CIRU

A few tidbits from the day…

  • Anne ate pureed food for dinner tonight! Her first real meal since the accident. Even in her agitated state – I think she enjoyed her food.
  • We are trying to teach Anne to say ‘yeah’ for yes and ‘unh-uh’ for no. She’s doing pretty well. Yesterday, I looked at Anne and said, “Hi!” and she said “Hi” right back. We’re very encouraged by her language development!
  • The whole family continues to eat dinner at the hospital together. Last night, Canon said to one of the therapists, “The hospital is like our second home. I’m here for my sister, Anne!”
  • Anne’s former sunday school teacher, Mrs. Debbie, is at the hospital with Anne tonight. Thank you Mrs. Debbie for allowing Eric to get some sleep!!!

Thank you everyone for praying. we are so grateful! -kathryn

Pressing forward

The accident was four weeks ago today… Sometimes I feel like I’m in the middle of a dream; it doesn’t seem possible that my spunky, bright Anne has a severe brain injury.

Isaiah 30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying ‘This is the way; walk in it.'”So we press forward, with a mix of grief and joy, but forward nonetheless.

Anne’s current phase is challenging. She is agitated and confused, audibly crying most of the time. I find myself leaning on my old ways of self-sufficiency. Thinking back over my day, I realized that I did not ask God for help once, but carried on – essentially alone – trying to care for Anne.

You would think that I would learn to cling to my saviour – to run to Him, cling to Him. This is just as much a “rehab” time for me as it is for Anne :-) May we both come out on the other side more “like gold” (Job 23:10).

Thankful for His grace -kathryn

Quick update

Anne has been so agitated today. She cried through her therapy and her nap. We have been told that heightened emotions are a phase some will go through.

HUGE praise – Anne initiated a step with her right leg!! She also cleared a swallowing test – meaning that we can attempt much more food now.

Kathryn’s prayer requests yesterday were exactly where we are. Please pray:

  1. For God to preserve Anne’s cognitive abilities and ultimately, for her to speak,
  2. For Anne to gain greater control over her eyes,
  3. For Anne’s tremors to decrease so she can have more control using her hands, and
  4. For Anne’s character to be molded into Christlikeness as she perseveres through all her therapy sessions.

Hoping for a little rest tonight :-)

-eric

A little more from Anne

Every day we see a little more from Anne… She’s sitting better and eating better (she ate ice cream today). Her eyes are brighter and more focused and overall she seems more responsive. For example, in addition to smiling more, she laughed out loud for the first time today.

The Speech Therapist and I both think Anne tried to say, “uh huh” when asked if she wanted more ice cream. I just sat and cried, thinking about how thankful I was to hear my sweet girl try to speak.

Please pray:

  1. For God to preserve Anne’s cognitive abilities and ultimately, for her to speak,
  2. For Anne to gain greater control over her eyes,
  3. For Anne’s tremors to decrease so she can have more control using her hands, and
  4. For Anne’s character to be molded into Christlikeness as she perseveres through all her therapy sessions.

Tired but thankful, -kathryn

Anne’s miraculous smile

5-8-10

Anne continues to try to do EVERYTHING her therapists ask of her. She has an amazing will. We are very proud of her.

Today Ms. Debbie (her former Sunday School teacher) came by for a visit. This pic was taken during her visit. Ms. Debbie and Anne have always had a special connection :-)

Please continue to pray:

  1. For Anne’s tremors/neuro storms to disappear, and for God to be close and comfort Anne.
  2. For the whole family to be encouraged to persevere and trust in our Great Physician day by day.

-kathryn

Working hard…

Another tough, but wonderful day in rehab. Little Anne worked really hard to open her mouth for some popsicle – and she opened a little wider today! She also was able to push a down on a button with her right hand which was a huge thing for her. Anne sat up in her wheelchair longer today than any other previous day, and we went outside for some sunshine – the warm sun on her little body immediately calmed her – i think she really liked being outside. She also had lots of family interaction – and she seems a tiny bit more responsive with her few smiles.

George Wallace gave us John 11:4 today: But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” What a great story to be reminded of – God’s timing and his plans are often very different than our own!! But they are always GOOD plans!

Praise God for the miracles he has already provided. Pray that Anne will one day soon be able to speak!!

-eric

Anne’s 1st day in Rehab

i am so proud of my little girl! She did a great job in rehab today. She can swallow, smile a little, and move 1 finger. She can’t yet really move her eyes very well, or talk, but she really tried HARD to do everything that was asked. She did open her mouth a tiny bit for some popsicle. She never complained until she was in a bit of pain at the end. 8am to 4pm – a long first day!

In my feeble mind i can’t see how she will be able to talk, or walk, or much less sing or dance, but i need not worry about tomorrow; i only need to rejoice in the MANY wonders of today.

I love my sweet little girl, and so look forward to the morning when we can do it all over again — and i will be inspired to attempt the impossible watching her pressing ON, and to love my Lord more for keeping her and holding her close.

-eric

Three Words…

ANNE’S IN REHAB!

Praise God: 

  1. That she is ALIVE
  2. That she is making progress – little by little :-)

Please pray: 

  1. That Anne will continue to progres – little by little.
  2. I just talked with Eric, and she is very upset – crying and tremoring. Pray that she will relax and sleep well tonight. Eric needs sleep :-)
  3. That by God’s grace, we will wait on His good plan for Anne to unveil – little by little.

Expecting a good day in rehab tomorrow :-) -kathryn

Quiet day

Because Anne was up most of last night (poor Eric…) she rested most of today. Her therapists let her rest, so it was a quiet day.

The neurosurgeon said today, “There is an excellent chance that the drain will come out tomorrow.” So we’re hopeful! If the drain truly does come out tomorrow, she could be in rehab as early as Friday – but we’ll wait and see.

I have one funny story to share. Tonight, Eric’s cousin Susan visited. Anne had just had a HUGE bowel movement (yeah!) so the conversation moved to poop. Now – the kids are not allowed to say “bathroom talk” outside the bathroom. They can talk about poopy and tee-tee all they want inside the bathroom – but not outside… So, when I realized that Susan and I were using bathroom talk – I said to Anne (with a mischievious look), “Anne, do you hear us using bathroom talk outside the bathroom? Do you want to do it too?” Then I started singing, “Poopy, poopy, poopy!!!!”

And she smiled – the biggest smile yet. Susan’s husband, Alan, came in and we were all talking about “poopy” and Anne smiled a few more times.

Anne clearly enjoyed breaking the rules tonight :-)

Please pray:

  1. The drain would be removed tomorrow so that we can move to rehab.
  2. Since Canon will be with me at the hospital all day tomorrow, please pray that God encourages him in a special way, and that he will be an encouragement to Anne as well.
  3. That Anne will respond well to rehab (when she gets there).

Gratefully, kathryn

Disappointment & Glory

The past two days have been quite a journey! God has been so tender and gracious to give me a sweet gift of encouragement at the end of yesterday (Monday) – which was one of the hardest days of my life …and then He continued to show me His goodness, as today (Tuesday) was one of the best days of my life!

Where to begin?

Yesterday was hard because of the disappointment over not removing the drain and therefore not moving to rehab. Anne’s tremors increased yesterday b/c they lowered her anti-withdrawal meds… She is having a painful time coming off of all the heavy narcotics that were in her system for weeks. My eyes were focused on what was seen – her agitation and pain – instead of the unseen…

God in his tender mercy chose to encourage me from the most unlikely source… her neurosurgeon! He is one of the best in his field, but has been very frank regarding the severity of her condition. He always chooses his words carefully so as not to give us false hope. But last night, he cautiously offered a morsel of hope as he shared a story of a former patient with injuries similar to Anne’s …She went on to be at the top of her class in college. The poor doc didn’t know how to react when I sat and wept – just out of thankfulness that God knows my heart – and knew that I needed encouragement…

Which leads me to today. It was a glorious day. The Physical Therapist (PT) let me hold Anne. Not like the other day when I just sat beside her and hugged her a little – but REALLY hold her. I sat in a rocking chair and cradled my 5-year-old girl like a baby. I sang to her, prayed for her and cried over her. I felt like all of heaven stood still and watched as I held my precious Anne.

But the blessing didn’t stop there! After I held Anne for 30 minutes, and Anne sat in her chair for an HOUR, the Occupational Therapist (OT) and Speech Therapist (ST) came to work with Anne. They sat her up on the side of the bed. She was able to hold her head up a little; she chewed and swallowed ice – but here’s the fun part – she actually listened to the OT give a command: “Anne, if you want to rest, push back against my hand.” And she leaned back with her body against the OT’s hand on her back. And then the OT sat her up again, repeated the command, and Anne did it again! We laid her down, cheered for her and she smiled the biggest smile I’ve seen from her yet!

Later I saw all 3 therapists in the hall – they were all clapping and pumping their fists (it was quite a scene…) so I walked out and asked, “so, did Anne do well today?” And they looked at me and said, “Well? She was AMAZING – she responded to a command TWICE! – That’s reason to throw a party!!”

Truly, a miraculous day. I’ve cried many grateful tears today. Thank you all again for supporting us as we walk this road. We still have a long way to go, and even though we don’t know what the end looks like – we trust that God has good planned for Anne. Amen? AMEN!

One final note: We think Anne’s drain will come out Thursday – which means hopefully Anne will be in rehab by the weekend. We will pray for just that :-)

-kathryn