June 30-July 7, 2020

There’s a lot of good stuff to share, so I’ll get right to it! Shannon got something in the mail she’s always wanted (just not for legitimate reasons). There are a couple of perks to having a Spinal Cord Injury. This is one of them: 

 And Rachael decided it needed eyes....so....

We went on an adventure one evening to the lake! Scott and I took Shannon down and we just sat on the shore and people watched for a while. There were SO MANY PEOPLE on the water for a Wednesday night. We watched the ranger give some tickets, some salty guy taking social distancing to the extreme (he wasn’t happy we were sitting on the bank where he needed to pull out his kayak- I guess he needed more than 20 feet of space) and a lady and her daughter trying and almost failing to load her giant two person kayak into her truck. (First time out on her own and her husband ‘said I can’t do it alone- so thanks for helping me load it up’) Your secret is safe with me. 

I also have failed to mention that these two girls are AMAZING! This is their daily task!

The pillow and wedge bellhops are on time every morning to carry them upstairs.

Shannon’s princess and the pea naps upstairs require them.

I’ve decided that I need to have a mandatory nap every afternoon. It’s not going to happen, of course, but I have identified a goal to hopefully work toward. 

We celebrated the 4th, kind of. It was super low key. Rachael went home for the weekend. We had burgers etc for lunch; Lancer, Jake, and I went to Ryen’s house and spent time with the grand....boys :) 

Then we came back home and did a few fireworks and watched the aerials the neighbors were shooting off. 

Also- I know you can’t imagine this being such a huge deal as I keep telling you it is-

BUT- it is. THE SHOWER CHAIR.  It may still take us 1.5- 2 hours to do the whole shower and get dressed scene, but it’s so much easier- physically. And it’s so much more enjoyable for Shannon to sit in a stream (or two or three) of water. Just spend a month doing sponge baths in your bed and you’ll appreciate it like we do. 

Why does it take so long? Well- it starts with making sure Shannon has had blood pressure medication. That takes about an hour to be effective. After that-  a few sips of Monster. And something to eat. A blood pressure check, then waiting if it’s too low. More Monster. Then a transfer to the wheelchair which usually means she’s dizzy. We tip her back for a while, possible 10 mins or more. Sit her up, check her BP and decide if it’s high enough to stay sitting up in the heat for the shower. By now we are up to 30 mins or more. Then get into the shower, hair and body washing, etc. another 30 mins. Seven towels later, and we are on to getting dressed, leg stretches and getting into the wheelchair (30 mins). So, ya. It takes a while. 

In other news: a three month long project was finished this week.

I quit working on it 2 months and three weeks ago. But these two stuck it out to the end. The sky and the trees... The trees......I hate them. I love them in the real world- not the puzzle world. 

It was good (for me to struggle through) to have a weekend without Rachael’s help so I could see how much I can do alone. It was pretty much a hot mess. I mean- Shannon lived and we only found one bruise on one of her legs (they just love to bang into things), but she lived and we are alive. {barely}

We have to get it all figured out, because Rachael has her own home and littles to take care of. It’s still a work in progress, Scott has really stepped in and has helped with a lot of things, and I’m so grateful for his willingness to help and learn, and put up with our family. I told him he’s getting the unadulterated version of us and our lives. We don’t have the time or energy for candy coating anything. He’s seen us happy, sad, angry, silly, stressed, crying, laughing, showered, and not. He hears all the drama. He’s in the thick of it and he’s only been here for 11 days. I don’t know of a more stressful situation to walk into- but he’s here and I’m so impressed he hasn’t run away ;) 

And of course Lancer and Jake are instrumental in our daily routine- especially since ‘someones’ ankle healed from that whole tree incident. 

I know that many of you are still praying for Shannon and we are so grateful.

She continues to progress in her activity level and understanding. Please pray that she will have a more stable temperature, that she will continue to gain upper body strength and sensation in her lower body. Pray for her spinal cord to continue the healing process.

Thank you, friends. :) 

“See the line where the sky meets the sea, it calls me.....”

Moana, Disney’s Moana