James's Posts

I thought this would be a good time to update friends and family because we are coming to the end of the "official" recovery period. His recovery has been remarkable! He has had no significant headaches for the past few weeks, he has more energy and is back to his crazy, loveable self. James probably had his biggest test of endurance last week where he was the teacher for beginner fiddlers at the Montana Fiddle Camp in Monarch, MT. His days and nights were filled with playing fiddle and guitar and having fun with friends and other great musicians from around the Northwest. Everybody was supportive and affirmative to James and it was very therapeutic for him to play again in that kind of environment. His plans this summer are to prepare for college at the University of Miami, FL, Frost School of Music. He received a full-tuition 4 year scholarship and will major in instrument performance in classical violin and jazz. He knows that he has a lot of work to do to be prepared for college by mid-August, and he assures me that he is motivated! In the next 2 months he will play in 5 weddings, prepare for his senior recital in August, and spend 3 days in a recording studio for a local country singer. James' heart valve repair was successful and there is minimal leakage and stenosis. They cannot guarantee how long it will last before he will need a valve replacement, but anywhere from 3-20 years. Hopefully by the time he needs a valve replacement, technology will have improved enough that he will have the next surgery through a catheter instead of open heart surgery. The stroke does not seem to have affected his cognitive or motor skills. We have seen some slight changes that we hope are just recovery phase issues. We thank God that even in difficult circumstances that if we draw near to Him, He makes his presence known to us. Please continue to pray for the Schlender family and especially for James as he continues recovering and prepares for college.

It's so good to be home!! James is doing really well. We see him getting stronger physically and mentally every day. Getting back to church, hanging out with his brothers and friends, playing on his fiddle and guitar, taking short walks and going to his senior orchestra concert. He still requires a lot of rest, and his headaches are still there. Monday was his only bad day. He stayed in bed all day with a lot of head pain. Even though his cardiologist suggested that we go to the ER and get a CT scan, we decided not to, because his head pain was not getting worse. I think it was a good call. His recovery involves healing and remodeling for both his head and his heart. This will take weeks. We are trying to limit his activity and social time, but social is James' middle name! It's just hard to believe it's only been 2 weeks since his surgery, and he has come so far in such a short time. We give thanks to God for His protection over James, and continued healing.

I'm finally headed home! I just wanted to thank you all for keeping up with this journal. All of your thoughts and prayers have all been extremely encouraging and uplifting. I'm so thankful for such great friends and family that have been so supportive through this whole healing period while I've been in the hospital recovering. Right now, i feel great! I still have the ever-present headache and a little chest pain from where the chest tube was but thankfully I'm doing a lot better. This whole experience for me, has helped me grow in my faith in the healing power of God as the Great Physician. Sincerely, James