Today I thought it was quite fitting that on my one year anniversary of my new pacemaker, I was wearing a 24-hour Holter monitor! It's not because I'm having any issues with my pacemaker. Instead, I'm just preparing for my upcoming cardiology appointment next month.
Thankfully, my cardiologist from Mayo comes here to Bismarck, so I don't have to make the 1,000-mile round trip again! By the way, isn't amazing how small these Holter monitors are nowadays? I remember having to wear much larger ones that could not be hidden very easily, plus it was hard to sleep being attached to a big clunky machine. Last night, I hardly even knew this little one was there!
I got my original pacemaker in August of 1999 but because the lead was getting old, my cardiology team wanted me to get a new one. It was last year on this day that I was recovering from the procedure. It still bends my mind how God took care of every single detail and that I had found enough people to look after Faith for the five days (and four nights) that I was gone.
I am still incredibly grateful for all those who stepped up to look
after her. I'm also thankful my sister was able to take me there. Faith
still talks about it like it just recently happened. She often mentions
that her aunt and little cousin stayed with her a couple of nights and
how patient she had to be.
She also talks about how our friend Mandi looked after her, and she even had her kids and husband come over to visit.
I don't know what I would have done without her as she came every
morning to relieve the overnight staff and get Faith out of bed. She
even sent me a picture of Faith every day!
Faith had loads of fun while I was gone!
Faith told me when Grandma and Grandpa were here, Grandpa did his
crossword puzzle and then took a nap. (It's just funny which details she remembers!) There was also the respite care
staff who stayed over a couple of nights and also a few other friends
who helped out. She will truly never forget it. Most of all though, I
think she is proud of herself for getting through that time and being so
mature. It helped that I got to talk to Faith every day and even did a
couple of video chats with her, which she loved.
Even though
it was for a medical procedure, my sister and I made the best of it and
had plenty of laughs along the way. Especially when on the way home our
sister was heading back from a work trip and we managed to catch up to her on
the Interstate, which you can see in the video below!
The double rainbow we spotted just as we crossed into Minnesota
After driving in the dark (and rain) through the Cities, we were very thankful to reach our comfy hotel room.
Our hotel was conveniently located just across the street from where I would be having my procedure. This is also where I had my last open heart surgery in 1999 and my original pacemaker implantation.
Taking the shuttle from our hotel to the downtown campus for a day of medical tests.
Hanging around waiting for the last appointment of the day.
My sister even was able to get some work done!
After a long day, we were able to eat at our favorite restaurant in Rochester!
Me after my procedure...I was just a tad groggy!
Grateful that things went so well!
After a night in the hospital and an extra day recovering, we were ready to hit the road again!
Who is that ahead of us on the Interstate? Let's find out!
Tired but happy sisters reunited in Bismarck!
Grandma is there too, and Faith is super excited to have us all there!
Hopefully it will be awhile before I need to go to Mayo again for a medical procedure. If I do though, I know God will provide and Faith will be well looked after!
When one thinks vacation, they probably don't think about Nebraska, especially in November! But when I heard that a friend of mine was going be having surgery in Omaha, I began thinking about how great it would be to go down that way, especially since my sister, Tesa has lived in Lincoln for 17 years, and I have never had the chance to visit. Lo and behold, my dad had also been talking about heading South to Texas in November to hunt wild pigs. My two respite care workers were available to look after Faith starting on a Friday morning through Tuesday evening. All I had to do was book a flight so I could get back home. Despite all the details falling into place, I was still anxious about it. I haven't flown since Faith was a baby, so I was especially nervous about that part. I prayed about it and believed that everything would be okay. On the morning of my departure, Faith woke up just in time and her respite care staff was able to get her dressed and take her to her da...
Last Wednesday I had my yearly doctor exam and when she said I should get my tetanus shot updated, I didn't think twice about it. The nurse said my arm would be sore for a couple of days, gave me a handout and stuck the needle in my arm. The next day my arm was sore and although I found it a little harder to pick up and carry Faith, I was glad the pain wasn't going to last long. Boy was I wrong! But not only was my arm sore, my whole body was. I felt achy and extremely tired. According to a medical site on the Internet, these were mild side effects of the Tetanus shot. If these were only mild side effects, I would really hate to have them at a moderate or severe level. My arm is still red and sore on day 2 after my tetanus shot. On Friday, two days after getting the shot I felt so tired that I took a four-hour nap after getting Faith off to school. Then on Saturday I took a three-hour nap up until 7 o'clock, but still felt tired and was able to go back to sleep around 10. ...
Today we said goodbye to our Special Tomato adaptive car seat. And special it was. It helped Faith stay safe and secure in our Hyundai driving her back and forth to therapy appointments, shopping excursions, and many other activities. It also helped us through our time of not being able to afford an accessible van. Like all adaptive equipment , the special car seat was expensive and although it is the law that a child is secured in a car seat while traveling in a vehicle, neither health insurance nor Medicaid would pay for it. Thankfully, we were able to receive funds from the fundraiser, the Great American Bike Race ( GABR ) which helps families pay for services and equipment that insurance doesn't cover for kids with cerebral palsy and related disabilities. After doing research on the Internet and talking to Faith's physical and occupational therapists, we decided to go for the Special Tomato adaptive car seat. You would think something with that name would b...
Guest Post by Stephen Gallup Last week, a columnist for the local newspaper interviewed me in connection with a memoir I wrote that’s being published this year. It was a comfortable, low-key discussion in which he asked about the basic facts regarding my disabled son Joseph and what I’ve learned that might be of value to other families. It was the sort of dialog that required no special preparation in advance. I just sat down with him and talked about the subject closest to my heart. But looking back on it now, one thing bothers me. In concluding the interview, the reporter expressed heartfelt sympathy for everything I’ve endured. He was being more than polite. I mean, he laid the compassion on with a spatula. Startled, and already thinking ahead to what I had to do next that day, I just thanked him and said goodbye. But now that final note troubles me. I don’t want sympathy! First of all, from the point of view of a new author hoping to promote his book, sympathy...
Comments
Post a Comment