Wednesday, November 10, 2010

KRISTEN CLACK'S FIGHT AND DETERMINATION by Misty Clack

THIS IS FROM THE KRISTEN CLACK BLOG. KRISTEN'S FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL....Permission by Misty Clack to post...nlac.tv


First Day of school as a Senior Wildcat…………
The morning came and I walked up the stairs to  wake Kristen up. I opened her bedroom door and there she laid with covers up to her ears. Her clothes perfectly folded on her chair where she had laid them out  the night before. I reach over to touch her and silently tell her that it is time to wake up. She slowly gets up and starts to get ready. This will be her first day as a senior at Apalachee High School. She looks in the mirror and makes sure her short hair is in place and her mascara is applied delicately with every stroke. She places her class ring on her little finger.
She grabs her jacket and places her book bag on her shoulder. We head outside to get in the truck and it’s cold out and raining. We hurry to get inside the truck. I ask her if she ready for today and of course with a smile, she tells me yes. She has been waiting for this day for a very long time. 3 months……………. since the accident and she will be walking thru the halls once again.
We parked and began to walk in to the school. Kristen was greeted by several of her friends awaiting for her arrival. We have a scheduled meeting early this morning with several of her teachers and administration to discuss an academic plan. Kristen and I walk by her locker and she notices that a picture of her in her softball uniform is hanging there. She just “awwwwed” over it. Some one had placed that on her locker. That was very thoughtful. We continue walking down the hall to where the meeting will be held. We get to the office and was directed to the conference room. There sat several teachers, staff and a clinic nurse that are prepared to accommidate Kristen with whatever she may need to help her succeed this year. She will be able to audit her classes the rest of the semester to prepare her for those classes next semester.
The bell for 1st period will ring soon. We both will walk to the gym, where she will have weight training. She was prepared to dress out if needed to. With Kristen leading the way, we both went to the coaches offices where she had greeted them with her smiling face. They were all excited to see her. Once the students started to see her, they were all welcoming her back to school. She seen one of her friends that she’s known since kindergarten. They both had 3 classes and lunch together. She felt  more at ease and so did I. One of her girlfriends welcomed her back with a cute balloon and a bag of treats. This was so very sweet and thoughtful.
I will be leaving Kristen  during this class to take care of her lunch account. I walk away and I don’t look back. I am confident and know she is going to be fine. I walk to the cafeteria to place money in her account. Her account will need to be re-activated. She will have lunch at school today. Everyone has been so helpful to get Kristen back to school. I make my way to the PDC to discuss when I will return to work. I may be starting back on Monday. Kristen and I are ready to move forward. I forgot what my life was like before her accident. It’s all just a fog. I have been so focussed on her and getting her back to normal, somewhat normal.
I don’t take long and head to my place of work to give them a quick update. The elementary school is next the Kristen’s High School. This will make things a lot easier and quicker, if she ever needs me. It was great to see some of the ladies that supported Kristen and my family during this time. I can never thank them enough. I love them all. My mind is on Kristen and can’t get her off of it not one minute.
I leave and make my way back to the High School to check on her. I have a copy of her schedule, so I know where she is. I walk down the hall and see the class room on the right. Students are still in the hall way, making their way to their class. I turn and look anxiously in the classroom. I see her. She looks up and sees me. She waves from afar and we meet in the front of the class. I look at her as she talks to me. I make sure her eyes are fine and her speech is ok. When she gets tired, she says the wrong words and her eyes get really heavy. She doesn’t look tired. She remains excited about this day, so I am excited for her. She hugs me and I tell her to have a good day. I exit the classroom and begin walking down the hall. I will leave once again, but I will go home and prepare the sofa for Kristen to take a nap when she gets home today.
It is close to time to pick Kristen up from school. Still raining oustside, I pick up my umbrella at the door. I lock up and run to the truck to get in out of the rain. I am anxious to hear about her day. My thoughts are of her constantly. I walk in the building meeting staff and administration. They all have been watching her thru out the day. They all said that she seemed to be tolerating the day and looked great. I was pleased and eager to see her again. One of the staff members walked me to her last class of the day. She also watched Kristen thru the day. She said positive things as well. We got to her class room door and I stood there watching her thru the glass window. She is sitting in front of a computer monitor watching and listening to a lecture. This class will be an important one. She will need to get this academic credit to get her closer to graduate with her class. I talked briefly to her teacher and she says Kristen is doing well for her first day.  I was relieved.
It’s about 3:10 and I will go ahead and take her home. She looks great. She is not tired, but she is hungry. She starts telling me about her day in excitement. Her kindergarten friend walked her to each class. Kristen said it was good to see him and all of her other friends. Everyone was so helpful and excited to see her back. She said she enjoyed all of classes. We got home and she got settled in. She was hungry, so I made her a snack. She wanted to watch a movie so we both sat in front of the tv snacking on chips and salsa. I covered us up and snuggled on the couch. I told her how proud I was of her and how brave she is. She tells me, “Thanks mommy.”

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

KRISTEN CLACK'S FIGHT AND DETERMINATION by Misty Clack



THIS ARTICLE IS FROM THE WEB BLOG OF THE CLACK FAMILY.......



October 26, 2010

Kristen got to sleep in a little bit this morning. She only sees the Occupational Therapist today for her Left Hand. She has been doing so well with range of motion . Her Left hand is almost in a fist. She works so hard with stretching and strengthening the small muscles with in her hand and fingers. When she stretches, Kristen states it feels like her ligaments are going to snap. The therapist informs her that she has to continue to stretch these ligaments to break up the scar tissue and adhesions. At night, I stretch her hand and fingers. I feel the tension when I pull her index finger. I then pull the finger tip down to her palm. I feel the ligaments tighten and stretch along her joint and knuckle. She tolerates the stretching, but it is difficult at times. We place a warm clothe on her hand prior to stretching. This helps warm up the small tendons and ligaments.
Kristen has completed her hand therapy for the day. The therapist is very pleased at her progress. She was tested with her grip and she is ready to start gripping a bat……….. Kristen was excited about this. She will begin wrist and hand strengthening.  She has a project she has to work on with her fingers. She is doing well with this. It is almost knitting with your fingers.
We don’t stay long, we have to get to the rehab facility to have a phone conference with Apalachee High School. We drive over and park the truck. We get there and was directed to classroom #6. We sit and was greeted one by one with all the therapist. Kristen was so excited she couldn’t sit still. The councilor had gotten on the phone and placed it on speaker. We all could hear everyone. The teacher here gave a little overview of the plans for Kristen on her return to school. Each therapist came in to discuss some needs and possible accommidations for her. Kristen will only need to complete 3 academic classes to graduate with her class. Kristen will really have to work hard to do this. Thru-out this phone conference, Kristen wants to talk to the councilor. She begins and does very well with explaining herself and what options would be available for her. The teacher here and I was very proud of her. Thank you Apalachee and she can’t wait to get back there! Her estimated start date is Weds. November 3rd. It will be 3 months and she will be back at school. A_M_A_Z_I_N_G! God is so good!!!!!
I am thinking back when all the Doctors and Nurses told us that she would need to take a year off of high school………. Yes………… God is so good!
(Pictured below is Kristen's homecoming photo. Her dad Scott is also pictured as well)

















(NOTE:  See updates on Kristen's progress at  www.kristenclack.wordpress.com)

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

A MIRACLE CONTINUES....By Talmadge McCannon

AN UPDATE ON TIM McCANNON

Timothy has finally gotten over what the doctors call the hump. He spent some time in the hospital lately with fevers due to having low blood counts. He also gave us a scare about a month ago when his speech became slurred and one side of his face was drawing when he would speak, all the sign’s of a stroke but all the test showed nothing was wrong...He was rushed to Atlanta by ambulance and of course there was a prayer chain started immediately, by 11 o’clock that night he was back to normal and as the doctors said the next day it was amazing that he recovered that quickly. He was only the 12th kid that had that reaction to the treatments After going for weekly treatments since Jan. he has moved into what they call the maintenance program where he will go for monthly treatments for up to 3 more years. He will continue to take chemo pills daily and he has even gotten better at taking pills, (Praise the Lord). He had a tough time taking pills and getting sick almost every time he had to do it.

We have a little saying of lately though… What the devil tells him that he can’t do, God says he can! Since we started saying that when it comes time for taking the medicine it’s amazing at how much easier it has been...His hair is growing back and he is gaining weight. God has had it all under control from the start and I sometimes wonder if this thing that we thought was so awful, could it turn out to be a great blessing? It has allowed me to witness to so many people and tell them how good God is. We are a much closer family and have more faith than ever. We thank the lord daily for his blessings and good health. Thanks again from the McCannon family and continue to pray for us. I say it all the time but I’m so thankful to be a part of a praying church and so blessed with great family and friends.

Bro. Talmadge McCannon 
Union Point, Georgia (shown below with Timothy and Bishop Hammond)