Update - Monday Evening

We are praising the Lord for definite and clear direction today. We have had a busy day with several evaluations. She met with her occupational therapist and was put through a series of tests that assured them she was ready to go home and continue her therapy on an out patient basis. Physical therapy was very pleased with their evaluation of her and gave the report that they were comfortable to also continue to work with her on an out patient basis. We were thrilled.

The case was then assigned to the rehabilitation team. They met with Rachel late this afternoon to evaluate as assess her abilities. They will be meeting tomorrow morning with all other therapist to develop a plan for her at home. They all have given the green light to release her to care on an out patient basis. We are looking at physical therapy 2-3 times a week for several weeks.

The doctor heading up the case met with us this evening and said that she is comfortable sending her home tomorrow. We have worked through a plan with her and also feel that God has given us a peace that it is safe to take Rachel home and continue to work with her there. We are thankful that God has made this so clear to us today.

As is routine for adolescent patients who have been in the hospital for an extended time, they wanted to do a psychiatric evaluation with Rachel. As we have dealt with these types of doctor's before in regards to Zak's care, Rob and I both felt that this was not in God's will for Rachel at this time. After talking with the doctor's God moved in their hearts to pull the orders for this evaluation. They agreed to have Pastor do an evaluation with her. We were thrilled to see God's hand work this situation out - as it could have posed a great conflict of interest in regards to the care we were looking to see Rachel get. Pastor met with Rachel and we are happy to report the doctor's were very impressed with his recommendations for her. God truly does move in the hearts of men - even when they are not believers.

The plan is to bring Rachel home sometime tomorrow. She is still going through times when her nerves are not allowing her muscles to work. This causes 'spells' where she is not able to move parts of her body. She also finds that her chest becomes heavy and it feels hard to breathe. Again, it is just the muscles 'taking a break', so to speak, as her body is going through the side effects of this particular syndrome. We have been able to set up a plan for her when these things happen to keep her mind focused on getting better, rather than not panicking because she feels short of breath. Pastor talked with her at length about just staying focused on truth during these times and trusting God. It truly would be hard for anyone feeling short of breath, unable to feel or move their legs and unable to see out of their eyes to not become a bit panicked at the effects of the syndrome. This will become our main goal for her at this time to work through these episodes - let the muscles respond the way they are going to and have her stay calm during the duration of the paralysis. Please pray for God's peace during these times.

We will keep you updated. While going home tomorrow it will be a full day getting all the orders from all the different departments. We look to have a busy day tomorrow and are not planning on leaving here until afternoon sometime. The therapists are also looking into the equipment she will need to be able to get around until her strength is back. We will probably be needing a wheelchair and walker and they are working with us as parents to know what we need to do in the home to have it safe for her to be able to continue her care there.

Thanks so much for your prayers. We are thankful that we will soon be home - and counting the hours till we can sleep in our own house. One week at a hospital is long enough for me!

Thanks for checking up on us and praying!
~Martie

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