Great Weekend!

It was so good to be back together with my hubby again, just hanging out, walking (well, he sort of walks with his crutches, and I power along in my wheelchair!), talking, and just sharing joy in being with each other! It went far too fast, but it was good all the same!  Ben plans on coming down again for the last week of May and the first week of June.  It can't come too soon!

As for an update as to how things are coming along for me...as I've said before, it's all good! I continue to gain strength in my legs, and mobility in my arms. It has been determined that there is damage to the tendons in both shoulders, and a tear in one of them in the right arm. They are considering treatment with shots to freeze the tendon, and if that goes well, possibly cortisone shots. In the meantime, I continue to work on strengthening and stretching as much as I can.

We had our first team/family meeting on Monday morning. Present were the doctor, a nurse, my physiotherapist, my speech pathologist, a rep from ICBC, the liaison for ICBC, my social worker, my occupational therapist, and then my family - Ben, my mom, my sister and my sister-in-law! It was quite the roomful! We also had our lawyer and his team on conference call!  It went very well, and as each member of the GFS team made a report as to my progress, several of them mentioned my faith as something that has helped me have a good attitude and make the progress that I have! PRAISE GOD that it is coming through me and they know it! That meant so much to me to know that God is being recognized in my life by people who may not even acknowledge His existence!  Keep praying that my witness will be strong and focused on giving Him all the glory for what He has done and will do in my life!

For your information, my tentative discharge date is July 2nd, but we hope that it will be bumped up to sometime in mid-June. It all depends on how quickly I progress, and how far they think they can take me. 

Upcoming appointments include the neuro-ophtamologist this Friday, another swallowing assessment done with xray on Monday, a follow-up appointment with the spine doctor to go over the results of today's xray (which will determine when I lose the collar!), and an appointment with an ENT (ear, nose and throat specialist) to determine if there is any permanent damage to my vocal chords.  I am especially excited about that one! He will be using a camera to go into my vocal chords (which I'm sure won't be fun!) and seeing how they are doing - I've actually always wanted to do that! I also have added speech therapy to my list of classes, and today she told me that she has some exercises for me to do (once we have clearance that my vocal chords are okay) that should help with the nasality of my voice. I've frequently said that if all I lose through this accident is my singing ability, I have lost very little. But now with this new hope of regaining at least my speaking voice and perhaps some vocal tone and range, I am very excited! She also determined that my soft palate only lifts on one side, also adding to the change in my tone, which again she has exercises for! So I am very pleased to add this all to my schedule! Unfortunately, my music therapist is taking the rest of May off, so I won't be able to work with her for now. But with my keyboard in my room, I'll keep practising until she gets back!

Thank you as ever for all your prayers for our family.  They are a treasure and a solace for all of us.  God is working in us and through us, and it is such a privilege!

Because He Lives!
Judy