Got one... good news.

Not me... but worth the read.

What A Great Week

What a great week.

Last week wore many of us out both physically and emotionally, plus the little excitement this morning when Pastor said his heart hurt which had the medical staff rushing around and just about put me over the edge. I feared Pastor had thrown a clot or had a major bleed. After the dust settled I’m not sure Karla was as excited as she was last night about Pastor being able to talk, but that’s just an observation on my part.

This morning we brought church to Pastor Mike. Scripture reading from Psalm 95, followed by a few comments and prayer. I thought about singing, but Pastor’s had enough trauma for one week.

At 1 A.M. this morning I woke and began to reflect on the week and was reminded of Psalm 139: 13-14 “For you formed my inward parts: you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works: my soul knows it very well.”

For 44 years, Pastor Mike’s brain has managed to navigate around his AVM, which turned out to be the size of a peach. Pastor Mike excelled at sports in High School and College in addition to his sharp mind. His brain’s ability to literally rewire the neurological pathways all took place without his knowledge or help.

We are truly “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Tomorrow will be a very busy day for Pastor, please continue to pray for his speech, movement in his right arm, shoulder and leg as the therapists work on each of these areas. If everything goes well he could even get some broth. Pray for Karla as she has opportunity to talk with other families and share what God is doing in their lives.

On behalf of Pastor, Karla, and their family, thank you for your prayers and support. With each day Pastor makes progress and his body continues to heal. We serve an awesome God that hears our prayers.

God Bless

Dean

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I have gotten rid of my headache. HOOORRRRAAAYYYY!

Not much going on in my neck of the woods.
It's a good day.

The temp is 24 degrees. That's dang cold!!!
have some youtube... just a little...


Ziggy Marley - Tomorrow People


Lauryn Hill feat. Ziggy Marley - Redemption Song


Bob Marley & The Wailers 'Could You Be Loved'

I bet you did not know that I love Reggy. Well I do....

Okay buy something...



That's it... I'll talk at you later... Bye-bye!

ahhhh what am I doing here...

I don't know what I'm doing here... I guess I just wanted to say Hi...
and give you some youtube stuff.
Question: Should I limit my posts on the front page?
To lets say 4 or 5 posts...
oh well time will tell...

World's Worst Olympic Swimming Trial


Crocodile Dundee Theme / Music
I miss Greg... he was a Crocodile Dundee of sorts.


Poison - I Won't Forget You


Monkey - George Michael

I tried to get some Hootie and the Blow Fish... but all the good ones had a block on them.

Geo. Michale had a block on most of his stuff... most of his good stuff anyway.
here buy some stuff...

okay.. I'm gonna say bye... for now... wish me luck with this headache that I've had all day...

Got a Few... and an bit on me.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Although I took a nap I had a very productive day. Mical and I trimmed hooves in the morning. I'll get his tonight. The goats and Prys are wormed and laundry is almost done.

Mical made me some drying racks for my fleeces. In the next few days I will finish washing fleeces and pulling the prettiest curls to sell. On Thursday I'll take the rest to the mill in Granby to be processed. That will be a huge accomplishment. I might even find time to spin. I have told myself there will be no spinning or knitting until this project is complete.

Barb is coming to Steamboat for a visit. She doesn't know it yet but I'm going to keep her busy separating curls. Wendy jumped in one day and helped. She enjoyed it immensely. It's a mindless task and has an effect much like meditation. I feel the same way about spinning.

Cody continues to leave the enclosure but has been staying on our property and hasn't ventured down the driveway to the highway. Gabby hasn't followed him and for that I'm grateful. The trench will be finished by Tuesday.

Simon is in Vegas celebrating 100's weekend. I haven't gotten a call for bail so I'm assuming he's fine and having fun. He reports to a base in Pueblo in August for the first leg of his training and moves on to Vance Air Force Base in January. I think he will be there for over a year. Most of his friends will not report for their secondary level of training until March. Simon continues to fly whenever his schedule and weather permit.

There is really no new news to report on Clayton. He now has a feeding tube and gradually they are pulling out this and that so he will have more mobility. They hope to put him in a wheelchair on Tuesday. He does not talk but does move around some. It's still unclear what level of brain damage was done and if he will see. He's had a very vacant look in his eyes but does turn to sound. He is breathing on his own but has the tracheotomy as a precautionary measure. His blood on the surface level is still not clotting and tests have not been returned. They have postponed until a later date an angioplasty. They will go into his brain and choke off remaining vessels of the AVM.

Mical took tonight's picture while he was out today. I think the falcons and bald eagles that make Steamboat their home are just magnificent.
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PRAISE THE LORD: HE TALKED!

Yes, I know that all caps means I’m yelling, but that is pretty much what we were doing in the neuro ICU at Mayo Clinic at about 7:30 tonight.

To be honest, I was quite discouraged today. Not because anything bad happened, but because it was so frustrating to not even be able to communicate. When the neurosurgical resident stopped by late afternoon, Mike had said “one” and “two,” although not in a natural voice.

As my sister and brother-in-law were getting ready to leave, several of us were in the room. Mike had been trying to do things like push the boots that prevent blood clots off of his right leg with his left leg. My mom said, “If you are bored, did you ever consider watching T.V.?” Mike then said, “Not really.” It was hard to refrain from hootin’ and hollerin’ right there in ICU!

He then proceeded to say “international” as we were for some unknown reason discussing airports. When I went in to tell him goodnight, I prayed with him. At the end he held his arm up to indicate he was praising God. I said, “Yes, praise the Lord,” to which he replied, “Praise the Lord.” Enough said.

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New York surgeon gives Texas girl with a rare disorder a new lease on life

BY Julian Kesner

Sunday, February 15th 2009, 4:00 AM

Giancarli for News

Dr. Walter Molofsky (r.) checks out Morgan Lacy, 5, who suffers from a rare brain condition.

see the rest...

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I'm back... today is a rough one... so I'll save you from my bad typing.
Sorry about last night... I was having a bad one there too.
Alright time to go... see no youtube either...
R

Not Me... but a cool AVM blog... NTL

First Morning Post-Surgery

Good morning, dear people. From my perspective, things look much better at 8 in the morning than at 8 at night after a long day of waiting through a surgery! According to the nurses, Mike had a peaceful night. He did not have any seizures, so we thank God for that. He was kept sedated all night, although they woke him up occasionally for neurological checks, which were all good.

As expected, he has no movement on his right side. They are going to hopefully extubate by noon and then we will know whether or not he can talk. We are still hopeful that he will be able to talk.

I was able to be in the room when they did the neurological check at 8:00. He opened his eyes and looked at me briefly, and held onto my hand for several minutes. He squeezed it three times, which for 23 years has been our personal way to say “I love you.” He also responded to pain when they squeezed the toes on his right foot and fingers on his right hand.

The plan for today is to get him awakened and see what happens. Dr. Meyer has said that Mike will not have much pain, just a really bad headache. The only reason he needs to stay in ICU another night is to make sure the blood pressure stays lower to protect against bleeding.

The neurosurgeon will be in again tomorrow morning and decide whether or not Mike can move from ICU to a regular neuro floor. He also indicated that hopefully he will be ready to have the physical therapist come and start to put together a plan for rehab.

Mike and I were engaged 23 years ago today. We keep telling each other that this is one of those “for worse” times. As far as our marriage goes, this is not a “for worse” time, as our marriage has gotten stronger. It has been, and continues to be, very stressful, but we are trusting in God to sustain our entire family through this trial.

We just found out that they have begun to wean him off of the ventilator. We will continue to post updates throughout the day.

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So I've been pretty well... I still have my problems... like should I go to work... do lots... $0 payment. But the chance of making $$$ is there... it is not here.

My wife has turned mean... but that happens...

I am not making any money from home. Not really a surprise. I really do wish that I could figure out how to make a living on line.

xxx xxx xxx I would have gotten a divorce. SAD SAD!
I blame the AVM for poping when it did.

Here you go have some youtube...



Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills [1982 Music Video]


Simple Minds - Glittering Prize (1982)

Ahhh that's enough for now... if you want to see something here... just drop me a line.

Hey guys...

I got a few for ya... my life is okay... I guess. My wife just let out that she is addicted to pain killers. She has been for almost as long as I've known her. Seboxon looks like the way to go. We'll see... damn it all.

I knew she was, that is the funny part.
Here try some youtube stuff...

Arnold Schwarzenegger - Dumbell Fly

okay let's take a look at Music 1983!

UB40 Red Red Wine 1983


Men At Work - Overkill (1983)
I know I've done this before... but ya' have to love it...


One more of the dudes...
Men at work: Land down under!!!! (One of their best songs!!)




Okay let's get to work... Their were several AVM posts... here they are.

Benefit for Teen Stroke Victim

A suppertime benefit will help out a young man who had a hemorrhagic stroke, as well as his area Lions Club programs.

The Chili and Grilled Cheese Supper is on Thursday, February 12.

Volunteers will be serving food from 4:30 in the afternoon until 7-at night.

It's at the Mondovi School Cafeteria.

It's $5 for adults to eat, kids ages 5-12 are $4, and pre-schoolers eat for free.

The event is a benefit for Tanner Franson. He's the 13-year-old boy from Mondovi who had a hemorrhagic stroke in December of 2008. Doctors say Tanner has an AVM, which is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels in the brain. Doctors say they only find an AVM in about one in 100,000 people.

Tanner is recovering, and plans to attend a half-day of school for the first time since his stroke on Wednesday, February 11.

If you can't make it to the benefit, and would like to donate, you can send donations to this address:

Mondovi Lions Club
c/o Tanner
PO Box 135
Mondovi, WI 54755

click here to see the interview video and the scoure.

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Embolization #1 Complete

After only 2 1/2 hours, the doctor came and said that the embolization was complete…

Mike left for the angiogram at about 7:45 a.m. I had been told that a cerebral angiogram takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and quite a bit longer with embolization. Imagine my surprise when the doctor came down at 10:30 to tell me he was done. He was able to block the largest artery, which is a very good thing! This changes the blood flow quite a bit, so he did not want to do any more today.

So now Mike is in ICU, flat on his back for another hour or so. He is in ICU as there can be bleeding following embolization. The doctor said it went very well, so we are counting on no problems. However, this would be a great thing to pray about over the next couple of days!

Tomorrow he will have another embolization. The doctor is hoping to be able to block several smaller arteries tomorrow. I am assuming the timing will be the same as today. The good thing is that Mike is already admitted, so I will be able to sleep an hour longer!

I will ask Mike if there is anything else he would like to relay later. He can’t have the computer in ICU. Thanks to everyone out there for your prayers!

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Had a seizure this morning (Wed. 6:30a.m.)

Dear friends,

I wanted to let you all know that I had a seizure this morning, a generalized tonic clonic, that lasted for 60 seconds. The nurse had just walked into the room when my right arm, which was laying at my side, began to raise up incrementally and involuntarily until it was over my head.

Then it sort of took over my whole body. I was lucid throughout and tried to make myself come out of it…but I couldn’t do it. What an amazing sense of utter helplessness. I heard every conversation and word that was spoken. Now THAT was scary. I didn’t know if I’d ever come out of it or if I would be able to breathe much longer.

The strapping male nurse (probably 6′4″ 250 pounds) and rugby player, held me down, along with a team of others. They said I was strong. That made me smile inside. This seizure, and coming out of it, was entirely different than my experience back in October. After today’s seizure I was lucid once again within ten minutes.

The really smart guy that follows Dr. Meyer around and will also be a part of the surgery (perhaps a neurosurgical fellow) was in the room within 5 minutes assuring me that things were all right. He said they had ordered a CT to see if any bleeding had occurred. Thankfully it showed that none had. As of now the angiogram and embolization procedure is still on for later this morning.

The embolization of arteries redirects blood flow and pressures in the brain, thus causing seizures. I guess that’s why they put me in ICU.

The exact same Bible verse that came to me as I was coming out of the seizure in October came to me again today at the end of this episode. Only this time I quoted it to the fellow and the nurse, through closed eyes and slurred speech.

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm73:25-26).

Please pray that today’ embolization will not lead to more seizures prior to surgery tomorrow.

A couple more things I am thankful for that I neglected to record yesterday:

• Those of you who are fasting and praying (even beyond those in our church)
• All five of my children, each one a unique treasure to their mother and me.
• The Panera Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad I chowed down last night.
• Stams Chocolates
• Each and every day!

Thanks for battling with us!

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I know that it is not AVM stuff... but there is some good stuff in there... See ya....