6 months today!!

Well it is anniversary day again, 6 months since the accident. When I think about it sometimes it feels like a bit of a blur spending  2 1/2 weeks in trauma, to Ottawa rehab center, renovating the home, buying different equipment and now the last 3 months being in Detroit every week.
We are excited going forward spending more time at home with the kids and just getting a better family routine.
Today is also reassessment day in Detroit. With these reassessments we have always had progress, hoped and prayed for more progress but progress none the less. Today we have the abductor on the right leg to add to our list of functioning muscles. This muscle is the inner thigh, we were hoping for her quad but that will just have to wait for another day. Her hip flexors and glutes continue to get stronger but not enough yet to get voluntary movement.
See you all soon, Mike

Showing my age

Time for a short "mike post" to the point! We had a good couple days. Sandra was feeling strong and completed her workouts (crawling and core) well. She continues to have changes in sensations but no confirmation if the changes are good or bad so we will take any change as good. 

I have prayed since the beginning that we will see continued progress and we are, just not as quickly as our impatient selves want. Now to the title of the blog, we are getting ready to watch an 80's tribute band in the casino. P.S if they play Wham or Culture club I'm leaving.

Mike

Here we go again!

Well here we go again, it was nice to get out of the routine of life and take a trip to California with the girls and our dear friends the Martins. While we were away we got to celebrating Julia's 14th birthday and enjoy some warmer weather. Arriving home on Sunday we had about 15 hours before I was back on the road to Detroit, this time with my sister in tow. We had a good week catching up and spending some time together.  I was glad to see that my body didn't take long to get back at it. I was able to pick up where I left off, which I was really thankful for. Mike and I have been talking with my physiotherapist in Detroit and in Ottawa about what we should be doing long term for therapy. We have decided to try to have therapy in Ottawa for 3 weeks and 1 week in Detroit. We have looked into purchasing two pieces of equipment for home, the standing frame and the FES bike. Also, Jacquie my therapist in Ottawa has offered to come to Detroit to observe what they do so that she can adapt as much as possible for me. We are hoping that this will really work out. It will be much easier on our family and I really look forward to getting a more normal of a routine established. So my last consecutive week in Detroit will be November 14th. I'm looking forward to this week and have been praying that the muscles that have started to contract on demand will continue to get stronger and that my quads will start to contract. Some moments are harder than others but it always seems that God sends me just what I need when I need it. Thank you for your continued support, love and prayers. Hugs Sandra 

I've Got a Hope!

It has been my incredible pleasure to accompany my sister to Detroit this week.  I will admit that although I was really honoured to be asked and very excited to have some uninterrupted time with my Buddy (something we haven’t had since her accident really) I was also fairly nervous.  I have only recently learned how to lift her and I am not nearly as strong as Mike!  She is a very patient teacher but I’m sure after an exhausting time in therapy she has probably missed the routine she and Mike have established and his knowledge of her needs.

She and Mike and the girls arrived home from their trip in the wee hours of Sunday morning due to technical issues on the flight out of Toronto.  She did not get a full sleep and then she and I left around 5 pm on Sunday.  We drove through lots of wind and rain as we felt the effects of Hurricane Sandy. We obviously arrived safely and have had a really good week even though I think she’s been pretty tired. It has been very good for me to see her in action (another thing I wasn’t really looking forward to) She does her exercises with a smile on her face.  The staff working with her are amazing, one of them a very outspoken Believer.  I have noticed that many of them just flock to Sandra.  Even though they may not be working with her, they seem to be drawn to her and spend a lot of time chatting with her.  There is a lot of laughter and a lot of sweat!  Yesterday I chatted with the mother of a young woman who was paralysed at 17 in a car accident.  It was really interesting to hear her perspective on the process and how similar the situations can be.  She talked of the years of finding the best way to help her daughter and balance family through the process.  I was struck by the reality that the only thing we can control is our responses to our circumstances.  Sandra and Mike have chosen to respond to this situation with a strong leaning on God believing that He will work this for good.  There are definitely difficult days and dark moments…she is human but once she is done with this…the resolve is there and she presses forward…smiling.  I’m sure that is why people around her flock to her.  She smiles because she has a hope.  She doesn’t force the smile onto her face it comes from deep within her spirit where the Holy Spirit fills her.

Even though I was nervous I really wanted to be here and I am so glad I came.  I have learned so much more about what my Buddy is going through on a daily basis and it helps me to pray.  As I write this she is crawling around the track with much difficulty.  It also reminds me that all my sadness over not being able to do something for my sister is really pointless ( I need to turn that into praise and prayer)  none of us can really “do” anything but we also don’t have to be hopeless…we do have a hope and we must keep on hoping…the past is sealed but we know who holds the future and I am determined to HOPE IN HIM!!

I have had the privilege of singing at our church and close to this time last year Pastor Reed requested I sing a song performed by Carolyn Arends and written by Pierce Pettis &  Eric Fiedor called "I've Got a Hope"  I have been given permission by Carolyn to share that with you here.

I pray that as you listen you will be reminded of the Hope we have and how sometimes we don’t even know what the hope means.  We all hope my sister will walk and loved ones will be well…but the truth is we are hoping in a God who is bigger than we can think or even imagine.

Please continue to pray and hope with us.  We leave here to head home after therapy today.  I am really hoping that this weekend will be restful and peaceful form my Buddy and her family.

We treasure each of you.

Carla

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” ~ Ephesians 3:20

wow a week already!

We had a great week enjoying the coast of California, it was uneventful as far as Sandra was concerned. We had this holiday planned before the accident and I am thankful we did because we most likely wouldn't have planned it after. It is a beautiful place to visit, great views and scenery. We went from San Francisco to San Diego doing most of the sites in between. It was a great time to connect as a family plus spend some time with friends. Although it was a great time together it was still difficult for sandra missing out on a few events (trolley cars in San Fran, beaches, kayaking etc...) and just life as it was. We are always "on" looking for accessible solutions, "where's the ramp", " is the rental car shuttle accesable", the days of winging it are on hold for a time things have to be planned out well.
This coming week will bring a few more firsts as I will be staying home from Detroit and Carla (Sandra's sister) will be going with her. We are confident things will go well but pray for a great week at rehab and continued progress. Mike

Where do the days go?

We have had another week fly by. Detroit went well, focusing on strengthening my core as much as possible but also working on my hips and glutes. Although Mike and I are spending a lot of quality time together we are missing the girls and finding hard to jam 7 days in to 3 when we get home. October is always an exciting month for us, for starters our first born Julia was born on October 25th and second we for the past few years have been able to take a week of holidays and spend it with our dear friends the Martins. Well we had a trip planned to California prior to my accident and the plan is to leave tomorrow morning. I have to say I've been a little anxious, scared and maybe a little fearful of all of the unknown that awaits me but I look forward to building some wonderful memories with my family and friends. So I cling to Gods promise that He will only give me what I can handle and that He will always be with me. We don't know what tomorrow holds but it does make it easier when we know that He's the one in control. Please be in pray for safety traveling that all will go well with the flights, for me as I transfer from plane to plane. Pray that I will continue to trust God for all my needs. That we will build great memories together. Psalms 121:1-8 Thanks to everyone for your love, support and encouragement. Hugs Sandra

Crawling again

Well here we go agin, sandra is doing some crawling this afternoon and working on her core. Things are going well. This past weekend we got a new bed and bedroom set that works for the old living room now bedroom, she is happy to get rid of the hospital bed.
Mike