8-16-14: Big day today for all of us! Matt had another day of therapy and today in PT he was able to walk 12-15 steps - 2 separate times!! Thank you Lord!!! I asked Joel how much support the therapist had to give Matt as he took the steps. Joels reply Well - she was supporting him - but she probably weighed about 85 lbs. so Im pretty sure Matt was doing a lot of it himself. :). Joel is the one that does the therapy with Matt as he is the one who is retired and will be at home with Matt when he is able to move home. I was able to go to the early part of Matts big fundraiser today, and eat lunch there with my brother Marc, his wife Michelle, and my dear friend Paula McNeill, and her sister Ann Marie, brother-in-law Derek, and several of their children. The kids - even the youngest who is only 3 - were so adorable doing their belly flops to support Matt. Thanks all of you for coming out to support Matt today. But more about the Fundraiser later. When I got to the hospital this afternoon, much to my surprise, Matt was still sitting up in his wheelchair - I had really expected him to be snoozing after his therapy sessions. They originally measured him for one type of wheelchair, but after only 2 days went ahead and switched him to a regular chair. They did this because they realized he was putting his feet on the ground and using them to motor himself around in the chair - a la Fred Flintstone. This is another wonderful development and I know must be so good for building up his strength. After I finished my post for yesterday, they came in and removed Matts trache! Hallelujah!! So that is some leftover good news from yesterday. He is really talking a lot more now - and I would say that at least 50% of it is understandable. He also seems to have retained his sense of humor because it is quite easy to make him laugh. My brother Marc was amazed at the difference in Matt between last Saturday and this Saturday. He lives in SC and doesnt see Matt daily like we do, so he is really able to take note of Matts progress. He stayed up in the chair quite awhile after I got there. The increase in his stamina just from one day to the next is astounding to me. God has been so very good to us through this entire ordeal. When I think back over the past 6 weeks I am just in awe of how He has carried us this far - through both the discouraging and encouraging times. I know I mentioned that his friend Adam was staying with him last night. This morning Adam did the sweetest thing. He face timed Hillary so that Hillary and Matt could see and speak to each other this morning. :) BTW Adam, the nurse Christy and nurse assistant Mary were going on and on about you when I went back to the hospital this evening. You made quite an impression - a very good one - which doesnt surprise me at all. Back to the fundraiser. As I was leaving to go to the hospital, ran into some other dear friends who had stopped by to support Matt - Marcia Regan, Kathy Costello, Jean & Pete Navarro. Know also that our good friends George & Joan Weaver were on the way and I missed them entirely. Tonight my cousins Patsy and Gary Stewart and good friends Mandy & George Woolen came to the fundraiser to eat dinner with me. Thank you all so very much for your support. I know there could have been others that I never even saw as I was there only in the beginning and then again at the end. I want to take this opportunity on this page to publicly thank Kevin Champion and the staff of Stokeridge Tavern and Grille. Kevin not only offered his property free of charge and pledged a portion of his proceeds from todays sales, he then offered a week at his beach house for the Auction. On top of all of that, when we tried to pay for our dinner tonight, we were told it had been covered. How incredibly generous. I would urge all of my friends who are local to patronize this business - and not just because Kevin was so kind to us - but also because the food is delicious and the service very friendly. Add to that, an owner who obviously has a true sense of community and you have a great neighborhood gathering spot. I also want to thank - from the bottom of my heart - the friends of Matts who organized this event and then spent all day and night setting up, running the event, and cleaning up. And this doesnt include all the hours they put in making 5 sets of corn hole boards, getting sponsors, donations, etc. The 6 guys that I know were behind a lot of this are Rob Doss, Jeremy Gordy, Duane Tench, Adam Wimbish, Brian Phillips, and Brandon Bull. Im sure there are others who helped, but I know for sure these 6 did an incredible amount of work to put this together. We love you guys! Youre the best - there is just no other way to put it! When they asked me to speak tonight, I said I was happy to because I did want to thank people. My only problem is that I was afraid I would forget to mention some people specifically and of course I did. I didnt make a single mention of any of the sponsors - and to be honest - I am going to have to get the names off the banner in order to thank all of them. I do know that one of the sponsors was Tim Kallam and Kallam Farms, - so Tim and family - thank you all so much. I forgot to thank Chief Johnson - and everyone else who took a turn on the dunking booth, and I forgot to thank Zumba Kym who put on a phenomenal Zumbathon for Matt this past Monday and raised almost $1,000 - so Kim I thank you also. I forgot to thank Nikki and Megan - 2 of the wait staff at Stokeridge who each donated an entire shifts tips to Matt. I forgot to thank Toni Capps who did an online Tupperware party for Matt and there is a person who owns a travel agency (whose name I dont even know) who is offering to donate proceeds from bookings to Matt - so to all of these folks I also say thank you. And as I was publicly thanking people tonight, standing right beside me was Hillarys good friend Jordan Mitchell Williams and I even forgot to thank her. Jordan and her sister Taylor Mitchell have been a wonderful source of support for Hillary and for all of us. They have done so many extra special things to help and support us - one of which was coming up with the idea - and taking on most of the responsibility for feeding the firefighters who have covered Matts shifts, so girls, thank you very much. And oh yeah - that reminds me I didnt thank all of the guys who have covered Matts shifts! Then of course there are the folks who have put cards and gifts in Matts Road to Recovery box, fed us, walked our dog, mowed our yard, given us gift cards, money, goody bags, and greeting cards galore, but most of all - Love and Heartfelt Prayers - and I know that includes all of you reading this post. As I said to the folks tonight, you have all shown the love of Christ to us. We are so very grateful to each and every one of you. Love, Cheryl & Joel .......there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother Proverbs 18:24
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 05:10:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015