Mom has made leaps and bounds of progress today and we can see God restoring her body today hourly!
We had an extremely busy morning! I thought to grab a packet of the apple cinnamon oatmeal as we left the hotel today – and good thing – because they were going to try and serve Momma GRITS this a.m. BLLLLLLLYYUUCCCKK! As Courtney mentioned, yesterday was a definite improvement, but we really wanted to see Mom E.A.T. today! Well, she ate ALL of the oatmeal, a few big bites of a pancake and some OJ. We were so happy to present Mom to the doctor with a full stomach.
Our next victory was the Neurologists assessments. The doctor has asked Mom everyday to make a fist, wiggle her toes and stick her tongue out at him. Every assessment has yielded SOME movement, but not a success. TODAY = SUCCESS. Mom made a fist, wiggled her RIGHT toes and lifted her LEFT leg AND stuck her tongue out at the doc! We were ALL smiles (Mom included!).
NEXT – The Occupational Therapist’s (Katy and Kristina) came to evaluate her. She successfully brushed her own teeth (including taking the foil off of the new tube!), combed her hair, assisted with making the bed and even waved goodbye (first time she’s WAVED BACK!) Although, all of these were with assisted cues, we are SO PROUD to see how much Mom is able to do.
Next came PT (and you didn’t believe me about the BUSY morning…VERY BUSY)! Again, as sister mentioned, Mom had a very successful PT session yesterday, but we saw EVEN MORE improvement today! She followed all of Danielle’s (PT) walking commands (start , stop, look left, look right, turn around in a circle with no cues). She also not only weaved in and out of the cones set up for her on the floor, but also BENT HER KNEE as she was asked to step over them (improved over yesterdays swinging of the leg). She still had a difficult time figuring out how to pick them off of the floor and it took her a long time to process Danielle showing her this, but successfully picked them all up (same as yesterday) but was also able to STACK them (improvement over yesterday).
By the time lunch was wheeled in, Mom was pooped! She fed herself a quarter of her tuna sandwich and we were a little discouraged she didn’t eat much more, but continued to try and keep her drinking fluids.
We spent the better part of the afternoon working on organizing logistics (paying bills (this was Mom’s roll so you can imagine the CSI work we had to do), organizing expenses and communicating with a Rehab facility in Minnesota as we get closer to thinking about bringing Mom HOME!
While we were working. Mom decided to pick up the remote and pick her own channel to watch. She LOVES funniest home videos and she surprised us with a cute laugh! ONE OF THE BEST EVENTS OF THE WHOLE DAY! It may not be her voice – but it was so good to hear her laugh!!!
Dinner was wheeled in and as we served it up to Mom she held her out her hand for the spoon and proceeded to FEED HERSELF almost her entire dinner. JUST HUGE! (well except the peas which she hates whole and they came in a lump like the mashed potatoes…yuck!) GO MOM! It was now time for Mom’s sponge bath, and as she got up to use the ladies room, she found the shower door AND WOULDN’T LET GO! So guess what, Mom took a shower! The smiles just continued today! Again, we can not thank you all enough for your care, concern and prayers!
Well, to top it all off, we received a big bright balloon with a box of chocolate covered strawberries and apples! We opened the box and Mom peaked up over the side and her eyes got really big! We handed her a strawberry and she wouldn’t even wait for us to cut it…well you can see the result:
WE COULDN’T BELIEVE IT!
To sum up Day #4 – we are just encouraged! We started off the day with this wonderful devotion a friend of mine sent me and it truly was played out through our day. I wanted to include it for you as an encouragement in your life – wherever you may be walking. God sure does meet us exactly where we are at! I really suggest taking a few minutes to read:
Encouragement for Today
April 1, 2011
Fearing the Unknown
"Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before."
Joshua 3:4a (NIV)
Devotion:
Do you ever fear the unknown? Perhaps it's your health or the uncertainty of your future. Maybe it's the decisions your children will make about following God or following their peers. Fearing the unknown can cause us to spend precious energy anticipating the worst-case scenario. There are two problems with this type of fear:
• The future is not here.
• The future is not ours.
While the future may be out of our hands, it is not out of the hands of our faithful trustworthy God. When we face a worrisome unknown situation, we can look to Joshua as an example of how to trust God in the face of uncertainty.
It's recorded in the first chapter of Joshua that before Moses died, God passed the baton of leadership to Joshua. The Israelites had been wandering in the desert for 40 years under the guidance of Moses. Now, their journey was almost over. Just beyond the Jordan River was their promised land -- the land that God had guaranteed to Abraham and his descendants.
Upon reaching the Jordan River, Joshua and the Israelites set up camp by the stream and awaited God's direction. Much like their meeting with the Red Sea, God had to make a way for them to cross over the river. On the third day, God told the officers to instruct the people that when they saw the Ark of the Covenant (where God's Presence abided) to follow it because they had "never passed this way before" (Joshua 3:4). In essence, God was saying: Follow Me and I'll see you through this unknown territory.
That's not all. The people were instructed on how closely they should follow the ark. Without this instruction, the people would have crowded the ark and God wanted every person to be able to see His presence faithfully leading them through the unknown valley. What greater encouragement could they have than this, that the Lord was their God, a God who was with them?
You see, friend, the Lord understands our fear of the unknown. He realizes that you may be in a situation that you've never passed through before and you're afraid. It may be the first time you've been without employment. Maybe you've just been diagnosed with an illness or your child is in rebellion. You've never been down this road before and you don't know which way to go or what to do. God will guide the way.
Joshua's life was unpredictable and full of unknowns much like yours and mine. Yet, he successfully resisted fear by keeping his focus on God rather than the events surrounding him. Just as God guided the Israelites through unknown territory, He will guide you and me, too.
As He promises in Isaiah 43, when we come to a place we've never passed through before, God is always present to help us. "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior" (v.2-3a, NIV).
Even though the children of Israel were not told how they would pass over the river, the people went forth in faith. We too can move forward in faith sharing in the promised presence of God leading the way through our unknown circumstances.
Dear Lord, thank You for Your promised presence. It comforts my heart to know that I am not alone. Lead me, Lord, through the unknowns in my life. Make Your path clear and I will follow it. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Where have you seen God’s grace in your life today?