Fifty and Forward

Thank you again to all who contributed financially, spiritually or in other ways to the Nifty Fifty Homecoming effort earlier this fall.

Here is an update on the outcomes to that effort:

Despite planning to bring Julie home this fall and tangible and continuous progress in therapy, Julie was not at the point where a complete discharge to home was the best option.

Even in Julie’s improved condition, discharge to home would still involve multiple layers of complexity. They include: costly live-in support for a currently unknown length of time, the purchase or lease of a wheelchair van, house modifications beyond limited ones I have already undertaken, and the need for substantial supplies and medicines at home, all of which exceed my financial resources and personal capacity to be a primary caregiver to Julie as well as to James.
 
For now, Julie remains in residential care. While not what we would want for Julie, it still appears to be the best of the options available for as long as it can be made to work. 

It is a great blessing and a vivid illustration of God’s providence (in which your generous response has played a vital part) that I have been able to keep Julie in such specialized care for this long. However, the goal remains to bring Julie home when her therapeutic progress crosses the threshold of lending itself to a sustainable and manageable home discharge - or whenever a miraculous healing occurs, something for which many of us pray daily.

Much was accomplished through the Nifty Fifty Homecoming effort, including:

We raised funds that contributed payment towards the cost of a customized arm and leg brace that are moving Julie forward in therapy. Thank you!

Those funds also helped to defray a portion of out-of-pocket expenses not covered by insurance, such as doctor appointment co-pays, prescription co-pays, and wheelchair van transportation when house staff were unable to provide it. Thank you!

We received new winter clothes and other gifts on her birthday that have improved Julie’s daily quality of life. Thank you!

We enacted a routine of weekly Sunday home visits through use of temporary ramping for Julie to access our home as part of a gradual transition to home. Blessed be God!

We organized a 50th birthday party that was attended by 40 friends and family, many who had not seen Julie since before her injuries, which was important to Julie in multiple ways. Blessed be God!

With God’s help and your prayerful support, Julie’s progress will continue, her future prospects will broaden, and a fully restored Julie will eventually emerge as Heaven’s response to our love for Julie.