Update 2/4/10 Day 88

Dear friends,

5 words. "Full weight bearing as tolerated."

Can you stand it? Can somebody please say Hallelujah! Open up a box of ice cream or a sack of Lindt truffles (how bout it, Dan B.?) Here's how it went down:

We arrived at Dr. Bagchi's office for Steve's 2 week post operative follow up appointment. Remember, the fixator removal? So "Bob the Builder" comes in and takes a peek at the leg, and the skin graft, and the hand where the glass was removed. Stitches are taken out. Dr. B. was getting ready to set up the next appointment when I reminded him that Smitty's last xrays were 3 weeks ago, and could we have a look see to get an idea of how close we are to weight bearing. The good doctor agreed. (By the way, ask Pastor Dave to do his imitation of Dr. Bagchi. He nails the brainy thinker thing perfectly!)

Next, Stephen goes in for his usual 40 xrays (ok that's a slight exaggeration), and we wait. Back comes my favorite orthopedist. Here's where it gets sounding kind of biblical. Dr. B. enters the room and says to Steve "OK, stand up." Stephen replies "On my feet?" I stand to the side, crying/smiling/mystified. Dr. B. takes Smitty's left arm, and I take his right, and up he goes. His right side is incredibly weak, but no pain. So Bagchi says, "Now, take a couple of steps". And he does, holding on to us of course, but steps they were, with the right foot touching the ground. Dr. Bagchi has a grin on his face from one side of his amazing brain to the other, probably thinking that this is why the heck he paid a bazillion dollars to go to medical school. And I'm thinking, how amazing is our Great God, to protect us from a thousand bacterial enemies and countless possible setbacks to get to this astounding moment. Dr. B. proceeds to say, "OK, aggressive PT now", and he looked at the wheelchair almost with contempt and said, "You won't need that much longer". After we peeled ourselves off the ceiling, we went home and praised God in our living room, and I've pondered the whole thing all day. So here we go, to another phase of this thing, and I think I better get going looking for a car, because we are ahead of schedule. Steve took the arm rest off of his walker, and cruised around the house quite a bit like a teenager who just got a convertible. I think I'm going to have to call Mark the Lion Hearted and get the team going on those shower grab bars! There's a lot of tedium ahead, so don't you think a day to rejoice is in order? WOW.

In order to keep us from completely flipping our lids today, we also found out Stephen's No Fault insurance exhausted in mid December. So now, the Advent Conspiracy will really start to have great meaning, as we begin to feel the financial consequences of "the day of our calamity". All your wonderful money gifts will now be used for the purpose for which they were given. Thank you all so much. Pray for my peace of mind in all of this. This is another difficult piece of this mess. A mess that God keeps straightening out, day by day. He stands alone!

The sweet girl is playing the piano. I need grace to travel the road of the changes wrought by the brain injury. I need grace to accept and grace to trust for all the good yet to come. Some things cannot be spelled out here. I cherish your love through the heartache.

Oh happy day, oh scary day, oh melancholy day. All in one. But mostly happy. And believe me, my heels are dug in. I WILL trust the Great One. "If God is for us, who can be against us. He who did not spare His own son, but willingly gave Him up for us all, will He not also grant us all things?..." "For I am persuaded neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Amen and Amen.

In something in your life today, is the Great One saying "pick up your mat and walk!" I'm telling you, you can do it! You may need a little steadying hand to help in the beginning, but the pilgrim road awaits! Let's walk it. In the words of that great woman of faith, Deborah, "March on my soul, be strong!"

Your friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann