Lesson #25

My Wife is My Best and Closest Friend In The World!

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There is no doubt in my mind that this is a true statement. Robbie has been there every step of the way, from my fall to my healing, she has been a constant rock from which I draw strength. She has been a trooper, diligently working hard to make my healing the best it can be. She has helped me in so many ways, I know that I would not be where I am right now, had it not been for her. Of course, her strength came from God Himself...and I am so thankful to Him for giving her to me. I am so blessed, so loved and so twitter-patted (sp?) by her. There is no doubt she is my soul-mate, the one created specifically for me. I am so thankful that I am still alive and here to enjoy her company and love.

Robbie, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You still capture my heart and soul and I am so in love with you, more today than I have ever been. My God richly bless you for all that you have done for me!

I love you,

Russ

One Year Anniversary Happy Feet Day 2009

The day has come, my one year anniversary! It just doesn't feel like a year has passed yet Robbie tells me that it most definitely has been a year!

It has been really hard on Robbie. She has struggled a great deal with all that we have dealt with this past year. I know she is very thankful for what God has done in our lives. It makes me sad to know that she has been sad, yet I know that God has used this situation to teach us some very valuable stuff. For this I am very grateful!

Today was relatively quiet. There were no big celebrations. No big parties. No big hoorays. Collier greeted me with a musical card or "song card" as he calls them. It had a picture of 2 feet on the front of it and it played the song, "I get knocked down, but I get up again, cause you're never gonna keep me down!" I laughed and I cried. It was fun!

Then I got a text message for a very dear friend who too was remembering my day. Then it was off to church to worship God. Robbie's parents, sister and husband joined us in worship today and then it was off to lunch to celebrate. Robbie's mom deemed it "Happy Feet" day. Robbie calls it Survival Celebration Day. Whatever you call it, it is a Praz God Day!

Then we got home from lunch and Robbie presented me with a memorial gift. It was sweetly inscribed and it has a clock and photo of my family in it. It is beautiful and it will sit on my desk as a reminder of how God is so Good! Thanks Robbie...I love you!

I spent a good portion of the day looking at the clock, recalling each hour (what I could recall) of this day 1 year ago. I am so thankful that I am not there right now. So glad to be home and walking again. I have also gone back through this blog to recount the crazy events. So amazing to see the path God has allowed me to travel!

I get to see my Ortho doc this week for the first time in 6 months. I am sure we will x-ray again and chat about healing. I am about 80% there. But our continual prayer is for complete healing! And it will come in time, I have no doubt. Then I can go back to work!! Hurray!

Thank you again to all of you who have prayed for me and my family, who continue to take the time to read this blog and for giving thanks to our God for His blessings. He is really amazing and powerful!

Take care and I will post later this week to tell you how my doc appt went!

I love you all very much!

Russ

Lesson #24

People say the craziest things to you. I guess they are trying to find a way to connect or they are completely blind to your situation.

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I have probably posted this example already, but I have to mention it again because I will never forget it. When people learn about your situation, they want to connect to it in some way. The most common way is for them to tell you about a similar situation they were in or someone they know had a similar situation. I have heard just about every story there is about falling, broken feet, broken ankles, etc. But the one that tops the cake is the one where a man told me about his dog having some kind of broken foot. He was so serious as he was telling me his story and the whole time I was just laughing inside. How did my situation equate with his dog's situation. I was very thankful that this guy was concerned about me and my healing and he was indeed very sincere, but trying to mesh together his story and my story was just humorous at best.

A lady at Tops Shoes who was helping me buy new shoes just a month ago. She was talking and talking and finally asked me why I was replacing all of the shoes. I gave her a brief summary of my accident and she said, "ah that's no big deal, I fell through my attic too and just came out with a few bruises." Needless to say, I had to immediately leave the store. She had no clue how ignorant her words were. I left angry! I went home, asked God to forgive me for my anger and then went back to buy some shoes. I did tell her that her words were very distasteful and that she should be more considerate. She apologized and sold me $250 worth of shoes.

The moral of the story here is that people, including myself, don't always think about what they (I) say to people who are hurting. We should spend more time listening and being quiet!

By the way, thanks for listening!

Reminders

Right now, I have some very dear friends who are in the middle of a VERY BIG storm in their lives. Their new baby girl has a severe heart defect. They have been in the hospital for many weeks. I wish I could take all of their pain away. But I can't. I watch them going through this and I see God at work in BIG WAYS! It reminds me of how God worked and continues to work in my storm.

I am so thankful that I am able to help them in ways that I could not before because of what God taught me during my storm. Praise you God!

Lesson #23

There is NO bad change, only good!

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Ok, that may be a strange statement, but yet it is true. I was meditating on this topic not long after coming home from the hospital. I was looking at my life before my accident and then looking at what was before me. I quickly saw that things had drastically changed. Nothing was the same. And then I began to judge whether the change was good or bad. At first glance, you would automatically say, "well, this change is bad!" I did. Who wanted to be in a wheel chair and be told that you would never walk unassisted again. Who really wants to go to the bathroom in a portable potty? NOT ME!

So really, it was gloom and doom. Even though I knew I would not be in the wheel chair forever, I really did not like the change that had come to my life. So I began to pray and read the Bible. I remembered verses that state, "if God be before me who can be against me." And, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." And then I read verses that talk about God molding and making us into the likeness of his son. Then it dawned on me. You know, if God is really sovereign over all things, then nothing happens without his permission. Therefore, all change is good. I may not like the change. It may not feel good at the time it happens, but in the end, all changes are used by God to make me more like His son. Therefore, I must count it all joy.

"ALL THINGS work together for THE GOOD of them who love God and who are called according to his purposes."

So, change is good.

Using What I Have Learned

I have been sharing with you the things that God has been teaching me during this ordeal. There are 30 specific things on my list so far. I will share a couple of more in a few minutes.

Right now, I want to share with you how I am using what I have learned. I know I have said this many times in this blog, yet I have to say it again, one of the biggest lessons I learned was that you must stick closer than a brother to your dearest friends, especially when they need you the most. Robbie and I have some awesome friends who have a new baby girl with a severe heart defect. We knew about this heart condition months before she was born, but now she is here and the baby and our friends are pretty much living at the hospital. I know how important it is to have close friends and family surrounding you in your time of need, especially when you are in the hospital. I must tell you that I have "delighted" in visiting and doing all kinds of things for my friends. It brings me great joy to do anything that lightens their load! I love it! I hate that they must endure this, but I am SO BLESSED AND THANKFUL to be at their disposal!

God, I praise you for my accident and for all the great things you have taught me! I am blessed by your grace and love! I stand in awe of you!

10 months!!

Ten months have past since my accident and it is amazing how far I have come. I wish I could move faster, but, healing is progressing well. I am walking more each week and the pain is getting lesser and lesser. I am not having to take pain meds as much as before.

I am working losing weight to lessen the impact of arthritis. I am down 21 pounds as of today. Pray that I can lose much more than this!

I will have to go back to work soon. My disability insurance is aggressively working to stop my monthly payments. They are so eager to get you money for their policies, yet they are more than eager to stop paying benefits!

My next doc appt is in August. I believe at that time, my surgeon will release me from his care.

I continue to do PT each week. It has been the biggest help. I will have to get some shoe inserts soon for my right foot to correct my walk.

Thank you so much for your prayers. God is so good and He continues to heal me and answer my prayers of healing!

Lesson #22

As time marches away from my accident date, people have gone on with their lives and the calls, visits, emails and cards have slowly dwindle. Loneliness has come.

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This lesson goes hand-in-hand with the last one I just posted. It happens. People will swarm around you at the initial beginning of the crisis. Then as time moves out, the crowds get thinner and thinner. It will seem like no one really cares anymore and you begin to feel lonely. Again, you emotional roller coaster is taking you for another ride. You must keep your focus on Jesus Christ and on serving other people. The more you focus inward, the deeper that loneliness hole becomes. Get up! Find someone else who is worse off than you and go make their day brighter. In doing so, you will make yours much brighter.

There is also a reverse lesson here all of us. When people are in a long-term recovery from a crisis and you have chosen to walk with them, then you must walk with them the entire distance. It is not a 100-yard dash...but a long distance marathon. We must be wise in our commitments to others. I am not bashing the "first responders". Robbie and I would have never made it without them too! They too serve a great purpose. But for those in your inner circle, those covenant relationships, those you have chosen to walk with...they are they ones you must stay with until the end. I am much closer and more committed to my inner circle today than I ever was before my accident. I will go the distance with them no matter what!

I have 8 more lessons to post. So stay with me! LOL

Lesson #21

I was not expecting a roller coaster ride on The Emotions Express…you have to know it is coming, be prepared to deal with it and not allow faulty emotions to steer your course.

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I still battle this everyday...and we are 9 months out from my accident! Your emotions will always steer you in the wrong directions. They are faulty, depraved, just messed up! LOL Don't get me wrong...I love emotions, but to rely on them as a life guide is just foolish! You are up one minute and down the next. Each day brings a different emotional response. When diversity comes, be ready for the Emotions Express. It will hit you like a ton of bricks and you must be alert and cautious. You will quickly get sucked into feeling sorrow for yourself. Actually, you will be drawn inward instead of outward. Keeping the focus on yourself during these times is the WORST thing you could ever do. You will never get any further than you are right now if you always focus on YOU. So, when these emotions come, let them come...it is natural, but never let them be your guide to what is right!

9 month Anniversary

My 9 month anniversary is approaching fast. Just amazing that so much time has past. My accident seems like yesterday, and yet, it seems like forever ago!

The healing is SLOW! It seems to be moving at a snail's pace. I must admit there are times when I think there is no healing going on...that I am stuck where I currently am. Then God allows some progress that changes my mind. Each week, the pain is becoming less and less and I am able to walk more normally and for longer periods of time. The continued physical therapy is really making the difference! The more I work these feet the more normal that become. Praise God!

I am working on losing weight. My doctor told me that I MUST lose some significant weight to lessen the arthritis that will come. As of today, I am down 16 pounds with another 70 to go. I have to do this...it is a must if I am ever going to get back to normal.

Thank you so much for your continue prayers. I know you are out there praying and I am so thankful to you for that! God continues to work and it is amazing to watch!