CaringBridge Journal

Thank you…

I’ve been much more encouraged over the last two days.

I realized yesterday that Sunday (6/13) marked 2 months since the accident. Anne has made an amazing recovery for only two months! Many people have told me that they are praying for my emotional and physical perseverance. I feel like God has given me a second wind :-)

Thank you so much for your prayers.

Please continue to pray…

  1. that Anne would gain more control over her thoughts so that she is better able to focus in therapy and calm herself at night,
  2. that Anne would continue to make strides in her sitting and walking. She’s doing much better in these areas…
  3. Currently, Anne puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. Pray that she will be able to inhibit this impulse and gain appropriate function of her right and left hands.
  4. That she would be especially aware of God’s presence and peace as she struggles through her recovery.

Thank you! -kathryn

Overactive

Over the last week, little Anne has been what we are calling ‘over active’ with her movements and her speech (and thoughts). She has trouble controlling her movements, her emotions, and what she says. She is the opposite end of the spectrum from where she was when she entered rehab several weeks ago. We know this is part of the healing process, and it is progress, but has its challenges. This activeness is physically and emotionally draining for us – and Kathryn has been in the trenches fighting with little Anne daily in her rehab. Pray that God continues to send fortifications for the two of them.

Anne was particularly fussy this afternoon and this evening, so Anne and i decided to sing this song together tonight:

Lord, you are more precious than silver
Lord, you are more costly than gold.
Lord, you are more beautiful than diamonds, and
nothing I de-sire com-pares with you.

This really calmed her while we were singing.

Kathryn and i continue to be so blessed by all of you who are reaching out to us by praying, and by giving of your time and resources to help us. i so look forward to telling Anne’s story over and over and over in the coming years. A story to tell to my neighbors now, to my children as they grow, and to my grandchildren when i am old and grey. A story of how in little Anne’s time of need, God provided healing, and how God’s family showed up with a mighty force of support, help, and care. i knew God’s strong arm of healing and support was there in theory, but to experience his help and such a tangible way continues to be amazing. i find it difficult to pray any prayers but thankful ones these days – we are just so grateful that so many are on the journey with us – it makes no logical sense that all of you would be reaching out in this way – but in God’s economy, what seems foolish to man is wise (1 Cor 1:18-21).

-eric

Our therapeutic “outing”

Anne on her outing

Anne did well on the outing. It was emotionally difficult for me – which took me by surprise… We went to “story time” at a book store. Several toddlers were there. Being around ‘normal’ children highlighted the fact that my Anne is very much a ‘special needs’ child.

We’re still in limbo. We don’t know what Anne’s endpoint will look like. She’s still very much “progressing” in her recovery. It makes it hard to grieve, because if I grieve what Anne’s lost, well – she might gain it back a few months later. We just don’t know.

I strive to stay thankful for the present. God is so faithful and so good to our family. Yesterday, Canon said, “Mommy, today has been a blessed day. God is humble enough to do kind things for me.”

Good words from a 7-year-old boy.

-kathryn

New Discharge Date

They’ve extended her stay one week to June 24th. They say it’s because she’s making such great progress.

She does seem more herself. Tonight, Pastor Pete visited, and Anne was interacting with him like he was an old friend. She just seems more “with it” every day.

Tomorrow, Anne and I are going on an outing! Each week, the rehab unit plans an outing for patients who are able. This is Anne’s first time, and I’m excited. We will go to story time at a bookstore, visit Target and eat lunch. I’m sure she’ll be exhausted when we get back to the hospital!

-Thank you all for walking with us on this journey… kathryn

Anne’s passion emerges.

For those of you who know Anne well, you know that she is a passionate young lady – which is sometimes displayed in a very fiery temper :-)

This morning, when I was combing her hair (which she has always despised…) she yelled out at me, “Mommy, I’m so mad at you I could punch you in the face!” I’ve never been so happy to see Anne mad! I hope it’s a foretaste of her person coming back to us, bit by little bit.

God is so good to orchestrate our lives so that we might know more fully His love and compassion for us. He has brought encouragement to Eric and me in very personal ways at just the right times. He knows us intimately and Anne is in His strong hand constantly. We are grateful for the prayers of the saints, but especially for the prayers of our Great High Priest, Jesus, who sits at the Father’s right hand interceding for Anne!!

-Gratefully, kathryn

Feeling weighed down…

I’ve put off updating the CaringBridge site because I don’t feel like there’s anything exciting to report… I guess that’s the nature of Anne’s injury… recovery is slow. I’ve been struggling with impatience lately :-)

I still feel weighed down by the fact that my sweet girl has such a serious injury. Today she looked at a picture of a black dog, and she called it a sheep, and then a horse, but couldn’t find the word “dog.” She has to concentrate so hard to answer such simple questions.

She’s working just as hard physically. Today her PT asked her to bend her left leg. Anne was laying down flat on a mat. You could see her jaw clench in concentration as she raised her left leg straight up, and then after a few seconds she bent her knee in a jerky motion. She repeated this for the therapist a few more times – each time having to concentrate like crazy just to bend her knee.

As I watch her, I feel this strange mix of joy and sadness – I’m so proud of her, but grieved to see her struggle so…

God does give me glimpses of joy. Yesterday evening, a bunch of family came to the hospital to eat dinner together. There was cheerful banter as everyone ate burgers and fries in Anne’s room. Anne just sat gazing at everyone with a content smile. The only reason we were together was because of Anne. That’s a gift that’s come out of this tragedy.

And then today… I took Anne for a walk. Anne can reach up and touch all the buttons for the elevators. I thought back to Anne’s first day in rehab. Her therapist asked her to push a HUGE yellow button. We all cheered as the therapist had to place her hand on the button and she was BARELY able to press it down. She’s come a long way to be able to so easily find and press the elevator buttons! That was a sweet reminder from God.

Perseverance – emotional and physical. That’s our need right now :-)

Please pray:

  1. That Anne would gain endurance and not tire so easily. When she tires, she gets extra emotional, so also pray that she would be able to regulate her emotions.
  2. That Anne would make great strides both cognitively and physically in the next 10 days before her discharge date – specifically that she would be able to sit unassisted and communicate consistently what she wants and needs.

Thank you! -kathryn

Fear

I’ve been thinking alot about Anne’s progress… She’s come a long way cognitively, but physically, aside from head control, she hasn’t shown much improvement over the last 3 weeks.

I think she is struggling with fear. She cries whenever we lift her or move her. She cries when they stand her up or work on walking. She even cries when she is sitting – unless her back is fully supported. EVERYTIME I pick her up, she says to me, “Mommy, promise you will never drop me.” I think if she can overcome the uneasy/unsafe feeling she has when she is moved, she will make great strides physically.

Please pray that she will overcome her fears.

On a different note, Canon and Kate have both had stomach viruses over the last few days. I really pray Anne, Eric and I do not get it – especially Anne!

-kathryn

Discharge date…

We have a discharge date… two weeks from today: 6/17.

We are both excited and nervous. Eric is mostly excited; I am mostly nervous :-)

I’m overwhelmed by the prospect of bringing Anne home as she is now. I want her to be so much further along, but she does have two full weeks. Alot can happen in two weeks!

I think it will be good for the whole family to have Anne home. Canon and Kate are starting to tire of being away from both home and mommy so much. And I think Anne will benefit from being at home.

Anne’s next step after she is discharged is Children’s Day Rehab program. She’ll be in a rehab facility (just across the street from the hospital) five days a week from 9am-3pm. It is a drop-off program that is like school with much structure and group activities. We still don’t know if or how much our insurance covers, so please pray that God will provide either through insurance or other means.

In the interim, we’re praying for God to give Anne a major “boost” (Canon’s word) in her healing, so that caring for her at home will be more joy than burden for the whole family. Specifically that she would be able to:

  1. Sit completely unassisted.
  2. Improve her cognitive/thinking abilities so she can focus for longer periods of time and be able to calm/organize her thoughts so she can verbally express herself more clearly.
  3. Gain greater control over her right hand – so she can feed herself, and maybe even color a little bit :-)

These are my hopes for her before she comes home. She’s already come so far – Two weeks ago she hadn’t spoken her first sentence and her eyes had just started to move. I pray God surprises us in these last two weeks!

Thank you for walking this journey with Anne and our family.

-kathryn

A Good Day!

Her physical therapy session was her most challenging to date. Her therapist really pushed her, and Anne rose to the challenge. She tried her absolute best to do EVERYTHING her therapist asked of her even though it was extremely difficult. She was so brave, and I’ve never been prouder of her!

Her speech therapist took some time to evaluate her word retrieval abilities. It was tough to watch Anne look at a picture of a cup and not be able to remember the word. But again, she tried her best and was able to remember more than half of the words she was asked.

Tonight, she became more conversational. It’s kinda like a switch came on, and she just started talking more loudly and using more words.

The brain is God’s creation, and it is amazing. Little Anne is building new pathways. Little by little, God is helping her to heal.

We are very grateful. -kathryn

A Difficult Day

Anne cried a lot today. It’s hard to know why… I guess that’s what makes it so difficult :-)

Days like today remind me that Christ alone is able. He alone is able to heal Anne, to knit her brain back together, bit by little bit.

He alone is able to strenghten her weak knees and make our paths level and straight. He gives strength to the weak and heals the brokenhearted. That’s a good thing – because that describes me… weak and brokenhearted – but not without hope :-)

I know that today is just a moment in a much bigger picture. God is weaving his good plan in and through Anne and our family. Our job is to wait and trust as He does His work.

Let’s pray for a peaceful night. Sweet Anne needs one.

-kathryn