Kathryn’s Blog

My end-of-the-school-year Rant

Instead of joining everyone in ranting about how crazy the end of school is, I’ve decided to just go MIA. I watch the emails pile up in my inbox about this end-of-the-year party and that end-of-the-year party and I can’t keep track of them. I didn’t show for my oldest’s party, and I didn’t help with my youngest’s party. I didn’t even contribute food to Anne’s end-of-the-year breakfast. I am the worst end-of-the-year mom ever.

But what I have been doing is trying to prepare myself for the even harder months of June and July – those months when Anne (+ the other two kiddos) are home all day. Anne requires tons of attention and time to keep her from regressing over the summer. I have to keep her mind engaged and provide new challenges. It’s work,  joyful work, but work none-the-less.

The one end-of-the-year event I did purpose to attend was Anne’s award’s ceremony. In fact, the whole family came! This year, her special education teacher chose Anne as the “Academic Student of the Year.” Anne was given a medal in front of 400 students. Afterward she said, “I was so embarrassed!” That statement, alone, is proof of her progress as it reveals a new level of self-awareness that we haven’t seen before!

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This is what Anne’s teacher said as she presented her award:

The year’s Academic Student of the Year in Ms. Adrienne’s Class is someone who has not only improved academically in all areas, but has improved in being able to work independently and in having appropriate social interactions with her classmates and teachers. In addition, this student has mastered many of her gross and fine motor skills and is starting to walk around the school building regularly with hand held adult assistance or her walker. This student’s success is attributed to not only the student working hard, but also the support she has received from a variety of teachers and therapists. Most of all, the support this student receives from her family and her church is what has helped her to achieve her goals. We are pleased to announce Anne Jackson as Academic Student of the Year. Way to Go!! We are very proud of you!!

We are so proud of Anne. Thank you for your prayers and support of Anne and our family. Your support, prayers and encouragement have been multiplied through Anne so that an entire school has taken notice. May God receive all the glory!

Living a Life of Endurance

A few months ago, I wrote a post about how my brief break from writing turned into a month of self-gratification. A concluded at the end of that post that I needed to learn how to live a life of Endurance.

My friend, Josh Irby, challenged me to figure something out and write about it – and if I did, he promised to give me a guest-post spot on his blog. Well, it took me a few months of wrestling over the idea, but I think I’ve learned a little something about endurance :)

I would love it if you read my post on Josh’s site and let me know what you think. I feel I’ve only scratched the surface…

A Life of Freedom and Endurance by Kathryn Jackson via joshirby.com

TheraSuit Year 3: Wrap Up

Anne finished her third week of Intensive TheraSuit Therapy strong!

It will take a few months for Anne’s muscles to recover and heal, but if the results are similar to the last two years’ sessions, then we’ll see a big cognitive and physical boost 3-4 months from now.

Thank you for your prayers for Anne. She stayed healthy (even though all of her family battled severe colds), and she stayed strong!

Here’s a short video of her walking in the “suit” with a cane at the end of the 3rd week… Notice how she introduces herself at the end of the video. Anne never meets a stranger :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAZN44izhm4

Special Visitors

According to Anne’s teacher, a few of the fire fighters who helped with Anne’s rescue (4 years ago) came to visit her this morning at school!!! How incredible is that??!!!!

The emergency personnel that surrounded our vehicle in the minutes after our accident were real-life heroes that day. God used those men and women to save Anne’s life. Many of them came to visit Anne in the hospital – days, weeks and months afterwards. And many of them still follow Anne’s story on this blog.

So here is a shout-out to the heroes that helped save Anne’s life…Thank you!! Thank you for risking your life for the welfare of others. Thank you for your commitment to Anne’s recovery and thank you for taking the time to visit her today at school! You made her day and you made her family very grateful.

Anne’s Four Year Milestone

Today marks 4 years since the accident. On April 13, 2010, Anne woke up as a healthy, able-bodied, 5-year-old child. At noon, she was almost killed in an automobile accident.

Every day since then is a gift for which we are profoundly thankful.

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Lately I’ve been tweeting some of Anne’s more pithy sayings. Here are a few of my favorite tweets:

Anne finished up her second week of Intensive TheraSuit therapy on Friday. The end of the second week is definitely the most difficult. Here is a video of her walking with a cane late in the day on Friday. Her legs look like noodles. She is SO tired!

We are so thankful for our precious Anne and we can’t wait to see what incredible things God does with her life!!!!!

 

TheraSuit Year 3: Week one update

Anne had a fantastic first week!

I think Anne has finally reached a point in her cognitive recovery where she realizes she has a brain injury AND she understands she has to work to get better. Because of this realization, she is determined in therapy. I’ve never seen Anne work so hard with such a great attitude! I’m so proud of her.

One of the ways TheraSuit therapy works is through the unique design of the “suit.” Every movement is more difficult in the suit. It’s sort of like a baseball player taking practice swings with weights on his bat. When he steps up to the plate, the regular bat feels lighter and easier to swing. Similarly, when Anne performs all of her exercises in the “suit,” she is able to strengthen so many muscles at once – making it easier for her to move without the suit. One highlight of the week was Anne’s ability to walk on the treadmill. She walked 20 minutes on the treadmill while wearing the suit! That’s a huge accomplishment for Anne.

Another praise from the week was that God preserved Anne’s health. This is truly miraculous as Kate, Canon and Eric have all fought off horrible colds with fever and severe congestion. Please pray that Anne and I continue to stay healthy throughout the next two weeks.

Thank you!

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TheraSuit therapy 2014: Day 1

I’m writing from the waiting room of the therapy clinic. This is a brand new clinic to us with new therapists and a long way away from home. But TheraSuit is worth the drive.

Anne has done AMAZING today. Not one tear. Not even a complaint. Nothing but determination and a GREAT attitude. Honestly, I’m shocked!

Tomorrow will be harder, but I’m encouraged by the excellent start!!

I have two pressing prayer requests:
First, we are still waiting on the last step for insurance approval. Please pray that approval would come TOMORROW! If we do not receive prior approval tomorrow, we will have to suspend therapy until we receive it.

Second: Kate is getting over a really bad cold. If Anne catches Kate’s cold, Anne would miss therapy until she recovered – which is typically 5-7 days for Anne. Please pray that Anne would stay healthy!

Thank you!

Roller Coaster ride

Anne is changing.

Typically, Anne progresses in her recovery painstakingly slowly. But lately, the changes have been super quick. Some changes are good – and some seem “bad” but my experience with Anne is that all change is symptomatic of a deeper healing of the brain. So I try to view change as progress.

Here are examples of some of her most recent changes (both “good” and “bad”).

  • She has a stronger will and even less patience – which means she screams (a lot)!
  • She will not wait for you to help her – she stands up and tries to walk wherever she wants to go- whether I’m there to help her or not.
  • She loves playing “pretend” and lately her pretend games have been more nuanced and complicated.
  • She spills her drink at every meal – on purpose.
  • She’s stopped telling me when she needs to go potty.
  • She’s more oral – chewing on her hands when she doesn’t have an appropriate “chewy tube.”
  • She’s walking better – with more fluidity and better balance – and even practicing more with a cane!
  • She consistently recognizes sight words or tries to sound out words that she doesn’t know.

Anne’s life is such a roller coaster…mainly because the brain is so complicated!

Anne begins three weeks of intense TheraSuit therapy on Monday. Her private PT thinks this is an opportune time to start this therapy because of all the changes in Anne. Something is happening in that little brain of hers and this upcoming session of intense therapy will only challenge her toward further improvement.

Stay tuned for updates and pics of Anne’s progress during the next three weeks. Thank you for your support and prayers!

The Power of Words

Lately I’ve been finding myself especially grateful for Anne’s words.

A friend of mine graciously stayed with our kids recently so Eric and I could go out to celebrate my birthday (yes, Happy Birthday to me :). When we got home, my friend said, “I had no idea Anne talked herself to sleep!” It’s true. I actually have never considered how strange this is!

Sometimes she talks to Kate; sometimes she talks to herself, but every night she giggles and sighs and in the quiet darkness, she is lulled to sleep by the sound of her own voice. It reminds me that her voice is a gift.

It was the first part of her brain to switch back “on” after the accident. She barely had the ability to move her right index finger, but she could talk. Her eyes were fixed, un-moving, but she could talk. Even now, her vocabulary, sentence structure, reasoning and conversation skills are her strength and she daily uses this gift to bless others.

Lately, Anne has been even more discouraged about her physical disability. She wants independence so badly. She also struggles with watching her independent family carry on their independent lives around her. She complains, “Why can’t I walk? I’m tired of this stupid brain injury. When will it go away, Mama? Why doesn’t anyone pay attention to me? Nobody loves me.”

I’m so grateful that Anne is able to communicate her deepest needs and longings to us. The beauty of Anne’s ability to utter words is that she is also able to absorb words. And she absorbs them deeply, so my answers to her, the words I speak to her, have power. So before I answer her, I pray. I need God’s words, not my words.

Anne. Listen to me. God has given you a gift. A very important gift. He has given you the gift of words. Everyday I watch you bring joy to others through your words. You will have to fight to overcome your brain injury for a very long time. But God uses your brain injury to bring joy to others. You are a treasure.

The word, “treasure,” was the word Anne needed to hear. She repeats it daily. “I am a treasure, mama. God thinks I’m treasure.” 

Words. They are so important. Lately, I’ve been praying for God to show me how to use my words more effectively for Him. I recently shared Anne’s story with Kat Lee, the founder of the Inspired to Action podcast. If you’ve never heard me talk about the gory details of the accident, I share that story along with how God’s presence was so palpable both during and after the accident. I also talk about Anne’s gift of words and ways to help moms of special needs kids. It’s so easy for me to be careless with my words! But I pray that my words in this podcast reflect God’s goodness and faithfulness.

One of those days

Why? Out of all days to come home early from work…why did my husband decide to come home early today!?

It’s been one of those days. The kind where I started a dozen different projects and didn’t have time to finish any of them – and the evidence of my incompetence is strewn all over the house…homeschool books, toys, groceries that haven’t been put away (at least I made it to the store, right?).

The House. Is. A. Disaster. And just when I think I might have enough time to clean up the mess before my sweet hubby gets home, I hear the garage door open. My hair is in a ponytail and I’m sporting my favorite 20-year-old sweatshirt. Oh well. It’s just been one of those days.

In the midst of this chaos I keep myself from freaking out by remembering my purpose.

My purpose comes from this passage of Scripture:

And they came to Capernaum. And when [Jesus] was in the house he asked [the disciples], “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me” (Mark 9:33-37).

My purpose is based on the rules of God’s Kingdom rather than the principles of this world. Jesus teaches in this passage that the Kingdom is paradoxical – what seems meaningless in this world has great value in His eyes. And then he holds a child…an insignificant child, and makes the most extraordinary claim that if you care for those with little status in this world – you will receive fellowship with God Himself! Whoa.

The house may be a mess. My to-do list may be half-done, but I cared for my children today. I can go to bed satisfied with my work…and I will tackle the rest tomorrow :)