Hello, Its Me!!!!!!!!

Hi This is Katelyn and I am typing my blog by myself for the first time! My right arm has full control now and i can hold my head up on my own! I am able to type (obviously), push myself somewhat, and yes finally able to brush my own teeth!! (So simple yet so enjoyable)

I want to thank everyone for their prayers and support, i know we couldn't have gotten through it without such wonderful people surrounding us!

I am so excited about starting High School but it will be somewhat of a challenge so please pray for that! Luckily there are wonderful teachers, counselors and staff that are so willing to help me out! Praise God!!

COMING HOME!

Praise God - Katelyn will be coming home this afternoon! She continues to improve and is excited about being home again. She will start the day program on Monday from 8am - 3pm for 5-7 days but at least will be home with us at night.

Please pray for the transition home to go smoothly for all of us. Especially for Kate as she adjusts to everything. We will be minimizing her visitors and activities as her rehabilitation continues but at least she can be on the phone and computer more talking to her friends!

Please pray regarding the transition to doctors and therapists out patient.
Answered prayer: we have heard back from the doctor we were hoping would take her case on and she has agreed. The last step is finding a pediatric ENT to adress her continued hearing loss. We know God will provide this too!

Finally, we are working with the school district to get her on track to start school on August 11. This will be a big adjustment for her considering she is just coming out of the hospital and also will be attending high school for the first time.

God continues to be good and walk beside us!

Fingers are a wiggling...

Kate continues to improve this week as her fingers on her left hand are now wiggling too and she has full use of her right hand and arm! Also, she now has head control and will be getting rid of the head rest on her wheelchair soon. Please pray for endurance for her during this time of rehabilitation. Please also pray as we are working on getting the right doctors lined up for her rehab when she comes home and for the details regarding school that starts Aug. 11.

Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer!

Peace Up

Katelyn has gained most of the control of her right arm now and gives us the peace up sign. She is getting pretty good at getting around in her wheelchair with the one arm.

She is a fighter and trying to focus all her energy on her recovery. Our visiting hours are limited and though that is hard, it allows her to stay focused. We will be talking with the doctors further on Monday regarding her continued treatment plan.

God is good! It is not easy and it's a hard journey for all of us but God is faithful to show us He is walking beside us and carrying us at the times we need it.

Katelyn asks for prayers for her to recover quicker and for her to have the patience to endure.

A Visit from Rusty

Last night we were able to take Katelyn's dog Rusty to visit her. It was wonderful watching her be able to pet him. Yes, her hands are starting to work again! I think every night we visit we will be surprised by what she has accomplished.

Yesterday was a good day but also difficult as it was her first full day at this facility. New faces, new food, new doctors, etc. She was nauseas and vomitted 3-4 times yesterday and so they are taking a look at some of her new medications. Please pray for this to resolve quickly.

She was in good spirits when we left though exhausted and wants to come home. The road before her is not a short one though. She will probably be there a week or two and then we are looking into whether she can continue rehab in an outpatient setting or transferring to a longer term rehab facility. PLEASE pray for wisdom and decernment for us as we research this and for the doctors to guide us. Praise God for our friends who are nurses and for all the connections we have with people who are helping us with this research! Jodie - you rock!!!

A huge praise is that one of God's angels continues by her side. The nurse that prayed with her when she arrived has asked to be Kate's nurse in the evenings. Katelyn has asked her to pray with her every night and read the bible with her. WOW! God you continue to amaze us!!! (Pray for protection for this nurse due to the separation of church and state issues. Because Kate asked though, she should be ok.)

Also, please pray for the other kids that are in there with her. Her tender heart is saddened by what they are battling too.

Finally, please lift Becca up in your prayers too. It's been a long journey for her too and she so much wants her big sister to just get better and come home.

Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and support!

Angels Watching Over Her...

God's angels continue to walk very closely beside Katelyn. Today was a day of progress and miracles! This morning with a little help from the nurse, Katelyn feed herself breakfast and by tonight she was coloring within the lines!

Last night, the nurse that was with Katelyn was a hindu who had recently become a Christian. She shared her faith story with Katelyn and prayed for her throughout the night.

This afternoon she was transfered to the unit we were hoping to get her into. Both the doctors attending her called the head of Sutter to get her in. As her doctor started to walk out after he told me the good news, he said "May God bless you and her". She was transfered late this afternoon. Though it was VERY scarey, we knew this was a step in the right direction. God was guiding us on the path.

As I was showing the nurse in Kate's room tonight before we left how I've been helping transfer her from her wheelchair, she told us that she noticed we were Christians and shared that she was too. She said that God had healed her Grandmother and she knew that God would heal Katelyn too. She then got on her knees and laid hands on Katelyn and prayed for her! Prior to this Robert and I were very nervous about leaving her but after this, we knew God had a multitude of angels watching over her and she would be ok. We both left with a renewed sense of peace.

The battle is not over and we don't plan to get off our knees ever but God WILL BE glorified through all this. We are not to be strong but that God is glorified the most when we are weak.

We don't know the diration of her rehab at this unit and what comes after this, but have renewed confidence that we are not alone. The prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world continue to uphold us.

Please pray for the hard work she will be facing especially the next few days. Pray that she continues to cry out to Jesus!

Monday Night Update

Kate will continue to be in the hospital until near the end of the week. Today was a roller coaster ride for them with exhilarating highs and lows that left them crying out. On a positive note to those lows though was one point today, Kate was alone in her room crying out to God and the nurse that came in to her room prayed with her. She had movement that was purposeful, now her brain needs to remember that and repeat it. Robert & Jeannette are begging for you to be on your knees for them for the next couple of days as the journey to healing and through the medical system is overwhelming them. I have been asked many times what we can do for them, and right now it is purely prayer. I know that cards and emails of support and encouragement would bless them as well. -- Karen (karenhamer@lakesidechurch.com)

Monday Morning Change in Plans

Kate isn’t going home yet, but being transferred to another unit. They found another specialist who is familiar in this condition and he is going oversee her new medications and wants to keep her in to evaluate her closer. Praise God, that the right people are getting on board to get her the help she needs!

Coming home...

We have all the test results back and Dr. Chez is going to stay on board as part of the team of doctors helping Katelyn. He has started 2 new medications that he hopes will help. Please pray for wisdom regarding the medications they are trying. Please also pray for the addition specialist they hope to bring on the team. They are trying to find someone that specializes in this condition.

On coming home, Katelyn's p.t. will be increasing to 4 mornings a week for at least 2 hours and we will have more rehab that is being scheduled to do with her at home. So, she will be working very hard and we all will need prayers to endure the intesity of this new schedule. Visitors will be limited and short due to trying to balance encouraging her and also her getting the rest she needs.

PLEASE pray for her spirit and all of us to hold onto our faith in the Lord to endure. Scripture says that when we are weak, HE is strong. We are holding onto this. The scripture we are claiming right now is Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your strength and lean not on your own understanding and he will make your paths straight." We don't understand this, the doctors don't even understand it all, but God does!

Tests and more tests

Thank you for your continued prayers! We definately need them to endure. Yesterday they sedated Katelyn and did an MRI/MRA and a spinal tap. It went well and she came out of the anastesia ok and was hungry. Praise God! She was in good spirits when we left last night. We are very comfortable with the environment she is in and the guidance we are getting from the doctors. He will continue some more tests and then decide hopefully what direction to go the beginning of the week. Please pray for wisdom and discernment. Please pray that if we need to transfer her to another treatment facility that there is one with an opening.

Again, we treasure your prayers! (The doctor is still encouraging us that she not have visitors at this time during all the testing.)

Thursday Afternoon Update

They met with the new neurologist, Dr. Chez and are so encouraged by his response and approach. Dr. Chez has ordered a bunch of tests for the next day or two and has asked to keep Kate calm and laying low for the next 48 hours, so please no visitors and keep the phone calls down to a minimum. She'll have her EEG this afternoon and the MRI tomorrow. Jeannette and Robert feel very confident and comfortable with the care and attention Kate is receiving, and the attitude displayed by everyone - which is to find out more, why, how and how to get her better. Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Another Round

This is Karen posting today, yesterday was an eventful and traumatic day. Kate had PT at 2:00 and things were progressing well. She had some new movements and everyone was encouraged. As she was getting settled into her chair to come home though it looks like she might have had a siezure and then she passed out. They took her to Folsom Mercy and from there transfered her last night to Sutter Memorial. There Kate is being attended to by a top neurologist, one they were waiting to see at the end of September. Kate is improving, remembers Monday, but not Tuesday (Jeannette’s fine with that, it means she didn’t just have a birthday). She realizes she’s in the hospital, but not why or how. They plan to do an EEG and an MRI with MRA today. Please continue to lift the whole family in prayer.

More Iky Testing

According to dad, "it was an electrifying day with some shocking experiences". Ok, Dad has a warped sense of humor and he wasn't the one having to comfort Katelyn as she cried and screamed (but it did make her laugh tonight when he came up with the phrase).


All that to say, we headed back to UC Davis this afternoon for some more tests. They did some brain wave and nerve conduction studies. The good news is that it was painful , the bad news was that it was painful!! This means that the pain indicated the nerves were working in some capacity but it was very difficult for her to go through. We don't know the final results but there was some "weird" responses by the nerves on the side where she isn't able to feel touch.

(Katelyn's memory of the experience is a follows: awful, terrible, painful, they electricuted me and poked me!)

But, that is done now and hopefully will lead to some answers or atleast rule out some more things. The good part of the afternoon was seeing a few of her favorite nurses at the hospital and having ice cream in the cafeteria with our dear friend Faye who went with us. (Praise God for her being there to help me comfort Katelyn).

Her neck strength continues to improve and she spent 2 hours tonight painting with her Grandma :)

Please pray as we continue to pursue a second opinion and look into other medical facilities for guidance.

Please pray for her to get some sleep as she continues to wake up every 2-3 hours at night to be turned. (Robert and I could use some long term shut-eye also).

Last, please pray for Rebecca as she left Sunday morning with her Girl Scout troop for Lassen camping and won't be back until Wed. night.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support along this journey!

FREEDOM...

On this day of celebrating freedom, Katelyn has discovered a new freedom for her. She has learned to use her ipod by controlling a stick with an erasor on the end. This is a huge freedom for a teenager!

Also, she wants to say that she is thankful for the freedom she has today to move and control her head. She realizes how lucky she is to atleast have the freedom to think clearly and communicate.

We look forward to celebrating our country's freedom tonight BBQing with friends and thanking God for all He has given us. Please take a moment also to remember those serving our country to protect our freedom!

Happy 4th of July!

Rollercoaster Week

Wow! What a week. We are looking forward to Robert being home tomorrow and some family time for the 4th.

The week in review...Monday was quite a day as she experienced trying a new "swing" at p.t. that was difficult for her. She had also lost her head and trunk control Sunday night again.

Then we were off to UC Davis for a follow up with the rehab doctor. We got some good info. from the appointment but also it became more clear that we need to push for the second opinion. (This doctor is also sending over a referral to the same pediatric neurologist that her other doctor recommended. Pray for an opening soon). It also was traumatic for her being back at UC Davis. The one bright spot of the afternoon was that her dear friend and former teacher Mrs. Shapley joined us for the excursion!

Another thing that came out of the appointment though was that they confirmed what we wanted to do about sending her to school in August. We are working on filing the paperwork so that the district provides the necessary accomodations and an aid so she can atleast go to school part time in the fall.

Tuesday morning her head control started coming back (yeah!) and we were off early to accompany Becca to her horseback riding lesson. Katelyn loved watching the horses and getting nuzzled by them. Later, some of her dear friends came over to paint nails with her, then they painted using the "paintbrush in the mouth technique" and then helped me with getting her in the pool.

What a day!Wednesday morning we were off early to p.t. and had a great day there with her back and neck strength continuing to improve. At the end of the session, she started having some head spasms again but they lasted less than 10 minutes this time! Then with the help of my p.t. friend and her 4 year old, we were off to watch the horses practice for the rodeo and then the parade at noon with the cattle drive. After a good LONG nap, she headed out last night to youth group and enjoyed the worship there with some friends.

Today has been a down day as her sister and her have their noses in books. Becca is very merciful at turning pages for Kate as long as it doesn't require her taking her eyes off her own book!

We continue to look for God in each moment and rely on His strength. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.