Personal Nurse

One of my Bible college roommates dropped out - er - transferred to nursing school and became a rockstar medical professional. When I was in REHAB, she offered to come stay with me the first few days I was out on my own in the real world. Rather than have her there in the summer when I had time to make a few mistakes in my schedule, I asked her to stay with me for the first few days of school. Cat wasn't able to get here for the opening ceremonies, but she's been with me since Thursday and will fly back to Tacoma on Wednesday morning. I've been so blessed to have a personal nurse helping me out with going to the Apoteke to get prescriptions, to practice my therapies during the day, and to laugh with me about old jokes and new experiences. 

Thank God for friends who know your living habits inside and out from living with you in a single room for five months. Thank God for friends who understand the medical contraptions you have to use everyday and can offer suggestions on how to make the processes simpler. Thank God for friends who just listen when you've got a lot going on in your life and sometimes struggle to learn how to stand up. Thank God for friends who will sit and watch The Lizzie Bennet Diaries for hours and make you stretch your super stiff muscles during every other video.

Cat has also been a great help in pushing me to walk more everyday. I walked further both today and yesterday than I previously had in a single day. We're trying to wear me out enough to sleep beautifully through the night - still not there yet, but working on it. I'd love the prayers for solid sleep through the night and for my muscles to remember to relax each morning after they have been stretched and worked all day before. Each morning often feels like a reset to the stiffness of the day before, and I often get frustrated that I don't see major progresses. Looking back to six or seven months ago, of course I've come a long way, but it's hard to see the micro-improvements.

I'm still desperate and hopeful for healing. There's so many muscle groups that have come back, and I'm delighted for the opportunity to strengthen them. However, there is still a lot of neurological damage that leaves me with a significant loss of function - selfishly, like any human would, I want it back. I'm not stopping my petition for it as I continue to thank God for what I've got.