"life with Job"

The last few days have been difficult. They are always difficult when there is change for a patient in a new environment. Especially when the patient has a brain injury, As you know -
the move was difficult physically and emotionally. We are most grateful that he is on this side of the river in NJ!

Yesterday they did some evaluating. The speech therapist is out so he can not get okayed to eat solids until then. And that is fine because he was eating for me and a couple of times I had to coax him to swallow. Of course the food in his mouth wasn't prime rib ----- but he should have swallowed it a little faster. The "mystery meat and mystery vegetables" just wasn't too palatable. It was suggested that the next church dinner be prepared just like Steve has been enjoying so that you can experience what he is experiencing what he is experiencing and be able to pray much more effectively for the sick! He said they serve mashed potatoes EVERY lunch and dinner - I'd venture a guess that there will not be mashed potatoes for a very long time when he comes home.

I'm not sure how much PT and OT they did. I think it was just stretching in the bed. But today I asked that he get out of bed and into a wheelchair. I didn't want to loose his great endurance he had for sitting in the wheelchair. Well, that was an adventure all its own!! They tried in the AM but it didn't go well. So after lunch the new aide thought she would be nice and get him into the hoyer and into the wheelchair so we could take him outside. I thought it would be good for him to have a visual to see familiar surroundings. Oh my - BAD MOVE! The wheelchair was too wide and no support and he began to slip right out of the chair. The aide went out to get help and Kimberly and I got him back onto the hoyer and back in bed. That was a nerve racking adventure that we care NOT to repeat. The only thing it proved is that Kimberly AND I together have to move him on the hoyer. Bringing him anywhere will be one BIG job!

We are still trying to figure out his pain. I am planning on pushing for him to have an x ray done. This way we will know for sure if there is a physical problem. This pain thing may be part of the healing process and he may be "thinking" it will hurt before the leg or arm is moved.
PLEASE continue to pray with us about this in particular.

A note of praise - tonight as friends were visiting I asked Steve to look at his hand. He still doesn't understand why God put someone elses hand on him. So I did the preschool thing and talked about "how many hands did God give you?" He said, "two." I then replied, "then where are they - point to them." He lifted his right hand then stopped and looked at the left hand. I said, "that is your left hand - wiggle your fingers." He said he was. I told him again to look at his hand and wiggle the fingers. He wiggled his middle finger on his left hand! Yeah!! That is a start - we'll take it. I can't wait to see him do it again tomorrow. That is our encouragement for today.

I read tonight from Job 3. We have talked a lot about how Job would have reacted to be in Steve's place. It was a good passage for Steve to hear. Job was human and his feelings mirrored Steve's in many ways. The devotional part talked about stress and not letting our minds go crazy. It even mentioned about worrying at nighttime. Perfect for Steve to hear.
He pray right along with me as we went before the Lord asking the Lord to take away the night time terrors. When he gets these he yells out for members of the family. This is very disruptive to everyone on the hall. PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WOULD BIND THE EVIL ONE AND THAT STEVE WOULD BE FREE OF THIS BONDAGE! Thank you for taking this to our Lord.

Janice