Anne

Pray for Anne…

March 2014’s prayer requests:

Please pray for Anne…

  1. With a slight increase in medication, Anne’s seizures have disappeared AND her stuttering seems to be gone completely!!! So thankful :)
  2. Anne will have another three-week round of Intensive TheraSuit therapy beginning March 31st. Please pray that Anne would improve in , strength, balance, walking and eye tracking. Anne has responded so well to this therapy in the past. We are grateful for the opportunity and provision to do this therapy for a third time.
  3. Finally, pray for Anne’s encouragement. She is desiring to become more independent (which is wonderful) but sometimes this desire causes her frustration as there are still so many things she cannot do without help.

Thank you so much! Your continued prayer and support after all these years is an inspiration to our family!

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.

Pray for Anne…

February 2014’s prayer requests:

Please pray for Anne…

  1. Anne’s seizures have returned slightly this month, but her perseveration (stuttering) has improved. Please pray for both seizures and stuttering to go away.
  2. Please pray that Anne would improve in balance and eye tracking. These two systems are actually connected in the brain! So please pray for God to continue to heal these vital parts of her brain.
  3. Finally, pray for Anne’s encouragement. She is desiring to become more independent (which is wonderful) but sometimes this desire causes her frustration as there are still so many things she cannot do without help.

Thank you so much! Your continued prayer and support after all these years is an inspiration to our family!

Pray for Anne…

December 2013’s prayer requests:

Please pray for Anne…

  1. First, praise God that Anne’s seizures have disappeared!! We removed all video applications from her iPad, and since then she has been seizure-free and all of her irritability has gone as well!! Thank you, God!
  2. With the disappearance of her seizures, something new has emerged. Anne is perseverating whenever she speaks, which basically means she is stuttering, badly. Please pray for the perseveration to go away.
  3. Finally, please continue to pray for the long-term goal of how to teach Anne to be an independent reader.

Thank you so much! Your continued prayer and support after all these years is an inspiration to our family!

God’s Amazing Answer to Prayer!!!

Well friends… those of you who have prayed so faithfully and those of you who have prayed once or those of you who just think of Anne occasionally… today is the today to rejoice and thank God for his amazing and wonderful gifts!!

I’m so excited. Can you tell I’m excited??!!!

Anne is now walking with a walker, independently. She can propel and steer the walker independently. She has never been able to propel any assistive walking device by herself before last week. I can’t emphasize how amazing this is… Just watch :)

(Note: Anne’s Physical Therapist is holding Anne’s gait belt which is around her waist for safety only. She is not assisting Anne. Anne is walking, balancing, propelling and steering all on her own!)

In this 2nd video, Anne’s walking improves as she walks past a group of her peers… just watch how proud she looks :)

Here’s a cool twist to this amazing answer to prayer. Three years ago, when Anne was discharged from CHOA’s Day Rehab program, I asked the PT if Anne was ready to try walking with a walker. Her truthful answer of “No,” was very discouraging at the time. Wouldn’t you know that this very same PT accepted a position within the school system last year. And on her first day of work, she walked into Anne’s class and Anne recognized her. Anne, her former patient from Day Rehab, was her first patient in the school system. And it was this same PT (who told me, “No,” to a walker three years ago) who worked to find the perfect walker for Anne. This is Lavonda, Anne’s PT, walking with her today. I am so grateful for her expertise!!

Anne and Mary Lou

I want to tell the story of my friend Mary Lou and how God has weaved her story together with Anne’s…in the most beautiful way.

To introduce you to her, I have to go back almost 9 years – to when Anne was an infant. Mary Lou was in charge of our church’s women’s retreat, and somehow I ended up helping her with many of the last-minute details. Because I was helping her, we rode down to the retreat site together, with Anne strapped in an infant car seat in the back of Mary Lou’s car.

Mary Lou was broken.

Continue reading →

Pray for Anne…

November 2013’s prayer requests:

Please pray for Anne…

  1. Anne has made noticeable improvement in her reading and walking! Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray for these long-term goals.
  2. Anne has been extra irritable at home. We are not sure if she is having mild seizures or if she is just going through an “irritability phase.” Please pray for wisdom and insight to help us determine the cause and a solution.
  3. And finally, praise God that Anne is receiving good reports at school, both academically and behaviorally. She has come so far!

Thank you so much! Your continued prayer and support after all these years is an inspiration to our family!

Anne’s victory

Anne won!

No, seriously, she won, for real. The family went bowling, and she beat us all, badly, fair and square.

Bowling with Anne

Bowling with Anne

Now, it’s true that we are all terrible bowlers, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that Anne legitimately beat all of us.

Anne was excited that she won, but I think she found more joy in just being… She loved the sounds of the bowling alley, she anticipated her every turn. She loved the ceremony of walking up to the lane and pushing her ball down the slide. She loved watching us cheer when her straight and true ball knocked down pin after pin. She loved the hugs. She loved the love.

Anne is free to enjoy the deeper layers of life. Once again, God uses Anne to reveal His joy!

 

Pray for Anne…

October 2013’s prayer requests:

Please pray for Anne…

  1. To overcome her cortical visual impairment to learn how to read,
  2. Still waiting for a decision for more support for Anne’s special ed. classroom…
  3. And finally, praise God for Anne’s new determination and desire to move and walk.

Thank you so much! Your continued prayer and support after all these years is an inspiration to our family!

Desire & Determination

My last post was all about how I had been placing my hope in the wrong stuff… like Anne walking (for instance). Well, wouldn’t you know it – all of a sudden Anne has made a major improvement in her walking??!!! Just goes to show you that God really does love to give good gifts to his children!!

Yesterday, we gathered with Eric’s family for a casual Sunday afternoon get-together. Check out this video of her walking to Papa and Nana’s front door.

As I took this video on my phone, I thought to myself that her walking seemed especially good, but I wasn’t prepared for how Anne would surprise us throughout the day…

Papa rented a boat and we cruised around in the sunshine!

Anne & her Papa

Anne & her Papa

At one point, Anne was sitting on a bench – sort of away from everybody, and decided she wanted to be closer to her Aunt Krista, so she tried to stand up and walk.

Now, Anne struggles with the skill, “sit-to-stand.” We take this skill for granted, but for Anne, it’s very difficult… so as she tried to stand over and over again, she got herself crooked on her bench. She recognized this and scooted herself back to the middle of the bench with her legs straight in front of her. I almost fell out of my seat when I saw her do this. Again, something very simple, but very difficult for Anne. And then that little girl stood up and tried to walk by herself over to where her Aunt Krista was sitting. Thank goodness her sister, Kate, was there, because Anne would have fallen!

And that was our day. Watching Anne stand up and try to walk to one family member after another – on a moving boat!! We would always grab her by the hand so she wouldn’t fall – but I’ve never seen Anne with such determination!

This is a huge step forward for Anne. We’ve been praying that Anne would desire to put forth effort. Thank you God for hearing and answering our prayers!!! She is attempting to move in ways she never has before. We have to keep an extra close eye on her now, but we’ll take it!

Our new determined girl!

Our new determined girl!