Jonathan Cooper Update

God continues to bless, and we have so much to be thankful for as we head into this Thanksgiving season. Jonathan is still doing so very well in every way. Last Wednesday, we went to Awana again, and Jonathan said more verses and passed a couple more sections. This was the last week Jonathan had Mr. Terry to hang out with and help him. We will miss Mr. Terry, but we know that he will be back before the year is out. We spent Thursday and Friday working hard to finish up schoolwork so we could have Thanksgiving break this week. Friday night and Saturday morning, both the girls spent time with some friends, so Jonathan, Dad and Mom just hung out together. On Saturday morning, Jonathan wanted to go to the school park that is at the end of our neighborhood. We haven’t been there in quite a while. It’s probably a good quarter of a mile to walk to, but Jonathan was determined to go and very sure that he could handle the walk. We made it there and then sat down for a rest. There was a handicap swing that Jonathan swung on. There are several slides on the playground, and Jonathan climbed up the stairs and slid down several of them. Some of them he came down faster than others! Jonathan played on the toys and even tried to hang on the monkey bars. That was pretty tough, but he tried more than once. After playing for a while and then resting for a little bit, we made the walk back home. The walk home was a bit tougher than the walk there, and his ankles were hurting quite a bit. But it was such a neat thing for us to do something familiar that we haven’t done in a very long time. We had a good day on Sunday. Jonathan went to Sunday School, choir, and hand bells, and we had a church- wide Thanksgiving dinner in the evening. On Monday, we took the girls with us and walked to the school park again to play. Jonathan wanted to go again, so we did. It was just a tough walking there and back, and his feet and ankles hurt just as much, but he wanted to go again. He did just as good a job this time as he did the first time, plus he had a great time with his sisters with him. We are spending some time getting things ready to have family over for Thanksgiving. Jonathan is getting better at helping with things around the house. I try to give him easy jobs that I know he can do so that he doesn’t get lazy and think that everyone else has to do all the work. Today was a special therapy because Dad got to come watch Jonathan run for the first time. He ran three times, each 1 minute at 4.0 mph. Last week he only made it 2 min. and 45 sec., so he was able to beat his record again today. Back in the office, he balanced on the bubble disc that is hard to balance on while we threw the ball and played the alphabet game. He worked on stepping up and down on a step and then walking on the balance line. All of this, he did without his shoes on. She also watched him walk and said there is no sign of hyper-extension in the knees. Next week we will meet with the lady who did his new braces and see what she might suggest the next step to be, but he is not ready to be out of these just yet. Maybe next year sometime. Jonathan is still struggling walking the balance line. That is such a tough thing for him. But we will continue to pray and work on it at home and during therapy.
Although there is not much that happened this past week to share, we are thankful for the good things that did happen. Just being able to live our lives outside of the hospital is a tremendous blessing that we are mindful of each and every day. Please continue to pray for Jonathan. We still face many challenges and struggles each day and night. Please continue to pray for his complete healing in his brain, his vision and his diabetes. Pray that he will continue to gain strength and stamina in his ankles, hips and knees. Pray that whatever is causing him to be off balance would be healed and we would begin to see improvement in walking the balance line. Please continue to pray for his weight, his eating, and whatever part of his brain controls those issues to be perfectly healed. Please pray for his mind to be at rest as he sleeps each night and that whatever is causing the continued crying so frequently at night will go away. Also, please pray for good health. So far we have stayed well, but I think he is showing signs of a cold this evening, so pray that it won’t be too bad. We have so much to be thankful for each year, but especially this Thanksgiving. As we approach the year anniversary of Jonathan’s illness in just a few weeks, I hope you will join us in praising God for the awesome miracles He has done in Jonathan, and for the blessing of life. I hope you will pray for our family as well, as I know it will be a blessed, but emotional milestone for all of us. Not only are we thankful for Jonathan’s life and the miracle of healing that God has done, but we are so very thankful for each one of you who have walked this journey with us. We are so thankful for each of your prayers that have carried us through and that have moved the hand of God on our behalf. We really are a most blessed family and we are humbled by it all. We pray God’s most precious blessings on each of you and your family this holiday season. Psalm 100: Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. 3 Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to all generations.

Happy Thanksgiving With Love from the Cooper Family.