505. 12/16 Update – 2 months and look what happened!!

Dear Beloved, I sent my last update two months ago, launching my Trainer Books and Shredded Grace.  Look what happened!! (Click the image below to watch the video of Matt walking in the pool.)  This quick video was taken by Krissy,  (half of Mark and Krissy, family friends who have stood by Matt – Mark manages Matt’s medical funds and makes sure the money is being spent on stuff that works.  Spoiler Alert:  we’re funding this bc Pool Therapy WORKS. )   Matt is in the pool, working hard under the guidance of Pool Ninja Diahanne.   It’s EXACTLY what I asked God for when we began this adventure.  No, wait – it’s better.  Watch how hard Matt is working to pick up his feet.  Every step is a choice – a deliberate decision you  make to send the signal from your brain to your leg.

Click for Video of Matt walking with Diahanne!!!

 

Your generosity is making this possible.  I was 30 when my brain bled – I had a career, fantastic insurance, and savings that fund my Recovery.  Matt was 16.  The transition from boyhood to manhood is tough enough, but when you add in a cataclysmic medical event….  We’re more than halfway to our very modest goal of a year of pool therapy.  For perspective, Matt has been in his chair for almost 5 years.  This is about access to care.  Please help:  Give Forward

I launched Shredded Grace two months ago all of a sudden bc I was anticipating medical drama and wanted to do it before the onslaught.  I asked you to pray about my hip (labral tears, potential surgery) and “XYZ.”  Update:  No surgery at present.  YES!!!!  Things got worse before they got better, but Coach Randy’s PT ministrations are working, and I am pleased with my current pain and functionality status and am in a position to regain strength and stamina and pursue more.  There were a gazillion tests for XYZ and zero answers. So Trainer David threw the gauntlet down AGAIN and challenged me to take care of basic things that had fallen by the wayside  (eating food 3x/day as opposed to 2x.  I know – this sounds ridiculous, but I’m working on baby steps :)).  Jessica Smurfette RD and my entire medical team have united in support of this goal and I am being observed closely.

Happily, I was able to do a few speaking events before the downturn, and I spoke and STOOD for the first time ever at a Conference in September.  I was so grateful to take part and very happy I did not fall down.  I did grip the podium really hard.  I have also been able to do more things around the house – simple things that allow me to hold on to something while doing the work, e.g. do dishes, fold laundry, etc.  I train so I have the breath and balance to speak and to live.  It’s working.

Do I wish there had been conclusive results to all those tests?  Of course.  But I was pleased that I’m now able to manage a process like this and was happy that my medical pros stepped up to the plate when I asked them to think outside the box bc I have a lot of factors in play.   I used my Medical Resume.   I didn’t get clear cut answers, but I’m confident we made an intelligent effort.So for now I’m content to take a little medical vacation, concentrate on my gait, exercises, and nutrition,  help Matt walk again, and enjoy these next couple of months with my family.

Uncertainty is a problem for me simply because there has been so much of it, starting with that time I went to work on April 7, 2011, and never came home.  But in the absence of definitive answers I’m happy in the things I know to be true no matter what.

 

Wishing you and your family a joyful close to 2016 and a healthy 2017!

Ann/Ning

PS.  Check out my new Podcast!  Basically, I just sit there and crack myself up for 5-10 minutes.  Come hang out with me!  It’s the audio version of my blog.  Available on iTunes and Podbean.

PPS.  If you’re new around here, I only invade your inbox once or twice yearly.  I am following in the footsteps of Daddy , who sent out email updates when I first got sick, starting with this one:  276.  Losing Heart.    Almost 6 years have passed and my emails are A LOT funnier than poor Daddy’s.

 

Learning How on Amazon – it’s all Non Profit!! All Online 2017 sales go to help Matt walk again.