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