5 Months

Wow, I can hardly believe it has been 5 months! That first night I really didn't know what to expect, I didn't even know if Josh was going to make it at all. Before the blessing that is, after that I knew he would make it, despite what the doctors were telling me. For all that time in the hospital it was just one day at a time, I didn't like to think to far ahead. When I did think about being home as a family again it was the little things like eating dinner together again and watching a movie with the kids that I thought about. I am thankful that Josh progressed fast at first in order to be home and that we can share things as a family again. That was one of the hardest things for me when he was in the hospital, not being together as a family. It has been a long 5 months, the first 2 being the longest. I was telling Josh the other day that while it has been 5 months he didn't really start his recovery until about 6 weeks into it, because it took time to stablize him and get him off all of the sedatives. After that he made great strides in his recovery and blew away all of his doctors. It is funny we just started seeing a doctor for the pain he is having in his back and after looking over his chart he asked him "how are you still here"? He was amazed that he is alive and doing so very well. While Josh is still progressing, it is at a slower rate than before. He is still seeing improvement just not so daily, he told me the other day " I couldn't do that last week". He just gets tired of it all sometimes, although he is starting to except that it is going to take time to fully heal, whatever that may be for him.

Work is going pretty well, he just increased his hours to 3 a day 3 times a week. He still gets worn out really fast and with the brain injury and he needs a little more rest than before. I think that he does get a little frustrated with not being able to do the things he would like to be able to do. His body is still healing, he is doing really well though. His brain will take a little more time, he can still think the same and do the same things, it just will take him longer and he may get worn out or frustrated with himself at times. The good news is that even though the brain is slower at healing, it will heal. His wound on his leg finally just finished closing up this last week. I wondered if it ever would, they had to open it back up some in order to get it to heal. Seems weird to make it bigger to fix it but it worked. He will miss the wound care friends he made. The appointments have slowed down, which is good as he starts working more. He still has a few doctors on the list, we have narrowed it down to 3 or 4. I know as he continues to heal his body that his mind will follow and he will be more himself soon. I hope that when he is more healed we can take some time to have some fun together with the kids and without to sort of rebond and celabrate all that we have been through. In the meantime I have been spending a lot of time in the yard, trouble shooting leaks, digging,  pulling weeds, planning a garden, cleaning up, insulating the coop and whatever else I can do to keep myself and my little ones and not so little ones busy. I love working together with my kids. For whatever reason we have been blessed to remain together as a family. I would not wish our past year on anyone, but I also would not change it a bit. I am thankful the Lord let me keep my sweet little Asher and my Josh, life would not be the same without them, thank you so much for the prayers that continue, we are blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives. Much love to all, Denise

Back to work

So yesterday was Josh's first day back at work, he was pretty nervous. He went for 2 hours in the middle of the day because we had appointments in the morning. He did really well, he seemed happier yesterday too. When he got home he told me all about his "day". He said that it didn't feel like enough time and that he would like to be able to stay a little longer if he feels up to it, something to talk to the doctor about next week. I think it has been really good for his emotional health so far, I know he is still worried about his limitations but he will continue to heal. It is mostly his left shoulder and arm that concern him, it is still very weak and his range of motion is not all there. It is hard to say at this point if it will ever be the same as it was before, only time will tell. I am glad that he was doing so well after he went in to work. I was a little nervous too. It almost felt like the anxiety of sending your child to school for the first time, weird I know. It was a relief to see him happy about it. He also found his knife that he keeps in his pocket, he thought it was lost after the fall. Someone had picked it up and put it in his tool belt for him, he was super excited to find it. He really has come so far and it is good to see him start doing some of the things he used to do again. I am grateful that he is here.

He is still seeing doctors for his back issues, he is still having a lot of pain. Not sure if traction is working yet, to soon to tell. He has seemed to slow down on the pain meds though so maybe that is a good sign. His regular doctor has adjusted his meds, some more and some a little less. One good thing is that he was able to cut his blood pressure meds in half. He may get to the point where he won't need them anymore and that would be good. I remember in the ICU one of his nurses saying if after all this he only ended up needing to take a blood pressure pill the rest of his life he would be happy. He may not, we will see. The good news is Josh continues to heal in every way. He is done with he therapy other than what he is doing for his back. He still has work to do on his own to continue to heal. He will be retested at therapy in March to see how he has done on his own.

I didn't get to far the other day with the shovel, I started and then had to clear a spot for the dirt. I didn't think about how much dirt I would be removing, not sure where to put it all. Kind of frustrated at this point. Earlier this week I spent a day and a half cleaning out the boys bedroom, I removed 3 bags of garbage and one bag for DI and probably at least one bag of stuff that didn't belong in there room. I have no idea why they collect so much trash! It is nice to have a little more time to start doing the things I used to do, my entire house needs an over haul! Life is slowing down little by little. I have been attending less appointments. He can go to some of them without me as long as they don't need any new information he is fine. I still go to new appointments and follow ups, wound care now and then and our weekly therapy. It is good to spend more time with Asher at home during the day, he is so fun. Thanks so much to everyone who came to celebrate Josh's progress the other night at the Carter's. And thanks to Anna for making it happen and to her family. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful friends we have. It was really good for Josh to remember how loved he is. Also thank you to everyone who has helped to get him this far in any way. Love to all, Denise