Fasting

 Yesterday our family held a special fast for my dad. 

We prayed specifically that he would have relief from his vertigo, which has been so severe that he hasn't hardly been out of bed. The added pain of throwing up on top of all of his other injuries has been excruciating, and is surely hindering his recovery. 

Well... yesterday was the first day in 2 weeks that he hasn't had any vertigo symptoms. He was well enough to get up and go to church, and was even able to join the family for dinner last night.  

Miracles never cease! 

Thank you to everyone who fasted for him. We are truly grateful. 

(Thank you to the wonderful Young Women in the ward who "heart attacked" the front door this week. What a sweet way to brighten Bishop's day! ) 

One step forward, two steps back

Stephen has experienced some setbacks this week as far as his recovery is concerned. As some of you may already know, Stephen has suffered from severe vertigo attacks from both Meniere's Disease and Vestibular Migraines for the last 20 years. His attacks, which include spinning and violently throwing up, typically last a few hours... and the side effects drag on for days. In the past when we would ask him how he was feeling in the days following a vertigo attack he would say, "I feel like I've been hit by a car."

Unfortunately now he actually knows what that feels like. 

And on top of that, it turns out that being hit by a car, and THEN having a vertigo attack is even worse. 

Despite having rough night on Sunday, Stephen went to his physical therapy appointment on Monday where they hooked him up to 5 TENS machines. Towards the end of his session he was hit with a horrible vertigo attack. Throwing up isn't fun for anyone, but imagine violently throwing up with 7 broken ribs. I don't think anyone has ever seen my dad in so much pain. Ever.

After a truly terrible week of side effects my dad got to visit with the ENT on Friday who discovered that this attack was a whole new type of vertigo called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. His doctor described it as having loose rocks in his head. Everyone has little crystals in their ears that help them balance. But in my dad's case they are no longer where they should be, they are loose and rolling around causing all kinds of mayhem. We're not sure what brought this on, but the good news is this kind of vertigo is treatable. The bad news is, it has really set him back in his recovery. It has been six days since the attack and he has only managed to get out of bed a few times since, and he hasn't hardly eaten anything all week. He is in more pain now that he has been through this entire ordeal, and he's not allowed to get another pain block until we can get the vertigo under control. So that's the main goal now.

It has now been 3 weeks since the accident, and Stephen's recovery has truly been miraculous. This entire experience has been a testimony to us of how intricately involved our Father in Heaven is in our lives. He is infinitely aware of us. Each and every one of us. He knew that my dad would have additional trials to deal with this week. He knew that we would need extra prayers, and help. So He sent you, His earthly angels, to love and support us in His place. This week we had some dear friends show up out of the blue to do yard work and fix a broken sprinkler. And on some of the hardest days people will randomly show up at the door with a friendly smile and enough food to feed an army. We are truly blessed. 

We are so grateful to all of those who continue to serve and bless us, and offer up prayers in our behalf. There has been an outpouring of love from friends and neighbors, ward members, associates at USU, and members of the cycling club. 

We love you. 

Thank you for your continued support. 

GRATITUDE

A significant word- and yet suddenly it seems insufficient.

How can we possibly express our deepest heartfelt gratitude to the Lord for the blessings we have received, and the miracles we have witnessed over the past 10 days? Not to mention the gratitude we feel towards all who are still earnestly praying for Stephen’s recovery. You may have noticed that I haven’t posted an update in the past few days. It isn’t because I haven’t wanted to. I just haven’t been able to find the words to express what I have been feeling.

Gratitude.

Everlasting and infinite gratitude.

The phrase from Ether 6:9 keeps coming to mind:

"And they did sing praises unto the Lord... and did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to thank the Lord."

That passage of scripture beautifully echoes the feeling of our hearts. It has been a week of reflection and evaluation. A time to realign priorities and remind ourselves what is truly important in this life. I have truly loved watching our family grow closer together as we rally around Dad, cheering him on and trying to make sure his needs are met.   

Speaking of Dad- let’s hear the latest update shall we?

Stephen went in to see his pain doctor Thursday morning where they decided to do another pain block. Since then we have all eagerly waited for his pain level to subside… but it hasn’t. We’re not sure exactly why that is. It could be that his pain level was higher back when he had the first pain block last Saturday, so perhaps the relief seemed more substantial. He was also on much much stronger pain medication when he was in the hospital, which I’m sure makes a big difference. Also it’s important to note that the pain block doesn’t affect his back, scapula, or neck pain.

Did you know that? Because I didn’t, until today. Yikes.

The bottom line is- he is in a world of pain. And yet in typical Stephen fashion he continues to wear a smile and tries his best to “get things done” despite the best efforts of those around him to keep him safe in the comfort of his recliner.

For example: Yesterday Stephen’s son Matthew graduated from USU. Graduation is always a tremendous occasion, but Stephen had been looking forward to this particular graduation ceremony because he was supposed to be the one to award Matt with his diploma. Not wanting to miss out on a significant life moment, Stephen insisted on attending the ceremony, at least for part of it. With the help of some marvelous friends, he arrived in a wheel chair and was able to hand Matt his diploma. What a wonderful moment!

Please excuse the phone pictures, it is all my Mom and Linda had available at the time. 

 

I told him he was going to get me in trouble for this picture because he insisted on taking off his neck brace. Feel free to harass him about it, just don’t hurt the messenger. J

Today he held his weekly Bishopric meetings. Thankfully his counselors were kind enough to bring the meeting to him. 

He even came out on the deck and played card games with the grandkids for a while this evening where I overheard the sweetest conversation with his 5 year old granddaughter Olivia…

Olivia: Grandpa, do you know what my favorite day is?

Stephen: What is your favorite day?

Olivia: Any day when I get to see you! Because I love you!

I feel the same way Olivia. He definitely has the ability to make any day a good day- a unique attribute that has continued to carry him through this experience.

Yes, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that the overall emotion we are feeling at this time is GRATITUDE.

Power to heal all wounds

Ever since the accident the nurses and doctors have been diligent about setting goals for Stephen to work on each day, just little things to build up his strength and stretch his stamina. At first the goals were small- Lifting his hand off the bed and elevating his bed a few degrees. Then they turned into things like sitting up and walking down the hall. When I called my Mom today to ask how Dad was doing she told me that today's goal was to survive the next 24 hours.

It's been a tough day. Stephen's pain block has worn off completely, bringing his pain level back up to a 9. Tomorrow he will be able to go back to the hospital for another procedure where the doctor will inject him with pain killer near each broken bone. Hopefully this will allow him to feel some relief so he can continue to heal.  

We are also a little concerned about the possibility of illness setting in. All of his broken ribs make it difficult for his lungs to fully expand, which puts him at risk for pneumonia. It will be good to go back to the hospital tomorrow so that the doctor can check in with him. 

Despite all the hardships he is enduring, Stephen is in good spirits and is so grateful for the tender mercies of The Lord.  We know that the pain he is going through right now won't last forever, and that through The Atonement of Christ all of us can be healed both physically and spiritually, in all aspects of our lives.

As always, we truly appreciate your loves and support.
We know that our prayers being are heard and answered.

Photo-April 19th 2014

Tuesday - April 29th

Dorothy said it best in the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, when she said, 

"There's no place like home."

It is so amazing to have Dad home, and he is so happy to be here. 

Last night the whole family gathered at the house for a special Family Home Evening. 

Dad was in a lot of pain, but look- he's WALKING, with a whole procession behind him cheering him on!

 Dad talked to the Grandkids, and bore his testimony of the power of prayer and fasting, and the power of the Priesthood. He spoke of gratitude for His Savior and Heavenly Father. It was a very special night. 

When we told Zachary "Look! Grandpa is home!" 

He squealed with joy and clapped his hands... "YAY!"

Even though Stephen has been released from the hospital, and is making an incredibly speedy recovery, he is still in a lot of pain. The pain block that was keeping his pain manageable has started to wear off, but he has an appointment on Thursday to go back for another procedure where the doctor will actually inject medication at each of the injury sites. It isn't at strong as the pain block, but  it should last longer.

Even as I am typing this, I am still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that not only is my dad alive, he is home! We are amazed every day as we are witnessing his miraculous recovery first hand.

We are so grateful for the love and support of his family, friends, co-workers, students, neighbors and ward members- there seems to be no end to your kindness. 

We love you!

The Bike

Some people say a dog is a man's best friend,

 but in Steve's case we always joked that his best friend was his bike. 

(Although his dog definitely takes a close second.) 

Trek bikes are known for being strong and durable, and this one had treated him well for the last 5 years or so. 

Here you can see the strongest part of the bike... broken in two. 

And this is the peddle where his shoe was clipped in. Notice the metal toe clip is broken right off. 

 It takes an incredible amount of force to do this kind of damage to a bike.

Remember how Stephen didn't suffer any broken legs? 

 Check out the location of the breaks on the bike.

Notice anything interesting?

They majority of them are right where his legs would have been. 

Scientifically it just doesn't make sense. 

It's just another one of the many miracles we have seen over the past few days. 

Monday- April 28th

Look who's going home!

 Despite the predictions of his doctors Stephen was well enough to be released from the hospital this evening. One doctor friend who had come to visit on Saturday night, saw him this morning and said it was as if Stephen had progressed 3 weeks over the course of 24 hours.

Once again we are in awe over the miracles we are experiencing. 

Yesterday during church, the First Counselor, under the direction of the Stake President, called for a special ward fast. (You can read more about the principle of fasting here.) The ward members met at the church last night to say a special prayer and start a fast of gratitude and healing. President Pettit spoke to the congregation, mentioning dad's concern for the driver of the car, and how we must also pray for her and her emotional healing. He also said that he knows without a doubt that we have witnessed miracles, and that it is because of angelic intervention that Stephen is still with us. He bore testimony of the power of the Priesthood and the love of our Heavenly Father.

President Pettit said a special prayer to start the fast in which he pleaded with the Lord that Stephen would be allowed to remain with us because we need him. We need him in our lives so we can learn from his example how to have charity and a pure heart. I know that all who know my dad would echo this sentiment. He is truly the most selfless, caring man I know. I have been so blessed to look up to him my entire life, and I know there is still so much I can learn from him. I am so grateful I will have the opportunity to do so. 

His prayer was also a prayer of gratitude for the many miracles we have experienced, and a prayer of continued healing and a speedy recovery.

I have always known that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. It is so hard to wrap our minds around how quickly my dad is recovering. The difference between yesterday and today is mind blowing- and we know it is a direct result of the prayers and fasting of all of the faithful members who are praying for him. 

Our deepest heartfelt gratitude goes out to those who are continuing to show their love and support for Stephen. He has mentioned many times that he can feel added strength beyond his own coming from the prayers of those around him. Thank you, thank you, thank you!