Katherine Arnold Wolf Updates

expressing my deep gratitude…

(Not to get on a soapbox, but people never say thank you anymore!)

Dear Dr. Loverso,

My name is Katherine Wolf and I almost died a year and a half ago. To make a long story shorter, on April 21, 2008, I suffered a massive bleed in my brain that caused a nearly fatal brain stem stroke. At that time, my husband, Jay, and I (both 26 then) were living in Malibu, CA, while Jay was finishing his final year at Pepperdine Law School. Our 6 month old baby James (now 2!) was asleep in the other room when I collapsed. Given my injuries, it was very likely I would die in surgery or be brain-dead, paralyzed, or worse. In order to save my life, half of my cerebellum had to be removed and many of my intracranial nerves were damaged. I spent 40 days in the ICU at UCLA, then 3 months in the neuro-acute rehab there. I just finished up my time at Casa Colina’s TLC where I have been for a year and 3 months.

I was so blessed to come to Casa Colina. Because I live in Los Angeles, I was not originally going to come here. We were all going to stay in LA, and I was going to do home therapy there. However, the ranking of your facility, some high recommendations from trusted friends, and the visit of my husband convinced him that this was the place for me to go. I will never forget pulling in to Casa Colina in an ambulance from UCLA. I really think this place looks more like a country club or a resort than it looks like a hospital! The grounds are so gorgeous, and I feel they are a powerful beginning to the healing process. From the workout rooms to the cafeteria, everything is so clean here! I am so impressed by how sanitary everything is kept. I really appreciate the cleanliness from the bathrooms to the mats to every table and chair. I am sure you do not hear this enough, but it DOES make a difference! Thank you so much for having such a sanitary environment where people like myself can heal.

I have lived at 291 E. Bonita with my baby, husband, and rotating family members for just over a year now. (I lived in-patient at TLC for 2 months when I first arrived). The home has been such a blessing to us as we have dealt with this reality. Because I cannot drive, living so close has been wonderful for us. It has also allowed for maximum interaction with my young son. We had his 1st birthday party in the backyard and have grown to love this house and feel like it has truly been home. The Ice Cream truck drives by everyday, and we even hired him for that 1st birthday party so all our guests could enjoy ice cream! We have also fallen in love with Claremont, and the close proximity has meant that we even know many shop and restaurant owners by name. We have attended Pomona Baptist Church on Garey Avenue and have loved it. We have worked out at the Claremont Club for just over a year now (with a Casa Colina discount, of course!) We have loved going there and as you know, exercise is crucial for me learning to walk again. Also, ‘we’ have loved frequenting Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga and shopping there! Who knew we could find all this and more right here near Casa Colina?

Recovery has been tough, but as you know, Casa Colina is a great place. At this point, I have miraculously come so much farther than anyone thought, though I still cannot walk by myself, half my face is paralyzed, I have major swallowing and speech issues (I was on a feeding tube for over 11 months), deafness in my right ear and impairments in my right eye (with severe double vision). I lost all fine motor coordination in my right hand and because of this, I cannot write, type, care for my son or even feed myself with that hand. It has been rough. Really, really rough. But day by day, by the grace of God and with the incredible support of my husband, family, friends, and amazing therapists, I am regaining my life. It is a miracle.

I love all the therapists and technicians at TLC. Rachel Conrad performed seven swallowing tests on me before I passed one and also performed daily therapy with electric stimulation for my swallowing muscles for over a year now. Awon Nyirady, Becky Freeman, Esther Olsen and Christine Rossi (hey, it takes a village) have all worked with me in Physical Therapy. I am now doing aquatic therapy (which is great for my walking) with Christine twice a week. Hal Wright has been a superb nurse to me and a wonderful presence throughout my time at TLC. I simply cannot say enough good things about Casa Colina and everyone there. While no one would EVER want to end up here, TLC has made it much more bearable. Thank you for that.

I blog about my journey at www.katherinewolf.info, which also links to my mom’s blog, videos, other websites about me, etc. As you can imagine, it has been cathartic and healing to share my thoughts and express my feelings throughout this journey to an audience of people, many of whom I will never know. I know that the blogging has been a way to uncover so much good that God has in this horrible situation. By the way, between this site and my CaringBridge webpage, I have received well over a million hits, from over 100 countries. The CEO of UCLA Medical Center told us that my situation had shown a new paradigm for patient support because of the incredible support I had received from my online community, as well as my wonderful family and friends support in Los Angeles. That is one of the many, many blessings to come from this time.

Enclosed, I wanted you to have a ‘Katherine Lived’ T-shirt that was made for the one year anniversary of me living. The heart-in-hand symbol represents giving your heart fully to God and reaching out for help from others in your life. There’s a special message printed on the inside of the shirts (worn next to the wearer’s heart), which tells my story and is reminder to pray for me. There’s more information on the shirts at www.undivided-heart.com. I hope you enjoy!

Also, I hope you enjoy seeing the enclosed photograph of my last day at TLC. Everyone is wearing my T-Shirt in my honor. That is me standing just to the right of the sign. When I first came to TLC, I was barely able to sit up in my wheelchair or hold my head up. As you can see, I am proudly standing in this picture! Also, this final day at TLC, I was able to give my Speech Therapist, Rachel, a little treat! A year ago on that day, she gave me a tiny taste on my tongue of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (it was the Friday before Halloween). This year, I gave Rachel a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, and I ate several myself!

Please know that your facility has been such a blessing to me in more ways than I could express. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Love and Blessings,

Katherine Wolf

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 1:54 pm and is filed under CaringBridge.org Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.