Karing 4 Kerri

I’m writing tonight through some Mom and Dad tears of joy.  Kerri’s recovery from the port surgery is going really well and she is already showing some signs of improvement tonight after the 2nd day of high dose ketamine boosters.  Her side effects so far are much less than ever before and she was able to really enjoy eating a meal today for the first time since February, when RSD again started affecting her ability to eat without pain.  Just now she was able to walk about 20 feet just barely holding onto the IV pole with her left leg moving instead of dragging and causing her to trip.  This is a first since April!  Dr. Cantu not only spent 2 hours by her bedside today to administer the booster, but also came back this evening to sit down and talk with Kerri about making a plan together for the remainder of her hospital stay and to have her let him know how everything is going.  We are so very, very blessed for Kerri to have the honor of being one of his patients.

We want to wish Nana and Poppop (Kathy’s parents) a very Happy Anniversary today.  As anyone knows who ever been lucky enough to meet them, these are two of the most amazing, considerate, wonderful people in the whole wide world.  They are making Erin feel so special and loved this week and reassuring her that everything is going to work out fine.  We also want to wish a belated happy birthday to our terrific neice, Patricia. Here goes for another Monterrey coincidence. Today during Kerri’s boosters, Dr. Cantu was admiring the picture we have hanging up of Kerri, Erin, Teresa and Patricia.  We were telling him about the work Patricia does with the Seeing Eye Program helping to deliver puppies who will become guide dogs.  A few hours later we read on the blog of another amazing RSD patient, Fern, that she will soon be getting a service dog to help her be able to enjoy life more and become more independent.  Fern lives in Canada, so today we got a chance to converse about service dogs in Mexico, the United States, and Canada.  And Happy Birthday also to Kerri’s good friend, Alexis.  She is one of the first people Kerri ever met when we first moved to Pennsylvania back in 2001, and our whole family has been so lucky to enjoy her company all of these years.  And two more birthday wishes to Megan and Russell!  Megan is Kathy’s goddaughter/cousin is not only a much loved family member but also a one of a kind, caring friend to both of our girls.  Kathy was the luckiest student ever to start college meeting her roommate, Iris,  Russell’s Mom was quickly to become her best friend for life.  Iris, we’ve come a long way since then!

And now for a bit more news to entertain you.  Kerri woke up from her booster yesterday speaking with a Spanish accent and using all the Spanish words she has learned!  The accent disappeared as she woke up more but it sure was delightful!  She is very happy that the lady in the hospital cafeteria has once again sent up a container of the pimiento robusto (spicy pepper) that Kerri loves when here in the hospital.  It turns out Kerri and Dr. Cantu are both fans of pepper!  The woman in the restaurant also made my (Kathy’s) day by telling me I’m making good progress with figuring out the money here in Mexico.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers.  God is definitely watching over Kerri here in the beautiful city of Monterrey.  Thanks also for your comments on the blog – we all love to read them!

Kathy, Mark and Kerri

These are Kerri’s companions watching over her in the hospital: a beautiful handmade Mexican doll from Kerri’s RSD soulmate, Jessica, a very special angel from Jeff’s neice, Gabby, Boo (the cutest dog in the world) from Kerri’s good friend, Yaniv, and of course Jeff the bear who helps get Kerri through when the love of her life, Jeff can’t be right there.

Today's view from Kerri's Room