What, exactly, are we doing here?

15 Mar

God put us here for a reason. And it boggles my mind that some would not want to know why … would not want to pursue His will, or even know it. And WHY?? Fear.

It takes great courage to trust God enough to follow HIS will and HIS guidance. Deep down inside we think we know best and ultimately we think ourselves to be the highest authority in our own lives. Our independence creates quite a tension in life.
What are we doing when we don’t seek God and His will? WE ARE FAILING TO TRUST. We are just plain failing.

A Difficult Road

9 Mar

Dad’s general condition has really not improved much. Now, there are a couple of factors that could explain it: They did remove the temporary drain which was only in for about 48 hours. he is really not walking well and has a difficult time grasping the fact that he cannot go home yet. Mom said he only walked 25 steps yesterday. This could be explained by the removal of the temporary drain. We will know soon, because the permanent drain will be installed on Friday (hopefully our last surgery for a while).

I had a long talk with Mom yesterday. I am really praying for her today, because she is barely hanging on. Its so hard for her to see the man she married 56 years ago now in this condition. Her goal is to get him home … period. No matter what it takes.
But the truth is, right now we are not seeing the same progress we saw when he first got to rehab over a month ago. In fact, he has regressed a little. Makes the road even more difficult. It raises questions, such as “was there damage done to the brain by the subdurals?” “How much more recovery can we expect?’ And various other questions that are very difficult to express.
So, today I am praying specifically for my mom, Janet Wike. Hope you will pray for her too.

Here is where is are …

4 Mar

Yesterday moved so fast I didn’t have time to blog. So here is what happened since the last one:

We had a run in with a nurse that was less than professional. Handled that with a 30 minute conversation with her supervisor yesterday.
Dad WAS finally able to stand a walk a little. And he is now back at the cottages. Dr Nelson was very pleased (as were we) with the temporary drain. We saw immediate improvement in his general condition and his mental sharpness. Now that they are back at the cottages, Dad just needs to show us his improvement on the field of rehab. And I think he can and he will!!
We DO have to go back late next week and make this fix permanent. Doc says this will simply be an overnight stay. EVERYTHING he said about this visit was accurate, so I have no reason to doubt! I do hate this couldn’t have all been handled in one visit, though. It is quite a disrupting circus to get Dad from rehab to the hospital …
Dad just wants to go home. I told him over and over again the way home is through doing EVERYTHING the doctors and rehab folks tell him. My prayer for him is that he will keep that drive going.
My prayer for Mom is that she will get more rest and take care of herself a little.

Yet ANOTHER update from Greenville Memorial Hosp

2 Mar

Yes, I sit in yet another hospital room today. Around the corner from the other TWO we had in the previous weeks. Dad had a good night, but we’ve already felt the full PASSIVE force of organizational chaos. And it is very frustrating.

I think Dr. Nelson is a talented surgeon, but really have not been able to talk to him much. What we NOW know is that they are going to walk Dad around some today and possibly still send him back to rehab tomorrow or Thursday, and make this drain permanent NEXT WEEK. Mom and I both misunderstood that last week in his office.
So here we sit, not knowing whether to start the wheels (as we were told to do by the case worker at the Cottages) or wait. Dr. Nelson said making this permanent next week would NOT stop dad from going back into rehab this week. And if this all plays out this way, we have ANOTHER hassle of getting readmitted to the Cottages for a week or so and redischarged to Memorial, do have to go through all of the hoops again.
So we’ve paged the case worker for this floor and intend to ask HER to get us some answers. Maybe she can get more info out of this machine that we apparently can …

Taking our game up a notch

28 Feb

Finishing my mini-blog from Wednesday afternoon … Yes, sometimes I do think I would be less disappointed in people if I lowered my expectations. Sometimes I DO set them too high. But what can we do about all of this??

We take our game up a notch!! We LOVE in spite of what happens! We CONTINUE follow the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you) and we take it up a notch (as Christ desires). WE TREAT THEM BETTER THAN WE EXPECT TO BE TREATED!!
That is the answer! That is the ONLY ANSWER!
Are YOU ready to take your game up a notch?

Figured something out about myself

24 Feb

One of the complexities in the psyche of David Raymond Wike is that I am a middle child. That DOES mean it is in my nature to try to make sure EVERYONE is happy. Sometimes I get burned because of that.

And the flip side of that coin is this: I really do try my best to put people first and feel rotten when I am not able to do that. But there are people in this world that do NOT share that philosophy, and do not care how others perceive them, and don’t really mind leveling those around them.
And I have a difficult time with that. I am not perfect, but I really do try to treat others well. I am learning that just because I do that doesn’t mean I can expect others to do the same.
And it took me 43 years to learn that. So, I guess I am hard-headed, too!

Vince Carter’s 86-foot shot

24 Feb

Our last and only shot

24 Feb

Here is it, for what it’s worth:

I was shocked, to say the least, at how much Dad has regressed in the past two weeks. His balance is so bad that he hasn’t walked in the last three days. He is now dragging his feet again. Mentally he gets mixed reviews … I don’t think he is as sharp as he was, but the speech therapist says his memory is getting better every day … That is the one bright spot of this!
What all of this says to me, and Dr Nelson as well, is the NPH symptoms have returned. We knew this would happen, we just didn’t know when. So yesterday we discussed a lumbar drain, which Dr Nelson feels will be safer and the risk of subdurals won’t be as great (I don’t understand why, but again, I am NOT a neurosurgeon). But I agree 100% that we should do this. We asked him what our prognosis is … He said if this works, and there is NO REASON it shouldn’t, the prognosis is great: Dad should walk again and recover more!! If not, well this is our last shot. There really is nothing more we can do.
So, with all of that typed, we have much riding on this next surgery. And we are doing it on MONDAY. According to Dr Nelson, we should only be in the hospital for two days and be back at rehab by Wednesday.
All I can ask is please pray!

Most recent update

22 Feb

Here is what’s going on in the world of DW …

Dad is making very slow progress. But progress is good. He does seem to be leaning to the right a good bit. We have an appointment with the neurosurgeon TOMORROW that I will drive up for to discuss what we need to do about NPH. The condition still exists and could be having some affect on his rehab. The question is, what can we do?? Removing the fluid is what ultimately CAUSED the subdural hematomas!!!
Things at EBC are going well. Personnel is working hard to help us get some things in order. When we do hire a church administrator, things will change significantly for the staff. I hope everyone is ready for that …

Where have I been???

18 Feb

Yeah, I know. It’s been a while. For a little update, Dad is doing better daily. Still in rehab hospital. He did have a fall last Thursday, but seems to be fine from it. We still don’t have a timeframe for when he might be released.

The past few weeks have been non-stop. No real downtime at all. Most recently, Ebenezer had a deacon’s retreat at the beach this past weekend (in the SNOW!!) and then on Monday it was off to Ridgecrest Conference Center for the Worship Arts Technology Summit.
WATS was very impressive. They brought in the big dogs from SHURE, YAMAHA, and a variety of other companies who serve churches with technology. And these guys taught us, listened to us, spent one-on-one time talking about OUR technology issues. It really was great!! Like a thirsty man standing in front of a fire hydrant, it was overwhelming at times. But we all came back with tons of ideas and resources.
Now, to get things ready for Sunday and try to get some rest so this cold I’ve had for a week now will completely go away!!
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