Weekly Update #35

Mon. 11/5: Day 5 of my gratitude journal. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Phillippians 4:6. Today I’m thankful for the election tomorrow. I remember the day I turned 18 and going down to register to vote at Satellite City Hall in Waipahu. I was so excited, I did it first thing in the morning. I’m grateful for living in a country where I have the freedom to vote. VOTE tomorrow, if you haven’t already! Great verse to remember not to be anxious about the results tomorrow. 😉

So I have run out of insurance coverage for PT sessions, so I will be cutting back on some sessions. Jeffrey was in town, so he helped me do land therapy. I did about 30 min on the Nustep then I showed him how I walk upstairs. I did 15 stairs up and down and he was quite impressed.

Pool PT w/Jason and Crystal. Did the routine, then Jason made walking sticks out of PVC pipes and weighted them down so we did a bunch of walking. Then spent a bunch of time in deep water which we haven’t done in awhile and it was good to see improvement in my core allowing me to tread water a LOT better.

Tue. 11/6: Day 6 Gratitude “Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.” Psalm 95:2-3 I am thankful that God is the great King above all. The only true King.

Pool PT w/Becky. I haven’t worked with Becky in awhile so it was good to see her and have her help me with a few things in the pool. It was very helpful to have another PT point of view on things that I forget or not aware of when I’m working with Jason.

Land PT w/Jeffrey. Did a lot of upper body stuff…getting stronger for sure.

Wed. 11/7: Day 7 gratitude verse: “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14. I thank You, Lord, because I claim these words as my own. I know full well that I am wonderfully made even through my disabilities. I think back to where I was a year ago and I see how far I’ve come because of Your mighty hand and Your works. Though healing may never come in the way I want, You are God, You are good, forever faithful One…thanks dad for the video, see you tonight.

I’m directly quoting what I post on FB so if it seems a little off, it’s because I’m just copying what I post on FB =)

Today was a GORGEOUS day here. Plenty of sunshine. I had a loooong day though. Got on my Camas Connector at 8:35 to go to Fisher’s Landing Transit then catch a 9:20 CVAN (with my BFF driving, O.o) to my 10:20 appointment with Dr. Kafrouni. He was running late, so I had to wait but it was ok, I killed time on pinterest (time goes by so fast when you’re on there!!!). We are going to be a little conservative, it seems that muscle groups have responded well, so we’re going to hit the right sartorius and then both posterior tibialis in 2 weeks. Then I got on my 11:45 CVAN to Walmart, then cruised there for a bit, then got on 1:00 CVAN back to FLT to catch a 2:00 CC van to go home. Yeah. Not my idea of fun but that’s how it goes living outside the routes. I pray to God that they will allow me to have CVAN service to my door…but it would really take a true miracle for that to happen…

Thu. 11/8: Day 8 Gratitude…I am so grateful for MealTrain…it has been such a blessing to my family and I for soooo long. We were so blessed beyond measure this past year and even this month we have people stepping up to help. Mahalo, gracias, gratzie, arigato, salamat, xie xie to everyone who ever brought us food, sent us gift cards, sent us goodies, sent us thoughts and prayers. We are forever grateful…

Pool PT w/Jason. My dad got to watch me in the pool so that was cool. Then after my pool session Jeffrey took me in the gym to do a workout so dad could see me do the treadmill and walk the stairs. I did my personal best and walked up and down all 20 stairs in the stairwell!

Fri. 11/9: Day 9 Gratitude verse: And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19 NIV)
I’m grateful for a lot of things today, actually, so I will go ahead and express them all here. First of all, I’m grateful for my pastor Kelly who posted this verse on my wall. He’s in the Philippines right now ministering to the satellite River Rock churches we have there. Next, I’m grateful for all your thoughts/prayers today. I actually fell asleep in the MRI tube even with it being so loud. I felt so rested and felt such a peace throughout the procedure. Third, I’m grateful for modern medicine that I got to do the MRI then went upstairs and got my results right away. Fourth, I’m grateful that there has been no change in Maynard, no change is the best news I can ask for, so PTL! And last, but definitely not least, I’m so grateful that my dad could be here to be with me through this. He’s quite surprised at all the things I can do now, he was here in Dec/Jan and I was nowhere near this independent and he’s been pretty good about not crying every time I do something new that he hasn’t seen before =) so I’m gonna stop now, but yeah, that’s what I’m grateful for today, and this is just a part of my day!

So as you read above, I went to my MRI appointment and everything went as well as could be. I had no problems transferring to the MRI bench and even though I have that huge bruise on my bottom, the tech made me as comfortable as possible. I just closed my eyes and focused on relaxing and breathing and praying. Knowing so many prayers were going up for me helped me feel so relaxed I fell asleep amidst the clicking and clanking of the machinery.

The reading of the MRI went well too. Dr. Coppa explained that no change is what they’re looking for and there were no changes. So PTL!!! Then after Dad and I went to seek out food trucks for lunch and hit up the ones by PSU. I had Salvadorean pupusas and tamales, he had spicy tom kha noodle soup. Was so ono, you know =)

Sat. 11/10: Gratitude. I’m grateful for my dear friend Toni. She brought her girls over (E for S to play with and M for me to snuggle) while she cleaned my toilets. It’s a little awkward for me to have her do that but it’s her way of showing me she cares and I’m so thankful for her friendship. Love you girlfriend! You rock!

So Siena and I have a deal. She can sleep in my room on the floor on Fri, Sat but she has to sleep in her bed the rest of the week. It’s been working out really well! So she slept on my floor and we all slept in later than normal and just had a lazy day. Toni came over and cleaned my toilets like I said above. Then I made nachos for us for dinner since my dad and I just watched football (Go Ducks!). It’s definitely been nice to have my dad around while Jeffrey’s gone.

Sun. 11/11: Gratitude: Today I’m grateful for all the veterans. Past, present and future. Those who serve so that I can have the freedoms people in other countries only dream of having.

Went to church with dad and S and then to lunch at Red Robin (of course, where else does S ever want to go?) and she ate her whole meal which is a miracle in itself =) I think she’s going through a growth spurt or she’s just super happy that mom’s home so she has a big appetite 😉

So that’s my report for my first full week here at home…praise God for all the blessings He has bestowed on me during this transition. And thank YOU for all your thoughts/prayers during this time.

HE>i,
jewels