Faith's Mom's Blog

This year has certainly been a mix of blessings and challenges. Faith kicked off the New Year by getting another UTI. Along with that, she somehow managed to break a bone in her wrist and had increased anxiety due to some staff changes at her day program.  Also, she had gotten a new chair last August and we've already had to make numerous repairs and adjustments. All of these things have resulted in many extra appointments with doctors and specialists, including a urologist, orthopedist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, and DME technician.  Thankfully, the broken bone in her wrist healed on its own! We also got some good news that the slight curve in her spine has not gotten any worse and she doesn't seem to be having any pain in her back or hips.  We still don't have answers for the recurrent UTIs, and she is recovering from another one as I write this. I have tried a few different supplements to prevent them but haven't found the right one yet.  Hitting a huge mileston

It's hard to believe that Faith is 19 years old and has never had a major illness or extended hospital stay since she was in the NICU. The only other time she had to stay in the hospital was when she had her g-tube placed when she was two years old. That is, until now. And to think it all started with her having a simple outpatient procedure that had nothing to do with the reason she was hospitalized.  Day 1: Thursday - the Procedure  Faith and I got up extremely early as she had to be at the clinic for her outpatient procedure. The procedure was a lumbar puncture in order to do a test dose of medication called baclofen, which would help reduce high muscle tone and spasticity. If the results were good, and it helped her muscles relax, we would have the option (in the future) of inserting a baclofen pump so that she could receive the medication continuously via a catheter in her spine.  I stressed the importance of giving her anti-nausea medication before the procedure because I kno

Oh. My. Goodness. What a month! It's certainly been challenging, but thankfully there were a few bright spots to help us through. At the very end of September, both Faith and I came down with colds. They would not go away! Faith was really stuffed up and seemed pretty miserable. I thought she might have a sinus infection so I took her to the walk-in clinic. Although I didn't think we had COVID, I asked to be tested just to help give me a peace of mind.  They only had the nose swab available. I was nervous about it being traumatizing for Faith. As we waited for the nurse to come back in the examination room with the test, I prayed for Faith that she wouldn't have a tough time. I should have remembered to pray for myself!  I told Faith I would go first so she would know what to expect. When they stuck the swab way up my nose, I nearly started crying. It gave me flashbacks to when the breathing tubes got pulled out of my nose following open heart surgery. It was sort of the sa

At the beginning of 2018 I had come up with the idea to post an inspirational meme for every day of the year. I called it #365DaysOfInspiration. Part of the reason for doing so was because of all the negativity and bad news that seemed to be flooding Facebook. I figured my inspirational posts could be at least one positive thing people saw each and every day. Little did I know at the time how much my Facebook friends would come to appreciate these little nuggets of inspiration. One lady even told me that she wrote every one of them down in a little journal. Another told me these little blips of inspiration kept her going on some of her most difficult days. Many people shared that whatever I had posted for the day was just what they needed. After faithfully posting for 365 days, one of my friends said, "Thank you for the 365 inspirational posts. I enjoyed the variety of quotes, often feeling challenged to think more about it through the day. I know this took a lot of time and

On Facebook this month, I did a #30DaysOfThankfulness and posted each day what I am thankful for. I wanted to compile my complete list in one spot - so here it is! Day 1 : I really am thankful that God took me, someone with a past of swearing, alcohol abuse, rebellion, and other types of sinful behavior, and made me into a new creation, which can only truly be done through JESUS! Day 2 : Thankful that even on more challenging days, there is always something to be thankful for, and today I'm thankful for chocolate! Day 3 : The first snowfall of the year always reminds me of this Bible verse. Thankful that all the promises in His word will come to pass. Day 4 : I watched a movie yesterday called The Last Face (it's a tough movie about the civil war that took place in Liberia). I found myself feeling more thankful than ever that we live where we do and that all of our basic needs get met each and every day. Not only does my family have a cozy apartment th