Wednesday, April 27, 2005

We have had a wonderful week of growth and improvement. Jonathan is doing such an awesome job! Every day we watch him do more and more things on his own. It is just remarkable to watch him. At Monday's therapy, his teacher started working with him in the office. During the first activity, she commented on how much better he was standing and balancing on his own. She decided to take him downstairs to the gym and work on the machines. He did 5 minutes on the treadmill, 5 minutes on the stationary bike and then worked for several minutes on a machine that does something like squats, using both legs and then each leg separately. He did a great job with all of that and seemed to enjoy it as well. That evening, we watched Jonathan get up and walk different places, just holding our hand. He dressed himself for some pictures we were trying to take, and even tied his shoes. He undressed himself after we were done as well. He showed so much motivation to get up and do these things without help. It was neat to watch. On Tuesday, Jonathan did therapy in the office and did a lot of balancing exercises. At the end of his class, his teacher took him on a long walk down a long hall outside the office without his walker. She said he really was not relying on her much at all. I stood there watching Jonathan walk, praising God for the real life miracle of healing this crippled boy, just like Jonathan had portrayed just a year ago in the Easter production of 8 Days That Changed the World at our church. Who would have known that God would use Jonathan to tell the story of His healing power in a play, and then show the world, through his life, that God still has the power to heal today, just as He did when He walked on this earth. Today we made a visit to the dentist to have our teeth cleaned. Jonathan got x-rays and a cleaning, and handled it all beautifully. Later in the day we went to visit our piano teacher and enjoyed our time with her. He went to church for Awana again and passed another section and then spent about an hour with Mom in choir rehearsal to end the day.
Please say a prayer of praise to the Father for His abundant blessings to Jonathan and our family. Every day, we know the Lord a little more intimately as He continues to show Himself to us through this journey He has called us to make. Pray for all of us as we prepare to share our experience with those who will attend Welcome Home Jonathan Day this Sunday. Pray for Dad as he speaks and for Mom and the kids as they sing. Continue to pray for Jonathan's strength and endurance. Pray that he will have a good attitude and that his determination to do things on his own will continue to increase. Pray for us as we continue to work on schooling. We started back this week and it seems a little overwhelming right now. Pray that we will find a good routine and that we will be able to accomplish what we need to so that we can be ready for the new school year in the fall when it comes. God is so good. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Sunday, April 24, 2005

I hope you will forgive me for missing the last update day, so let me fill you in on the last 4 days. Thursday, Jonathan had a great day at his pool therapy. He really seems to enjoy working in the pool. I don't think he realizes he is working while he is in there. That night, the kids camped out in our room. After going to sleep for about 45 minutes, Jonathan woke up, said he needed to go to the bathroom and then apparently made an attempt to get up and do that, when he fell out of the bed and landed right next to me on the floor. The problem is that I never heard him say anything, nor did I even hear him when he hit the floor. The only way I knew anything happed was when Sarah yelled, "Mom, Jonathan just fell out of bed!" I can't tell you how unnerving that was to me for him to be so close to me and yet not be able to hear him when he needed something. But once again, the Lord showed me how much He is in control of Jonathan's life, because he did not hurt himself anywhere when he fell. God has truly given His angels charge over Jonathan to protect him when we cannot. Since then, we have put a guard rail on the side of his bed to help protect him from that happening again. The good thing about that event was that it was the first time he had ever woken up to say he needed to go to the bathroom, and the next morning was the first morning he woke up dry. He also did not remember falling out of bed. Friday and Saturday, we spent the day doing some shopping and getting things done around the house. Jonathan makes great efforts to get up and help us with things, as well as getting around with us instead of just sitting in his chair doing nothing. Today, we went to church again and this time we sat up in the balcony next to the sound booth where Dad works. That means Jonathan went up and down stairs two times this morning and did it with no problem at all. Jonathan went to Sunday School as well as Kids On Mission this evening. He gets around great with the kids, and everyone is very attentive to him and making sure he participates as much as possible. In Sunday School, Jonathan drew a picture of Jesus healing him, of him walking and running with his walker on the other side of the page. Underneath the picture he wrote, "Thank you Jesus." The memory very was Luke 8:39 - "Go back to your home and tell everyone what great things God has done for you." This is what we plan to do next Sunday morning at Welcome Home Jonathan Day. We have planned a very special service of praise and thanksgiving to God for the miracle He has done in Jonathan's life. We also plan to tell everyone what God has done for us. Each of you are personally invited to this service and we hope you will come. We would love to meet each of you who have so faithfully prayed us through these last 4 months. You can get directions to the church at lakelandbaptist.org. The service will begin at 10:30 am.
This week, please pray for Jonathan as he goes to another week of therapy. We received the new evaluation from our current PT this weekend and it states a therapy plan of up to six months. Pray that we will be patient and let God do things in His time and not be anxious about the thought of doing this for another six months. Pray that Jonathan will continue to work hard and have a good attitude about his therapy as well as his diabetes. Pray for continued strength in his walking and that he will be able to walk on his own soon. Pray that his mind will continue to develop and that we will continue to see the healing of his brain, vision, and diabetes. Pray for our strength and our family relationships. Pray that we would not allow Satan to move in and cause conflict within our family. The road ahead is still long and we get weary very quickly. Pray that we will all walk this road ahead together in the strength of the Lord. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. Thank you for continuing to pray for us.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Today was a good day. We went back to Children's Medical Center for the first time since we left there in Feb. Jonathan had an appointment with the Endocrinologist and he did well. We had most of the doctors come in and see him while he was there, just to meet him and say hi. It was such a wonderful testimony of what God has done. Jonathan is doing incredibly well with his Type 1 diabetes. He never complains about the finger sticks or the insulin shots. He takes everything as though it were nothing. It is frustrating sometimes to try to understand how this works, especially when we have an off day for no reason. We have good doctors who watch things very closely and are working to tighten the control so that we stay in the "normal" range as often as possible. We continue to pray that God will heal Jonathan of the diabetes, but until he does, that God will continue to give him a good attitude and courage to face this. After spending some time in the doctor's office we went over to the 6th floor, which is the diabetes floor. Jonathan got to meet some of the nurses and techs that helped take care of him and everyone was so excited to see him. I don't think he knew what to think about all of what was going on, but he is such a people person that it didn't really matter. He doesn't really remember anything from Children's which is a blessing, but it was good for him to meet those that helped take care of him. Many of them are outspoken Christians who prayed with us while we were there and continue to pray for us. After spending some time on the 6th floor we ventured to the 12th floor, which is the ICU. Those nurses and doctor's rarely get to see the miracles and we thought we would let them meet one. It was so good that 2 of the nurses were on duty and got to talk with Jonathan. They even took a picture to hang up so that the others could see him. Although we did not get to see all of the nurses, doctors and techs that were involved in Jonathan's care, we did get to meet some. I think that we are going to try to schedule a time to go back to see the others. Everyone needs to meet a miracle. This evening was Jonathan's return to Awana Club at church. He received an Award of Merit from the Commander for his bravery and hard work in making it back to Awana. He passed two sections, got Awana lots of bucks and even had a chance to spend some of them. He is doing so well at church and he loves to be around people. The children have been such a blessing. They are so kind and attentive to him and all of them jump at the chance to help him with anything. He continues to do well in therapy. He is working on balance and strengthening his legs to be able to walk without the walker. It is just a matter of time.
Pray that Jonathan will continue to do well at home, church and therapy. Pray that his recovery will be quick and in God's time. Pray that we continue to get opportunities to tell his story and to witness to others. Pray for strength for Kristi as she has the brunt of the work during the day with Jonathan and getting him to and from therapy. Pray for those who see him and read about him that they would not see a little boy, but they would see God.

Sunday, April 17, 2005

We had another wonderful weekend this weekend. We continue to watch Jonathan get more and more confident as each day passes. We spent some time on Friday at Chuck E Cheese, a favorite place of the kids. Jonathan was up walking around, playing games and enjoyed himself a lot. It was a wonderful time for our family. On Saturday, we slept in and spent most of the day at home finally taking down our Christmas decorations. Today Jonathan went to Sunday School for the first time since December. All the kids have been precious to him. Many of them have been so concerned for him and are so sweet and attentive to him now that he is back. They have been such a blessing to watch. We also went to church, out to lunch with a good friend and then to Children's Choir for a pizza party and part of the rehearsal. Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings we went to church for the Team Impact Crusade. Jonathan got to meet the guys on the team, talk to them and get their autographs. So many people had the opportunity to see Jonathan and talk to him and just tell him that they have been praying for him. Many of his friends were there as well and we watched him get up and move around to talk to them, sometimes on his own. He is very proud to be able to walk without someone holding on to him. Mom, Dad and sisters usually stay pretty close to him to make sure he doesn't fall, but we try to give him some freedom to be independent and do as much on his own as he wants. Several times yesterday, he practiced standing without holding on to his walker and sitting down and standing up without holding on. He has a God given determination to walk on his own and we praise God each time we watch him do sometime new on his own.
We are looking forward to a good week this week. Pray for continued strength for Jonathan as he goes for his first full week of outpatient therapy. Pray for his endurance and his attitude, that he will be able to work hard and do all that he is asked to do. Pray for continued healing of his brain, vision and diabetes. Pray for us that we will have wisdom to deal with Jonathan as well as all the other issues facing our family as we walk through this part of the journey. Pray for all of us as we try to settle into a new routine at home. It has been such a blessing to be at home this week and to have met and talked to so many of you already that have spent these last 3 1/2 months praying for us. Thank you for continuing to pray. It means so much to us.

Friday, April 15, 2005

It has been one week since the Lord brought us home and we are still in awe of this awesome blessing. Jonathan has done incredibly well. He seems to be very content being at home, but always enjoys getting to go somewhere. Our church is in the midst of a Team Impact Crusade and we had the opportunity to attend the service on Wednesday evening. Jonathan enjoyed watching Team Impact as well as all the hugs and visits from people who have missed him and have been praying for him. Other than going to church Wed. evening, we stayed home and really worked on the potty training on Wed. and Thurs. In order for him to be able to do the aquatics therapy, he has to be completely potty trained, so we worked very hard on that while we were at home. Jonathan has done a fabulous job! On Thursday, he kept the same clothes on all day long and never had an accident! We are so proud of him. He thoroughly enjoyed his aquatics therapy yesterday. He did a lot of exercising in the pool for about 45 minutes. I think this is going to be very good for him. He is doing more and more things at home. Yesterday, he enjoyed spending some time playing video games with his sisters. Today he is playing on the computer. He loves to take walks and is still eating very well. Just so we don't bore you with all the little things that Jonathan is doing every day, our plan is to update the website on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. We will however, write anytime there is something significant we want you to know or pray about.
Your continued prayers are very important to us. Please continue to stay in touch through the website so that we can let you know how he is doing and let you know what our prayer needs are. God has been so good and each time we look at him, we realize the incredible miracle that Jonathan is. There is healing that has yet to be revealed, and we continue to pray and anticipate the manifestation of that healing. Please pray that Jonathan will grow stronger and stronger each day. Pray for increased strength and mobility in his legs. Pray that he will respond well to his therapy. Pray for his mental healing and that God will completely heal his brain, vision and diabetes. Pray for Jonathan as he slowly reintegrates himself back into the activities that he has been part of. We look forward to what God is going to do in Jonathan's life and in the life of our family. Thank you for being part of this incredible work of God.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

We are continuing to enjoy our time at home. Jonathan is doing fabulous. He is sleeping well at night, his blood sugars are much better and he continues to eat well. We went back today for an evaluation with the new PT. She has big plans for Jonathan and she is preparing to take him to a new level of recovery. We are looking forward to seeing how God is going to use her to assist in His complete healing of Jonathan. Jonathan spent most of the day up and walking around. After therapy, we picked up Dad and went to Taco Bell for lunch (one of his favorite places). After that we went and enjoyed visiting the staff at the church office, which is something the kids love to do but have not had the opportunity to do in quite some time. We had a couple of visits from friends and family this afternoon and Jonathan always enjoys showing everyone how good he can walk with his walker. He kept asking today to ride his bike or his motor scooter or to ride his razor scooter. The longer we talked about why he couldn't do that right now, the more upset he got until he started to cry. After he calmed down, we got his razor scooter and brought it inside. With help from Mom and sisters, Jonathan was able to ride his scooter around the house a few times. He was pretty proud of that. We continue to work on the potty training and hope to get that under control so that he will be able to do the pool therapy on Thursdays.
It is such a blessing to be at home. We have nothing but praise to the Lord for the time we have spent at home these last few days. Continue to pray for healing of Jonathan's brain and for his peace of mind. There is still so much that he doesn't understand and cannot comprehend. Pray that we will be able to help him sort through the thoughts he is having and that no matter what he might think, to know that he is a very special boy and that God has a special plan for his life. Pray that he will be able to handle his new therapy without crying or agitation. Pray that we will have wisdom to know how to help him and to work with him to aid in the progress of his healing. Thank you so much for your continued prayers. They continue to carry us through each day.

Monday, April 11, 2005

God continues to lead and control this journey we are on. Thank you again for your prayers for us today. They were heard and answered - again. I called the insurance this morning just to make sure that everything was in order as far as our outpatient therapy was concerned. I learned then that we would have to pay a $30 copay per therapy session per day, which means it would cost us $210 a week for his therapy. We prayed for wisdom and Jonathan and I prayed at lunch that God would lead us and let us know what we needed to do. As soon as we arrived, they began talking to us about the best way for us to accomplish Jonathan's therapy goals without such a tremendous cost to us. We have decided that PT is most important at this point and they are going to see if the insurance will allow a co-treatment without extra cost which will allow us to have OT at the same time as PT from time to time. We agreed that Jonathan is doing very well with speech issues as well as doing most of the self care goals already. If the insurance will not approve a co-treatment, ST and OT will do a home treatment plan and allow us to work with him and be accountable to them for his progress. This is exactly what we have been contemplating and were prepared to discuss with them. Once again, isn't God awesome! So we basically have narrowed down our therapy focus to PT which is most important at this time. We came right out and told the PT that we were Christians and that Jonathan was a miracle, and she told us she was a Christian also. What a blessing! Jonathan is doing so well at home. He is trying to do normal things more and more each day. We saw God's hand of protection along with that today. This morning Jonathan was sitting on the side of his bed, after his bath and putting on his clothes. He was looking at some pictures his sisters had colored for him and dropped them on the floor. He went to pick them up and fell off the bed. He had a baseball cap on which is what hit the dresser. He didn't even have a mark on his head. It did, however, scare him and his Mom. This evening he was in his chair waiting at the back door while Mom was looking in the freezer in the garage. He was trying to bend over and see her out the door, when his chair fell forward and stuck on the foot rests. Had his foot rests been over the threshold of the door, he would have fallen face down on the garage floor and probably hit the car on the way down. God has His hands of protection wrapped all around Jonathan, which reminds me that He will always take care of Jonathan, even when we can't.
Praise God for His continued leading and guiding in our lives. Praise Him for answered prayers. Praise Him for His constant protection. Pray that Jonathan will continue to progress in his walking. Each day he is getting more and more confident in his walking. It is an awesome sight to see. Pray that his self confidence will grow each day as well as his confidence in walking and doing things. Pray for his protection. We are anxious to see all that God is going to do with Jonathan and through Jonathan. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!

Sunday, April 10, 2005

We had a wonderful Lord's Day today. Jonathan slept good again last night and we got up and went to church this morning. Jonathan was able to walk in and sit in the pew with his family. It was great to see him singing the songs and visiting with people who were thrilled to see him again. We had a restful afternoon and went to have dinner at Jonathan's grandparents home for the first time, which is a Sunday night tradition for our family. This week will bring new experiences for Jonathan as he starts his new therapy classes. On Mondays and Tuesdays he will have ST, OT and PT and Thursdays he will have PT in the pool.
We are asking you to earnestly pray for Jonathan this week. Although he has come a long way, he still has a long road ahead of him. Pray for his attitude and state of mind about his therapy. He has a hard time understanding why he has to do therapy and sometimes that mind set can cause him to cry and be uncooperative. Pray that he will be able to handle his classes if they do not allow us to go with him. He has times of thoughtfulness when he thinks about whether or not he is 8 years old and if people see him as 8, or if they see him as a baby. He thinks that he might not be 8 because he doesn't talk like an 8 year old, or he has to sit in a booster seat in the car, or because he has to ride in the chair, or because he has to wear pull ups. All these thoughts are hard for him to sort through and understand. Please pray for understanding for him and for peace of mind. Pray that we will not baby him too much, as easy as that is for us to do, but that we will help him to return to being his age and feeling like himself again. Please pray for the therapist that God has already ordained for Jonathan. Pray that we can continue to touch people's lives with Jonathan's miracle story and be able to point people to the One and Only True God.

Saturday, April 9, 2005

There is no place like home! We have had an awesome first full day at home. Jonathan slept very well last night, as did the entire family. One of the kid's special things is to all camp out on mats in Dad and Mom's room on Friday nights. They usually read books and talk before going to sleep. The last time they did this was 4 days before Jonathan went to the hospital. Last night was Friday night and they all slept in our room together for the first time since then. Saturday mornings are sleep in days at the Cooper home and today was no exception. We all slept until 9 am, including Jonathan. We all had breakfast together and then had some friends over for lunch. This afternoon, we went to Toys R Us to spend some of the money Jonathan got while he was in the hospital. We went out to dinner and then came home. Jonathan did great all afternoon. He had his first shower using the shower chair and stood at the sink to brush his teeth for the first time. While we were out this afternoon, we had two people come up to us and tell us they have been praying for us. We are so excited to be able to share with people all that God has done and is doing in our family.
I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it is to be at home. I think I cried myself to sleep last night just praising God for bringing us home. Please continue to pray for us as we start out patient therapy. Pray for Jonathan's new therapist. Pray that he will connect with them and be willing to work with them. I don't know if we will be able to be part of his therapy. I hope we can, but that may not be what is best for him. Pray that we will have wisdom and that we will trust God for all the new things that are ahead for us. Pray that Jonathan will have a good attitude and that he will be able to do all that he is asked to do. Continue to pray for our potty training process. It is very slow, but we are making progress a little at a time. I can't wait to share with you all that God has in store for us. We covet your continued prayer support for our family.

Friday, April 8, 2005

I don't think there are words adequate enough to describe the joy that this day has brought to our family. We have dreamed of this day for 3 1/2 months. What a blessing it was to take our precious boy home from the hospital - again. We all woke up with tremendous anticipation of finally going home together as a family. Daddy, Elizabeth and Sarah came to the hospital early this morning. We saw them drive up through our window and on their way in the door, they were the first ones to ever see Jonathan standing at his window waving at them. We spent the morning waiting for everyone to get all their last minute paperwork and equipment ready for us to go home. We said our good-byes and thank you's to all the doctors, nurses and therapists, and were able to get pictures with most of them. We finally left to go home about 11 am. When we exited the freeway on the street that takes us home, Jonathan began to get more and more excited. It was so beautiful. As we got closer to our neighborhood, we saw signs that read, "Almost Home", "Praise God", "To God Be the Glory", and "Jonathan You Are A Miracle." As we rounded the corner to our home, we saw balloons everywhere and and a nice, big, colorful sign saying "Welcome Home Jonathan." All of our extended family was there when Jonathan got out of the car and walked inside to his own home. We went to every room in the house so he could see it and said hi to his dog, Sophie and his cat, Allie. After that we ate pizza and opened a few presents that were under the Christmas tree which is still up in our family room. We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying our family and just hanging out together. Mom fixed Jonathan's favorite meal of Shepherd's Pie for dinner too. All day long we just treasured the moments of being at home again together as a family. I remember telling the Lord early on that I did not want our old life back again. There were too many things that needed to be removed. All I asked Him for was to give me my family back at home again. He faithfully answered that prayer today.
Once again, thank you for all your prayers for us over these last 3 1/2 months. Please don't stop just because we are home. We need continued prayer for continued healing and strength for Jonathan as well as our entire family. We will start our new therapy classes on Monday, so please pray earnestly for our new therapist and for Jonathan's attitude and state of mind about his ongoing therapy. Pray that we will be patient as God continues to work His perfect will in our family's life and that we will wait on Him to show us His perfect healing in Jonathan. God is so good. Join us as we praise Him for His unfailing love. May all that we do bring Him glory and honor.

Thursday, April 7, 2005

Today was a good day. We started off the day with the Neuropsycologist. Since it was his last time, she let him pick whatever he wanted to do. He wanted to play a game of Chutes and Ladders, after that he wanted to do something new. She had a flannel board and walked through the story of the 3 bears and some nursery rhymes. After that Jonathan went back up stairs to get ready to go to the Dallas Zoo. He spent most of the day there and walked up and down stairs and around some places in the zoo. He used the monocle a lot and was able to see lots of animals much clearer. Elizabeth and Sarah came along and made the trip even more fun. After we returned from the zoo, Jonathan got his new walker that he is taking home. This caused much enthusiasm to get up and walk. Needless to say Jonathan walked quite a bit this evening. He also got a shower chair to help him with his showers. Tomorrow morning he will get the wheel chair, which we will rent for a little while. This will help with extra long walks and trips to Six Flags and other activities. Jonathan ended his stay with a fun day. We are so excited about coming home but know that there will be challenges to this phase of Jonathan's recovery.
Tomorrow will be COME HOME DAY. This will be the first time in 3 months that we will be together in our home as a family. We cannot wait and Jonathan talks about it a lot. We are asking that you wait until after this weekend to come by or call. We really want to get some rest and just be together and enjoy being together as a family. We really appreciate how you have responded to our request for pray and help and words cannot express our gratitude.
Again I would like to invite those in the DFW area to a Welcome Home Jonathan Service at our church. To get directions and information go to http://www.lakelandbaptist.org. The service will be on May 1st and should be a great day of praise and rejoicing for what God has done and is doing in Jonathan's life.
Pray for us as we enter the next phase of recovery. Pray for Jonathan's new therapist. Pray that we would be able to witness to new families at a new facility that may not know Jonathan's situation. Pray for continued wisdom for what God has for our family. Most of all give praise to God, just because.

Wednesday, April 6, 2005

After 14 weeks of being away from home, God has answered yet another prayer - On Friday morning, April 8, WE ARE FINALLY GOING HOME! I can't even begin to express the joy we have felt today after receiving that word. For a couple of weeks now, we have felt very strongly that it was time for Jonathan to come home. However, we did not know what the doctors would say until our conference today. We have been praying, as we know all of you have been as well, that God would make His will known to us very clearly and that it would be confirmed by everyone being in agreement with the same decision. We prayed last night with Jonathan that God would allow him to come home on Friday and we were prepared to ask for that in the conference today. As we walked into the room and sat down, we breathed one last prayer to God for this request before the doctor began to talk. Before we could say anything, he said that everyone was in agreement, and they all felt like Jonathan should go home on Friday. Isn't God awesome! When you get to the point where you must trust God for every detail, He will never fail to show Himself strong on your behalf. After we told him, there were huge smiles on Jonathan's face and excitement in his voice as he hugged us and said, "I can't believe I finally get to go home!" We have cried again today, but this time, tears of joy and we stand in awe and wonder of the mighty hand of God that has moved over our lives. All of the therapy classes went well today. Tomorrow we look forward to a day at the Dallas Zoo. He will get to hang out with all his therapist and have his therapy at the Zoo. Mom, Elizabeth and Sarah are going to go as well.
We hope that each of you realize what a significant part you have played in this experience in our family. God has heard every prayer that each of you has faithfully lifted up for us, and He has answered every one. All the emails, cards, phone calls, meals, house cleaning, money and everything else you have so graciously provided to us has completely overwhelmed us. There are so many of you that we don't even know and yet you reached out, encouraged us and held us up during the darkest hours of this experience. There are not adequate words to thank you enough.
Please don't stop praying for Jonathan and our family. There is much left to be done. Please continue to pray for Jonathan's walking and continued strengthening of his body. Continue to pray for complete healing of his brain, vision and diabetes. Pray for our family as we come home. We have been apart for a long time. Pray for our adjustment and that this would be a precious time of healing for all of us. Begin now to pray for our outpatient therapist. God was gracious to give us some wonderful therapist at Our Children's House. Pray that God will hand pick the therapist that Jonathan needs to continue in his recovery. Pray that Dad and Mom will have wisdom and patience as we care for him.
Although we may not update every day, we will continue to update Jonathan's progress for a while, so please continue to watch and pray. For those of you who are in the areas surrounding Lewisville, we would like to invite you to visit Lakeland Baptist Church on May 1, 2005 for Welcome Home Jonathan Day. We would love for you to meet our Jonathan in person, and it would give us the opportunity to hug you and thank you for your faithful support. For more information about Lakeland Baptist Church, you can visit their website at lakelandbaptist.org. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!

Tuesday, April 5, 2005

Jonathan had a good day today. In PT he walked up and down the stairs. Walking down today was a first and he did great. In OT Jonathan sat on the mat and knocked down some bowling pins by throwing a ball several different ways. He also had "Snack Attack" today where he made pudding. He also made some for Dad who got to eat it later. After that he had a new class where he exercises his legs. This was difficult for him and although he cried through it, he tried to do everything he was asked to do. After a very busy day we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and taking walks. Jonathan still talks a lot about going home and doesn't understand why he cannot. We are praying that God's will is done in this situation and are asking for peace until His will is revealed. Along that lines, tomorrow should be a interesting day. We have our cares conference and I am sure that the main topic of conversation will be his discharge date. We are going to ask that he go home on Friday (hey it never hurts to ask :) ). The weekends are really long and pretty much a waste. They are better with the outings but if we go out on Saturday, we spend all of Sunday trying to divert his attention away from why he cannot go home, it is all we can do to keep him from crying about it. Kristi and I have taken up duty spending the night for these last few days. All in all we cannot complain and we thank God for His provision in our lives.
Pray for our meeting tomorrow that we will be receptive to whatever is best for Jonathan. Pray for strength and endurance in these final days at the hospital. Pray as we move into the next phase of Jonathan's recovery, Outpatient therapy. Pray that God would get all the glory for what He has done and what He is going to do.

Monday, April 4, 2005

We started out the new week again very well. Jonathan is still sleeping great even without the medication. We had a restful night last night. In PT, Jonathan did some knee bends, knee lifts, balanced on his own and practiced on the stairs again. Today he was able to get his foot up on top of some of the stairs without help. In OT he lifted some weights and did arm exercises, took off/put on his shoes and socks and worked a puzzle while propped up on his elbows, lying on his stomach. He played a matching game on the computer with the Neuropsycologist and did pretty good remembering with the Speech therapist. Later on in the afternoon, Jonathan walked outside with his OT, sat on a bench and looked through the monocle and told us what he could see. After that, he went to his Memory group for an hour and came back to tell me a couple of jokes he learned. We continue to count down the days until we get to come home and Jonathan asks about it frequently. He is having a hard time understanding why Mom and Dad can't stay with him all the time until he goes home. Sometimes he talks about it so much he causes himself to get upset and cry. We have to work hard to try to keep him from getting to that point.
Please pray for Jonathan this week. It is important that he do his best, but all of this is difficult for him to understand. Pray for peace of mind, a good attitude and understanding for him. Pray that we can encourage him and help him push through this week. Pray for continued progress in his walking. Pray for the potty training process as we are making progress in that area each day. Pray for continued healing of his brain, vision and diabetes. Pray for our Cares Conference which will happen on Wed. morning. Pray that we will have wisdom and that God's will is made very clear to us. God is still at work. Pray that we will be content to let Him have His way.

Sunday, April 3, 2005

Today was a typical Sunday for Jonathan, typical for the OCH anyway. Last night they took Jonathan off the sleep medicine they had him on and he did fine. They are also taking him off another medication that he is taking. After that he will only have one more and he will be medication free. The rest of the day was eating, sleeping and taking walks. He is still asking about going home and I think he really is home sick. He also is asking if Mom and Dad can spend the night with him, right now we have a rotation of family and friends. Pray for us as we enter the last few days of Jonathan's hospital stay. We are all ready to go home and be a family again. This week on Wednesday we will find out if we are going home or not on April 13. Please pray for wisdom.
Pray for strength and endurance for Jonathan as he enters another week of therapy. Pray for us as we move closer to his coming home. Pray that Jonathan will understand his situation and be at peace until he comes home. Praise God for all He has done and all He is doing.

Saturday, April 2, 2005

We spent another wonderful day together as a family. It was such a beautiful day. We started out the day walking outside during PT and then did some exercises in OT to finish out our therapy for this week. After lunch, we spent the afternoon at the Science Place. We took the wheelchair, the leg braces and the walker and did some riding and walking. He did a great job and seemed to enjoy all the neat things there are to see and do at the Science Place. After that, we went to Chili's for dinner where he got to enjoy another one of his favorite meals - a corny dog and french fries. When we finished dinner, we walked around a couple of stores that were nearby and then made our way back to the hospital. Once again, he never seemed bothered by anything, nor did he get tired at any time. Mom and Dad were exhausted, but Jonathan handled everything beautifully. While we were waiting for Dad and the girls to arrive this morning, Jonathan and I had a couple of pretty deep talks. He was asking questions about his situation and trying to understand things about it, such as why he can't walk. I tried to explain things to him as simply as I could so that he could understand. He tries hard to understand, but his concentration level is still very small and he doesn't remember much of what I tell him. What he does remember is that God is healing him and that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. Tonight at dinner when Jonathan prayed, he thanked God for letting him live and asked God to make him better. He is such a blessing. We found out this evening that the doctor has suspended the order for his afternoon medication as well as his sleeping medicine. So tonight will be an interesting test of how he is going to do without medication to sleep. The last time he was off sleep medication, he cried all night long. However, he has come a very long way since then. This also means that Lamar and I will probably be staying at night for the last 10 days as he will not have any medicine to keep him from realizing that we are not there at night. He has become increasingly concerned about our being with him all night long and has a tendency to worry about it and ask about it all day long. On Monday, the doctor will probably suspend his morning meds which means we will be completely off all medication.
Please pray earnestly for us over these next 10 days. Pray that Jonathan continues to improve by leaps and bounds. Pray for his walking. Pray for his desire and determination to walk. Pray that he will not be worried or anxious about us not being there or about going home. Pray especially that he will be able to sleep without the medication. Pray for peace as he tries to understand what is going on in his life. Pray for us that we will find some rest and strength to make it through these last few days. Pray that we will have wisdom and discernment as we look toward a new phase of Jonathan's recovery. Continue to pray for the complete healing of his brain, vision and diabetes. God is not finished with us yet. There is more of God's glory yet to be revealed. Thank you for watching and praying with us.

Friday, April 1, 2005

We end this week and begin the month of April on a positive note. Jonathan was obviously very tired last night, but he slept well and woke up without any signs of the cold we thought he might be getting. He did great in his therapy today. He had PT and OT back to back which was not a problem for him today. He wore his leg braces for the first time today. He put them on and never complained about them at all. I was very pleased. It is amazing how much better they help him walk. He seems to be able to pick up his feet better, his knees don't lock and he is able to walk much easier with them on. He had a very good attitude about them and didn't seem to mind wearing them at all. He got new socks and tennis shoes to go along with the new leg braces, so that was the highlight of the day. He worked on getting down on the floor and back up again. This is very tough for him and still bothers him each time he has to do it. Other than that, he just walked around the gym and did some knee bends for PT. During OT he had to sit on a big ball and balance himself as he bent over to pick up some pegs and put them in the peg board. After that, he stood at a table while he played and won a game of Go Fish against Mom and his therapist. We had a good ST and did some good remembering and classification. The rest of the day was a typical Friday afternoon, not much to do. We are looking forward to our therapeutic trial outing tomorrow. We are planning on going to the Science Place and possibly the Dallas Arboretum. We should be able to get in a lot of walking practice at both of these places. Before returning, we will take him to dinner (not at McDonalds!). While tomorrow should be an eventful day, Sunday will be very long and uneventful. Pray that we will be able to rest and be prepared for the new week's challenges.
Pray that we will have an awesome day tomorrow. Pray for strength and endurance for Jonathan and that all of us would remain healthy and free of all the illnesses that are going around right now. Pray that he will continue to work well with the leg braces and that we would see much improvement in his walking. Pray for continued healing of his brain, vision and diabetes, and for peace of mind for him as we count down the days to coming home. Pray for wisdom and discernment for us as we make decisions about his continuing care. Pray that God will make His will very clear to us. Pray that we will trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and not depend on our own understanding. As we continue to make Christ known in this situation, we know that He will faithfully direct our steps. Our God is an awesome God!