Still waiting....

Well we have been waiting in the hospital since 8 am. Macey was taken back to be prepped and get IV around 11:30. Apparently there was an emergency surgery, that Dr. Ceverha had to preform before Macey's. Someone had been hit by a car very similar to her accident, so please pray for that family! The nurses tell Macey that she won't go in for surgery for another hour or so. In the mean time she is laying in the bed patiently waiting to go back. I will keep everyone updated as soon as I know more! Thanks for all the prayers :)

Surgery Tomorrow!

About 6 long months ago, I returned to Arizona after spending over a month in Long Beach during Macey's recovery. After being back in Arizona for only a couple short days, I received a phone call from my mom telling me Macey's skull was infected and they were going to have to remove it. After flying back to Long Beach, I will never forget walking back up to ICU and seeing my sister so devastated. Just when we thought it was all over, it wasn't. She just kept saying, "It's not fair!" I had such a hole in my heart for her and wished I could just take her place, many of us thinking the same thing. Six whole months to wear a helmet seemed like eternity. How could she go back to school to take her finals wearing a helmet? How would she walk through life with a perfectly functioning brain wearing this embarrassing helmet? But SHE DID! The stares, looks, and comments were hard to ignore, but Macey made it seem so easy. Everyone could recognize Macey from miles away, thanks to her bright pink decorated helmet that her friends helped her make. She walked through life never being ashamed, realizing wearing a helmet was a small price to pay for the miracle she had received. I honestly don't know if I could have walked through a college campus or go to the gym wearing that darn helmet. Vanity got thrown out the window and an appreciation for the simple things in life became the everyday norm.

Those long 6 months are finally over, and our jokes about burning that helmet can actually become a reality (although we aren't actually going to burn it!) Macey has made it through one more bump in the road. Tomorrow starts a new and hopefully final chapter to her recovery. She will check into Long Beach Memorial Hospital tomorrow morning at 8 am, although surgery most likely won't be until noon or so. We just please ask everyone get the power of prayer going tomorrow. Pull out those cute pink prayer bracelets to remind you that each day is a gift as we all have learned. We pray that the surgery goes smoothly tomorrow and every ounce of the infection is gone. Pray for Macey to stay calm; she has been very anxious and nervous for this procedure. I know this is God's final work in her miracle. We are so thankful for Macey to even be with us today. God has given her so much, and I pray this is just one more testimony of His work.

Check the blog tomorrow for updates on the surgery. Thank you everyone for all your precious prayers. God Bless.

P.I.N.K

P.I.N.K- it's the acronym that my friends came up with when I was first in the hospital-standing for Prayers In Need for Kibbee. I could really use some prayers right now. Next week, I'll be undergoing my fourth head surgery- a cranioplasty to put in a prosthetic skull where mine is missing. This means after surgery, I won't have to wear a helmet anymore, which will be such a relief. The thing that scares me is..I already had this surgery back in January, and the skull they put in was infected. Although I have no doubts that my neurosurgeon will perform this surgery with ease, I do worry about getting an infection again. So I'm asking anyone who reads this, to please pray. For not only a smooth and successful surgery, but for a recovery with no complications or infections. The surgery is Thursday, July 1st. I'll have McKenzie let everyone know how it went after it's over. Thanks so much everyone..please help me show everyone God's amazing ways and what's possible through the power of prayer.

One More Month

It's crazy how when they told me I'd have to wear a helmet for 6 months I thought it would be an eternity, but 5 months have already passed and only 1 month left until my surgery. My infectious disease doctor said that I've been off the antibiotics for one month and the infection has remained gone, which is good news, but I still have fears of it returning after my next surgery. Please pray that it stays gone and never ever comes back!! After 2 long weeks of stress and non-stop studying, I took 3 of my 4 finals. I don't know yet what I got in statistics..but I got a B in philosophy and an A in communications :) I start an online summer school class on Monday, which will help to get me caught up since I'm a semester behind. I went to see my orthopedist yesterday about my meniscal tear, and he told me they couldn't do an operation on it yet because my bones are still bruised from the accident, but they would probably be able to do the surgery in December. He also did x-rays on my knees, and told me that my right knee was broken in the accident!! I guess the doctors never noticed since I was unable to walk anyway. It healed on its own, but not correctly, so he said years from now it will probably give me arthritis and I'll most likely need a knee replacement. I asked if he could ever give me any good news and he said "Well, would you like me to lie and say everything is perfect and give you a lollipop?" Of course not...but I hope one day one of my doctors tells me everything has healed and I'm perfectly healthy..and a lollipop would be nice too :)

Return to (Semi) Normal Life

Well, therapy is OVER!!!!! Four long hard months later CNS finally considered me ready to leave. I moved back down to Long Beach on Sunday and have been sitting in on my last semester classes. I feel like all my classes are being taught in a foreign language, because even though I've already learned some of what's being taught, I don't remember it at all. Finals in 2 weeks are definitely going to be a challenge. It's hard walking around campus wearing a helmet; I definitely get stared at or questioned a lot. Less than 2 months though and I'll hopefully never have to wear it again. My neurologist explained to me what's causing my left hand weakness. Over time, a scar has built up on my brain, and it's now blocking the neurons that are in charge of sending the signals to move my hand. It's only fixable through surgery, and I don't think I can handle another one, but we'll see. I will most likely need another surgery though, but on my right knee. My last MRI on it showed that I have a meniscal tear. I haven't seen the doctor since I'm in LB, but I looked it up online and depending on the severity of the tear, it can either be fixed through physical therapy or surgery. Looks like I can't escape therapy or the operating room. Lets just say I can't wait until things are back to normal again.

glass discovery

My case manager at CNS let me know yesterday that there's a good chance that next week will be my LAST week of therapy!! I really hope that turns out to be true because I am definitely ready to leave. After therapy I'm going to return to Long Beach and sit in the classes I was taking at the time of the accident so I can get the final notes and review sessions, and then take my 4 finals the end of May! I'm registered for the fall semester so after I finish my incomplete fall '09 courses, I'll be ready to continue on with school. Today I went to the doctor and left with stitches. You would think that with all my exams and x-rays over the past 5 months, the doctors would have found it, but another piece of glass was recently found in my left elbow. It was pushing on a tendon and giving me pain, so the doctor cut it out and stitched it up. Since the stitches are on a joint which is constantly bending, when the skin is pulled, the stitches could easily tear out, so I am advised to not bend my elbow for 10 days. I have a splint taped around it so I don't accidentally bend it, but it is so hard to do everything with one arm! Other than that, I seem to be healthy and getting stronger :]

Happy Easter!

I'm so sorry I haven't updated this at all!! McKenzie was much better at that than I am. I will try to sum up the progress of this past month: CNS is still going well, I think i'll be released soon because some of my therapists say "we're running out of things for you to do." I'm completely walking freely now, even the occasional jogging in physical therapy. Sarah, my physical therapist wants me to eventually jog on the sidewalk along the street outside the clinic, but I'm definitely not ready for that yet. My infection appeared to be gone so I no longer take antibiotics through an IV, but my most recent MRI showed that the infection is still there, so I will continue to take antibiotics orally. About a week ago I experienced seizure-like activity in my left arm, and ever since my left hand has lost its use, making it very difficult to do simple tasks like zipping, buttoning, and opening things. I'm seeing a neurologist soon to see what the problem is. On Thursday I had a CT scan to create the measurements necessary for my prosthetic skull, which I will now officially be receiving on July 1st! 3 months away but I'm still excited, yet nervous, for the operation. A lot of information for one update, I will try to update this more often!!

God Bless