improve in therapy daily and feels good about his progress. I am so encouraged when I hear him talk about when he walks again - he believes it and so do I. The mind is a powerful thing and if we believe - than we can achieve - I know that dad has conversations with God all the time and he continues to ask Him to let him walk again. We know dad will walk again - whether it's here on earth or one day in heaven - it will happen either way!

I took mom up today to Winchester for her Pre-Op for her Open Heart Surgery this week. We have to be there Thursday morning at 5:30 and they will be taking her back by around 7am. They expect we will get to see her by noon if all goes well. She is getting a little more nervous after today. They explained her "zipper" incision and that she would have tubes in almost every opening in her body - she will be intibated and they will open her up - cut out the old valve out and place a new one in. She had blood work, xrays, an ekg and all kinds of medical workups today. Keep her in your prayers!

Also, a big favor mom and the family has is for anyone who can - please visit dad Thursday & Friday while she is in ICU and unable to talk with him. If mom is up to it - I may try to take him up to see her Saturday, but not sure til we see how things go. Dad will be worried about her and I know he will miss us as we go there to be by her side. Your company will be greatly appreciated by him and us!

We'll keep you posted! Thanks for your prayers and support!
mbb

Weekend Report

Dad has had a great week at therapy- getting stronger every day. They are trying new ways of standing and pivoting and all kinds of innovative ways to help dad become stronger. He did get a new room mate tonight. He was hoping they would save that bed for mom after she has her heart surgery next week - they have said she may need a few days of therapy and dad wants her to come there with him and "room" with him!

My brother Tommy said dad looked very good tonight and was good spirits. . . dad's brother Calvin and his wife Kelly came by to see dad and they were reminiscing of days gone by. They talked about the old bakery and ice deliveries and lots of other stuff.

Monday is a big day for mom - she will have surgery pre-op for about 2 to 3 hours and we'll get all of the details of her Thursday April 17th open heart surgery. She is feeling great and ready for this next step in our journey!

Mid-Week Update

What a great day. . .I took mom in to spend the morning with dad before her doctors appointment. She was really happy to brag about dad's good day in therapy. She told me how he was really working so hard at his sitting/standing exercises - where he is in the wheelchair and the repeatedly stand him up and sit him down. . . trying to strengthen his muscles involved and mastering this skill to make transfers better. They also introduced a pivot disc, which he stands up on and then they pivot him to the spot they want to take him to, i.e. from wheelchair to therapy table, or from wheelchair to bed or recliner. Mom said he did really well with everything and was absolutely exhausted afterward - he almost fell asleep in his wheel chair while waiting to go from therapy back to his room.

This afternoon we took mom to her Heart Surgeon - Dr. Roberts. He explained the entire open heart surgery to us and really put mom at ease with how he will go in and cut the bad valve out and replace it with a new one. He said - since everything looks good around the heart - he will go in and fix the valve and be out within 2 hours. He told her that her aortic valve was like a rock right now, not allowing the strong flow of blood through that valve needed to get blood to all the essential parts of her body. After this surgery, she should feel so much better. He wants to do her surgery now while she is feeling great - so we are scheduled for next Thursday, April 17th first thing in the morning at Winchester Hospital. She should stay in ICU a day then move out onto the Cardiac ward for about a 5 day stay. She will then require 24/7 care at home for a week, then hopefully she will be a "free bird" again! She is actually relieved to know that he is doing it so quickly. She told Dr. Roberts that she wants to get it done and start feeling better because she needs to take care of her husband when he comes home!

Thank you God for a great day - we are learning to praise you even when the day brings news of things like surgery because it eventually means good health. . .we celebrate the little victories with dad when his ankles look less swollen or he stands up stronger. And even though dad is currently unable to take a step or take a shower or use the bathroom like we all do - we are praising God because the most important thing is that we still have our dad and his mind is better than any doctor ever predicted it would be. . . yes we did receive a miracle because we still have dad's wonderful sense of humor, we have his loving and encouraging personality and his Godly advice to help us through the difficult times. We may be in a season of stormy weather - but rest assured, the storm clouds will rise - the sun will come out and our parents will shine brightly for all the world see that our God is an awesome God and that any trial we face will not conquer us, but build our character. We will prevail!

The Monday Report

Hey everybody - time for the Monday report. Dad had a great day at church yesterday. When they returned from service, they found a sad scene. His roommate Mr. Allen had passed away. Currently dad is without a roommate. Mr. Allen didn't have much family and he was very sick - it was a very sad situation. Anyway, dad does seem to be handling it okay.

Today we had our progress report with dad's care team. As of today - there are 22 more days of his 100 day stay that are 100% covered by his insurance plan. Then we have to go to "private pay" to extend dad's stay there and continue his therapy. His insurance will cover the therapy fees if we continue - but the room & board are pretty expensive. However, with mom's impending open heart surgery and the possibility that dad can still make some improvement, we are planning to extend his stay by 30 days thru the month of May to see how much more he can progress. He is really working hard and mastering some skills.

It's hard to be in a meeting like that because we hear the good and the bad. The good is he is doing excellent with his cognitive skills - even beginning to balance sample checkbook pages with simple math. He is getting stronger every day with his body function, having sat on the edge of the therapy table unassisted for 13 minutes last friday however, they did tell us today they feel he is reaching his a plateau in some areas of his left side function and because it has been almost 6 months, they are concerned that he may not be able to walk again. They are concentrating now on helping him to master what he has left to work with. They describe the damage to his brain from the stroke as severe and the paralysis to his left side was major - so it would be highly unlikely that he could be stable enough to walk - and it would take a miracle to get him walking. So for now they will focus on his balance, his sitting and standing and pivoting - things that will allow us when he returns home to get him around the best possible. Now saying all of this - we still remain ever faithful that God will help dad recover what is lost and walk again - we just need you to believe with us! All things are possible thru Christ who strengthens us - our hope comes from the Lord - the maker of heaven and earth - let's call out to him and ask him to rescue dad from this and restore him to the place he once was. . . (DAD DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THEY PREDICT FOR HIS FUTURE -PLEASE DO NOT DISCUSS THIS WITH HIM IF YOU VISIT - We want him to remain focussed and hopeful for his possible recovery - if he thinks there is no hope, he may give up - please continue to help us encourage him to believe for the very best.)

Wednesday we take mom to her heart surgeon and get the dates of her surgery for the valve replacement scheduled. Looks like April and May are going to be busy months.

Good Weekend

Dad has been having a pretty good weekend. His Thursday ended up being kind of crazy because they took him for another xray of his ankle very late in the evening around 9:30pm. The ankle and foot are still swollen - so I guess they were wanting to rule out one more time a broken bone. They may end up doing more testing next week - possibly a doplar ultrasound of his ankle.

He had great therapy days Friday and today - he said his sitting balance was much stronger today. He has been really tired in the evenings - both last night and tonight when mom & I left he seemed very worn out. He has been enjoying a lot of company the past 2 days as well and his sister Wanda is still in town - so that has been a daily treat. His favorite part of the week though, is tomorrow - when he gets to leave the building and go to church.

We have a family progress meeting on Monday afternoon with his care team. We are getting down to the last couple of weeks on his original 100 day plan and we will be discussing with them what progress he has made, as well as what they think they can still do to help him get better. We will be discussing the possiblity of extending his stay there to continue his therapy program and hopefully get him stronger and possibly more mobile and independent.

We are getting anxious about mom's doctors appointment Wednesday - they will be telling us her surgery date and prep work that needs done before it. I have been told it could be as soon as the following week! Mom has been feeling really well these days considering. . . she does get tired pretty easily though. She was so happy to get to spend part of the day with some of her sisters & brothres today. Patty - her younger sister came in from Sykesville, MD to see dad and have the family day with mom and their other siblings. Dad enjoyed seeing Aunt Patty - she is a nurse and always likes to give dad her medical opinion. She was pleasantly surprised at the progress dad has made since she saw him in January!

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Surprise Visit!!!

Dad has been having a great week - therapy continues to be hard work. . .but dad said he doesn't mind if it means he is getting better. He is getting over an minor "cellulitis" infection. They began treating him for it late last week - we realized that the "sprained ankle" they thought he suffered 2 weeks ago never resulted in any bruising yet his foot remained swollen and warm to the touch. Anyway, he is getting much better. He is still retaining some fluid that we are not sure yet of the cause - dad does have a thyroid condition and they are checking his levels to see if that is the culprit, as well as other blood work to try to pinpoint the reason for it - but his recent blood chem-panel showed low protein levels and very low hematocrit levels (his level was only 31 - normal range for men is 40.5 - 50.3 - so they want make sure we are not missing anything.)

This evening he got a surprise visit from his sister Wanda! She lives away from here in Waldorf, MD and has not been able to see dad since he was in the hospital in Winchester at the very beginning of this journey. She has been sick herself and recently suffered from congestive heart failure. So this evening she surprised all of us by showing up at dad's room! Mom said dad was so very happy to see his sister and they had a wonderful visit. My Aunt Wanda told me she couldn't believe how much better dad was and she was looking forward to seeing him again throughout the weekend. . . she is hoping to stay and be able to go to church with dad on Sunday.

Thanks to everyone who has been stopping in to visit dad - it means so much to him and mom and us. It is also really encouraging and great therapy for him!

An Awesome Trip to Winchester

We had a amazing dad today! Dad started out with a great morning of therapy. Then he got to spend the day with his girls - me, mom and Pam! We took him to his follow up appointment with his neurologist Dr. Fowler in Winchester. She was so happy to see him looking so well. She told dad that he made her day - because he was looking and doing so much better. She said it was like night and day when comparing his last visit to today. We finished that appointment early so and dad was still feeling great so we decided to stop by the Winchester Rehab Center for a surprise visit with all of the therapists and nursing team that took such good care of dad early on. Dad wasn't sure if he would remember them, he has trouble remembering things from the time of his stroke until he entered Heartland. As soon as we got on the elevator there - one of the therapists - said "Shug - it's great to see you - you look sooo good!" and boy did dad light up! Then we went into the therapy room and saw all of his therapists - they were delighted to see dad and see how much he had improved since they last worked with him. They noticed his great posture and confidence - his personality - his increased strength in left side. They miss him and wish they could still be working with him! Then we went up to the floor his room was on and saw many of the nursing team - and showed him the room he stayed in. . . that part was very vague for him. But it helped to take him there and re-introduce him to this environment - I think it helped him remember a little more. Dad definitely felt good about himself today hearing all of that positive feedback from those professionals - he doesn't realize how far he has come and they really made that case to him today!