So how are we doing? It's a good question that we get asked a lot . Under the circumstances we are doing well but it is a continual adjustment to our new life.
Sandra has recovered well from her surgery at the end of June. The removal of the hardware has eased her upper back pain and improved her range of motion.
These are great improvements that we are thankful for but she continues to be in pain everyday. Sandra has burning or twitching all the time since her injury. The burning can be in her thighs, her feet or anywhere in between or all over. She continues to resist taking medication to ease the pain, as they all have some sort of side effect. These side effect can effect the outcome of her recovery, dulling the nerves while they are still try to sort themselves out.
On the therapy side of things Sandra has progressed to wearing a harness that supports her weight on a treadmill. This is exciting to watch her "walk" with assistance. The harness supports her weight and her therapist help in moving her legs to simulate the walking motion on the treadmill in hopes of engaging her muscle memory. It reminds me of a child's development, just at a slower pace, initially after the accident we were excited to see Sandra sit up unassisted, no small feet for having zero trunk. We then saw her move on to crawling in Detroit this was also very difficult for her to do, and actually difficult sometimes to watch her struggle with. These are simple actions to us but incredibly difficult for her.
Last winter Sandra moved to assisted standing at our kitchen counter, then to moving (swinging) her leg forward and back, side to side. The story isn't over yet, we (mostly she) presses on working for every bit of recovery she has seen.
We have so much to be thankful for. Sandra has started back with acupuncture with a new doctor and although she has only had 3 sessions she has started to feel a difference in her pain level. Also, on Friday she received a phone call and has been accepted into the functional MRI trial. This is a huge answer to prayer! We will go to the civic Tuesday and have a meeting to find out more details. God continues to prepare the way for us.
A few prayer requests for the next while
1) Sandra will continue to improve and therapy goes well
2) The MRI trial will go well and be of great benefit to Sandra and others
3) Sandra's pain and spams will decrease,
4) improved sleep for Sandra
5) God's direction in our housing needs
Happy thanksgiving, we do have so much to be thankful for don't we. Wishing you all a relaxing weekend with your friends and family. Mike
