Surgery On The Horizon

I know it has been a long time since the last post, but I wanted to wait until we had Judi's neurosurgeon follow up before posting again. That appointment was originally scheduled for early February, but it kept getting moved by the Dr.'s office for one reason or the other. We did finally have the appointment today. I'll update you on that visit and then cover the last month.

First and foremost: CT scan shows all clear on the infection and no unusual scar tissue buildup!!!! We also agreed that Judi is ready to have her prosthesis installed ASAP. We completed the scans necessary to have it fabricated and once we have it, the surgery can be scheduled. This one will also involve a plastic surgeon to ensure that we get the best fit possible and to manage the areas where her skin is very thin around the bone structure of her skull. Judi has lost a lot of ground since the surgery this summer and I can"t possibly describe what a relief it will be to have this behind us. She should only be in the hospital a couple of days if all goes well here. Judi had picked up a lot of momentum before the infection set us back and I am banking on that momentum returning following this surgery.

There is one issue that we will have to continue monitoring. Her brain on the right side is significantly depressed towards the rear of her skull. Hopefully it will correct itself when the prosthesis is installed. If it does not, we may have to change her shunt to a different type that can be adjusted externally. I pray we don't have to go through that. That would be another significant surgery and it involves the left side of her brain which is the side that is currently functioning reasonably well. The surgeons cautioned me not to expect too much from the surgery and reminded me that trauma patients typically get a little worse with time. I rogered that and once again reiterated my belief that God will ultimately make that decision. I still have faith that God did not send all of the help the day of her accident to leave her in this state of semi-consciousness for the rest of her life.


This has been a month full of ups and downs. I have seen Judi at her best and at her worst since the surgery this summer in the span of just a few days. One of the most difficult parts of my day is coming in the door after work not knowing which Judi I will find on the other side. The "up" days are always a joy because she seems so connected and we have an opportunity to laugh and share some fun time together. The "down" days drain all the energy I have trying to remain positive as we have to battle through every little activity. I have to constantly remind myself that she doesn't understand what she is doing and not let my breaking heart show through. Judi's strength and tenacity are wonderful things when they focused on what you want her to do, but they are a royal pain when she is working against you. Pray for both of us and if I start showing up to work with patches of hair missing from pulling it out all night, you'll know I am losing the battle!

We did get the opportunity to attend the Pops concert at the Bell Auditorium. The music of the evening was Queen and we had a great time. Judi and I both love Queen and thanx to Joel and Rebecca Cantrell for allowing us to share the evening with them. Judi is a social gal by nature and Rebecca went out of her way to keep Judi engaged and she responded well to it. I keep looking for these types of things to take her to so if you ever have any ideas, please let me know.

I'll do another update once we have the surgery all lined up. I expect it will be 2-3 weeks away. Don't hesitate to stop by if you have a chance and as always, I would greatly appreciate your prayers as we take the next step along the road to Judi's ultimate recovery.


Steve

Happy New Year

I can hardly believe that 2011 is already here and that I still have no clear understanding of where this journey will take us. I have been asked a lot of questions lately that make me think it is time to do a review of Judi's overall condition.

Judi is still confined to a wheel chair and is unable to move her left arm or leg on command. They do respond to stimulus and reflex which indicates the lack of movement is associated with the brain injury. She is not able to move/control the wheelchair at this time.

She is still unable to talk, but does make many sounds and has a heart warming laugh. The inability to talk is fairly common with brain injuries due to the multiple areas of the brain that come into play to perform this task. She still has significant difficulty swallowing. The issues here are similar to those that impact talking. Judi also had significant damage to the temporalis muscle on the right side as a result of the craniotomy that was performed right after her injury. This is the muscle you feel when you rub your temple and functions to close your mouth to provide strength for chewing. This results in an imbalance on her jaw especially when chewing. She is able to eat foods that I grind up almost to a puree and drink liquids that are thickened to a "nectar" consistency. The food/liquid has to be thick enough that she is able to swallow fast enough to prevent them from going down her windpipe. To give you an idea of the work involved for her to eat, it takes about an hour and a half for Judi to eat a meal. This consumes a lot of our "alert time," but the only way she gets better at it is to continue doing it.

She is able to answer "yes" or "no" to questions using hand signals when she is really tuned in. There is a significant delay between question and response as her brain processes everything. This is commonly referred to as "slowing." We really lost a lot of ground here following the removal of her bone flap this summer due to the infection. She was signing approximately 28 signs prior to the surgery with very little slowing and now struggles with 3 or 4 signs. This is getting better. Judi has shown a fairly significant improvement in this area over the last couple of weeks. Judi's awareness and understanding of what is going on around her remains at a high level and she is ALWAYS listening. She enjoys watching all of her favorite TV shows and movies. It is obvious that she comprehends what is going on by the way she responds to even subtle humor and comments. Her biggest issue is input/output functions of her brain. I can tell she is trying hard to get her body to respond to what her brain is telling it to do, but it is just not cooperating (YET!). When you put all this together, Judi still requires someone to be with her 24 hrs a day and depends on them for all of her needs.

So what's on the horizon?
Recovery of her left side movement is still possible. We continue to keep up her therapy at home that maintains the strength in these muscles and provides the nerve stimulation that tries to activate the brain's control again. Time/practice is the main strategy for talking and swallowing improvement. We are also performing the exercises and therapy to continue improvement in this area as well. I am researching the possibility of reconstructive surgery to restore function to the temporalis muscle. My hope is that after we get the prosthesis installed this year, Judi will quickly recover to the level she was at prior to the infection this summer and continue recovering at an accelerated rate. We continue to perform neurofeedback (NF) at home as well as routine trips to NC to improve brain function. Just for general information, the Army has also started using NF for the troops that are returning home with brain injuries. I am praying hard that there will be a medical break through in the treatment of this type of brain injury due to the large number of troops returning home that are impacted by the same type of injury that Judi has.

I continue to be very optimistic regarding Judi's potential for recovery. I have been able to have some fairly good conversations with her when she was alert by asking her a series of questions that she can answer yes or no. I try to ask different questions from multiple angles to ensure that answers are consistent and she is not just guessing. Here are a few items that are probably of interest:
1) She remembers most of the events leading up to the accident and tells me she remembers the accident itself. I believe that her memory is starting to come back to her (slowly, but surely) because when we did a similar exercise in the fall her memory seemed to stop about three months before the accident.
2) She promised me that she will not give up trying to find a way back. I promised her that I wouldn't give up either.
3) She is also very scared. I asked her this question point blank and it was one of the fastest "yes responses" I have ever received from her. I have indicated that she showed a lot of fear during the last hospital stay and after the last seizure she was also frightened. I have reassured her that it is normal to be scared and that I would be with her through it all. She always gives me a big smile then. I suspect she is also concerned about what this is doing to Jess and me so I continue to talk to her about things we are going to do in the future. Judi has been around folks in her condition for many years, so I try to be straight up with her. She always responds well when I tell her "I don't hear no fat lady singing!"

I have also been asked a lot of questions about how Jess and I are doing. I won't speak for Jess, but would say she is coping in her own way and continues to be a great help to me and her Mom. As for me, I'll admit straight up that I am tired physically, mentally and emotionally. I know that I cannot keep up this pace indefinitely, but I will not give up on her. I had hoped I could slow down a bit last fall, but the summer surgery put the kabosh on that plan. Hopefully I can slow down a bit after the prosthesis surgery. I feel like I have the reserves to continue on. It is a source of energy to me when I see her improving. I DO appreciate the concern that many of you have expressed and I am truly humbled by the support from so many. I continue to lean heavily on the belief that God would not put a larger burden on me than I can handle.

Hopefully this brings everyone up to speed on where we are today. Please keep us in your prayers. I am convinced that the power of those prayers is what is fueling all three of us. Thanx again for all your support.

Steve

Merry Christmas

WOW, Christmas Eve is here already! A lot has happened over the last few weeks, so I'll do a quick update for now and provide more detail after the first of the year.

Judi continues to try very hard to talk. It is tough to watch her struggle with this because I know it must be driving her crazy not to be able to do one of her favorite things! We did get the swallow study done that utilizes a camera and all went well there. It did let us see her vocal cords and their response and there were no abnormalities identified. We'll just keep working with her coordination of all the activities necessary to make words and wait for her to figure it out. We did identify as well that her current liquid/food consistency is correct for her current condition until she gets better control of her swallow/tongue. I mention the talking and eating together since I believe the issues overlap here.

I am working hard to keep a balanced rehab program for her at home. She still gets tired easily and many of the activities need to catch her when she is the most alert. I have developed a schedule (that shouldn't surprise those of you that know me) that tries to integrate all the Judi activities and fun time as well. As expected there isn't enough time to do everything I would like to do, so we do the best we can while protecting the "us" time which seems to help both of us.

We did get the botox treatments done and they seemed to have helped a great deal. We will have to keep working with the arm and see how much extension she retains. I am also doing a fair amount of e-stim on her arm as well. I keep looking for some sign of restored control, but so far there has been no change.

We did have a setback that I am still worried about. Judi had a seizure about two weeks ago right out of the blue. Prior to this, I have always been able to link her seizure activity to some medical condition or stimulation to her mental state. As far as I can tell, none of these were significant contributors this time. She only had one seizure which was also different from her previous pattern. I was at work but was able to talk her through it over the phone with her caretaker's help. She was very frightened this time after it was all over which is just another indicator that her awareness level remains high. We obviously did not change her seizure medication dose at her neurologist appointment. We did a full range of tests to ensure she did not have any infections that may have lowered her seizure sensitivity level. Everything came back negative. She is periodically spiking a low grade fever which is what worries me since there is no infection driving it. My suspicion is she may have had a bit of a cold/bug that may have caused the temperature spikes. Not sure, but they are over now.

Her neurosurgeon had to cancel her appointment next week so I am not sure when that will be rescheduled. That will also reschedule the CT scan so I'll have to wait a little longer to begin working the prosthesis issue.

As I sit here watching Judi sleep, the reality of how much our world has changed came crashing down on me. I am not sure where God will take us this year, but I have never been as emotionally torn as I am today. Knowing that there is at least one major surgery facing us this year already has me on edge. There is no such thing as "minor" brain surgery! It was exactly this type of "routine" surgery where Judi lost her best friend a couple of years ago when all indications were that she would make a full recovery. On the flip side, the surgery should be the last and put Judi in a position to begin her recovery along the track she was going before the surgery this year. I have always tried to focus on the future and learn from the past. I just can't seem to get the two reconciled quite yet. So if you see me walking around in a fog, don't hesitate to jerk me back to reality.

Here's what I do know. I am blessed in more ways than I could ever describe here. Judi is better this year than last and I have faith that trend will continue. Jessica continues to be the most amazing young woman I have ever known and the impact she is having on young lives as a school teacher will probably never be known. I do know it will be huge. I have been able to spend time with my brother and his wife and they have become an integral part of helping Judi (and me) get better. I have been blessed and truly humbled by all of your thoughts and prayers. I have found support and hearts of gold in some surprising places along the way. Thank you so much for everything.

Merry Christmas to all of you and I pray that you have an opportunity to spend time with those you love and/or hold special.

Steve

Happy Holidays!

I hope that everyone had a happy Thanksgiving and that you had an opportunity to share some fun times with those who are special to you. The holidays are difficult for me and I try to stay positive to the maximum extent possible. I truly have much to be thankful for, but the wonderful memories of the past always come flooding back in. We will certainly make new memories, but I often find myself with tears in my eyes when I see how Judi is today and remember the ball of energy she was during the holiday season. Having my brother and his wife with us for Thanksgiving was definitely a treat and we had a great meal and enjoyed just hanging out together.

Judi is still trying hard to tell me something. She is becoming more and more vocal, but can't seem to get her tongue and lips coordinated to make the sounds into words. We'll keep working here.

We did go to the Manheim Steamroller concert and Judi had a great time there. She stayed tuned in for the entire concert and her right foot didn't stop the whole time. When her neck got tired, she pulled my hand under her chin to help hold up her head so I know she was tuned in. When I asked her later if she enjoyed the music, she quickly signed yes. It was great to see her smile and just re-enforced the fact that she is still in there.

Judi was discharged from outpatient therapy due to lack of participation/progress as anticipated in the last post. One side of me understands this, but the other side sees it as the system condemning Judi to never walking, talking or functioning again by saying "we're done with you." I suspect everyone already knows that I will never let that happen. We'll just have to pick up the therapy at home to the best of our ability until we can get her back to the point where she can go back to therapy. She finished the last of the antibiotic treatments last week (after 3.5 months) and I can tell she already feels better. She is starting to feed herself periodically and if she repeats her previous pattern, she will get better and better as she recognizes the independence it brings.

We have several doctor appointments over the next few weeks and I hope to get a lot of information/results from them. She is scheduled for a swallow study on Monday to see if we can identify any issues and to determine the types of foods/liquids she can tolerate. This study is different from the ones that were done previously using a fluoroscope and watching as food treated with barium moved through her system. This one uses a camera that is threaded through her nose and can look directly at what is going on in her throat. I am sure I will have my hands full during that test. She will get botox again in her left arm in an attempt to reduce the contractions there. We have done this before with limited success, but maybe this one will be the charm. She will also get her first CT scan since leaving the hospital and I need all of you to pray that it will be clear of any issues. If all is well, we will be able to start the work necessary to get her prosthesis designed and built. We also have a neurologist appointment and I am looking to have her anti-seizure medication dose reduced. The NF and supplements I have her on should allow us to reduce them with little risk of seizure, but we will have to do this slow and methodically to make sure she is not at risk. The reduction in medication may increase her energy level as well.

Judi is still struggling to keep her head up on a routine basis. It comes and goes, but I believe it is more mental than physical and we just have to get her to "want" to keep her head up. I keep encouraging her here, but I often get the "stink eye" when I nag her too much. We have to watch this because it can become a physical issue if it goes on too long.

Time continues to be our most precious commodity. My problem continues to be that I have more "to do list" than I have time to get it done. This leaves me with a constant feeling lately of being overwhelmed. Those of you that know me, know it takes a lot to make me feel that way. I just want to make sure that I do everything humanly possibly to give Judi a chance to recover. I mention this because I continue to need your help. It has been a year and a half since Judi's accident and I know that she is not as prominent in your thoughts as she used to be. That's perfectly normal and expected. I think all of us know that it will take a miracle for Judi to return to us. I for one believe in miracles and have already witnessed a few in my lifetime. I also believe in the power of prayer. That's where I need your help the most. Please make an extra effort to remember Judi in your prayers as we enter the holiday season. If you get a few minutes to come by and see her, do that as well. You just might be the one who makes the difference. I still have the feeling that she is desperately trying to cross over and come back to us and all she needs is that one thing to help her break through.


Thanx again for everything,
Steve

PS - Just for the record: I ain't heard no fat lady singing!

Let It Go

Sorry for the long gap since the last post. We didn't have Internet for about a week while our house was torn apart to replace the hardwood floors (again) and then my faithful laptop began to slowly bite the bullet. The power supply overheats and randomly shuts down in the middle of activities. I am using Judi's laptop for now and have finally learned to navigate around Windows Vista (I know why everyone hates it now).

Judi is getting a little better in some areas and losing a little ground in others. I am firmly convinced she is desperately trying to tell me something. She is working so hard to get the words to come out and she is very close. Her awareness level continues to be very high, but she continues to struggle with the input/output aspect. I suspect it is driving her crazy inside that her body is not doing what she is working so hard to tell it to do.

Her memory of past events is clearly getting better. I gauge this by asking her questions when she is "tuned in." She is excited about hockey coming back to Augusta and wants to go to a game soon. I am also trying to get tickets for the Manheim Steamroller concert next month (she loved their Christmas tunes).

Judi's energy level has definitely decreased and her attention span has shortened significantly as well. I suspect that the missing bone flap combined with the long term antibiotic use are the key culprits here. We have another month of antibiotics to go and they won't consider the prosthetic surgery for at least six months after the antibiotics are finished. The weather (barometric pressure) really gives her head a fit as well.

Judi has essentially shut down when it comes to therapy. Again, I think the bone flap is a primary contributor here. That combined with the fact she has to wear the helmet while she is there has made that a negative experience for her. As I had feared, they are going to discharge her from therapy the middle of next month due to a lack of progress/participation. I am told that some people do better after a break from rehab and that perhaps after the prosthesis surgery is done she could benefit from further therapy. They also tactfully told me that people in her age group typically have recovered the majority of what they will recover by this time. I don't want anyone to take away from this that I am accepting this. Those of you that know me also know that I will NEVER give up as long as the good Lord gives me the tools to keep going. We'll pick up the therapy slack at home to the best of our ability and keep her strong in preparation for the next surgery.

Swallowing continues to get better and she is eating well. She still won't feed herself, but we'll keep nudging her along here. She has difficulty "initiating" most actions since the surgery. If you ask her a question, most of the time you have to lift her arm before she will respond with signs. This one has been extremely difficult for me to take because she was doing so well before the surgery. Since there were no issues in the surgery, I am expecting all of this to return once we have the prosthesis back in place.

The head continues to be my nemesis. Some days she will hold it up pretty well and others, she'll keep it down most of the day. This makes it very difficult to work with her on most activities (writing, item identification, etc.). As I said before, I can't restrain her head like I did before to help train her neck muscles due to the shape of the remaining bone in her head. I'll keep working hard here because the benefits are so great. If anyone has any ideas or experience here, I would appreciate the input.

We are continuing neuro feedback (NF) hot and heavy. She seems to respond well here and perhaps that will be the difference in success and failure in the long term. We continue to make our trips to NC at a reduced frequency due to the fact we are focusing on the stabilizing sites only. Once we start changing them, we'll increase the frequency of the trips.

I think that pretty well covers where we are today. Many of you know that I love music of all types and listen every time I get a chance. Judi used to get a kick out of the range of music I listened to. It is not uncommon for me to listen to Pink Floyd and Garth Brooks in the same sitting. I have become a huge fan of the Zac Brown band of late and often think his tunes are telling my life story. One of his recent tunes "Let It Go" hits very close to home these days. If you haven't heard it, give it a listen.



One portion of the refrain runs like this:

Save your strength for the things you can change.

Forget the ones you can't.

You gotta let 'em go.

I'll leave it up to you to apply those words to your own lives and would tell you that it is very good advice. I'll also admit that it is easier to say than to put in practice. I know that things happen for a reason and I learned long ago that I am not in control of where this journey will ultimately end. I also know that I made a vow 30 years ago to Judi and God that I would "love, honor, protect, cherish her in sickness and in health until death do us part." I mention it here because I still need your help and prayers to make it through this challenge. Judi loves to see old friends so don't hesitate to stop by if you have a chance even if it is only for a few minutes. I know in my heart that Judi is going to make a significant recovery beyond where she is today, but she won't be able to do it without our help.

Steve

Pickin' Up Speed

It has been a busy few weeks (seems like they all are these days)!

The stitches were removed from her incision and it has completely healed. I watched that like a hawk to ensure we didn't get any additional issues and that it closed as soon as possible. Her hair is growing fast and is very thick. Judi always wanted thicker hair - I'll remind her one day that she picked a difficult way to get there.

We have completed the IV antibiotics and now she is on an 8 week dose of oral antibiotics to make absolutely sure that there is no infection remaining. Getting the catheter (PIC) removed from her arm turned out to be quite the circus. I'll spare you the details, but we ultimately had to take her to Augusta Vascular Center to get it removed. It did not dawn on me at the time, but this is the center where many of Judi's co-workers from her Radiology Intervention days at University Hospital had gone to work. I understand that they had a good reunion and I am sure it was good medicine for Judi. I think it is always a little difficult for others to know if Judi truly recognizes them or not, but I believe that she does because I always see a change in her behavior after these types of encounters. Judi's awareness level is very keen, it is her input/output ability that she is struggling with. I continue to believe that one of these encounters will be what pulls Judi across the gap just out of the blue one day. I encourage you to come and visit when you can even if it is just a few minutes. I know that inside she probably feels a little isolated and those of you that know Judi also know that she loves to be in the middle of everything!

We have resumed neurofeedback (NF) training at home and we made our first trip back to NC last week. We have decided to limit the training to what I call the "stabilizing sites" for the next few weeks while Judi continues to regain her energy following the surgery. She is starting to engage more, but is still far from where she was before the surgery.

Judi is starting to hold her head up for longer periods of time. It is clear though that she does it when she wants to. When she wants to withdraw, she will drop her head and act like she is asleep. I can usually tell when she is "playing possum" or just plain tuckered out. We'll keep working here since it is so critical for her longer term well being.

Judi's swallowing has improved significantly and she is moving from pureed to courser ground foods. Thanx to Rebecca and Joel Cantrell for the awesome baked ziti and homemade cheesecake (both are on Judi's list of favorites). Judi enjoyed both a great deal (Jess and I too!). We are still struggling to get Judi to feed herself, but as long as she is eating well we can take our time here.

Rehab is going OK. We are still having issues with energy level and desire to engage/participate, but it is getting a little better each trip. She is standing again in the standing frame at rehab and at home as well. This is probably the most important physical activity for her since it engages so many muscles and holds the best potential for restoring use of her left leg long term. I am hoping that completion of the IV antibiotics will restore some of her energy.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Judi and I both are drawing heavily on the strength they bring us. I'll be straight up with all of you and let you know that I don't think I could make it without the strength that seems to come when I close my eyes and ask God to help me make it one more day. We suffered a setback with the infection, but after all we have been through this is just a bump in the road.

Steve

Deja Vu

Judi continues to fight her way back, but the recovery is very different for her this time. Her awareness level has become one of the key factors in her ability to bounce back. Right now, it is working against her I think. Most of you know that Judi was a Neuro ICU nurse for many years and clearly understands how serious her current condition is. She is struggling in many areas and it appears that at least part of it is due to her unwillingness/inability to engage in the difficult tasks. I am sure that the fact she knows she has another surgery looming in the near future is fueling this. Please don't interpret this as a criticism of Judi, just a reality that any of us would have to deal with in her situation. I read a book that was written by a neurologist that had a severe stroke and ultimately recovered (took eight years). Her description of her mental state describes exactly where I think Judi is today. She was keenly aware of everything around her, but couldn't communicate with those around her. Her frustration level drove her to do many things that impacted her recovery (positive and negative). I can only imagine what is going through my girl's head today.

She has reverted back to letting her head hang down most of the time. She does hold it up periodically, but for short periods of time. As you know, this was a battle that took us almost a year to win before this last surgery. It has once again become my key focus area. It was such a positive impact for her the last time and hopefully it will be again.

She is having a great deal of difficulty with swallowing again as well. This one really worries me because it is more than likely an artifact of the surgery and not something she is currently controlling. She was just starting to transition to food that she had to chew with her teeth before the surgery, now we are struggling with pureed foods. I'll keep working with her and hopefully this will recover as well. It takes a great deal of patience to work through this and I'll admit I am having to dig deep to find the energy to do this again with the knowledge that we will most likely have to do it again after the next surgery.

We went back to rehab therapy for the first time since the surgery on Friday. It didn't go very well. Judi just didn't engage in any of the sessions. I am unsure how much of this is due to the hospital stay, the antibiotics that continue or the missing bone flap. Hopefully it is predominately the first two and she will get back in the groove soon. They were already talking about the potential to discontinue therapy while she recovers further from the surgery. I got them to agree that we needed at least a month before making that type of decision. This would allow her to recover from the surgery and get off the IV antibiotics before deciding. If it is indeed due to the missing bone flap, it won't change a lot if it follows her previous history. Once again, we had just got her up in the "walking machine" the Monday I had to take her to the emergency room. I can't tell you how many hours went into getting her to that point.

We are working with her therapist for neuro feedback (NF) training to see what we can do with her bone flap missing. I am praying that this will be her "ace in the hole" for this recovery. I have already seen a tremendous impact of the therapy and hopefully (I have used that word a lot) it can help her deal with the situation and come out on top.

I know this entry seems to be overly negative, but it is what it is. I try to keep perspective and realize that it could have been a lot worse. Cognitively, she is where she was before the surgery and that is a huge success. She did not lose any muscle function as a result of this surgery. She has healed well and seems to be getting stronger day by day. She still likes to dance in her wheel chair (I take her hand and we whirl around the room). She still smiles when I kiss her and tell her how much I love her. She still melts my heart when she reaches up and gives me a hug. She always seems to know when I need one and helps me find the energy to keep on going. Rest assured that I am more committed than ever to doing whatever it takes to get Judi the best recovery she can get. The challenge will just be different this time. I have never walked away from a challenge in my life and I'll do everything I can not to let Judi down. As they say, I ain't heard no fat lady singing and if I do, I'll just stuff something in her mouth!

I feel like I need to revisit a topic I mentioned a long time ago in a blog entry and many of you have heard me talk about it since then. Please take time to stop and "smell the roses." You just never know how long you have with those you love and care for. A good friend and co-worker lost his wife this week after a tough battle with cancer. His name is Charles Lampley and he loved his wife Rhonda with all his heart. A couple months ago, we had a long talk about all the challenges that God had placed in front of us in the previous year and this topic came up near the end of our talk. Please take a moment to keep Charles and his family in your prayers as they face this difficult time and take stock of what is truly important in your lives as well. It just might surprise you that what you "thought" was important and what is "truly" important are very different and you didn't know it.

Thanx as always for the thoughts and prayers. Feel free to come and see Judi when you can. The visits always do her good and challenge her to find those memories that are tucked away inside.

Steve