Monday, March 19, 2007

New things each day...

Our apologies for the length of time between posts. Dad is improving one way or another each day. Since the last post, here are a few of the things that have taken place: he has walked with a walker -- by himself -- from one end of the hall to the other; he has had his trach capped and no longer has extra oxygen used; he has started saying words here and there; and some of his words have turned into sentences.

We have been working on getting some of the more "automatic words" to come out with hopes that it leads to purposeful speaking. An example would be a phone conversation between him and one of us where we would say often used phrases like "hey dad, it's jay" and he would respond with "ya" -- it even got to "hey dad, i've gotta go, have a good night; could i please talk to joe" to which he would respond with "ok, goodnight" and then hand the phone back to joe.

Now, with all the good stuff comes some tough stuff. Over the weekend, dad looked mom square in the eyes and said, "I don't know what happened". He is finally coming to the realization of what is going on. With this realization comes tough stuff to deal with. Dad seems to be more down over the past few days, we are assuming that he is realizing what is going on and dealing with it. Please pray for his courage and encouragement to keep fighting.

Finally, there are some unresolved administrative issues that need to be worked out and we'd appreciate the prayers for wisdom. Thanks for your love and encouragement.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

thank you so much for the update :)
your dad sounds "great" .. it's so wonderful to know there is continuing improvement in so many ways...will pray for the new details you have shared...we're here for you.
love helen & steve

Anonymous said...

We missed hearing from you over the weekend, but certainly understand. Great news about the purposeful speech! Yes, we will pray for courage and patience for your Dad. It will be a lot for him to accept. We will also pray for all the decisions you have to make regarding your Dad and working through all the administrative issues. Thanks for your updates.
With our love and prayers,
Ron and Minda

Robert said...

I discovered you from *gracereigns* Absolutely wonderful to read about jims progress!!!! I just wanted to stop in and offer my prayers and thoughts. Thank you for sharing hisstory with all of us, very courageous and heartening. God bless your whole family as you carry on steo=p by step!!!

Anonymous said...

Our prayers are with Jim as he begins his questioning on what happened and prayers for each of you that God gives you the wisdom in answering him. It is absolutely wonderful to hear of the progress thus far and I know our Lord will continue to strengthen each of you!

Love you all!
Bendi

Admin said...

I, too, came here from the "Grace Reign" blog. (I also posted a request for your dad on my own blog.)

I check in daily to see what progress he is making, and today's post is so encouraging! One step at a time, God is working His healing in your dad. I know there are a lot of steps ahead, but He will walk your family through each one.

You are in our family's prayers.

God bless.

Anonymous said...

We are so glad to read about your Dad's continual improvement. We check the blog daily to see how he is doing. We will continue to pray for God's healing!!
Love,
Paul, Amy, Austin, Andrew and Amanda McIntosh