yep... still moving

Well today was therapy again, and as you can see in the video.. Rick is still moving his leg! It's his left leg again, but I think he's moving it farther than he even did last time! I think I have watched this video like a hundred times already because it is so fun to see it move! He still can't feel it, he said it just feels like he's trying real hard. Whenever he watches the video he gets a slight smirk come across his face.. it is so cute! Today in therapy he also wheeled himself from the rehab gym to the vending machines.. which is down a real real long hall and back! He did awesome! He is also fully recovered from his sickness.. he is getting all his strength back and doing great! It will be so fun to keep posting all the videos of Rick's improvements and progress!

My brother Shay graduated from boot camp today.. he was in the top ten of like 170 people! I am so proud of him! Keep up the good work Shay! We can't wait to see ya... you're always in our prayers!

My parents came down and saw us yesterday and today.. we had a real good time.. it was really fun to see them! Through this trial we have come to see what the important things are in life... and family sure is!! We have the best family anyone could ask for. Everyone in my family and Rick's have touched our lives somehow and we are so blessed to have them. Through this time it is hard, but if we didn't have the family we do, it would be almost impossible. We'd like to thank all of our family and let you know how much you mean to us!! You guys are super de duper! No but really we love you all!!

one movement closer....

Well I am full of good news today. First of all rick isn't sick anymore! I don't know if it was his antibiotics or the flu or something else... all I know is that it is gone! He's still a little weak, but he'll have his strength back in no time. It's a good thing he's better because I don't think we could have handled one day more of that!!

Now for the news that I am so excited to write.... Rick moved his leg today!!!! During therapy today his therapist layed him on his side and put a board in between his legs to eliminate gravity... he normally moves it all around and tells rick to try and move it. Well today he was on his side and his therapist straightened it out and told him to bend his knee up to his chest.. so it's kind of like a walking motion but he's just laying on his side. Well.... he moved it!! With no stimulation or help... he went from straight to a little bent. It wasn't all the way up but he moved it a good 6 inches by himself!! We knew that it would happen soon... but now it's starting to happen. It was his left leg... and he said he couldn't feel it.. it was all tingly though. Which means there is a connection going through... it's just a little small one right now.. but no worries it will just keep getting bigger and bigger!!

I found a quote that President Gordon B. Hinckley said at his wife's funeral and it just hit home and summed up so much......
It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is.
It all works out. Don't worry.
I say that to myself every morning.
It will all work out.
Put your trust in God,
and move forward in faith
and confidence in the future.
The Lord will not forsake us.
He will not forsake us.
If we will put our trust in Him,
if we will pray to Him,
if we will live worthy of His blessings,
He will hear our prayers.

fundraiser

Well if anyone from monroe or richfield are lookin for a good time you should go to the richfield fairgrounds tommorow night!! Hollan's dj company (ALiveSoundDJ) will be playing and there will be great food!! Who doesn't like to dance? The answer is noone!! And the money is going to Rick and I. It should be a real fun time!!

It's amazing that we live in such a wonderful community and have such amazing friends! Thankyou to everyone who is helping us through this.. we will find ways to repay you when this is all said and done. Thankyou again!

Yep... still sick

Well today has been quite the adventure... well every day is an adventure but this one for sure. We woke up and got ready and then we went to the doctors because Rick is still sick!! So we got him in the car and drove to the doctors.. got him out of the car... the doctor checked him out and wanted us to go to the hospital and get a blood test.. so got back in the car and drove to the hospital.. got out of the car and got Rick's blood drawn... got back in the car and went back to the doctors to wait for the results.. got back out of the car and went into the doctors office.. of coarse waited in a little room for a while.. the doctor came in and said his white blood cell count was a little high but not too bad so maybe it's the antibiotics that is making him sick but we need to finish them out for the infection, so pretty much he'll be sick for at least three more days, but we can handle it... then we got back in the car and grabbed food.. came home and got out of the car and ate food! So yep there's our day. For most people getting in and out of the car is not something you think about, but when you're transfering someone that needs full assist it's a different story. But actually the transfers went good today, no hurting my back which is always a good thing. We both feel a little less stressed about Rick's illness.. hopefully it's just the antibiotics and we'll be done with it soon. If it doesn't go away when we're done with the pills... then we have alot of tests, but that's too far away to think about. I think it will go away when he's done taking the pills. I think it's safe to say we're just going to stay home and chill on the coach the rest of the night... today drained us!!! Hopefully next time I write.. I'll tell you how healthy Rick is feeling and he's back to working hard in therapy. I just look at this sickness as the last bad thing before he just gets all better. We have to have one more trial before it's all over and this is just a memory. I know we'll have more trials along the way but I sure hope and pray we're almost done with this journey we're on and we'll be on to the next. Don't worry I'll post pictures of the miracle happening... small miracles happen every day!

our house

Well here's the progress we have so far... a few cabnets, hardwood floors, tile and so on.... we're getting close!! you can't tell to much from these pictures but we love it so far! We don't have the outside stucko color on yet so right now it's just gray but that should be on soon... I'll keep the pictures coming!

New muscles!!

Well Rick is still feeling pretty sick. He's been on the antibiotics since Friday and it's still not going away!! We don't know what the deal is. He still has the fevers and the nausea and all that stuff... maybe it's a little better but I don't know. If he's not feeling better by tomorrow we'll have to take him back to the doctors. We had to miss therapy today but hopefully by Friday we'll be able to go. But the good thing about not going to therapy today is that Rick was able to rest and sleep and hopefully get healthy and I was able to organize stuff and clean. Since we will be moving soon ( or at least one day) I figured I might as well start getting ready. We went through our spare room that was full of junk and cleaned it all out and packed it all up, and we organized and went through a little closet we have that we just kinda put random stuff in and threw away alot of junk, and we went through our junk drawers and organized all them. It sounds like we have alot places that were full of junk but it was just those three places. So we felt pretty acomplished just by doing those little things. One step closer to packing up and moving!! Our house is getting closer and closer. Our floor is getting close to being done and some of our cabnets went in and the island in the kitchen and most of the tile in our bathrooms.. closer and closer!! We're going over to check it out tonight so I'll take some pictures and post them.

Although Rick wasn't feeling very good on Monday at therapy a great thing happened!! Rick thought that he could use more muscles in his back and arch his back a little. So our therapist put his hand on his back and sure enough Rick is using new muscles!! He can flex them all the way down to a little bit lower than half way. It will really help him with balance and it's just one step closer!! So even though he's sick and right now kinda sucks.. he's still making improvements and still progressing great!!!

Happy Father's Day!!!!!

Happy Father's Day!!! These are some pictures of my pops and Rick's dad. I hope all the fathers out there have a wonderful father's day because you deserve it!! I want to say a special thanks to my dad.. he really is my hero! I couldn't ask for a better dad and I can't wait to see you soon... love you pops!! And to rick's dad.. thanks for everything you do and we love you!!
Well on Friday when we went to therapy someone up above was really looking out for us. Rick was still feeling really sick but he insisted on going to therapy ( you could say he's a little stubborn at times). Right before our therapy started we went to the vending machine at the end of the hall to get some fruit snacks and right then one of Rick's doctors came walking out the door. He asked how Rick was feeling and we told him how we was really sick the day before and we thought he was better that day but he was getting sick again. Rick was telling him all his symptoms, like nausea and stomach ache, and how his stomach just felt really cold and his terrible fevers. The doctor said it sounded like a UTI (urinary tract infection.) I didn't even think about that because last time he had one he just had a fever but he felt fine besides that he didn't throw up or anything. But he said alot of the time with spinal cord injuries a UTI will have alot of different syptoms for Rick then it would for the rest of us. So he gave us some antibiotics and had us go do a urine sample to make sure. We won't get the results back till Monday, but we're pretty sure that's what it is. Rick is still kinda sick... he's still not feeling great. We're still kind of battling the fever and nausea but he sure is alot better. If we had not seen that doctor in that hall that day we would have probably come home and his infection would have got worse and I would have freaked out and taken him to the ER. It's so amazing how God is always watching out for us. He sure saved us alot of sickness and stress from sending that doctor to us right then. It sure is neat to see how prayers get answered. I know our prayers get answered everyday and He is mindful of everything we do. That's why I know that Rick will be healed, because there are thousands of prayers being said for him. Thankyou so much to everyone for those prayers... and please keep them up!!!

Good vs crappy

Well yesterday Rick had a great day at therapy!! Rick pretty much transfered himself from the wheelchair to the mat all by himself!! His therapist just gave him a little pull to get him over the tire but that was it. Before his therapist would have to help pull him and balance him... so Rick did awesome!! Rick is starting to learn how to go from laying down to sitting with his legs out in front of him. The first time he did it yesterday he needed some help, but then once his body figured out what he needed to do, he got the hang of it real fast. By the end of our session Rick was doing it all pretty much by himself!! He did awesome!! And the sensation when Rick trys to wiggle his toes his toes tingle, or when he trys to move his knee his knee tingles, or on and on, keeps getting stronger! His therapist said that it means there are connections getting down and coming back up, now we just have to keep working on it and make those connections stronger! Yesterday was just an awesome day! When we got home from therapy we went over to our new house and they were laying more floors and they're putting stucko on our house today. Our designer who is in charge of our house pretty much said that her goal is to have our house done by the end of next week. Then we just have to do all the inspections and we can move in! We're getting very close! Then Rick's friend from highschool and his wife and baby came and spent the night and we just hung out and had fun... so overall it was a great day!

Funny how whenever we have an awesome day.. there has to be a crappy day to follow it up. Yesterday when we were driving home in the car Rick kept saying that his stomach on the inside felt really cold. We didn't think much of it but it turns out that Rick woke up at 6 this morning with the flu! He has it pretty good too. So today he's just been laying in bed and sleeping and trying to get over this yuckiness. I"m hoping and praying it's just a 24 hour bug and then we'll be as good as new tomorrow. It's just a blessing that we didn't have therapy today so that we didn't have to cancel it. He'll just get to stay home and sleep it off. So good day yesterday... followed by a poopy day today!! But the good days are so rewarding so I guess we can handle a few bad ones inbetween!!

still going

Well we have had some busy days lately. This weekend was fun. On Sunday after church we had a LONG nap, and then Hollan and Ady and Greg and Tyla came over for dinner. It was delicious! Then they played guitar hero with the wii.. it was pretty entertaining. Greg is a serious pro! Then we just played some games and hung out.. it's so fun to have great friends!! Yesterday we had a doctor's appointment at 10 in Provo. So we had to wake up at 5:30 to get ready to leave at 7:30! Early morning things are not the best for us. But the doc app. went well. He said that he could tell that Rick's arms are alot stronger , and that he's gained alot of his triceps back. Rick told him that when he trys to wiggle his toes his toes start to tingle real strong, or if he trys to move his legs his legs start to tingle harder. The doctor said that was really neat! That's all he said.. but hey we'll take it! Then we met up with my mom and went to Sizzler for lunch and then just went to the park and hung out. Rick mostly just slept, but it was real good to just sit and talk with my mom.. I don't know what I'd do without her! Then we went to therapy, and for occupational therapy they had Rick push himself down the hall t0 the pop machines and back. He did great! He's getting so good at it! Then for physical therapy he practiced getting himself up from the mat and transfering himself to the wheel chair. The harness thing that holds him over the treadmill wasn't working so they put him on a machine where he pushes his body up with his legs. It will be so exciting when he can do it all by himself, he's getting closer and closer every day!

Sometimes I have bad days, like everyone else, and I start to think of the things that Rick can't do right now. Like walk, or work, or get himself ready, but then I start to think of the things that he can do. Rick can breath on his own now, and eat, and talk, and move his arms better and better, and feel new spots and new sensations, and help me transfer him, and eat things on his own(when he wants to that is), and help me roll him in bed, and help me get his shirt on, and he can make me smile and laugh SO hard! He has the most faith and determination out of anyone I know, he shares his testimony and feelings with everyone, including strangers, he can make everyone laugh and want to be with him, he reminds me that everything is going to be okay all the time, he can take drinks by himself, he makes me fall in love with him over and over everyday!! Rick is amazing.. I know that I say that in almost all my blogs... but he reminds me everyday just how amazing he is! Rick is going to be a miracle.. he can and he will!!!!!

a note to doctors

Okay so I am so happy and thankful for doctors and everything they have done. But here is a note to anyone who wants to be a doctor, knows one, or has had to deal with them as much as us. I understand that you can not give false hope to patients... okay I understand that!! But that does not mean you have to shoot people's hope down as soon as they have some. There is a little thing called faith in people's lives.. in our lives.. it's a huge thing!! I know that your medical book might say one thing, but it's okay for us to believe another!! And just because someone has hope and faith... no it is not called denial! And if someone comes to you with good news like.. Rick's legs tingle.. or Rick's reflexes are stronger.. don't shoot us down and say that might not really mean anything!! This is hard enough to get through already.. we don't need you to strip hope right out of us. I am so thankful for your knowledge and help and all the education you've been through.. but not everyone follows text book rules. The doctor in the sky knows alot more than you and he has ways of letting us know his plans for us. And after we find out those plans.. like yes Rick will walk again.. even if you don't believe it.. don't tell us!! Just don't say anything!!

So it's obvious that I will never tell all this to a doctor, so I had to vent and just get it out there!! It seems like when a person becomes a doctor they're not a person anymore just a doctor.. I'm sure some of you know how I feel.. but I guess it will just make it feel all that better when Rick walks into those doctor's offices!!!!

The wii

So Rick's brother Matt let us borrow his wii the other day. At first I thought that it would be really good therapy for Rick but little did I know... that I'd get addicted!! I love the wii!! Whoever comes over we make them play the wii with us. When my parents came to visit we even made them play. I must say they did really good. So I suggest to everyone.. play!!

I don't know how many people know that I have three older brothers. And I'm a little bias but I think I have the best brothers a younger sister could have. My brother Shay who's the youngest of the three just joined the national guard. He's in nursing school and he had to finish all his finals early and real fast so that he could make it to boot camp on time. When he got there he got pnemonia, pink eye, and an ingrown toenail. Some how he survived all that and kept going with boot camp. And the funny thing is that I don't even have to be there and I know he had people laughing and smiling through it all. Shay's had a hard time deciding what he wants to do with his life over the years but I can say everything he does he is great at! He is so smart and unlike me school seems to be a breeze for him. He is one of the most spiritual people I know and of coarse we would fight growing up ( in fact we were really good at it) but I always knew that if I needed him he'd be there for me. When Rick fell my whole family was there for us, and Shay said some things that really helped me. So I thought that I'd just take a minute to tell Shay how proud of him I am and to keep up the hard work! Love ya Shay!!

Rick is still doing awesome!! Of coarse he keeps getting stronger, and his reflexes are getting stronger! Yesterday his parents took him up to Provo for rehab so I could have a day to relax and do stuff for me. I thought it would be so nice to have a day but the second Rick left I missed him so much!! As the day went on I was okay, but I could not wait for him to get home! But it felt good to have a day to regenerate. Today I feel great! I even got my hair colored.. which for most people is not that big of a deal, but since I only did it once before it's a huge change. Everytime I walk by the mirror I even surprise myself because I forget. But today has been a great day because I've just been hanging out with Rick and of coarse playing the Wii!!

When we drove by our house today a guy is in there putting in our hard wood floors!! YAY!! We're getting closer and closer!!