Friday, April 28, 2006

Wow! It is already Friday afternoon and this is the first chance I have had to sit down and update on our life. This has been a very busy week for us. Thanks so much for all you prayers for us over the weekend. We had a good road trip despite the fact that I was sick with a stomach bug all weekend! It wasn’t bad enough to keep me in bed at the hotel the whole time, but it was bad enough to make me feel awful the entire time. But we did have a nice visit with almost all of the extended family that was in town for the special birthday celebration. The last time we were all together was on Labor Day weekend 2004, in New Orleans, LA at the lake house, 3 months before Jonathan’s illness. Only one of these families has seen Jonathan since that time, so this was a wonderful time for everyone to see the miracle that they have prayed for over the last year. As a matter of fact, that beautiful picture of Jonathan that you click on to open this website was taken on that Labor Day weekend while Jonathan was fishing at the lake house. When he saw Uncle James and Aunt Carol, the very first thing he talked about with them was how he remembered fishing at their place that weekend. It was funny that he shared that with them, because they had brought a new fishing rod and tackle box to give him when they saw him. He was completely excited about it and could hardly wait until Mamaw’s party was over so they could go fishing in the pond that she has on her property. And that’s exactly what they did. Dad went with him and I watched from the house since I was not feeling well. Jonathan was thrilled to catch a fish right off the bat! He caught 2 fish while he was fishing and had a wonderful time. We had a great time celebrating Mamaw’s 80 th birthday, loving on her, visiting with her and catching up on everyone’s lives. It was a short visit because we had to head back home on Sunday. Jonathan had his therapy with Mrs. Lori and his horse therapy on Tuesday. Mrs. Lori worked on his chest, down his mid-section and his tailbone. She also worked some more on his walking. He responds very well to verbal ques when he needs to make a change. After a while, he was making the changes without our having to say anything at all. I am trying to continue to work with him on the things she suggests and we are seeing improvement a little at a time. We also got to ride Skip in the afternoon. Only in Texas can therapy get canceled one week because it’s over 100 degrees, and the next week you’re wearing a jacket, hat and gloves to ride your horse! But we were glad to get back and see Skip. We all really missed going to ride him last week. Jonathan is doing very well in his riding. He knows exactly what to do to get Skip ready for riding, and he takes care of everything that he is able to do on his own. After riding around the trail, we went into the fenced area to work on his exercises. He is able to stand up in the saddle much easier each week. This week Jonathan had to stand up in the saddle using only one hand to support him. He did that well. I’m hoping that as time goes on, he will be flexible enough to stand up straight in the saddle. Right now he is still bent over at the waist when he stands up. This week, Jonathan asked Mrs. Tammy if he could make the horse run. So, I was on guard on the right side, a new girl named Bethany was on guard on the left side, and Mrs. Tammy led Skip as he took Jonathan on his first trot. Jonathan loved it! He thought it was totally cool! He never seemed scared, nor did he ever lose his balance. Of course, he wanted to do it over and over again, but after having to run around the ring three times, I told him we had to stop. Before we quit for the day, Mrs. Tammy had Jonathan walk Skip around, leading him and turning him all on his own. He did a great job of controlling Skip on his own. She is working on helping him get to where he can ride independently. Mrs. Tammy always comments on how straight he sits up on the horse, and she said he seemed much more confident this week in his riding. Jonathan is getting better at lifting his leg to get on the horse, but I still have to help him get it completely over the saddle. But this week, he wanted to try and get off without any help. I did not help him at all, and he was able to pull his leg back over the saddle on his own. Now he just needs to learn to control the landing! Anyway, we had a great time at horse therapy, and I think Skip was just as happy to see Jonathan as Jonathan was to see him. We are trying to stay focused on school as our year will officially be over in 3 weeks. Jonathan will continue to work some through the summer in order to get through as much of his 4 th grade work as we can so that he is prepared to take on a normal 5 th grade work load when the new school year starts in August. As far as sleeping goes, Jonathan is doing pretty well. He is still waking up off and on during the night, but we have not had a night where he wakes up every 15 minutes in several weeks. We are grateful for the improvement. There have been several nights in the last week where he has woken up two or three times and then I realize that it is almost 6 am which means he has slept most of the night. So I am hoping the worst is behind us and that we will continue to improve until this completely goes away.
Thank you so much for continuing to check on Jonathan and his progress. Thank you, most of all, for your faithful prayers for him. We depend on your constant prayers and we are forever grateful to God for the blessing of each of you. Please continue to pray for Jonathan. Pray for continued strength and good tone in his hips, legs and ankles. Pray that we will be able to continue to help him make progress in his walking, and that his balance will continue to improve. Continue to pray for his sleeping, that it will continue to improve and that soon he will be able to sleep through the night without waking or crying. Also pray for his blood sugar as we have had some difficulty over this last week keeping it within normal range. Pray that he will not be insulin resistant and that his body will utilize the insulin effectively to keep his blood sugar within normal range. Pray that we will have wisdom to know how to handle his diabetes management effectively and responsibly, until the Lord brings His healing. Join us in thanking God for His wonderful blessings and the improvements that we are blessed to see in Jonathan each week. We love you all. Have a wonderful week!

Psalm 28:6-7 Blessed be the LORD, Because He has heard the voice of my supplication. 7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.

No comments: