Kris update: Time is growing short

Dearest friends and loved ones!

Time is growing very short! We plan to leave Sebring, Florida one week from today to head for Texas! Our house renovations are done until we return in November, then we’ll start again (the storage/laundry/work shop outside and then siding all around). Renovations have been ongoing since fall, and we only had one mishap! George had a disagreement with a powered miter saw and lost. No stitches were necessary according to the ER folks; just a tetanus shot, and he was back at work!

Beyond that, it seems I’ve developed (over the past year) some very bad cataracts. One has already been removed a week ago (the right one) and the other will be removed this Thursday. Amazing how much better I can see!

Most importantly, news about Kris is: she is still at Country Care Manor in LaVernia, Texas. In the last update, I told you she will be going to the neuro care facility, CORE, up in Dripping Springs, TX, about 80 miles away. CORE stands for Center Of Rehabilitative Excellence, and it is my deepest hope that name rings true! I had a very nice conversation with the director of marketing on Friday. She explained that Kris will receive excellent care: one-to-one care, 16 hours per day. Right now, however, they are full with several discharges pending, which means the staff needed to work with Kris is not available. She explained that they have also taken on ten new rehab workers, who are presently in training there. She feels Kris could be admitted by the end of May.

The very nice lady suggested I visit their website at www.corehealthcare.com and read the bios of all the therapists on staff. She said they are all excellent with impeccable backgrounds, and Kris will be very well cared for, nurtured, retrained and guided toward re-entering community living. My greatest concern is still the distance from Kris’s home. But that seems to be where Kris’s doctors feel she should go, and the military concurs. At least, George and I will be there to help her make the move this time.

I still talk to Kris every day and she seems to be in fairly good spirits, at least after Mondays. Mondays are usually a bit rough, coming off the weekends and getting back into the “swing” of things. She is working very hard with the Dynavox. Susan, the speech therapist there at Country Care, tells me she is really having a great time using new phrases Susan inputs into the device for her. It is a joy to listen to all the things the machine is saying for her, MOST especially when she (or it) says “I love you!” That’s music to my ears, and it’s Kris pushing the buttons!

One of the greatest joys last week was when Janet (the nurse who took such wonderful care of Kris at the VA) visited her on Thursday. Nurse Janet called to let me know she and her husband were there, and Kris was really very happy to see them. Janet said Kris touched her cheek several times, which is Kris’s way of expressing how happy she was to see her. Kris can communicate in such sweet and tender ways, and touching one’s cheek or their hand is her way of saying, “welcome.” It also expresses her caring and love, and it’s her way of saying “thank you.” A warm hug may initiate a tender little pat on your back. That means, “I love you,” to me. What a tender moment!

Ah, yes, well... we intend to have a few “pats” very soon. I’ve told Kris we leave here next Sunday (Mother’s Day), and we should be there by Wednesday, with God’s help. As always, your prayers are a tremendous comfort and we continue to need all that we can get. Kris will be at CORE for quite some time, so we are planning to fix and furnish her room there as comfortable and cheerful as possible. The facility isn’t huge and she will have the “run” of the place, which I think she will enjoy. There are more people there her age, I am told, and that will certainly be a boost to her morale. And the therapy is six hours every day, five days a week. Hallelujah!

Just in closing, many of you have asked about son John. He is cancer free, and he seems to be getting stronger slowly. Neck pain and headaches seem to persist, and likely will for some time. But he is back at work and seems to be keeping up with home chores. Another mention, son Gary has done tremendous renovations to their home and we can’t wait to see them. And, since some of you have asked, our darling little granddaughter (who was one year old this past January 2) is a treasure and a little angel. I cannot wait to hold her! Oh, yes, daughter Diana will join us in Texas in June for a week’s visit, and THAT will be a sweet surprise for Kris.

That’s the very latest of the latest, dear friends and loved ones, from the Kline family. Time is growing so short, and I am getting anxious and excited! But we have so very much to do yet in preparation for the trip. With your prayers... your wonderful prayers... and with God’s faithfulness, we will be “on the road again!”

Blessings and a safe, happy summer!

Carol and George