Update on Pete ~ Sunday, May 31

Thanks to all of you who have asked about Pete.  I know I am so terrible at returning texts, calls, and emails right now (and am so sorry), but thanks for contacting us anyway!  And letting us know you are praying and how much you care.

We still appreciate prayers more than anything.  Pete has come a long way, but he still has a long way to go.  We are still praying that God will use all of this for His glory.  Sometimes that is in complete healing, and sometimes it is in other things.  So we are trying to be willing to walk whatever path we have ~ fully trusting Him every day.

This past week has been very busy.  Pete had therapy each day Tuesday through Thursday.  He won't return to speech.  He is almost all the way back there.  Time and practice will help.  He is slower than normal, but he is doing great.  Words are coming to him pretty normally.  He is just a little slurred when he gets tired.

His occupational therapy focused mainly on writing.  So we have writing pads, and Sam loaned him his best pencils; and he practices his name.  It takes a long time, but he can write very clearly with lots of effort.

Physical therapy was good, but he is compensating a lot by pulling his right side along.  He was already focusing on keeping his shoulders straighter, and knows as a runner to watch his form.  His back hurt some last night, so we might need to check into massage or something to help him while he is working so hard to get it all back.

Yesterday, Pete told me he wanted to mow.  I tried to go out and do it earlier, but he really wanted to.  He had to pick his leg up and put it over the steering wheel to get it in the right spot.  But he mowed the whole back and front yards, which meant he had enough strength in his foot and leg to push the pedal.  I took care of the other areas with the push mower and weed eater.  Not being the best weed eater operator, I ran out of string; so I can resume when Peter fixes that for me.   We also gave the dog a good bath in the driveway with the water hose.  Pete was trying to help me, and Lucy kept getting her leash tangled around his legs or my legs almost toppling both of us over!  She will be so happy this week to get groomed by professionals.

So last night, Pete was very tired; but a good weary tired that allowed him to sleep well.

Friday, he went to work for a few hours.  His boss took him, and I picked him up.  He wanted to get some things organized and see one of their guides who was visiting from Israel.  After that, he insisted on going to the store by himself while I went to pick up Sam.  Walking around Lowe's for 30 minutes wore him completely out.  So he slept well Friday night too!

Thursday, I came home from work very sick and dizzy.  I am sure it was lack of sleep and my sinuses.  Pete was trying to get into the bathroom to check on me.  I told him we were the most pitiful pair.  But at least we were laughing, sort of.  I could not lift my head off the pillow once I finally got settled and got the spinning to stop.  Peter was at work, so Andrew took Pete to get Sam and then dropped his dad off at PT.  He also went back to get him.  We are so thankful for the help of these boys.  Sam has helped us so much too, and I wanted to do something special for him.  I know all of this has been hard on him, even though he asks things; and we reassure him.  We were going to take him to the Incredible Toy Company on Saturday but went and bought him all the Playmobil our neighbor had at her yard sale instead.  So he was tickled with that.  And I prayed to wake up Friday with no dizziness, and God worked all of that out so I could do what I needed to do Friday.

Yesterday afternoon, I was determined to start working in the basement.  We have a neighborhood yard sale Saturday, so I wanted to get part of it cleaned out and use it to start setting things up.  I thought I was doing pretty well, but working in the basement reminded me of missing my child and how things are going there.  So I cried, prayed, and kicked a few pieces of stuff over onto the trash pile.  I wondered why it hit me then.  But I know why.  It's still hard.  I am still in the midst of this toughest time.  It's one of the hardest struggles I have ever had in my life.  But God was also right there with me in the basement.  He knows my heart.  He knows my hurt.  And He cares about every single tear that I cry and have cried over my child.  Psalm 56:8 says that God puts all my tears in a bottle.  So they are all important to Him, because He loves me so much.  And putting more and more in the trash pile let me let go of more and more hurt.  I have a long way to go, but He will help me get there.

Philippians 4:19 says that God will supply all my needs.  He will, and I believe that.  I have seen it time and time again.  It doesn't mean I don't start worrying about some things, but I know where to turn when all of that starts.  And He uses a lot of you to help supply those needs.  So thank you.

This morning, Pete was able to go to church.  He had gone Wednesday night and did the Bible study and saw a few people.  But today, it was so wonderful to have him back in the service.  Pastor McCoy preached for him, but he was able to be there and speak to us and let us know how God is working.  Two weeks ago, he could barely move his hand on his right side; and we were cheering as he moved his foot and leg.  He has come so far already.  It's hard to see him struggle to get around or do simple things, but I saw him when he could not do any of it.  It was taken away.  So I am seeing him get these things back with God's help and healing.  And I have to let those thankful feelings rule.

Thanks again for all of your prayers.  Pete goes back to Baptist on June 9, so I will update after that visit.  Again, we appreciate you all.

I am putting the words to a Kari Jobe song below.  It's "I Am Not Alone" ~ now the Christian radio stations are playing it.  It's a great reminder that He is with us and goes before us.  Because He loves us.  Not only has He made a way for us to have eternal life, through His Son Jesus Christ, but He will walk with us through this world, our temporary home.

Love,
Wendi

"I Am Not Alone"  Kari Jobe

When I walk through deep waters

I know that You will be with me

When I'm standing in the fire

I will not be overcome

Through the valley of the shadow

I will not fear

I am not alone

I am not alone

You will go before me

You will never leave me

In the midst of deep sorrow

I see Your light is breaking through

The dark of night will not overtake me

I am pressing into You

Lord, You fight my every battle

And I will not fear

You amaze me

Redeem me

You call me as Your own

You're my strength

You're my defender

You're my refuge in the storm

Through these trials

You've always been faithful

You bring healing to my soul

Update on Pete - First update

We visited Dr. Murrey today.  It was not on our schedule, but God had me call this morning to ask another question; so I found out about his appointment on time!  They were so kind to us from the moment we got out of the car.  I was able to park right near the door - on the opposite side of handicapped spots.  We walked into the building and into the elevator.  He was doing well, but his shoe was getting caught a lot as his leg does not lift his foot high enough all of the time.

Dr. Murrey had quite a bit of his information, and we went over a timeline to let him know what has been going on.  Pete's blood pressure was great, and his cholesterol is great; so that is a relief.  There are some abnormal labs, but they are not clear cut.  Those are things we will discuss when we go back to Baptist in a couple of weeks.  So we left there with assurance we are on the right track.  But we have no reassurance this will not happen again.  However, Dr. Murrey said things seem to have calmed down.  He is not the first doctor to say that the stuttering of the strokes is not common.  Sometimes not being textbook is a good thing, I have learned.

We have physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy to start next week.  He will have one on each day, and he will not start the physical until Thursday.  Baptist wanted him to go into an inpatient program.  The outpatient was a compromise.  We are praying he gets the best therapists for him.

This was the first time Pete has been out since last Saturday when I took him to the ER.  I won't count going from a wheelchair to the car and into the house on Tuesday evening.  So he is worn completely out.  We are getting ready to watch Shark Tank.

To give a short summary of what has happened:

On May 7th, I talked to Pete around 7:40 am.  I dropped my car off to be serviced as Sam and I were supposed to leave for Gulf Shores, AL, at lunch to go see Andrew run conference.  I called again around 7:50 with no answer.  That was not unusual as he uses his cell to talk to many people and pastors.  I took his car and went on to work.  Right before 8:30, his friend and co-worker Maria found him on the floor.  She thought he was dead.  She called 911 and ran next door for help.  A man came over and put an aspirin under his tongue (that he had just started carrying two weeks before) and prayed over him.  Maria called me as the paramedics were on their way.

She was crying and said he had collapsed and that she had called 911.  It would not register for a few seconds, but I yelled to the girls on my hall and ran out of the building.  As I ran out the back door, I heard the sirens as Pete was not far away.  I just started crying to God to help him.  One of my friends jumped in the car with me, and we drove over.

When I got to the office, there were a few men working with him; so I could not get very close.  I told him I was there, and he lifted his head.  He could  not move anything else nor could he speak.  I could  not believe it.  I told him not to move and that it would be okay.  I gave information to the paramedic and went on to the hospital as they loaded him in the ambulance.  When I last saw him, he could look at me; but he could not speak.

After he had talked to me at 7:40, he said he reached for his coffee, but his hand would not work.  Then he realized he was slumped in his chair.  Next he rolled on into the floor, realized he could not move, and then did not know anything until the paramedics were shining a light in his eyes and calling to him.

Once in the ambulance, he had oxygen and noticed he could  move one hand and then the other.  He was talking when I heard them bringing him in.  My friend heard him first and told me to listen.  He had no effects that day and spent one night in ICU.  His blood pressure was high, so he started medicine.

****I thought this post was lost, so I continued this part at the bottom of the 2nd update.

Thanks for checking on Pete!  And for praying for him!

Update on Pete - 2nd Update

Today was much better than last Sunday.  It was so good to be at church with so many who love us.  And while Pete stayed home today, it was so good to be home and not at the hospital.

He starts his therapy this week.  Miscommunication, etc, messed up last week, so he has been doing his own physical therapy.  What he cannot do in the morning, he has accomplished by evening.  He is picking up things and putting them down and trying to gain more control of his right hand.  He walks around the house.  For his occupational therapy, he washed the sheets, put them on the deck to dry, and then made the bed.  This morning, he unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher after we went to church.  Then he goes and rests for a while.

He goes back to Wake Forest the first part of June.  We saw Dr. Murrey Friday who went over a few things with us.  The office and doctor could not have been kinder to us.  We were able to park near the door and walk right in and onto the elevator.

Pete's blood pressure is good, and his cholesterol is great; so we are probably dealing with something hereditary.  There may be cause to test the boys for something, and we will find that out when we follow up.

We cannot thank everyone enough for their prayers.  We have appreciated the food, the visits, the help, the yard mowing, the calls and texts, and everything else.

For those of you who don't know what happened, here it is in a nutshell.

On Thursday, May 7, Pete's friend found him unresponsive at work.  He had been out for over 40 minutes and had a stroke with no lasting effects.  He spent one night in ICU at Watauga and then came home on Friday.

The next Tuesday, he had another which resulted in weakness on his right side and slurred speech.  He had TPA and stayed in ICU and the hospital two nights.  He came home on Thursday and just seemed very tired that night.

Friday, Peter noticed that his dad's mouth was crooked when he came home for lunch.  I took him back to the ER, and they added a med and wanted him to stay; but he would not.

Saturday (a week ago), he woke up and could not move his right side at all.  He could not get anything to move, so I drove him to the ER at Baptist.  He stayed there until Tuesday, and we got home around 6:00 pm.

While there are still pending labs, his neurologist feels he had a stroke deep in his brain where the blood vessels are small.  It was unusual that he had so many episodes.  One of the doctors in the ER was convinced he had an autoimmune disorder that triggered a stroke that triggered seizures.  They are still looking at that possibility, but no one really mentioned it after we left the ER.

We are so thankful for his progress, and we know that is God.  He has worked in so many ways during this time.

We appreciate the continued prayers as Pete continues to heal and regain his right side.  Seeing all he can do today can only be attributed to God and His goodness.