October 26th
Hello everyone. We are all OK here. The first
progress reports came home yesterday and must say I am pleased with all 3
reports. The kids seem to be adjusting well to school and all are working
very hard. There have been a few delays on the projects at the new house,
yet by the Grace of GOD and the wonderful volunteers, we are moving
forward. First Response called and got a lot of the materials donated, but
we did not have a complete list of items needed so unfortunately there has
been quite a bit of out of pocket expense. But still, I am very thankful
for if it not for the volunteers doing the labor free we would not even be
this close. They have done a wonderful job and it looks so good... The
fence company did come out and measure but has not put up the fence nor
are they returning phone calls.
CHRISTIE is doing fine. She received a card in the mail from Josh
the other day and it brought a huge smile to her face. We have picked out
some items that will help her on a daily basis for ECHO (a part of
TRI-Care) to buy for her this month and Dr. Weiss agreed with all of them
so he wrote us a prescription for them... She is getting around much
better with less help; when we take walks she now follows the sound of my
voice and I just let her know about obstacles. She helped Sarah with her
bath last night and then today dressed Joshua. So we are coming right
along.
JOSH emails and calls us frequently now. Of course we all like to
talk to him when he calls. They have asked him to be part of a research
program. I do not understand all of it right now...they are sending me
some stuff he has to do with his speech. They have been using it on other
speech problems and want to redo it for brain injury patients and have
selected JOSH to be 1 of 2 patients they will use. They (quality living
staff) have reported he is getting stronger in his lower extremities. He
certainly does stay busy- going to the movies, out for ice cream and to
the rec center....anything his house goes to, Josh is part of the group.
It does tire him out but nice to know he is participating in the fun
things as well as therapy.
Well that about wraps it up for now. I know it does not sound like much
happening but for some reason I am on the go or busy all day everyday from
5 am till midnight at least trying to get everything done. Will be glad
when we are moved and everything is in one house again instead of two.
ALMOST forgot we had a birthday this week JACKEY turned 6 on Wednesday.
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL for all your thoughts and prayers. thank you for
taking this journey with us and sharing our many miracles with us.. GOD
BLESS EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU... KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS as we continue
forward on this journey. Mary E Brasfield
October 21st
Good evening everyone. The weather is cool and
rainy here. We have had several thunderstorms this week, which is slowing
the moving progress down. The children are out of school today and
tomorrow which with the rainy weather causes them to be bored. But soon
when they have the play room and things will be better for them.
CHRISTIE is doing OK. Still has mood swings and is working things
out. She is getting around a little better and trying to do a little more
on her own. ECHO through Tricare is a program which enables her to get
products for the blind and they pay for them up to a certain amount. So
some of the more expensive items we were going to have to wait on or get
one at a time we will be able to get a little quicker for her. She does
so good at helping Stephen with his spelling and reading homework which
helps both him and me.
JOSH is doing great. We went to see him today and he was laughing
with me and asked me to feed him lunch.. I think he was a little ashamed
of the fact that his rice fell off his fork. He again asked for me to
bring him home and I told him he was getting better but was not ready to
come home yet. He was laughing and teasing with us. Kept telling us how
much he loved and missed us. His hair was bright red today, more so than
usual. We took him some sweat pants and shirts for the cooler weather.
All in all it was a terrific visit. We were all crying when we left.
They were a combination of happy and sad tears.
Well that's about all the news from here. Thank you all for your
continued thoughts and prayers for they do continue to bless us. Those
who are taking this journey with us I thank you and we pray for all of you
every night as we feel you are a special part of our family...GOD BLESS
ALL OF YOU AND THANK YOU FOR CARING..... MARY E BRASFIELD
October 11, 2007
Good evening everyone. Well, I have not been
neglecting you all; I think of everyone daily and am blessed by your many
prayers every time something good happens to my little group. Yesterday
was my birthday and it was a very pleasant day. I had tears in my eyes as
those four wonderful grandchildren sang Happy Birthday to me. Their
little voices so very sincere and the pride they had in knowing all the
words to the song, it was so great... I had another surprise in the mail
last Saturday, Christie had me type and email an entry for her to GRAND
magazine for their grandparent of the year contest. I was in the top 10!
As such I received a check, certificate and complimentary gift certificate
for two to their magazine. The local paper came out and did an article on
it and never said a word. While reading the paper there is this
little box with congratulations in it and they have also given me a one
year subscription to the local newspaper. ISN'T OUR GOD SO GOOD TO US!!!
I am so humbled by all the generosity and kindness being shown to my
little group.... Well enough about me but it was a wonderful birthday and
I am still a little awestruck by the award.
CHRISTIE is going to physical therapy three days a week to help
improve her strength and stamina. She is still adjusting to everything
new in her life and as one would expect, some days are better than
others. She needs a little shove now and then to encourage her to try and
be independent, otherwise she is willing to allow others to do for her,
but you know MOM...she grumbles and cries but she does for herself and is
starting to also do some for her children... We will get there in due time
and prayerfully she will still love me at the end of the line... TOUGH
LOVE is not all it is cracked up to be sometimes...
JOSH: Well it appears he is an expert at getting out of the
seatbelt. So he now has one that buckles in the back so he will not cause
himself any bodily harm... He had them call us tonight because he missed
us and to wish me a Happy Birthday. He had also sent me an e-mail wishing
me happy birthday... It is so nice to hear his voice and to see him
beginning to return to our kind and considerate Josh again... He is still
a little hard to understand late at night when he is getting tired but he
is getting stronger every day.
The new house is coming along. The fence company has been to measure the
yard and should be calling back to let me know when they will be out to
put the fence in and what kind it will be.
The bedrooms and playroom are coming along with just a few minor glitches.
We did not have a complete supply list when we were getting donated
materials so now we have had a few expenses out of pocket that we were not
counting on ,but prayerfully GOD will provide. He has been so good to us
so far.
THANK YOU for all your thoughts and prayers. Thank you for taking this
journey of miracles with our little family. A special thank you for those
that have felt the call to come and pray in person and visited the kids
when taking vacations we all appreciation the visits so very very much.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL for you have touched our lives in such a special way...
MARY E BRASFIELD
October 6, 2007
Hello Everyone! I cannot believe it is October
already. This year is passing by so very quickly... Of course I stay on
the run constantly and still have so much I do not get done. The children
are all enjoying both school and God's Kids Club.. They are learning so
much so quickly. Joshua does enjoy his time alone at the house though...
He almost seems to resent it when the older children come home and he once
again has to share grandma and mom's attention. School pictures came home
today and they are certainly good. We are slowly moving things into the
new house. At this time I am the one doing the bulk of the packing and
moving because we are combining the households and no one else can decide
what we want to keep or get rid of. SO it is slow going but we are working
on it...
JOSH is doing very well. Christie talked to him on the phone this
evening and he visited with her and was pretty talkative. His emails are
getting longer also. But like Christie when she first really woke up, he
does still get confused sometimes; like this afternoon he told her they
had 5 children. But......we are so very very glad to have our JOSH back
and talking to us. He looks good, his color is improving. He gets to stay
at Quality Living for another month at least. They were moving him to a VA
facility but because he has started moving forward, the move could be
detrimental, so for now at least he is going to stay here... close to
family and remain with the people he is familiar with...
CHRISTIE is doing OK. She is moving forward some; she is having a
difficult time dealing with all the issues at one time but still doing
fairly well. Working through the grieving process for several different
things at the same time can be difficult and that is what she is doing.
She starts this week going to Madonna twice a week for physical therapy to
help her strength and balance improve. Also to work on endurance so she
does not tire out so easily. Overall she is doing OK, she is just used to
being at the top of the class and having trouble moving forward slowly.
Well that's about all the news for now. I am beginning to send out
resumes, looking for a new job. I never have a spare moment so now I
wonder where I will put a 40 hour a week job in my schedule...... still, I
know GOD will provide the perfect job when the time is right... He has
blessed us with so many miracles already I am very confidant His hand is
still working in our lives...
THANK YOU everyone for taking this journey of miracles with our humble
little family. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. GOD
BLESS EACH AND EVERYONE of you and your families... MARY E BRASFIELD and
family
September 30, 2007
Good evening everyone. It was a wonderful day at our
home again today... The weather was cool and breezy, early this morning...
The children had all spent the night with their Aunt Terry and David... We
were up early and ready to go...
CHRISTIE has been very down in the dumps since her furniture and
stuff came... It kind of made everything real, so to speak, that her whole
world has been turned upside down and inside out... She has stopped going
to the Commission for the Blind. She states she cannot feel the Braille to
learn it. She feels like she cannot tell or learn her directions well
enough for the travel class. She has, however, started with physical
therapy at Madonna for her balance, strength and endurance... She still
gets easily confused and asks the same question several times and forgets
the answers... We are trying to keep her on a forward path and healing
path but some days are harder than others... She is on cloud nine at
the moment because after 5 1/2 months she can now talk to JOSH and that at
least helps some...
JOSH: When we went to see him today he was still in bed so Christie
and I went back and woke him up... His voice was very easy to
understand and he was wonderful to talk to... We visited with him from
about 9:15 until almost noon before he started getting tired... He had a
cramp in his right calf and I was rubbing it; I then asked him if there
was anything else I could do for him he said "YES! TAKE ME HOME MOM..." I
explained he needed to get better before I could do that... But as soon
as he was ready he would come home and I do have a bedroom ready for
him in the new home... I had planned all along that one bedroom was for
JOSH...He looked good, had good skin color, and had put on some weight,
was using that right arm very purposeful (no wandering with it).. HE was
great!
He did not remember the accident and we explained
that they had had a wreck and that Christie was blind... I also made sure
he knew that he had done everything right and it was in no way his
fault... I told him about the web page and how many people had been
praying.. What wonderful people were following this story of our family...
Well that's it for today... Thank you one and all for your continued
thoughts and prayers. They continue to make miracles happen in our
lives.... Thank you for taking this journey of miracles with us....may
they bless your lives as much as they do ours... Please know that our
family also prays for everyone that reads, signs, and prays for us because
of this web site or because a friend told them about our family.... PLEASE
share these blessing with everyone you know... As you can see, GOD is
still working miracles in 2007... Mary E Brasfield
September 27, 2007
WELL TODAY IS ANOTHER MIRACLE DAY AT OUR HOUSE!!!!!
This afternoon the phone rang and it was Quality Living they told me they
had a surprise for me they put the phone on speaker phone and the next
thing I knew Josh said HELLO MOM I MISS YOU--- I was so dumbfounded all I
could do was stammer Josh is that you? We exchanged I love yours several
times and he told us he missed us...
Then Christie got on the phone and he told her he
loved her and missed her. We were both laughing and crying when we got off
the phone... We have waited so very very long for this moment and at long
last we got to hear our JOSH speak to us; he loves and misses us.....WHAT
A WONDERFUL GOD WE SERVE......
He has been doing better at rolling over and sitting
on the side of the bed to help them get him up in the morning...
I know this update is short but needless to say our
house is kind of crazy at this moment.. Everyone is so very very
excited.... They said yesterday they were working with Josh to make the
sounds of the alphabet and all of a sudden he started saying the alphabet
and he just started talking....
Thank you everyone for taking this journey with us. Thank you for all the
thoughts and prayers that keep bringing miracles to our home.... GOD BLESS
EVERYONE.... MARY E BRASFIELD
September 19, 2007
Well today is my little sister's birthday
but also a sad day for her. Her youngest son is being deployed today. The
children have started Gods Kid Club on Wednesday evening and Stephen has
Cub Scouts on Thursday evening....so busy busy.... They are all doing well
in school and are very excited about the new house. Josh and Christie's
household goods arrived on Thursday at 8 AM sharp so we have been busy
trying to get some of that unpacked. Now we are moving some of our stuff
over. It is a slow process since we do not want to move the children's
things until the bedrooms in the basement are done.
CHRISTIE has been doing OK. She has received JAWS for her computer
so after we get moved and she has her computer set up she will be able to
hear it when she is using it. She is having some depression which is to be
expected with all she has been through but most of the time is handling it
very well.
JOSH: He emails us at least once every day and he now usually
writes to us, "HI Love Josh". They always use the pivot disk to transfer
him now. He does help with his laundry by placing his own clothes into the
washer or dryer from the laundry basket. He is eating a ground diet and
still has difficult moving it from the front of his mouth to the back
without large amounts of fluid. They placed a large yellow button beside
his bed which he uses to turn his radio on with, which he does do on his
own. They walk with him 3 or 4 times a week depending upon staff. He looks
like he is gaining some weight and does seem to be in good spirits when we
visit.
I do apologize for not updating everyone sooner and we do appreciate all
the thoughts and prayers. Thank you for taking this journey with us and
you continued support through thoughts and prayers. Mary E Brasfield
September 9, 2007
the weather is cooler here today and there is a nice
breeze. We went to the King Korn Karnival yesterday..... We had a picnic
lunch at my parent's and the kids had a blast sitting on the big blanket
and eating sandwiches. Then we went downtown to the carnival and let the
children ride a few rides and then we watched the grand parade. They were
such angels.... I was so proud of them...
JOSH was doing great on Saturday. Don, Christie and Stephen went
to visit him before coming to Plattsmouth for the carnival. He shook
hands with both Don and Stephen. He looked like he had put on some
weight. They said he appeared more alert and his color looked good. The
visit was very good.
That's all the news from here. Once again thank you all for your
continued thoughts and prayers. Thank you for taking this journey with
us... God Bless you all... Mary E Brasfield
September 7, 2007
Hello everyone. I know it has been a long time since
I have given you an update and yes our little corner of the world has been
very busy. I cannot explain everything but please send a few extra prayers
our way for some hard times we are going through... The children all love
school and are very good at getting up and around every morning (wish it
would last forever). Joshua is in the terrible two's......there is no
DOUBT about that...
CHRISTIE is going through the grieving process for Josh and where
he is in his rehab; for herself and the changes in her life and also for
the rest of her family, the children, (including Jackey), Don and I, her
extended family and of course her family and friends she misses. She did
find out this week that the Commission for the Blind will purchase a JAWS
for the computer for her. This item reads the computer to her and helps
her when she is typing, She is very excited to get this piece of
equipment. She is doing OK and moving forward still.
JOSH: I received his report today and he seems to have moved
forward a little bit. He still needs lots of help with transfers and
walking etc, however they said he was getting better at starting out
changing positions, like pushing with his arm to sit up on bed. Still
needs lots of verbal cues but he is trying very hard and moving forward a
little. He grabbed a can of the tube feeding liquid and drank it so they
now let him drink 2 of the 5 every day. He walks with the walker 3-4 times
a week but still gets tired after 5 or so minutes.
That's about it. We get our new house next week. We do so need the lumbar
for the walls for the children's bedrooms. The church feels they can do
the labor probably but the fence material and lumber for the room will
need to be furnished by others or at least donations to purchase them...
TIME WILL TELL. I trust GOD for he already knows the plan,,,
I have noticed some new addy's so I want to make sure and thank those
people for visiting our pages. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Please if you have not already done so sign our guest book, Christie loves
for me to read them to when we get a few extra minutes.....Mary E
Brasfield
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