OUCH - let me know if I can do anything for you. I've been known to dig and ship a daylily if Kate is there to show me where the plants are located. While you are anchored to the house during the recup - MAKE NEW MARKERS! You are going to have plenty of time on your hands and knowing you, you will need to be working on something. Good project while you nurse the daughter back to health.

Brooke

I'll definitely keep you and your daughter in my thoughts, Janet. As scary as surgery may sound, I can't imagine the misery of living with a headache every day. I bet it will come as a huge relief to be headache-free after her recovery.

As long as you're at it, can you make me new markers, too? :o)

Chris

Janet, I too wish you and your daughter the best. Like Chris, I think she will be a happy camper to be free of the headaches.

Actually, bless her heart, they've told her that after the first week she can ride in a car and take walks. Her thought were that she could go over to the farm with her father during the day, sit under the shade tree with her dog and she would make the markers. Is that a positive outlook or what? During that first week at home with her I think my house might get to see the first good cleaning that it's had in some time!

Janet

Janet,

I hope your daughter's recovery is trouble free, and that the surgery brings her immediate relief from the headaches. It sounds like she has a GREAT attitude, and I hope and pray that she stays so positive through her recovery. (And, I'll pray for YOUR strength and peace too! I can't imagine watching my daughter go through surgery like that. . . .)

Laurel

I see workaholic is genetic. I can't believe they will let her ride in a car in a week - they wouldn't even let me look at a car for a month. Maybe it is the age factor -the young do heal a lot faster than us old folk!

Brooke

I will be praying that the Lord will guide the Dr's hands as they operate so nothing can happen to change her wonderful personality.

Most definitely will be thinking of you, your family and especially your daughter then. Modern medicine is so wonderful and the way times passes, you all will be looking back on this before you know it.

Please keep us updated. It will be such good news to celebrate her return to a life without constant headaches! It's hard to imagine what it has been like for her...and you, as we suffer with our children.

Take care now.

Janet...I'll keep your daughter and your family in my prayers especially on the morning of the 18th. God Bless.
Marilyn

Likewise Janet, We will be praying for her ( and you ) during this time. Take care...Ellie

Today is the day Janet's daughter is undergoing surgery - let's keep her in our mind and hearts today. It will be as hard on Janet as on her daughter - probably harder.

I hope you can check in and give us an update Janet.

Brooke

I talked to Janet today and she said it appears her daughter is doing well. Hopefully she will be back to work on Monday and can give you more good news. I know Janet must be relieved.

Brooke

Well, we're back at work. Surgery did do fine. They kept Stephanie in intensive care for three days just because they didn't have a bed on the main floor. Suited me just fine because the level of care up there was superb. We got home on Thursday evening and things rolled along fine until Sunday morning at 4:00 when she got up to go to the bathroom and fainted three times before she got there. Luckily our other daughter woke up, got her downstairs and got us woke up to deal with it. She's been banned from the upstairs now. After the MD didn't call us back on Monday we finally got a response to our call and there's a CT scan scheduled tomorrow to make sure everything ok in there. It probably is but I prefer to know for sure. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks to everyone that has been thinking about us and saying a few prayers. Steph has been amazed at how many people have asked about her and sent her cards. She doesn't realize how many people other than family care about her and are concerned.

You all are a great bunch!

Janet

Glad all is going well, Janet. Thanks for stopping in to give us an update. I'll still keep ya'll in my prayers. Let us know how the CT scan comes out.
God Bless,
Jan

What did the CT scan show?

Brooke

CT scan came back normal for the surgery that she had done so that made us all feel a heck of a lot better. We were a little ticked with the MD in that he never returned any of our calls, Steph has had to call the office each time to find out anything and they just tell her that they'll tell him. A little 2 minute call to say it sounds like everything it ok and what your experiencing in usual for this kind of thing would go a long way in reducing the anxiety level.

She was up to taking about a quarter of a mile walk last night to see just how high the creek got up Saturday morning. From how it looks I'm sure glad I wasn't driving the roads that morning. There are spots where the water was over the road over 8 ft. deep. We had about six round bales of hay washed out of the bottom. It should be about to go into the Ohio River by now. One of the neighbors had 40 bales float off. Never underestimate the power of Mother Nature.

Janet

Oh Gosh Janet you have certainly been through a time! I'm sorry I wasn't here to lend some support! I'm here now! Will be thinking about you and your family now. With the positive attitude your daughter has, her recovery time should be better than one that does not have a positive outlook! I've heard that anethesia can do wierd things to you even after a week! No personal experience myself, just stories I've heard from others. I CRINGED at the thought when my children were young at them going under to have tonsils removed. I can only imagine the anxiety you must have felt! Hope all continues to be better, and better every day.
Anybody else notice the wrath of Mother Nature lately? She's not been very nice to LOTS OF FOLKS I know this year!
Take care,
Nancy

Steph got her staples out yesterday. Apparently they did not use needlenosed pliers. She said it pinched a little but didn't hurt any more than just getting a shot. They gave my husband the tool that they used as they throw them away after each use. He was enthralled. Give some little boys a new toy and you can entertain them for hours!

The MD told her it could be three months or more before the cerebral fluid will stabilize. Hopefully that will make the dizziness get better. She has been having some headaches the last few days and she's now scared to death that the surgery hasn't taken care of them. She wanted an instant fix and not a 3-6 month recovery plan. Sort of like diets I guess, we want them to shave the 30 pounds off immediately. She sort of had a pity party last night but felt a little better this morning. I've got to find her some little chores that don't involve lifting and bending over to occupy her time. Reading and crocheting an afgan isn't enough for a 22 year old for any lenght of time....

Janet

There won't be anything instant about this after the trauma of the surgery but hopefully, the headaches will decrease and further distance themselves.

Ummmm, I'm going to talk to my nurse about her technique for ripping my staples out - you would think a best friend would have been more gentle than a stranger. Or maybe my staples were longer - when you have to staple through fatty tissue plus sagging fatty tissue, they are probably much longer than on an incondition, active 22 year old.

Hope the recovery continues and you can find her something to do to keep her entertained.

Brooke

Thanks for updating us! Here's hoping her headaches go away as quickly as possible. She's a brave young woman.

I don't know but the first thing I thought of was addressing Christmas cards! I've about given them up as I never seem to get it done...what a good year for you all to be in touch with everyone!

I was thinking what I could use help with (lol) and I thought about some help organizing all those garden and especially daylily photos...maybe you have the same?

Another thing, if she starts to feel up to it (this may be a bit)...is to volunteer at a local library or school to help kids with reading. Most schools can really use the help. I remember just sitting with kids helping them read...the teachers were very grateful as they seldom have the time to work one on one with kids who need a bit of extra help. No bending or lifting...and really makes your day to get those smiles!

Well, hope you don't mind my putting my thoughts here!

Good luck with everything and again, I'm so happy that she's home, it's over and went well.

OH MY Why didn't I think of Christmas cards? I'll be in the attic tonight looking for the extras to get her started. I have pipe on hand for new markers and I think this weekend I'll set something up so she can cut pipe without having to bend over. She can throw it in a box and then sit down and glue the tee's on the top. Then we'll have a list of new marker labels to make. It will probably bore her but even if she only does it a half hour a day it's something that will help me.

She's getting to where she's walking back on the farm to check the dry cows a couple times a day for new babies. Good exercise and fresh air doesn't hurt her frame of mind any.

Unfortunately with the school by the time they get a background check done on her so she could volunteer she'll be ready to take on some lighter chores. Good idea though.

Janet

OK, so I'm a city girl -- what are "dry cows"?

Chris

Chris,
I'm a farm girl & still had to look up to see what "dry cows" are. We never had dairy cows & never milked, but what I found on google suggests that they are cows that are not milked.
Certain breeds of cattle (like Jersey) are better at producing milk than others, just like certain breeds (like Angus) make better meat than others.............
A little farm lesson for us there :)
Tammy

Thanks, Tammy! There are some cows that live across the street (we're in the country now). I suspect they are not dairy cows as many of them mysteriously disappear at the same time each year . . . .

Sorry girls, didn't mean to confuse you. Dry cows are cows that are not milking. Before you have a cow "freshen" or have another calf you give her a rest period. In dairy breeds it's usually around 45 days. In beef animals it's the time from when you wean the calf to when the cow calves, or freshens again. Springers are cows that are right ready to drop a calf. I'm not sure exactly where that term comes from other than it used to be that most people wanted their cows to freshen in the spring when grass was the most abundant and they didn't have to feed them stored feedstuffs. While I now have beef cows all the terminology from those forming years with my little Jersey's still sneaks through.

Janet