No More Loaner

Monday Lynn got his very own wheelchairs.  The power chair was care of the insurance company and the new manual was our purchase.  The powerchair brought some need for adjustments in the house. It is much bigger and needed more room for manuveurs so there was some more furniture moving this weekend.  It really helped.  Another cool feature is that it raises up and then tilts back so it acts like a lounge chair.  We haven't tried it in the yard yet but it is supposed to make it safer to travel on grass and gravel.  The down side is Lynn's lower back tightens up in it.  We are making some cushion adjustments to see if that helps.

I love the new manual because the frame is made of lightweight aluminum and is so much easier to pick up and put in the back of the car.

Tuesday Jody Seward helped me get Lynn's pickup to Eugene  to sell. Now we have to get enough money out of it to be able to get a van for Lynn to drive with hand controls.

Thursday was our doctor visit.  We are going to halt therapy soon until we see what return Lynn gets.  Dr. Weller said there are signs Lynn is still healing and this would continue for at least a year.  He is doing all the things he needs to do at home in a daily exercise program to keep his tone and stimulate his muscles and she said that is more important right now than once a week therapy.

His spirits remain pretty steady.  Saturdays are the hardest, though, because that is when he remembers the chores he used to do around the place.  If you are reading this, we ask for your continued prayers.  All of this will always call for strength and there is power in prayer.  God bless!

Out on the Town

We're getting braver!  Friday Lynn wanted to go to a used car lot to see how tall trucks are compared to his wheelchair.  Result?  Trucks out, cargo vans move up on the list.  He decided transferring in and out would be too hard on his shoulders over time.  The big thing for me though is that we went out of town.  We realized driving to Albany that the last time Lynn had gone this way was the ambulance ride to the hospital on July 10th!  Amazing!  Lynn also went into his first store in a wheelchair while we were in Albany.  He was the only disabled person we saw. 

Then on Saturday he took the plunge and attended an indoor event - the girls' varsity volleyball game.  Each of these steps is important to his reintegration into society.  He is not quite so nervous about it now and he realizes being with others really helps him deal with what has happened. 

Tomorrow is a big day.  His own wheelchairs are being delivered. No more loaner chair that hurts his back!

Down but Not out

Last week I wrote that Joe and I both saw Lynn move his left foot several times.  When he went to therapy this week, however, he could not repeat this for her.  Did he move it? We believe he did. We'll keep you posted on this.

On the up side this week I can report progress on the bowel and bladder front.  Lynn started to take a probiotic once a day (this is the bacteria you find in Activia for an example) and a super enzyme at every meal.  This has really aided digestion and cut down on some of the problems Lynn was having.  He has a ways to go but this week was a positive step in the right direction.

Lynn is also beginning to take steps to get back behind the wheel again and achieve some personal independence.  He contacted a broker who will look for a buyer for his Mazda pickup.  Saturday I cleaned out the bed of the truck and vacummed the inside.  We plan to go and look at used trucks this coming weekend to see which ones, if any, he feels he could transfer into.  We have our eyes on Ford Rangers.

Your prayers keep us going even when we get shot down.  Thank you for your persistence!  Nancy

PS  The Gospel at Mass this week was about the persistent widow.  It is becoming my favorite!

New Reason for Hope

I was in the kitchen Friday morning and Lynn called for me to come in to the bedroom.  "Watch my left foot," he said.  "I think I am moving it."  Now I had heard this from him many times before but the great news is that this time, he WAS moving his left foot voluntarily.  I watched him do it three times and I screamed for Joe to come downstairs and Lynn moved it for him too!  The movement is a small one but definite - no tricks of the eyes!  Lynn said also that he has felt his left top thigh muscle move since that time at OT and he was pretty sure he had seen the foot move too.  He was ready to test it by calling us in.  He is being very unemotional about it because he knows he may be told it doesn't mean a whole lot.  I, however, have sensed his body is continuing to heal.

I am the one who positions his legs each night in bed and there have been other signs.  His right leg has begun to have a small amount of feeling and to involuntarily spasm - a big change from pretty much nothing during rehab.  It also is warmer than it used to be.  If the right is waking up, you have to think the left must be too.
Anyway, please keep praying.  I just remember Jesus in Scripture admiring the persistence of the widow with the judge. 

How is Lynn Doing?

This is a question I get asked so many times per day and I find it hard to know how to answer.  On one hand, we are adjusting amazingly well and are slowly but surely doing many of the things we used to do before: attend church, go for walks, work around the house, laugh, etc. But on the other hand, there are continued struggles with issues of paralysis that seem daunting.  For example, it is hard to imagine Lynn ever getting to eat anywhere but home ever again.

As you can tell this week our days were dominated by food - is he eating the wrong things?  too much? too little?  not at the right times? too spicy?? too greasy??  They made bowel management sound so easy in Rehab - the reality is something different.  So our strategy this coming week is twofold:  a food diary and research.  Please pray we can get this worked out because Lynn's freedom of movement is at stake.

So.. when you ask me how he is doing I am probably going to say he is hanging in there because the real explanation is just too hard to explain.