Paula's Miracle In Progress: Blank stare......

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Blank stare......

With brain injuries.....you have some progress.....then most likely setbacks....then more progress, and so on, and so on. You have a little conciousness, the quiet sleep.......you have a lot of blank stares, then a little bit of focus.

Over the last 21 days, we've had NO setbacks. We've had a lot of blank stares, and a few times when Paula focused.....but mostly, when she was "awake," she had her eyes closed.....even though she had meaningful, purposeful movements and even responded to our voices and request.

So.....I have no idea where the "blank stares" went today......they CERTAINLY were not in Paula's room!!!! From the time I got there, until I left this evening.....Paula was AWAKE, ALERT, FOCUSING on everything in the room, and every person that entered and spoke to her! I am SO thankful to our GRACIOUS Heavenly Father!!!! "Praise God from whom ALL.....ALL blessings flow!!!!!

The humidity tube was in the way of Paula moving her arm where she wanted it......so she pulled the humidity cup about 6" away from her trach......moved her arm, the placed the cup perfectly back on her trach.

But best of all......she pulled me close and placed her lips against mine.......it DOESN'T get any more sensuous than this!!!!!! Hollywood AIN'T got nothing on us!!!!!

I don't have a date in my mind.....but I don't believe it's going to be long before Paula is at home.....I'm anxious to see her walk tomorrow.

Again....thanks for your support and prayers!

Tommy

1 comment:

AnonymousFebruary 1, 2009 at 10:27 PM
Just don't tell her what you put on her blog about her and clutter, or maybe the next time she pulls you close you might wind up with a smack to the head.
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The Rose.....

The Rose Lyrics - Bette Midler song

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed

Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower
And you, its only seed

It's the heart, afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It's the dream, afraid of waking
That never takes the chance

It's the one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong

Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love, in the spring
Becomes the rose

The Station........

The Station By Robert J. Hastings
Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waiving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corns and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waiving. Once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering--waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
"When we reach the station, that will be it," we cry. "When I'm 18." "When I buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz!" "When I put the last kid through college." "When I have paid off the mortgage!" "When I get a promotion." "When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!"
Sooner of later we must realize that there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
"Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.

My Prayer for Paula

Psalm 18
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn [a] of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave [b] coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.
7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. [c]
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies , great bolts of lightning and routed them.
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.
19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
22 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
23 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
29 With your help I can advance against a troop [d] ; with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD ? And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.
36 You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
39 You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but he did not answer.
42 I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me.
44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me.
45 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!
47 He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me,
48 who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.
49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.
50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Blank stare......

1 comment:

Paula's Miracle In Progress

Suzanne Burnes Photography

Paula after coming home!!!!

Our Church

The Rose.....

Great book, great testimony......

The Lord's Prayer Movie

A little about me....

The Station........

My Blog List

Medical College of Georgia

Followers

Blog Archive

They're keeping Paula cool.....

Equador Mission Trip

Equador Mission Trip

El Salvador Mission Trip

Paula & Her PT

Paula at home

Laverne Sanford

April, Paula's mother Laverne, and Paula

Our daughter, April and her fiancee, Jonathan

Our son Scott and his Fiancee, Luchi

Our son, Vilas, and his lovely wife, Amy

Paula, Leigh, Catherine Drew, and Judson

Our daughter and her family...the Beggs

April At Laverne's 90th

My Prayer for Paula