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

2010!!!

Happy New Year!  I can’t even believe that it’s January of 2010 and that we’re almost at the 6 month mark – I’m still amazed how time can seem to fly by and yet stand still all at the same time.  We’re still waiting for the day when we wake up & life doesn’t seem so surreal…the past 6 months have been quite a whirlwind which we still feel pretty dazed from.  To say that 2009 was a rough year would be quite an understatement, but we are definitely praying that 2010 is a year of rest & restoration.

As far as an update goes, after 5 1/2 months, Kev’s puncture wound on his knee FINALLY closed!  While some people may think it’s gross, we were quite excited when the scab finally fell off…at this point we’re grasping for any piece of good news or anything to be even remotely excited about.  Unfortunately we’re STILL stuck with the brace – we’re hoping it will come off sometime this month, but we’re trying not to get our hopes up since every time it seems like it will likely come off, it doesn’t.  Kev DID pass his hand control driving test (apparently you can miss 20 points & he only missed 3!).  Once the brace comes off & we get a car for him with hand controls installed, he’ll be cruisin’ around.  For those of you that don’t know, I did end up needing to quit my job to help Kev.  So the answer to “are you back at work yet?” question is a definite “no”.  We don’t have any idea what I will end up doing long term, but knew that at this point, it just wasn’t feasible for me to go back to being gone for 11 hrs a day.  I will really miss my co-workers but am confident that this was the best decision for us at this point.

We’ll be taking our first airplane/traveling adventure this week to Kansas City for my sister’s wedding.  Please be praying that everything goes smoothly & that we’re actually able to enjoy ourselves.  Traveling can be pretty stressful now since there are so many factors to consider, supplies to remember, and countless unknowns that we’ll just have to strategize about the logistics once we get there.

Once again we just wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you for being so loving, supportive, generous, hospitable & helpful.  Since day one we have been absolutely overwhelmed by the way everyone has responded & we just want all of you to know how much we truly appreciate all you have done!  There are far too many people to list by name & several who we don’t even know, but you know who you are & you’ve seriously had a huge impact on our lives.  We know that words could never even come close to expressing our gratitude but we do want you to know that all of your hard work, dedication & compassion have not gone unnoticed!

Current Prayer Requests:

- That the swelling in Kevin’s legs would dramatically decrease.  Swelling is somewhat common in paraplegics initially, however at this point, his swelling should be gone.  Due to the severity of swelling, he has to wear very tight compression stockings daily to help keep it down.

- That the back brace will actually come off this month & that we’ll be able to get a CT Scan & an appointment with Kev’s neurosurgeon quickly to try to expedite the process.

-  For continued healing of course & perseverance for us both – life gets pretty draining & we’re getting kinda exhausted.

- That this year will be a year of physical & emotional rest, restoration & continued recovery.

- That we will deal with everything in a way that would honor the Lord.  I think the emotional aspects of everything are starting to hit a bit harder.  All of the new realizations of how drastically our lives have changed & grieving what has been lost can be super overwhelming.  Whether it be desiring the daily tasks didn’t require so much effort, or longing to participate in all of the active hobbies we used to always do together, or just missing being able to snuggle up & watch a movie, or hold hands & go for a walk.  At this point everything feels so completely different & it doesn’t even feel like it’s our lives that we’re living.

Thanks again,

Tiffany and Kevin