Update!

Sorry it has been so long but I wanted to give you an update as I have numerous people asking how things are going.  Well it has been a hot summer but not too hot to enjoy great times together with family and friends.  Since our last visit to Oklahoma I started wearing the new lenses that Dr. Farris prescribed and they were absolutely wonderful for distance but still double vision up to about 6 or 7 feet.  After about a month in a half or so of wearing them I started noticing that the double vision started becoming more and more and the distance was increasing from 6-7 feet to about 15 feet.  I made a phone call down Dr. Farris, the Neuro-Opthamologist in Oklahoma City at the Dean McGee Eye Institute, and they said that they wanted to see me again.  We returned down there on Monday, August 1 and he checked out a few things and noticed how dry my eyes were so he said that he wanted me to use some drops in each eye at least 4 times a day and that the focus issues I am having are due to this.  The left eye takes about 2 seconds to focus in on something and the right eye is slow but faster than the left.  He said we are dealing with 3 different issues here, 1. double vision near & far, as well as, horizontal & vertical which is convergence insufficiency 2. dry eyes which are not helping with the clarity 3. the blind area in the upper right quadrant in both eyes due to brain damage.  When you put all three of those separate issues together well....you just plain have a big mess and it is extremely difficult to fix he told us.  He really wanted to do surgery to try and see where we could get if he works on 2 different muscles in my left eye which is the worst one of the two and see if he can weaken the muscles so that he can try and get it lined up with the right one.  The recovery is 6-8 weeks and then we will return there to have him see where we stand and if we need to schedule another surgery on the same eye to adjust things or if he needs to work on the right eye.

God is Faithful!  This has been my theme through all of this and once again He shines so bright through everything.  We were sitting in the office waiting for them to come in and talk to us about the details of all of this and Nic and I were discussing time wise when we should do this and with insurance and I just finished mentioning to him that once again we are going to have to work on my patience because that is something that I have really had to work hard at this past year and a half.  Trusting God is not a struggle of mine, but being patient for things is.  We were thinking maybe go ahead and look at doing it in February and that would work best for Nic getting off and things slowing down etc.  They came in and took us to another floor for scheduling and we sat down and she says well there has been a cancellation and we have this Thursday open at 7:00am.  Nic starts laughing and looks at me and says...you asked God and He gave it to you.  Never ask for something you don't really want.  Anyway we have gone ahead and are planning on leaving this afternoon to head to Oklahoma be ready to go at 6:00am in the morning for surgery.

I have been up since 5:30am and yes I am nervous, but I ask God to calm my anxiousness as I am ready to SEE the world in a whole new way.  I decided to check my email since I was up so early and I wanted to share what a good friend of mine had sent me and it was just what I needed to hear...Psalm 34:8 - Taste and SEE that the Lord is good.  Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

I also wanted to mention that Nic had paid a bunch of bills right before we headed down to Oklahoma and then they decide to do surgery 3 days later?  AHHHH!!!  I also needed to call the hospital and make a payment for Parker's birth and then call the surgery center to make another payment for Parker's ear surgery he had.  I paid the surgery center over the phone and called the hospital to make a payment as well and the lady said honey you have a zero balance and I said but I still have two more payments to make are you sure?  She said yes and enjoy your day.  Wow that is awesome how the big guy works.  Later on in the day the lady from the Dean McGee Eye Surgery Center calls and wants to know how much we can pay on Thursday for the surgery and I thought oh no here we go again.  I talked with Nic and called her back and she tells me we can make payments of $100 and there is nothing else we need to pay ahead of time.  Wow once again.  God is truly amazing and He always works it out.  Thank you for your prayers and support during this time and I hope to SEE you all soon.
God Bless

Back to Oklahoma

 Cooper's first go-kart ride

(yes I am driving)

Cooper's hole-in-one!

Tonight we returned home from a trip to Oklahoma for another eye appointment with the Neuro Opthamologist down there.  What an amazing doctor he is.  He measured my eyes and we spoke about how the lenses were working for distance, but how the double vision is still a struggle up close.  He told us that there are three options:  1. Pencil push-ups-which are muscle exercises that would cause me to have a migraine and would only be temporary relief of the double vision if I continued to do them.  He mentioned that with neurological trauma this begins to be a whole new world and that they would  not help out.  2.  Two pairs on eye glasses.  One would be for close up and the other would be for distance.  Yes,  I would have to switch back and forth between the two depending on what I am looking at.  The two different lenses that I need for distance and up close are so different that they would not work on one pair of glasses.  3. Surgery-this would be done 3 different times with about 6-8 weeks between them for recovery.  They would go in and tighten the muscles in my eyes and it would be a very delicate procedure.

He went ahead and gave me a prescription for a new set of lenses for distance that is a little stronger so that the distance should get even a little better and hopefully help me out enough to be able to drive.  I guess we will just take some time and pray about God's leading and the plan He has ready for me to go down.  Once again Dr. Farris prayed with us and asked for us to hear what God would have us to do.

We decided to take Cooper with us down to Oklahoma for a little road trip.  Lala stayed with Parker at home since he still isn't feeling the best.  After my appointment we took Cooper to a place called Celebration Station about 11 min. away from the doctors office.  We had a blast.  We played miniature golf and all three of us got a hole in one.  We played some fun games inside and won some tickets in order to exchange them for some army men that Coop picked out.  The finally for the day was Cooper's first go-kart ride.  We raced daddy and yes I got to drive!  It was so much fun and Cooper's face was priceless as daddy would try and pass us.

It was a good trip and we got some answers for some questions that we had.  We had a great time with Cooper and some good talks down and back.  Please pray for God's leading and that we may be open to hear what He has to tell us.  Thank you so much.

Mayor's Prayer Breakfast

I had the opportunity today to share my testimony at the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast where close to 230 individuals got up to attend at 7:00am.  Yes it was early, but WOW what an amazing morning.  I have never seen men and women so still and quiet with tears running down their face just soaking up God's words as they flowed through me.  It was quite a moment and what an amazing moment it was.  I spoke on God's faithfulness through the tragedy's of our lives and how He will never leave us and in EVERYTHING God works for the good for those that love Him.  It was a message that had been building up inside of me for a year now and I was truly a time bomb ready to pop.  God sure was at work on Thursday morning.

Parker is to have ear surgery

Today we found out that Parker is going to have to have ear surgery and have tubes put in.  We have struggled with ear infection constantly since November.  One of his ears is so bad that it was buldging and the ENT Dr. said it is now time.  He is scheduled for surgery on Thursday, May 12.  Father God I just pray for little Parker and his ears that you may place your hands upon him and give him the comfort and relief that he needs.  Give us the strength as parents to keep going no matter how tired we are and just to be there for him during this difficult time.  Amen.

1 YEAR!!!

Today it has been 1 year since my brain bleed and stroke.  3:00 am was the time and I will never forget it.  Today is a day of celebration as God has been faithful and continued to bless me through this past year.  Sometimes it feels like it has been longer and at other times it feels as if it has been 6 months.  We enjoyed Easter activities today with boys and friends.  Tomorrow is Easter and wow what we have to be thankful for.  He is risen!  Not only did He rise from the dead but He has allowed me to rise up from my hard times and look to Him through it all.  I have been sad...but not mad.  God is faithful!!!

Prayers for my vision

Well I have worn the glasses for awhile now and things really are starting to look different...at a distance that is.  Cars are in their lanes and people have gone from two bodies attached at the shoulder down to one.  I haven't attempted the driving yet due to the vision still not being quite right and I want to see what the Dr. has to say before I just jump into something that could injure myself or others.

Distance is great, but anywhere from about 3 feet away to under my nose still seems to be double.  The two images seem to be about 6 inches apart and they constantly seem to move.  They go back and forth from one to two objects and so reading is still difficult unless it is huge and far away.  Nic got me a tablet PC for my birthday and I am able to make things huge and hold it back far enough so that I am able to read it.  We go back to Dr. Farris in Oklahoma May 9 so we shall be patient and see what he has to say.

I feel so honored

I feel so honored as I was asked to speak at the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast on May 5 in El Dorado.  I am going for an interview in El Dorado and will get some more details on what all is going to take place.  I am truly excited to share God's faithfulness and get out what all God has been doing in my life.  May 5th is the National Day of Prayer and the theme is A Mighty Fortress is Our God.  They would like for me to share my testimony so they better be prepared because my testimony sure is one of Gods work in my life.

Call me 4-Eyes

Today I got my new lenses that the Neuro Opthamologist prescribed me and it took a little getting used to, but I think things are looking better. He is really trying to work on my double vision so we will see how these new glasses are going to work out.  I am suppost to go back and see him in 3 more months to be measured again and talk about how things are going.  I am suppost to wear them at all times so I can really get used to them and see how they can help me out.  I am so excited to go and check out my good looking boys now that I can see one of everything.

Oklahoma City was a blessing!

Today we returned home from our trip to Oklahoma City to meet with a Neuro Opthamologist who I have been trying to get into for 4 months.  Nic and I headed down to Oklahoma yesterday afternoon to make sure that we had enough time to get there with the snow coming in.  I called the office early in the morning to see if they were going to close at all due to the weather and I needed to know since we would be driving around 200 miles for this appointment.  They told me it would be pretty slim on them closing since they did last week and they were so behind with patients.

We were about 25 minutes away from getting there and I get a call saying that they are going to have to cancel my appointment due to the weather and reschedule it for Friday.  I talked with them and let them know we were almost in town and that I really needed to get in today if possible.  They talked with Dr. Farris and he was going to be gone since he was called into an emergency eye surgery.  I checked to see if there was any way that I could wait and see him after the surgery since we had driven all this way and taken off work.  They said to get there as soon as we could and they would get started and then I would have to wait an hour and a half until he would be out of surgery.

We made it to the Dean McGee Eye Institute and headed in to Dr. Farris' office.  They started a few tests on me and said that I did really well.  They tested my visual field and my eye pressure and things looked good.  Nic and I waited about an hour and a half and Dr. Farris walked in.  He had a large stack of papers that Dr. Park had sent him on me including the newspaper article from the Derby paper.  He sat down and said I have read over your things but I would like to hear it from you.  I proceeded to tell him the shortened version of the story as he made some notes.  He did a bunch of testing on me and then had me walk across the hall to his office where he wanted me to focus on a building while looking out the window.  He had me try on some lens and messed around with the prisms in them.  I finally got to see one building for the first time.  It was awesome!  We walked back over to the exam room and he continued with a few more tests.  He decided to dilate my eyes so he put some drops in and said he would like to take a look at my brain scans while my eyes started to dilate.  He returned and sat down in front of me and said all I have to say is that it is a miracle that you are functioning the way you are.  He was amazed at the amount of blood in my brain from the bleed.  He said that 9.5 out of 10 people would be completely blind on the right hand side of both eyes from a brain bleed like this.  He didn't understand why I could see as well as I am currently and that it was a blessing how close the bleed was in my brain to the area that controls my speech.  He could see where the bleed was on the back left side of head and how it reached around to the front left.  He also saw where it barely started around on the back right side and that is where it just slightly touched the area that controls my right leg and since it wasn't a whole lot it didn't mess with my right arm.  The great feeling to all of this is that I finally feel like someone understands what is going on with me.  I felt like he just jumped into my body and felt what I feel every day.  He explained to us that he believes that I was born with a blood vessel abnormality and all of this resulted from the large amount of blood that your body makes while you are pregnant.  He looked at me in the eyes and said it is a blessing that this didn't happen before having Parker.  He also explained how we are not born with both eyes perfectly aligned and so therefore our brains have a auto pilot that fixes the minor flaws so we don't see double.  In the case of any head trauma, bleed, or stroke the auto pilot won't work and so therefore the double vision can get really bad as in my case.  He commented that there is no exercise that can fix this and that some special lenses and even surgery can align things.  He wanted to wait on surgery at this point and try the lenses and see how we do with those.  He wants to see me in 3 months to measure some things and check up on how well the lenses are working.

The best part of all...
After he explained everything to us he asked me if it would be ok if he prayed with me.  That was the best thing that he said to me.  I was honored and he grabbed my hand and held it between his and began by saying...Lord, I want to thank you for bringing Sarah to me.  I want to thank you for the miracle of her being here and being able to squeeze my hand right now.  I want to pray for those boys of hers and for their health.  I pray for her eyes and that you may heal them and help her to see.  I pray that you may guide me as a doctor to help her.  I pray for safety and we take this time to lift you up.  In Jesus name we pray Amen

Tears were running down my face and as he handed me some tissues I asked if I could hug him.  We hugged and I couldn't say thank you enough.  He walked us out to the front office and as we headed to the elevators I looked at Nic and said wasn't that amazing?  God's timing is sure perfect.  Sometimes I think we think that we know and yet it is times like these that we don't know a thing and have to just sit back and take in God's perfection.

It's getting closer

My appointment in Oklahoma is getting closer and I really have high expectations for this doctor as everyone keeps telling me to go for it and head down there to see him.  There are only 2 Neuro Opthamologists around here and 1 is in Kansas City and the other in Oklahoma.  I am trying to get everything ready for the trip and so I have called St. Francis hospital to get all of my brain scans on a CD to take with me.  I have collected all paperwork and images and I believe we are ready to go.  My mom is coming over to spend the night and take care of the boys while we are gone.  Nic took a day and a half off work so we could head down the night before since my appointment is at 9:30 in the morning.  We also got Oklahoma Thunder basketball tickets for the night before so we are pretty excited about the trip.

Time to meet a new Doc!

Dr. Rose is the eye doctor that I was referred onto while Dr. Blacklock is on maternity leave and Dr. Blacklock is the doctor that I was referred onto while I am waiting for my appointment in Oklahoma with Dr. Farris who I was referred onto by Dr. Park who is at Envision and I was referred onto by my family Dr. Bongers after hearing about Envision through my mother-in-law who worked with a colleague who started working there after she left the pediatric clinic.  Wow! Was that a run-on sentence?  Just wanted to give you a mental picture of how God works in my life.

Dr. Rose does specialize in double vision for children so it was interesting to hear her perspective on the situation.  She did say that kids with double vision will sometimes just stop using one eye without even realizing it and they never complain about the double vision.  In adults that is not so much the case due to our brains already being developed.  She recommended me go on down to Oklahoma to see Dr. Farris.  She did say that they have a computer program that I could purchase and work on at home to see if I could improve on getting my eyes lined up a little more.  I decided to make that decision after the Oklahoma trip and talking with Nic about it.

Parker's Ear Infections

I have really been blessed with healthy boys, but you know there is always sometime when they get sick.  Parker is struggling with double ear infections and the poor little guy can't sleep and you know what that means...mom and dad don't either. 

We took him in for his check up to find out that he was about to get full ear infections so they went ahead and put him on an antibiotic to prevent it from getting any worse.  10 days went by and it started to get worse so we went back and they gave him a new antibiotic for 10 days.  10 days went by and we went back since things (including sleep) wasn't getting any better.  They decided we would have to go ahead and bring him in for 3 days of injections.  He took it like a champ and he is now on his road to recovery.

Praise the Lord we are now sleeping! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Eye appointments continued

I had my periodical appointment with my regular optometrist who likes to meet with me and touch base on how things are going.  We have some great conversations over the brain bleeds that we both had and what things we can work on.  He tried some lens on me that don't have any prisms and said that this would be about the best that he could do and that it would be up to me whether I would be interested in purchasing them or not.  They weren't a huge difference and yes I would still see double, but it was a little easier to make the double vision go back to one but it still only lasts a few seconds.  I guess you could say it was a little better but worth the money out of my pocket? I don't think so.  I am anxious to see what the OK doctor has to say.  Regardless, I enjoy the encouragement that Dr. Gordon gives me and he was excited to see me feeling good and having a good spirit about life.