Katherine Arnold Wolf Updates

From Kim (Katherine’s Mom):

Katherine’s therapy is progressing full steam ahead at Casa Colina. She has a very full schedule, which includes intense Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and educational classes dealing with different aspects of brain injury. Yesterday, she had 45 minutes of electrical stimulation therapy on her face and to stimulate her swallowing reflex.

Brooks is here, and we are getting used to the daily commute to Pomona, which takes between 45 minutes and 2 hours, depending on the unpredictable traffic. Grace dies laughing at us in our huge gas-guzzling 1980’s rental car. Jay, James, and Sarah are settled into their little house on the property, which has become a get-away for Katherine as well. We just stroll her over between activities.

For more details, feel free to click on www.katherineawolf.blogspot.com under “Links” above, and read “The New Normal.”

Thank you all so much for continuing to support us during this time of transition.

Bless you, Kim

By Jay Wolf (Katherine’s Father-in-law)

The New Phase of Casa Colina

Six days ago, Katherine moved from UCLA to Casa Colina (which means “House on the Hill”) in Pomona, CA. This “world class” rehabilitation resource center will supply Katherine with a massive amount of facilitation for her grueling assignment of climbing the mountain of recovery. Jason, James, Sarah and Mary Ruth are staying in a rental home adjacent to the campus which is allowing Katherine to spend a lot of time in the normalcy of a home environment which is good medicine!

Her therapists are well-trained and caring. Jason has attended all the sessions with Katherine to lend extra encouragement and to absorb their methods so he can function as her therapist in the future. They are using many creative techniques for rebuilding her strength, restoring her balance and re-starting her swallowing. Katherine has miles to go but she is solidly on the road to recovery and we solicit your prayer support for her continued success.

The challenges are daunting, but we are standing in faith on God’s goodness and claiming His promise of hope, help and healing! We are keeping activated the comforting truths of Romans 8:28-29, Hebrews 12:1-2 and Matthew 11:28-30.

In Luke 11:1-13 Jesus invites us to continually pray with humble faith. So ask our heavenly Father to recreate and restore Katherine’s right cranial nerves and cerebellum which in turn will facilitate the restoration of her swallowing, balance, coordination, full vocalization, hearing and other diminished right side functions.

May God’s presence, peace, power and provision be yours in abundance as you intentionally serve the Cause of Causes and the King of Kings!

By Jay Wolf (Katherine’s Father-in-law)

Yesterday, Katherine moved from UCLA Medical center after 112 days on what felt like a gut-wrenching roller coaster ride. We are most grateful for the excellent care that Katherine received at UCLA. Their church family has been a living demonstration of Christ’s love. On Sunday afternoon, their Young Married class conducted a service of praise and prayer in the hospital courtyard to celebrate God’s miraculous provision. On Tuesday morning at 10:30 AM, after a tearful and well-photographed farewell, Katherine departed her acute rehab sanctuary and traveled by ambulance east on Interstate 10 for 40 miles to Casa Colina Rehabilitation Center in Pomona, California which is a “state of the art” facility that is designed to help “God’s Miracle Continue.”

It seems that Katherine’s Restoration can be divided into 4 sections:

1. ICU—40 days to save her life
2. Acute Rehab—72 days to get her stabilized and started
3. Transitional Living Rehab—Two to Four Months to get her strong
4. Keep climbing—the ongoing efforts to attack her remaining deficits

Casa Colina will provide Katherine with 7 hours of therapy per day in an inpatient setting. They have all the tools to facilitate the hard work of her recovery. Jason and James have secured a three bedroom, furnished rental home owned by Casa Colina at the edge of their beautiful, 20 acre campus. Sarah and Mary Ruth will continue to care for Sweet Baby James.

The Wolf and Arnold families treasure your support and intercession. Keep Hebrews 4:16 activated, “Let us boldly approach the throne of our gracious God, where we may receive mercy and His grace to find timely help.”

Katherine’s new address is:
Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation
255 East Bonita Avenue
PO Box 6001
Pomona, CA 91769-6001

On the web @ www.casacolina.org

From Kelly (Katherine’s Aunt):

I spoke to Kim yesterday afternoon and Katherine was getting settled. She clarified a few things about Katty’s stay at Casa Colina. Saying goodbyes at UCLA was quite emotional. When they took Katherine out on the gurney, the staff members lined the hall and clapped as she was taken to the ambulance. It was a moving experience. Likewise on Sunday as about 60 friends of Katherine and Jay showed up at the UCLA courtyard. Please pray for the void Katherine will likely feel being farther apart from such a wonderful group as she is now 40 miles away.

Katherine has been moved to the transitional living center. This is not an apartment, as I previously wrote. She is in a room with another resident who is elderly and has had a stroke. We are praying that she can be moved to a private room soon, so visits with James, who can be quite boisterous, won’t be disturbing. James and Jay are on property in a little house that is owned by Casa Colina. They were so fortunate that this was available.

Our updates may be a little further apart now, as Katherine enters this new phase. Kim no longer has internet service and the Hughes are moving in 10 days into a home that is still in major reconstruction. We will try to send a new update each week.

Please pray for the transition as Katherine is a little insecure right now. She will be working to her utmost limits, so a covering of prayer for strength and endurance would be so appreciated.

From Kelly (Katherine’s Aunt):

Today Katherine, Jay and Baby James are moving to Pomona, Ca where Kat will be entering a 2 month (more or less) stay at Casa Colina Rehabilitation Center. http://www.casacolina.org/ There has been much prayer among family members and God is opening doors to Kat’s next stage of recovery. Kim says that when Jay visited, “One of the first things he saw at the new facility was a large banner reading, “Where Miracles Continue…”

On Sunday, Kat and Jay’s friends Anna and Andy Stover, who took care of James for many weeks, arranged a gathering after church to praise God for all he’s done in the Wolf’s lives, pray for their next step, and sing some of Kat’s favorite songs from Belair Presbyterian. I’m sure it was a precious time, as these dear friends have been so absolutely wonderful to Kat’s family, constantly being the hands and feet of Christ; staying through the nights with Kat, caring for James, praying with and for the family, preparing hundreds of meals, and countless other acts of mercy. Likewise the staff, doctors, nurses, and theapists at U.C.L.A. have been phenomenal, and our families are so grateful for the wonderful care Kat received, but now its time to move on.

As I understand it, Kat and Jay will have a little apartment right on the Casa Colina property where the whole family will be together again. Kat will be doing 7 hours of therapy a day, so she really needs our prayers for perseverance. Dr. Jay was so encouraged recently when he saw Kat working at tying her own shoes, sitting up straight on the rehab bench for 15 minutes, and sitting in a regular wheelchair. (I guess this means she no longer has the head and neck supports.) He asks for continued prayer for Kat’s swallowing to improve and the right cranial nerves to begin their regeneration.

Thank you all so much for hanging in there with us on this long, but amazing journey.

Katherine’s new address is:

Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation
255 East Bonita Avenue
PO Box 6001
Pomona, CA 91769-6001

By Jay Wolf (Katherine’s Father-in-law)

CATCHING UP ON KATHERINE’S PROGRESS

Katherine has been at the UCLA hospital for 16 weeks. The 15 hour brain surgery to remove her ruptured AVM at the brain stem and subsequent 40 days in ICU saved her earthly life. For the last 70 days she has been in the acute rehabilitation facility at UCLA to stabilize and start the process of regaining the yardage the stroke ripped from her. To use football terms, it was as if Katherine’s catastrophic brain trauma drove her back 99 yards from her end zone of health and strength to the edge of death. She stopped on the one inch line and is now clawing her way back. In Acute Rehab, Katherine has fought many battles from falling out of bed to vomiting a dozen times and aspirating a lot of fluid into her lungs which created two rounds of pneumonia and required another river of antibiotics. Excruciating pain in her right hip and tail bone also created dark challenges. But in the last 3 weeks she has made significant progress. The trach is out. She is in a regular wheelchair and is starting to maneuver it. She has gained a lot more strength and the hip and tailbone impediments have subsided. Her speech is progressing in a wonderful way. Katherine is completely aware and cognitively tuned in to everything. Her will and faith are strong. Her support system is immense.

Last Tuesday morning I watched with joy as she prepared for her 6 rehab sessions by putting on her shoes by herself and she even forced her resisting right hand to help tie her shoe laces! She can sit up on the side of the rehab bench with excellent posture and did so for about 15 minutes without assistance. Great progress is being made and we rejoice in it and thank God for it.

BEARING DOWN IN PRAYER:

Thank you for continuing to water God’s growing miracle with your prayers! Please focus on the following needs:

* Katherine has the start of a swallow but ask God to give her the rest of it so she can eat!

* Healing of the right cranial nerves. The next 6 months is the time when the damaged areas of the brain tend to heal and retrain. Ask the Lord to suspend natural laws and recreate those lost functions on her right side—especially linked to her right eye, ear, vocal cord, facial muscles, soft palate, swallowing mechanism, and motor strength and coordination for walking.

* Katherine is slated to go to a fabulous rehabilitation facility in Pomona, California called Casa Colina on August 12. God uniquely guided the process to get her at a place that looks to me like the “Disney World of Rehabs!” Their slogan is “Where God’s Miracle Continues.” Pray for the transition to Casa Colina to go smoothly and that the seven hours of rehab per day will help Katherine regain a massive amount of her lost yardage.

LOOKING UP TO THE LORD IN FAITH

God’s sustaining supply is real and abundant. Your support is priceless. So let’s keep looking to King Jesus in humble faith and praying from Romans 8, “Lord, keep bring your glorifying good from these terrible times. O God, if you are for us then who can be against us. Father, You did not spare your own Son but gave Him up for us all, so we are confident that You will supply our needs out of your riches in Glory in Christ Jesus. Furthermore, we are assured that nothing can separate us from Your unending and unbreakable love!”

A message from Anna and Andy Stover:

Hi friends.

As many of you may already know, much has transpired in the last couple of days, and it looks like Katherine will be transferred to the Casa Colina rehab facility in Pomona on Tuesday, for a possible 2 month stay and then things will be evaluated from there. I’ll let Jay share all the details at some point soon via email, and I’m sure the website will have more details to come…but it’s really been clearly laid out to them these last three days that this is the next step for Katherine and they are all so grateful for the Lord’s guidance in this. It’s a huge relief. Obviously the Wolfs are sad leave everyone here in west LA, but it’s the next logical step in Katherine’s recovery process.

So….the wolfs are moving. Tuesday.

As you can imagine, it would be difficult for Katherine & Jay to see everyone individually by Tuesday….so as this UCLA Westwood chapter closes, lets take the opportunity to join together and praise the Lord for what He has done in this place, to pray for their next step in Pomona, and to help send them off with gratefulness for who they are and what God has done in and through them.

Jay and Katherine hope to join us outside to say farewell (for a time!)

Please join us this SUNDAY at 2pm (after church and lunch!) in the UCLA Westwood Hospital Courtyard - outside the main entrance.

Parking will be tricky as the lot is closed on Sundays now - so plan to park on the street - bring quarters - and carpool if you can.

We’ll have a time of prayer and praise and will sing a few of Katherine and Jay’s favorite BAPC worship songs together.

Feel free to pass this along…I am only sending this to a few (mainly from their small groups) who I know will send it on …

Do keep in mind that everyone wont be able to speak to K&J personally as there will certainly be quite a crowd, but they will be blessed to see you there…whether close up or far away.

This is a wonderful next chapter. I don’t want to steal Jay’s details about the visit to the Pomona facility…but I will tell you that there is a banner hanging near the entrance that says: “Where Miracles Continue.”

Sounds like the perfect place for dear Katherine right?
God is good!

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, the procedure went well. Katherine had collagen injected into her throat to plump up her right vocal cord which is not working properly (this will effectively help close off her airway when she swallows and prevent anything from getting down into her lungs). The doctors also determined that the right side of Katherine’s soft palate and right side of her tongue, lips, mouth, face, etc. are not functioning (due to the necessary cutting of her 7th intercranial nerve during her surgery). This is not new news; however, the lack of function in those areas will continue to affect her ability to talk until they hopefully (and miraculously) return. She will likely be fitted with a retainer-like device that will help to lift the right side of her soft palate to help her speak better.

She did not fully pass the swallowing test, though there is the beginning of a swallow (the laryngeal part, which is first, as well as back of the tongue movement, just not the pharyngeal part, which completes the swallow down into the esophagus); therefore, she will remain on the G-tube until she regains that function. We will return back to the ENT doctor in 3 months to try the test again. Again, this was not completely unexpected (directly after her surgery, Dr. Gonzalez noted that there would likely be issues with her swallowing; now we understand it was because the 9th and 10th intercranial nerves were partially cut during the surgery), but it was very difficult to officially hear this news from a doctor, especially because Katherine really thought she was able to effectively swallow (and was hoping to eat, drink, etc. very soon, which now will not be the case). The speech therapists will now specifically focus their efforts on retraining and strengthening the swallowing muscles in hopes that she can regain some or all of that function in the near future. It remains to be seen how these recent developments will influence our next steps after UCLA’s Acute Rehab (we should know more after the team conference this Wednesday).

The ENT doctor did say that up to 3 months after a brain injury like this the intercranial nerves that were damaged will have retracted but in these next 6 months (between the 3rd and 9th month after surgery) those nerves will start the slow process of regrowing and hopefully regaining the lost functions. Needless to say fully cut nerves are more difficult and near impossible to regenerate (ie. her 6th and 7th intercranial nerves, right auditory nerve–which controls hearing and balance–and right facial nerves) but we’ll see what the Lord will do! Even partially cut nerves (i.e. 9th and 10th intercranial nerves, essentially swallowing) may not be able to fully regenerate or perform the same function, but the next 6 months should be a time of continuing, miraculous improvements.
Dr. Gonzalez came by yesterday and saw Katherine up and doing physical therapy. They even had a conversation. He reiterated that her progress is beyond all belief. He honestly did not expect her to ever wake up after the surgery, so to see her moving around, sitting up, and talking brings tears to his eyes. He says that in the coming months, he anticipates her progress to be so great that she will seem like a different person from where she is now. We are so thankful for his perspectives and thoughts on Katherine’s recovery. It always helps us to remember how far the Lord has allowed Katherine to come.

104 days after Katherine’s surgery, we still remain so hopeful and grateful, though this situation is not without it’s great burdens, emotionally, mentally, physically, etc. The Lord has done so much for Katherine, yet it seems like every day we (particularly Katherine) face really horrible things that push us to the limits of our faith and trust in the Lord and his plan for us, but we hang on to the Lord’s promises and try to move forward. Prayers for our next step after UCLA’s Acute Rehab would be much appreciated. I feel great pressure to decide where we need to go next, whether home (to the new Westwood apartment) or to another facility, whether in the LA area or back South. There are lots of options and lots of different (and often conflicting) opinions on what would be best for Katherine, so we need the Lord’s wisdom and clarity of direction to see where we need to be next.

Thanks for everything! We love you all.

God Bless,
Jay

By Jay Wolf (Katherine’s Father-in-law)

On August 1 Katherine had a “swallowing evaluation.” The results revealed that she has the “start of a swallow” but the rest of the complicated swallowing mechanism is not operating. The Physician was encouraging and explained that cranial nerve damage repairs very slowly. He projected that Katherine’s cranial nerves will start to repair at a faster rate over the next 3 to 6 months which could usher in dramatic improvements for her swallowing and other right side deficits. But currently she can not swallow and Katherine felt extremely disappointed in the results because she longs for the normalcy of eating and drinking

Katherine is making progress on many fronts and we praise God for her growing abilities. She still has a mighty long way to go and we need you to pray for the following specific needs:

1. That God would repair her damaged cranial nerves so her right side deficits would experience restoration.

2. Wisdom for knowing what should be next in Katherine’s Rehabilitation Journey. Our season with the wonderful friends at UCLA is nearing an end. We are exploring several options and as Jason put it, “we want Katherine at the place that will give her the best opportunity for God to help her recover.”

3. Pray especially for the regenerating of her SWALLOWING.

Galatians 6:2 tells us, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

The road has been long and the load has been heavy. Thank you for faithfully remaining under the crushing burden of Katherine’s tragedy with us and providing the hydraulic lift of your intercession, love, and support. God is raising up our dear Katherine on His timetable and we will humbly walk in faith with King Jesus all the way to the finish line.

From Kelly (Katherine’s Aunt):

Dear Friends and Family:

I spoke to Brooks yesterday, and he and Grace “booked it” to CA in 3 days. All the Arnolds are together until Brooks leaves on Sunday. We spoke as I was driving, so I hope I won’t misquote anything, but it was obvious that he was encouraged by Kat’s progress. He said she is talking much better and the trach hole is healing nicely. She walked the full length of the hall (assisted) while he was there and she is holding her head up much better in the wheelchair.

There are a few specific prayer requests that he mentioned at this time.

1) On Friday (tomorrow) there will be a special procedure in which a tube is inserted into the nose and goes down to the vocal cords. An injection of some sort will be made directly into the right vocal cord which is paralyzed, but somehow this will help the situation and will improve breathing (I think) and speaking. Please pray that this will go well w/ little discomfort for Katherine.

2) Early next week, there will be a swallowing test followed by a meeting to discuss future plans w/ all Kat’s health care providers. Brooks said Kat is totally focused on the swallowing test as she is absolutely determined to be able to swallow and not have the unpleasant feeding situation continue. She so wants to get out of rehab. There has been a little progress in this area with ice and she is really hoping to hear good news. Brooks sounded a little concerned that she would be very disappointed if the report wasn’t good. Please keep praying for swallowing.

3) Kat has no hearing in her right ear. Please keep praying for regeneration of the facial/ hearing nerves.

4) We would really appreciate prayers as well for future direction. Acute rehab is not meant to last for several months, accordingly much research is being done among family members as to the best next step. If you have personal experience in this area, you can e-mail me at kellythughes@comcast.net.

As always, we so appreciate your amazing support and love.