Kevin's Recovery Helping Kevin Mather on his road to recovery

Kevin’s Progress

As Kevin begins another week  he has been very encouraged by a multitude of visitors and the generosity of all those who have brought meals and donated in different ways.  His rehabilitation is progressing at a good rate and his therapists are very happy with how he is doing despite some setbacks ie. infection and broken scapula.  He is transferring from his bed to wheelchair and shower with little to no assistance.  The last couple of days he has suffered some pain in his back.  Please be in prayer for continued healing in his back and that he will know whether the pain is muscle pain from rehab or something that needs to be treated.  The puncture in his leg has closed about a 1/2 of cm which hopefully is an indication that it is healing.  He has been on quite a few antibiotics for his infection and he began to show some abnormal liver function so they are trying to narrow down which antibiotic might be causing this.  Please pray for healthy liver function as they will be testing for this in the next couple of days.  Again Kevin and Tiffany covet your prayers and thank everyone for all the support they have received.

Message from Kevin

  While reading about all of Jesus’ interactions with people one can’t help but notice all of the sick people that have their lives changed when they encounter the savior.  Because of my recent situation, the encounter in Luke 5:17-26 has really hit home.   “Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.   Then behold, men brought on a bed a  man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.    And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.When He saw their faith, He said to him, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you’. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, ’Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?’   But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, ‘Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say Rise up and walk?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins’ - He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”   Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.   And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”    

I relate to this story in several ways at the moment.  It has been amazing to me, being the Paralytic on the bed, having a Church behind me bringing me to the feet of Jesus daily in prayer.  I have been truly amazed by the local body of Christ that I am a part of, thank you for your faithfulness to pray, love, and support Tiff and I while we are wondering our way through this process.  The meals, visits, donations, and everything else you have provided have been amazing, and we are continually blown away.  

Also, to the complete body of Christ that have stepped up to join us in prayer, we are ever grateful.  As John 13:34-35 states, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  Thank you all so much for living out the faith, and showing a genuine love for a brother and sister in need.  We are truly grateful for everything God is doing through this situation.   

Rehab moves foreword at a slow pace.  Everyday I make a little bit of progress, it is encouraging to be able to do a little more by myself each day.  The infection seems to be doing better for now, and the shoulder seems to be doing better everyday, hopefully in a few weeks I will be able to put all my weight on it.  This will help me out a lot with transferring from my chair to bed/shower/car…   Again we cannot thank you all enough for the amazing support you have all provided!  

Kevin

Answers to Prayer

We just wanted to again say thank you for the continued prayer and support.  Today was another good day, Kev has had more energy the past 2 days and has been able to complete more activities in therapy.  He is not having quite as much pain in his shoulder but is still unable to do much weight-bearing exercise.  The puncture wound appears to be getting better, however he is still on several antibiotics daily to keep the infection under control.  The large lump underneath his knee ended up being a mass of fluid which the doctor was able to drain (very gross), so that was a huge answer to prayer.  Also, the redness in his foot has been steadily decreasing over the past few days and it currently appears to be completely gone!    Prayer requests are basically the same – continued healing of Kev’s right shoulder, left ankle, left knee (puncture wound/infection),  the return of feeling and movement to his lower body, strength and endurance for Kev to make it through each day of rehab.  

Thanks again,   Kev & Tiff

Meal Update

Kevin and Tiffany continue to express their thanks to everyone who has brought them meals during these last few weeks.  It has been a huge blessing to them.

They have requested that whoever is bringing them meals from now on should change the amount of food from 6 people to 4. Family members are not down at the hospital everyday during dinner now and they don’t want food to go to waste.  Food for 4 people should be enough to cover anyone who happens to be down there during dinner.

Thank you again for supporting the Mathers!!!

Progress Report from Tiffany

Overall Kev’s been doing really well in therapy.  Of course since his right scapula is fractured, his range of motion and ability to do much upper body work is definitely restricted which can be challenging since his arms are all he’s got to transfer from the bed to wheelchair and vice versa.  The infection in his left knee and fractures in his left ankle aren’t helping either.  Over the past 2 days, his left foot has gotten very red and the swelling in his shin and ankle seems to be increasing.  He has also developed a large lump below the puncture wound. These areas are of course being monitored as the concern is that the infection could be spreading.  Kev has had a low grade fever for most of the day today, so please keep praying that his body will be able to fight the infection.

Basically all of the previous prayer requests apply but I guess the primary prayer requests at this point are:

-        That the antibiotic treatment would effectively fight the knee infections and that the infection would not spread to other areas.

-        That Kev would get the rest he needs to be able to make it through the day and that he wouldn’t be so drained and exhausted.

Thanks again for the continued love, support, prayer, meals, etc.  We truly appreciate all you guys have done! 

Quick Request

I am sorry for the late notice but Kevin is very exhausted tonight due to physical therapy and multiple doctor visits throughout last night and today.  They have asked that no visitors come tonight (MONDAY) so he can rest and regain some strength.  Please try to respect this request and pick a time later this week to visit Kevin.  It is very encouraging for him to see everyone and he wants the visits to continue once he recovers and rests tonight.  

Also next Sunday the 26th Kevin and Tiffany ask that all visits take place between 11:00am and 6:00pm.  Their Community Group is going to come to the hospital to visit them from 6:00pm to 8:00pm and will bring the visitor capacity to the max at one time.

Thank you,

Nathan Keith

Mather’s Note

Kevin and Tiffany wanted to thank the many volunteers who helped move out their furniture this weekend so their new carpet and flooring could be installed soon.  It is a huge blessing to them and they feel very blessed that they are being cared for by everyone.

Please continue to pray for Kevin’s infected leg that it would heal and that they doctor’s would know which medicine would best fight the infection.  Kevin’s white blood count is down which is a good sign and the swelling looks like it is going down, but it still continues to be a concern.  The doctors are going to decide in the next couple days whether surgery is needed to clean out the infection.  Please pray that this will not be needed as it would set back Kevin’s recovery process.

Update from Tiffany

We definitely had an eventful day today.  Kev had an MRI done on his left leg to check the infection again and a infectious disease specialist come look at it, and they seem farily concerned about the infection since it does appear to be getting significantly worse – the swelling is increasing and his leg is getting pretty red.  They also said his white blood cell count is high which is of course another sign of infection.

He also had a CT scan of his right shoulder and they found that his scapula is fractured which is what has been causing him so much pain.  There isn’t really anything the doctors can do for it, but he does have to be more cautious with physical therapy as certain movements will be restricted.

Due to all of the tests and doctor visits today Kev’s schedule was changed multiple times, so he didn’t get much physical therapy in today.

Please continue to pray that the antibiotics are effective in fighting off the infection so that he doesn’t end up with a bone infection.  We also are praying that Kev’s shoulder will heal quickly so he will be able to effectively complete physical therapy.

Video Message from Kevin

Kevin took time out of his rehab work to share his thoughts on recovery and all the great support he’s gotten from all of you out there!

Message from Tiffany

Another answer to prayer…we just got online!! YAY!

Now that the internet stuff got sorted out, Kev was able to read the blog, which has been super encouraging for him to see all of the comments, so thanks a ton for blessing us in that way!

Kev and I also wanted to once again say thank you for all of the love, support and generosity everyone has shown us. Words don’t even come close to fully expressing our sincere appreciation for all of the incredible ways the Lord has used all of you during this time. We have truly been blown away and absolutely overwhelmed by everyone’s willingness to go above and beyond to help in any possible way. Whether it be our church, friends, family, employers, co-workers or even people we don’t even know, God has used all of you in extraordinary ways!!

Since the accident, God has continually been reminding me that His grace is sufficient and He will give us “Strength for today & bright hope for tomorrow”. There are obviously tons of “unknowns” during this time, however it is so comforting knowing that we can rest in God’s faithfulness knowing that if we truly believe that He loves us like a Father and has our best interests at heart, we don’t need to worry about what the future holds. While we may not see the big picture, we’re not called to understand, but rather trust.

Please continue to pray for:

– Kev’s right shoulder – he’s been having a lot of pain since the accident which is getting worse with all of the upper body work in physical therapy. Please pray that the doctors would quickly be able to figure out what the problem is so that it doesn’t hinder his ability to complete physical therapy

– Kev’s puncture wound on his left knee that has become infected – please pray that the anti-biotics would be effective in fighting the infection (especially since the wound goes all the way to the bone) and that the wound itself would heal quickly

– Kev’s complete healing and continued encouragement throughout the rehab process. His spirits have been really good, so please continue to pray against discouragement and that he would remain motivated and determined.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You all have been amazing and it has been such a huge blessing to feel so surrounded! Knowing so many people are praying, taking care of basic needs and handling EVERYTHING with the condo is absolutely incredible!

We love you guys and can’t thank you enough,

Tiff