Home From Rehab

One of the things that was difficult for me during recovery was the "one step forward, two steps back" phenomenon. I would praise God for something He did and then it seemed there would be a set back. Unfortunately, I don't think I learned to praise Him for the setbacks as well. I thought my intentions were pure when I prayed "if you will.......I will promise to give you the glory." But what I didn't do is give God the glory whenever He didn't answer the way that I had asked.

I was so glad to be leaving the hospital when the time finally came, but so disappointed that things had not worked out in the remodeling of our house and it would not be ready so we had to move into a motel for six weeks. This was probably the hardest time of my whole recovery.
The motel was so confining. I still was confined to the wheelchair and there was not a lot of room for it even though it was supposed to be handicapped accessible. In fact the first place my workman's comp rep had found for us didn't work at all (the wheelchair could not make it around the bed), so we found a different place. I think the hardest part of this experience is that Steve was at work all day, my dad was really ill at this time and my mom was caring for him, so I was fairly isolated. And...there was either the bed or the couch to sit on. Just not real comfortable. The positive was that it made me appreciate home so much more!!

During this time my mom would come over 3 times a week and we would be picked up and transported to rehab. These were not just routine trips. Each one was adventurous in it's own way. Mostly a comedy of errors. Fortunately nothing serious ever happened. It was a blessing to have my mom with me, she would sit at the pool while I exercised and help me get dressed and undressed. It was also during this time that she would help clean my wounds and cover them with this special tape so that I could swim. She was a source of tireless support.

One thing that was a blessing about the motel is it was an extended stay kind of place so they provided breakfast and light dinners every night. Steve would usually go down and get me something for breakfast and leave it before he went to work, and then all I had to do is warm it up in the microwave. A lot of people were bringing us meals, but when there was a lapse we could just get some dinner at the motel as well, so that helped. The lifesaver for me was the blessing of my laptop that the church had been so very generous to provide for me. Emails were my life line.

A sweet memory during our stay at the motel was July 26, 2005 when so many of you turned out for my birthday at the Golden Corral. What a surprise!! It was so very humbling to see so many people fill an entire room to overflowing to celebrate my birthday. I felt so loved. There were even some old friends from Mesquite there. To this day we still don't know how they found out about the surprise, but it was good to see them. It really was one special birthday.

While things weren't perfect and conditions, rehab, etc. were still hard never in a million years did I think something could go wrong and things could get worse. But they did. I'll talk about that next time.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Take time to thank God for your homes, families and friends!