We have some exciting updates to share!
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of excitement and busyness at home as much needed repairs & improvements have been taking place.
Our driveway and garage were in desperate need of replacing. There was a huge crack in the garage, in the path of the door, causing a height differential of more than an inch. An entire slab in the driveway had sunken causing a differential of about 3 inches. These were serious hazards for Nick. A small army of men and their sons spent an entire Saturday breaking up and hauling off concrete and prepping for new concrete. The next Friday, they were here bright and early for a 7am to pour. (The kids were most disappointed that I made them go to school that day!) Definitely not the ideal weather conditions for pouring concrete but we were all very pleased with the results. And are SO grateful!
They put up a temporary ramp to the front door until the concrete had cured and we had a more permanent ramp set up in the garage. Another amazing crew of guys got to work on building the ramp of all ramps! It is more than we could have imagined. They spent an afternoon and a full day (8:30am – 7:00pm) completing the ramp. It’s wonderful and their generosity is much appreciated.
The final piece will be a new step from the driveway to the front door. And we have some work to do in the garage – relocating shelving to the back wall and of course organizing everything that had to be moved for all of the work. So we are praying for no snow accumulation until we can finish that up and get the van in the garage.
We had a consultation on Tuesday with the program director at Re-wire in Novi. Mrs. P is a warm and knowledgeable educator who has a passion for helping people function at the highest level possible. Several years ago her mother-in-law suffered from a stroke. She went from being very active to not knowing how to operate her phone. She used all of her training and expertise to help her mother-in-law gain back her function, even to the point of being able to drive again. She re-ignited our hope! The initial testing results were actually better than we expected. She has had great success with people whose initial scores were much lower. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a LOT of work to do, but neuroplasticity of the brain is an amazing thing and I am very confident that she is a key component in Nick’s healing process. He has a personalized plan that will address his specific challenges and we should start seeing small gains very soon. We start with her on Friday and Nick will see her twice a week. The drive is so worth it!
Nick is still receiving aquatic therapy once a week. My to do list seems never ending these days, but piece by piece we’ll get it all done. The next order of business is to connect with an OT, follow up with a few speech therapists, find a regular time & babysitter to be able to get a pool membership and implement the at home portion of aquatic therapy. Those of you who have reached out via email will be getting a message from me soon to see if you may be able to help with some of these things.
Nick’s parents were in town for a quick visit this weekend and his dad was able to beautifully match railings to our existing staircase so that Nick can more easily go both up and down the stairs. Such a blessing!
Life is busy. At times things are downright overwhelming, but through it all, BLESSINGS ABOUND! We are so incredibly grateful to this community, our friends and family near and far, whose prayers, support and generosity truly sustain us.
I’m fearful of leaving someone out, but this small army of incredibly generous, talented & selfless men and young men deserve a special shout out: Chris Lussier, Joe & Benedict Lussier, Matt Lussier, Mike Sumerton, Andrew & Eli Walters, Nick Kresta, Tim Stout, Mark Lerkees and sons, Luke Condit, Mike Miklosovic, Dan Taylor & crew, Washtenaw Sand & Gravel , The Home Depot, and Kemmer Construction, and Tim Green for bringing Holy Communion to Nick each week.
WOW! The people of God are AMAZING!
