Adjusting to life at home without the support of medical teams has been rough, but the Smith's are taking it in stride. Their faith and perseverance is amazing and the Lord is providing for their needs.
Christian is eating well and his bowels are operating with little to no intervention (PRAISE!!!) but has been waking in the middle of the night often, leaving Danielle very exhausted.
Major Praise report! Christian is now extending one of his fingers! We are standing and believing that this is just a first step of him regaining mobility!
Per the doctors, the next six months will be a crucial window for his recovery. The plasmaferesis treatments typically take between 2-6 months to begin repairing the damage done to his nerves. During this window, Christian must have regular and frequent Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, and daily rehab at home. Danielle has expressed that "being a rehab hospital is really hard". Let's continue to rally around her and encourage the Smith Family!
Testimony of the Lord's Favor.....
To make a really long story short, Danielle and Jack were sent home from Texas Children's with a plan for at home care. PT & OT were in place, and grants for Christian's therapy was already in the works. TCH assured them that everything was in line for a very smooth transition.
Once they got home, Danielle & Jack began to make necessary appointments only to find out that PT and OT for Christian are not covered by insurance, and will be $225 (a 50% discount apparently) each time they visit for therapy. TCH stressed that therapy should be at least 4 times a week to give Christian the BEST chance of a recovery. So, $900 a week just for therapy - not including gas, parking, food, and childcare for the other kids. For any family, $3600 a month would be a major burden.
But we know the Lord, Who is the Provider.
Through a friend, Danielle was introduced to a incredible woman of God who is a Physical therapist. Leah has been following Christian's journey through this blog and through word of mouth, and met with Christian for the first time on Friday. She has already been a blessing to the family through not only her profession, but also by her spirit of compassion, encouragement, and through her faith and love of Christ. Not only that, but she has agreed to provide Christian with his PT treatment for a fraction of what the family would be facing. The Lord is surely using her as a literal angel on earth to be His hands and feet for this family. To God be the glory!
Here are a few shots of Leah working with Christian!
Please continue to be in prayer for the family:
- As they make adjustments to life at home
- As the girls begin to see the differences and adjust to more focused time with Christian
- As Danielle becomes Christians "at-home" rehab facility - give her strength, patience, peace, and confidence
- Pray that the Lord continues to open doors for provision for the family
- Pray for favor at Jack's work place and with the hospital staff
- And of course, please continue to pray that Christian's treatments begin to show undeniable progress of healing and restoration to his body.
Stay tuned for news of fundraisers for the family. If you happen to have connections with any companies or individuals that would like get involved with sponsorship of a t-shirt fundraiser, or any other, please contact Tara Weber Beasley at tbeasley@haoneil.com
I so wish that i lived closer so that I could help with his therapy....you know I would be there everyday if i could....but I am so glad that God gave you Leah for his therapy. I just know that he placed her in your life and great things will come from this. We will continue to pray for all above and everyone involved. If you have any questions, please ask and Ill try to have answers.
ReplyDeleteWith love,
The akers
Thank you Father for planning our days before our feet hit the floor and meeting every need that crosses our path. I pray that all of Christian's needs are continued to be met through your precious angels. I pray that Danielle and Jack are embraced with your Holy Spirit which will provide the wisdom, strength, energy, calmness they will need on their journey. I pray the girls will know how special they are and the love and support they will provide for their baby brother will be a huge gift. Danielle, Jack & kiddos you are loved mucho much:-)
ReplyDeleteTrusting in Jesus,
Paula
Through tears of amazement and humility I read the post and comments that were said and praise our Heavenly Father for always being FAITHFUL even in the trenches. I have been praying for Christian long before I met him and I praise God for giving me the opportunity to work with him and the Smith family. I pray so fervantly that God will give me His wisdom and hands to deliver the best care to this handsome lil' man that I can give him. I have instantly fallen in love with him and think about ideas and treatments constantly. He did amazing work on Monday crawling in 2ft increments times 4 with assistance and nothing but smiles. He worked so hard on his hands and knees to reach for a Sesame Street toy and we laughed because he was so determined to get Oscar the Grouch over and over. No matter how tired he gets he continues to work with that incredible smile and he inspires me to continue the fight no matter how hard it may be. Thank you again and it is all God I am just a tool for His Glory.
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