Good evening and once again, thank you for your faithful following of Joy’s journey, your prayers for her healing, and your compassion for our family. Today was a very busy day for Joy, she had a long therapy schedule from 9:00 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon! It was a very tiring day for Joy, but also one with advances and times of encouragement , although by the end of the day she was rather emotionally spent, so I’m not sure she’s fully appreciating all that happened.
I left in the morning at the start it Joy’s first session to have a thorough work up on my knees and elbows by an orthopedic surgeon and am pleased to report that the all that is needed is time to heal the remaining pains and swelling. I had been so concerned that I may have needed surgery on a knee or elbow and had no idea how I could care for Joy if my leg was in a brace or my arm in a sling. So today brought tremendous relief to me and Joy.
When I returned from my doctor’s appointment Joy was finishing her lunch and was able to share that she felt the morning has gone very well, even describing some of the OT exercises which focused on new areas.
At 1:30 we had Joy’s weekly care conference and received encouraging news on several fronts. We learned that Joy will probably have her stomach tube removed later this week, of course she is very excited about that. We also learned that the original estimated discharge date will stand, so we will be going home Thursday April 25th! And, since Joy is doing so well in her therapies we will be moving right to outpatient therapy at Courage Kenny Golden Valley once we are home.
Despite the good news, the long therapy day did take its toll on Joy emotionally. By the end of the day she was frustrated and sad given what she felt was her lack of progress, especially with her language work. So, once again we ask for prayers specifically for healing of Joy’s language center, healing for her eyesight, and continued healing physically and emotionally. Reflecting on the last 49 days of hospitalization, I thank God that we now have a discharge date even though life beyond the hospital will certainly remain challenging, we will be facing those challenges together from our home. Home, I like the sound of that 🙏.