Hi All,
I know it has been a long time since I have written. I am still in the recovery stage. I was at the doctor's office again today for wound care. I am healing slowly because the chemo kills the fast growing cells and that is what I need for the holes in my leg and the scabs on my knee and behind my knee to heal. Today I had to have the scab on the back of my knee taken off because it was gunky underneath. That was not fun. Wendy, the nurse did give me some lidocain for the pain and I had taken a Vicodin before I left home. It still hurt but this is life. Two of the holes in my thigh have filled in but I still have one quite large hole that still needs to fill in. I am able to get a support hose on my lower leg, which is helping will the swelling but I still have to keep it elevated most of the time.
I have been really busy making felted purses. This has been really fun and keeps my hands busy. I have sold four of them already and this Saturday there is going to be an Open House at Jeanne Lidwell's where I hope to sell more. Kaydee has been making greeting cards and another lady has been making beaded jewelry. The Open House starts at noon and will go all afternoon. If you would like to know how to get there please e-mail me and I can give you directions: kp.thiessen@comcat.net.
I will try to write more often. There was a couple of weeks where I was really depressed but I am much better now. During those couple of weeks I didn't even do any knitting or crocheting. The doctors and nurses try to tell you what recovery will be like but until you go through it you really don't understand what they were saying. Saturday it was 2-months since the procedure. When they said it would take 4-6 months I really didn't understand what that meant. I am still using a walker to get around. Hopefully I will be able to get rid of that before we head back to Houston for a checkup on December 20th.
Thank you for your continuous prayers. God is good and He is in control.
Love you all,
Karen
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Recovery is slow
Hi All,
Sorry I haven't written for a while. It is hard to sit up with my leg down on the floor. There is a lot of throbbing when it is not elevated. I was at the doctor's office again this morning for wound care. I have an infection in the area of the stitches that needed some attention. I have been on an antibiotic since last week and will need to continue for a little longer. Today I was told I need to pack the area with gauze three times a day. I spend most of my time in the recliner in the family room.
The church has been so helpful bringing meals three times a week, last week and this week. Ken has been amazing doing the laundry, ironing, keeping things picked up and tending to my wounds and everything involved with my care. He is going to take one more week off work and then we will see how well I am getting around by then.
In my last blog I said I wanted to share how God worked in our lives during our stay in Houston. Early on after surgery I was not doing very well. The drugs where causing me to think very negatively. I was even hallucinating. I thought I saw Kaydee and Jonathan in the room. Well, this one evening Ken had already gone back to the hotel room. It was after 10 P.M. and in walks a volunteer. She came to the edge of my bed and started talking to me about the Lord. It was so encouraging. After she left I went to sleep and slept very well. The next day I was talking on the phone with my Mom and she said that the family had been praying that God would send an angel to comfort me. Then another evening the same volunteer came back (Ken was not in the room at the time) and I was able to share with her that she had been God's messenger to me the first evening that she had come to my room. We talked and cried together as we talked more about our love for our Lord and Savior and then she was gone. Ken never met her. I know she was my families answer to their prayers. God is so good. He knew what I needed and He sent someone to encourage me.
Have a good weekend!!
Karen
Sorry I haven't written for a while. It is hard to sit up with my leg down on the floor. There is a lot of throbbing when it is not elevated. I was at the doctor's office again this morning for wound care. I have an infection in the area of the stitches that needed some attention. I have been on an antibiotic since last week and will need to continue for a little longer. Today I was told I need to pack the area with gauze three times a day. I spend most of my time in the recliner in the family room.
The church has been so helpful bringing meals three times a week, last week and this week. Ken has been amazing doing the laundry, ironing, keeping things picked up and tending to my wounds and everything involved with my care. He is going to take one more week off work and then we will see how well I am getting around by then.
In my last blog I said I wanted to share how God worked in our lives during our stay in Houston. Early on after surgery I was not doing very well. The drugs where causing me to think very negatively. I was even hallucinating. I thought I saw Kaydee and Jonathan in the room. Well, this one evening Ken had already gone back to the hotel room. It was after 10 P.M. and in walks a volunteer. She came to the edge of my bed and started talking to me about the Lord. It was so encouraging. After she left I went to sleep and slept very well. The next day I was talking on the phone with my Mom and she said that the family had been praying that God would send an angel to comfort me. Then another evening the same volunteer came back (Ken was not in the room at the time) and I was able to share with her that she had been God's messenger to me the first evening that she had come to my room. We talked and cried together as we talked more about our love for our Lord and Savior and then she was gone. Ken never met her. I know she was my families answer to their prayers. God is so good. He knew what I needed and He sent someone to encourage me.
Have a good weekend!!
Karen
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
I'm Home!!
Hi All,
Ken is done writing on my blog, so this is Karen.
We got up early Saturday morning and started getting ready to leave Houston. We weren't sure how long it would take for me to get ready because I couldn't walk at all. I had the use of a wheelchair so I could get from the bed or chair to the bathroom. Ken did all the packing the night before and it was tight. We were afraid they might charge us more for extra heavy luggage but that did not happen. I had brought a big carry on bag that we had to fill with all of the medical supplies that they were sending home with us. Then we had Ken's C-Pap machine and my laptop to carry on. I'm sure we were a sight coming out of the hotel to get our ride to the airport.
When we got to the airport there was a wheelchair right there for me. We got through security very quickly and then we had a very long 2-hour wait for our flight. I got to ride down the ramp in the wheelchair and then they had to put me on the really narrow chair that would go down the center aisle. During the flight I had to use the restroom a couple of times so I had to hop with Ken's help. What a sight. We were the last ones off of the plane. Matthew Wright was waiting for us at Turnstile 9 when I got wheeled down there. One bag came off right away and the second bag was one of the last. I just don't get it. They both went on at the same time and we didn't change planes. Don't figure. I had a little difficulty getting into the Hummer but it was a very smooth ride home.
Kaydee and Jonathan were here when we got home. Ken and Jonathan carried me to the front porch and then I used the walker from there. We opened the door and we could smell hot Lasagna and baked garlic. Oh, what a delightful aroma after hospital food.
There were fresh flowers in the front bed and on the porch. Kaydee had flowers and balloons inside the house also. I headed for the recliner and was served dinner. It is so good to be home!!!
I will write more later. I want to share with you how the Lord sustained both of us through this whole ordeal.
Love you all,
Karen
Ken is done writing on my blog, so this is Karen.
We got up early Saturday morning and started getting ready to leave Houston. We weren't sure how long it would take for me to get ready because I couldn't walk at all. I had the use of a wheelchair so I could get from the bed or chair to the bathroom. Ken did all the packing the night before and it was tight. We were afraid they might charge us more for extra heavy luggage but that did not happen. I had brought a big carry on bag that we had to fill with all of the medical supplies that they were sending home with us. Then we had Ken's C-Pap machine and my laptop to carry on. I'm sure we were a sight coming out of the hotel to get our ride to the airport.
When we got to the airport there was a wheelchair right there for me. We got through security very quickly and then we had a very long 2-hour wait for our flight. I got to ride down the ramp in the wheelchair and then they had to put me on the really narrow chair that would go down the center aisle. During the flight I had to use the restroom a couple of times so I had to hop with Ken's help. What a sight. We were the last ones off of the plane. Matthew Wright was waiting for us at Turnstile 9 when I got wheeled down there. One bag came off right away and the second bag was one of the last. I just don't get it. They both went on at the same time and we didn't change planes. Don't figure. I had a little difficulty getting into the Hummer but it was a very smooth ride home.
Kaydee and Jonathan were here when we got home. Ken and Jonathan carried me to the front porch and then I used the walker from there. We opened the door and we could smell hot Lasagna and baked garlic. Oh, what a delightful aroma after hospital food.
There were fresh flowers in the front bed and on the porch. Kaydee had flowers and balloons inside the house also. I headed for the recliner and was served dinner. It is so good to be home!!!
I will write more later. I want to share with you how the Lord sustained both of us through this whole ordeal.
Love you all,
Karen
Friday, October 5, 2007
You're Outta Here!
We're in the midst of baseball playoffs and as you all know the umpire rules. Have you ever seen a contested call on an out where the coach or player won? I haven't. First the umpire calls the player out and then, when the coach gets carried away, the umpire says to the coach, "You're outta here".
Karen and I waited yesterday for the umpire (AKA Discharge Nurse) to say those same words, "You're outta here". We waited, and waited, and waited until finally at 7 PM she was tossed. It's a good thing we didn't have tickets taking us home today. I wouldn't have wanted to go back to the room, pack, and make sure we were ready to go today. As it is we have used today to do laundry, change hotel reservations (we now have to come back in December instead of January), and figure out how to do the shower routine with a regular tub and stuff. I also got to do the honors with the new wound dressings.
Sleep for me was interupted several times during the night (I never knew how often Karen p--d at night ... now I know). The interupted sleep made for a late morning. We worked out the shower thing and got to the restaurant in time for the start of the lunch buffet. "Any chance we could get something off the breakfast menu"? True to form they were gracious and we got breakfast. We will definately get an earlier start tomorrow. Thankfully I picked a later flight so we don't get picked up until noon. We should have time to get ready and have breakfast.
I'm looking over at Karen right now and she's "outta here". She's over in the recliner sleeping. I think she will do that for awhile. I don't blame her. She's been through a bunch and has weathered it better than I would have. She didn't have the energy to do anything on the blog last night and she doesn't have the energy today. I've got some time on my hands so I thought I would do this one more time. This is the last time from Houston though because tomorrow ...
Karen and I waited yesterday for the umpire (AKA Discharge Nurse) to say those same words, "You're outta here". We waited, and waited, and waited until finally at 7 PM she was tossed. It's a good thing we didn't have tickets taking us home today. I wouldn't have wanted to go back to the room, pack, and make sure we were ready to go today. As it is we have used today to do laundry, change hotel reservations (we now have to come back in December instead of January), and figure out how to do the shower routine with a regular tub and stuff. I also got to do the honors with the new wound dressings.
Sleep for me was interupted several times during the night (I never knew how often Karen p--d at night ... now I know). The interupted sleep made for a late morning. We worked out the shower thing and got to the restaurant in time for the start of the lunch buffet. "Any chance we could get something off the breakfast menu"? True to form they were gracious and we got breakfast. We will definately get an earlier start tomorrow. Thankfully I picked a later flight so we don't get picked up until noon. We should have time to get ready and have breakfast.
I'm looking over at Karen right now and she's "outta here". She's over in the recliner sleeping. I think she will do that for awhile. I don't blame her. She's been through a bunch and has weathered it better than I would have. She didn't have the energy to do anything on the blog last night and she doesn't have the energy today. I've got some time on my hands so I thought I would do this one more time. This is the last time from Houston though because tomorrow ...
... we're outta here!
Ken
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Last Night.
I’m going to make this short because I need sleep tonight. Karen is getting out tomorrow. Her CK enzymes are at 1200 and still dropping. They also popped the blister. Ouch! It is quite a relief to know we finally get to come home. Having said that you need to know our tickets home are for Saturday. I’m not going to bother changing them (it would be the third or fourth time). Probably the best part of Karen getting out is that you will get to hear from her for a change. Praise the Lord.
Goodnight and thanks for putting up with me on Karen’s blog.
Ken
Goodnight and thanks for putting up with me on Karen’s blog.
Ken
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