Since the last update here, A LOT HAS HAPPENED!
Dad was cleared to walk alone. Big step. Then Dad was cleared to not use the walker. Big step. Then, on January 15, we went to Dad's 2 month check up with his surgeon...who we discovered is the Head of Neurosurgery at Kaiser in Los Angeles! After x-rays and a check up, he told dad that he could take off the neck brace. HUGE STEP. Rachel, Dad and I were all shocked. And delighted. It took awhile to let that sink in...this brace we originally thought he'd have to wear for another month was no longer a part of him. He had a little ceremony with the Lindgren's taking it off to celebrate that. See the picture of him with no brace. His scar from the surgery has also healed and you barely see it. It took a few days to adjust to that news and then life without the brace. He is still having body muscle spasms so you can continue to pray for that. His fingers/thumbs remain numb.
Mom has been at their home in Sierra Madre for most of the month of January with her sister, Catrina (Cate) who came down from Seattle. Mom was doing well at home and then suddenly Dad was in a different place with his healing as well. A week ago, Dad went home to Sierra Madre and they've been there together and are doing well. They haven't been living in the same space for the past 2.5 months. They are taking things slow and are figuring out how to care for each other and themselves and figuring out what kind of support they need.
Nada is grateful for her sister, Catrina (Cate) who spent most of the month of January with her at home to support her, do some caregiving and assist mom in adjusting to life back home. They had a lot of fun being together.
Mom and Dad wanted us to tell you: "We have experienced extraordinary healing in the first 2.5 months since the accident. The next months will be equally important but more subtle and less obvious. 2.5 months ago we both had to be fed by others and now are back at home on our own. We have good prospects for the future and are grateful for healing. Praise God from all whom blessings flow. We will forever be grateful to our daughters, Desta and Rachel, and their families for the loving care and TIME they showered on us. We are also grateful for the many friends and extended family members for so much help and love, and for cards, emails and texts. They have meant so much to us.m We are also grateful for our Pasadena chiropractors, Drs. Cullen, who are continuing to help us both heal. Please continue prayers for patience in our longterm and slower healing now."
The next chapter in this story: Rachel and Desta are back at work full time. The hospital bed has left our house, supplies that were once crucial are sitting waiting to be donated. We've removed alarms from our phones reminding us to do things for mom and dad, their mail is getting delivered back to their own home and we are all adjusting to having spent the past 2.5 months together (and apart). Having time with our parents/grandparents and getting to know them in deeper and new ways through this has been a gift.
Do you remember that Mom and Dad planted sweet peas in their backyard before the accident? Dad and Tante Catrina put up a trellis to aid them in their growth (see picture). A trellis is an architectural structure, made from an open framework of interwoven/intersecting pieces made to support climbing and growing plants. Each of you has been part of our trellis these past 2.5 months. Thank you for being a sturdy place we could lean on when we felt weak. Thank you for intersecting with others to get us meals, groceries and rides/playdates for our kids. Thank you giving us space to grow. Thank you for coming to sit with us, let us cry and talk. Thank you for calling to check in. Thank you for sitting with us in the ugly, hard things and helping us to expect/hope for the good. Thank you for your prayers which supported us.
Who and what acts as a trellis in your life? Who and what lets you cling to it while you are growing? What holds you up, gives you space to grow and supports you along the way?
Be of good courage friends. Keep growing where you are planted. Desta, Rachel, Mom, Dad and our families
