Today marks one week here at Madonna Rehab. It has been a really good week too.
The verse: ‘The Joy of the Lord is our Strength’ has been our theme since the onset of Rachel’s journey.
These 8 words have kept us all going forward, seeing God orchestrate every detail these 5 weeks!
Being at Madonna has continued to comfort us with the joy each therapist, nurse, doctor and worker exude with their team effort to heal Rachel.
Now, RuthAnne and I (Rachel’s mom) arrived yesterday morning. I hadn’t seen her since Friday and RuthAnne hadn’t seen her since last Tuesday. We are staying with David and Rachel Akridge (Rachel and I know and worked with this couple from Summit Ministries in Colorado) here in Lincoln, they have graciously opened their home to us until a house with Madonna opens up. RuthAnne and I are amazed at the improvements she has made. God continues to answer our prayers of healing for Rachel.
Since being in the hospital in Iowa City, Rachel wasn’t able to wear her engagement ring. Last night
Ryan put it back on her finger. This morning we asked her if she liked the ring back on...her look
was priceless. Ryan’s love for Rachel has a huge healing affect.
We want you to know that Rachel enjoys the cards and your posts on the web; so please keep posting your words of encouragement and prayers for her OR some story that you remember of her. You know, we will tell her what you wrote (which is fun) AND she will be reading this chronicle of her days since the ‘event’ as soon as she has access to the computer....
Here is a list of today’s Joys:
Rachel’s vision is really good as she did the Brock String therapy today....the therapist is happy about this and Rachel is even happier.
The PICC line for blood draws was removed~~one less thing attached to her body.
The TRACH removed!!! This is huge to her as this was a great source of irritation for her...now all she has left to get rid of is her stomach feed tube. That should be out as soon as her tongue can handle the food in her mouth AND she can eat enough to keep her energy.
She was able to stand for one minute with 2 people steadying her from wilting which was much better than yesterday.
The speech therapist just stopped by and said that Rachel can say ‘Yah’ and “No’ clearly so she wants her to say that instead of head nodding. She is pleased with Rachel’s improvements daily.
Rachel stays busy all day with therapy and some rests.........this helps to keep the days interesting and productive for her. One week ago she could only handle being up in the wheel chair one hour. Now she is fine with 7 hours!!!!
You probably wonder of Rachel’s emotional side.
Does she cry?
Is she frustrated?
Does she wonder ‘why?’
Yes, she does cry....perhaps every day at some point.
Why does she cry? Because she is frustrated, but not because she wants to give up.
She is frustrated with her fine motor skills not working as well as not being able to care for her body....how humbling...
We take these simple pleasures in life for granted UNTIL they are taken from us.
Yes, she does wonder why this happened.
How do we communicate if she cannot speak except to say ‘yah’ and ‘no’? Well, she has a board that
has the alphabet and with her left hand she can quickly spell out what she is thinking and the questions she has......the hitch in this method is with the interpreter (us) trying to remember and follow the sequence of letters.........sometimes she can spell faster than what we can remember and then......she ROLLS her eyes =) We are getting better at remembering.
Continue to pray for Rachel’s miraculous healing. According to I John 5:14, 15 ..... “And this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us: and if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of Him.”
The verse: ‘The Joy of the Lord is our Strength’ has been our theme since the onset of Rachel’s journey.
These 8 words have kept us all going forward, seeing God orchestrate every detail these 5 weeks!
Being at Madonna has continued to comfort us with the joy each therapist, nurse, doctor and worker exude with their team effort to heal Rachel.
Now, RuthAnne and I (Rachel’s mom) arrived yesterday morning. I hadn’t seen her since Friday and RuthAnne hadn’t seen her since last Tuesday. We are staying with David and Rachel Akridge (Rachel and I know and worked with this couple from Summit Ministries in Colorado) here in Lincoln, they have graciously opened their home to us until a house with Madonna opens up. RuthAnne and I are amazed at the improvements she has made. God continues to answer our prayers of healing for Rachel.
Since being in the hospital in Iowa City, Rachel wasn’t able to wear her engagement ring. Last night
Ryan put it back on her finger. This morning we asked her if she liked the ring back on...her look
was priceless. Ryan’s love for Rachel has a huge healing affect.
We want you to know that Rachel enjoys the cards and your posts on the web; so please keep posting your words of encouragement and prayers for her OR some story that you remember of her. You know, we will tell her what you wrote (which is fun) AND she will be reading this chronicle of her days since the ‘event’ as soon as she has access to the computer....
Here is a list of today’s Joys:
Rachel’s vision is really good as she did the Brock String therapy today....the therapist is happy about this and Rachel is even happier.
The PICC line for blood draws was removed~~one less thing attached to her body.
The TRACH removed!!! This is huge to her as this was a great source of irritation for her...now all she has left to get rid of is her stomach feed tube. That should be out as soon as her tongue can handle the food in her mouth AND she can eat enough to keep her energy.
She was able to stand for one minute with 2 people steadying her from wilting which was much better than yesterday.
The speech therapist just stopped by and said that Rachel can say ‘Yah’ and “No’ clearly so she wants her to say that instead of head nodding. She is pleased with Rachel’s improvements daily.
Rachel stays busy all day with therapy and some rests.........this helps to keep the days interesting and productive for her. One week ago she could only handle being up in the wheel chair one hour. Now she is fine with 7 hours!!!!
You probably wonder of Rachel’s emotional side.
Does she cry?
Is she frustrated?
Does she wonder ‘why?’
Yes, she does cry....perhaps every day at some point.
Why does she cry? Because she is frustrated, but not because she wants to give up.
She is frustrated with her fine motor skills not working as well as not being able to care for her body....how humbling...
We take these simple pleasures in life for granted UNTIL they are taken from us.
Yes, she does wonder why this happened.
How do we communicate if she cannot speak except to say ‘yah’ and ‘no’? Well, she has a board that
has the alphabet and with her left hand she can quickly spell out what she is thinking and the questions she has......the hitch in this method is with the interpreter (us) trying to remember and follow the sequence of letters.........sometimes she can spell faster than what we can remember and then......she ROLLS her eyes =) We are getting better at remembering.
Continue to pray for Rachel’s miraculous healing. According to I John 5:14, 15 ..... “And this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us: and if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of Him.”
“Prayer is faith passing into act." Richard Cecil
Thanks everyone for being there. The Christian family is beyond compare!
With heartfelt love,
Crystal Garrison
Thanks everyone for being there. The Christian family is beyond compare!
With heartfelt love,
Crystal Garrison
6 comments:
Oh Rachel!!! Glad to hear your finger is liking that ring back on where it belongs! I wanted to mention that Monday evening when mom and I were leaving you to rest, I specifically prayed you'd have some SWEET DREAMS....that God would comfort you in a special way that none of us can! (I feel so inadequate of knowing what to say at times.) I also hoped you'd occasionally get to have a sweet dream of your future wedding or something like that! :)
Keep up the hard work and try not to get discouraged. Here's a verse I'd like to send you today: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isiah 40:31
Love, Anna (Ryan's sister)
Oh dear Rachel - immense joy and love must have swelled in your heart when Ryan slipped that ring back onto your finger!
I am so happy to hear all the good reports and the progress that you are making day after day.
Even though things happen that cause us to wonder "why" - rest assured that ALL things work together for good to them that love God and to them who are the called according to His purpose. And that's you Rachel: well-beloved in the eyes of our Lord and more precious than you'll ever realize!
Blessings to you this night!
It is good to see more answers to prayer for Rachel--ring on, trach out, sitting up for 7 hours, etc. Will continue to pray that she will be completely tube-free very soon. It is certainly understandable that she feels like crying and wondering "why". She will most likely see the answer to that somewhere down the road, at least in part, but for right now it's a tough and disappointing situation to be in. Will continue praying for you all each day.
Vicki Sherman
Rachel - we've been "reading" you daily (thank you so much, Ruthanne, Josh & Crystal) You are a living witness to the love and work of God, my girl. You cannot believe how many lives you have touched. So glad that ring is back on! I'm still counting on taking some beautiful wedding pictures & am so looking forward to it. Robert & I will be in Omaha the 1st weekend of Nov & are planning on coming down to Lincoln to see you on the way home. I'm looking forward to seeing you again - and I know you will be healing & improving daily as you work through this with God's help & Ryan & your family by your side. Know that you are daily in our prayers, Angela
Eric Purcell here,
I'm wondering if tomorrow (friday) would be a good time to come down and visit.
Jen Honken just forwarded the website to me. I don't know what to say about all this, but I can't wait to see you.
my email is eric@fremontfbc.com, phone is 719-5108
eric
Dear, dear Rachel,
How many times each day and throughout each night does God hear your name? What an honor it is to be included in the vast number of folks lifting you up in prayer and knowing that our Heavenly Father hears every single one.
Speaking of weddings (since everyone is) perhaps you and Ryan should consider having yours simulcast on the Internet. You see, I have a problem . . . my position as an aunt-in-law to your future sister-in-law would not entitle me to an invitation and I simply can't bear the thought of having to miss seeing you walk down that aisle!
God bless you, dear girl. Not a single one of us knows what you are going through but how blessed you are to be surrounded by such loving, caring families who trust so completely in our sovereign Lord.
Emily & Allyn W's Aunt Judy
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