Dieter Zander Update

From April 19th. Dieter running the slopes of Mount Burdell near his home in Novato, CA.

Well, we just don’t have a clear way forward with this stenting procedure.  In the effort to find the most experienced doctor to do the procedure, we have received additional opinions urging us to wait.  The hope with waiting is that the artery lining might heal on its own.  This is not wishful thinking, but the standard protocol for many carotid dissections.  At the same time, about half of the doctors we’ve consulted advise placing the stent.

So we still need clarity and wisdom to make the best decision.  I’m not sure why this one is so hard.

Dieter has developed pain in his right shoulder and needs to go back to a physical therapist for help, rather than relying on home exercises.  I get anxious about problems like this, because I feel too much responsibility was left on us at home.  Please pray for us to get good help in solving this problem.

Many of you, like us, have been waiting for news about the procedure to place another stent in Dieter’s artery. I thought we would have all the opinions a week and a half ago, but different doctors have been on vacation or out sick. Just today, we got the final opinion we had requested.

Although the doctors offered differing opinions, we have decided that the benefits of this procedure outweigh the risks, and we’re going ahead. This surgery will not correct anything that has already happened nor repair any damage from the first stroke. It will, though, restore the currently slowed blood flow in Dieter’s brain to his normal levels and protect him from future strokes. We hope Dieter can go in for the procedure in about 2 weeks and not more than 4 weeks from now. He’ll stay in the hospital 24-48 hours.

When we have a date, I’ll post it here.

Dieter continues to work on daily exercise, therapy for his arm and hand, and speech therapy. His right shoulder started hurting, so he’ll be meeting one-on-one with a physical therapist to address the pain and regain full range of motion. The physical therapist will also help with a bit of a limp that has started. We’ve realized that, without the help of a professional, we don’t know how to help Dieter do his exercises correctly, and then problems develop.

Last Sunday, we went back to church. To all of you at BayMarin, it was really good to be with you again.

This is Dieter writing, with Valerie’s help.  I wanted to give you this update.

Thank you for all the prayers for me and all the encouragement from cards and emails and phone calls.  I always read the blog and all the responses you post here.  Thank you for all the grand dinners and support.  Today some friends came to our house for spring cleaning, and we cleaned out the garage and tool shed together.

My exercise is hiking, a little jogging, calisthenics, a yoga class, and exercises for my right hand and arm.  I’m also doing some therapy that involves motions set to music.

My speech therapy, or “vocal” as I call it, is frustrating.  I’ve been working hard to say the following:  Dieter, Valerie, Kyle, Conrad, and Christopher; the days of the week; counting from 1 to 20.

I am supported by so many and my family.

I would like to expand on the news from Monday’s angiogram, especially after talking to a friend who is a doctor who clarified for me what the situation is.  Of course, we hoped for great results from the angiogram, and we didn’t get them.   But, at the same time, the angiogram revealed that Dieter has a fixable problem, rather than a rare and unfixable problem, which was one of the possibilities.

Dieter has a pseudo-aneurysm in his carotid artery.  It can be fixed.  The procedure for fixing it is, in itself, risky, so we are weighing the decision.  One team of doctors meets this Friday, and we are getting a second opinion from another team that meets next Monday.  Both teams have nurses that return calls quickly, for which I am grateful!  So I hope that we will have all the information we need by next Tuesday and can make a wise decision.

Dieter had a follow-up cerebral angiogram today, and the news was not as we had hoped.  We were hoping for a confirmation that all arteries are flowing well, and the damaged sections are healing.  Instead, the angiogram revealed that one damaged section is not healing and is, in fact, slowing the flow of blood in Dieter’s brain.  The doctor’s recommendation was to do another procedure similar to what was done on Feb. 4, in which another stent would be placed in Dieter’s artery.

I should know tomorrow how much time we have in which to make this decision.  We have at least this week, as the doctor meets with colleagues on Friday morning in order to get other opinions.  Please pray for us and this decision.

For several days, I’ve wanted to share with you the lyrics to my favorite of the many songs Dieter has written.  It’s called “In All of My Living” and is based on several old Celtic prayers.

God, be in my head, in all of my thinking / God, be in my eyes, in all of my looking
God, be in my mouth, in all of my speaking / God, be in my life, in all of my living
God, be in my heart, in all my understanding / God, be in my hands, in all of my working
God, be in my legs, in all of my going / God, be in my life, in all of my living,
And God be at my end and in my departing.

These lyrics describe how Dieter wishes to live.  But they have particular poignancy is we pray for his body, his health, and his recovery.

Thank you, Valerie

On March 19, I wrote “Sometimes really good things do happen.”  Well, sometimes difficult things happen, too, and, starting on Easter afternoon we’ve had the following:  Kyle got sick, I got sick, the dog got an ear infection, the vacuum cleaner broke, and the kitchen pipes backed up . . . twice!  None of it is too serious, but it is really tiring.  I have not had the energy to write an update, plus I’ve mostly lost my voice, so I couldn’t even phone it in.

Dieter has continued with therapy, though two of the therapists have asked him to relax and enjoy  his “assignments” more.  They’ve warned him that pushing as hard as he is will not help him recover faster and may in fact slow his recovery, through discouragement, exhaustion, or injury.  So, in different ways, both of us are needing to slow down.  As I’ve asked before, please pray for us to know when to work and when to rest.

This year, Holy Week and Easter Sunday were unusual.  Loss and grief mean something different to us now, as does the hope of resurrection.  I dearly wished Dieter and I could talk with each other more fully about his reflections this year.

Yesterday was the 8 week mark of Dieter’s stroke.  If I had forecasts or predictions from reliable sources about his recovery, I would share them, but I don’t.  In the absence of such predictions, we work and wait and hope and pray.