Monday October 24, 2005

Monday October 24, 2005 Zack was up at 7:00 this morning and was ready to go early. On the way to Frazier East he told me that he needed to get his drivers license. When I asked him why he was so anxious to start driving he said, “Because I’m 16!” I told him he would have to talk with his Occupational Therapist because she was the one who determined when he was ready to drive. He said, “Really, I have to talk to her? Will she be there today?” He is so anxious to start living his life again. He will have to take a special driving class (after his O.T. writes a letter recommending him for the class) before he can take the test, which is also different and much harder than the standard one everyone else takes. He might be ready but we can’t even think about him driving away in a car with his friends driving. When we arrive at Frazier he has a half hour before therapy begins and he says he is really tired. He lies down on a therapy mat in the gym thinking that he will get a quick nap in before the day starts. He only got to rest a few minutes before he was told he needed to write down his schedule. He uses a 3-ring binder and keeps a daily schedule and log of activities. This enables me to ask him questions, sometimes calling the therapist for clarifications, and keep track of his progress. His handwriting has improved a lot in the last two weeks. It actually isn’t much worse than before the accident (which isn’t saying a lot) but his spelling needs lots of work. He had two different sessions of speech therapy today (which is really what he needs) and also worked out with weights in P.T. He still needs to build up his endurance and his strength (especially on his right side). He really likes working with Scott (O.T. student) and I think it is because there are very few male therapists and he likes the male bonding. On the way home he told me he was very tired and wanted to take a nap really bad. I explained that he would have time for about an hour or so before we would be eating dinner. He wanted to wait until 7:00 to eat so that he would have longer time to sleep but I reminded him that his friends would probably be visiting tonight so he needed to be ready.
We didn’t have any visitors yesterday which worked out well. Scott had taken Zack and Dylan to watch the Packers football game in the afternoon. Zack was very disappointed that they lost. I ended up with a headache and took a nap (sorry I didn’t post). When Zack came home from the game he took a two hour nap and got up for dinner at 7:00. By 9:00 he was asking me if he could go to bed and I told him he had to wait until 10:00. He came in again at 9:30 pleading with me to let him go to sleep. Finally at 9:54 he kissed me and said it was over, he had to get in that bed.
After dinner Tiffany arrives, then Taylor and her Mom. Andrew comes in right before Brittany and Kara and then Avery and Caroline. All is well…Zack’s friends are here. They play pool and talk about the latest gossip, helping him be a normal teenager. This is the therapy that he enjoys, even when he is tired. Gradually they begin to leave and at 9:00 Zack starts talking about bed again. He manages to stay up another hour playing cards and pool with Scott before coming in to tell me goodnight. He is not singing and dancing like he was at Frazier Rehab (I think he got that out of his system) but he is still very sweet. I don’t know what other changes we might see in his personality but so far they have all been positive. I made arrangements today to speak to the Highland Baptist Youth Group at their Wednesday night gathering on November 16th. I read all the postings and agree that middle school students need to hear this message of “seemingly innocent choices”, parental authority and the power of prayer, as much as high school students. Other than through church youth groups the only way I know to reach these kids is through independent organizations (like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes). I will follow wherever God leads me. He has blessed us and continues to show mercy by healing Zack. To say that we feel lucky almost seems like an insult because the hand of God is far more powerful. His whisper changes lives just as his breathe created it. God has been preparing our family for many years to be a tool; although we couldn’t see it until His gentle hand wiped away the tears. He knew that “zack is the only way to show you” and therefore has turned a tragedy into a testimony to His Glory. I envision a “Stay the Course” ministry one day that has teenagers reaching out to other teens to hold them accountable for their actions. A source of information for parents to understand that, because of that underdeveloped frontal lobe, teenagers are not capable of always making good decisions so God gave parents authority and responsibility to help them make wise choices. Parenting (especially teenagers) is the most important, difficult and rewarding job God created. We need to embrace it and work at it as if working directly for God. I want to thank all of those who posted recently to let us know they are still reading and praying. We are seeing a lot of improvement with the aphasia and Zack has blossomed since coming home. We are humbled to realize that Dallas was not in God’s plan but how perfect our situation is now. Can you hear His whispering…wait until tomorrow! Continue praying for complete recovery and that His will be done. What a blessing is God’s perfect plan.

Psalm: 32:22 “The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.”