Week 21 November 5th - November 11th

Chase Update: Day 141
Wednesday November 5th 12:00 pm 
Day 44 at home

Chase's CT was rescheduled for 5 pm today so Chase and BobbySue had a lunch date. He was so excited to pick out flowers and chocolates for her. He wanted to make her first date special. He still had to wear the helmet, but we got a picture before they left. 

Clark Family Update: Day 142
Thursday November 6th 
8:05 am

Good morning! We are all done with the preliminary stuff. We have met with the surgeon, nurses, and anesthesiologist. Chase is dressed in his gown with an IV in. He is waiting for them to come take him to the OR. They will prep and position him for surgery. Surgery is scheduled for 9 am he should be done by 10 or 10:30. He will then move to the recovery room and then the ICU




12:45 pm

Chase is in recovery now. He's awake, and in the next hour he will get another CT scan and then move him into the ICU. We haven't seen him yet, but we met with the neurosurgeon, and he was pleased with the surgery.

5:15 pm 

Chase is in the ICU. He is resting peacefully now that he has seen Phil and Me. His numbers all look beautiful, and he already told his nurse she was the most important person in the hospital and that she is beautiful.  It's so neat to see everyone again and get to thank them and introduce them to Chase.
Thank you for your continued prayers

7:10 pm

He's awake, he's hungry, and he wants to get out of bed NOW! All great signs he's going to be fine!

 

Chase Update: Day 145

Sunday November 9th 12:00 pm

Good New, Bad news!

Let's start with some Good News -

This is a picture of his incision site. They had to make it bigger. He saw it and said "eww yuck, I don't want that"

Chase's CT scan this morning was great! He is healing wonderfully, and we would be set to go home today if it wasn't for the bad news.
Bad News -

Chase has meningitis

Good news -

It's a slow acting strain he got from his last surgery and they caught it before it could cause much damage to his body.

Bad news -

It's resistant to most antibiotics. There is only one company that makes an oral medication that kills it. It's $50 a pill and Chase will have to take it for 6 weeks. Don't do the math - just don't. Instead pray the insurance covers it if that's the route we take. If the medication doesn't kill the infection from the culture then he will have to have an IV for the next 6 weeks for the antibiotic. He is so heartbroken. The soonest he will be able to be home is Tuesday.

I will be heading back down to Minot this afternoon to stay with Chase, and a very reluctant Phil will head back here to stay with the kids.

Please pray that he can kick this quickly, and that his recovery will be swift. Also please pray that his spirits will be high, and he can be positive. We love you all! We are Legion.

Kami Update: Day 146
Monday November 10th 7:45am

Returning to the hospital has brought up so many unexpected emotions and reactions. This morning I am typing this in the same room I lived in for 35 days. Sitting on the same bed that I wrote about some of the most heart wrenching experiences of my life. The same bed that I would collapse in exhaustion, or cry myself to sleep on. This is the same bed that I knelt next to a thousand times when I talked with, plead with, listened, and praised my Heavenly Father. It's the same floor that we covered with children and the tornado of stuff that accompanies 6 people. The same shower I was in when I was able to cry for the first time after the accident. The bathroom we were getting ready In the morning were able to start to sing again.

I almost had a panic attack the first time I walked past that ICU waiting room. The ICU room was a whole new set of emotions. The room, the beeps, the strange antiseptic smell. I was on the verge of completely losing it when I walked into his room. Then he looked at me in his drug induced delirium and breathed my name. This was nothing like last time! Sending him into a surgery healthy was Infinitesimally more difficult than when it was life threatening. For over four hours my stomach seemed to gnaw on itself, and my body refused to be still. I knew he was in the Lords hands, but the slew of emotions I was dealing with escalated each worry tenfold. Once he awoke,I realized what a blessing it was he didn't remember last time-for all of us. He hates being still, thank The Lord for electronic devices to keep him entertained.

I am finally getting closure and dealing with the emotions that I refused to address before. I was forced to push all doubt and fear aside because I was bombarded with it. I knew the Lords will and if I allowed the doubt and fear to creep in, it suffocated my hope and faith. So now I am allowing the reality that he almost died so many times to truly sink in. I can finally understand why people thought I was deluding myself and not feel resentment for their lack of faith. I can understand why there was a fervor of excitement in the ICU when news came that Chase was coming back. This week has been an amazing miracle in my own life.

I am so thankful for a Father in Heaven who knows me, and heals me. I have truly experienced the refiners fire. I can see now, how The Lord makes us malleable so that he can shape us into who we hesitate to become on our own. I am more than a little nervous about what he has in store for us now that he has prepared us.

I'm a huge work in progress, but my willingness to be of service to him in-spite of feeling inadequate for the task, is the biggest change I have experienced. I know exactly who I am. I know my strengths, and I am all too aware of my weaknesses. I am slowly learning that my weaknesses can be strengths, and to value them instead of allowing them to define my worth or worthiness.

My challenge for you today is to pick one or two of your biggest weaknesses. Look at them in a new light, and discover how they are an actual strength. Our weaknesses make us better people. Here are two of mine.

I see the world in black and white, and I have a difficult time understanding
( aka tolerating) other peoples views when they don't lineup with mine.

This weakness has allowed me to be really good at learning to apologize, I have learned the hard way being right isn't as important as acting right. I have also had the great blessing of experiencing the world a new way by giving value and appreciation to the way others see things. Seeing as how this is a current weakness, these discoveries usually come after chastisement from The Lord or a loved one. 

I usually just say whatever is on my mind. I must have been busy explaining to someone why they were wrong when The Lord was giving out the filters other people seem to have before they say things out loud.

This weakness has given me a gift from The Lord. He uses me as a mouth piece. I guess he figures If I am going to spew whatever comes to mind, he would give me the right words. I can usually articulate something in an easy to understand way, and allow you to feel exactly how I am feeling. I am under no illusions that This is me, but I am grateful that The Lord usually blesses me with the right words at the right time.

Facing our weaknesses are usually difficult, so be prepared that for most of us, finding something good about something that we shy away from or despise is momentous. As I wrote this I discovered enough weaknesses to fill a page, and I'm not as of yet evolved enough to be able to see all of the strengths that come from them all, but as I stated before I'm a work in progress.

Thank you for your love, strength, faith and prayers. May The Lord bless you and keep you until we meet again. We are legion!

Clark Family Update: Day 147
Tuesday November 11th 7:45 pm

We finally made it home!
Chase is on $300.00 a day worth of antibiotics, but we are home. Fortunately our amazing insurance is covering it 100%
We jumped into the car as soon as they released us so we could make it home in time for Young Men's (this is his youth group for our church)
He laughed when they asked him if he wanted to be wheeled to the parking lot in a wheelchair. Then he said " No thanks, Bye" and headed to the elevator. 
He is so excited to be here. We have to go back to the Dr's in Minot and for a CT scan on Friday, and then back again to Minot on Sunday for Stake conference. Then back again next week to take the sutures out.

Everything looks great with this incision and his brain scans. He hasn't had any painkillers since Friday or Saturday. We have just been impatiently waiting for them to figure out the antibiotics and set us free. So back to our semi-normal life tomorrow.

We didn't tell the kids we were coming home because Chase wanted to surprise them. He knocked on the front door, and was met with a giant hug from Talli and his other siblings.

The infectious disease Dr. wants Chase on the anti-biotics for two weeks but the neurosurgeon wanted him on it for 4 week. I asked him why and he said his worry is that with his body having a foreign object ( the bone flap) he can't afford to have it spread their. He was overruled. I asked how we know if it wasn't enough, and he said if we retest in a few months and it has spread. I choked a little at that reply.

So we will be praying it's long enough and that the Lord will rid his body of the infection. We Thank him for Chase's amazing recovery thus far, and ask him to continue with his healing. Thank you for your prayers, love, and concern. Your support has made this latest leg of our journey easier. May the Lord bless you and keep you until we meet again. We are legion!

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