It has been quite a while since my latest update, so I thought I'd  share an update for those of you still following along.

The beginning of 2021 marked our family's shift from surviving to THRIVING!  Hudson is now in pre-school for a few half-days per week, Taylor is taking on more responsibility in his job, and I restarted my business this year with three wonderful clients. And we started a podcast :)  Needless to say, 2019 and 2020 were a doozy for us and we were just hanging on-- surviving surgery, hospitalization, coming to terms with disability,  therapy, returning home from the hospital, learning to be parents... and then a global pandemic and a big move to the suburbs in an insane real estate market! I could say volumes about this, but I am so thankful that Taylor and I are such a great team with amazing support from family and friends.

At the end of last year, I started working out with trainer Devon at DPI Adaptive Fitness, and it has been a life-changer. He sees possibility beyond what I see and pushes me further than I can do myself. I am doing 200 squats, deadlifting 110 lbs, and walking on the treadmill longer/faster every week. The strength I am gaining has considerably improved my balance. There is a metric called the Berg score to measure balance, and last fall I was at a 19 out of 56 points. Now I am at 42 out of 56!!! About a month ago I started doing my daily walks around the house with a single cane rather than two crutches.

I saw my physiatrist  (doctor for physical therapy), and she was so impressed by my gains and abilities. She said I was in a peak recovery time right now, and that I would likely continue to recover for years to come. Previously, doctors said around 2 years was max recovery time. Additionally, my right leg muscles were doing so well, she said she saw a future where I may not even need to wear my leg brace to assist my steps.

I also had my standard 6-month MRI to make sure that there is no tumor regrowth or other abnormalities from the surgery. This is always an anxiety-filled time for me as I worry about reliving those terrible days of hospitalization.  This time, my neuro-oncologist wanted to set an appointment with me to review the scans. I immediately went to the worst-case scenario of why he wanted to talk. I held Hudson a little tighter than usual and pleaded with God to keep me healthy as I waited the days until my appointment. 

On Thursday morning, the doctor told me he just wanted to meet for a general update and that my scan was clean! Not only that, but he said I could move to getting my MRI and XRay only one time per year instead of two times!

We are ending the week celebrating God's goodness and my amazing, expectation-shattering progress by going out to dinner tonight. Which we can do because Taylor and I are vaccinated now! Another piece of good news that allowed us to host a fun Easter egg hunt and enjoy seeing people without worry of COVID-19.

We praise God as the tulips bloom and the trees begin sprouting their leaves, signs of new life that are all the more stunning to us this year after a long, dark winter.