Happy holidays! We hope you took the opportunity last week - as we did - to celebrate God's faithfulness in your life. All four girls and their families were home for a slow week in Belle Center. For us, the sweetest, most restful, and most enjoyable place to be is with one another. While it was largely easy and familiar, there were times when things were difficult and foreign. Take a moment to scroll down through the updates below, though, and you'll see why we're confident in the guiding and ever-present hand of our Father to give us wisdom and grace for the days ahead.

 

Thank you for following along on CaringBridge. Moving forward, Adam will provide periodic updates on Mollie's journey here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mollie-vigeant-recovery-fund. Both Kevin and Kim and Adam and Mol wanted to pass along notes of update and gratitude below.

 

 

Please pray for Kevin this week. He will undergo a second surgery to hopefully confirm the complete removal of a cancerous growth discovered this fall. Pray for both he and Kim, for a successful surgery and easy recovery, and against any new cancer.

 

 

We are so grateful for the sacrificial love demonstrated to Mollie, Adam and Lev. Both families (the Smiths and Vigeants) continue to work like a finely tuned machine to keep the ever-changing circumstances of life under control. Friends have called, visited and sent their love and support. This is what the family of God looks like.

 

• Weight gain
• Increased stamina
• Physical rehab
• Speech therapy
• Ability to rest deeply

The care has been miraculous, but the need for it has not decreased. As we go forward, we are grateful for the small ways we see God answering our prayers and for the blessing of each other — including all of you.

 

Mollie has made steady improvements since coming home from the rehab hospital. Grateful that the acute phase of this journey is behind us, we are starting to settle into a new schedule. Last Saturday was our first day at the long-term Airbnb without the live-in support my (Adam) sisters have provided since the stroke. We have felt completely loved and supported by them and are in wonder that they would upend their lives to help us through the darkest days of this situation.

 

Every new week has felt like Mollie is a whole new person in regard to her functional mobility and speech improvements. Her right arm has finally reached semi-useful status and she has been able to use it for some simple tasks like opening a car door and holding a container so she can open it. A goal is to get enough functionality back for her to style her hair herself — she still needs help putting it up in a ponytail or using a flat iron, and my abilities with hair are…sub-par (to be generous).

 

It’s getting easier to communicate freely, though there is still a lot of frustration on both sides as I try to understand and she tries to convey information. We are grateful for all of the recovery and eager for more. She understands both written and spoken language just fine, which is a huge blessing. If you want to learn more about the Expressive Aphasia that Mollie is recovering from, you can read about it here: https://www.flintrehab.com/expressive-aphasia/

 

It feels great to be “home” together as a family and moderately self-sufficient. Mol’s sister Abigail has been watching Lev on weekdays to allow us to go to therapy and Doctor appointments — an enormous support we can’t express enough thanks for.

 

Thank you for all of the prayer and support — we are deeply moved and feel love all around us. We would appreciate continued prayer for: