Sorry for missing the last few eventful days since we returned home from the hospital.

So, we returned from Mercy CR’s IRU on Tuesday afternoon and spent most of the day getting Mackenzie settled back in, nothing too strenuous or complicated. Chris went off to school for the afternoon, grandma brought lunch in for us, and after school (early out) we had dinner together.

I did some cleaning and tinkered around with some things until about 7 PM when I was getting really tired. Thought I’d lay down for an hour then get back at it, but I fell fast asleep and woke up Wednesday morning at 6:30 AM when my alarm went off.

Earlier in the week I was having problems with my new contact lens “trial” prescription, so knowing that I’d be in Grinnell for work on Wednesday I called to see about a follow-up appointment. They squeezed me in before the holiday at 4 PM Wednesday. Yay!

On the way home Tuesday, Mackenzie reported that the one “floater” she’d been seeing in her left eye was now three, and moving around a bit, or so it seemed to her. We called a few doctors about this… her family physician said “call the ambulance”, but we didn’t go quite that far. All the other doctors who had seen Mackenzie said it was to be expected, get her to see her eye doctor, and keep an “eye” on it. I called her eye doctor, same as mine, and they asked me to bring her in with me for a 4:30 PM Wednesday appointment. It’s nice to know we have doctors that will make time for their patients like that.

Wednesday in the library was very peaceful and quiet, with a few colleagues stopping by to share their best wishes for Mackenzie. I also had a nice meeting across campus and an opportunity to get some fresh air on a familiar walk to that meeting, and lunch, and back to Burling.

On Tuesday I had also connected briefly in chat with our FIS (Friends of International Students) student, Ivan. We wanted to invite him to the family Thanksgiving dinner, but with all that was going on those plans unraveled. Fortunately, Ivan was available and interested in meeting us for dinner so we made plans to visit a favorite restaurant in Grinnell after our eye exams.

Our eye doctor had seen Mackenzie on Tuesday, November 12, the day before her 2nd stroke. That turned out to be a very good thing because they were able to take more photos of her eyes and discovered the source of her “floaters”. The photos indicated that she’d had a stroke in her eye as well as her brain, with a small blood clot lodged there. It is in a location that should not do permanent damage and is expected to dissipate/dissolve in 3 to 6 months. However, it is something we need to watch as there could be complications if the clot grows or moves into the center of her eye.

She has a follow-up eye exam set for Monday, January 6 (or maybe the 7th) and I should be ready to pick up new contact lenses for myself then too.

Dinner with Ivan, and a trip to Walmart after, went very well. It was good to see him and catch up a little too. Next time he has orders to bring his girlfriend along. I was glad to hear they would both be staying on campus over Thanksgiving break because that can be a really lonely, long weekend for many students.

Mackenzie complained of a pain in her right leg one evening and that briefly had me in a panic. Turned out to be just a leg cramp and I showed her how to relieve it by rolling her foot over a tennis ball. Crisis averted.

Thursday we had a very nice Thanksgiving meal at the home of Deb (Christine’s sister) & Doug Rassler in Palo. There were 10 of us all seated at an old heirloom table from Doug’s family. Originally I think the plan was for one more leaf in the table to accommodate 12, including Mason and his brother, Michael. Michael spent the day with his mother, a very thoughtful and appropriate change in plans. We all missed Mason very much, but there was ample laughter and smiles mixed with occasional tears.

Today we’ll try to do more cleaning, and get some rest. After 3+ weeks shuttling between hospitals and family, the house is a wreck. I’m going to skip watching the Chiefs to attend a geocaching event (trail clean-up) or two in Cedar Rapids if I can, and return home this evening to get ready for one more trip back to CR on Saturday, for Mason’s memorial services.

As ever, I am thankful for having each of you to share this adventure with. Take care.

-Mark M.