Post-Op

Rob's surgery was supposed to last 2-4 hours, but it only lasted 50 minutes. The doctors found and removed a small blood clot. The doctors also reinserted the drainage tube to his brain, and inserted a line into his neck in order to record Rob's vital signs. The doctors said that the surgery went well and are hoping that this calms the agitation Rob has been experiencing.

Please continue to pray for Rob's wife, as well, as she is crumbling under the weight of all of this.

Surgery Pending

The doctors plan to take Rob into surgery between 4pm and 5pm Eastern time this afternoon in hopes to relieve pressure on the brain.

Grim Doctors, Hopeful Family

I am a day behind in relaying information about Rob. I haven't gotten an update this morning, but yesterday's report was grim.

The doctor's have been treating Rob for pneumonia. His fever returned and they packed Rob in ice Wednesday evening to reduce his 104º body temperature. Since the stroke, Rob has been agitated and unresponsive. The medical staff are giving him morphine because they know he is in a lot of pain. The triage doctor said that they do not expect for Rob to get any better than the state he is currently in. Yet, we still hold out hope because the doctor's have already been wrong once. Rob wasn't supposed to live, yet Tuesday evening he was responding to commands of raising his arms, legs, and head. Today is a new day.

Stroke

Rob had been progressing really well. Tuesday he was able to move all of his limbs. The doctor's could not tell yet what the extent of the long-term damage was, but this was a great sign. For a man that wasn't expected to live, he was doing amazing.

Much of Wednesday Rob was agitated, and then yesterday afternoon Rob had a stroke and it affected one side of his body. At this point the doctor's don't know how severe the stroke was.

On the investigation side of the assault, witnesses in the neighborhood haven't been willing to talk because most in that neighborhood don't trust police or police detectives. At this point there is not enough evidence to make a case against the seven 13-year-olds.

Update on Rob

Thank you so much for your concern and prayers for Rob.

Yesterday was a good day for him. He was able to respond by opening his eye. He has been on a respirator in order to help aid his breathing. Many of his muscles responsible for his breathing are relaxed, so the respirator helps override those relaxed muscles and keeps him breathing. They took him off the respirator for a couple of hours yesterday and he was able to breathe on his own. Breathing became labored and they put him back on the respirator.

Last night and today Rob has been unresponsive. He hasn't been able to open his eyes when asked to. He has been off the respirator again, though, for much of the morning. They are hoping his unresponsiveness is due to him being tired. His being unresponsive has been really hard on his wife, who is 7 months pregnant with their fourth child.

The stolen bike wasn't the first time the seven thirteen-year-olds have caused problems for Rob's family, or the neighborhood. A few weeks ago the same group knocked his wife to the ground––remember she is 7 months pregnant. A neighbor said that the main boy of the group knocked a 74-year-old man out of his wheelchair last summer and stole it.

And, apparently, the beating Rob received was captured on video by one of the group-member's cell phones and has been posted on the internet. The detective working the case at this point has refused to confiscate any of their cell phones.

Please keep praying for Rob, his wife, and his family. Thanks.

A Heavy Heart

Picture Order: 1) Me holding Rob. My cousin Scott, Rob's brother, behind us. 2) Rob's school picture. 3) My cousin Scott, my dad, me, and Rob at Silver Lake Sand Dunes. 4) Rob fishing with our favorite aunt Sue. 5) Me, Scott (behind), and Rob. 6) Rob grown.

I received a terrible phone call this morning about my cousin Rob. Two weeks ago some kids had stolen his daughter's bike. Last night while walking home from work he saw two kids with the bike. He walked up to them and said that he didn't want any trouble, he just wanted the bike back. His wife saw him and she came, and he told her to take the bike home. Another kid blindsided him. With what he was blindsided with we aren't sure. It may have been a baseball bat. There were seven thirteen year olds in all.

Rob later went into seizure, then into a coma. Last night the doctors weren't sure that Rob would make it. They operated on him, taking out a piece of bone from his skull, as well as a very large blood clot.

The last information I had was that he could––when asked by the doctors––wiggle his toe, grab the bed rail, and give a thumbs up sign. The doctors are encouraged by that, but have given him medicine to sleep in order to keep him calm.

He currently has a tube running from his brain so that the blood to will flow in order to reduce the brain's swelling . The doctor's said that the next four days will be hard, and that things will get worse before they get better.

At this point they had only found six of the seven 13 year olds. The seventh is the one believed to have made the blow to Rob's head. The other six have been released back to their parents.

Rob, his wife, and their children would certainly appreciate your prayers.

Dryers and Sam's Feet

During the kids' spring break I fixed our dryer. I am the family launderer. I was noticing that the dryer was leaving long, thin brown marks on my dress shirts and on Jean's blouses. After taking it apart, upon further inspection, I noticed that one of the roller wheels was very worn. You can see just how worn the inside edge of the wheel is in the photo. The worn wheels were causing a gap between the dryer drum and seal. The rear seal of the dryer was also very worn. Clothes were then getting caught in the gap caused by the worn wheels and getting dirty when they rubbed against the worn rear seal in the dryer drum.

When we were leaving for the appliance parts store Sam said, "My feet really itch!" I told him that he probably had athlete's foot. I asked when he had last changed his socks. He said, "I don't think I've changed them since spring break started." It was now Thursday. Spring break began the previous Friday.

I ended up replacing both dryer wheels, the belt, and the front and rear seal. Dryer repair is pretty simple, and I could probably keep this unit going indefinitely. It is SO much quieter with the new wheels. So much quieter that it is often hard to tell if the dryer is still going or has ended.

Mariners vs. Tigers Baseball Game

Sunday Sam and I had tickets to see the Seattle Mariners play the Detroit Tigers. We were cheering for our home-state team. The baseball game was fun because being with Sam is fun. It was a great time, and it was a lot different than what I had anticipated. It is amazing how much Sam has grown into being able to watch a game. I remember taking him to the Whitecaps games just a few years ago and all he was interested in was eating. And, as much as he likes to eat NOW (when he gets up in the morning the first thing he does is eat breakfast, and after breakfast he asks what is on the lunch menu and what we will be having for dinner), he didn't ask to visit the concession stands. He wasn't bored. He was really into the game.

At the beginning of the 8th he did say that he needed to stretch. We went to the bathroom, and then walked to the outfield bridge and watched a few pitches. After those two pitches Sam said he wanted to get back to our seats. WOW. It is just amazing to me how into the game he really was.

We did miss the big Detroit home run around the second or third inning. We were looking for Detroit Tiger sweatshirts. The day was beautiful, but we were in the shade which made it a little chilly. There was no Tiger wear to be found. We ended up finding "D" caps in the main Mariners' shop. Of course, they didn't have the right size for my head. I ended up spending an inflated amount of money for a cap that cuts off the blood flow and blurs my vision. But, it was okay. Sam and I got matching hats. Sam has been wearing his hat every day since.

Sunday evening when we got home we played baseball in our yard, and Sam invited some of the neighbor kids to play, too. And we have played catch nearly every morning before school.

The Expeditious Slug

Yesterday I noticed this slug in our house. It had come under the front door by way of a gap at the corner. The slug was about two and a half inches long. I left him there for Jean and the kids to see when they got home.

Unfortunately, we all forgot about it. After LOST was over, Jean and I headed to bed. It was no longer by the front door. There was no slime trail leading anywhere, so I figured it may have gone back outside. I opened the front door, but there was no slug. They don't move that fast, but I still figured it had made its way out and back into the front flowerbed.

We read in bed for a bit and I fell asleep. I woke up around 1:30am to got to the bathroom. On the way back to the bedroom I noticed the slug in the doorway of our bedroom and it was heading for the hall. It was in moving mode. Its antennae were up, and it was stretched out to 4". Fortunately for me, I had fallen asleep before turning my reading light off. Otherwise I would never have seen it on my way back to bed. I would have stepped on it and gotten slug squished between my toes. I was fortunate that I didn't step on it on my way out of the bedroom.

How did it get there? There was no slime trail. Did it hitch a ride on Sam's blanket? I seriously doubt Moose played with it and brought it into our room. If it doesn't pet him, Moose doesn't pay attention to it. Regardless of how it got there, it took an early morning ride on the porcelain express.

First Sleep Over

Our little girl is having her first away-from-home sleepover with a non-relative tonight. She is so excited. (Moose had to stay behind, though.)

She Used the B Word!

I've been noticing it has been getting harder to read things up close. Being a grad student, I have to read lots of things up close. I have to read a lot of things period. So, Thursday I went in for an eye exam.

She said that my far vision is very good. Just needed a slight prescription lens. That prescription has been pretty much unchanged since college. I've needed a slight prescription since then. I rarely wore my glasses, though. I did get a pair of prescription lenses for mountain biking about 6 years ago and found those worked great. They helped me ride a little faster because they made the focus of things crisper––like trees, etc. Otherwise, the only way I could ride fast was being about a foot off of someone's wheel. Riding was the only time I needed any eye help.

The eye doctor told me my near vision wasn't so good. And, she said that I could go with bifocals. WHAT!?!?! She said, "I know it's hard to hear. But, it happens when we get about this age." The phrase "this age" is daunting. I won't be going with bifocals, though. I am going with a "progressive lens," where both prescriptions are contained in on lens without the dreaded bifocal line.

The Final Stretch

I have just finished my Psychopathology II paper. There is a lot of applause in my head. With that off my plate, the rest of the semester is coming to a close. Five classes are now down to three, and will be down to two after Wednesday. I only have a few projects to do before the end of the semester:
Monday March 29: Video last practicum Quad
Wednesday March 31: Have 110 pages read for a quiz
Wednesday March 31: Last practicum 1:1
Wednesday April 7: 8-10 page Theology research paper due (I should probably decide on a topic)
Monday April 12: Psychopathology group final (should be as simple as reading through the personality disorders section of the DSM––about 8 pages or so)
Wednesday April 14: Turn in three page theology journal
Thursday April 15: Nap until May 3

A Typical Conversation on the Way to School

This conversation took place this morning when I was driving the kids to school.

Me: Hey guys. Did I tell you I ordered your backpacks yesterday?
Alina: What colors are they?
Me: Yours is orange, Sam's is blue.
Alina: Ugh! Can Sam have orange? I like blue.
Sam: Dad, will we be able to go camping? This spring? Just me and you? For you and me time?
Alina: It's okay Sam. Me and mommy need some time away from you. We've been with you for a thousand years.

Ice Skating

The kids didn't have school on Alina's birthday, so I took them ice skating. They had been wanting to go for a very long time.

Now, before watching the video, keep in mind that I was a great ice skater. When I was younger, my cousins and I would ice skate at our grandparents' lake home. I took weekly ice skating lessons, and the instructor must have thought that I had some potential because she had me skate with a girl at the end of lessons. We were taught the basic moves performed in couples ice skating and told to repeat them together on the ice. Now, as you watch the video, remember that was 30 years ago. (Turn your sound up.)

Tim Conder

On Wednesday, Tim Conder spoke in our Theology class. Tim is on the MHGS board, and is the pastor of Emmaus Way Church in Durham, North Carolina. If I lived in Durham, North Carolina I would attend his church. He is a man who is passionate about the church body living in community.

Much of his conversation with the class revolved around John Howard Yoder's book, Body Politics. This book has influenced much of Tim's thinking. If you ever have the chance to read it, definitely do.

I love Tim's heart around restoration and around table fellowship. His heart is awesome!

Mail

Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from the United States Department of Commerce. It told me that I would be receiving more mail from them in a few weeks. What???? Okay. I understand the importance of the census and all, but I'm not sure that I understand the rationality of sending out mail which informs people that they will be getting more mail. Perhaps, and hopefully, there has been research done to warrant the need for sending out mail about mail. That doing this helps increase the return rate for the census. I still find it funny, though, to get mail in which the first line says, in about a week you will be getting more mail.

Unicorns

Did you know that the King James version of the Bible uses the word Unicorn nine times? Seriously! My two favorites are:
Isaiah 34:7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

And

Psalm 92:10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.

Speaking of unicorns, this commercial is very funny to me . . .

820 Pages

If I calculated correctly, I have read 820 pages in the last week. For some veracious readers, that is not very much. For me––someone who, despite being in grad school, has never been a fast reader or even enjoyed reading––is a huge accomplishment. I read because I "should."

So, to have read 820 pages this week––which was reading week, but most people usually vacation––is a feat. A feat considering I read laboriously, Jean was gone, I was sick, and had two sick kids, is quite remarkable. I am grateful to Jean for giving me the 3 days at the cabin to get through a book and a half. If it wasn't for that, I would be in big trouble. Now, I am at the end of book four. I just need to type two papers for Monday and I'm golden. Until Tuesday...

Operation Pink Birthday Ribbon

Wednesday Jean left the warmth of Seattle for the frigid, arctic conditions of Grand Rapids in order to be a birthday surprise for her friend Lyndsay, and to see her BFF Anne. Operation Pink Birthday Ribbon was a huge success in that Lyndsay was surprised to tears when she say Jean at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

I am glad that Jean was able to get away. She has been working so hard in ministry and is just exhausted. It will be great for her to be with close friends, and not have to worry about Sunday details, or family details. She can rest and laugh and renew and just be herself. Great friendships are awesome like that!

Reading

Jean was awesome enough to procure a small log cabin for me for several days so that I could get some reading done for one of my classes. With having five classes, being a husband, dad, and I'm sure other things, too, it has been easy to fall behind. For one class, I need to have four books read and two papers written by the time classes resume next week. Thus, the cabin. I got the hardest book done, and half of another. So, finishing 2 1/2 books, and two papers for that class should be a breeze. Maybe...

The cabin was simple. No TV. No internet. It had a kitchen, an eating area/sleeping area, and a bathroom with a cast-iron tub. I didn't lounge around and sleep the time away. During meals I would watch a Catalyst speaker. Other than that, I just read. Pulled a couple of chairs up next to the gas stove to stay toasty and just read. But, I feel refreshed. And, I feel like I have more reading to do (after I play with the kids).