Dear Praying Friends,
Well, we are into the final count down for Cassie's surgery. I
think I have messed up on a few dates in the last updates, so
please allow me to clarify--
Kris and Cassie will leave for Seattle on the "red eye" Thursday,
August 4th. Thanks to some real gracious gifts and change of
events, we are going to be staying in a hotel a few blocks from
the hospital. We had many offers, but in the end we decided that
it would be best to have a place like this to which we could
retreat.
Next, Cassie will have an appointment at Harborview at 11 AM.
This will be to discuss the procedure they will be doing on
Friday the 5th, called a WADA. I found info on that test here:
<http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gusb/wadadesc.html>
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gusb/wadadesc.html , The WADA
will be to determine speech center location. The hardest part
of this, we are told, is the patient being able to lie still for
6 hours.
Then, Saturday and Sunday they will be able to relax in the hotel
room. I will fly in Sunday morning the 7th and join them.
On Monday the 8th, more appointments to prepare for the rest of
the week. She will be admitted on Monday. This will be a very
difficult week for Cassie. She will be taken off all her
anti-seizure medication and will basically just be going in and
out of seizures for several days, while the doctors perform Grid
Monitoring. I found some information on this here
<http://stronghealth.com/services/neurology/epilepsy/intracranial
elec.cfm>
http://stronghealth.com/services/neurology/epilepsy/intracraniale
lec.cfm
While the GRID is being done, Kris and I will take turns at the
hospital. In the mornings, Kris will go back to the hotel room
and rest, and stay at the hospital at night. Last go around, Kris
was there the entire time, 24 hours a day and I am so thankful I
can be there so we can "trade off" as necessary.
Then next Monday, the 15th - - we will be meeting with the
surgeon, and the surgery will take place on the 16th. The
surgery will be to remove brain/scar tissue. The recovery
process might be a bit scary. We are told that everything doesn't
always come back right away and it may be several days before she
has everything working again. If all goes well, I will be
returning to Anchorage Sunday evening the 21st, and Kris and
Cassie will be returning on the 24th.
I will do my best to send out regular updates along the way. Both
Kris's cell and my cell will not work in Seattle (We have local -
-Alaska only plans). If you call, you will have to leave a voice
mail and we will get back to you. There is also a link on
Harborview's website where you can send an e-mail to a patient.
We will get that info out once she is admitted as well as room
number info.
Kris and I will be "celebrating" our 24th wedding anniversary on
the 8th in Seattle. Also, Cassie's 16th birthday is the day after
her surgery, on the 17th.
On an earlier e-mail, I messed up on the surgery date and I also
got our older daughter's age messed up. Chelsie is 18, not 16.
She graduated from Kenai High this past year. There, now I think
it's all corrected.
Cassie is doing well. She has had a few times in the last week
where she has been out from the house, without Mom or Dad. We're
so proud of her. It's not just talk. She really knows that she is
in God's hands. What better place to be, right?
THERE or in the air!
Gary Harris
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Alaska Christian College, <http://www.akcc.org> www.akcc.org
35109 Royal Place
Soldotna, Alaska 99669
Cell 907-252-1574
Gary Harris
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35109 Royal Place
Soldotna, Alaska 99669
Cell 907-252-1574
