Thankful

“I always thank God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus.”— I Corinthians 1:4. In the spirit of this season of thanksgiving, I wanted to write a quick post to thank all of you for your continued prayers and support.

I also wanted to share a verse that Aron had just sent me in June. It was something both of us were meditating on:
“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 2:1-4.

For me it has been an absolute blessing and an honor to experience the body of Christ at work. The way that fellow believers have come around us, lifted us up, prayed with us, cried with us, and just been there for us has been overwhelming. For me it’s been a beautiful picture of the body of Christ at work, and I know it’s been the same for the Shubins and for Aron’s friends.

I was finally able to get away from school to visit Aron today. He is still tolerating the tilt table and physical therapy really well and has continued to make progress and noise. We played thumb war. He won. I told him how proud we are of him and that he can’t get frustrated but just needs to keep working hard. He gave me a thumbs up and later smiled and squeezed my hand.

Please continue to pray that Aron regains his ability to speak. Once Aron can communicate more clearly, we will better be able to understand his wants and needs.

The Shubins and myself have been so blessed by the kind words of encouragement, the overwhelming outpourings of support, and the continuous prayers and visits from all of you. So thank you.

making noise

Yesterday during speech therapy, Aron started to make noise. The therapist got him to make noise for almost five minutes. Unfortunately, no one was there from my family to witness this, but when the therapist recounted the incident to my dad, she was very excited. Apparently, making noise like this is a first step to regaining speech.

three hours

Aron is doing much better after his cold.

He's continuing to receive therapy on the tilt table, and he also spends quite a bit of the day up in a wheelchair. The therapists are working towards getting him to tolerate three hours of therapy a day. By tolerate I mean: staying awake and responsive and maintaining good vitals (pulse and blood pressure). If he can continue to improve and tolerate the therapy he increases his chances of being a candidate for a specialized therapy facility which is where my family REALLY wants him.

Please continue to hold Aron in your prayers.

a cold

Aron has a cold that has been around since this weekend. He's had a fever and some congestion, but things seem to be getting better. Because of this, he hasn't been getting therapy. He spends a lot of time resting, but has been somewhat responsive at times. Please pray for his recovery and comfort.

tilt table

The therapists are now including a tilt table into Aron's physical therapy. This piece of equipment moves Aron into a supported standing position. Aron is not standing on his own, but the table holds him upright. He seems to tolerate it well, and they're going to be using it for the next two weeks. His therapist said that getting his body in an upright position can help to "wake up" the central nervous system. This is exactly what Aron needs - please pray that it works.

playing catch

I just wanted to post really quickly - my dad called me a minute ago to tell me that Aron is playing catch. Jimmy is throwing the ball to Aron from about four feet away, and Aron is catching it. He isn't throwing it back, and he isn't moving too much, but he is catching the ball.

Each day in therapy, Aron does a little more - today he correctly identified letters and he is still working on holding up his head.

In addition to the therapy Aron gets, my parents, Jimmy's parents, and Amy's parents go see Aron often. Since the accident, there hasn't been a day my brother has been without a visitor. My parents firmly believe that everyone's commitment to him is a contributing factor to his progress.

Please continue to hold Aron in your prayers.