Sat. October 25th

It's been awhile since I wrote, and our world has turned upside down since then. Glenna was doing fairly well, until Thursday morning when she slipped and fell in the shower. It happened so fast, no one had a chance to catch her. She went down and hit her head and jammed her neck. Jake got her up and in bed. She seemed to be OK except for a big headache and a sore neck. We had a VNA nurse come out and check her out. Nothing was broken or injured, but the assumption now is that there was some trauma to her brain - possibly a bleed - because since the fall, she has just about lost the ability to speak and walk on her own. Her headache has gone now, but her neck is still sore. She is somewhat better today, able to form words a little better, but the walking is still very hard. Being the determined young woman that she has always been, she insists on walking and not having her dad carry her, but its really hard for her to go up and down the stairs without the help of 2 people. She will have a nurse coming in everyday to make sure she is ok. She is also having consistent trouble with swallowing. She is very limited as to what she can eat - mostly soft foods - very little solids. It has become increasingly difficult to get her variety of pills down everyday. The doctor had some of her meds sent to her in liquid form, to make it easier. These last 3 days have been awful, seeing her get so frustrated trying to communicate, and being so unable to move on her own. We are helping her and yet feel so helpless. We can only hope that with a little more time she will feel stronger and regain her speech.
She had a wonderful surprise yesterday when Dr. Lawrence and Krista from MGH made a house call and paid her a visit. It was so great to have them here and it meant so much to Glenna. They said after all the hundreds of times she has had to schlepp up to Boston, the least they could do is come down once to see her. It really made her day - and ours. How many doctors these days do you hear doing that? Wonderful people. But then that is what we have been dealing with throughout this ordeal - wonderful, caring people that make us remember what life is really about.
Glenna wants me to let you all know that because she is unable to talk, she is not answering her phone. She is reading her text messages, and will hopefully be able to text back sometime soon. Don't hesitate to say hello by text or card anytime. She gets very exhausted very quickly, so she naps quite frequently. We'd like to keep the visits to a minimum until she is feeling better.
Please continue to send your love and prayers her way. Until the next time, Love MK