#ShannonStrong2020

We are sleeping like babies here!! Up every few hours, needing things changed, not falling back asleep.....We are so ridiculously tired. Tired, and irritable, and on edge. I’m hoping this next week feels different, as it’s not at all easy to be part of a household that’s cranky, not for any of us! We’ve been working hard getting into a routine, but our house is not only cranky, it’s EVER changing. It probably doesn't sound too bad, to have people here and then not here, certain equipment to help Shannon, and then new stuff arriving; constantly changing therapists, appointment times that are scheduled the night before....(I can go on) but it's pretty much insane. There is no normal, and there is no outlook of normal for a while, because there are too many changes in our near future. The constant changes are really disruptive to the flow of things, and cause a lot of stress. We have a weekly meeting with the family where we discuss what's on the calendar for the week....

We are STILL ALIVE!!! (including Shannon) June 20: This was a very uneventful day! Lancer took off to MD for the day with a buddy to help another buddy out. We (home skillet) hung out enjoying, nothing. Well. We did stuff. Shannon spent the day, or parts of the day painting her transfer board. There was also eating, napping, watching Jake play video games.....and RACHAEL snuck out on a hot date with her man. OH YA>>>> and two of our freezers died. Yes. We have two freezers. We actually have 5 freezers if you are counting the ones attached to refrigerators. The two that are free standing are currently on the fritz. So Lancer and I spent Saturday evening packing up what was still frozen and hauling it over to LBJ's house. He magically found room in his freezer for it. (I'm not sure at this point how much of our food is still IN his freezer, the steaks are probably no longer there ;) We only lost all of our chicken and fish, and other smelly things. I'm sur...

Somebody's been holding out on us. To be fair, I knew we were being duped, because I knew what was being taught at Magee. BUT, that doesn't mean I wasn't completely shocked when Shannon not only almost completely dressed herself in the morning, but then proceeded to almost transfer herself from her bed to her chair later in the day AND THEN....to top it off, Thursday night showed Krisha how she gets turned in bed. (I'm sorry...why are WE here?) How this all happened in one day can’t be explained. Except that she’s Wolverine. I mean- she has all that super power metal in her back now, so it’s completely plausible. Thursday marked 2 weeks home for Shannon. We have definitely had our up and down days. To be perfectly honest, we have our up and down hours each day. We decided together that we have her schedule well enough handled that it's time to start adding back in more of Shannon's independent occupational tasks. It's super hard to get into a routine...

Today was a pretty ordinary day. Shannon had OT, making quesadillas in the kitchen. She was less than thrilled with the whole production. Then speech therapy, which was mildly better. She gets to enjoy a nap every afternoon (what would that be like-  and how do I get a prescription for it?), and then dinner. Pretty average day. Everyone was in a pretty good mood. A friend brought us dinner- which was fantastic and included dairy free tres leches cake (it’s a thing- and a wonderfully good thing at that!). But last night this happened..... In our backyard....I blame Shannon. Why? Well, she’s the obvious choice. When we first moved here, Shannon was the first one to set off the smoke detector and send the fire department to our house when she burned something on the stove. It’s something that we had to thank her for afterward. We found out the county dispatch didn’t have our address right. So the fire department ended up at our address, in another township. After that, we got ...

We have always loved the young adults who serve religious missions in our home area. We love having them spend time with us and show us by example the importance of living a Christ-like life. And we especially love when they come visit us afterward! This sweetheart here- in the black blouse is Natalie. She’s a keeper. I loved the example she was to my girls, Shannon included. Fast forward a few years, and Shannon was off serving a mission as well. Thus far, five of our 8 kids have served one. It’s basically the best thing in the world, for them, and for us. Shannon went to Colorado Springs. She loved it some days, and didn’t love it others. I think that’s one of the best things she experienced during her mission. Some days are amazing, and some days.....just aren’t. But the cool thing is we get a new day every 24 hours to start over. Today wasn’t awful, but there was a part of the day Shannon, and to be honest, *I* didn’t enjoy. Her PT texted to say she would be over in 5 mins. She...

Today is three months exactly since the car crash. Things have sure become different for all of us, but we are trying to keep a ‘different, but still beautiful’ perspective. Shannon has come SO FAR in such a short amount of time. I am so impressed with her strength, even when she denies she has it. And so overwhelmed with the blessings and miracles that have happened for her. It’s been a crazy ride so far, and we are still just starting this circus.  There’s this thing that Shannon started doing. She rates our care. So, for example: I come in the help her bathe, dress, etc. If I forgot to put her binder on- 9 out of 10. Then I didn’t grab her deodorant, 8 out of 10, and so on. It keeps things light, we banter about how unfair the scoring is, she says she doesn’t make the rules (total lie- she completely makes them up), and we get our final score when our task is complete. Today- Shannon got a 9 out of 10 from me, because she whacked herself in the nose putting her shirt on. ...

This weekend we had such gorgeous weather! Lake weather, like this fantastic day. It was the perfect weekend for Shannon’s Welcome Home  Drive by. It was so much fun to have so many people come to see her. She really enjoyed it! In true friend style,  several broke the rules and hopped out of their cars to visit. :) Thank you to everyone who stopped by to see her!  And- as promised forever ago....the bedroom. Hard to believe this was just concrete walls and stuff piled up just 6 weeks ago.  This nifty fan is Lancer’s contribution to the decor. I love it! And the  heat lamps that Shannon  loves, which I’m sure are the only thing keeping me from gaining weight. It’s a sauna to everyone else in the room while it’s on :)  The bathroom? What bathroom?  (I don’t want to talk about the bathroom progress right now.) We are all surviving. Trying to stay positive and keep moving fo...

As of Thursday- ONE WEEK DOWN!! We made it through our first week with Shannon! Or rather, SHANNON, survived her first week home with us. One thing I have loved about Shannon this past week- which she also did at the hospital: constant reassurance that we are doing a good job. It’s not at all unlikely to have her say ‘thanks mom (or whomever is helping her), you are doing great!’ ‘I appreciate you’, you are doing fantastic!’ It really helps when we feel like we are doing things very, very inadequately.  She’s unbelievably positive amongst all this chaos. It’s a blessing for all of us. Yesterday was so fantastic!! Shannon wanted to venture out into the world- and experience all this pandemic hoopla she keeps hearing about! So we went to Mod Pizza- where we did ‘take out only’.  Shannon has been wanted us to go there since they opened! But then she left for college, and we didn’t make for there. I highly recommend it! We headed over to Michael’s....and that’s when I rea...