Journal entry by Lethea Lollar —
This last month has been filled with Kyle's therapy and what feels like endless Doctor and radiology visits. It was also the month that we celebrated his 31st birthday on the 15th.
On the 12th he had the dreaded nerve function test. He tolerated the first part of the test really well (where they use electrical stimulation to test your nerves). The second part of the test (where they push a needle into your muscles) was much more painful. He was such a good trouper! And the results show no nerve damage in the left arm, so it's more therapy time to get that left hand and arm reconnected and moving again. He is making great progress with movement in his fingers; even being able to lift and stack plastic cups. This requires a great deal of effort and concentration, but he is so proud when he accomplishes it!
For his birthday, we celebrated a couple of days early by going out to his favorite Teppanyaki restaurant. We also got him a massage on his birthday and had a number of his dearest friends over that evening for Tacos and Cheesecake. It was a great day of celebratiing his life.
During a routine xray of his shoulder, it was discovered that Kyle has a medium to large pleural effusion (fluid in the lining around the left lung). This, of course, led to numerous chest x-rays and blood tests, followed by a CT scan w/contrast. The good news is that there wasn't a blood clot. (The minor bad news is that he had a reaction to the contrast dye and spent the rest of that evening flushed and itching.)
Last week we had a wonderful visit from Lester's sister, Deborah, who came from Texas to spend the week with us. It is so good for all of us to have a little distraction from each other.
Today he underwent a procedure called thoracentesis, where the Doctor removed some of the fluid around the lung so that it can be tested and hopefully determine the cause. Again, he tolerated this procedure well.
This week we've been given the incredible gift of time. Our sweet friend, Sterling, came up from Southern California to spend the week with Kyle, with the insistence that Lester and I get away for a few days by ourselves. We left home on Tuesday and made it as far south as San Juan Batista and then today over to Moss Landing until Saturday. I cannot even begin to tell you what an extraordinary gift this is. We are recharging our batteries, while knowing our son is in most excellent hands.
Breathing...
Lethea
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