December 8

I started the day with OT. Natalie wasn't here, so I worked with another therapist named Amy. She came in at 7:30 and our session was to go through a normal daily routine, like making sure I can get out of bed and get ready. Since we now have a discharge date (which is actually the 22nd instead of the 23rd), a lot of the focus in therapies has transitioned into making sure everything is set to go home, not just strength training. Amy was impressed at how much I could do on my own, but I still struggle with lower body dressing and I obviously can't do transfers independently yet.

I feel like I spent a lot of the day talking to different people about how I've been feeling. My mind is on overload and, like I said, the best word to describe all of it is overwhelming. I'm just so excited to go home, but I know how different things are going to be. Just the transition from a hospital type setting to home is a big change. I also think it's going to be a little hard getting back to my daily life- being home and with family, etc. and not being completely healed yet. Everyone I've talked to here has said that I have the right mindset though, anticipating frustrations or potential obstacles instead of not being realistic.

"Come to Me in all your neediness, with defenses down and with desire to be blessed. As you spend time in My Presence, your deepest longings are fulfilled. Rejoice in your neediness, which enables you to find intimate completion in Me."

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Those were words from my devotional that I kept looking at throughout the day...I'm also feeling little overwhelmed about not knowing what the next step in my recovery is going to be. We have the discharge date and know I'll be home for Christmas, but then what? We were looking into a day rehab program through Magee, but they won't have an opening for me until January 11, and I only have my house in Philly until February, so the living situation would become a problem. We've been trying to find places closer to home, but there aren't many places that specialize in spinal cord. I just keep praying for guidance in this next step. We made the right decision by coming to Magee and I just pray that God will illuminate the path and help us to decide where to go next.

I spent the earlier part of the evening in my room- watching tv and talking on the phone. During this time, my neighbor (Greg) came by twice, another patient came in once, and a woman I'd never met before stopped by. Greg is a middle aged man that I've gone downstairs to dinner with a few times and we've talked a lot about his 11 year old daughter. His daughter, Isabelle, was born with Leber's Congenital Amaurosis, a very rare eye disease that has left her blind since birth. He lights up when he talks about her and I love to listen. He's told me stories about how incredibly smart she is and he's played me videos of her singing- it's incredible. The other patient that stopped into my room is named Komal. He's also a middle aged man who loves to come check on me, especially since we are both Redskins fans. I think both Komal and Greg stopped in because they just wanted someone to listen to them. They were both talking about all the changes that they'll encounter when they leave and just all the things that have happened in their journeys over the past couple months. They don't get a ton of visitors, so I'm glad they feel comfortable coming to me when they just need someone to talk to. My last visitor was a surprise. She introduced herself as Krystal and said that her brother was a patient. She told me that she had seen me around the past week and loved that I always had a smile on my face...she also told me that she just wanted me to know how she had been praying for me. We talked for awhile and I was just so touched by her visit.