Elaine’s physical condition is improving and her overall health, strength and colour appear to be good. When she sits up from the hospital bed, she uses her arms to help push herself up. Each time we see her – she is doing this easier.
Her mental condition has shown improvement as well. She is starting to be more aware of her surroundings and is coming to peace with her situation. She was hoping/planning to leave the Lodge and she had her bags packed so she could go. She has now unpacked her bags and appears to be trying to work with system to show them she is capable of leaving their care.
Her communication with us is still not where we need it to be. Her comprehension of what we say has greatly improved, but we still have a hard time understanding her.
Yesterday, we saw a sign of improvement. After telling us of some wonderful things the Lord was showing her (we thought); she actually asked us if we understood. We said no and she did look perplexed. That was the first time she asked us about our understanding of her words. Last week I explained to her about her stroke 4 months ago and that her communication centre had suffered damage. She was listening and I think she understood. I said that her words come out mixed and that most of the time we do not understand what she is saying to us.
Another sign of improvement was that she wrote a list of items she wanted. The one we understood was kleenex and later she was thrilled when we brought her some. As she was writing the list (letters are all mixed and it is not possible to comprehend them), she said the words “small bedroom” (trying to tell us where to look for something she wanted), she actually wrote the letters “sm bddrem”. That was the first time her letters/words came to close to something we could understand – again marked improvement! Also after she finished the list, she started to read the first line and after looking perplexed she crossed it out and said “If I can’t make it out, how can I expect you to” (we thought). So again, real improvement – Thank-You Lord!
She is still having paronia – told us about someone in her room last night; and it was quite upsetting to her. After Lori prayed with her, things turned positive. We were planning to take her out of the Lodge for lunch (we had talked to her about it the day before), but she said she did not have the liberty to go.
One of the nursing staff shared an incident that happened in the dining room area. After eating at the table, Elaine let out some Hallelujah’s and stood up and started preaching to her table mates. It all seemed so full of love, and the only problem was that no one understood the words; but the staff person thought it was sweet.
Some of the more beautiful things we think we have understood (mostly with hand gestures); was her time of intimacy with the Lord. It appears that He is talking to her lots and she is definitely enjoying her times with the Lord. It appeared that she was trying to tell us (very open to interpertation due to difficulty in comprehending on our part); that the Lord was preparing her to teach to others some of the wonderful things He has been showing her .
Another one that we were pretty sure we understood was that the Lord has assured Elaine that He will bring His children into His embrace. Praise you Jesus!
Bill is in his new place and appears to be getting along fine. He is definitely looking stronger. His colour appears to have improved and he seems mobile as ever. Thank-you Jesus!
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