Update 11/29/2012 By Michelle

We have heard some so many "She will never...", but are keeping up our faith that these are just men that don't always consult with the plan of the master healer. I have witnessed a pure miracle tonight. We asked them to try to wean my mom off her ventilator. We were told it would not happen, her injury is too high. I asked them to try and the techs were very nice about coming in and trying it. They prepared us, told us nothing usually happens for the first several tries. The plan was to give her 60 seconds to just see if she would do anything. They would give her pressure so there was something there for her to pull into her lungs, if she could. Tears filled my eyes and the tech got goosebumps as my mom immediately took her first breath on her own in almost three months. She continued to breath for almost thirteen minutes with just that little bit of pressure; breathes she took on her own. Miraculous is the word I would use to describe this event. Being able to get off the ventilator means my mom can live such a better life. She will be able to enjoy more and do more. She will not have the constant threat of pneumonia and several other life threatening conditions associated with being ventilator dependant. I count my many blessings, naming them one by one...She will continue to leap over those hurdles, no matter how large they are, with the prayers and support of those in her life.

Update 11/25/2012 By Dave

The picture today is of Carla with her sister, mother and niece. It has been almost a week since I sent out the last update. Carla has had her daily ups and downs with smiles, happiness, pain and sa dness over this period. Faith is both a principle of action and of power. It “is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if we have faith we hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” It is an assurance of the Spirit gained through our learning that moves us to act to follow the example of the Savior and prayerfully keep His commandments, even through times of sacrifice and trial. Faith brings us the power of the Lord, which—among other things—is manifested by a hope of good things to come, miracles that confirm our faith, and divine protection in spiritual and temporal matters. Last week the doctors completed their medical examinations and had a family meeting. The medical prognosis is not encouraging. The miracle we need and are praying for is a restoration of her damaged spinal cord. Her progress has been slow and constant. We recognize and acknowledge every ounce of progress and thank the Lord continually. The newest therapy is one to improve communications. A thin red bar is attached to the right front bar on her halo. It goes across her chin so that when she opens her mouth it peeps repeatedly until she closes her mouth. The goal is to help her gain enough control of her eyes and mouth to be able to use a computer to communicate. We appreciate every effort that is made to help her in her communication skills. We sure are grateful for today’s technology. We have NOT lost our faith or hope as we continually seek to know the Lord’s will for Carla. We have dreams and hope for many more miracles as the Lord continues to show His love and tender mercies. His daily blessings give us hope, courage and greater faith. The love, prayers and faith of so many friends lift our spirits. Thanks!

Update 11/21/2012 By Michelle

The picture painted today by the doctors here is definitely a brick wall; red because that is my mom's favorite color. We are having a family fast/ prayer day on Sunday. Please join us in seeking more miracles for my mom and guidance from Him who grants us every breathe we take. When I can get more info out about the meeting today, I will.

Update 11/20/2012 By Michelle

The question is how do I balance the brick wall of realism with the hurdles of hope? Brick walls are much harder to get over. Hurdles seem to be endless at this stage. It seems easier to get over them. Moving on to the next brings hope that the hurdles will get smaller each time. As we are educating ourselves on how to care for my mom, the realism is setting in. What if this really is it? What if she really will never move again on her own? We are beginning to look at lifts for her house so we can safely move her from her bed to her chair. Right now it takes three people to get her moved. She is exhausted after such a task. How will we ever have three people available to move her? This is only one of the long list of things that must get done each day. I know these tasks will get easier with time, but her care is a fulltime job for two to three people. On the other hand, she shows us glimpses of what she can do. We have seen so many miracles already, why would Heavenly Father stop now? My Uncle Art said "The difficult takes time, the impossible takes a little longer." This is for sure an impossible case. Every step she has already taken has been an impossible one. Maybe the answer is we just need to wait a little longer. Today was an average day for my mom. She had her up moments and her down moments. She is exhausted tonight and will hopefully sleep so we can sleep. I will give you a glimpse of what her day is like another time.

Update 11/19/2012 By Michelle

Every doctor that has come in today has shared good news. My mom's blood pressure is a lot more stable than expected with her level of injury. Her iron level has almost doubled. Her red blood cell count continues to go up. Today in most of her therapies they focused on stretching her jaw. It gets so locked up and causes her pain. She opened it wider today than she could yesterday. Every day she takes baby steps in the right direction. Her body is getting stronger. Twice now I have seen her shift her mid section in bed on her own. She was doing this in San Antonio, but stopped all movement when she got a high fever. The best news of all is that it appears there is no brain damage, just the spinal cord injury. This is a huge miracle considering the severity of her accident.

Update 11/18/2012 by Dave

Carla Update… Sunday, November 18, 12 – Today’s picture is of Carla and her 2 sisters. Just look at the happiness in those faces. We are praying to see the happiness in all those faces again. We are beginning to see it in Carla’s face again. Family and friends, thank you for your continuing support, FAITH and prayers. We need to recognize that “wanting to” is the determining factor which leads us to lay hold upon the word of God and be happy. Perseverance in making correct decisions is what leads us to happiness. Happiness comes as a result of our obedience and our courage in always doing the will of God, even in the most difficult circumstances. Yes, we find happiness in the midst of the trial of our faith. The Lord manifests Himself to us through His tender mercies, which we find along the road of happiness. We see with increased clarity His hand in our lives. Carla was in her chair for nearly 6 hours yesterday! That was a first! When asked several times if she wanted to get out of the chair, her answer was "no". But, after 6 hours she was definitely ready for sleep. Later we had guests who brought a gourmet dinner for us to enjoy. We sure did appreciate such a nice dinner. Michelle and I went to the Denver LDS Temple this morning. What a beautiful autumn day to be at the Temple to pray for Carla and other loved ones. Carla was in her chair again today for long hours. She was happy and shared lots of smiles. Her communication skills improve every day. Doctors are exceptionally pleased with how well she is doing. We took her to a craft room where we made polar fleece items as she watched on; items that she can enjoy or give as gifts. At 6:OC this evening Michelle and Richard took her to a movie at the hospital. She was also outside some this morning to enjoy the warm sunshine. There's no therapy classes on Saturdays and Sundays. Richard and Michelle continue to watch educational videos and then take required tests so that they can be qualified as caregivers when the time comes for Carla to go home. It's been a long day, so I must retire early. I'll be driving to the airport early in the morning to pick up our son Roger. It will be his first time to visit with his sister since her accident on Sept. 8th. Again, we say thanks for being our friends and supporters. Your faith and prayers sustain us.

Update 11/18/2012 By Michelle

This week has been very hard as well as very good. It really has been a rollercoaster ride. My mom hates roller coasters and I am beginning to feel the effects of the ups and downs of such stress. The week started out with my mom getting an MRI, EEG and spinal tap. The MRI and EEG were just being redone to check progress/differences in the last set that was taken. The MRI showed some fluid in the lower ventricle of her brain. They were concerned it could be the beginnings of an infection, so they did the spinal tap to test the fluid for infection. The fluid had not been there during her last MRI. The results came back negative for infection. The doctor thinks there was not as much fluid as maybe they originally thought. He is not worried about it at this point, but the other thing that might be happening is a leak in her spinal cord causing pockets of spinal fluid in and around her brain. We will just keep watching for the signs he talked about and pray hard that this is not the case. Each of these tests pretty much wiped my mom out for the day. I got to escort her to the MRI and she was all smiles on the way down and on the way back up. She just slept most of those three days, but seemed in good spirits. We completed her first full week of therapy. Overall she did really well. She seems to really like her therapists and tries so hard for them. Two weeks ago, she was not able to open her mouth. The muscles were so tight from being in the c-collar for two months as well as not trying to work them. Yesterday and today she opened her mouth when asked to have her teeth brushed. She can only open enough to get a sponge brush in, but such progress. She opens a bit more each time and seems to be gaining more control over her facial muscles. Her expressions have also gotten much more animated. We massage her face throughout the day (which is one of her favorite things) to try and help those muscles wake up and start working again. We did have an "incident" in the gym. She was up her her chair for PT one day and they decided to take her to the gym for the session. They were going to work on measuring her range of motion. They got her transferred to the big table with a wedge under her head so she could remain at the proper 30 degree angle. She winced a few times as they pushed and moved her legs more than they have moved in 9 weeks. This is good though. This means she has feeling in her muscles and body. They got her back up into her chair and I went around to see how she was doing. She was off in a stare that I had not seen before. Her pupils were very small and she would not respond to me for a few seconds. When she did finally respond, her eyes were completely cross. We got her tipped backwards as far as we could in her chair and the PT ran for the blood pressure machine. Her blood pressure was really low and she was still not responding, so they pushed the emergency button and within 15 seconds, she had a dozen doctors and nurses around her. I knew this was what would happen. She is in a good place where they know to watch for these things. I had stepped back sensing she would be attended to. It became too much for me and I had to step out. She was and is okay. They just had not given her her blood pressure medicine that morning to keep her pressures up since it was high enough when they got her into her chair. They will be giving that medicine to her anytime she heads to the gym now. Her body is responding and adjusting really well on it's own when we just tip her up or down in the chair. She loves sitting in her wheelchair. At the beginning of the week, she was doing an hour to an hour and a half at a time. On friday, she was in it for six hours straight. She kept telling us she was not ready to get out of it. On Saturday she was able to stay in it for eight hours. This is amazing progress for her! Yesterday we took her outside to sit in the sun. She smiled and soaked up the rays! After that we took her to the rec room and participated in a craft project. I had not been sure how well she would do in a recreation class since she cannot move her hands or arms. She is such a crafty person and I did not want it to be hard on her to not do the craft herself. They were making fleece scarves and fleece pillows. She picked the fabric by her facial expressions. She turned her nose up and gave a disgusted face at the ones she did not like and raised her eyes really big when we held up the ones she wanted to use. We pushed her right up to the table and she watched my grandma and I cut and tie for her. She did really well. The day ended with a movie in the theater room here. She had a good day. Even a good day is not without the stress and frustration of trying to communicate with us what she needs. She still has pain and is on different pain medicine for different things. The hard part is figuring out what is hurting her and if she needs pain medicine or if she just needs to be readjusted. She still cannot talk. The trach she has is preventing air from coming up her throat. There is a balloon that they fill up around the trach inside her neck. Twice this week, they have deflated that balloon to let air run through her vocal cords. She did not like it the first time. Her body is no longer used to that sensation. The second time she did really well. They are trying to get her to make sounds during this time. She has not made sounds yet, but I can tell she is getting used to the idea again. She has blood test taken every day to check for many things. This week the pulmonologist (a genius in our book) said her red blood cells have doubled since she got here and for the first time it is increasing instead of decreasing. This is a really, really good sign of the miracle of healing that is taking place inside her body. Remember, her body was broken beyond the repair of man's medicine alone. This week will bring more therapy sessions, more firsts for her since the accident and more information. This week we will be getting more information about the overall game plan while she is here at Craig. We will get a better explanation of what they feel her diagnosis is as well as her prognosis. We will get information about what her future might look like. We will start to discover what training and preparations we need to make for her to be able to live at home. This might not be possible. I pray so hard that she will be healed to an extent that we can manage her care at home. She does not want to live anywhere else. For the first time ever, we will celebrate purely the giving of thanks on Thanksgiving instead of the tradition of food. We have so much to be thankful for. Please remember her in your prayers and praises of thanksgiving this holiday season.

Update 11/15/2012 By Dave

Carla Update… Thursday, November 15, 12 – The picture today is of Carla riding her Harley. One of the things she loved to do. This is the activity that brought her the greatest joy and now the activity that brought her the most pain. We pray that the future with provide her lots of joy. Life is good, if we live in such a way to make it so. This was a part of an inspirational message I read many years ago. What the message calls “a good life” comes as a result of the way we do things, of the words we choose to say, and even of the kind of thoughts we choose to have. No one needs to feel alone on the road of life, for we are all invited to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him. Happiness is the purpose of the gospel and the purpose of the redeeming Atonement for all men. May we make our lives good by the choices we make! Status today provided by Betty: Carla's therapy classes are going very well. She's learning and using her lower jaw line a lot more. Richard and Michelle really have a way of bringing out the best in her. They bring out lots of smiles with their stories and laughter. I marvel at their spirit of determination, compassion and love. They're taking classes to learn how to be caregivers. They have videos to watch as part of their learning process. I'm mostly the back-up caregiver. I'm there to give them the breaks and time-outs that they need. An MRI two days ago showed some fluid on Carla's brain. A spinal tap was done today. All went well, but no results yet. She did have a problem during a therapy session, but the problem got solved. However, it prevented her from her afternoon "stroll" in her wheelchair. I really enjoyed time with her this evening. She has a strong mind and clearly understands what you are saying. I continually pray for the day when she can talk to us. We continue to need your faith and prayers in her behalf. Thanks!

Update 11/13/2012 By Michelle

It seems like time is flying by and while I try to set aside time to give updates, sometimes it does not happen as fast as I would like. Yesterday my mom's nurse said we are always in a hurry to wait around here. That is so true. My mom had an MRI yesterday mid morning. This is her second one since the accident. They want to be able to compare the two and see what progress has been made as far as her brain, brain stem and neck (from the stabilization). They also checked for blood clots. They put my mom out for the test since it was going to take awhile and she would need to be in the MRI tunnel for quite sometime. It took about an hour and a half for the actual testing. We have not heard anything yet, but know that her doctors were looking at it yesterday. In the next week or so, we will have a meeting with everyone working on and with her and will know the results then. They want time to give us a thorough update and also a prognosis. My mom was in really, really good spirits yesterday. She smiled most of the morning, took a good nap in the afternoon and was happy yesterday evening. I told her she is a queen. Every two hours someone comes and rolls her and fluffs her 10 pillows that are supporting her and helping make her comfortable. She did not object to the idea of being a queen. She has pretty full days with classes running from about 9 or 10am until 3pm Mon-Fri. She gets a new class schedule posted to her door daily which makes her smile. She loves organization and planners. Most of the classes will be held in her room until she is strong enough to get to their gym area. Health wise she has been doing okay. She has had a temp through the night last night. Her blood pressure has been a little more unstable the past day and a half. She is on less pain medicine, but still takes a cocktail of meds twice a day. I think between the vitamins and meds there are about 20 different things in those cocktails. We call it her strawberry shake since it is usually pink. It gets put in her g tube. The site on her hip where they removed bone is almost all healed. The incision on her neck is still healing but looks really good. With her beautiful long hair, no one will ever see it. They have put her in a low stimulation environment and posted two pages about what we can and cannot do while in her room. They fear she is becoming overwhelmed too easily. Some of these rules are: only 2 visitors at a time (and not during her classes), have only one quiet thing going on at a time (ie. talking to her or music on, but not both), and let her rest when she shows signs of being overwhelmed. We are trying so very hard to create this atmosphere for her. My dad and I are living in her room, so it is sometimes difficult to get done what we need to get done and adhere to the rules. This will be day four of her getting up into her wheelchair. She seems to love it. We push her to a glass "bridge" that connects the two Craig buildings and get some sun. I told her she is like a cat in a window. She seems to enjoy the feeling of the sun on her face. Getting her up in the chair is quite the thing. It takes about thirty minutes to get her dressed, ventilator changed to a portable, leads taken off her and getting her hoisted over. The getting her from bed to the chair is amazing to watch. They slip a sling under her body and connect it to a bar that is hanging from the ceiling. The bar is on several runners and is remote controlled. It looks like she is flying in a sitting up position. She does not seem to mind it. This process does completely wear her out though. The first several times we have gotten her up, she has only been in her chair for an hour and sleep usually the rest of the day and into the night. I cannot imagine how good and exhausting it feels for her after two months of being in bed. Well, they are here to get her into her chair. I need to go help. I will send another update as I can. Please keep praying for her strength and healing.

Update 11/12/2012 By Dave

Carla Update… Monday, November 12, 12 – The picture today is of Carla in her wheel chair on the bridge between the two Craig hospital buildings. Her husband, mother and aunts are accompanying her. She loves the sun! The kind of gratitude that receives even tribulations with thanksgiving requires a broken heart and a contrite spirit, humility to accept that which we cannot change, willingness to turn everything over to the Lord—even when we do not understand, thankfulness for hidden opportunities yet to be revealed. Then comes a sense of peace. He who receives all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious. My most profound gratitude is for my Savior—an obedient Son, who did all that His Father asked and atoned for every one of us. May we all be more grateful for all things. It's truly a blessing and a relief to have Carla in her own "suite" at Craig. Richard and daughter Michelle literally live in the suite. One gets the hide-a-bed sofa and the other gets a big air mattress on the floor! They were cold the first night, so Dave and I (Betty) took over an electric mattress pad and two warm blankets. They loved the warmth. The room has a full wall of windows that face east. We've had some really cold temps the past few nights. It's been wonderful having three of my 4 sisters here for a few days. Local Ward members have been so gracious to open their homes and hearts to us and to our guests. My sisters have stayed in a wonderful, large, beautiful home. The R.S. president and one counselor visited us at the hospital today to offer their love and services. My sisters truly love Carla, Richard and their family with so much kindness, warmth and passion. We feel so blessed to have them here to bring so much love and comfort. Dave has really enjoyed being surrounded by so many mature women who serve him so graciously!!! My sisters will leave at 5 A.M. tomorrow to make the long drive back to west TN. We sure will miss them! Carla has been real emotional having them here just for her; and sad to have them say their goodbyes. We offered a special family prayer tonight to bring comfort to her as we surrounded her bed. Carla gets speech, occupational and physical therapy 5 days a week. She had another MRI today. The doctors sedated her for the procedure. We feel real grateful for the medical care that she is receiving. We continually pray for her and her medical team. We clearly understand that faith precedes the miracles. We are continually grateful for your faith and prayers in Carla's behalf. Let us never lose that faith! Goodnight!

Update 11/11/2012 By Dave

Carla Update… Sunday, November 11, 12 – Today’s picture is of Betty and three of her four sisters at Craig Hospital. The three came from Tennessee (the Memphis and Nashville areas) to visit Carla. It was an 18-hour drive. They arrived yesterday and will be here through Monday. Carla, Betty and Marty were excited to visit with the Tennessee sisters. Gratitude requires awareness and effort, not only to feel it but also to express it. Frequently we are oblivious to the Lord’s hand. We murmur, complain, resist, and criticize and far too often we are not grateful. The Lord counsels us not to murmur because it is then difficult for the Spirit to work with us. Gratitude is a Spirit-filled principle. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God’s love. This grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. May we live in thanksgiving daily. Carla got more good news from her Craig doctor yesterday. He told her that in the last 48 hours her internal systems were much improved; that they were all working very well. The doctors are reducing the medications that contribute to a healthier and stronger body for Carla. Today was her third day to be in her wheelchair for at least an hour. There’s a closed-in “sky walk” between the East and West hospitals. We stroll her to that area to enjoy some scenery, warm sunshine and new snow. She’s getting stronger every day. Tomorrow will be a real busy day from 9:30 in the morning till at least 3:oc. It’s good that she can be kept busy during the daytime so that she can sleep and rest better through the night. Our combined faith keeps us energized. We take one day at a time. We look for and find blessings every day. It’s good to have visitors who bless our lives and lift us up. All of you are God’s gifts to Carla and to us. Thanks!!!

Update 11/9/2012 By Michelle

Today is our second day here at Craig Hospital. It has been a little crazy trying to get settled in. My mom is getting lots of attention from the different teams here. Everyone is doing initial assessments this week and next. We will have a family meeting with all the doctors, physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, RNs, etc in a few weeks to get a good idea of what the game plan here will be. We have no idea yet how long she will be here or what we are working towards, besides taking her home. They are repeating all of her initial tests and scans again here. She had a cat scan yesterday and will do an MRI on Monday. There are several other tests being done today (like an iron test and eye exam). She is happy and awake for much longer periods of time now. She smiles when funny things are said and still gets emotional. She seems to be in less pain now. She does have thrush in her mouth and we think that has been some of the cause of pain for her. The heavy duty antibiotics she has been on for the spot on her lungs has killed all the bacteria in her body, so she got thrush. It looks painful for her to swallow and she clamps her jaw shut anytime they try to brush her teeth or stick anything in her mouth. A little more about her day here. She will have three hours of therapy daily. She has speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Most days it will be split into two half an hour sessions. Her schedule is pretty booked, just the way she likes it!! For the most part, she gets to have the same rotation of nurses, techs and therapists. I am glad she will get to work with familiar faces each day. We have meet them all and everyone has been really nice. Mom has shown off her personality to most of them and they already know she is a character with a wonderful sense of humor. This afternoon, she will get to sit in her new wheelchair for the first time. This is an exciting thing for us and her. She has been in a hospital room for almost 9 weeks now. She needs to get up and out. There are daily activities here that I know she will love. On Tuesday, they did mani's and pedi's. We missed that, but look forward to some of the other things they do for their patients. We are also ready to meet some of the other families and patients here. My mom also got a huge smile on her face when they told her they have a computer that she can use to communicate with. It reads eye movements. We are working with getting her eyes strong enough to be able to use that machine in the next few weeks. I cannot wait to give that skill back to her. It has been so tough trying to decipher the grins and frowns, the tears and the eye rolls. I want her to be able to tell us what she needs so we can help her as much as she needs. My dad and I were in the apartment building owned by Craig while my mom was in the ICU, but they have others that need that room. We are now living in my mom's room with her. There is a very small loft area with a mini fridge, sleeper sofa, small table and chairs, and a microwave. Thanks to my aunt and uncle we also now have dishes, silverware, a toast-r-oven, food, storage drawers and many other little things to make this loft more home like. They also bought a cute table cloth for the table. We are feeling way more organized here and settled in. I am so excited that I no longer have to carry a fifty pound pack around with essentials. I have a home away from home now.Upd

Update 11/9/2012 By Dave

Carla Update… Friday, November 9,12 – “GOOD NEWS TODAY”… for Carla! The picture today is of Carla in her new room at Craig and in a wheel chair. This is her first time out of the bed in 8 weeks. Look at the picture and you can see the joy in her face at this accomplishment. A total of 8 of us were there to cheer her as she got to sit in her wheel chair for the first time. It was an exciting event to be a part of. Thank you friends and family for your continuing support and prayers. Heavenly Father desires that we find true, lasting happiness. Our happiness is the design of all the blessings He gives us—gospel teachings, commandments, family relationships, and even the opportunity to experience adversity. His plan for our salvation is often called “the great plan of happiness”. He sent His Beloved Son to carry out the Atonement so we can be happy in this life and receive a fullness of joy in the eternities. As we seek to be happy, we should remember that the only way to real happiness is to live the gospel. We will find peaceful, eternal happiness as we strive to keep the commandments, pray for strength, repent of our sins, participate in wholesome activities, and give meaningful service. Michelle gives today’s status of Carla in lots of detail… Today is our second day here at Craig Hospital. It has been a little crazy trying to get settled in. My mom is getting lots of attention from the different teams here. Everyone is doing initial assessments this week and next. We will have a family meeting with all the doctors, physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, RNs, etc in a few weeks to get a good idea of what the game plan will be. We have no idea yet how long she will be here or what we are working towards, besides taking her home. They are repeating all of her initial tests and scans again here. She had a cat scan yesterday and will do an MRI on Monday. There are several other tests being done today (like an iron test and eye exam). She is happy and awake for much longer periods of time now. She smiles when funny things are said and still gets emotional. She seems to be in less pain now. She does have thrush in her mouth and we think that has been some of the cause of pain for her. The heavy duty antibiotics she has been on for the spot on her lungs has killed all the bacteria in her body, so she got thrush. It looks painful for her to swallow and she clamps her jaw shut anytime they try to brush her teeth or stick anything in her mouth. A little more about her day here. She will have three hours of therapy daily. She has speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Most days it will be split into two half hour sessions. Her schedule is pretty booked, just the way she likes it!! For the most part, she gets to have the same rotation of nurses, techs and therapists. I am glad she will get to work with familiar faces each day. We have met them all and everyone has been really nice. Mom has shown off her personality to most of them and they already know she is a character with a wonderful sense of humor. This afternoon she will get to sit in her new wheelchair for the first time. This is an exciting thing for her and for us.. She has been in a hospital room for almost 9 weeks now. She needs to get up and out. There are daily activities here that I know she will love. On Tuesday, they did mani's and pedi's. We missed that, but look forward to some of the other things they do for their patients. We are also ready to meet some of the other families and patients here. My mom also got a huge smile on her face when they told her they have a computer that she can use to communicate with. It reads eye movements. We are working with getting her eyes strong enough to be able to use that machine in the next few weeks. I cannot wait to give that skill back to her. It has been so tough trying to decipher the grins and frowns, the tears and the eye rolls. I want her to be able to tell us what she needs so we can help her as much as she needs. My dad and I were in the apartment building owned by Craig while my mom was in the ICU, but they have others that need that room. We are now living in my mom's room with her. There is a very small loft area with a mini fridge, sleeper sofa, small table and chairs, and a microwave. Thanks to my aunt and uncle we also now have dishes, silverware, a toast-r-oven, food, storage drawers and many other little things to make this loft more home like. They also bought a cute table cloth for the table. We are feeling much more organized here and settled in. I am so excited that I no longer have to carry a 50# pack around with essentials. I now have a home away from home.

Update 11/8/2012 By Dave

Carla Update… Thursday, November 8, 12 – The picture today is of Craig Rehabilitation Hospital. This is Carla’s new home while in this process. She is on the 2nd floor in a private room that’s called a suite. It has two sections, one for her bed and another for her family to live in. There’s a queen sofa bed, a 42” TV and WIFI, so cool! Richard and Michelle spend most of their days and nights with Carla in her room. Betty and I fill in each day for as long as we are needed. If we have faith in God and are committed to the fundamentals of keeping His commandments and putting Him first in our lives, we do not need to plan every single event—even every important event—and we should not feel rejected or depressed if some things—even some very important things—do not happen at the time we had planned or hoped or prayed for. We must commit ourselves to put the Lord first in our lives and keep His commandments. Then our feet are on the pathway to joy in this life and eternal life in the world to come. Doing our best on what is fundamental and personal and then trust in the Lord and His timing will bring us joy in this life and in the life to come. We are excited to see Carla’s improvement just by her being in her own room at Craig Hospital. She had her first therapy session today and did really well. She had a CAT scan today and is scheduled for an MRI on Monday. Tests and therapy will be done daily till Craig’s medical team has their own evaluation and prognosis. We feel really good about their plans for Carla. They are treating Carla with tremendous care with positive attitudes about her recovery. Now we are starting a new chapter on Carla’s journey to recovery. Thank you all so much for the continued support and love during this difficult time for our family. We are so grateful for the network of friends and loved ones. Marty stayed with us in our RV for a few days while she was visiting and will be driving home on Saturday. Hopefully the winter storm will not cause her any travel delays. The weather is still really nice with warmth and autumn colors but the storm comes tomorrow. We have bundles of leaves to rake and weeds to get rid of. I (Betty) need outdoor therapy on a regular basis, so I do yard work. It’s crazy, but I love it! We have food for the squirrels and friendly bunny rabbits.

Update 11/7/2012 By Dave

Carla Update… Wednesday, November 7, 12 – The picture today is of Carla’s two sisters and two daughters that visited her on her birthday. As you can see they are having a good time. Carla appreciated their visit. The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith means trust—trust in God’s will, trust in His way of doing things, and trust in His timetable. The issue for us is trusting God enough to also trust His timing. If we can truly believe He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best? The same is true with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord’s timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes. Indeed, we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. An exciting day! Carla FINALLY got moved out of ICU after 3 long weeks and back to Craig Hospital this afternoon. She gets to start her road to recovery at Craig. Her room is VERY nice. It’s more like two rooms in one so at least two family members can sleep there. It includes kitchen, lots of open shelving, large TV and lots of windows. Her room is adorned with nearly 150 birthday and get-well cards plus drawings from grand children. The family is very excited about this progress! Her condition will be completely re-evaluated by the Craig medical team as they begin rehabilitation. Dave and I had a great weekend “at home”. We did not get to leave Lehi till 4:30 in the afternoon yesterday, so it was a real late night. The weather has been so perfect for travel. Thanks again for your love and prayers that sustain us emotionally and spiritually.