The 18 Month Mark

Truth be told, I haven't been counting and I only realized that it was 18 months ago today as a passing thought.  But, passing thought or not, quite a bit has changed and I haven't left an update in quite some time.  So here we go!

Josh and I went in to meet with the Ortho surgeon on his ankles just after the one year mark last fall - end of November - and as far as he is concerned, we don't need to bother going back unless there is an issue with the ankles.  Josh has a slight loss of sensation, a dullness might describe it, to the front of one of his lower legs, but nothing significant.  The range of motion isn't fully back - but he's able to keep flexibility going by being vigilant with his stretches throughout the week.

As for the spine.  We went in on 7 February (I know... and it's the third week in APRIL now! 50 lashes...) to meet with the Ortho-Spinal surgeon.  The report that we got was the same that we had been getting from the get-go: there is growth, but not as much as we would expect by this point in your recovery.  6 months prior to this appointment, Josh had an MRI and there HAS been growth since then, but it is still not a "robust" fusion.  Honestly, I don't remember if he had a doom and gloom outlook as to if it ever would be or not - I just frankly choose to believe that it will fuse in due time.  Josh is a bit shorter after all... it just takes him a little longer to grow! ;) 

The lack of a robust fuse means increased stress on the hardware.  The guidance was to just continue to "baby" his back and abide by his profile, following up with a check-up each year. 

But I will say this: I am continuously amazed, impressed, and just plain blown away by the drive and determination that Josh applies to his job and his fitness.  Looking at the months of physical therapy alone - I'm not sure I would have had the stick-to-it-ivness that he had when it came to working hard at getting back to prime functioning level!  He motivates me to be a better wife and mom every day!

So - no more running for him.  Instead, he's taken to swimming and road biking.  And as for the mountain biking... well, that's a story for another day!  We still work through issues as they pop up, but we've adapted as a family unit.  We're learning to do the day-to-day tasks (like shifting furniture, and carrying in crates of apples) that won't leave Josh in pain or overburden a 7 month pregnant momma!

But, the final command is coming to a close and we're gearing up to leave El Paso.  Another 6 weeks or so and we'll be able to close this chapter and step confidently into the next.  We've all gleaned many good lessons from the past (almost) 4 years here, and it's shaped and matured us into who we are today.  Personally, I've been more intentional about relationships and what I can learn from others - I can only hope it's not been merely a "take" but more of a give and take.  I've enjoyed discovering the beauty and the little hidden gems within El Paso and the culture.  I never would have freely chosen to move here, but am thankful for the opportunity!!!  When else would my herbs grow out back year round!?!!   (Might miss that the most!!!)

 

 

In preparation for leaving, we pulled the girls from preschool a few weeks early, so this was after their last day of preschool!  What sweet girls!!  Morgan is showing off her sticker and a picture she cut out from a magazine, and Addison has her writing from the day. 

So, where are we headed next?  To State College, PA (Where Josh grew up and his family still lives!) where Josh will go to Penn State for 2 years before going on to teach English at West Point for 3 more years!  (Can anyone else see God's perfect timing in all of this?  Seriously!)  We're looking forward to green grass and trees... oh yea... and being closer to family!!!!

So, if you're wondering what to pray over - that Josh's spine will continue to fuse and that it will be robust and strong.  Praise God for the miracles we've already witnessed and the lessons he's taught us!  A seamless change of command and no loss of inventory.  A smooth delivery (Due July 2nd) along with finding the perfect specialists for us all medically speaking (Endo, OB, Spinal, Cardio, PT, etc.), transition for the girls, and housing... all of those things that go along with a PCS, and that we'll have no trouble renting our house here in El Paso.

Gosh, does that sound like a lot? Because we're just riding a huge wave of tremendous peace right now.  It's fantastic!  God is good!  And as for today's "significance"?  It's just another day. The girls were watching a veggie tales episode last week: "The Ballad of Little Joe" and there's a point where Joseph is confronting his brothers about how they had sold him into slavery (etc. etc.)... Larry Boy plainly stated that "what you intended for harm, God used for good."  And all day today, they were singing a song from another episode "God is bigger than the Boogie Man..." in true preschool form, they sang it over and over again.  Remembering both of those gems, I'm reminded of just how blessed we are and hearing it come from the mouths of our babes makes it even more memorable and precious! 

 

Before commuting in for the State of the Union Address 12 February 2013

(see Facebook for more pictures)

 

 

Morgan, Addison, & Hannah - St. Patrick's Day 2013

SCAADL

Special Compensation for Assistance with Activities of Daily Living - S.C.A.A.D.L.

This special compensation is not necessarily brand new, but it's something that is not well known and is also something that could help a number of individuals - not necessarily a soldier wounded in combat.

A long story short, SCAADL is compensation paid to a service member who has a permanent injury or illness that is classified as catastrophic.  It's intention is to offset and prevent loss of income while meeting the needs of the service member.  In many situations, the caregiver (wife, mother, friend, etc.) for the service member has to leave their job, cut back their hours or in many cases hire additional help for when they need to continue working to ensure the safety of their job. 

SCAADL has the potential to help a large number of individuals, but from our family's personal experience, many families and individuals are falling through the cracks.  Let me rephrase: our soldiers, injured in the line of duty... soldiers injured fighting for our freedom... are missing out.  I'm not okay with that.

Josh (my husband) was injured down range in a mounted IED explosion last October (2011).  He was hospitalized for about 3 weeks and then med evac'd back to his duty station in mid November.  Upon being discharged, our Warriors in Transition Battalion (WTB) should have started the ball rolling for our SCAADL application.  In fact, we didn't know it even existed for months.   When we finally learned that we qualified (a no-brainer considering his multiple spinal injuries), there was quite a bit of confusion as to WHO was responsible for filling out the application.  Was it the Nurse Case Manager (NCM)?  Was it his Primary Care Manager (PCM)?  Another long story short, 4 months passed before an application was submitted.  The hardest 4 months of Josh's recovery - when he required the most assistance (you name it, he couldn't do it)... and we missed out because our WTB chain of command dropped the ball.

Much is very specific to each individual case, but here are a few things we learned:
1. It's a law - not an allotment given by the Army, so there's less room for fudging and things are pretty cut and dry. 
2. There are three tiers of compensation: High, Medium, Low that are each tied to a monthly compensation amount of roughly $1,600; $1,000; and $400 respectively.
3. The NCM should fill out the application in which the head physician will then sign off on.  At least that's how it finally worked out for us.  The Occupational Therapist might know all that is concerned with the ADLs, but the NCMs usually work very closely with both the service member AND the physicians. 
4.  This is also time sensitive.  There are specific situations where inpatient care does not disqualify you, but generally speaking, it's given to outpatient individuals.  Once initially discharged from inpatient care, the application should be submitted as quickly as possible.  What we've been told is that they will not back-date a form and when our first was submitted, the email that came back from MEDCOM said that a date older than 2 weeks would not be accepted.  We have not seen this anywhere in writing, but this is what we were told.  In fact, we have yet to find in writing anything about the back dating.  The point: get it done asap.

Something else to keep in mind:  like I mentioned earlier, this doesn't just apply to our combat wounded.  While Josh was in the PT clinic for a session, I ran into an individual that we'd seen a number of times before during his sessions.  Turns out, she was permanently injured "in the line of duty".  Her story is unique because of her "job" but NOT uncommon.  She applied to move over to the WTB but is having trouble.  I worry that because of the delay and the lack of knowledge surrounding the SCAADL, that she too will fall through the cracks.  She is here alone.  No family.  Her co-workers are a team that travel quite a bit.  This is an individual that would surely benefit from the special compensation.  Am I sure that she would qualify for it?  Not 100% positive, but knowing that her injuries are catastrophic by definition, and that it's permanent, I'd be willing to gamble.  I photocopied the info and suggested she look into it. 

What about the other soldiers that were injured or med-evac'd with Josh?  They have fallen through the cracks as well and this breaks my heart.  I got a letter the other day from the wife of a wounded warrior - her husband was combat injured long before SCAADL was enacted into law and she is JUST now hearing about it. 

Currently, we're looking for maximum visibility on this issue through MEDCOM... and frankly, anyone that will listen, read, etc.  We've received company level support from within the WTB, but the buck stops there. THE biggest advocate in this issue has been our local Ombudsman. If you go to your health care providers and they know little about what's going on - go to your Ombudsman. If your local representative is anything like ours, then they will take very good care of you. 

Thanks to this Ombudsman, we're fighting to create that visibility.  But like anything else, it will take time to fix.  Are you a wounded warrior?  Do you know one?  Are you a caregiver of a service member?  Please, please look into the fact sheets and ask your health care providers.... and spread the word!

Here are a few helpful links to info on the SCAADL

Fact Sheet from the Warriors in Transition Command:
http://wtc.army.mil/factsheets/wtc_SCAADL_fact_sheet.pdf
SCAADL Calculator:
http://militarypay.defense.gov/Tools/scaadl.html
DoD Instruction on SCAADL:
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/134112p.pdf
...and to get REALLY technical, use this link to search the United States Code - Title 37, Section 439
http://uscode.house.gov/search/criteria.shtml

Faith and Endurance During a Storm

This week, it has been 5 months since Josh's IED attack in Afghanistan.

Two things are on my mind/heart:
1. I'm so very thankful for the path that we're on as a family, and
2. I love to watch God move.

James 1: 2-4
" ² Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."
-New Living Translation

The same verse in the New King James Version reads:
² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

The first time Josh deployed, I didn't know these verses.  I didn't have them memorized, I hadn't read them, maybe I'd heard it in passing, but my soul knew it.  I knew that I wouldn't be walking down a challenging road without purpose.  At the time, we were married less than a year, expecting our first daughter and facing a 15 month deployment - so I thought it right to tell God that I knew what He was up to - that He wanted to teach me something and since I already knew that fact, that He should hurry up and teach me whatever it was He had in mind, so He could send my husband home sooner! 

...that's when He taught me patience.

Looking back, now that we have three little girls, I can very clearly see just why he did that.  Did I mention they are strong willed?  But he also taught me patience for a number of other reasons - commissary lines, Army pharmacy lines, field time, a life in the military - enough said.

He taught me patience and then proceeded to test it, fine tune it, and then USE it.  Repeatedly.  I should admit before we go much further, that I'm one of those people.  There's that saying "Don't pray for patience... because we only learn patience by experiencing the situations that generate it."  Well, I knew that, and prayed anyway because like I said, I love to watch God move and I love to grow. 

This is where verse 2 came in without me knowing it.  "...when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy."  ... See, I'm not as crazy as I thought I was!!!!

At that time, my "trouble" was a long deployment.  But currently, our latest "trouble" is dealing with the aftermath of the IED attack that flipped, tossed, and turned Josh's vehicle around in Afghanistan  (Check out the 2 previous posts for more info and pictures.) leaving him a bit... broken.

But also note that verse 2 says that our troubles are an "opportunity for great joy".  When your husband has just been blown up, one's initial response might not always be to be joyous.  Not going to lie, after my initial phone call, I did cry - hysterically - for about 30 seconds.  Thankfully, the recipient of that voicemail was gracious enough to delete it.  Now this was the moment of truth - I could refuse to take advantage of the road I was on and proceed to wallow, and fall to pieces OR I could trust in God's promises.  After my 30 seconds of wallowing, came much prayer.  And then He proceeded to carry me.

But what if the person on the other end of the phone had picked up?  Would I have so readily fallen into my savior's lap?  Or would I begin to squander the precious opportunity that He was presenting me with by humanly trying to control this situation which was so obviously out of my hands?

We took advantage of the opportunity.  We made lemonade with those darn lemons and I encourage you to do the same!!

Josh and I have said from the beginning, if someone had to walk down this road, we're glad it could be us.  We're thankful to weather this storm because we know we will endure.  At Fort Bliss, being a wounded warrior in Josh's condidion is not a road well traveled.  Josh as an individual and "we" as a family unit, have had to "take what we can get", and "make do" what what we had in a time where it was unacceptable.  Hopefully, we can bring the "system" to a place where it is ready to accept wheelchair bound soldiers - where ramps and adaptable equipment are quickly and easily accessable; to a place where the system can anticipate and provide the needs of the soldier and family; to a place where entitlements, allotments, programs, help, respite... are all given, provided, and known about.  THIS is where we have been placed, and this is our job right now - to do our best to work out the kinks...  We're thankful for all of our friends and family who have supported us and met our needs and blessed our family over the past 5 months... and who continue to support Josh with prayers of healing. 

Verses 3-4 say: " ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."

This "trouble" or "trial" is long but over, or maybe with it just came many smaller ones.  But whichever way you choose to look at it, we know that our faith will continue to be tested and our endurance will continue to grow, and for that I am truly joyous.   

2 weeks ago, Josh took his first steps in SNEAKERS!!  Here's a video catching his first softshoe steps!!

Video of Josh walking in sneakers for the first time.

In the midst of one of our "trials" he thought it would help to wear a uniform.  Verdict is out on that, but the boots did support the ankles a bit more and he was glad to be back in uniform again!!  ....though after 2 days of combat boots, his ankels revolted.  His profile now lists softshoe as part of his uniform. Baby steps!

100 Days Post IED Attack

Blogging updates on our lives is something that I strive to do better and routinely fail at.  I would love to have the time to sit down a few times each week... ok, realistically, at least once a week, to update with at least photos... especially these days.  But I suppose it is something that I will have to MAKE time for.  As this has been something I've known for awhile... I then try to "fix" my lapse with one huge post... that only gets longer as time passes... and never gets posted.  Sigh.


Today is day 100.   The kids are tucked in, the dishes are done, the dog is fed, and now the house is quiet.  100 days have past since I got that life changing call - since Josh's life and all of our lives were dramatically changed... for the better.

There are things that God is still growing us on - but I'll just speak personally.  One thing that I was surprised to FEEL the other day was "Shock" or "disbelief" and maybe even a bit of "anger".  I was in the car - I think I had just gotten home from somewhere - and heard on KLOVE that they were organizing a mission trip to Afghanistan.  The story of their plans unfolded and I admit that I felt a wee bit of ugly feelings.  God is softening this, and while I say "anger" it's not that harsh of a feeling.  I'll get there.

A few other things God's changed - 1) I no longer try to "control" life... for real this time, and 2) He's also guided me in routinely giving everything over to Him.  Two feats in which I'm you'll all agree, are easy to claim that you've done, but hard to accomplish on a routine basis. 

It's easy to say that you give God control of your life... but do you?  If a loved one were severely hurt tomorrow, would you immediately go to the Lord in prayer and find peace in knowing that Thy will be done? 

There's more to it than that, but I've gotten there.  And getting there was the problem - God had to break me like a horse.  He brought me to a place where he had stripped me of all excuses, distractions, "crutches"... to a place where he had my complete attention... something like when I need to have one of "those" talks with one of the girls - I bring them aside to a quiet place, pull them up on my lap, make eye contact, and then speak into their hearts about what they've done wrong, what is going to happen now, and what I expect in the future... God gave me one of those talks and it involved many tears.  But, on the other side emerged new behavior - the behavior desired by my heavenly father. 

Two weeks ago Addison had a bout of poor behavior while we were out - it was nothing serious, but it was frustrating.  When we got home, she asked if she could have her slice of dessert (since we brought it home with us).  I replied no, but then brought her into her room to have one of those "talks" I mentioned before, and to tuck her in.  I specifically asked her why she was acting the way she was and her response was along the lines of  "...because I wanted ...." I don't remember what she wanted, honestly.  But the outcome was that we brought things full circle for her to realize that she won't always get what she wants.  Now, maybe it was being denied an amazing slice of chocolate cake (in which Josh got to eat by the way...), and maybe it was the "talk", but whatever it was, SOMETHING clicked for her!  The past 2 weeks have been amazing - it has been complete joy to parent these past few weeks. 

I have a feeling that this situation of Addison "getting it" and my satisfaction in seeing her connect the dots was a whole lot like ME actually getting it and GOD finding JOY in his child's realization! 

He's also softened my heart... ok, he's tenderized it with a meat mallet... but this connects back to having to control things.  On a normal day - before wheelchairs and handicapped parking - I had a routine and it worked.  Don't get me wrong - routines are good and often times critical to success!  We know all too well as there are many steps to just get this family out the door these days!  But the control issue was that while I controlled a lot of little meaningless things, I gave little thought to the bigger things that should be turned over to God and I really didn't bring God into the little everyday things (like meals, and where/when we needed to be places, etc.).

We listened to KLOVE in the car before the attack.  We've always prayed over our meals and throughout the day.  Our kiddos know that if they get a boo boo, the first thing to do is to pray over it.  Those are kneejerk reactions.  But was I really inviting God into those types of little things?  My kids were, that's for sure.

I do the same things today that I did 100 days ago, but the difference is that God is in all of the little things.  We all still need to eat and be in specific places at certain times (perhaps more so now...), but the outcome of these things and how I feel about them has been turned over... THAT is where the control was.

So how did God strip me of this systematic way of doing things and demand that I sit on his lap and make eye contact??  Like I said before, He. Broke. Me.  And, well I suppose that took the actual breaking of my husband!

A very good friend once shared a lesson with me - the "I make plans and God laughs" lesson.  Living a military life, this is an ongoing joke as there always seems to be a move that we're coming off of or gearing up for - and moves need  planning, ok, control.

It was this very same friend that guided me down the path and told me once again, that God. IS. IN. CONTROL.  Not me. 

When I got the very first phone call after the IED attack, it was a Saturday morning, and it showed up as a random number that I didn't recognize.  I knew that I wouldn't be hearing from Josh for a few days so when I heard his deep, slow voice, I knew something had happened.  The connection was bad, but before the line was dropped, he was able to communicate to me that his truck was blown up and that he was hurt, but okay and that he was headed to Germany.  Then the line was dropped.  He called back, the line was dropped again.  At this point, I'm realizing that they only send them to Germany if it's really an issue.  The third attempt at a call, a good friend was there with him and was able to tell me he was okay - a little queezy, and a headache, but okay.  So my response was, if he's okay, why are they sending him to Germany?  Friend:  Well, he's okay, but his foot's messed up.  Finding humor, I asked if it was still attached.  Yes, yes it was.  Thank you Lord. lol

The next few days were full of me controlling things and making alternate "plans" for the "what ifs" because I didn't know exactly when I would be able to see Josh. I think at one point, I even pulled my passport out - you know, just in case. I made a detailed schedule on how to care for our girls and set up emergency numbers, etc etc - all "planning" that would need to be done, but again, God wasn't in it, because I was letting the stress of the situation control my actions. I had held it together - in fact, until I got to the hospital, I had cried all of maybe 15 seconds - thankfully it was on a voicemail to a friend which was later deleted. phew!

That weekend I was dog sitting for Hilary and Blair - good friends for years.  When it's just me and I'm watching their dog "Trouble", I let Tanner and Trouble sleep in the bed with me.  That night - Both dogs knew I needed some extra snuggles but when Tanner was jumping up into our bed, he didn't quite make it on the first attempt.  In hindsight, this is when he hurt himself. 

The next day, Sunday, Day 2 - Tanner started limping and that night he stopped walking.  His last steps were from the kitchen to the hallway where he waited for me to carry him to bed.  Josh was in Baghram getting surgery on his left foot.  While he was there, he was able to skype with me for a few seconds - long enough for me to get a quick look at his swollen and bandaged head and his braced up self.  At this point, his upper body was braced for the spinal injuries.  We were also able to talk for awhile, which gave great peace of mind.

Day 3, Monday.  Tanner only got worse.  Hilary was able to bring him to the vet for me as I just couldn't swing it.  He came back an for the next few days I gave him pills and injections at different intervals throughout the day hoping that the nerve sensation would come back.  Monday was also the day Josh made it to Germany.

Day 4 - By Tuesday, we knew how things would play out - for the most part.  We knew Josh would be boarding a plane soon, headed for the US - where he would end up and when - not sure.  We didn't know if he'd stay on the east coast for awhile (hours or days) and if he'd continue on to San Antonio or not.  If I had only let God take the wheel, I would have saved myself much stress here.  By that evening, he'd landed in San Antonio.

Day 5, Wednesday - My Dad drove down from Albuquerque and my grandma flew in from New York.  Together, they would be ringmastering my circus while I was away.  Tanner wasn't getting better, in fact worse.  He had lost control of his bladder and bowels and cried if he was left alone.  The Army cut my orders and booked my flight to San Antonio. 

Day 6 - Thursday morning, I kissed my kiddos, pet the dog and flew off to San Antonio - little did I know, that was the last time I'd see Tanner.  I arrived in SA and after dropping off my bags, went over to the hospital to find that Josh had gone in for surgery later than planned - while our Liaison was showing me around the hospital, my good friend Terri had tracked me down.  She then for the next few weeks (and to this day) continued to minister to my heart and our family along with her husband Jim.  She brought me down for dinner, visited with me during the long hours Josh was in surgery, waited with me as they moved him back up to his room and later held me while I sobbed after hearing that Tanner would have to be put down.

This was the day that they operated on Josh's hand and did his spinal fusion.  And actually, while sitting in the waiting room, the head anesthesiologist (thank you spell check!) approached us - turns out, she was the friend of Josh's current XO.  It's the small things that bring warmth to my heart.  Didn't see her again, but just knowing she was there was nice.

I don't remember how late I stayed that night, but it was dark, and Josh hadn't stirred for hours, so I walked down the road to the hotel and had no trouble sleeping.  In fact, I didn't even need to break into the 4 pack of Merlot that my friend Kelly brought over before I left.  Their small size and durable plastic bottling made them the perfect travel companions. 

The next day was Friday - while touring the warrior and family service center the vet called.  He confirmed what I already knew and told me what I needed to hear.  Tanner wouldn't get better and yes, they could do surgery but it wouldn't help and it wouldn't fix the problem. 

The previous day, Terri had reminded me of a story that she had previously shared with me about our pets and the role that they play in our lives.  It was a story that put my intangible feelings and thoughts into perspective and while there was no decision that needed to be made, it helped form our thoughts and put things into perspective.  That afternoon, during the short time that Josh was awake, Hilary called so that we could say goodbye to Tanner together.  Josh quickly fell back asleep and thankfully, his parents, Mike and Karen arrived around then.

The first few days, Josh was in and out of sleep, heavily medicated.  Around Sunday, he was able to stay awake and have some longer conversations... just in time for them to bring him back into surgery on Monday for the other foot.  We all took many naps, switched seats, locations of chairs and even took turns napping in the reclining wheelchair!

We had many visitors, new friends, old friends, friends of friends, strangers... we were blessed beyond belief!!!

About a week into our visit is when God put me on his lap and looked into my eyes and gave me the talk.  The mountain of stress had become more than I could bare - surprised?  At home, in my controlled environment, things were predictable.  In San Antonio, not so much.  I didn't have kids to dress, feed, taxi around... My focus had shifted from controlling the lives of my children to souly my husband, who at the time wasn't eating much and was sleeping quite a bit.  This left little for me to control/plan.  And since I couldn't "control" my children, I stressed.  A lot.  And then began to stress about future possibilities, and cried, a lot.  You should also know something about me - until this point in life, I didn't really do much crying in general.  Here and there, but not much.  So through sobs, this is when that good friend reminded me once again of that valuable lesson "I make plans, and God laughs."  She reigned me back in.  She fed me verses and reminded me that I wasn't in control, God was.  I had always heard the motto "one day at a time" and even frequently reminded myself of this...  Not until I gave God the wheel and let go, did that become my true mantra.

From then on, I left all of the suitcases with my savior.  Each day, as tough as they were and as challenging as they continue to be, is a new day.   ...and sometimes, they come with new struggles to which I immediately turn over.  I should also tell Josh I will do my best to learn my divine lessons a little faster so that they don't require him to suffer so much!  :)

One other teeny-weeny lesson I've failed to mention until this point was the little issue of "accepting help" or "asking for help" when I needed it.  It wasn't a pride thing at all.  I think that what was really happening is that this also fell into the "controlling everything" bin... be it meals or housecleaning, I needed to and "could" do it all... or so I thought.  Hands down.  Meals have been one of the biggest assets provided to our family.  In December, when they began to taper off, it was as if the safety net was removed and sure enough, I succeeded in learning to trust God.  I stepped back into my role of caring for my family but now, despite the dramatic changes and the new challenges we face every day, we do it with Joy and Thanksgiving in our hearts!  We have peace and trust in whatever God has planned for our day.  So, have I learned to accept for and ask for help - well, this was the "short" story for yes.  There was one instrumental individual that nudged me along the way - she didn't wait for me to ask and at times, didn't even tell me ahead of time - at times, this dear friend has said, Oh! Before you leave, there is a pan of stuffed shells in the fridge for you with bread and dessert - don't forget it!  I could go on with all that I've learned and continue to learn from her... as well as from the wealth of Godly women that have come into my life to lift up our family.  DOZENS of examples flash through my head.

So, 100 days later... The stitches in Josh's head have long been removed, his hand is uncasted and de-pinned and he's working on getting back the range of motion and later the strength.  His neck is stiff but he is out of the c-collar and gaining movement with little to no pain.  The fractures in his neck and middle back have healed well!  The lower spinal fusion is healing well too - the next check up with the ortho-neuro surgeon isn't for 3 months!  He's been cleared of any TBI (traumatic brain injury).  His feet still hurt from time to time, but tomorrow afternoon, he goes in for more xrays and we'll see how close he is to being able to start putting some weight on the feet... and eventually walking again!  Stay tuned. 

100 days later, we're stronger and closer.  We've had more lunch dates in the past 100 days than we've had in years!   We've enjoyed an abundance of family time but it's also made us miss the girls even more when we need to leave them at CYS.  We have a new dog - Cooper - a 1 year old Basset who is finally (after a month) housetrained... we hope.

100 days later, Hannah has turned 1 and learned how to walk before Josh and Morgan is getting the hang of the potty.

100 days later, I am able to relinquish my burdens and give God control of my life and accept peace, comfort and assurance in return.


19 September 2011
Deployment Day

Our brief skype from the hospital before it cut out.

The day I arrived in San Antonio - waiting for them to get him settled in his room.

Josh's Dad, Mike.

Thumbs Up!  ...doesn't have a choice with this one!

First Shave...

Huge thanks to the Suttons!!!

First time headed outside for Physical Therapy!!

 Making sure he can handle the ramps

 Mike & Karen

Day 2 going outside for PT

 PT Clinic at BAMC

 Annabelle came to visit!!!!

So did Luke & Leslie!!!! 

 More PT

OT Practice Apartment at BAMC

 CMA - Christian Motorcycle Association

 Buck!

 Mr. & Mrs. Storer

I brought Josh over to the family center one afternoon - it was just nice to get away from the hospital for awhile, and he was finally able to see all that I was raving about!

Terri

 Straight from Fort Sill, OK

 Josh and Alisha over in my room at the hotel!  We had dinner and just relaxed away from the hospital!

WFSC - This place is GREAT!!

 Fresh waffles in the shape of Texas - offered every morning at the lodging.  Not sure you would have believed me if I didn't get a picture... then again, it's Texas... you just might have taken my word for it! :)

 These ladies and their pups are amazing - our experience with them is another story entirely!  Boy did they minister to us on multiple occasions!

Veteran's Day, 2011

12 November - headed back to El Paso!

Saying goodbye to the best nurse ever - HUGE thanks JB

Our ride back to El Paso

 Loading Josh

19 December - decasting and unpinning the hand

Day 100 - Our Three Biggest Blessings

 ...and my wonderful husband, c-collar free...