THANK YOU!!!

It's kinda surreal when you can sit back and see some of the things that God has put in your life, and why.

In the words of my dad, "This ain't my first rodeo". Dude and I have lived in and out of the hospital since the first day we met. We have gone through surgeries, viruses and coding. I have made many nurse and doctor friends, and I have gone toe to toe with just as many. I have learned how to give shots, change feeding tubes, silence alarms, read monitors and know when to trust them. Let's face it, being a mommy to Dude has been the biggest learning experience I have ever encountered, and I did the majority of it on my own. I will never ever complain about any of it. I've never had to. Just because I didn't have anyone physically next to me, didn't mean that I was alone.

This trip has been so much different than any other hospital stay. Not only have Dude and I had so many people on our side mentally and emotionally, but physically. In the past, I have turned down company so that I could focus all of my time and energy into getting us home. This time, I didn't have a choice. And this time, it was for the better. This time, I couldn't have done this alone. I couldn't have taken the news that I got the other day by myself. I couldn't have told anyone, and keeping it to myself would have been detrimental to me and my health.

So I owe a HUGE thank you to everyone who has been here forcing food down my throat (Tia), sitting in the background, texting me without reply, leaving me messages and for being so concerned that you follow my blog. I can't tell you all how much it means to me that people care about me and Dude so much that you take time out of your day to pray for us, think about us, and read my words. It makes me cry just thinking about how blessed we are.

Again... Thank You to everyone who loves and cares about us!!

As far as Dude goes, today has been an amazing day. His muscles have been spasming which is a little bit painful for him, but it's a good sign. That means his brain is making connections to the parts that had stroked. Poor guy has also been very frustrated because he hasn't been able to form the words he wants to say. Because of that, he can spend a good portion of an hour screaming. The good news in this is that his thought process is normal. Getting frustrated means he is going to try and make those words come out. After a good sleep he has been able to form some pretty important words and more importantly, been able to answer questions. He not only said I love you, but told his Auntie, I love you too. He says mama and when he was tired of being in his chair said "upupupupup". He also answered "good" when Aaron asked how he was doing.

God is good. Life is good. Thanks again everyone for building my strength.

xoxo
-whit