T+27 Days After Mike’s Brain Surgery

Still no updates on pathology or when Mike will begin radiation therapy, so I thought I’d change things up a bit today on this here little blog (I suppose I’m a blogger now, how weird is that?).

When someone we love suddenly has their world shattered by an event like this, whether it’s a loss or a diagnosis, or whatever – we have absolutely ZERO clue how to support them. I know I’ve been there before, too! We may feel like our sentiments fall flat (they don’t – let me reassure you), but we just love them so much that we want to do SOMETHING. So today I thought I’d list several of the things that YOU ALL have been doing for us that have helped the MOST. Hopefully this list can help you in the future when you feel lost and unsure how to support your loved one.

Food: Meals, Snacks, and ALL THE COFFEE

• Meals.
  • 8 days in the hospital is a LOT. And 8 days of hospital cafeteria food…🤢. So I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to have every meal covered. Even when Mike started getting his appetite back, nothing from the hospital menu appealed to him. So having our favorite foods from some of our favorite restaurants was such a blessing.
  • What meals were delivered once we were out of the hospital and rehab and readjusting to life were particularly helpful. Once we got Mike home, I was so exhausted and drained that I couldn’t even begin to think of creating a meal plan, much less cooking. We got a lot of freezable dishes like pasta bakes and soups (the Spoonful of Comfort boxes were absolutely genius), so I divvied those up into individual meals and put them in the freezer, and we’ve been pulling those out every night and enjoying those with a salad.
  • We have also been enjoying the visits we’ve been getting from those of you who have stopped by with take out!!
• Snacks. I think at one point we had 4 large piles of candy, sweets, chips, and gum. Which was extremely helpful for not only us, but also our visitors! And what we were unable to finish we “donated” to the kids.
• Baked goods – is there anything better than bread pudding (that I had trouble sharing) or Mrs. Fields cookies when you’re emotionally vulnerable? I can’t think of anything!
• Coffee. There is a special place in Heaven for every single one of you that either brought me coffee or sent me those extremely generous Starbucks gift cards. THANK YOU doesn’t begin to express my gratitude.

Visits, Phone Calls, Texts

This right here has meant the most to us. So many of you have stopped by, called, and all the texts from everyone have been God sends. I joke that I have a second full time job as Mike’s press secretary, but we are so blessed to have all the thoughts and prayers.

Odds and ends

There are so many things you can’t even think of that you end up needing while in the hospital. Things like:

• A backpack – this got me and all of our “stuff” through all the back and forth trips to the hospital and the rehab center
• Gum
• Chapstick
• Manicure set (this came in super handy – fingernails don’t stop growing just because you’re in the hospital)
• Journal and pens (I forget how often the rest of the world still uses pens and paper)
• Light blanket
• Fluffy blanket
• Fuzzy socks
• Small ice packs for the little lunch cooler I brought every day to keep Mike’s protein drinks and yogurt cool
• Protein drinks / protein bars – protein promotes faster healing
• Something to read – comic books, trashy romance novels, The Citadel alumni magazine
• Games – the building block games have been FANTASTIC for Mike’s fine motor skills
• Coloring books and colors
• Legos
• Flowers!!! Several BEAUTIFUL bouquets were delivered that absolutely brightened our days. I love love LOVE fresh flowers!

Errands, Dogs, Etc

• Errand runners – my mom was amazing about running errands here and there, she took care of little Maya and would bring Maya up to the hospital for visits.
• Dog feeders/walkers/letter-outters – my in-laws were incredibly generous to constantly go to the house to make sure my dogs were fed, watered, and let out to potty.
• Trash Day – another thing i completely didn’t even think of, but my father-in-law made sure my hurbie curbies were at the curb every trash/recycling day
• Mail – Mike’s folks to the rescue again! Another one of those things that never occurred to me – to get the mail every day.
• Lawn care – we had people come by to mow the lawn and the pasture

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all of the blessings we’ve received over the last few weeks, and I’m sure I’m forgetting something. I know many of you don’t think you’ve done much, but trust me, your time, thoughtfulness, your generosity of spirit have given us strength and abundance to get through THE hardest time in our entire lives.