Love That Boy! (pictures)

Patti and I got to visit Nick, Abbey and Cadence last week and meet our new grandson Cole! He is even cuter in person than he is in pictures and we had a great visit with everybody. Both Cole and Cadence picked up some gifts and you can see a picture of Cadence blowing bubbles with her new battery powered bubble maker. (I've got to get me one of those!!)


Yes, I have facial hair! But not to worry, it got shaved off this week. Looked too much like Colonel Sanders.

Patti had her monthly re-hab review yesterday and all signs are pointing forward. Charlotte's grip strength has increased nearly 50% from 8lbs to 11lbs in the last month along with similar increases in flexibility and range of motion. Her balance has improved so much she has graduated from "moderate" fall risk to "minimal" fall risk!!! Praise the Lord!

Prayer Request

Next week Patti will begin a new therapy regimen called "Constraint Therapy." In this, her left hand will, literally, be tied behind her back all day during her re-hab sessions and Charlotte will be called upon to do everything for Patti. That means everything! If she needs a drink, Charlotte will have to get it. If she wants to eat, Charlotte will have to provide it. You can imagine all of the things she is currently doing with the good left hand that will be extremely challenging once this begins. This will be a very stressful, but rewarding process. This particular technique produces sometimes startling results and we are looking forward to it. However, it will be tiring and stressful for Patti and will test her faith and endurance.

Please pray that she will wait upon the Lord for the strength to rise up and successfully complete this regimen. Also, please pray that the Lord will bring significant results and benefit for Patti as she goes through this time.

Forever in Him,

Mike

Things are Escalating

Predicted to be hot tomorrow in Dallas - 106 degrees!!!!! It's hot and the heat is escalating!

Israel, Lebanon, all of the terrorist groups sponsored by Iran and Syria are all at it and the war appears to be escalating! (Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!)

Gasoline prices are high and appear to be escalating!

And in the middle of all this what is Patti doing? She appears to be escalating things a little herself! This past Saturday, she and Stephen and I went over to the mall to do a little shopping and Patti escalated!!!! That's right! She rode on her first escalator since November!!!!!!!!! In fact, she rode twice!! I'm really proud of her for having the courage and pushing herself to do it. Of course, I was right by her side to make sure she got on and off OK and had my arm around her the whole time, but she was really brave to do it! Oh, we only took the escalator up cause neither of us wanted a downward fall!!!!

Here's a picture of new grandson Cole:













Isn't he adorable! Good job Abbey and Nick and Cadence! We're proud of you!

Be sure and check out the brand new BOWMAN BLOG! Just click on the New Link in the left hand margin.

The Lord is good!

Forever in Him,

Mike

Happy Birthday Cole!!!

Cole Wade Bowman, son of Abbey and Nick and brother to Cadence came into the world tonight at 9:17. Cole weighed in at 7 lbs., 2 oz and is 19 1/4 inches long. Mother and son are doing great and we rejoice in this wonderful addition to our family!!

Mike

I'm Bloggin On A Jet Plane...(Apologies to John Denver)

Finally getting the time to blog while traveling from Texas to Connecticut. There is so much to update I hardly know where to begin. First of all, thanks for your patience as I have been unable to blog regularly. We have so many friends, loved ones and prayer warriors who want to keep up with Patti and her progress and we deeply appreciate you. Also, thanks to beloved daughter Paige for pinch-hitting recently!

God is so faithful! My schedule of work and supporting Patti in her re-hab fills my days up. But as a result, Patti has lots of time to work on her recovery, and work she does!! She is still in re-hab every weekday. She gets picked up at 8:15 AM or so and gets back around 4:15 in the afternoon. After a nap and dinner, Patti will start in on her evening exercises. She does stretches and various motion and control exercises. She will read books or we may play a game or work on word pronunciations. Her persistence is extraordinary and everybody she is around is amazed and proud of her dedication.

Patti continues to improve every day, so keep reading and let’s take it one area at a time:

A Pinch of This - A Dash of That

Charlotte keeps getting stronger. As Paige mentioned in her entry, Patti is able to move lightweight objects around and is getting very good at picking up blocks and putting them into containers. Her ability to lift, extend and move her arm is also developing rapidly. Charlotte’s even getting involved in returning hugs which is probably the best therapy we can get!

The occupational therapists who work with Patti have come up with several recommendations for new treatments for Charlotte recently, but a funny thing keeps happening. For example, they recently suggested Botox therapy for her wrist. Yes, you heard me correctly, Botox. No, her wrist isn’t wrinkled, but the inside muscles aren’t strong enough to overcome the pull from the outside muscles which causes her hand to turn outward. The Botox would relax or quiet the dominant muscle group giving the weaker group some time and opportunity to develop further. So after suggesting this we were looking for therapy to get started, but nothing was happening. When we asked we found out that as soon as they suggested it, her hand started balancing out on its own as Patti worked on her exercises. It has become hard to recommend special therapies for the stage that Patti is in as she is moving through the recovery stages faster than they expect! Thank you Lord!

Half Staff!

As you know, Patti graduated out of her walker full time a couple of months ago and is walking with a staff. Our niece Maggie asked her if she could throw it on the ground and turn it into a snake! We laughed, but the miracle level, as high as it is, hasn’t moved into that territory yet! Although, I’m not sure if Patti has tried that one yet!

But the miracles still come. About two weeks ago she graduated from the staff while at rehab and in the apartment! She still uses it when out in public, but not all the time. Sometimes if we are just going a short distance and the store is not crowded she’ll leave it in the car. I remember just eight months ago Patti couldn’t even sit up. When she could sit up she couldn’t sit up for more than about 20 or 30 minutes to start with and couldn’t support her right side without the help of several pillows. Now she is walking unassisted through most of her day!!

Talk Isn't Cheap

In fact it’s extremely rewarding! Patti’s speech is still her slowest development area, but when you consider how much more is involved mentally and all of the muscles involved with the tongue, lips, jaw, facial expressions, and all of the recall, it is a very involved process. Patti spends a lot of time working on her speech and it is coming along very well. She still sings from time to time and her voice is beautiful to hear.

The Queen of Re-hab

Our beloved Patti is still quite a legend in re-hab. She is such a hard worker and willing to do whatever it takes and all that she can, that all of the therapists try to schedule her during the week. At the last progress review, one of them actually complained that they couldn’t get her scheduled enough during the week because the others were writing her into their schedules first!! The staff really pitches in and encourages Patti because of her effort and attitude!

The King of Re-hab

We have observed that a lot of people who come through re-hab are well-defeated in their attitude and their hope. They go through the motions, but just don’t work at it. And, not surprisingly, it shows in the speed (or lack) of their recovery. It also shows up in their conversation as it is often very negative. Patti and I are continually reminded of the importance of having people in your life who will love you no matter what, and will, for lack of a better analogy, call to you to come back to life. That’s what Jesus did when He called to Lazarus. The Bible says that the power of life and death is in the tongue. We see it every day. Praise God that we see the power of life in our tongues and not death. I encourage you to pray for those who are going through these types of trials in their lives. They are all around us and need the uplifting power of the Holy Spirit that only knowing Jesus can give. The Lord of Lords and King of Kings is King of re-hab as well!

Is This Baghdad?

The fourth of July was a really great day for the Everett’s. We went to Patti’s sister’s to watch their neighborhood parade and enjoy hot dogs with all the trimmings! I don’t think I’ve had a hot dog, literally, in years. I had forgotten how good they can taste!

That night we were able to watch no less than 10 fireworks shows from the balcony of our apartment! It was fun and relaxing and caused Patti to wonder if this is what Baghdad was like? We really appreciate all of our brave men and women who endure the real thing so we can enjoy looking at the pretty fakes! God bless America, our leaders, our warriors and protectors, and may He continue to grant us the freedom to worship Him in peace and safety!!

Bought and Sold - Packed and Moved

Yes, it’s true!! Our house in West Monroe has sold and we have packed our belongings and completely moved to Dallas.

A good friend of mine recently shared a revelation with me of the driving dynamic of the early church. The first church found themselves in a hostile culture, with limited resources and an uncertain future. They could not depend on their things, their surroundings or their lifestyle to comfort them. There were only two things they had to depend on; the Lord and each other. He shared that the reason so many believers have life changing experiences on mission trips is for the same reason. They can only depend on God and those they are with, and mostly God!!

I have always heard it said that God meets you at the point of your greatest need. I have learned over the last few months that the saying is essentially correct, but poorly phrased. At the point of our greatest need we choose to depend on God or we choose to depend on the world. When we choose to depend on God, He is ready, able (is he ever!), and willing (remember, He loves you!) to do far above all you can think and imagine on your behalf. As we have learned through this to depend on God, we have found Him to be even more amazing, loving, wise and generous than we ever suspected. And over the last thirty years of my walk with Him I have seen a lot!! I know that is true for Patti, as well.

When Patti had her stroke we were thrown into that position exactly! We had only the Lord and our family and friends to depend on. The cars, jobs, houses, clothes and other things completely lost their importance and the mask of comfort and significance they wear was completely stripped away! Our beloved friends in West Monroe gathered around Patti and our family and ministered to us in ways we are still realizing and that lift us every day! God has performed miracle after miracle in our hearts, in Patti’s mind and body, in our faith and we know he has worked through this in the lives of many others.

My point is that we are distressed to leave all of our friends and loved ones in Louisiana, but we know God has us back in Texas as part of His plan. We experienced a taste of what the early church must have known and we will never, ever forget how God’s people loved us at our point of greatest need and continue to love us still.

Thaime for a Trip

As you know, Mike, Jr., wife Morgan and son Aidan are in Thailand. Pray for them in their new career! Patti and I want to go visit! So I have tentatively decided, after some prayer and consultation with Patti and Mike and Morgan, that next March is a likely time for a trip to Thailand. (No firm dates just yet) However, as you might imagine, getting ready to go will involve a lot more than just packing and scheduling. Therefore, we have set March of 2007 as a goal for Patti’s recovery to have progressed to the point that we can make the trip with minimal discomfort and maximum enjoyment for Patti! She really wants to see her kids and grandkid!!

So, if you’re inclined, pray for the following:
- Patti’s continued and accelerated recovery. She will need to be walking easily and with balance and strength. Very conversational speech would make the trip most enjoyable for her and that Charlotte will be able to fully participate at mealtimes, while dressing and bathing, and at playtimes!
- Please pray that God will always get the glory in this!
- Finances and planning for the trip.

May God bless you as you read of His love in our lives!

Forever in Him,

Mike