Jonathan Cooper Update

We have had a good week this week. Monday morning was as difficult as we expected it would be for Jonathan as we said good-bye to Sarah. What we didn’t anticipate was how difficult it was going to be for Sarah to tell Jonathan good-bye. She hugged Dad and Mom first, then hugged Jonathan and instantly started to cry. So we all pretty much stood there and cried for a few minutes. After she left, he did fine. We went swimming that afternoon and had a wonderful time. I have never seen Jonathan enjoy himself as much as he did swimming that day. Usually, I am the one who suggests we go swimming, but this time it was Jonathan’s idea. He swam at least 5 laps and he wore his mask and swam with his face underwater, holding his breath. He repeatedly jumped off the pool stairs and swam out to me and back. He has great breath control! He even started doing summersaults underwater again, which is something all of our kids love to do. He really swam great today. Tuesday was therapy in the gym. He walked 20 minutes on the treadmill and did side and backward walking as well. His backward walking is getting so good. He also did his squats and she worked with him on stepping up and down steps on his own. This is something he did very well in the pool, but it seems to be a little harder on land. After therapy we went swimming again, upon his request. We had another great time swimming. Jonathan swam his laps, did his summersaults underwater and started doing handstands and backward summersaults underwater as well. The old Jonathan who always loved to swim, never got tired of it and loved to try anything is slowly coming back again. It is so good to see. On Wednesday, we went out to Camp Copass in Denton to see Sarah and spend a little time with her. She was getting a little homesick so we decided to go help her out. When Jonathan found out that Sarah was homesick, he made her a present with one of his light up rings and $5 of his own money to give her when he saw her. We also took her one of her favorite blankets and the soft red heart pillow that she gave Jonathan while he was in the hospital. We had lunch with Sarah, went swimming with her and then got to hang out with her during her free time. We ended up staying a little longer because our car wouldn’t start and Dad had to go get a new battery before we could go home. But we had a great time just hanging out in the cabin (in the air conditioning!) talking with the other girls. They all had a great time visiting with Jonathan. After that, we came back and went to church that evening. Today, Jonathan had therapy in the office. We had another therapist who was filling in for Mrs. Dana today. Jonathan did some of his regular exercises on the ball and she had him do some other balancing exercises on there as well. Another thing he did was played a memory game while standing on his knees. He had to try not to lean on his arms and move back and forth on his knees. After a while he stood up while playing. He can bend over, reach and pick up the cards without holding on or losing his balance. She was a very nice teacher and he did a great job again.
Continue to pray for Jonathan. Tomorrow we get Sarah back and Saturday we say good-bye to Elizabeth. Pray that Jonathan will be able to handle another good-bye as well as he did with Sarah. Pray for Elizabeth as well, that she will be safe and will not get homesick. She is going to Arkansas so we will not be able to go see her if she gets homesick. Continue to pray for strength in Jonathan’s legs, ankles and feet. Pray that the right decision will be made about his braces and that he will get the ones that will be most beneficial for him. Continue to pray for his bladder control at night and his weight. We have had a really good week this week as far as the diabetes goes. His blood sugar has been very good this week and we are very pleased. Our appointment with the new endocrinologist is next Friday. Continue to pray for his ability to walk, function and do normal things on his own without much struggle. Even something as little as being able to walk in flip flops and keep them from falling off his feet is sometimes a very frustrating experience. Pray that he will continue to gain strength to pick up his right foot and not drag it. We continue to cry out to God on Jonathan’s behalf and we believe that there are still many great and mighty things which we have not seen that God intends to do in Jonathan’s life. Thank you for praying with us.