Pray for Wendy

7-26

2009-07-26T20:42:00.001-04:00

Good evening!! This has been a great weekend for Matt, Wendy and the girls and the whole family. Wendy has come home and is doing great!!! She is really back to the same Wendy we all know. She was not about to just sit around and do nothing LOL!!! She has already been to the mall to get new shoes, she has been to Mountainfest, she came to church and then out to eat. She also was able to come to Jess and mine’s new house to check it out. Matt got to push her around our 3 acres in the wheelchair while she laughed and he sweat!!! She did great with everything. We helped them get situated into their “new” house. It is a little crazy around their new house. Mom and Dad are trying to move their stuff out, while Matt and the crew are trying to move things in. So, now please focus prayer on a continued smooth transition. Matt and Wendy have a plan set up for care of her and the girls. Her aunt Sue will come out Mon-Friday. Matt will be home from work Mon, Tues., and every other Wed. Her aunt Debbie will come on the days when Matt is working. Matt has said that anyone else that would like to come by the visit or help out in anyway, would be appreciated and welcomed. We want to express our appreciation and love towards all of the thoughts and prayers and assistance that has gone into the last 3 months. Take Care and check back periodically for updates. We will continue to give periodic updates as things happen. Thanks again for all the love and support.

Bryan and Jess (and soon to come…Izzy!!)

She’s Home!!!

2009-07-24T12:57:00.001-04:00

Hey all, this will be short and sweet and to the point! Wendy is officially home in her new house in Shinnston. =0) Praise God! Matt, Wendy, and their four girls (Taryn, Kylee, Darby & Payge) are being reunited today once and for all under their new roof near the Shinnston Pool which makes the girls very excited!

We thank everyone for all of your love, support and prayers!

Blessings, Jess=0)

Don’t miss July 26 at Family Life Fellowship

2009-07-15T10:08:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone, I know in the last posting Bryan let everyone know that Wendy will be coming home on Friday, July 24 to their new home in Shinnston! And that remains the same, but he also mentioned that Wendy would probably wait a week before coming back to church… Well, Wendy doesn’t want to wait that long =0) So she will be WALKING through the doors of Family Life Fellowship for her first service back home on Sunday, July 26, 2009. Service begins at 10am. Matt has asked me to pass the word around, because we know that is a busy weekend and we want everyone to be able to make plans to be there if they so desire, to show support for Wendy and the entire Freeman family.

So if you would like to join us for Wendy’s coming home, then please join us at Family Life Fellowship on Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 10:00am! If you can’t be there in person but would like to view the service LIVE online, go to www.familylifewv.org and you catch the live webcast.

Love and Blessings,

Jessica=0)

WENDY IS COMING HOME!!

2009-07-14T06:53:00.001-04:00

Good morning!! Matt called yesterday to say that they have a date now for Wendy to come home. On Friday July 24th, we will be bringing Wendy to her new home in Shinnston. Her progress remains remarkable at HealthSouth, so they feel she is ready to get home and get back to her girls!! Her mental capacities continue to improve as noted by how she is relating to girls so much better!! She has gotten her maternal instincts working again, which has been a great thing to see happen. Matt says that physically, she keeps walking more and more and is practicing stairs and they are doing things to simulate child care with her rehab process. Life is going to be crazy here for awhile, but it will all be worth it to reunite this family again under one PERMENANT roof. We can not thank everyone enough who have helped in any fashion throughout. You have all been a part of this process of getting them back together again and keeping things going in the meantime. I am off to work, but wanted to give everyone the news. If anything changes, we will be sure to leave an update. I will continue to update along the way between now and then and after she gets home for awhile to let everyone know how she is doing. Matt is contemplating going back to church with her for the first time the week after they get home so she can work on getting settled in. I will be sure to leave a message as to when she will be at church for those interested. Thanks so much…

Bryan

Longaberger Bingo to Benefit Wendy Freeman

2009-07-10T14:05:00.001-04:00

Hello all! I've been asked to post this on here for everyone to have access. There will be a Longaberger Basket Bingo to benefit Wendy and her recovery on Saturday, July 18th at noon at the Spelter Fire Department. The cost is $20 and there will be 21 games played. For more information see the flyer. Thanks, Jess =0)

7/9

2009-07-09T23:29:00.001-04:00

Good evening all! We will be out of town this weekend, so I at least wanted to leave a little update so that you didnt think we forgot about everyone LOL! Wendy has continued making progress everyday. Jess and I stopped by on Monday and enjoyed a little visit with Matt and Wendy outside on the patio. It felt like it did before everything. She was doing well with her memory and joining in with us in the conversation and is able to be more interactive with decision making regarding her care. We spent some time discussing the next step after leaving HealthSouth and talked about all of the moving that is going to be happening. Mom and Dad are working this week on getting things in order at Mammaws for them to move into. Our Aunt Melba and Uncle Tim came in, along with Aunt Kathy to begin sorting more things out at Grandmas to prepare for Matt, Wendy and the girls to move into. Mom plans to hold an auction after things have been sorted out and divided up between everyone. Anything that is left, is going to be auctioned off to make room for Matt and his crew. So if you are interested, keep paying attention to this blog and we will inform everyone when the auction will take place. For those of you that know our grandparents, they were pack rats and have all kinds of antique items. The girls are getting excited about the move and are already planning how they want to do the rooms. Matt is trying to decide which projects to tackle first to make the home more suitable for them. He will also have to get his house ready to put up for sale…by the way, is anyone looking for a new home??!?!?!! I know where you can get one is Lost Creek lol! So at this time, Wendy continues to do well and is making strides towards being more functional and mobile, which is also getting closer to being able to become independent again. The rest of us are preparing for the house swaps about to take place all the way around. Have a great weekend and may God bless you tremendously.

Bryan

Some Summer Fun Photos of the Freeman Girls

2009-07-07T11:32:00.001-04:00

I really wanted to give everyone the opportunity to check out some of the fun the girls have been having this summer! They are growing like crazy and are so adorable in the process! Love, Jess =0)

View Full Album

This album has about 50 pictures in it from the month of June. Some of the events include, Kylee’s dance recital (I got busted before I could get pictures of Taryn), a day at Mamaw Eileen’s pool, FLF Biker Weekend at Lincoln Field, Taryn’s first time to dance at IdleWild and more IdleWild Fun, and our 4th of July at Audra River.

7/4

2009-07-04T08:45:00.001-04:00

HAPPY 4th OF JULY and good morning!! After being up to see Wendy yesterday with the girls, and seeing the recent progress, I feel that we should all be raising our hands and praising the Lord for his continuous miracles!! We got to see Wendy walk with a walker. The therapists were saying how she walked the room about 4 times and can do it with only one person now. She is able to stand up with minimal assistance. This is remarkable progress for her function. She has been consistent and steady with her progress, so if this keeps up, she has a really good chance of being able to be mostly independent by the time she comes home. This surely isnt what the medical world would have said a few weeks ago, but as Matt keeps telling them…”You can say what you want, but I only listen to one physician and that is God!” She interacted well with the girls, and even got to tell Kylee “No, now stop that” at one point, which showed her maternal instincts and actions coming back. You dont like to see a kid have to be reprimanded, but in the case it was kinda nice! She also seemed to be more interactive with all 4 girls as well. So, progress continues and she is doing well. Keep praying please and may God bless you all.

Thanks, Bryan

Webpage update:

2009-07-02T22:39:00.001-04:00

I looked on the website for the church and talked with Joey, our worship leader. This past Sunday service is not online yet. Due to being at an alternate location, he has to some things differently to get it online. Sorry again for any confusion.

Bryan

Web address correction:

2009-07-02T18:01:00.001-04:00

I had left the web address for our church if you were interested in finding this past Sundays service from Bike Sunday. Wendy was present for this one. My dad mentioned that I gave you the wrong address. Instead of .com, it is .org

www.familylifewv.org

Sorry for any confusion!!

Bryan

7/1:

2009-07-01T23:16:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone!!! Another day of great news that Matt has passed along. Mat got to our house a few minutes ago. He has been coming here to stay on the nights he has to work the next morning. He got here and said that Wendy did get to have the feeding tube removed and got to eat Taco Bell this afternoon. This is her favorite food. He also said that Wendy had a really great day in therapy. Wendy has now progressed to walking with the walker and taking her own steps with a person on each side her!!! This is a big step forward. She had been needing the therapists to move her legs forward. He said she made it across the gym, which is about 75 feet!!! Matt said he and Wendy then started joking with the therapists that He and her would begin bugging them to start thinking of a discharge date. He says that in the care plan meeting that the therapists had asked for another 3 weeks, then go from there. He also said that Dr. Biundo is pleased with her progress. Matt also said that the staff has been making comments to him about how Wend is an inspiration to them. They have told him how rare her situation is and that it is quite amazing how well she is doing. I believe it was the rededication of Matt Wendy to follow the Lord that is amazing!!! Their choice has allowed for God to move in the situation and allow this miracle to occur. God is great, and this is something that can allow for Him to “show-off” what He can do!! Keep the prayers going please. We pray for all of you because of your consistent dedication. Thank you and have a great day tomorrow!!

Bryan

6/29:

2009-06-29T23:17:00.001-04:00

.Hello! What can I say other than this was an awesome weekend that consisted of much needed excitement for all! WENDY GOT TO GO ON LEAVE!! Wendy has progressed well enough that insurance, doctors and therapists agreed to allow her to come to our bike weekend events at the high school football field. She did very well and really enjoyed the time away and the ability to experience life again outside of a hospital setting. Dad, Mom and the girls went and got her Saturday afternoon in our Mammaw’s conversion van that is handicap ready with lift and all. She was able to remain in her wheelchair during the entire event. She then got to come back down Sunday morning for service. I would recommend that you check out the service at Bike Sunday. You can access it through our church website, www.familylifewv.com. Go to the media section and then the archives. She really looked good and the girls were very excited over it all. On Friday, Matt, myself and Pastor Fred Z. (Founder of Bikers for Christ) went to spend a few minutes with Wendy. We heard she had walked 50 feet with the therapists that day!!!! Great progress continues! This evening, Matt said that she had even got to try a walker today!!!! He said she made it about 14 feet. This is the next step to getting her home. He said she also tried going up and down a few stairs as well!! This has been a weekend of great experiences and progress. We continue to thank the Lord for all that he has, is and will do. We also thank you all for remaining diligent in your prayers and support to help get Wendy to this point. This was a brief summary of the weekend. It was just too full to really get it all in. Im looking forward to bring better news every time I update. Have a great evening!!

Bryan

6/24

2009-06-25T22:12:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone...I’ve been making attempts at getting something together for you, but other things keep interfering from getting the chance to sit down at the computer!! The past couple of days have continued to reveal progress for Wendy from what Matt has been relaying. She continues to be able to maintain eating without having anything through the feeding tube. The tube will probably remain in until they are completely sure she can maintain without complications. Matt said they have also been able to upgrade her from puree to more solid consistency. He says she doesn’t really like the food, but eats it because she knows she has too!! They were also able to take her catheter out yesterday as well, so that is one less thing connected to her. Matt also said that she is getting pretty sore now from the therapy, which most likely means then that she is doing more of the movement on her own, versus the therapists guiding her through the motions. Wendy continues to be an amazing miracle. God has blessed her and has kept her in the palm of his hand, and he has blessed us by allowing us to be a part in this experience. Surely there has to be at least one person out there that has had their life changed from this and has given themselves back to Him. I continue to feel that He is preparing us for something much bigger, and can look back at how He has had this all planned as things play out. We thank you all again for your continued support and prayers. I had asked last time if you would focus on Wendy's memory. There are signs that your prayers are working’, so please don’t stop!!! Matt said that Wendy had a little breakdown after our Aunt Kathy left with Taryn and Kylee, who had come to visit after a library reading program that Aunt Kathy is thanking them to on Tuesdays. Wendy was heading to Speech Therapy and broke down a little as the girls left. The ST asked who the girls were and Wendy said "they are my 2 oldest girls." The ST asked how many she had and Wendy replied with "I have four." This shows that there is still something there and working, it will just take time, so again, please don’t stop praying for physical and mental healing. Matt is going back to work today and then will be staying with us the next couple nights, along with some of the girls. This should be good for the girls, and Daddy. Taryn and Kylee have been at another VBS with Sue and Melissa, Payge had another appointment so has been staying with us. She is now up to 11 pound 1oz. !!! She is getting to be so much cuter with all of her smiling and playing!! Things continue on... Thanks for everything and have a great day!!
Bryan

6/20 Update:

2009-06-20T22:49:00.001-04:00

Good evening!! Progress with Wendy continues!! She is beginning to eat food, made at special consistencies, but it is the steps towards getting the feeding tube removed. She has to be able to eat 50% of each meal to be able to have to tube removed. I forget how many days she has to do this, though. But it is good to know that Wendy is making great strides in all aspects of therapy. Matt said that the PT and OT were talking and said that Wendy has improved to mod-max assist from dependent. This means that Wendy came there being dependent for transfers and everything else. She is now able to help on her own to perform these tasks. This is great news, considering where she started. Those of you who had been to see Wendy while she was in ICU know where she was then…THIS IS A WHOLE NEW WENDY at this point!! HealthSouth is doing a great job of getting her back to us. The girls have gotten up a few time this week to see her as well. The biggest issue that remains is her short term memory. If you happen to go and visit, and you have only known her for less than 2 years, dont be offended or upset if she has difficulty recalling your name, we just have to pray that the speech therapists are able to help her regain everything. So I ask that as you continue to diligently pray for Wendy’s recovery, that you lift her up in regards to her memory, along with the physical healing that is already taking place. THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR MIRACLE SHOWN WITH WENDY AND FOR YOUR CONTINUED HEALING. WE THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE AND WILL DO! I believe that God is using this as a situation that is allow him to “show off” what He is capable of. Non-believers will have a hard time denying that He was involved in this!! Have great Father’s Day!

Bryan

6/16 Update:

2009-06-16T22:41:00.002-04:00

Good evening!! Jess and I went after work to hang out with Matt and Wendy, and to take Matt a small birthday gift (tomorrow is his b-day) of cookie cake…His favorite! Wendy was looking quite perky and awake. She was able to laugh and talk with us throughout the visit and give some of her input into some of the decisions they are considering in preparation for when she is ready to come home. One of the other highlights I would have to say is that Wendy also got to partake in some of cookie cake icing!!! She really liked that!! She was able to have some icing because she has been doing well enough in speech therapy that they have been trying applesauce, pureed peaches, and baby food bananas. Matt says Wendy is scheduled for a modified barium swallow study on Thursday, June 18. This will assess her ability to safely swallow and to see if she is aspirating or not. If she does well, then the typical process is to wean from the feeding tube and back to normal foods. She continues to show more of her personality and gives her input at times into conversations. We asked if she wanted to go for a bike ride since I had mine there, and she said “Sure, get me out there. Ill go” She laughed when we said we would strap her to the tour pack to keep her from falling off!! Matt and I went to get him dinner while Jess hung back and showed Wendy all of the pictures that Jess has downloaded to facebook. Jess said Wendy really enjoyed the pictures, but continues to have memory problems with anything from the last 1-2 years. We would venture to say that there is some connection happening because Wendy looked at Jess and asked “Do I really have 4 kids? I thought that was a dream!” This makes us believe that if she at least thought it was a dream, then there is some connection to it all that will just take time to redevelop. Matt has said that Wendy’s memory has its ups and downs day to day. There are times when he feels she is able to have a better understanding of it all. All in all it was a great visit because we got to laugh, eat cookie cake and watch Matt get Wendy up from the wheelchair and back into bed, in which he did very well with caring for her. As we were leaving, her grandparents (Grandma and Grandpa Stier) and dad (John) showed up and then later our friends Genie and Becky showed up and Matt said they painted her nails!! She looks so much better!! Keep praying please!! Have a great evening!!

Bryan

6/15/09

2009-06-15T08:44:00.001-04:00

Hello. It has been a busy weekend as usual, so I am just now getting a chance at updating. I have been updated between Matt, Mom, Dad, the girls and Scott and Melissa. They have said that the visit with all 4 girls on Saturday was very good. It is believed that it helped Wendy put the puzzle together a little more. Matt said Wendy "lit up" when all the girls came in. they got to spend a good bit of time hanging out with Mommy and Daddy. It is said that Wendy continues to make great progress and is really appearing to get her personality back and keeps being able to participate in conversations more and appears to be retaining more of what all is going on around her. So prayers are working, please keep them going. Matt is praying for a return home by the end of the month to make it home in time for our bike weekend. This is a big event for our church and Bikers for Christ. Matt and Wendy have become very involved with both church and the BFC, which is a motorcycle ministry that we are a part of. Our chapter and the church are working together to have a Bike Weekend to be held at Lincoln High School football field June 27 and 28. If you would like more information, please go to our website www.bfcwv.org. I am putting this on here because I know that it is something that Matt and Wendy would like to be passed along. This will be a big weekend and Matt and Wendy had been putting a lot into it, and Matt has a significant role for the weekend. Matt prays that Wendy will get to make it to this big event, so if that is not incentive enough to consider coming. The best incentive should be the chance at seeing souls saved!! Other than that though, things continue as planned, actually better than originally planned for Wendy. It was a great weekend for the girls with their recitals. THEY WERE FABULOUS!! I hope the few pictures we were able to take come out because once they are performing, you are not allowed flash photo, but Jess ignored the rule and made attempts at getting a few shots in before getting busted and asked to stop!!! If pictures become available, we will try to get them posted for all to see how cute they were that evening. If you were unable to attend, let me just tell you how adorable Taryn and Kylee were!! Melissa did an excellent job with getting them all "dolled" up. She and Mom were the ones that were there all three nights helping out. Saturday is when both girls performed. Several family members showed up, to the point that I would venture to say that Taryn and Kylee may have had the most people there to see them. They were showered with gifts and love all weekend. Sunday was filled with church in the morning and then Jess and I took Taryn, Kylee and Payge along with Tony and Lucy (nephew and niece on Jess' side) to Mammaw Eileens to swim and then back to church for the closing of VBS program. Mom had taken Darby with her to Morgantown so Pappaw could pick up his bike and visit Wendy. John, Mary, Sue and her grandkids came to see the girls' closing as well. Mom then got them back to Scott and Melissa's for the week. This was one jammed packed week full of fun!! We will update with more later!!!! Take care and may God bless you all beyond your imaginations !!!Bryan

6/12/09

2009-06-12T08:55:00.000-04:00

Hey to all...Today (Thursday) was a good day for all!! I Taryn and Kylee stayed with us Wednesday night after VBS. I got to take them to an early movie and then on up to see Mommy and Daddy. This has seemed to be good for the two older ones each time they get a day with just them because they can get ALL of the attention!! LOL! I am also excited to be able to say WOW again after getting to see Wendy!! It has been amazing to watch her progress in this way. Everytime I have been to see her, there is significant changes. As a physical therapist, I work with people everyday whom have had strokes alone without any of the other things Wendy has dealt with, and they typically do not recover this rapidly. In one week she has went from barely being able to lip a couple of words occassionally and barley being able to wiggle fingers and toes...to engaging in conversation at an audible level and raising her arm up to wave at the girls, hold there hands and make efforts at feeding herself ice chips. She also has her personality coming back with her sarcasm coming out when joking with us and the girls. She was laughing at the silly things the girls would do and talking to them. When asked her opinion on Taryns request to cut her hair short, Wendy gave a priceless "look" at Taryn and then smiled at her, basically saying NO!!! The girls also got to watch Mommy in therapy again this visit, so they got to see Mommy WALK! The therapists, and Matt :) help her to stand as they support her and then help her advance her legs forward. It was very obvious that she was helping mover her own legs, whcih is awesome, because it is showing that the "pathways" in the brain to the muscles are beginning to reconnect. Wendy is truly amazing to have experienced what she has, and make a comeback such as this at this point!!! Just being in bed for 5 weeks with basically no movement will make anyone deconditioned and weak, but tack that on with everything else she has endured, and to see this progress is truly only possible because of her Faith and the prayers that have gone out for her. I honestly believe that it is everyone of you that have prayed for her recovery that is also responsible for God being willing to continue with this miracle! Everyone has remained faithful and united, which has allowed God room to move, so thank you all for all that you have done!! To me, Wendy appears to be at a point where she will begin to retain more of her experiences from day to day. Our Mom is going to continue to make sure she can get all 4 girls there at the same time at least once a week. I think this will help Wendy in the fact that she can start putting the puzzle back together with the girls, now that she appears to be more alert and less lethargic. One of the thing we were able to now joke about a little with Wendy was after seh made a comment to her OT that she thought her hand was a little swollen! Matt, Ramona (my mother-in-law) and I got to tease her a little and say that if she thinks she is swollen now, wait till we get to explain everything she has been through little by little!! We joked and told her the little bit of swelling she thinks she sees now, is nothing!! This is just another testimony to the greatness of God and what he can bring us through!! All in all, it was a great afternoon. The girls then got back into Shinnston so Kylee could go with Mammaw for her recital and Taryn was off to VBS. Mom said Kylee was very adorable and her group was as well, especially when the whole group messed their choreography up. So with a group of little ones, you know that had to be cute!! So be praying for Taryn and her group tonight and hopefully she may get to see some of you all there!! And remember, tomorrow night they both perform if you are interested!! Thanks again for your love and support!!Bryan

A note from the administrator~6/10/09

2009-06-10T23:27:00.003-04:00

Hello all,

I've been praying about the best way to state this all day, since reading some recent things that have been posted on this site. As the administrator, I realize I haven't been the primary person completing the posts and updates, but have left that primarily to my husband Bryan, because he has a greater understanding of the medical jargon, because that is what he does.
But, as the administrator, I feel that is my responsibility to address this in a timely fashion. Please understand that this site was created for a variety of reasons, but foremost to keep family, friends, and all of our Brothers and Sisters in Christ informed with the most up to date information regarding our precious sister Wendy's medical condition. The second reason for this site is to create a community in which we can come together as loved ones and express our joy over Wendy's continual progress, and to continually shower Wendy and each other with words of encouragement and edification so that we can continually grow stronger together and find hope in all of the small things. Finally it's a location that we can keep an archive for Matt, Wendy, and the entire family to look back on, in order to see just how much they were loved and supported during this time.

With the above being said, this site is not for any form of negativity or condemnation. Any form of such will not be tolerated, and this includes profanity, gossip, or anything else that would not glorify God or edify Matt and Wendy, the Freeman family, and all of their loved ones.

I hope that this has been stated in such a way that no one takes offense, so that we can all continue to enjoy this site for it's intended purpose. If you do have something of a negative nature that you would like to share, then I ask that you please contact me individually by e-mail so that we can address it in a timely fashion in order to gain the best possible outcome. My e-mail address is jweekly1@hotmail.com.

Please also understand that I will be doing a site "clean-up" very soon. During this "clean-up"; I will be removing any comment or posting that has negative connotations that may be deemed inappropriate for a christian-based site.

Please join me in a unified effort to continually praise God for what He has done; rejoice in the miracle that Wendy is; and continue to help us document the time that has gone by, so that we can archive the events that Matt and Wendy may be missing during the hospital stay.

Also as a final note, Matt requests that, if a daily update has not been posted, please understand that Wendy is still making progress, but there may not be significant enough changes to type a full update. Please continue to pray and check back often for new information as it is made available to us.

Love Your Sister in Christ,
Jessica

PS: Don't forget that Taryn and Kylee have dance recitals this week. Kylee will perform on stage for the first time tomorrow night, (Thursday) at Robert C Byrd High School. Cost at the door is $8.00. I believe the show begins at 7pm. Taryn will be performing at the same time on Friday night, and then both girls will be performing Saturday evening at 7pm. Please feel free to come out and show your love and support for our beautiful little angels!! You really won't want to miss it.

6/9 Update:

2009-06-09T22:13:00.001-04:00

Hey all…Sorry that Ive been slacking the past few days. We have been busy and not home much. Ive been getting updates from Matt and those that have been to visit. Everyone has the same response…WOW, What a difference!!! The thought from everyone who has been there to visit has come back happy and excited with the progress that has been made. My mother-in-law keeps in touch at work with Dr. Bonasso. He has told her how he has spoke with Dr. Biundo, who is the doctor at HealthSouth. The understanding is that Dr. Biundo is confident in a good recover based on the progress made already. It is believed the conversation went to say that Dr. Biundo is unable to say how long recovery will take, but that he feels Wendy will do well. This is third hand information, so dont take it as completely accurate, but is was definitely good to hear! We have been praying for it, so please keep praying to make this information 100% true! Matt and others also say that Wendy keeps increasing the amount of conversation that she participates in. He says that she is unable to completely vocalize everything, but is able to “lip” her words. He says that Wendy has done much better in being bale to hold herself up at the mat table on her own. It sounds as though Wendy is making the progress needed to remain at HealthSouth, and most importantly, to get closer to the full recovery we are praying for. WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO THANK GOD ADN PRAISE HIM FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE IN THIS SITUATION!! Wendy continues to overcome the odds and improve. I also wanted to mention that this has been a busy week fro the girls. This is RECITAL week for both Taryn and Kylee!!! It is also VBS at our church. So We have been working with Melissa and Scott and Sue to get the girls back and forth where they need to be this week to help keep them from missing out on anything. Be praying for the girls that they get to fully enjoy this week they have been preparing for. If you are interested and would be willing to go and watch the girls, Kylee with perform on Thursday at RCB auditorium at 7pm(?). Taryn will perform on Friday, and they both will be on Saturday at 7pm. We will try to do our best at getting more timely in the updates, so dont think they we forgot you LOL!! Have a great evening and may God Bless everyone!!

Bryan

6/4 Update:

2009-06-04T18:27:00.001-04:00

Good evening. Let me start off by apologizing to anyone who may have been offended by my posts in anyway. I have been trying to give “blurbs” of information as I have time. I apologize up front if I do not include every single detail that occurs. If there is something that someone would like to add to any of the posts, that is what the responses are for. Anyone may add whatever they wish. I am giving posts based off of my experiences. I understand that everyone who is close has their own experiences throughout all of this. I am only one person. If you have something you think would be nice for Wendy to know, please feel free to add that. I also want to apologize if people are lead to believe that we feel the girls only want to be with us. We love the girls very much, as well as I know the rest of both families do. I can say that I know the girls enjoy spending time with all family members. Again, I am just giving MY experiences. I would ask that others who have read and posted concerns, please feel free to add YOUR personal experiences and leave your name so Wendy will know where it came from when she reads it all. We all have a strong love for this family and I continue to be overwhelmed at the love and support that has been shown over the past several weeks. I agree that a log book would be a good idea, because even if I know who was there, I am often typing these late at night when being very tired. So a log book will be a sure way of letting Wendy know who was there, and then if you add your experience in after the blog was posted for the day, then that will give Wendy that much more information to have.

As for today, it was a GOOD day!! I surprised Taryn and Kylee with a visit to Mommy and Daddy!! The 2 girls got to have a couple hours of quality time with their parents. Wendy was up in her wheelchair and had a t-shirt and shorts on, so the girls were happy to see this. Wendy was wide awake as well!! She was looking all over the place at the two girls when they were talking to her. She was able to reach her hands onto theirs so that she could hold the girls’ hands. She was able to lip/speak “I Love You” to them!! She responded with words a few times during our conversations in her room before she went back for therapy after lunch. We got to follow her to therapy and the girls got to see some cool things. The therapists got her from her wheelchair to a mat table where she worked on sitting straight up and leaning backwards onto pillows. They then worked and got her STANDING!!!! Though it was with 4 people, she was still up on her own feet and her muscles were kicking in to help hold her up. They did this a couple of times before we left. The OT asked Wendy who everyone was, and she was able to lip/speak Matt’s, mine and both girls names!!! This was awesome!! When we got ready to leave, one of the most awesome things that happened was when Matt reached the girls up to give Mommy a kiss, Wendy reached her own head towards them and puckered up and kissed them too!!!! This was such a wonderful experience today. The therapists feel that she should continue to do well. LETS KEEP PRAYING!!!! Have a good evening, Bryan

6/4 Update:

2009-06-03T22:33:00.001-04:00

Hello all…just wanted to leave a quick update. Wendy has been having PT/OT/ST yesterday and today. Speech Therapy didnt actually come until today to evaluate Wendy. Matt said from what they saw, the one thing they think is that her speech should come back and that there is no irreversible damage as far as her speech is concerned, rather it is due to the vent being in for so long. PT and OT have worked on several things already to get her out of bed and up into a standing seat. This will allow her sit and then it can be adjusted into a standing position while being strapped in. Matt said he can already see some progress with her head control. He said they gave her a shower today, which is the first one she has had since this all happened. He said she really seemed to enjoy it when they laid her head back and washed her hair!! He said she did have some progress with speech therapy, but she does have some confusion with certain things. One thing for certain when she does say something is that she wants to go home!!! Matt said she has been trying to pull a fast one on him after he has been gone for lunch or dinner. He says that when he comes back she tells him that the doctors or nurses have been in and said “I can go home, so take me home!” We found this quite humorous. She has already had several visitors. We made it up last night, along with Jess’ parents, on the Harley’s…we got caught in one heck of a storm on the way home!! A couple other visitors were Pastor Darren, and our new Associate Pastor Aaron Thomas. Matt told us one of the things that the the therapists told the pastors was asking them to ignore certain things in the future during rehab as far as her speech. They say that the first clear words that typically come our are curse words because of the frustration and hard work!! Needless to say, this is going to be an interesting experience. Wendy will also get some visitors tomorrow as well. These visitors dont know this yet, but Kylee informed us “Im staying with Uncle Bryan and Jessica!” Taryn ended up going back home with Mom. I will surprise them by taking them to see Mommy tomorrow afternoon for the first time at HealthSouth. We have to be careful, though, because Taryn said that since Mommy is getting to wear normal cloths, then they can take her home now. this could mean that Wendy will be teaming up with Taryn to try and convince us to taker her home!!! Well, I will end for tonight. May you all have a blessed evening and continue praying please.

Bryan

6/1 Update:

2009-06-01T22:19:00.001-04:00

Well, if you havent heard yet, Wendy has FINALLY been moved to HealthSouth!!!! This happened late in the afternoon since her fever had been down. Matt was excited to know that the next step has happened towards getting Wendy better. He continues to realize that this is all on God’s time. So as it continues to seem like this is a never-ending experience, God has it all planned out and He knows the healing outcome. So please keep praying for her recovery and thank God for all that He has done to this point, ad for everything is WILL do!!

Visitation at HealthSouth is a little different than the hospital. Due to the fact that they will be getting down to business with rehab, they limit the hours available to visit. Monday-Friday is 4:30-8:30pm. Saturday/Sunday is 12:00-8:30. At this point, Matt is understanding that he is allowed to stay, but he has to be willing to do anything they ask of him. He was fine with that in order to have someone with her a this time to get used to everything there. So…Let the fun begin!!

I also wanted to thank everyone who made the blood drive a success. I am excited to find out what the total number of units received were. I was in awe at the number of people who came out to support. It was an amazing experience, and I had a great time. Thank you to all that participate.

Have a great day tomorrow!! Bryan

5/31 Update:

2009-05-31T23:30:00.001-04:00

Good evening! We hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I talked with Mom this evening after she got back from dropping the girls off with Melissa, Scott and Sue for the week. Separation anxiety set in for Mom, Jess and myself after more than a month of caring for the girls. We were blessed to have been able to do so. Those girls meant so much to us before everything happened, bit even more so now! I really enjoy getting them in bed and then praying with them. Taryn and Kylee are so precious when it comes time to pray. I actually got used to giving all three of the older girls a bath at one time…Talk about a busy bath tub!! Jess would get Payge ready for bed. And everything else that we got to do. Anyway, I could keep going, but it is getting late. Mom talked to Matt who said Wendy’s fever has been back to normal so they are considering moving her to HealthSouth soon again.

Nothing more than that for now. Have a good night.

Bryan

5/30 Update:

2009-05-30T22:46:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to leave a quick note. There was nothing significantly new with Wendy today. Matt came into town to go another wedding of some friends from church, the new Travis and Nikki Liller!! He then went back to Morgantown. Mom took all four girls up to visit with Mommy for a little while. She then brought Payge back to us and got the other girls home for bed. Mom said the visit went well. She said Wendy opened her eyes a little, but was still sleeping a good bit as she continues to fight of this fever. That is about all of the news for this evening. Have a good evening and a blessed Sunday. Come and visit us at Family Life Fellowship if you are close and dont have a church of your own. If you aren’t close by, you can join Matt and Wendy online at www.familylifewv.org. Go to the media link and watch service online at 10 am. Matt watches it on his computer with Wendy.

Good Night, Bryan

5/29 Update:

2009-05-29T23:15:00.001-04:00

Good evening! I was wanting to leave a little update for the evening because I know how we are all waiting in limbo to see when Wendy is leaving Ruby, for the first time in 5 weeks!!! Talk about cabin fever! She is still supposed to be going to HealthSouth as soon as her fever reduces and is under control. Matt had mentioned during her last episode of a fever that she had needed to go to an dentist/oral surgeon before having Payge. He had wondered if this was a cause of her fever. The dentist? came today and checked her out and told Matt that by looking, he saw nothing of concern, though no x-rays were taken. He said therapy came again today and got her up in the cardiac chair for about 4 hours. He said they told him therapy usually is not in on the weekends, but they may try to get someone in this time for her. They also said that if Wendy is still there on Monday, they may try getting her down to the PT dept and trying her on the tilt table, which will be good for so many different areas of her rehab by getting her into a more upright position, and eventually into a complete standing position, while having support to hold her up. In a tilt table, you are basically strapped to a table laying down and then cranked up into standing gradually. Hopefully, though, she will be at HS by then. He said Wendy has spent most of her time sleeping, which in a way he is also glad because it means she is in less pain and gets to continue healing while resting. I think Mom said the staples from her c-section also got to come out today. I think that this is everything from today. I feel like I am forgetting something, but if so, then Matt will correct me! Have a good evening! Please continue thanking God for all that he has done and plans to do. This may be an enduring process for us that seems to never end, but it is all in Gods time.

Bryan