September 28 -- A message from Tom this summer

Tom sent this message to me via email August 23rd.  He wrote it June 1st, before his therapy had ended, and I believe it just stuck in his drafts for some reason.  With the busyness of school starting, I failed to put it on the blog until now.  Sorry for the delay!  :)

Here it is:

I want to thank those of you who kept me in their prayers while I was recovering from the stroke I had in early July last year.  It was a long recovery which was made easier by your prayers.  The rehab is almost over now and I believe the recovery will be full.
Again, thank you and have a nice summer.

 

Tom

July 16, 2012 -- One Year Anniversary!

This evening we celebrated Max's 9th birthday and toasted Tom's 1 year anniversary of his brain aneurysm.  Truthfully, it has been very hard to look back at last summer and remember all that happened.  All the hospital visits and the sleepless nights wondering if Tom would wake up at all.   Tonight, seeing Tom playing with his grandsons, toasting his grandson's birthday, mentioning his own "anniversary", and still making jokes about things, was such a blessing for me.



I have not updated since March, and there have been a few notable updates.  A few months ago, Tom finished his physical and occupational therapy at the out patient facility close by.  He had met all the goals he needed to meet, and no longer needed therapy!

He finished his speech therapy at the end of June.  He enjoyed going a few times a week to meet with his therapist, but his time there was finished.  He still has issues with short term memory and time frame issues.  He has all of his long term memory from "pre-aneurysm."   It is amazing when he gets talking about an old job or customer, because he remembers everything, and he is the "Tom" of last year!  He is still making slow progress, so we may not know for years what he lost completely in the aneurysm.  At this point he cannot drive or work.

All in all, he is doing well, and Nancy and Tom are getting used to a new "normal."  Please continue to pray for more healing, more progress, and more understanding for Tom. 

In the fall, when Tom was at Marianjoy in Wheaton, I went to the weekly family meeting.  Almost every time as I drove out of the parking garage to go home, the song "Blessings" by Laura Story came on the radio.  I still have trouble hearing that song without tears.  I later found out that Laura Story wrote the song after her husband had gone through a brain tumor and many surgeries that left him with vision and memory deficits.  Her husband was not completely healed either, but she still can see the "blessings" from a horrible situation, and she still has hope.  What a blessing this song has been to me!

Blessings by Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise



Thanks so much for praying for Tom and our family and for taking the time to check in on us today!

Brenna

March 6th

Tom was doing much better with his speech today.  He went home in the afternoon.  He was tired and confused, but those issues are similar to the last time he had a surgery, so we are assuming he will be OK in a few days, as he was before.   Pray for good rest for Tom.

We are very thankful for the amazing doctors and nurse staff at Loyola.  Bryan said it was in some ways "comforting" to be back in his Dad's old room at Loyola, because they had spent so much time there this past summer.  What a difference to have Tom awake and able to make his own memories there this time!  Bryan's mom was able to catch up with some of his past nurses as well.

Please continue to pray for Tom as he recovers from the procedure.  Please pray for Nancy as she cares for him.  He has come so far, it is hard when there are steps backwards.  Pray for continued progress and hope.

Praising God that all the scans looked great and he is doing well.

Thanks as always for praying for us,

Brenna

March 5th

It has been a LONG day.

The angiogram at 10 seemed to go well.  However, as he was recovering Bryan said that Tom was having speech problems.  The doctors were concerned that he had another stroke, or that the dye that was injected to take the images of the vessels in his brain was having a bad side effect.  So, Tom was given a second angiogram around 3.

The second angiogram went well, and showed no signs of a stroke.  Tom still has speech issues, "speech aphasia," which is somewhat common with stroke victims, but not for him before today. 

Tom is staying overnight tonight for observation.  As only God could plan it, he is staying in the same ICU room he did when he was in a coma in July! The doctors do not know what is causing this aphasia, but they are 99% sure it is not another stroke.

Tom is doing very well.  He is frustrated with his speech, but overall doing well, and I guess was pretty hungry after the long day.

Praise God for the great nursing staff and that all of his doctors were there today.  Praise God it is not another stroke!

Praise God that he is in the best place under the best care possible tonight.  Please pray for rest for Tom, Nancy, and Bryan.

Please pray for some answers to the speech aphasia.  We are really hoping it will "wear off" tomorrow!

Thanks for your prayers,

Brenna

March 4, 2012

Thank you for praying for Tom's cataract surgery in the end of January.  I realized I never updated that it went well, and he is seeing much better.  He is to follow up with a regular eye doctor at some point to see if his prescription changed, but as for now, it is a lot better.

Tom started therapy at a new facility a few weeks ago.  He has therapy 3 days a week, but not as long as before.  So far, it is going well, and they enjoy the new therapists and the close drive.  Please continue to pray for progress for Tom.

Tomorrow, Monday March 5, Tom will have an angiogram performed at Loyola at 9 AM.  The doctor that placed the coil (that repaired the aneursym) will be performing the procedure.  They will shoot dye into the vessels in his brain, to see how they look, and I assume see how the coil and shunt are doing.  There are always some risks with procedures like this, so please pray for wisdom for the doctors.  Also pray for a smooth and quick recovery for Tom.

Thank you for your prayers,

Brenna

January 24

Tom celebrated his 66 birthday today.  He received emails, cards, and even a visit from some of his Nantom employees of the past 20 years or so.  Thank you all for your kind words -- they were appreciated!  What a blessing for him to see all those whom he has impacted over the past 2 decades (and more). 

Please pray for his eye surgery tomorrow at 11.  It is a pretty routine surgery that will restore vision to his left eye.  (and give him perfect vision at that!)

Please pray for no complications and for a quick recovery.

Thanks so much for the prayers!  Rejoicing in the miracle of Tom's life today!

Brenna

January 17

Yesterday was the 6 month anniversary of Tom's aneurysm.  It is hard to believe it was only 6 months.  And still amazing how far he has come since last July.

Tom's cataract surgery was re-scheduled for Wednesday January 25th.  Please pray for no complications to hold up the surgery this time, for wisdom for the doctors, and for a smooth recovery with no complications.

Please also pray that he will be able to start his next 2 months of therapy soon after the surgery.  Please pray that he will understand his need for it and not be resistant.

Tom's 66th birthday is Tuesday January 24th.  Please pray for a good day for him :)

Thanks for praying,

Brenna

January 11

Tom's surgery was rescheduled for January 25th.

Please continue to pray for hope and peace as they wait 2 weeks.

Thanks for your prayers,

Brenna

January 10

Tom finished his therapy at the Homewood facility.  The therapists recommended for him to continue 8 more weeks of therapy at a facility that is close to home.  Please pray for the transition to this new place.  He does not understand why he is changing therapists at this point, and is frustrated.  He has made progress, but the time at this place has ended.

He will be having cataract surgery on his left eye on Wednesday morning.  It is a pretty common procedure, which will result in his vision being perfect in his left eye.  He has not seen clearly out of that eye since the aneurysm, so we are excited for his vision to restored, and be even better than before!

Please pray for a smooth surgery and smooth recovery.  Because of the brain injury, surgeries can set him back a bit.  Please pray for the recovery to be quick, and for the improvement in vision to give him hope for getting back to normal soon.  Pray for Nancy as she cares for him.

Thanks again for praying with us,

Brenna