Karl's birthday

Today is Karl's birthday! We'd love to have you send your best wishes by commenting on this post.

As an early birthday gift, last week Dr. Scheutze postponed Karl's first of four rounds of chemotherapy until Monday, Oct. 27. He didn't think anyone should have to spend their birthday all day in the infusion suite. As it stands now, Karl will have chemo the weeks of Oct. 27, Nov. 17, Dec. 8 and Dec. 29. He will receive the exact same medicines as before, will lose his hair all over again, and will undoubtedly be pretty weak. But there's a silver lining to every cloud...this will hopefully kill any lingering cancer cells and after it's over, he can concentrate on physical therapy and getting back to work.

The renovations at Mom's house are coming along well, thanks to Jim Hook, Wally Burr, Gordie Greiman and Dave Mull. Thanks for everything!

Blessings to all,

Kerry

KARL IS HOME!!

I have to warn you…this will be a long entry…I have to catch you up on a lot. But the bottom line is KARL IS HOME!! Well, sort of. But I’ll get to that in a bit. Almost 70 people turned out to welcome Karl home on Sunday. Lots of tears were flowing and both Mom and Karl were very surprised by the people, signs, noisemakers, food and drink. It was amazing! Thanks to all who took time on an absolutely beautiful fall day to welcome us back home. I would have written a post sooner, but the flu bug bit me right after most of the well-wishers left. Thank God it waited until I got home!

Roughly a month ago we learned that Karl’s anticipated “Independence Day” was Oct. 12 and his discharge date was Oct. 13. Of course we’ve seen how those dates come and go and we didn’t want to get everyone’s hopes up only to be dashed. Boy oh boy did a lot happen between then and now. My blog entries would have looked something like:
Sept. 27: Karl’s plastic surgeons think he’s going to have to have surgery to take care of the seeping wound on his back. Karl is worried and so are we.
Sept. 28: Karl’s orthopedic doctors think the wound is healing okay and he won’t need surgery. Karl is relieved and so are we.
Sept. 29: Karl’s plastics docs are concerned about his back and want a CT scan and culture. They think he needs surgery. Karl is worried and so are we.
Sept. 30: Karl’s ortho docs say the CT scan revealed there’s decaying tissue that needs to be removed surgically although the cultures reveal there is no infection. Surgery would set him back another week or two. Karl is worried and so are we. Later in the day, the ortho docs say Karl doesn’t need surgery because the seepage from the wound has slowed. We’re all relieved.
Oct. 1: The plastics guys are pretty sure Karl will have surgery by week’s end. We’re all worried.
Oct. 2: The ortho docs are pretty sure Karl won’t have to have surgery. We’re all relieved.
Oct. 3: Dr. Yaszemski visits Karl and says surgery won’t be needed. Final word. WE ARE ALL RELIEVED! This means we can proceed with homecoming plans. Karl’s physical therapist wonders why Karl’s “Independence Day” is on a Sunday since no therapists will be there. “Independence Day” is when therapists and ortho docs put Karl through the paces to test his abilities. Discharge is usually the following day.
Oct. 4 & 5: AHHHH! Karl’s coming home and Mom’s house is nowhere near ready for him! We need ramps and a handicap-accessible bathroom…not a minor undertaking!
Oct. 6: Megan, Karl’s physical therapist, is going to try to push “Independence Day” to Oct. 10 so that he can be discharged on Oct. 11.

More Blessings

Between Jim Hook, Jeff Niedermier, Wally Burr, Jimbo Myers, Charley Rebottaro, Mark Carr and Kimball Wright, they have taken on this sizeable project. They are all blessings in and of themselves and we can never thank them enough for their kindnesses. But God definitely has His hand in this project. On Monday, Oct. 6, Jeff, Jim H. and I went to Tecumseh Plywood to pick out a shower that would accommodate Karl. I saw Pat Wallich, Tecumseh Plywood’s proprietor, and asked if he had heard what was going on with Karl. He had not. After a brief explanation of Karl’s predicament, I asked Pat if we could get Plywood’s builder’s discount. He said, “I can do better than that. You can have the shower and bathroom fixtures at cost.” Wow. I was amazed. And so thankful. But that’s not the end of the story. Across the counter stood Kimball Wright, one of the best carpenters around. He went to high school with Karl. I’m not sure if he overheard the conversation, but while Jim and I were picking out flooring, Kimball asked Jeff if there was anything he could do. And that’s how Kimball got roped into doing the finish work. This week Jim Hook has been helping Wally Burr plumb the new bathroom. Last week Jim and Jeff tore out a wall, framed the shower, tore up the old flooring and put down tile. Charley came over and did an unbelievable clean-up job. Jimbo and Mark will soon tear out the carpet to expose the hardwood floors. They will sand and refinish them. Then the finishing touches will be put on the new suite for Karl. It will be fantastic.

Needless to say, Mom’s house is not quite in livable condition. And with what I can only describe as divine intervention, our good family friends (and my neighbors), John and Mary Ferguson, offered their home for Karl and Mom’s use while they’re vacationing. The timing is uncanny, but the generosity is amazing.

After three months at the Mayo Clinic, Karl misses some of the folks there. On discharge day we all meandered up to 8MB to say farewell and thanks to everyone who took care of him for 6 ½ weeks. And for the last four weeks Karl had wonderful care in the inpatient rehab unit. You motivated him to improve and he did so at an amazing pace. We’re so thankful to you. Karl will be back in early January to visit both units so please be prepared!

And now a warning: lookout U-M. Karl’s back!

Blessings,

Kerry