Feb. 5th. A better day

Today was a better day. It seems that maybe some of the steps we are taking with all of the medications are working. Eating crackers before hand, and staggering the times so Jerry doesn't have a belly full of meds. seemed to help out a bit today. Getting a good nights sleep also helped, and I thank the staff at the hospital for helping us with that. You're the greatest!He is not the most pleasant in the morning, and the doctors were a bit concerned, but I reminded them that he is a 19 yr. old boy, and how many of those do you know that like to be woken up? They kinda agreed I think.

He did make it through the morning routine well, and in the afternoon we thought we would try the standing frame again while he felt a little better. He managed to get up in it at about 55 degrees for about 10 minutes until he had had enough. The standing frame is something we are trying to work up to 90 deg. for 30 mins. It is a lot harder than it sounds, but is supposed to be very beneficial to your heart,lungs, circulation in your muscles as well as confidence. It's something a lot of us take for granted. After Katie showed up, we worked on transfers into a normal sized car, instead of a van. That also is more difficult as Jerry is a fairly tall individual, and you just don't have the room to maneuver him around as you do in a van. It went well though, and we didn't drop him once!

This evening we had a couple guys come to visit and it was a special time. All through this ordeal, we have been praying for someone that could give Jerry some hope, and someone he could connect with that he could relate too. We met a guy named Marv last week at one of the peer support groups, and tonight he had a friend with him that is a c-4 quad just like Jerry. His name was Hugo, and he was an inspiration indeed. You see he walked in to talk with Jerry. Not with crutches, or a cane, or anything like that, just a gait that looked perfectly normal. I would not have guessed in a million years that this gentleman had been in the same position that Jerry is in right now. A complete injury that was miraculously healed. He shared his story with us and it was tremendous. It has been a long 8 years for this man, but he was walking, when everyone around him said he would not. I don't have the time, or typing skills to tell his whole story, but it was a story that Jerry needed to hear at this time. As Jerry laid there listening, I could see the wheels turning in his head, and more hope come across his face. I know it made me and Katie feel good. I also know through God all things are possible, but this guy was in our room, and it was just what we needed at this very moment. Thank you Lord.

I've shared with many a person the story of my life, how I've felt that God has been faithful to my family and I, whether it was bringing me to Redwood Christian Park, or the times when we had no money, and somebody calls me and needs some work done. The times when I am most down, and I hear from a friend who just had the notion to give me a call. We have always been taken care of. I believe that these to men were sent to us for a purpose. To give us the strength to survive another day, and to get a glimpse of what could be on the horizon. My prayer for tonight, is that Jerry would feel this too.

Good night and God Bless.
Dennis