June 20-25

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 sure our waste removal guys were super happy come Wednesday.

June 21: Father's Day. All the fam either visited or called Lancer for his big day. We also had whole house nap time. We slept through dinner..... It was the best.

June 22: It was Monday. It was one of those Monday's that lasted all week long. It's still Monday. First- It was a hard night because of excessive day sleeping. Then- morning. Turns out Sunday sleeping makes everyone a bit grumpy. ALSO-- this arrived Monday.

That's not homework, kids. That is 9 weeks of rehabilitation hospital medical records. NINE WEEKS. So, Now we know what her temperature was EVERY. TIME. THEY. CHECKED. IT. FOR. NINE. WEEKS. Why? Because we asked for her medical records so Shannon will know what her injuries were, what her new health history is. Not only do we need a translator, we need other records records from BEFORE rehabilitation. So, ya. Now we killed a forest. Great. And we need to kill another one to get the rest. Do we not believe in digital record keeping?? Gah! Guilt. Now I have guilt. Those poor trees. So Monday we sealed our fate at forest killers. Somewhere in there Shannon had OT and her nurse came too. She added MORE exercises to her list of daily exercises, which makes Shannon sooooooo happy. 

June 23: This was a crazy day. It all started with bad information. Well, truth be told, I was so excited to go to sleep and end Monday (and tree killing) that I forgot I needed to have Jake at an appt at 7am. So at 7:45am when my alarm went off, it was already Monday again!! Late, and then Sears was coming for freezer repair 8-10am. Shannon was dreaming happily, I was going crazy, Rachael was trying to hold down the fort. Sears came over and ordered a part. Then he drove away, came back 5 mins later. He was also appointment number two- for freezer number two. Now we wait. And LBJ's family enjoys our freezer food longer. 

Shannon's legs have been stiff lately, so we've been stretching more. Today she did a cannonball! 

She also has acquired a fantastic collection of compression socks. Some day, her blood pressure won't be an issue, but you have to have jazzy socks in the meantime. 

June 24: So we started today by hosting zumba on the lawn. It was just a dozen ladies out under the shady spot of the front yard. No matter that the construction guys building a house across the street are out there. They didn't even bother coming to see what was going on. However- I am attempting to support all Amazon completely on my own- or at least keep our local drivers in business. Lately, they toss our packages somewhere on our long driveway. NOT TODAY. Nope. He not only pulled in, he walked past the garage- the other favorite drop spot; past the mudroom door....up the ramp to the front door RIGHT WHERE WE WERE shaking our tushes. You. Are. Welcome; Mr. Amazon Prime driver. 

After Zumba was Speech therapy, and then Physical therapy. Speech was just chatting about what Shannon can and cannot do. Physical therapy was, interesting. Shannon had a new therapist. A sub. A permanent sub. A replacement therapist- as it were. Apparently, her skittish PT who didn't seem to want to BE her therapist asked to be changed. Happily, Shannon loves the new girl. So a win all around! 

Shannon has been working on painting her transfer board this week, and it's looking fantastic. Photos coming soon. Also- she's killing it at transfers now. Her arms are getting so strong! 

A super sweet friend came over in the evening to hang out. We chatted and went on a walk through the neighborhood. It was glorious weather, and we had a great time visiting with her. 

There is all kinds of insurance junk and doctor appointment junk that is causing a lot of stress- and if that part of my life ceased to exist, I might actually be sane. Unfortunately, insanity rules at our home, currently. There ARE blessings of course. We HAVE insurance. Lancer HAS a job- still. And, there are many friends who are doing whatever they can to help- including dinners Mon Wed Fri; which is such a relief in the chaos. 

June 25:  THREE WEEKS HOME--- 

Today- all my dreams came true! Or at least one of them!!! 

If you know me, this picture speaks a thousand words. If you don't, please meet Jelly, my paddleboard. We have a special relationship. Jelly is my escape from reality. It's been a long time since we paddled off together, and today was a very much needed day. 

We also escaped for a while, Shannon, Rachael and I. We meet up with one of my other daughters, Ryen and grabbed frozen yogurt and ate it in the car (since we can't go inside anywhere yet). It was fun to get together and out of the house. We also stopped off at Target- Shannon loved that. Shopping is therapeutic (until it's an obsession....). 

While we were out, LBJ and his fantastic wife Stephanie were helping us with Shannon's bathroom. (I'm almost ready to talk about it) We are SO very close to finishing it!! 

FYI- Rachael and I scored an overall Shannon's care score of 8/10 today. Not too shabby. Shannon is being very generous with her scoring. 

Life in general is getting a little bit easier. It's a lot of work, this new routine. One thing we have been learning in this whole process is the importance of a routine. Brain injuries recover best with repetition. (I'm guessing brains in general learn best with repetition) So we are on a pretty strict schedule over here. The good news is we are getting better AT the schedule. Last night we nailed bedtime routine in 60 minutes. It was magical. The first night Shannon was home, bedtime routine was 180 MINUTES. We still have a lot of really hard days- "I quit" days (we take turns saying it), and days that are so very Monday. But they aren't every day anymore, which makes it so much more manageable. 

Shannon is doing fantastic and directing her care, and is setting alarms to remember to do weight shifts, take medications, and for other important things. We have her therapies mostly scheduled together so we have more time to ourselves to get other things done. Laundry is down to two loads a day (for Shannon), and we even remember to do our own from time to time ;). Somehow we even manage to do dishes and take out the garbage. 

In case you are wondering- Jake's ankle is healing well, Krisha is having a fantastic time with her friends, and everyone else is alive. (We must be doing something right)

Please pray for Shannon to have relief from her nerve pain, and to be able to work hard in her therapies and in her daily routine. Pray for her spinal cord to continue to heal and recover the connections that were once there so she will regain the use of her lower body. 

Thank you for your continued prayers, love and support. We are living on the blessings from your care and concern for us. 

Well, it's been a long hard day filled with emotional turmoil and dinosaur fights. 

Wilbur Robinson- Disney's Meet the Robinson's