Home! ....sort of .

Jim was discharged from St. Vincent Hospital yesterday and is now staying with Jim and Sharon in Mecca, Indiana.

My understanding is that Friday was a non-event....just the consequences of several events that occurring together resulted in momentary fainting.

Jim starts his chemotherapy today in Terre Haute.

I did spend significant time with Jim in the ER on Friday night. He looks great! Other than some apparent peripheral vision loss on his left side, and the incision on his head (staples have been taken out already), it was hard to tell that much was going on with him. His discussion was very upbeat. He talked about teaching class again in January.

Thank-you everyone for checking in on Jim. As of this morning this blog has received 276 hits from 7 different states. 87% of the traffic has been direct. The remainder have been from email links and facebook links.

Where Jim is no longer in the Indianapolis region, it will be difficult for Melissa or I to keep you updated on Jim's recovery. Blogging is very easy to do. If you see Jim regularly, please consider contributing to this blog. All I need is your email address to enable you to blog on this site.

Ed.

Change In Plans

(This post says it's by Ed Lee but it's actually Melissa writing...)

Friday morning Jim went to the Oncologist and discussed all the options. He has decided not to participate in the clinical trial because of the side affects/risks involved with the medication that he would have to take (this was to be in addition to radiation and chemo.) He has decided to go with just taking the radiation and chemo., and get this treatment through the Hucks facility in Terre Haute. That way he can be closer to home.

After discussing this with RHI, they decided it would be okay for him to be released a few days early from rehab (Sat afternoon instead of next Thur) so he could start his treatment sooner at Hucks. The Dr. said Jim could continue his rehab at an outpatient clinic back in Terre Haute.

Unfortunately, after all this was decided, and Jim was back at RHI completing his physical therapy for the afternoon on Friday, he had a small set-back. He passed out while walking with the physical therapist and had to be taken to St. Vincent Hospital to be checked out. Ed and I were there to see what the Dr. had to say, and they think it was related to him eating a lot, then exercising a lot right after. It could have been a blood sugar-related thing or just an upset stomach that lead to a veso-vegal (sp?)response. Either way, even though he was feeling okay last night, they decided to keep him overnight for observation. If everything's still okay this afternoon he will be released from the hospital and will go home with Jim and Sharon Hill to stay for a while (cousins of Jim Ball - they are my grandparents). RHI already said last night he was released from them - since he was due to leave their facility this afternoon anyway.

So, we'll find out this afternoon...but hopefully Jim will be at Jim and Sharon's relaxing by late this afternoon/this evening. P.S. Jim and Sharon live in Parke Co., about 30 min drive north of Terre Haute.

Good day

Tuesday Jim was in okay spirits, but still sorting out his thoughts over this whole ordeal. He tried to remain hopeful but was struggling a bit. He did have another pretty good day of rehab - physical / occupational / speech therapy.

Today, this evening, he took on a new attitude. His close colleague Rhea (spelling?) came to visit which I know really meant a lot to him. Also his family member Dale and the pastor of the Baptist Church in Rockville came to visit (where Dale goes to church and where Jim had recently visited just before this ordeal started.) Jim was able to fully accept God tonight and rest in the knowledge and peace that God will be with him and help him through the journey ahead. I know he is also very thankful for all of you who have visited him, who have been inquiring about him, and thinking about and praying for him. Please keep it all coming - thanks!

Sunday at RHI

I went to visit Jim at the rehab hospital today. He's mainly just resting because it's his one day off from therapy this week. He is getting a lot of visitors - both family and friends - which is great to see. His physical apperance is good, he has good color and minimal swelling. He still has some balance and visual deficits (mainly peripheral) but it's improving. This coming Friday he will meet with an Oncologist to dicususs if he's a candadate to be in a clinical trial for a new medication. He is trying to keep a positive outlook in these times of difficult decisions.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support, and thanks for checking in on this blog. Ed (my husband) will let Jim know about all the hundreds of hits on the blog later this week.

Off to Rehab!

Jim was moved to the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana yesterday to start the next phase of his recovery.

When I saw Jim yesterday, he looked significantly better than the day before. There was minimal swelling around his face. He was more aware of his left side (he was neglecting his left side when I saw him the day before). His outlook about his overall situation, however, was not the most optimistic.

I did ask him if there was anything specific he wanted me to put in his blog. He said something about telling his students that he'll be grading or marking them when he can.

Possibly going back to Terre Haute?

I was able to spend some time with Jim tonight. He said he was told that he may be discharged to a rehabilitation facility tomorrow (Friday). He's hoping he will be able to go to a facility in Terre Haute rather than Indianapolis. He would rather be closer to home.

Honestly, Jim didn't seem all that excited today. Maybe it's from being in the hospital for 2wks? Maybe it's the hospital food? Maybe it's the consolidation of everything that he has been through over the past few weeks? Regardless, his overall outlook will significantly impact his ability to recover. Please pray that Jim will have an upward outlook as he moves into this next phase of his road to recovery.

Ed.

Still recovering...

I only had a few seconds to pop into Jim's room last night. He was having speech therapy...didn't want to interrupt that.

From what I hear, Jim is recovering well. He looked pretty beat up when I saw him...alot of swelling around his face....but I would say this is expected after a several hour brain surgery.

I'm going to try to get more time with him this afternoon.

Ed.

On the Road to Recovery....

Saw Jim this afternoon. He was already transferred out of ICU and back onto the Neuro unit. I didn't know what to expect when I walked into the room...but there he was! No vents. No tubes. No drains. No oxygen. Not even an IV connected.

He's still taking pain meds so he appeared a bit drowsy, but he was able to have a normal conversation.

He said the surgeon told him that he "got it all". Great news! The family members around the room were talking optimistically as well.

:)

Ed.

Recovering

Things happened generally as scheduled today. Jim was transferred to the ICU after surgery. The rest of the family had already left by the time I was able to drop by a few minutes ago...so I don't know if the surgeon had anything to tell the family.

I did speak to one of the nurses who said that "he was able to answer my questions"....that's a good sign!

I did see Jim....he was responsive to my voice. I didn't engage him in any discussion other than just letting him know that I dropped by to check on him.

Sorry I don't have any more information than that. I'll post whatever information the family says is ok to post when I talk to them tomorrow.

Please continue to pray that Jim will continue to recover and progress along this journey.

Ed.

Waiting....

I saw Jim around 11:15am this morning. He was still in his room waiting to be taken to surgery. He has not eaten since dinner early last night so you can imagine how he's feeling right now. There were a lot of visitors in the room. They all introduced themselves, but I'll have a rough time listing who was there....nevertheless, the room was full of people....standing room only....rest assured in knowing that Jim is not facing surgery alone.

The family told me that Jim will probably be taken to the ICU after surgery. I'll check in on the family later today.

Please continue to pray for Jim and those that are caring for him. Today is the start of what may be a long journey.

Ed.

Waiting until Monday....

I spent some time with Jim this afternoon. His spirits have been dampened since looking up his condition on the Internet. He does look significantly better than three days ago.

Please pray for Jim to have an upward outlook as Monday approaches. Please also pray for all those who are caring for him.

I will continue to post updates as appropriate. If any family member wants administrative rights to this blog (in order to post comments as well), just let me know.

Ed.

Jim Ball's Update

Greetings.

This blog has been setup to update friends and family regarding Jim Ball's progress.

I spoke with him this afternoon. He has asked me to let people know that he was unexpectedly admitted to St. Vincent Hospital (Indianapolis) over the weekend after becoming ill. He has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He is scheduled to have it surgically removed on Monday (Sept 14th).

That's all the facts that I have at this time. As the creator of this blog, I will give permission to any family member that wants to be able to post on this blog. Just let me know.

Ed.