The presence of the LORD...

    God has definitely been showing up this weekend and sending messages that he is still in control. So much has happened so I will divide the blog into two sections Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday
        My Saturday morning began with a call from Prissy about 8 a.m. She was upset and crying and I had no idea what was wrong with her, but told her I would be there in 10 minutes. So I quickly brushed my teeth and through on the first thing I could find and rushed out the door. When I arrived at the hospital, she was still in tears and said she was just having a bad day; so she and I hugged for about 5 minutes and I told her everything would be okay and to calm down.  After I helped her with her bath, I returned to home for the afternoon. I went back to the hospital about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, when I arrived my mom, Greg, and one of her friends, Minister J. Senay Spurgeon were there.  Senay said to Scilla  "I had a VISION that you I came to visit you yesterday and you had on a white dress and was walking; I asked you where  you were going and you said to visit this baby." My mom and Scilla laughed and Senay is looking around like what is funny and Prissy told her that she went to visit one the daughter of one of her friends who had given birth on Friday. Senay was totally surprised, so we all continued to talk and Scilla told Senay that she was going to church on Sunday and Senay said "What are you going to wear, that pretty blue jean dress?" and Scilla said "Yea" and Senay was like "Stop lying!" So I went to the closet  and got the dress out to show Senay and she was ready to start shouting and praising God. But God did not stop working there; Senay picked up Scilla's bible to look at a picture and turned to a page that had a sticky note that said "RESTORATION, PSALMS 126." Senay asked Prissy, "How did you get this? This is my handwriting, it looks like one of the markers I use in my bible when I am giving a sermon." I was trying to figure it out and said "maybe she took it from your bible" and Scilla said " I didn't get that out of her bible, I don't know how I got it!" So Senay proceeded to read Psalms126:5-6 aloud to Scilla and it reads as follows: 5They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Scilla looked at Senay and said "I was crying this morning" and Senay was almost speechless.

       After all the above happened, Senay was saying to Scilla that because of her tears should would get joy. I believe that God sent Senay to give my sister a message on Saturday; He wanted her to know that he has heard her cry and that he is working on a miracle on her behalf. Senay knew nothing about Scilla going to visit the baby or the dress and all that was too much to be coincidental. I believe in her vision God made sure to include the part about the baby so that Scilla would know that it wasn't just Senay saying that she would walk again, but it was GOD. I feel as though God is getting ready to do something in my sister that we will never understand and Why do I believe this? I believe this because when we expect God to do great things; he does. When we stop expecting God to bless us; that is when our blessings become stalled. We must continue to walk in faith and expect to be blessed.

"Walking in faith..."

Fabulous Friday...

     Friday was fabulous for Scilla for the most part! She had a good night and a afternoon. Today her weekly conference was held and here is what we know:

• Tenative date of discharge : May 12, 2010. This is not set in stone and could change at next week's conference (i.e. become a later date).
• She will get a 1 day pass for Sunday and I HAVE to be the one with her at all times, since I have been trained to transfer her. We are planning on going to church, dinner at my house and then she said she wants to ride around..haha!
• She will also have a recreational therapy outting before going home.
• On Monday, she along with her therapists will go to her home to check out its accessibility.

    With all this great news today, it has definitely turned out to be a faboulous friday for Scilla. The only not so faboulous thing today was that they tried to put in a PICC line in her room, but couldn't get it after trying for almost 45 minutes, so they will do it by x-ray on Monday!

                                         WHAT A FABULOUS FRIDAY IT HAS BEEN!!!

"Walking in faith..."

Inspiration...

     It is amazing the progress that I saw in Prissy today! I was so excited and happy for her. On Wednesday, the staff at RCP made arrangements for a lady, Dot to visit Scilla around 1p.m. Dot has the same injury as Prissy and her injury occurred 7 years ago. She now drives, and is very independent, and has a healthy intimate relationship with husband. She also has awesome small light up wheels on her chair. Dot transferred from her chair, so easily and with no help or assistance of boards, lifts, etc. Scilla was impressed with Dot's transferring and said I wanna be able to get in and out my chair like that.

    Dot was so inspiring for Scilla that she was determined to do better in her transferring today. This morning as we practiced transferring from her chair to the car, she was able to do it ALMOST entirely by herself. Although, she still needs assistance getting back in her chair; I thought it was awesome she was able to get into the car using only the sliding board. In addition to getting into the car independently she was able to transfer to the mat in therapy room from her wheelchair WITHOUT the board; ANOTHER GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT! I am so thankful that Dot visited and gave Scilla a new and refreshing energy and determination.

      We also found out some information on a great rehabilitation center, the Shepard Center in Atlanta. They have a state of the art spinal cord injury program and we are learning more about it in hopes that the insurance company will cover an 8 week stay there once she has completed her time at RCP and has been home for a couple of months.

      Scilla is doing very well. Her lungs are clear and there have been no signs of blood clots or fluid build up. She is still working hard to get her back pain under control and also she has had a lot of low blood sugar levels lately which are also a cause for concern.

     She asked to see pictures of the car today. She hadn't really seen them before and I was kind of hesitant as to whether or not I wanted to show them to her. I ended showing her the pictures on my laptop and she was kind of quiet and she said she should have been dead, but God was in control and had a purpose for her and still has work for her to do; that is why he kept her here.

    I am such a proud little turned big sister! Mimi and I have really enjoyed becoming more actively involved in her care. Mimi is a great cheerleader and encourages Prissy and gives her hi-fives when she gets in and out of the car successfully. Keep on believing and having faith Prissy, you are doing an EXCELLENT job.

   I leave you today or shall I say tonight with a photo of Prissy and her awesome Physical Therapists:

Prissy transferring from the mat to her chair with the help of her PT, Dorie!

Scilla and her PT's, Dorie in front and Laurie in back!

Making Progress...yay!

       Today was a good day for the most part for Prissy! She did an awesome job today with transferring in and out of the car. Today we made some changes that made the transfer easier! She did it really well and I was even able to do it well enough that her therapist and doctors may grant her a pass out for a couple of hours on Sunday! I felt really comfortable aiding her in her transfer; but at this point I am the only one in the family who has helped her and saw how the therapist did it. I am pretty sure that at some point; other members of the family will be able to attend therapy sessions to learn also. Some of the changes the therapist made were:

• placing a wheelchair cushion onto the seat of the car to give her some extra height
• placing a sheet on top of the cushion so that whoever is assisting her can grab hold of it and help pull her out of the car.
• They lined her transfer board so that it would not be as slippery.
• Lastly, one of the aide's made leg straps for my Scilla to aid in lifting her legs into the car; since they are really heavy for her to lift alone currently.

     Prissy did so well in practicing her transfer that the security man even commented that today was the best she has done since we have been practicing. So way to go Prissy! You did an awesome job and I was sooo proud today.

ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS: GETTING LEFT LEG IN CAR AND GETTING SUPPORT SLIDING IN.

GETTING OUT OF THE CAR AFTER FIRST ATTEMPT

ALMOST IN THE CAR ON 2ND ATTEMPT

RESTING AFTER THE HARD WORK OF GETTING IN THE CAR. YOU CAN SEE HER SLIDING AND THE SHEET AND LEG STRAPS. 

        

Still trying hard...

   Today was an okay day for Priscilla. She is getting frustrated with trying to achieve some of her therapy goals. Getting into the car is easier for her than getting out. The past two days she has practiced transferring in and out of the car, but today she was in a lot of pain afterwards.  In her frustration she wanted to give up and said she just needed a van. I kept telling her how well she was doing and trying to encourage her to stay positive and continue to work hard.

    Scilla is having a better afternoon and  her pain is better controlled after her hardwork this morning. They also changed her wheelchair to one that is more compact and foldable; also this is suppose to be closer to the one she will actually take home. Scilla doesn't really care for this chair because it a specialized chair and for her it feels constricting and she feels like she is squeezed into it. The following are pictures from practicing transferring in and out of the car :

She was super excited to try getting in the car for the first time since her accident.

Rolling up to the car on Monday, April 19, 2010 for day 1 of practice.

Resting. We had no idea something as simple as getting into a car after her accident would be so hard. It makes you thankful; I hope it gets easier for her.

Day 2, Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Trying to get out of the car. This has proven to be the most difficult part of the transfer. It caused her a lot of pain and frustration and we are hoping that God continues to give her strength, healing, and faith that she CAN DO IT!

"Walking in faith..."

tough times test your faith...

     Today as I was sitting at the hospital and reading one of Scilla's books about praying. I read something that I look at as confirmation to what I have been saying all along. I have said several times that sometimes God has to make drastic moves in our lives to get our attention; the book said "sometimes we have to go through difficult times to become closer to God and see his true purposes revealed". I found this very interesting because I had been praying for revelation and when my sisters accident first happened; God revealed to me that he was trying to get someone's attention and now I just need for him to reveal to me, who. It may even be more than one person's. It may be that he wants to use my sister as a testimony of faith and of his greatness to reach other people.

    Today at work, I was telling one of the parents about my sisters accident and I felt myself almost getting emotional. I was able to keep myself together, but I thought that I was over that part of the process.

      Today, I started a fast; I am fasting and praying for an accessible home for my sister and for strength. As she was practicing transferring from her chair to the car today; as she was taken for chest x-rays today; as she was transferred using the maxi lift today, I saw her struggle. I saw her determination. I saw her frustration. I saw her happiness. I saw so many emotions, both highs and lows.

     As I am becoming more actively involved in her care, I keep thinking "taking care of Scilla is going to be a lot of hard work; this is not going to be easy." I am almost afraid, because of course I want her to have the best care; but will we be able to give her that care?

        I know that God is awesome and tonight as I was showering (this is my time to talk and pray with God) I started to sing " We have come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord. Trusting in his holy word, He's never failed me yet. oh ooo ooh We've come this far by faith." I think that was God telling me that our faith in him has brought my sister, my family, my friends and I through this very tough and trying time. It is our faith and belief that what he says in his word; the very bible verses we keep turning to for strength and guidance through this test has become a testament of our faith, hope and belief. It serves as proof that we trust what he says in his holy word and that we do not doubt that he can perform miracles. I know that God can and he will do what he said; He is healing my sister, baby Emma, and little Ely everyday and if we look at what they have been through; what they are going through; you can't help but praise God for he has kept them. If God never does anything else for us, he has done enough already; and for that I am thankful...

"Walking in Faith..."

Family and friends...

   On Saturday night, I spent the night at Rogers with Scilla for the first time, and most likely my last. I do not know how my baby sister, Angelic; Greg's sister, Tabitha; Scilla's friends, Tammy, Loretta, and Adrienne have spent the night several times with her. I say thank you to them for your sacrifice. I am the type of person who has to have at least 6 hours of sleep to function; if I have less than that my voice becomes raspy and I get chills. Our night involved 2 visits from the respiratory therapist, several visits from the nurse, a visit from the lab tech, and a change of pajamas; all of this between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6 a.m! So here is a picture of my bed for the night; a far cry from the king I have at home.

      Our family has always been a praying family. Our family is a big pretty big one and I can say that

my family has definitely been a great support system for my sister since her accident. She enjoys the company of everyone and  it always makes her smile even through the pain. On Friday afternoon, I am sure my family broke some type of room capacity code at the hopsital. My sister over 15 people in her room at once; I don't know but everyone decided to visit at once! My sister was in heaven! She has said on several occassions that since her accident; God has allowed her to see who her true friends are and has shown her just how much our family loves her and cares about her health. Since my sister has been in the hospital, she has not spent one night alone. Someone has always been by her side and as a result she has anxiety about being alone in her hospital room now!

    Scilla is continuing to progress. My mom, who is a pro at it, cathed her for the first time today. Everyone else is also starting to get actively involved also. Because my wonderful husband is the only one in the family who does not drive and SUV, I will be taking his car to the hospital for her to practice tansferring in and out of a car. The therapist says that she want be able to get in an SUV, which means she will have to get a new or another car as well (the expenses continue to grow).

    Several family members have noticed a curveture in her spine. We are not sure if this is a result of the surgery or if it is because of her not sitting upright. So, today we put her in a chair and here is a picture of her playing cards with her husband. She enjoys rummy as a part of her recreational therapy.

                                                     

                                                        

I know I have a few pictures already, but here are a couple of more of family :

                                     

                                                Nicole and Kaylee ( Niece and great - niece)

                                                    they loved sitting on Aunt Scilla's bed

                                          

                                                            

                        A kiss from her niece Aaryanna

      In closing, if you have family and friends that care about you and are there for you when you need them most, be sure to thank God for them because there are so many people out there would love to have the family and friend support that my sister has and it is truly a blessing. Thank you God for placing every special person that you have placed in our lives.

"Walking in Faith..."