Weeks of March 17 to April 6, 2008

Things have been moving along very well since the last time I wrote. Terry's average distance while walking went from 10 feet on March 14 to about 25 feet by March 28. He is SO determined!! I PRAISE GOD for the strength of character I see in Terry EVERY DAY!!! He had set a goal of being able to walk 140 feet by the end of March , and he met that goal a WEEK early! Then, since Terry was doing so well, the therapist (James) started working on other things. We started learning "stand & pivot" transfers to and from his chair or bed. For the first few times, we only practiced that at therapy. Then Terry and I got brave and started trying at home. It works VERY well, at least MOST of the time. Just for some excitement last week, we had one attempt that didn't work. He was trying to sit on the bed, and was too close to the edge. He kind of did a slow slide to his prosthetic knee. Not knowing what else to do, we laid him
down on the floor (first time he's been there in over a year!), then called 911 (help! He's fallen and he can't get up!! HA-HA-HA!!!). They of course came right away and it was all taken care of VERY WELL, with no problem. They were glad to get an update on the "accident victim", since they had also been on that run (February 14, 2007). Several people called to make sure all was okay. It's so WONDERFUL that so many people watch out for us! We have decided to sell the business. We think we're headed in a different direction at this point, and we weren't sure we could really do the business justice anyway. There's still a LOT of therapy and practice needed, and that all takes time. Spring is here --sort of-- so that means Esteina needs to work more. We get to baby-sit on Saturday's!! YEAH!!! We've missed those kids. Terry is SO much better then he was last year! We think we can handle the energy of the kids a LOT better. Back to PROGRESS news - up until March 20 Terry was walking with a lot of help from the therapist. Then, on that VERY SPECIAL day, James "locked" Terry's prosthetic knee, and HE WALKED ALONE!!!! He used the walker for balance, but NO ONE was holding him!! He walked an average of 25 feet each time after that. At one point, James said that with the progress Terry's making, he should be able to move around the house AS HE WISHES by MAY 31!!!! We IMMEDIATELY joined hands and PRAISED GOD for HIS work in Terry! It seems SO SOON after this LONG year! We started water therapy again this past week. James thinks the water is the best -- and safest -- place for Terry to work on balance. After the first week when we had three days in the water, we'll go to 2 on land and 2 in the pool. That way, he will get the benefits of both. I'm EXCITED to see what God has in store for us! We've been asked to speak about all of the new life we have experienced since the accident. We're looking forward to it, and trying to "see" if this is the first step in the new direction we're to go. We are doing our best at trying to listen to God's leading. He's been SO FAITHFUL to us through all of this, we are humbled and GRATEFUL for HIS many blessings! I think that's about all for now. It has certainly seemed the progress is getting faster and faster. Terry's strength and endurance improve all the time!
BALANCE is the current hurdle, but with God's help, Terry will gain that soon, I'm sure. He still deals with a fair amount of pain, but we THINK that means the spinal cord is healing. The pain seems to be in a certain area for 2-3 weeks, and then moves down. We hope for COMPLETE healing, so that he can feel his legs and feet better. I'll write again when I can. I'll let all of you know if I'm going to "finish" this sometime. THANK YOU for your PRAYERS, ENCOURAGEMENT and continued interest. All of YOU are being used by God to keep us going!