Gracie Gives an Update

Caregiver.com. Hopefully caregiver.com.

I have a very special guest on this block and possibly for the next and see how long she puts up with me and she is back after a very, very difficult year and this is Gracie.

My wife and so Gracie is standing with the help of a walker and she is straighter.

I had to make the microphone taller, straighter and taller it straighter or not was I felt straighter and taller will I think at night. Meanwhile know you're doing fun. You are straighter and you want to talk about the surgery. Do you want me to talk about don't you talk about whatever you want. I love every other way.

A lot of people would praying for you. Thank you all for your prayers means the world, and it got me through what could have been a deadly surgery or paralyzing surgery center. Thank you so much. This was your 83rd, 82nd that you had you. You were there to yet you had a section going for the 83rd. So what you think.

How was this one different than all the surgeries you have. Well I didn't think first it was when when the surgeon said this innervated biggest surgeon you never had. I thought myself okay handle it will be compared to the largest surgery I've had thus far. It'll be big but I mean you know I'm hoping that that much larger. What was I wrong. This was and we know we knew going into it that I could've come out paralyzed or you know in any of the worst things you can think of but I had to got to the place where we knew it, I couldn't continue to just lean over and over, you know 42° 45° and so well for those who don't know the story Gracie's back was bent over that almost 45° and she was straining everything though she had to come straighter next to look up. It was a very difficult circumstance for her and set of challenges. So she had to.

Something had to give is one of the things we can't do that. Well, we did come to know we knew this was going to happen eight or nine years ago, but physically she just wasn't ready for our know that your physically ready for now, but I think it reached a critical mass of was one scene in there with the you and I am in the ICU. When you were debate was this a movie what it was. It was one scene was one moment in the ICU. You were intubated for the first four days you were unconscious. Following surgery, and then that Saturday. They woke you up and you had to stay intubated for about an hour and 1/2 to 2 hours while they brought you out of sedation, but you woke up to having a tube down your throat which you told me ahead of time. You hated that more than anything do not think I I believe we had a packed what I wasn't I wasn't there in the certain operating room to make the call and no, but down near young they do teams in my surgeon said that was his goal to no intimation that he didn't get to say the heat that met the anesthesiologist team had that five teams might've been more but I find that I know working on me. It was an almost 11 hour surgery but how going into it. You know I'm not an ally to your listeners or you or anybody are Gracie that I was, you know, I know fear is one of our greatest enemies I think. Fear can take you out of the game faster than we can blink. It's an enemy and Satan uses it to tell us lies in into and to build up that fear. And so that the fear going into it for me was what you know I really had to fight.

I I am particularly afraid of being intubated, not just I want what I was afraid of being intubated. Ultimately, I was afraid of coming out of it paralyzed or dead.

I think you were afraid of me coming out of it paralyzed you like I can handle anymore.

I don't think that's quite a is but it was you came out of this and you were given sedation and you were intubated and granted you just lost four days to go but you do your intubated and I told you that I would make sure that you understood your being you connected with that you were just in an abject fear was right there when you woke up and we were playing charades and there was one moment horrible out I was really good at it but you hard never been good policies like me pencil piece of paper. We were never good at charades on a good day and see what you had this to one okay and again but you there's one scene I'm sorry it was a C-note to be was asleep okay but you had your geologist jutted out you were so angry that you are rolling your eyes at me here.

I have tried desperately to figure out what is the role your sake, and not a good day.

I don't always know what you're saying and hear your intimate future trust to charades and like you can't breathe the you're just rolling your eyes at me and the other the nurses in the text. There's hope that they started laughing it out was like okay there's a couple sides. I'm starting to recognize pretty clear.

All I knew is is okay.

I knew it had been more than one day I was intubated, but I was like, wait a minute, we had a deal, and I'm not real happy with you, and I didn't bring my surgeon, I didn't. I had no control and that's what he said so I don't know who's telling the truth here he is, because I can't tell you I tell you the truth is I'm not a surgeon. I have one on TV. I am not that it wasn't me, but it I knew that when I say that, but it was for your best recovery because you were. It was such a big surgery if they felt like it would be so much easier on you to just have those days where you can heal and not move. They were very very afraid of you moving at all, and while I know you are afraid of me moving no Otto I they were.they were all very afraid. If you moved it all to best of this fusion. It was such a big fusion and I'm in a big everything about it was big and so they were afraid of you moving as they kept you intubated and in unconscious and it was still afraid of me moving well but yes they are what you are doing well and you are taller, which is of you know, I could see it already having your you're already 50% straighter than you were at I think actually more than that, I think you're more than 50%.

When you think how does it feel when you stand out when I can stand out and what you have to use a walker to okay but now mean it in when I when I think I'm I'm having to learn how to walk again all over. You know I mean it. 17. I had to do it in here I am again will you and 91 you're down to 95 in here, but this this is literally Avenue walk again. I member and that wasn't that what was maybe a month or six weeks ago that I put my legs on for the first time and they were just trying to get me to stand and that was two months ago really lost a lot of well it's not hard to lease time you've done. You've done well and I had II just remember where it in the parallel bars. I thought I thought my in my mind this.

This was okay.

As can be hard that it wasn't gonna be that much harder than when I first learned to walk as a doubling PT was wasn't I just started coming.

I didn't care how many people were in the room. I think there were five I'm not sure been more I and I when I try to stand. You know I had all these PTs around me physical therapist and for those who aren't familiar with hospital setting and they were teeny little petite teeny people and I was like Scott and Meagan also like if you try to hold me by my crush you.

And there like nowhere trained for this and get them if they were trained for this, but I trying to stay so you came back to the room they took you upstairs of the rehab and I saw you when you came back and you are very distraught because you thought oh my goodness, so I thought I was going to walk down the parallel bars and all the way back then it was all you could do stand.

Well, I don't think they thought I should stand. I pushed the little teeny you say that you push people I know I physically I will so you say that you you in some way decided provoked flesh a I'm just saying that the people that I was not really fond of it. First, because they were trying to make me do things I didn't want to do.

Are you saying you're resistant to doing things you don't want to deny long. Yes, I am going to just say it and it's like tons of other things. I'm resistant to do but I finally I just gently placed this lady out of my way to fit the physical therapist that was in front of me, holding me up and I said I want I want to expand on the peril of all she got. You're not ready and I said if I'm not ready to stand on these. Just at least stand.

We got a we got bigger problem is I just gently pushed her out of the way and I was able to stand up. Not saying it wasn't with a lot of for help, but I was able to stand. I have never been so grateful to stand in my entire life in made me it didn't bring me back to. I'm sorry it didn't bring me back to those 17-year-old 18-year-old times of you know, learning to walk again. You know, you immediately go.

Oh my God, this is like that and it's very scary them will hold a thought because were going to go to Braidwood to talk with you right now. Yes I have to go to break the clock work.

This Roseburg… Hope Gracie she is back after a very difficult surgery in Denver told the caregiver as a caregiver.

Think about all the legal documents you need power of attorney will, living wills, and so many more then think about such things as disputes about medical bills. What if instead of showing out hefty fees for a few days of legal help paid a monthly membership and got a law firm for life.

Well, we are taking legal representation and making some revisions in the form of accessible, affordable, full-service coverage. Finally, you can live life know you have a lawyer in your back pocket who at the same time is empty. It's called legal shield and its practical, affordable, and must for the family caregiver visit caregiver legal.com that's caregiver legal.com. Isn't it about time someone started advocating for you www.caregiverlegal.com on independent associate Steve Rosenberg in the last 3 1/2 decades as a caregiver.

I've spent my share of nights in the hospital sleeping and waiting rooms, some foldout cots chairs. Even the floor sometimes on sofas and a few times in the doghouse.

But let's still talk about that as caregivers we have to sleep with uncomfortable places, but we don't have to be miserable.

We use pillows for my pillow.co these things are great to have a patented interlocking field adjuster your individual sleep needs of her caregivers try to sleep in all the different places we have to sleep leave me our needs get ripped up significantly.

Think about how clean your pillows are in the covert world were all fanatical about cleaning. Can you wash your pillows with my pillows for my pillow.co if we throw in the washer and dryer. We do all the time 10 year warranty guarantee not to go flat 60 day moneyback guarantee made in the USA is a caregiver you need rest. I go to my pillow.com type in the promo code caregiver you get 50% off the four pack which includes two premium pillows and to go anywhere, pillows.

You also receive a discount on anything else on the website. When using your promo code caregiver is my pillow.com promo code caregiver speed Rosenberg. This is my wife Gracie and she is here with us today that she is indeed resilient. There is no tell her she's for the two dollar state, 83 surgeries. Now that I can count more than hundred 50 other smaller procedures but this last one was pretty grueling hello were you in the hospital I was in the hospital was 11 weeks.

Are you feeling ready for me. Got you Iranians invited you to Dr. not really go you not realize how you feel a lot better than I was feeling a month ago coming we just to hear you're feeling better and you were two weeks ago yeah because we just we just passed our three week mark of being home I I just wanted to delve into this because I know your time is short on the radio. Did you know going into this was very scary being in it, especially why cannot it did brought back a lot of very hard horrible memories and I don't think I've understood until the last 10 years.

Really, what PTSD or PTS what they call it now.

It's when anything triggers something that just takes you back into that realm of it into that time you just relive it and you don't just relive it. It's not like a memory kind of thing. Let's say I'm in that car and I can see the flames I'm in the surgery room before they put me sleep.

I'm I'm living being and that surgery room I'm I'm reliving waking up on an intimate or and not understanding. As a teenager. What that meant understanding. Now what it meant. I am so grateful for friends who have been in a situation and are just as afraid of being intubated as I am and was doing it once or twice doesn't make you know I'm good I am. You know I'm good. I'm not afraid of that anymore. That's just something that's just anywhere completely. All of you. You can't do anything about that situation really are absolutely powerless. There do you remember me holding the phone over your face. I do neighborhood was his idea is Johnny Erickson Todd.

He doesn't like when you looked up and she was looking down at you because all the failure lay in bed and you're looking up at her and she's like Gracie look at bars and she said you know what a shame. She is what she said.

He said I'm going to sing to you. At least this is what I remember her saying I'm gonna saying to you and I want you in your head to sing harmony with me.

Did you ever end.

So I did. But I also just started bawling because I know that that's a fear when I know that that's a fear for her and I hope she won't be upset with me for sharing that. But I don't want to go down the emotional we know the total emotional road, but that that helped me because I knew she knew she knew what I was thinking and feeling. She knew how scared I was and that helped me tremendously to Ike. I can't even tell you how I words are insufficient to tell you how much that that helped me well when when we are going through brutal realities when somebody else understands not just offer sympathy, but they really understand it changes everything for you and this is what I've learned as a caregiver. This is what you've learned to somebody in pain when you talk to somebody you're not, you know, there's a communication that goes beyond just the words and Johnny and you have that kind of friendship and relationship that you're able to speak to each other in your great distress and and I think this is there's the message of the Gospels.

We have a Savior who was acquainted with anything and everything we could possibly understand what people realize what it cost God in eternity when he Jesus were separated at the cross because are eternal beings and so all the anguish in all of these things that we carry.

We have a Savior who understands that that's that's the beauty of the gospel, will you also had your American family radio they were praying at their prayer meetings regularly. We would call him and check on you and the Truth Network at all these others are just literally I think somebody certainly think this is this is going out worldwide. The people were praying for you and that your story had captivated so many hearts and I'm so grateful as I am now interrupting you. But what's new guy. Have you ever say how that just you know, I know I've had pastors and pastors that I love that not be listening to this go hey wait a minute that you know having broken my leg right before all of this in the following month losing my mom and stuff it doesn't think there's a thing that I found that at least one I've been around my grandmother's in different people that have no is that it is time for them to die. If there's a peace and arrest and that and there was no peace or rest in me. I'm I know that God has much more for me to do, not just you know laying in the cabin you know and get better but do that because I'm supposed to be doing that right now but there's much more special.

You are supposed to be resting right now. Yeah, I know that you have more to do, but you have more ideas and I and I have more albums in me possibly more books in me, but thing is more people to help in Africa more people to help all over the world, but not because God needs to be to do that because I'm I'm willing and I'm I say God I I I am totally strong at my weakest like second Corinthians 12 nine says, and your mother said something to me that really really helped me. She said grace even if you can only see blue sky, smelly sky or whatever there in your hospital room. She said something I've learned that really help me is just to look outside and say this is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it and I put emphasis on this because she said when you say this look out your window when you wake up, look out your window and say this is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad. That's a wonderful word Gracie. I wanted to have you on the program just to give this report have you back ups more but I want in the program today with you singing from your CD. This is we will stand. I wrote the song for you. Thank you so much for loving darling, I'm glad to have led him here, but I'm back. This is Peter addressing Rosenberg go out of the song I the and and