At Lynn's outpatient therapy session this week, we received a tiny bit of hope. Joan, his PT, asked him to try to point his toes. When he did, I believed I saw movement in his upper thigh on the left side. Joan was still talking to Lynn at the time so she asked him to repeat it while she put her hand on the thigh to see if she could feel the muscle contraction. (Therapists don't trust eyes; they trust feeling a muscle.) At this second command, Joan felt his muscle voluntarily conract. However, on a third and fourth try, nothing. So it is one of two things: 1. It happened but the muscle for lack of use, tired after the first two contractions or 2. Both of us wanted this so much we imagined the situation. Of course, we hope it is the first possibility. Lynn continues to do the exercises and visualizing every day to stimulate movement. We will keep you posted.
We also had our first post-Rehab visit with his paraplegia doctor - Dr. Annette Weller. We had a list of questions for her and she patiently answered all of them. Without going into detail - Lynn's biggest and ongoing challenge is NOT being able to walk - it is the paralysis of his bowel and bladder functions. Dr. Weller was able to give us suggestions on how Lynn could get some freedom from constantly dealing with this. She did say though that it could take up to a year before he could be totally comfortable with say eating away from home.
Lastly Lynn went to the Huskies' football game Friday night. We snuck in the back way through a locked fence. We were able to watch the game from our usual spot. By the third quarter, though, Lynn's legs were getting pretty cold and the team had the game thoroughly in hand so we headed home. It was the first time Lynn had attended a public event since the injury. One thing he noticed was how hard it is to have conversation with people who are all standing while you are sitting in a wheel chair. One plus is that babies like to sit on your lap. Julie Harvey's, Trent, sat there contentedly for quite some time. That pleased Lynn.
Lynn & Nancy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your dedication to this blog, Nancy! Social Media can be a great tool to spread the word (i.e PRAY!) and I am thankful for that. Bless you.
Lynn--it's been a while, but, if I may, I’d like to tell you that I have great memories and experiences that I learned while under your direction. Thank you for that. You were (are) a great encourager and supporter. Whether we won or lost you kept a positive perspective, & you held us to it. I recall in '91, we were favored (as if I need to remind you). Despite the season ending sooner than we'd liked, you weren't afraid to keep said perspective, but you also weren't afraid to show emotion. Thank you for that, for in that example you provided to me a very tangible example of what it means to be real, to be a passionate man. Thank you.
I am saddened about the situation you are facing. But I am encouraged by that same deep-rooted perspective as voiced by Nancy in this blog. Prayer isn’t just a cliché word offering lip-service to God. No, it’s the very essence and “relational reality” with which God includes us in His great Story! Prayer is such a powerful expression of God’s love to us.
The crowning point for creation is in relationship (God making a help-meet for Adam, etc.), and just as God wants us to engage with His story, we can do so with confidence that He is there and He is good. What a comfort. Even God’s people, the Israelites, over and over showed they couldn’t/wouldn’t trust God. Each time they would seemingly retract and reply to Him “What are we supposed to do, God?” His answer was always (my translation, LOL): “Be men of faith” and “Trust Me”.
Thank you for being a man of faith, Lynn. May your testimony increase His Glory. Blessings to you.
Continued prayers for you and your family—for healing and for a restorative peace.
Joining Jesus on the Waves,
tOdd Lindley