May 22

Two days in a row. Woo hoo!

A quick update to let you know it was a wonderful day here at the ranch. After a quick flurry of last minute shopping in Merrillville (had to get an ivory dress shirt for the wedding - praise God it actually ended up being free - I had a credit at Men's Wearhouse that I didn't know about), we proceeded on to Miller's and picked up my sweetie (we being myself and Barb's mom, Mabel).

Once at home, our dog Max went goofy loopy crazy getting to see Barb for the first time in almost 7 months (which I think is a millennium in dog years). We had wienie wraps and baked beans for lunch and all enjoyed it (albeit, the company was better).

Barbara did quite well, and we had a great day. It was sad to return her to Miller's, but this is yet another milestone week.

It looks like we have wi-fi in our hotel room at Lexington for the wedding, so I will try to give you updates and maybe even a picture or two! Woo hoo indeed.

May 21 - Happy Days, Hoo-hahs, and Hope

The big week is here. The week that Barbara has literally been living for. It's been the goal before us and the culmination of years of prayer. This is the week of Jackie's marriage to Peter. This is both a wonderful and gut wrenching week. There are feelings of pride and trepidation. Feelings of fear of the unknown (how will Barbara do with all of this?), and feelings of immense happiness. It's interesting how you raise your children to one day fly, and when they do, it's both sad and satisfying. I've also been praying for Peter; I've prayed for him for as long as I can remember, despite the fact that I only knew his name in recent years.

Today the therapist trained me to transfer Barbara into our Honda SUV, and it went extremely well. So well, in fact, that we plan to bring her home tomorrow for lunch! That was a spur of the moment idea, but we are all tremendously excited. This will be her first time home and first time seeing Max (our dog) in almost 7 months. This is big stuff! This is the big stuff we've been praying!

Thank you for your on-going prayers and kind words.

This week, please pray for safety in travel,

Pray that Barbara will grow stronger every day, and that her endurance will increase with each day,

Pray that I will stay healthy through this,

And pray that all will go as smoothly as possible.

May 18

I've been needing to make this entry for several days now. For shame, for shame, for shame on me.

Barbara has been doing great! I think the biggest improvement I've seen is her emotional state. She has been so much more positive and upbeat. Late last week she and I were trained on "transfers" - moving her from wheel chair to, uh, regular chair. Next week we'll work on getting her into our vehicle. We will be doing so with a special belt designed by none other than Martha Stewart. Or maybe not.

Now for the really good news. The road has been cleared for Barbara to return to Miller's after the wedding. They have worked out a means by which this can happen and Medidontcare will actually pay. But wouldn't it be better news for her to come home? We both certainly long for that day, but her care and rehab needs still exceed my capacities as a provider. Barbara believes this to be a good thing; she has become quite upbeat about all this.

Please continue to pray that this will be the week that she walks,

Keep Jackie and Peter in your prayers for their impending nuptials,

Pray that the journey there will be paved with daisies and, I don't know. It's late. Make up your own metaphor.

May 14 - A Thousand More Words

Once again, I apologize for the length between entries. I never was a good one at keeping journals, and I now find myself busier than before.

First up, I want to share with you a pic from Mother's Day. We were blessed to have our beautiful daughter with us. Jackie will be graduating from Asbury Theological Seminary next weekend with her masters in counseling. Then, the next weekend, it's the big day. Her wedding to Peter. Barb's mother was also with us, and this picture is a 3 generation shot taken at Miller's. Hope you enjoy it.

Barbara continues to make miraculous improvement, albeit slow. I continually pray that this will be the week that she walks. Thank you for helping us carry this prayer burden.

Barbara is able to stand more and stand longer, with assistance, everyday. She is also gaining strength in lifting herself up. She is also making progress in her ability to transfer from chair to chair (with assistance). Her appetite has been good, too. These are all such wonderful blessings. Still, we realize things will be difficult getting her to Lexington for the wedding. Please keep us in your prayers... we will really need it!

Barbara was so excited to have Jackie come and visit. She looked forward to having Jackie see how well she's doing. It's always wonderful to have her here. But the irony is that you raise a child to one day be independent, get married, have a family of their own and realize their dreams and goals. But... when they actually begin on that part of their life, it's quite sad. Go figure.

As you pray, please continue to remember to pray big - that Barbara will walk this week,

Pray that she will make outstanding progress in these weeks before the wedding,

Pray for our financial state,

Pray for me that I'll stay strong (a combo of sinus headaches, allergies, and yet another ear infection are really dragging me down these days).

One problem forthcoming is that once Barbara leaves the nursing home to go to the wedding, medicare and insurance will not pay for her return (they believe that if she is well enough to leave even for a day, she no longer needs nursing home care). That means, as of the end of the month, she will be home and in my care. That is quite a daunting prospect. While we'll be glad that she's home, we're very concerned about her care and therapy. Pray that the Medicaid waiver goes through unusually fast - that would be a serious blessing, allowing for much more extensive care.