September 30, 2009, 7:30am PDT - Bess Update (From Dina)
Ok....I apologize for not updating any sooner!! I've had several people ask me how she's doing.....I've just been running all different directions with the upcoming barrel races, some team ropings I'm working and just everyday normal stuff! ;D

We finally got her back to the "hotel" as she calls it last Tuesday I think it was....she was still a little weird....I asked if she was still seeing things and she informed me that she was not. I asked if she still had her little kid laying next to her and she said, "Yes, he's with me all the time! I told God I was lonely before I left for the hospital and this kid is my Guardian Angel so I'm not ever lonely!" Hey, I can't argue with that kind of explanation!!!! OH--for those that didn't know, she said she had a little 10 yr old boy that stayed right by her side the weekend she went into the hospital. She called him her "little brat" because he wouldn't leave her alone and asked if when I went back to the barrel race at Marshall would I please take him with me and tie him in the trailer so he wouldn't come back and bother her! YEP....AWESOME DRUGS!! LOL LOL

Anyway....I didn't post all my thoughts on here at first because I didn't want to scare anyone. However, because of the fact she couldn't spit her gum out or spit her water out when brushing her teeth, and all the confusion she was having driving her chair....we really were concerned if she was having a light stroke or several mini strokes. We had an mri done and all that came back clear which was wonderful news! It turns out that it was just another REALLY bad infection and affected her body totally different this time! We've always known she was crazy!! LOL but this was the first time an infection messed her up like that.

So as of this date.....we finally got the infection cleared, she is back to driving her chair 900 miles an hour and she's talking normal again.....she is kind of fighting her blood pressure going up and down and I think some of that is due to the fact she was on her back and out of her chair for about a week.....and I think she has to kind of start over at times. We have a follow up appointment on October 7th and they are also sending her to a Urologist to see what we can do on the infections.....

For those that don't know, urinary tract infections in a person that is paralyzed are very common but we have to take them very serious.....if they attack hard enough and long enough, they can be fatal.....BESS IS NOT AT THAT POINT so please don't misread that...but that's just an idea of how serious they can be!!!

I told her everyone was sending prayers through the posts and all and she got the biggest smile on her face. One day I'm going to find a place where a lot of the board members are meeting and bring her so you guys can meet her and know what kind of joy she is to be around! And I promise you one thing -- DON'T ASK HER OPINION IF YOU DON'T WANT IT!!! She will definitely tell you what's on her mind! The weekend she was in the hospital and I was going back and forth between her and the barrel race at Marshall, she told me to "ride my horse like I know how and pull my head out of my butt!"

Just keep the prayers coming! I have some information fixing to be sent to TIR Memorial in Houston on rehab and I'm doing some serious hoping and praying that someone will at least give her a fair shot to TRY!! I promise you...we would ship her butt off to Houston sooooo fast!!!! LOL I told her that too! But that's only if she got approved for rehab there!

Until next time.....THANK YOU GUYS FOR EVERYTHING!!! It means soooo much to Bess!!!!

I haven't posted much because I wanted to make sure it was "normal stuff", but I figured it's time we put the prayer chain gang together again!

A few weeks ago, Bess got REALLY irritated (and those that know her well, know this can be semi normal ;D ;D ). However some things have happened that really brought some things to our attention.....

One morning for church, she was brushing her teeth she couldn't spit the water out of her mouth. Later that day, while at lunch, she couldn't spit her gum out....I had to actually grab it and remove it for her. Well, a few days later she argued with us that her chair was all messed up because it wouldn't work right. Sooooo.....we called the company and they sent someone out to check the chair--nothing--everything was fine. Bess has started having difficulty operating her chair.....wanting to go forward and actually going backwards! One day Barbara was coming down the hall and Bess was in 3rd gear in her chair (which is pretty fast) coming down the hall---BACKWARDS!!!!!! She caught her just before she ran into the wall thank God! She is having really bad headaches and currently has a UTI! She hasn't been able to get in her chair the last few days.....

Today, I called to check on her and she was scared to death! She said she could look at the walls and couldn't see the pictures or the tv or anything. She said she could tell they were there but can't see the actual picture. Sooooo....I have called her doctor in Tyler with Health South....they are trying to get her in as soon as possible to get an MRI of her brain to make sure nothing is going on crazy with her.