Jonathan Cooper Update

Last week was such a great week, but boy was it exhausting! Normally, we would have slept in and taken Saturday to recover, but we were unable to do that this weekend. At 9 am Saturday morning, we met our therapist and the Grapevine Ambucks which is the group of businessmen in Grapevine who provide the therapy bicycles. Jonathan was presented his new therapy bike along with about 7 other sweet children, all of which were extremely excited to receive their bikes. Jonathan was so proud and so excited to get his bike. He got a helmet and a teddy bear to go along with his bike. As soon as we were shown how to use it, Jonathan got on and rode all over the parking lot. The bike is an oversized tricycle with pedals for the feet and hands. It’s not a bike that you can pedal for a while and then coast the rest of the way downhill. You have to pedal at all times. Talk about some serious exercise! Elizabeth, Sarah and Mom all got on it to see what it was like and Mom will be the first to tell you that it is not as easy as it looks. It’s pretty tough to ride, especially uphill, but it will be great exercise for Jonathan. After we finished getting the bike, we went to have Father’s Day lunch with one of our Grandpas in Fort Worth. Jonathan was thrilled to show everyone his new bike and how well he could ride it. After we got home that afternoon, we took it outside and Jonathan rode it down the street, then he decided to ride all the way up the street and down the alley to park it in the garage. This was about 4 pm and it was extremely hot, but Jonathan was able to pedal himself most of the way up the street at a pretty quick pace. I was pretty impressed. Later on that evening, we attended a wedding at our church. One of the ladies there, our friend Mrs. Tammy, is a lieutenant in the Dallas EMT Services (I hope I said that right, Tammy). Tammy faithfully visited Jonathan every 3 days when she was on shift while Jonathan was in the hospital. One day, she took Elizabeth and Sarah in her truck around Dallas to some of the fire stations for a couple of hours. They all decided that Jonathan would get a ride when he got out of the hospital. She just happened to have her truck with her, so after the wedding, Jonathan got to take his ride with Mrs. Tammy in her truck. He got to see the lights, hear the sirens, wear the hat and everything. When he got home, he said it was pretty cool.
Today is Father’s Day. We are so very grateful for our Dad. Jonathan made his Daddy a Father’s Day card and said he was the best guitar player, computer guy, sound man and the very best Dad. Elizabeth, Sarah and Jonathan also gave their Daddy a very special gift. They, along with another family in our church who has two girls and a boy, sang the song, “Thank You” by Ray Boltz, together in the service. They all did such a great job and were such a blessing. As they sang, I thought about their Dad and how much he has given to the Lord, and how each of us in this family have been touched and changed by the life that he lives for Christ. I also thought about how much our children have given to the Lord, how they have touched and changed so many lives, and how thankful we are for each of them. What a blessing. Later on this evening after church, Jonathan received a visor hat from a man in our church. He is always excited when people give him things, and this gift was no different. He was still holding my hand when he got it and put it on. He turned around, saw his sister Sarah and started walking faster than I have ever known him to walk since he has been out of the hospital. This was so exciting to me because typically, when he holds my hand, he walks at a snail’s pace, which I don’t mind. But when I commented about how fast he was walking, he took off by himself and started walking perfectly at a very nice pace. I was so excited! It was awesome to see him walk so normally. There are times when I want to get discouraged about how long it is going to take for him to get back that independence that we once enjoyed at his age. But then the Lord blesses me by allowing me to see Jonathan do something new or something better than he has done before. Then I am reminded that He is faithfully working in Jonathan’s life, healing him in His time, and that His way is always perfect.
Please continue to pray for Jonathan. Pray for increased strength in his legs. He complains from time to time about his ankles hurting and I think it’s just because they are still very weak. Pray that he will receive good exercise and benefit from his new therapy bike. Continue to pray for his July 4 goal of walking independent of his walker. Although he has not used the walker in about 2 weeks, pray that he would get the approval of his therapist to be free of everything (including his security belt) and walking totally on his own. Pray that he will continue to attempt to do more things on his own. Continue to pray for his complete healing of his brain, vision and diabetes. You can also continue pray for his bladder control at night and that his eating and weight gain will level out. We are grateful to our Heavenly Father for is abundant blessings upon our family. We are thankful for our father and our grandfathers on this Father’s Day. We pray that God will bless all of you Dads who have faithfully prayed for us. Happy Father’s Day!