Baylor Medical Complex is huge and it was cool to see the facility. The heart wing had tons of
resources including videos and books for heart patients. Me and Nicholas (Mike and Becky's boy) spent a little time watching "how the heart works" and "what happens during a stroke," while Mike was being seen by the doctor. After our heart lesson we headed across the sky bridge to one of the other buildings to check out what trouble a 2 and 29 year old boy could get into-we didn't find any to speak of but if you read about some weird happenings at Baylor in the paper, don't call us.
Mike was meeting with the cardiologist at this point. The new cardiologist is convinced that there's another problem that we may be overlooking. In short, he's not willing to fix the hole in Mike's heart, which he classified as moderate, until they are able to run some more tests. He ordered Mike to see a neurologist and hematologist to explore the issue further. The earliest they could get him in is September 20th. However, before we left, the doctor called over to another building where he wanted a test run before we came back to Abilene. They performed a trans-cranial doppler. The test was pretty cool, they basically inserted an IV and introduced bubbles into his bloodstream. There were sensors on his head that they used to listen for the bubbles to help determine if they were traveling all the way to his brain. We should find out the results of this test next week sometime.The only other thing we really found out was that the doctor seemed to be interested in Mike's tobacco use. Mike has dipped for a couple of years on and off, but his habit had definitely peaked when he had the stroke. We were all confused by the doctors hunch, and still are, frankly. However, he's a doctor and we'll trust him until we find reason not to. We also have to
remember that the Lord is in control of the situation. The entire family is getting a little anxious and impatient. We want this boy worked on and fixed! Obviously, Mike is getting worried and today definitely took a toll on his confidence, but he's strong and he'll make it.At this point, we hope to concentrate on the rehab. He's scheduled to go to PT next week at HSU where they will hopefully get a chance to work on his speech too. We are so thankful for this opportunity at HSU, it makes our combined $90,000 in loans worth it! - In a weird depressing way.
On our way home, we stopped by Pappadeaux's for lunch. Me and Mike had alligator as an appetizer and mom just about left the table. It was fried and hardly identifiable, as a lot fried seafood is, of course she hates looking at shrimp too so I guess we should have expected it. The alligator was pretty good, for the record. Oh wait, I almost forgot, mom said that we might as well have eaten a human because alligators eat people and we were eating alligator, that thought made it all the more tasty. I was going to tell mom that crocodiles were more likely to eat people,
but who knows, our alligator might have snagged a finger on his journey that eventually ended him up on our plate. We laughed bunch about the alligator. You know, I should get a little alligator necklace or something and then I bet mom would let me go on more morning runs. Our alligator discussion eventually gave way when mom spotted Barry Bonds across the restaurant. Actually we have no idea who it was, but she swears she's seen that guy on TV before. After leaving the restaurant, we cruised a couple of blocks South to see the progress on the new Cowboys Stadium. Sorry for the poor quality cell phone picture.Mom has been very supportive and tries her best to understand what these doctors are telling us. She's our only hope when it comes to understanding this stuff, well, she and Amber my sister-in-law in NYC. I"ve been impressed with mom's skills in a family crisis like this. She's done a great job of taking care of things behind the scenes, with hardly any recognition, she's a great mom...running and alligators aside.
Becky has also been working hard to keep Mike going. She's been calling doctors and setting up appointments, handling insurance and Mike's business, and taking care of the house and kids. There's no doubt she could use a break, I was worn out by a partial day with a 2-year old!
Mike is doing better. His spirits are up and he's ready to get some answers and treatment. He hasn't reverted to any of those bad habits that the doctors tell him to stay away from, except maybe rooting for the Mavericks. (They're a basketball team, for those of you who don't know them. I've never heard of them either, Go Spurs Go!) Though anxiety and fear have become a bit of commonplace for him lately, he's realizing that his life is forever changed and he's willing and ready to make those changes and live life.
Tonight, I pray especially for Becky and all the pressures that are on her. I was talking with a friend from work who had a spouse with a similar ailment that required a significant recovery time. Without even knowing Becky, my friend told me to support her as much as you are supporting Mike. My friend said that many people forget to check on the spouse during a time like this. That was good advice. If any of you have ideas on how to support Becky, drop me an email, or better yet give her a call and encourage her.
Well, I'm exhausted once again and I'm sure I forgot some details and failed to make sense most of the time, but it's late and I'm tired. Post me a comment and I'll clarify any of this. Thanks for reading, this was a long one.
2 comments:
Brandon,
Thanks for giving Becky's position a shout. Please have her call me. Tell Mike Jones we are prayng praying praying. Love, Jamie
The alligator really was gross!!! As this situation is stressful for all of us, Michael is the main focus and we just need to get him well!! Thanks to Brandon for the blog and for all of his help and support to us all! Keep praying!!
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