Weeks of March 3-16, 2008

Dear friends,
Entries will be a little less frequent from now on. Terry is steadily progressing, THANK GOD!!! I will try to keep everyone posted of major events. Since Feb. 25, when he began work with the walker, he's improved his distance almost 300%!!!! The first day he walked 22 feet, and on March 14 he walked 62 feet!! His endurance is improving all of the time, and he doesn't need as many rest breaks either. He walked the 22 feet in 5 starts and stops, and it only took 4 starts and stops to walk the 62 feet. His greatest distance at one try has gone from 3 feet to 16 feet!! He DOES need the help and experience of the therapist still, so he can't yet walk anywhere else but therapy. We continue to practice standing to the walker at home each day. He's getting better at that all the time, as well. Our daily routine includes MUCH more activity from him. The therapist is having Terry do some kind of exercise or stretching every hour. It's encouraging to see the benefits Terry reaps in strength, balance, and ability. We seem to continue to have van problems. Apparently, these types of vans are NOT well made, and many are prone to various problems. We had a very special visit last week. It was a snowy, low-visibility day, and we were trying to decide if we would be able to go to therapy. At one point,when I looked out the back window, I saw 20+ Great Blue Herons!!! They were evidently flying as a group when it got too difficult to fly well. They stayed for about two hours, just sitting in the pasture. It was WONDERFUL to see!!! Terry saw the hand specialist again, and he was pleased with Terry's progress. Since Terry can't really feel that hand very well, the doctor didn't think he'd improve much. He said to just keep working. Feeling is returning in stages. We're THANKFUL for that, but it unfortunately means Terry hurts more. Right now, he can feel all of the hardware in his back. We pray for a lessening of the pain. That's all for now. I'll write again soon. THANK YOU for your prayers and encouragement!