Good news from our doctor appointment

We had our follow-up visit to Galen's stroke doctor on Friday, June 7.


Dr. Sharma gave Galen the go-ahead to resume driving again, which was a huge answer to prayer for us, as we want to drive to San Antonio, Texas, this upcoming weekend to see Matthew graduate from basic training, and I didn't feel I could do that long of a trip all by myself.


He also said Galen could resume going to work as he felt able: he recommended just an hour or two a day at first and then working up to full time. He warned that the brain is just like any other part of the body, it takes time to heal, so don't rush it before it's ready or it will affect recovery. He will also be continuing speech and occupational therapy for as long as he feels it is helpful.


As for the cause of his blood clot and eschemic stroke, they have found none. Dr. Sharma said the area where the cartoid arteries connect with the heart had not been included in his previous MRI's, so he'd like an MRA done to check if that area of his arteries could have been the source of his stroke. So one more hour of being trapped in an imaging tube lies ahead for him. The doctor admitted that odds are this MRA won't turn up anything, but it's a diagnostic tool that he recommended, so guess we will do it.


We've been babysitting Andrew and Nathan from Thursday through today: so fun!! We went to the swimming pool, the park, and the All Seasons Center on Saturday when Sioux Center's "Summer Celebration" was moved indoors because of rain :(


The inflatables, children's games and Mr. Twister's "balloon art" were fun for the kids: the boys each asked for balloon swords, which they dualed with until both had popped. The parade was cancelled, as was the Rods N' Rides motorcycle ride this morning, which we were just going to go to with the car to get some pictures for the website I set up for them.


Galen went to Okoboji to get Meghan and Jessy this afternoon, so when they get back we will take all four grandkids to Sioux City, have supper together with Michael and Amy, and then send them all back home. Today is Jessy's 16th birthday so it's a treat to be able to celebrate that together with her.