THERESE JOURNAL

Welcome back to the health journal of Therese Atkins, last time we left off I was documenting the ongoing progress of Therese, as I told you before Therese has a shunt place in her head, for those of you who are not familiar with the word shunt. What is a shunt? it is a hollow tube surgically placed in the brain (or occasionally in the spine) to help drain cerebrospinal fluid and redirect it to another location in the body where it can be reabsorbed

NEUROLOGY

NEUROSURGURY

The surgery was performed because Therese needed to relieve pressure on her brain, which goes by the name of Hydrocephalus after a thorough examination of Therese the doctor recommended placing a shunt may be able to provide a long-term benefit. Without going into much detail about shunting, let me end by telling you about the different kinds of Shunts. Different Kinds of Shunts Different shunt systems re-route the excess fluid to: The abdomen The lung The heart The neurosurgeon will discuss the pros and cons of each approach with you, Therese procedure re-routes the excess fluid to the abdomen. Ok now back to when we left off, Therese was just approaching her eighth month of living with a shunt, remember me telling you about the rough time spent with her those first couple of months, the vomiting and the nightly vidual watching over her making sure her throat passage is clear and so forth. Later came the difficulty to feed herself, her total sanitation I mean everything, brushing her teeth, sponging her body and cleaning her private parts, styling her hair and cleaning up after herself when she uses the toilet, also doing the cooking and laundry, plus scheduling and maintaining her daily medication intake, making sure she attends her mandatory doctors visit. All of this may sound tiresome it is indeed tiresome when you don’t have any help with the mandatory tasks needed to keep her healthy. Somehow I have with the help of my God pull through, Therese has been ill since 2017, she suffered several strokes, which left her speechless and unable to move her legs efficiently, she also has slight amnesia.

JEHOVAH THE MERCYFUL

Four months ago if you have been following Therese journal I told you of the difficulties, the triumphs, and the failures, four months later today January 15 th Therese is still with us, those last four months have not taken her for the worse, she is gradually making small strides on her own. FEEDING : Therese   is   trying   to   feed   herself with   great   difficulties   for   example,   she would   stare   at her   plate   in   front   of   her   contemplating   what   to   do   next,   holding   her   hands   and   scooping up   some   food   and   placing   it   in   her   mouth   seems   to   do   the   trick,   she   then   will   hold   the utensils   in   her   right   hand   continuously   poking   at   the   food   while   with   the   other   hand,   she   will   scoop up   another   portion   from   the   plate,   after   she   slows   the   helping   she   will   then   put   the   empty   spoon   to her mouth as if there were some residue of food to be eaten. STOOL :   Therese   has   to   stop   vomiting   after   ingesting   her   meals,   however   using   her   bowels   has become    somewhat    of    a    difficulty,    she    continuously    has    to    struggle    to    accomplish number   two,   plus   her   stool   is   very   hard,   so   a   dose   of   a   stool   softener   is       needed periodically to accomplish a smooth bowel movement. SLEEP :   Most   nights   she   goes   to   bed   at   a   scheduled   time,   it   helps   if   you   make   up   a   sleep schedule   time,   it   takes   her   roughly   thirty   minutes   to   fall   asleep,   sometimes   more.   Snoring is   not   something   you   want   to   hear   when   you   go   to   bed   next   to   someone,   however,   when you have a patient with a shunt sleeping next to you snoring comes like a welcome gesture. SANITATION:   Therese   is   not   able   to   sanitize   herself,   she   needs   help   to   get   it   done,   again   if   you have   a   schedule   that   is   a   good   thing,   Therese   schedule   is   flexible,   at   ten   in   the   morning she   takes   her   medication,   followed   by   a   bath,   or   a   body   sponge,   first   the   top   part   then   the bottom   half,   next   she   enjoys   a   cold   or   hot   breakfast,   by   the   end   of   her   breakfast   she   returns   to   the toilet and then back to bed for another two hours of sleep

Getting closer to Almighty God.

Today   Therese   has   a   doctor's   visit   she   is   having   her   annual   medicare   wellness,   to   be   honest,   I   look   forward to   the   result   for   there   is   a   secret   I want   to   share with you, Therese   has   been   ill   a   long   time   now   however   that space   of   time   I   have   taken   care   of   her,   yes   it's   just   Therese   and   myself   in   the   home,   Therese   illness   has brought   me   closer   to Jehovah, you   can   say   caring   for   her   has   become   my   joy   for Jehovah   God   has   touched and   visit   me   often,   yes   that   is   my   secret   caring   is   sharing,   caring   is   love,   caring   is   patient,   when   combined you find out that you are closer to the god of creation Jehovah is his name. .

Jehovah who can be like you?

Well I thought I would have more to tell you, I thought Therese would decrease in capacity and worsen to the point of taking her to the hospital, but that is not the case she shows me that only God can heal, yes friends health wise she is just like you and me with ups and downs, next month will be the anniversary of the shunt placed in Therese's head if the Lord is willing I will get back to telling you about her progress, may the Lord bless you all and cheerios for now.

Come back on Therese Birthday

Click birthday if the Lord Jehovah is willing Therese will then see her 77 birthday, come the month of May, for the blessings she has received from almighty God is priceless, come altogether let us praise Almighty God, the only God who created the universe, you can quote me but never doubt me, there none like Jehovah

Compassionate Family-centered Care

We are all children of one God, with gifts to match our existence, there is no force placed upon you to serve him, but you do well if you surrender your will and become his servant, he will befriend you till the last minute of your life here upon this earth he has made by uttering only two words, let there be and it was, Thank you, Therese, for the joy you have given me throughout out our journey.
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HYDROCEPHALUS / PATIENT

Living with a shunt

Therese Atkins story taking it one day at a time

poetry oasis kenvil atkins 1/1/2023
AUGUST REPOR 2023 Howday fellow traveller if you are reading this, then this is a the continu - ing history of Therese Atkins, a patient living with a cerebral shunt, for those who are not familiar with the term, a Cerebral Shunt is a surgical procedure in which a tube is placed in the patient’s head to drain out excess fluid. Now that you have a little knowledge about the topic of my conversation, let’s proceed!, it was well over a year ago that my wife Therese was oper - ated on, she has been living with this Therese Atkins Today BY KENVIL ATKINS AUGUST 2023 cerebral shunt well over one year now, sometime between 2022-2023, during this time frame I have documented her progress or failures in the hope that this on hand observation will benefit anyone who has a love one, going through the same journey, yes sir it is a journey at that and quite an adventure. When I left off Therese was nearing her 77 birthday, about three months shy of her 77 birthday, I had just taken her to see her physician for a six-month checkup, her xrays showed significant progress, and the surgery which was done to her head had been properly heal, this is a blessing indeed from Jehovah God. THERESE ATKINS PHYSICAL CONDITION : 1. Therese Atkins has in the past several major strokes, she has been hospitalized as an outpatient at two major hospitals, the first stroke left her paralyzed and unable to walk, while the second compound things, her arms and limbs, and muscles lost most of their functions, also her speech parten became blurred and over a time she lost the ability to talk. 2. Therese Atkins is alive and well but unable to perform her daily sanitary measures, she is not able to clothe herself, and she bites and chews her food, her swallowing is ok, but she needs help with holding the utensils, she needs help going to the rest room, also cleaning after every potty break, and grooming herself. Those are some of the Therese drawbacks, there are other things she is unable to perform or do, and this is within a personal scope of privacy to her. PERSONALITY TRAITS: 1. Therese Atkins has the nicest smile and is always in good humor daily, she is always willing to try and help herself whenever something is being done to her, given the right diet Therese has no problem cleaning her plate. 2. Therese Atkins struggles to walk anytime someone helps her to exercise, she has a tremendous capacity to fight her pains and sometimes suffers in silence. 3. Therese Atkins still thinks in her mind, that she can perform all the above physical conditions mentioned, which makes one marvel at that gal, bless her heart. Therese Prior Condition By now you have gotten a small picture of Therese Atkins's prior condition, which brings me back to today and her present condition. Well I thought I would have more to tell you, I thought Therese would decrease in capacity and worsen to the point of taking her back to the hospital, but that is not the case here, she shows me that only God can heal, yes readers and friends health-wise, she is just like you and me with her ups and downs, next month will be the anniversary of the shunt placed in Therese's head if the Lord is willing I will get back to telling you about her progress, may the Lord bless you all, continuing observation on her progress I have to report that Therese is doing quite well healthwise, however, she is deteriorating in her mental capacity, some of the new things portrayed at this time by Therese are. Her memory is failing she periodically stairs into space while eating her meals She keeps the utensils that she has in her right hand, right next to her mouth, without any motion at all. She pokes at the food item on her plate repeatedly before scooping it into her mouth She is not articulate and soils her dress due to incorrect mouth motion Sometimes which is very rarely she gets irritated with herself but shoves off the attitude when someone approaches her with loving tender concern and care. Her sleep pattern is off, she may lie on her bed motionless for hours without napping, and only fall asleep during the wee hours of the morning. She drinks less fluid of any kind, and refuses to eat anything after dinner, but enjoys a cup of beverage tea or coffee. But her smile is still to die for, those small inheritances which she now portrays can be overcome with constant vigil care, and a calm approach to each situation, in my opinion for someone living with a tube in their head, it's not normal and will not function normally, so precaution and tender loving care is the key to each symptom and each day of her life events. I begin each day with a routine and stick to the schedule as best as I can, I suppose to each one of you your schedule routine will be different, so it is pointless me telling you what to do in your present situation. Medication Needs a Healthy Diet But to the few who would like to know my routine, it's nothing special, I am not recommending this to you, I am just divorcing my recipe for my wife's ongoing treatment, first of all, MEDICATION: Tthe medication that Therese takes alone can be a major factor so enough said, to combat her system I supplement a diet of various mixed green salads, and the dressing used is diffidently vinaigrette no other, a little Cezar salad now and then. SECONDLY: Secondly, her second course is her meat course, mostly poach fish of some kind, codfish, salmon, mackerel, tilapia, redfish tuna, or mahi mahi, poach and serve with an olive oil sauce of some kind. And three hours later boul of chicken noodle soup with a leak or colored greens. BEVERAGES: For her beverage she only has juices orange, grapefruit, apple, cran - berry, or fruit punch, banana, melon strawberry, pineapple puree with almond milk, and on occasion ginger ale soda. By 6 PM her last meal is a cup of coffee. As long as Almighty God Jehovah provides the resources I am will - ing to prepare the meals, believe me, Almighty Jehovah has never failed me yet, my faith and trust is in the almighty alone, and no other. If I may let me caution you about the most important thing, the patient's medication I recommend that you pay attention to detail. next update January 2024 ALL PRAISES TO ALMIGHTY GOD JEHOVAH - AMEN

THERESE ATKINS SHAUNT HISTORY

LIVING WITH AN IMPLANTED SHUNT 2023
PERSONALITY
THERESE ATKINS
Therese Atkins 77
Therese Atkins Birthday 77
A HEALTHY DIET IS RECOMENDED
VINEGRETTE BASE SALAD
SCHEDULE MEALS A MUST
HEALTHY LIVING

ONE YEAR LATER

THERESE ATKINS