Journal entry by Sammi Palmer —
It has been a while since we have posted an Adam update (sorry for how long this might be)!
First of all..from the bottom of my heart I want to, again, thank each and every one of you for you continued prayers and support. Adam has said over and over there is no way to repay any of you for everything you’ve done for him and his (our) family during such a trying time and during his recovery. I am so thankful we were able to have his benefit before COVID-19 really took off in Iowa. It was so refreshing to see Adam’s face light up talking to and seeing the MANY people that attended. We are so thankful for all of you and I feel so blessed to have been able to meet all of you! This community is the absolute best and I cannot say that enough. The help from friends and family that we have received has been outstanding.
We are finally settled in at home and have some of our funny farm home and the kids absolutely love it! Adam is so happy to see the kids “how he imagined his life on a farm” playing outside, riding horses, doing chores, and now...riding the golf cart all over the farm!! He has such great, strong, and fun kids and I have three amazing (bonus) kids!!
Adam’s health: he continues to make improvements! He is working on all kinds of things in therapy! He continues to go to speech therapy three days per week and occupational therapy two days per week. He is continuing to work on reading, writing, comprehension, retention, math, etc and this week he actually started working on things related to his job (IEPs)!!! I made him work on his homework last night and the little shit whizzed through math and reading! He was annoyed because he had already done the reading yesterday in therapy and actually told me what the story was about before he even read it to me (rolling his eyes). Such a breath of fresh air to see how much he has gotten back! God is SO good — I cannot repeat that enough!
As far as his heart goes: he continues to remain on the same medication. Due to his last PET scan showing little to no improvement in the inflammation on his heart, his sarcoidosis specialist would like to switch him to a different immunosuppressive drug, methotrexate. He will be starting that soon. The doctor said due to the Prednisone not improving his inflammation (though it has stopped it from worsening) the methotrexate would be better long term, with less side effects, and hopefully better effects on the inflammation. He has a couple upcoming appointments that were cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic that is currently occurring! He has not had any repeat heart imaging to check the function of his heart, that will occur this summer! His physicians have called and reviewed his health prior to cancelling these appointments to make sure it is a good decision to prevent him from being exposed to any one with illness.
Speaking of immunosuppressive therapy..This puts Adam at a much higher risk than the average person of getting sick. He’s been educated (a lot) by me and his mamma of the extent of the pandemic going on and that social distancing is an absolute necessity. I kindly ask that you all practice social distancing, as well, to keep yourselves and those with weakened immune systems safe and healthy! Adam is a hugger and a handshaker..so it’s been hard for him to change his ways. He has finally grasped the extent of this pandemic and understands how serious this is. It’s caused new rituals for me of coming home, throwing my scrubs and mask in the washer, and showering before doing anything else to keep my family safe. There are a lot of theories out there, but this is real and this is scary! Please keep yourselves healthy and stay home if you are able or this will only get worse! Ok off my soap box!
The following quote was shared with me this week
Not all storms come to destruct your path but to clear it.
Adams cardiac arrest put into perspective what is truly important and this quote said that perfectly!
Prayers for all for staying healthy and getting through the hardships you may currently be experiencing because of COVID-19.
💙🙏🏻
Patients and caregivers love hearing from you; add a comment to show your support.
Help Adam Stay Connected to Family and Friends
A $25 donation to CaringBridge powers a site like Adam 's for two weeks. Will you make a gift to help ensure that this site stays online for them and for you?
