A Much Better Birthday

Today (actually since it is after 1 a.m., yesterday) was my birthday. Last year at this time Sherry had been sick for a few days and would soon be on her way to Emanual Hospital in Portland. Needless to say, it was not a good birthday. This year was just the opposite. Sherry was with me as we all spent the late afternoon and evening at my sisters house in Springfield. My brother and sister in law were there as well as Sean and Jody and several friends. The photo above was taken in Kim's backyard. We hung out in the backyard and enjoyed chicken cooked on the grill and a great birthday cake (not to mention a few beers). Sherry was great. She had a great time, seeing much of what was going on and being very social. It was the closest thing to "old times" I have experienced in quite some time. I want to thank everyone involved, especially my sister Kim for setting it all up and giving us rides to and from the party. Thanks to Sean for giving a few of us Texas Hold' Em poker lessons. We want to get together and do that again soon! Kim is going to take the girls overnight this coming Saturday so Sherry and I can celebrate our ninth anniversay alone. That will also be a very special night. Outback here we come! I uploaded a few pictures of the party to our media hosting site. You can get there if you wish by clicking on the link that can be found on our homepage at www.sherrysjourny.com.

We got the results of Sherry's most recent MRI late last week. Dr. Mundall said the scans reveal some "slight shrinkage" in the area of Sherry's brain that suffered the damge. This is in addition to the damage previously discovered. He said however, that it doesn't look significant enough to "make her worse." It looks as if there will be some permanant damage in the area of her brain that regulates her vision. He did tell me to still be positive about the possibility of improvement. Most likely though, it will not return to exactly as it was before. None of this was really news, we knew it from the previous scans. But Sherry "has surprised us before" as Dr. Mundall pointed out. She continues to move forward with a great attitude and work ethic.

We now feel the time may be right to get her into vision therapy and have begun taking steps in that direction. She has a tentitive appointment for an initial evaluation to see if it can help her. Vision therapy is expensive and not covered by insurance. I have set aside some funds just for this but will probably not have enough to pay for all the treatment she may require. Our family is considering another Papa's Pizza fundraiser in the fall to help pay for her therapy, if she does start treatment. From the little I know about vision therapy, it sounds like it just what she needs...we will see what the eval tells us.

Well, enough for now,

I love my wife.....tomorrow we move forward.

Dean

A forward moving girl....

I have recently become a bit of a Dixie Chicks fan. The title song of their latest CD always makes me think of our current situation. There is a line that goes ..."it's been two long years now, since the top of the world came crashing down." Well, it's been one long year for us...feels like more than two. Today is the one year anniversary of Sherry being hospitilized. I was afraid it would really affect Sherry and didn't really think much about myself being affected. Right before I left for work this morning she gave me a big hug and didn't want to let go. I could tell she was a little emotional and I said "you know what today is don't you ?" She looked up at me and replied "it's been a year hasn't it?" I just nodded my head as I was beginning to choke up and didn't want her to know it. "Don't worry honey, I'm moving forward...I'm a forward moving girl." As I left she had a smile on her face and I had very moist eyes. She is such an amazing person.

Sherry had a great day at therapy (with little Brittney's help.) and was in a great mood when I returned home in the evening. I however, was pretty much a wreck all day thinking about the year anniversary, looming insurance issues, the passing of a former co-worker and just the general stuff happening in the world. My salvation of course was that I get to work with children. It's hard to stay sad when you look at their faces and hear some of the things that come out of their mouths. One of our kiddos (preschool mind you) heard the word "kissing" today and said "I'm gonna grow up and get me a girl." See what I mean...it made Lynne and I both crack up.

Well, not much to add. I know not many people read this, but I always feel better after tapping this stuff out (as corny and over dramatic as I know it must sound at times) and I didn't want to let this day pass without comment. The Dixie Chicks song mentioned at the top goes like this:

"It's been two long years now
since the top of the world came crashing down
but I'm gettin it back on the road again
taking the long way around, taking the long way around"

The Dixie Chicks were of course writing about the ordeal they went through for making anti George Bush comments in England, but the words kind of frame our situation. We may be taking the long way, but we are heading in the right direction and will take the road as far as it will lead us. We are just thankful to be together.

enough for now,

I love my wife......tomorrow we move forward (she's a forward moving girl you know)

Dean

Remembering Teacher Kris

July 26th marks the one year anniversary of Sherry being admitted to Sacred Heart Hospital. It probably goes without saying that it has been the hardest 365 days of my life. When you are caught up in the middle of an ordeal, dealing with it day to day, it is very easy to become very self centered in a way. You (at least me) think that your situation is somehow unique...that nobody has a situation quite as bad as you and that it couldn't possibly get any worse. Well, of course none of that is true and life has a way of smacking you upside the head to let you know that it is not true. Today I got "smacked upside the head" in a real big way.

This morning at the Eugene Hearing and Speech Center we found out that a former colleague, Kris Wilson had passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly. Kris was only 48 years old. She apparently died from complications of Lupis.

Kris was a speech-language pathologist who ran the preschool program (and was therefore, my direct supervisor) for about 2 1/2 years. I have worked in the program for about 12 years now, and have worked with several SLP's. I have enjoyed working with them all but Kris was special in many ways. I think the highest compliment that I can pay to Kris is to call her a real "teacher." She was so good with the kids, and so interested in any problem they could possibly have. She was always teaching and at the same time always learning as well. She eventually left the Center and started her own business called EduCare where she helped children discover how they learned the best, their learning styles.

Kris offered to help our kids many times. On more than one occasion I had composed an email to her, asking her to help only to decide that I hadn't described the problem in the right way or something. I could always do it tomorrow. There was always tomorrow. I wish I had asked her for her help if for no other reason than my kids could have experienced Kris Wilson. Who knows what kind of difference her passion, good sense and heart might have made. I will honestly always wonder. I feel I let a real opportunity slip by.

So...the next time I feel sorry for myself and my situation I will try to think of Kris's husband and her two kids. Yes, Sherry has many things to overcome and the future is still uncertain, but we are together. We are so lucky.

This blog is about Sherry, but I just wanted to let the few people who might read this know that our community has lost someone special.

enough for now,

I love my wife......tomorrow we move forward

Dean

A Real Trooper

Sherry had her MRI scan of her brain today and was a real trooper. She has had at least three previous scans, but was pretty much unconscience for all of them. This time she was wide awake and more than a little apprehensive. However, she made it through with flying colors....piece of cake as she says. Jody told me that Sherry did a great job of answering the questions put to her by the nurse before the scan. She seems to be thinking so much more clearly these days. She still has a lot of gaps of course but we all still see many positive changes, and that is all we can ask of her. Now we have to wait several days to see if they tell us anything new or shed any light as to what the occasional "episodes" are all about.

Sherry's stepmother Dona paid a visit last night. The last time she had seen Sherry was shortly after the last episode. I think she was relieved to see Sherry back to where she was before. It was a great visit as always with many laughs and even an occasional tear. Dona has been such a big part of Sherry's getting better (not to mention helping me get through the tough days.) Sherry and I both appreciate her so much.

Sherry asked me to be sure to thank Jody again tonight. So....thank you Jody :) She does such a great job. I think her and Sherry have become so much closer than they ever would have thought possible. One thing is for sure, our family would be in a world of hurt without her. Tomorrow she is taking part of the day off so she can be with her cousin who is having a baby. Sean will take over the duties of helping his mother for the day. He will get to go with her as she does therapy. I think he will be pretty impressed with his mom's hard work and attitude.

I added a few links to the text of the "Sherry's Journey" page on www.sherrysjourney.com. So, if you have not visited the site for a few days and have some time to kill, check it out. One of the links is to an information page about "TENS," the syndrome that sent Sherry to the Oregon Burn Center (there is also a link to their website as well.) TENS is closely associated with Steven's Johnson's syndrome which is what made me sick at the age of four and affected my eyes. The day they told me that it had happened to her was one of the very worst days and nights of the whole ordeal, because I already knew how bad and dangerous it could be. I remember thinking what a cruel sense of humor or irony or something God must have to let Sherry come down with the same rare syndrome that had so affected my life. I was pretty much angry with the world on that night. I have lightened up a bit on that, but still think about it from time to time.

Please take some time and leave your thoughts for Sherry by clicking on the "comment" link directly below this post. It really does help her and she looks forward to hearing from you all.

Enough for now,

I love my wife......tomorrow we move forward

Dean

A good day

This afternoon Sherry's mother and step father came to visit. We had not seen them for a bit because they had been travelling in Alaska. Sherry's mom took her to get a much needed haircut and Curtis and I stayed home and got caught up. After eating lunch we put the memory card from their camera into our DVD player and watched a slideshow of their recent trip. Sherry was pretty excited and said she could see quite a bit. I am looking forward to making a DVD of all the pictures for them. I have not really done any video editing work since Sherry first got sick, almost one year ago now. Wow...Sherry was hospitalized on July 26th of last year. It is so hard to believe that it has been a year. Sherry has come so far. A doctor at Sacred Heart and a nurse at Eugene Rehab told Joy and Curtis that Sherry would probably spend the rest of her life in a nursing home. Nobody ever told me that, which was probably a good thing. Well...as far as I'm concerned, she has proved them wrong. She still has a long road ahead of her, but she is making progress, getting better and better as she would say. She is home with her family, where she belongs. She has hope for the future, and goals she wants to reach. She is truely my "miracle in progress."

After Joy and Curtis left we had a family movie, Mary Poppins. The girls really enjoyed it (not my favorite movie) Sherry could not stop talking about her mothers visit and getting a haircut. All in all it was a very good day.

Enough for now.

I love my wife......tomorrow we move forward.

Dean

Spending the family fortune

Sherry had a very good day today. She seems to be back to where she was before the episode of last Thursday. She is getting around the house great again and getting out of the house as well. This afternoon she and Brittney and Jody made a trip to Costco where they proceeded to spend the family fortune. Jody said that Sherry did just great, not getting tired and enjoying the entire event.

She loved her massage so much the other day that we have made arrangements to have her get one every other week for awhile. It also really seemed to help Sherry's hands and fingers which have been a concern for a long time now. The following day her occupational therapist was impressed with the improvement.

I have added a video link to www.sherrysjourney.com. You can now see video clips of her very first visit back to her old job at the Lane County Courthouse in March of 2006 (at least I think it was March.....seems ages ago) It was a happy and tearful reunion. Sherry sure worked with a wonderful group of people. Her goal is to someday return to work there. I will change the video clips from time to time, so check back every now and again.

Well, enough for now,

I love my wife......tomorrow we move forward

Dean

Back on track

Not too much to report today except that Sherry continues to recover from whatever it was that happened last Thursday. She is getting around the house pretty much on her own again and showing alot of confidence. She had a great day today, no therapy but did some work at home. Brittney has become quite a little "therapist." She works with Sherry between actual therapy sessions (Sherry usually has three session per visit, speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy.) Brittney also works with Sherry on her "days off." She really takes pride in being part of her mothers getting better. Chelsea helps in many other ways, but it is Britt that has really taken an interest in "therapy." Jody, as always is doing a great job as our in home care provider. She does much more than her job description requires, helping to manage the kids, providing transportation and much more. Sherry is getting better and it is in large part due to Jody's hard work and good sense.

Dr. Mundall's office called today. Sherry now has an MRI scan scheduled for Wednesday July 19th. Hopefully it will enlighten us as to what might be going on with these seizures or whatever they are.

Sherry has been through many different therapists and without exception, she has liked all of them. Tomorrow she will say goodbye to one of her favorites. Tammy, who is a physical therapy intern (from Montana) at the outpatient rehab department at Scared heart has been working closely with Sherry for a couple of months now. Wednesday will be her last day to work with Sherry. We all want to thank Tammy for all of the hard work she has put in for Sherry. That of course goes for all of her therapists, past and present as well. We hope Tammy will check back here from time to time to see how Sherry is doing and to leave comments when she does.

Well, I guess I had more to say than I first thought. Enough for now.

I love my wife.......tomorrow we move forward.

Dean

Small setback

On Thursday, July 6th Sherry had some kind of an "incident." We are not sure at this point if it was a seizure or not. She suddenly began to say that she could not hear anything. This has happened twice before, but always cleared up within 10-15 minutes. This time it lasted much longer. We got her home and into bed, she slept most of the day. When she woke up, her hearing seemed fine, but it was soon obvious that things were not quite the same as before. She had lost the ability to navigate around the house, something she was getting very good at. Everything else seemed okay, she just could not figure out where she was in space and where she needed to go. She had come so far in recent weeks and this was very disconcerting to us all.

I am posting this on the 10th of July and I talked to her neurologist today. He wants to schedule a new MRI for the near future. The good news is, tonight she was much better about getting around the house on her own again. Through all of this most recent turn of events, she has been very calm and remained in great spirits. She is truly amazing to me, my "miracle in progress" as I call her. I love her so much.

Last night we went out to dinner with my family to celebrate my mothers birthday. Sherry did great despite the loudness that I know was very difficult for her to deal with. She was s real trooper and had a great time.

Today, Sherry had a massage! Thank you Dona, for giving her a gift certificate! She loved it, thought the woman who gave her the massage was just great...we will be calling her again.

Well, enough for now.....tomorrow we move forward :)

Dean

WELCOME!

Welcome to the "Sherry's Journey" blog. First of all, I am a newbie to the blogosphere, so please be patient with me. Our website, sherrysjourney.com tells the story of our family's recent and ongoing medical ordeal. My hope is that our family and friends will come here from time to time to get caught up on the day to day goings on, the triumphs, the setbacks. Please leave your thoughts, Sherry will hear all of them. It helps.

Also, continue to visit our family page for more news, photos and video. Sherry is working hard every day to recover....it is a joy to see.

Dean