Here is an update on Josiah as of Tuesday, December 14^th at 7:30 PM

What an incredible first day of rehab here at the Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital! The day started at about 8:00AM with breakfast, and then they worked Josiah pretty good today!  Actually, they wore him out, so much so that he is crashed here at 7PM!  Now, let’s pray for a good nights sleep!

Here are some highlights of the day:

• Today he became mobile!  He got a wheelchair to get around in and he just took right off pulling himself around in it by his feet!  He thinks he is pretty hot stuff now!
• He had a full day of therapy, including speech, physical and occupational therapies.  He did everything from shower and dress himself, to making verbal association lists, to walking around the floor using a bit of help from a handrail and the therapist.  I was really proud of my boy and how hard he worked!
• He already has the staff up here wrapped around his little finger!  He is such a comic and just cracks people up as he walks around the floor.
• The motion in his right eye has increased.  He still has the partial paralysis on the right side of his face from his fracture.
• The coffee is not half bad here, and they have hot water available for my St.Arbucks VIA coffee!  Though I am running out of that now that I found the hot water!
• As a reminder, you can send Josiah and email by going here and following the directions.  I know he would love hear from you all!

Here are some specific and very important things to remember in prayer for Josiah and our family:

• Please pray that he responds well to this new schedule. He seems to really be looking forward to it!
• His confusion and irritation have been very little the last few days.  Pray that he is able to remain like this.
• He does have some emotional times during the day about being separated from his mom, his siblings and his girlfriend.  Please pray that he can experience peace about his condition and situation.
• Michigan Medicaid is his health coverage. With my job loss at the beginning of the year also came the loss of my insurance.  When we got here, the first thing we did is see if they qualified, and they did.  They are giving us issues right now, so please pray that it gets sorted quickly and completely.  This is obviously not as important as his life, but the financial concerns do weigh on me.  Mary Free Bed in Grand Rapids gave us some very encouraging news today.  We are not getting the cart before the horse, but we may find out tomorrow how this will all be handled.
• The doctors are still looking at the right side of his face that is not totally doing everything quite right; like raising eyebrows and such. They are leaning towards as a pinched nerve, which will heal as the swelling in his face/head goes down.  Please pray that there will be healing in that area of his face.
• Pray for our family, as we are apart.  Jennifer will visit as she can, but she needs to be at home most of the time for the kids. Pray that the kids will have understanding at this time.
• Pray for Jennifer and I to have patience.  We know God is in control, we count on that, but we want to see him healed!  Also, pray for strength, endurance and the ability to rest, as fatigue is a great enemy right now.
• Pray that God’s Kingdom work will be accomplished through is during this time.  God know exactly where we are headed and what the outcome will be.  We count on that!

Ps 61:1-3 “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge…”