May Flowers

It about time I updated everyone on Kathy’s condition! She’s had a roller coaster ride of health issues over the last few months. She looks better and walks better every day but her cognitive abilities are taking time. She cannot remember certain events, even in the same day let alone the last few days. This is our biggest disappointment because she is coming along so slowly in this area. It really scares her that she can get so easily disoriented and so forgetful. Let’s go over all the areas of concern and how we are handling them.

First from the top down-Her new adjustable shunt is performing acceptably. We visited Dr. Kureshi two weeks ago and he reviewed her surgery spot and adjusted her value. Her surgery looks healed and no signs of infection. He brought out the valve adjustment kit and it is quite cool. It comes in a small suitcase and he places it directly over the shunt (on top of her hair) and dials in the exact degree of change. He decided to dial it open wider, by one unit of measurement. He felt it would be better to increase the flow than to slow it down and reduce the cognitive development Kathy has already made. How has it worked? We can’t measure the progress yet because Kathy still has very strong headaches. The question is, are the headaches shunt related or other causes?

Maybe her headpain is coming from other causes? We noticed after her weekly Bio-feedback sessions, she had no headaches afterwards, even if she started with strong ones. Second taking medication like Valium, a central nervous system suppressant, reduces her pain better than any strong pain medication.

To take advantage of this theory, her headaches pain is maybe stress and disorientation related, we are trying two new approaches. I recently rented a home Bio-Therapy machine to give Kathy daily therapy, versus twice a week, she was receiving. Second Dr. Druet, her pain management doctor, who also believes the theory of stress related headaches, feels he can help. He is going to prescribe some stress relaxation type medication for Kathy and wants her to visit the office regularly to manage the head pain. He feels once Kathy, in a year or so, regains more cognitive abilities, she will gain the self management to stop taking the medication.

Another major concern-Kathy is falling every so often. She blacks out and wakes up on the floor. This of course is very dangerous and her doctor has ordered an evaluation. She could be having everything from negative brain activity to a central balance issue. Next week she is attending the Balance Center at Sharp Hospital. They will determine if this is a minor issue that can be overcome with medication or it’s a rehabilitation issue.

Now, can we get her walking better? He doctor, Dr. Freeman feels her Achilles surgery went very well. Again he cautioned it takes two years for her to get full recovery, but possibly her right foot would have some residual nerve damage from her brain injury. To help Kathy get going, we are weekly going to Sharps, where she has a great therapist named Robert, who has made great strides with Kathy. He even invented, from scratch, last week, a non- evasive light support for her right foot. He is very kind and supportive. We just hope we can keep getting a great progress every week that Robert affords Kathy.

Finally, how is she really doing from me? Being around her so much, I feel I can give you a good idea of her progress. Her shunt remains and will remain, to give her some form of headaches, as a side effect for a long time. But is it really her shunt because the ventricles inside her brain are scarred so heavily from infection, they are not working as God intended. They are the root cause and not the simple medical action of removing excess fluid, causing the internal head pain. Her headaches from other sources show real promise. I give her a full year or year and a half to regain the bulk of her brain abilities, especially her higher cognitive capabilities. Maybe 75-90%?? Is that good- well for being just 2 hours away from dying, that isn’t bad!

She is walking better every day. Her right foot might never get better and she might have to use a cain. Knowing this is a physical mind over matter thing, Kathy has always had a well conditioned body and should overcome her walking issues. I give her an 80-95% recovery on her feet in a year and a half.

And of great importance! Kathy is looking better every month. She is eating healthy, exercising a lot and just looking better. Thanks for the prayers and thoughts and we can never thank you enough for all the kind wishes. I look forward to her next progress report!