Okay - Today REALLY Was the Longest Day - at least for me!

EXHAUSTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We were at MDA for more than five hours today and for someone who has just had a really long neurosurgery, that's just too long. But, what we discovered while we were there is that they've been totally overmedicating me. Kinda funny because it has been my very precise legal eagle husband who has had control over the situation - honestly, I've heard the explanation several times and I still don't really get it, but the important thing is that he figured it out and I will be feeling much better very soon (so they say!). I am just absolutely pooped and that's not my usual mode. Look for more pep soon!

We came home to some great leftovers and now I am waiting for the dinner delivery - yummmmmm - special service - LOVE it! Then, I am going to force myself to nap for a few hours so that I can make it through dinner and then sleep again - sounds delicious! There will be four of us for dinner - should be very nice.

Family status: Braden and Maren have returned to Seattle and keep in touch. SK is in Denver until late Friday night - she returns to Houston on Sat. - not sure if she is coming alone or bringing Ryan and Winnie with her - and not sure how long she will stay - just glad that she will be here to take over her Asst. Little General position. Brian and Tiffany are here and come over every night to sample the latest culinary cuisine - so good to have them "in residence!" Clif, of course, is a constant - I am so grateful for him. Next week, I suppose that Mother and Shannon will rotate in and out - maybe even Daddy, too. It will be great to have them here. I have personally enjoyed a little alone time this week - it's hard for people to understand why I would want this, but I do - I just have to look in the mirror to know that it's probably for the best :)

Now, I'm going to hang this one up and wait for the doorbell to ring - shouldn't be long>

Love to you all - good grief, cards, flowers, food, and all that xxxoooxxx - just way too much! Thank you - you know I thank you!!!!

xxxgbg - the Brainiac!

You Really Must Be Bored With Me By Now!

Quick post before those mean guys get home and shut me down! I am FINE - really, really FINE. Today, I did a lot of catching up on e-mail, FB, etc. You may have noticed that I didn't answer the phone - sorry about that - just not ready for that part yet, but I will be soon.

I guess that I am singing - you know me - I'm always singing :) even if it's just in my head. But dancing - no, not much of that for me. I do really want to - I just have no natural groove jive in spite of the fact that I was on a high school drill team. I just knew how to memorize and fooled you all - even Oma :)

I am bored after a day that I figured would be so restful - and it would have been if I would have just let myself do that. Instead, I spent way too much time on the Internet and FB and this blog, etc. Bedtime will definitely be earlier tonight - two a.m. appts. tomorrow and I am somewhat apprehensive about both. First is cognitive testing, which I believe will be very tiring. The next is with the surgeon and rumor has it that the staples are coming out - hmmmmmmmm - she's all undone!

Tomorrow, I'll let you know what really happened. In the meantime, help me remember butterfly, diamond and tree - the magic words :)

xxxtoall - the Brainiac!

She's BAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKKKKK - sort of :)

Okay - quick post before this loses power. I am a-okay, I can still sing and I do remember all the words, I still can't dance - I've always wanted true, fluid movement - maybe some day - huh, maybe even tomorrow :)

Thanks for the love, concern, food, messages, cards, gifts - all of it. You guys are the BEST!!!!!!!!!

More soon - xxxxxxxxxxtheBrainiac

Status

It occurred to me that the absence of a post yesterday might have some of you very concerned. Not to worry, Mom is still home and recovering. She is still not feeling 100% herself, which the doctors assured us is to be expected--she did have brain surgery after all!

Yesterday, we went back to MD Anderson to visit the beauty/barber shop because it had been closed over the weekend. She got a shampoo, which made her feel a lot better.

Assuming the roads in Houston are not too flooded to drive, Mom is scheduled to go back to MD Anderson again this week for appointments with her doctors. We will know more about the pathology then, and Mom will hopefully share that news herself when she is ready.

Thank you all for your continued support of all of us. Do not be afraid to write or call--we love hearing from you, and I'm hoping the Brainiac will feel up to chatting soon.

Sara Kate

The Brainiac is HOME!

Mom got her discharge order around noon today and she is very happily resting at home! She had a delicious lunch of yummy leftovers and a dessert sampler--thanks to the contributions of so many of you. She is currently enjoying a nap in her own bed.

Braden and Maren are on a plane returning to Seattle right now. Shannon will be arriving tomorrow. Brian, Tiffany, Ryan, and I are just hanging out taking orders from the Brainiac--as she herself admitted earlier, she's good at that. My dad is hanging in there too.

Thanks for checking in on our patient. We'll let you know if there is any more news, and hopefully the Brainiac herself will start posting again soon.

Sara Kate

Belated update--and photos

A quick update: Mom is out of ICU--she got a room late yesterday afternoon. She is sleeping a lot and resting up so that she can go home as soon as possible. She's had a bit of a headache--go figure--but is healing well. The doctor thinks she could go home as early as tomorrow, but it may not be until Monday.


This afternoon we watched the NFL draft and saw Ziggy Hood--the cousin of Mom's nurse Stacy--get drafted by the Steelers--kinda cool.


We appreciate all of your continued thoughts, prayers, and support. And thank you Stephanie and Laura S. for the delicious dinners the past couple of nights.


Here are some of the photos that were taken on Wednesday and earlier this week. Unfortunately (or maybe it's a good thing), many of the pictures came out very blurry, so these are the best of the bunch.






Dr. Weinberg and his team after the surgery.

The finished puzzle! (Hopefully someone else got a shot that is less blurry.)

Completing the puzzle was a team effort.

Braden waiting...

SK with the Robins.

Honey, Sheila, and Linda.

Scott, SK, and Jane.

Brian and Connie.

Kim, Megan, and Shannon trying to work.

Early stages of the puzzle.

Carol and Brenda.

The Lauras!

Clif, Maggi, and Linda. And some very cute napkins!

Mom and Nancy Beck in the lobby at MD Anderson on Tuesday after Mom's appointment with Dr. Weinberg.

All the girls.

Here we all are at dinner on Monday night after Honey, Kim, and Shannon arrived in Houston.

Friday afternoon update

A quick update on the Brainiac... She has a room assignment and will be leaving the ICU in a couple of hours. We are all looking forward to a change of scenery!

Mom is doing well today. She got a glimpse of her new hairdo this morning when the doctors came and removed her bandage/turban. She is hoping for a visit to the beauty/barber shop this weekend (run by Volunteer Services) to "cute" her up. The songs keep coming too!

My aunts and grandmother left this morning, but they will be back--probably with a tan (Kim is off to Mexico and Shannon to Galveston). Braden's girlfriend Maren arrived from Seattle last night. It has been nice to have her join us and support Braden. And she is a jogger, so Winnie is looking forward to a run!

We'd like to thank Ana for the delicious enchilada casserole, rice, and awesome bean dip last night. It was so nice to have a home-cooked meal. There were a few recipe requests, Ana, so let us know if you can share.

We'll give more of an update later when we are settled in the new room. In the meantime, I am going to attempt to load some of the photos that my dad took on Wednesday, including the finished puzzle.

Sara Kate