Jennifer was released from the hospital today! She is back at home with David & the boys where she belongs! They had balloons & a sign in front of the house that said "Welcome Home Mommy!" David said Jennifer was very happy to be home & that Josiah was very happy & excited for her to be home. He missed his mommy.
Even though Jennifer is now home, she still has a lot of healing to do. Please keep the prayers going for complete healing - muscles, speech, brain, hands, arms, legs, swallowing, legs - everything! Please continue to pray for David as he will now be doing or helping Jennifer with everything. Grammy is still there helping take care of the boys. Please remember them in your prayers too as well as the rest of the family.
What a wonderful day our wonderful Lord has given us today!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Day #116
Jennifer goes home tomorrow!! She is so excited that when they were trying to arrange her discharge tomorrow & the nurse asked her what time she wanted to go home tomorrow, Jennifer responded "Midnight"! At midnight tonight, it will be tomorrow! I don't think she'll get her wish to leave at midnight!
We still don't have the results from Kacyn's blood test for the organic acid disorder. David told me today when I asked about it that they also did a urine test. They said it would take less than a week to get the results of the urine test. They said this disorder would show up in the urine test also. If it did, they wouldn't wait on the blood test, they'd call & begin the meds needed to fight the disorder. They have not received a call about the urine test & it's been 2 weeks so we are guessing this means the urine test was ok!
The ramp on their front porch has been built & is ready & waiting for Jennifer!
Jennifer got a new physical therapist today. Her other one moved to Ireland. Before this therapist would sign off on Jennifer going home, David had to show the therapist he could transfer/move Jennifer by himself. He passed the test! He'd actually gotten training last week on how to do this.
The day Jennifer goes home is a day we have all looked forward to & prayed for for a long time now. That day is finally here! She may not be able to walk out of the hospital on her own like we would like, but she is finally well enough to go home! As we have all along, we will take & be thankful for every blessing & miracle God sends our way, even the tiniest ones. Jennifer going home is a BIG, GIANT miracle! God is good!
We still don't have the results from Kacyn's blood test for the organic acid disorder. David told me today when I asked about it that they also did a urine test. They said it would take less than a week to get the results of the urine test. They said this disorder would show up in the urine test also. If it did, they wouldn't wait on the blood test, they'd call & begin the meds needed to fight the disorder. They have not received a call about the urine test & it's been 2 weeks so we are guessing this means the urine test was ok!
The ramp on their front porch has been built & is ready & waiting for Jennifer!
Jennifer got a new physical therapist today. Her other one moved to Ireland. Before this therapist would sign off on Jennifer going home, David had to show the therapist he could transfer/move Jennifer by himself. He passed the test! He'd actually gotten training last week on how to do this.
The day Jennifer goes home is a day we have all looked forward to & prayed for for a long time now. That day is finally here! She may not be able to walk out of the hospital on her own like we would like, but she is finally well enough to go home! As we have all along, we will take & be thankful for every blessing & miracle God sends our way, even the tiniest ones. Jennifer going home is a BIG, GIANT miracle! God is good!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Day #115
I have a correction to yesterday regarding "the lady in the waiting room". She isn't the sister of an ICU nurse as I stated yesterday. Her name is Michelle & she heard about Jennifer & David from her her sister, Jen, who is a friend of one of the ICU nurses. And the nurse is Stephanie...the Stephanie I talked about before. They are all following our dear little Dierking family & praying for them. Thank you, Michelle, Jen, & Stephanie for all the prayers, concern, & for being part of Jennifer's Miracle! And Stephanie, thank you again for taking such good care of my sister while she was in ICU!
I don't really have much to say except I want to thank everyone again for everything...the support, love, & prayers. I can't even express how much it all means to us. I don't care what you hear on the news or read in the paper, there is still LOTS of good in the world!
I don't really have much to say except I want to thank everyone again for everything...the support, love, & prayers. I can't even express how much it all means to us. I don't care what you hear on the news or read in the paper, there is still LOTS of good in the world!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Day #114
David called this morning. He & Jennifer were back at the big St John's hospital. This is the hospital they were air evac'd to after the accident & where Jennifer was until being moved to the rehab hospital. They both had dr appts there this morning. They were sitting in the little waiting area by the front doors waiting on the wheelchair bus to come pick them up & take them back to the rehab hospital. A lady sitting nearby helped David figure out what Jennifer was trying to say to him once. A little while later, David said something to Jennifer about going home on Friday. The lady asked "Are you David & Jennifer?" Surprised, David replied "Yes." She then asked "Do you have a sister named Lynn?" Even more surprised, David replied "She does". The lady was a sister of one of the ICU nurses who had taken care of Jennifer at that hospital! She said she'd heard about Jennifer from her sister & had been following the blog since day 1! She said she reads the blog nearly every day. Once again this proves Jennifer & David's story is touching more lives than we know or even imagine! We'd probably be amazed at how many people are following this story!
Their dr appts went well. The xrays on David's leg showed everything is healed well. He won't need to have any more follow up visits. He also completed his last therapy session last week. YAY! The dr said everything looked ok with Jennifer & she just needs to get her muscle tone & strength back. This is what they are working on in physical therapy! Speaking of therapy...
Normally, Jennifer doesn't like to sit for very long in a chair. She will sit for only a short period of time before she starts complaining about her hip hurting & wanting to go to bed. Part of her therapy is to sit for several hours a day. Well, today she'd been sitting in a chair at the hospital waiting for the wheelchair bus for about 3 hours & hadn't complained once. David asked her why it normally bothers her to sit for only a few minutes & today sitting for 3 hours seemed to be ok. She replied "no therapy" & laughed. She didn't mind sitting there because it was getting her out of having to go to therapy!
Also I want to explain more as to why Jennifer will still have the feeding tube in her stomach when she goes home. This will be used for administering her meds. Since she failed her last swallow test, she can't take pills by mouth. They tried crushing them up & giving them to her in applesauce, but that didn't work. It tasted too bad. The pills are dissolved in water & given to her through the feeding tube. Until she is able to take the pills by mouth, she will continue to get her meds via feeding tube.
Well, I don't really have much else to report on tonight. Please keep the prayers going! They are working & I can't thank you enough for them!
Love,
Lynn
Their dr appts went well. The xrays on David's leg showed everything is healed well. He won't need to have any more follow up visits. He also completed his last therapy session last week. YAY! The dr said everything looked ok with Jennifer & she just needs to get her muscle tone & strength back. This is what they are working on in physical therapy! Speaking of therapy...
Normally, Jennifer doesn't like to sit for very long in a chair. She will sit for only a short period of time before she starts complaining about her hip hurting & wanting to go to bed. Part of her therapy is to sit for several hours a day. Well, today she'd been sitting in a chair at the hospital waiting for the wheelchair bus for about 3 hours & hadn't complained once. David asked her why it normally bothers her to sit for only a few minutes & today sitting for 3 hours seemed to be ok. She replied "no therapy" & laughed. She didn't mind sitting there because it was getting her out of having to go to therapy!
Also I want to explain more as to why Jennifer will still have the feeding tube in her stomach when she goes home. This will be used for administering her meds. Since she failed her last swallow test, she can't take pills by mouth. They tried crushing them up & giving them to her in applesauce, but that didn't work. It tasted too bad. The pills are dissolved in water & given to her through the feeding tube. Until she is able to take the pills by mouth, she will continue to get her meds via feeding tube.
Well, I don't really have much else to report on tonight. Please keep the prayers going! They are working & I can't thank you enough for them!
Love,
Lynn
Monday, February 9, 2009
Day #113
My husband, kids, & I spent the weekend in St Louis with Jennifer. She continues to do well & is very excited about being released from the hospital on Friday! She will be going home with her feeding tube & in a wheelchair, but hopefully she won't need either of those things for very long!
My daughter, Kennedy, & I stayed at the hospital with Jennifer Saturday night. Kennedy enjoyed helping her Aunt Fer & I know Aunt Fer enjoyed having her there. She fed Jennifer her breakfast Sunday morning.
David went home Saturday night since Kennedy & I were staying with Jennifer. He said Kacyn had a good night Friday night & was hoping he would have one Saturday night also so he could sleep! Well, Kacyn kept him & Grammy up until after 2:00am!
We laughed a lot with Jennifer. It just warms your heart to hear her laugh & to see her smile. Her hands appear to be getting better. The fingers on her right hand were always straight & she couldn't bend them before. Now she can squeeze your hand with her thumb on her right hand & while I was there she started bending all 4 fingers around my hand. She can't quite bend them all the way, but she can bend them halfway or better. She wasn't able to do this a week ago. On her left hand the fingers have always been curled. She hasn't been able to straighten them, but now she can straighten one of them out. She can lift her left arm slightly now. She hasn't ever been able to move her left arm until now. The muscles in her hands have always been super tight & really hard to the touch. They seem to be quite a bit softer now.
She kept getting itches when I was there Sat night & I'd have to scratch for her. First it was her belly, then it was her eye, then it was her other eye, then it was her belly again, then it was her eye again, then it was her left hand, then her other eye again, then her forehead, then her left hand again. I would scratch wherever she told me to, but I told her not to ask me to scratch her butt because that's where I draw the line! She laughed.
David has a funny picture of Jennifer. They were watching a movie the other night & she said "Tape". He said "What?" She repeated "Tape". He asked what she needed with tape. She said "Tape glasses." She has problems with her glasses sliding down on her nose. I guess she was tired of them doing this while she was trying to watch the movie so she wanted him to tape her glasses to her forehead so they couldn't slide down. So he has a picture of her glasses taped to her nose & forehead while they watched a movie!
We stopped by to see Josiah & Kacyn on our way home. Kacyn is getting soooo big! He's a chubby little thing! He even has fat wrinkles on the back of his head! He also has the biggest blue eyes! I just love holding, hugging, & kissing him! Josiah was too busy with his cousins for me to hug or kiss. I had to steal them from him! Grammy shared a cute story about something that happened the other day. She was feeding Kacyn in the living room. She'd left the baby monitor on by Kacyn's crib. All of a sudden all the musical things in & on Kacyn's crib starting playing music! She went in there & Josiah was in Kacyn's crib with Kacyn's pacifier in his mouth, pretending to be asleep, & making a quiet "meemeemee" sound - kind of like how they snore on cartoons! Those boys definitely keep her hopping!
Thank you for all the prayers. Please keep them going! Jennifer still has a long ways to go! Please continue to pray for her, Kacyn, David, & Josiah. And don't forget about both sets of grandparents. They could use the prayers too!
Love,
Lynn
My daughter, Kennedy, & I stayed at the hospital with Jennifer Saturday night. Kennedy enjoyed helping her Aunt Fer & I know Aunt Fer enjoyed having her there. She fed Jennifer her breakfast Sunday morning.
David went home Saturday night since Kennedy & I were staying with Jennifer. He said Kacyn had a good night Friday night & was hoping he would have one Saturday night also so he could sleep! Well, Kacyn kept him & Grammy up until after 2:00am!
We laughed a lot with Jennifer. It just warms your heart to hear her laugh & to see her smile. Her hands appear to be getting better. The fingers on her right hand were always straight & she couldn't bend them before. Now she can squeeze your hand with her thumb on her right hand & while I was there she started bending all 4 fingers around my hand. She can't quite bend them all the way, but she can bend them halfway or better. She wasn't able to do this a week ago. On her left hand the fingers have always been curled. She hasn't been able to straighten them, but now she can straighten one of them out. She can lift her left arm slightly now. She hasn't ever been able to move her left arm until now. The muscles in her hands have always been super tight & really hard to the touch. They seem to be quite a bit softer now.
She kept getting itches when I was there Sat night & I'd have to scratch for her. First it was her belly, then it was her eye, then it was her other eye, then it was her belly again, then it was her eye again, then it was her left hand, then her other eye again, then her forehead, then her left hand again. I would scratch wherever she told me to, but I told her not to ask me to scratch her butt because that's where I draw the line! She laughed.
David has a funny picture of Jennifer. They were watching a movie the other night & she said "Tape". He said "What?" She repeated "Tape". He asked what she needed with tape. She said "Tape glasses." She has problems with her glasses sliding down on her nose. I guess she was tired of them doing this while she was trying to watch the movie so she wanted him to tape her glasses to her forehead so they couldn't slide down. So he has a picture of her glasses taped to her nose & forehead while they watched a movie!
We stopped by to see Josiah & Kacyn on our way home. Kacyn is getting soooo big! He's a chubby little thing! He even has fat wrinkles on the back of his head! He also has the biggest blue eyes! I just love holding, hugging, & kissing him! Josiah was too busy with his cousins for me to hug or kiss. I had to steal them from him! Grammy shared a cute story about something that happened the other day. She was feeding Kacyn in the living room. She'd left the baby monitor on by Kacyn's crib. All of a sudden all the musical things in & on Kacyn's crib starting playing music! She went in there & Josiah was in Kacyn's crib with Kacyn's pacifier in his mouth, pretending to be asleep, & making a quiet "meemeemee" sound - kind of like how they snore on cartoons! Those boys definitely keep her hopping!
Thank you for all the prayers. Please keep them going! Jennifer still has a long ways to go! Please continue to pray for her, Kacyn, David, & Josiah. And don't forget about both sets of grandparents. They could use the prayers too!
Love,
Lynn
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Day #108
Jennifer had another swallow test last week to see if she could move up to "soft mechanical" foods such as french fries - soft foods that don't require too much chewing. Unfortunately, she did not pass this test. She is still on pureed foods & thickened beverages only. When you swallow, muscles close up the trachea to prevent food from going down into it instead of the esophagus. These muscles are not working properly with Jennifer consistently. They work correctly sometimes. They are close the trachea off too slowly at times. Eating heavier foods or drinking thinner beverages could move down her throat faster than the muscles can close off the trachea & cause her to choke. This is something that should heal as her brain & other muscles heal.
As stated previously, Jennifer can say just about whatever she wants to now. It's still very difficult to understand what she's saying. The dr's believe this is no longer due to her vocal cords being separated, but is brain-related. Her speech should continue to improve as her brain heals.
David says Jennifer's attitude has changed considerably over the last few days. He said it seemed to change after my brother visited her. He's not sure what John said to her, but David says it helped change her attitude. She's now more positive about everything including therapy. David said before she would come back from therapy & say "I hate Jill. She's mean." Today during therapy she told Jill she loved her.
David thinks Jennifer could be released as early as a week from Friday This is due to insurance reasons. The drs would like her to stay a little longer. Of course, Jennifer wants to be released a week from Friday & is very excited about it. She will be in a wheelchair. She is still unable to walk or use her arms or hands. David will be helping her do everything. She'll be going back & forth to St Louis for therapy. David's worried about getting her in & out of the car. I joked & told him he needed to get her a helmet until he gets it figured out! Because none of the doors in their house are large enough to accomodate a wheelchair, David is moving their bedroom into the living room.
Jennifer, David, & Kacyn all had therapy today. Kacyn was scheduled to have occupational, physical, & speech therapy! I'm not sure how that works with someone as young as he is!
David said Kacyn is starting to coo & smile a little now. I can't wait to see him this coming weekend! My husband, kids, & I are all going to St Louis this weekend.
We are definitely seeing signs of Jennifer's personality as it was before the accident. She laughs, jokes, & is very ornery sometimes! She's getting back to the old Jennifer we know & love. All of this is truly a miracle from God! It's unreal to think of how far she's come. It's exactly 15 weeks to the day Jennifer was on complete life support with both us & the drs unsure if she was going to make it. She still has a long way to go, but it's so heartwarming to see her personality coming through! It's through the prayers of all of you that we are getting her back! Thank you!
Please remember to pray for her complete healing from her brain to her swallowing to her talking to her arms, hands, legs, eyes. Please remember little Kacyn also as well as David & Josiah too. Also please pray for Grammy as she continues to care for these darling little boys. Mom is in St Louis today, coming home tomorrow. Dad is driving up Friday, coming home Saturday. Please pray for them as they travel.
Thank you for being a part of Jennifer's miracle & helping make it happen!
Love,
Lynn
As stated previously, Jennifer can say just about whatever she wants to now. It's still very difficult to understand what she's saying. The dr's believe this is no longer due to her vocal cords being separated, but is brain-related. Her speech should continue to improve as her brain heals.
David says Jennifer's attitude has changed considerably over the last few days. He said it seemed to change after my brother visited her. He's not sure what John said to her, but David says it helped change her attitude. She's now more positive about everything including therapy. David said before she would come back from therapy & say "I hate Jill. She's mean." Today during therapy she told Jill she loved her.
David thinks Jennifer could be released as early as a week from Friday This is due to insurance reasons. The drs would like her to stay a little longer. Of course, Jennifer wants to be released a week from Friday & is very excited about it. She will be in a wheelchair. She is still unable to walk or use her arms or hands. David will be helping her do everything. She'll be going back & forth to St Louis for therapy. David's worried about getting her in & out of the car. I joked & told him he needed to get her a helmet until he gets it figured out! Because none of the doors in their house are large enough to accomodate a wheelchair, David is moving their bedroom into the living room.
Jennifer, David, & Kacyn all had therapy today. Kacyn was scheduled to have occupational, physical, & speech therapy! I'm not sure how that works with someone as young as he is!
David said Kacyn is starting to coo & smile a little now. I can't wait to see him this coming weekend! My husband, kids, & I are all going to St Louis this weekend.
We are definitely seeing signs of Jennifer's personality as it was before the accident. She laughs, jokes, & is very ornery sometimes! She's getting back to the old Jennifer we know & love. All of this is truly a miracle from God! It's unreal to think of how far she's come. It's exactly 15 weeks to the day Jennifer was on complete life support with both us & the drs unsure if she was going to make it. She still has a long way to go, but it's so heartwarming to see her personality coming through! It's through the prayers of all of you that we are getting her back! Thank you!
Please remember to pray for her complete healing from her brain to her swallowing to her talking to her arms, hands, legs, eyes. Please remember little Kacyn also as well as David & Josiah too. Also please pray for Grammy as she continues to care for these darling little boys. Mom is in St Louis today, coming home tomorrow. Dad is driving up Friday, coming home Saturday. Please pray for them as they travel.
Thank you for being a part of Jennifer's miracle & helping make it happen!
Love,
Lynn
Monday, February 2, 2009
Day #106
Jennifer continues to do well. Normally, David can't go to physical therapy with Jennifer, but today the therapist came to get him. They wanted him to see how well Jennifer was doing with standing. David said she was standing up as straight as he's seen her for a long time.
I asked David if the Botox injections seemed to be working yet. He said she can bend 3 fingers on her right hand now, but that this is probably due to the other medication (can't remember what it's called) that they've been giving her. He said it'd probably be about a week before we see any results from the Botox.
Prayers are still needed for Jennifer's complete healing, mentally & physically, & for Kacyn's blood test to be normal.
I asked David if the Botox injections seemed to be working yet. He said she can bend 3 fingers on her right hand now, but that this is probably due to the other medication (can't remember what it's called) that they've been giving her. He said it'd probably be about a week before we see any results from the Botox.
Prayers are still needed for Jennifer's complete healing, mentally & physically, & for Kacyn's blood test to be normal.
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