Stephen has experienced some setbacks this week as far as his recovery is concerned. As some of you may already know, Stephen has suffered from severe vertigo attacks from both Meniere's Disease and Vestibular Migraines for the last 20 years. His attacks, which include spinning and violently throwing up, typically last a few hours... and the side effects drag on for days. In the past when we would ask him how he was feeling in the days following a vertigo attack he would say, "I feel like I've been hit by a car."
Unfortunately now he actually knows what that feels like.
And on top of that, it turns out that being hit by a car, and THEN having a vertigo attack is even worse.
Despite having rough night on Sunday, Stephen went to his physical therapy appointment on Monday where they hooked him up to 5 TENS machines. Towards the end of his session he was hit with a horrible vertigo attack. Throwing up isn't fun for anyone, but imagine violently throwing up with 7 broken ribs. I don't think anyone has ever seen my dad in so much pain. Ever.
After a truly terrible week of side effects my dad got to visit with the ENT on Friday who discovered that this attack was a whole new type of vertigo called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. His doctor described it as having loose rocks in his head. Everyone has little crystals in their ears that help them balance. But in my dad's case they are no longer where they should be, they are loose and rolling around causing all kinds of mayhem. We're not sure what brought this on, but the good news is this kind of vertigo is treatable. The bad news is, it has really set him back in his recovery. It has been six days since the attack and he has only managed to get out of bed a few times since, and he hasn't hardly eaten anything all week. He is in more pain now that he has been through this entire ordeal, and he's not allowed to get another pain block until we can get the vertigo under control. So that's the main goal now.
It has now been 3 weeks since the accident, and Stephen's recovery has truly been miraculous. This entire experience has been a testimony to us of how intricately involved our Father in Heaven is in our lives. He is infinitely aware of us. Each and every one of us. He knew that my dad would have additional trials to deal with this week. He knew that we would need extra prayers, and help. So He sent you, His earthly angels, to love and support us in His place. This week we had some dear friends show up out of the blue to do yard work and fix a broken sprinkler. And on some of the hardest days people will randomly show up at the door with a friendly smile and enough food to feed an army. We are truly blessed.
We are so grateful to all of those who continue to serve and bless us, and offer up prayers in our behalf. There has been an outpouring of love from friends and neighbors, ward members, associates at USU, and members of the cycling club.
We love you.
Thank you for your continued support.
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