Keep praying…

Dear Family and Friends,
Well, the time is here for Stuart’s procedure the day after tomorrow(Teusday the 25th).  He only had to get on a blood thinner 5 days prior to the procedure, and he will stay on this for 6 months after.   Again it is just done on an out patient basis with Stuart staying overnight and going home the next day.  Stuart’s sister Linda will come down on Tuesday to be with us.  We anticipate that everything will go smoothly.  Keep us in your prayers.

We finally got out on our bikes for the past couple of days which was nice.  God blessed Zachary with a bike for free.  A local radio station put you name in a drawing if you put their logo on your car window.  Zachary did that on Friday and a couple of hours later they called him saying he won the bike.  We’d debated getting him a bike for his birthday but speakers for his drum set won out.  Now he will have both.  God is good.

It’s hard to believe kids are already back in school.  The summer went by so quickly.  We pray God blessed all of you with a great summer.
Love from us all,
Stuart, Valerie, Adrian, Zachary and Kaylona

Time flies…

Dear Family and Friends,
It is hard to believe that two more weeks have gone by.  I was sitting checking our e-mail (which contained all junk !) when I realized I hadn’t put an update on in a while.

Since I last wrote Stuart and I have made a trip to Vermont and back.  We decided to ride back with George and Sharon (Stuart’s dad and his wife) to Vermont where we planned to purchase a car from his dad. So off we went the day after we got back from Ottumwa.  We ended up being there longer than planned, but that gave us more time to visit with family.  It was a pleasure to stay with our son Travis.  Then on the way back we visited friends in Elmira, NY and then in Grabill, Indiana.  Stuart drove half of the way to Vermont and all the way home from there.

Just this week we do have news of his coming procedure to close the hole in his heart.  The nurse set a date today for the 25th of August.  That is the soonest she could get the two doctors together to do this.  He will have a checkup and lab work done the week before.   It is good it got put off until August as we were very busy in July.

We finally got started at the YMCA which is a good thing for all of us.  Now Stuart gets regular exercise which he seems to like.  We try to drag him there every day.  Actually, he goes willingly.  Kaylona about did me in today on the treadmill when I tried to keep up with her.  She jogged for 10 minutes, and I kept up panting and sweating.  Then I found out she had hers at level 5 and I had mine at 6.  Oh well, I made it and it was not bad for me.

We had a visit from Stuart’s brother Glenn today which was nice as we hadn’t seen him in years.  He was on a quick trip on his way to Florida to help their sister Judy.

Thanks so much for your continued support that supplements our income and helps us repay a loan and chip away at the Ireland bill.   Without all of you it would be much more difficult.  We appreciate your many prayers on our behalf and praise God for you.

God bless you!
Love from us all,
Stuart, Valerie, Adrian, Zachary and Kaylona

“Let’s go for a walk”

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, Stuart has been home for a couple of days now and all is going well. The transition went very smoothly. We made sure that we got names and addresses of new friends Stuart made at On With Life so we can keep in touch. With this transition we feel very blessed to have such beautiful sunny weather.

Today after lunch Stuart said, “Let’s go for a walk on the bike trail.” I told him that this could turn into a long walk, but he was still game. Anyway, our walk ended up being over 2 hours long. I kept checking along the way to see if he wanted me to call Bill to get a ride. The answer was always the same, “No!” We enjoyed it thoroughly, and Stuart returned home to an afternoon nap.

It felt so great to be out and about. It’s been a long journey that really isn’t over yet. There will be months yet of outpatient therapy as well as working on things at home. Your prayers are still needed.

Our hope in the near future is to rent an apartment, but there is no great hurry to do that. Life still continues “step by step.” We pray your Lord’s Day was a blessed one in fellowship with the saints.

In Christ, Stuart, Valerie and family

Tommorrow is the Day!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Today is Stuart’s next to the last day at On With Life. This morning we had that graduation party I told you about. There were at least 30 people in attendance. Stuart did his speech of thanks that Nancy his speech therapist helped him with. I must say that there were more than a few tears shed. The therapists also mentioned that Stuart was an inspiration to the other “Persons Served” here. Like I said before leaving here is bittersweet as many things are in this life.

We took lots of pictures so I hope to get Bill to send these pictures on to Travis so we can share them with you. Tomorrow Stuart will be saying many of his final goodbyes to people here. However, we plan to come back here for Stuart to do some volunteer work here. Maybe he can even speak now and then for their Brain Injury group that meets a couple of times a week. I might even get involved in that.

We did get to look a couple of apartments yesterday. The duplex we looked at was just perfect for our needs. Pray that the Lord’s will be done with that. We submitted the application for that, and it comes available April 1st. Linda, Judy and Kandi came from Ottumwa to be at Stuart’s graduation. Judy will come one more time next week before she heads back to Florida. Please pray that she has a safe trip as she is driving. We even brought our cat Simba in this morning to see the people here and vice versa. There are many cat lovers at this facility so she got lots of attention. This is an exciting time for us so thanks for sharing with us.

In Christ, Stuart, Valerie and family

Graduation Jitters??

Dear Family and Friends,

Just thought I’d get a quick update on here while Stuart is gone for his swimming therapy. He really enjoys these times in the nice warm pool. This will be his last time before we leave this place. He will be leaving Saturday which is a definite time.

His “graduation” party will be on Thursday morning. Tiffany will be baking monster cookies for that. His sisters Linda and Judy will be coming from Ottumwa. That is also the day we plan to bring our cat Simba in for a visit. Zachary and Kaylona bought a pink retractable leash with a pink camouflage  collar. That should make quite the fashion statement. She has to be on a leash while here.

Tomorrow Stuart is going out to lunch with a couple of his friends from here, and I will join them. Stuart is going to miss his friends from here at On With Life.

Today his nurse said that they have planned three speech therapies per week as outpatient. I am sure that will be closer to us in Clive.

Please pray for Stuart as it is pretty frustrating for a preacher who cannot find the words to say. All of this will just take time, “Little by Little” which continues to be a good theme of encouragement.

So, until next time……….

Love in Christ,

Stuart, Valerie and family

P.S.

As Stuart was getting back from swimming Vera the doctor called from Minsk. It was nice to chat with her for a bit.

However, we have some even greater news. About 5 minutes ago they pulled the tube on Stuart, his stomach tube that is. One little pull and pop is was out. Stuart acted pretty ho hum about it, but I was pretty excited. He should be excited. No more tube flushes in the middle of the night. I guess compared to what he has been through this was a little thing.

What a great and awesome God we have. Take some time to thank and praise Him today for His wonderful works.

Thanks for being there with us!
Valerie

Finally… Root Beer!

Dear Family and Friends,

I just thought I would write a bit though not much new has happened. Things are going well with Stuart transitioning into drinking liquids. He is enjoying this very much. He even got to drink his root beer that he won quite some time ago at a ring toss.

Tomorrow is his conference with all the people working with him. At that time we will probably find out when they will remove the stomach tube. I am sure we will also find out when he will get to leave here. That may mean they will need to do a home visit in the near future.

Stuart will be busy this coming week doing some volunteer work. It looks like he will do some volunteering at the church we attend here. I am not sure what exactly he will be doing.

Today was a nice day as Stuart had a few visitors. We go to go out to lunch with Karen and Kelli Johnson to a Chinese buffet. Our children were also here which included Jeremy, Justin, Zachary and Kaylona. I am sure Stuart was happy to have someone else here besides just me. I stick pretty close to his side these days. That’s about it for now.

I pray you all had a wonderful Lord’s Day.

In Christ,

Stuart, Valerie and family

He just “keeps on blessing and blessing!”

Hello again to everyone,

Another week has flown by with Stuart’s progress not slowing down. The more he can do, the more he wants to do. One other event this week was Stuart’s visit to the eye doctor to check the changes in his vision. As expected the doctor found some loss in his periphial vision. That explains his difficulty with reading. He just doesn’t see the out edges of things. However, it is not severe and can be corrected with prisms in his glasses.

It is also exciting that soon Stuart will gain some independance. If all continues to go well they will begin to allow Stuart to get up and about in his room with no assistance. Waiting for a nurse to answer the call light doesn’t always work too well.

Putting thoughts into words is still difficult, but with the wonderful help and encouragement of the staff at “On With Life” that too should become easier with time. Stuart is finally able to speak louder as he exercises those vocal cords. It was nice for Stuart to get a visit from his co-worker in Nikopol, Andrew Green. He told Stuart how Benjamin really misses him. Little children always bring great joy to Stuart. He just loves being “Grandpa” to all of them.

Music therapy which includes hymn singing and chapel also helps Stuart to pass the time in a way that he enjoys. God has blessed again by providing this great facility to aide Stuart in his recovery. He just “keeps on blessing and blessing!” Remember to count His many blessings every day.

Love from us all,

Stuart, Valerie and family

Sunday dawned beautiful and snowy…

Dear Family and Friends,
Well, again I missed a day of reporting because I wasn’t home to use the computer.  For some reason the one visitor’s computer at rehab was not working.  I had stayed all night with Stuart on Sunday.

Anyway Sunday dawned beautiful and snowy for Stuart as he went out to attend church services.  Just what a Vermonter likes to see who hasn’t gotten out much.   It was a blessing for him to be in fellowship again and enjoy the class, music, communion and all.   The we got to see an old friend from Topeka, Kaylene and her husband Ryan whom we had never met.  They were in town with their two girls, and it was a pleasure to do some catching up.   Stuart’s excursion out exhausted him, and he followed it with a two hour nap.

Today was a very busy day for him also as an eye doctor appointment was mixed in with all of his therapy.   He has some vision changes as result of the stroke.  Knowing what those changes are therapy can work more effectively with him.  If he doesn’t improve much over time then prisms can be added to his lenses.

Also, today the speech therapist said she may add lunch as a meal he can try too with supervision.   Stuart is all for this.   Eating for now is a tiring process as he must chew, swallow, cough and speak to see if the food cleared right.  This is done for every bite he takes.   When eating is automatic it is so much simpler.

It would do us all some good to thank God today for healthy minds and bodies that are so amazingly created by God.  I know that I am much more thankful through all of this.

Keeping in touch with all of you is my pleasure!!

Because of our amazing God,
Stuart, Valerie and family

Going to Church… As Usual??

Hello Family and Friends,

It was a bit different for a Saturday for Stuart as he was busy with therapy most of the morning with a final two sessions in the afternoon. They told me that when he is bored he can always go down to the gym and work on some of the machines to build up his strength.

Today also saw many visitors starting with our friend Eugene from Nebraska who got there even before I did. Then Justin and his family, Jeremy, Zachary and Kaylona all came. It was nicer for them as for some reason Stuart’s voice was louder today. That seemed to happen after he ate lunch.

He didn’t get to eat breakfast to they gave him lunch of mashed potatoes and a banana. Sounds like an odd combination, the the mashed potatoes he really enjoyed. His swallowing is improving so next week they will probably redo the swallowing evaluation.

Some good news is that tomorrow we will go to pick up Stuart to go to church services with us, weather permitting. He is very excited about that. I am sure he will be sitting for a couple of hours staring at the clock before we pick him up at 8:45. Tomorrow we will report how his first Sunday outing went. Until then…..

Love from us all,

Stuart, Valerie and family

Sunday was a pretty special day…

Hello Family and Friends,
Sunday was a pretty special day as it was the first time Stuart took communion since his stroke.  He has not been able to swallow well enough to eat until this week.  Then on Saturday evening he requested that we bring it for him to take.  That was quite thrilling to me.

Today Kaylona, Zachary, Keli Johnson and I were with Stuart for the afternoon.   He did not want to sit still.  He had us going for a walk with him 3 times while we were there.  He told me that he even ventured into his room from the visitors room all by himself.  He said the nurse had left him in there when he had to make a visit to the little room.  Of course, there was no nurses button to push so he got up and went by himself.   That is nothing short of a milestone.  Thank God he didn’t fall while on his own.

He is definitely walking with more confidence and has a more positive attitude as he is getting stronger.   The weekend shift is amazed at the progress he has made in just one week.

Pray as we move onto the next step we continue to see the good things the Lord has in store for Stuart.  Remember that move is Tuesday afternoon.   Stuart hopes that the food is better in the next place.  He couldn’t even tell me what they served him this morning.  He only said it was awful.  However, they told him he had to eat at least half so he could skip the tube feeding.   He managed to do that.

We pray that your Lord’s Day was as great as ours!
Love in Christ,
Stuart, Valerie and family