Chuck has officially been out of the hospital for a month this week. The first several weeks of home care were tremendously overwhelming and much more work that we anticipated. We certainly have an even deeper appreciation for our nurses and caregivers now that we are full time responsible for Chuck's care. 

Chuck continues to face the same hurdles that he faced while in the hospital. He spent the first several weeks extremely ill, suffering constantly from nausea and frequent bouts of vomiting. Being post-stroke, the body and brain are already tired and adding vomiting and often dehydration made it a rough few weeks for Chuck and for us as his caregivers. He spent a lot of time trying not get sick, getting sick or sleeping trying to recover from being sick. 

With Chuck being a Type I diabetic, my Mom and I also had to take a crash course in managing his diabetes in addition to his post stroke care. Thankfully, the past week has brought improvement in the nausea and vomiting, allowing Chuck to be awake more often and more able to work on rehab activities. 

He began out-patient rehab activities a couple weeks ago, so my mom has the burden of making the trek to Harborview multiple times a week (usually pretty early in the morning). The first few weeks went slow because of how sick he was, but we hope now that he has longer periods of feeling well, he will be able to dig deep on rehab work. 

I am amazed by the human body and the miracle of how all systems internally work together, how the body can begin to repair itself and how it can change so much. Anyone who knows Chuck, knows that he loves all types of food and especially appreciates delicious flavors and spicy foods. Post-stroke it appears his tastes have completely changed. He prefers bland foods, no spices and even foods that have no real salt in them, often taste extra salty to him. It has been challenging to find foods that are healthy for his diabetes and bland enough for him to keep them down. We have also realized how little Chuck did to educate not only us, but other family and friends about his diabetes, his limitations, how to care for him in an emergency and more. I certainly have empathy in my heart for anyone suffering from diabetes or parents who are struggling to care for their kiddos with juvenile diabetes. It is a lot of work, planning and discipline to manage his diabetes and after this stroke - there simply is no other option. He is three times more likely to have another stroke now that he had one so being disciplined in the diabetes and blood pressure care is absolutely critical. He is not the easiest patient when it comes to this. 

Day by day, we see small improvements to his overall health. When he left the hospital, he had to go everywhere with a walker. He kept his head down when walking, looking at the floor because it helped him keep from getting sick. When we were able to get him out of bed long enough his first few weeks home, he had to use his walker and could barely make it outside and down to the mailbox. Just yesterday he walked without his walker down the block, around the corner and all the way back. This is progress! 

He continues to need round the clock care and unfortunately most of the has rested on my mom (mostly) and me when I am able to get away from work. Thanks to the friends who have come and helped when able. We continue to need help and support as my mom is starting to feel the fatigue of caregiving 24 hours a day. Although he is becoming more independent, he still needs help managing his food, his insulin, his schedule, going up and down stairs and more. He continues to struggle with memory and some brain function. He is able to talk with you, but sometimes forgets names or common words, sometimes he starts talking about something that makes absolutely no sense and sometimes he talks with you just like he did before his stroke. 

The key to recovery is continuous repetition of all the mundane activities that many of us simply take for granted throughout the course of the day. He often finds himself frustrated because the activities can feel plain silly for a grown man to complete, but we continue to reinforce that the repeating of these tasks are what reteaches his brain. We have already seen the beauty of this process at work as he starts to walk around the house without a walker. 

Chuck is now able to have visitors and talk on the phone. Please feel free to reach out to him and check on his progress whenever you would like to. He could use as much encouragement as he can get. We don't plan to post frequent updates to this site related to progress (we just have our hands so full) but will try to post the occasional summary of where we are. As I mentioned, please reach out to him any time to see how he is doing. 

Last, as I shared - we are still in critical need of support and help in any way that we can get it even with simple tasks around the house. You would be amazed how much time it takes just to manage his basic care related to food, meds, diabetes and rehab. Please continue to pray for radical healing and for the Lord to place a burning fire in Chuck to dig into all the activities his doctor is asking him to do. This is the only way he can recover. Please be in constant prayer for my mom as the strain of managing day to day life activities (washing laundry, dishes, bills) coupled with SO MUCH insurance paperwork and phone calls and then taking care of an adult (who we often find not so cooperative) is absolutely so much pressure and so tiring for just one person. She needs to be drenched in prayer as she continues to persevere. 

" Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10