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Dale and Dorothy’s Story

Site created on May 3, 2018

On May 1st, Grandpa Dale was walking on the treadmill before leaving for an appointment that morning. He walked for about 8 minutes. He got dizzy and fainted on his treadmill. He was taken to Sanford in Fargo and they found that he broke his C2 vertebrae. Thankfully, he did not sever the vessel that is located in that vertebrae. Sanford ran multiple MRIs and CT scans which showed no strokes or bleeds.

They concluded that he was not a candidate for surgery. The neurosurgeon in Fargo said 75% of people can recover and heal from this injury with a special neck brace on for about 3 months. He feels this is worth a try and they will re-image his neck in 3 weeks to see whether or not the bones are starting to fuse back. If it does not improve, he will have to have surgery. Grandpa Dale will not be able to drive for 3 months, he can only lift a gallon of milk, and he cannot do anything strenuous. He cannot turn his head, he will have to turn his whole body to look around. We are trying to set up services for home health, meals on wheels, grocery delivery, and someone to pick them up for church. Since Grandma Dorothy is legally blind, neither of them can drive, so we will need to find help for them.

Grandpa has been in the hospital since the 1st and they are trying to find out why he fainted. They ran an ultrasound of the heart and the findings were not completely normal. They will find past ultrasounds so they can compare the findings. They also said that he is having some heart arrhythmia. The cardiologist suspects that there may be a blocked artery. They will perform an angiogram on May 4th to find out if all of his arteries are normal.

We are very thankful he does not need surgery, but this is a very scary situation. Thank goodness he had the safety key on him to stop the treadmill. Thank you for all the prayers.

Newest Update

Journal entry by sandra nelson — Oct 6, 2018

I have been receiving a few messages asking for updates on how everything is going. So, I thought why not do an update today which is also Grandpa Holen's birthday!

The brace that his been on his neck since May 1st is gone! He is back to driving and has been. Although he has a few restrictions for lifting and working in place for up to 6 months the fact that the brace is gone and freedom to drive is a reason to celebrate! Their plans as of now are to stay in the apartment through the winter and then decide what's next.

So, if you see him out and about today wish him a Happy Birthday! This young man has a lot of reasons to celebrate.

Read More of the journal titled "Happy Birthday! and an update..."

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