Leg Dr. Visit & Decision to Make

We saw the ortho. dr. this morning and overall he was happy with the progress. The swelling I still have is typical. The gash I have near my ankle is slow healing but typical also. I can start bearing weight now with the walker/crutches, but my foot doesn't exactly want to bend so I'm starting therapy tomorrow to learn how to get back to walking properly.

The dr. says my foot is turned 5-10%. I know I was naturally that way already :) but he's not sure if it's the same or "worse". The decision to be made is whether to have the minor surgery to correct the look of my leg/foot or leave it alone. The time to do it is NOW if I want to. If I don't, he said there is no complications from leaving it alone, it's simply "cosmetic". I would have the same functionality etc. So...right now, I'm inclined to leave it! I never had awesome legs before anyway!! :) Pray that through therapy and starting to put weight etc. I can discern which choice to make over the weekend.

I'm feeling pretty good this afternoon. Sleeping well at night and getting "comfortable" sitting/laying is still an issue and trying to figure out which drugs are good to use for pain.

A friend shared this verse with me and it's my #1 favorite right now...My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

Love to all, Kim

Positive Dr.'s Appt. PTL!

So today was a good day at the Dr's, her jaw is progressing nicely. Kim will have another Dr's appt. in a week and the Dr. may possibly replace tight rubber bands with looser ones. The bands would then be on at least two more weeks, but it may allow Kim to eat just a bit more soft foods. We have been having fun giving Kim the choice of which dry soup in a box she would be in the mood for, Continental brand is the "soup of choice"! As of now we have been having to strain 2x to get the liquid thing enough for her "banded" shut mouth. She has an incredible attitude, but continues to not be overly hungry and is a patient, patient. Please pray for her leg appt. tomorrow, Thurs. at 11:15 Aus. time (9:15 pm eastern on Wed) and to find out what rehab she can be working on.
Tim is doing well, he is at 5 wks. 3 days since his surgery. He is on, almost, no pain medicine and is still the MOST uncomfortable at night (along with Kim), so please continue to pray for both to be getting a more well rested sleep. Tim will be having his 6 week appt. next Tues. to see if he can be done wearing the sling and to varify, the accident has NOT caused any other complications to the healing of his shoulder. Again, thanks to all who have been praying, no doubt the prayers are felt across the MANY miles. - Krista

Dr.'s Appts. coming up!

Ok, so it is Tuesday 4:45 pm and most of you on the East coast are in deep REM sleep, getting ready for your Tuesday morning. Not much new to report on, but that Kim has a few Dr's appt. coming up...tomorrow(Wed. for us) will be her face/jaw appt. and Thursday (for us) will be checking her leg. Please pray that the Dr.'s would be able to give guidance with the pain management so that it may not be as "up and down" as its been (even though that is too be expected). Also, that she would know what kind of stretches/rehab she could be doing while she is out of the hospital, but in a nice facility to recover before returning to PNG. Today has been a bit slower than yesterday, but at this moment we are waiting to head out the door and wheel her around a boardwalk-type walk and enjoy God's beauty. Continue to pray for each of their girls' Hope, Kelsey (Lanc, PA), Kayla, and Kacie (PNG) as they are apart as a family and of course desire to be together at this time.

I had a much better day today than Sunday. Thanks for praying. The pain that remains is mostly in my mouth...just really tight/sore feeling...probably sort of like braces I guess. Tim is trying to get me "down" to extra strength tylenol (liquid) so that I don't have the nasty side effects of heavier pain relievers. Pray that it works enough. It still is tough to get comfortable...probably cause all I do is sit or lay for a few more weeks. Your comments are so encouraging to me...(Michelle, you're a riot!) They took me on an outing to the mall this afternoon. It was pretty enjoyable but a bit tiring...yes, even for me! :) Love to all!! Tim keeps reminding me...when I get a bit down...this circumstance we find ourselves in is NO mistake. I know that, but to be honest, don't exactly like it...but knowing God is in control and working all things for HIS glory, is GOOD enough for me!!

The roller-coaster ride continues...

Hello, everyone, this is Krista again typing an update. After a really good day yesterday (Sat), today has been a rather rough day. Please pray that she would have a better nights sleep (Sun. night, she just crawled in bed). Pray she wouldn't be too interupted between taking medicine and the bathroom in the middle of the night. She was dealing with a little nausesness and couldn't really get comfortable most of the day. Tim has been a GREAT caretaker and they both have wonderful attitudes as it continues to be a slow-go, which is normal. Please pray for some up-coming Dr. follow-up appointments this week and that Andrew and I can be of support, help, and encouragement.

3 Weeks Today

Hi Everyone. This is Kim writing!! These past 3 weeks have been a blur but I know you have all carried me through with your prayers. This has been the best day yet! I actually got wheeled down the street from our hotel to a sidewalk cafe for supper. I had to pass on the lasagna but had some good soup to sip through my clenched teeth. My mouth is like a sieve, so anything I eat has to be totally smooth, no chunks at all.

I've been able to moderate my pain medicine from every 4 hours to every 5 hours and take a 3/4 dose instead of a full one. It worked for today anyway...so hopefully we're on to something.

It looks like a nursing home in our room with all the paraphanalia I need...Tim is taking great care of me and I'm encouraged with my progress today. Sure doesn't hurt having my youngest sister and brother in law here to laugh and help.

Night is my least favorite time, but I can't complain. I'm just used to sleeping very well. I go to sleep around 10:30 and sleep until around 3, take some meds and go back to bed. I sleep on my back which isn't my favorite. When I wake up, I'm super stiff. But my pain has been under control the past 24 hours.

Thanks for praying. We are resting in the Lords care. Love to all, Kim

RESTING!

This is Kim's sister, Krista, and we are so excited to be here in Cairns to help out Kim and Tim. Andrew and I just arrived here this afternoon from Colorado. We will be here until May 6th hoping to update the blog for the one-handed typer.



Kelsey got home safely and was a huge help to her parents. Please pray for her to get back into the "swing" of classes and to finish her sophmore well!



Kim had a very good day on Thursday; however, today needed to stay on "top" of the pain medicine a little better. Pray that they would find a balance of the right dosage of pain medicine. She continues to struggle finding that correct balance and timing to take the medicine. Little bit of a roller coaster as far as how much and the accuracy in the timing of taking pain meds. We are looking forward to going to the store and finding things to be creative for her liquid diet as her jaw is wired shut. However, we sisters, are still able to talk!



Also, continue to pray Tim's shoulder would to heal as he still has pain and still takes meds (quite reduced). Also, pray that sleeping would improve as the pain is the worst when laying down.



Thanks again for all your prayers!

:) :(

Tim here - 1 handed typer :D





Emotional Day for sure.





:) - Kim is out of the hospital!!!!! Resting & not moving too much but happy to be out! Pray for proper pain control in her jaw near left ear.





:( - Kelsey left today should be leaving Aukland, NZ soon! Pray for safe trip & good connections (and for sad dad)





Maybe someone will be able to give a more detailed update tomorrow!





Thanks for all the prayers... still have much to work through... keep praying.

Tim

Good Day!!!

Kim had a pretty good end of the day yesterday! It was a rough morning but got better when she got the good news that her surgery went well and better than expected. Her swelling has gone way down and she isn’t wearing the sunglasses (to help with the light sensitivity). The Doctor said that they did everything that needed to be done her jaw was pushed about 6-7 mm back. They were able to bring it forward and when they did all of the fractures lined up perfectly. So now she is wired shut for 6 weeks! The Doc said that her jaw acted like a shock absorber and did what it was designed to do. We continue to see improvement every day! The doc said he wanted her to try not to write as much he wanted her to talk as much as possible even though it’s seems to her that she is hard to understand. She walked with a walker today. And she is off the IV drip and is trying to manage the pain in her ear with oral pain medication (liquid form). The Surgeon thought the pain was associated with the surgery as many muscles connect in the ear area but the ENT Doctor is going to check just in case. She was cleared to leave the Hospital by the face surgeon and the orthopedic surgeon. Just waiting on physiotherapy to feel comfortable with her walking and pain management. Just found out she needs to see the ENT Doctor tomorrow at noon which means shes here at least another day. Keep Praying!

Good Night Sleep!

Yesterday was better than the day before! She had a good sleep last night. Kim’s looking cool in her sun glasses! (Light sensitive) She’s getting a bit antsy about getting out of here! Kim had an earache yesterday which is feeling a bit better today but comes and goes. Pray for a quiet day as her neighbors tend to be a little noisy at times. Currently we are waiting for the doctor to come tell us about her surgery the past Friday. Pray for a good update.

Hard to believe its been 2 weeks since the accident...

It was a long day for Kim but it ended well. She didn’t have a very good night last night. She was in and out of sleep all day today. She communicated through writing and a few small words. Her jaw is still really tight. She had mentioned that there has been “perfect timing” all week! We can feel the prayers! The swelling has gone way down and she is looking a lot better! She is able to eat through a straw and has been doing pretty well with that. While she can’t say much she is very aware and thinking clearly and she still has a sense of humor. She moved to a different room that will cut down on noise to help her sleep better. Pray for a good night sleep.

Post Surgery!!!

Ok yesterday was busy and I didn’t get a chance to fill you in on all the good news!!! Kim’s surgery went well! They did everything they needed to! She went in around 8:30 and was out around 1:15. It was encouraging to see improvement every hour. After a bit, we learned that she could communicate by writing. It was really quite impressive how nice her handwriting was with her eyes closed! By the time we left Kim was holding the note pad and she even tried to say a few words! So now she has a button she can press when she is in pain and sleeps a lot. Kim wrote that it was a long night she mentioned that her jaw feels tight and everything is very bright and loud. She said that it’s a little scary knowing that she is limited. She is glad to know that all her surgeries are done but it will be a few more long days of recovery. As I said before, she will be released from the hospital when she is able to walk with a walker or crutches. Pray that she would regain strength and be out of the hospital Monday or Tuesday!

Surgery Tomorrow

Ok, well it was a very good day for Kim! She was able to walk/hop to the bathroom/shower with the use of a walker multiple times! Another first is she sat up in a chair all afternoon. She really looked good.

Her surgery is scheduled for early tomorrow morning (Friday morning). They are working on her jaw and facial fractures all in one surgery. There needs to be a perfect alignment of her teeth. Pray for Kim as she is looking forward to the surgery to be over with. Pray for peace!

They are hoping to discharge her early next week! The only thing holding her back right now i the strength in her legs and arms. They want her to be able to walk with a walker or crutches as well as maintaining a liquid/soft diet. (This shouldn't be a problem as her friend Tracy Geis who was also in the accident is on the same diet.) So it looks like she will remain in Cairns for a minimum of 6 weeks. She will have multiple doctors visits during that time.

All but one of the Calvary team is heading home tomorrow. We are grateful that they came. Pray for us that we will be an encouragement to Kim as she will be restarting the recovery process.

Big Day!!!

Today was a really good day for Kim. She successfully took 6 steps with a walker but then got tired and had to sit down. This was a huge accomplishment even the nurses were surprised! We were all excited! Praise the Lord her facial surgery was scheduled "privately" for Friday morning which means it is most likely going to happen. We don't have all the details and will let you know when we hear more!

Tim was having some weird symptoms and went back to the doctor today where we discovered one of his pain meds was capable of causing these side effects. They did a cat scan just to be sure there was no damage to his head from the accident. Everything checked out ok! He dropped the meds and started the new ones tonight. The doctor is confident that will be enough.

Thanks for your prayers

Postponed again...

Well unfortunately surgery didn’t happen again today. It was kind of discouraging for all. Kim also had a migraine and slept a lot. Hopefully tomorrow will be better! Thanks for your prayers!

Time Zones!!!

Ok so there seems to be a little confusion with the time zones! So right now as I type, dad is on his way to the hospital It is 9:00 Tuesday morning in Australia 7:00 pm Monday night in Lancaster...not sure how long she will be in but I will go in later this afternoon when surgery is complete! So when you all are waking up hopefully I will have another update! Thanks for all your prayers!

No Surgery Today...Tomorrow Morning?

I'm sitting in the hospital with Mom right now! Unfortunately her face surgery has been pushed back till tomorrow morning. She has already had two leg surgeries to take care of the compound fractures in her tibia and fibia in her right leg. This past Saturday she started to feel more coherent due to less medicine. Sunday was the best day so far it was the first time she got out of bed and had her first shower. Last night was the best uninterrupted sleep. Today she had a nice pampering from two friends from church who were a part of the team sent to assist the injured. She is anxious to have this next surgery completed even though it’s hard to think about another short term recovery period. Tim Spends his days visiting Kim and his friend Steve, doing paperwork and enjoys reading all the letters and emails and sharing them with Kim. His shoulder and lower back are feeling sore. He’s enjoyed the good Aussie food. Kelsey has enjoyed being with Mom and Dad and enjoying the warm sunny weather!

I'm here!

Well I finally made it to Australia! Dad picked us up at the airport and shortly after that we went to see Mom at the hospital! It was so good to finally see both of them! It was a big day for mom, She got out of bed for the first time in over a week! You can be praying for mom her facial surgery was moved up to tomorrow, 4pm Monday afternoon. I am exhausted and ready to go to sleep! Big day tomorrow!!