Hospital Day #26 - 12/27/23 - A Day Closer to Home - Another Day of Improvement
Brittney’s CT & ultrasound went well today and OT (occupational therapy) signed off on her out-patient rehab as well. She’s been working hard on crossword and seek-find puzzles. She got a lot of walking in and enjoyed some great conversations with a sweet friend. She working hard and we are continuing to pray for a smooth finish at U of L and an easy transition home. Since she can’t text/write much yet, she wanted to send a video thank you for all of your love, cards, and encouragement!
3 John 2 “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” (ESV)
Hospital Day #25 - 12/26/23 - RELEARNING The 3 R’s of Learning - Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic
Today was a great day! Brittney took her PT (physical therapy) safety test (Berg Balance) and got 55 out of 56 points. So when we are discharged, she safe to head home (no in-patient rehab needed). She’ll likely have lots of out-patient rehab (occupational, physical, and speech) to get her back in the classroom teaching again!
Brittney has progressed in amazing ways with her physical, occupational, and speech therapies. Reading, writing, and numbers continue to be some of her most difficult areas. She has been working so hard on her speech “homework” the past few days. Crosswords, word finds, synonyms, and fill in the blanks are some of what is involved. Although the words are still within her brain, she has to work very hard to “reconnect” them to her writing and spelling. Imagine knowing the answers but struggling to communicate them. It is a frustrating process, but Brittney is “relearning” her alphabet and how to spell many words in order to communicate them in written form. Similarly text messaging on a phone is very tedious and it can take several minutes, letter by letter, to be coached through the typing of a one-phrase text message.
Apart from her therapy, Brittney has a great visit with her dad, one daughter, and a sweet set of friends. Her appetite has returned and her energy/stamina is improving. Her headaches were well controlled and it was a wonderful day overall! God is answering your prayers, thank you!
How to Pray:
Brittney’s progress with writing, reading, texting, and math - her most frustrating tasks currently!
NO BRAIN BLEEDS & NO BLOOD CLOTS - Brittney takes another dose of blood thinner tomorrow and has another CT scan and ultrasound for the doctors to study in consideration of her discharge timeline
Ecclesiastes 12:12 “much study is a weariness of the flesh.”
We loved, loved, loved celebrating Jesus’ birthday with our family today. Since we couldn’t be home, our family came to us in person and on video chats. Christmas is such a joy to celebrate as we remember the amazing love of God in sending His Son Jesus into the world to make a way for the forgiveness of sin. O what love! (https://www.trustworthyword.com/christmas)
As our girls visited us, we enjoyed some entertainment (see L’s fun song!) with lots of smiles and laughs. The girls got to open some gifts at home first, then brought some of their other gifts to open with us in the hospital. The hospital had a delicious Christmas dinner that we got to enjoy together too! The girls enjoyed passing out the last few dozen Panera Bread gift cards that we had remaining.
A little over a month ago when Brittney’s carotid arteries started showing desiccation (tearing) and other irregularities, Brittney started thinking of a special gift idea for the girls and her mom. When Brittney and I dated, I gave her a special silver and gold “love knot” ring. Brittney was worried about her condition worsening, or becoming fatal, so she wanted me to find a similar gift for her mom and daughters to always remember her by. In recent days we were able to find a unique “mother-daughter love knot” ring that Brittney was able to surprise her mom and the girls with today. It was such a special and sweet moment of love between these ladies. Brittney overflows Jesus’ love in so many amazing ways :)
Brittney and I finished the day with a bit of Christmas movie watching together…Brittney even shared her fancy hospital bed! Thanks for your prayers for Brittney’s first day back on her 2nd blood thinners…things have gone great so far and we appreciate continued prayers for NO BRAIN BLEEDS and NO BLOOD CLOTS!
We hope and pray that you and your family had a great Christmas celebration as well. May we all realize and believe in the purpose of Christmas, to enjoy God’s witness of love and truth in His Son Jesus the Messiah.
“for this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37 ESV)
