Well, it's official. We're home. It's been quite the process but we're here. We had a full day of PT and OT yesterday. Josh tried a new therapy called the stand-up table. It's a table where you start out laying on your back and strapped to it. The table is then slowly moved into the upright position and he is standing. He talked about how odd it felt to have weight placed on his feet. At one point, he did get a little light-headed, but not too much. He was up for close to half an hour. This is good for getting blood flow to all the lower extremities and a few other things I can't seem to remember right now. :-)
We packed up Josh's stuff and it looked like moving day. He had collected quite a bit over the last 3 months. We left MFB around 4:00 and made it home about 4:30. Both of the kids were waiting for us, there were about 100 pink flamingoes in the front yard, and the kids had made a big "Welcome Home Daddy" banner that was hung up in the house. It was a nice homecoming. We spent the evening hanging out with the kids, eating dinner together as a family (the kids fighting to get down the whole time) and sitting outside watching them swing. We let them stay up late because they were being so good.
After the kids went to bed, Josh relaxed in front of the TV and I spent a decent amount of time unpacking and trying to organize the massive amount of medical supplies. Josh started getting tired a little after midnight and we started to get him ready for bed. Right now everything takes a long time because we don't know where anything is. We finally got him ready and the lights went out around 1:00. It was so amazing to have him in the same room as me. A few minutes after the lights went out, he said something and it really took me by surprise to hear someone else in the room with me. It was great!!! It is so nice to finally have my husband home even if we're not in the same bed yet. The overnight stay was interesting and I realized I still have a lot to learn. To prevent pressure sores, he needs to be turned every 3 hours. We can work up to a little more time if his skin looks good, but as of right now he's too nervous to go much longer. It will definitely take some getting used to, but it was manageable.
This morning, Jerry, Josh's home health care aide, came at 9:00 to get him ready for the day. There were lots of little things we realized that needed to be addressed so that this morning routine goes smoothly. We are going to try and find some solutions when OT and PT come over on Monday for therapy. We will normally be going back to MFB on these days, but they are coming over to see what issues we have faced and try to problem-solve with us. This will be very helpful for us.
The ministry that was formed in relation to Josh's accident, a.k.a. 311 Ministries, had a meeting in Marion, Indiana today. It was long and many issues were addressed. We got a long run-down of the meeting and are so blessed to have so many people who are willing to use their time and brain power to help us out. So many decisions have already been made so that we are in the best situation possible. It is nice to have smart people talking about the best way to handle tax issues, Medicaid issues, budgets, medical costs, and how to best allow Josh to use this situation for God's glory.
The kids went away for a good portion of late morning and afternoon which was nice for Josh and me. We had numerous groups of visitors today who stopped by to welcome us home. We enjoyed seeing people and also enjoyed having no agenda. This is extremely out of the norm when every hour of your daytime has been scheduled for the last 3 months and you have little say in it. To just sit around, unpack some, talk, and eat together was very nice.
The kids came home, Brad and Sarah and their kids came over, and we had a nice evening of ordering out pizza and just hanging out. Noah rode his bike all night and Zoe was thoroughly entertained by having a friend over. We are heading to Daybreak Community in Hudsonville tomorrow morning and Josh will be interviewed by the pastor as part of the message. Please pray that God uses Josh in a mighty way and that he feels encouraged to be able to share what he has been learning. He so desperately wants to make sense of this situation and knows that may be impossible. But to know that God is using it for others to know him more makes the sense of loss more bearable.
Please remember us in your prayers as we try and learn each others routines, how to best move him around, take care of his needs, take care of the kids and little Ephram inside my tummy, and all the other changes we are experiencing. Pray that we continue to treat each other with patience when the other is frustrated or unsure of how to handle a new situation. Pray that I get good and fast at doing all the work that he needs to have done for him so that we have time for other things (such as sleep). We love you all and so appreciate your faithfulness in praying for us as we continue on this journey...
Prayer Requests:
-TOTAL HEALING
-Patience as we learn how to work and live together as a family
-For God to use Josh in a way we never dreamed before this
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