Accident Updates

June, 2008 (written by Joey Link)

In Luke 18, Jesus tells this parable to his disciples. “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’”

I believe all of us are like this persistent woman in our prayers before our God. Though God is neither unjust nor lacks care for us, He does ask us to “persist in prayer”. As we do, He answers and we praise and glorify Him for His work.

Over the past 3 ½ years we have been asking you to pray with us for specific things to bring healing to Carla’s body. We asked you to pray for her mind, and God gave it back to her while she was still in the hospital. We asked you to pray that her nerves would regenerate, and they did. We asked you to pray for her foot to straighten out and to flatten out to baseline so she could walk normally on it, and over time it has. We asked you to pray that her spine would stabilize, and it did. We asked you to pray that her quads would strengthen, and they have. These are just a few of the many specific prayer requests we have seen answered. And we PRAISE God for them!

We were able to purchase a “NuStep” exercise machine recently through a generous financial gift. It is a specially designed exercise bike that simulates walking, strengthens the quads while putting less pressure on the knees. Over the years, Carla has been going to the Hospital Rehabilitation Center daily to work on this “NuStep”. However, one time a day wasn’t enough. We have been looking to purchase a used NuStep for 2 years now. It is a relatively new piece of equipment, and they are very hard to find as well as expensive. Imagine our surprise when a bicycle shop in town called Carla’s physical therapist to ask if they knew someone who needed one. It seems a man had purchased one from the manufacturer and had only used it for a couple months before he passed away. His widow called the bike shop to see if they could sell it for her. They didn’t carry them, so they called the hospital to see if they knew anyone who could use one to help this lady out. It is in better condition than any of the ones at the hospital! Carla has been working out faithfully 2-3 times a day and we are just now seeing this work and your faithful prayers pay off. Again we PRAISE God here.

Another individual has donated medical equipment to us throughout this recovery process. Thanks to his generosity we have new walkers that enable Carla to have much greater mobility. God has answered our prayers in so many different ways.

At a recent visit to Mayo Clinic, Carla’s physician was reviewing her progress over the past 2 years and it is significant. One thing she said Carla hadn’t even realized is that she has weaned off over half of the medications she was on. The doctor said this was unusual for a patient with long-term medical issues. In general, not only did they not wean off their meds, they usually as time went on added more meds to their program. The physician asked Carla to extend her leg and hold it, something she has never been able to do before. It was my pleasure to see the physician’s eyes open wide with excitement as Carla was able to do this wearing her brace. PRAISE God!

For the first time at any of our visits to Mayo Clinic, Carla walked the halls. We did not get the wheelchair out of the van while we were at the Clinic for two days of testing and appointments. At our daughter Briana’s recent graduation from Moody Bible Institute, Carla walked the campus with us and to the ceremony at Moody Church. It was exciting for me and I trust for you. PRAISE God Again!

These improvements are also due to the new ACL brace that she now wears. It was touch-and-go for a few days as the manufacturer was not sure how it would work with the AFO brace she must wear to stand and walk. They were finally able to find one that would fit and adjusted the braces so they work together. Carla’s mobility, according to her therapists improved 75% in 10 days! PRAISE GOD! They told her then they thought her quad muscles may not have come back, so again, it was quite a surprise to all how quickly results could be seen. They give the NuStep a lot of credit for this. All that work Carla has been doing on it the last couple months has paid off tremendously and I am greatly encouraged that she stuck with her workouts even when she could not see progress. There is a wonderful Spiritual lesson here on how we need to continue persevering not only in prayer, but also in action EVEN WHEN we don’t see the progress and let God bring about the fulfillment of his plan in his time. I give Carla a great amount of credit for her persistence here even when things looked bleak.

Praises:

1. Carla’s quad muscles are strengthening again

2. For the NuStep machine

3. For her new walkers

4. For her increased mobility and endurance

Prayer Requests:

1. Carla’s quad muscles would continue to strengthen. This is important.

2. Her balance would improve and she would be able to work with both her hands without having to hold on to something at the same time.

3. As she is increasing her activity level again, the pain is significantly increasing as well. Please pray for her endurance with this.

4. Carla needs to sleep. Please pray that she sleeps through the night consistently. You can tell she is weary. The pain comes during the night.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your persistence in prayer on Carla’s behalf! Please keep them up and we look forward to sharing more good news with you as our Lord continues healing Carla’s body.

If you would like to send notes of encouragement to Carla you can send to linkaccident@mchsi.com.  Remember it’s a read only account so she can’t reply back but she enjoys hearing from you! 

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April 2008 (written by Carla and Joey)

I went to the orthopedist this week and learned what is going on with my knee. My quad muscles, in the month I was wheelchair bound before the December surgery and then during the time spent rehabbing my knee post-surgery(rather than doing my normal workouts)  lost most of their strength.  I didn't realize this was happening until Mike mentioned it last week when I asked why I was having difficulty standing without assistance.  So while my knee was rehabbing, it was also picking up the work the quad muscles would normally be doing, which was not good. Then, when I fell in PT in Feb. and wrenched my ankle again, my knee and hip was all that was left to keep me standing and walking. So instead of rehabbing, my knee was working in a way it was not ready to do.

In the last 2 weeks it started making popping sounds when I walk.  I learned today these sounds are the miniscus joint (that the surgery was done on) rubbing (grinding) together in a way that is not at all good. My knee has also been badly swollen for several weeks since the ankle injury. So, I will now get a brace for my knee that will be custom-fit that is similar to ones professional athletes wear for ACL injuries. It is metal and allows my knee to move as it normally should but stabliizes it. The good news is with this I will be able to work on the equipment that will rebuild my quad muscles (they can tell they are coming back with the limited work I have been able to do). I will get my mobility back and get back on canes.

The bad news is that it is so big I may not be able to wear it underneath clothes. I told Joey I don't care. I want to move again.I was relieved to know something can be done to move forward. I am being fitted for the brace this week and it will take another week to be made.

This has been a hard time for me, wondering why things have not been progressing well. I took the month of January off from travel to focus on rehabbing the knee and I was sick for several weeks with respiratory infections. My family traveled on a week-long holiday in March and I stayed home again to focus on PT, and the week before they left I fell and wrenched my ankle. Then a couple weeks ago, just when my mobility was coming back in the ankle, while in the airport in Chicago going down the jetway to the plane, my wheelchair caught on a grate and it flipped out of the person's hands who was pushing me and I fell humpty-dumpty style rolling downhill. I was carrying 3 coats, my briefcase, the walker and my canes. I am sure it was quite a sight for me to roll head over heels with all that flying everywhere. But my knees absorbed the shock and the rt knee began swelling in a new area. I was really beginning to wonder if God was saying this is as far as I will be recovering, and I needed to accept my very limited mobility.

A friend sent me thoughts her pastor shared that week. It was on the story of Lazarus. Jesus knew he was going to die. Yet He did not hurry there. When Jesus arrived Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. Think of what Mary and Martha and the rest of their family and friends went through during that time.  They were devastated. But God had a plan. Jesus said in John 11:4 that Lazarus' sickness was for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." It Jesus had arrived before Lazarus died and healed him, people would be amazed and encouraged, but that would not have been miraculous or spectacular beyond belief. Raising him from the dead was another story. That showed something only God could do. I am willing to wait so God can once again be glorified through this recovery in miraculous ways. Praise be to Him!

I have at other times during this recovery process known that God often asks us to wait for His timing. And when this story was shared with me again, I knew in my heart God was allowing delays because He was asking me to wait again.  Jesus did raise Lazarus from the dead because of what? Mary and Matha's belief that He would do what He said. I do believe. I will not give up or give in. I confessed my discouragement as a lack of trust and was able to come full circle on that front.

I am learning to drive with my hands!  I have passed the driving evaluation, ( I had to drive and got a high score) gotten my permit and will be trained on our white van the first weekend in May. If I pass, I will take the driving test!  I am so excited to be able to drive myself where I want and need to go. I feel like such a bother when I have to always ask someone to stop what they are doing to take me where I need to be.  It looks like our daughter Amy will be going to photography school in Nashville, TN in the fall. Since she is my primary chauffuer, it is important I get on my own and drive.

Praises:

• The surgery on my knee was done so well it has held up through the past several weeks. Despite all it has had to do, I have not lost any stability I gained through surgery.
• We now have a new plan of action that has hope and promise.
• I have been cleared to drive.

  Requests:

• My adjustment to the new brace goes well.
• My rt knee, ankle and quad muscles will continue to regain strength.
• I will sleep again through the night.

  Thank you for your faithfulness.  

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