It's been a while since my last post and there are a lot of updates to share.
I realized when Lauren woke up that this blog not only served as a way to update all of you but it also gave me an outlet to express the full range of emotions that went through each of our hearts. Once Lauren was awake all of those emotions turned into joy and gratitude. And the words that I once typed on this keyboard were instead shared in conversation with her.
Yesterday (7.13.10) marked the 1 month anniversary of the car accident and it is unbelievable how far we have come. The fact that we were unsure if Lauren would live to unsure of her quality of life to preparing for her homecoming THIS FRIDAY is nothing, nothing short of a miracle.
Lauren was transferred to Dodd Rehab Center about a week after she woke up from the coma. After she arrived it was as if someone pressed fast forward on her recovery. Very quickly they had her up and walking, replaced her trach with a smaller one making it possible for her to talk and eat solid food. Soon that too was removed and all that remained as evidence of the accident is her feeding tube that will remain in her belly until it heals and her neck brace.
The Physical Therapists say that Lauren is their star patient--determined and strong she breezed through rehab. Not to say that she is ready to run a marathon tomorrow. She still moves slowly and tires quickly but we share the doctors belief that being home surrounded by family and especially her children will make her recovery go that much faster.
My heart and soul is filled with such gratitude. I am thankful that Lauren is alive and I am incredibly thankful for the outpouring of love and support from all of our friends and family.
As some of you may know this September will mark the tenth year since we lost my nephew Spencer. There is still a sting that is alive and well in each of our hearts. Each year brings another what if, another what would have been. While we have come to a place where we can laugh and reminisce there is still that moment that hits you and you realize that he is really gone. That moment hurts like nothing else.
There is little in life that you can control. I'll be honest and say that while I know that...I don't think I have truly embraced it and I'm not sure anyone truly does. The best that we can do it to put good in the world, give the best of ourselves and have faith--faith that in the end everything will be okay--faith that if it isn't okay you will have the strength to live with the outcome.
In Lauren's hospital room we bought a book that we asked every visitor to sign. These words of encouragement and love served as an inspiration to Lauren and even though she is going home she still needs your support while she continues her recovery. Pain is still a reality, the uncomfortable neck brace (which I have suggested she bejewel-lol) and the fact that walking up a flight of stairs is a big feat. Visits, phone calls, Facebook wall posts are all encouraged and recommended.
Thank you for praying, for believing and for supporting each of us.
The next post will be brought to you by a surprise writer...three guesses as to who it is ;)
Love,
Us
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Awakening....
I will start this post with a disclaimer. I am a grammar rebel. Always have been. In school my papers always came back survivors of a red pen massacre. I am also addicted to spell check. Technology is making us dumber--my niece sent me a text and I felt like I needed a dictionary to understand her message. And so the spelling function in my brain has been shut down for business. So my dear husband has volunteered to be my editor. Hopefully that will make reading the blog a little easier for you proper grammar, correct spelling loving types.
On to the update! Lauren is awake, albeit a bit confused. Not like "I don't know where I am" confused but she confuses the days of the week or what month it is. When working with her speech therapist, she thought that the accident happened 6 months ago! She does know her age and her family; both good signs. She has been standing up and taking a step or two and her right side is growing stronger.
We were thrilled to learn that tomorrow Lauren will be transferred to Dodd Hall, a rehab facility on The Ohio State University campus. The facility has more of a home-like feel and they work with her on being physically independent again. She will be travelling to Dodd with the larger trach still in her throat and the feeding tube still in her belly. The hope is that in the next week or so they will give her a smaller trach and she will be able to use the speaking valve.
Yesterday she asked if she looked the same physically, which she absolutely does so all of you know. She has not a single visible scratch on her face. While she has a large scar behind her ear, it is hidden by her massive amount of hair. She will leave with scars from the tubes and her surgery but they are all easily hidden even under a tank top.
Her personality is showing through more and more. She is smiling and as bossy as ever.
If you didn't know my family is Catholic--very Latino of us. Not to offend any one, but I have observed that Catholics are very prim, proper and private about their religion. We show our faith through medals and crosses that hang around our necks or in our houses. We proudly display statuettes and prayer cards of various saints and of course pay tribute to the big JC by naming at least one of our children Jesus. We pray when people are sick or when an object has been "put away" in a "safe place" that your mind refuses to remember. I sometimes question if this is the faith for me but my resolve in believing that there is a higher power has never wavered. My dear family has been shaken by death, illness, moving to a new land learning a new language, adopting a new culture. Sometimes I wonder about how much more we could take. Not that life has been all tragic, it's just that the tragic parts have been pretty high on the Richter scale. I wondered if something in this whole ordeal had gone another way--what would have become of us. In this dark desperate hour you have no choice but to put every once of faith into something much more powerful than yourself. I also believe that when your faith isn't enough, it's the collective faith that kicks in and thank God for that. Not that I believe our faith wasn't enough, but the turbo boost of your prayers could only help the situation.
I cried a little yesterday and when Lauren asked why, I answered because I was scared and she said she was too. After a moment I let her know that the fear was gone. And now the tears are full of pride and joy--the same tears I cried when she graduated from high school, dental assisting, the same tears when Dereon and Maya were born and the same tears I will cry at every "new beginning".....
Thanks for the turbo boost--let us know when ever you need one too.
Love,
Us
On to the update! Lauren is awake, albeit a bit confused. Not like "I don't know where I am" confused but she confuses the days of the week or what month it is. When working with her speech therapist, she thought that the accident happened 6 months ago! She does know her age and her family; both good signs. She has been standing up and taking a step or two and her right side is growing stronger.
We were thrilled to learn that tomorrow Lauren will be transferred to Dodd Hall, a rehab facility on The Ohio State University campus. The facility has more of a home-like feel and they work with her on being physically independent again. She will be travelling to Dodd with the larger trach still in her throat and the feeding tube still in her belly. The hope is that in the next week or so they will give her a smaller trach and she will be able to use the speaking valve.
Yesterday she asked if she looked the same physically, which she absolutely does so all of you know. She has not a single visible scratch on her face. While she has a large scar behind her ear, it is hidden by her massive amount of hair. She will leave with scars from the tubes and her surgery but they are all easily hidden even under a tank top.
Her personality is showing through more and more. She is smiling and as bossy as ever.
If you didn't know my family is Catholic--very Latino of us. Not to offend any one, but I have observed that Catholics are very prim, proper and private about their religion. We show our faith through medals and crosses that hang around our necks or in our houses. We proudly display statuettes and prayer cards of various saints and of course pay tribute to the big JC by naming at least one of our children Jesus. We pray when people are sick or when an object has been "put away" in a "safe place" that your mind refuses to remember. I sometimes question if this is the faith for me but my resolve in believing that there is a higher power has never wavered. My dear family has been shaken by death, illness, moving to a new land learning a new language, adopting a new culture. Sometimes I wonder about how much more we could take. Not that life has been all tragic, it's just that the tragic parts have been pretty high on the Richter scale. I wondered if something in this whole ordeal had gone another way--what would have become of us. In this dark desperate hour you have no choice but to put every once of faith into something much more powerful than yourself. I also believe that when your faith isn't enough, it's the collective faith that kicks in and thank God for that. Not that I believe our faith wasn't enough, but the turbo boost of your prayers could only help the situation.
I cried a little yesterday and when Lauren asked why, I answered because I was scared and she said she was too. After a moment I let her know that the fear was gone. And now the tears are full of pride and joy--the same tears I cried when she graduated from high school, dental assisting, the same tears when Dereon and Maya were born and the same tears I will cry at every "new beginning".....
Thanks for the turbo boost--let us know when ever you need one too.
Love,
Us
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