Many of my devotional passages have been talking about thanks recently (how appropriate given the time of year). It seems ridiculous to thank God for some of the things I'm going through, but this has been on my mind lately. I've switched my attitude since last week, when I was still just questioning "why me?" over and over. This past week, I was overwhelmed with thoughts and the realization of how far I've come. I feel like everyone I've interacted with has a different attitude towards me as well- I would get offended or upset when people would talk about my future and being in a chair or doing things a certain way because I'm so set on getting full recovery. I know people wouldn't mean to come across that way, but I would still take it personally. This week, I feel like people actually went out of their way to say things like "you'll be doing this temporarily" or reminding me of how far I've come and how much I couldn't do when I first got here. Hearing so many comments about where I started and where I am now has made me more consistent in thanking God.
When I first got here, I couldn't even hold my own head up, let alone do anything with me arms. I remember having to wait a couple weeks before I could have my hair cut because I wouldn't have been able to keep my head off the headrest long enough to get it cut.
Constantly thanking God for every little thing I do each day has made me more at peace and a much happier person. I'm dealing with things a lot better because I'm making myself more aware of the progress I'm making, whether it's something as small as doing my hair or as big as wiggling my toes.
On Wednesday, a ton of my family showed up. My parents, brother, grandma, Stephanie (roommate from college), Dusty, Aunt Viv from Australia and Aunt Becky and Uncle Ken from New Hampshire. It was so fun to see everyone; making jokes and telling stories like we always do. Grandma hadn't seen me since I was in the ICU at UVA and anytime I did anything, she would burst into tears. It was a perfect day for them to show up because we had another standing group. There were about 5 of us that took turns standing with varying levels of assistance and we played a life-size game of Jenga. Each block had a different question on it to keep everyone engaged. I loved having my family there to see me standing and hearing them all yell and clap every time. I think all of the therapists and patients enjoyed our enthusiasm and laughter. My balance was so much better while standing and I reached a new personal best- 7 minutes!! I also only required two people to stand- one for each leg because I've gotten so much more trunk control. I was even able to lift an arm up and pull one of the blocks from the Jenga game!
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