Another correction to how much Kacyn's head has grown since Jan. I was correct in the first posting regarding it. His head has grown 4" since Jan, not 4 centimeters. I'm blaming this one on David! He's the one who corrected it to 4 centimeters then he e-mailed yesterday telling me it was 4". Just wanted everyone to know that even though I'm almost 40 (ALMOST 40, Jennifer!), I'm really not losing it!
Jennifer walked 100 feet in therapy on Monday! About 1/2 of this was with a walker! It was a special walker that was a little taller so she could rest her forearms on it. There were 2 people assisting her with this, but it's still a big accomplishment for her.
She's also walking to the bathroom in their house now with David's help instead of using the bedside toilet. That, too, is a huge accomplishment!
Jennifer was wanting to go to OH to visit all their friends & church members there. So David took her. They left yesterday & arrived today.
Please continue to pray for this little family. They are getting a little better each day, but still have a long ways to go & still need all the prayers they can get!
Love,
Lynn
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Kacyn
After a long day of waiting at the hospital, Jennifer & David finally received the diagnosis & action plan from the neurologist.
They are releasing Kacyn from the hospital, but are going to observe the fluid buildup. If it gets worse, a shunt will be put in to drain it. The neurologist also told them that Kacyn has severe brain damage from the accident. His brain cortex (the top of his brain) is minimal & he is missing a lot of brain tissue. He does not expect Kacyn to develop much past where he is right now. He said any development will be good. He also said it would be a year before they know what the long term outlook is for Kacyn.
This was very disappointing & upsetting to hear. But we know Kacyn has surprised the drs from the very beginning. They have been wrong many times. The first neurologist that looked at Kacyn's MRI results was surprised he's still alive, didn't think he'd be able to breathe on his own or suck a pacifier, etc. Kacyn's developed way past those things. The drs can only report on what they can read on the test results. They don't know what God's plan is. We know & believe that God's plan for this precious baby is bigger than this. God is healing him just as he's healing Jennifer.
Please keep Kacyn in your prayers as well as the rest of the family. This news was very upsetting today. Even though we know God has a better plan for Kacyn, it was still very difficult to hear these things.
They are releasing Kacyn from the hospital, but are going to observe the fluid buildup. If it gets worse, a shunt will be put in to drain it. The neurologist also told them that Kacyn has severe brain damage from the accident. His brain cortex (the top of his brain) is minimal & he is missing a lot of brain tissue. He does not expect Kacyn to develop much past where he is right now. He said any development will be good. He also said it would be a year before they know what the long term outlook is for Kacyn.
This was very disappointing & upsetting to hear. But we know Kacyn has surprised the drs from the very beginning. They have been wrong many times. The first neurologist that looked at Kacyn's MRI results was surprised he's still alive, didn't think he'd be able to breathe on his own or suck a pacifier, etc. Kacyn's developed way past those things. The drs can only report on what they can read on the test results. They don't know what God's plan is. We know & believe that God's plan for this precious baby is bigger than this. God is healing him just as he's healing Jennifer.
Please keep Kacyn in your prayers as well as the rest of the family. This news was very upsetting today. Even though we know God has a better plan for Kacyn, it was still very difficult to hear these things.
Update on Kacyn from 9:30pm Last Night
Talked to David again about 9:30pm last night. They were still at the hospital. The hospital was going to keep Kacyn overnight. They did not want him to take the 1 hour drive home last night then back again this morning due to possible jostling. David taking Jennifer home for the night & they are going back to the hospital this morning.
A resident neurologist looked at Kacyn & his CAT scan. He told them Kacyn's cortex (top of the brain) isn't as developed as it should be. This is a result of the trauma from the accident. His body is producing excess spinal fluid to fill the void. Since Kacyn still has a soft spot, he doesn't think there's a lot of pressure on Kacyn's brain. If there was a lot of pressure, he wouldn't have a soft spot anymore. They were still having to wait on the neurologist to see Kacyn today before they know what action, if any, they will be taking to reduce this fluid.
Even though I've learned more medical stuff in the last 6 months than I would've ever cared to, I'm still not a dr or a nurse & everything is still my interpretation/understanding. I'm trying to explain it the best I can!
Please keep Kacyn & this whole little family in your prayers. I will post any updates on Kacyn when I get them.
A resident neurologist looked at Kacyn & his CAT scan. He told them Kacyn's cortex (top of the brain) isn't as developed as it should be. This is a result of the trauma from the accident. His body is producing excess spinal fluid to fill the void. Since Kacyn still has a soft spot, he doesn't think there's a lot of pressure on Kacyn's brain. If there was a lot of pressure, he wouldn't have a soft spot anymore. They were still having to wait on the neurologist to see Kacyn today before they know what action, if any, they will be taking to reduce this fluid.
Even though I've learned more medical stuff in the last 6 months than I would've ever cared to, I'm still not a dr or a nurse & everything is still my interpretation/understanding. I'm trying to explain it the best I can!
Please keep Kacyn & this whole little family in your prayers. I will post any updates on Kacyn when I get them.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Correction & Update on Kacyn
I have a correction to my posting from earlier. Kacyn's head has grown by 4 centimeters since Jan, not 4 inches. OOPS!
I just got off the phone with David (approximately 9:00pm) & the CAT scan does show some fluid build up. At this time we don't know how much fluid there is or how much pressure it may be putting on his brain. A specialist will be looking at the test results in the morning. The dr thinks any jostling or even long car rides may give Kacyn a headache. Even the drive from their house to the hospital, about an hour, is too much. Because of this, they may be keeping Kacyn overnight instead of David driving him back in the morning. If they do keep him overnight, Kathy (Grammy) will be staying with him at the hospital. David will drive Jennifer home so she can get a good night's sleep before they go back to the hospital in the morning.
Prayers are needed! Please remember this precious little baby in your prayers!
I just got off the phone with David (approximately 9:00pm) & the CAT scan does show some fluid build up. At this time we don't know how much fluid there is or how much pressure it may be putting on his brain. A specialist will be looking at the test results in the morning. The dr thinks any jostling or even long car rides may give Kacyn a headache. Even the drive from their house to the hospital, about an hour, is too much. Because of this, they may be keeping Kacyn overnight instead of David driving him back in the morning. If they do keep him overnight, Kathy (Grammy) will be staying with him at the hospital. David will drive Jennifer home so she can get a good night's sleep before they go back to the hospital in the morning.
Prayers are needed! Please remember this precious little baby in your prayers!
New Pictures!
I have finally posted some of the pictures from Easter. Josiah found 28 eggs with the help of big cousin, Kennedy. There were 100+ eggs total for the kids to find at grandma's house. Josiah enjoyed finding the eggs so much that his older cousins re-hid eggs for him several times so he could hunt them again! We really had a great time that day. I can't even put into words what it meant to us to have Jennifer home. I only wish Kacyn could have been there too! But he will be next year!
I talked to David earlier this evening. Kacyn had a dr's appt today. His head has grown 4" since Jan. The dr is concerned about this much growth so quickly & possible fluid buildup on the brain. The way Kacyn moves his tongue in & out of his mouth could also be a sign of fluid buildup. When I spoke to David, they were taking Kacyn to the emergency room at the dr's request to have it checked out. Going to the emergency room would be quicker than trying to make an appointment with a neurologist (they've been trying to get him in to a neurologist for months). Please pray that everything is ok & he just has a large head! David is convinced that's all it is. Josiah always had a big head for his size...so it runs in the family!
Have a great evening! If you could remember this precious little family in your prayers, it would be appreciated more than you will ever know!
Love,
Lynn
I talked to David earlier this evening. Kacyn had a dr's appt today. His head has grown 4" since Jan. The dr is concerned about this much growth so quickly & possible fluid buildup on the brain. The way Kacyn moves his tongue in & out of his mouth could also be a sign of fluid buildup. When I spoke to David, they were taking Kacyn to the emergency room at the dr's request to have it checked out. Going to the emergency room would be quicker than trying to make an appointment with a neurologist (they've been trying to get him in to a neurologist for months). Please pray that everything is ok & he just has a large head! David is convinced that's all it is. Josiah always had a big head for his size...so it runs in the family!
Have a great evening! If you could remember this precious little family in your prayers, it would be appreciated more than you will ever know!
Love,
Lynn
Monday, April 20, 2009
Jennifer's Miracle Continues!
On Sat, it was exactly 6 months (1/2 year) since the accident. At times it still seems so unbelievable that this all has actually happened. It still seems like it was all a bad dream. I wish it were! Who would've ever guessed how much our lives would be turned upside down & how many lives would be impacted, changed, or touched forever. We've come a long way since I first started posting to this blog. Jennifer was on life support, Kacyn was still in NICU, & David was still in the hospital recovering from his surgery. Now Kacyn is 6 months old & a little chunk, David is completely healed, & Jennifer is home & getting better each & every day. Both Jen & Kacyn are doing better than the dr's initially thought they would. God had a different plan for them!
I missed a call from Kathy (Grammy) this morning. She left me a message telling me that a couple of exciting things happened this morning. First, Kacyn woke up with his first tooth (actually 2 of them!) & Jennifer brushed her own teeth this morning! This is a BIG accomplishment for her! Hopefully she'll be able to feed herself soon!
David has begun reading the blog & all the comments to Jennifer. Last time I talked to him about it, they had made it to Day 20.
I can't thank you enough for the love, support, & prayers over the last 6 months. It has truly helped all of us make it through all the ups & downs. It was truly a roller coaster ride for awhile & I was ready for it to stop! I have never liked roller coasters!
Please continue to remember Jen, Kacyn, David, & the entire family in your prayers.
Thank you for being a part of Jennifer's miracle!
Love,
Lynn
I missed a call from Kathy (Grammy) this morning. She left me a message telling me that a couple of exciting things happened this morning. First, Kacyn woke up with his first tooth (actually 2 of them!) & Jennifer brushed her own teeth this morning! This is a BIG accomplishment for her! Hopefully she'll be able to feed herself soon!
David has begun reading the blog & all the comments to Jennifer. Last time I talked to him about it, they had made it to Day 20.
I can't thank you enough for the love, support, & prayers over the last 6 months. It has truly helped all of us make it through all the ups & downs. It was truly a roller coaster ride for awhile & I was ready for it to stop! I have never liked roller coasters!
Please continue to remember Jen, Kacyn, David, & the entire family in your prayers.
Thank you for being a part of Jennifer's miracle!
Love,
Lynn
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Best Easter Ever!
Jennifer, David, & Josiah went back to MO yesterday. It was wonderful having Jennifer at home with all of us. We celebrated Easter on Saturday. Celebrating a holiday with Jennifer was a joyous occasion. We'd celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Year's without her. It was great having the family together again. The only thing missing was our little Kacyn.
Josiah really enjoyed the egg hunt! He was soooo cute to watch! My 13 year old daughter, Kennedy, helped him find the eggs. Jennifer wasn't able to help Josiah hunt eggs, but I know she'll be able to help Kacyn next Easter! She sat on the porch in her wheelchair, watching, & smiling.
Josiah also enjoyed running around & playing with all of his cousins! He thinks he's as big as they are!
Our aunt & uncle from Tulsa came over to see Jennifer on Saturday as did our uncle from Rogers, AR. It was the first time any of them had seen Jennifer since she woke up. It was a very emotional time for everyone.
Kathy, David's mom, made a video that I'm going to attempt to add to the blog. It takes you through pictures documenting the events since the accident. Hopefully, I'll be able to get this posted soon for everyone to watch. We watched it on Sat & there was not a dry eye in the place!
Jennifer was a great softball player when she was younger. My daughter plays softball & is a very good player too. Jen says Kennedy gets it from her. Kennedy had a scrimmage game on Sat afternoon. Jen wanted to go watch so she did! She was yelling (as best she could), cheering Kennedy on. She got very tired & had to leave before the game was over, but she enjoyed watching Kennedy play. Kennedy plays 1st base which is one of the positions Jennifer used to play.
I cannot put into words how much it meant to all of us to have Jennifer home again. It was very difficult saying "bye" to Jennifer yesterday. She started crying so, as usual when Jen cries, everyone cries! I miss them already!
They are going to begin focusing more on Jen's walking in therapy this week. The dr says that once she starts walking, her speech will begin improving considerably. It's still very difficult to understand her sometimes.
Hope everyone had a great Easter holiday also! I know it's because of your prayers that we were able to celebrate the holiday with Jennifer again! She continues to slowly improve. The progress is very, very slow & not as noticeable now as it was before, but she continues to improve. She still has a long way to go! She still needs to regain use of her left hand & arm. She is able to completely open & close her right hand & is able to pick some things up, but it sometimes takes several tries. She hasn't regained complete use of it yet because of her hand-eye coordination & also due to not having much movement in her wrist. Please pray for the use of her hands, wrists, arms, & her hand-eye coordination as well as her speech, legs, feet, walking, eyes, eating, & swallowing. (She is still limited on what she can eat & her beverages still have to be thickened.) She still needs prayers for head-to-toe healing! Please continue to pray for David. He's doing a wonderful job taking care of her, but I know this is not an easy task. She is totally dependant on him for everything which has to be stressful & difficult for him. Kacyn still needs prayers too! He still has to wear splints on his hands & feet. And we can't forget little Jo! Please pray for angels to watch over him & keep him safe! One last prayer request...for Grammy. She's doing a wonderful job taking care of Kacyn & Jo while David spends the majority of his time taking care of Jennifer & running her to dr appts & therapy. She may have the fun job, but I know it's not an easy one!
Love,
Lynn
Josiah really enjoyed the egg hunt! He was soooo cute to watch! My 13 year old daughter, Kennedy, helped him find the eggs. Jennifer wasn't able to help Josiah hunt eggs, but I know she'll be able to help Kacyn next Easter! She sat on the porch in her wheelchair, watching, & smiling.
Josiah also enjoyed running around & playing with all of his cousins! He thinks he's as big as they are!
Our aunt & uncle from Tulsa came over to see Jennifer on Saturday as did our uncle from Rogers, AR. It was the first time any of them had seen Jennifer since she woke up. It was a very emotional time for everyone.
Kathy, David's mom, made a video that I'm going to attempt to add to the blog. It takes you through pictures documenting the events since the accident. Hopefully, I'll be able to get this posted soon for everyone to watch. We watched it on Sat & there was not a dry eye in the place!
Jennifer was a great softball player when she was younger. My daughter plays softball & is a very good player too. Jen says Kennedy gets it from her. Kennedy had a scrimmage game on Sat afternoon. Jen wanted to go watch so she did! She was yelling (as best she could), cheering Kennedy on. She got very tired & had to leave before the game was over, but she enjoyed watching Kennedy play. Kennedy plays 1st base which is one of the positions Jennifer used to play.
I cannot put into words how much it meant to all of us to have Jennifer home again. It was very difficult saying "bye" to Jennifer yesterday. She started crying so, as usual when Jen cries, everyone cries! I miss them already!
They are going to begin focusing more on Jen's walking in therapy this week. The dr says that once she starts walking, her speech will begin improving considerably. It's still very difficult to understand her sometimes.
Hope everyone had a great Easter holiday also! I know it's because of your prayers that we were able to celebrate the holiday with Jennifer again! She continues to slowly improve. The progress is very, very slow & not as noticeable now as it was before, but she continues to improve. She still has a long way to go! She still needs to regain use of her left hand & arm. She is able to completely open & close her right hand & is able to pick some things up, but it sometimes takes several tries. She hasn't regained complete use of it yet because of her hand-eye coordination & also due to not having much movement in her wrist. Please pray for the use of her hands, wrists, arms, & her hand-eye coordination as well as her speech, legs, feet, walking, eyes, eating, & swallowing. (She is still limited on what she can eat & her beverages still have to be thickened.) She still needs prayers for head-to-toe healing! Please continue to pray for David. He's doing a wonderful job taking care of her, but I know this is not an easy task. She is totally dependant on him for everything which has to be stressful & difficult for him. Kacyn still needs prayers too! He still has to wear splints on his hands & feet. And we can't forget little Jo! Please pray for angels to watch over him & keep him safe! One last prayer request...for Grammy. She's doing a wonderful job taking care of Kacyn & Jo while David spends the majority of his time taking care of Jennifer & running her to dr appts & therapy. She may have the fun job, but I know it's not an easy one!
Love,
Lynn
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Happy Easter!
Jennifer, David, & Josiah made it into town on Tuesday. She is very happy to be home & we are all very happy to have her here!
We are having our family Easter egg hunt for the kids on Sat since they are going back home Sunday. I know Josiah will have fun hunting eggs with his cousins! And I know Jennifer will enjoy watching them!
Just wanted to let everyone know that they made into town safe & sound & also wanted to wish everyone a "Happy Easter!"
Love,
Lynn
We are having our family Easter egg hunt for the kids on Sat since they are going back home Sunday. I know Josiah will have fun hunting eggs with his cousins! And I know Jennifer will enjoy watching them!
Just wanted to let everyone know that they made into town safe & sound & also wanted to wish everyone a "Happy Easter!"
Love,
Lynn
Monday, April 6, 2009
Home for Easter
Jen will be coming home to AR tomorrow for the Easter holiday! She has therapy in the morning then David is bringing her to AR! Josiah will be with them, but Kacyn will be staying in MO with Grammy. David wasn't sure how Kacyn would do on the long drive or how he'd do sleeping in a strange place. Also being a preemie, we still need to be cautious with taking him places.
We are so looking forward to spending time with them. Mom is ecstatic about having Jennifer home again. All of Josiah's cousins are looking forward to seeing him & hunting eggs with him. I know Josiah will have a good time too! He loves playing with his big cousins!
Hope everyone has a very happy Easter! I know we will! Please remember Jen & her family in your prayers!
We are so looking forward to spending time with them. Mom is ecstatic about having Jennifer home again. All of Josiah's cousins are looking forward to seeing him & hunting eggs with him. I know Josiah will have a good time too! He loves playing with his big cousins!
Hope everyone has a very happy Easter! I know we will! Please remember Jen & her family in your prayers!
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