Here is an update on Josiah as of Tuesday, January 4^th at 7:30 PM

Today was a day that we had been waiting for to hear news on when Josiah gets to go home!  I am glad to report that Josiah is being released from Mary Free Bed on Thursday!  He will come home and continue therapy through a local out-patient facility.  It will be great having the family all together again after a long 5 weeks.  This by no means signals the end of our journey with Josiah and his recovery.  In fact, it is just another beginning of another long road for him.  The type on injury that he has takes many months, even years, to recover from.  He needs your prayers (the whole family does) now as much as ever!

Here are some highlights from the day:

• His team conference was this morning, which is when we found out his release date.  They were all impressed with his recovery so far and were confident that he will do well at home.
• He showered on his own today!  That is a first, and a very important step for coming home. The therapist said he did very well and had no signs of losing balance or anything!
• He was almost running today!  Actually, he did have to jog a few times to keep up with his physical therapist!  He has progressed so much!
• He got his phone back today! This is a first since his accident.  Now, don’t everyone go and call him now because he has a strict time limit as of now (and very limited minutes too on our cell plan!).
• Jennifer came up to relieve me today.  She will spend the last two days with him and then bring him home.  I need to get back to work (starting tomorrow) and this was the best option for us.  I was able to ride home with some family that was in Grand Rapids for the day, so it worked out perfectly!

Some specific things you can remember for us as you pray:

• They are still getting everything set up for his out patient therapy.  Please pray that he will get every bit of therapy that he needs!
• Pray for a safe trip home for Jennifer, Jaidyn and Josiah on Thursday.  We had some really slick weather with some bad accidents on the roads around here today.
• Continue to pray for the nerves on the right side of his face to heal.  He has an appointment next Friday at University of Michigan to see a specialist.  We are still praying for healing to happen without the need for surgery!
• Pray that we will have left a mark on those we met, prayed with and interacted with every day.  More than anything else, we want people to know that God is in control and has a story for each of us to live so that HE gets the glory!

Psalm 33:4 “The Lord is truthful; he can be trusted.”