It’s Friday and Kelly is ready for the weekend after a long and exhausting week. She did finish out the week with a strong day. Kelly was unable to do the pool therapy today because they were still concerned about her getting an infection in the incision from the precedure Tuesday. Kelly’s stamina keeps improving so starting today they started a new schedule where Kelly does two sessions on the standing frame at 30 minutes a session. With the standing frame and the 30 minutes of bicycle and one hour of physical therapy, Kelly still did her leg “marathon” workout today. She continues to inprove on her walking and keeps increasing the speed of her steps. I stand there in amazement everytime I see her walking because I remember just a few weeks ago when she couldn’t even move her right foot or leg. Our God is great and He keeps showing me everyday a miracle that I will never forget. Thank you God!!!
Kelly also started a new computer program today which helps with her memory. It reminds me of the old, or at least I think they are still old, portions of the SAT tests where you would read a paragragh and then have to answer multiple choice questions on how much you remember about the paragraph. She got 100% of the answers correct. Kelly still has problems with thinking of a name of something she is thinking about but getting a lot better. Her Speech therapist is teaching her little tricks so she can help herself go through a process to think of the word.
We still have no word on the results of the X-rays but with both me and Kelly’s case manager harassing the doctor’s office, I hope to get the results on Monday. We also got all the paperwork in for Kelly’s eye surgery and are just waiting on a date the Retina Specialist has available for the surgery.
Have a good weekend and God bless.

Our first day back to therapy after our trip to Zale Lipshy and Kelly did very well. She continues to get stronger, even though she said she felt weak today after her procedure. She was able to do the standing frame and bicycle for 30 minutes each. She was also able to walk today without any walker, just a therapist on each side of her.
We are now waiting for the Retina Specialist to schedule Kelly’s eye surgery since we have received the okay from her Neurosurgeons.
We are getting down to the “home stretch” of getting Kelly home and she is very excited that she finally gets to come back to Amarillo. The details of the therapy in Amarillo are still getting worked out but it will just be good to be home. It has been a long rode so far but God has guided us through it and will continue to be our guide to the end. Thank you God and God bless.

It was a wonderful and blessed day for our family. The day started early as I picked up Kelly to take her to Zale Lipshy for her check up. Dr. White’s office was our first stop where he checked Kelly’s shunt and said everything looked good. He also wanted to wait for the results of the angiogram before he decided if he would order an MRI to check the shunt further. We then went to the surgery floor of the hospital where the long process of getting Kelly checked in for her angiogram began. Kelly had not been allowed anything to eat or drink since midnight and she was getting pretty hungry. They took Kelly into do the angiogram at about 12:00 noon and told us it would be about an hour long procedure. I think that might have been the longest hour of my life but Dr. Pride finally came out to the waiting room to find us. He gave us the GREAT news that everything on the aneurysm looked good. In his words, “it is a very good report”. He will do another angiogram in 2 months to confirm that everything is still going well but said he is confident that they have the aneurysm under control. Both Dr. Pride and White also gave the “go ahead” for Kelly’s eye surgery so I will be calling Dr. Patel’s office tomorrow to get that scheduled. Kelly will also be spending the night at Zale Lipshy so we can get her right shoulder and elbow xrayed and then will return to her rehab at Pate in the morning.
I had mentioned last night how I was confident that God had answered my prayers and tonight I thank Him for answering those prayers. God has given me my wife back and He showed me tonight how the little things I missed about her are still there. After going 24 hours without eating and people telling her she could have anything she wanted to eat, Kelly ordered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chips, a fruit cup and some apple juice. My beautiful wife still knows that the simplest things in life are still the BEST!! Thank you God and God bless.

Another good start to the week after a good weekend. Kelly’s parents, sister and Zach arrived on Saturday and we took Kelly to Outback. Kelly got to eat her first prime rib since she has been out of the hospital but was a little nervous with us having to drive in Dallas on a Saturday night. Zach was a little sick to his stomach which added to her nervousness but all in all, the evening went well. The rest of the weekend was spent talking and catching up with Kelly showing how much progress she has made.
Today started another week of therapy and Christi, Carrie and John got to spend the day with Kelly to watch her in action. Zach spent the day with his Aunt Liz and I think both had a great time. Me and Zach got to spend time with Kelly at the end of the day and she was exhausted.
Tomorrow will be a long day since I have to pick up Kelly at 6:00 am so we can have her at Zale Lipshy a little before 9:00 am so they can check her shunt and her coils. We are a little nervous about the check up but I am confident that my prayers will be answered and the results will be great!!! Thank you God for listening to and answering my prayers. They will also do the xray on Kelly’s shoulder and elbow while we are at the hospital so she can continue with more aggressive therapy on her right arm and hand. I will try to get the results out tomorrow on the shunt and coils as soon as I can. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. God bless.

Friday evening and the end of a long, hard but good week for Kelly. This Friday started with pool therapy and Kelly walked on the treadmill in the pool for about 10-15 minutes and then worked on strengthing exercises. After the pool, Kelly then did her leg marathon workout of the standing frame, bicycle and then did some balancing exercises on a big exercise ball.
Kelly’s Occupational therapy has been kind of limited until we get her right shoulder xrayed but she still dressed herself and did the arm bicycle workout today.
Kelly is still very motivated and all she could talk to her therapists about today is the fact that Zach, her parents and her sister are coming down this weekend. Our case manager was even nice enough to arrange a short pass for Kelly this weekend so we could all have a family dinner somewhere other than here at the ranch. Kelly keeps hinting about The Outback Restaurant which will make me and her dad very happy!!!
God is great and God bless. Have a good weekend!!!

Another week of hard work is almost over and Kelly keeps improving everyday. Kelly’s right arm and hand are showing a lot of improvement but her Occupational therapist has asked the doctor for an xray of her right shoulder to see if there is some other reason for the limited range of movement. The xray will hopefully happen tomorrow. The doctor told us that if there is nothing seen in the xray that would explain the range of movement, that an injection might have to be given into the shoulder joint to allow more movement. Even with the stiffness in the shoulder, Kelly was able to get dressed with almost no assistance today, the most I have seen her do since this nightmare began. When I showed up this morning, she had also put on her own makeup. Kelly’s Occupational therapist told Kelly that Kelly would more than likely exceed the goal the therapist had set for Kelly on her initial exam. Everytime I look at Kelly, I see how far she has come and realize how thankful I am for God giving me this miracle.
Kelly’s Speech therapist keeps telling us how much she is amazed on Kelly’s progress also. Kelly was very impressive today in talking to the therapist about current events and then she did an exercise with words that have the same meaning.
Physical therapy is where Kelly keeps improving daily. They have switched Kelly off the EVA walker and in to a conventional walker. Kelly is able to use her right leg to take steps but her right foot is still hard for her to lift. The doctor and therapist have recommended a brace for her right foot that will help her lift her foot until her foot gets stronger. They have also recommended that Kelly use her legs to propel herself while she is moving around in her wheelchair to gain more muscle mass in her legs. Kelly started doing this for the remainder of the day after therapy. Kelly’s determination to walk out of this place keeps driving her to do more and more everyday. Thank you God for instilling that in her heart and mind. Thank you family and friends for giving her the motivation and the support for Kelly KNOWING that she can do it. The fact that her parents, her sister and our little Zach are coming down this weekend also gives Kelly that boost of energy when she is exhausted. God bless.

My first day back with Kelly after being ill for 3 days and I can see the improvements. Kelly seems alot stronger and was able to stand up out of her chair with almost no assistance. Her second day of water therapy went well and I was told by her therapist that Kelly seemed more at ease in the water today than she was the first time. After the water therapy, Kelly again did her leg marathon workout with the bicycle, standing frame, walking on the EVA frame and then finishing up with a session on a regular walker which she will probably transition to instead of the EVA walker later this week.
Occupational therapy was spent working with some therapy putty to increase the strength and movement of Kelly’s right hand.
Speech therapy consisted of the therapist telling Kelly a word and Kelly would either tell her a word with the same or opposite meaning, depending on what the therapist asked. She got them all correct.
It has been a long day for Kelly and she is exhausted but growing stronger and more confident everyday. One week from today we return to Zale Lipshy to check Kelly’s coils and shunt. I have to admit I am a little nervous about the checkup but everything is in God’s hands and I am confident that He has put his healing hand on Kelly and performed yet another miracle. Thank you God!!

Sorry for the lack of updates the last 2 days but I have come down with strep throat and I am staying away from Pate so I will not get Kelly or the other patients sick. I check up with Kelly by phone about 4 or 5 times a day and she tells me she is doing well. She had a good day of therapy today. Thank God for Liz and Roy, my sister and brother-in-law that live in the Dallas area. Roy was nice enough to go and check up on Kelly for me today while Liz was nice enough to be my nurse at their house. Roy stayed with Kelly for a couple of hours and told me she looks well and is in good spirits. I just spoke with Kelly on the phone also and she sounds tired. She said she had a good day and is ready for her second water therapy in the morning. With God’s help, I will feel better and be able to go be with Kelly tomorrow. Thank you for your support and prayers. God bless.

It was a busy Friday and Kelly is getting a well deserved weekend off. The last day of the week started off with a bang as Kelly started her water therapy today. She stayed in the pool for 30 minutes, walking and getting familiar with the equipment in the pool. After the pool, Kelly got to go do Physical therapy with “Hank”, a horse that is trained to assist in the therapy. Kelly had a blast petting, grooming and walking the horse. It also helped Kelly with her range of motion on her right arm and in strengthing her right leg. Kelly then did 30 minutes on the bicycle and then 30 minutes on the standing frame. Her legs were extremely tired after the marathon leg session but the therapists were estatic about Kelly’s increase in stamina. If this was not enough, Kelly then went and worked on her upper body. She did some pulley exercises to increase strength and range of motion on her right arm and hand. The day ended with Kelly’s Speech therapist doing a drill with Kelly in which the therapist would tell her a company’s name and Kelly would tell her what the company made. Kelly got all of them correct.
Kelly’s drive and ambition keep amazing me. I am very thankful that God instilled these great qualities in my beautiful wife and that He is allowing these qualities to come through when Kelly needs them the most. Thank you God and God bless.

Today started early for Kelly. Her Occupational therapist came to Kelly’s room before therapy to work with Kelly on getting herself ready for the day. Kelly got herself dressed and then to the breakfast table. Kelly then went to the therapy building where she put her own makeup on.
Kelly continued to work on the “vacation” exercise for her Speech therapist. Her Speech therapist also told us today that Kelly’s Speech therapy would consist of mainly working on problem solving such as the “vacation” exercise because Kelly’s speech and memory were both doing so well.
Physical therapy concentrated on standing up and then Kelly’s therapist would time her on how long she could stand without any support. Kelly’s right leg is still weak but getting stronger and Kelly is using it a lot more. The day ended with a little game of Bingo where Kelly won a game and received a little prize. A good ending to another blessed day. Thank you God!!!