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