Phone calls

First of all I couldn't resist posting this picture of my sweet husband who bent over backwards to give me the perfect Valentines day. He pulled himself out of bed before our alarm went off to set up this balloon, and some presents in the kitchen. I have to say, after 30 years of being single - waking up to such a wonderful scene was out of this world. Now onto the recovery...

Each day Will's phone rings and one of his family members is on the other end. At that point one of Will's siblings proceeds to ask him questions about his day, his past, a movie, a book, etc. This task is an exercise in memory. Lisa, Will's speech therapist, has encouraged us to work in this area, and Will's family has stepped up to the plate. They are hitting home runs because Will isn't annoyed at being quizzed in this way, and he loves interacting with them. They are truly his dear friends!

As for the rest of Will's days they are very productive. He spends a good amount of time doing projects around our condo, volunteering at Globus Relief and job shadowing with a neuro surgeon at the U. When he isn't doing these things, he has been listening to news radio, reading, studying, taking notes, cleaning out his email box and/or taking care of me at the end of the day :) Things are going very well. Please continue to pray for Will. He is a remarkable man and will bless the lives of many throughout his life.

Summer

ps feel free to call and quiz him, by calling his new iphone at (801) 541-5119

Stroke Anniversary

This morning first thing Will said when we woke up was -- "it's February"... And I tried to figure out why that was so different from January and then he let me know it was a year ago today that he had the stroke. His whole life changed in a moment. Then come to find out, we were not the only ones to be pondering Will's year mark, as we sat around the table at Will's parents home, his mother wept in acknowledgement of the great miracles that have occurred since last year. She and Wally gave thanks openly to their ward today for all the service, kindness and charity the ward members had shown and continue to show. I echo those words and want to thank those back in Ohio as well for their continued concerns and prayers. Each prayer and act of love on your part has made a difference in Will's recovery. We will forever be in debt to you.

To bring you up to speed on his progress, I'll describe the scene in which I am presently a part of. I am blogging. Will is typing his plans for the week in his iPhone and emailing doctors he is shadowing with. Beside him sits his open computer with the dust pushed from the keys from consistent use in the past week. The speakers are set up with the computer for the first time in a year and he has had classical music playing for the last few days. Behind Will is a book shelf. He told me Friday he needed one to be able to organize his things. He spent a while yesterday nailing it together and already there are piles of papers and books for him to organize. Lisa, Will's speech therapist, has also seen marked improvement in the past few weeks.

Will is changing. He is living, not waiting to heal. We have a beautiful marriage. He makes me laugh everyday. He helps me with the dishes, cooks me dinner sometimes and does a lot of maintenance around the home. We visit friends and family. We went cross country skiing last week, and shopping this week. I am so grateful for such a wonderful husband. He is a miracle and on this his year anniversary our hearts are full of hope for his return to residency. Our faith that he will return continues to strengthen but in the meantime we're very happy.