Good morning ya'll!
And happy tax day to you! Actually, it's also my birthday today, so I figure it can't be ALL bad! They say (not sure who, but someone did) that the two things that are certain in life are "death and taxes." But on this April 15th, I am certain of the faithfulness of the Living God. He is faithful in the valley of the shadow of death and in every other moment we could ever imagine, along with those we can't imagine. He is the ONE who rules and reigns over all things and holds us in the palm of His hand. Nothing can pluck us out. We belong to Him, if we have surrendered our hearts and lives to the Savior. Now, I'd say that is something to celebrate this fine Tax Day - the certainly of His faithfulness. :)

I realized yesterday that it had been quite some time since I had written an update on Mark, let alone journaled for myself. So, I figured this morning was the perfect time - before the sun rises and I hear little feet pitter-pattering. To say it's been a "wild ride" the last few weeks would be putting it mildly!

This last Saturday, Mark got transferred from the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, CO to Northern Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, CO to begin the rehab portion of his hospital stay. Last Saturday just happened to be the day that we were scheduled to move out of our house as well! (the new folks move in today!) So, let's just say it was a big moving day in general! After Mark spending about 4 days in his regular hospital room in Loveland following 9 or 10 in ICU, they told us Saturday morning that he would be moved THAT day to Greeley! Surprise!

So, I headed to my house to meet the moving team and get them going, and then got the call about an hour later that the ambulance would be arriving to pick Mark up and shuttle him over to Greeley at 11:30 AM Saturday. So...I got back to his room around 10:30 to pack up all his stuff, cards, plants, flowers, misc. junk, and wheeled them down to our car. Guess they don't want all that stuff in the ambulance jostling around. :) Ha! And I followed the ambulance over to Greeley to get him all set up there.

Thankfully, in the mean time, Mark's friend John was already at our house supervising the move, as I galavanted around town chasing ambulances, as I never made it back to our house. So, pretty much our entire house is now stored in a 10 x 30ish storage space somewhere in Loveland, CO. It is in that moment you realize just how very little "stuff" you really need to get by. Brings a little perspective, I think.

Anyway...so, I got Mark settled there and spent the day with him in his new digs. The staff there are very, very sweet and extremely helpful and we've had some real breakthroughs even since arriving there.

Mark began his physical therapy and occupational therapy right away that day. No time to just lay around! About four times each day he has therapy, whether it be actual strengthening and movement exercises or learning how to get from here to there. (reminds me of an old Sesame Street song..."how do you get from here to there? What do you do?" Remember that one?) I digress...(hey, it's early!) Anyway, he's doing great and each day he is feeling a bit stronger and a bit more flexible at the various sites where he now has LOTS of metal implanted and screwed into his body.

Because he only has one "good limb" at this point (due to the obvious injuries to both legs, plus the flailed chest and broken scapula), it's tough doing the transfers they are wanting him to do at this point. So, they've been using a lift, which is pretty funny. He's wrapped and strapped into this huge green nylon sling, which makes him look like a big pea pod, and then is lifted by a machine into whatever spot they want him. Hopefully, in a couple more weeks things will heal up on that arm/side, so he can scoot himself around on the slide boards, so he's not to be confused with a food group.

So...now comes the tough part, I think. Coming home. They are saying possibly one week from yesterday Mark will come home! It will be an INCREDIBLE thing to have my man home, and I count the days. I can take him on walks on the trails near my Mom's house, sit out on the patio and enjoy the mountains. At the same time, it is overwhelming imagining being able to care for him in a way that meets his needs and doesn't make us both wind up back in rehab! :) (can they do two to a room?) But I trust the Lord with that, as well as those who will train me on all the equipment and various things we'll be doing. And, they do plan to have a home health aide as well as therapists come in several times a week, as well, which will help in the interim.

With regard to how you can help, there are definitely a few things to pray for at this point in recovery. First and foremost, continued healing! Also, pray for a quick recovery and renewed strength, as he does the therapy. Pray for Mark, as he has struggled to sleep well since he woke up from his third surgery. It's hard to sleep on your back for the entire night, especially if you struggle with any sleep issues to begin with. So, we would love continued prayer for his sleep to be sweet. Mark has an extremely positive and patient attitude and his pain has been very well-managed, so this is a major praise report. Also, he has shown no signs of infection where the open fracture was at the knee, and is also showing great circulation in his feet as well, which was a concern. (the circulation will continue to be watched over the next 6 or 9 months) I can tell he is mentally tired, and of course the meds don't help with that, nor does sleep deprivation, so I pray that his mind and heart might be refreshed and invigorated as well.

As for me, you can pray for sanity! :) Not really, but you can pray for mental and emotional peace, as I trust the Lord with all the details of how life will look. I am a detailed person and generally like to have all my ducks in a row. Well, you just really have to completely let go when something like this happens, which is actually good for me! But, it's not easy. Working through getting us moved, juggling schedules with Christian, making sure Mark has an advocate and his wife by his side, along with all the other stuff of life, has left this girl a bit frazzled and dare I say a bit grumpy from time to time. :)

I know whenever God allows us to walk through these valleys, it is not wasted time. There are always purposes that are woven throughout the journey and I SO trust Him with that. So many times, when we are facing a trial, we see it as a "hang-up" or a "delay" - stopping us from getting to the really good stuff of our destiny. I've changed my opinion over the years. I believe God is as much "in the waiting" seasons and in the every day challenges of our lives, as He is in what we would consider the mountain-tops. And so, in my heart, while I do want this season to be passed in many ways (I don't want my husband in pain and unable to get around, and be away from us, etc...), I also want to savor it. Not savor the pain, but savor who GOD is to us in the midst of the pain. I don't want to miss that. Lord, help me.

Well, anyway. It's time to get up, get going and get this fine day underway. I pray you have a wonderful day, trusting God as your ultimate provision in every area of your life. His grace is and will continue to be sufficient for US! Thank you for your continued prayers!!!!

Love & tax day blessings,
Shannon

 I'm with my hubby in the ICU. We just went on a field trip with the nurse. Now it's time to rest. A few more days in the ICU, then to a hospital room here. I love my sweet man & am thankful to the Lord!

Mark came out of surgery about 45 minutes ago. Hooray! Things went really well and he is resting now. I'm headed to bed at the ICU for the night. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Good morning dear friends & family!

It's been a little harder to pull an update together this morning because Mark is awake off and on (thank the LORD!)! He's been in a lot of pain, very groggy due to the drugs, and pretty talkative in between times of sleep. I'm being sure to write down some of the things he's saying when he can laugh about them later and also aching terribly for him as he hurts all over. The nurse said he's a very sweet patient and last night he even apologized for spitting out some applesauce, promising to "be a good boy next time." My sweet, sweet man is really in pain and my heart has been anxious, having to cast my cares on the Lord BIG time today. But he has been talking to me, saying my name, calling me "honey" and "babe" just like he usually does, so it was good to feel that connection after all these days.

About an hour ago, two precious physical therapy gals got him to actually sit up on the edge of the bed for about 2 minutes. His blood pressure shot up, obviously, and they laid him back down. But they said that was a great first step. They also continue to say that the circulation in both feet is good, so praise God for that. I give thanks to the Lord for those answers to prayer. He is bearing Mark up.

The main reason I'm writing is to let you know Mark's ankle surgery is a "GO" at 5 PM today. It will take several hours, but not as long as Surgery #1 or #2. I am really grateful that we are getting to the surgery today rather than having to wait through the weekend. A tad further down the road to recovery always feels good. As soon as he gets done with this surgery, and is pretty coherent, we'll bring Christian to the hospital to see him. You can be praying for continued wisdom for me regarding that.

With regard to today's surgery, the same prayer requests apply as they did with Surgery #2, but even more specifically you can be praying that the repair on the ankle would allow him to have excellent circulation to all parts of his foot. With this kind of dislocation, there is the risk of loss of blood flow to the tissue in the various parts of the foot (something they will continue to observe for 6 to 9 months), so let's pray that not only the Lord Himself would bring healing, but that God would give Dr. Rusnak amazing ability to mend and surge those parts back together in order to give them the ability to circulate fully in the days and years to come. This is critical.

This should be the last surgery - thank the Lord! Then he will be back in ICU for several more days, and at some point, he will go to a regular hospital room, then on to a rehab hospital near here. We've continued to be absolutely blessed and amazed by the folks who work here...they are so caring and attentive. I'm trying to just take it one day at a time, at this point, which is what the Word asks us to do anyway..."do not concern yourself with tomorrow, for today has enough concern of its own..." I am so grateful for all the promises He brings to my remembrance.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for lifting us up to the Father, precious saints. I will try to do a status update when he gets out of surgery tonight and is safely deposited in ICU once more. You can watch for that.

"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." II Chronicles 16: 9

So be it, Lord.

Love & blessings,
Shannon

SURGERY FRIDAY...Dr. Rusnak, our orthopedic surgeon, came by this afternoon & said that they are going to be doing the surgery on Mark's ankle tomorrow (Friday) afternoon around 5 PM Mountain Time. This is great news! I will update more in the morning, but wanted to give you prayer warriors a "heads up!" To God be the glory!

They took Mark off the breathing tube this afternoon and he's breathing great, even with 8 broken ribs! They hope to keep him off of it until his next surgery on Monday. He also tried to talk to me today because he is less sedated. Good stuff!