I cannot believe how long it has been since I entered an update!  Time truly does fly by.
I have thought a lot about what I would say on this second anniversary of Carl's accident.
I could write about all of the ups and downs that we face multiple times per day, or the number of helpers who have come and gone from out lives, or the mountain tops or the ever persistent valleys.  But instead I am going to write about God's faithfulness to us. 

No matter what is happening, we are honestly blessed that we see and experience God's hand of mercy every day.  We are not special by any means, be are just two people who grow deeper in love with God and each other daily.  We KNOW that God is directing this path and we are learning what "His mercies are new every morning" really means.  No matter how hard the day before was, we wake up ready to face the new day with renewed strength and commitment.  It sometimes only lasts for an hour, but it is still there fresh and new each day. :-)

It seems that we take a step forward, and then two steps back in that Carl continues to battle with infections.  He had 4 UTIs in a row which just stole his strength, then a URI which has now gone into pneumonia.  But even in the mist of the UTIs God gave us a blessing, which brings encouragement and joy.  Every morning the person who comes to help me in the morning and I help Carl stand up from the wheel chair.  At first we completely stood him up and then it was right back down.  Over time, Carl began to be able to "stand".  We kept it up day after day after day and in time he began to stand for a few seconds, then 20 seconds, then 40 seconds, then a minutes then the day before Valentine's Day he stood on his own (meaning he is completely holding himself with his PT on one side and me on the other for safety) for 3 minutes.  The  day after Valentine's Day he stood for 3 minutes and 25 seconds.  Then we went for more reps and less time.  He was able to stand up 7 times.  This means that we are helping him to leave the chair and then he is doing the rest. 

So just as a reminder, Carl has a C-2 Spinal Cord injury - C-2 Quads do not stand up, they do not breath on their own, they do  not move their upper torso back and forward or any of the other things that Carl is doing!  BUT GOD CAN MOVE HIM AND IS!

Now he has the pneumonia and his Dr. said, "no exercise for a week", those of you who KNOW Carl and his desire to exercise (I think he was born exercising) know how hard that is going to be for him.  But his body needs the rest and we both trust that he will actually be strengthened through this time of rest.


For those of you who are praying for us. . . Thank you so much, all of the prayers are so helpful. Our needs are for:
Morning care person (our current person just told us she is leaving next Wednesday) who will have the strength to help me help Carl to stand up and has the ability to do range of motion effectively.
Strength and stamina for each day
To be able to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those that we come in contact with.
Thank you for traveling this path with us and for caring.
Sherry