My Sleeping Beauty

My sweet sweet Mommy,

I cannot believe that it has been one month since your surgery. A part of me feels like it was yesterday and the other part feels like it was one year ago! I still remember our last conversation {clear as day}, you were telling me everything was going to be okay as they were wheeling you away from me. And you know what Mom, you were right {as always}, everything WILL be okay!

This past month has been difficult, okay it's been REALLY difficult. Every second of every day you cross my mind! You did a good job of preparing me for your surgery - you told me it was going to hard, you told me it was going to be really hard, but you didn't tell me it was going to be THIS HARD. I think you would be proud of me though, I've been very strong!!! I've stayed positive and kept smiling! Even on my weakest days, I feel myself getting stronger! ; )

Everyday I ask God to give me signs that everything will be okay and you know what...that man doesn't stop! I see positive signs all day long! Sometimes it's a butterfly or your favorite commercial on TV or a song on the radio, it's constant and I love it!

I missed you so much at Thanksgiving this year, Kelly did great and it was perfect but it wasn't the same without you there. I asked Kelly what I could bring or bake to help out and she gave me the task of dessert! What's one of the first things you think of when you think of Thanksgiving?! Pumpkin Pie! Yes, I was a little stressed to say the least. I think I called Kelly three times asking stupid questions about pies. After one practice pie, I got it right and it was perfect - Dad approved!

Dad is doing great by the way! One of the last things you told me was to take care of Daddy - and I am!! Kelly and I are keeping him well fed. He is the STRONGEST man I have ever met! He is by your side all day, everyday. He has every reason in this world to break down and yet he continues to be positive, kind and thankful.

I did something a little crazy this year and put up my Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. I am putting all my nervous energy into decorating these days! Christmas has never looked so good at my house! I am so thankful I inherited your Martha Stewart craftiness! ; ) That gift card you gave me for my birthday has been put to good use this season.

I can't wait for the day when we can go shopping and out to lunch again. Our favorite lunch spots and stores are calling our names! I'm ready for you to come back to us, Sleeping Beauty!

Thank you for continuing to be so strong and respond to us! Even while you are sleeping, I am still amazed by your strength. You've got this, Mom! xoxo

God IS Good!

Love, Rachel

One Month Post Op

Hello,

It has now been one month since Mom's brain surgery and we wanted to update you on her status.

Her vitals remain good but we still pray for an improvement in responsiveness. Her ability to respond remains limited to a flick of eyelid or a small wiggle of her tongue. We rejoice over small movements but they are not constant. A CT Scan was done of Mom's brain yesterday and Dr. Vinh reports that it looked okay but still showed swelling around the brain stem and blood that has not yet been absorbed. This is likely the reason for the lack of responsiveness and may take up to three months for the swelling to subside. She also had an EEG performed yesterday but we have not yet received the results of that test. An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of the brain.

We know that we cannot predict when she will become awake and alert as this is a timetable set from above and when Mom is really ready to come back to us. In the meantime, we thank you sincerely for all of your thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming!

Here are a few fun pictures over the past year that remind us of all the fun we have to look forward to with our sweet Mom and Grandma!

Much love,
Rachel & John Sedlak

 

San Antonio fun!

 

 

Sweet Caroline

 

 

Greentree Lunch Dates

 

 

Pittsburgh visit with Kitty

 

 

Baby JCN3

 

 

Mom & Aunt Annie in New Jersey this past summer

 

 

The famous double rainbow sighting!

 

 

Sedlak's Way!

 

 

St. Patrick's Day

 

 

Washington D.C. trip with Dad

 

 

Sweet lunches with Becca B

 

 

Fun dinner dates!

 

 

Hugs to Grandma xoxo

 

 

Mother's Day Surprise brunch at The Houstonian

Thanksgiving Update

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

We hope your day was full of friends, family and lots of turkey. Ours sure was!

Our Momma had a great Turkey Day! Her fever is finally down and her vitals are great. Michael and Dad spent the morning and evening with her and she responded with a few eye blinks and some tongue movement.

Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season. We can't wait to get our Sleeping Beauty back. Today was not the same without her at the table, we set a place setting for her and we can't wait to have her back next year!

Cheers to you, sweet Momma!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hospital Fun

Who says hospitals are sad and gloomy?! Surely not when these precious kiddos are around!

Having fun, just the way Grammy likes it!!

 

Go TEXANS!

 

 

Thanksgiving at Kindred

 

 

Elspeth and John Rhodes stopped by while they were in town!

 

 

A little Chelsea's Deli makes everyone feel better!

 

 

Playing in Mom's hospital lobby. (I think we have taken over Kindred!) John Chris flirts with all the nurses and they looooove it! Grandma would be proud!

Positivity is Everything!

Courtesy of Pinterest, of course!

Weekend Update and our Fun Surprise!

Hello family and friends,

I hope everyone had a fun weekend! I wanted to give you a short update on our sweet lady.

On Friday evening, Uncle Mike and Aunt Annie (Mom's baby brother and sister) flew in town from Pittsburgh to visit! Aunt Annie called me when she landed at the airport and said "Surprise, I'm in Houston!" BEST SURPRISE EVER! They were exactly what we needed - lots of laughs, wine and fun memories!

Saturday we spent the day at the hospital with Mom. She definitely knew that Annie and Mike were there, she was very responsive to them! She gave them lots of foot movement and was moving her tongue A LOT! Annie and I gave her a little facial and she loved it! You could tell that she was very relaxed afterwards.

Since Friday, she has been fighting off a little infection. Her temperature has been up and down for three days, so her Doctor put her on some antibiotics.

Please continue to pray for her strength. She is working so hard and we are soooo proud of her! We know that it takes so much effort on her part to respond to us, and we are thrilled everytime we get just a little movment.

Thank you for all the love, support and PRAYERS this past week. Your strength is keeping us going too.

Love, Rachel

 

TEAM CATHY!

 

 

 

Such a fun surprise!

 

 

GO CATHY GO!

 

 

John Chris, Uncle Mike and Dad

 

 

 

Uncle Mike and John Chris are best buddies.

They went for a ride on the light rail. (One of JCN3's favorite activites these days!)

John Sedlak Day in Houston, Texas

Dad,

One year ago today, you were given an honor that was very much deserved, John Sedlak Day in Houston, Texas.

You are truly the most amazing man I have ever known. You have been so incredibly strong these past few weeks - we are very proud of you and I KNOW, Mom is too. Your strength and faith in God has never been stronger and I can see this in daily life. Your positivity is contagious and your outlook on life is a blessing.

Thank you for being my backbone while Mom is sleeping. I love you so much and I wanted to remind you of why you were given such an honor. I cannot think of a more deserving person!

Below is the link to Metro's blog from last year. Check it out, I am so proud!!

http://blogs.ridemetro.org/blogs/write_on/archive/2011/11/15/Honoring-METRO_2700_s-_2300_2-Guy.aspx

Mom couldn't have said it better, "In our house, every day is John Sedlak Day!"

We love you, Dad!

Love,
Tooch, Michael and Kelly

Day 16 Post Op

Hello all,

Here is the latest scoop on our sweet Momma!

Our Dad met Monday morning with Dr. Kim and he continues to be optimistic of Mom's ultimate recovery. He showed Dad the latest cat scan taken Sunday night and it does not show anything that is worrisome to Dr. Kim. There is still blood being absorbed back into the brain (that's a very good thing!) and there is still some swelling which will subside over time. What we really can't predict is how much time it will take.

Yesterday evening Mom was finally discharged from The Neuro ICU at Memorial Hermann and was relocated to the Kindred Long Term Acute Care Hospital a short distance away in the Texas Medical Center. She will be under the care of Dr. Vinh who is also a caring and compassionate Doctor. His goal is to continue the improvement of Mom's physical condition and to see her become alert and responsive and begin simple physical therapy.

In time, we would then move her to TIRR, Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, also part of the Memorial Hermann System. The rehab therapy there will be very intense covering all aspects of physical, speech and mental rehabilitation. All of this will take time and lots of effort on Mom's part!

Please continue to keep her in your prayers for more responsiveness and healing recovery.

Thank you!

Love, Rachel and John Sedlak

Best Buddies

 

 

Future Brain Surgeon, Dr. Nicholson

 

 

Hospital Fun

Day 13 Post Op

Hello,

I hope everyone had a nice weekend! Here is the latest info on my Mom. She had a good weekend, her response is still very low, but we did see some encouraging movements.

On Friday she gave me a little smile when I started talking to her about all the beautiful angels surrounding her. I told her that God sent his most precious angels to Memorial Hermann to heal her! We believe in that kind of stuff! I tell her everyday that Pap (Her Dad) and Grandma and Grandpa Sedlak are standing right beside her, holding her hands for comfort and healing.

Yesterday she started moving her lips and tongue, which is very encouraging! I hope we have seen the worst and each day gets better here on out! We hope to move her out of ICU this week and into a long term care hospital until she is ready to move to TIRR (the Rehabilitation Hospital).

Please continue to pray for the swelling in her brain stem to decrease so we can see more responsiveness these next few days.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Love,
Rachel

I love this picture! This was shortly after she was diagnosed with the tumor, we were out to dinner and a bad storm came through. After the storm passed a double rainbow appeared! We said that it was God's way of telling us EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY!

While You Were Sleeping!

Mom,

So, it's been almost two weeks since you and I have had one our "chats"! Ohhh boy, we have A LOT to talk about when you wake up. I don't want to forget one little detail so I am going to start a list!

John Chris started walking!
Obama was re-elected.
Hurricane Sandy hit our favorite city (NYC).
Gene and his team finished the landscaping around the pond and new arbor. It looks amazing!
We celebrated my 28th birthday, oh I mean 25th! ; )
Kingwood Drive is already decked for the Holidays.
Jessica Biel wore a PINK wedding dress. (Not even kidding!!!)
The Fighting Texas Aggies beat the #1 football team, Alabama (Whoop!)
Pippa Middleton came out with her own party planning book. (We should order it!)
"You know who" went crazy AGAIN!
I got my flu shot, and you didn't even have to tell me to go get it!
The leaves are starting to change colors, you would love it.
P.S. It's your move on WWF!
People Magazine named Channing Tatum The Sexiest Man Alive
I'm running out of stamps! (Dad got me more - HE'S GOOD!!!)
Becca B turned 8!
The final movie in The Twilight saga came out. (Don't worry, I'm waiting for you so we can watch it together!)
John Chris is ALL BOY - he loves dirt, rocks, bugs and rough housing!! ; )
Prince William & Kate are having a BABY!!!
TCU beat Texas on Thanksgiving.

Much more to come, Sweet Momma! Get well soon.

Love,
Rachel (Your news/scoop headquarters)

 

Mom and I in NYC about to board the plane to Tel Aviv

 

We went on a Camel ride in Petra, Jordan

{Might I add...I was 5 months pregnant here...and ON A CAMEL, Mom was not very happy with me about that - It was fine, the camels were very gentle!}

 

Mom by The Mediterranean Sea

 

Nativity Church in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus

 

Mom admiring the AMAZING Dead Sea in Israel (On her Birthday, May 14th)

 

{It's true, you really do float in the Dead Sea!!!}

 

We ran into Nancy Pelosi in Jerusalem, she was so sweet, we loved her!

 

 

Niagara Falls with Liam and Annie

 

 

Tel Aviv, Israel

May 2011