Hello everyone!  It’s Rachael with a long-overdue update!

I have had a chance to speak with many of you and see some of you in person since returning home.  One thing I have been struck by, and have grappled with, is how differently we have all experienced what happened to me.  I have become acutely aware of how my experience of this situation is vastly different than all of yours.  I was sleeping while all of you were mourning.  I was in a coma that the doctors thought I might never awaken from while you were all fervently praying.  I was unaware as my family was told to start planning for end-of-life.  Since being awake it’s been hard to come to terms with the fact that you experienced so many emotions and uncertainty while I slept.  

I have been home now for almost 5 months.  It’s crazy how the time has gone by both so slowly and so quickly all at the same time.  The transition to me living at home again was a real struggle for all of us.  We had barely been used to living under one roof together when I got sick, so this was almost like starting all over again.  Jon, Wyatt and Zach were so happy to have me home, but there were growing pains as we figured out how to do life all together in the same place again.  In the hospital I was used to round-the-clock care from nurses and aids.  At home, all of those responsibilities fell to Jon.  Everything from getting me food to eat, to helping me shower, to changing my clothes, to taking me to the bathroom, to helping me go up and down the stairs safely was solely on him.  The boys were a definite help, but Jon really took care of the vast majority of my daily needs.  Not to mention all of the driving to different doctor appointments and therapy appointments multiple times a week. 

Thankfully, I have been slowly and steadily improving and need less assistance.   I am now excited to say that I graduated occupational therapy a couple of weeks ago, and I only have one physical therapy appointment left!  I have become much stronger and am able to do the majority of things I once was, like driving and doing the routine activities of daily life.  The last few months have settled into a nice routine as more and more of my life returns back to “normal.”  I’ve even started attending an exercise class in town.  

A few weeks ago I had an MRI on my brain to see how things are looking 6 months after the small stroke and 3 seizures I experienced in January.  Praise the Lord, my MRI results came back with no additional damage, only some scarring that was expected from the stroke.  My neurologist says I don’t need to see her for one year, and in the meantime I will continue on my anti-seizure medication as a precaution.  I will also continue to take medication for some lingering neuropathy (tingling) in my right big toe.  All in all, we were really pleased with the results of the MRI!

I’ll be heading back to work at the end of this month, with teacher workshops starting on August 22nd and students starting school the following Monday.  I am both excited and nervous to think about heading back to school.  I’m excited to start my 22nd year of teaching by getting back to the routine and structure of school and working with 3rd graders again, which I absolutely love.  I’m a little nervous to go back to work because it’s a physically demanding job being on my feet much of the day.  I anticipate that I’ll be quite tired during the first weeks of school as I build up stamina and endurance for teaching again.  I also know that I’ll be making some modifications to help with the transition, like using a stool rather than kneeling on the floor.  Getting up from the floor is still a real struggle for me - believe me, it ain’t a pretty sight!  A few weeks ago I started to have some “back-to-school dreams”, which I typically don’t have until about a week before school starts.  Because of that, I’ve already been in my classroom a few times over the last couple of weeks getting my classroom prepared so that I’ll be ahead of the game when workshops start.  Thankfully, this has also helped to alleviate some of the dream anxiety I was experiencing.

Some of you who I’ve seen since I’ve been home from the hospital have noticed my hair has looked significantly different since becoming ill.  During my stay in rehab and continuing once I was home, I was losing my hair in handfuls every day.  This was a result of being so sick and my body using nutrients for healing rather than my hair.  In all I lost at least 3/4ths of my hair, leaving me with a scraggly mess of damaged hair and a scalp that could be seen through the little bit that remained.  Thankfully, my hair stopped falling out and regrowth is happening!  I now have a little over 1 inch of new growth all over my head!  I am so happy that I have hair growing back, as I wasn’t certain that that would be the case.  I know that it will take a long time for it to all grow back and look the way it once did, but I’m off to a good start.  I actually got a haircut this afternoon, and after much conversation with my stylist, she suggested cutting it into a short bob would be best.  With my new haircut I feel more like my old self, and it has taken a long time to regain that feeling.

This will likely be the last Caring Bridge update unless something significant comes up in the future.  I can’t even begin to adequately express my gratitude for each and every one of you!  I am so thankful for Jon and how he selflessly loved and cared for me when I was at my worst.  I am thankful for Wyatt and Zach and how they helped me and entertained me as I recovered.  I am thankful for my parents, siblings and in-laws as they supported Jon and the boys and rallied together when things were really uncertain.  I am thankful for the wonderful care I received from the doctors, nurses and aids at all 3 of the hospitals I stayed at.   I am so thankful for all of the cards, gifts and well-wishes I’ve received during this especially challenging time.   The way that everyone supported me, Jon, Wyatt, and Zach was amazing and humbling.  But, more than anything, I will forever be thankful for your faithful prayers.  We truly believe that the Lord performed a miracle in my life and healed my body.  May we always remember this miracle as a testament of His love for His people.

❤️Rachael

Romans 12:12 ~ “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Here are some ways you can continue to pray going forward:

-Pray for my aching joints.  Even though my muscles are getting stronger, a side effect of Covid is joint pain.  I am certainly feeling that on a daily basis and there is not enough research out there yet to know how long I may have to endure this chronic pain.

-Pray for continued health, especially as I return back to work at an elementary school filled with about 800 students and staff members.

-Pray for stamina and endurance as I return to work in a few weeks.

-Pray for my mental and emotional health as I continue to process all that has happened to me during the last 8 months and how it impacted my family.