July 20, 2013 --- it has been 2 years!

Two years ago on this date, we would not have thought this possible.   But this is Tom, yesterday, helping Bryan out on a job for a few hours.  He got right back into the swing of things. 

Who knows if he will ever want to work with Bryan again.  He may be tired today, and he may decide he would rather just be retired.  But here he is!  I kind of want to send this picture to the doctor at Loyola who told us 2 years ago that there was a 10 percent chance he would EVER wake up!

Thanks to all of you who still pray for Tom and Nancy and ask how they are doing.  We do appreciate your prayers and concern.  Please continue to pray for them.

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

December 13

It has been almost 2 months since I have updated.  Tom continues to improve.  His therapy at the current facility ends in the next week, and he will continue with some more outpatient therapy at another facility closer to home. 

He has been meeting with his primary care doctor now, and that has been a blessing for Tom and Nancy.  He brings another perspective to the situation, and has known Tom and the family for years.

A few weeks before Thanksgiving, Tom (and Bryan and Nancy) met with the neuro doctors from Loyola.  Again, everyone was amazed as to how far he has come since he was last at Loyola.  The doctors said it could take up to a year for him to get back to "normal," with his cognition issues, but again they were hopeful.

We had a great time at Thanksgiving with the whole family.  It was amazing to have the whole family together and have Tom pray for the meal for all of us.  It was the best time we have had together as a family for a long time.  A wonderful new memory as we move forward, and Tom continues to improve.

Please continue to pray for Tom and Nancy.  Progress continues, but it is slow, and some days are better than others.  Please pray for both of them as they transition to a new facility, and a new schedule for therapy.  Please continue to pray for hope and encouragement for Tom, as some days are very frustrating for him. 

Thanks for your continued prayers,

Brenna

October 28

Thanks for praying!  Tom did not have issues with the clots in his arm the past 24 hours!  He went to see the eye doctor this morning, and everything seems to be healing as it should.  Nancy was able to get the medications Tom needs, because the eye doctor was able to talk to the doctor at Loyola.  I believe Tom is not able to get into Loyola for an appointment until December or later now, but at least the doctors were able to talk and figure things out for the time being.

Please continue to pray for a smooth recovery for his eye and continued progress in his therapies.

Thanks for praying,

Brenna

October 27

Thank you for praying!  The surgery went very well.  Please pray for sleep tonight, as he is in some pain.

Please pray for the next 24 hours that the blood clots that have been in his left arm would not cause any issue.  One of the nurses did not read his chart carefully, and took his blood pressure from his left arm the WHOLE TIME. He has had strict instructions NOT to draw blood or do blood pressure on his left arm since late August, when they found a blood clot.  There were signs all over each hospital room he was in.

Bryan got there when she was checking his blood pressure.  They were  concerned that it was high.  Bryan asked if they had been checking on his left arm, and the nurse went white, switched to the other arm, and apologized and apologized.  Obviously, it could be very dangerous if the clot moved. 

The doctor put him on 24 hour watch, and Nancy will closely monitor him tonight.  Please pray that it will be an uneventful night over there!

We are SO thankful that Bryan got there at the right time to notice the error, and that the eye surgery went well.

Thanks for your prayers,

Brenna



October 26

Tom continues to make slow progress with his outpatient therapy.  Thank you for your continued prayers for him and the family.

I am writing tonight to ask you to pray for Tom tomorrow at 9 AM.  He had a recheck at the eye clinic today, and they found that he has a detached retina.  Bryan heard that it is 1/4 detached, which may be why he has not mentioned it as a problem.  We are so thankful it was caught early.  He will have surgery to repair it tomorrow at 9 AM.  Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, and for a smooth repair and recovery.

Tomorrow Tom was supposed to meet with his doctor from Loyola, whom he has not seen since he left there, still in a coma.  We were all looking forward to this appointment I think, since this was the one doctor who gave us a glimmer of hope in August when Tom was not responding well.  We were also hoping for further direction on all the medications that he has been taking this past month that may no longer be necessary.  Please pray that another appointment with this doctor will open up soon -- it was hard to schedule it in the first place!

Thanks again for your prayers,

Brenna

October 9

Tom started therapy last Tuesday with an evaluation by the therapists at the new facility.  Apparently, the speech therapist from Marianjoy (the rehab hospital he just left) had such detailed information about Tom, that the new therapist was excited to work with him.  His therapy schedule was adjusted so he could meet regularly with this new speech therapist!  We are so thankful for the amazing care he has received in each place he has been in the past (almost) 3 months.  Thank you for your prayers for his therapy.

He will have therapy 3 days a week for the next 3 months.  Please continue to pray for improvement in his cognition.  He is doing well, but does get confused when he is tired.  He does get frustrated that he gets confused sometimes too.

This past Saturday,  Tom, Bryan and Max went out to breakfast for a belated celebration of Max's birthday.  (Max's birthday was July 16th, the day of the aneursym, but we were out of town, so they were planning on celebrating later anyway).  They had a nice time at breakfast.  They did a few errands at Walmart and Petsmart as well.  It was just like a normal Saturday breakfast date with Grandpa, though Bryan is now a part of their visit.

Tom spent most of the day at our house, playing chess and uno, sitting in the backyard watching the boys rake leaves, and just visiting.  We all took a walk down the new bike path that was just put in down the block.  Watching Bryan and his dad walk down the bike path in front of me was amazing, knowing that 2 months before he was in a hospital bed at Loyola, not responding well enough for the doctors to give him much hope. 

Please continue to pray for the transition home, especially for Nancy.  She has the new role of 24/7 caregiver at this point, and it can get exhausting, especially when Tom is tired and does not have a good day.  He has had more good days than bad since he has been home, but of course it will take time for things to get back to "normal," whatever that will be at the end of 3 months of therapy.  We are hopeful, but we all do appreciate your prayers.

Tom  has wanted to express his thanks to all of you who have been praying for him.  Someday, I hope to have him write something to all of you.  For now, know he is very grateful for all of your prayers for him.

Thanks again for caring enough to check the blog or ask personally how Tom is doing.  It means a lot to us.

Grateful for your continued prayers for complete healing,

Brenna

September 28

Tom is home.  10 1/2 weeks in 3 different hospitals, and he is HOME!

Bryan showed him the private blog that he started in July, to keep a log of what was going on while Tom was in a coma.  He thought someday Tom would like to be caught up on what he missed.  Bryan stopped writing the day that we had news that Tom might not ever wake up.  (Close to the day that he had me start this blog to send out prayer requests).

Bryan showed Tom a few entries this afternoon, and Tom seemed to understand how sick he really was.  Please pray for him as he becomes more aware of the past 10 weeks, and the time it will take for him to get back to who he was.

Please pray for the transition to being home, for Tom and Nancy.  Please pray for his day therapy that starts next week.  Please pray for peace, joy, and patience.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

Praising God for miracles,

Brenna

September 25

Tom had a great visit at home today.  Bryan and his mom picked him up this morning, and they spent the day together at home.  Tom understood he needed to go back to the rehab hospital for a few more days, and there was no trouble when they brought him back this evening.

They had a nice time together, going over old estimates for their company (Tom knew all the customers), playing with Tom's birds, watching football, and eating meals together.  Tom went up and down the stairs a few times!  I am sure he will be tired tonight, but Bryan said he did very well.

Thank you for your prayers.  Bryan actually said it was a restful day for him personally, which in itself is amazing.

I  will update later in the week when Tom is home for good!

Please continue to pray for the transition home, and for the transition to the  new 3 days a week therapy plan.

And again -- thank you for praying and helping this day go so smoothly!

Brenna

September 23

Tom will go home for a few hours this weekend.  Please pray for a good visit for him, and for him to understand that he needs to go back to the hospital for a few days until he can come home for good.  Please also pray for clarity about what he will need when he comes home next week, so that we will be able to communicate that to the doctors and therapists, and get the assistance we need before he is home.

Please pray for the transition into home and to his new 3 day a week therapy at another rehab facility.  We have a few options at this point, but would like to start up as soon as possible. 

Please continue to pray for progress in his cognition.  Somedays are better than others.  Progress will be slow.  We are really hoping it only gets better and better as he gets home.

Please especially pray for Nancy, since she will be his primary caregiver.  Please give her extra strength and patience for this long road ahead.  And pray for the rest of us to know how we can best help her and Tom right now.

I will probably only update weekly or even monthly, once Tom moves home.  Thank you for all your prayers for Tom and our family.  We have truly seen God do miracles in his life these past 2 months.  Thank you for helping us through this season with your prayers and encouragement.

Eternally grateful for all of you,

Brenna and the Kozor family

September 20

We met with the doctor today for the family meeting.  He said that Tom is very strong physically, but still weak cognitively.  The doctor said that they believe that he will do best now in a structured home environment where he is familiar. Tom will get a short visit home this weekend, to get used to being home again, and to get ready for his return home next week!  The staff do these "day pass" visits so that they will know what he will need when he is home, and they can help prepare us a few days before he is home for good.

The doctor also tried some medication for Tom's anxiety in the evenings today, and it seemed to work well tonight.  Thanks for praying for this issue!

I had the pleasure of meeting the speech therapist today.  She was very impressed with his progress from last week, and was quite positive about his recovery.  It will take time, but he is definitely making progress. 

Please pray for the visit home this weekend, and for continued progress over this next week.  Please also pray for wisdom for the next phase of therapy for Tom.  He will need outpatient therapy to continue the progress that he has been making at this rehab facility.

The doctor mentioned Tom being alive as a miracle a few times during the meeting today, even hinting Someone was looking out for him.  Thanks so much for praying!

AND -- please all of you who live close by --- please do not come and visit Tom this weekend, or right when he returns home.  He will need time to adjust to being home again.  Though we all know it will be great for him to be at home, we also know he will need lots of rest.  Too many visitors will not be good for him or the family.  Please honor Tom and the family in this way, by giving them some time to just be together.

Thanks so much for praying with us,

Brenna

September 19

Tom continues to improve physically.  He walked quite a bit this weekend with the family, and he had a good day of therapy today.  Cognitively, he is making slow progress.  When he is tired, he is confused and sometimes irritated.  He  just wants to go home. 

There is a family meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 1 with the case manager and doctor (I think).  Please pray for clear communication at this meeting.  We have some concerns and questions.

Please also pray for Tom in the evenings.  He had a really good day today, but he starts getting more homesick, tired, confused, and sometimes angry in the evenings when the family is not there.  Please pray for Tom's peace and patience as he gets better, and pray for the nursing staff as they figure out the best way to care for him, give him independence, and keep him safe.

I will update after the meeting tomorrow. 

Please pray for more improvement in his cognition, and for him to get the rest he needs to continue to make progress.

Thanks for praying,

Brenna