Graduation

Yesterday, Friday, was a big day for Zach. He graduated high school, attended the senior class party that Sherrie had been working on and spent time with his siblings, friends and Ron. Some dear friends watched the kids while we were at graduation and then we went back to the house to celebrate. Everyone was so happy for Zach and glad to have a reason to celebrate. As Ron said, it was a day for celebrating and focusing on the accomplishments of Zach. And it was a great night. Full of laughter and love.

There were hard moments, like realizing that we needed to get the video camera out to film Zach opening his presents so that we could show Sherrie, or when Brittney, Wendy and I were looking for plates  and getting the things ready that Sherrie would have had already done because she would have thought about it already, or seeing a loving friend offer kind words at graduation and remembering that this whole thing wasn't a bad dream but reality. And through it all, Zach had the ability to smile, enjoy the day and be his usual sweet self. He is a pretty amazing young man and we know Sherrie is so proud of him. (She is probably also relieved that a friend steamed his graduation gown and slacks because they looked much better than if we would have done it!)

We spent the morning with Sherrie at the hospital. We are seeing the blessings that came on Thursday. On Thursday night, she had both eyes open and was more alert. (Not "awake" but a good sign of things to come) They gave her the angiogram and some medication. We realized retrospectively that the "bad news" we were getting on Thursday ended up being a series of blessings. Some of the bad things had been; they cancelled her appointment to move her feeding tube, they found that she needed the angiogram, and she was very sleepy that day. Now we realize that had they taken her to move the feeding tube, her blood pressure (an issue they addressed while doing the angiogram) could have very well caused her to stroke. The fact that they were monitoring her closely enough to discover she needed another angiogram was a small miracle too- they had just barely cleared her saying that she looked fine. The medication they gave her during the angiogram should help her vessels to stay open. These were just a few of the blessings on which we reflected Friday morning while we were at the hospital.

A friend of the family who has been through a similar experience told us to remember that during this whole experience you can take two steps forward and then one back, two forward, three back. And to remember not to look so intently on the day to day, but focus on the long term progress. We had to remember this as we spent time with her on Friday morning. We had gone in hoping to see her eyes open and her being as alert as she was on Thursday. However, she was very sleepy. We read cards and notes to her, played messages and talked. There wasn't much response from her, but it was a good chance to think and talk about the miracles we've seen up this point. I read this quote the other day:


"To most people, the word miracle conjures up images of mana from heaven, the parting of the Red Sea, Muhammad riding a horse into the seventh heaven, or Buddha creating a golden bridge out of thin air. More personally, we think of miracles as those unexplainable coincidences that seem to shape the direction of our lives in subtle but powerful ways."

We have seen miraculous things already; Sherrie living through the first night, a neurosurgeon being in Punta Cana, safe flights and transports to three different locations, and many others. And more often, as we reflect, we realize we have seen those "unexplainable coincidences" that are shaping us and this situation on a daily basis.

We continue to be amazed and strengthened by the love and support from friends, neighbors and those who don't know us but have heard of Sherrie's situation. Your stories, kindness and acts of service keep us going.