Can you view pictures through tears?

Smiles all around. She is home. Enough said.

NOTE: I added some pictures from the twins' birthday on the 8/16/09 entry entitled A Great Weekend for the Laird family. You will have to follow the link on the right side of the blog to see them.

Today is the Day!

Today is the day Isabella comes home. She will be having her graduation ceremony first with all the doctors/therapists/nurses/patients in the program. They will all share something wonderful about Isabella. I hope that I will be able to get some of those comments for you. I am also hoping that someone will be able to provide pictures to me quickly so that I can get them on here for you to see sometime this evening!
Praise be to God who has allowed this progress, fostered healing, maintained life, and blessed us all beyond measure. I know that there will be great things ahead in the life of sweet little Bella -- to come through something like this in the way and measure she did, God is saving her for some great work in His kingdom!
I wanted to share a few verses in Psalms with you this morning in honor of our God and the way He has so beautifully dealt with Isabella during these 7 weeks...


"In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Ps. 4:8

"But I have trusted in your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me." Ps. 13:5-6

"He rescued me because He delighted in me." Ps. 18:19

"Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God." Ps. 20:7

"You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance." Ps. 32:7

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Ps. 34:18

"I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction...He put a new song in my mouth...Many O Lord are the wonders which you have done and your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count." Ps. 40:1-5

"For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; The Lord gives grace and glory." Ps. 84:11

"The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low and He saved me. Return to rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you." Ps. 116:7

"YOu have enclosed me behind and before and laid Your hand upon me." Ps. 139:5

Meeting with the School/Doctors

The team of doctors/therapists met with the school and Jenny and Matthew yesterday. The meeting went very well. Without too much detail, the school was willing to accomodate every request the doctors put forth for Isabella's return. She will begin attending on September 8th. Prior to that, she will have someone coming to help her at home. Also, she will have a full-time aid at first. She will be seated in the front of the classroom and away from any distractions. Of course she will not be granted permission to participate in outdoor recess or P.E., so she will have accomodations needed there as well. Academically, they will work with her to determine the best course of action for her, testing strategies, etc. Jenny was very pleased with the meeting and just kept saying how great the school was for being so willing. I am, once again, beside myself with awe in a God who works out details even to the most minute aspect...
You can pray for Isabella that she will continue to develop her cognitive skills, making bridges between questions and answers.
She will begin outpatient therapy soon. Dayton Children's Hospital (where she was initially after the accident) will do physical therapy once a week and speech therapy twice a week. She will also be getting speech/occupational therapy at her school.
Tomorrow Isabella comes home. They will have a special "graduation" for her before she leaves. I wish so much I could be there. My heart is once again torn and aching, but also overwhelmed with grateful emotions that she is coming home.... Praise God for this huge step in development. He is forever moving us forward. If you haven't already recognized Him, acknowledged Him, or praised Him for how He works in your life, do so today. Nothing is more important...
Thank you for praying for the Laird family. I, as writer of this blog, am praying for you, each reader, that you would be somehow touched by this blog and spurred on toward knowing God more...

A new day for Aleacia

Today Aleacia went to school. Jenny said that she was a bit uneasy but did just fine. I know that returning to life as she once knew it will help her tremendously. Please pray for her and her transition. Pray for her not to be scared or lonely without her sister there.

Great News to Share...Homecoming Day

Isabella has been granted a release date from the hospital THIS THURSDAY. She will be leaving just a few days prior to when the expected. They are running several evaluations the remainder of this week and packing in as much in-house therapy as they can. She will be able to return home 7 weeks to date after the car accident. I know my sister, Matthew, and her sisters will be so glad to have her home and that much of the emotional healing that still needs to occur will begin to slowly happen...
As I know you will certainly be, Jenny has once again asked me to add that while visitors will be welcome, please be respectful of their time together as a family for a while until normal life has somewhat returned.
Thank you for the prayers! They have been granted and Bella is coming home! I can hardly sit here and write without jumping out of my chair. It has been a really long 7 weeks for us all, doubtless also for the Laird family.
Rejoice today for the Lord is good!

Another small victory...

I spoke with my mother a few minutes ago. Jenny wanted to share with you that the bone in her mouth that was sticking out from her jaw and causing her much discomfort (the same one they were going to file down after her screws came out) did an unexpected thing last night. It broke off! She was putting wax on it to keep it from cutting her when it just came loose. She was able to pull it out of her mouth and says it is very sharp, thin, and much resembling a shark tooth! We will see what her surgeon says next time she is evaluated about the course of action now that it is no longer an issue! She was so thrilled to be able to have one less issue to manage! Thank God for even small victories... Together they will encompass larger ones and longer gains!

How to say thank you

Now that the initial chaos, confusion, and shock of the accident is settling around Matthew, Jenny and her family, they are beginning to reflect in awe of those many who have given so generously of themselves in so many ways. While they would love to be able to thank in person so many of you, it just isn't possible. They do, however, want to be sure that you, the readers of this blog, are aware of just how much you have impacted five lives.
Praying, interceding, faithfully remembering the Laird family and laying them before the throne of God each day throughout this time is an act of servanthood for which they are overwhelmingly moved. Please accept their sincere and heartfelt thank you. Your prayers have been heard and answered.
For those of you who have given of yourselves in so many other ways, they also would like to offer thanksgiving. You have put aside yourselves and allowed God to use your finances, hands of service and feet of doing to minister to this family. Thank you for allowing God to use you in this way to care for the Laird family.
Eternally grateful,
Jenny, Matthew, Isabella, Aleacia and Sophia Laird

An update for the Laird family

I talked to Jenny this afternoon and got a good update on the family. Jenny still has her screws in her mouth and has even noticed the interior gums/tissue of her mouth (on the left side) "settling" and even growing over the screws in her mouth. She is beginning to be able to feel the plates in her mouth and face. She is able to walk a bit with a walker although without putting pressure on her left leg. She is still dealing with a lot of pain in her knee and moving it in the way she should. It is still very swollen and hard. She can straighten her leg almost 95 percent, but bending it is another story...
They have a meeting on Tuesday with the school to discuss Isabella. They found out the name of Isabella's teacher, and they are thankful because they have heard great things about her and the entire third grade program. Aleacia will be going on the 26th for the start of school. You can pray specifically for her that she will not be nervous and scared to be going without her sister.
They have done extensive evaluations on Isabella this past week. On a cognitive level, she is below average. They do, however, expect that after this year she will be caught up and need no further help (PRAISE THE LORD!) She is in the 5th percentile for children her age physically (balance, bilateral coordination, skipping, running, hopping, etc.), so she has some gaining to do there as well. She is having to relearn how to focus on a task as she is very easily distracted.
We are looking forward to the day when she will be able to be home and with her family permanently. I know all five of them are longing for normal life once again. Please continue to pray for God's strength beyond measure and peace beyond understanding to descend upon them throughout the rest of this ordeal.

A Great Weekend for the Laird Family

Jenny and her family were able to enjoy some much needed family (all five of them!) time this weekend. The hospital released Isabella for a home visit on Saturday. She was able to be there for a few hours and depending on that would be possibly granted the chance to be there again on Sunday. She spent a few hours there on Saturday and then most of the day there on Sunday. They were able to celebrate Isabella and Aleacia's birthdays (tomorrow) with immediate family, complete with pinata and a bit of back to school shopping! Isabella showed no signs of being overwhelmed and seemed to immerse herself right away back into life as she once knew it... Matthew did say that tonight in the car ride on the way back to the hospital, he noticed that she was very sad. He asked what was wrong. She was wondering if that was the last time she would get to go Grandma's house. The hospital feels so much like home to her...
I know that when I ask you to please understand the reasoning behind not announcing ahead of schedule Isabella's home visit, you will. Due to unknown factors in Isabella's situation and the plain and simple fact that Matthew, Jenny and the girls haven't been alone together (all five of them outside of a hospital setting) for several weeks, the visit was strictly immediate family. I spoke with my sister last night after Bella left, and she was so emotional. She kept telling me how wonderful it was just to be together again. This time, so rare now, was and is so extremely important to Jenny, the girls and Matthew and rightly so. Thank you for understanding. There will be a day soon when Isabella will come home and life can slowly begin again. Until then, please be in prayer for the physical healing of the family and also the emotional healing of all involved...
My family would also like to offer a genuine heartfelt thank you to Katina and those at Emmanuel Promise Church who helped to organize the fundraiser for the Laird family this past weekend. Thank you for being the hands and feet of God in a tangible way. I doubt you realize the impact you have had on my family. Thank you again for being so giving of your resources and time.
Jenny also wanted me to note before I go that Melissa is getting her cast off her leg on Thursday and the pins out of her foot.

On a more personal note, I wanted to take a few lines and divulge my heart to you. I have talked about how in awe I am of God, His saving and healing power, His hand of mercy in this situation, and His provision for my family through so many of you. I also wanted you to know that I thank Him every day for those of you who are still faithfully interceding on behalf of my sister and her family. I know that it has been over a month now and the ball is not rolling quite as quickly as before. I recognize that if you are still reading this blog, you must care and deeply. With greatest respect, please continue to uplift my sister and her family. I love them so very much. It is hard to be away from them, especially now, and knowing that there are so many of you praying and helping when I can't tangibly really makes a difference for me. Thank you again.

"But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall, I will rise." Micah 7:7-8

Still healing... Thursday, August 13th

I spoke with Jenny and Isabella last night! Jenny is spending every other day at the hospital with Isabella, so they were both there when I called. It was a joy to be able to hear both of their voices on the other end of the line. I don't know that I will ever take that for granted again...
Jenny said that Isabella is continuing to make progress. Her conversation is becoming more spontaneous. Apparently, the rehab center set goals for Isabella upon her arrival. They revisit these goals each week and benchmark her progress. This week, in locomotion (movement and balance), she has surpassed where she needs to be upon release. She also scored very high on bowel/bladder control. In the others ( including things like speech, social communication, self-care) she is very near where she needs to be. Jenny said that for the first time, she has a peace that Isabella will recover completely. She stressed that she still has a long way to go in some areas, but that she was confident that she will be fine.
Jenny said that Isabella played Sorry and UNO with her therapist yesterday. She had to explain at the outset the rules of the game. Jenny said she was able to do that and was happy with her sequencing/order skills.
The scar on her forehead is looking better and better. It is still really pink, but the swelling is almost completely gone. It seems like she has just a few days left to be in Columbus and then she will be able to be home with her family. School starts on the 21st. There are still many questions in the air about that issue. Nevertheless, it will be good when she comes home for all to have life return to some resemblance of normal again...
My sisters Stephanie and Jessica took Aleacia shopping yesterday for some school clothes. I am so happy that they were able to do something special like this with her. She is so distracted from the life an 8 year old should have right now. She has really needed some special attention. I can just see her eating it up and I certainly know they were able to find some very cute things for her to have! My heart really goes out to her during all of this. I can't imagine having a twin with me all the time, emotionally and physically, and then suddenly having that ripped apart. Even upon return, Jenny stressed to me that it will be difficult because they will both be at different levels of maturity. Please pray specifically for this issue.
My dad took Sophia to do something special yesterday as well. They were going to go play putt-putt. I can see Sophia's smile and I know she enjoyed every minute!
Jenny is making good progress as well. She had an ortho appointment this week. All the x-rays looked good, everything is healing well, and they were pleased she had been doing her therapy/strength training on her own at home. She can now almost fully extend her left arm and turn her hand up. They told her only that she needed to be bending her knee, that she would have to push through the pain and just do it. Also they told her that she will soon be able to put weight on her right leg, as tolerated. That means for her that she will soon be able to try getting around with a walker. She has yet to do that, and there will be no weight bearing on her left leg, but still it seems like a step in the right direction!
She does not have a CAT scan date for her mouth yet. Her cheek is still numb, but she is gaining more feeling around her eye. You will be happy to know that she can now flare her left nostril! She was so thrilled about this development and wanted me to share with you :) Her upper lip on the left side still has no feeling.
Once again, I express thanks for your faithfulness to intercede on behalf of my sister and her family. God's mercies are new each morning. Without, we would be lost. We are each so in need of His love, His forgiveness, His grace, His saving and His healing power.

"Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord is my strength and my song. He has also become my salvation." Isaiah 12:2

"You, Lord, will keep me in perfect peace when my mind is stayed on You because I trust in You!" Isaiah 26:3

Update for Saturday

I apologize for the delay between posts. As you can tell, the tide is slowing and the updates will be coming less frequently now that we are well on our way to recovery...
Jenny's mouth is getting better everyday. She still has screws in her mouth and has one in particular that keeps coming loose (she tightens it back herself :). She can not move side to side, her jaw, but feels like she is talking more clearly, eating more, and gaining some weight.
...I talked extensively with Jenny a few minutes. She and Matthew are heartfelt and sincere in their request to offer thanks to you for all of the cards, support, and prayer you have shown through this ordeal. They know that prayers have been heard and answered. They would ask that you would continue to intercede on behalf of their family, especially for Isabella's complete recovery.
Isabella has an expected release date of September 2nd, however she will likely come home before that. They are beginning to discuss where they would like to continue outpatient therapy, possible schooling options, and other things that let us know that the end of the hospitalization is creeping nearer.
Isabella is becoming more spontaneous with her conversation, not limiting herself to only questions and answer discussions. She is running, skipping and hopping (while being held by the therapist) and is now allowed on the outside "playground" in the therapy unit. She is still having short term recall issues, but that has shown improvement in the last week. She still struggles with decision making, right/wrong, and relating socially with her sisters. Her brain is relearning so many things! I have learned so much about how different brain injuries can be, how unusual the recovery period is. I am so thankful for the great strides in progress Bella has made thus far. I have no doubt that the same God who protected her in the accident, held her safely in sleep for 5 days, and brought her to this point in recovery will bring her full and complete healing. What goodness...
Please be in prayer this week for Jenny and her family. There are some really big decisions to be made very soon. Pray for discernment and wisdom for them. Thank you again for being so faithful. Love you all.

Update Wednesday August 5th

My sister and parents were able to visit Isabella today. Isabella seemed very good today. She played Pretty Pretty Princess (a board game) with her sisters after her therapy sessions and is seeming more like Isabella each day. She was able to tell my parents what she had eaten for lunch, so that was great short term recall. Jenny did a lot of prompting today to help her remember to be polite and to know how to act. She was grabbing things from the girls, but would correct herself when asked. Aleacia and Sophia both cried when they left the hospital because they had to say goodbye to their Daddy. They are feeling the emotional strain of the situation as well as young as they are.
Her release date is September 2nd. However, they will not release her until she is ready and they are ready to come home. They will have family meetings, school teacher meetings, etc. before the time to come home arrives. School begins in a few weeks for Aleacia.
Jenny's mouth is really sore. She is still hurting so bad and is hating the rubber bands. She still has the screws in her mouth (this is what she attaches the rubber bands to). When the rubber bands fall out, it hurts a lot to get it back in. She had to tighten one of the screws herself with her hand! She also found a tooth in the back of her mouth that is broken. The teeth that are loose in her mouth will supposedly tighten up. This is apparently normal for the trauma.
There is no date scheduled for her CAT scan as far as I know.
It seems like the story is slowing down, with developments coming fewer and farther between. I am so thankful for how God has carried these two and for how He is weaving their story. I am still and ever shall be so humbled by His grace, mercy, and love. Thank you for praying for the Laird family. Please continue to pray on their behalf.

Pictures from our trip

Here are a few pictures of our trip this weekend. If you would like to see more of the kids, I put more on my family blog www.schlappitimes5.blogspot.com

I also have uploaded several things this morning, so be sure you scroll down through the blog an visit the older posts if needed to be sure you catch it all!

Jenny's visit to the doctor

Jenny called me a few minutes ago. Her visit with her surgeon went well. He unwired her jaw and put rubber bands in place! She was not expecting this for another week, so it was a huge surprise. She can open her mouth now just a bit, enough for a spoon with a small bite to fit through. She is excited to be able to eat food! They talked about the bone in her mouth. He could not see it because he didn't want to pry her jaw open that wide to protect the bones that have healed. She is scheduling a CAt scan sometime in the next few weeks to view it. From there, he will most likely shave it down to a comfortable point and leave it. Until that point, she will have to keep wax on it to keep it from poking her tongue. She is happy to be able to open her mouth to get wax inside there! Thought you all might like to hear the good news!

Isabella's video

I took a small video on my phone of Isabella when I was with her on Saturday. She is looking for her chain with color swatches on it. She keeps it around her pinky finger. It is a little dark, but you can hear her speak a bit. You can also hear Jenny. It is so good to hear both of their voices!

Isabella's writing

I told you I would post some of Bella's handwriting. This one is special to me because she wrote about her aunts coming to see her. You can read the sentence above! Also, you can see where she saw that the words "ho" like santa says and "me" make "home." Thought you might like to see some tangible progress!

Laird family thank you

We printed these postcards to pass out to all the Emergency response units at the scene of the accident. Thought you might like to see it. The text on the postcard reads:

Thank you for giving your time, encouragement, & service to be a part of God's plan for this family. He has covered them with His hand, behind and before, and has surrounded them with people of such high caliber. Thank you for being able, willing, and there when they needed it most. You truly made a difference.

Gratefully,

The families of Matthew, Jennifer, Isabella, Aleacia, and Sophia Laird.

Psalm 139:5

Pictures of Isabella

I have posted two pictures here of Isabella at Children's. She is with her sisters in one at a therapy session where the Bassett hound I wrote about came to visit the children. The other one shows her precious smile. By the way, these are a few days old. Since they have been taken, she scab on her forehead has come off. I can't believe how remarkable they were able to piece her forehead back together! Another miracle for which we give thanks...

Arrival home...

I arrived home a few minutes ago. The kids are in bed, but my coffee, unfortunately, is still kicked in :)
Jenny got to spend the whole day today with Isabella. Jenny said that Bella had a great day. Her occupational therapist even said that she wanted to get 80 percent out of Isabella today and that she did! Also, they dialated Isabella's eyes today to check her optic nerves for permanent damage. There was no swelling on the optic nerve (this is great news because swelling there means swelling in the brain) and her vision is great! Praise God for yet another small miracle! Isabella is still very easily overstimulated, so pray also for her emotional adjustment in the next few weeks...
I spent a lot of time with my other two nieces, Aleacia and Sophia. They had a blast with my chidren! It was good to see them smiling and I have no doubt that they will soon be reunited with Isabella and more happy than we could all imagine...
Jenny goes to the plastic surgeon tomorrow to see about her jaw. Be in prayer for that appointment, for discernment on the Dr's. part and for comfort and peace for Jenny.
I will post more when I know more tomorrow....

Monday

Jenny went to be with Isabella today at the hospital. My dad took her up there. My mom and I have the kids here. We are taking them to do something fun this afternoon, and then we are on the road again, back to Georgia. They have had the best time together as cousins. We are all glad for them, but very anxious to see sweet Bella in the midst of them all again. We have all had several moments of tears welling watching them play.
We also looked at pictures last night and saw several of the twins prior to the accident. I know it was hard for my sister to see them both together. She longs for that day. Jennifer, as any parent would, is having a difficult time emotionally. Pray boldly today for Isabella, in full confidence that God will restore her and bring her home to us... soon.
There will be more pictures posted tomorrow once I am home on my own computer. I hope to be able to include some of Isabella's writing also.
We will keep the updates coming as they progress. It seems like the train is slowing, but we know that God is continuing to work. Thank you for being faithful to support this family in prayer. Love you all.

Visiting with Isabella

So this morning and afternoon my sisters and I drove to Columbus to see Isabella. I will do my best to justify how I perceived her situation. It is very hard to describe because in some ways she is 8. In other ways, it seems like there is much to be relearned. Physical healing has a much more defined timeline and is easy to see. We are learning every day about Isabella's kind of healing...
When she saw us, she called us "the aunts." We got there in time to see her finishing up speech therapy. She was doing a puzzle with her therapist of animals and their habitats. There were actually four separate puzzles, each of about 12 pieces. The center piece was the habitat (forest, ocean, farm, and home). She had to draw a piece, name the animal and then place it in the right habitat. The therapist would ask where the animal lived and she would say, "right there." She got the habitats mixed up a few times, was hesitant to answer a few times, needed a first letter-sound prompt a few times, but other than that, got them all right. We then went to occupational therapy where she had to pull words out of a Boggle game. She could spell some words and not others, but always got them when prompted. She found the word "ho" and said, "Santa says that" and also "me." She had to write them together and realized as they were beside each other that they spelled "home." She also had to finish a sentence starting with the word my. She said, "My aunts came to see me." I have the paper with her handwriting and will post that as soon as I am reunited with my scanner. I have lots of material ready....
At the moment, she can read and pronounce many words, but whether she retains subject matter is still questionable. She is doing things, but still in a juvenile way. She answers many questions in a high-pitched "uh-huh." We feel like we can see the real Isabella when her voice fluctuates back to normal pitch every now and then.
Also, last night she started asking questions to Matthew about her situation, why she was in the hospital. He explained the car accident, but this morning when Jenny asked her about it, she didn't seem to remember the details outside of the fact that she hit her head. We think, however, that it is a good sign to ask questions. We want her to realize that where she is and what she is going through has not always been. She is very present-minded and it is hard to know if she realizes anything else is normal.
Jenny was able to crawl in her bed this afternoon and cuddle with Isabella. They watched a few movies, and we all know this is the best medicine for Jenny. From my point of view (someone who last saw her in ICU 4 days after the accident), I see huge bridges crossed. I can also now tangibly see that there are still mountains to climb. We are praising God for every hill and bump behind us.... Thank you for reading. Please continue to bathe in prayer my sister and her emotional healing and peace. As far as physical things go, she goes back to the surgeon who did her face on Tuesday. She is hoping he will be able to tell her more about the bone sticking out in her mouth (she is saying that she can feel it more now and that it is more pronounced, longer, and painful than before). You can pray for Isabella also that she will continue to progress. Pray for her brain to reconnect in all the ways it needs to, exceedingly above the bright, intelligent child we all know she is...