FreiFam

I don't even know how to title this post.... so I am not. Let me just start from the beginning. Last Thursday morning, I got a phone call and it was one of those you really don't want to receive. It was Denise, and she said that Garrett had just left his work in a really big rush and wondered what was going on. I had no idea, so I hung up. Then Gavin called me and said that Ken was at the ER unconscious and having a hard time breathing. Gavin was on his way to the ER, and as soon as I hung up so was I. 

I took my kids to Mykelle and rushed to the ER. When I walked in the room, there he was lay on a bed with a tube in his throat breathing for him and sedated. It seemed so surreal, a perfectly healthy man (a person I loved) laying on that table, and no one knew what was wrong with him. All the scans and tests showed his brain was functioning his heart was working, his blood pressure was good, but yet he was found collapsed on the floor in his bed room at 10:30 am like he had fallen out of bed. After staying at the hospital for a few hours I decided I had better go home and get my kids, they had decided to move Ken to the ICU and have a neurologist try to figure out what had happened. 

At about 4:30 pm Garrett called us and said that they had taken the breathing tube out and he was waking up and breathing on his own. What a relief! Come to find out (after many many tests and a day later) Ken had had 2 strokes. From those strokes he should be paralyzed and blind.  But, because he is such a healthy person, his body has been able to make an almost full recovery. The only side effect he is still having is with his vision, he is seeing double. (Hopefully that will go away soon.) On Saturday morning the Doctor finally figured out why he had the strokes. It is because he has a small hole in his heart and a blood clot went through it and to his brain and created the strokes. He has probably had the hole his whole life, but because he was so healthy he had never done any extensive testing. (1 in 4 people have a hole in their heart, and lot live with it and never know it.)

They released Ken from the hospital on Saturday afternoon. He is still pretty tired, but doing really great considering all his body has been through in the last week. These are the things that  make you stop and know how fragile life really really is. It reminded me how grateful I am for the Priesthood and for a husband and family member's who can administer it. Then there are Doctors, hospitals, ambulances, EMT's, nurses... and all the people who helped, they all were amazing. It was such a scary time.  I  am so thankful Ken stayed on this earth with us and that he is healthy. I know our Heavenly Father is watching out for each one of us, and that Ken has a purpose to be here today. He is a great Grandpa, Husband and Father to all of us, we love him so much.

This was taken on Friday at the hospital, doesn't Grandpa Ken look awesome for having a stroke the day before?!