Just Another Not-so-Manic Monday

Happy Monday everybody,

Sorry, it has been a while since I blogged. I will try to keep you updated.

Friday was pretty uneventful for us. John went to therapy for a short while on Friday. He walked by himself with the physical therapist and she adjusted his cane which I was unaware could be adjusted. Boy, did I feel stupid.

My family came for Thanksgiving on Saturday. There were about 19 of us including babies and kids. It was so great to see everybody. My nephew, Shawn, and his family came with the new baby. The baby is so tiny; he looks like a little doll. My niece Michele and her boyfriend Brian and the girls were here, also. We do enjoy seeing all of the kids. My brother Mike, his wife Robin and my niece Hannah were here. Bill and Denita Reed also came. And, of course, Cejae and Adam were here. We ate so much. We are all so much like my Mom in that we, evidently, don't think there is going to be enough food so we just keep cooking. It was certainly delicious and there are plenty of leftovers. Everybody thought John was doing so well, and he is. We had such a great time. Michele, Brian, Cejae, and Adam stayed a while and we played games. That was a lot of fun and we so enjoyed everyone coming.

We went to church yesterday morning and again last night. John continues to enjoy seeing everyone. He was a greeter yesterday and Delores said everyone was trying to get to him to talk to him. I tell you, he's Mr. Popularity wherever he goes. How nice. We so enjoy being back in Sunday School and church. John said, "It is so nice hearing about God again." We take so many things for granted. We don't always consider going to church an honor or a privilege, but we are so thankful that we are able to attend our wonderful place of worship again. What an honor it is to serve a living, active God that still answers prayers. We are a blessed people.

I don't think John feels very well this morning. He got up, drank coffee and is back asleep on the couch. Maybe some days are just like that. He has been through quite a lot, so I suppose he is entitled to rest a little bit. We so appreciate your continued prayers for us; they mean so much. We go back to Chicago again next week. I will try to blog every few days for those who faithfully follow. It is a nice way to keep in touch. Thank you for all of your comments. Have a great day.

Love,

John and Cathy

Home Safe Again

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a blessed day with plenty to eat.

John and I had a busy day yesterday. We went to his eye doctor and he really wanted to stitch his eye closed, but he didn't really have time and we didn't think we had time for him to do it because we had an appointment with Dr. Anderson at 2:15. He is supposed to tape it shut all of the time to hopefully get it better. He said there was no longer a corneal abrasion, but it is extremely dry. We have to go back and see him again November 9.

We didn't get in to see Dr. Anderson until about 3:45, but he was really glad to see John. He showed us cuts of the MRI and how massive the tumor was. He said he really hated to look at it again, but wanted to show us. He said it was just a nasty tumor with all kinds of tentacles coming off of it. He said it was huge; about the size of a racquetball pressing against the brainstem. He was so pleased with John's progress and wants to do a baseline MRI when we come back on December 8. I think he started to say it was about the worst tumor he had ever seen, but he didn't go ahead and say that. He told us he thought John had a lot of years left and he expected him to continue to improve for as long as 18 months. John gave him a hug and told him, "I've hugged everybody else; I should hug the guy that saved my life." I think Dr. Anderson really appreciated that and grinned from ear to ear. We don't have to go back until February to see him.

We left Chicago about 5:00 and traffic was horrendous. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get to John's sister's house, but we arrived safe and sound.

We got up this morning and his sister Dorothy fixed us breakfast and then we went visiting to his nieces' houses. It was so nice to see everyone and his family was so glad to see him. We then went to his sister Gaila's house for dinner with her family. Everyone told stories and reminisced. We laughed and laughed and just had a great time. It was a very special day and we are so blessed to be loved and cared for by so many. We had a pretty uneventful trip home where it is, once again, good to be.

I will try to blog again soon. Peggy, John thinks he would do fine with your cookies. Hope to see you all soon.

Love,

John and Cathy

Happy Pre-Turkey Day!

Good morning all,

The hotel has computers so I can continue to blog, at least this morning. It is rainy and gray in Chicago this morning which often sets my mood in a non-positive way. But we are hoping for the best and we are so fortunate and blessed, we should never be non-positive.

We didn't sleep all that great, but it is so nice to be close to the hospital and our appointments. Our friend Barbara came last night and took us to dinner, but we were pretty pooped by the end of the night.

Traffic wasn't bad at all yesterday and we made our appointment in plenty of time.

While we were waiting for Dr. Akst to call us back, some little boy (probably about a year old) just toddled over to John, held his arms up and crawled on his lap. He leaned back against John's shoulder like he had known him his whole life. It was sweet and precious and, I think, made John's day. Many people look at him strangely, but what a blessing that children are so innocent and non-judgmental.

Dr. Akst was a really sweet doctor. Everything done at Loyola is put into a computer and when you go to a different doctor/area, all of the information is already there for them to look at. You don't always realize how nice that is until doctors start asking questions and you're the one trying to remember dates, outcomes, medicines, etc. So what a nice thing that is. Anyway, Dr. Akst asked John several questions and then took him for a video look at his vocal cord. Needless to say, the right vocal cord is paralyzed and he said there was something else going on as well. He said it was nothing to be alarmed about, but it was a concern. He called it a medical name which I can't remember, but what it boils down to is that there is something in there similar to a polyp caused built up by scar tissue. He said for that to be there a couple of things had to be present: the ventilator probably started it, but he has quite a bit of acid reflux that keeps it aggravated and then he works so hard for his voice to be heard, that it complicates things. I may not be reporting this at all correctly, but that is my understanding. He believes he can help the vocal cord by injecting a substance (again a long name). What we have to find out today is whether or not Dr. Anderson believes the vocal cord paralysis is permanent or temporary. If it's temporary, he will inject something that lasts about 2 1/2 months; if it is permanent, he will inject something that lasts about two years. He believes it lasts longer than that, but it has only been researched for a length of two years. He likened it to someone going in with flat lips and coming out with puffy lips. The would "plump up" John's vocal cord which would help his swallowing and his voice. After the procedure is done he wants John to work with a speech therapist who is comfortable working with voice issues so that he doesn't work so hard to speak. We have a follow-up appointment for the injection for December 8. I am just glad God helped John find doctors that know what they are doing.

John's memory is so great. We went to a mall up here yesterday. He just sits in the car and doesn't seem to mind at all. Anyway, we went past this restaurant called "The Clubhouse." We had also passed a couple of golf courses on the way in so we had to find out their names also, but anyway, I digress. He wanted me to go into "The Clubhouse" and see who owned it because he thought Kevin Costner or Paine Stewart or Peter Jacobsen owned it. So I go into this restaurant feeling like a total idiot for even considering asking this question. I went up to the desk and said, "I'm not really sure why I'm here, but my husband thinks someone famous owns this restaurant." The hostess said, "Well, they did eight years ago when it was first opened." Jack Nicklaus, Kevin Costner and she named somebody else that I can't remember are the ones that first opened it. They sold it but, once again, John was right. I swear, he remembers everything. But what an amazing, miraculous thing for him to have. God is so good.

I will close for now. I may not get to blog again until we get home. We hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving and we will see you again soon. Love to all.

John and Cathy

Traffic Tuesday

Good morning all,

Look, I am already anticipating much traffic today. We made it fine yesterday and traffic wasn't impossible. It didn't really get bad until the "Circle" or "Circus" as I like to refer to it. Ha!

John has a 1:00 appointment with Dr. Akst about the vocal cord procedure. He's not sure his name is okay for a doctor (funny, huh?). I'm not sure whether they will do anything today or not, but I'll try to let someone know something. I'm not sure when I will get to blog again, but I will try to either call Delores or send her a text as to what happens today.

Tomorrow he sees Dr. Yoo (the eye doctor) and then Dr. Alexander (the neurosurgeon). His eye is not drastically improved so I'm not exactly sure what they will want to do about that.

His balance is still very unsteady, but he is so strong-willed and independent (both nice ways of saying a bit bull-headed) that he insists on using the cane instead of the walker. Again, I just want him to be safe.

Please pray for Phil, Kay and their family today as I know it will be a difficult day for them. I understand Rodney Rubenacker has needs, also. Please continue to pray for Van and Delores as well, although Van looks absolutely terrific. There are so many that need God's healing touch in so many ways. We so appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers for us.

We are so blessed by God and by having all of your in our lives. This Thanksgiving season is very special to us. Ken's message Sunday was on being thankful IN all things. I think we often let our circumstances rule our attitudes and that should not be the way a blessed people should act or react to anything. Okay, I'll get down off my soapbox and say how appreciative we are for all of you and for God's mercy and grace.

Hope you all have a great day!

Love and thanksgiving,

John and Cathy from the windy city

Lazy Day

Hello everyone,

Hope you had a great Sunday. Church was wonderful this morning. We can't say often enough how wonderful it is to be home. It was great to be back in Sunday School this morning, too. We really missed our Sunday School class. We have a great group of people.

We didn't do much of anything this afternoon. Kelly and Dianne Friederich visited for a while this afternoon. John was his usual comedic self. He loves entertaining.

We are off again tomorrow for the windy city. We hope all goes well with traffic, doctor's appointments, etc. Please pray for safe travel and that everything goes good with John's follow-up appointments. We will try to blog again after his doctors' visits if we can. It may be Friday before you hear anything from us.

We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for including all of you.

We will be thinking of and praying for Phil and Kay Huffer and their family during this time of their loss.

We love you all. Take care and have a great holiday.

John, Cathy and Family

Two Beautiful Days

Hello all,

We have had two beautiful fall days. It must be Indian summer. Whatever it is, we are certainly enjoying it.

John hasn't felt all that great the last couple of days. We ran some errands yesterday and John slept in the parking lots of the couple of stores I went into. I guess it's good he can do that. He probably slept a grand total of about four hours yesterday and then went to bed and slept all night as well. I guess his body just needs rest.

Today he walked to the mailbox and back with his cane. He did very well. He went slow and walked very methodically and looked like a pro. His eye has bothered him quite a bit today. We should know more about that at his eye appointment on Wednesday. He is waiting on himself more and got himself a huge bowl of ice cream. I said, "That's an awfully big bowl of ice cream." He said, "Maybe for mere mortals. . ." which made me laugh really hard.

His sister Marilyn and niece Reggie came and visited today. Christina Anselment Z. (I don't know how to spell her married name) also stopped by. John used to work with her at the bank and was very glad to see her. It was so nice of her to stopy by. Sue Tomlin and her mom, Ann, also came this afternoon. It was very nice to see all of them.

We sat outside in the swing this afternoon for a little while. It was such a beautiful day and the temperature was just perfect.

We were so sorry to hear about the death of Phil Huffer's step-mother. Please pray for that family. We also ask that you pray for Van and Delores; pray for wisdom for the doctors and guidance for Van and Delores' decision about what's best. We thank you for your continued prayers and thoughts for us. Thanks for reading.

Love,

John and Cathy

Slowly Getting Back to Normal

Howdy Everyone,

Well, today is Thursday. It is almost the end of another week. Where does the time go? John didn't feel great today, but he didn't feel horrible either. He had therapy again today, but he was quite tired. I think he may be trying to do a little too much. He had ridden the stationery bike today and he said his legs were like jello for therapy. Perhaps he should not try to do quite so much all in one day. Our niece Judy and her husband Rick stopped and visited a while today. It was nice to see them. John really enjoys telling stories and tells them quite well. Nancy Epperson brought us lunch and stayed and visited for a little while as well. People continue to be so kind to us and, again, we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends, family and support system. We hear everyday of people that have been praying for us and, evidently, continue to do so. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate your caring, kind and giving spirits.

We are enjoying being at home so much. It is so nice to live in a small town where people care. We have such a great community of caring people. It's great not having so much traffic also. We have to travel back to Chicago on Monday, so please pray that we make it safely. John has an appointment with the ENT doctor on Tuesday about the possibility of having an injection pushing the vocal cord over. Supposedly that will help both his swallowing and his voice. There is no guarantee at this time that it can be done because the doctor has not yet seen him. On Wednesday we have an appointment with Dr. Yoo, the opthalmologist and Dr. Alexander, the neurosurgeon. Hopefully, those appointments will all go well.

Have a nice evening. More blogging to come.

Love and thanks,

John and Cathy

Good Day

Hello all,

It is Wednesday, November 18 and it was a very good day. John took a real bath today and that felt so good to him. I had bought one of those transfer chairs last week, but he didn't use it very long and I'm pretty sure will not use it again. He did very good at getting in and out of the tub--better than I thought he could. He is also walking around the house without using anything. He says he has to try new things; I just worry about him losing his balance and falling. I had to run some errands this morning and I told him I would be gone quite a while. I got back sooner than expected and I found him outside airing up a tire on his car. He had carried the air compressor to the patio and charged it up, then carried it to his car and aired up the tire. He was pretty off balance by the time I arrived home, but he again said he had to try new things to get stronger. I was pretty angry, but I have to admit he is getting stronger. Maybe he's not doing it in the way I would like, but he's certainly very eager.

His friends from Kentucky, Lee and Joann, stopped today. I had cooked dinner and they ate with us and stayed until about 3:00. We had a very nice visit. John certainly keeps us all entertained.

His eye is still bothering him but, hopefully, that will start to get better soon. He has therapy again tomorrow.

We continue to pray for those in need. We love you all.

John and Cathy

Back At It Again

Hello all,

Today was a better day. We had quite a bit of company this morning, but John really enjoys visiting with people. His brothers, Gabe and James were here and our sister-in-law, Mary and niece Tammy came. We all visited for quite a while.

Yesterday he had this eye thing happen to him and it happened again today, so we thought it best to call the doctor at Loyola. The nurse said it sounded like a migraine and there were such things as ocular migraines which we'd never heard of. She said we might want to go to a doctor just to make sure everything was okay. John has a lot of faith in the eye doctor at Marion Eye Center here in McLeansboro and they were kind enough to work us in. She did a very thorough exam and said everything looked fine in his good and the cornea was very dry in the bad eye, but there was no infection. She said he had a stye and gave him a couple of antibiotic prescriptions, but thought he was doing the right things. She was going to send his results to the doctor at Loyola so he would know what she had recommended. She also said the exact same thing about the migraine and that it is not unusual for those to occur after a major surgery. She said she hoped those would lessen in severity and frequency soon.

He was able to go to therapy today. He said he got to play soccer and had to keep a balloon up. He said it was a lot of fun. He also had to put tiny pegs into holes for occupational therapy. He said the hardest thing for him to do is to sign his name with his right hand. He is trying to do everything with his right hand now which is difficult because he has taught himself to use his left. In speech he tried to strengthen his face, work on pronunciation and sang. He seemed to enjoy it, but it really wears him out.

Tonight Cejae stopped by and Mike Pritchett came and visited. Tomorrow his friend Lee Craddock and Joann are going to stop by on their way back to Kentucky. He doesn't have therapy tomorrow.

He is so independent which is a good thing, but he doesn't always listen to me. I love that he wants to get stronger and do things for himself, but occasionally I think I know what's best. And, go figure, he believes he knows what's best. Hmmm . . . a battle of the wills. We'll have to see how this goes.

Well, I hope you all have a good night's sleep. We will try to let you know what's happening tomorrow. Thanks for continuing to read.

Love,

John and Cathy

No Therapy Today

Hello all,

John hasn't felt very good today. He has had a lot of trouble with his eyes today and has had a headache pretty much all day. I cancelled therapy for him today because he felt so bad. We plan to go tomorrow. We may have overdone it yesterday. This has been the first day he has felt really bad, so that's a good thing.

Randy Banovz came and visited for a while this morning. John really enjoys company.

Needless to say since he felt so bad we did not do much, which is fine too. He took about a two-hour nap this afternoon. It was a gray, rainy day anyway so it was fine. I watched a lot of Law and Order, Criminal Intent.

John told me I would be a good schizophrenic because I am over here talking to myself as I blog. I guess the voices don't talk to me, I just make my own conversation with me.

I will let you know how therapy goes tomorrow. Thanks for continuing to read and pray for us. We appreciate your continued support. Thanks.

John and Cathy

Fourth Day of Sanity

Hello all,

John titled this one. This is our fourth day home and being back to sanity. He has some terrible memories of things that happened to him in the hospital that must have been hallucinations. He thought there were terrorists, mannequins and all kinds of terrible things. They are extremely real to him, but we of course know that didn't happen. Drugs are wonderful things, but can also do all kinds of strange things to our minds at times. Anyway, we certainly continue to enjoy being home. He said McLeansboro has never looked so good and made me drive through town just so he could see it.

We plan to continue blogging until after John's follow-up appointments in a couple of weeks. We have so enjoyed this and hope you have too. It is certainly a way to keep everyone updated and as much in the loop as we are.

Today is Sunday and we went to church today for the first time in five weeks. That's a long time for us to have missed church. Cejae went with us this morning and it was a very spiritual and emotional (imagine that) experience for us. It was our fellowship dinner at church today and we brought plates home with us. How nice and how delicious it was! God has been so good to us and blessed us so much that we cannot begin to give him all the praise He deserves. It was so good for John to see everyone and for everyone to see him. Everyone thought he looked so good and many thought he was talking better than he was before the surgery. We are so thankful to God and to all of you for your kindness, thoughtfulness, gifts, prayers, yard work, food, and everything you have done for us. We really can't say how much it has all meant to us.

We took a ride with Cejae this afternoon to Ridgway and that was very nice also. John really enjoyed that. He didn't even have a nap today. His brother Gabe and his wife Mary came to visit this evening. We went to church again tonight.

Friday and Saturday we had several people come visit. Rick Bailey came on Friday evening, John's brother Steve and his wife Sheila were here on Saturday as was Jerry Hart, Jim Hutchcraft and Steve Bowling. It was so nice to see everyone. Rick had been up right after John's surgery and couldn't believe how much better John looked. John doesn't remember Rick being there at all.

He seems to get stronger and have more stamina every day. His eating is going very well, the feeding tube wound is healing nicely and his eye appears to have improved somewhat. Last night I asked John how his belly hole was and he sang, "There's a hole in my belly, dear Liza, dear Liza. There's a hole in my belly, dear Liza, a hole." He just makes me laugh--a wonderful gift that I appreciate so much.

Well, I'm going to sign off for tonight. We'll try to let you know how therapy goes tomorrow. Thanks for following and, again, for everything you've done.

Love,

John and Cathy

Saturday Evening Post

I have not had a chance to read any of the blogs before today and yesterday. I couldn't stop reading the blogs or the comments. I was unaware of some of the stuff that happened to me even though it happened to me! I am grateful for each and everyone that responded. I wanted to write down some of my thoughts for you on how this whole journey started. As most of you know I like to play golf. About 2 years ago I started experiencing some difficulty with some basic golf skills. I chalked it up to old age. Last summer I couldn't walk a full nine holes without falling at least once a round. My scores were going up and I couldn't make my body do some of the things my brain was telling it to do. Sometimes your hobbies can be a precurser. As the year went on I was getting worse. I decided to go to my old neurologist, he did an MRI and found out I had another tumor and I would need another brain surgery. After consulting with Dr. Pencek we agreed I needed to see another Dr. to do the surgery. I immediately started to pray for guidance. I joined a website called epidermoidbraintumor.org. I found a lot of great things on that website. They talked a lot about different techniques and Drs. I researched for over a month. In the meantime Dr Pencek made me an appointment with a Dr. in Springfield. The Dr. in Springfield turned out to not be the right Dr. either. All the time I had my eyes on Loyola Hospital. I couldn't get away from that feeling. Meantime the Dr. in Springfield referred me to Northwestern Hospital in Chicago, a Dr Bajher. I looked him up on the internet and found out he was a good Dr. I waited about a week and no call. I decided to call Loyola. Dr Anderson had a very good track record. I had prayed constantly for God's will. I prayed for guidance, I was annointed with oil and I knew God would take care of me one way or the other. I called Loyola on Friday and they made me an appointment on Wed. I thought that was a sign. I met with Dr Anderson on Wed. and he was very professional and told me everything he was going to do, what to expect and all the precautions his team would take. I had been through this before and I knew I had found my Dr. He scheduled my operation and I knew God had put me in this man's hands. It was a couple of weeks later when I heard from Northwestern Hospital. I said I already had a Dr and I had already scheduled my surgery. The rest of the story is in the blog. I throughly think God took over and watched over me. Thank you God!

John

"Home again, home again, jiggity jig"

Happy Friday!

It's a great Friday the 13th for us. It is so wonderful being home. I didn't know home would look so good, but it shore does.

We had welcome home banners in our yard when we arrived home yesterday evening. People have just been so wonderful. We just can't tell you how much we appreciate all that you have done for us.

We slept good in our own bed last night and John is doing really well. He has gone to his therapy at McLeansboro now and I'm sure it will wear him out, but he is so eager to improve and get stronger.

Cindy Inboden brough us supper last night: roast, potatoes, carrots and rolls. What a lovely gesture. It was so good. You forget how much you miss a good home-cooked meal.

Wow! What a ride this has been--literally and figuratively. But how God has blessed! When we were getting ready to leave Rehab. on Wednesday everyone was telling John goodbye and he said, "Wow! I could run for mayor." So we told him he could probably be mayor of Rehab. H e still has such a good attitude and is so funny.

Melody took Wednesday off so she could drive me to the hospital and help us get things together. That girl is amazing. If you ever need anything organized, she's your gal. She is a little, tiny thing that just takes care of things. She knows the right questions to ask and just gets things done. I was so thankful to have her with me. She and Bucky were both great.

We have a great new rail to come up the back steps with. It was a really big help for John. Thanks go to Bob Brockett and Ron Gibbs for that. Adam had gotten some of the supplies, so thanks to him also.

I feel like I'm saying the same things over and over again, but we are so grateful for and to all of you. The support we had was phenomenal. We will never forget what you've done for us. If there is anything we can do for you, please don't hesitate to let us know.

Love and appreciate all of you.

John, Cathy, Bucky, Melody, Cejae and Adam

Coming Home

Hey all,

My parents are on their way home. Mom said that she thought they'd be home around 3:30 today. They are really excited.

What an emotional ride this has been. I just want to say, on behalf of my family, that we can never begin to thank you all enough for all that you have done for us! Thank you so much for caring so much about dad and for being here for all of us. We are so incredibly blessed to have such a great family and such a wonderful group of friends and supporters. From the bottom of our hearts, we want to say thank you SO much! I know we will never be able to repay all of you, but just know that we will never forget your generosity and kindness. We love you!!!!

Thank you!

Cejae

"Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty I am free at last."

Good evening all,

John is free and looking forward to going home tomorrow. But it was probably a good idea to stay the rest of the afternoon and night at Bucky and Melody's. Traffic was great coming back to their house and I hope it is good for us tomorrow as well. John is napping now and I am so glad he is able to do so.

We have had a great day, but a little stressful. We didn't know they were going to take that tube out and had to wait a while for them to come. We had the eye appointment at 1:00 and as they were taking the tube out Dr. Hsue called and said they could see us right away (at 12:15). So we were kind of in a hurry to begin with and then had to rush even more, but it's okay. John knew the tube removal was going to be painful, but I think it was even more painful than he had anticipated. There was a suction-like cup on the end of it larger than the hole it was coming through. So the doctor pulled hard and fast, but it was still really painful. He told John he was one tough guy because most people couldn't stand that. And Cejae told you what he compared it to.

Everyone on the 5th floor came in to tell him goodbye and say how much they were going to miss him. Carolyn (PT) said they decided the first week he was there when he got ready to leave he was going to be "Patient of the Week." They base it on hard work, attitude, the ability to work with the staff and someone who inspires others. What an honor for him to receive it. Everyone told us when we come up for the follow-up visits to stop in and see them. How nice that people want to be around you even when the chips are down.

They have put another contact on his eye that we remove nightly so that we can tape it shut when he sleeps. When we come back we will see Dr. Yoo again and they will decide at that time what should be done, if anything needs to be done more permanently.

Today with his walker he maneuvered uneven surfaces, steps (with and without carpet), sidewalks, elevators and curbs and did a fine job of it. He is so thrilled to be someplace other than the hospital, but knows he has to take it slow and steady. We had our first meal out of the hospital: soup, crackers and applesauce and he did a good job of that as well. Tonight Bucky is going to fix penne pasta with marinara sauce at John's request.

We may stop at John's sisters in Streator tomorrow. We will see what the morning brings. Love you all and look forward to seeing you soon. Thanks again for everything.

Love,

Cathy

Feeding Tube

Guess what everyone? They took dad's feeding tube out. He said it felt like someone was pulling a baby out of his (ummm, how shall I say) butt. So, for all we know, dad really was pregnant this whole time and gave birth to a feeding tube. All jokes aside, he is VERY relieved to get that dern thing out. He said yesterday that the doctor told him they would probably take the feeding tube out when he came back up for his appointment later in November, but apparently, they decided that today was a good day so they went for it.

Dad has been away from most of his family, friends, and home for over a month now. A month is not long at all when you think about all of the people who leave their homes to go fight for our country for months and years and some who, unfortunately, never return. As it is Veteran's Day, we just want to say thank you to all of those people who have fought and continue to fight for our freedom. Three people that I am really thinking about today are my grandpa "Buck," Adam's grandpa Frank and my uncle Mike. What brave people! Thanks to all the Veteran's!!!

I'm sure mom will have more of a detailed blog later but until then....toodaloo!

You all rock!

Cejae

Breakin' Out!

Good morning all,

Well, I have lots to tell you and I was just too tired to try last night. John's new theme song (Cejae has tried to put it on) is Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews "I'm Alive" and he wanted her to try to add it to the blog. [Sidenote from Cejae: I finally figured out how to add the song but can't figure out how to put it on autoplay, so if you wan't to listen, you'll have to click play button] She's had a dickens of a time getting it on there and is frustrated at this point. Anyway, when you hear it, just think of John.

He had his video swallowing test yesterday morning and that went REALLY well. The speech pathologist said he was making a liar out of her. When he eats slowly, concentrates, takes small bites/sips he does a bang-up job. He is at least so much more aware of what is going on and knows how to control it better which is great. He chokes so much less frequently than he did even before the surgery. Praise God!

They opened his eye again yesterday and took out the tasoraphy (pretty sure that's not how it's spelled, but I at least wanted to sound intelligent), and his eye looks good. They put a contact back on it and he sees Dr. Yoo, referred by Dr. Hsue (pronounced Shoe), today at 1:00. I think Dr. Seuss could write a book using these two doctors' names. Well, anyway, a bit of humor this morning. And everyone there has been so great and so pro-active that we have no complaints whatsoever. The top and bottom lids of John's eye look pretty rough, but that's where the stitches were keeping it closed. Dr Hsue thinks that Dr. Yoo may want to go ahead and put in a more permanent tasoraphy or possibly a gold weight, but yesterday she said the eye is closing really well and they may just try the contact for a while. Wouldn't that be wonderful? But, again, John is perfectly willing to do whatever they think is best.

He was also awarded "Patient of the Week" yesterday. Guess who cried! I'm such a sap, but it was so sweet. I think everyone in Rehab. votes on who it is and then decide. They said he had been such a pleasure to work with. We're going to try to get a picture today with his certificate and put it on the blog. They choose a "Patient of the Week" weekly (imagine that) and put their picture on a board in Rehab. You are then supposed to return in a year and show them how far you've come. Cool idea, huh? Well, anyway, it was very sweet and touching.

Our friend Barbara came and brought a huge cookie tray for everyone in Rehab. for John to give to them. They were so excited and asked how he had gotten that so quickly. He said, "I just called my peeps." They thought that was hilarious.

He is so looking forward to getting out today. We are going to stay at Bucky's tonight and then head home in the morning. So we will be staying an extra day, but that's okay.

We have several follow-up appointments in a couple of weeks, so we will be headed back but we get to spend some time at home first. Man, that place is going to look good.

Thank you to Bob Brockett and whoever helped him add a rail for us. We can't tell you how much we appreciate everything each of you has done. We love you all and will try to keep you updated as much as we can.

We continue to pray for Van and others and hope all goes well today.

See you soon.

Cathy

Tuesday, Tuesday

Good morning,

I couldn't think of anything catchy for today's title so you yesterday's again (only with Tuesday instead of Monday). Ah, but I ramble.

I am going to go in early today. John choked quite a bit yesterday at breakfast so they want to do another video swallowing test. They told me the last time if the had known we were there we could have watched, so I'm going in today to watch. Evidently they put a camera on his throat and can actually see where the food is going (amazing, huh?). I don't think he will have to go back on the feeding tube, he just may have to thicken all of his liquids. He had been getting some thin liquids and the stuff that he uses to thicken things is kind of gritty. But, whatever, he has come so far.

We should also know today if they can do something more permanently with his eye while we are still here. They may try to do something late tomorrow or wait until Friday which is when Dr. U (I have no idea how to spell his name, that's just what they call him) usually has clinic. We haven't actually met him, but he's the "attending" or the "chief." I'm learning all of these teaching-hospital terms, but I'm not always sure what they actually mean.

I had some training yesterday on what I need to look for and how I need to help John. Pray that I will be a good helper. You know, I have always told him I am not a good nurse (he believes me) and I don't think I'm such a hot physical/occupational therapist either. But we will try to get through it the best we can. And John has come so far by the grace of God and all of your prayers.

We are going to be in constant prayer for Van, Delores and Beth today and have faith and confidence that all will go well. What an amazing God we serve!

Well, I'm off to try to beat rush-hour traffic. I will try to blog again later.

Love you all,

Cathy

Monday, Monday (la, la, lalalala)

Good morning,

I hope you are all singing today's blog title to the tune of the Mamas and Papas' song. I know I am and it will probably be stuck in my head all day.

I forgot to tell you yesterday that John's chest X-ray was normal. Yay! He is doing so much better about slowing down and eating and he seems to really listen to what they say. He is a bit of a strategist, however, in that during swallowing (which is in front of the speech therapist) he eats things he knows will go down well so that he doesn't choke. If he continues to pay attention to those things when we get home, he will do fine. And he loves to tell them stories. He loves to tell EVERYONE stories. But, praise God, he has stories to tell and he is here to tell them.

I just need to reiterate once again how thankful we are to have all of you. Denita loaned me a book entitled When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol Kent. I was very apprehensive about reading it because I knew it was going to be a tear-jerker (and it is!), but what a blessing and what insight it has given me as well. In it it talks about "stretcher-bearers." Those are people who help you, oftentimes, when you don't even know you need the help. And not all stretcher-bearers are the same. Some may be prayers, some may be helpers in physical ways, some may be donators, some may call to give you moral support, some may just give you some much-needed comic relief, an for all of them we are thankful. The point is we need those stretcher-bearers and don't know what we would have done without all of them, without all of you. Thank you, Denita, for the book.

I have to say again what a gift our children have been. Bucky and Melody have given me a place to stay and a sanctuary in which to come to at the end of long days. Melody directed and produced the video (she is awesome) and has made me a calendar with things that are already scheduled, and follow-up questions that need to be answered and need dates. Bucky is always so positive--sometimes to the point of being annoying (just kidding), but he always sees the good in everything and, usually, everybody. Our Cejae has been a rock (maybe not emotionally), but what a gift she has been. She certainly kept us entertained. I think she's getting a wheelchair for Christmas, because she got pretty good at using it in Rehab. Adam is taking care of some of the things that need to be done at home and we so appreciate that. He is certainly a constant, steady, reliable individual in all of our lives.

Well, before I start blubbering, I am going to go. I will try to blog again later. I hope that someday I can be a stretcher-bearer in a way that you have all been to us. Love you much.

Cathy

Good day.

Hello all,

Well, another day down and only three more to go, hopefully. We are still planning on being discharged on Wednesday. If they could go ahead and do something with his eye on Wednesday or Thursday, we would try to stay the extra time to get that taken care of. We should know something more about that tomorrow.

It was another beautiful day here in Chicagoland. Bucky took me down to the hospital yesterday and then our friends, Chuck and Barbara picked me up and we met Bucky and Melody for dinner. It was very nice. Today Barbara picked me up and took me down to the hospital and stayed most of the day with me. Bucky and Melody then came and picked me up, we had dinner and now we are home. We took John outside both days; the weather was so beautiful. I think he really enjoyed being outside.

John is so funny and continues to have such a great attitude. That means so much to all of us. One of the nurses said, "What are we going to do without you, John? It will certainly be different." This surgery has been so much different in many ways. He has never been agitated, he seems to take everything in stride and he is just so easy-going. I am so thankful for all of these things. This makes my life as well as his, so much easier.

Yesterday he said, "Are you excited about Christmas?" I said, "Well, I guess, I'm justing wondering how I will get everything done." He said, "I already have my Christmas gift: I'm alive." I thought that was just so touching. He is so thankful that things are as good as they are. Sure, he has some residual effects, but he is not focusing on those at all; he is just appreciating the good things. God bless him! He has been such a blessing to me and to all of us. He is such a joy. We continue to praise God for His wonderful mercies. "They are new every morning," and we are so thankful for each new day.

We hope all goes well with Van this week and we are certainly going to pray extra hard for him, Delores and their family. We also continue to pray for Glenda Mitchell, Greg Vaupel, Mickey Owen and others who are in need or hurting.

Charlotte, we received Heather's card with her special surprise in it for John. Thank you, Heather; John thought it was great. We also received cards from Suzanne's class at church. John really enjoyed each one of those and how sweet they all were. Again, we are so thankful for all of you and your kindness and thoughtfulness.

We are counting down the days and "if the good Lord's willin' and the creeks don't rise," we will hopefully see all of you very soon. Take care and know that we are thinking about you and excited to see you. We love you.

Cathy

Beautiful Saturday morning

Good morning all,

I tried to make it sound like, "Good morning VietNam," you remember that movie with Robin Williams ages ago. Oh well, I thought it was funny. Anyway, it is an absolutely beautiful day here in the windy city, and it is windy today, but that's alright. The sun is shining, the temperature is great and I like the wind.

Bucky and I met Cejae and Terri last night in Kankakee. I so appreciate Bucky going and driving for me. I just had to sit and not worry because he knows exactly where he is going and 103 different ways to get there. Cejae and Terri had the longest drive. We started late and traffic was awful so it took us two hours to get to Kankakee. But Cejae sent me a text around 12:30 saying she got home safe and, hopefully, she got a good night's sleep and at least her vehicle is home now. Bless her heart. She has been a jewel through this whole thing.

I called John this morning and he was doing well. He said Van had called him last night and so had his friend from Kentucky, Lee Craddock. He said it's kind of hard for him to talk, but it was great to hear from both of them. Van, we are praying for you and Delores and we know what a wonderful God we serve.

I was telling John what our plans were for the day. We are going to clean a little here at the house and then we're coming to see him. Bucky gets to pick Melody up from the airport this afternoon and I told him I'd stay until 4:00 or 5:00, then we have some plans to go out to dinner. John said, "That will be good. I think I'll just stay here." That just cracked me up. He is such a great guy, and funny. I made him promise me before the surgery that he'd still be funny (not that any of that was in our control). And I am so glad that God continues to bless in so many ways.

We are so glad Melody is coming home today. She has been so wonderful and we have really missed her. She's a get-things-done kind of gal, so if I don't get all my questions answered, she has been so great to help me out. We love you, Melody!

A couple of days ago I was talking to John on the phone and was asking how his eye, swallowing, therapy, etc. was going and he said, "How are you holding up? Nobody ever asks how you're doing, so how are you doing?" I thought that was just one of the sweetest, selfless things he could have said. (Guess what--crying!) But anyway, I was so touched that he asked that, and we are so blessed to still love and care about each other after 33 years of marriage.

Okay, I'm going to go slather on some Estrogel so I'm not a mess all day and will, hopefully, blog again later.

Love you all and continue to feel your love and kindness.

Cathy

Counting down.

Hello everyone,

Well, it's Friday again. It doesn't mean quite the same thing that it does when I'm working, but I'm sure it does to others.

John had a good day. He is working so hard and they REALLY worked him hard today since he had been a little bad yesterday. Everyone thinks he is doing so well.

The doctor did say he was a little "wheezy" today so she started breathing treatments again and did a chest X-ray. We haven't heard the results of the chest X-ray yet. The respiratory therapists said they didn't hear anything in his lungs when they came to give him his treatments so, hopefully, whatever it is isn't too bad.

They are still planning on him being released on Wednesday. I go Monday for some "training" from occupational and physical therapy. Wish me luck. I am also concerned about food for him. He has everything "mechanical soft" which means ground meat, thickened drinks, soft fruit, etc. I have been trying to think about things to fix and I hope all goes well. The consistency of the Ensure shakes seems to be what works best for him. He can have thin liquids if he sips them and drinks them by themselves (not with solids). We take so many things for granted when we are healthy.

He will also have to see an ophthalmologist for his eye as well. They said he can either come back to one here or see one closer to us if he wanted to. I'm not exactly sure what we're going to do with that just yet. I'm not sure we can get all of the follow-up appointments in a small time frame and I'm sure the weather is not going to stay wonderful forever. So, we'll see how that goes.

I'm pretty sure he will come home with a walker. His balance is not bad, but he is still very weak. His stamina is not great either, but he's been through an awful lot and come just a long way in a short time. God is truly amazing.

I know John will be so glad to get home as will I. It has been great having a place to stay and they have been wonderful at Loyola, but home is home and we are so looking forward to being there.

Well, Bucky and I are getting ready to go and meet Cejae somewhere between Chicago and home. So pray for safe travel for all of us.

Love you all and plan to see you soon.

Cathy

Funny guy

Hello everyone,

Well, today is Thursday and only six days to go. I think we are still on target for getting out next Wednesday. They have him scheduled for therapy at Hamilton Memorial on Friday, November 13. So that is great news.

He is such a popular guy. Everyone seems to love him (but what's not to love, right?). He is constantly joking around and tries really hard to do what they ask of him. So today was one of the Occupational Therapists last days. He put John up to messing with the new OTs. John is very strong and, as I said, usually works as hard as he can. But today he dropped the weights a couple of times and decided about 3/4 of the way through occupational therapy that he needed to go to the bathroom and just generally threw the new OTs off. One of them had worked with him before and after the session was over said, "I don't know what's going on with Mr. Cross today." Well, Rick (the instigator) couldn't hold it in any longer. He just cracked up laughing. He thought it was just hilarious. John will probably have to do double OT tomorrow, but I think he really enjoys being Mr. Popularity.

He is doing well enough now that he doesn't have to have an alarm on his bed so he can get in his wheelchair by himself and take himself to the bathroom. He can get a shower by himself if he holds on to the bar. They are going to start working tomorrow on him brushing his teeth and shaving while standing. Up to this point he has been sitting in his wheelchair and doing that.

He is eating really well and doing much better. He has started slowing down, taking smaller bites and seems to enjoy it more. He went with me today to the cafeteria while I ate lunch. I think he enjoys getting out once in a while. It is nice for me as well.

The sun shone today and that makes everything look so much better. It gives me a whole different perspective on everything. It makes me so happy.

I will be meeting Cejae somewhere tomorrow to trade vehicles, so I may not be able to blog until Saturday.

I hope you all have a great evening. Thanks, as always, for your continued thoughts and prayers. We couldn't have gotten through this without your support and God's love. We are so blessed.

Virtual hugs to all of you,

Cathy

Only a week to go, hopefully.

Hello again everybody,

It's Cathy again since my sidekick Cejae has returned home.

John is scheduled to come home next Wednesday unless something changes. We have several follow-up visits to try and schedule and I have asked them to coordinate them in a time period that we could make one trip back up. We will see how that goes.

He is eating good enough now that they are no longer counting his calories. He is getting very independent, which is good and bad. He feels good enough that he thinks there are some things he shouldn't be monitored on, but there are still rules that need to be followed. He has been so eager to please and do whatever they tell him up to this point that I hate to see him balk at the required instructions. Hopefully, he will understand that they are only doing their job and have his safety and well-being in mind.

He is getting stronger as well. Today he lifted weights, rode a bicycle with his arms w/weights for 12 minutes, did physical therapy, and practiced writing. They keep him very busy and he tires quickly, but I think he feels he's accomplishing something. And he is. He has come such a long way in two weeks and we are so thankful. They are so encouraging, positive and fun. It has been a great place for him to be.

He received beautiful flowers today from Bob and Sue Tomlin. They are just gorgeous; thank you so much. He also got more cards. Again, we can't say enough how much we appreciate everyone still thinking about us and continuing to support us. How nice everyone has been.

John has lost quite a bit of weight. I, however, have not. I was talking to the speech therapist yesterday and she was telling me all of these things I could make when I get home. She said, "John needs the calories, so you could make cream soups with real cream." I'm thinking, "John needs the calories; I do not." You may not recognize either one of us when we get home. Him because he's so thin and me, because I'm not. I also may never want to eat out again. It's getting a little old. Oh well, at least I am able to eat anything I want. When we are healthy we take so many things for granted. We often don't realize how blessed we are until there are things we can no longer do.

His mind is so sharp. He doesn't forget anything. It's sad when we have to tell the guy who had brain surgery what we need remembered, because he's the only one who can. And he does; every time.

Well, my large butt is dragging, so I'm going to take a bath and hit the hay. Love you all and hope this finds all of you well and doing great.

Cathy

Home Stretch

Good Evening All,

In 8 days dad gets to come home! We are all very excited!! He worked extremely hard today. He went down to the 4th and 1st floor with the physical therapist and walked with just his walker. He even walked down stairs, which has not been easy for him for some time now. He does not do well with open spaces. One Christmas we all went to Macy's and he had to keep finding the elevator to get around because he could not make himself get on the escalator. Once before the surgery he also told us that he had to walk through a puddle because for some reason his brain would not tell his feet how to jump over it. He said he knew he needed to jump and he's pretty sure that he could jump if someone pushed him a bit, but he could not make himself jump. Hopefully that is better post surgery. The brain is an amazing thing!

He had 'swallowing' this morning and it went better than last night, but still not great. The speech and language pathologist explained to us what is happening. When we eat, our vocal cords come together so that food can pass down. Because dad has a paralyzed vocal cord, the right cord is not meeting the left cord thus making it difficult for him to eat without choking. The vocal cords also come together when we talk and vibrate off of each other to make sound, hence the reason he is so quiet and hoarse sounding. Speaking of hoarse, he is eating like a horse. He enjoyed his lunch today and tried much harder at eating the "right" way. In speech today they gave him a cognitive assessment. The test measured executive functioning, memory skills, and language skills. His score from today was compared to a score that he obtained on 10/21/2009. He scored within the normal limits on all areas this time. Last time he scored all over the board, in the severe, mild, moderate and normal limits. He has greatly improved since then. Today the speech therapist told us that everyone loves him and says that he is so nice, which was nice to hear. His neighbor George makes him laugh and they have formed a bond.

They had to sew his eye back up today. It was really red and irritated. I am not sure what the game plan is for that now, but I'm assuming they just want to watch it and see if it is healing. Dad will have to come back in December for his check-up's. He may also have a consultation with an ENT at Loyola sometime to see if they can inject something into his right vocal cord to make it meet his left vocal cord better so that he will hopefully be able to swallow and eat better.

I made it home safely in my mom's car! So, if you see mom's Camry riding around town, don't get too excited, it's just me. The reason I'm in her car is because I lost my keys. Yes, that's right, lost them. If you know me, that is not shocking, but it is very inconvenient and frustrating. Oh well, it could be worse and like mom said, no one is hurt and that is always a positive! I hope you all have a great evening and thanks for reading.

Love,

Cejae

Waiting for the bus.

Dad told me to title this blog entry "waiting for the bus." He went outside for a little walk/roll this afternoon to get some fresh air. He looked funny sitting out in front of the hospital as if he was waiting for the bus. He would love to be on a bus on his way home, but he's not quite there yet.

He had 4 hours of therapy today. He walked very well with a walker today. He is still learning to eat slower. This is a work in progress and a big struggle for him. Tonight he pretty much ate like a thrashing machine. He got choked a lot. He was aware that he was eating too quickly but apparently did not care. He was in a hurry to get to bed.

The stitches were taken out of his right eye and it is now open. He says he can see better, but there is still a glaze on his eye. He said that he has double vision up close, but he is able to see better at a distance. He had visitors today. His sister, my Aunt Gaila, and her friend came to see him as well as his nephew, Geremy. Aunt Gaila thought dad looked really good and that he had improved a lot since she had seen him last.

Dad was worn out tonight and was fast asleep by 6:15 p.m. He worked really hard today and had a good day. He is really missing everyone. He appreciates all of you so much as do all of the rest of us. Thanks for everything. I will be heading back tomorrow so mom will take over the blogging again.

Can you believe it is November????

Hello everyone,

This is Cejae again. I am staying up here until tomorrow. My sick days are depleting, but it is worth it! I'm just hoping like crazy that I don't actually get sick again.

Yesterday was the day of rest for dad. He got to just hang out! Mom and I got to the hospital around 10:00 a.m. and we stayed until about 6 p.m. We went to mass at noon and then waited for Bucky & Barbara to come so we could all go eat in the cafeteria. Dad ate good yesterday! He has to continue to eat "enough" calories in order for them to consider removing the feeding tube. Needless to say, he is a calorie consuming and counting machine. He wants that pesky thing out. He is very attentive to marking his calorie counting sheet just right and making sure he is eating enough. I can't blame him, because I would want that thing out too. He is down to 168 pounds. He lost 8 pounds last week. He has lost about 40 pounds altogether.

They came and checked his right eye yesterday. The corneal abrasion is almost gone and the doctor said it was looking really good. The optometrist that normally sees him will be back today to look at it. He has a huge day today! He has to go to 'walking' for an hour. He has 'swallowing' for an hour this morning. The 'swallowing' session makes him nervous. He says that every time he gets choked they look at him and say, "What happened there?" and they mark something down on a sheet. Him and George go to this session together. He says they alternate days where they are allowed to cough more. If today is George's day to cough then that means he has to be extra careful today and that he can cough tomorrow. He's funny!

He was excited about his video! He really misses everyone back home. He is so ready to be home, but he's just got a little over a week now.

For those of you who know me, this won't shock you, but the 5-year old kid in me - who subsequently needs Ritalin - kicked in yesterday and I couldn't sit still so I went for a little wheelchair ride myself. Bucky ended up pushing me into a wall. It was not cool. But, since we won't be going until later in the day and not staying as long today, I think I can contain the 5-year old. Sitting in that hospital room all day is very tiring and I look forward to the day that none of us have to do that any longer.

Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughtfulness. We appreciate you all so much and you mean the world to us. Please continue to pray for dad's recovery. Beth Steven's mom, Glenda, has been having a rough time too, so please send up a prayer for her and her family as well.

Love to all of you!