Thursday, February 23,2006

Thursday, 2/23
Last week was a tough week for Kenn and for
me as far as the neurostorming goes. I was
calling to check on him alot. He was neurostoming
alot.
He has developed some blisters on the tops of his
feet from wearing braces or splints, whatever you
want to call them. The blister on his left foot
has opened and we tend to think that's what caused him
to neurostorm early Saturday morning because it was
hurting him. He was very alert while I was visited
him on Saturday afternoon. Toward the end of my visit he started to get drowsy. They had taken him off oxygen
before Saturday. There is a chance he might have to go
back to serial casting after these blisters heal because
his feet have fallen some since they are not using braces
right now. The skin on the topside of his feet is baby
soft from having casts on so much.
On Sunday afternoon while I was there, Kenn was asleep.
He didn't really stay awake until they got him up, but
even then he wanted to keep his eyes shut. I cut his
hair and trimmed his moustache. On Monday I talked to
the doctor at Clearview about Kenn and his delay in
swallowing. I got permission to give Kenn alittle
something when I visit him if I think he will respond.
I had a support meeting just behind Clearview nursing
home so I visited Kenn for awhile before going to the
meeting. He was very alert while I was praying for him.
He was looking directly at me. After I was done prraying
I kept talking to him. He sure looked like he was
understanding what I was saying. I took him back to his
room and he was frowning at me. I told him I was
leaving to go to the meeting. I was late to it because it
was so hard to leave him.
On Tuesday 2/21, Kenn had an appointment with Dr. Ward's nurse
which I met him there. When he arrived, his shirt was very
wet from neurostorming. He was so sweaty. The nurse that came
with asked if there is something that they should be doing for
him. I told her what was happening. When he got in the
examining room the nurse decided he needed to come out of his
chair so we could check to see what might be causing it. When
she saw the scab on his left foot she said that needs to be
covered so she put a dressing on it. I said that could be a
problem for him with a sock on. The sock could be irritating
the sore. They also found another thing that could have been
causing a problem. We did notice that when they laid him down
on the couch he did relax. They removed his wet shirt and put a
gown on. His jacket had also gotten wet. The nurse upped his
dosage in his pump. His incision mark for the pump looks great.
The nurse gave us a blanket to drape around him to go back. He
had relaxed alot by the time they started back. They did give
him medication Tuesday after he got back to Clearview to
his room. When I called on Wednesday they told me he was doing
good. No more neurostoming. He was resting better. They are
getting to know my voice because I call so many times checking
on him. They keep assuring me don't be afraid to call.

I had picture come to me of what the last year has been like for me,
one night on the way home from visiting Kenn. It is where I'm on a
bridge that I'm crossing. The problem is this bridge has no end in
sight, like a bridge is supposed to. It just keeps going on
and on. I couldn't go to the right much or the left. It wasn't
very wide. I keep feeling like I just want to get off this
bridge even for awhile. When I told someone this picture of what
it's been like she said it helped her to understand alittle more
because she has a fear of bridges. I don't have a fear of the
bridge but I'm just getting tired of it. I want a change. Maybe
this picture will help some of you to understand even a fraction
of what it has been like for the last year going through this
situation. It has been a big learning journey for
me. I'm planning to go visit Kenn late this afternoon and this
evening. Carol
________________