Update from Pat: November 2 Colin continues to recover a little bit each day. On a day to day basis the changes are small and not dramatic. But, when you stop and look back over a week or two you realize how much he is improving. And … when you look back and think about the situation on July 6, it is miraculous. To me the biggest change over the last four weeks has been the continued emergence of Colin’s personality and sense of humor. It is so wonderful to hear him laugh … even if it is usually at my expense. I am somewhat perplexed that Colin does not seem to think that I am cool … or that my sense of humor is all that special. I am shocked! What makes Colin’s personality and sassiness even more evident is the continued improvement of his speech and voice. His speech therapist gives him lots of vocalization exercises to work on his inflection. Colin loves to practice all the different ways you can say, “DAD, you are not funny”, “Dad, YOU are not funny”, “Dad, you ARE not funny”, “Dad, you are NOT funny,” and “Dad, you are not FUNNY.” The improvement in Colin’s speech is something that I am excited about, but what he is most focused on is walking. Over the last two weeks Colin has started to walk without assistance. Each day he seems to walk a few more feet and do things a little better. It is a much more complicated process than I realized. There are so many muscles involved in walking that we never think about. To work on these muscles Colin does lots of core work. The strength and work ethic that he developed in sports has been a huge help. I am so proud of his attitude. Sometimes he gets frustrated, but he keeps working. Watching him do front bridges, leg extensions, and do sit ups is amazing and humbling. “Amazing” because he is doing this work despite some big belly surgeries that left him with an impressive scar and a significant abdominal hernia which will need surgery sometime in the next year. “Humbling” because it makes me realize that I could not do this kind of core work with a normal, unsurgerized, intact abdomen. As I have said in many previous updates, the biggest factor in Colin’s recovery, beside his own faith and strong will, is Betsi. She works so hard with him. Her strength and patience are amazing. She and Colin have a beautiful relationship. When I think back over the last four months, my mind sometimes goes to the message from my brother Jim’s funeral. We lost Jim at 25. It did not make any sense. We were challenged to find God and goodness. Reminded us how the disciples must have felt overwhelmed seeing Christ on the cross. How could they possibly imagine good coming from all this? The message is simple … God and His goodness emerge from even the most impossible situations. So … I think that is what I want to try to focus on in my life. I have always been so afraid of change, but I want this experience to change me. I want to be more aware of God and His goodness in my life. I know I would not have endured the last four month without so many prayers and acts of kindness that proved God’s presence in even this most difficult situation. So … Keep us in your prayers … and find and spread God’s goodness.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 20:58:20 +0000
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