Hello friends,
Today was a bit of a disappointing day for all of us. The hospital we're at is a small specialty hospital and they place great importance on patients socializing, spending as little time as necessary in their beds. Families are a big part of this which is why we all moved here so that we could all be a part of the process. Most of Micah's improvements have come in response to his siblings being with him. That being said H1N1 has forced even our hospital to take drastic measures to keep their patients safe. Starting tomorrow no one under 18 is allowed to enter the building unless they are there for therapy. I was very sad as were the kids and Thomas. I totally understand and had even thought myself that this was the only way they had to contain things, but it was still quite a blow.
We will talk to one of the doctors about the possibility of Micah still coming to the house on outings which would make things better for the kids and I have already decided that I will take the kids right to his bedroom window so he can see them. Thankfully all the bedrooms are on the ground floor! Please pray that this does not have an adverse affect on Micah as he really perks up when his siblings are around.
Micah had a good day today, with his therapy etc... As far as his sight and hearing goes he doesn't miss a thing he sees everybody and hears everything, which can be quite a distraction during therapy sessions! He is supposed to be getting some injections on the weekend (I think) to help relax the shoulder and elbow muscles so that he will be able to do more with them and will most likely get some splints on his elbows shortly after that to keep his joints opened up.
We're praying everyday for God to intervene and believe that he will, but there are days when the process seems more than we can bear. At those times, I start telling God what a mistake He has made and remind Him about what His Word says about not putting more on us than we can bear. I never seem to win those arguments, but I always feel comforted and loved at the end of them. Goodnight to you all.
Many blessings,
Tina
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
October 27 8:45 PM
Hello friends,
It has been a rainy several days here in St Louis. Abigail said that if she didn't know better she would think that she were in England due to the grey skies and rain. It's a good thing we like rainy days as we have to get out in it every day and God has been faithful to protect us as we travel back and forth each day. Yesterday due to various wrecks my 7-8 mile trip took me 30 minutes : (
Yesterday Micah was rather tired while I visited him due to waking up at 4 in the morning, but today he was wide awake and very happy to see everyone. Grandma & Grandpa were also there with us today. Micah, several times today stretched his left arm to touch several of us and when he saw how pleased we were, smiled and did it again when we asked him too! When he got tired of that Samuel laid his hand on Micah's lap and asked him to "give me 5" and he then did that for a while.
We still have not seen his tongue make an appearance, but a couple of times today he did suck up what was coming out of his mouth and swallow it! Sorry, that was gross, but it's progress also. It went into the Doc's notes.
We found out that the hospital is glad for us to take Micah on outings. As long as they know ahead of time they will transport him wherever we want to go. One big plus for this is that he can come to the house for the upcoming birthday parties! We are very excited about that!
As for the rest of us we are doing alright, but hate being apart. We do have some very down times which are not always portrayed on the blog as we usually don't feel like blogging during those times, but are keeping our eyes focused on God. One thing I have found is that no matter how deep of a "funk" I get into, if I can start singing praise to God He is faithful to pull me out. Sometimes getting myself to sing takes longer than others, but eventually I get there. He is the Far Out Friend that Frees Me From Funk and gives that joy down deep in my heart. Thank you all for hanging with us and encouraging and praying for us. We have been praying God's richest blessings for all of you!
Love you all,
Tina
It has been a rainy several days here in St Louis. Abigail said that if she didn't know better she would think that she were in England due to the grey skies and rain. It's a good thing we like rainy days as we have to get out in it every day and God has been faithful to protect us as we travel back and forth each day. Yesterday due to various wrecks my 7-8 mile trip took me 30 minutes : (
Yesterday Micah was rather tired while I visited him due to waking up at 4 in the morning, but today he was wide awake and very happy to see everyone. Grandma & Grandpa were also there with us today. Micah, several times today stretched his left arm to touch several of us and when he saw how pleased we were, smiled and did it again when we asked him too! When he got tired of that Samuel laid his hand on Micah's lap and asked him to "give me 5" and he then did that for a while.
We still have not seen his tongue make an appearance, but a couple of times today he did suck up what was coming out of his mouth and swallow it! Sorry, that was gross, but it's progress also. It went into the Doc's notes.
We found out that the hospital is glad for us to take Micah on outings. As long as they know ahead of time they will transport him wherever we want to go. One big plus for this is that he can come to the house for the upcoming birthday parties! We are very excited about that!
As for the rest of us we are doing alright, but hate being apart. We do have some very down times which are not always portrayed on the blog as we usually don't feel like blogging during those times, but are keeping our eyes focused on God. One thing I have found is that no matter how deep of a "funk" I get into, if I can start singing praise to God He is faithful to pull me out. Sometimes getting myself to sing takes longer than others, but eventually I get there. He is the Far Out Friend that Frees Me From Funk and gives that joy down deep in my heart. Thank you all for hanging with us and encouraging and praying for us. We have been praying God's richest blessings for all of you!
Love you all,
Tina
Saturday, October 24, 2009
October 24 11:30 AM
Good morning friends,
The last two days have been a little busier for me as I had some travelling to do and had only the 3 youngest ones with me, but we are all together again. Micah is doing well and the last couple of days has been trying to do more with his left arm. He reaches out a bit with it like he wants to do something with it, but after it goes so far then his tone will tighten preventing him from doing more. His OT told me that she was going to speak to his doctor about giving him a med that will help with the tone issue. She feels that since he is trying that there is probably a lot more he could do if the muscles could stay relaxed. Yesterday morning I was with him in therapy and they were working on sitting up. He did very good and his OT said that while he was relaxed she was giving him very little support! He is also holding his head up very well and practically turned it around backwards to look at his grandparents.
Thomas is with Micah right now and he just told me that they have a little petting zoo there right now and he is taking him out to see, that should be fun.
Still no sign of the tongue yet, but he is trying at least.
We are doing well here, though we do miss everyone. I just realized last weekend that I have not been to church since Sept. 6th! That's quite a while for someone that grew up going every time the doors were open. I have been trying to understand how people without a church family function in times of crisis, I honestly don't know. You all rock!! I would not function as well without the encouraging notes and kindnesses shown to us. We have truly seen the "body" (not just our church) at work during these past weeks and it has brought us to tears again and again. It hasn't mattered what the sign out front said, only that we have the same Father. Isn't this as it should be? We should always be ready to lend a hand to our family members. None of my siblings live with me, not even in the same state, but I would help them out in a heart beat if I knew that they needed it. The same is true spiritually....God has a lot of children, we don't all live/worship in the same house, but we still have the same Father and should treat each other with love and respect. A church with all the same type of people in it (i.e. all arms or feet or eyes) is not going to be a church that functions well. We tend to argue or disagree with others because of our differences, but that doesn't mean we should go find a group that thinks just like us. We NEED to have all the parts of the body in each church.
Right now, a lot of churches function like Micah. Sometimes a few things work, sometimes nothing works, sometimes we know what to do but cannot get it done. Micah has a perfectly functioning body as far as the physical body goes, but his problem is that his brain cannot make sense of everything right now. So even if we get all of our "body" parts together we still need a good head to get the whole thing working properly. Someone to make sense of it all and help each of the various parts understand that they can & must work together with all the other parts because "All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit". If we cannot do this, then the body will just be all over the place. Arms trying to be legs, legs trying to be eyes etc... We all have a part to play and we can't play it well if we trying to tell everyone else how to play there part. I guess that this can be your sermon if you don't get to go to church tomorrow : ) Blessings to each of you, I wish I could meet every one of you!
Play your part,
Tina
PS For further reading on this check out I Cor. 7:17, 20-24, 12 - all of it
The last two days have been a little busier for me as I had some travelling to do and had only the 3 youngest ones with me, but we are all together again. Micah is doing well and the last couple of days has been trying to do more with his left arm. He reaches out a bit with it like he wants to do something with it, but after it goes so far then his tone will tighten preventing him from doing more. His OT told me that she was going to speak to his doctor about giving him a med that will help with the tone issue. She feels that since he is trying that there is probably a lot more he could do if the muscles could stay relaxed. Yesterday morning I was with him in therapy and they were working on sitting up. He did very good and his OT said that while he was relaxed she was giving him very little support! He is also holding his head up very well and practically turned it around backwards to look at his grandparents.
Thomas is with Micah right now and he just told me that they have a little petting zoo there right now and he is taking him out to see, that should be fun.
Still no sign of the tongue yet, but he is trying at least.
We are doing well here, though we do miss everyone. I just realized last weekend that I have not been to church since Sept. 6th! That's quite a while for someone that grew up going every time the doors were open. I have been trying to understand how people without a church family function in times of crisis, I honestly don't know. You all rock!! I would not function as well without the encouraging notes and kindnesses shown to us. We have truly seen the "body" (not just our church) at work during these past weeks and it has brought us to tears again and again. It hasn't mattered what the sign out front said, only that we have the same Father. Isn't this as it should be? We should always be ready to lend a hand to our family members. None of my siblings live with me, not even in the same state, but I would help them out in a heart beat if I knew that they needed it. The same is true spiritually....God has a lot of children, we don't all live/worship in the same house, but we still have the same Father and should treat each other with love and respect. A church with all the same type of people in it (i.e. all arms or feet or eyes) is not going to be a church that functions well. We tend to argue or disagree with others because of our differences, but that doesn't mean we should go find a group that thinks just like us. We NEED to have all the parts of the body in each church.
Right now, a lot of churches function like Micah. Sometimes a few things work, sometimes nothing works, sometimes we know what to do but cannot get it done. Micah has a perfectly functioning body as far as the physical body goes, but his problem is that his brain cannot make sense of everything right now. So even if we get all of our "body" parts together we still need a good head to get the whole thing working properly. Someone to make sense of it all and help each of the various parts understand that they can & must work together with all the other parts because "All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit". If we cannot do this, then the body will just be all over the place. Arms trying to be legs, legs trying to be eyes etc... We all have a part to play and we can't play it well if we trying to tell everyone else how to play there part. I guess that this can be your sermon if you don't get to go to church tomorrow : ) Blessings to each of you, I wish I could meet every one of you!
Play your part,
Tina
PS For further reading on this check out I Cor. 7:17, 20-24, 12 - all of it
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
October 21 7 PM
Hi friends,
I pray that you are all doing well and have been able to avoid the swine flu. We are settled back in the house and it is so good to be settled somewhere even if we are not all together. I think that is probably the hardest thing for us right now, being split up. Don't ever take time with your family for granted.
Micah is doing well. He has slept well the last two nights which always makes for a better day! Yesterday we spent several hours with him as he was in a grand mood and it was beautiful outside. He smiled and laughed, the kids took him for walks (and runs!) around the garden area. He was very relaxed while we were there and ended up being out with us most of the day. Today was good also, but not as good as yesterday. He was a little irritable today but still managed to have fun with the kids. His arms are becoming more relaxed and he is not so bad about drawing them up every time someone touches him. The left arm will go almost straight and the right is still a bit tighter, but better than it was. I have not yet heard if/when the doctor is thinking of giving the injection to help them further relax.
We have been praying much for him while we're gone as we don't know who will be with him or what show they may park him in front of. One funny thing he did the other day.... His Nurse Practitioner had brought him out of his room so that he could be around people, she took him to one of the TV areas and started flipping through channels trying to find something he would like. In the midst of her search someone came and asked her a question which caused a pause in the search. She said that Micah screamed at her and when she turned around Jerry Springer was on and he was mad! She apologized to him and let him know that she didn't find that appropriate for anyone to watch!
He is more and more frequently stretching his left arm out when he does not like what you are doing to him, purposeful movement. What we have been trying to get him to do on a regular basis is to stick his tongue out, yes you read that right! We are encouraging our son to stick his tongue out at us. It is all a part of the process of getting him to use all his facial muscles with the hope that he will start swallowing "purposefully" not just as a reaction. If he can swallow then he may get to eat some food via the mouth. So along with the arms please start praying for Micah to stick out his tongue and to swallow. Sounds like a strange prayer request doesn't it!
We are praying every day for a miracle, for Micah to get up and walk, but are also taking time to rejoice in the "little things". It is so easy for us to look over the little things in life, isn't it? I don't know why, they are just as much a miracle as the big things. I believe that if we cannot marvel at the "little things" that God does for us each day that we will never truly be able to fully appreciate the "big things". Think about our bodies, made up of so many "little, amazing things", if those little things don't work they can cause big problems.
I see how much effort it takes for Micah to stretch his arm out or make a noise, how much more would be involved in picking something up or talking. Honestly, if I went to see Micah tomorrow and he said, "Hi Mom!" I think I might quite possibly pass out! I was reading in Ephesians today that God has predestined us, according to His will.... to be to the praise of His glory. Even at this stage in our lives when we want to whine and complain (yes we do) we are to bring honor to the Creator. No matter who we are or what we are going through we were all created to do one thing, to praise the One that created us. To bring honor to His name is our ultimate high calling, don't miss it. Thank God for a "little thing" today.
Blessings to you all,
Tina
I pray that you are all doing well and have been able to avoid the swine flu. We are settled back in the house and it is so good to be settled somewhere even if we are not all together. I think that is probably the hardest thing for us right now, being split up. Don't ever take time with your family for granted.
Micah is doing well. He has slept well the last two nights which always makes for a better day! Yesterday we spent several hours with him as he was in a grand mood and it was beautiful outside. He smiled and laughed, the kids took him for walks (and runs!) around the garden area. He was very relaxed while we were there and ended up being out with us most of the day. Today was good also, but not as good as yesterday. He was a little irritable today but still managed to have fun with the kids. His arms are becoming more relaxed and he is not so bad about drawing them up every time someone touches him. The left arm will go almost straight and the right is still a bit tighter, but better than it was. I have not yet heard if/when the doctor is thinking of giving the injection to help them further relax.
We have been praying much for him while we're gone as we don't know who will be with him or what show they may park him in front of. One funny thing he did the other day.... His Nurse Practitioner had brought him out of his room so that he could be around people, she took him to one of the TV areas and started flipping through channels trying to find something he would like. In the midst of her search someone came and asked her a question which caused a pause in the search. She said that Micah screamed at her and when she turned around Jerry Springer was on and he was mad! She apologized to him and let him know that she didn't find that appropriate for anyone to watch!
He is more and more frequently stretching his left arm out when he does not like what you are doing to him, purposeful movement. What we have been trying to get him to do on a regular basis is to stick his tongue out, yes you read that right! We are encouraging our son to stick his tongue out at us. It is all a part of the process of getting him to use all his facial muscles with the hope that he will start swallowing "purposefully" not just as a reaction. If he can swallow then he may get to eat some food via the mouth. So along with the arms please start praying for Micah to stick out his tongue and to swallow. Sounds like a strange prayer request doesn't it!
We are praying every day for a miracle, for Micah to get up and walk, but are also taking time to rejoice in the "little things". It is so easy for us to look over the little things in life, isn't it? I don't know why, they are just as much a miracle as the big things. I believe that if we cannot marvel at the "little things" that God does for us each day that we will never truly be able to fully appreciate the "big things". Think about our bodies, made up of so many "little, amazing things", if those little things don't work they can cause big problems.
I see how much effort it takes for Micah to stretch his arm out or make a noise, how much more would be involved in picking something up or talking. Honestly, if I went to see Micah tomorrow and he said, "Hi Mom!" I think I might quite possibly pass out! I was reading in Ephesians today that God has predestined us, according to His will.... to be to the praise of His glory. Even at this stage in our lives when we want to whine and complain (yes we do) we are to bring honor to the Creator. No matter who we are or what we are going through we were all created to do one thing, to praise the One that created us. To bring honor to His name is our ultimate high calling, don't miss it. Thank God for a "little thing" today.
Blessings to you all,
Tina
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
October 20th, 1:15am
Dear Friends and Family,
Sorry for the long pause on the blog. It's been kind of like that with our life the last few weeks. I have just arrived at the house in Jackson after a couple of days with the family. We just had to pause while we were making all these transitions. Everyone is in St. Louis and more or less settled in the house. I have made two trips on the weekends from Jackson so far. It's a long but easy drive. The time factor varies depending on the heaviness of the foot, but it is about 4 hours or so!
Micah is doing well. Since I see him only on the weekends now, I tend to notice the differences more so than Tina. This weekend is the most alert I have seen him. His face looked more like his old self and he has lost a little bit of weight. Micah is making progress in very small amounts. It may not seem like much, but the fact that he actually notices everything and everyone around him is a huge step. His eyes can pretty much track anything he wants to. He is beginning to hold his head up more and more and also turning it from one side to the other to look at things. He is on some new medications that help to increase neural activity so his brain can maximize the benefits of therapy. On one hand we want to reduce the medication that is given for the thalamic storming and on the other we want to add medication that helps with recovery. So a good bit of his alertness is due to the new medications. In time he will be able on his own. It is a delicate dance. None of the medications are meant to be used long term. They are just being given to help his brain learn to reprocess functions. He still has thalamic storming but nothing like before. Both the storming and posturing are much decreased compared to even 3 weeks ago. He is sleeping well for the most part. I will try to give you a brief description of what goes on with his schedule day to day.
Physical Therapy (about 1hr)- this is mostly stretching and flexing his knees, hips, ankles, elbows, shoulder etc to retain flexibility and muscle tone. They also stand him up with the aid of a standing table. He is laid flat on the table and it is slowly raised up till he is standing on his feet. Today he was up to 60 degrees of inclination. His knees have to be strapped in since he is unable to lock his knees, but he is able to take his body weight.
Occupational Therapy (about 1hr) - This is geared toward getting him to do things and respond to commands etc. A lot of the time the PT and OT are done together since they overlap.
Speech Therapy (about 1hr) - This involves trying to get him to swallow, stick his tongue out, stimulation of his lips with ice, stimulation on the tongue with flavors.
In addition to this, another group takes him to a group session where they use cooking to stimulate the brain. They will get the kid's favorite recipes and cook it for them. Depending on their ability, the children help with the activities. Micah's job today was to try to push a big red button that makes a motorized scoop put flour in the pan.
As you can see they keep him busy! These sessions are split up, so some are in the morning and some in the afternoon. After all this he is quite tired. We try to get some or all of his siblings to spend a couple of hours with him every day. Tina is trying to adjust her schedule so she can be there during the therapy sessions. He does much better when we are around.
Today is 40 days since Micah left our home for the hospital. We don't know what the Lord's timetable is for Micah's recovery. We pray constantly for speedy and full healing. We are so blessed with all the small steps of recovery. We are so grateful for the all the things the Lord has done for us during this difficult time. In big things and in small things He has provided for us abundantly. So many of you have blessed us, so much so, that is impossible to thank you adequately with mere words. May the Lord bless you all for the kindness you have shown to us. It is quite difficult for me to leave the rest of my family and come back to Jackson. My drive time is mostly filled with weeping and/or praising. In all these things God has not abandoned us. He has made us strong and able to handle the difficulties that have come our way. In many ways I feel privileged that He has trusted us with this suffering. It is easy to dishonor the Lord in the time of our sufferings. But we consider it an honor that He trusted us to honor Him with this difficult season in our life. I will share more about this later. This is a very long post for me! Good night or morning or whatever time it is where you are!
Grace and Peace to you,
Thomas
Sorry for the long pause on the blog. It's been kind of like that with our life the last few weeks. I have just arrived at the house in Jackson after a couple of days with the family. We just had to pause while we were making all these transitions. Everyone is in St. Louis and more or less settled in the house. I have made two trips on the weekends from Jackson so far. It's a long but easy drive. The time factor varies depending on the heaviness of the foot, but it is about 4 hours or so!
Micah is doing well. Since I see him only on the weekends now, I tend to notice the differences more so than Tina. This weekend is the most alert I have seen him. His face looked more like his old self and he has lost a little bit of weight. Micah is making progress in very small amounts. It may not seem like much, but the fact that he actually notices everything and everyone around him is a huge step. His eyes can pretty much track anything he wants to. He is beginning to hold his head up more and more and also turning it from one side to the other to look at things. He is on some new medications that help to increase neural activity so his brain can maximize the benefits of therapy. On one hand we want to reduce the medication that is given for the thalamic storming and on the other we want to add medication that helps with recovery. So a good bit of his alertness is due to the new medications. In time he will be able on his own. It is a delicate dance. None of the medications are meant to be used long term. They are just being given to help his brain learn to reprocess functions. He still has thalamic storming but nothing like before. Both the storming and posturing are much decreased compared to even 3 weeks ago. He is sleeping well for the most part. I will try to give you a brief description of what goes on with his schedule day to day.
Physical Therapy (about 1hr)- this is mostly stretching and flexing his knees, hips, ankles, elbows, shoulder etc to retain flexibility and muscle tone. They also stand him up with the aid of a standing table. He is laid flat on the table and it is slowly raised up till he is standing on his feet. Today he was up to 60 degrees of inclination. His knees have to be strapped in since he is unable to lock his knees, but he is able to take his body weight.
Occupational Therapy (about 1hr) - This is geared toward getting him to do things and respond to commands etc. A lot of the time the PT and OT are done together since they overlap.
Speech Therapy (about 1hr) - This involves trying to get him to swallow, stick his tongue out, stimulation of his lips with ice, stimulation on the tongue with flavors.
In addition to this, another group takes him to a group session where they use cooking to stimulate the brain. They will get the kid's favorite recipes and cook it for them. Depending on their ability, the children help with the activities. Micah's job today was to try to push a big red button that makes a motorized scoop put flour in the pan.
As you can see they keep him busy! These sessions are split up, so some are in the morning and some in the afternoon. After all this he is quite tired. We try to get some or all of his siblings to spend a couple of hours with him every day. Tina is trying to adjust her schedule so she can be there during the therapy sessions. He does much better when we are around.
Today is 40 days since Micah left our home for the hospital. We don't know what the Lord's timetable is for Micah's recovery. We pray constantly for speedy and full healing. We are so blessed with all the small steps of recovery. We are so grateful for the all the things the Lord has done for us during this difficult time. In big things and in small things He has provided for us abundantly. So many of you have blessed us, so much so, that is impossible to thank you adequately with mere words. May the Lord bless you all for the kindness you have shown to us. It is quite difficult for me to leave the rest of my family and come back to Jackson. My drive time is mostly filled with weeping and/or praising. In all these things God has not abandoned us. He has made us strong and able to handle the difficulties that have come our way. In many ways I feel privileged that He has trusted us with this suffering. It is easy to dishonor the Lord in the time of our sufferings. But we consider it an honor that He trusted us to honor Him with this difficult season in our life. I will share more about this later. This is a very long post for me! Good night or morning or whatever time it is where you are!
Grace and Peace to you,
Thomas
Monday, October 12, 2009
Ocotber 11 11:30 PM
Hello friends,
It has been a good and almost normal weekend for us. It was nice to get to be together as a family again even if we had to go to the hospital to do it. Micah has had a good last couple of days. Since the decrease in meds I think that he has done a little more posturing (mild), but will most likely adjust to that in the next few days. He is not saying anything yet, but has started mimicking some of the faces we make and has started holding his head up pretty good. A couple of weeks ago that was not possible at all. When we got to RJ today the speech therapist was working on his swallowing reflex with him, he wasn't doing much for her. When she was done we took him to the meditation room and had church with him. We had communion and Thomas gave him a cracker crumb and put drops of juice into his mouth, none of that came back out, it was swallowed! Also during that time he reached out one of his arms (he has done nothing with his arms yet) halfway to his sister then pulled it back when she touched him.
When we were done singing/praying we took him outside for a bit of sunshine. He watched the kids playing and we took off his headrest and made him work his neck muscles, he did really good! Later when one of the kids was standing by him a bee started flying around and he followed it the whole time, his eyes didn't leave the bee until it flew away! These may sound like small things, but they are wonderful! The therapists are very pleased with his progress.
Yesterday when we took him outside one of the little boys wanted to push Micah so dad let him. He took off running! When Thomas caught & stopped them Micah had a big smile on his face!
This next week is the week that we have to be out of the house for a few days so I will be taking the kids to my parents on Tuesday evening and then I will be going back and forth some so be praying for us. Micah may have one day where I don't get to see him, not sure yet. Also, not sure how much I will be able to get on the blog. Thomas is headed back to Jackson tomorrow after a meeting with the doctors and others tomorrow morning.
The song, Amazing Grace, by Todd Agnew has taken on new meaning this week with all the rain we had! It poured here and I have felt that God has poured out His grace on us just the same. We pray everyday for Micah to be healed completely and are still able to be excited about the small things we see each day. We know that all of the small things add up to bigger things. Swallowing and making faces and opening the mouth are little things, but Micah is relearning to use muscles that he doesn't know how to use anymore. When he learns to use those then eating and talking will be in sight. Each day we thank God for the little things and give them to Him to work His wonders with because we know that God can do anything with nothing at all. A friend told me that she was talking with someone about Micah and that person told her that if there really were a God, that little boy would not be lying in the hospital like that! I can see how that could be a tempting place to go, but she is so wrong. What satan meant for evil, God will use for good. God will not let this be for nothing, of that I am sure. We still miss our boy and long for the day when we here his voice again, but we also thank God that he is with us and that He is working for our good every day, just as He is yours.
We love you all and covet your prayers!
Blessings,
Tina
It has been a good and almost normal weekend for us. It was nice to get to be together as a family again even if we had to go to the hospital to do it. Micah has had a good last couple of days. Since the decrease in meds I think that he has done a little more posturing (mild), but will most likely adjust to that in the next few days. He is not saying anything yet, but has started mimicking some of the faces we make and has started holding his head up pretty good. A couple of weeks ago that was not possible at all. When we got to RJ today the speech therapist was working on his swallowing reflex with him, he wasn't doing much for her. When she was done we took him to the meditation room and had church with him. We had communion and Thomas gave him a cracker crumb and put drops of juice into his mouth, none of that came back out, it was swallowed! Also during that time he reached out one of his arms (he has done nothing with his arms yet) halfway to his sister then pulled it back when she touched him.
When we were done singing/praying we took him outside for a bit of sunshine. He watched the kids playing and we took off his headrest and made him work his neck muscles, he did really good! Later when one of the kids was standing by him a bee started flying around and he followed it the whole time, his eyes didn't leave the bee until it flew away! These may sound like small things, but they are wonderful! The therapists are very pleased with his progress.
Yesterday when we took him outside one of the little boys wanted to push Micah so dad let him. He took off running! When Thomas caught & stopped them Micah had a big smile on his face!
This next week is the week that we have to be out of the house for a few days so I will be taking the kids to my parents on Tuesday evening and then I will be going back and forth some so be praying for us. Micah may have one day where I don't get to see him, not sure yet. Also, not sure how much I will be able to get on the blog. Thomas is headed back to Jackson tomorrow after a meeting with the doctors and others tomorrow morning.
The song, Amazing Grace, by Todd Agnew has taken on new meaning this week with all the rain we had! It poured here and I have felt that God has poured out His grace on us just the same. We pray everyday for Micah to be healed completely and are still able to be excited about the small things we see each day. We know that all of the small things add up to bigger things. Swallowing and making faces and opening the mouth are little things, but Micah is relearning to use muscles that he doesn't know how to use anymore. When he learns to use those then eating and talking will be in sight. Each day we thank God for the little things and give them to Him to work His wonders with because we know that God can do anything with nothing at all. A friend told me that she was talking with someone about Micah and that person told her that if there really were a God, that little boy would not be lying in the hospital like that! I can see how that could be a tempting place to go, but she is so wrong. What satan meant for evil, God will use for good. God will not let this be for nothing, of that I am sure. We still miss our boy and long for the day when we here his voice again, but we also thank God that he is with us and that He is working for our good every day, just as He is yours.
We love you all and covet your prayers!
Blessings,
Tina
Friday, October 9, 2009
October 9 10:40 PM
Hi friends,
Today has been a good day for us as we are all 9 of us in the same town for a few days after a month of being apart!! Micah had a pretty good day, not too happy with the therapists, but very happy when I showed up with a couple of kids with me. We had a good time talking to him, trying to get him to mimic faces that we were making (he tried) and arm wrestling (a cover up for stretching out his arm muscles)! Later this evening Thomas & I went back to see him and pray with him before going to bed, he was a bit fussy, but was smiling before we left. His doctor and nurse practitioner are very happy with his progress and have said that the family involvement is a big part of that. I'm so thankful that God has made a way for us to be able to be a part of this, there are many here who are not able to have family around them due to distance or work.
I've had this song in my head for some time now upon waking this morning it was there again and most of the day. This is one that I frequently play for Micah also. I figured that since I couldn't get it out of my head that I would share it with you. This song has helped me through a great many teary days so it is my prayer that it will speak to you and help each of you through whatever difficulties that you may be going through.
How far is too far for You
How hard is too hard for You
How much is too much for You great God
There is nothing, no,
There is nothing You can't do
There is no wilderness,
No desert place, no sickness
There is no sinking ship,
No history, no weakness
That You can't save me from
That You can't save me from
How high is too high for You
How low is too low for You
How can I say thanks to You great God
There is nothing, no,
There is nothing You can't do
There is no wilderness,
No desert place, no sickness
There is no sinking ship,
No history, no weakness
That You can't save me from
That You can't save me from
When I can't find strength
I'm needing to get up
I'm not outside Your reach
You rescue me with love
There is no wilderness,
No desert place, no sickness
There is no sinking ship,
No history, no weakness
There is no wilderness,
No desert place, no sickness
There is no sinking ship,
No history, no weakness
That You can't save me from
That You can't save me from
- Rush of Fools
I must admit that I feel very much removed from life as we knew it and though we are going through a great struggle right now and sometimes it feels as though the world has stopped, it hasn't, life goes on all around us. There are so many people struggling in this world, you don't have to look far to find them, but it is very easy to ignore them. We're trying, as should each of you, to keep our hearts open and sensitive to the Spirit. He speaks everyday to us if we will take the time to listen, time is a very precious commodity. Use yours everyday to let people know that you love them and that God loves them.
We love you all,
T-N-T
Thursday, October 8, 2009
October 8 9:00 PM
Hi Friends,
Sorry it has been a while since I have been on here as I forgot to take the computer to the hospital one day and didn't have internet connections at the house until this afternoon. So, the kids are all with me now and we have spent the day not doing school, but settling everyone into the house and playing or reading. We are all doing well and are enjoying being together again after such a long time. Yesterday I actually cooked something, I haven't cooked in a month! We have had so much rain here the last couple of days that if the creek behind the house were wider I think we could have gone whitewater rafting! Thomas will be coming up again this weekend and then we can all be together for a few days again, we're very happy about that!
This afternoon I took one of the kids with me to visit with Micah for some time and had a very good visit. He slept well again last night and did very good with all of the various therapists that he meets with on a daily basis. I can't remember if I already told you about the med reduction the other day so forgive me if this is a repeat. He is currently on 4 different meds regularly, 2 of them he has been on from the beginning. 2 days ago one of them was reduced from 4 times daily to 3 times daily because his BP has been regulating itself very well. Today when I came they had reduced the other med also for the same reason again. A third med they have reduced to every other day so Micah is improving every day, praise God! The doctor has also noted that his posturing has calmed quite a bit and he says that this means his brain is starting to calm down.
The last two days have been a bit of an adjustment for both me and Micah as I am not a part of his wallpaper anymore. That being said, he was happy to see me today, but before he smiled, he squinched his face up and braced himself for kisses! He knew they were coming, it was quite funny.
God has proven himself faithful over and over so much so that it's become really difficult for me to worry. Sometimes I feel guilty that I don't feel so badly about what is going on. This must sound horrible, but I don't know how else to explain how I feel. I have cried more lately over God's grace and provision for us than I have over my child. I know that I should not worry, I know that God provides for all our needs, I know that God loves us, but His provision has so overwhelmed us that, well I don't know what to say or do. There is a Twila Paris song from some years ago that talks about when we grow up in the faith you would think that we would be used to the things that God does, but I never get used to what You do. Just when I even star to worry the least bit about Micah or the others, something else happens that takes my breath away and pulls me back to the Father that loves me so much and knows how I feel. He just keeps proving Himself over and over again, His grace is simply amazing.
I've been praying for all of you that God would bless each of you for being such a blessing to us, we love you dear ones.
Blessings,
Tina
Sorry it has been a while since I have been on here as I forgot to take the computer to the hospital one day and didn't have internet connections at the house until this afternoon. So, the kids are all with me now and we have spent the day not doing school, but settling everyone into the house and playing or reading. We are all doing well and are enjoying being together again after such a long time. Yesterday I actually cooked something, I haven't cooked in a month! We have had so much rain here the last couple of days that if the creek behind the house were wider I think we could have gone whitewater rafting! Thomas will be coming up again this weekend and then we can all be together for a few days again, we're very happy about that!
This afternoon I took one of the kids with me to visit with Micah for some time and had a very good visit. He slept well again last night and did very good with all of the various therapists that he meets with on a daily basis. I can't remember if I already told you about the med reduction the other day so forgive me if this is a repeat. He is currently on 4 different meds regularly, 2 of them he has been on from the beginning. 2 days ago one of them was reduced from 4 times daily to 3 times daily because his BP has been regulating itself very well. Today when I came they had reduced the other med also for the same reason again. A third med they have reduced to every other day so Micah is improving every day, praise God! The doctor has also noted that his posturing has calmed quite a bit and he says that this means his brain is starting to calm down.
The last two days have been a bit of an adjustment for both me and Micah as I am not a part of his wallpaper anymore. That being said, he was happy to see me today, but before he smiled, he squinched his face up and braced himself for kisses! He knew they were coming, it was quite funny.
God has proven himself faithful over and over so much so that it's become really difficult for me to worry. Sometimes I feel guilty that I don't feel so badly about what is going on. This must sound horrible, but I don't know how else to explain how I feel. I have cried more lately over God's grace and provision for us than I have over my child. I know that I should not worry, I know that God provides for all our needs, I know that God loves us, but His provision has so overwhelmed us that, well I don't know what to say or do. There is a Twila Paris song from some years ago that talks about when we grow up in the faith you would think that we would be used to the things that God does, but I never get used to what You do. Just when I even star to worry the least bit about Micah or the others, something else happens that takes my breath away and pulls me back to the Father that loves me so much and knows how I feel. He just keeps proving Himself over and over again, His grace is simply amazing.
I've been praying for all of you that God would bless each of you for being such a blessing to us, we love you dear ones.
Blessings,
Tina
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
October 6 2:00 PM
Hello friends,
When I got to RJ this morning I got to Micah's room and he was gone. I went to the nurses station and asked our nurses assistant where to find my boy she said, " Oh, we lost him." Most of our nurses have this same sense of humor, which is a good thing for us. When I found him one of the PHRS (activities people) had saved him from being parked in a chair in front of the Barney show. I thanked her profusely as Micah can't stand to watch Barney and then we went for a stroll around the building stopping to look at anything that caught his attention. Most of it was caught by Sammy, a golden retriever that was here with one of the volunteers. Sammy came to see Micah and slobbered all over his hands which he liked a lot! Micah has been very happy today, smiling at everyone that comes to the room. He just finished his lunch and had his OT here, we are waiting on the ST to come and then we will go for another walk, possibly outside if it doesn't rain again.
We bought him a St. Louis Blues shirt since we're here and found out that he might get to meet some of their players while we're here.
Tomorrow we are supposed to get to start doing therapy in the gym here so that should be great fun for Micah as they have all sorts of neat things around here. I will have to get back to you as Micah is just about ready to get back in his chair.
4 PM
We did not get to get back into the chair for long as Micah's blood pressure was low so he didn't get his meds at his regular time as they both will affect the BP. He had a little posturing, but that has calmed down. The good news with this ordeal was that his BP is leveling out good and they are reducing one of his meds because of that, yeah! The less meds we have the better it is in my book. Right now Micah is getting his hair cut by the charge nurse who is also a beautician, then he will be headed to the whirlpool tub. Clipped, lathered & lotioned then he'll be lookin' good! Sometime tomorrow his brothers and sisters will be coming to see him, I think he will be very happy as he looks at the picture of them all the time.
Micah slept through the night again last night which, I think, is one of the main reasons that he has been so happy the last two days. They are getting ready to change his food and then start increasing the daytime feeds and decreasing the night time so that he will be on a regular eating schedule. Thus far he has adjusted well to all the changes they have made and we keep praying for a miracle while taking care pf the daily needs. Gotta go, getting ready for the bath. God keeps providing for every need we've had, He is too good.
Blessings,
Tina
When I got to RJ this morning I got to Micah's room and he was gone. I went to the nurses station and asked our nurses assistant where to find my boy she said, " Oh, we lost him." Most of our nurses have this same sense of humor, which is a good thing for us. When I found him one of the PHRS (activities people) had saved him from being parked in a chair in front of the Barney show. I thanked her profusely as Micah can't stand to watch Barney and then we went for a stroll around the building stopping to look at anything that caught his attention. Most of it was caught by Sammy, a golden retriever that was here with one of the volunteers. Sammy came to see Micah and slobbered all over his hands which he liked a lot! Micah has been very happy today, smiling at everyone that comes to the room. He just finished his lunch and had his OT here, we are waiting on the ST to come and then we will go for another walk, possibly outside if it doesn't rain again.
We bought him a St. Louis Blues shirt since we're here and found out that he might get to meet some of their players while we're here.
Tomorrow we are supposed to get to start doing therapy in the gym here so that should be great fun for Micah as they have all sorts of neat things around here. I will have to get back to you as Micah is just about ready to get back in his chair.
4 PM
We did not get to get back into the chair for long as Micah's blood pressure was low so he didn't get his meds at his regular time as they both will affect the BP. He had a little posturing, but that has calmed down. The good news with this ordeal was that his BP is leveling out good and they are reducing one of his meds because of that, yeah! The less meds we have the better it is in my book. Right now Micah is getting his hair cut by the charge nurse who is also a beautician, then he will be headed to the whirlpool tub. Clipped, lathered & lotioned then he'll be lookin' good! Sometime tomorrow his brothers and sisters will be coming to see him, I think he will be very happy as he looks at the picture of them all the time.
Micah slept through the night again last night which, I think, is one of the main reasons that he has been so happy the last two days. They are getting ready to change his food and then start increasing the daytime feeds and decreasing the night time so that he will be on a regular eating schedule. Thus far he has adjusted well to all the changes they have made and we keep praying for a miracle while taking care pf the daily needs. Gotta go, getting ready for the bath. God keeps providing for every need we've had, He is too good.
Blessings,
Tina
Monday, October 5, 2009
October 5 1:00 PM
Hello friends,
Well, Micah slept from 4:30 pm yesterday until this morning very soundly. That was his first good nights rest in I don't know how long. When we got here this morning he was looking quite handsome and very rested and alert, also a little like a jack-o-lantern due to the lack of teeth. As he doesn't have a chair yet that we can wheel him around in we rolled his whole bed out into the open area today where some of the therapists were doing a test checking for his responses to touch, smell, tickle, pain, command, eye tracking and light. This is a test that they will frequently repeat. He has done everything, to some degree, on the test, but hasn't yet done all of them at one time. After that we rolled him over by the windows to get some sunshine and see the outdoors then we parked him in front of a big aquarium for a while and let him watch the fish swimming around.
Mr. T is getting read to head back to Jackson to see his kiddos before they move to St. Louis with me. God is too good, Micah just got smiley right before time for his daddy to leave. It's still hard for him to leave but at least he will get to go with smiles. Love to all of you and many, many blessings.
Tina
Well, Micah slept from 4:30 pm yesterday until this morning very soundly. That was his first good nights rest in I don't know how long. When we got here this morning he was looking quite handsome and very rested and alert, also a little like a jack-o-lantern due to the lack of teeth. As he doesn't have a chair yet that we can wheel him around in we rolled his whole bed out into the open area today where some of the therapists were doing a test checking for his responses to touch, smell, tickle, pain, command, eye tracking and light. This is a test that they will frequently repeat. He has done everything, to some degree, on the test, but hasn't yet done all of them at one time. After that we rolled him over by the windows to get some sunshine and see the outdoors then we parked him in front of a big aquarium for a while and let him watch the fish swimming around.
Mr. T is getting read to head back to Jackson to see his kiddos before they move to St. Louis with me. God is too good, Micah just got smiley right before time for his daddy to leave. It's still hard for him to leave but at least he will get to go with smiles. Love to all of you and many, many blessings.
Tina
Sunday, October 4, 2009
October 4th, 7:20pm
Hello everyone,
Today has been a quiet day. After a few hours of restlessness in the morning Micah has finally decided to sleep. This is first proper sleep he has had in a few days. The last two nights he has pretty much been awake. It seems he still does not have his nights and days straight. We went out to get a few items because he had fallen asleep. He was still asleep on our return a couple of hours later. So we are heading to the house a little early. Tomorrow morning will be the first full meeting with all the re-hab team. Over the next few days they will try to develop a plan of action. We are hoping to move the rest of the family up this way the latter part of the week. I will be working in Jackson during the week and travelling to St.Louis on the weekends. The Lord has some reason for us to be here and we are trying really hard to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Thank you again for your continued encouragement and support through this difficult time. If you want to send cards to Micah you can do so to this address
Micah Varughese
Ranken-Jordan
11365 Dorsett Road
Maryland Heights, MO 63043
Shalom
Thomas
Today has been a quiet day. After a few hours of restlessness in the morning Micah has finally decided to sleep. This is first proper sleep he has had in a few days. The last two nights he has pretty much been awake. It seems he still does not have his nights and days straight. We went out to get a few items because he had fallen asleep. He was still asleep on our return a couple of hours later. So we are heading to the house a little early. Tomorrow morning will be the first full meeting with all the re-hab team. Over the next few days they will try to develop a plan of action. We are hoping to move the rest of the family up this way the latter part of the week. I will be working in Jackson during the week and travelling to St.Louis on the weekends. The Lord has some reason for us to be here and we are trying really hard to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Thank you again for your continued encouragement and support through this difficult time. If you want to send cards to Micah you can do so to this address
Micah Varughese
Ranken-Jordan
11365 Dorsett Road
Maryland Heights, MO 63043
Shalom
Thomas
Saturday, October 3, 2009
October 3 4:45 PM
Hello friends,
Well, today has been a very quiet day for us. As Thomas mentioned last night I slept at a friends house (1st real bed in 3wks) and I think I slept almost 10 hours! Thank you B&K for the B&B! We spent some time with Micah & various therapists and looking around the facilities. Hopefully during the next few days I can sort of get a handle on how things work so that I can work out some sort of schedule with school etc...
I have said several times that God is good and I was soooo wrong in saying that. What I have learned is that God is too good. Though this has been a horrible thing to go through with Micah and emotions have gone wild at times, we have not had to think much about the day to day stuff. At each step of the journey God has provided over and over again.
Today we met the person that offered us a house to stay in. We almost cried right there in front of her. Here's a list:
-huge house
- good neighborhood
-10-15 minute drive from Micah
-fully furnished
-no rent
-we're trying to pay for the utilities
-lawn is taken care of
-exercise macine
-jacuzzi if we want to mess with it
-washer/dryer
-a table our whole family will easily fit around
-backyard with a creek
-loaner van until I get mine here
-shopping all within 5 minutes from house
-games, ping pong
-etc...
quotes:
-please make yourself at home
-please, please, please use the stuff in the pantry, fridge & freezer so I don't have to take it to my
house
After all this, she felt bad that we would have to be out of the house for approx. 5 days, can you believe that. Who else but God could work out something like this? We are completely bumfuzzled!
Micah is starting to calm down a bit, getting used to a new place, people & more noise. They will slowly start integrating him into the social activities here as they don't want to overwhelm him with people, but also don't want him to be recluse sitting in his bed all day. Gotta get off now as we're going to see if we can sit him in the window seat with us for a while.
Love to all of you!
Tina
Well, today has been a very quiet day for us. As Thomas mentioned last night I slept at a friends house (1st real bed in 3wks) and I think I slept almost 10 hours! Thank you B&K for the B&B! We spent some time with Micah & various therapists and looking around the facilities. Hopefully during the next few days I can sort of get a handle on how things work so that I can work out some sort of schedule with school etc...
I have said several times that God is good and I was soooo wrong in saying that. What I have learned is that God is too good. Though this has been a horrible thing to go through with Micah and emotions have gone wild at times, we have not had to think much about the day to day stuff. At each step of the journey God has provided over and over again.
Today we met the person that offered us a house to stay in. We almost cried right there in front of her. Here's a list:
-huge house
- good neighborhood
-10-15 minute drive from Micah
-fully furnished
-no rent
-we're trying to pay for the utilities
-lawn is taken care of
-exercise macine
-jacuzzi if we want to mess with it
-washer/dryer
-a table our whole family will easily fit around
-backyard with a creek
-loaner van until I get mine here
-shopping all within 5 minutes from house
-games, ping pong
-etc...
quotes:
-please make yourself at home
-please, please, please use the stuff in the pantry, fridge & freezer so I don't have to take it to my
house
After all this, she felt bad that we would have to be out of the house for approx. 5 days, can you believe that. Who else but God could work out something like this? We are completely bumfuzzled!
Micah is starting to calm down a bit, getting used to a new place, people & more noise. They will slowly start integrating him into the social activities here as they don't want to overwhelm him with people, but also don't want him to be recluse sitting in his bed all day. Gotta get off now as we're going to see if we can sit him in the window seat with us for a while.
Love to all of you!
Tina
Oct 3, 12:10 am
Hello everyone,
It's been a long day today. I left home in Jackson at 7am to Nashville and headed for St. Louis from Vanderbilt about 10:45am. 5hrs on the road brought us to Ranken-Jordan (Pediatric Specialty Hospital) in St. Louis. The ride was uneventful (thank the Lord!). Micah has been admitted here and we spent the first couple of hours talking to the doctors. The hospital is the coolest looking building inside and out. The doctors were really good to talk to. Micah shares a pod with 3 other people. His bed is near a window as we requested and he seems to like looking out the window. Once they get a routine going for him he will spend very little time in the room except to rest. I think there are less than 30 patients in residence, so he will be getting lots of attention from the doctors, therapists and nurses. As you know by now, his time with the rest of the family Thursday afternoon was really great. It was good to see those dimples again! The plan here is to slow down the thalamic storms and provide the right environment for his brain to relearn how to function again. There is no magic bullet here. Only the Lord knows how Micah will progress. Of course our prayer is that he gets up and says he wants to go home. So as he starts this new phase we expect the Lord to continue working miracles.
One other item of prayer and concern has been answered today. We had been looking for a place for us to live for the short term. Through some contacts with family and friends who came to see us in Nashville we were provided with a fully furnished house, rent-free, to use for our time here! It is only about 15-20 mins away. Praise the Lord, He has prepared for our needs in advance! We received the word about this just as we were pulling out of Vandy this morning. So again the Good Shepherd leads us to still waters and makes us lie down in green pastures. Praise His name! Our family been so blessed by so many people through prayer, words of encouragement and gifts of service and in kind. May the Lord bless you richly for your kindness to us during this difficult time. I am spending the night with Micah so he will feel better in the new place. He seems to have settled down a little better after I came back from dinner and talked to him. I am very tired and will try to get some shut-eye. Maybe he will let me sleep!
Shalom,
Thomas
It's been a long day today. I left home in Jackson at 7am to Nashville and headed for St. Louis from Vanderbilt about 10:45am. 5hrs on the road brought us to Ranken-Jordan (Pediatric Specialty Hospital) in St. Louis. The ride was uneventful (thank the Lord!). Micah has been admitted here and we spent the first couple of hours talking to the doctors. The hospital is the coolest looking building inside and out. The doctors were really good to talk to. Micah shares a pod with 3 other people. His bed is near a window as we requested and he seems to like looking out the window. Once they get a routine going for him he will spend very little time in the room except to rest. I think there are less than 30 patients in residence, so he will be getting lots of attention from the doctors, therapists and nurses. As you know by now, his time with the rest of the family Thursday afternoon was really great. It was good to see those dimples again! The plan here is to slow down the thalamic storms and provide the right environment for his brain to relearn how to function again. There is no magic bullet here. Only the Lord knows how Micah will progress. Of course our prayer is that he gets up and says he wants to go home. So as he starts this new phase we expect the Lord to continue working miracles.
One other item of prayer and concern has been answered today. We had been looking for a place for us to live for the short term. Through some contacts with family and friends who came to see us in Nashville we were provided with a fully furnished house, rent-free, to use for our time here! It is only about 15-20 mins away. Praise the Lord, He has prepared for our needs in advance! We received the word about this just as we were pulling out of Vandy this morning. So again the Good Shepherd leads us to still waters and makes us lie down in green pastures. Praise His name! Our family been so blessed by so many people through prayer, words of encouragement and gifts of service and in kind. May the Lord bless you richly for your kindness to us during this difficult time. I am spending the night with Micah so he will feel better in the new place. He seems to have settled down a little better after I came back from dinner and talked to him. I am very tired and will try to get some shut-eye. Maybe he will let me sleep!
Shalom,
Thomas
Friday, October 2, 2009
October 2 9:40 AM
Hi everyone, I just wanted to take a minute to say we're loading up the car, Micah is bathed, dressed and looking good. Thus far everything is on schedule so we should be heading out shortly so unless we run into some WiFi along the route this will be it for the day.
Blessings,
Tina
May the Lord bless you and keep you, May the Lord make His Face to shine upon you and give you peace.....
Blessings,
Tina
May the Lord bless you and keep you, May the Lord make His Face to shine upon you and give you peace.....
Thursday, October 1, 2009
October 1 10:00 pm
You all are so encouraging to me, thanks for all the comments. Today was a good day for the whole family, my parents included. Micah is definitely headed to St. Louis tomorrow ( unless he listens to me in which case we would be breaking out of the joint in the middle of the night and hitching a ride to Jackson : ) the caravan leaves Vandy at 10 AM. Thomas and I will follow the ambulance, get Micah checked in and then try to decide what we're going to do about the rest of the family For those of you who do not know me as well we have 6 other children that are home schooled so we are trying to find a place that would be suitable for us, nothing extravagant, just a space to keep our stuff for a while. Not knowing how long we will be there we are also trying to find a place where we would not be invading on others, not everyone can handle that much noise for long amounts of time.
Enough of that on to the good stuff. I got to see all my kids today!!! It was a good time for all, even Micah. I have thought several times that he is bored with all of these women around all the time trying to get him to look at them or squeeze their hand, etc... I was right. Gretta, one of the PT's had gotten him into a chair before the kids came did her therapy and left him there so he would be better able to see his siblings. They all came in and gathered around him on the floor and started talking. When he finally got his eyes and head headed in the right direction you would not believe the reaction! He was sooo happy I almost cried, he could not stop smiling at them, obviously he recognizes them. Since they were so loud we decided to go down the hall to the "quiet room". We were down there for quite a while talking and hugging etc... Samuel, being Samuel decided to act goofy in front of Micah and he started smiling at him and didn't stop there, but went on to laugh at that point we were all laughing so hard that we couldn't stop then Micah was laughing at us laughing at him, it was great! What a blessing that was. After that Micah was tired so we took him back to the room and to bed then we took the others out to the Mellow Mushroom for some of th best pizza and root beer that I've ever had in my life. They had a good time and we were all sad when it was time to go, but hopefully this time we won't be apart quite so long.
I don't know when I will get to post next as we will be on the road tomorrow and I'm not sure where we are sleeping tomorrow evening, but I will be back on here the first chance I get. I love you all and am so thankful to you for all the encouraging words. Keep praying!
Blessings,
Tina
Enough of that on to the good stuff. I got to see all my kids today!!! It was a good time for all, even Micah. I have thought several times that he is bored with all of these women around all the time trying to get him to look at them or squeeze their hand, etc... I was right. Gretta, one of the PT's had gotten him into a chair before the kids came did her therapy and left him there so he would be better able to see his siblings. They all came in and gathered around him on the floor and started talking. When he finally got his eyes and head headed in the right direction you would not believe the reaction! He was sooo happy I almost cried, he could not stop smiling at them, obviously he recognizes them. Since they were so loud we decided to go down the hall to the "quiet room". We were down there for quite a while talking and hugging etc... Samuel, being Samuel decided to act goofy in front of Micah and he started smiling at him and didn't stop there, but went on to laugh at that point we were all laughing so hard that we couldn't stop then Micah was laughing at us laughing at him, it was great! What a blessing that was. After that Micah was tired so we took him back to the room and to bed then we took the others out to the Mellow Mushroom for some of th best pizza and root beer that I've ever had in my life. They had a good time and we were all sad when it was time to go, but hopefully this time we won't be apart quite so long.
I don't know when I will get to post next as we will be on the road tomorrow and I'm not sure where we are sleeping tomorrow evening, but I will be back on here the first chance I get. I love you all and am so thankful to you for all the encouraging words. Keep praying!
Blessings,
Tina
October 1 10:40 AM
Wow, I cannot believe that Oct. is already here, time flies even when you're not having fun. I don't have a lot of news this morning. Micah has been taken off of the antibiotics as his blood cultures being clear was finalized and the surgeon has cleared him for take off. So, now we wait again to see when exactly we will leave. It could be as early as tomorrow or maybe not until Monday, I have to wait to see what the case manager says and she is off today. If today, Thomas will be taking off tomorrow to make the 5 hr. trek to St. Louis. Micah will be going via ambulance and one of can ride with him.
Thomas is bringing the kids (all of them) up here to see me (I'm very excited) & Micah today so be praying that that goes well as Matthew & Daniel have not yet seen Micah and it may be difficult for them to understand why their big brother cannot talk to them or play with them.
We still don't know where we will be staying in St. Louis but are trusting God to provide the perfect solution for that. We will be going to Ranken Jordan, I don't have the address with me but I'm sure if you need it you can find it on their web-site or I can send it to you once we get there. So depending on what happens the next day or so I will probably have a day where I may not be able to give you an update.
Well, I just got interrupted by a phone call and if the hospital has a bed open for Micah we will be headed to St. Louis by 10 AM tomorrow morning, wow that was fast and our heads are whirling! Okay I have to get off of here and think for a minute and start getting all my stuff together. I'll try to get back on here this evening and let you know how things transpire today.
Love you all, thanks for sticking with us through this.
Blessings,
Tina
Thomas is bringing the kids (all of them) up here to see me (I'm very excited) & Micah today so be praying that that goes well as Matthew & Daniel have not yet seen Micah and it may be difficult for them to understand why their big brother cannot talk to them or play with them.
We still don't know where we will be staying in St. Louis but are trusting God to provide the perfect solution for that. We will be going to Ranken Jordan, I don't have the address with me but I'm sure if you need it you can find it on their web-site or I can send it to you once we get there. So depending on what happens the next day or so I will probably have a day where I may not be able to give you an update.
Well, I just got interrupted by a phone call and if the hospital has a bed open for Micah we will be headed to St. Louis by 10 AM tomorrow morning, wow that was fast and our heads are whirling! Okay I have to get off of here and think for a minute and start getting all my stuff together. I'll try to get back on here this evening and let you know how things transpire today.
Love you all, thanks for sticking with us through this.
Blessings,
Tina
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