Update #34

From Lisa, Nick’s Mom, written last night:

Well, we had Nicholas home for 16 days, a much shorter time than we anticipated (we had hoped for the summer). When we first told him that he would be returning he did not want to go and then it changed to not wanting to sleep there, but the last couple of days he started counting down. He is determined to eat, walk and talk . Of course, he will also be learning all of the daily living skills needed.

Today he arrived at the hospital about 10 am and was evaluated throughout the day by all of the doctors and therapists. Speech was so impressed with his swallow that they allowed him mac -n cheese and peas for lunch (he never used to like peas:)) and spaghetti and green beans for dinner. For now his food is diced but he really does not care! They will continue to work with him on different foods and nothing could make him happier.

Everyone wants to know if we are happy about his progress. Of course we are, but at the same time we are still processing what has happened to our son over the past 13 weeks. We have gone from saying goodbye to our son, to each day being in awe as God continues to keep his promise to me and heal him. It is a strange place to be for me.

I am dealing with the loss of who Nicholas was before the stroke and praising God as he knits together a new creation right before my eyes.

I will be honest to share with you that for me it has been easier to be a part of Nick's journey, and to believe without ceasing, than to be a part of my own. You see, a week before he had the stroke my family was hit with another crisis. We were unable to even begin to process it when this happened. But God has a way of not letting things go and it must be faced. While I don't believe God did any of these things he did allow them and for some reason in this order. As I said, believing God for Nick's healing was never a question for me, but now my faith is being challenged in a way that I don't think I can stand up to. After all we have been through I should be able to walk through this desert and cling to my God without any doubts.

Pride gets in the way. How can I allow God access to certain parts of my life but not all? I am sharing this with you for a couple reasons. 1) In my 40 yrs. (isn't that how long they wandered the

desert?) I have learned that I must always be real 2) and so I humbly ask for prayer for me and my family 3) I also just want to encourage each of you in the work God has been doing in yourselves.

When you are in the middle of a crisis it can be easier to call out to God, but as the days pass and the crisis isn't so intense, we can get lazy and go back to our old ways.

May God continue to rehabilitate each of us no matter what our handicap might be.

Thank you to each of you, for the love and support you have so unexplainably shared with my family. I have been so negligent in proper thank you notes, but please know that we have cherished every prayer, card, meal, gift card, phone call, house cleaning and many other gifts. THANK YOU!

Lisa

From me, Mike:

What an amazing spirit Lisa has. It reminds me of an article I read yesterday. It’s written by Tony Snow, the White House press spokesman, about his bout with cancer. Maybe you’ll be encouraged by his words in conjunction with Lisa’s:

Cancer's Unexpected Blessings: When you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change.