Dearest Loved Ones, all our Friends, and the Prayer Partners,
Before I begin, I will tell you (for those who have asked) our temperatures next week here in San Antonio are predicted to reach 107 and possibly higher! We’ve decided summering in Texas may not be ideal!
Having said that, we have also decided we’re going to be here for a while yet. So we ask that you add one more small prayer to the many we’ll ask tonight... Cooler weather!!!
Now, having said that, we begin this latest update with more hope, more excitement (albeit, somewhat reserved!), and more requests for your awesome prayer support. In our last update (dated August 18), we explained about Kris’s evaluation by two therapists from the brand new Audie Murphy Poly Trauma Center now being completed at the huge VA Hospital here in San Antonio. While we haven’t heard from them as yet, we are very hopeful there findings will be positive, and they will decide to admit her. This will enable Kris to undergo very stringent rehabilitation in the area of speech/communication, hopefully enabling her to communicate with consistency. This door, if opened, will mean so very much.
In the meantime, we had a visit this past Tuesday with Dr. Teff, the neurosurgeon at BAMC who (I have to reiterate this miraculous moment!) literally (with God’s help) saved Kris’s life the night of her accident on April 21, 2010. He gave us some more thoughts for which we are hopeful. The MRI I referenced in another recent update showed Kris did not have a tumor or mass at her pituitary gland. (We were praising God for that one!) But it did show the ventricles are enlarged, which could mean fluid buildup. The brain is floating in a fluid to help protect it, but too much fluid can be harmful because it puts pressure on the brain itself. There are several methods to determine if fluid is building up, but recent indications seem to be present, with the most obvious being the enlarged ventricles.
Dr. Teff has suggested placing a shunt inside Kris’s cranial cavity which would automatically and slowly reduce too much fluid on a constant basis, thus relieving unnecessary pressure to build up. The end result would give her back some of the capabilities she seems to have lost over the past months, such as her spelling capability when typing, her balance (which seems to continue to worsen), and simply some of the latent abilities which might have returned by now were it not for fluid buildup. Speech is at the forefront of all these capabilities and, while we can never be assured it will return immediately or even completely, Dr. Teff feels this will certainly give her a better chance at some point if not immediately. Kris SPEAKING would absolutely be awesome!!!
After talking it over with Russell, with Dr. Onghai (Kris’s neurologist at RIOSA), with each other, and with God, Kris will be admitted to BAMC on Monday, August 29, to undergo a lumbar drain. This is an initial procedure which will tell us if there is increased fluid. Dr. Teff explained there may be an immediate difference in her countenance, in her balance when we stand her up, and in a number of things she might do. If that marked difference is apparent, he will put the shunt in place on Friday, September 2nd. After being monitored for the first three days next week, Dr. Teff will know and she will remain in the hospital to prepare for the surgical procedure. If the marked difference is not apparent during those first three days, she will simply return to RIOSA and we will continue as we are.
Several things were also explained to us regarding the shunt implant. First, it cannot ever be removed. Once the body’s normal fluid production is interrupted by this tiny device (which will hence forth monitor and control that fluid buildup), the body will not produce additional amounts on its own, but will be “told” to do so by the device. Removing the shunt will eliminate the normal production of fluid which, of course, would be devastating.
Second, it will be implanted with a drain tube (the size of a ball pen point!) which will run from the shunt, down through her body, to the peritoneal cavity in her abdomen, where the excess fluid will drain. It will, of course, then be processed out of her system with other fluids. Keeping in mind, it will be a very small amount of fluid at that point, but even the smallest additional amount in the brain can cause problems.
Finally, and most hopefully, the process may be just the ticket for Kris to really improve now. While she has shown some brighter moments occasionally, it has been agreed among therapists who work with her that she really has plateaued for some time now. Her walking with the walker in therapy has not improved, and is much the same that it was for many months, with the only real change being that her right foot turns under from time to time. She now has a leg brace to use during therapy to help turn it back, but the turning of her foot is obviously neurological simply because she can on occasion walk perfectly well with her foot flat. If you notice in the attached photo of Kris walking with George (taken 8/21), her foot is flat!
As for the Audie Murphy Poly Trauma Center, there will surely be more to report about that in the next update. So keep those prayers coming, dear ones, and especially remember Kris as you pray next week for the procedure at BAMC. Her balance, her abilities in many ways, her speaking (oh, to hear her talk again!), her activities of daily living: everything could hinge on next week. The changes may be more visible immediately, then slow for a time as she progresses further. But we do believe the ends certainly justifies the means. And so, as we begin to hope again with renewed enthusiasm, we leave her in God’s hands, fully and completely.
Blessings, with gratitude, humility and love,
Carol and George
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