(Day 334)

Good day all. Shawna has continued to make good advances in communication. She is definitely good with pointing at pictures and words using a drum stick. She even named her puppy using this form of communication. We received a gift of a beautiful white male shnauser mini mix. His name is Q-tip. He's 5 weeks old and hopefully Deb and Jessica are not alergic to him as Shawna and the family are already quite attached to him. He sits and sleeps very sedately on Shawnas lap while she carefully pets him. Its an amazing form of therapy. There isn't much therapy for the next couple of weeks but we have our hands full with visits and therapy we can do with her. Not includng the puppy training. The doctors still haven't given any instructions for the increase in tone but the physiotherapist has given us a stimulation machine where we attach probes to her right back muscle to make the left side release. This has proven to be very effective in reducing the amount of tone that is present in her left side. We hit a bad spot with the biking as Sawnas tone increased to the point she couldn't do it by herself anymore. Weve changed the way that we do the range of motion exercizes involving her legs and she has again been putting in some very good days on the bike. We remain thankfull to our Heavenly Father for what he has given and continue to thank you for your prayers and support. We would also like to take the opportunity to wish you all a blessed Christmas celebration and God's continued blessing for 2009. Al, Deb, Shawna, and family

(day 320)

Good morning all. Things are still progressing slowly.....but its still progress! We had a team meeting with all the therapists and care givers to go over the past 3 months of Shawnas care and to determine the new goals. The main jist of the conversation was that Shawna has progressed considerably with respect to amount of time she can focus before zoning out. She's gone from 1 hour to 3 hrs with a couple cat naps. Her communication is improving and her comprehension is very evident. The therapists main concern is that the sessions not overlap so she can rest and have all phsio activities occur only after the language and fine motor skills. The phsio sessions completely drain her for hours. The muscle tone in her left side is beginning to complicate the therapy. Shawna has been for a CT scan to see if there are any brain pressures contributing to this. She also had some bloodwork done to check for infections. The next thing will be for her doctor to determine if drugs are required to control the tone until Shawnas brain can adjust and be able to turn off the muscles that she can now turn on. Shawna has been out to a couple of functions and enjoys it tremendously with lots of vocalization to show her appreciation. Vocalization seems to be improving a lot especially when combined with laughter and spontanaity. When she tries to talk though it stops when she concentrates. We look forward to spending a lot of time together with family and friends during the upcoming holidays. Our contractor has been busy with the addition. The walls are up and the front of our house has been stripped to the bones to make good to the new roofline (quite a sight). We continue to realize our dependance on our Father for his goodness and guidance as we continue on the path He has chosen for us. Thanks for your prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna, and family

Day 306

Good evening. Its been a while but sometimes no news is good news. Shawna continues to progress slowly. We hired a massage therapist to help combat the tone in her left side. At this point it seems to be working very well. At least she is not in total pain all the time. Her friends have even managed to take her shopping and let her pick the items she wanted. That takes a lot of patience as it sometimes takes quite a while to get a consistent answer. The SLP therapist has been having a lot of good sessions with her as has the OT assistant. The physiotherapist and myself have also been able to assist her in paterning walking. She has been standing beautifully with little adverse effects from the tone. One other exciting development is that we had Shawna in a partial crouch against her door and asked her to stand up which she did three times. Those are the same muscles used to lift your feet when walking. We are currently building an addition or sunroom on the house to facilitate an exercise room and more family space as the wheelchair routes have decimated our living area. When this is finished we hope to have an open house for those who would like to come and visit Shawna. We know there may be a lot of visitors but we are getting quite used to our house being an open house anyways. Its been exactly 10 months since her accident and Shawna is continuously getting stronger and we thank the Lord fo his gifts. Thanks for your prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna and family

(Day 293)

Good afternoon all. We've had to slow down on walking Shawna for a while till the tone in her left side leaves. The physiotherapist doesn't want her walking till she can again keep her trunk muscles straight otherwise she will have a crooked gait. Her left side is getting a lot of tone which we are constantly combatting by sitting her leaning right and having her rest lying down on her right sde. Once it dissappears we will resume her walking exercises. Its a bad thing about the tone but an extremely good development that her left side muscles are being energized and mapped by her brain. She went in for a supposedly simple proceedure to remove the "J-tube" on monday. Aside from being difficult to pull out there was a looming danger of food leaking from the opening from the lower intestine. Thankfully we could turn her feeds down and not exercise her for a couple of days. The opening has now closed and everything in regards to her feeding is once again normal. Shawna has agan been taking small bites of puddng and smoothies and swallowing them successfully. She is staying awake a lot more during the day especially when the therapists are there. The only times she is sleepy is if she doesn't have a good nights sleep. This is something that has developed lately. Now that she has very good mobility with her right arm she scratches and grabs at things when she is lying down. Once she got a hold of her feeding tube and almost pulled it out. Now we put a stress ball in her hand and enclose the hand in a tube sock ensuring that she can't grab her tube again. As a result she has restless times at night which may require some sleeping medication in the future. It makes for restless nights for Deb and myself as we hear her sighing and scatching motions on and off throughout the night. We are thankfull to our Heavenly Father though for what he continues to give us and leave our cares and worries in His hands as he guides us on his path. Thanking you again for your prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna and family

Sunday(day 286)

Good morning all. We have been very blessed this week. Shawna was standing so beautifully on tuesday night that I brought her forward away from the door and she stood with minimal support for over a minute. She was so excited and smiled immensely. When spoke with the physiotherapist the next day about this he had me repeat the procedure with her. He was also very excited about this when she did it again. His next words were "let's walk her". I thought he was going way too fast but we supported her on either side and with Deb moving her legs and feet we walked her three times across the room approx 12 ft. She was so tired after that she slept for an hour. We now do this with her every night to start patterning her for walking. She seems to be able to assist us with bending her knee and helps us slightly with slidng her feet. It may take a very long time of mimicking this walking pattern for her to take her first steps. I will post the video of it when I get my camera back from loaning it out yesterday. We are so thankfull to our Father for again showing us he is in control. He gives us hope for her recovery. Everything else is continuing as before. Her feeding is continually being increased. We are up to 130 ml/hr with the target being 180. This way already Shawna is able to have a good nights rest with no feed machine going. Shawna enjoyed a whole day out at the wedding and reception of her cousin Sarah and Colin Hekert. It was a beautiful and stimulating day for her. She was awake and in her wheelchair for almost 12 hrs with a small laying down break. She smiled almost the whole day. It was a very beautiful experience for all who saw her. Once again we give thanks to our Heavenly Father who continues to provide for us. Thankyou for your prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna, and family

Sunday (day 279)

Good day all. Sorry I didn't write last week. We've been very busy with several projects around the house. Shawna continues to improve. For feeding she is up to 120ml/hr and tolerating very well. The J-tube is now obsolete and hasn't been used for two weeks. It will most likely be removed soon. All the muscles on Shawnas left side seem to be getting energized and as a result there is a lot of muscle tone developing in the left side which we combat with constant therapy. Its a good and bad thing. Its good the muscles are coming in but bad about the tone she can't fight because she can't quite control them yet. Along with the increase in left tone also came an increase in vocaization. Its beautifull to hear her attempt to make sounds. I've posted sme pictures on the site friends and family of Shawna Bethlehem which show her sitting on a couch and standing against her door. She still has her casts on and on Tuesday they will be removed and she will wear new "AFOs". She is almost at the same point with her exercizes as she was at before the tendon release. Shawna had many sleepless nights and dopey days as she recovered from this operation. It was a delicate balance of pain killers to get her enough sleep and yet be awake for therapy. Its been a couple weeks of sleepless nights for Deb and myself as we waited for her to heal. We think were almost out of the woods now though. Yesterday it was 9 months ago that Sawna had her accident. We have come so far since that day and we praise our God for his mercies and guiding hand as he continues to provide for us and Shawna. Have a beautful Sunday with ylur loved ones. Al, Deb Shawna and family

Sunday (day 265)

Good day all. We hope you all are enjoying this beautiful Thanksgiving weekend. We certainly are and we are thankful to our heavenly Father for allowing us to bring Shawna home again after a brief hospital stay. Last thursday Shawna was supposed to have tendon release surgery on her achillies, and be released that evening. We we're highly doubtfull that she would be coming home that night from previous operation experiences. The surgery was successful and her feet were casted to maintain the new positioning. As we predicted though once Shawna was put under using a general anesthetic, it took her 24 hrs to have full body functions again. We were a little disappointed at not taking her home again but we were prepared for it. On friday morning we returned to pick her up but she still wasn't in good enough condition to come home. She had a couple of light siezures in the morning which the doctors felt were brought on by stress and pain. Since then her meds have been adjusted to compensate for that. She was almost ready to go home late Friday but we erred on the side of caution due to the long bumpy ride home and picked her up on Saturday morning instead. Slowly she has been recieving less pain medication and getting a lot of sleep. She slept throuh the whole night with only one dose for pain. When she awoke this morning she smiled her huge loving smile which let us know she was back to her usual self. Tuesday she will receive her fiberglass casts after they mould her new splint casts. Vocalization continues to improve. Were not quite to the point where she can do it on command but we know the triggers to get her to make sounds. Even at Henderson we met people who have heard of Shawna's road and give us their prayers and well wishes. We can only stand back and marvel at God's care and providence. We thank Him and you all for what we have received. Wishing you all a blessed thanksgiving enjoying time spent with your loved ones. Al, Deb, Shawna and Family

Sunday (day 258)

Good afternoon all. Shawna made some good progress at the beginning of the week but then she caught a stomach flu or something and she's finally feeling better today. She enjoyed being at church this morning althought she was laughing at us fussing about to get her ready. Wow mornings are so busy here esp sunday! She continues to progress well with the feeding through the G-tube. She was scheduled to increase to 60 ml/hr from 50 till she got sick so we postponed that till tomorrow. At 60 ml/hr she will be at her regular dietary need over 24 hrs. So we're getting close. We will continue to bump it up so we can liberate large time frames where we do not have to feed her, getting closer to normal eating routines. She continues to communicate very effectively now by grabbing at yes and no cards. When that becomes too much we drift back to eye blinks. The OT and SLP part of the team continue to asses and try to get Shawna to the point where she can possibly use her right hand to operate a communication board and from there all sorts of possibilities open up for mobility and other aspects of her needs. All the therapists continue to express excitement at her gains. We continue to be amazed at how far our Lord has brought her in eight months but we know we have a loving Father who knows our needs and provides for us day to day. At this time we lay before Him our prayers that everthing may go well for her planned surgery on thursday Oct 9. She will undergo tendon loosening on her achillies tendons and then be casted. It is a very painfull operation as we've seen from many other patients in Chedoke. We pray that it may have the desired effect that in due time this may enable her to walk again. Although we will not enjoy the prospect of her having to stay in a hospital again. We realize this to be a necessary step in her recovery. Once again thankyou for your prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna and family

Sunday ( day 251)

Good morning all. Shawna continues to improve at home. She is more alert during the day especially when she recieves therapy. For speech and language, Shawna was intensely trying to point to the yes/no cards during the session. It got to the point she was concentrating using her right arm so intensely that she was moving her left arm as well. The Speech and Language therapists(SLP) are very excited to elicit that kind of response from Shawna. It shows she is intent on trying to communicate. The occupational therapists(OT) also is very excited to work with Shawna as she tries to use her hands in small exercises used to promote agility in her hands. One small detail but also a very significant development is that the OT hired a new assistant to work with her who would be attending to Shawna's case. This assistant is one of Shawna's close friends, Rachel Vandenbos who competed with Shawna a couple of years ago in the SOSA Badminton tournament. They were quite a formidable pair. We look forward to working with her. Shawna's music therapist also continues to gain ground with her using music for non musical goals. Shawna tries to sing along with the familiar songs and tries to strum her fingers on a small tambourine. The physio therapist (PT) also has seen some gains which make him reasses the equipment he has ordered for her to use. He was in on Wednesday to asses and train family on the finer aspects of Shawnas requirements for physio. When he was showing us how to use the stand up table he loaned us, he showed me how to position shawna standing against her bedroom door. She stood so beautifully on her own and had great side to side balance and strength that he thinks the standing frame he ordered for her will be obsolete for her soon. He will look into another machine to facilitate better strengthening exercises. Its a good thing I'm a tall and fairly strong person to lift Shawna from her wheelchair and gently support her during this exercise. She holds her knees and hips very rigid and I have to watch closely for fatigue as she stands this way for 10 to 15 mins. We will post some pictures of her standing against her door soon. It was truly a beautiful and happy occasion. One small step to walking again. Another important development at home is her ability to use the moto-bike that came for her on Friday. We tried it on Saturday and she continues to cycle as she did at Chedoke, but she now can hold on and use the arm training cycle. This was something she could not do two weeks ago and now she can do it by herself without the motor assistance. It was amazing to see her arms cycling in good form with the wrists and hands bending properly and perfect 50/50 symmetry. She almost does it better than cycling with her feet! We continue to receive these blessings with thanks to our Heavenly Father and look to him for our daily needs. Shawna was able yesterday to attend her sister, Jessica's graduation from Guido. Although we sat quite far back we had a great view of the event and Shawna enjoyed it immensely. When we got home today she was full of smiles and laughter. It was also beautiful that she could be out and among so many of our brothers and sisters who constantly were amazed at how beautiful she looked and commented on how much she has improved. For Shawna that is very stimulating to hear and helps her continue to persevere. We thank you for those comments. We also continue to thank the readers for their prayers and support for we know we have received many blessings from those prayers. Al, Deb, Shawna and family

Monday (day 242)

Good day all. Shawna has had a relaxing week at home as she recuperated from the minor surgery from last Monday. The "G-tube" has been started to be utilized today for feeding her. Since she has not had anything in her stomach for almost 8 months it has to be a very slow process. She was fed at 105ml/hr for about 12 hrs per day now we have to cut that back to 20ml/hr (about two teaspons per hour) and carry that for 24 hrs. We have to watch for signs of stress and nausea. If this is successfull for a few days it will be increased slowly to increase the amount of food so she will not loose weight. The target is to feed 450ml at breakfast, lunch and supper to start making feeding times regular and greater amounts than could be done with the "j-tube". Shawna continues to smile and laugh especially when her brothers or the kittens are fighting. The speech and language pathologist and her helper came to asses Shawna for communication and got a bit of progress with her. She seemed to be tired, but when the therapists left her alone with the helper she was again wide awake and trying very hard to communicate and point. It seems when there is too many people she has a hard time to focus on certain activities. After they all left Shawna found a vocal noise she could make and was repeating it for almost 1/2 hour and smiling as she did it. Another operation has been arranged for October 9 to loosen the tendons behind her ankles. Progressive casting and regular physio have not had the desired effect to get her feet back into walking form and thus the operation has been arranged. After the operation She will be casted promptly and recasted several times for a long time. After that she will have special braces and be standing on her feet for longer periods of time. When we look back at how far we have been brought we realize how fragile our bodies are and how beautifully we have been cared for by our heavenly Father. Not one day goes by without me thinking back on the initial doctors meager outlook and their negativism in respect to her quality of life. When I see her smiling and laughing in spite of all that has happened to her (and she knows it) I am very thankful for God's providential care and compassion for us His children. We remain uplifted by the communion of saints around the world and thankfull for your prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna and family

Monday (day 237)

Good evening all. I'm writing this as Shawna returned from her operation. It was successfull. She now has two feeding tubes till the G-tube(stomach) tube is proven to be working properly and the J-tube will be removed. She is resting comfortably and doesn't seem to be in pain. We will have a community nurse checking every day to make sure there is no infection and that all is proceeding properly. A dietician will consult with this nurse and the G-tube will start to be utilized under close scrutiny. We had a very busy week there was two appointments. The first was a consult for the achillies tendon loosening which operation is pending and the second was a doppler test which was an ultrsound test of Shawnas blood vessels esp her legs to make sure of proper blood flow as this test was not administered before. We have had an amazing week together. Sure you get tired from the 4 hour position changing through the night and the constant administering medication and feed. We have had a good amount of help especially from our PSW and some of the therapists who came mostly on a consultation visit basis till Shawna is past the difficulties with her feed tube. The meeting on Monday seemed to energize everyone who will be involved with Shawnas rehab. We have enjoyed also many visits from neighbours and friends. Our house is quickly becoming an open house as cars jockey for a parking spot(joking). Shawna really enjoys being home and we've noticed marked improvements in her ability to keep her head straight and looking to the left. We remain thankfull for all God has given us and eagerly look forward the the unfolding of his plan. Thankyou for your prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna and family

Sunday (day 229)

Good day everyone.

Another chapter has closed and the journey continues with new challenges on the road. The way was cleared for Shawna to finally come home on Friday. The contrast scan showed a post operative fluid build at the incision site. It was not an infection as feared. The fluid will dissapate in time. The smiles were very evident when she rolled into our home to stay. Her smiles even melted the hearts of the contractors who were struggling to complete the bathroom before she would come home. It is a tremendous blessing that we finally have all our children at home again (married ones excepted). Shawna was obviously over-stimulated on friday night as she was wide awake till 3 am. Since then many family routines are coming nicely together again as we roll into another school year. We spent much of the last two days getting small things in order like hanging pictures and rearranging furniture to maintain barrier free access. Shawna meanwhile continues to improve. They have discontinued her blood thinner or fragment as they call it because Shawna is over 7 months from the accident and blood clots are no longer a danger. She was sitting on her bed unassisted for quite a while yesterday. Deb took some video of it. I'll post it tonight. She continues to strengthen her use of certain muscles and assists with her physio. She also has appointments in the coming weeks. The first one is a consult for achillies tendon loosening and casting to get her feet to the proper posture. The second is a repeat procedure of changing the feeding tube from a j-tube to a g-tube. Although the specialist refused initially he was given the history of why the j-tube was used in the first place due to Shawna's extensive surgical proceedures and the doctors at chedoke explained the benefits to Shawnas improvements in quality of life. She could be fed more quickly liberating more excercise time and regularly at normal food intervals. This would improve stomach utilization and proper absorption and make bathroom proceedures more regulated during the day instead of at night. This would on the whole make life more normal for her and better prepare her for the time she can finally eat normally. Tomorrow there is a team meeting with therapists and their assistants and all the care workers and insurance team at our home. All told there will be almost 20 people in attendance as we go over the duties expected of each and the goals we hope to achieve with Shawna. We will be organizing a schedule of work to be done and aside from family involvement it looks to be full days during the week for Shawna with these professionals. We also have a new little visitor for Shawna, a mix golden retriever and poodle. She absolutely loves this visitor and pets it softly. The dog can't stay here due to some family members allergies but Grandma Bethlehem will bring it here almost every day to assist with her therapy. Again we have been so blessed by God and remain looking to him for his faithful guidance as we embark on the next part of this journey. Thankyou for your prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna and family

Monday (day 223)

Good Evening all. As the day is drawing to a close we are returning Shawna to Chedoke for hopefully her last stay of a few nights till she comes home for good. Last week Shawna had a few things on the go. She had a ct scan done which yeilded more questions. There was no water in the brain but there may be an infection under the skull plate at the incision site. The Doctors are going to do a contrast CT scan to verify this tomorrow and if it is so they will come up with a treatment plan which may delay Shawna's discharge to home. She was also scheduled for small operation to remove her J-tube (feeding tube) which is in the lower intestine and replace it with a G-tube which is into the stomach. When she went for this proceedure the specialist refused to do it because he felt it was unnecessary and dangerous. So now we sit between doctors who are adamant about their own position and we are quite comfortable keeping things as is without further operations. The only reason we could see for the changing of position of the tubes would have been to increase the feed amount and be able to do it at regular breakfast, lunch, and supper times and using gravity only. Right now Shawna is on a feeding system which pumps it in slowly and mostly while she is sleeping. It seems to be a wait and see thing as she is developing slowly with her swallowing. They did a videoscope of that which showed she was swallowing successfully and when the more liquid forms did slip by into her airway she coughed the fluids out successfully. There were no silent fluids slipping by unnoticed by her into her lungs. She was given the go ahead to continue being fed thickened juices and once her swallowing develops better she will get more to eat.
On Sunday Shawna was again able to worship with her brothers and sisters in Attercliffe which was a tremendous blessing as she was now able to concentrate a bit more on a beautiful sermon on Heidleberg Catechism Lord's Day 10. She was also able to center her head and smile at many of her friends. We recieved the most smiles though when she stayed home for the night and enjoyed a good nights rest away from all the hospital noises, although i'm not sure about the brother noises and their intensity. That seems to be the time she laughs the most because she knows shes truly home.
We continue to rely only upon the Lord and his mercies and continue to recieve all that we are in need of. Thank you for your prayers and support Al and Deb

Sunday (day 215)

Good morning all. The day is drawing nearer for Shawna to come home for good. Our home is almost ready. The specialized wheel-in bathroom is nearly complete. The community rehab team is fully assembled and ready to start working with Shawna at home. Shawna as well is excited about coming home and September 5th draws near quickly. She's making more noises now which continues to give us hope that she will talk. She continues to improve in the physio area. She's biked 2.6 kms in 20 mins and is able to sit up unassisted with excellent head posture for quite a while. She continues to get stronger and moves her left arm a few times per day. Her smiles are infectious and her laughter enjoyed by many. The tests continue to make sure everything is good with her health. There are many appointments and consults arranged for the coming months and possibly a small operation to change the location of the feeding tube. We continue to reap the blessings of God's grace as He continues to heal our darling. Thankyou again for your support and prayers. Al and Deb

P.s. Were waiting for our house to be back together before we can post some of the wedding photos, but. I did post a beautiful shot of her smiling on Facebook. "Friends and family of Shawna Bethlehem"

Monday (day 207)

Good Evening all. We've been very busy again and not home much. It feels like a lame excuse but we had a couple of days away from the hospital, one visiting our camping sons and another on a boating event with some close friends. The time away allows us to keep focused on what we have to do as a family and not to become tunnel visioned. Shawna continues to improve and we remain very thankful for all the small advances we see. Her swallowing is improving and they are going to do a videoscope of the swallowing activity to make sure all is well. She continues to try to vocalize and now makes many small noises especially if she is in discomfort or very happy to see us. It is so beautiful to see her smiling and breaking into a laugh when something funny is said or done. She's been watching a bit of the Olympics and when they have the commercials of the kids training and falling she instantly laughs. Her reaction times have improved dramatically in the last couple of weeks. When Deb went in today to assist with physio Shawna instantly lifted her arms for a hug. This was an amazing feat as she has only just started to move her left arm a small bit the last couple of days. It brings tears to my eyes picturing that endearing moment as Deb embraced Shawna in a hug which she initiated. This is another step we have been patiently waiting for. Some other important things which have happened are ones which people ask us a lot about. We often hear "will she recognize me?". I just tell them try and initiate eye contact. More times than i care to count she has recognized people and given them a sign she knows them. Now it is more definite though. We brought her to Hamilton Cornerstone Church on sunday and after the service she was smiling and listening to people around her. Mr. Wildeboer, one of her former teachers from Guido, bent over to say hi and she instantly beamed him a huge smile. She was very happy to see him as she worked a "before school" fitness club with him in the past. Other events which make us chuckle is her sense of humour. The nurses were cleaning up around the room one night and were talking and joking about the machines in her room. They thought Shawna had drifted off to sleep but her laughter brought them immediately to attention and one nurse said she felt she was going to have a heart attack from the suddeness of Shawnas reaction and the fact they didn't know she could laugh. There's our girl keeping them on their toes. It goes to show we cant take her sleepiness for granted and have to be very careful what we say and do in her presence. We continue to pray for God's blessing on Shawna and thank you all for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

Sunday (day 199)

Good morning all. We have been so blessed by God's favour. The staples for Shawnas plate reinsertion were taken out on Monday and the incision has healed beautifully and can hardly be seen without a very close inspection. The nurses and staff continually are amazed at the results of the reinsertion as the bone ridge cannot be seen. They claim its one of the best works they've seen. We thank Dr. Wells and his staff for all they've done. She has smiled very much and to the point we thought she was laughing. Sure enough. She has developed a laugh complete with shoulder shakes. What a blessing! To be able to laugh in the presence of all that has happened to her is an amazing blessing we have received from God's hand. She attended Will and Katies wedding as a bridesmaid and refused to sleep between pictures at McMaster U and the ceremony. It was a very beautiful day. Her physiotherapist, Chantelle voluntered to take care of her the whole day and was faithfully with her the whole time. She monitored constantly on Shawnas contidition if she was showing signs of distress, but all was well. We didn't get her back to Cedoke till 1.00 am and she was still wide awake and smiling away! We thought she would be wiped the next day but for a few cat naps at the usual time she maintained her physio schedule with sitting, leaning on either arm, standing and biking. Simply amazing the level of endurance and determination that she has been given. We are thankful. Another result from her stay at the General is that they have checked and double checked that there is confimed no blood supply obstruction to her right leg. Everything is good and no further operation will be required. There has been further work with her swallowing and a scope will be done to determine if anything is going into her lungs silently. If this shows to be good they will feed her yogurt and applesauce. The team is being assembled for her home care as that day draws closer for her to go home. They have meetings scheduled with the team at Chedoke to carry on with their plan and objectives. We continue to be strengthened by our Father and rely solely on him for our needs. Thankyou for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

Sunday (day 192)

Good mornign all. Today again we have been given a beautiful sunny day after all the rain we have experienced this summer we can surely see the sunny days as blessings. We've been very busy driving back and forth home this week as our house is again in the midst of hopefully the last major renovation. It is progressing slowly and is supposed to be finished by Aug 25 (hopefully earlier). Shawna meanwhile continues to improve. Her eye contact and tracking have improved a lot. Her smiles are huge and sometimes border on laughter when some jokes and funny things have happened. She has seen herself in a mirror and was smiling about that as well. Physio continues also to improve as they increase the performance demands. They had her in a stepping machine to try to teach her how to step but she could not step on her own but she did try to lift her right leg. Her right arm movements have been getting more fluid as its getting harder to let go of her hand as she catches you again very quickly. She reaches for certain visitors as soon as she recognizes them. The progress is very slow but God teaches us patience every day and we accept and thank him for his favour on our daughter. Her staples will come out this week as the incision has healed beautifully and her hair is still mostly there except for the cut site. I will post some pictures on facebook friday or saturday after Will's wedding as Shawna will attend as bridesmaid. Shawna and Katie are still very close and Shawna is very excited about being there. We pray that all may go well. May you all have a blessed Sunday of praise and worship. Thanking you again for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

sorry folks going to one post per week . It's getting too busy to keep up with the renovations right now. I' ll post on Sat. nite Al

Monday (day 186)

Good day all. God has protected Shawna through another serious operation. Everything went very well. She had a small fever which was to be expected but the incision has remained infection free. She was very alert yesterday and smiled for me a lot. She was tired though after 3 hrs in the wheelchair and needed a small sleep back in bed to recuperate. We have noticed some very good developments with her eyes. She can now easily look left and down and turns her eyes to catch a view of who is visiting. Her left eye now has almost the same response as her right. When I asked her if she could recognize me and see me with her left eye she blinked affirmative. That is a hugh blessing as we were told at the onset that she may never be able to see properly or the brain may not be able to interpret what she sees because her occular zone was damaged. Deb texted me that Shawna was safely back at Chedoke now and it would be a quiet day for her as she continues to recuperate. It will soon be exercize as usual. The last stage of renovations are underway at the house as contractors change our bathroom to a roll-in shower bathroom. After this everything will be in place for her to stay at home again we remain thankful to God for all the blessings we have received from his hand and continue to pray for Shawnas recovery. Thanks. Al and Deb

Thursday (day 182)

Good evening all. Well Shawnas skull flap reinsertion was a success so far. Now we have to wait and pray there will be no infection. There is a 5 to 10 % chance of that happening. If it does the skull flap will have to be removed immediately and discarded. They will then have to fabricate a cage like device from titanium and use that instead. We will continue to pray that no more operations on her skull are necessary as she is very tired and in some pain. When we were waiting in the waiting room all the memories of that first night came flooding back. It was a bit overwhelming but when we remembered psalm 23 which Deb spoke to Shawna about just prior to her operation we were comforted and assured of God's great care and mercy. For we will fear no evil for He is with us. Shawna may end up staying at the General again till Sunday unless they need a bed. Right now she is resting comfortably and relaxing after receiving some pain meds. She looks beautiful ( I always said she did anyways). In 10 days they will remove the staples. And in 3 or 4 days we can carefully wash her hair again. They did a beautifull job again(at least what I can see) of saving her hair and disguising the incision. We remain so thankful for the advances of medicine and the blessing of skilled surgeons. Above all we again are thankfull for God's providential care and mercy on us His children. Thanking you again for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

Monday (day 179)

Good morning all. We had a beautiful weekend together. Shawna really enjoyed her stay at home. Her smiles were very evident and large. It was very hard to bring her back to chedoke Sunday night and even for shawna as we said goodnight her smile was weak and looked forced. Shawna's skull cap reinsertion surgery is planned for thursday this week and she will spend the night probably in the General and the next couple weekends at Chedoke as they monitor the incision site for infection. They have assured us that Shawna will be right back at it with the therpapy on monday as there is no muscles to be cut etc and they will just be a bit more careful with her. We are very thankful to God that Shawna could witness with our congregation her sister Jessica's profession of faith. The next major event we are hoping she will be ready for is her brother Wil's wedding on Aug 7. It has certainly been a busy 6 months. We continue to rely on Him for strength and pray for His continued guidance and care in the life of our daughter. Thankyou for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

Friday (day 176)

Here is a small beautiful poem I was given and would like to share with readers

Watching the great Physician

Oh Lord, show us Thy mercy, on who before us lies.
Our hearts are nearly breaking to see how hard she tries.
Let her not lose her focus as she works on and again,
To open up new pathways in her damaged brain.

Her deep, blue eyes so trusting, sometimes fill with tears.
It is as if she really knows, it could take many years.
Each day seems like the last one, the progress very slow.
Lord, let the pathways she is making, multiply and grow.

Each movement is a tiring effort, a battle to be won.
Will you bring to full fruition the work You have begun?
In all this, she knows, we pray Thy will be done.
Let her gain her youthful vigor, to talk, to walk, to run.

Watchers leave with leaden hearts, do not weep and yearn.
We are there to help and serve, we are there to learn.
To see the miracles He's done, the care shown day by day.
To Hold your breath each time you come, what will He do today?

We are so weak and so short lived, our patience quickly flies,
So send your prayers heavenward, let praises fill the skies,
For all the work He's done so far and all there's still to do,
He is our loving, great Physician and He will help her through.

Sjanie Bethlehem 2008

Thursday (day 175)

Good evening all. Well Shawna's skull cap reinsertion was postponed to next week Thursday. We were expecting something of that sort but the doctor and physiotherapists at Chedoke were not and they were a bit upset because a few other items had been arranged to be done at the same time. Now those procedures will have to be rebooked hopefully for next week as well. Shawna continues to train on the bike and steadily progresses. She has acclimatized to the new drugs and is back at the level before the drugs were administered. She also continues to do well in the standing frame and sitting on the edge of the bed. Today for swallowing they gave her thickened grape juice. Imagine finally tasting something besides toothpaste for six months! (Except when I slipped her some chocolate milk which apparently was a big no-no) I wasn't here so I can't tell what her reaction was but she swallowed successfully and we've been here for over an hour and she hasn't coughed! We may be able to take Shawna home from friday night to sunday night to stay for two nights. That would be fantastic. It is God's providential care that Shawna will be able to come to church on Sunday afternoon to witness her sister Jessica's public profession of faith. If she had the operation today it would have been too early to take her home on the weekend. Again we can see the mercies our Lord is giving our family and Shawna as she continues to recover. We continue to thank you for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

Monday (day 172)

Good morning all. It was a beautiful weekend. Firstly Shawna had a good physio day on Friday with a good session standing and sitting as her casts were taken off. There is some concern though that she will have to be operated on to loosen the tendons of her ankles to get her feet back to neutral position as the serial casting has not been having the desired effect. On Saturday Shawna was home. Jess worked quickly on curling her hair and we went to her cousin Michelle's wedding. She came back home to bed for a few hours and then came to the reception. She really enjoyed the events and was very animated trying to talk several times. He managed to stay fully awake till 1100 pm and went home for a good nights sleep in her own bed. Sunday morning she was wide awake at 800 am and smiling. When I asked her if she liked her new room she blinked affirmative. Sunday afternoon she attended the inaugural sermon of Rev Huijgen in Attercliffe which was followed by several of her friends coming over to visit till she had to return to Chedoke. Again when we got her back at 1000pm she was still quite awake and alert. This is definitely another change as the medications continue to awaken her. She didn't want me to leave as the nurses put her to bed for the night and after this weekend it was very hard to leave. We enjoyed a sort of normalcy which hasn't been in our home for half a year and that was a huge blessing which we received from God's hand this week. We continue to be blessed by His hand and continue to receive support and help from the communion of saints as we continue on the path laid out for us. Thankyou for your continued prayers and support. Al and Deb

Thursday (day 168)

Good day all. Its been a mixed bag week with a trip yesterday for Shawna to have her feeding tube relocated from her lower intestine to her stomach. Due to a miscomunication about the type of feeding tube it was the procedure could not be done. Instead Shawna will have to have a small operation to do it. This will require her to be off blood thinners for a day or two. Next week on the 17 Shawna will tentatively have her skull cap reinserted. They consider it nonessential because she can "live" without it and therefore it could be bumped for more serious procedures. The doctors have increased some of her meds to combat tone but Shawna has stayed awake most of the day. She continues to move her left hand and arm slightly and is now trying to point at objects with her right hand. Still no talking but some noises once in a while when she's not concentrating.
This weekend Shawna will attend the wedding of her cousin Michelle Linde to Chris Weirsma and hopefully the party and then spend the night at home in her own room. Again we can see the many blessings we receive from the Lord's hand and continue to lay our needs before His throne of grace. Thankyou again for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

Monday (day 165)

Good evening all. We had another successful weekend taking care of Shawna in the ADL apartment and were also able to take her home on sunday for 8 hrs. They have given Shawna some meds to stimulate her brain and others to combat "tone" as her muscles start to function more. As a result Shawna was very sleepy throughout the week but she seems to have leveled out again and was very alert on Sunday. She even elevated her left arm and wrist twice, a totally new develpment! Hopefully everything continues to flow at home so she can be home on Saturday night with us. Again more blessings from His almighty hand. Thankyou for your prayers. Al and Deb

Thursday (day 161)

Good Evening all. There isn't much to write about as the therapists are on rotational holidays and the therapy isn't quite as intense this week. They are giving Shawna some medicine for "tone" to make her muscles relax especially her right leg. Well it's not making her leg relax much and it seems to have slowed down progress on her left side. Just something we have to talk to the therapists about on Monday. This weekend we will again be staying with Shawna in the ADL apartment in order to facilitate her coming home for an evening or two (July 12 and July 19). Her bed and lift are being set up in her room this coming Tuesday. We seem to have hit a bit of a lull in the activity but there is still some good progress especially with her head movement and balance and eye tracking. We remain thankful and are getting a bit excited about having her come home overnight! Daily we receive mercies from God's hand and we continue to pray for Shawna's recovery. thank you again for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

Monday (day 158)

Good morning all. We had a beautiful weekend with Shawna. The highlight of which was being able to stay with her in the ADL apartment at Chedoke. Thsi meant we would have to take total care of her with the nurses availabe only if we had troubles. Everything went very well. We're a bit tired at the end of Sunday but you dont get a lot of sleep. I did but Deb didn't. Deb slept in the bed next to her and found out Shawna likes to make a lot of vocal noises in her sleep or maybe that's her practice time. I slept on the pull-out(got the boot to the couch) and was only required to wake up every 4 hrs to assist with changing Shawnas position. On Saturday, Shawna was on the exercise bike and the therapist was going to set her up in a higher gear. Well he sure did. Accidentally he started her in gear 5 and she was only used to gear 1. Well, she kept at it pedalling slowly but still determined till the gear flashed up on the screen and the therapist quickly adjusted it to gear 2. Then she was tearing away again at 44 rpm and a few hills in gear 3 were added to the route. After pedalling for 15 mins. she was allowed to rest and the results were tabulated. Shawna has had some real positive results just in one week. Last Saturday she pedalled 1.3 km in gear 1 with no changing gears to simulate a hill in the route. This time She went 1.8 km in gear 2 with two gear 3 hill durations of 1 min. Her leg symmetry or balance of pressure exerted from one leg to the other is steadily improving. Amazingly enough it gets better in the higher gear and when I was videoing it she had 42% left and 58% right. After her workout we were off on a day trip to Selkirk Provincial park where the Buist family was holding their annual family reunion. When Shawna showed up she was surrounded by many of her cousins, second-cousins, aunts and uncles wishing her well. I think for Shawna it was a hard part of the day as her limitations were brought back to her as she really enjoyed playing games with many of them in the years past. It was an enjoyable afternoon though and we managed to squeak in a couple of hours between the rain. It's been a pretty wet affair this year and listening to the tales of pulling Hein and Ria's trailer out of the mud finally with a tow truck, it is almost with relief that we're not there(almost : ( ). We made the trek back to Chedoke slowly traversing many potholed roads especially the campgrounds. After a good night in the ADL we went to Katie's (and Will's later) apartment for lunch on Sunday. It was a tight squeeze for the wheelchair in the elevator and the apartment hallways but also an enjoyable time. We had planned to go from there to Attercliffe church for the afternoon service but due to some of Shawna's meds. had to stay closer to Chedoke. Again and again we have experienced the riches of God's blessings in our lives as we continue in the life He has planned for us. We know He works everything for the good of His children and we look forward to and pray for his continued guidance. Thanking you for your continued prayer and support Al and Deb

Thursday (day 154)

Good Evening all. We've again had a pretty busy week. At the team meeting on monday Shawna's progress was gone over. Generally they are very happy with her progress and see quite a bit of improvement. There are areas of concern though. In the bone density scan the good news was that there is no bone forming in the soft tissue areas which can happen with inactivity. The right leg has a deficient supply of blood which they could tell from the scan. This warrants further exploration. A blood vessel most likely was damaged from the accident and didn't repair properly. This lack of adequate blood supply to the right leg could impede exercise as the muscles would become oxygen deprived and thus very sore from strenuous exercise. The brain CT scan, which was shown to us and explained, showed no signs of swelling or water buildup and therfore no shunts will be required for draining. The skullcap being reinserted was discussed and with our permission they will start the process to have the operation done at the General while she is still enrolled in Chedoke. They can easily monitor the incision and her phsiotherapy will be unaffected(so they claim). They will also be giving Shawna a drug (under close scrutiny and small amounts) to stimulate her by making her "more awake". The physiotherapist's goal as explained to us is developed in stages to get Shawna to take her first steps. That would be an awesome blessing! The speech therapist continues to work with Shawna's swallowing and vocalizing. This dedicated team is trying every effort to get Shawna to develop as much as possible during her stay with them. Shawna also continues for her part to be determined and aggressive as she can. Last monday I saw and coached Shawna as she sat on the edge of the bed for almost a half hour, while the therapist moved her from side to side to exercise the back muscles. She stayed very straight for the exercise and was exhausted after that. Tuesday Shawna went for an EEG at the General. They attached probes to Shawnas head to monitor brain activity and then flashed lights in her eyes rapidly. Shawna had a hard time staying calm during the activity and after when they were taking the probes off and cleaning the locations she had a small siezure. This was averted by the nurse who massaged Shawna's left arm to confuse the brain messages, and the siezure stopped. We will find out more about the EEG later when the doctor discusses them with us as the technician could not divulge any information. Wednesday was a recreation day and Shawna went with the other members of the ABI unit to the Royal Botanical Gardens. She had a beautiful sunny day and under Deb's watchfull eyes came back with a bit of colour but not a burn. Today Shawna returned to the physical workout and again progressed further. She stood up in the standing frame for a half hour with out showing signs of extreme fatigue due to downward bloodflow. She maintained good posture with her head centered during the exercise . On the bike she cycle for over 2km. the therapist will now move her to gear 2 full time with some pressure zones going into gear 3.
Then while I was there tonight we (Jeanette and I) were talking to Shawna and she seemed to be really involved with the conversation moving her mouth and tongue when she opened her mouth a bit more and slowly said "Yah" . We were so excited to hear that and Shawna was also smiling knowing she had communicated, but we couldn't get her to repeat it. Later, because she was so awake in her wheelchair, I tried to give her some water to practice swalowing. She was obviously trying to still talk and couldn't concentrate on swallowing and choked a little bit. After a couple of good coughs, I asked her if she wanted to keep trying. As I was waiting for a response from her eye blinks she opened her mouth again and with a slow deliberate sound said "no". It was so beautiful to hear that even if it wasn't a perfect "no". Practice will help her to develope that again. The blessings we continue to recieve from God's hands remind us that he never forgets us, he has engraved us on the palms of his hands. Isaiah 49:15,16. Thank you for your continued prayerand support. Al and Deb

Monday (day 151)

Good morning all. Sorry for being a little tardy on the post, but we had couple of busy days. Shawna continues to progress under the therapists. She is getting more and more movement in her right arm, and right leg. Her left side continues to improve but seems to be a couple of months behind the development of her right side. She turns her head from side to side especially if she can't get her eyes to track and she wants to see something out of her line of vision. It still takes a lot of effort though and repetition is the best way to strenghthen the neuro connections to her muscles. We have taken the boredom of the hospital on Saturday and Sunday away by using the van to transport Shawna home for the afternoons on those days. For her it is very stimulating and for us it's a reality check on our preparedness at home. Our main rooms, kitchen, dining, living and caregiver's room have been completed with some small "honey do lists" left. Shawna's room will be getting the new flooring, and trim today and will be completely finished by this weekend. The only major thing left will be the modification to our bathroom converting it to a roll-in shower with accessible toilet and sink. Shawna(and us) will have a busy week this week with a "meet with the team" scheduled for today, an EEG for Shawna at the general tomorrow at 11.00 and a recreational outing on Wednesday. We thank our Heavenly Father for the continued blessing of good health and the continual progression of Shawna and continue to rely solely on His providential care. May you all have a blessed week and thank you for your continued prayers and support. Al and Deb

Wednesday (day 146)

Good evening all. We were richly blessed on last Sunday to be able to bring Shawna to worship service in Attercliffe for the afternoon. It was God's providential care that we could listen to a sermon on Lord's Day 1. Our only comfort in life and death. Shawna remained awake for the whole service and even shed a couple of tears after prayer. I'm sure she was not the only one! We do know that she has good comprehension from the meetings she has had with the therapists and she may have also been able to concentrate on the whole sermon. It was a beautiful afternoon of fellowship with her brothers and sisters of Atterclife, hopefully this can be repeated soon as we start to train to have her home for the weekends coming up. She was exhausted though and spent most of the trip home fast asleep. For Monday through today though she has been quite awake for her sessions on the bike, standing frame, and sitting on the edge of the bed. Monday she spent 15 mins on the bike in gear 1 and today she spent 19 mins on the bike in mostly gear 5. Shawna has always thrived on competition and besting own scores in physical activity. This aspect of her personality is beginning to show that it hasn't dissapeared. Her left to right leg pressures on the bike have gone as high as 52%right to 48% left which is a fantastic development for her left leg. She is also starting to lift and move her left leg around a bit. She's also moving her left arm slightly. Today she was very alert as my mom worked with her hands. Shawna picks up tiles and places them in Grandmas hand. Somehow when my mom comes Shawna is very alert and know she has to work her hands that day. We recall the beautiful song "Great is Thy faithfulness" which speaks about "morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand has provided. Great is Thy faithfullness Lord unto me". God has indeed richly blessed Shawna that she continues to improve steadily and we continue to pray for His ongoing care in the life of our daughter. Thanking you once again for your continued prayers and support. Al and Deb

Saturday (day 142)

Good Evening all. Shawna had another beautiful day outside. I arrived this morning and Doug was working her physio. She is developing more and more ability to control her muscles on her left and right side. The physio therapist is extremely pleased with her progress especially with certain muscle groups which are hard to control on command but Shawna is managing and slowly improving. They dressed her appropriately for an outing today and I took her to the soccer tournament in Smithville. She watched Darryl and AJ's team(Attercliffe) beat the opposing team 2-nil. At first we were a bit aprehensive about flying soccer balls but nothing even came close to her. It was a beautiful time with her teammates as she clutched a spare jersey while watching the game. Shawna manages pretty well inside the rear loading wheelchair van. She can keep her head very immobile and not slipping from side to side. It's a bit of a bumpy ride and you have to be careful of the route you choose with regards to road condition.
Tomorrow we hope to bring Shawna to the afternoon church service in Attercliffe, so she may be able to worship again with her brothers and sisters there and be able to hear the singing and preaching in her church again. It is amazing that our God has blessed her so richly that she may be able to do this again. We are so very thankful for His covenantal grace and fulfilling of the rich promises that He has given us. May you all have a blessed day of praise and worship. Al and Deb

Wednesday (day 139)

Good evening all. Shawna had a beautiful day down at Bay Front Park in Hamilton today. Aside from falling asleep in the beautiful sunlight with a nice cool breeze blowing sofly on her she still did manage to catch the biggest fish.(not a fishermans tale!) It was a small catfish about 9" long. then she caught a small perch about 4" and aside from one small gobie that Brian caught that was the total the group caught. Shawna did enjoy the ride in her new wheelchair van(she was wide awake for that!). When we got back since she had slept most of the afternoon the therapist wanted her to show off for her dad on the new bike they recieved this week. It starts them off with assistance to pedal for 1 min and then they are on their own. It also measures distance pedalled and can adjust gears to make it more strenuous and measures leg strength from left to right as well as amount of tone. Apparently on Monday Shawna was on the bike and they challenged her that she had to better the boy who was also on the bike. They said the girls had never beat the guys. Wrong thing to say to our girl! She beared down with determination expressed by the grimace on her face and pedalled on her own for 9 mins doing 1.14 kms narrowly beating out the competition. Her right leg produced 72% of the power and her left leg amazingly produced 28%. Its beautiful to see her left side developing. Today when she was on the bike she pedalled on her own for 10 mins producing 1.27 kms and using 65 % right leg strength and 35 % left leg strength. That was a remarkable improvement. This time though she was showing off for me. She was exhausted when she was done.
There have been other significant improvements. Her comprehension in group therapy is very good and she has been getting more consistent with her ways of answering. The lady sitting with her daughter across from Shawna today told me that Shawna was saying " no, no, no" in her bed this morning. I asked her if she really did want to go fishing. She blinked once so I was good to go on the fishing trip today(lucky me). Yesterday they also had her standing unassisted for 25 mins. She is slowly getting stronger and able to be up for longer periods of time. This is helping her blood circulation.
We remain thankfull for the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit through the communion of saints as you support us in this time of need. Thankyou for your prayers and support. Al and Deb.

Monday (day 137)

Good morning all. Not much for changes since last posting since most of the therapists and doctors were at a conference. Shawna did manage to try a couple of other words though as she said Hi to Katie and tried to say Bye to Darrin. It is beautiful to see her attempting to vocalize more and more. I dont know if I mentioned before that her therapy is from 10.00 to 4.30 monday to friday. Saturday and Sunday are pretty laid back( hint visits) as there are no therapists there do work with her, and she spends most of her time outdoors if its not too hot. Visisting hours are 8.00am to 8.00 pm.
This wednesday Shawna will be going on a recreational trip to the bayfront. I hope to transport her in our new wheelchair van if its ready in time. I think I will probably enjoy this trip more than her as its a "fishing optional trip". Going to the garden to get some worms!
Every week there is some progress which we are so thankful for. We know God is providing for her and our everyday needs and we continue to pray for her recovery. Thankyou again for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

Thursday (day 133)

Good Evening all. I appologize for not posting last night but we've been very busy working on the house and our computer has been disconnected during some renovations. Shawna continues to improve. Just today she may have spoken her first words as the physiotherapist asked her to move an object for the second time to which she said "unh unh", kind of a slang for "no" which she was very familiar with and used it a lot at home. The physiotherapist asked her if she meant no, to which she blinked affirmative and refused to move the object again as it took a lot of concentration the first time. This brought out a lot of laughter from him and our sister_in-law Ruth as they realized she was serious. They are impressed with how far Shawna has come and can see improvements from day to day. We don't have the results of the bone scan and density check yet. They have said that if Shawna continues to improve and looks as if she may be on the verge of an important breakthru they will keep her longer. As it is they have set a tentative discharge date of Sept 5, 2008 which is already two weeks longer than they first said, but that could change.
They have splinted her ankles and wrists to maintain her posture which they have said is very good at this point. They don't keep them on all the time but it just keeps her wrists and ankles in the right position, mostly during the night. Last night when a friend brought some lilies to the room, Shawna delicately held one stem between her thumb and finger and once dropped it on her stomach and then easily picked it up rolling it between her thumb and finger. We were amazed! There are so many amazing things our Lord has done for Shawna we cannot but help but praise His Holy Name. We continue to walk the path He has chosen for us trusting that He is always in control and providing the best for us His children. Thankyou for your continual prayers and support Al and Deb.

Sunday (day 129)

Good Morning all. We are so excited to have Shawna at Chedoke. Although the first week or two is mostly assesments they are getting a lot of responses from Shawna and she is trying hard to improve. There is a therapist who works with her eyes and he is trying to increase Shawnas ability to "track" from right to left. Tracking show she is seeing things and moving her eyes to the left has been very hard for her. She is consistently able to look left now. When it gets too much for her she just closes her eyes and stops to rest. The speech theraspist who also works with swallowing and eating was very impressed with Shawnas ability to try to mouth words, moving her tongue and making sounds, which show she may be able to talk soon. When she told Shawna this there was a huge increase in Shawna trying to communicate. It was a great encouragement for her. They have also been able to have Shawna stand now for 15 mins full load bearing. She is kind of strapped in but on her own and they push her till she breaks out in a cold sweat. It takes a lot of effort from her as she moans and groans but with the encouragement from family members she keeps going and pushing herself. There are some concerns though because she favours her left side. From the accident she was heavily injured on her left side with major bone breaks and soft tissue damage. They are investigating this a bit more through the notes taken originally and examining what has progressed since. Monday is a short trip to the Hamilton General for MRI and ultrasounds. They were checking Shawnas eyes for bits of metal that may have impacted from the accident to make sure she has no metal imbedded for the MRI. Wednesday is an all day affair at the Hamilton General for a bone density scan, where they will look for calcifications in the joints, bone density and generally check all her bones. The therapists are very impressed that Shawna has progressed this far especially since the accident has only been 4 months ago. We know though where our help lies, and He has made her able to be this far. Although the therapy is very rigourous she smiles more and seems very content to be able to try to work out. She is able to rest even though she is now in a much noisier ward setting. It just took some time to get familiarized with the room.
Home renos have shifted into high gear as we hope to train to have Shawna home on weekends. They have an apartment setup in the Holbrook building where you can simulate being at home but still have the nurse near enough to help if needed. Therfore our home has to be ready soon. With some very dedicated assitance we are progressing quite quickly and hope to have Shawnas room and our adjoining living space completed in two weeks. By then we also should have recieved our wheelchair van to be able to transport her to and from home. We have been so richly blessed by God's grace and favour. Throughout this event He has strengthened us by His Spirit and enabled us to carry on. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will fear no evil for God is with us! Thankyou for your continual prayers and may God grant you a blessed day of praise and worship. Al and Deb

Wednesday (day 125)

Good evening all. Shawna seems to enjoy her new surroundings. Its quite a bit busier than the private room we had in Dunnville. She is in a ward with two other ladies. She seems to be resting enough though. Today she was awake all day except for two 10 min catnaps. They have all kinds of therapists here. There is a huge list posted by her bed of all the drs and therapists who will work with her. The first day for assesments they stood her up for quite a while and she was very alert. When they put her feet on a pedal bike and turned it she was smiling immensely for the 10 mins she was pedaling. They work with her eyes, speech, limbs and emotional aspects. Each day they have a talk session with the 5 patients in her program telling them what day it is etc and just talking to them for about a half hour. Some days their therapy is a trip to the mall, theatre or park. When I asked Shawna if she liked her new surroundings she promptly smiled, and tried to talk. We see a lot more of her smiles now and that is something we are very thankful for. At times it is overwhelming how much diferent this facility is compared to the hospital. They are so tuned for Aquired Brain Injury and know exactly what needs to be done. We know this is part of God's plan and his timing to have her here and we continue to be thankful for the healing he has given her. I will have a list of her accomplishments on Sunday as right now they are still in the assesment phase. Thankyou all for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

Monday (day 123)

Good evening all. Great news. Shawna has been admitted to Chedoke for rehab. She leaves the Hospital tomorrow at 10.00 am for a three month stay at the Holbrook building. We are so thankfull for the dedicated nurses and our doctor Reddy at the Haldimand War Memorial Hospital. They have made our time spent at the hospital a beautiful time to remember as they took care of their "princess" as they called her. Deb is out tonight buying her lots of loose fitting clothes for her exercise routines as she wont be wearing only a night gown anymore. Soon they will train us to take care of her for her to come home over the weekends when everything is ready at home. The timeline is now definite that she will be home in three months. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Al and Deb

Sunday (day 122)

Good morning all. As I sit here with Shawna reflecting on the beautiful day God has given us today, I'm reminded of His steadfast promises that he cares for all our needs especially with this day, a day of rest, praise, and worship. We remain thankfull for His providential hand in the advances he has given Shawna. Her right arm is developing strength and she is able to lift it from her hip up to her chin and away from her body with her wrist straight. She continues to do leg lifts. Her right leg is far more advanced than the left but the left is developing. I may have been over optimistic in saying she might walk in six months, but I will remain optimistic and prayerful that God may grant that as we watch Shawna's determination.
The home renos continue. Our room beside Shawnas is completely finished. We juggled all the childrens rooms around with the help of some caring church sisters. The occupational therapist was down, meeting with two contractors who were quoting on renovating for a wheelchair bathroom. With some help started into the renos on Shawnas room. We haven't heard much from Chedoke but her move is still imminent. Have a beautiful day and thankyou for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

Thursday (day 119)

Sorry for the delay, but my first post ended up in internet land floating somewhere. Its happened once before and I posted again later but then all of a sudden there was two postings. We are so grateful for all the blessings we have recieved, that Shawna could come home, and the outpouring of goodwill at the plant sale have touched us deeply. Shawna meanwhile continues to improve slowly. We put a rolled up towel under her leg behind her knee and she can elevate and hold her right leg for quite a while. She can also let it back down onto the bed on command for a rest. The same with her right arm. She can hold it straight up wrist locked straight with a one lb barbell for a minute now. We do not get quite the same response with her left leg but there is muscle development and it is increasing. Her left arm is also getting some responses. The physiotherapist has had Shawna standing in a walker cage and slowly letting her do some weight bearing onto her hips and legs. This allows her to get good posture for standing and walking as being in bed for too long gives you a kink in your hips. The blood rushes to your lower extremities from your upper and this causes Shawna to be quite tired in this exercise, but her eyes are wide with excitement and concentration when she is doing them. The physiotherapist is confident Shawna will be able to walk in time. That is the key phrase "in time", meaning six months or more from now. He is confident nonetheless. We remain ever thankful to God for his daily blessings to us and Shawna and continue to wait for the unfolding of His will . Thankyou all for your prayers and support. Al and Deb

Plant Sale

Good day everyone!

This is Gord & Esther Van Egmond here - Al let us highjack the blog to give you an update on the plant sale we had. First of all we would like to thank our plant suppliers for working with us and giving us exceptional pricing and donations and also bringing us more product so quickly when we ran out. Also a huge thank you to those who helped us "man" the sale, we really appreciate it. But most of all thank you to all of you who took the time out of your busy long weekend to buy your plants and give donations to help out the Bethlehems. Some of you drove a long way to Grimsby to lend your support.

In just 4 days we were able to raise $8,000.00 !!! I won't try to describe Al & Debbie's faces last night but I will say they are overwhelmed with the support you have all shown to Shawna and the entire Bethlehem family. Thank you!

God Bless!

Gord & Es

p.s.

sorry for got to post.....posted two videos of homecoming to "Friends and Family of Shawna Bethlehem" on Facebook

Saturday ( day 114)

Good Evening All. This is the day we were anxiously waiting for. It took almost 4 months but Shawna finally made it into our house. A whole season has passed. We thank God that this was possible. He has been steadily healing her so she would be able to come home. She was very animated and trying very hard to make noises to the point she was almost choking. This makes us work harder on the renovations to make sure we are ready for taking care of her at home as soon as possible. She wasn't too upset when she had to go back to the hospital because we told her this was the stepping stone to getting her home more often for a longer time. We are extremely thankful to our insurance company for making this visit possible, as they work quietly and compassionately behind the scenes taking care of Shawna's needs as well. The physiotherapist again was able to get more response from Shawna. Her right side is very responsive and she moves it and does leg lift reps with her cast to build strength on her own. He electro stimulated her left leg with good results of muscle movement even after stimulation stopped. He did the same to her left arm with some results but not to the same extent as the leg. One other interesting point of note is when she was being worked on for recasting on Wednesday the doctor asked Shawna to move independant muscles by calling them by their medical names and she moved those precise muscles when asked. She is falling back on her kinesiology training and knows what she has to do to get mobile. We thank all those who made the plant sale a resounding success. Gord sold out of many varieties of plants and was quickly on the phone to his suppliers to bring more so no-one would be disappointed when they showed up. He still has managed to procure more plants for Monday. A heartfelt thanks to the family for "manning" the sale. We continue to be richly blessed by God with Shawna's continued healing and by the outporing of the community through this sale. God bless you all and have a blessed Sunday of praise and worship to our God and King. Al and Deb

Wednesday (day 111)

Good evening all. Shawna had a good workout Monday with the physiotherapist. She was sitting up quite long for him. He was looking for the muscle responses on her left side. He was very encouraging that she is starting to use her left side leg, and back muscles. She also during the exercises centered her head without the use of a brace. They tried to stand her up at a walker but that wasnt very successful yet. Shawna enjoyed it though and was very alert during the session. She didn't seem to be overworked either as she was not totally exhausted when she was finished. They took her casts off yesterday and she responded by moving her legs and feet a lot. She was a bit upset when they recasted her today. Saturday draws closer when she can come home for a few hours. We are so excited. We continue to recieve these blessings from the Lord and are very thankful for them. We also thank you for your support and prayers Al and Deb

Saturday (day 107)

Good evening all. Everything is coming together for having Shawna come home even if only for a couple of hours at a time. The ramp is finished and the doorways widened to enable her to be inside to most of our home. When I told the doctor today that all was ready for her to come home for these short stints he readily agreed it would be a good thing and will set it up for starting next Saturday. Shawna meanwhile is continuing to develop her muscle tone. She also can move her left leg quite a bit on command which is a very encouraging development we were waiting for. She has mapped out some of the muscles and can now voluntarily control them. She is working with small barbells to increase her wrist strength. She is swallowing succesfully and making more and more noises (not talking). Sometimes she gets a coughing fit when she makes them and is therefore a bit reluctant to do so. We stand amazed at what God has given us through Shawna. Many times we take the parenting of children for granted when everything is fine. These times deepen your relationship to your children. Nothing can be taken for granted and everything that occurs new is a blessing. We continue to wait patiently as God unfolds his plan and pray for strength spiritually and physically for Shawna. Our brother-in-law Gord
VanEgmond is holding a perrenial and plant sale at his residence 92 Kemp rd Grimsby(just east of mountain rd). He will have thousands of plants available from thursday may 15 evening to Monday may 19 evening (not on sunday). Profit from the sale will be donated to assist us in the renovations not covered by insurance to enable Shawna to be home. Thank you for your prayers and support have a blessed sunday. Al and Deb

Wednesday (day 104)

Good evening all. We thought Shawna was all worked out from her last physio/assesment on last wednesday. Well she proved us wrong. During her physio on Monday she now stayed sitting unsupported for 3 and 1/2 minutes and did various other exercises including lifting a 1 lb barbel for 17 seconds with her wrist extended flat. She is subtly telling us she's not giving up and is trying to her utmost to work her muscles. She was very exhausted after the session and couldn't warm up after her bath until she received a warm towel. Again showing the extent of her exertion. We are thankful that God is strengthening her and providing her with a real inner strength which she can tap into. Her feet have again been casted with the next series which are bringing her feet closer to 90 degrees. The ramp is under construction as well as the door widening to enable Shawna to come home for a short period of time during the week. An occupational therapist has been enlisted to ensure that everything will be in place for her homecoming on the weekends and eventually for good after the first three months of aggressive therapy. We have been richly blessed by God that we can speak about Shawnas eventual homecoming. We have been praying for that for a long time and it is becoming an excitable thing for us in this part of planning. Our family can once again be all together in our home. How beautifull is that? Praise God. Al and Deb

Sunday (day 101)

Hello all. What a beautiful day we have been given. As I look out the front window at one of our trees blossoming I reflect on the few days gone by since the last posting. We've been very busy with scheduled events friday and saturday and trying to maximize our time with Shawna. God continues to provide all things in its time. As we wait and pray for Shawnas recovery we realize that he also gives us all that we need in His time as well. Shawna had a very good assesment day as I wrote last Wednesday but since then she's been more tired and seems to need a lot of rest. It must have been a major event for her and seemingly taxed her quite a bit. She is continuing to improve slowly but nothing new except communicating her need. Once she was moaning softly when I came in at 500 after she had been transfered from her wheelchair and I thought she was trying to tell me something because she kept it up for a while. I checked her positioning for comfort and massaged her neck before I realized her air mattress was not being inflated. She was only resting on a hard mattress. As soon as I activated the airpump and her mattress inflated she smiled and was again comfortable. I told her how important that incident was towards communicating her needs and she slowly slipped off to sleep. She continues to swallow successfully and play notes on her keyboard. We've recieved a few small weights for her to lift to build strength in her arm. That is something she was familiar with in her exercise routine. She moves her right leg more and more and also her left but not as much. That is quite a feat as her feet are fully casted. She will be going for the next progressive casting on tuesday. Sometimes these appointments take all day at Chedoke. It will be a blessing when she can stay there full time. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. Al and Deb

Wednesday (day 97)

Good evening all. Shawna had a very good day today. Deb practiced with Shawna last night to help her to be ready for the assesment from Chedoke today. The physio therapist came in just before the assesment to work with Shawna. She impressed them all. She moved her right leg consistently when she was in sitting position, also a little bit on her left leg. She showed a very strong right arm. The most impressive feat though was when she was sitting on the edge of the bed without a neck brace. She maintained that position unsupported for over one minute. This was a huge improvement from last week when she could only maintain that position for 5 seconds. When she sits like that her eyes are open wide in concentration. She has very strong back, leg, and abdominal muscles(even after the incision). After the assesment there was a conference in which Deb was told Shawna would be going to Chedoke mid-May depending on if other patients do not become infection free who are ahead of Shawna in line. Shawna continues to swallow small amounts of water from ice chips successfully without choking. She has also been able to make very loud noises when her throat is wet. She's been practicing that quite a bit. We pray for the day she can finally talk to us as she's been trying for some time now.
The ramp into the house and interior door widening will be started soon as a quote has been accepted. We have been again so richly blessed to be able to prepare for Shawna's eventual homecoming. God is a gracious and compassionate Father, providing for the needs of his children in his time. We remain thankful and patient as we watch His plan unfold. Thank you again for your prayers, poems and writing. They are comforting and strenthening. Yours in Christ. Al and Deb

Sunday (day94)

Good morning all. Shawnas gone for a bath, and I finally have a few moments to post a blog. Shawna is very alert now. The physiotherapist is very pleased with her progress. He can definitely see improvements week to week. This week shawna stayed siting up unsupported for quite a few seconds. She also moved her right leg/knee on command. Just a few seconds ago when the nurse gave her a needle, she jerked with pain. That hasnt happened in quite a while. We thought she blocked out that pain as she's had so many needles. Now she's resting peacefully as I comb out the tangles in her hair. That's almost a full days work in itself. We hope to celebrate Deb's birthday in the sunroom with Shawna this afternoon. Preparations are ongoing at the house to make sure we are ready for her at the earliest possible time. Shawna is still doing well without any antibiotics. She's definitely getting stronger and her white blood count is still progressively going down. While reading with Shawna this morning we were strengthened by the words of Romans 8: 18ff. "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us". Many times we get caught up in the day to day things and loose focus on our goals. We must run the race with the conviction that nothing will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We wish you a blessed Lord's Day of praise and worship. Al and Deb

Wednesday (day 90)

Good evening all. Shawna continues to improve. The improvements may be almost imperceptible but they are mostly small differences in either response times or strength. She is definitely becoming stronger and faster with working her individual fingers on her right hand. She also moves a couple of fingers on her left hand and moves her left leg now. On Sunday one of the nurses brought in a very special visitor. A cocker spaniel puppy. Shawnas smile was almost instantaneous as we brought the puppy within her vision. We tried to open her hand to touch the puppy but she was too excited and trying to grab it and could only brush against it. This type of therapy is the very thing Shawna volunteered for doing with elderly patients last year. She really enjoyed bringing some joy into their lives with these visits. I guess the volunteering is returned with equal results. Shawna had a cold and a fever last monday and as a result a barage of tests and chest exray were ordered. She seems to have fought it off and is not coughing any more. To date she is still infection free and not receiving antibiotics. This is a very good developement and now an assesment has been arranged by a doctor at Chedoke for April 30. We continue to be upheld by the loving arms of our Father and strenghthened by His Holy Spirit through the communion of Saints as many continue to pray for Shawna and our family. We continue to be thankfull for the many gifts of meals and assistance for renovations and all the wonderful friends and family who have donated their time in watching over Shawna while we can't be there. May God graciously continue to bless Shawna with his healing mercies. Al and Deb

Sunday (day 87)

Good Morning all. We've been enjoying some beautiful spring days. Shawna as well has been able to be outside during her times in her wheelchair. Once she actually had too much sun and got a wee burn on her hand. She is continuing to move her arm and fingers. Grandma Bethlehem has been coming in regularly in the mornings to help Shawna with using the mini keyboard she paractices using fingers one by one to press the keys. Sometimes we think she is sleeping but she's deep in concentration to move her fingers individually. She has to move them off the keyboard to facilitate the next note so it is quite a bit of excercise for her hand. Her other fingers on her left hand move when she tries hard to move the ones individually on her right hand. There is some action going on within her brain mapping how to use her left side. Right now she is listening to a sermon from a couple of weeks ago. It is beautiful to see her reaction to congregational singing and the message of Rev Mulder. She is at peace and listening intently. There is another good development that Shawna no longer gets any antibiotics and from all her test results is at present infection free. That is an important step in getting into the rehab facility at Chedoke. Some small renovations are underway at our home to accommodate her homecoming. We had to shuffle all of our children from one room to another to facilitate Mom and Dad to be in the room on the main floor next to Shawnas proposed room. I don't know if I'm liking it too much going from a room 20' x 14' to a room 11' x 12'. I'll have to get rid of a lot "stuff" but that may be a good thing! Quotes are being received to build a ramp and widen two interior doors and renovate our bathroom into a wheelchair bathroom. It is a beautiful that our Father has so richly blessed us that we can begin to prepare for Shawna to come home. Even if its only for a couple hours a week at first and then weekends while she is in therapy at Chedoke. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Have a blessed day of praise and worship. Al and Deb

Wednesday (day 83)

Good evening all. Shawna continues to have small improvements. On Sunday she was able to participate in a bridal shower for one of her friends. They socialized and sang around the piano for quite some time. Shawna was very stimulated by the comradery and singing. The next day she had to trip to the General for a CT scan which showed that most of the swelling is gone which can be seen by a layer of water on the outside of the brain within the skull walls. The central ventricles are still quite large but seem to be shrinking as well. It was determined that no further operation would be required except for the skull flap reinsertion. Shawna has been moving her right arm a lot up and down and away from her torso. These movements are completely voluntary and easily done on command. She also can move her right leg on command. The left side seems to be a lot slower. I have seen her move her left leg tonight but not the same amount as the right. This is due to the fact that her upper right side of the brain was badly damaged. All her extremities moved perfectly and in unison when she stretched though which is a good sign that all the muscles are connected to the brain. Shawna just has to remap their location. My mom thought it would be a good idea to bring in a mini keyboard for shawna to try for exercising her fingers. It worked marvelously. She enjoyed pressing the keys. Apparently she was quite good with her index and pinky fingers of her right hand. The other fingers are not quite as dextrous but should be able to develope over time. Again we have been richly blessed by our Father. Tonite when reading sciptures I was reminded of Job who lost all he owned even his children. If that wasn't bad enough his wife and friends wanted him to turn away from God. Some friends! We are assured that even though our friends may fail and leave us God will never fail us. Although we miss the normal relationship we had with our darling Shawna and her infectious spirit we have been strengthened by God's Word and Spirit and supported by His Communion of Saints. He has never left us and shows us the path marked out by His Son. Thankyou for your prayers and messages. Al and Deb

Sunday (day 80)

Ps. Thanks to the violinist and bassist who gave Shawna a beautifull afternoon concert on Friday. It was most appreciated

Sunday (day 80)

Good morning all. It was a rather tiring day yesterday as Deb has a cold and I'm pulling the double duty. I waited for posting till this morning. Shawna continues to improve albiet slowly. We've had contact from the Community Intervention Co-ordinator at Chedoke who asked us to call back in a couple of weeks on how Shawna is doing. This is especially concerning infections and whether she is clear of them. Although Shawna is not at the top of the list when a bed becomes available and she is free of infections they will come to Dunnville to asses her. The coordinater told us to go ahead with the house modifications because everthing has to be in place since they will teach us how to take complete care of Shawna for the weekends as they would like to see her go home on weekends. People have been down to measure,design and quote on various alterations so there is some movement in that respect. Shawnas blood was tested again on Friday and her white blood count has decreased significantly. She is moving her legs more and more and moves her right arm up and down when asked. Its slow but there is movement and wait time for responses is decreasing. She mouthed and swallowed succesfully her first two teaspons of chocolate milk yesterday at lunch and her smile was instantaneous...she's a huge chocolate fan! Shawna is having an easier time sleeping with her head turned left which is a very good sign about brain swelling. She will be away to Hamilton most of this coming Monday to get a new CT scan and appointments with Drs. Wells, Sne, and Saddler. She also has an easier time sleeping with her feet casts on for 24 hrs now as there have been no pressure points detected and her ankles forms are being maintained. In two weeks she will go for the next set at Chedoke. These are all small blessings but blessings none the less as our Father continues to provide for Shawna. We are so thankful that we can see some light now in the tunnel towards getting Shawna home. We continue to be thankfulk and upheld by your prayers, cards, giftn and messages. God bless you all and may he give you a blessed day of praise and worship. Al and Deb

Wednesday (day 76)

Good evening all. Shawna continues to improve by God's grace. The improvements don't seem to be as noticeable. We have to concentrate real hard now as to what she hasn't done. She seems to swallow quite well now its almost back to the point where it is a reflex action. I've only been giving her small amounts of water and ice chips. Shes been bribed that if she gets good at it the next thing is choclate pudding. Our nurse is currently trying to contact a music therapist who was recommended by a blog reader (thanks a bunch). Shawna went on tuesday(rather unexpectedly for us) to get her first serial casts which are removable. Its a bit of a pain at first because they are on for an hour off for a half untill they are sure there is no pressure points and then they stay on for 24 hour stretches. The physiotherapist continues to work with her here and is getting good results. He is very pleased with her right arm strength and asked us to now keep working with her left arm to get it to the same condition. Shawna has moved her thigh muscles and calves and feet voluntarily. We have also seen her stretch which moved almost all her muslcles including lifting her arms off the bed. That was very exciting! One of the physiotherapists at Chedoke spoke with Deb about Shawnas possible stay at chedoke and explained the various ways they would stimulate her. When she spoke about strapping Shawna on a bycicle which would at first turn the pedals for her till her reflexes took over, Shawna was wide awake staring at the lady as she was explaining the proceedure. Deb says Shawna smiled after being told that. I know she's put many miles on her bike in the past even going several times from dunnville to Hamilton for school. Getting the house ready to have her home may have taken on a new angle if she goes to Chedoke as they have said they would teach us to how to take care of her on the weekends and would like to send her home on the weekends. This was beautiful news to us. It may still be quite a while but Chedoke said they would rather see her sooner than later as she is starting to connect with her muscles. We continue to pray that all the infections will be gone as that is the thing that will stop her from going there. What blessings we receive from God's hand each day. We continue to be amazed by His work in Shawna and we continue to stand by her supporting and nuturing her as she continues to improve. Thankyou for your continued prayers and messages. Al and Deb

Saturday (day72)

Good evening all. Again we are able to tell you Shawna is improving. Although her appointments were cancelled on Thursday due to transportation issues we continue to do physio with her ankles to keep their form without the benefit of casting splints. They were going to make molds of her feet so they could make half casts which could be removed for certain durations. The appointments will be rescheduled. Shawna moves her right arm quite well now and her physiotherapist asked her and received 90 degrees of movement not once but six times yesterday. He was very excited about her responses. Shawna's case file has been transfered to another doctor and now she has been placed in the "slow to recover" program. Apparently there is some movement in the program and they will come to asses Shawna when a bed comes available to see if she can go to Chedoke. We are hoping she will be quite alert by that time so she can get the most out of her stay there. Shawna has been very stimulated by music especially the piano playing by Johnathan Kingma and Deanna Oosterhoff. She moves her mouth and smiles and seems like she's chewing gum the whole time. This is a sign she is stimulated by music. Our nurse is hiring a music therapist to work further with her to see what can be further enhanced. Through massage and heat we have managed to get most of the knot out of her neck muscle and thereby assist her to be able to sleep with her head leaning left. Our insurance has assesed our home with the view to being able to have Shawna home for a couple of hours a week in the future (could be a month or so yet). These are all beautiful bessings we continue to receive from God's hand. We continue to pray for His healing of Shawna and also ask for strength to continue to care for our family. Thankyou for your prayers and caring words. God bless you all and give you a blessed Sunday of praise and worship. Al and Deb