Dear Friends, Family and Prayer Warriors,
I just want to update everyone on Jodie’s visit to the Shepherd Center, 5 days short of the 3rd anniversary of her arrival there the first time.
It was wonderful-- of course it is all very different as they are in the middle of a $60,000,000 addition project. More beds, bigger facilities, another parking garage and it will have small condos where families can stay when they come for a check up.
The best part of all was seeing the expressions on people’s faces when they saw us. I know they recognized me but not Jodie because if you saw the pictures in the last update they last saw her at the 2 ½ month stage. They were all stunned to see how far she has come and to see their mouths literally drop open when they saw her was so wonderful. I guess I see her everyday and although I know how far she has come seeing their expressions was the best boost I could have asked for.
We literally ran into Dr. Leslie in the hall and he just grabbed her, hugged her and just kept looking at her. We also saw all of her therapists and some of her nurses, and to say they were shocked would be an understatement.
Dr. Leslie asked about her baclofen pump, the dosage and what they were currently doing for Jodie at Methodist Rehab. They calibrate her pump dosage by computer and they have this thing that looks like a baby computer mouse that they place on top of her skin over the pump. He increased it 10% to help with her tone, and the level is now at 300 -- we will see him again on June 20th and I believe he will kick it up again.
We also discussed the problems with her right arm which she cannot straighten; it is basically locked at the elbow. He advised doing a partial release of the elbow in order for her to have some chance of getting use of that arm. He said with the position the arm is in now, she will never be able to use it. So that is something I want to get done in the fall and will discuss this with him in June.
He left the exam room and stayed gone for awhile and when he came back, Mrs. Shepherd was with him. She was absolutely shocked when she saw Jodie, she rushed across the room to hug us and just kept saying over and over how great Jodie looked. He had not told her where they were going - just that he had to show her something in the clinic – and she was so glad for the surprise. She told Dr. Leslie to be sure and take pictures of Jodie before we left. After she left the room, they sent for a camera and took plenty of pictures of Jodie.
No wonder we love it so much there, everyone is kind and caring beyond any words I could ever use to describe.
The plan right now is to go back in June and get her pump filled again and discuss the plans for her arm and the surgery release. In the meantime, I hope to soon speak with Dr. Willingham the new local physiatrist (whole body doctor). We would like to find some doctors in the surrounding area that use baclofen pumps for their patients, so we can get it filled here (closer to home) and then maybe twice a year we will go to Atlanta. We may have her arm release surgery done in Atlanta with the same doctors that did the tendon release on her feet 3 years ago.
God has shined graciously on Jodie and continues to do so. I wish I had taken a picture of her this morning holding Andi Claire (Andy’s baby), she was smiling from ear to ear and it was the kind of smile that lights up her eyes and not just her mouth turned up. When we all see how far she has come, only God could have performed this miracle of healing. I love to think of all the prayers that everyone has sent up for Jodie and I know he knew that she was loved and cared for by so many that he wanted all of us to be fortunate enough to witness a true miracle. And that is what Jodie is - a true God-given miracle.
I ask for your continued prayers as Jodie’s Journey continues - you have helped all of us so much and those prayers have given her the strength to keep moving forward.
Love in Christ,
Nancy and Jodie
P.S. As a funny side note – CoCo (the little white fluffy dog I got Jodie in November) was the recent winner of the Greenwood River to the Rails “Paws Parade”. CoCo sat on a pink pillow in Jodie’s lap, wearing a little pink doggy dress and pink bow in her hair, as I pushed them in the parade. Out of the 50+ entries, CoCo was named Miss Leflore County Humane Society and sat on a throne (wash tub) wearing a long red Queen’s robe. She will now ride in the Christmas parade because of her illustrious title! It was a hoot to see, as you can witness in the attached pictures of Jodie and her majesty, Queen CoCo.
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