The Earles on April 4th

The story most of you have been visiting our blog for is Steve's accident on June 14th and his subsequent recovery.  I'll give you a little update on that below.  But I'm sensing that our family has some other stories to tell.  Most of you know that our daughter has High-Functioning Autism, which includes Sensory Processing Disorder, Sleep Onset Disorder, and either true ADHD or ADHD-like symptoms.  She really is an incredible kid, though she may drive me nuts much of the time!  So for her sake, I won't talk a lot about her--she has her own story to tell one day and I'd love for her to tell it in her own way.  Or not tell it.  That's her right.  What I'm finding is that some of my own stories are burning to be told, some of the learning that I've experienced could be so very helpful to others.  So going forward, I will be adding that aspect of our lives to the mix of blog posts.  You know... when I get a flurry of creative energy and actually feel like I can write once every 6-8 months!

The update on Steve is very similar to the update in August.  He continues to make micro-improvements.  This is really, really good.  I see his balance improving, his ability to turn, step over things, lift things, avoid fast-moving objects (i.e. Søren).  His feet are still terribly curled up, he has crazy-looking marks on his legs because of circulation issues.  He has some other functions that are still impaired.  But we see improvement.  It's a really long story, but we have finally located THE ONLY neuro-PT in all of Kaiser's So-Cal network, and he has an appointment with her on Friday.  He has not been assessed by a medical professional in a really long time, and we have a lot of questions.  Things like, how worried should we be about his circulation?  Should we be doing more for his toes?  Is his compensatory walking style going to affect other joints and muscles negatively?  And most importantly, will Kaiser PLEASE invent a cooler-looking cane??

He has recently stopped going to Rancho Los Amigos for FES bike therapy because again, we really don't have an avenue to consult with someone about how effective it is, how often he should go, etc.  It's also a 9 hour a week commitment (driving, working out, driving), and it's just super restrictive on his schedule without knowing how effective it is.  We have, through a generous donation, received a small, home FES machine, (basically could stimulate his muscles while he sits and works, etc.), but we really need the neuro-PT to talk through a plan on how to use it.  So instead, he spends a half hour on the treadmill in our garage every day and half an hour on his kirte-kinetic (stationary) bike.  I really believe the consistent blood-flow to those areas is making a difference.  He's continuing to stimulate muscle memory, and while I'm no doctor, I can't help but think the blood flow is helpful for nerve re-growth.

We still have moments where we are just sad about what has been lost.  But that's definitely not the prevailing feeling.  We are accepting things that may never return, and we're thankful for so many things that have returned.  Last week during Spring Break, we went hiking in Yosemite National Park.  He uses hiking sticks (they look a lot like ski poles) and basically uses his arms to get him up steep hills because his glutes, hamstrings and calves are still ineffective for that kind of work.  We hiked to the bridge below Vernal Falls, which I believe was the most strenuous hike he's done to date.  And he is regularly getting on his bike to ride around with Søren and Lucy.  We've decided we will bring all our bikes back to Yosemite sometime this Fall.  And yes, we all wear helmets.  You should too.

Thank you for those of you who continue to pray for us.  God has been so very faithful.  This post is already too long, but at some point I really want to share with you how God walked me through my own recovery from what I now know is mild PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).  Many care-givers experience this and have no idea this is what is happening to them.  They are focused on keeping it all together.  But you can't do that forever--your body and mind won't allow you to push it beyond capacity.  The short story is that a couple of months of therapy with a trusted Family Therapist was nothing short of restorative and life-giving for me.  The long story--that's two posts at least!

Wishing I could hug you all.