Hope

The eventful drive home Friday did not get interesting until just east of Battle Creek. Tom decided to head north and drive out of the snow and for the most part we did. I was glad that he did because later that day we heard of many accidents and could not believe how Kalamazoo was dumped on. Our next drive to Ann Arbor will hopefully be a pleasant one once again. We will be heading back to talk with Dr. Teknos about the results of all of Tom's scans on April 1st.

Tom is still sore from the positioning of his arms in the CT scan. He was sleeping better at the hotel and we decided that he needs a firmer pillow than we have at home to help prop his head higher and help with his air flow. The kids had signs to welcome dad home. It really made him smile as we pulled into the garage to see the first one and each kid pointed out where they contributed on the signs. The kids are also glad that the next trip down to U of M will be a one day affair.

Today is Easter Sunday a time to spend with family and look backward/forward at the choices we have made in our lives and hope for what the future has in store. Pastor Brian said today that his Hope for our community is that we Discover Hope. Tom and I do hope that the tests come back with good results. However I know that whatever the outcome will be my hope runs deeper than and is not focused just on this test. I said earlier that I am a pessimistic person and by nature I truly am. Without Jesus I would not have the "hope" I do today because it is against my nature. I hope your family has had a Happy Easter.

Scans and more scans

We are here at the Holiday Inn North Campus in Ann Arbor Michigan. Tuesday evening the drive was horrible. The fog was so bad that the road was hard to find. I thought that with the snow being gone we would have an easy drive, silly me. Once we got settled at the hotel we went to the pool for a dip. They have an indoor-outdoor pool and we swam outside in the drizzle. It was great having the pool to ourselves and the water was so warm you did not notice the cool night air. Wednesday, Tom had an injection of Nuclear medicine. Thursday, he had 2 different types of procedures. The first procedure I was able to be in the room with him and the tech. They did a scan with 6 camera pictures from his head to his toes. They then took him to the other scanner and he had a 1/2 hour procedure including a CT. They made him place his hands above his head and that is impossible for Tom to do. He was in quite a lot of pain when he came back to the waiting room.

We have had a shuttle service bringing us back and forth to the hospital which has been great. On Tuesday afternoon we drove to Cabela's and checked out the areas in the store we had previously missed. The weather yesterday and wet and cold. Today the sun is shining. We may try to get to the U of M baseball game and over to Tom's cousin to see them and his aunt and Uncle who are also in town. Tomorrow we head to home and I hope that we do not have to drive in the 6-10 inches of snow they are calling for.

On Our Way?!

Another beautiful Sunday. The sunshine sure does the spirit good! On Friday Tom started his physical therapy. The therapist said that there are somethings that Tom just will not be able to do as he did pre-op. There have been some muscles and nerves severed during his surgery that will hinder some of his movements. Once we return from his procedure Tom will have to be concentrating on this part of his recovery process. Tom said that it was somewhat painful and after he was done he sat for 20 minutes with ice packs.

Tuesday evening we head back to Ann Arbor for the next step in Tom's progress. I am not sure how this will work out, but I am bringing 3 books with me during this trip. We received a letter from the U of M that states on Wednesday Tom will get his Nuclear Octreotide injection. I will have to wait in the Family waiting room A while he is brought to Waiting Room D and then into the patient rooms for his procedure. On Thursday it states the Tom will have the Octreotide scan and Friday states that he will have a return visit (probably another scan). Tom and I will be heading back home Friday afternoon. How will this work and how long will these visits take? I can only guess that we will be there for a few hours each day. We'll see how true our estimate actually is. I hope to see a little more of Ann Arbor this trip over. Other than the night out with his cousin I only took one road into and out of Ann Arbor. Tom really wants to show me how neat the town is.

I hope to be able to blog again while we are at the hospital to let you know how things are going, and I truly plan on it being an uneventful visit as far a the medical aspect. I pray that Tom feels well during this trip and that he does not have a reaction from this medication. Thanks for all your words of encouragement and words of hope. As I keep telling Tom, I'm not a good cheerleader. He says, "You're here for me and that is all I need." I'm glad that he did set any high expectations for me. I am known as the pessimist of our family. Tom has always been the optimistic one. I know one thing for sure that I could not be handling this on my own and God has seen to it that I have so many of you for a sounding board. I know that I have shared this with you before, but I have these words pasted to the inside cover of my bible and have referred to this many times during our journey. They come from Jeremiah 10:23-24: "O Lord, I know it is not within the power of man to map his life and plan his course-so you correct me, Lord; but please be gentle. Don't do it in your anger, for I would die."

How's Tom doing?

It was so much fun watching the 2nd grade music program. Katie was up front and center and cute as can be. The auditorium seats were filled and the walls space was also occupied with standing room only. There were lots of parent and grandparent there for support. Tom was also able to go to the 7th grade band festival (at his high school Alma mad er) with Kyle's class. Our school took 3rd place! Tom said they did a great job reading the sheet music and with the songs they had to perform but he was most impressed with the politeness of our school's students.

Tom has had a busy week with school activities. The kids are so glad that their dad could make it and it showed on their faces. Tom is still struggling with his swelling and sleeping. He is up about 6 times a night with his non-breathing issues. He claims that he sleeps better during the day without me, should I be offended? The cat and I only take up about 3/4 of the bed! Some nights the swelling in his face and neck are very apparent. There are days that his voice sounds strained. The tingling in his arm has been persistent also. He also struggles with his chewing issues. I feel so bad that he is struggling for such a long time. I keep asking him if it's better than last week but so far no great progress has been made that either of us can tell. Thanks again for your cards and e-mails. I believe they keep our spirits up.

Approved

The phone calls to the various offices has paid off. Saturday we received a letter of approval from our insurance company. You can believe that I will be taking that piece of paper with me when we go in two weeks. It has also been explained to me that the question from the insurance company was "why this type of scan and not the iodine". Once the reviewer understood that Tom is allergic to iodine, it was approved. I then verified that Tom would not have an allergic reaction to this nuclear medicine by calling the nuclear medicine department at the U of M. The person I spoke with checked with their pharmacy while I was on line with them to make sure we were all clear on performing the scan. I know that this is the easy part of this procedure and that the true test of waiting will be once it is complete and we wait to see Dr. Teknos for the consultation.

The kids are getting tired of the winter (and are picking on each other while inside). I think that we all need a change of season. I hope that as we March through the next couple of weeks we will all get to appreciate this spring season. God has so many blessings in store if we will just wait for his perfect timing.