This month will not soon be forgotten. I believe it will live in our minds forever.
It began with my Grandmother going home to be with Jesus on the 1st. After company on the evening of the 3rd, we left early on the fourth headed to VA to celebrate Grandma's Homegoing!! I miss her still and yet am so thankful that she is no longer in pain and uncomfortable. She is exactly where she has wanted to be for several years now. The few days we spent in VA with our family was such a blessing. A few of the earlier pics are of the cousins having a grand time together. Our age cousins also had a great time being together. I was so thankful that many from the West Coast came. Grandma so blessed my life; I am so thankful to God for the example that she lived in front of us. She expected a lot from us, but she LOVED, LOVED, LOVED.... I have thought of this often over the last couple of months and find it a very good reminder as I raise Brett and Briana. So many good memories to remember her by and thankful that we will see her again. Only the Father knows, but it could be very soon!
The following weekend we once again met up with family this time at the Cottrell Campout. It was A. Evelyn's families turn to host and they did a great job. Friday evening there was a food competition. The crazy guys in the first pic are the judges.
Amy making a brownie in an orange rind over the fire. They turned out really good with just a hint of orange taste and very moist.
The competition winners.
This group of cousins spent many happy hours building this fort in the woods. The following picture was the backdrop for one of their rooms. They sure have the message right! (hint: remember mosquito infested woods)
We took Clem and Bev's children so they could attend a wedding in peace. :) The boys had lots of fun riding and riding everywhere. They were just plain silly too!
The following Saturday evening we had a little company for Brett's birthday. We had VA cousins here and some Ohio cousins. Then on Sunday evening we went down south to the Miller birthdays. It was fun to celebrate with them also.
Next, came the start of Cornerstone's VBS and Brett's Birthday! Monday morning found us at church enjoying VBS and the evening found us celebrating Brett's 8th Birthday! I know we all say it, but really where does the time go?
He was thrilled with his ripstik that he had been begging for. I am praying that we don't have any broken bones due to this gift. Andy, Melinda, Preston and Nelson Lair surprised him at El Sombrero's where we enjoyed a yummy dinner.
I have only a few pics of VBS since Tuesday began with Briana sick at home with fever. Thankfully, Ken could keep her that morning so I could go do my job. It is such a blessing to see all the children enjoy being together and learning God's Truth. It is a sacrifice for us moms, but worth it to see the joy on their faces!
This year's theme was the Gold Rush. Dress up day was lots of fun!
This week marked the first serious sickness we have had in our family. I know, we are blessed!!! Briana complained of a headache Monday evening, but a little Tylenol took care of it; however, she woke up with fever on Tuesday morning. She alternated between laying around with fever and then being up and mostly normal. I kept thinking it would just go away, but. . . By Thursday evening she was complaining that she could not use her left leg. We had noticed earlier in the week that she was very unsteady and had been helping her up and down from the couch, but I thought she was just weak from very little food. After dinner on Thursday evening she took a short nap and woke up complaining of a terrible headache. She rolled her head from side to side and said, "my head, my head." We decided it was time to head to the hospital. We headed straight for Children's. With my experience in the lab, I knew that we were probably looking at a spinal tap when we arrived in ER so I was dreading it and yet I knew we needed help. After arriving in ER, we watched her bodily functions go down hill pretty quickly. I would guess it was about 15 min after getting her into the ER room that we noticed her eyes had locked to the right and there was no movement on her left side. By this time, Ken and I were getting very antsy. Finally, the Dr. was able to come and they moved her to the trauma room and began all kinds of tests. It was hard to watch her go through this, but I am very thankful for medicine and the tests they are able to do. I am ultimately grateful to the Great Physician. It was obvious that doctors were doing all they could and God was doing the rest. After the testing was finished, they moved us to ICU where they monitored her vitals every hour and tried to make her more comfortable. The spinal tap came back positive so we knew that we were looking at more than likely a viral meningitis and yet we also had to cover other bases too. On Friday, we saw improvement with her movement. Her eye movement came back first, then her arm and then her leg. We were so thankful! Besides headache and fever, her other symptom was irritability. I can honestly say I have never experienced anything quite like it. Nothing suited her and her emotions flipped flopped so quickly we did not know if we were coming or going. She was completely disagreeable with the doctors and nurses. She refused to do anything they wanted her to so you can imagine how fun it was making her do these things. My nerves were shot on Saturday. I am so thankful for Ken. He was a trooper. Mom and Amy were great help, too. I spent a lot of time out of the room on Saturday letting them be the main caregivers. It showed me once again why I work in the basement of the hospital and not on the floors with the patients. God blesses us with different gifts and and these were highlighted during this time. They moved us from ICU Saturday evening to a regular room upstairs. It really didn't get any better up there. After the move, she was extremely agitated and the Dr. didn't really think we needed to do more so we did our best to make her comfortable. Mom and Amy stayed that night with her and I was so thankful. I needed that break and a good nights sleep. Brett had been a real trooper, but he was very glad to take us home with him that night. On Saturday evening when she was so restless, Ken and I prayed Psalms 23 over her. I will never forget what happened. She immediately began to calm down and eventually drifted off to sleep. It was a faith builder to see the results of spoken Scripture. It made it much easier to leave that night.
By Sunday morning when we returned, we had turned a corner. She had ate some breakfast for her Aunt Amy and Grandma. Amy was making her walk on her own (with lots of help) and her personality was returning. Soon after we arrived in her room, she asked me a question that really startled me. "Mom, where am I and why am I here?" She did not remember anything from our ride to the hospital or the last two days. I was thankful that she didn't remember and it made me realize that she had not been coherent that last few days. I began to be more understanding with the way she had acted. We still had our moments when you could tell her brain was not functioning properly, but we were seeing glimpses of our Briana. What a blessing! At this point, we still did not have a for sure diagnosis, but the infectious disease doctors were leaning heavily toward a mosquito borne meningoencephalitis. On Monday, we took her off of most of the meds and they performed an EEG and a MRI. The MRI showed us that she did indeed have an inflamed portion of the brain. A very important piece of clinical information was added on Sunday evenning when her cousin, Bailey Cottrell, came into the ER with seizures. She also had a positive spinal fluid. At this point, we began to believe that there had definitely been infected mosquitoes in the wooded area that the girls had played in at the family campout. This actually made us somewhat relieved because this type of meningitis is self-limiting with supportive measures. We knew we were probably well on the way to recovery. Tuesday morning they told us if she tolerated no meds and would walk we could probably go home by evening. We were excited and began to push her to eat and walk. They released us at about 3pm.
The next few weeks were mostly normal; although, we did continue to see her unable to process some requests. It was like her brain would get stuck and she could not get past whatever her last thought had been. We praise God for His healing power and for all of your prayers and help during her illness. His Name is to be PRAISED!
Brett dressed in her hospital scrubs. She was attached to her ICU gown that was quite disgusting till now.
By Monday evening, her hair was a giant rat's nest.
Here she is hooked up to several things. The ICU was worse, but I just didn't have the heart to take pictures there.
She finally feels good enough to color. It is one of her favorite past times.
Yeah!! Praise God - we are getting rid of the IV for the final time and going home.
What a month! It isn't quite over yet, but I think this post is long enough.
However, one more thing. While Briana was sick, we were contacted by the US government concerning our still pending adoption of Kami. If you can remember, this blog was started to document our journey to bring her home to our family. The government informed us that the Guatemalan courts had returned her to her birth mother. We are sad that she will not live with us here but we are thankful that she has a family who loves her and wants to care for her. She will forever live in our hearts and be an absent member of our family. We praise God for closure and know that we have been blessed during this process. Thank you for your prayers!
