April 28, 2020

I know there are angels watching over us, and maybe for Shannon they are leaning in a bit too close. I'm willing to guess that with all the Disney movies she's been watching lately, one of them has had a hand on her shoulder leaning over to see her tiny screen and enjoy the show.  That's my guess on where her shoulder pain is coming from.

Shannon is enjoying writing up her own tale of her day, so I'll let her share those details. One thing I wanted to add on to yesterday's update is about the letters she mentioned. She sent me a photo of her holding about 10 letters in her hand- that all came yesterday. She was SO excited- and overwhelmed by the gesture. I keep telling her that so many people are praying for her, are concerned about her, and yesterday she saw that in her mail. Keep sending them. Tomorrow is her 4 week mark at Magee, and if they are able to keep her as long as they want to, it's the halfway mark. Shannon isn't excited about being there for 4 more weeks, but we desperately need that time so we can get the house ready for her return.

We aren't doing this alone, not by a long shot. We have had neighbors offer to do some of the work, friends from church have come over to help, and are willing to do outdoor work for the ramp and adjustments to the landscaping to make room for the ramp. My brother is coming out this weekend from Utah to help with the renovations; and of course we have my daughter Rachael and her family here still helping in so many ways, as well as our local daughter and her husband helping where they can when they aren't wrangling twin babies and a toddler.

I can relate to Shannon's breakdowns lately. She's feeling pain in her shoulder and I'm feeling so much weight on my own trying to be everything I need to be right now. Shannon coming home is way more than some wheelchair accommodations. Our lives our about to change dramatically. It's a scary place to be.

 And here is Shannon's update for today- I love reading it in her own words, and I'm hope you are enjoying it too:

"Alrighty! So today was an adventure. I woke up and my shoulder was in even more pain than yesterday. So I cried and again everyone was super confused and shocked at the helpless state I was in. It’s not normal for them to see me not smiling and toughing everything out. Speech therapy was just talking about expectations and plans for my progress which are pretty big!

Next I had occupational therapy and we spent some time on my shoulder. I got into the chair and she put this special tape on my shoulders that helps pull my shoulders back so my posture is better and my shoulder pain may be better.

Haha physical therapy....I always feel bad. My blood pressure dropped again when they put me in the manual chair and so it was much like yesterday. Tilting back and forth and back and forth trying to get my blood pressure up but I’m sure with all that tilting it was just making it worse. I also practiced some arm stretches and then was put in the other chair so I could tilt back even more. She again brought me back and forth over and over and I saw spots and my head hurt. So she left me in the chair and gave up lol.

Recreational therapy came in all happy and excited. She took one look at me and then asked if I wanted to reschedule. I was so drained and falling asleep in the chair.

Art therapy was a little late but I got a surprise visit. I was going to get a ultrasound....in my legs...tons of babies there man. So art was on hold while this guy checked out my legs.....still unknown how the babies are doing but he checked both legs. My doctors are checking to see if there are any blood clots because if they are they could be the reason why my shoulder has been hurting. The doctors reading this I hope will understand cause I sure don’t understand how that correlates

I chilled till art came back and she didn’t have much time so we just talked and it was a great therapy session.

My respiratory therapist came in and put the closed cap on for me to try for a few seconds. So for a solid few seconds I was breathing 100% on my own!! She said tomorrow I’m going to wear it all day to see how I do and if I don’t need to have stuff suctioned from my throat in thee days of wearing it then I can sleep with it on and then I can get this trach out of my throat!! So close!!

So it was good and rough today. Like most days to be honest. It is hard to keep going but so sweet when you see how far you have come."

Please pray for Shannon's shoulder to improve and her pain to go away, for her breathing to continue to improve so she can get her trach out, for her nervous system to be able to regulate her blood pressure, for her spinal cord to heal, and for her core muscles to increase in strength.

And what would today's update be without a little Disney inspiration? 

"Good friends will help you until your unstuck." — Winnie the Pooh