Homecoming!

Bienvenidos!

Ahh, don't you just feel like English doesn't cut it when you want to say something with joy? :D So welcome back to the blog; post-op version. It's been a week since surgery to place my Deep Brain Stimulator. Surgery went off as planned first thing last Monday morning. JW & I went to Cleveland the night before since I had to be in at 6:00am on Monday and we got a relatively good night's sleep at the beautiful new Marriott next to UH Cleveland. There were a few nights in the hospital this week that I was wishing that Marriott could work some kind of deal with the hospital and help them figure out how to make a guest room comfortable because man do they do a nice job there and the hospital is well you know... A hospital. Needless to say I was thankful that this round at the hospital was going to be a short one.

I really don't know how to tell you what happened during surgery. I don't know if I want to know the details! ;) I guess the best way to describe it is I have a small computer/battery pack in my chest (like a pacemaker) from that I have wires that run up the left side of my neck and then somehow they got 8 mini electrodes to both sides of my brain - 4 to the hippocampus and 4 to my right temporal lobe. These types of machines are used mostly for Parkinson's patients and newly for Epilepsy. At UH Cleveland they have placed about 30 of these devices for Epilepsy patients thus far and I am the first to get electrodes on both sides of my brain.

I am so thankful to have such a great team of Dr.'s and nurses and other professionals helping me along the way both here and in Cleveland. Check out my Instagram @christinawinell for some recent pics from our last stay. I really want to get some pictures with my Dr.'s too but that will have to wait for a follow up since they weren't around when we snapped a few quick ones.

I am still in 'recovery' but thankful to be home and surrounded by my family. Anders and Joline are being so patient with their momma's "ouchy" ;) Truth be told it's very hard for me not to let them crawl all over me and love on me like they normally would. Kisses and gentle hugs are great but I'm looking forward to wrestling with them again and running all over like a "chicken with my head cut off". Ha! They don't know how true that phrase is yet!

One day at a time for all things.

I will leave you with some great reminders of where our joy is found in the midst of brain surgery, or whatever you're walking through…

Psalm 100 

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!

2 

  

  Worship the Lord with gladness.

    Come before him, singing with joy.

3 

Acknowledge that the Lord is God!

    He made us, and we are his.[a]

    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;

    go into his courts with praise.

    Give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 

For the Lord is good.

    His unfailing love continues forever,

    and his faithfulness continues to each generation.