Has it really been a month since I've posted? Well, we got Rick home as you all know, and it was absolutely the right thing to do for his state of mind. He is happy to be here even though there are days we wear him out dragging him to all our activities. Usually at the end of the day he asks, "What do I have to do tomorrow?" And I'll give him the rundown of whats going on...some of it he can skip and stay at the house...he does pretty good by himself for 45 min to an hour so if I just need to run one of the kids somewhere he doesn't have to load up. The kids have been playing baseball and softball and we ususally find a spot in the outfield for him to park his wheelchair at and pull up to the fence and Rick will alternate between standing and sitting. And of course he socializes and enjoys seeing everybody at the ballpark.

He had a rough week last week and I'm not sure why. His tone seemed higher than normal even though we haven't adjusted the pump at all. He couldn't keep his balance just standing let alone walking with his walker. Tim noticed it at PT too. This week has been much better and I was reminded by a dear friend that Rick relearning everything is just like training a young colt...they are gonna have their good days and bad days. When we're at home he usually walks with his walker to the bathroom which is a pretty good ways and I may have to help him balance twice on the way there and back. He is getting much better at using his walker, but hopefully we'll be able to get rid of it soon. On the lot behind our house we plan on building the longest set of parallel bars you've ever seen. The thing about parallel bars is that its more of a natural walking motion since you can swing your arms as you walk and you can't do that with a walker. It's just something I can't get out of my head and feel like we need to get this built ASAP. Rick's cousin, Darrell, is going to build it for us.

Rick has been seeing Tim Nix here at the hospital in Seymour 3 times a week and will start back at North Texas Rehab June 16th. He may not be getting as many therapy hours as he was at TLC, but his attitude is so much better and that makes the quality of his therapy so much better. He's even sleeping better since coming home which makes all the difference in the world!

So, we just take it day by day, always keeping our eye on the big picture. God has provided for our every need and he holds the future in his hands...no worries.

Love,
Crystal