At Sam's request...

Sam was actually dissapointed that I did not bring the camera to Dresden. Luckily (I guess), some friends that were there happened to have their cameras.

This is Sam the first day after surgery. Drugs hadn't worn off yet- feeling okay. Notice the blood bag bottom left. He filled two or three of those bags during the week, I can't remember exactly how much.

Sweet German haircut and some iodine stains to boot. Lookin' good.

This was after the 4 days of misery. I think two days before we came home.

We were supposed to be acting. I couldn't be serious- just look at him. The socks are my favorite part!

Since we have been back in Mainz Sam has been doing surprisingly well. I am constantly the nagging (Nagzilla, Nate?) wife telling him to lay down, rest, not talk on the phone so much, stop picking at his scabs from the stitches, take his pain meds etc...

We have been having fun spending time with Matt and introducing him to our amazing friends here. Another blog coming soon...

No more noisy German hospital!

Friends,

We are back to our little room in Mainz and it feels great. It is so wonderful to have Matt here; a huge comfort and familiarity from home plus a personal driver plus an extra hand to help with all of the things to catch up on (i.s. unpacking, laundry, grocery shopping, etc.)

We came home to the most amazing WELCOME : )







We are so blessed with amazing friends here in Mainz. Thank you Jen, Evan, Michelle, Stewart and Peter (I think that's the whole group that broke in to our room : )

The drive home went just fine. We had a completely unnecessarily nice car. We asked the guy at the rental station if it was big enough from Sam to recline and his respone was, "It's a Mercedes S-Class, I think it should be just fine". He was right, much nicer than anything we've ever driven. Smooth ride all the way down the Autobahn. A beautiful drive through German countryside. Sam felt fine the whole way.

We got home and unpacked pretty quick. Not much room for clutter in this room. We had some dinner, Matt went back to the hotel, Sam and I shaved his head and then went to sleep. We are both so used to waking up early after last week. We could only sleep until 8:00.

Lots to catch up on here. Trying to get back to a normal routine. Sam needs to rest and not get back into the swing of things too fast. I probably won't do a blog every day but will do my best to keep everyone updated.

Thank you everyone for all of the prayers, encouragement, financial support, logistical help here in Mainz, fun emails, life updates and EVERYTHING you all did to make these past 9 days bearable. We couldn't have done it without you.

Dear friends,

Sam is having a good morning. We got in trouble for sneaking down to the snack bar. The doctor came to take his stitches out while we were gone. OOPS. Hey, no one told us when she was coming so it’s not our fault.

Watching the stitches being removed was pretty cool. We still can’t wash his hair or finish shaving his head until Tuesday. In Germany it is illegal to shave a person’s entire head; only what is necessary for surgery. Sam’s head is roughly ¼ shaved. They wouldn’t even let me use the hospital clippers and do it myself.

After the stitches were out they didn’t put any bandage over the area and I have spent the last 20 minutes watching Sam’s brain pulse. I can’t describe it well but, right over the area where the incision was, his skin is pulsing with his heart beat. The bump that rises with each is pulse is about the size of a marble sometimes! I couldn’t handle it anymore so I came to the computer to distract myself. I called the nurse in but of course when she came in it stopped. It gets worse when he does anything except lay quiet with his eyes closed so I keep telling him to be quiet and close his eyes and he keeps laughing at me.

So far ‘all things go’ for checking out tomorrow. Matt lands around 2:00 in the afternoon and we should head out shortly after that. I am a little nervous to drive around in Germany. Sam can’t drive (duh) and neither can I because American driver’s licenses are only good for 6 months after being in Germany. Matt will have to be the driver and I can do my best to navigate. Hopefully zooming down the autobahn doesn’t give Sam a headache or make him sick.

I gave in with the fast food. We found out there was a KFC down town Dresden so I took the bus and got us some lovely chicken crispers and mashed potatoes. Let down of the evening, apparently German KFCs don’t have biscuits- the best part!

Once again we ended our night with some German music videos. We decided if these things aired in America, people would immediately assume they were a joke or some kind of skit from the 80s. Awful.

So hopefully I will be writing the blog tomorrow night from our own little dorm in Mainz. Funny, how roomy and peaceful that one room seems right now.

Prayers:

-Safe travels for Matt and that I will be able to find him at the airport since he will not have a phone.

-No troubles on our drive back to Mainz (traffic or brain troubles)

-A safe transition to recovering away from a hospital.

-Thank God for getting us through this week

Dear friends,

We had another very encouraging day today. Sam had headaches of course but nothing he couldn’t handle with the help of some pain tablets that seem to be working without making him sick. PTL : )

At times he just needs to lie down and be still and quiet with a cold pack on his head but that is the worst of it lately. No nausea or weakness. We walked around and even snuck down to the snack bar area just for a change of scenery.

Tomorrow he should get his stitches out. Then it could just be one more night in the hospital and we get to go home on Monday!! I think it all really just depends on Sam and if we feel okay to be on our own. Apparently we don’t need another CT scan for a few weeks. Seems odd to me that we have not had one since the surgery but I suppose we can trust the brain surgeons.

So here’s the blessing of the CENTURY for us (besides the fact that Sam is alive and well after all of this)…

Our dear (anonymous) friends from an anonymous place in America have decided they are going to be the most amazing, selfless, generous, loving, gracious and caring people in the world and they are going to fly Sam’s brother Matt over here to be with us! That’s not all, they are getting us a rental car so we can drive back to Mainz (much preferred over a train that does not stop in case something unexpected were to happen), AND they are putting Matt up in a hotel for a WEEK. This is a true story. Some people are truly God’s gift to the world. How can Sam and I ever thank YOU enough???

We had a fun surprise today. Two friends of ours that are currently doing their Fulbrights in Bremen, Germany were visiting Dresden for the weekend so they stopped by to say hi. It was such a pleasant distraction and so fun to catch up. I went to dinner around the corner with them- enjoyed myself a nice glass of wine- and we brought Sam back some pizza.

I crawled in bed with Sam and we closed the night with some hilarious German music videos (Rudolf had the remote). We are so very excited to be back home in our own bed(s).

Prayers:

-These pain pills keep working and Sam's headaches just keep getting better

-We can go home on Monday

-Thank God for the ?????’s who are sending Matt here

-Safe travels for Matt and for the 3 of us driving home on the autobahn

Lookin' up...

Dear friends,

Sam is doing much better today; still not drinking or eating very much of anything on his own though. It is good they still have his IV in for all meds. We walked around the halls a bit today and it was very nice. We have been reading updates from ya’ll and love it! Also I shared some news with him about the NFL draft which he loved (thanks, Jack!).

I am pretty sure that right now the only focus is making him feel well enough to go home. We can’t leave the hospital without finding an oral medication that works for him. They also have to remove the stitches from his head at some point. I did not realize that they actually made about a 5 inch cut in his head so they could peel back the skin and put the drains in.

From 9am until 3pm his pain was bearable but still very much present. We had a little chat with Rudolf and he told us about his world travels. Rudolf gets really excited when we talk to him; poor guy is so bored and never has visitors. We still only whisper though but no one else who comes in the room catches on.

Sam keeps asking for McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Coca-cola; what’s a good wife to do? The food here really is pretty bad- especially dinner. I might have to go exploring for some more restaurants. We have already hit up the pizza place, the Chinese place and the Doener (German staple) place outside the hospital. There is no cafeteria here just a snack bar basically. I can just hop on the bus and look around.

Around 6pm we finally spoke with the brain surgeon who can speak English very well. He made us feel so much better. He answered all of our questions and assured us that Sam’s pain is normal after what he has gone through (which turns out to be more than we knew). We truly have experienced a miracle here people.

This doctor sat down and showed us Sam’s CT scans and explained to us that when the ER docs saw those scans they were shocked that Sam was conscious, speaking and moving! Apparently someone with the same amount of brain damage Sam had should have been unconscious and have had cognitive and physical impairments. We could not believe it. Neither could the doctor. He seemed quite confused actually as to why Sam was doing so well after his injury and the surgery. The surgeons definitely thought Sam was due for a CRANIOTOMY!!! They were going to remove a sizable piece of Sam’s skull and let the blood drain out and the swelling go down and then put the skull piece back on a couple weeks later. THANK THE LORD we did not have to go through that. Its still a little unclear as to why exactly he did not have to get the craniotomy but I think it has to do with the fact that he was conscious and able to speak and move. Also because when the doctors went in they realized the blood had been there for awhile and for some reason old blood is a good thing??? No clue but I am thanking God! I think it is because as Sam was being put to sleep for the surgery, he asked the anesthesiologist and the nurse to pray with him ; ) And because all of the prayers our friends and family sent up for Sam, thank you!

Well, after all of that good news we both felt a lot better. Sam had 3 straight hours of feeling “better than he has since before Saturday”. YES! We got to walk around (up and down the hallway) and talk above a whisper and eat Subway! It was great. After a nice evening, Sam told me he wanted me to sleep in tomorrow. I just may take him up on that. I have noticed that I am getting more easily annoyed by the nurses and a little crabby in general. I think a good night’s sleep would make me a better wife/nurse/person.

Prayers:

-Find a pain PILL that works (he is still on IV meds) so that we can get the heck out of the loud German speaking hospital

-THANKS to God that Sam did not have to get a craniotomy and that he is doing better than he should be (minus the headaches)

-For both of us to have patience with the not-so-ideal situation because there is nothing we can do about the fact that we are in a country where people speak German. That’s kind of our fault actually.

Can’t someone make his headache go away?

Well, I had written the whole blog entry for tonight but when I read it to Sam he said, “Honey, I don’t want people to think you are a mean person.” I decided to start over. Dangit.

All I will say is that it was a rough day of pain management (or lack of). Splitting headaches and vomiting were no strangers to Sam today. As far as I can tell the doctors seem to think this is nothing too out of the ordinary for the recovery after this surgery. I think the main problem is finding the right pain med that doesn’t make Sam sick.

They finally put in another IV (after they took out the others that didn’t work two days ago) and gave him pain meds, nausea meds and fluids to help with the dehydration. He has drank very little of anything over the last 5 days. He seriously asks the nurse for Coca-cola and is convinced it will make him feel better. Oh, Sam…

Still planning to leave on Monday.

A private room would be amazing at this point because any little noise seems to aggravate Sam’s brain. Old Rudolf is a great guy but in a small room every sound is magnified and he is a little more active than Sam. Sam and I only whisper when we speak and unfortunately it makes things worse for him to talk on a phone so no chats with fam/friends for now : ( Also, Sam is begining to think that the German language itself can trigger head pain. He says it is a harsh language for soldiers. I think it is because he has to think harder when he hears it to translate.

Sam slept for almost 4 hours straight today. Thank you friends who sent me news articles, games, meditation and pain management help, funny stories and definitely for the updates on your lives. Keep ‘em coming!

Prayers:

-My patience with doctors and nurses

-That this is all normal and even though he is in pain, he is still on the road to recovery

-To find a pain med that works well without making him sick

-Some nice, relaxing time together without being so focused on pain

-To multiply my sleep so that I feel more rested than I really am : )

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Dear friends,

A good friend gave me a comforting phone call last night as I lay in bed. She told me, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”. Okay, Pam, it’s time for me to be squeaky.

Once again, we are having problems with pain control. He essentially has a constant migraine and if we don’t stay on top of his pain meds he is in bad shape. Between 7:30 and 10:30 we called the nurses in here at least 6 times. They gave him tablets, a shot and a muscle relaxant (only because we were squeaky). We kept asking if there is something else we can do. FINALLY, they called the doctor and he came to talk to us. He told the nurses to regulate Sam’s medicine so he no longer has to ask for medicine rather, they will just give it to him automatically. I really hope this helps.

The last two days he has been either sleeping, trying to sleep but can’t because he is in so much pain or, if he isn’t in much pain, we talk while he lays with eyes barely open and I read him messages from all of you. We only whisper because being loud hurts his head. We have a theory that all German men have extraordinarily booming and sonorous (Sam gave me that word) voices. When the male nurses or doctors come in to talk with Rudolf (the roommie) one might think Rudolf is hard of hearing; this is not the case. I think I may have to be squeaky again if the particularly loud nurse can’t tone it down this afternoon.

Sam was feeling well enough at lunch to enjoy yet another kid’s meal. He prefers the kid’s meals because they usually mean mac and cheese or potato pancakes with apple sauce rather than some mystery meat with some form of sauerkraut.

After lunch I lied down with Sam in his bed and we had a great nap. Unfortunately when we woke up his head was pounding again. The doctors came in and decided that probably the cords in his head were the main cause of his pain. They checked the blood bags and determined that the fresh stuff was more cerebral fluid than blood so it was time to take the cords out. So they did, right here in our room, and I watched the whole thing. I had to keep reminding myself that I do not have a weak stomach and blood does not bother me. It was quite the procedure. Sam was fully awake and I think they sprayed some numbing concoction on his new bald spot. They just pulled the cords right out and put a single stitch in each hole. The cords were much thicker and longer than we thought, no wonder his head was aching!

He felt relief almost immediately. We took advantage of the moment and walked to the bathroom for a body shower. He said it felt great. We can’t wash his hair for another couple of days. After the shower they brought Sam’s dinner; another 2 slices of bread with a slice of cheese and some fruit. Unfortunately by this time Sam’s headache and stomach ache and nausea had returned so he didn’t eat. Since then he has just been doing his best to sleep.

Essentially our day is a rollercoaster; extreme pain or nausea for a chunk of time followed by a period of relief. Unfortunately, the times of discomfort always last longer than the times of peace. When I left his room an hour ago he still felt sick to his stomach and had a headache. He was just trying his best to fall asleep.

Prayer requests:

-No complications due to the drains being removed (i.e. there is no more blood in the brain needing to be drained)

-No more rollercoaster. Or, at least, more frequent pain-free periods that last longer.

-Praise to God for our more than generous friends (y’all) who continue to help us with prayers, resources and support.

-For Sam and I to have some quality time together to talk and have a moment or two to relax and be here for each other without being interrupted by pain or sickness.

A request of another sort:

If anyone has some time to send me things that I can copy and paste into a word document to share with Sam during the day. For example, updates on all of your lives (especially this one), what’s going on in the States, fun stories from your lives or times with Sam, news articles (Sam usually watches podcasts everyday), devotionals, encouraging notes, jokes, games, anything really. We have moments of boredom throughout the day. Mostly, I have moments of boredom.

Thank you everyone for keeping updated and keeping us in your thoughts. The doctor estimated we might leave the hospital on Monday.

p.s. I feel so bad that I do not write back to all of your very sweet messages. Do know what we read every single email (I check mine and Sam’s), facebook message and wall post and appreciate every one. THANK YOU!