Adjustment Phase

David has been home for 15 days now. After all the warnings we had gotten from medical personel about how hard the adjustment to being home would be for David (and the rest of us), I was rather concerned. I'd anticipated a bit but not to the extent they were expecting for us, so we just all got ready for any eventuality.

What a lovely surprise to have it go so very well instead of poorly!

I should have been tipped off when, before David left, one of the physical therapists asked David if he was used to "ruling with an iron fist." I think what he was getting at is that after a month the boys would be used to not being under Dad's authority. That may be true in other cases, but this PT clearly doesn't know the GENTLY firm, incredibly nurturing and fun father David is, nor does he know how easy-going our boys are. And I sure haven't had any "control issue" problems in terms of giving up being the sole parent and "sharing" the parental role with David again!

For David I am seeing ONE THING has been hard, though, and, from what I'm observing, is getting harder by the day. David is generally ALWAYS in good spirits, but he's started looking to me to be quite depressed. When I ask him about it he says he doesn't think he's depressed but maybe he looks as he does because it's really bothering him that his left hand just can't feel things and his left foot feels like a two-by-four. It's not feeling any WORSE than it had, but I think there are two things that are making it harder than it had been up to this point. One is that in the hospital he expected to not feel quite right, but now that he is home this situation stands out to him more and more with each thing he tries to do.

The second thing that I see as making this hard for him is that he made such quick progress at the beginning; although he had a lot to get back and it took time, he could see dramatic improvement daily. This piece of it, though, just won't budge. He said to me last night, "I can go to therapy and do exercises to regain strength and balance, but how do you work at getting feeling back in your hand or making your foot stop feeling like a two-by-four?" He IS working VERY hard both during therapy sessions and at exercises they give him to do at home, but no matter how hard he works, this is something he just can't get at.

So, as I keep saying in these posts, overall the news is good - very good. The transition home has been a simple one instead of the difficult one that we had been told it would be. Yet there remain challenges. Would you please pray that David is able to get his hand and foot back as "his own" and in the meantime that God will lift his spirits and give him continued patience? Thank you!