Saturday March 7
07 March 09 - 09:29
Hello to everyone from the Hersey home!
I continue to have those who ask for updates, so here goes...........
Jim started therapy & has had 5 visits so far. It is really interesting what they are doing. The PT is to keep his joints from becoming stiff & tight. He does remain very mobile except in his fingers. We are considering getting compression gloves for his hands, He is able to feel some in his arms & hands, but not as much as a few months ago,& the swelling & the tightness contribute to that.
It is the OT that is so interesting. They attach electrodes to Jims legs & butt, strap to a recumbant bike & fire the electrodes. He "rides" the bike from the firing. The first time they tried his leg muscles only fired for 60 seconds, but now he is in the minutes. The purpose of this is to give him a cardiac workout & keep muscle toone in what muscles are left in his legs. ... (more)
January 19 Monday
19 January 09 - 04:43
I am sorry I have not written anything here in so long. Our life – my life – is so incredibly busy I hardly have time to breathe sometimes, let alone sit down & write!
Jim is doing well. There are no changes in his ability to “feel”, except perhaps he has lost some ground. This weekend he was not sure he could feel me squeezing his fingers, where he could feel that earlier.
In early December he was approved for long term care & we now have a care-giver, Estella. We were given 35 hours to start, but beginning this week we have 40 hours per week. I am working all week and it is very tiring for me.
Last week we saw a Rehab specialist & beginning soon, Jim will see Physical & Occupational Therapists associated with the Rehab practice. He is very excited to get back into these Therapies. Not to negate the Physical Therapist that has continued to come to the house, free of charge, twice a week since our other insurance was ... (more)
Friday November 28 Home
28 November 08 - 06:40
Jim was released late Wednesday, around 9 or so. Michael, Jim's youngest son, his wife Tomo, & Zumi, their 22 month old cutest ever son had arrived a bit earlier at the house. We were able to surprise them by Jim coming home. It was a very happy time for all.
What we learned: (1) Jim has had a catheter in his bladder ever since the accident. Even though it is changed monthly, it is always a potential source of infection. (2) You can have tiny little areas of collapsed "sticky" lung with pneumonia in these little areas that don't show up on regular xrays. It would have taken a CAT scan to identify them. Either one of these two can cause Jim's temperature to spike. We plan to get the catheter changed to a supra pubic catheter as soon as we can arrange a referral to a Urologist. They tried to do this in the hospital, but could not find a doctor there who would accept our insurance. ... (more)
Wednesday November 26 - Back In Hospital
26 November 08 - 07:25
Only time for a quick note. Jim has been in Banner Baywood (BBMC) since Sunday morning. He began running a fever last Friday which was slowly going up. On Sunday morning I called the squad & they took him to BBMC. He was admitted with possible pneumonia & urinary tract infection. They have been very aggressive with IV antibiotics - three - and also with respiratory therapy. He was much better until yesterday when his fever went up again. He is in isolation - again - and very bored & unhappy at being there.
Today Miles & I will get his chair into his room so he can get out of bed. Please pray they can get to the bottom of this and we can get him home. I am staying with him 24/7 only coming home to shower. He is too far from the nurses station to leave him alone all the time. His fever went up to 101.5 this morning then back down to 100.5. ... (more)
Saturday Night, November 15 - 6 Months
15 November 08 - 22:37
Just a few minutes ago Jim & I had a time of prayer together before retiring for the night and the Lord brought to my mind the Scriptures below. This is important to us, especially now, for the days are long and there is no sign of any progress for Jim. While Jim continues to pray for his own healing, I am more & more struck with the Truth in these scriptures: BE CONTENT. This does not mean I do not pray & long with all my heart for Jim to be healed, but it means that as we wait to see how all this will unfold, we must be content in where the Lord has us now. We must use this time together to grow personally, spiritually, and in our relating to each other. Jim must trust me to be the doer, the one who does the things that need to be done, the one who has a perspective he must listen to; I must learn to not barge ahead but continue to seek my husband’s counsel, listen to his perspective and follow his lead and together we must seek that Counsel of the One ... (more)
Friday Night, November 7
07 November 08 - 22:12
First & foremost, thanks to all who let me know you are still reading the blog. It continues to amaze me that even after all these months you are still interested in us. Thank you for your continued prayers.
It has been a rough week for Jim. He developed a cough last Friday and it has continued. Earlier in the week he developed a sore on his bottom and did not get out of bed until today. We kept him moving from side to back to opposite side about every two hours. The nurse came & recommended he not get in the chair for fear of worsening the sore. She checked his oxygen saturation and it was only 88% - should certainly be above 90, and 98-100% is best So, by last night I decided the real possibility of pneumonia was perhaps greater than the sore, so today I got him up in his chair. He was so much more satisfied! And the cough is better tonight. ... (more)
Friday October 31
31 October 08 - 06:09
It was such a nice surprise to log-in & see that this blog is still being read! Thank You to all who continue to pray for us & read this blog when I find time to update. I am allowing myself 25 minutes this morning to do this before I start getting ready for work.
I think I will work backwards because my memory is much better for the near past and the far past than it is for a month ago. Last night I was so tired & sleepy from not getting enough sleep the night before. I had fallen asleep in the chair but knew I needed to get Jim back to bed, so I roused myself & got started on the process: 1)Get his bed turned on, bed items arranged correctly, bed pulled out from wall. 2) Make sure his chair is positioned so I can easily get around all sides 3) Remove the tray, the headrest 4) Get the Hoyer in position and attach the Hoyer to the straps on the sling 5) Begin pumping the Hoyer 6) Continue ... (more)
Thursday October 9
09 October 08 - 07:44
It will soon be five months since Jim's accident, the day that changed our lives in a way we could never have foreseen. Sometimes it seems like just last week or last month and sometimes it seems like forever.
Jim continues to struggle. We were told early on that this would happen, that depression would set in, but Jim thought he would be different, that he would be able to handle life as it is now without becoming depressed. But the struggle against anger, depression, sadness, frustration, and apathy is a moment to moment struggle, not something you "decide" you won't have and are done with it for good. There are too many long days & nights of being unable to do the smallest thing like scratch an itch, change positions, know whether you are hot or cold, etc. All these and more are constant reminders of his utter dependence & helplessness and his inabilities. He worries a lot about me & sacrifices some of his needs because he senses or thinks I am ... (more)
