November begins...

We finish another week and my sweetheart continues to make progress. Her surgical site is healing well, she is off all antibiotics and we should have staples removed this week. Although she has not told me, I believe she feels better having this surgery and I am sure she looks forward to getting a full head of hair.

This last week she developed some extra secretions. We don't know if they are from sinus or saliva, but  from time to time it will get heavy enough that she will aspirate causing her to cough. It has been frequent enough that it will interrupt her sleep leaving her pretty tired during her therapy sessions. The biggest impact comes during her speech sessions where we are trying to get her swallowing reflexes going. The good news is that she seems to be getting better and is not coughing as much. We pray that this week will allow her to get back on track.

We have relied very much on prayer and fasting during this journey. We believe there is great power that comes to those who pray for others and for those who are the recipient of these prayers. Our faith coupled with theirs in an attitude of fasting (going without food or drink for 24 hours) and prayer can bring forth needed blessings from Heaven. As a family we have been doing this, praying the Lord will be with Sherrie as she overcomes this recent development. This is normally done by adults, but I was touched as I received a text from our daughter who said that Kenzy age 9 and her brother Skyler age 7 decided that they wanted to join the fast for their grandma Sherrie. As you can imagine, this can be very difficult for a young person and there were times that they complained about being hungry. Wisely, their mom and dad told them it would be okay to have something to eat, but both said they would be okay because it was for their grandma. My heart was touched at this sweet gesture of love.

I called and spoke to Skyler this evening and thanked him for this very touching sacrifice. He said, "grandpa, grandma is doing better, right?". This little boys faith was not only touching, but a great reminder to me that faith indeed precedes the miracle. I am sure the sacrifice of two of our grandchildren will be accepted in Heaven and their Grandma will surely be blessed. We know that little children hold a special place with our Heavenly Father and His son.

Despite this recent challenge, Sherrie is otherwise healthy and strong. We pray that this week is one where we see progress in swallowing (she swallows when we she feels fluid collecting at the back of her throat. We need her to be able to rapidly swallow on command as they introduce things like apple nectar, applesauce etc.,)  hear her using her voice more and becoming stronger in her ability to stand and walk.

Thank you for your continued concern for my sweetheart. We continue to make progress in inches and for this we are extremely grateful.