Grateful for friends and family

Not a lot of news as we approach the holiday, but I did want to share a couple things.

First, Becky’s making slow progress this week. The trip back to ICU caused a reset of several therapies. The rehab folks had to re-evaluate. They determined she’s not quite ready for that yet, so we still have a little work to do with physical therapy at the hospital. Speech therapy had to re-administer the cognitive evaluation. As an untrained observer, I think she did slightly better this time around, so that’s a plus. They’ve adjusted some meds on her respiratory therapy thinking that might have contributed to her elevated heart rate. She’s a little more accepting of my reminders to do her own breathing exercises.

Even with all that positive news, it feels like we’re running a marathon and we’ve only moved forward a city block this week. Recovery and rehab will continue to be long and challenging. The doctor this morning said it could be six months before Becky looks back and thanks them for pushing her to do more every day. I’m looking forward to that day!

On another note, I was looking for a Christmas picture the other night that I could use for this blog post when I came across a Charlie Brown scene. As we navigate a very different holiday season this year, I thought about Charlie Brown’s Christmas Story and how it reminds us Christmas isn't about all of the lights, decorations, and presents, but it's about people in our lives and what they do for us. It reminded me of how grateful I am for all the people that have been part of our lives and our story over the past few months.

I’m grateful for friends and family, including those on Facebook that I might never have met in person as well as co-workers and bible study friends that we’ve only known a few months, who have offered words of encouragement, included us in their prayers, and provided support in ways I would never have imagined.

I’m grateful for a company, managers, leadership, co-workers, and everybody else that has made it possible for me to continue working as much as I can while spending time in Dallas with Becky.

I’m grateful for the medical team at UT Southwestern that has done so much to get Becky back to the point where she is today. She’s obviously nowhere near 100%, but she’s come a long way from when she was “one of the sickest patients in the hospital.”

Last but not least, I’m grateful that God has been with us and the medical team throughout this journey and has most likely intervened in ways we will never know or understand.

Merry Christmas to all!