May 18, 2020

It's pretty safe to say that Shannon's favorite uncle is her Uncle Steve (sorry Uncle Scott ;). He also happens to be my favorite brother, so there's a lot of bias that was passed down to my kids. But he does a great job of defending the Favorite Uncle title. Today is Uncle Steve's birthday, and he spent it working on Shannon's ramp for our front door.

We celebrated his birthday yesterday on our day off from the chaos, and we made him cheese steaks for dinner tonight (one was prov wit, the other whiz wit) because he's so close to Philly, but probably won't get a chance to have one from there. It's all construction business going on here. I know I've mentioned he dropped everything, including his current construction jobs to be here for Shannon, and for us. That just confirms that he's a pretty spectacular person, but we already knew that. Happy Birthday Steve!!

Shannon had a fabulous day!! She spent 7 hours in her manual wheelchair- doing weight shifts and just rolling around her room. She also learned how to do wheelies-- and even rolled about 10 feet doing one. She did transfers from her bed to chair, I believe she said 3-4 times. In OT, she started doing upper body weight training- which she hated, and now she's just sore and tired.

Tomorrow is a BIG DAY...and you'll have to come back to see why. I know you all love suspense.

The Home Skillet is still sizzling with activity. I think it's safe to say that our neighbors think we missed the social distancing memo. The reality is that we have no choice at this point. We need the work done, which means people are at our house. Of course we are making sure no one is sick or around anyone who has been sick. I have to believe that with everything else going on in our lives, we are being blessed with one simple tender mercy of no one bringing any sickness over. We truly are doing the best we can. Our house is loud. There is a TON of activity going on. We had our alarm company out today working on the smoke detector and keypad for Shannon's room- and he looked frightened the majority of the time he was here. I have no idea why! Look how much fun it is here:

We're trucking along. It's slow, but forward. I hear things like "I think I did more damage than good", "oh, whoops, that post is off by 2 inches", and "oh ya, those pipe are going to come in behind the drawers...I'll move them", and 20 minutes later all the problems have been fixed. Every day, people just show up to help. Sometimes we get a text, sometimes we just walk into the basement or outside, and there they are, hammering/mudding/installing away. When all this is done, and we really are able to be together, I am throwing all these fantastic people the biggest thank you party. 

I know I keep asking for prayers on Shannon's behalf, and today I realized I need to recognize what we've seen happen because of it. I am so grateful for the answered prayers, and while I personally am thanking our Father in Heaven for them, I want you to see the miracles we are seeing. 

Shannon has: recovered from four life threatening injuries, doesn't have any major brain damage results from her head injuries or flat lining, she is able to breath without a ventilator, has use of her arms, is able to sit for hours in a wheelchair because her endurance has improved, has overcome several infections and illnesses, her memory is increasing, her back injury is healing well, her cognitive skills are improving, she is feeling more love and peace with her condition, her ability to cough and remove lung secretions has drastically improved, she has stronger arms and core muscles, and the list goes on. Everything we have been praying for- everything; is healing/improving. We are seeing miracles.

 All Shannon needs today are prayers to keep improving. She's so very blessed. We will just focus on being thankful for answered prayers today. 

Today's Meme (and I was feeling this today while trying to drive to the store with people who seem to have not driven in over 2 months:

And in honor of Uncle Steve: 

Kuzco: It's my birthday present to me! I'm so happy!

Disney's Emperor's New Groove