back to work... sort of

I want to update everyone about how things are going. First, I retired the eye patch about two weeks ago. My vision is back to normal although my left eye is still blood shot. I have had several follow up visits at the doctors who put my face back together. They seem pleased with how things are going. I have four weeks left until I get the braces off and can begin chewing again. Mom has been experimenting with lots of soups, milk shakes and even curry. I really appreciate her and others who have provided variety to my diet. I still fairly weak and probably will not be able to bench 250lbs like I did before the accident (I wish!). I have started back to work in the mornings. Everyone at work has been super supportive. I do not feel like I am contributing much at this point, but I know it will take time. It has been wonderful to see friends at church and Celebrate Recovery. My dad has been looking for a new vehicle for me and handling the car insurance claim. Unbelievably, the car was appraised at $9500, and I originally paid $8900 for it three years ago. Well, that is about it.

I wanted to post a picture of my mug so you all could see that I am healing up quickly and beginning to look like myself again. Mom took me to see the oral surgeon today. She will be replacing the rubber bands on my teeth every 3-4 days. Dr. Thomas Rogers, my oral surgeon, is from Benton, AR and did his residency at Cook County hospital in Chicago. When I went to his office today, I was surprised to see Robin, a friend that I met at the church gym several weeks ago. She works in the office of Dr. Rogers. It continues to amaze me how many people I know that have been involved from the moment of my accident even to my current recovery. Thank you to those of you have called recently.

From Stephen's Mom, Alice,

Thank you all who have prayed and continue to pray for Stephen and our family. God has certainly heard the prayers and given many specific answers. He is faithful and loving and always ready to listen to our cries. I appreciate all that has been done for Stephen and our family during this week. It is hard to imagine that just a week ago Stephen was in ICU waiting for surgery and now he is at home!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your love and care for him and our entire family. We will continue to keep you posted on his recovery.

Much love and appreciation to you all,
Alice Kauble

Thank You from Stephen

This is Stephen. I have just finished reading the blog that my sister created last week. It was sort of like learning about a week of my life that I never knew. From the time of the accident ntil I was moved to a regular room, I do not recall much of what took place. Today was my first full day back home at my parents' house. Each day seems longer than the previous day. They removed my IV yesterday before I left the hospital. So, my main task today has been to try to get as much fluid in my body by spoon as I was receiving by IV. It did not take long to realize that this will be a real challenge. I have been much more tired as a result of not having the constant flow of nutrients. I have also realized that I get pretty tired if I talk for very long. I guess the muscles in my face are pretty weak. Anyways, I just wanted to let everyone know how I was doing. I am going to try to take it easy until I can begin to get my strength back. More importantly, I wanted to say thank you to my sister and parents and all the friends who have shared their love with me over this past week. God has done a miracle in my body and in my soul during this ordeal. I am grateful for God's protection and for His inner working in my life through this experience. From the moment that I began to regain awareness of what had happened, I have experienced an inner joy and thankfulness that was missing before the accident. I do not know how to explain it, but God ministered to my spirit during those days while I was unaware of what was happening. He has given me a greater appreciation for life and for His love. His Spirit worked through your prayers and presence to touch my body and my spirit. I was blessed with very special nurses, doctors, nurse techs and others I am sure I do not remember. I have become more aware of the pain and aches that we all experience in life which are even deeper than what our mind and body can comprehend. I have been impressed by how God truly sees our pain and cares for us even when we do not know it. My hope is that I will continue to realize and embrace God's unconditional love. I will share one of my favorite verses with you that so speaks to me of God's incredible love. Romans 8:31-32 says "If God is for us, who can be against us. He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things." Thank you again to my family and friends for your prayers and presence and love. I am so blessed.

Love
Stephen

Stephen is getting discharged today. He will be going home later this afternoon after the oral surgeon comes by. Thank you for all your prayers over the past week. It has been a long week and it is hard to believe that a week ago we were called to the hospital and told that Stephen had been in a bad car accident. God has been faithful in answering your prayers and our prayers for Stephen's recovery.

I'm very thankful to have my brother sitting here with me in the hospital room today. He is an awesome big brother. The Lord is faithful and watched out for Stephen. He is steady on his feet. Please continue to pray for Stephen as he continues to recover. It will be about 6 weeks before he can eat regular food. If you have any good ideas as to get Stephen as balanced diet let us know. Right now my mom is suggesting baby food for vegetables...I told Stephen I wouldn't let her feed him that.

Thank you once more and please continue to pray for Stephen. We will still have some updates may not as frequently through.
Thanks
Sarah

Good Afternoon Everyone

We have a praise to start off today's blog. Stephen passed his swallowing test and is eating pudding right now. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for his test. My mom told me last night he was holding his phone up and his mom asked what he was doing. He said that he was trying to take a picture of himself so he could see it

Stephen is helping write today's blog and he would like to say thank you for all your prayers. Stephen says that God is always watching over us.

Thank you again for all your prayers and encouragement. Stephen is enjoying watching basketball this afternoon. Well thats all for now.

thanks again
Sarah and Stephen

Humor...Laughter is the best medicine

Best moment of the day was a phone call. Stephen called his old boss Floyd from Ehles Party Supply and it went a bit like this....
Stephen: Hey Floyd, How are you doing. I can't open my mouth to wide to talk so sorry....I'm doing okay...could you bring me some make-up that would make me look like I've been in a car wreck? followed by a little chuckle...small talk...Floyd asked Stephen if he needed anything and he said well you could you bring me something to put in this bed pan to scare my sister with???....anything else..not right now I think that will be it.
Floyd stopped by tonight with a bag full of goodies that made Stephen's night he said that it was just what he needed---a big light up cup complete with a straw, fake cockroaches, spiders, fake dog poop, and fake vomit. It is a blessing to see my brother's sense of humor back and this time I'll take him trying to scare his little sister and give her a hard time. Bring it on Stephen.

Today was a good day. Stephen got to sit up in the chair. He talked with us and some of you on the phone. He was requesting to call some people. I know it made Larry's day to get Stephen's phone call. He stopped working out changed clothes and came to the hospital. Tonight he may watch the Blues Brothers thanks to Frank. He was very interested in reading or having read to him all the cards that have been sent. He wanted to know who sent what and is very thankful. He says thank you to everyone who has been praying for him and thinking about him.

The ophthalmologist said that internally his eyes looked fine and he had good movement. He thought everything would be okay he said Stephen just needed sometime time to heal.

They repeated the swallow test today and Stephen didn't pass again. They are unsure of why he is having problems, but decided to wait and do a barium swallow test to allow them to see what is causing the problem. Pray that they will be able to do this tomorrow morning and find out what is causing his problem. The speech therapist said it could be a number of things. She said that the swelling could cause problems and they may need to teach him some new ways to swallow. Please lift this up to the Lord tonight and tomorrow. We need to get to the bottom of this so he can begin a liquid diet soon. He has only been recieving IV fluids since Friday. He complains of a dry mouth which is to be expected, but he also needs some nutrition. Pray that they will find the cause and know how to treat it. Pray that they will be able to decide what the next step is in order to help Stephen.

Thank you again everyone for all your prayers
Good Night..Sweet Dreams...and don't let the plastic cockroaches scare you
Sarah