Feburary 2 - This Day Just Keeps Repeating...

OK, anyone get the pop culture reference in the title? Oh, never mind!

Before I go any further, since I'm not sure if I'll be doing an entry tomorrow, I must say... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER STEPHANIE who will be another year older tomorrow.

We received word today that Barbara will be transferred to Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago on Monday OR Tuesday. Here are a few quotes from their website that excite me about Barbara being able to go to this place:

"The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) has been designated a Model
System Spinal Cord Injury Center by the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education for its
dedication to patient care and rehabilitation research."

"The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago has been recognized as the "Best
Rehabilitation Hospital in America" since 1991 by U.S. News & World Report.
No other specialty hospital has been consecutively ranked the "Best" by U.S. News & World Report for so long. In 2003 RIC was also ranked as a "Best Hospital" in rheumatology for the fourth consecutive year."

One of the obvious issues here will be that I won't be able to be with her everyday. Although we aren't that far from downtown Chicago (where RIC is located), it is still about an hour drive. Not to mention the expense of either parking in downtown Chicago or taking the train. Barbara had hoped to be a bit more able to do things for herself before this move, and she's concerned about the boredom that comes along with immobility. However, it sounds like they may keep her quite busy. Her overriding desire to be able to walk and craft again has helped her better deal with her fears and anxieties.

Her heart rate has been a bit high. In the course of treating that, her blood pressure got pretty low as a side effect of the drug. It seems we've been through that discovery process before. Hmmmm.

Also, her fibro-myalgia is heating up again.

A neck x-ray was taken today to determine if it is time to remove the neck brace.

Please pray that Barbara's anxiety and depression will ease, and that the impending transfer will go very well,

Pray that her vitals will be stable,

Pray the wound area on the back of her head will heal well,

Pray that I will be able to be with her just the right amount of times,

And pray that Barbara will be able to walk soon!

It's interesting how mean-spirited the coverage of the impending super bowl is here in the Chicago media area. However, I have an insight that I'm quite certain many of you will vehemently disagree with (not to mention that linguists among you will disparage the fact that I ended a sentence with a preposition). Quite simply, I find this Super Bowl stuff to be appalling. After my years of living with Barbara's illness, I can't fathom why we celebrate the ritualistic and flagrant destroying of the human body. Any sport where the end result is that the better the player, the more devastated their body will be for life, is simply without merit. While you have people like my wife who would give anything for health, we go crazy over a sport that celebrates the destruction of the human body. But then, that's just my beef, and I'm sure if you look at my life you'd find areas where I'm hypocritical for making such a point! Then again, I've known very few people who are consistent. Still, if I hear one more story about "Da Bears" up here, I do believe I'll, uh, I'll... well I don't know what I'll do, but you can rest assured, I'll do it.

And that's the rest of the story.

January 31 - update

I just received word that Barbara may actually be moved to RIC in Chicago this weekend. We will meet with a doctor tomorrow to discuss this further. She doesn't think she's ready to go yet... she wanted to be more mobile so that she could do some things for herself... so keep all of this in prayer.

January 31

Judging from notes many of you have sent to me, you will be glad to know that I am sort of taking a day off today.

Barbara has been blessed to be assigned to some student nurses who give her extra attention. They will be coming in weekly. This will allow me to stay at home and work, which I suppose isn't really a day off, but it's helpful nonetheless. I really want to be with her (actually, I want her home!), but the daily grind of providing health care along with working on my laptop computer at the hospital has been quite stressing. So today I am at home and hope to finish the sermon for Sunday, get some laundry done, prepare the Bible study work for tonight, and maybe even sit around and play my guitar for a few moments. Woo-hoo.

I will share with you a blessing and a concern. First the blessing. Yesterday, while laying on her side and receiving a breathing treatment, I saw Barbara move her hand to her face to adjust the mask that was providing the albuterol. I was awe-struck; and yes, my mouth even fell open! Wow! I 'm not sure that she even realized she could do that. It may not seem like much to you, but take my word, this is a BIG improvement. The occupational therapists will soon begin to work with her on lifting a spoon to her mouth. In fact, she said that they made her wipe off a tray yesterday. It was exhausting for her, but a wonderful step towards regaining mobility.

The concern is the healing of the debridement of the pressure wound on the back of her head. I have no reason to think it isn't on its way to healing. And I feel certain that you don't want to know why this bothers me so much. Suffice it to say that this is a new and horrible experience for me, and I am having a difficult time processing it.

So, when in prayer for us, give thanks for Barbara's continuing and remarkable improvements,

Give thanks that I am now getting some time away to get work done,

And pray for the complete and total healing of the pressure wound area on the back of Barbara's head.

Once again, thanks for all your words of encouragement!

January 29

Hello, this is Stephanie, Greg's sister. I first need to appologize to Greg and all who anxiously await a new posting for my delay in getting this written. I had the wonderful pleasure of spending most of the day Friday with Barb (hopefully allowing Greg to do whatever he needed to do, or to just sit on the couch and blank out for a while...as long as he had a break!!). I was thrilled to hear Barb's voice over the phone a few days before I was there. It was even more amazing to see her in person. It's hard and sometimes discouraging for her on a daily basis to track her own progress, but for me, after a month...wow!! Just to hear her speak words, have an ongoing conversation (that's what we did...talk and enjoy each other's company all day), and see the movement she has gained in her arms and legs was so encouraging to me. Hopefully I was able to encourage her as I listed all her progress I could see after a months absence from her. She is a very determined woman, and is working so hard to learn again the simple tasks of maneuvering a spoon to feed herself, hold a phone to her own ear, brush her teeth, and even chew food. I was reminded of God's handiwork in creating us, as we take for granted the many movements we make even in the matter of an hour of any given day. Even at night, to be able to re-position yourself when your uncomfortable, for most of us, is something that just comes automatically.

The caregivers that came in to assist throughout the day were so precious, and often brought tears to my eyes as they cheered her on through physical therapy, listened to her intently and did their best to meet the needs that she is unable to take care of by herself right now.

Things that come to my mind that are prompts for prayer for this situation:

-Pray for patience, understanding, and intuition for those caregivers, including Greg, as they assist Barb in her daily needs. Also, praise for them, that they are there doing their jobs well on a daily basis.

-Thanks that, as Greg previously stated, the surgical procedure on Barbs head went well and is over, as Barb was dreading getting this done.

-for Barb to continue persisting in such a determined way to build those muscles back, so that she can do tasks for herself.

-for miraculous repair of her joints, especially in her hands.

- This is a biggie to me: pray that as Carrie at Select, where Barb is, and Maria at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago consult together, that both will advocate for the best continued care for Barb. Take a look at their site if you have a chance : www.ric.org . To me, it looks like the place for Barb to be next, but it's not my call, and there are a lot of things that need to fall into place just so. If this doesn't work out, I am also praying that God will send her to the place where she continues to be in the care of people with joyful spirits, gentle hands, and caring hearts.

Thanks so much. Our love goes out to all of you who are devoted to checking this site and kneel before Our Maker on behalf of Barbara, Greg and Jackie.

January 28

A quick note to let you know that Barbara finally had her debridement surgery on Saturday morning. Everything went very well, and she related that the procedure wasn't bad at all. She had a sedative and a local, allowing her to doze off and on throughout the surgery. Tonight, as the nurse changed the dressing, she asked if I wanted to see the wound. I reluctantly did so, but immediately looked away. I'm sure you don't want the details, but I'll just say I'm amazed by what doesn't bother me on CSI, but does bother me in person... especially when it's my wife! Nevertheless, the nurse said that the would looked like it was healing very well.