Day 28

28 days ago was a flurry, blurry mess of a day when Shirley had her stroke. Everyone moved swiftly to be where, and do what they needed to do. 26 days ago, we were clinging to hope in the midst of a lot of (unspoken) uncertainty. 21 days ago, we let out our first tiny sigh of relief as the vent was removed and Shirley sustained breathing on her own, but then a fresh wave of grief and emotion hit as we all tried to understand where she was neurologically during the "wake up" process. And every day since then we've watched her inch in the right direction. We've felt the sustaining presence of the Lord as we continued to sit at His feet and ask Him to heal Shirley. We've felt helpless so many times as we watch numbers and entrust doctors and nurses with this most special wife/mother/grandmother. It's been painful at times as some numbers tick in the right direction and then others go in the wrong way and they have to re-evaluate everything they are doing and try something different. You want the progress to be so much faster than it is, but are so grateful for every tiny miracle.  

Then suddenly, 5 days ago, things began moving quickly. I won't try to remember what all happened on each day but I will give a summary of everything that has happened since her birthday. Shirley's breathing has been improving every day. She is fully awake. She began to try walking, and she can walk! She passed her swallow test and finally got that diet coke! She is able to eat mush, but we will take the mush all day long because that meant the feeding tube was able to be removed! She was downgraded from the ICU to the PCU. She had a rocky couple of nights there, (as can happen when you transition to a new care team), but then it was onward again to the ONS unit! We have family in this unit, (shout out to my cousin Rhonda), who ensured a warm welcome and great care as she transitioned to that unit yesterday. Now, it's moving so quickly that we all have that feeling of pumping our hypothetical passenger car brakes as they tell us SHIRLEY IS READY FOR REHAB! We rejoice! We testify! We are rapidly preparing for next steps as things have greatly increased in pace.

Shirley is tired and weak, but Shirley is a walking and talking miracle! Thank you for your continued prayers in her recovery. The details of rehab are still unfolding, but she will stay at a facility for a bit of time as she works on regaining strength, motor skills, and continuing to allow her brain and body to heal under extra care. Pray for her endurance as she puts in work. Pray for the transition to rehab and for the team that will come around them in Shirley's care. Pray for her brain to continue to heal - specifically for her short term memory to continue to improve and for better presence of mind when she awakes from sleeping. Pray for her sugars to continue to stay as leveled out as possible so that it doesn't add any hiccups to her recovery. And pray for her to continue to get deep, healing rest in between all the work. 

We remain grateful for the way God has graced us each with endurance for our respective roles in this unfamiliar territory we found ourselves thrusted into. Thank you so much for your care for Shirley and the family. You all have been in the details in so many ways. Continue to pray for the family as we all figure things out day by day/week by week. Ross went back to work part time this week. We are grateful that he has some of the most caring families to welcome him back, and his job has given him so much time to be by Shirley's side. Jordan will head back home Friday and Janna will transition into being in Indy for the next couple of weeks. Every bit of these transitions bring emotions of all kinds. God is in the details. There is a whole lot of gratitude over here, and maybe a touch of weariness, as we prepare for this next stretch of Shirley's healing journey. 

But guys...Jesus is real.

Kara (Jordan, Janna, Rossy Baby)

***Be sure to check out the Meal Train calendar for May and the GoFundMe fundraiser, as we prepare to help Ross and Shirley in whatever way we can for next month and for the care she needs at Rehab! Y'all are the best!***