On Sunday March 20 I got a pretty bad head ache. I would get head aches somewhat often so I just thought it was one of the many I didn't worry about it. Throughout that night I woke up throwing up and I still had the head ache. This continued until Tuesday March 22 when I finally called my dad and told him everything that was going on and I told him I couldn't get to the doctor. He then proceeded to call the Junior High pastor that I work under, Jon. Jon had his wife Ellie come and take me to the emergency room. Once I got there they hooked me up with the IV's and everything. I figured they were just going to give me medicine. I thought it was an extra treat that I got to take a joy ride though the emergency room to get a CT scan. I didn't really think anything was wrong. I guess I thought it was procedure. It wasn't until the doctor told me that they needed to transfer me that I knew something was wrong. At that point the ER doctor was waiting to hear from Kaiser Sunset in LA to see if there was a room for me to be moved to. At this point my phone had died so I got to use the nurses cool work phone to call my dad and let him know what was going on.
The ride to Kaiser Sunset was pretty legit cause I got to go in an ambulance. The only bummer was they didn't get to put the sirens on cause I wasn't in urgent need. I know, I was bummed too also because I had to sit in LA traffic. But my driver Ed turned up the music and played me some pretty goo tunes. I couldn't complain after they (Ed and the other guy, Mark) sang with me. You have to respect two pretty young guys who can sing Grenade by Bruno Mars. They weren't too bad either!
Note that ever since I got to the ER they had me on some pretty good pain killers and nausia medicine so I thought everything was great. When we arrived to Kaiser Sunset they put me into a room in the ICU. It was pretty big and it was all mine! I got a bed that I could control to move my legs up and down as well as my back up or down. I had control of the TV and I even had a button to call my nurse whenever I wanted! It was real fancy. After about an hour of watching Fresh Prince of Bel Heir my dad got there. I was so relieved to see him! Later that night My cousins David and Lauren as well as my roomies Michelle and Audrey came by to visit.
While everyone was there I met my surgeon and his PA. Dr. Chen and Arnie. They told us that I had Hydrocephalus. In doctor lingo, Hydrocephalus is a condition in which abnormally widened cerebral spaces in the brain ventricles inhibit the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid. The cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the skull and puts pressure on the brain tissue. Basically that means that there was too much fluid in my brain ventricles that put pressure on my brain tissue causing me to have a head ache. If this would have gone on much longer I could have died from all the intracranial pressure. The doctor told me that they needed me to get an MRI to see what my brain really looked like. They said there were two options. Both required brain surgery. The first one was to put a shunt in to help drain the fluid. The other one, which was the one that we ended up going with was to just widen the hole in my brain where the fluid normally drains. By widen the hole the fluids would be able to drain all by itself. I told my doctor let's do it. I went to sleep with a lot on my heart and my head.
I knew that I was going to be ok. God has a plan for me. I have no doubt of that. I knew that he had me in his hands and his will was going to be done. The next morning after a rough night of sleep I woke up and got to watch a lot more telemundo. It was real great. That after I had a visitor the great and Miss Amy Green. Of course right when she got there I got all drugged up so I was a little loopy. During the time she was there they wisked me off to get my MRI. If you don't know what an MRI is I'll explain. Basically they stick you in this huge long donut shaped machine for like 45 minutes and you have to be still. The only reason that happen for me was because they had drugged me up and I was real tired. They put ear plugs in your ears cause it makes all these loud noises at you. After it was all done they had a pretty picture of my messed up brain so that they could figure out how to fix it.
At about 6 pm that night I was going to have my surgery. They rolled me down with my dad to the surgery room. Before my dad went to the waiting room he prayed over me and I knew I was going to be ok. With God on my side I knew on body was gonna do anything to me. I'm God's girl. He's got back. Right after I left my dad I met the other doctor who would be working along side Dr. Chen. He asked me how I was doing. I thought it was a trick question but I told him, I'm good. Just going to let you work on my brain. He laughed and then asked how I was feeling. I told him good, God watching over me. He smiled. After that they told me that they were putting the stuff to make me sleep and that's the last thing I remember until I was woken up. I was in the recovery room with everyone else. Then after I fully woke up they took me back to my room where my dad was eagerly waiting. I was so glad to see him. When I did he hugged me and we prayed.
That night I hardly slept at all. I spent most of my night watching Saved by the Bell and Telemundo. I dozed off and woke up to a new nurse. Her name was Mika. She was my fav. She had two daughters who were 5 and 6 years old. We became friends real quick. I made her laugh she gave me meds. Great friendship. Thursday morning came and Right after I woke up my Mom for here. It was so good to have her there. Mika said it best when she said, "Dads are great but sometimes you just need your mom, no matter how old you are." She was for sure right. I needed my Mommy! Thursday was a long day of figuring out what medicines worked for me and when. Jon and Ellie, my pastor and his wife came to visit me. They brought me cards that my junior highers and other staff had made me. They were so great! I thought I may be able to go home that day but they still needed a CT scan which they got that after noon. That night My friend Mallory and Debbie stopped by to visit me. It was so great to have visitors. I was glad to see people.
By Friday morning they had me standing and walking around the ICU with the physical therapist. By that afternoon I got to go home! I was so happy. I just wanted to sleep in my own bed. Arnie, the surgeons P.A. came and gave me all these notes and information on what happens next. I got notes out of school! Unfortunately when you are in college you can't really afford to miss but it was still exciting to get them. He told me about my upcoming appointments and what not and then Mika rolled me out of the hospital. I was ready to peace out of that place.
I arrived back to my apartment with my mom on Friday March 25 just two days after I had brain surgery. Friday and Saturday were days of much sleep for both my mom and I. It was great that she was also burned out from school that she slept just as much as I did. It worked out great. My recovery was a very fast paced. I was able to go out to Target on Saturday night and church on Sunday. At Target I got to drive one of carts. Let's just say I thought it would be a lot cooler than it actually was.
Over the time that I was given in the hospital I was given a lot of time to think and process. I think that was definitely one of those hidden gifts God through in the mix. I was able to look over the past couple of years and think about what I want and also seek out what God wants for me. What does he want from and for Cheryl Kay Krake? Well I can tell you that right now God is working in me a lot. He is showing me once again that I can't do it on my own, but only with HIS strength. When ever I seem to be straying onto my own path he finds a way to bring me right back to him. Isn't that cool?
Ok folks. You have just gotten the full story straight from the horses mouth. Pictures to come later this week!
