An Update on Karen’s Heath – And How You Can Help!
NOTE: Most recent update listed below first with older ones following, so if you want the complete story, read the dated updates from the bottom up. Also ways you can help from nearby or far away are at the bottom of the post:
Address: Todd and Karen Ehman, 1576 Sanborn Dr., DeWitt, MI 48820
First, thank you for taking the time to reach out and for caring so deeply for our friend Karen—or “Kit” as you may know her. Your love, support, and messages mean more than she can say, especially during this season of uncertainty and healing. While she deeply desires to respond to every text message, email, and phone call, she is focusing on resting and healing and is just not physically able to respond back to each and every one. Only having use of one hand has really put a damper on her texting abilities!
This private website page is for her close friends and family IRL (in real life) – it’s the best way we could think of to keep everyone updated and to organize the overwhelming (in a wonderful way!) amount of offers to help. We’ll update this page periodically as we have more information to share.
Updates:
August 11, 2025
During the night, sudden swelling and numbness in her left thigh, left calf, and both feet caused her to call the after hours physician on call who scheduled an ultrasound to look for a deep vein thrombosis/blood clot at the hospital in Lansing, (where her mom worked for 32 years as a cook.) This was just a precaution as her primary care physician thinks it’s more to do with a compromised nerve in her left hip that is causing the stiffness and swelling, and the numbness he suspects is from poor circulation because of her feet always being low. However, with her two long recent plane rides to Europe and back totaling over 12 hours in the air each way, and with a break on the second largest bone in the body, blood clots are a very real possibility and of deep concern so he wanted to be certain and Todd and Karen are grateful for his thoroughness.
.The ultrasound was performed and was negative. Praise God! She now needs to elevate her feet as high as possible when sleeping just slightly reclined in a secondhand electric recliner/lift chair Todd bought used. Then she must wear compression hose during the day. This seems to be working and she is very much hoping for quiet times at home until her next check up with the orthopedic surgeon on September 2.
Thank you all so much for your prayers for her. Please pray for Todd as well. He is doing an absolutely incredible job caring for her since with use of only one arm and being ordered to stay upright and not lean forward or back, she cannot perform many basic tasks of life or all her personal hygiene. However, he himself is very tired also and could use your prayers and encouragement.
Karen is learning to do more and more on her own and they are figuring out workarounds for someone with only the use of one arm. So, she is able to get her own food during the day without Todd’s help because of him prepping things and putting them in containers on the counter and in the fridge that she can open. She tries to do as much as she can alone until she gets tired out or comes up upon a task she cannot perform. Only then does she ask for his help so she’s about 60% on her own and 40% in need of his assistance.
His projected return back to work after being off on unpaid leave (FMLA) for 8 weeks is September 4th. They are hopeful that at her September 2 appointment she will be given the clear to begin using that left arm and they are practicing already for scheduling their day to begin for Karen as early as it does for Todd. With the shift he works at General Motors, he rises at 3 AM and leaves the house at 4:15 AM. It will be interesting to see if Kit, the night owl, can adjust. They are complete opposites. Todd is an early bird, and she usually shuts down just after midnight. But they are adjusting their schedule by about 15 minutes each night in hopes to be on the new schedule for at least 5 days before he actually returns. And with her current frustrating lack of good sleep–going to bed usually at 10:30 or 11 and often waking near 3 AM unable to get back to sleep–she’s already most of the way there!
August 7, 2025
THIS UPDATE IS FROM KAREN WHO IS USING TALK-TO-TYPE: (warning: it is long!)
The Michigan State University sports medicine orthopedic surgeon I saw this afternoon was very kind, knowledgeable, and he thoroughly explained things to me. He really feels that very few cases of a broken humorous at the angle and location of mine require surgery, although it is not totally unheard of.
A 21 year-old Olympic gymnast might not need surgery, but would elect to have it because their bone would be stronger than one that healed on its own because it would be reinforced with metal. But he feels surgery should only be done if necessary because of the risk of blood clots, and something I never thought of. I have perfect nerves still in my left arm. All my fingers work, and my wrist and forearm are not damaged, miraculously. Surgery could make my upper arm stronger, but it also potentially could cause nerve damage where some of my fingers wouldn’t work, which he knew would be concerning for someone who types for a living. In fact, the ability to use my fingers was more of a concern for him than the ability to lift 40 pounds over my head if I worked in a factory or something, which, if that were my situation maybe surgery would be the best call.
X-rays were taken. The bone has shifted even a little closer to perfect alignment, (Praise God!!) but it’s not quite there yet. However, he said that long as soft tissue continues to form, which it is, and then calcification starts to happen, even if it doesn’t move into perfect alignment, he thinks I have an excellent chance of continuing this natural healing and obtaining healing in my bone and adequate strength and range of motion to live life as I had before.
He couldn’t give specific timelines because every case is unique. Even though “Dr. Google” might say I can drive again at 9 to 12 weeks, (I am at five weeks) it might not be until more like 16 to 20 weeks. Each new appointment gives more indication of the timeline.
I was changed to a fourth type of sling, (well fifth if you count the waterproof one I got to wear in the shower) This new one has a pocket sleeve (kind of shaped like a long hard taco shell) that cradles my arm from the elbow to my hand, and then harnesses over my good shoulder, not my neck, which is much more comfortable than my last sling.
I’m not able to go to physical therapy yet, but he did give me a few things to do to help stretch out the muscles in my forearm and bicep that have been stuck in an L shape since my elbow has been bent in the same position since July 2. (I only occasionally took my arm out when the first surgeon told me to do a few hanging exercises, but it was irritating my upper arm and causing sudden swelling that almost sent me to the emergency room, so that surgeon told me to stop the exercises about two weeks ago.)
Todd took a video of the doctor’s assistant showing how the sling goes on and off. A little complicated, but he’s a smart guy. We are now home and hopeful. I just have to be extremely careful not to get bumped, not to thrust my shoulder back or ever lean forward. I can lean slightly back only to sleep in the electric recliner lift chair. I also am not to ride in a car unless absolutely necessary— (Stupid Michigan potholes. Did you know we even have an ice cream named Michigan pothole? It’s delicious.) However, no ice cream for me. Continuing lots of lean meats, salmon, vegetable-based proteins, and fresh veggies along with some lower glycemic index fruits and some healthy carbs like whole grains. (In related news, I have discovered that my college boyfriend makes a delicious tuna salad)
Thank you so much for your concern and your prayers. While I wish I would’ve gotten a 100% guarantee that I won’t need surgery, this was so very close. And shout out to the power of community. We found this doctor because our former neighbor, who is a science teacher, had the doctor’s children in his class in high school years ago, and when he and his son both needed care for broken bones, they went to him and discovered how wonderful he was and his philosophy of allowing the way God designed your body to heal to be the first choice rather than surgery. So— moral of the story: you never know when taking a plate of cookies to the new neighbors might lead to you finding excellent healthcare someday.
And now, more quiet waiting and rest. More lessons in patience. More trusting in God. And even more gratefulness for friends who are like family, and family, who are also my dear friends. That list includes you! Philippians 1:3
July 28, 2025
She was seen by her primary care physician’s office where both a PA and a medical student tried to figure out the mystery of some very scary incidents that have occurred mildly about five times and intensely about three. It always happened that the periods of blurry vision, slurred speech, and feelings of losing consciousness followed an incident of pain in her upper arm. She’s in relatively mild pain through the day, but when she has to stand up after sitting a long time or vice versa, or especially when she’s been laying back slightly in the recliner and gets up in the morning, there are sharp stabbing and twisting of the knife pains in her upper arm. They are brief but intense.
She was diagnosed with vasovagal syncope episodes which are when a person either sees someone in pain, sees a scene of blood, or themselves experiences extreme pain, the blood rushes from the brain to the point of pain, like God designed it too. But it brings on a sudden state of blurred vision, slurred speech, and a feeling that you are going to black out. The PA and medical student feels that this will resolve itself as the pain gets better while her soft tissue begins to turn to calcification, which it has not at this point. (That is completely normal for her break and her age.) She will need to continue to have her cane nearby, although she usually only uses it to walk in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning when the numbness in her feet and stiffness in her legs is intense.
The reason for this was discovered to possibly be that she has not had her feet over her heart since July 2. Even when you lay in bed for a little while, you occasionally lift your feet over your heart. She is not allowed to lay down flat, so her lower extremities are just having a hard time with circulation since they have not been above her heart for over a month. She now needs to try to not only sleep upright, but also to elevate her feet. Very difficult to do and still get a decent nights sleep. Typically she’s only getting between three and four hours and sometimes only 1.5. Twice she has not slept at all.
July 25, 2025
Karen has been having trouble with not only numbness in her feet and left leg over the last few weeks, but also with a couple scary incidents during the night when she wakes up where she feels like she is going to faint and twice has started to lose consciousness. (by God’s grace, thankfully she was sitting down in her recliner about to stand up when it happened and Todd was nearby to put his hand on her forehead as she began to pass out.)
She suspected it might be the trauma of the physical and emotional stress throwing her body into early diabetes since it runs in her family. Her A1c was borderline two years ago. She’d also been experiencing extreme thirst and frequent urination way beyond normal. Emergency room visit revealed her body was in a high blood sugar state. She had been sipping on juice and coconut water around the clock to stay hydrated, but she didn’t feel much like eating. She typically has low blood sugar, so she thought when she felt off that this was helping her to raise her sugar to normal when in fact it was putting her in a high sugar state. Her blood pressure was 173/103 upon arrival which was extremely high and also uncharacteristic. Typically she runs 110/70. The emergency room doctor listened to what had transpired over last month and felt the elevated blood pressure was due to anxiety. As you can imagine, not only dealing with the broken arm and banged up left knee that forced her to walk with a cane for a month, but with all these other secondary medical mystery issues–combined with the fact that she has been very emotionally distraught over the whole incident of the bad fall and her not being able to attend her daughter’s renewal ceremony–has caused a lot of stress. (The accident wasn’t just a slip and fall on the floor, but a sudden thrust of her arm into a metal reinforcement on the door of the shower, which snapped the bone near her shoulder before it then hit the wall and then the floor, along with the whole left side of her body.)
More tests were ordered on her A1c. But the results came back that it had actually dropped four points and now she is considered in the normal range! So no diabetes. More tests this time for thyroid issues. That was also ruled out. She was sent home and told to go on a low-carb diet of no more than 50 g of carbohydrates per day to be safe. She will follow up with her primary care physician. Still a mystery about the numbness and the times that she began to lose consciousness.
July 24, 2025
Karen had her follow-up appointment with her orthopedic doctor yesterday. At the appointment, new x-rays were taken and the orthopedic doctor said it was too early to determine definitively whether or not surgery would be needed. Another appointment in 3 1/2 weeks should better tell her once things have had a longer time to heal.
The humerus bone is still just slightly out of alignment and growing new tissue, but thankfully does not look way out of alignment as it did at the initial break in Barcelona. The orthopedic side sling is no longer needed (yay!), and has been replaced with a cuff and collar simple sling that should be much less cumbersome. This type of sling has a small cuff around the wrist and a collar around the neck with the two being attached to each other with a thick cotton band. Nothing is on the shoulder at all. This type of sling lets the arm just hang suspended while standing or sitting to pull those bones back slightly apart and then into alignment. Her next appointment is August 18th.
Her knee continues to heal slowly, and she is still using a cane to walk. She is also working with her doctor to determine the cause of some occasional dizziness that she’s been experiencing.
More lessons in patience. Please keep praying! If you’re asking “how can I help,” see the suggestions below.
July 10, 2025
As you may already know, Karen recently slipped and fell in the shower while she was traveling in Barcelona for her daughter Kenna’s marriage vow renewal. She deeply bruised her left knee and is still unable to fully bear weight and walk unassisted. She also broke her upper arm (humerus) which is currently in a brace and may require surgery. Whether she requires surgery for her arm will be determined at her next orthopedic appointment on July 23rd.
Her travel was supposed to be a time of celebration as she and Todd were unable to attend Kenna’s wedding in NC in 2020 due to Covid travel restrictions. (The original Barcelona destination wedding was canceled due to Covid so instead, she was married in a backyard ceremony with a few friends, but no family present.) Unfortunately, since Karen could not walk without a cane, was in a lot of pain, and experiencing dizzy spells, she was wheelchair-bound and therefore could not navigate the venue. However, Todd was able to walk Kenna down the aisle this time, and they are so very grateful for that. Todd’s kind and sacrificial sister, Claudia, who is a physical therapist, stayed with Karen during the ceremony to give her pointers and Claudia’s daughter, Karen’s niece Claire, transmitted the ceremony via FaceTime so Karen could watch it.
It’s been a whirlwind of emotions—sadness, fear, grief—and now, peace. While this is not what Karen imagined or wanted, she and Todd have been amazed to see the way that God has shown up through their family and friends. They are so deeply grateful. The people that God put in place to help and the way they have rallied around Karen and her family has been astonishing.
Karen says she can’t believe how a slip-and-fall accident in a beautiful Barcelona Airbnb—with a lovely old tiled floor in a bathroom that was dead-bolted shut—could ultimately lead to so much good. If you follow her on social media or via her website, when she’s fully recovered, she will share the story there. Or she can tell it to you in person when you are hanging out sometime or chatting on the phone.
She is back at home after a long and mostly pain-free 20-hour trip. (Thanks go out to some generous friends of the Ehmans who paid for upgraded business class seats so there was more room for her to stretch her legs to prevent blood clots and so her arm wouldn’t get bumped by other passengers!) Then there was a tight connection in Paris made via wheelchairs, platform lifts, and cart rides, and finally the 1.5 hours car ride home from the Detroit airport. Whew!
Her knee is expected to heal with time, and they are working with the orthopedic surgeon to determine if surgery is needed. At her consultation, he said that her bones had surprisingly moved and begun to go back into alignment between the initial emergency room x-rays in Spain and her x-rays back in Michigan. (It did not, however, surprise God!) He is very hopeful that she might not even require surgery. There will be more pain for a longer duration if she doesn’t get surgery, but she won’t have to deal with the post-op recovery pain and care, blood clots concerns after surgery, etc…
She and Todd both feel at peace about the decision to try to let it heal on its own and the specialist said, (because Karen asked him), that if she were his mother, he would feel 100% satisfied with her choosing the option of waiting two weeks to determine whether surgery is totally necessary rather than jumping in and doing it right away. It poses no additional risk, it just extends the total timeline by two weeks. And so currently, she is in a Donjoy Ultra-sling until the July 23rd reevaluation. If they determine surgery is necessary, it will be done immediately. Either way, she will require physical therapy to strengthen her arm and regain mobility. Expected recovery time for both options is six weeks, however, the surgery option’s recovery clock wouldn’t start until the surgery takes place after the wait-and-see period, making the total time 9 weeks .
There have been good days and hard ones. Todd has applied for family medical leave from work and expects to be granted approval soon, so Karen will be well taken care of. She is starting to feel more like herself and to manage the pain and the effects of the medications a bit better each day. Sleep has been hard to come by because of the awkwardness of trying to sleep upright while wearing the sling, and she is focussing on resting when she can, nourishing her body, and adjusting her work commitments. Because of this, her energy comes and goes throughout the day, and she unable to do many things she loves—work, social events, and answering texts promptly.
Please know: She reads every message, feels every prayer, and is overwhelmed by your outpouring of love for her.
Ways You Can Help
So many have asked, “What can I do?”—and that question alone has lifted her spirits. Here are a few real ways to help right now:
- Meals (if you’re local)
We’ve set up a Meal Train for anyone local who might want to help with meals. Since it’s just Todd and Karen and she doesn’t have much of an appetite, 2 – 4 portions is plenty! They are focusing on nutrient-dense foods—lean proteins, fruits and veggies-to aide in her recovery. She is not feeling up to visitors just yet, so please plan on simply dropping the meal off with a quick wave unless they’ve specifically arranged for visit. (We had to fight her on this because of her social personality, but visitors will tucker her out and she’s already very low on sleep and energy because of this whole ordeal.) - Meal or Food Delivery
For those who aren’t local, you can still help feed them! The best way to do this is to send a Whole Foods, Amazon, or Meijer gift card to [email protected]. This way, the food they want can be delivered right to their door. - Little Pick Me Ups
Cards, texts, and emails (send emails to [email protected]) truly brighten her day. She may not always be able to respond, but she reads every word. Even a quick “thinking of you” can help. And of course, you know Karen never refuses a good coffee. She loves the local shops Blue Owl, Fosters, and Dwelling, or of course good ol’ Starbucks. - Keep Boredom at Bay
You know that Karen loves to keep busy. Since she can’t do a whole lot one-handed, I think she would love to use Audible to listen to books. If you’d like to contribute toward an Audible subscription, you can simply send an Amazon gift card to [email protected].
Karen said she would also love for you to text or email her your favorite book recommendations, or podcast, movie and TV series favorites. She loves a good “who done it” mystery, theology/Bible podcasts, or documentaries and fiction books that are historical in nature. - Pray!!!
Please continue to keep Karen in your prayers. You can specifically pray that her arm will continue to heal correctly and completely on its own without the need for surgery. Also, please pray for Todd and for their family and friends as they continue to support Karen in her recovery journey and for Karen’s doctors to treat her with wisdom and the best medical care.
If you have any other ideas that you’d like to do to show Karen love, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] to see how I can help make it happen. Please have patience as I reply to all the emails we’re receiving.
Karen is so appreciative of your love and support during her journey to healing. Knowing she’s not alone makes all the difference. Your presence, in any form, reminds her that even in hard times, there is light. Some days she’ll need space and rest, and other days she’ll want connection. Thank you for being understanding as she navigates what she needs day by day.
On Karen’s behalf with gratitude and love,
Miriam (Karen’s executive assistant and friend)
