The Great Outdoors

Last night was a little rough, but not as bad as some of the previous nights. I think a lot depends on how attentive the staff are being. I am grateful that Ryan's nurse last night would come check on him as soon as his vitals started looking like he was distressed, instead of waiting for me to get up and push the call button. 💜

I want to share some quotes from a General Conference talk that Ryan and I listened to this morning. On the 27th of June (almost four weeks ago, now!), when I was driving from one hospital to the next one that Ryan was being life-flighted to, I felt compelled to listen to the October 2013 General Conference, and almost every single one of those talks has been a huge blessing and comfort to me in the weeks since. This one, by President Thomas S. Monson is especially poignant. It's titled "I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee."

• "Whenever we are inclined to feel burdened down with the blows of life, let us remember that others have passed the same way, have endured, and then have overcome. The history of the Church in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times, is replete with the experiences of those who have struggled and yet who have remained steadfast and of good cheer. The reason? They have made the gospel of Jesus Christ the center of their lives. This is what will pull us through whatever comes our way. We will still experience difficult challenges, but we will be able to face them, to meet them head-on, and to emerge victorious."
• "From the bed of pain, from the pillow wet with tears, we are lifted heavenward by that divine assurance and precious promise: 'I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.' Such comfort is priceless."
• "Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass. We know that there are times when we will experience heartbreaking sorrow, when we will grieve, and when we may be tested to our limits. However, such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were--better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before. This should be our purpose--to persevere and endure, yes, but also to become more spiritually refined as we make our way through sunshine and sorrow. Were it not for challenges to overcome and problems to solve, we would remain much as we are, with little or no progress toward our goal of eternal life."
• "May we ever strive to be close to our Heavenly Father. To do so, we must pray to Him and listen to Him every day. We truly need Him every hour, whether they be hours of sunshine or of rain. May His promise ever be our watchword: 'I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.'"
• Good timber does not grow with ease,
• The stronger wind, the stronger trees.
• The further sky, the greater length.
• The more the storm, the more the strength.
• By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
• In trees and men good timbers grow.

I cannot even express how much my relationship with my Savior has helped me this past month. He is familiar. He is my Friend. I feel no strangeness in turning to Him, because I have been striving to walk by His side. I am so grateful for wise counsel from family, friends, and living prophets. I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. And I am grateful for my wonderful husband. All of these people have taught me to turn to the Savior always, every day. It's the little things that make the biggest difference!

This morning was a good morning. We got Ryan out of bed and into a chair again, and then we wheeled him outside for some fresh air. :) It's been super-hot here lately, but when we took Ryan outside it was overcast and not too hot in the shade. There was a nice breeze, and there is a little canal/brook that flows right by this hospital. Ryan's dad showed up to visit right as we were wheeling Ryan out of the room. :) It was great! He didn't exactly want to go outside, but I made him anyway, and he was a good sport about it. :) Afterwards, he said he was glad he went out. 😊

To get him into the chair, they put a sling/hammock thing under him, then hook it to a lift and swing him from the bed over to the chair. They just leave the sling under him while he's in the chair, so they can use it to lift him back to the bed when he's done. I just realized that all of these pictures are with Ryan's eyes closed. He did have his eyes open quite a bit of the time though. :)

After they got him settled back into his bed, the occupational therapist came to work with him. Since he was worn out, she went easy on him and just worked on stretching the muscles and joints in his arms and hands. But Ryan was able to stay awake and interact with her even though he was exhausted. After she left, he fell asleep, and a few minutes later his speech therapist poked her head in the room. Thankfully she was willing to come back a little later so he could rest. :) (And now she's back and he's awake!)

He expressed that he sometimes feels tingling in his feet/legs, which is another reason that he kicks so much. That would be so annoying, to have a constant tingling in your feet and not be able to do anything about it! :( But hopefully it means that his brain is working extra hard to get things back to a normal state of functioning.

Blessings come in all shapes and sizes, and we have received oh-so-many! 💙💚💛💞