Prayers from me, too.
Prayers for your brother, you and your family, mhking!
Praying for your brother, you and yours, mh!
Prayers and thoughts going out for you and yours right now mhking.
Prayers up for your brother's complete recovery, for strength and patience for all of you. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.
Hi everyone --
I can't thank everyone enough for the notes and prayers and calls. I realize that this is one of those cage-rattling moments that the Lord hits us with once in awhile to remind us who is truly in charge of our lives. But I also know that with Him, and by putting my hand and heart in His, all things are possible.
Rick was transferred to Northwestern Memorial in downtown Chicago last Friday. Northwestern is a stroke trauma center, plus home to a high-level stroke and vascular rehabilitation center. In addition, his personal physician is on staff at Northwestern, so we know we're looking at a higher level of care. That hospital is also the sports medicine facility for the Bears and Bulls, so one of the first things that was accomplished was getting a larger bed -- one that more comfortably fits a 6'3", 375 pound man.
Our sister, Courtney, flew in from San Francisco over the weekend, and when she came into the room, he became animated and tried to talk. Hopefully, when I get there Thursday, it will do him some good as well.
He is now able to turn his head to the right, when he wasn't previously able to do. He definitely sees and hears and understands what is going on around him. He can communicate with nods yes and no, and, at least with Courtney, tried to talk a bit. The speech therapist has been working with him to try to get him to swallow small amounts of liquids and pudding.
He moved his right leg late Saturday, and the physical therapist says that he is showing remarkable progress.
His blood sugar has fluctuated wildly, and is being controlled by drugs for now.
A funny story -- at least guys will find it funny. My wife and mother both insisted it wasn't, while my dad and I thought it was hilarious -- on Sunday, he was very agitated and obviously uncomfortable. Courtney found a charlie horse in one leg and massaged it out, but he still wasn't completely comfortable. When my mother called later in the night, the nurses said they found that his catheter had a kink in it! Once they cleared that, they said, he slept like a baby.
I guess us guys can appreciate that pain and relief... Plus, of course, that also means that his has feeling in that part of his body, and that nothing more serious is wrong there.
In terms of a cause, I'm not sure; I do know he has been under a dramatic amount of stress lately. Rick has historically been one to hold things in when they bother him, as opposed to my sister and I; we are both much more demonstrative when we are stressed. We find ways to release that stress in whatever way we can.
The doctors are saying that a possible cause may be related to a small hole between the ventricles of his heart. Apparently up to 15 percent of the populace has this minor defect, and in the vast majority of persons, it has no effect. But in this case, they say a clot may have formed and traveled by way of this hole to his brain, causing the stroke.
In any event, surgery has been discussed as an option after the present issues are taken care of, to repair that hole and prevent any sort of issue from surfacing in the future.
Thank you again, for everything. You can't imagine just how much you all mean to me and to us here. God bless and keep you all.
Michael
Prayers up
Michael, prayers for your brother, his family and yours.
You might want to make an appointment with a cardiologist or neurologist to get checked out.
For those of us with a history of strokes in the family and in particuliar with black ancestors, we are at a higher stroke risk than the rest of the population.
If you have high blood pressure, get it under control with medication and exercise.
The cause of death on both sides of my family has been CVA's associated with HBP. A cardiologist and neurologist recommended that I go on one baby aspirin aday with my Vasotec. When my mother died of a stroke a few years ago, my family doctor put me on one baby asprin in the morning and one in the evening and had me divide my Vasotec into two doses. He is on the same regimen. Every male in his family, who has died, died of a stroke and hbp in the last century at about 60 years of age.
God often sends us messages, and only the fools ignore those messages. You are no fool.
Prayers for your brother, you and all of your family. May God bring you peace, comfort and strength during this trying time. You'll be in my thoughts.
wow... in times like these, you think of Job. :-( "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be his name."
I'm so sorry you are having to go through all this. May the Lord be your comfort and sustenance.
You and your brother (well, your whole family) are in our thoughts and prayers, Michael.
Our God is an awesome God. He is the Great Physician and Healer, and he heals hearts, minds, bodies and souls. And I thank Him and praise Him and go to Him in prayer each and every day.
In these last two and a half weeks, I've prayed harder than I've prayed in my entire life. I've asked for the prayers of others everywhere to join with mine.
And our prayers continue to be answered.
When I got to Chicago last Thursday morning, I expected the worst. Rick was still in intensive care, and I could see that much from the hallway. Tubes went everywhere, he had multiple IVs in his arms, and he looked out of it. That is at least until I entered the room.
Where he was listless before, he started trying to talk to me, and became very animated over the course of the conversation. No words, mind you, but he kept trying, nonetheless. Courtney had told him he sounded like "Young Frankenstein," and that was an apt comparison, though not quite as gravely as what everyone said he sounded like earlier in the week.
My folks and I sat and watched, and talked to him. Once in awhile, he'd get this real vacant "Where am I" type of look. My mother would immediately try to soothe him, telling him not to worry. I just watched.
During one of these episodes, he became very animated, gesturing to her and then pointing in the vague direction of the chair next to the bed.
"I'm fine," the gesture said (at least from what I could see). "Stop worrying about me."
I stood up behind my mother, reached over and patted Rick's hand. He looked at me.
"Cool it," I said. I pointed at my chest. "I've got this covered. She'll be fine. She'll get some rest. No worries."
He nodded wearily, and dropped his head back onto his pillow. My mother looked at me quizically, but didn't say anything. She sat down in the chair next to the bed and rested her head on Rick's arm.
On Friday, Dad and I made Mom go to work. Something to get some kind of mental rest (as if teachers get a mental rest).
When he and I got to the hospital, Rick was finishing breakfast. A veritable pantheon of doctors and nurses came in over the next few hours, including both his lead doctor, and a diabetes specialist. Dad and I were schooled in the mechanics of testing Rick's blood sugar and giving him insulin. Among the prognoses, as you'd might imagine, was full-blown diabetes.
Dad and I got to feed Rick his lunch. He surprised us by reaching up and grabbing the cup out of my hand and drinking from the straw himself. Of course, I had to keep him from going too fast. The liquid was thickened, so to make it easier to swallow.
Diagnosis-wise, Rick had what amounts to a perfect storm of maladies that came together to create the stroke. Rick was damn-near 400 pounds at 6'3". Those of you who remember us together will remember that he has always been a good hundred pounds (or more) bigger than me over the years.
In any event, in addition to the newly-diagnosed diabetes, he's got a measure of high cholesterol, some hypertension (though the doctors think that may be directly related to the aftermath of the stroke), and his weight, the doctors found a couple of blood-borne disorders that may have contributed to the stroke itself. In particular, he's got a genetic disorder that causes sticky platelets, and is apparently related to lupus in some form. The doctors there said that my parents, my sister and I need to be tested for that (my appointment is tomorrow morning), plus if I'm found to be a carrier, my kids will have to be tested. They said that since my sister and I are relatively health, if we're found to have this same disorder, we most likely will only have to take a baby aspirin each day -- and of course watch our weight (more an admonishment to me than anyone else).
Rick improved so much that on Sunday, he was transferred from the hospital to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), which is adjacent to, and affiliated with Northwestern Memorial. According to a number of surveys and bits of information I was able to glean from the web and elsewhere, RIC is renouned around the world for their work with patients in general, and stroke patients in particular.
Since then, they have worked him quite a bit. They get him dressed each morning in a t-shirt and workout shorts, and are working wtih him to regain his mobility and other skills. On Sunday, once they had gotten him settled in his bed, he was trying to scratch at his catheter (the one remaining tube). I grabbed his left arm and pulled it away. He wasn't happy; he gave me a look that would have withered most people. And I suppose rightly so. I've been on the business end of his left hook before. But I stood my ground.
He finally rolled his eyes at me (a good sign in and of itself) and huffed. I said, "You're gonna cuss me out when you get a chance, aren't you?" He nodded vigorously.
The doctors and my parents commented on the non-verbal level of communication that we have in general. They said that they had noticed it throughout my stay there. I just shrugged. That's what siblings do.
By the time I left Chicago, he had been able to get a few words out, with great effort: "Hi," "Yes," and "All Right." The doctors say he'll be able to speak again, pretty soon, and say that some of his first words will probably be profanity-laced. They say that is normal in cases like his. His appetite had come back, too. Of course, he's still on soft food only.
My parents made it over there yesterday (Wednesday), and while there, he moved his RIGHT leg while they were trying to help readjust him in the bed. He said he's got some pain in his right arm as well. This is a Godsend, considering that when I was there, he had no feeling on that side at all.
I've still got a bit more to do and get for him on this end -- he wants a ballcap, and in particular one from a black college. We had talked about that before. I'll pick one up from Clark Atlanta or Morehouse either tonight or tomorrow. He also wants me to read to him on tape or CD. I've got a book on the Negro Leagues that I had reviewed last year that I was going to give him for Christmas; when I suggested that to him, he smiled and nodded.
In any event, he is well on his way back this way, and with prayerful hope, I watch and smile at each baby step that he's taking. This has been a life-changing event for all of us. And all the repercussions are not over and done with yet, I'm sure. God is not done with us yet.
For now, it looks like he'll be coming to live with my folks once he gets out of rehab, which is good; their house is mostly on one level, and has wide doorways that can accomodate a wheelchair or walker, if necessary. Plus with my dad retired and my mom about to retire, they have the time to spend with him. Rick's wife seems to be okay with this, since she's working long hours, and they have stairs in their home.
Many of our other relatives have been passing through and calling and e-mailing like mad. Once we get a handle on everything, Courtney and I will both be headed back home at varying points to lend a hand where we can.
My mother has asked that anyone with any cards, to please send them to Rick in care of their address: c/o Mr. & Mrs. Howard C. King, 8330 Doubletree Drive North, Crown Point, IN 46307.
Thank you once again for all the prayers, well-wishes, thoughts, calls, e-mails, and cards. We all truly appreciate them. Please keep up the prayers, for God is able!
Prayers for your brother's recovery, fellow FReeper, from me and Hub. Also for your Dad, and for you too.
God bless and keep you all in His Healing and His Love.
Prayers up. May the Lord give your family comfort and patience. If you need to talk, fmail me.
It sounds like the Lord is at work already. Hoping you will keep me appraised of his progress. God bless.
May God restore your brother's body and mind completely, for His great glory. Rehab's no fun, but with God's grace he'll get through it just great. In Jesus' name, Amen.
I had missed this thread until now but will certainly be adding you and your family to my prayers now.
I pray that God will bless your brother with healing and the return of all his facilities.
And I pray for your folks and for your brother’s family and for all the people who love you and your family.
May the loving embrace of all who love you be a comfort now in this trying time.
I pray that God’s peace will be with you especially at this time of Easter.
God’s richest blessings to you all,
Jane
Prayers Said.