hand therapy

i had hand therapy today. still pretty swollen. i'm having to wear finger splints to keep the swelling out of my fingers. she said today those are not blisters between my fingers i have a yeast infection ;-0 75% of the back of my hand is numb. it is really tight and stiff. i have some of the strangest feelings in my hand like shooting pain, tingly, throbbing, burning, warm, like someone is crushing the bone ;-0 there all not real fun... right now there massaging it, icing it and moving my fingers alittle. they said it will take up to a year to see if the nerves will work on my hand again. i will have months of lots and lots of painful therapy!!! oh, and i got 18 stitches out last week. they think i still may have one! i have been having some pain in my neck and back lately. waiting 4 a referral to a back therapist.

kyle & Rebekah

summer fun pics

boys love the little swimmimg pool!

Jonas' bible school program

jonas had a very neat program today! they have such a neat bible school each year... they raised over $500.00 in there pennie drive for Missouri Baptist Childrens Home.

pow wow time

at our nightly pow-wow time we all wrote 5 things that were most important to us. all of us that could write including jonas wrote Jesus/God at the top of our lists!! the kids did not have help with that. family was second on our lists. we were very pleased with our pow wow time tonight. they love holding hands and sharing prayer requests and praying.

hair cut

a one handed wild woman gave Jeremiah a hair cut tonight. his curls were bothering him. he likes his hair short. if your wondering how i did it with one hand.... i pulled a piece up he held and i cut!! ;-)

boys swimming

the boys begged 4 the swimming pool so we got it out tonight. they had a blast!! hopefully they can start there swimming lessons again real soon...

looking at new vans

we are starting to look at new vans. we went and looked at some today. the 2008 are pretty close to the 2006 like we had. they want us to bring in pics of our van since we had such a nasty crash and were all not hurt anymore than we were.

i liked the color we had but, just can't handle getting the new van in that same color. we are hoping to get it in july or august. i still can't drive for a few more weeks. actually at this point don't care if i ever drive again, but i'm sure that will change in time.

bible school

jeremiah and jonas has a blast at bible school today. they are looking forward to going all week. they loved the music and crafts. they look forward to there homemade bread they make every year. i had volunteered to be the lead teacher in the 2yr old room this year, but because of the accident i'm unable to do that class. i did the toddler class last year.

Picture of my hand in a splint and sling. don't ya love my finger splints! mala and jo just stare at my fingers.... i'm am still kinda stiff looking and get tired out really fast, but am gaining everyday. i had a neck and back massage today and that has helped my tight muscles relax. i'm having hand therapy 1-2xs a week. my hand is still really swollen. my chest still hurts some if i do much. i have had alot of help from my parents, kyle's sis, and a couple sitters to help me with the boys everyday. i am not up to taking care of them yet. of course kyle is so precious in all this taking care of house, kids, me and running kids everywhere... he has been wonderful...

dr. visit

Rebekah got her stitches removed from the wound on her hand today. At last count, there were 18 stitches in all, but there may be one or two more hidden in the dried blood where the skin was pieced back together. If there is, they’ll get those at the next doctor visit in three weeks.

The doctor seemed pleased with the healing progress. However, he and the therapists are concerned about swelling and also that one or more nerves were cut in the accident, causing her to lose feeling on about 75% of the back of her hand. The doctor was unsure whether the nerve would grow back, and said it might take a year to know for sure. The feeling Rebekah has is around the thumb and index finger, and the numbness is all on the back side of the hand, and runs up on the back side of her three injured fingers.

For the swelling, Rebekah will need some massaging to work the fluid out of her hand. She’s also been given finger splints to keep the swelling out of her fingers.

Please pray that God would restore full use and feeling to the hand. It will probably take six more weeks with the splint and for the tendons to heal. Then, we’ll begin with the real therapy. We thank you for your care and prayers for her and the boys during this recovery time.

Kyle

boys

jeremiah giving mala a piggy back ride. they were having a blast.

jonas helping daddy cook supper. they do a awesome job

this is me just sitting around watching boys play. i hope i get to feelin better so we can do some fun things this summer. better yet just feel better enough to take care of my boys!

Natalie Grant: Keep On Shining

I love this song. i would love to see her in concert sometime. i'm so jealous my sis-in-law got to go to her concert last month...

Jonas' summer pals

these pictures are from friday, the last day of summer pals. jonas had so much fun. during the week, he got to make many different types of fool. he took a field trip thursday to a restaurant and got to make his own apple pie. he was very proud of his pie. this was jonas' first year at summer pals for advanced learners.

JWD'S summer quest

he had a blast! he made up his own board game. he named it switches and shortcuts. very neat game. this was jeremiah's 5th summer attending the gifted summer school. after 2nd grade they have to have a certain iq score to attend.

Back 2 ER

yesterday kyle had to take me to the ER to get my neck and back checked out. i was having extremely bad head, neck, upper back pain and terrible nausea. they did x-rays & ct and all was normal. they wanted to make sure they didn't miss something 2 weeks ago. they put me on stronger meds and muscle relaxers. kyle said my neck was very tight. i am doing alittle better today on the new meds.

big thank u to aunt julie for coming and watching the boys and putting them to bed which is no easy task....

me

i am feeling some new pains the last couple days. since not taking so much meds my chest (bruised lungs) and upper back have really been hurting. had a back spasm last night and kyle rubbed it. it was very painful. i have tried to ease up on meds to save some for my hand therapy which is going to really be painful. that hurt so bad last week for them to make the splint and mess with my hand. for now i am only allowed to move the end of my fingers for 2 months. then they will redesign my splint so i can use alittle more of my hand slowly.

So thankful for my parents who have helped with the house, kids and me! my parents and a young girl coming here to help me with the boys.

2 days ago i could ever so slightly move my 3 fingers today i can WIGGLE the top of those three fingers. that is pretty cool to see after not being able to move them at all for 10 days.

it's easy to get winy in all this. some of my favorite moments with my kids is when there out of school in the summer. i miss getting to do fun things with them. but i have so much to be thankful for. when i getting feeling down about my hand i tell myself at least i have a hand! or when i feel bad the kids have to go to sitters for a day i tell myself be thankful you have those kids to have to send somewhere. things could be so different if god had not taken such good care of us that night! it's not easy to type this much with one finger on left hand ;-) i'm determined to not be held down by all this...

off to school

boys going off to there gifted summer school classes.

mala eating breakfast

i actually took theses pictures with my left hand...

Family Pow Wow

We've started to hold family pow wows this week. It's a time for each of us to share what's on our minds, and we can pray together for our various needs. The kids have been very excited about "pow wow" time.

Kyle's news

It's me, Kyle, writing again. Last night I took a step closer to becoming an ordained minister. I had to be examined by our local presbytry committee and then voted on by the local denomination's general association board. I passed with flying colors, and must now be approved at the association's quarterly meeting next month. After that, we'll schedule an ordaination ceremony and make it official.

I'll admit that it was a little wierd going through all this with Rebekah still dealing with the after-effects of that car crash. It was kinda difficult to concentrate, but I made it and now we can move on.

jonas and jwd gifted classes

jonas is having so much fun at summer pals. last week he learned about penguin and polar bears. this week they are learning about food from Italy, japan and other places. he got to use chop sticks one day. today he got to make and eat pizza. he has his open house on friday which is his last day.

jeremiah is learning all kinds of games. today they made up there own games. we will get toi see it at open house on friday.

GREAT NEWS

I CAN EVER SO SLIGHTLY MOVE MY 3 INJURED FINGERS.... I AM ECSTATIC! IT'S A BEGINNING. I AM STARTIG TO FEEL BETTER. I TEND TO OVER DO IT ON PERKY DAYS AND THEN SLEEP THE NEXT 2 DAYS, BUT AM DOING BETTER EVEN ON NONE PERKY DAYS...

THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE PRAYER, FOOD, EMAILS, CALLS, CARDS AND VISITS...

mommy and boys

mommy is enjoying reading the boys a bedtime story...

update on Rebekah

bandages first coming off since surgery

6/7/08

Rebekah visited the doctor that performed her hand surgery and also saw a hand therapist for the first time today. They talked like it’ll take around two months for the tendons to heal, and they’ll be doing some therapy during that time. In about three months she will begin strength training. And, hopefully she’ll be back to normal in time to open her Christmas presents. Otherwise, Jonas has volunteered to help out with that.

The doctor was pleased with the way the injury looked. There wasn’t any redness in it, and he thought it was healing well. He might take the stitches out when we visit next week. She still can’t move her three injured fingers, but hopefully that’ll come back soon.

Rebekah’s back and neck are still sore and stiff. She continues to use her breathing treatment for her bruised lungs.

Remember to pray for Rebekah. Healing is going to take a long time, and it’ll take a while for the pain and swelling to subside.

happy fathers day...

crash pictures 6/7/08

This is where our van went off the highway

and up the bridge embankment.

Here you can see the tire tracks our van made

as it left the bridge support and began to roll over.

This is the embankment that our van flew over before
hitting the ground, some 50 feet after leaving the bridge.
The small silver disc you see is one of our hub caps.

This is the inital impact, some 50 feet from the bridge.
You can barely make out the driver's side mirror
in the center of this six-foot wide crater.

This picture demonstrates the distance our van
rolled. At the lower right is the initial impact point.
In the distance, you see Rebekah's father standing
where the van came to rest.

family picture

This is Rebekah's husband, Kyle, writing this special blog entry. Here is our latest family picture (pre-crash). Don't we look just peachy?

This has been a particularly challenging week in our home. It's hard to believe that it was one week ago tonight that our world was turned upside-down when Rebekah was involved in that crash. The week following has been filled with arranging care for her and the boys while I deal with insurance and car companies, and follow through on the whole "in sickness and health" part of our marriage. :) Unfortunately, it'll probably be like this for some time. I think we all look forward to the day when things calm down and we can get back to some sense of normalcy.

Continue to keep us in your prayers. We have a long road ahead of us.

saturday

this is m today resting during nap time. today has not been so good. i slept most of the day. i woke up really hurting and stayed in bed most of the morning. then my sweet hubby cleaned me up and washed my hair... i am blessed 2 have a hubby that is taking such good care of me.. we have been receiving meals from church people and really appreciate them. our neighbor mowed our front yard today which helped alot. everyone is being so sweet to us and taking good care of us.... boys are happy and healthy.





my bruises
jonas' forehead scratch

father/son trip

6/6/08-6/7/08

Jonas' summer school

kyle said, he is having lots of fun.

Better day

Today was a better day. I have felt better. my back feels alittle better. my arm is still very painful. I rocked Mala to sleep this afternoon and we both enjoyed that! Jonas is so sweet & takes care of me. Jeremiah helps dress Jonas in the mornings and is so grown up. kyle is so precious and will do anything 4 me & I mean anything. My parents have come up every day and taken care of everything. Kyle's parents are home from the hospital and allen is recovering from his lung surgery. it went awesome and doesn't need anymore treatments! kyle's sister was so sweet and helpful and i was thrilled to see my brother twice now!

it was a total miracle we all survived that crash. god was watching over us. i prayed the whole time to protect my babies. i was so scared for them.

Thanks for all your prayers, cards, food, thoughts and visits

Rebekah hand

Rebekah's injured hand 8/7/08


6/10/08 We brought Rebekah home from the hospital this afternoon. She is still very
stiff and sore.

God had his hand on them during the event. It's a miracle they weren't
banged up more than they were. Please keep praying for Rebekah. She has a long road to recovery. She's still picking glass out of her skin every once in a while, but
her biggest challenge is going to be her right hand. As I mentioned
before, she had surgery on the hand to reattach the tendons. She
still has no function in those last three fingers on the hand. She
will be in a cast for some time as those tendons grow back to each
other. After that, she faces up to six months of hand therapy to
re-build strength and functionality. The doctors say there is a
possibility of reduced funtionality, but time will tell on that.



6/8/08
Rebekah had surgery Sunday on her right hand to put the tendons back together. It was a success. She will have to wear a splint for a while and go through up to six months of therapy to regain use of the hand.

She is doing some breathing exercises to help her bruised lungs heal.

Rebekah's accident

Just after 10 p.m. Saturday, Rebekah, and our two youngest boys, Jonas and Malachi, were involved in a very bad traffic accident. A young girl lost control of her car and hit my wife's van in the left rear quarterpanel, spinning her van around and up the embankment where it flipped three times.

Everyone had their seatbelts or safety harnesses on, and my boys and the other driver escaped with only minor cuts and bruises. (Praise God for that!)

Rebekah has bruised lungs, and a major laceration on the back of her right hand. That slash on her hand has cut the tendons leading to the middle, ring and pinkie fingers. She cannot use those fingers at the moment. Additionally, she has a lot of
cuts and bruises all over her body.

Please keep her and the boys in your prayers.

Thank you,
Kyle

JONAS' BIG NEWS

TODAY JONAS ASK JESUS INTO HIS HEART!! We are so excited for him... He is very happy and has been calling people to tell them his good news. He says, I ASK JESUS INTO MY HEART AND HE WASHED MY SINS AWAY." He is looking forward to daddy baptising him this summer with Jeremiah. I am overwhelmingly excited for him!! There is no greater feeling than to led your own child to Christ...

Swimming lessons

Swimming lessons went great this week again. The practiced blowing bubbles, jumping under water and started learning hand motions to swim. They are enjoying them so much. Jonas is a dare devil and is afraid of nothing. We got him a life Jacket to wear while he is playing in the water after his swim lessons. He is alittle to daring for not knowing how to swim yet. Malachi & Jonas love Kyle and I to take them in the deep water to play and kick around...

Day at the zoo

We went to the Zoo this morning. Kyle is on vacation this week, so we have been doing some fun stuff. They boys loved seeing all the animals. Jonas and Malachi both went to sleep in the van after we left. It was a big day and we all enjoyed it. Then we went and visited Gramps. The boys have played outside this evening in the back yard.

Allen's Good news!

Kyle's dad Allen had his lung surgery June 3rd. They did a biopsy first to see if the lymph nodes in his chest were cancerous and since they were fine they went ahead and did the surgery. They got it all and just got back the results of his tests on the tumor today and he doesn't even have to have any more treatments... He will get to retire in 4 more months. He has a few weeks of recovery because he had major surgery, but he is going to be just fine.