February 28, 2008

Hello, All! It's a beautiful, but cold day here, but a relief from all the strange weather we've been having lately; tornadoes one night and snow flurries the next day, but praise the Lord for sunshine!

Now that Danny is regularly going to therapy on Mondays, me and Corbin are able to spend the day together and it's so much fun. In the picture above, you can see how thrilled Corbin was to have his first salon haircut. This picture is actually an improvement from the big alligator tears while his hair was being cut. As soon as she was finished, the tears dried up and he took advantage of the sucker and the car. It was a fun experience and luckily, it is short enough he won't have to be "tortured" like that for a while.

This is a first for us as a family; Corbin is reading and playing cars in Mommy AND Daddy's bed. He was just so cute sitting there, half naked and in his own little world. It's these kind of moments that Danny can now be a part of that make this whole condo experience worth it. Not that I'm saying I'm not enjoying the new condo, but it is more work for me staying with Danny each night, getting everyone fed, keeping the house somewhat clean and organized; you know, life as normal as possible. But, I love it and wouldn't trade it.

This past week for Danny has been great therapy-wise, although he still "sees no end in sight." Last Wednesday, Danny became a star! Bioness Inc. is a company that designs medical devices to aid people with neurological disorders. According to their Web site these, "products use electrical stimulation to help people regain mobility and independence, to improve quality of life and productivity." Well, Danny's therapists have used the Bioness products for him since Day One of Beyond Therapy and we've seen how they've helped in his improvement. Bioness happened to be at Shepherd last Wednesday and who did they use for their promotional video? Danny! So, Danny was walking again with the Argo and did two and one half lengths of the basketball court. Bioness will send us a video and link to the Web site when they have Danny's addition completed. If you're interested, you can see their Web site at http://www.bionessinc.com/.

This past Monday, Danny walked again and Loida said he was "sprinting" he was walking so quickly. In the pool, he did sit to stands all by himself and did more walking with Lisa, his therapist, behind him while he steadied himself with floating dumbells. All in all, he is doing "phenomenal" according to this therapists, but there is one big problem that they feel is holding him back; his weight.

Becky, the BT Coordinator, pulled me aside last week and began to tell me about their team meeting that week. All the therapists are excited to see how much Danny is improving and they all agree that he is doing spectacular. That being said, they feel like Danny could be ambulating with a walker, at least at home if he were to lose the weight. Danny has always carried his weight around his middle and that is what is giving him the most problems; trunk control. Obviously, if Danny lost the 30lbs. it would be less weight for him to have to balance and control. We've been working on the weight issue, but it is a battle with Danny.

So, we're going to work on the weight issue harder. And, I think Danny is beginning to understand how much better it would be if he were to lose the weight. However, Danny also always had to exercise to lose weight, so we're going to work a cardio program into his BT therapy on his off days. Basically, he'll be doing cardio three days a week and strength training/BT three days a week. More movement means more calories burning!

In order to get Danny to Shepherd gym the other three days a week, we bring in the care giver. And, our hot lead has come through and he starts on Monday, March 3rd. We're excited to have him on board and I know Danny is excited to have a guy around; he gets tired of all us girls. So, it'll be great for Danny to have a basic schedule each week of BT Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then cardio workouts at Shepherd on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings.

Please pray that the weight will begin to fall off Danny and he'll see the benefits of it so he is encouraged to keep going. Also, please pray for our new caregiver as he comes in to help us with Danny. My prayer is that it is more of a friendship and assistant relationship that forms out of their time together. It is also a blessing because he is a young, Christian single man that will be able to help encourage Danny spiritually.

Well, that is all my news today. I'll let you know next week how much more we have to be thankful for. Praise to the Lord for it is His glory that is being revealed and He shall received all the honor. God bless you all this week!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all are able to share it with the people that mean the most to you. I thought I'd share several pictures from various activities of late. Above you can see Corbin hanging out with his cousins Davis and Brett while we were in Arizona for Christmas. Goldfish are yummy!
Danny and I at Philips Arena for a Thrashers' game. Corbin went along with us and Hector and Loida. He loved it and it was definitely a great game; overtime and a shootout ending with a Thrashers' win.
A cute picture of Corbin just being a 2-year old little boy. He is such a great joy and brings so much blessing to our lives.
Lastly, but certainly not least, are two pictures of Danny walking in the pool. In January, the Beyond Therapy therapists began gaiting with Danny in the pool twice a week, as opposed to once. When Danny begun walking in the pool, he required three therapists to help him stay upright and to help him step. As you can see, he has improved tremendously. He now needs only one therapist and is stepping through with both legs. Each time he is in the pool, he is improving and it is so exciting to see the product of six months of physical foundation begin to come into fruition. It is also refreshing to see a small glimpse of encouragement in Danny's attitude towards his recovery.

Since the last post, life has been extremely busy. We moved last weekend and have stayed now three nights in the new condo. Corbin has transitioned beautifully, sleeping just fine in his new surroundings. Danny and I have also began to share a bed together again, which is quite an adjustment after two years apart. However, that being said, Danny has been sleeping better each night and last night, only woke up twice. It is so nice to snuggle up to him again!

The condo is coming along nicely. We're still working our way through boxes and realizing that we kept more than we needed. It has been very much like Christmas morning with each box opened. I am finding that our space is much more limited than I had planned for so I'm going to have to downsize and do a major redo in our closet. I had hoped to wait to customize our closet, but I can't even walk into it to get to my clothes. It's too much, but we'll nail it down.

I love having our own space and our own stuff. I've already broken in the kitchen and seem to be doing laundry every night, but it's great to make a home again. Danny has also seemed to adjust well and even seems to have a more positive attitude. He was able to participate in Corbin's bath time and I put Corbin in bed with Danny each morning to watch TV. It is great bonding time for them both and I love watching it happen. Danny even pushed himself to Corbin's room, opened his bedroom door and pushed himself to Corbin's crib when Corbin woke up from his nap on Monday. It was a big "yes!" for me to see Danny determined to do it himself and that is what I'm seeing more of in him. I love it!

On the care giver front, I wanted to update you all on the status. First of all, thank you all for your prayers and your leads to people who do care give or people who are in that industry. We actually did work with one care giver for one week and realized that she wasn't going to best suit Danny, nor did it seem she could do it physically. We're working on one hot lead that I really hope works out. We met with this young man, our age, single, and a Christian. Danny said he liked him and wanted to work with him. Again, a brief glimpse into a more positive Danny. Yes! We're also still in touch with the agency who brought us the first woman to search for some other prospects. Please continue to pray for God's leading wisdom and His provision. It is extremely important to get the right person for Danny and for our family. I know the Lord will provide and that He is in this, so I'm eager to meet this person that will transform our lives and ease the workload.

I've saved the best for last. January 23rd, Danny started gaiting again with Candy, the lead therapist at Beyond Therapy. This was the first time that Danny would walk with the Argo walker since he'd had so much pain and trouble when his casts came off at the end of November. I decided to go and we also had a visit from Dr. Kaelin, Danny's neurologist, during his session. Danny did beautifully! He stood taller, was stepping through with his left leg and could pull up his heel on his right. Dr. Kaelin was "blown away" and told me that he "wouldn't be surprised to see this guy walking with a walker in the near future." It was so exciting! All the therapists were watching him from the office, we got it on video and I stood there with tears coming down my face. As good as he did, the report only gets better.

On Monday, Danny had Beyond Therapy; a first since he started over seven months ago. Of course, on top of that curve ball, we were all moving on Monday. However, it was more important for Danny to get to therapy, especially since he'd be walking with Candy. A couple hours after he'd gotten there, he called me and put Becky, the BT Coordinator, on the phone. She had good news; Danny had taken three steps with his RIGHT leg! What a huge step, pardon the pun. He hadn't done that yet and to do it three times in one session; I can't wait to hear how the next one goes. Candy was even feeling ill and she said that "Danny did all the work." You have no idea how great that feels; to know that he is finally seeing some huge steps in his recovery. You can just tell he is more confident in himself and I'm so happy for him.

As a gentle reminder, we have posted a "Donate Now" tab on the Web site; http://www.dannyandallison.com/. Several of you still ask how you can help and you'll find the answers there. While we are thrilled to have our own place, there are certainly more costs involved to get through each month. If you feel so lead, please give. Every bit helps our journey. I thank all of you who have given financially, but also those of you who have given of your time and efforts. We could not have moved so smoothly except for the people who gave up their weekend to help us. I will forever be grateful and we know who we can count on! Blessings to all of you!

As I close, I want each of you to hug the one you love; all the ones you love. You have no idea how your lives can change in a split second, in 80 ft. You don't know if it'll be the last time you talk to them, get the chance to say you love them, to hold their hand or look in their eyes. Don't take one moment for granted. Take a deep breath and remember those things that are truly important in life; your loved ones and the moments that you can share together. For me, I'm going to our new home, cooking dinner for my boys and thanking the Lord that I have the opportunity to do so because there was a time not too long ago when this was a dream, a hope. Thank you Lord for hope.