April 28

This has been a very positive week and a very trying week all knotted up in a tangled wonderful terrible mess!

I'm happy to tell you that Barbara has made progress. Her arms continue to grow stronger, and she's happily crocheting and writing notes to people. On Friday, she more than doubled her previous time on her feet by "standing" for 2 and a half minutes. Then she did something she hadn't done before - she stood another minute. I should qualify this a bit by explaining that she stands with help at each arm and a third person in front holding a rolled sheet that is around Barbara's waist. Also, she is still having difficulty standing straight, and spends most of the time hunched over. I assisted with one of the standing experiences, though, and I can tell you I did very little to support her... she was mostly doing it on her own!

Earlier in the day Friday, she finally got to take a bath in a really nice whirlpool tub that has a door that opens, and seals shut. While the water didn't come up all the way due to her stomach tube that is still in place, it was still a great experience for her. The aids did a tremendous job helping her, including washing her hair (I was so grateful for how well they did cleaning up the wound area). Let me take this moment to highly commend the great job the aids have done at Miller's. Barbara continues to win them over with her smile and caring demeanor.

I'm also thankful that Barbara has been eating better. While the food situation is tenuous at best, she is eating well - especially when I bring her junk food. She has been much more cheerful, too. While she is still quite emotional about the challenges that lie ahead (particularly in regards to all the uncertainty about how we're gonna make this wedding trip work). She has also begun reading these blog entries so that she can get an idea of what the days were like that her memory has mercifully erased with help from the sedation. She has some bizarre memories that don't make much sense to her. I'm quite surprised at how little she actually does remember.

One big area of prayer relates to the issue of the new Medicaid waiver program that would be a huge blessing to us. It would be a HUGE financial help to us. It is believed that because of her young age, she will definitely be accepted. However, approval can take months, and we're a bit nervous about Barbara leaving the nursing home for the wedding. It's complicated to explain, so I'll just simply ask you to pray for a miraculously quick approval.

As for the tough stuff of the week, I would just simply ask for your continued prayers for our financial big picture. I'm feeling much more positive about things than I was in the last entry, but there are still areas of concern. But God has been sooooo good to us. And we are blessed with such a wonderful family... our family in southern and central Indiana... and our spiritual family here at GFM and beyond.

This week, they will begin to work with Barbara on "transfers"... learning to get out of bed and into a chair while holding on to someone and pivoting. Please pray that this will go well.

And pray for continued healing of her legs (pray that this will be the week she walks),

Pray that she will continue to eat well,

Pray for a remarkable month of recovery ahead before the wedding,

And pray that she will quickly be accepted on this Medicaid waiver program.

Keep me in your prayers a tiny bit too... I had an upper GI early this week to confirm a likely hiatal hernia. They say stress is a big inducer of this. Gee, I wonder where that stress came from!