I am Batman.

Chad is continuing to show great progress. He was able to eat some crackers and drink a bit of water. When the nurse asked him what his name was, he replied "Batman!" It makes me laugh that even through all that he's been through, he still has his typical humor intact.

The kids are aware that their daddy isn't feeling too good and that something happened inside his head. Both Avery and Canon weren't too concerned but Zion is older and could tell that it was more serious. When Wendy told Zion what had happened he said "Mom, I need you to do something for me. I need you to stay at the hospital and be with Daddy. He needs you. Don't worry about the other three kids, I will take care of them....!" I just love children and their thought processes. So pure and innocent!

That's all the update I have for now. The next week or so, it sounds like they are going to wait for the blood in his head to absorb enough so they can do an MRI. They will also be monitoring him closely to make sure that he doesn't have a spasm in his head which could cause some issues.

New update as of 7:30am Thursday: Wes was able to visit the hospital last night and he had a wonderful time visiting with Chad. He sat by his bedside for about 45 minutes and read Chad all of his Facebook and other well wishes from everyone. He is eating now. He is still on some pretty heavy pain medication that knocks him out about a minute after he gets it. They are hoping to be able to do an MRI this morning and see where the bleeding came from. I'll let you know what I hear. One of my wonderful friends is coming over this morning so that I can head up to the hospital for a while.

Please keep the prayers coming and ask God that it would be His will to give Chad a full recovery.

If you want to help out the family with meals or sack lunches, click here.

How you can help!

http://www.takethemameal.com

I just wanted to say on behalf of Chad and Wendy and the rest of the family how touched we are by the outpouring of love in the past day and a half! We have had so many prayers going up that I am reminded how wonderful it is to be part of a Christian community.

So many of you have asked how you can help. The kids are currently being taken care of by Wendy's dear friend Cassie. They are going to be staying there for the duration of Chad's stay in the hospital. One way that I think we can lift the load for Cassie is through meals. I have set up a meal sign up starting Monday, September 5. I have set it up for 2 different people to bring things each day because there will be 10 people to cook for! I don't know about you but when I make mass quantities of things, it usually ends up in mass disaster!! So, one person will be in charge of the main dish and the other person will be in charge of everything else (sides, veggies, desserts, etc).

You will sign up online and then deliver the meal to Cassie's home in Anderson. Once Chad gets home, then we will shift to bringing meals to the Cook's house.

How to sign up:

1. Go to www.takethemameal.com
2. Under Find a meal schedule, enter Cook for last name and chad as the password.
3. Sign up on a date (or two!) that is convenient for you to bring a meal.

***What if you can't cook you might ask??*** You can bless the family by providing sack lunches for the kids. They will need 3 lunches per day that school is in session. They enjoy lunchables, peanut butter and ham and cheese. They loves all types of chips and drinks as well!

Thank you so much for thinking about helping out. We can truly be Jesus' hands and feet to a family that means so much to all of us!! If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll answer it or email me at stacylcook@gmail.com.

Update: 8:45 am

Hi everyone,
I just got the latest update and it looks to be good news. The drs. were unable to find that Chad had a brain aneurysm, but instead think that he had a subarachnoid hemorrhage. For those of us who have no clue what that means, here's a link I found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subarachnoid_hematoma

So, it sounds like the bleeding has stopped in his brain so now they will need to wait for the body to absorb the blood and then they will be able to find out what the cause of this was. They are hoping to do an MRI today to get more of a clue.

As of right now, they are saying he will have to stay, lying flat, in the hospital for 7-10 days! If you know Chad at all, you know that he can't lay flat for more than 5 minutes unless he's sleeping, let alone for 7-10 days!!

The good news is that they will not have to do surgery as of now. The things they have to watch for now are swelling and infection. He is not out of the woods yet, but I would definitely say his condition seems a little less serious which is an answer to prayer!!

Wes said he's going to head home in a few hours. Thank you so much for all the prayers and words of encouragement. If you are interested in helping out Wendy as she figures out schedules, meals and other things while Chad's in the hospital, send me a message with your phone number and I will start a list and try to work on coordinating help for the family.

As with all posts of this nature, I have done my best to try and get the information right but sometimes it seems like it's the game of telephone!! :) So, forgive me if I get some details wrong!

Prayers for Chad Cook

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

As most of you probably know, Wes' older brother Chad went to the hospital with what they believed to be a brain aneurysm. He came home from his teaching job yesterday complaining of a severe headache and back ache and then began vomiting. Wendy could tell from the second she got home that something wasn't right. She took him to the ER where they told them that they had picked up a brain aneurysm and bleeding on the brain. He was taken from Anderson by ambulance to Methodist hospital in downtown Indianapolis.

When he arrived they did a CAT scan but then they didn't read it until morning. From what I have gleaned from different reports, the brain aneurysm is not showing up but there is still bleeding on the the brain. Chad is still in intense pain. They are going to be taking him to get an angioplasty this morning and then to get corrective surgery. That is all we know at this point.

For as much as Facebook can be a time-waster, I am humbled today by how quickly they were able to get the word out and for believers to start sending prayers up to God. Chad and Wendy are part of an incredible church family in Anderson that I know they will rally around them with all of the support and love they could ever want. Chad and Wendy have 4 kids so I'm pretty sure they are going to need all the support they can get!

Chad is also a part of a loving family who, I'm pretty sure, would give their lives for him. I don't know what Chad's future holds but I do know that God is faithful as the verse above says. He has shown his love to the Cook family in the past and I know He is with them right now. Wes has been there all night as has his sister Amy, brother Adrian, parents Lynn and Ragena and multiple friends and relatives. Wendy was holding was together remarkably well last night when I went up to the hospital.

Please keep them in your prayers by name: Chad, his wife Wendy, Zion, Avery, Canon, and Gisele. I will keep this blog updated with whatever I hear!

Ready for August to end

Wow, turning 30 has really slowed me down!! I have made exactly zero blog posts in the month of August until now. Maybe it's just birthday hangover. Yeah, I'm going to go with that. Well, let me catch you up on what we have been up to in the month of August:

Wonderful birthday: Wes took me out for dinner to Maggianos. Yes, we did have a coupon, but it was still romantic! And they have this deal that if you buy 1 of these certain entrees, they box up a second helping of it and send it home with you. It was lovely! We actually had so much that we were able to eat the leftovers as dinner with the kids later on. Then we went shopping at Babies R Us. I already know what you're going to say so save your breath....wow, we are party animals!! I know, I can't help it. I know how to have an awesome time.

Trip to California: Part of my 30th birthday was a special trip to California to rendevous with my two sisters and brother in law Gabe. Wes was the house-husband for 5 days while I lived it up with the girls. It was really fun and was a much needed break. Gabe and Lindsay pulled out all the stops, including taking us to Disney and Medevil Times (save your money!) all for free!! They have lots of friends in high places! Thanks to my wonderful husband for doing this for me. It was the best present ever!

The Summer break that never ends: I know there are some of you who are so sad to see summer break come to an end and to that I say: you obviously don't have a 4 year old. Just kidding. Okay, I'm not but I said that just so you wouldn't judge me. Seriously though, Preston wakes up in the morning and here's the conversation:

"What fun things are we going to do today? What's for breakfast? Can I have marshmallows for breakfast? Later, what will we have for lunch? You know I don't want fruit. No fruit for me. How soon after breakfast will you start lunch? Do I have to take a nap? I will not be tired so I defnitely don't need a nap? What will we do tonight when Dad gets home? Mom, where are you going? Mom? Mom? Mom? MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And this is just in the first 5 minutes he is awake. By the time Wes comes home, I have SQF (Severe Questioning Fatigue). He asks what's for dinner and I go ballistic. It's not pretty.

The Little ones Owen and Cam are enjoying themselves and seem to do well being at home. Cameron is almost sitting up on his own and loves being on his tummy so I don't think he will have too much trouble getting into crawling mode. Owen is talking up a storm. He has such a funny sense of humor and makes Wes, Preston and I laugh all the time. He relishes his "naughty persona."

Not much more to report on our end! Hope everyone's families are happy and healthy!