Eratic progress

Since life hasn't felt quite so emotionally dramatic lately, I don't find myself posting as much. Rhonda continues to make eratic progress. After a bit of activity this weekend, Rhonda's first night out in two months with some friends and a wheelchair trip to the park for a picnic, she had to slow down and take it easy the past couple days (which means staying off her feet and in bed more). Still, it now feels like we're moving forward a few inches and then maybe going an inch back only once in a while. She can now move around the house more easily, but she still finds she has to plan her trips to the kitchen since they still must be limited. You can pray that she'd have wisdom about where to draw the line. She starts to feel better and then wants to help by doing more--which is her nature (even though I assure her the best help will be a slow, steady recovery).

We would also appreciate your prayers as I'll be leaving for another one of my research trips this Sunday. I'll be traveling to England for ten days to study Christian higher education in that country. Again, I'll be covering a lot of territory. Rhonda's sister and brother-in-law will be in town for the first six days and my mom will fly in for the last four. We hope we don't have any trips to the ER, broken fridges, or missed trains. While drama makes for good blog reading it's nice to have those regular days.

Encouraged

It has felt so good to be moving around more this week. It has been the first time in the last two months where I have desired to do more. That is good sign! The pressure in my head is mild and I think even my eyes are giving me some relief. It is at this point where I am so thankful and at the same time a bit overwhelmed. Have you ever thought about how much it takes to run a household?Wow! I have told Perry I almost don't even know what to add first (don't worry I don't feel any pressure to do it all but just even the most simple things).I have been quite removed from a lot of it for over two months. It is also hard to know how much my body can handle. This has always the hardest about Guillian Barre. No one is telling. I have definitely found that with increased activity comes more pain in my legs. I have found that I can handle that as long as the pressure in my head is bearable.
So, this past week I have tried to make my own lunch and Perry has started going to Baylor to work. I certainly get tired easily but thankfully my bed is close by and that is comforting. Going to the doctor for the nerve testing was encouraging because it confirmed that I do not have the chronic version which is a huge praise and other part is that nerves that were damaged are healing. Time is really the only thing that will help the healing process. I am constantly reminded of this. It is obvious that going out stresses my body and so I have become quite a home body and content to be at home at least for now.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. I know and feel that you are praying. How do I know? The times of discouragement and anxiety have been brief through all this. It really is amazing. I have felt God's presence and have learned so much. I have been keeping a small book of quotes and verses and I am constantly reading them. It has helped me refocus and recognize God's help and provision for me.

Here are a couple of quotes that have made me ponder.
*From Betty Stam who was martyred in China- " Only worthwhile life is one of unconditional surrender to God's will and of living his way and trusting his love and guidance.
*"As long as I was doing, I was in control. Now I could not do and I had no control"(I have certainly had to let go of a lot of things )
My favorite books during this time: ( must reads!!)
Calm my Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow
Lessons I Learned in the Dark by Jennifer Rothschild

Be blessed. You have certainly blessed me and my family.

Thankful for progress

It's been wonderful to see Rhonda walking around the house on her own quite a bit more today. It's also great to feel like we finally have some momentum back. She visited the doctor yesterday and did not experience major side effects today from the increased activity.

The doctor's visit was to assess nerve damage. She only appears to have permanent demage in one nerve on the side of one leg. Otherwise, the doctor thought she is right where she is supposed to be. Lord willing, we won't have to see the doctor for another month--which will be a nice break. It has been a time to be thankful.

We also continue to be thankful for tremendous support from the body of Christ. Today for example, we received a wonderful gift from some friends who came and helped organize the kid's closets. They are now designed so that it will be easier for the kids to know where to put their toys. They must have peeked into their rooms this past month. Some things have taken a back seat these past few months and making sure the kids pick up their rooms has been one of them. It amazes us how needs we couldn't have even articulated have been met. Thanks.

Forward momentum

After enjoying my parents help for the past couple of days home, it was back to reality today after my parents left this morning. We continue, however, to enjoy the wonderful help of many friends. With their help I was actually able to spend a day on campus today taking care of various responsibilities. It also helps that Rhonda is now able to take care of herself more. She can now make lunch for herself and take a few extra trips to the kitchen. The challenge she faces now is figuring out her limits and which new things she should try. Emotionally, it feels good to feel like we have some forward momentum even if this remains a year-long process.

An eventful week

I'm back from my 8 day trip to Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. It was quite an eventful week both for me but especially for our family (including my parents who were here helping taking care of Rhonda an the boys).

Last Monday, Bennett accientally ate a peanut butter rice crispee after his soccer game. Since he is allergic to peanuts, Rhonda and my dad ended up in the ER. They got home around 11 pm after shots of epinephrin. Fortunately, Rhonda felt like she didn't pay too badly for the late night out.

To add to the weekly excitement on Wednesday morning, our fridge went out.

On Thursday I missed one of my trains (fortunately, I was able to get a second one). Still, there is nothing to improve your prayer life like taking a 9pm train into a Romanian town where I guy you don't know and have never met or seen is supposed to meet you.

Today, Cody wanted to get in on the excitement. He screamed/cried for 45 minutes straight (while writhing on the floor) after dinner until he fell asleep. We believe it was due to stomach cramps (we suspect perhaps an allergy).

All in all, we've all had a tiring week. Fortunately, in the midst of this all Rhonda still is inching forward. I've returned to find her walking around the room without her walker and being bit more active.

We're praying this next week will be better, especially since my parents leave Tuesday.

I’m writing this blog from Budapest to let everyone know that I arrived safe and sound and that you probably won’t see a posting for the next week unless Rhonda decides to do so.

Trial and error

As you probably have figured out from reading the blog that every day and every week is a different experience. That is what makes it so challenging at times because I am always trying to figure out how much I can do based on how I respond (ie. can I go the kitchen and eat with my family this evening). My physical therapist described it well by saying that there is an invisible line and you don't always know when you have crossed it. So many times I felt okay at the time only to suffer from my activity the next day. I am learning unfortunately the hard way. My body is so sensitive and especially this week reading books and my Bible and even watching movies trigger headaches and pressure in the back of my head. So it is at this point where I don't have the things that I would normally use to distract me from the annoying symptoms. What do I do? I pray and memorize scripture that God has given me in the last 8weeks. "Find rest, O my soul in God alone, my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, he is my fortress I will not be shaken" Ps. 62:5, Isa 41:10, Josh 1:9 and many more. Thankfully this afternoon I am feeling a little reprieve from the intensity. Thank you for praying. I have been so blessed by your calls, notes and little gifts you have left on our door step.

Back again

We're finding that Guillian-Barre is a cruel disease on your emotions. Just when you think you're going forward a bit. Wham, it hits again. Rhonda said it feels like her nerves are screaming at her today and her head pressure is back. It knocks the emotional wind out of you at times. Thanks for your prayers.

inches forward inch back

It's been good to feel like we have forward momentum again. Sunday and Monday felt like inch forward days again. Rhonda's symptoms were more manageable, she was able to get out of the room a couple more times than usual, and she had some good nights of sleep. On Monday, she had a long afternoon at the eye doctor, so that set her back a bit last night and today. We're certainly finding that she has to be very careful about her activity.

The other good news is that the eye doctor found no major problems. He attributes the shadow in her eye to the Guillian-Barre. Hopefully, with time that will disappear.

Lord willing, we now have sixteen days off from doctor's appointments! That will be nice, especially since my parents take over for eight days on Saturday. We appreciate your prayers.

inching forward again

The last two days it has felt like we've almost reached some stability. The kids are both off antibiotics and seem well. Rhonda says she feels like she is inching forward again, although this time she is being very careful about her progress. Her headaches and head pressure have subsided to manageable levels and she's been sleeping decent. Thanks for your prayers.

We even went out for a family "walk" this evening. The boys took turns pushing mommy in the wheel chair. Even the wheel chair rides inflame Rhonda's healing nerves a bit, so we're making them short. But it sure is nice for her to get outside. As for her other activity, Rhonda is now consistently able to make it out for meals and an occasional living room visit. Plus, she feels up to interacting more with the boys which is a wonderful blessing.

With things stabilized a bit and my parents coming down next Friday, I will be leaving for a short research trip to Eastern Europe for eight days next Saturday. We'd certainly appreciate your prayers during that time.

No big news is good news

Both tests came back normal from the doctor's office today (the MRI and the test of the eye nerve). That was good news. Rhonda also continues to have some some relief from the worst of her symptoms, such as the vertigo, severe head pressure, and stinging nerve pain in her legs, which we believe is probably the result of the IGG treatments she had last week. We all agreed that we probably just need to keep dealing with the symptoms, engage in physical therapy and be patient. The nurse practioner perscribed some new drugs for the headaches that hopefully will not have severe side-effects for Rhonda. In addition, Rhonda will see an eye doctor on Monday just to make sure there is nothing non-nerve related wrong with the eye.

Overall, the doctor visit merely reinforced the conclusions we had suspected. I think it has helped that we've talked to some former GB patients who also shared Rhonda's unique symptoms (e.g., servere headaches and head pressure). The literature only occasionally refered to these symptoms and the doctor and nurse practioner have occasionlly suggested that they may not be GB related, so it often made us wonder. It also helps to talk to other GB patients to be reminded how long the recovery process is. Although it has been seven weeks since Rhonda started having symptoms, we find ourselves having to remember that recovery may be seven months or perhaps even longer (for one GB patient we talked to it was nine months, for others it has been over a year).

We're also thankful that Rhonda has enjoyed some good sleep the last couple of evenings. That makes a tremendous difference.

And as happened since the beginning, we continue to be blessed by wonderful friends who continue to support us with prayers, meals, child care, house cleaning, laundry, books on tape, movies and more. Thanks again to everyone for your concrete expressions of Christ-like love. It has made such a tremendous difference in our lives.

Back to school

Both kids are now back in school. So we are at least over fifty percent healthy as a family. Yesterday, we enjoyed our first quiet morning in a while, but quiet mornings also give you a chance to reflect. Rhonda had her first good cry in a while over lunch yesterday. Some of the lingering questions now seem to rise up a bit more. Did the three IGG's help? Am I making any progress? When will I feel better?

We focused on some of the positives--Rhonda's vertigo and head pressure are both dimenished. The headaches are not quite as severe. It also helped that Rhonda also enjoyed two encouraging calls from friends--one who has had GB that reminded her of the long-term recovery process. One huge praise is that Rhonda has been able to start reading a little more again. She's been able to read the Bible and her favorite books that help her.

usual fall day in Glanzer house

Well, it was a usual fall day in the Glanzer house. One of the kids went to school (Cody). One went to the doctor to get on antibiotics (Bennett for strep). Rhonda went to the hospital (to retake her eye test). And I tried to work at home between interuptions, trips to school or trips to the doctor.

Rhonda had a bad night of sleep again due to a reaction to some Advil PM. Some of you may wonder why some of her symptoms are not treated easily with medicine (e.g., sleep medicine, headache medicine, etc.). Part of the problem is that Rhonda has some weird reactions to medicines (she did even before GB). She'll feel dizzy, faint or one side of her body will tingle, etc. GB seems to have really aggravated this problem. As a result, she becomes very tenative about taking things. It also makes her nervious about nights--which feel so long when she can't sleep

So the one good night and day on Sunday seems to have been followed by a below average night and day. Her left eye continues to bother her as well, so she cannot read or watch videos like she used to. If any of you have good books on tape, it seems that will have to be our new route. We hope to learn more about the eye test at the appointment on Thursday as well as the MRI.

One other note. I appreciate your prayers as well. I've been doing decent, but Bennett's sickness this morning just made me angry, not necessarily at God, just angry about life's current circumstances. It get's compounded when I can't do certain things with my right thumb (open a jar) and can't get any work done. I worked through it, but just the emotions of it all wear me out--something I don't need right now.