Northwestern's Strongest Mama

Today Mom began her training for the 2013 Ironman.  To begin the transition into the rehab institute (and to prepare her for that grueling 112 mile bike ride), a physical therapist has been working her out everyday.  Oddly enough, her therapist (Sara) is the wife of one my close friends from growing up in Libertyville.  It gives us great comfort to know that someone with a connection to our family - even if a layer or two removed - is helping provide her care.  She is very sweet with Mom and talks to her as if she wide awake.  Today, she had Mom propped up sitting on the end of the bed helping her move her arms, legs, and head to build strength.  As you can imagine, after three weeks in bed, she has lost a lot of muscle tone.  With some help from Dad, her new apprentice, they worked her out sitting up for about twenty minutes.   Mom did great.  Her breathing and heart rate stayed strong and at normal levels, which is a good sign.  Often patients in Mom's condition don't last for more than a few minutes the first couple of  times before breathing gets weak and heart rate spikes.  We knew she was a strong lady, but she gave a gutsy performance today (some credit is due to mom's dear friend, Michelle Hollingsworth, for kicking her butt in the gym every morning for the last few years).  Before you know it, we believe Mom will be back to her daily routine of bench pressing Zach 50 times and running a half marathon (or maybe just around the block)!!

They continue to aggressively fight off the progress of any infections.  She still has a bit of a pneumonia and a small infection around her traech (both are very common), but she seems to be holding up ok.  They closely monitor her temperature and so far it has been responding well to medication and external treatments.  Her blood pressure and heart rate remain strong.  Everyday she becomes a little bit more alert, but we keep reminding ourselves that this will happen over weeks not days.  As Carol mentioned in an earlier post, this is a long process, so we fight daily to find joy in the small wins and not get too discouraged when we don't find her dancing in her room when we walk in.   As an added bonus, I have to say that Mom looks pretty good with buzz cut.  Who knew??  Wendy tells me that it is very en vogue.  All of the nurses comment on how young she looks and how amazing her skin is...then, they look at Dad and ask if she is his trophy wife!  I think she told them to say that.  

As some of you know, I don't exactly have a strong stomach when it comes to blood and hospitals and that kind of thing (I may or may not have passed out during one of Wendy's ultrasounds...shhhh!).  However, I have been less queazy this time around with mom.  More often than not, I find myself fascinated with the science behind her care and the innovation available to her doctors and nurses to help bring her back to health.  Increasingly modern medicine is such a blessing.  I also find myself marveling at the human body.  I have never been so grateful for a benevolent Creator that gave us these unbelievably intricate and capable bodies.  It is truly a miracle how our bodies can regenerate and heal both physically and emotionally.   I am so grateful that the human brain, that thing responsible for harnessing electricity, developing the computer, airplanes, and the internet (thanks, Al Gore) - by the way, don't look this way, I think I peaked at the Rubix Cube - is also capable of renewing and repairing itself or at least compensating for injury in ways that even the smartest minds have yet to understand.  Through all that we have experienced in the last three weeks, no doctor or nurse has yet to give us a reason not to hope and hold white-knuckled to our faith.  This is not because mom is not seriously hurt - truth of the matter is that she is.  There is no denying that.  However, the possibility of a recovery is still very much on the table.  We (the collective we) do not fully understand all that the brain can do.  I pray fervently that mom's brain will continue to heal and that she will find her way back to us.  If anyone can do it, she can.  I am so proud of her and to be able to call myself her son for the last 33 years...and counting.  

I wanted to leave you all with a brief quote from a man named Russell M. Nelson, a leader in our Church and a world-renowned heart surgeon about the magnificence of God's greatest creation, the human body (btw, Todd and I once argued that it was the iPhone, but we have since changed our minds).

I invite you to ponder things magnificent. The word magnificent is derived from two Latin roots. The prefix magni- comes from a term meaning “great,” and the suffix comes from the Latin facere, meaning “to make” or “to do.” A simple definition of magnificent, then, might be “great deed” or “greatly made.”

Think of the most magnificent sight you have ever seen. It could be a meadow in springtime filled with beautiful wildflowers. Or perhaps you have been awestruck, as have I, at the magnificence of a single rose. I have come to appreciate the magnificence of an orange, with each droplet of juice packaged in an edible container, joined with many other packets, grouped in sections, and all neatly wrapped in a disposable, biodegradable peel.

Some would say the most magnificent sight they have ever beheld is looking heavenward on a summer night, seeing stars beyond number dotting the sky. Those who have traveled in orbit through space say that their view of planet earth was one of the most magnificent sights ever observed by man.

Some might choose the view of the Grand Canyon at sunrise; others, the beauty of a mountain lake, river, waterfall, or desert. Some might select a peacock with its tail in full fan, or a handsome horse. Others would nominate the beauty of butterfly wings, or a hummingbird seemingly suspended in midair while feeding. These magnificent sights are wondrous beyond measure. They are all “great deeds” of our divine Creator.

Now, ponder the magnificence of what you see when you look in the mirror. Ignore the freckles, the unruly hair, or the blemishes, and look beyond to see the real you—a child of God—created by him, in his image.

If we peek beyond what we see in the mirror and lift the lid on the treasure chest of the marvelous attributes of our bodies, we can discover, at least in part, the magnificence of man.

Love, Brandon