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.