Dear friends,
Happy Holidays! It has been a while since we’ve been in contact, and I thought everyone might like a holiday update.
Despite transitioning to moving out of rehab fairly quickly, these past few weeks have been particularly challenging and difficult for Terrill. The adjustment to moving in with Mike, Cheryl, Connor and Olivia has gone relatively well and Terrill has been thriving in her new independence. She spends a good portion of her morning just getting organized for her afternoons at outpatient rehab. We had concerns that began about two weeks after we had arrived home when her progress plateaued. She actually slightly regressed with more tone (stiff muscles resulting in lack of movement), shortness of breath, lower back pain, low blood pressure and dizziness when she would stand.
We visited the emergency room to make sure she didn't have a kidney infection. Everything checked out fine, but as a result, she missed a week of therapy and was advised to cancel a vacation she had planned with her friend Ryan. Ryan was not fazed, and adjusted the trip so that he came to visit St. Louis last Tuesday through Sunday. They had a marvelous time together and my heart was warmed to see my daughter smile again and be her wonderful old self. His visit truly lifted her spirits. While he was here, Terrill also accomplished a great feat when she walked from her room to the living room completely unaided, a total of about 60 feet. Her neurosurgeon prefers that she not do this again without being under a doctor’s supervision, but it was still a great moment and some great progress!
On December 15, we had a very productive visit with her doctor to work out a better game plan to enhance her recovery. Terrill still has to take powerful meds for spasticity and tone, but more is being added to her physical therapy. An intense routine of stretching will hopefully help to alleviate some of the stiffness and increase movement. We hope this lull in progress is temporary and her support team believes that time and harder work will generate promising results.
No doubt, Terrill missed her friends and her life in New York and still sets her goal to move back to her apartment in March.
For my part, I have the Christmas music playing, the house sparkling with decorations, plates of cookies set out and home cooked meals waiting for her.
We are going to do our best to make this Christmas very special for Terrill and our family.
We wish you all a very healthy and happy holiday season.
Again, thank you for your continued support and prayers and we thank God for his many blessings. I will leave you with this quote that I found recently that truly speaks to me:
Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass.
God does not change. Patience achieves everything.
Mother Teresa
Love, Terry
*PS this pic is a little fuzzy, but it's recent! I thought you would all like a picture of Terrill standing up on her own!
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