Monday, August 1, 2005

It is hard to believe that it is already August. We have been out of the hospital almost 4 months now and we are so blessed by the progress that Jonathan has made during this time. He continues to improve every day. I don’t think I have written in a week, so let me update you. Last Tuesday, Sarah had a friend over all day, so we went swimming again. Jonathan did a great job of swimming. He absolutely loves to swim and works very hard without even knowing it. Wednesday was a pretty low key day. It rained here so we stayed home all day, which we haven’t had the opportunity to do for a while. On Thursday, Dad took Jonathan to therapy and watched him work out in the gym. Jonathan beat his treadmill record by walking 25 minutes and increasing the speed to 1.8 for the last 10 minutes or so. He also did his side steps for 2 minutes on each side and walked backward for 3-4 minutes. He also did his squats and Dad was very proud of him. On Friday, we were up and out of the house by 8 am on our way to Cooks Children’s Hospital in Ft. Worth for our new endocrinology appointment. It took us an hour to get there, but we were blessed by everyone we had to deal with there. The endocrinologist at Cooks do things differently than Children’s so we ended up spending 3 hours talking to different people about Jonathan’s diabetes management. We talked with one nurse practitioner about changing his doses from set doses to figuring them on a unit to carb ratio, which we feel we are ready to do. After talking to him a while about all that Jonathan has gone through, we felt like we were visiting with another believer. That was great. The next nurse practitioner we talked with shared with us that she was a Christian and she really affirmed Jonathan and the plan that God has for his life. That was very cool. There is one test called the A1C that he has to take every time he goes. The first time we went for a clinic visit, they did it in the office with just a finger stick. We found out that our insurance does not pay for the one in the office, so we had to go to the lab and have blood taken. This is the first time that Jonathan has ever had to do that. As soon as he was aware of what he was about to have to do, he instantly became fearful. Jonathan was so blessed when he was in the hospital to have all his IVs out and all of the major hurtful things that happen to you when you are in the hospital, they all happened to him while he was in the coma, so he does not recall any of them. What an awesome blessing from God! His diabetes management consists of a small drop of blood from his finger and a very small thin needle shot that does not hurt. So taking blood was the first major thing he has had to deal with. He was very brave and walked in the lab room without any objection. The nurse began looking for his vein and had a hard time finding one because his arms are so much bigger now. At that point, I began to worry that it would take more than one try, that it would be painful and that he would have a horrible experience. So I had him look at me and I basically talked his head off until she was finished, and he was completely unaware that she had done anything! Praise the Lord! I can’t tell you how proud of him I was. After our visit was finally over, we went to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch with Grandma Smith, Aunt Susan and her kids. Jonathan was on his feet for a pretty long time, but he never complained about being tired or needing to sit down. We spent the rest of the day at Grandma and Grandpa Smith’s house. Later that evening, we walked across the street to visit one of the Grandma and Grandpa Smith’s neighbors, Mrs. Bonnie. We visited with her for a little bit before Jonathan decided to dominate the conversation. I think he talked to her for about 30 minutes straight! He was extremely conversational, which is something we have been begun to see change in him recently. He showed her how he could get down on the floor and get up again. He told her he would be happy to come to her church and preach for her. He told her he was going to be a missionary and preach the gospel and that all of his family was going to come with him. It was such a joy for all of us to watch him share so much with Mrs. Bonnie. On Saturday, we got our whole family back. Elizabeth came home from her mission trip and we got to spend the rest of the day together. We had a great day at church on Sunday as well. Jonathan continues to interact with people more and more with each passing day. Last night, we sat for a long time and listened to Jonathan preach to us about his life, what God wants to do with him when he gets older, how he wants to preach, how he know that God has healed him and is healing him every day. We just sat and listened to him talk on and on. We are so blessed. This week, every evening, the kids will be going to Fine Arts camp which is a camp where they will learn music, art, drama, handbells and who knows what else. Sarah and Jonathan will be going and Elizabeth will be going to help Jonathan again. Hopefully, this will help prepare him for Sunday, which is promotion Sunday, when he will begin going to his classes on his own.
Please continue to pray for Jonathan this week. He is doing so well! We are so thankful for his progress. Continue to pray for strength in his legs, ankles and feet. Pray for increased endurance and stamina. We have seen and increase in his endurance over this last week. Pray for him as he goes to Fine Arts Camp this week and as he prepares for the new adventure of going back to classes on his own this weekend. Continue to pray for complete healing of his diabetes, vision and his brain. He shared with us that he knows that God is going to heal him and he prays about that every night. Pray that God will straighten out his feet, or provide the braces that he needs to help with that. I would ask you to pray for Lamar and I. We are facing some difficult decision in several areas of our family, and we need wisdom and provision from God. We are praying, believing that the same God who heard our cries for Jonathan and delivered healing to him, will hear our cries again and bring deliverance and provision for the needs facing our family. Please pray for Elizabeth and Sarah as well. Pray for protection for them and pray that we will be as sensitive to them and their needs as we are to Jonathan. This has been a very difficult year for them. 2 Chronicles 20 is an incredible story of a people in need, and of God’s provision and victory in their lives. We are claiming this promise from God for our family. Thank you for interceding for our family.

“You will not need to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you…Do not fear or be dismayed…for the Lord is with you.” – 2 Chronicles 20:17

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