Update at 8:40 pm
Well, hello everyone! We have not been able to keep you as updated about Heather's progress as we had been doing, and we apologize about that. Your prayers for Heather are still very much needed! She is making progress, but it is slow progress. As of now, we have a date of discharge planned for the 28th of April. There are a lot of things that need to take place between now and then before she goes home. Heather needs to conquer the fear of standing and walking. She is still very anxious on some days and because of the fear, the progress is slow. She has to have someone holding her up as she takes steps. Today, I helped her transfer with a slide board from her chair to a mat by myself. Heather was able to assist me in sliding with her strong side and it went real well. One of the main therapists here believes that it is going to take many more months for Heather to conquer the fear and begin standing and walking on her own. Would you join with me in praying that the Lord will give her the courage needed to conquer the fear, and that she once again will be able to SURPRISE everyone with her ability this last (possible week) we have here.
The Lord has been with us the past 20+ years, and He for certain has ordered each step of the way the past 84 days!!!!!! The stroke that occurred during the surgery was no surprise to Him, and everything she has been through (from taking 7 days to come off the ventilator after the surgery; the complete right sided paralysis; the extreme pain with hypersensitivity, getting influenza, Urinary tract infection, paralyzed vocal chord and surgery to repair it, an infection under her right arm that had to be drained and is still healing, swallow problems, heart rate locking in at 150 beats per minute, vision problems, speech problems, thought-processing problems, etc., her steps have been ordered by the Lord, and with each issue she has faced, someone's life has been touched!!!!
There are so many more lives that the Lord wants to touch through Heather's suffering. He hasn't walked her down this path these 20 years to heal her and be done with her. I was reminded on Saturday of how much more He wants to use her life as I watched her with some young people that attended our Church for a youth rally. She was able to obtain a pass to leave Siskin, and her dad picked us up in the shuttle bus and brought her to Church. She greeted everyone as they walked into the Church and handed them each a program for the day's activities. Most of the teens had heard about Heather and for some it was there first opportunity to meet her. It is almost like she is a celebrity. Everyone feels as though they know her, the amazing lady with half of a brain!!!! On yesterday, she was able to sing once again at Church for the first time since her surgery. She sang the song, "I Can Trust Him," and her voice was very strong, which, for a short time, we were unsure if she would ever be able to get above a whisper. There wasn't a dry eye in the congregation, and one young man in particular was really touched by her singing!!!! I wondered what he may be facing as I watched him weeping as she sang.
Today, she stood brave and tall and sang the same song to the two therapists who were working with her. When they stand her, they usually try to get her to count or to distract her because she doesn't want to stand for very long. So, today, one of them said, "Heather, why don't you sing while you are standing? She said, okay, and stood and sang, "I Can Trust Him", and remained standing until she finished singing the entire song.
Please pray for us as well as we have a lot of remodeling to do in order to get our home ready for Heather's arrival! Everything happens in the Lord's timing, and we know that everything is going to come together! Once she is discharged from here, she will have an outpatient plan of care that will continue with Physical, Occupational as well as Speech therapies! There are still a lot of hard challenges she will face, but isn't it wonderful how much progress she has made already!!! A better quality of life is what we have always wanted for Heather, and we are still PRAISING THE LORD, that the seizures are GONE!!!!! She has been seizure free now for 90 days!!!!!! I still find myself listening for seizures, and even looking for them because they were so much a part of her life on a daily basis for years and years. We still get overwhelmed when we stop and think about the fact that she doesn't have the interference and the storm raging inside her brain anymore!!!!! Lord, thank you for including in your plan to give Heather the opportunity to have the rest of her life without seizures! You are a wonderful Saviour!!!!!!!
Check back in a couple of days, and we will do our best to post again on Wednesday!!!! Thank you once again for praying and being beside us through these difficult days. I have found myself realizing the magnitude of this miracle as I watch her work so hard at getting better! Seems like I am shedding more tears now than I have the past 84 days. I was thanking the Lord last night for keeping it in my husband's heart, as well as Heather's heart, that the Lord would heal her someday!!!! Neither of them have ever stopped believing that He would bring healing and PRAISE GOD, HE HAS!!!!!! What Faith!!!!!
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD:
and he delighteth in his way." Psalm 37:23
Uncle Wayne & Aunt Margie came for a visit!
