One year ago today I sat in a family waiting area at Duke University Hospital in Durham, as Adam was undergoing brain surgery. Clutching onto my extremely worn collection of bible verses to pray as we waited. Surrounded by family and friends that could be there with us- and definitely feeling the thoughts and prayers of many who could not, I felt at peace and knew God was in control. And to be completely honest that in itself was a miracle. I had been so full of fear, doubt and worry every since Adam made the decision to go ahead with surgery. I can not put into words what it really feels like to have God lift that burden off your shoulders- I am still in awe!
The surgery overall was much more successful than the doctors had anticipated- they removed a significant amount more of the tumor than they thought would be possible. But, that came at a cost. Adam woke without the use of his left side and from what was to originally be two days of recovery in the hospital turned into well over 10 days followed by another month + of inpatient rehabilitation therapy. We celebrated Christmas last year in the small family apartment at North Georgia Medical Center- though it was phenomenal and every bit as special for us all to be together, it was not home.
This year we are home for Christmas and the joy in my heart is overwhelming. In this past year Adam has grown stronger in every sense of the word. He came home in a wheelchair with very limited movement in his left arm, hand and fingers...and with very little strength in his legs. His left leg could barely stand for more than 5 minutes without shaking from exertion. Nearly one month to the day- Adam had his wheelchair waiting on the front porch for the rental company to pick back up.
It's that spirit of determination that he has carried every day since and his physical strength has made steady progress. He can now walk with an almost unnoticeable limp, chase the kids (thought it's not a pretty site- ha!), wrap his arms around me for a hug and every now and then dance with me when no one is watching (but, you can't tell him I told you that). He even recently beat my little sister in an arm wrestling contest! He consistently impresses his therapists with his progress and loves to show off his new tricks. I have no doubt that he will only continue to gain more control and mobility.
And even if he doesn't that's ok. Our marriage and friendship is stronger because of this and we are still in awe of the rally of support our family received from family, friends, loved ones and perfect strangers throughout this past year. Our faith is stronger than ever and we feel so grateful to have experienced this with knowing God was and IS carrying us through- we welcome the opportunity to share what God is doing in our lives and live with a much clearer vision of the bigger picture and of what life is truly all about. Clearly, God has a plan for him no matter what (and we are just along for the journey).
We are sooooooo very happy and thankful for our love, family, health, innumerable blessings and to be able to celebrate a year of successful recovery- and especially to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus at home this year!
Thank you all for your prayers for our family over this past year, you really made a difference with each word lifted up! And thank you also to those who continue to pray for us and Adam's continued recovery- it is truly amazing to see how very far he has come!
xoxo :)
Below is our year in review via Instagram (this I have to thank my good friend Lan Bui who encouraged me to document this time for Adam- no matter how much I did not want to). He was definitely right, how awesome it is to look back and see how far he has come! Thanks Lan ;)
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