Comment from Ginny, a TBI survivor

This is a comment that was sent to me-for David- from YouTube, because for some reason it couldn't be posted in the comment section on this site. I tried too and it wouldn't let me. Anyway, I loved the comment and it's great to hear others finding hope through what God has done for David, and to be able to offer prayer and support to those who also have to go through difficult times. So I really wanted to pass it on...

To David,
I have been praying for Mark Lamberth from CA who just had a brain injury from a dirt bike injury and is in Mission Hospital in Orange County when I saw your sister Christa's post telling them about you to give them hope. She urged them to watch your video's where it documents your injury and recovery. I pretty much cried on and off through out the 4 videos.

In September, 2005, I had a TBI at work. I can tell you that I could NEVER compare my injury to yours EVER. I have had 3 surgeries to repair the damage as I ruptured all 4 balance sacs and damaged 2 centers of my brain and a portion of a 3rd. The 2 surgeries weren't that successful but the 3rd one, I was so hopeful which turned out to be a nightmare. 6 days after I had a virus on my brain and they had to put me to sleep to heal. I am told that it is a miracle and I am very lucky because even though I have some great deficits, I didn't have to learn most skills over. So I know I am truly blessed. For about a year everyone walked on egg shells with me. They want to do another surgery but that one was more than I could handle and I lost alot of hearing, so I have dug my feet into the ground and refuse. They are not pushing me but tonight the Dr said that a 4th is probably in my future.

I feel like my vision feels worse. My ears hurt all the time and the SOUND that I have to deal with is getting louder. My patience is very thin these days. Any stressful time doesn't help. The holidays I suppose arent helping. I am tired and I hate my therapies. I have cognitive 3x a week. She's a doll though. If I have to stay in bed, she just does something for me in my room and lets me lay flat in my bed. Honestly, there are days I can't pick my head up and then there are days I think, wow, there's nothing wrong with me. Until I turn and my get dizzy and almost fall.
The cold weather of Jersey I am sure isn't helping because I am noticing that I do so much better in the warmer weather.

They won't let me back at OT, Vision and Vestibular therapy and PT because I had a very bad bout of Mastoiditis - fluid in my mastoid bones because where they cut in the surgeries. I was deaf almost a week - that was clostophobic!!! But they haven't cleared me yet and I feel like I will be unable to go thru it again.

Watching your videos were perfect timing for me. I have no one who cares enough to push me. Most of the time I feel alone because I don't have the family support you do. They watch the kids for me but since I don't look like I have anything wrong - they forget. The scriptures that your family placed in the videos, the music and watching your success has given me hope. I wear a hope ring on my left hand. The hope I thought I never gave up until this week, I realized I have given up. I wish I could just lay down and sleep and not do any more therapies. I'm tired.

I am going to watch your videos and pray that HOPE comes back into me, watching your recovery. Like I said....I've been alone - It's like I needed a kick in the behind. Thanks for the kick in the behind!!

I don't share with many people because I don't want them to look at me differently or think poorly because I know I have come a LONG way. I know. I may not have the video documentation like you do. But I know how far I've come. I just forget that - Hey, we are working on that in cognitive therapy - my memory still is poor but every day I surprise even myself.

Thanks - sorry so long. I would get yelled at that I didn't take breaks!! But I forget that too!!

May the Lord continue to give you strength and I thank HIM for directing me to know you today!!

I think its just the holidays. They are hard. I feel misunderstood most of the time.

God Bless You ,

Ginny New Jersey.

October and November, 2008

…Notes that I wrote during the time that I didn’t have anything posted....this blog HAS been on my list of things I needed to do! So, I have been taking notes on what I've been doing in each therapy for you all to read. That way you feel more “in touch” with the progress that I continue making...

10/08/2008
Alive Day - My family had a party for my one-year anniversary. It was amazing to see how many people still cared, and came to show their support. (Even though I haven’t been posting stuff on the blog!) My sister made a movie of my past year. We showed it on the big screen in the family room. It was an eye opener for me to see where I came from and how “pathetic” I was back then. I just hope that it gets out and gives other people with TBI hope. No matter how bad you are, there is still tomorrow, and there’s always a chance of getting better than you are at the moment.

10/17/2008
Meeting with Dr. Kim - My mom doesn’t think that I should move far away. She doesn’t want the situation of me going to Turkey to repeat itself. My mom says she wants me to be on my own, but thinks that we have all learned a big lesson by Laura and Brian moving away from the family. We miss them, they miss us, and would do anything to live by their family. She thinks that I could move to Loma Linda or Redlands, buy a house for the same payment as Palo Alto’s rent, and do outpatient therapy at LLVAH. It would be cheaper and closer to family where I can get some support. Later, when I am through with rehab, I could move anywhere I want.

10/24/2008
Cognitive Training - We reviewed one thing that I did yesterday. Checked the to do list and schedules
Took a quiz on a movie called “Peaceful Warrior”.

10/24/2008
Meeting with Dr. Kim - Dr. Kim says I need to change my way of doing things. I need to have more structure in my daily life! I thought I realized this. I wasn’t coerced into thinking this AT ALL!!! I’ll be getting twice as much done if I do this!

10/28/2008

Healthy Transitions Class - Almost fell asleep, did some progressive relaxation techniques. You close your eyes and count to ten. Or you imagine doing something that is really calming for you, like going to the beach. It is a way to teach yourself how to be completely relaxed when you get stressed. Or as I think of this, a way to have an acceptable reason to fall asleep in class/therapy!

10/31/2008
Cognitive thinking - We started writing a letter to the head hauncho guys in engineering to let them know what needs to be changed at the hospital. For instance, it is very confusing trying to find your way around the hospital if you’re just arriving there! Now that I’ve been around for a while, it isn’t so confusing anymore, except for building 100. Which I STILL find myself getting lost and turned around in! BUT what’s the good thing!? I can always find myself a way out! There’s something (just about everywhere) that in some way looks somewhat familiar to me! So I’ll just keep following the similarities until I get to a point where I know right where I'm at!!!

11/10/2008
Veterans Day - Visited my mom’s school and talked to a couple 5th grade classes about Veteran’s Day. I felt like a movie star, dressed in my uniform and everyone staring at me. It felt really cool but really weird to have people pay so much attention to me. I’m not used to people paying attention to me like that! I’m not one of those guys who just crave attention and live off it. But at the same time it was pretty cool to have that happen and I can see how people think it’s cool and get addicted to it in the end. It's a pretty powerful feeling to have.

11/11/2008
Recreation Class - Talked of plans for the holidays. Discussed our ski trip, dates, and who we were bringing. It is the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month…Veteran’s Day. Being that, now I'm the ROQ (recreation officer of the quarter) I am having to do A LOT more stuff than I normally might have been doing. This is one of the “leadership roles” for the PTRP program. The other one is the POM (personal objective manager). I have no idea what it stands for. All I know is what you are supposed to do while you are it! You’re the one who leads the “community meetings”, where all of us “trainees” get the chance to talk things over with the staff. I'm also supposed to keep the room pretty quiet while other people are talking. At first the staff didn’t think it could be done very well, mainly because nobody else has done it, ever! But I just took that as a challenge to be the first!

11/14/2008
My presentation - Dr. Scott asked me to share my sister’s movie about myself. I showed the movie to the staff and families on 7D. After it was over, an Air Force girl with a TBI came up and told me that it had really touched her and gave her hope. Which REALLY IS the only reason why I agreed to let it be made and why I agreed to show it to everyone in 7D! I don’t know why they have been calling it a presentation! It's not like I was making a public presentation of anything special or anything that people could buy or anything! But if it gives someone hope that they could make something out of the rest of their life, and can produce some sort of hope/dreams in people, then I am completely sold on doing this!

11/17/2008
Hippo-therapy – Sharon (my hippo therapist) kept telling me to keep my left heal down, which is a problem for me. It doesn’t want to go down. She reminded me repeatedly of my posture and wanted my hands to be even from my elbows to the bit. She made sure that, my wrists wouldn’t get out of line, by putting a dowel rod between my wrists in each hand, and told me to try to keep it steady and straight. Cowboy, the horse, had a mind of his own today. He kept doing things that I didn’t ask him to do… When I told him to turn left, he just kept walking straight. He is a stubborn little horse! My therapist wants me to always ride Cowboy because she thinks it will teach us both a lesson. Cowboy will learn to do what the rider wants, and I’ll learn that things won’t always go my way! …Which I refuse to admit!

Speech – We talked about my distractions, which are: open windows, doors, anything that makes noise and distracts me. We talked about ways to stop them, like closing the windows or doors, and asking people to stop making noises.
We talked about me sharing my movie with counselors at De Anza Community College. I might do this, just to give them some background information on how the T.B.I. works, more like just a baseline...
Also talked about showing the staff/therapists the Kurzweil program. But the CD does just as much teaching as I would do, so they might as well watch it.

Speech - I read an article to Marlene, Speech Therapist, with a paper as a guide for the line that I should be on. The paper helped but I don’t need it much. It took a couple of seconds off my time but not much.

Cognitive Learning Class - We learned Paired Association to memorize words:
It is easier to pair 12 words together, and associate the two together, than to memorize 12 random words. Because then if you hear one of the words you were trying to remember, it’ll give you a hint at what the other word is! For instance, orange and bowl. You could picture the football game tournament, the “orange bowl”. If you can remember one of the words in the pair, it is more possible to remember the other word! So it’s easier to remember six pairs of words than a list of 12 words.

11/20/2008
ARG (Adjustment Rehab Group - We gave examples of times we should have used “assertive behavior” (in-between when you should have been passive and confrontational in a conversation). You express your true feelings, but don’t let others take advantage of yourself. You state the problem and what you want. Or as we learned it with the acronym: EPW= Enemy Prisoner of War = Empathy Problem Want. The reason why this acronym worked out so well for our group is because we were all in the military!

11/21/2008
Hippo Therapy - My hippo therapist is always telling me to keep my shoulders back and up, and sit to up straight. This time, she didn’t have to tell me at all! I showed her!!! AND ME!!!

Healthy Transitions - Before my accident I used to sleep less. I guess in a way, this was “less healthy”. I didn’t have a “set” time that I would be in bed. I didn’t have the “want” to wake up early, or the ability. IF I woke up early, then I would feel like my day would be ruined.

2 Interesting Facts:
1. Even mild TBI’s lead patients to have less restful, lighter sleep, often affected by awakenings
2. Sleep problems can make rehab harder, and time consuming.
(and WHY would we want that! Rehab is already the HARDEST thing I've done in my ENTIRE life!!!

November 23, 2008

November 23, 2008


I am continuing at the polytrauma rehab program in Palo Alto. I'm in phase 2 now, and in the next phase, I'll be able to move out on my own. One place I'm considering is at "Shenendoah", a military housing place about 15 miles away from the VA Hospital. I would be coming back for outpatient therapy still.


Right now, I am working with the therapists on the driving simulator, and that is going pretty well. They say that I still have left-sided neglect, and that I keep slowly weaving to the left side of the lane. I can't figure out why, but I am trying to compensate by driving closer to the right side of the road. Hopefully I'll be able to drive soon. Yippee!


I have been working with Smita, the OT, on learning how to get around town and to the airport on the bus. This last week, she was off so I worked on "hippo therapy" again. Those two therapies are on the same day so they conflict and I have to trade off between the bus and the horses. "Hippo therapy" is actually on horses not hippos as someone would think! At hippo therapy, we ride on horses, and weave in and out of cones on the track. We work on balance. One time they had me ride up to a cone, pick up a heavy ball, then continue weaving on the track, and place the ball on the third cone down. One person walks with me, the side walker, who's always there. The therapist stands a distance away and tells you what to do. I ride for about 45 minutes twice a week. It is really fun and relaxing! It's really nice to be outside too.


In Speech Therapy I have been testing a lot.


Physical therapy is in the am. at 7 AM. I tend to be the only one who attends! Usually I do a cardio workout for 20 minutes or so. Then I work out on both legs and stretch out my left arm on the door. I put my left arm up on top of the door and sink my hips down as far as I can. My left arm is slowly getting better. I also carry around a "grip squeezer", that I had from Loma Linda OT, and work on it with both hands. I've been bike riding a couple of times, and am cleared to ride on campus with a therapist, but not by myself yet.


Vision Therapy is going pretty good. I work on a program called HTS. One game, I wear 3D glasses and look at a computer screen to find a box. I have to answer which direction the box is from the X in the center of the screen. It gets progressively harder to see and find. There is also a game/therapy where you look through power lenses, that you hold up to your eye, and figure out which direction the "C" is facing. These games both work to strengthen my eye muscles on different kinds of vergence, base in and base out. Once again, slowly but surely, my eyes are progressing.


In Keep It Cool, a group class, we learn how to focus our anger and keep our cool. When we start to get angry, we do some deep breathing to relax the tension or count to 10, (or 100)!


This weekend: Friday night, a group from the high school came in and helped us wrap som Christmas presents. Saturday, I went shopping with the a rec therapist and another patient, Mihntri, to the Apple and Verizon Store, and then to a Japanese garden in the San Francisco area. On the way home we ordered some pizza. Today, I went to church with Glenn and Sharon (volunteers at the VA) to the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and then to brunch.


Sorry for not posting this sooner. I have been writing things down for awhile to update this blog and keep you all posted.



David

Tribute to David...1 Year Later

Hey! So our family has been working to collect videos and pictures of David throughout this last year, and we compiled into a (kinda) short, 34 min. video (4 parts). We used the verses you all gave to us through the blog, that helped us get through those awful days. We also used the songs from the blog too (I still can't enough of them). Anyway, please check the videos out and pass 'em along so David's experience isn't in vain. We know that God had a reason for David to have to go through this, and if it's to tell the world about His grace, love and miracles, we're not gonna pass up on the opportunity. We've witnessed a real live miracle (a thousand times over), and we thank God for David's life! You can watch them straight from the blog and here are the links in case you want to pass them on :o).

Part 1/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFd4U9W5Kq8

Part 2/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnnZ3I1DLqU

Part 3/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npDHKlkzfNI

Part 4/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fcN4qRzzAE



God is Faithful!
Laura

Tuesday September 23rd

so I know we haven’t done this whole writing in the blog to keep you guys updated in awhile… and for that I must say, I'm regretfully responsible for...but any ways, now: I’ve started back up at Palo Alto again...I’ve been here, for maybe two months, maybe!!!...but this time so far it has been great for me so far, both career-wise AND, I’ve been able to see a bunch of people back here, I think the only ones I haven’t seen are the couple of the nurses that ended up leaving here after I left...but its soo remarkable coming back up here and seeing them all again! This may be a different program I’m in, but I still get to see everyone at some points throughout the week! but, since it’s a new program, it’s like I have taken three steps back just to take the next step forward!.... because back when I was here in 7-D(the more intensive care in-patient wing)I had just about all the freedoms I wanted! Like I could go out and walk around freely and not have anyone be following me to make sure I don’t get lost! but at first when I 1st got here, the nurses had to follow me around to make sure I didn’t get lost, (which I understand, it’s just for my own safety) but it’s just really weird! And annoying! So now, I haven’t been told that I could walk around freely by myself, but I just do it any ways! but ya, ne ways, so far, I have had ALOT of fun, just seeing people that were here before and meeting new people, for instance, a few weeks ago, I met this retired coronal in the A.F. and he is going to be setting up a digital photography program and he wanted some of my help, and since I’ve taken 2 years of it high school, it may have been a few years since I’ve dealt with that stuff, but it’s kind of like riding a bike, (which I did before I came up here for the 1st time!!! That was sooo cool!!! I’m actually going to be doing a long bike trip soon! It’ll be from San Fran.-L.A. I went to aspen Colorado from Sept. 14th-19th there we’re going to go on Monday when we get there; we are going rafting down the Colorado River, which was a total blast!!! Besides the fact the water was freezing cold! Then, on Tuesday, we’re going to go to a ropes course and horseback riding where we were able to get the horses to trot before and after we went on the trail! And on Wednesday...we were doing the exact thing I didn’t then after that a few weeks from now; we’re going back down by my hometown in southern California, San Diego! When we’re down there we will do more beach type stuff, like sailing, some kayaking, and so on. But I am going to be getting my license back, I think/hope, here so that I will be able to get out a this place when I ask to leave before hand and get a pass to leave, and I also want to see if I can get a military house type thing, there’s this place called shanadoa...and there is a long waiting list for that...but, I guess if you talk to the right people, that really helps a lot! So hopefully I get at least on the waiting list for that...

July 8, 2008

July 8th, 2008
I put this on my myspace for those of you that have one.... if not, then here it is:
So I was at church last Sunday, which was the best service I've ever heard! The pastor asked us if we would die for someone? Then he asked, would you still do that if it were a painful and gruesome death? That got me thinking. You know what, that’s true, and almost completely changes the way you look at it! Like would you be tortured to death for someone else? I was thinking, good point, would I go through what the Jews went through in that war just so someone else could live another day? Then he told this story of a military guy that was going through Vietnam. The other guys that were with him, but behind him, ended up having a grenade thrown in and land in the middle of them all. So, he decided in a split second to jump on the grenade and absorb the full force of the grenade! And I mean, how many people would be able to do that? Without thinking, but to just jump onto the grenade and suck it into their stomach! Now THAT is a TRUE friend!!! Not just one that acts like he is your friend, but actually IS your friend!!! Now, THAT is a noble way to go right there! I don’t care who it is! Or what they’ve done in their life! I mean he could have done the worst thing imaginable to me, but STILL I would feel so horrible for that, that I would live my life like it was his life. And just do things that he would like. So would you do that for anyone? And not just the grenade thing, but also just going thru something HORRIBLE just so that some person could live another day? That made me think about why I'm in the military. Would I really do that for everyone in the US? I thought about that real hard for the last few days, and you know what? I hope I would! I mean even the dirty bums on the side of the road! Would I die so that they would be able to drink another jug of alcohol? And you know what? They may just be doing that, but at least they’re doing SOMETHING! Anything is better than being dead! Well hopefully.... just think about that for a couple days!

June 25, 2008

Hey today we went BOWLING!!! But I had the worst game EVER. I got one strike and one spare.... but the strike that it gave me, I just threw the ball 15 mph! And it just gave me a strike.... I only knocked like 3 pins down...but for some reason it gave me a strike! But I got like a 40 something and a 50 something...Now I have an emotional management class, which is a stupid class! But yesterday I had a presentation class which is where you give a speech and do some research for the speech you're going to be giving. Pretty much it's one of the retarded classes that I have. Next, I had O.T. where we played the wii, which was fun! Then I had "menu planning" which was just a few of us get to make ourselves lunch. We ended up making beef stroganoff, which luckily one of the ladies knew how to make it; otherwise I’d have been screwed. Then today I had P.T. with a guy named Matt and one of the techs named Karen, which was fun. I had to do a bunch of push-ups and sit-ups. I did about 100 push-ups and probably 150 sit-ups! I had to switch in between, like do push-ups then rest till I walked over to the bench where I would do the sit-ups, so I have a little resting in between, but not too much....



Put this video on my blog. It’s the craziest video ever! This guy does a back flip on a wheelchair.
aaron fotheringham

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

so today was allight... i woke up a little late bc i didnt have an alarm on my phone to wake me up....but i made it to my first therapy on time! and when i was in there i met the coolest person that they have here! her name is carrie and she in the AIR FORCE!!! so thats half the reason why we hit it off pretty well. (shes married.) she has been in the Af for 8 years. her hubby is in the AF also. but ne ways shes pretty cool to talk to and hang out with.
but also i had to wipe down the lil padded beds with disinfectior stuff. but i had to do that with my left hand which was pretty complicated, but i did it! i was kinda suprised that i could do it but i just kept telling myself if i get my left arm working again then there will be no stopping me! lol and im down for ne thing that does that faster. so if you have ne ideas please lemme know.

Monday, May 5th, 2008

so since my parents arent on top of my blog like they used to be im going to have to do my own on here..... so, i dont know where they left off, but now im at casa colina, over by my house. its in the city of Pomona. its alright, but i liked the VA hospital in Palo Alto ALOT better! i guess ill just have to get used to this new place too. but its all sooo confusing how to get around and remembering where everything is at. so that sucks! AND there is this guy there that bugs the hell out of me! luckily God has given me enough patience to deal with him. as much as i have been tempted to just hit him, i have resisted to the best of my ability! this guy wouldnt even know that i cant stand him! im THAT good at what i do. but ne ways, new topic. the therapy there is pretty cool. the other day i actually ran! there was one of the few hot therapists behind me, pushing me to get up the speed. it was still slower than what i could have done b4 the accident, but hey! you gotta start somewhere. so as long as she is behind me pushing me the whole time ill be able to run. which i wouldnt mind, bc she is hott! but ne ways today i went kayaking in balboa bay. i was surprised that i could still do it! a couple of times i told my dad, who was with me, to stop paddling so i could do it alone. then i told him to paddle on the right side so i could paddle on the left and work out my left arm. other than this nothing has really happened except that while i was on my 30 day convalescent leave I got my old job at the movie theater back, which i guess the Air Force isnt supposed to know about.... so dont tell them. ill try to update you all as often as i can, but no guarantees. Also, let me know if its a good idea for me to post this, otherwise ill have to complain to my parents to start their job back up again. but its harder for them to know what to put on there bc they have to talk to me and get the information bout my life and what im doing.

David

Friday, March 14th, 2008

It is so great to have Steve and David home. I realized when they showed me pictures of the staff and friends at Palo Alto, just how much I miss them. They have played an important part of our lives the past few months. What great people, friends and professionals, they are! Thank you to all of you there for your warmth, kindness, friendliness, and medical advice that put David where he is today. Thank you God, for your promises to be there with us through the hard times and give us your healing and peace too. The journey isn't over, I know. But as I showed David off at work to another family of friends there, it was exciting to see the disbelief on peoples' faces of how great he is doing! David helped me at school, testing students' fluency and correcting Math Tests that have been sitting around for a couple of weeks! His cognitive skills seem to be doing great! He continues to be motivated to do things by himself. Continue praying for him to be motivated to work on his therapy homework too! I can tell this will be a challenge. Actually, he did lots of them today. We're going to hike tomorrow at the Santa Rosa Plateau I think. I'm excited to take him bike riding at the beach on the 4-6 person bikes soon too. (I'm not so excited to try to put everything away that we brought home from Palo Alto!) Wow, how can you leave with two overnight bags 5 months ago, and come home with 3 car loads full of stuff! LOL. Patty

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Today was the best day EVER! I got to go to school with my mother and talk to her students, and they asked me a ton of questions. It was soo cool. I answered to the best of my knowledge.... I was surprised at how they had so many questions for me. (Tomorrow I get to get up at the butt crack of dawn and go to school with her again.) Then to finalize the perfect day, I got to go to my old movie theater I used to work at and talk to the managers. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like I'm getting to work there again! That's going to be so awesome! My parents think that during the 30 days I’m away from the hospital I should be relaxing and not exerting too much energy to do anything hard. So I had to tell them that working there again would be more relaxing than anything. Plus, it’s a great way to see all my friends again! What better way to see them than to work with all of them again? So, I’m really excited for this. Not only will I be getting paid by the Air Force but I can make a little extra side money working at the movie theaters. I’m going to be rolling in the dough pretty soon....hopefully there is even more to come on the way! What a great story this is going to be for me to tell my kids.
David

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

David has spent two 1/2 days visiting the PTRP (polytrama transitional rehab program-or something like that) program here at the Palo Alto VA hospital. He will visit the program again tomorrow morning, and then he will have something to compare the program at Casa Colina (in Pomona) to. PTRP is located down the winding hallways of building 7. The patients live in dorms (some live in their own 'off campus' housing) and have classes and therapy all day. It is a very individualized program, and addresses the specific needs of TBI patients.

David had to sign papers for the 'Med Board' to decide what they are going to do with him. He could be 'permanently' or 'temporarily' medically retired or sent back to active duty. The latter is his choice, and he composed a letter explaining this to the 'board'. We have been very busy with phone calls, paper work, running around and planning. As anxious as we are to get home, there is a lot to do before we leave.

David continues to have a great attitude, even if sometimes the jokes take precedent over the therapy!

Steve

Monday, March 3rd, 2008 (posted late!)

Patty flew up on Saturday AM, and Davd and I picked her up and drove down to Felton, to check out the steam train at 'Roaring Camp and Big Trees'.

David's old youth pastor, Travis, lives there with his wife Annette and their 3 kids. We stopped in to say hi, and it was good to see the whole family. We got to meet Travis' parents (they happened to be up for the weekend) as well. Felton may be the perfect place to live. It is nestled among the redwoods, but only minutes from Santa Cruz and the beaches. I know that my cousins, Doug, Ellen and Greg, will beg to differ with me, as they have their own bit of 'redwood heaven' north of Eureka. I'm also sure that 'normal' people can't afford to live there.

At Roaring Camp, we rode the steam train through the redwoods. It was very pretty, and a step back in time. We experienced what a turn of the century logging train was like.

On Sunday we relaxed and then shopped at the Outlet Mall in Gilroy. It was sad taking Patty back to the airport, but we will be home in just over a week.

Steve

Friday, February 29th, 2008

It feels like we are winding down up here in Palo Alto. David improved so quickly for about two months, and everyone was amazed. Now the improvements are no less important, but they are more subtle. We are now refining his gate, so he has a more natural walk. We are practicing walking up and down curbs, on grass and other uneven surfaces and lots of stairs. David and I got to go to a Golden State Warriors basketball game at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. The $75 seats were donated to the Recreation Therapy program at the VA. The arena is right next to, and shares the parking lots with, the Oakland Coliseum, where the Raiders and Athletics play. We walked a long ways, through crazy crowds, up and down hundreds of stairs, did the side step walk down the row to our seats (I had visions of David tumbling down onto the court), and he did awesome. The only problem that he had was ordering Nachos and a huge Churro, and then wondering how he was going to carry it back to our seats with one good hand and a cane.

We have another week and a half up here, if things go as expected, and then we will drive home where David will spend 30 days on 'convalescent leave'. He will have regular therapy, (we don't know where yet) but can also enjoy some 'R & R' with family and friends. After the 'leave' he will go into a 'transitional' program where he can receive more advanced therapy.

Patty is flying up tomorrow morning, (the VA is paying), and the three of us will visit the redwoods, and have all kinds of fun. She has to be back early Monday morning to teach her fourth graders, so it will be a fast weekend, but we have missed her a lot and it will be worth it.

David will visit the 'PTRP' program, right next door to his 'ward' next week. It is the Poly trauma Transitional Rehab. Program, and is the next step in his rehabilitation. We are leaning towards the transitional program at "Casa Colina" in Pomona, but this 'visit' will help David compare the two programs.

David still has his wisdom teeth extraction scheduled for Tuesday, March 11th, the day that we were supposed to leave for home. We will stay an extra day, to make sure that he is ready for the long drive home. The Vicadin should help!

The 'winding down' process is quite busy, and we would appreciate your prayers so that we don't forget small details, and that all of the paper work get filed correctly, and on time. We just had to resubmit a 'Power of Attorney' paper to get the last of David's things shipped back from Turkey, as the first ones did not meet the standards of the Turkish government. He still has a surfboard, snowboard, boogeyboard, computer, TV, and who knows what else over there.

Steve

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

Wednesday (and a half) Feb. 20th, 2008

David had another full day of therapies, a dental appointment, and a "ceremonial bike ride around the hospital". Yes, David may have to have his two remaining wisdom teeth out, and the bike ride kicked off the start of a "soldiers bike marathon" ride from Palo Alto to San Diego. David wanted to go the whole way but his therapists suggested, "maybe later".

Did I forget to mention 'Wednesday Night BINGO'? David now has around 85 one dollar coupon books that he can spend at the hospital store or snack bar. So far he has only bought a couple of muffins. It is hard to find time to go shopping!

David continues to tease the therapists. Luckily they are used to him by now, and they get him back.

Steve

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

So, I took the liberty to add the CORRECT photo, that my dad forgot. And it's to remind David, in case he should forget also, that we were really there. The whole weekend. David, if you try hard enough, you'll remember too.

Ha Ha! Love you! And we wish we were there!

Laura, Brian, Brea and Bryn

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

Lots has happened since last Wednesday. We all got to go home! We left Thursday, after David's last therapy session, arriving in beautiful Riverside at midnight. Our house was still standing, and in good shape, thanks to some awesome friends and neighbors.

We had an appointment on Friday morning to visit Casa Colina, the rehab hospital in Pomona, which is about 45-60 minutes from our house. We took the whirlwind tour, and left confused. It is a nice facility, and the Transitional TBI program looks very good, and it is 5.5 hours closer than Palo Alto. David would live there, but we could bring him home on weekends. However, David has grown fond of the Palo Alto VA, and enjoys his doctors, nurses and therapists, and they also offer a transitional program. So, we will have to make a hard decision.

On Saturday lots of David's friends came over and hung out. Even some of mine and Patty's "old" friends came over (Patty had not been home for 4 months) and it was fun to see everyone.

After church on Sunday we had a family picnic (and some more of David's friends) and it was great catching up with everyone.

On Monday David and I drove back to start our last three weeks here. As we were pulling up to the hospital David said "this is wierd but I'm kind of happy to be back". It has been a strange 'home away from home', and the people here are great!

Tuesday was back into the grind, with breakfast at 7AM, and therapies starting at 9 and ending at 4PM. There were many comments on how much David has progressed, even from last week. It is a testament to the Lords grace, lots of faithfull prayer, David's drive, and the skill and love of the staff here. We really have 'gratefull hearts'.

Steve

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

David keeps improving in so many ways. He walks better, is so much more self sufficient, has so much more drive to be 'normal', and he continues to 'crack us up' with his humour and his great attitude.

He had a good workout with the massage therapist (who is also a chiropractor) on Tuesday, and then we went on a roadtrip to Santa Cruz, which has 'heavy' memories for us because that is where David's cousin, (Jay Moriarity) grew up. He learned to surf there, and was trained by his neighbor, Frosty, to surf Mavericks, one of the most awesome big wave spots in the world. Jay was on the cover of Surfer Magazine for his heroics at Maverics.

Jay died tragicaly in a diving accident in the Maldives Islands , off the coast of India, and hundreds of surfers gathered to "paddle out" and celebrate his life. We were all there to participate and experience the love and respect that the entire community had for Jay. It was the expression of gratitude for a life spent in the search of excellence in 'big wave' surfing, and for being a 'good guy' to every one that he met. There can be a lot of competition, animosity and violence among surfers, and Jay (though he was one of he best) always welcomed others with a smile. He was unique, and that is why he is still remembered fondly in Santa Cruz (Surf City USA), as one of their finest.

The 'Surfing Etiquette' sign that is posted at Pleasure Point is in memory of Jay.

We walked to the end of the Santa Cruz pier, ate shrimp, and then walked in the sand. It ended up being a great PT workout for David.

Steve

Monday, February 11th, 2008

David had an exciting weekend, as Kelli and her mom, Rose Manning, drove up from Riverside to spend the weekend with David. We all went to Monterey on Saturday where we toured the Monterey Bay Aquarium, ate on the pier and had a lot of fun! David walked forever, sometimes without his cane. He pushed Patty and Kelli in the wheelchair that we thought he might need. He commented that Kelli was easier to push, which didn't sit well with Patty. Since David's left arm isn't as strong as his right, the poor people on his left side got ran over. But it was a learning experience. After the aquarium we met Travis Osborn for dinner in the Felton area. He is the best youth pastor ever, and just happend to be David and Kelli's pastor. We had a great time talking and praying with him over Mexican food.

David had a busy day on Monday, with all his therapies and another vision test, (he needs glasses for distance), and we were up late visiting in his room (he has the biggest room in the ward) with several of the other patients, listening to their stories about Iraq. They had been shot at, mortered, RPG'ed, IED'ed, etc., and still they did not regret their time served for their country. They all suffered TBI symptoms like David, and one was also blind. Their lives have been totally turned upside down. It gives me a new definition of dedication and patriotism. I'm proud to have met these young men, and to have heard their stories first hand.

Steve

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

David had an appt. with ENT this afternoon. They said that they could "revise" the scar on his neck, from his trachea. While talking to the head surgeon, we were told that because of the way David scars easily, that it might end up being an uglier scar. Some of the outside scaring attatched to the inside, his vocal chords (?), and so there is an indentation on his throat, especially when he swallows. To shorten this story though, we will wait until we are home and can get an appt. with ENT at Loma Linda Hospital.

In the evening David came over to the Fisher House for a bowl of ice cream after we talked him into making a special bracelet with the guests. After David joined, other guys participated too!

Monday, February 4th, 2008

Check out this boy and his eating! I count four cartons of milk, several boxes of cereal, and a Monster! David has lost around ten pounds (which I have found). The nutritionist came by at lunch today and gave a lecture about eating his vegetables and fruit along with his sugar. He followed her advice and ate some of the carrots and orange slices. Then, back to his room to eat a couple of donuts. Ooops, she walked by and caught him downing them and gave another lecture about eating healthy and healing (good thing he ate his veggies and fruit in front of her.)


During RT, David dribbled the soccer ball around, bent down and picked it up, and had some fun. We all took a walk over to the main hospital, had David ask for directions, and find his way back to Ward 7. He did great. Richard also let David walk by himself on the grass!
After therapy, David and I went to the DMV to get a temporary Handicapped Parking Tag. We were taken to the front of the line and out of there, with the tag, in 15 minutes! The advantages of being disabled! Patty

Sunday, February 3, 2008

David, Jason, Steve, and I went to a predominately black, non-denonminational church today. It was great! Again, David practiced walking (in the pouring rain) through mud, up and down curbs, up stairs, across the aisle, and in a crowd of people. He did great. (Still un-nerving for me though as I watch each and every step he takes. I watch his feet, he watches where we are going!) Anyways, the pastor was fantastic and the people were friendly. We shopped at Costco for a short while, then had their pizza for lunch.

In the afternoon, patients and family at the Fisher House, watched the Super Bowl in the dining room. Walmart brought over two 50" HD screens, lots and lots of Chicago Pizza, appetizers, drinks, desserts, and decorated the room. It was pretty exciting, especially when they gave away prizes at each quarter, and grand prizes at the end. There was a 5 way tie for 1st place, so they drew names. David was one of the winners, and went 3rd to pick out his prize. (The 2 televisions went first and second.) He chose the surround sound, DVD, Ipod contraption! Walmart wants to continue these activities, I'm wondering if we should ever leave! I am going back to work the end of February though. The school district has been great giving me 40 days of catastrophic leave time (plus sick days and off-track time) to be with David. I don't know what I would have done without that. Now that he is getting more independent, I feel more comfortable leaving him here for the last 3 weeks of his rehab before he comes home. Doctors are still looking at him leaving March 11th from Palo Alto! He will have 30 days home with us before going to the next phase of rehab. Steve is leaving Monday morning for Riverside. On the way home, he will stop in Pomona to see Casa Colina's rehab facility. Pray that God would tell us the best place for David. I'm wanting him closer to home, so I'm a little biased. :-)
Patty

Saturday, February 2, 2008

David had a weekend pass to the Fisher House, which meant that we could practice taking care of him all by ourselves again. Well, that didn't really happen. We were subject to the new rule that patients couldn't stay overnight at the Fisher House. However, we had fun anyways. We took David and another patient, Jason, out for breakfast at Denny's. Then to the movies to see "Over Her Dead Body", a Mexican restaurant, and Best Buy. It was fun but nerve racking too. I have never noticed so many inclines, declines, curbs, different textures on the ground for him to walk on and over. He walked everywhere with his cane and did really well. He has a "gait belt" that he wears under his jacket that we hold onto in case he loses his balance, which he did a few times but no falling! We joked about how many times it would take for me saving his balance, to make up for me missing him when he fell backwards last week! He won't let me live that down! Back home, we played some cards and then left him in his 'luxurious' room at the hospital. (His room that is larger than ours at the Fisher House!)

Patty

Thursday and Friday, Jan. 31st and Feb. 1st, 2008

David continues to improve, and he graduated from a 'large four legged cane' to a 'small four legged' version. Today he traded in his one day old 'SFLC' for a 'one legged' model. It is not as sporty as David was hoping for, (it has the arm brace attached to the top end), but it is faster than the 'LFLC'. Most of the time he wouldn't really need the cane at all, but he does occasionally lose his balance slightly, and then it is a life saver.

David's therapies continue to 'push' and 'strengthen' him. His good attitude is nothing short of amazing. He buttoned his jeans and put his socks on 'one handed' for the first time today. We finally found time to take him out for the 'Krispy Kreme doughnuts' that he has been craving.

A couple of common symptoms of TBI are struggling to remember certain words while talking, and being indecisive when presented with choices. David has an amazing vocabulary, and he talks smoothly, and remains his opinionated 'old' self, for which we are really thankful.

We appreciate your continued prayers.

Steve

Monday-Wednesday, January 28th-30th, 2008

Some video from the past three days!

David has had an amazing few days.

Monday, January 28th. David had a ENT appt. to find out if there was any damage to his trachea before speech works with him on his voice. (Today we heard that there is some separation that causes an airy sound, and makes him tire easily when he talks. This is fixable though.) In the afternoon, the dr. gave us permission to take David to San Francisco for dinner. What a blast to get him out of the hospital, out of the city, and by ourselves with him. We went to the Blue Mermaid Chowdar Bar for some great food. We ran out of time to see some of the sights, and will have to return again.

Tuesday, January 29th. (Happy 2nd Birthday to Brea, who is now a proud big sister). Aquatic Therapy was exciting and fun, as you can see on the video. David walked all the way to Optometry, in Building Five, for an eye appointment. His vision has changed and may need glasses, but we will try some eye exercises first. He is getting very confident while walking with his quad cane. Sometimes, he picks the cane up while walking several steps, and laughs! He finds it very funny to scare me to death. In the evening we came over to the Fisher House and made some cookies together. We are really starting to work on independence. OT assured us that David should be getting dressed totally by himself, even if it takes 45 minutes to start with. They also want him walking everywhere now with his cane. The wheelchair is just about out the door.

Wednesday, January 30th. Awhile ago, David and I made a guess at when he would be walking by himself. One of our predictions was the end of January! Today, he walked many steps without anyone holding on, and without a cane! What an amazing moment. We also practiced walking with his cane, on grass (and was it soggy!), up and down hills/ramps, and up and down stairs. Se (PT) thinks David is ready for a regular cane since he only puts the front legs down anyways. I was learning how to walk with David on the stairs, when he fell on his butt. It was a scary moment, but he was fine. It really showed us that he is still needing someone with him. We were also gettting too confident about his mobility.

This afternoon, we had a chance to meet with several of the guys in the Polytrauma Rehab Program, which is one of the places we are considering for David. It looks like he will finish this phase of rehab in March. Then he will be have a 30 day convalescent time at home. After that he will return to a Transitional Living Program either here in Palo Alto VA, or Casa Colina in Pomona. It was exciting to hear about the program and what the guys liked about their program. Tomorrow, Steve and I meet with some of the staff to discuss their program. Please keep this in prayer, as we plan for the next step in his rehab. Thanks, Patty

Saturday and Sunday, January 26th and 27th, 2008

Saturday David worked more on his legs and arm/hand with PT and OT, and since those were his only therapies, we went out in our own car (for the first time) to see some local sights. Our first 'sight' was the Verizon store, where David upgraded his phone. His old phone was shutting off whenever it felt that the conversation was getting good. He walked in with his 'four legged' cane, and I was behind him, just in case. Then we walked into In-N-Out, and ate lunch. When we got to Mervyn's we decided it was time to break out the wheelchair. Do you realize how close the rows are in these stores. Not wheelchair friendly at all. He got a couple pairs of jeans, and we were good to go. It was real fun getting out on our own for the first time.

On Sunday David's only therapy was PT, and Chris stretched and exercised David's legs before he had him walk a lot. He was trying to perfect David's 'gait', and would say things like, "take smaller steps, keep your feet wider, keep your feet wider". It will take a lot of sessions like today, but I know that he will get the walking thing down, and soon will be walking without needing someone to 'spot' him .

After therapy six of us, including Rebecca the rec therapist and David, all went to the movies and saw "The Bucket List". It was nice getting out again, and the movie was good. The fact that Justin and David are both 'patients' and itching to get out of the hospital, like the characters played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman was sort of strange. I would recommend the movie.

Please continue to pray for David's recovery, and for wisdom in deciding where he should go next for his rehab.

Steve

Friday, January 25th, 2008

David was stretched and pushed and pulled by Se and Carrie all morning, until they let him kick the soccer ball around. They were trying to strengthen his ‘trunk’ and leg muscles in order to improve his balance, walking and posture. If he wouldn’t talk so much maybe they could actually get him to break a sweat. He was asking them about the good movies that are out right now, and as they were going on about the good ones, the bad ones and the ugly ones that they’ve seen, David was just ‘coasting’ along. He seems sort of innocent, but he is a sly one.

He also met with Georgette, OT, who made a new brace to straighten his left wrist more, and recreation and speech therapy. His sergeant from Travis AFB came by to help with some military matters. We went to the Fisher House for a free Mexican food lunch, and had Mexican food for dinner, provided by recreational therapy. I’ve always thought that there is no way to have too much Mexican food, so all is good.

Steve

Wednesday and Thursday, January 23rd and 24th, 2008

Yesterday David walked a ton with Se using the 'four legged cane'. We went all over the hospital as well as outdoors, where we walked up and down ramps and stairs. It was a very good workout, and David did quite well.

With rec therapy we went on an 'outing' to the Stanford Art Museum, and saw some very interesting art and sculpture, including "The Thinker".

Today David had "aquatic therapy" for the first time, and I was real impressed with the workout. Lots of stretching, exercising and aerobics.

We finally got a 'military' power of attorney done, so that he can get the rest of his 'stuff'' shipped from Incirlik AFB in Turkey to Travis AFB, California. He has a computer, TV, snowboard and surfboard, and who knows what else over there.

Steve

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

We thought today was an exceptional day. David started PT with a new therapist (Debbie) and they stood between the parallel bars while I rolled a soccer ball at him and he kicked it back with either his left or right leg. The right was stronger, but the left was working. I think that she was there to ‘spot’ him if he lost his balance, but several times she walked away and left him standing there with just his right hand on the bar. It was cool to see him just standing and ‘chilling’.

She then had him walk with a ‘regular’ walker, unlike the ‘other’ regular walker that had a raised support for his left arm. This required that he hold on with his left as well as right hands. He did it very well, with the therapist mainly there to ‘spot’ him if needed.

Then, spurred on by his mastery of the ‘walker’, she had him try a cane that had four little legs on it. These are much more stable than a ‘normal’ cane, and David was walking all over the place with it. Pretty darn exciting! He still had the therapist right there beside him, but I bet that it won’t be long until he’s ‘cruising’ the halls on his own. Then it will be the ‘normal’ cane, and then I’m sure he’ll be walking unassisted. It is an awesome thought, and I have no idea how long this will take, but I believe that it will happen.

During OT, Georgette worked on his left shoulder and wrist. She had ‘heat’ on his shoulder, and stretched his wrist. During Recreational Therapy, Richard had David doing activities that forced him to move his left shoulder, arm and hand more than ever. He was picking up a small ball with his left hand off of the floor (he was sitting in a wheelchair), and transferring it to his right hand, he was passing Richard candy with his left hand, (Richard made out pretty good), and when therapy was over David ‘high fived’ him with his left hand (sort of). I was impressed with his progress, and realized that his left hand will become an important ‘tool’ again.
Then, right before dinner, a doctor announced that they were going to pull out David’s stomach feeding tube, or ‘peg’ as they call it. They gave David two pills to relax him, and yanked it out of his stomach. I really expected something more, but the Doctor just strained, grunted, and the tube just popped right out, flinging ‘who knows what’ around David’s room. They laid the tube on a sterile, absorbent pad next to David, so he picked it up and more ‘whatever’ got all over his shirt. Then the doctor and nurse walked out and left everything lying there. It’s cool! The best thing is that the last ‘thing’ is out of him, and he is ‘untethered’. It was a very exceptional day!

Steve

Sunday and Monday, January 20th and 21st, 2008

Happy Birthday Laura and Dad! Welcome to our new grandbaby Bryn (17th of Jan.)

Sunday was laid back, David still had 4 women visitors to hang out with, and his only therapy was PT in the afternoon. They played 'Mancala', a game that they bought David. David was able to beat Ashley a couple times, but Jerra beat David, so I guess that makes Jerra the Ultimate Mancala Warrior of All Time. But she didn't win anything, so who cares? Every so often David would think of something different that happened in Tijuana, and Jerra would deny it, and Mardi would get more 'upset' at all of them. We would all laugh at David's seemingly 'selective' memory. If he tries to use his 'Memory Loss' from his TBI as an excuse, don't buy it. He's milking it for all it's worth! He asked if Kelli's birthday was after his accident, and then said " oh good, I have an excuse for not getting her anything". Ashley, Jerra, Mardi and Lisa stayed until PT, so they could watch David in action. He was stretched by Mitch, practiced balancing while standing between the parallel bars, and finally walked with the 'cool' walker. At first Mitch tied stretchy bands to David's feet, which pulled his feet outward slightly to compensate for his tendency to 'scissor' walk, but the last half of his walk was without any aid, except the walker.

Today was totally quiet, with no therapies, so David spent most of the day hangin with me in the Fisher House. He spent most of his time on the computer, catching up with some friends on his
MySpace, texting, and calling. It was almost like the old days at home before he went into the service.

Steve

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

Another great day. We had visitors from Riverside, David's old friends, Jerra and Ashley, along with their mom's, Marti and Lisa. David enjoyed hanging out with them all and reminiscing. He even got Jerra in trouble with her mom when he brought up some stuff that took place in Tijuana. We all laughed a lot and the hospital might not be the same for a while.

David walked in PT, and got a new brace for his left wrist in OT.

I've added some photos and videos of David's visitors since the accident. We didn't have photos of some of you, (sorry), and some of you wouldn't pay our 'blackmail' demands so we've posted your 'incriminating' videos. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time and expense to travel long distances to see David. I want to know if the General was also Santa Claus.

Steve

Thursday and Friday, January 17th and 18th, 2008

Thursday David came to the Fisher House (across the street from David’s building, where Patty and I live) for the first time. It was a training exercise with PT and Otto teach us to help David transfer himself from his wheelchair to the couch, chairs, bed, toilet or whatever. We all passed, which means that David can come over here and hang out after his therapies.

David was also taken off ‘constant observation’ status. He no longer has a nurse posted in or outside his room, so if he needs anything he has to use the call button. It is working good so far, but the danger can be that he might be so confident that he would try to get up by himself and fall.

David is now on the ‘regular’ diet, so he actually gets a choice of what he wants to eat, and it won’t be pureed, chopped, diced or thickened.

David has been kicking butt at BINGO, winning 25 books Wednesday night and 8 more on Thursday. He has amassed 57 $1 coupon books that he can use to purchase things at the VA. That cold buy 38 muffins from the canteen, or…?

David helped Rebeca (one of the Recreational Therapists) plan and order the pizza for the Friday Night Family Food Frenzy. I guess, since he used to deliver it, he was as much of an expert as any one.
David is so fun to talk to now, and it is great to hang out with him. His sense of humor is amazing, but he has his share of deep thoughts as well. Tonight I am praying that he sleeps through the night because he has been waking up in the wee hours of the morning and can’t go back to sleep. If you have received a phone call or text message at 3 AM then you know what I am talking about. I think that I mentioned that David got to talk to a couple of Air Force friends from Turkey a few days ago, and that really made his day. Thanks guys!

Steve

P.S. Sometimes you have to look back to appreciate how far you have come.

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

David walked a lot in a new fangled walker. This is the apparatus that he has used with the treadmill, but this time they took it on the open road, where he supplied all of the power. We went out to lunch, yes David got to leave the hospital in a car for the very first time, with Richard, the recreational therapist, to a good Mexican restaurant. David had to order, figure out the tax and tip, and pay by himself, so it was a re-learning experience as well as fun. Georgette worked with his left hand, and we are seeing much improvement. And he smiled all day long.

Steve

Monday and Tuesday, January 14th and 15th, 2008

David walked on the treadmill yesterday and today, for 15 and 22 minutes. I think that a few days ago he walked for 10 minutes.

Yesterday David got botox (spelling?) shots in his left arm and leg. He gets a tummy tuck tomorrow. Actually, the botox is to relax the muscles on one side of his arm (bicep) and leg, so that the other side (triceps) can be exercised to the point of being equal. I’m sure I’ve totally screwed up the translation of this procedure. This will hopefully regain movement in his left arm and hand, and improve the strength of his left leg. David said that the 13 shots didn’t hurt too badly; mainly it was when they squirted the botox into his leg that it was painful. If this helps, there will be periodic injections to continue the treatment.

Last week, Laura, his Neuro-Psych doctor gave him a test. She said that she would come by this week and, if he remembered to ask, she would give him the results. I missed their meeting, but David told me that he asked, and she said that he did average. He told me that he was real disappointed, because he wanted to do better. Then she explained that there was no ‘curve’ in the results for TBI patients, that he scored average for the "general population"! Imagine how he will do when he recovers fully!

After David’s vision therapy, we were just hangin’ in the lunchroom, waiting for the lunch delivery, and David started to talk to some other guys who were waiting also. They were ‘patients’ in the ‘PTRIP’ unit. Military men who have been through what David is going through now, and are now in this more advance ‘transitional’ program. There is another Air Force guy in that unit, so David felt a little ‘camaraderie’ thing. He was stationed in Italy, as a fire fighter before his accident, and had big hopes of returning to the service and continuing his job. I think he probably was crushed when he was told that that might not happen, unless he could pass all of the stringent tests again. He seemed to have a good outlook though, and thought that maybe he would use his ‘free’ education and become a physical therapist. David also met an Army guy who suffered an IED blast in Iraq, and now lives in an apartment with his wife and 4-month-old daughter. He said that one ‘good’ thing about his injury was that he was able to see his daughter be born. It helps me to picture David a few months down the road, and I know that it gives David hope. He just wants to be ‘normal’ again.

It’s been a good couple of days, but Christa and her two girls, Bella and Tobey, left today, so we miss them immensely. Also, Laura has not had Baby Bryn yet! For sure on Thursday, if not Wednesday. Can't wait. :-)

Please pray that the botox shots work, that David regains control of his left arm, and for his left leg to get stronger.

Steve

Sunday, January 13th, 2008

Today was relaxed and quiet as Sundays typically are here. We went to church, ate lunch, and David's only therapy was PT in the afternoon. David then had the rest of the day to do anything he wanted to, provided it was in the hospital, and on his list of approved food and beverage items.

During PT he rode the stationary bicycle that can measure how much power it is getting from the left or right legs. They have taken the straps off of his right foot (so he can't pull up with it) to allow the left leg to work harder as it pushes down, and do it's share. He was getting up into the 70% range with his left foot, which is really great. Then they had David walking with his 'regular' walker all over the place.

Some things that were an issue a few days ago we don't really think about now. He is eating so good, and swallows perfectly. He is no longer drowsy during the day, and the therapists don't have to wake him as he falls asleep in the middle of pedaling a bike.

We have a lot of fun talking with David, about serious things like his accident, recovery, friends and relationships, but also we joke with him a lot. Not all of the jokes are at his expense. He got me a few times today, and really got Christa. We are not going to share the gist of those jokes with y'all at this time though.

David did not like his dinner tonight, so I asked what was worse, Turkish food (sorry to David's Turkish friends!) or the hospital food, and he said that this made Turkish food taste like a #10. Then he added that Turkish food would be like a 'platter from Heaven' in comparison. He smiles all of the time now, and is generally in a great mood. I know that he is enjoying having his sister Christa, and Bella and Tobey here to hang out with.

Steve

Saturday, January12th, 2008

Wow! It was hard to recover from the big blow-out bash that we threw for Patty's birthday yesterday. To start with we had a Baskin Robins ice cream pie (mint n' chip) and then...oh yeah, I guess that was all. But between Christa (4 months pregnant) and her two girls, Patty, David and myself we polished that whole thing off easy! We had a lot of fun until the wee hours, 10PM or so. But by the time you get the grand kids settled in to their hotel, edit video, and blog, (I still don't know what that means!), it's about 1AM when you're actually in bed.

But today was good, David called and woke us up at 7AM to say that he was going to breakfast in the 'lunchroom' and could we meet him. I said, "sure, we'll catch up with you later". For a Saturday, David's therapy started off early. He started with PT where he peddled the stationary bike and worked out his left leg.

Georgette (OT) worked on his left hand a lot, (stretching and exercising), and was real excited to notice movement in his fingers and hand. I had noticed slight movement a few days ago, and David and I prayed immediately that God would continue to heal and restore movement to his arm and hand. Georgette recommended some exercises that David can do in his spare time to strengthen these. More exciting stuff!

David said today, "Everyone is commenting on my smile, what did it look like before?". It really is a 'Day and Night' difference, before it was crooked and fake looking, now it is 'David'.

PT worked with David later in the day for an hour, and he walked all over the halls several times, and even walked on his own (no assistance) with his 'walker". It won't be long until he can take off by himself.

A massage therapist came by this evening and worked on David's left shoulder and arm. He is also a licenced chiropractor, and we are hoping that this will help that left arm 'come alive' even faster.

David called Christa as she was driving back to her hotel tonight. He just wanted to talk some more! We love how he is initiating so many things on his own, as this is often a hard thing for TBI patients.

Thanks for all your prayers. God really is moving in David's life.

Steve

January 11th, 2008

The best birthday I've ever had was today! David walked (with help) to me, gave me a huge hug, laughed at a funny situation (remembering the hug/choke hold he gave Steve after church when Steve passed out in the corridor), showed his sense of humor by refusing to tell me he loved me, and WROTE a card during Speech Therapy (legibly, he WROTE: the date, "Happy Birthday Mom" , "Love, David", and drew some balloons)! This guy is getting funnier every minute. During dinner he was smiling the whole time. He was flirting with the Recreation Therapist and asking her how he could get on her rotation! Then asked someone if she was married..... Of course he said he like Kelli on a much deeper level than that!
Christa, Bella, and Tobey drove up on a whim this afternoon and surprised David. He is much more awake and alive then ever. It is so great to see them all again. I could write a whole other blog on how funny (3 yr. old) Bella is too! Tobey is just starting to walk too. We are looking forward to being outside with David and the kids tomorrow and just hanging out. Again David told Christa that his motivation for improvement is to return to Turkey and his unit. His friends there are constantly coming up in his conversations. He can't wait to talk to you all there!
Paul, the Vision Therapist, showed David how to use a program on the computer to enlarge the text on documents. David manipulated the computer and was able to move around in people's My Space, READ his My Space comments, the Blog guestbook and comments from here, and couldn't seem to get enough. I sat with him until 11 pm and then said we should continue tomorrow.
Earlier, the Neuropsychologist, Dr. Laura Howe, was asking David some intelligence questions this afternoon. David was able to answer analogies, puzzles, mental math problems like, "What is 13x?"! We will find out next week how he scored, but it sounded great to me!
Thanks for your prayers. The mom I told you about yesterday came in crying today that her house had been broken into and everything that could be pawned was stolen. Continue praying for them. Patty

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

Our God is an awesome God! David continues to blow our minds and the staff at the hospital. Today he actually tried to run in the parallel bars! He walked with a walker and barely used it! He held onto the PT and my arms and walked 6 feet! Oh, and he walked up five steps, turned around, came down and went up several more times! Then he decided he didn't want to step up with his right foot and bring the left to the same step, so he told the PT, Se, that he wanted to step on each step with a different foot. She said not yet, and he did it anyways! He is soooooooo excited about his progress.
Sgt. Anderson, from Travis AFB, came by today and David was jazzed to see someone from the AF. He wants so much to continue with the AF. He misses his friends from Turkey really bad! We looked at the pictures on his camera tonight and he remembers the trip now and can give us details about where they stayed and what they did. He doesn't remember the accident, which is fine! We watched the video with Sgt. Anderson and it makes David just light up to see everyone. Thanks Daniel again for making it. I wish you could see his face when he sees the groups from Turkey! Sgt. Anderson reiterated the need for David to follow orders from the therapists. It would be a shame for David to have a set back because of a careless injury like falling at this point in his progress.
Back to progress: David played Solitare today with some minor help. He played Bingo Wed. and Thursday nights and can do it 90% by himself! (Remember he couldn't find the numbers a few weeks ago, and perseverated on the game pieces?) An AF "sister" tonight went on and on about the improvement she saw since Christmas. Last time his head hung down, he drooled, and needed 90% help!
The Optomotrist tested him some more today and said he is focusing closer up, and his vision has really improved. He continues running into objects (sometimes sharp) on the left side of his wheelchair.
In 'N Out is sure happy with David's recovery. He has a shake every other day it seems like. But, today the "test" for Speech, was if he could eat a Double Double or a Cheeseburger. Sure enough, David passed. He passed the thin liquids test also. His meds are being changed to pills and capsules, so maybe in a week or so, he can get rid of the tube feeding in his stomach.:-)
Steve and I are so excited to see David's progress. However, it is hard to see these other men here who are not progressing. I talked to a lady last night whose husband was injured the same time as David and is still not able to respond with a thumbs up, nod, blink, or anything. She has 2 teenagers and doesn't know if or how much her husband will progress. There are many others with the same story. A young mom with preschoolers, and the 27 year old dad is in bad shape. Our hearts break for them and their families. We have said at every stage that David has progressed through, that we were excited he was alive and with us. We would have been happy just to have him, anywhere along the healing process. Each day brings more joy for us as he progresses. Pray with us for these other families and their dads, brothers, and sons too. We feel so blessed and excited that God chooses to heal David, but don't understand why David gets so much and they don't. We're not complaining! Just feeling almost guilty.???
Tonight when Steve left, David told him that he doesn't like it when we leave him at night, alone in the room with the nurse. He prayed with David for peace and safety, and also for his left arm that is really bothering him. Thanks for your prayers too. We give God all the glory for David's progress!
Patty

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

Here are some highlights from another outstanding day. David received a lot of work on his left arm, (including the wrist, hand and fingers) again. In fact it seemed like almost all of the therapists worked on it, at least a little. It is not moving on it’s own yet, but we are really praying that it won’t be long.

David walked a lot (more than ever) today with his ‘cool’ walker, and he still looked real good doing it.

He ate enough at all three meals to not have to have his supplemental tube feeding. If he keeps this up for a while he will get the feeding tube taken out of his stomach. Then he will have no more tubes, hoses, monitors or needles coming out of his body!

Tonight we spent a lot of time just hanging out with David. We talked about him, his accident and his recovery. He had lots of questions, and we realized how bad his post accident memory is. He thought that maybe he had been in two accidents, possibly because we have mentioned that he was at Walter Read Army Hospital and Palo Alto VA Hospital. We watched the DVD that his Air Force friends sent him again, and each time we watch it he gives us more details about his time in Turkey, and the friends that he made there. I’m sure that it is good for his memory. He said that he has been praying that he will get to return to the Air Force and to his Incirlik, Turkey base, as well as his friends there. I told him that if it were that important to him, I would also start to pray for that. He also called Daniel Wooten in Turkey, (and woke him up), and they talked for a while. It was the first time that he has talked to a friend from the Air Force. He also talked to his girl friend, Kelli.

As we were leaving, Patty said that she loved him, and waited for him to respond appropriately. Since he has never said (unless he was heavily drugged), “I love you” back, Patty really wasn’t expecting much, but he got this “real” smile on his face as he tried to keep from saying it. He has this fake smile that he gives us when we take pictures, but this was his old “real” smile, and it was exciting to see his face muscles working in a ‘new’ way, that we thought was lost.

Steve

Sunday and Monday, January 6th and 7th, 2008

Sunday started with PT taking David to the gym before we could take him to church. You know what they say about the ‘early bird’, so Patty and I watched David work out and then walk two lengths of the hallway with the ‘cool’ walker. That was a lot of walking and again David was moving his left leg totally on his own. He looks smoother and surer of himself everyday.

David ate enough, (over 75%); so that he did not have to have the liquid supplement that they usually tube feed him.

Last night we sat in his room and watched a movie until the laptop battery died. Once again we do not know how it ended. Maybe Bruce Willis died, or maybe they will make “Die Hard 13”. It was fun just hanging out and relaxing.

Today Occupational Therapy, Mark, taught David to stretch his left hand and wrist. It curls up quite strongly, and is painful when it gets stretched, but it still needs to be done. Mark asked David to lead the way from the lunchroom to the gym without directions, and he would be timed. This was a tough chore, as David had to make his way between the chairs and obstacles. With his ‘left sided weakness’ he tends to hit things on that side of him. At the ‘crossroads’ David chose the left instead of the right, and Mark had to eventually tell him that he chose the wrong hall. But once David caught the scent he was off like a flash.

David had vision therapy next and they worked more on getting David to turn his head farther to the sides, and to pay special attention to his left side. This seems to really help David.

David refused him meds last night and at lunch today. Both times the nurse explained what the meds were for and why David needed them, and David finally conceded. We think that it is great that he is aware enough to question the medication.

David was stretched and exercised by Chris during PT. Then he walked between the parallel bars, and was stronger than ever with his left leg! David had another great day.

We are continually reminded how blessed David has been in his recovery. Christa’s brother in law, Dr. John Allen an intern at Loma Linda Hospital, asked (after seeing the video of David walking) what David’s original diagnosis was. When he was told that it was ‘diffused axonal brain injury with intraventricular left basal ganglia hemorrhage and posterior subdural hematoma’, (not to mention the fractured nose, rib, pelvis, the collaped lungs and multiple lacerations and contusions)he said that David shouldn’t ever be walking. David’s PT, Mitch, said that David was making AMAZING progress, and asked David if he had a lot of people praying for him? David said yes, and Mitch said, “I hope you have thanked them!” God truly has blessed David, by his ‘Healing Touch’ as well as by surrounding him with awesome physicians and therapists. Thanks for all of those prayers.

Steve

Saturday, January 5th, 2008

David was working between the parallel bars with PT (Chris) when we found him this morning. Maggie, April and Katie accompanied Patty and me. We watched as Chris helped David stand and rock back and forth, strengthening the trunk muscles as well as the legs, neck, etc. When David seemed balanced, Chris let go and David stood unassisted. They did this lots of times, and got up to 30 seconds of standing alone. This seemed great to us, as it was one more step towards being able to walk. After a brief rest Chris had David walk between the parallel bars. David’s right hand was on the rail and Chris was maybe supporting his balance some, but David was moving both feet by himself. He was really walking! I get the feeling that at this rate we could see David walking down the hallways of “D” wing unassisted, only holding on to the railing, before you know it. It was a real answer to prayer today.

His mood seems more positive as he is seeing progress. I pray that this just snowballs into an even greater determination on his part. It is exciting to experience his victories with him, and fun to relate them to you all.

Steve

P.S. Happy Birthday to Kelli, who reached the ripe old age of 20 today!

Friday, Januray 4th, 2008 (My brother Gary's b'day)

David ate breakfast like it was his last meal, and then he ate lunch the same way. His sergeant came by from Travis AFB and brought him a vanilla shake. Wow, that only happens in the Air Force.

Richard, from Recreational Therapy, worked with David on reading, and David struggled to see some of the words. Then they played a fun basketball game, which worked on David’s eye hand coordination, manual dexterity, and as an excuse to test David’s memory with lots of sports questions.

Se came by late today to grab David for PT, and even though he had been dozing he was ready to go. He wheeled himself out of the room and down to the gym without waiting for anybody. He walked farther than usual with his ‘cool’ walker, and looked good doing it. His gait was smoother, steadier and faster. As he blew past people in the hallway they were stunned.

The Recreational Therapy staff put on their weekly ‘Friday Free Food and Friends Feast’ tonight. It was KFC night, and David chowed down on the chicken (cut into smaller chunks) the mashed potatoes and biscuits. He finished off the last half of his vanilla shake (courtesy of his sergeant), and ate a cookie or two. He seems to have his appetite back! After we ate we watched Spiderman I, (in the same lunchroom/multipurpose room that we ate in) and David watched almost all of it before he said that he was ready to go back to his room and sleep. Now I don’t know if Spiderman lives or dies!

I think that we have mentioned that David talks in a monotone voice, and it's kind of quiet, but a really cool thing happened tonight when David was talking to the nurses. He said something that sounded so much like our 'old' David that it really hit me. There was more inflection in his voice, he used some words that he hasn’t used lately, and it was louder and more authoritative. It gave me hope that our 'old' David is still lurking inside, just waiting to come out.

We have had some problems with the ‘household’ (sprinklers, water leaks, pool problems, dogs), and our neighbors, friends and family have been awesome in responding to our needs in our time of trial. Thanks guys ‘n gals, we really appreciate the support on the home front. I know that God has put it on your hearts to help, and as hard as it is for my pride to accept help sometimes, I truly appreciate it, and thank you. I think that this is a growing time for me and I pray that God is working in your hearts as well. I know that serving our Lord, even in the lowest ways, (cleaning a pool, caring for a dog, watching a house) has rich rewards, and I pray for God’s blessings on all of you.

I close with much love for you all, and a content heart, knowing that all things are working out for His glory.

Steve

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

Christa had to leave us this morning, so we went over early to see David, so she could say goodbye. Patty took her to the San Jose airport while I hung out with David through his therapies.

Se, his physical therapist, stretched his legs out and then had him lift his left leg (bad one) from a lying position, and I was amazed at how high he was raising it. She made him repeat it 15 times, and on the last one she made him hold it for a period of time. He did really well. I was exited because I felt like if he had the strength to do that then he would definitely be able to walk on his own. Then she had him repeat a standing and sitting type of exercise that really worked out his ‘quads’ and will help him to stand up by himself. It was a pretty hard work out, but David was focused and pushed himself until the end. I have to hand it to Se; she is very encouraging, sweet, nice, understanding, and a tough ‘coach’.

I’m of course concerned about David’s left arm and hand, which show almost no movement. Bill, our caseworker, told me that they had a guy with similar symptoms to David’s, and now he has full use of his ‘bad’ arm. Sometimes you just need to hear stories like that to give you faith. I know that our God is bigger than David’s arm problems. He made David’s arm so he can surely heal it.

Our friends Maggie (I think she is Patty’s twin from a former life) and April, and her daughter, (and David’s friend), Katie, arrived tonight. We ate with David (kinda) and visited afterwards. We watched the video that David’s Air Force co-workers made again, and each time we learn new things about his ‘Turkey’ friends. David was sleepy, but we had fun, and we (not David) continued our fun at the Fisher House, as we played games until all hours of the night.

We learned from the ‘vision’ people that David’s field of vision is improving, and that we need to encourage him to turn his head from left to right to really see everything. His mind wants to ignore the left side especially, so we need to train it to “pay attention”.

Doctor Scott met with us informally over dinner (with our friends) and informed us that another drug was being removed from David’s ‘arsenal’ of drugs. In a day or two its effects should be out of his system, and we might notice some difference in his alertness. Hopefully it will be a positive step. That leaves only one drug that ‘sedates’, but it is not very powerful.

As always, we love your concern and prayers.

Steve

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008

Christa made David French toast this morning, and he ate more of hers than he did of mine. I guess she earned a new job.

I got a call on my cell phone this afternoon and I was shocked to hear David say “Dad?” He asked the nurse if he could call me to ask if I would come over to see him. He asked if I knew what hospital he was in, and I said that I was already in his hallway, almost entering his room. It was fun to have him call me like that!

We had fun hanging out with David as he ate dinner, joking and playing around. Out of the blue he said, “Mom, how about if you go up to ‘Jack in the Box’ and get me a vanilla shake”? It’s hard to say no sometimes and Patty drove away on an errand of mercy.

David got on his ‘My Space’ and Christa read him some messages from his friends. He thought about posting a blog (or whatever it's called) but decided that he wasn’t quite ready to tell everyone about hospital life, and the long rehab awaiting him. It must seem very depressing to him.

Now that David is less medicated, I am afraid that he might need as much prayer for his emotions as for his physical healing. Luckily we serve a big God.

Steve

January 1, 2008

This morning when I (Christa) walked into David's room he was sitting in his wheel chair all dressed and ready to go. I said, "Well, hello handsome!" and he gave me the biggest smile!! I just about melted right there! He said hello and good morning right back. We talked for a bit and then we went to the rec room to play on the computer. I showed him the blog and read my entry from yesterday. When I read him the part about how he thought Kelli was "hot" he smiled again really big! I read him all of your recent comments from right before Christmas and he really seemed to enjoy hearing from everyone. I explained to him how everyone reads this blog just to see how he's doing and how much you all have invested in his recovery. He said he understood and was very appreciative of your support and prayers. After the blog he wanted to play solitaire on the computer but he wanted to just tell me where to move the cards and have me control the mouse. Which was actually really cool because it forced him to talk more and I was really able to see his thought process and also where some of his visual problems are. He could always see the right side of the computer screen but the deck of cards were on the left side and he could rarely see those cards correctly. I'm not sure what he sees or doesn't see or if its just really jumbled up. But it was interesting nontheless. He did extremely well considering between him and myself we couldn't manage to win a single hand!!

After computer time we all ate breakfast at the table together (mom, dad, me and David)and had some delicious french toast my dad made. It was so cool to just eat and talk all together as a family again. Then we took David outside to the basketball court and kicked around a soccer ball with him. He started to really get into it and even would kick with his left foot! He did really good at wheeling himself around to go after the ball (Lord knows with me and my parents, there were a lot of stray balls for him to go after!). Then we went inside and he took a nap.

When we went back later in the afternoon my dad and him went to the rec room and watched some football together for a bit until we looked over and David had fallen asleep in his chair! So we took him back to his room but we made him eat a late lunch. He ate more spinach raviolis from yesterday and polished them off really good. Then I asked him if we could watch the DVD that his friends/co-workers/bosses in Turkey put together. He agreed even with the stipulation that he had to give me some background on each person. He said no problem. We watched the video and paused after each person wished him good luck in his recovery and even joked around with him. He gave me all the "dirt" on each one of you guys!!! Just kidding! But he did give a lot of details about fun times he had with each person. He talked about the Turkish food, the go-carts, working in the office and his responsibilities that he had and the fun times "working" there! He talked about who was naughty and who was nice!! Haha!! It was great getting to see you guys from Turkey and that video really was cool! Thanks guys for doing that for him. He was pretty tired and went to bed pretty early tonight. I guess that's good because he'll have a full day's work tomorrow in therapy. Today was a fun day with David and he showed a lot of progress with his smiling, kicking and moving his left leg, playing solitaire, eating real food and talking a lot. Thank you all for your prayers and faith that God is just getting started with healing David. It is going to be a great year full of miracles!! Love you all,
Christa

December 31, 2007

Happy New Year!!! I, Christa, just flew in today an will stay until Thursday. I am very excited to see David and my parents again. David looked great! I haven't seen him in a month so a lot has changed. He doesn't have the trache anymore. He's not agitated and fidgety like he was a month ago. He is very calm and kinda just "chill". Which was a welcome sight! He doesn't fixate and do certain things repetitively. He is definitely more like "David"!! I watched him during PT and he is walking so much better than when I left. Last time he could walk maybe 10 feet along the parallel bars and repeat the walk after a small sitting break. Today he was on his feet for almost an entire hour!! At the end of his session he walked back towards his room with the "cool walker" and the therapists said that David had improved a lot just today. He is moving his left foot so much better, still needing some assistance, but definitely improving. He sat on the edge of the bed while mom put his shoes on and was sitting up so good, even with his feet sticking straight out. He is so much easier to maneuver from bed to chair, etc. because he is strong enough to carry most of his weight and needs a lot less assistance.

Today was the first day that he ate 3 full, "REAL" meals!! He ate pancakes for breakfast, spinach raviolis from Spaghetti factory we brought in for him, along with his vanilla shake and apple juice. For dinner he ate some stew, bread and butter with some more shake and a yogurt drink. He had very little supplement with the feeding tube today - only early this morning and a little tonight. He's getting even closer to getting the feeding tube out!! He also talked so clearly. When I was here last time he was just starting to talk and we had to put our ear right up to his lips to hear what he was trying to say and even then it was sometimes a guessing game. Today I was reminded of his amazing progress in this area. He communicated exactly what he wanted and did it audibly. He asked me to ask the therapists to only ask him yes/no questions. They were proud of him for initiating that and did just as he asked. He talked to Kelli on the phone tonight and it sounded like it was a pretty good conversation. David asked her some good questions and made some pretty funny comments in return to her stories. From my end of the conversation I heard David respond with, "That's nasty." "That's awesome." "You passed. That's good.""Tell everyone I said 'Hi'." "Tell everyone 'Happy New Year'." When he got off the phone dad asked what was so nasty. David repeated the story just as Kelli must have told it (which really was nasty, so I'll spare you!) and we all laughed. I told David how funny I think Kelli can be and he agreed. He said, "yeah, that's one reason why I like her." I asked what the other reasons were and he said, "and she's hot." We laughed. Dad said, "yeah, that never hurts!" He also said because she's smart and tries hard in school, she's athletic and she loves God. He said that's really important to him! My brother is one smart puppy and is really coming around. It was fun just talking and hanging out with him tonight. It was almost as if nothing had changed (minus the hospital room!) as we sat and talked and watched TV. I loved every minute! My dad also told us that he got some really encouraging news today from Dr. Ted. Apparently the dr. is expecting some even more drastic improvements with David now that he is slowly getting off the meds. He says that this might mark a turning point in David's progress and that we might start noticing change faster!!!! Can you believe it???! I am so encouraged, as should you all! Keep praying and thanking God for David's healing. God is truly doing miracles every day in our lives through David's recovery. I am so thankful and my faith has been renewed!

Thank you Lord that you care so much for David and that you WANT to heal him. We give you ALL the glory for every small detail of his healing. You are The creator, and with the same hands that put the stars in their place, you can and will heal my brother. Nothing is too big or hard for you, Lord. Thank you that only YOU can do the impossible! AMEN!!

Love you all, Christa