Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it……Helen Keller.

“Brain abscesses occur more frequently in the first 4 decades of life”…almost made it, 3 more years and I will be 40. *See Donna, turning 50 is a positive. ;)

Hospital beds get old quickly.

It has been challenging to go from doing a million things a day to doing the very minimal everyday, from working to not working, from being independent to dependent. I get to spend a lot of time just thinking. I am trying not to over think things, but I have many thoughts going through my head as I talk with everyone around me. I have good days and bad days. I am trying like crazy to have more good days. I feel as though I am succeedingJ but that doesn’t mean some bad days don’t pop up; days where the meds are more than I want to deal with physically or mentally and days where the pain is almost too much. There are days where I feel sorry for myself and then feel bad for feeling sorry for myself because there are others out there suffering more than me. There is still a level of surrealism to this place in my life. I heard my parents and Dave talking the other night about the drama before the helicopter ride and it felt like they were talking about an old episode of ER. Just crazy! Later that evening while everyone sleeps, I read and write. (Dexamethason and Cipprofloxacin are not sleep friendly):



Instead of fruits and vegies, we now store
Cipprofloxacin and Meropenem in our crisper drawers

While I was in the hospital, I kept hearing different words being thrown around but was never able toresearch or even in the right state of mind to think and digest what was being said. Now with spare time on my hands I have the opportunity to figure out what was and is happening. I am not one of those people that believe everything I read on the internet, I am the “if it is not peer reviewed or researched significantly or on a legitimate sight”, I will not read it. This being said I found out some interesting and scary statistics and information that night.

• P aeruginosa bacteremia has an estimated mortality rate exceeding 50% and is associated with fatality rates higher than those associated with other gram-negative bacteremic infections.

• Intracranial abscesses are uncommon, serious, life-threatening infections.

• If not recognized early, both subdural empyema and brain abscess can be fatal. Emergent surgery is needed if neurologic signs related to a mass lesion progress.

• Although proper selection of antimicrobial therapy is most important in the management of intracranial infections, surgical drainage may be required. Optimal therapy of fungal brain abscess generally requires both medical and surgical approach.

Thank you! Dr. Will and Dr. Saberhagen of Billings Clinic Hospital!!

These pieces of information started me thinking about my life and the life of my family around me. I had 2 particularly BAD mental days while in the Billings hospital. One day while I was laying in the ICU I started to realize the seriousness of things that had already happened. I had brain surgery…what???? A doctor opened up my skull and was in my brain, nothing not serious about that now is there? On top of that I have a nasty bacterium that is still trying to take over my body and not many answers coming in of where I got it or if it will go away. The reality of this situation became real to me. I could have died and everyone keeps saying, “We are not out of the woods yet.” I started thinking about the things I had not finished in my life, the mess & debt I would leave behind, my ‘bucket list’ with not enough stuff crossed yet, my kids, my family, and my friends. It is a strange day when you realize you will actually die someday. It is like dark sinking feeling that over takes your body and mind. I started a list of things I would not finish. My children’s baby books are not compete, my will is only half filled out, I haven’t had the chance to tell people how they changed my life (the people that inspired me, empowered me), I haven’t forgiven and thanked everyone who deserves it. I haven’t told my children all the stories of their childhood or of our family history. I still have “Life Skills” to teach my children and other people’s children. I haven’t lived my dream life with Dave. During these days of sadness I cried and prayed. I tried to sort things out in my head and make sense of things, but couldn’t. I fell farther into the bad thoughts. I was beginning to feel worse about things instead of better. I was lying in a hospital bed alone and kept receiving bad news. I was missing my family on a level I will never be able to explain to anyone. I cried because I didn’t know what they were doing, I cried because I was not with them to protect them, to talk to them, to hug or kiss them, to laugh and play with them. I cried because my family had to take over my life and continue dealing with this sickness. I cried for my amazing Dave as I watched him one day sleeping in a hard hospital chair from shear exhaustion. I cried when I received texts from the older children asking questions and hoping for some good news. I cried when I got pictures and phone calls from everyone. Yes, I was a sappy mess (still am some days). I was so far removed from MY life, it didn't feel like my life any more. One day, the doctor came into my room and told me there might be some financial problems and I would not be discharged from the hospital for at least 6 weeks or maybe more. That was the “straw that broke the camels back”. I would miss everything, High school graduation, Kindergarten graduation, concerts, school plays, and end of year events in my own classroom, all our kids birthdays, Eagle Scout ceremony and too much more; I was mentally done at that point. Later that day I told Dave “I am going to be trapped in this room, in this nightmare forever, I might as well be dead, everyone could cope and move on and we would all be out of this mess and the financial worries would end.” I really felt that way. I can’t quite explain how this felt. Today that scares me. I had never felt so distant and removed from anything ever. I was no longer me.


Dave never left my side again (I love you Dave with all my being). I fell into place I never want to go again, a place that made me want to give up. My brother in law, Matt visited us this day and his humor and reassurance helped so much. I am out of that place now thanks to my wonderful support team: FAMILY.

I stopped thinking about what I hadn’t done at some point and started thinking about what I will do WHEN I survive this ordeal. I have a new life list and new thoughts. If I can’t sleep tonight, I will write!




100 miles an hour to 0 miles an hour instantly!

100 miles an hour to 0 miles an hour instantly!

So, that sounds like a great advertising commercial line for a new yellow Lamborghini, unfortunately it is really just what happened to me and my family on May 14, 2012.

Monday May 14, 2012 started out as a typical day. I got up and woke up my children to get them off to the bus stop for school and then headed into work. I am an assistant teacher for HRDC-Head Start. My job is not just a job to me, but it is a passion. As I was just preparing the class to transition to lunch Dave knocked on the classroom door to drop off crickets for our class lizard, Sobe. He asked me how I was doing and I said I would be better if I could kick this headache. Within 2 hours of him asking me this, I went down hill. My headache did not get better despite a couple Ibuprofens. I ended up throwing up, getting dizzy, and having the worst headache of my life. I called my boss to get a sub in the classroom and called my husband to come get me. That evening I spent in bed and the following day too. Nothing was making this headache better. It progressively got worse which lead us our first (of many) trips to the Bozeman Deaconess ER. In the ER I was giving a CT and a lumbar puncture along with receiving pain medication and saline intravenously. Numerous blood draws were performed also. This was a long scary ordeal that ended up with me being admitted to the hospital in PCU. I was in PCU being treated for Meningitis, yet the infectious disease doctors tested my blood and spinal fluid for different bacteria. Nothing cultured out and on May 20, 2012 I was discharged from Bozeman Deaconess with Viral Meningitis and with orders to rest, let it run its course (about 7-14 days) and keep up with pain meds as needed. I followed these orders, but things did not go as planned. On May 27, 2012 I came down with another horrible headache. Up to this point, I was doing pretty well and only needing to take one or only a half a pain pill a day, but this day I was feeling yucky. I told my mom and aunt, that I woke up just not feeling as good as I had been. I rested a lot but eventually ended up getting very dizzy, throwing up and losing feeling in the left side of my body. This is pretty much where I have become dependent on my family for filling in details. The last thing I remember is hearing Dave call 911 and tell them his wife was having a seizure.

Here is my sister’s (Angela Jamison) recount of the events that I do not recall:

“Saturday night I had just settled into a movie night with popcorn on the couch with my girls when I got a phone call from my mom (Carol Reed). Having already talked to her earlier in the day I ignored her call. I did listen to the voice mail and my stomach dropped as I heard her frantic voice saying that my niece, Jaelyn had called and said the paramedics were on their way to their house for their mom. I hung up the phone, grabbed my keys and was at their house just in time to see them shutting the ambulance door with my sister in it. I rushed inside to find Dave and asked what had happened. With a look of shock and tears in his eyes he told me Kori had started feeling really sick and then had two seizures so he called 911. None of us will ever know what it was like to have to see someone you love going through something like that and I hope to never find out. He left to follow the ambulance to the ER, I gathered up my frightened nieces and nephew and took them to my house before heading up to the ER as well. That night will go down as one of the worst nights of my life. By the time I got there they already had her intubated and had paralyzed to stop the seizures. We all waited while they prepped her for a MRI to see what in the world was going on. The look of worry in my Dad (Gary Reed) and Dave's eyes, the men that weren't supposed to get scared, was enough to let me know that this was some scary stuff happening. I have never prayed harder or felt closer to losing someone in all my life. We found out there were several abscesses in her brain that were infected and they were going to see if they could get her to a bigger hospital where they could cut into her brain, remove some of the pus from the infection to determine what was causing it. We said our good byes, hoping she could somehow hear them, and watched the helicopter lift her away, all alone, to a bigger hospital. Her husband was hot on their tail to be with her, while the rest of us tried to go home and get some rest to head up the next day. Of course that night no one slept and we all might as well did as my little sister (Nicole Seidlitz) did and just drive through the night to get there with her. “The next morning, Kori went into brain surgery and after three hours of worry came out of it well and desperately trying to communicate with all of us. Unfortunately, she still had a tube down her throat and could only write what she was trying to say. She was scared. She was totally freaked out about where she was, what was going on and how almost 24 hours of her life had passed and she didn't remember any of it. We all tried to calm her nerves, explain everything that was going on and reassure her.”

Stiches After Surgery

The next time I woke up I was in Billings Clinic Hospital ICU and was being told I was life flighted there and had underwent brain surgery. I was in complete shock as my family explained things to me. I couldn’t talk, I was tied to a bed, my head was half shaved (now totally shaved) and I had just been told I am waking up after brain surgery. It all seemed surreal to me. I worried about where my children where, what they knew, what they were feeling. I cried for my family as I watched them break down while talking to me. I was scared and sad and lost. My family did their best to comfort me, and let me tell you, I have an amazing family. They have spent weeks now taking care of me and my family and I can never express to them just how amazing they all are and how much I appreciate all their love and support. I seemed to impress the neurosurgical team in Billings, because I was recovering quite well. Later some news came in from the Billings Infectious Disease doctor; I was diagnosed with a brain infection from bacteria called pseudomonas. Somehow it made its way into my my brain and basically went rogue. Doctors told me it was treatable, but would be a long haul. I finally had a moment of reassurance that I was going to be ok. I continually asked how this happened and the answers varied. Pseudomonas is a hardy and nasty bacteria that is commonly found in the environment and in hospitals, but rarely gets into the brain and rarely attacks healthy people. I was asked many times if I was sick before May 14 or if I had any infections or anything, all to which the answer was a no. We may never know where I contracted this bacteria, there are just theories. I am just thankful to have antibiotics to kill it (fingers crossed). On June 2, 2012 I was discharged from Billings Clinic Hospital with a home care nurse lined up to come to my house once a week to change dressings and draw blood and deliver all the medicines I would need for the next 6 weeks minimum. I was also put on a seizure medication and told I was unable to drive until cleared by the doctor in nothing short of 6 months to a year. I was given the okay to attend my oldest son’s high school graduation the following day as long as I slept in the morning.

Class of 2012

PICC Line

I cried as I watched my son walk across the stage and receive his diploma. I was so thankful to be there at that moment. To be alive, sitting with my wonderful family and being proud of my son all while receiving a dose of antibiotics intravenously. I rested the rest of the day and week to follow. In Billings I received a PICC line in my right arm to receive 2 strong antibiotics. The PICC line is an IV that runs into a vein in my arm and then runs directly to my heart.

 Well, at this point you would think, well that is a rough story, but seems like things are getting better, well you would be wrong. On June 7, 2012 another nasty headache set in. It was late in the evening and this headache was different than any before and lead again to more throwing up and another trip to Bozeman Deaconess ER. Another CT scan was given and some more pain meds. The doctors sent all the scans and labs to Billings Clinic that night as Dave and I were headed to Billings the next morning for follow ups with the neurosurgeon and Infectious disease doctor. We went home and tried to sleep some so we could make the trip the next day. The next day was going to prove to be yet another set back. We made it to Billings and we were waiting for the neurosurgeon to come talk to us and instead another doctor came in and told us there was too much swelling on my brain and they were going to life flight us to Denver’s Swedish Medical Center. My head started spinning, I completely broke down sobbing. I kept telling everyone “No, I hugged my kids goodbye and told them I would be home for lunch.” They are too little to keep going through these ordeals. Within 45 minutes Dave and I loaded into an ambulance and drove to the airport to be loaded on to a fixed wing medical flight and 2 hours later we landed in Denver Colorado and were picked up in yet another ambulance to visit yet another hospital. I was admitted to CCU in Denver and scared to death yet again. At some point I had a strange realization that Dave and I had just been dropped shipped somewhere with nothing. Our car was in MT, we had no change of clothes, no cell phone charger, just Dave’s wallet with a check card and a $20.00 bill. What a crazy and uneasy feeling to have nothing and be somewhere you have never been, somewhere with no familiar people, and in a life or death situation. In Denver we started over, new infectious disease doctors, new neurosurgeons, new critical care teams. At one point we finally got a piece of positive news, the neurosurgeon didn’t feel more surgery was necessary at this time. I was started on steroids to decrease the swelling in my brain but had to watch it very closely, because what we learned was that the steroids could actually feed the brain infection and make it worse. Like being stuck between and rock and a hard place. After a few days in CCU, I finally got moved to the Neuro floor. We finally got a room with a view, of Pikes Peak none the less. Later that day I was taken up to ultra sound because my liver enzymes had spiked through the roof. I kept thinking, seriously, this is like the craziest episode of Grey’s Anatomy ever. My liver checked out alright and doctors changed around some medications and my gallbladder was contracted, but thank goodness that is not a bad thing. The steroids were working in a positive manner and we were being told we could be discharged on Sunday June 10, 2012. This seemed like great news, but we were still in Denver, nowhere close to home. Thank goodness for credit cards, fathers and Frontier airlines. We flew out of Denver Monday June 11, 2012 with extra assistance from Frontier airline people and landed in Bozeman by 11am. I had made it home for yet another family milestone, our oldest son’s birthday was that day and I got to hug him. He and couple of his friends had all shaved their heads in support of me, which I found very sweet. His girlfriend (Courtney) had made yummy cookies and I had a smile on my face. I was home again. On June 14, 2012 just one month since the first headache, 2 life flights, 1 brain surgery, 3 major hospital visits, 3 critical care unit stays and 3 CT scans later, we were on our way to Billings to pick up our car and check in with our Montana doctors. Things were looking good. It seems that we are on a path to recovery, but not without some speed bumps. Swelling is still a big issue and we need to be prepared for it. I pray for no more visits to the ER, but only time will tell. In the mean time I spend my days at home now, with pretty constant supervision from my family and have to administer the intense antibiotics 3 times a day to keep killing the infection.

As my sister says, “Now home, she is on an intense antibiotic treatment to fight this infection. Unfortunately it is not as simple as taking antibiotics for a sinus or ear infection. The medicine has to be taken three times a day, intravenously and each time takes almost two hours. This medicine is so aggressive to fight it that they have to constantly worry about possibility of more seizures and brain swelling. This on top of the fact that it makes her nauseous, fatigued and emotional. But, her spirits are high and she will fight this to the end. Because she has too. Not only for herself, but for her family. For the six children that are counting on her to survive it. For her husband. He has been her rock through all of this and gone through so much that I can't even begin to imagine or try to describe how this has been for him. For everyone else, parents, sisters, nieces, nephews, friends and co-workers who love her and can't bear to imagine a life without her. So, she will survive it, because she has to.”

Just a little bit of support!

She is so right, I will survive this. I am a fighter. I may have my up and down days, but I will not lose this battle.

Well, now you all know what has happened in my life recently but let me tell you a little about me, Kori, not sick Kori. I am a fifth generation Bozemanite. My family homesteaded here years ago and we have stuck around. I am a mother of 6 beautiful children (D, W, w, S, R, C). We are the “new age” modern family, a little “Yours, Mine and Ours”. Dave has been my rock through this entire ordeal and I feel so blessed to have him in my life. David and I are in the process of buying a small local (mom and pop type) pawn shop in Bozeman. Trying to keep local sales important and helping the community when possible. I spend a lot of my time volunteering. I have spent hours volunteering in different classrooms for Junior Achievement over the years; also I am a veteran Girl Scout leader and cookie mom. This past year our troop volunteered at the new Community Café here in town. Dave volunteers to coach soccer and spends many hours playing taxi to our kids. Violin, acting, soccer, scouts and that is just a typical week in our house. We are very lucky to have a close family here. They have been very helpful. My sister Angela took our children under her wing and mothered them and made sure they made it to school everyday, which anyone with kids knows the last few weeks of school are pretty chaotic. I can not thank her enough. I want to thank friend and co teacher Megan for taking over the end of the school year. Thank you to the Head Start office crew for meals and flowers. Everyone has been so nice to my family. If I wasn’t sick right now my family and I would be off camping or hiking or gardening. We are a very outdoorsy family. We enjoy being silly and just hanging out together. Our life will be a little different this year. Though we are super happy to be home, we are starting to come to terms with the overwhelming financial side to this. We have traveled to three different hospitals and in each hospital spend time in ER’s, Critical Care Units, specialized floors, radiology and more. We have experienced numerous ambulance rides and two life flights. We also must pay for a home nurse and expensive IV antibiotics for at least another six weeks. We are a family that has fallen through the cracks of the medical insurance world. I work a job that keeps my 2 hours short of being eligible for medical insurance. As a trying to stay afloat small business, we are not in a position to afford insurance yet. Our children all are on Montana Healthy Kids insurance, thank goodness for that program! Every day we are receiving bills from Denver, from Billings, from Bozeman. We still do not have an idea of the grand total for this ordeal. As thankful as we are that we can start worrying about the financial side, because that means I am no longer in a life or death situation, it does make us wonder, how are we going to get through this. We are so thankful that we live in a country that will not deny us medical care because of our ability to pay, AND we are NOT the type people that will just leave a bill unpaid. The doctors did their job and they deserve to get paid; now we just need to figure out how to do that. I am unemployed for the summer and only work part time during the school year. We are trying to pay off a mortgage and student loans and keep food on the table for our children. Any help we can receive from the hospitals would be greatly appreciated. In the future, our goal is to pay it forward and help out other families that have been in similar situations as us. Thank you for reading our story and taking to time to understand where we are at this time of our life.

A little background

Where the blog begins, Greystone Manor.

We have talked at different times about wanting to share some of our experiences together.  A blog seems like a great way to share and keep track at the same time.  We have lived a lot of life together, and we try to fit so much in.  Not too long back, we took a trip together for Kori's birthday, and absolutely fell in love with a little bed and breakfast in Lava Springs, Idaho.  The idea of a blog started to brew there.  As with many things in an overly busy life, the blog idea took a backseat.  The further you get from the experience, the harder it is to relay the emotions and feelings that were wrapped up in it.  So while the getaway isn't fresh anymore, we feel now is the time to start chronicling before we miss sharing something else! 

Bears vs Packers Christmas 2011.

This journey of ours started 8 years ago, with us eloping in Las Vegas on Valentine's Day.  This seems like an almost typical way of being non-traditional.  We both brought in plenty of baggage and also 2 children each into our marriage.  To further cement our crazy lives together, we also had 2 children together.  Now a family of 8, we have had our share of struggles, but we also enjoy a bond and comraderie that I think can only be found in a big family.  With all of this, we have had so many blessings, and have even become adept at overcoming obstacles. 
Our family of 8.  Dave, Kori and the 6 pack.  As a family we enjoy football and have a pretty decent rivalry brewing in our house.  The 2 oldest boys and the youngest boy (D and W and R) are our Green Bay Packers fans while Dave and Kori, the 2 girls and the middle boy (S and C and w) are cheering always for the Chicago Bears.  For privacy reasons, we will always refer to the children by the initial of their last name.  You can see how they created "our" family name.  SCRWD.
As we journey down the blog world we hope to offer discussions on life events.  2 months ago we started remodeling our house (a project now on hold) and wanted to talk about how to remodel on a budget while doing most of the work ourselves.  We also enjoy traveling and letting people know about the great places out in the world, well so far just in the United States. 
We have been blessed with good life.  Currentlly we have had some medical set backs, but overall our story is a happy story.  We look forward to sharing it with others.