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...

Friday

I am sitting here with my sisters Jenny and Jessica. It was so good to see and hug my sister today after being away for three weeks. She looks just as good as I thought she would. I will get a picture posted soon for all of you...
Isabella is working hard at therapy every day. She has an expected release date of September 2nd, but depending on her progress, she may come home earlier. She would still follow up with intense outpatient therapy. School for at least the beginning of the year is still very much up in the air. She will have issues upon returning, for example being restricted in physical activity in order to keep her brain safe.
She goes to physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, school, speech therapy, music therapy, and massage therapy (every day!). She does at least 6 hours of therapy total each day. She struggles with identifying objects and people, short term memory, recall and understanding her situation. My dad was able to spend the day with her today and travel to her therapy sessions with her. At the end of the afternoon, they had a time when the kids could ask any questions they wanted. Isabella asked "What state are we in?" You can see that there are many pieces that still need to come together. She has not yet realized that she was in an accident or why she is in the hospital. She hasn't asked. That realization will be a natural progression in her healing down the line. On a positive note, she is reading and doing math problems. She can look at pictures of her second grade classmates and can identify first and last names, yet she can't recall what she had for breakfast without prompting.
We are learning that the brain is an intricate organ. Depending on point of injury, there are parts/functions that can be affected while others are not hindered in the slightest. The doctors are positive because of her age and the fact that her brain is still growing that her brain will be able to affectively reroute itself and completely recover what was lost.
She knows all of us and our names. She is just still seeming confused and hazy. She is, however, leaps and bounds beyond where the doctors expected her to be at this point. Give glory to God.
She has been upgraded to a regular diet! She can eat it all and she is. She is all grins and giggles. I have a picture of her smile to post. I am not at home right now, so I will do so when I have access to a scanner. Thank you all for being so faithful. Intercede. My sister says hello and thanks you with tears.

Jenny was able to spend the night last night with Isabella. She said that it was wonderful!
Isabella is now on a normal diet. We were all so happy that she ate her first pickle since the accident! (My family loves pickles and olives!) She had a bassett hound visit the therapy group today. She went to music therapy today. The therapist played Jeremy Camp music. Jenny was able to help Isabella do percussion instruments with her along to the music.
My dad is building bunk beds for the girls at his house and is almost finished with them. Soon they will have a bedroom all of their own. Life is slowly returning to normal...