Friday, June 26, 2009
Update to Today's Earlier Post
Just got word from David that they had to postpone Jen's EEG until next Thu because David was too sick to take her yesterday. They think he either has ulcers or an issue with his gallbladder. Either one doesn't sound fun! Please pray everything is ok with him too! He is feeling a little better than he did yesterday which is good news.
Busy Week
David & Jennifer celebrated their 4 year wedding anniversary last week. Congratulations! Happy Anniversary! I love you guys! I am so proud to have you in our family, David! I almost can't remember you not being a part of our family!
The Dierkings have had a very busy week this week. They had 1+ appointments every day this week in St. Louis (1 hour drive 1 way) between Jennifer & Kacyn.
Kacyn had an appointment with the neurologist. The neurologist thinks his eye fluttering & looking hard to the left may be slight brain seizures or it could be erratic brain activity. The neurologist wanted to go ahead & start him on anti-seizure meds, but David & Jennifer made the decision to hold off on this until Kacyn had his EEG this week. They were afraid the meds would make it incorrectly appear that he wasn't having seizures on the EEG. Please pray that Kacyn's EEG this week was normal.
Kacyn also had an appt to get new splints for his hands & feet.
Kacyn continues to grow! He is now approximately 19.5 pounds. His head has grown another 1/2 inch in the last couple of weeks, but his soft spot still appears to be ok. As long as his soft spot is still there the dr's don't think there is any pressure being put on his brain. His head measured 46 cm. Jen's head measures 48 cm. But David said big heads run in the Dierking family!
David was hoping they could have Jen's feeding tube removed. This is used only to give her her meds because she hasn't been able to swallow pills. The dr doesn't want to remove this yet because Jen still has difficulty drinking water unless it's thickened. Until she is able to drink water that's not thickened, the dr doesn't want to remove the feeding tube. They are looking at possibly after summer being able to remove this.
Jen had therapy this week along with appts with some of her drs & for an EEG also. She had her EEG yesterday. They are trying to determine if the times she passed out in therapy were seizures or due to lack of oxygen because her lungs are still weak. Her primary care physician thinks it's just her lungs, but they need to make sure there isn't any seizure activity going on in her brain. Please pray that her EEG is normal.
David has taken Jennifer to a friend's house to swim in their pool a couple of days this week. Jen really enjoyed this. She is also doing pool therapy as part of her physical therapy.
Please pray for David's dad. He is having surgery in Aug. Suspicious cells have been found in his thyroid so they are removing it. There's a 30% chance it could be cancer. With his history of cancer, they aren't taking any chances. He will need to take radiation pills if it's not cancer & chemo if it is. (Or at least that's how I understood what David told me...) Please pray for Bob.
I apologize for not posting more frequently, but there's really not a lot to report on on a daily basis anymore. I will probably only be posting once a week going forward unless there is a need to do an additional post.
Please continue to pray for this little family. They are getting better, but things are progressing very slowly & they still have quite a ways to go. Also remember to pray for Bob & Kathy as Bob faces surgery soon & Kathy continues to care for those precious little gifts from God for Jen & David.
The Dierkings have had a very busy week this week. They had 1+ appointments every day this week in St. Louis (1 hour drive 1 way) between Jennifer & Kacyn.
Kacyn had an appointment with the neurologist. The neurologist thinks his eye fluttering & looking hard to the left may be slight brain seizures or it could be erratic brain activity. The neurologist wanted to go ahead & start him on anti-seizure meds, but David & Jennifer made the decision to hold off on this until Kacyn had his EEG this week. They were afraid the meds would make it incorrectly appear that he wasn't having seizures on the EEG. Please pray that Kacyn's EEG this week was normal.
Kacyn also had an appt to get new splints for his hands & feet.
Kacyn continues to grow! He is now approximately 19.5 pounds. His head has grown another 1/2 inch in the last couple of weeks, but his soft spot still appears to be ok. As long as his soft spot is still there the dr's don't think there is any pressure being put on his brain. His head measured 46 cm. Jen's head measures 48 cm. But David said big heads run in the Dierking family!
David was hoping they could have Jen's feeding tube removed. This is used only to give her her meds because she hasn't been able to swallow pills. The dr doesn't want to remove this yet because Jen still has difficulty drinking water unless it's thickened. Until she is able to drink water that's not thickened, the dr doesn't want to remove the feeding tube. They are looking at possibly after summer being able to remove this.
Jen had therapy this week along with appts with some of her drs & for an EEG also. She had her EEG yesterday. They are trying to determine if the times she passed out in therapy were seizures or due to lack of oxygen because her lungs are still weak. Her primary care physician thinks it's just her lungs, but they need to make sure there isn't any seizure activity going on in her brain. Please pray that her EEG is normal.
David has taken Jennifer to a friend's house to swim in their pool a couple of days this week. Jen really enjoyed this. She is also doing pool therapy as part of her physical therapy.
Please pray for David's dad. He is having surgery in Aug. Suspicious cells have been found in his thyroid so they are removing it. There's a 30% chance it could be cancer. With his history of cancer, they aren't taking any chances. He will need to take radiation pills if it's not cancer & chemo if it is. (Or at least that's how I understood what David told me...) Please pray for Bob.
I apologize for not posting more frequently, but there's really not a lot to report on on a daily basis anymore. I will probably only be posting once a week going forward unless there is a need to do an additional post.
Please continue to pray for this little family. They are getting better, but things are progressing very slowly & they still have quite a ways to go. Also remember to pray for Bob & Kathy as Bob faces surgery soon & Kathy continues to care for those precious little gifts from God for Jen & David.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
8 Month Anniversary
Today is the 8 month anniversary of the accident that changed a young little family forever as well as the lives of many other people. Through the love and support of many friends and because of their faith in a loving & good God, that young little family is still with us & doing better each & every day.
Jennifer got another round of Botox injections in her left hand. Hopefully, this will enable her to begin using it. The last round of Botox helped her left hand some, but not enough for her to be able to use it.
I don't have a lot to report on. Things are progressing very slowly, but Jen & Kacyn do continue to improve. Kacyn continues to grow & gain weight! I can't believe exactly how much when I see pictures of him! As Kacyn gains weight...Jen's losing it! She's excited about that!
Please continue to pray for Jen, Kacyn, & this little family. They still have a long ways to go to being completely healed.
Jennifer got another round of Botox injections in her left hand. Hopefully, this will enable her to begin using it. The last round of Botox helped her left hand some, but not enough for her to be able to use it.
I don't have a lot to report on. Things are progressing very slowly, but Jen & Kacyn do continue to improve. Kacyn continues to grow & gain weight! I can't believe exactly how much when I see pictures of him! As Kacyn gains weight...Jen's losing it! She's excited about that!
Please continue to pray for Jen, Kacyn, & this little family. They still have a long ways to go to being completely healed.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Prayers for Kacyn
I enjoyed my visit with Jennifer, David, & the boys (& you too, Grammy!). Jen is looking so good! She is beginning to look like the old Jennifer! I held Kacyn as much as possible - which was a lot! And I stole hugs & kisses from Jo whenever I could catch him! I got to see Jen walk. Of course, she can't walk on her own yet. This was with David standing in front of her, holding her up, & walking backward in front of her. But it's such an improvement for Jen. It was bittersweet seeing that because I was happy for her, but at the same time it was heartbreaking. As always, it was very difficult for me say "bye" & leave. I held my tears though until I was in the car so Jen wouldn't see. I love you, Jen!
They had a scare with Kacyn Monday. He had a seizure. Kathy called his pediatrician. The pediatrician told her to call the neurologist. The neurologist seemed to expect that seizures were something that were probably going to happen at some point. Kacyn has an appt with the neurologist on June 26 for them to determine what needs to be done. I know that seems like a long ways off, but they have been instructed to take Kacyn to the emergency room if they feel they need to.
Prayers are needed for my sweet little baby nephew. He's had a rough little life so far, but we know through prayer & God's love he will be well & whole one day. Jen says Kacyn will be a "genius" & she kept saying yesterday when I was on the phone with Kathy that "he's going to be ok." I know she truly believes with all of her heart this is true & was saying that for my benefit.
Jennifer continues to get a little better everyday, but still is unable to walk & unable to use her left hand & arm at all. She is getting pretty good with her right hand, but it's still not quite there yet. Her speech is also getting better, but we still have to play Hangman sometimes for me to figure out what she's trying to say. Please continue your prayers for her. It's amazing to think what she's been through in the last 7 months. She has a wondrous story to tell!
Don't forget David & Kathy in your prayers. They are doing a wonderful job taking care of Jen & those babies! I can't ever thank them enough.
They had a scare with Kacyn Monday. He had a seizure. Kathy called his pediatrician. The pediatrician told her to call the neurologist. The neurologist seemed to expect that seizures were something that were probably going to happen at some point. Kacyn has an appt with the neurologist on June 26 for them to determine what needs to be done. I know that seems like a long ways off, but they have been instructed to take Kacyn to the emergency room if they feel they need to.
Prayers are needed for my sweet little baby nephew. He's had a rough little life so far, but we know through prayer & God's love he will be well & whole one day. Jen says Kacyn will be a "genius" & she kept saying yesterday when I was on the phone with Kathy that "he's going to be ok." I know she truly believes with all of her heart this is true & was saying that for my benefit.
Jennifer continues to get a little better everyday, but still is unable to walk & unable to use her left hand & arm at all. She is getting pretty good with her right hand, but it's still not quite there yet. Her speech is also getting better, but we still have to play Hangman sometimes for me to figure out what she's trying to say. Please continue your prayers for her. It's amazing to think what she's been through in the last 7 months. She has a wondrous story to tell!
Don't forget David & Kathy in your prayers. They are doing a wonderful job taking care of Jen & those babies! I can't ever thank them enough.
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