Specific Prayer Requests

Mom has begun therapy with her new therapist, Carme (Car-may), and Mom and Dad both think she is just fantastic. She's been very encouraging about a prognosis for Mom's recovery. She's definitely going to be working Mom very hard! Mom has therapy on Mondays and Thursdays.

At her first appointment this past Monday, Mom and Dad filled out some paperwork. The last question on the form asked what Mom's goals were. Dad said he wanted to write, "Walking, running, and dancing," but Mom just had him put down "walking." When Carme read the form, she told Mom, "You want to walk again; good," and Mom backpedalled a bit, explaining that she knew it might never be possible. Carme said, "How soon do you want to walk?" and Mom answered that she'd like to walk in time for Jonathan and Jenn's wedding in July. Carme replied, "I think that's a reasonable goal. I can't make promises, but I'll do everything I can to help your 'fearfully and wonderfully made' body achieve that goal." Yay!

Lots of doctors have been telling Dad that any progress that can be made after a stroke will occur within the first 3-6 months, and that we shouldn't expect further improvement after that. Carme told Mom and Dad that neural plasticity (the ability of neural circuits to change in function or organization) is very real, and it is quite possible for other parts of the brain to take over and compensate for lost or damaged portions. She can't guarantee specific progress for Mom, of course, but she seems optimistic.

At Thursday's therapy appointment, Carme put Mom into what's called a "LiteGait." A harness around Mom's waist supports her, and the LiteGait rolls on wheels. Carme moved Mom's left leg and foot, and Mom moved her own right leg, and Dad wheeled the LiteGait along, and through all this... Mom 'walked' across the room twice! Dad reports, "It was pretty cool."

Also on Thursday, Carme asked Mom and Dad if they attended church. She then asked if Mom was being prayed for by a prayer chain. When Mom and Dad replied that lots of people all over the country and even the world have been in prayer for Mom's recovery, Carme responded that she'd like us to ask people to pray for three very specific things:

1. For Mom's left leg to be able to straighten.
2. For Mom to be able to align her hips directly over her toes when she is in the standing frame.
3. That Mom will be able to walk in time for Jonathan and Jenn's wedding in July.

Mom requested that I put these specific prayer requests here on the blog for the benefit of the prayer chain of friends and family who read here. Well, there you have it! Start praying, please!

I hope it's helpful to all of you to have some specific prayer requests in mind concerning Mom's recovery. I just want to remind you how encouraging it is to all of us in the family to know that Mom is in the thoughts and prayers of so many. Thank you.

Phone Call

This evening I got to talk to Mom on the phone... for twenty-five minutes! What a change from just a month ago, when Mom would croak out an exhausted "Hi, sweetie," and hand the phone back to Dad. She sounds much stronger now!

Update From Dad

Here's an update straight from Dad, written yesterday:

Mom's had a really good week. This has been our first week with no sickness or medication reactions, and it's made a big difference. Mom's sleeping well now, much less pain, so we've been able to really focus on therapy. Each day, we're doing at least 4 hours of therapy, geared toward flexibility, strength, and coordination. She's looking better and better in the standing frame, and able to spend more time standing. This morning, while Mom was in the standing frame, Christopher was playing a Beach Boys tune, and Mom started dancing to it. Dancing might be a little too strong a word, but she was bouncing, and shifting her weight between legs, and I was dazzled.

We've been out in the new van almost every day, so that Mom can get used to it. It's fun to get out of the house a little.

On Monday we have our first appt with the best PT in the area for Neuro Rehab, so I'm really excited about that.

In just the last week, we can tell that Mom is much stronger, able to move her left side more and more, and can sit and play a game for over an hour now. She can lift both feet onto the lift, and she can do standing transfers easily now.

It's been a very encouraging week for both of us. Keep praying, I think it's starting to work.

Here's a picture of the van Dad mentioned. As you can see, it's wheelchair accessible, and it's made it possible for Mom and Dad to start getting out and about! They've even taken the van to briefly visit my grandparents, and to go grab sandwiches at Arby's. They also use it to take Mom to therapy appointments.

Contraption

Here is a photo of a standing frame to help Mom practice standing and stretching her legs. Dad emailed me pictures last night and I sure enjoyed seeing them - I hope you all will, too. The frame lets Mom stand up much straighter than she's been able to before, and it allows variable amounts of weight to be lowered onto Mom's feet as she progresses in increments. This is just one of the frames Dad and the guys at Autometrix have designed and built.

Dad reports that Mom is able to achieve a little more motion on her left side with each week that passes. She can lift her left foot about two inches now.

Here's Mom with her number one caregiver and therapist - Dad:

Answered Prayer

These days there isn't as much daily progress or news to report as there used to be when Mom was in the hospital in the earlier stages of her recovery, but I do have an answered prayer to share with you all. In this post I mentioned Mom's prayer that she would be able to hold Thomas, her new grandson, when she met him. Well, my sister Emily is visiting Mom and Dad right now with her new baby, and Mom has been able to hold him often!

It seems that being in a home with Dad and Christopher is working out well for Mom. Her nights are more peaceful now than they were in the hospital where she frequently had panic attacks. Mom is continuing with lots of therapy, and Dad is staying busy designing and implementing (with the help of the guys at Autometrix!) creative new feats of engineering specifically to help Mom in her therapy and recovery. I may be able to post a picture of one of these contraptions soon.