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

Darth Tater Rules!

This message is from Paige~

I am blogging in place of my father who is so busy that he has not had time to blog. We apologize to frequent blog readers as they have been stuck w/ the same blog for about a month.

However, a lot has happened over the last few weeks! The house in Monroe is under contract and we are anticipating the close of the sale to happen mid-July. Mike and Patti were in Monroe the last week and a half deciding what comes to Dallas, what gets sold and what gets pawned off to the kids (Which was A LOT!). We had fun going through everything.

Let's see exciting or funny news...

-Patti broke our shredder...she was shredding all the papers we didn't need and got overly enthusiastic and well...the shredder stopped. It apparently did not have the same excitement as the rest of us. So we got a new HEFTY shredder that could almost shred an entire book in one sitting. NICE.

-Mike deemed Darth Tater (Mr. Potato Head dressed as Darth Vader) as important as it was neither sold nor given away and instead rode shotgun on the way to Dallas.

- Patti has been amazing all her kids and friends with her new found tricks w/ Charlotte. She is starting to pick objects up and move them across the table. We are sooo proud!

- Patti also has been using only a staff when walking, but I didn't see her use anything this weekend which shows me she is getting better at balance and strength.

-Mike was finally called out as a complete nerd by his kids when we found out that his deepest desire is to have a Mystery Party w/ a Star Trek theme. We forgave him since he actually never had the party and we did not have to participate :)

-Abbey is looking BEAUTIFUL in her last month of pregnancy and we are all eagerly anticipating the birth of a new little boy!!

-Stephen has a nickname that we were not aware of...Pokey...we need to know who Gumby is now.

That's about it for now...Hopefully things will calm down at the Everett's place in the next week so that Dad can get back to his regularly scheduled blogging.

Happy Fourth!!!

Wishing for More

Time, that is! I have been accosted (and rightfully so) by several people regarding my failure to keep the blog updated. Not the least of which is my beloved wife and my faithful daughter Paige.

Please accept my apologies! I ask your forgiveness!

Life has been full lately with travel, work, care giving and just the daily routine. We are trying to get used to the new life in Dallas.

But enough of that, let's get to what is really important - Patti!

Patti is doing really well. Not only is she doing really well, but she is looking good doing it!! Her walking continues to improve. She limps a little on her right leg, but this is mostly due to limited feeling. Restoration of feeling to her leg is the next big physical step we are looking for. When you can't feel your foot and leg very well, even though they are working well, it is hard to trust them! She is still using a staff and is off the walker completely now. She has used the wheelchair twice in the last 6 weeks at the mall and at, where else, Wal-mart. But yesterday she said she actually prefers to walk around these places now. She has such a strong will and great attitude and they keep her going.

Patti's speech is making great strides also. We have noticed that in her speech exercises she is rapidly improving in her ability to say words and sounds rapidly and clearly. We have several word lists of mono and multi-syllabic words. There must be literally hundreds of words in the lists and we will go through them on pace where I will speak the word and Patti has to repeat it back on beat. She only misses two or three out of a hundred when we do this. She still has trouble pulling and saying the words when she needs them in conversation, but I truly believe that one of these days God is just going to "connect" the wires and she'll wake up one morning talking up a storm!

We have found a really wonderful lady named Mary to stay with Patti when I travel. She is also a great cook and Patti just loves her. God provides outrevery need!

Tomorrow is Mothers Day and we are looking forward to having Mike, Morgan and Aidan along with my mother June and brother Lynn over for the day. Mike and his family are on their way to Southeast Asia at the end of May to begin their new career. Talk about mixed emotions! We are so proud of them! Yet, we really will miss them. I think God's original intent for the Internet was to allow families and friends to stay in touch. It sure makes it easy! Too bad others have to pervert such a wonderful tool!

Have a wonderful Mother's Day! Be sure and take some time to thank God for your Mom! And thank you to all who continue to keep track of us and pray for us and for Patti's recovery.

Oh, I almost forgot! Two weeks ago Patti was out at the mall with her sister and a strange lady struck up a conversation with them wanting to know Patti's story. During the course of the conversation Patti and Theresa told the lady about the hole in Patti's heart that has been repaired and the fact that Patti was having some headaches prior to the stroke. The lady said she was experiencing the same symptoms and had the same hole in her heart. Patti told her not to waste any time and to get to a doctor as quick as possible. The lady then said, "I know that God sent me to you to receive that information. I'm catching a flight home tonight and will get with a doctor on Monday." So a small ministry through testimony on that day. I'm sure it is just the first of many!

Forever in Him,

Mike

Staffing Changes

This past Friday represented another milestone day for Patti. She has now graduated from the walker to a staff in public!!!!! What this means is that she is now walking so well she can navigate most of the obstacles she will come across in everyday life with balance assistance from the staff. She's not running up stairs, taking escalators or power walking, yet, but she is walking around demonstrating God's faithfulness every day!!

We are still working through our daily routines in our new environment. I must confess there are many days when we deeply miss our dear friends in Louisiana. Dallas is a big, wonderful place and it's where we need to be, but the pace of life and the overwhelming size make finding and getting together with friends a difficult thing.

Prayer requests:

1. Patti's ongoing recovery and strength. There is much work involved. Not only during the day at the rehab center, but she is doing exercises every night and by the time bedtime rolls around she is pretty much exhausted.

2. Sale of our home in Louisiana. Some limited activity, but the market is very soft there. Getting the house sold would relieve a lot of financial pressure.

3. Praise for God's faithfulness!

Forever in Him,

Mike

Insurance Update

We have a resolution! It turns out that the issue with Blue Cross was, as they described it, a billing issue!! Isn't God good! No matter how I want to complicate it, He always comes through!

Patti's rehab facility, CNS, and Blue Cross are now communicating properly and coordinating Patti's care so that we are fully covered under our policy.

Thanks for your prayers!

Forever in Him,

Mike

Picture Legend

A good friend of mine asked for a legend for the picture below, so here it is:

Row 1 left to right:

Mike Jr., Paige Everett-Powell, Todd Powell(Husband), Stephen Everett

On the sofa left to right:

June Everett(My mom), Morgan(Mike Jr.'s wife) and Aidan Everett, Patti, Mike Sr., Abbey Everett-Bowman and Cadence Bowman. Abbey's husband Nick couldn't make the trip due to work - we missed him!

ALSO, you can click on the picture to see a bigger version...

AND, Mike and Morgan now have a blog and you can find them at:

http://everetthome.blogspot.com/

Mike

Easter Weekend

Patti and I hope all of you had a blessed and happy Easter weekend! All four of our kids, all but one of our in-laws and both of the grandkids were with us. This came about as sort of a re-do of our planned time together last Thanksgiving which was so dramatically altered by Patti's stroke.

With travel and work schedules, everyone made it to Dallas in time to go to the Fort Worth Zoo on Saturday. What a great place! It was the first time for me. Even though I grew up in Dallas, my family always went to the Dallas Zoo. I haven't been there in years, but people here say it isn't close in quality and presentation to Fort Worth.

Saturday night we had dinner together at our apartment which, by the way, accomodated the crowd quite well! There were two highlights during the evening. First, we gathered around Mike Jr., Morgan and Aidan and laid hands on and prayed over them as they will be leaving to start a new career in Thailand at the end of May. Secondly, we presented Mike Jr. with a new guitar which comes as a gift from both sides of his family and from his church. Mike leads worship, writes music and performs as part of his outreach gifting.

Sunday, we went to church with Mike Jr. in Fort Worth, grabbed burgers afterwards and headed to their apartment at the Southwestern Baptist Seminary for lunch. We took the grandkids over to the seminary campus, which has beautiful grass by the way, and had a lot of fun as the adults did egg tosses, carries and rolls on the lawn! It was a great time together as a family and we enjoyed it tremendously.

Through the whole weekend Patti did great, as expected! She continues to improve her walking and talking and handiwork!

We are grateful to God for what Easter means to us through the ressurection of Jesus Christ and, this year, we were able to celebrate the restoration of Patti as well.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for Patti!

Forever in Him,

The Everetts

Children of a Lesser Blog

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I have blogged. The adjustment I've had to make has been very difficult. The daily pressure of work and travel each day transitions into caregiving for Patti and homemaking at night and time has become a limited resource making blogging a less frequent event. I hope to become more frequent over the next few weeks as my travel schedule settles down a little.

Having said that, there are some wonderful things to report.

First of all, Patti's progress is steady. We have made some medication adjustments that seem to be helping her accelerate her speech recovery somewhat. Her legs are growing stronger and she spends a considerable amount of time each day walking without assistance at the apartment. Charlotte is giving up more and more control to Patti each day. She is trying to reach out and flip light switches, help hold onto things like jars so Patti can open lids, and generally beginning to behave herself!

We are very encouraged and God continues to minister His peace and provision in our lives. There is still a long way to go and, no doubt, some difficult times ahead. But for those of you who may harbor any doubts, God is totally true and faithful and loves you beyond measure!

Our insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, is still wanting to reduce Patti's therapy each day by 70%. This is very strange as Patti's progress has been continuous and the therapy regimen is obviously very effective. Please continue to keep this in your prayers. Patti works very hard to take full advantage of every hour she has and this would make our life very difficult at this point. If she can't go to therapy each day then I will be required to reduce my work hours significantly or increase our care costs enormously. Either of those are not a good option. Just as, if not more, important is the recovery environment that therapy creates for Patti. It is challenging and encouraging and she comes home every day tired and spent, but satisfied that she has accomplished a lot.

Also, continue to pray for the sale of our home in West Monroe.

Forever in Him,

Mike and Patti

Needed Down Time

This past weekend has been a time of resting and settling at our new apartment in Dallas. In fact, Patti even made me turn off my cell phone!

First of all, our apartment. When we found out that Patti was going to be forced into outpatient status by our insurance company, we went out three Saturdays ago to look for an apartment. After realizing that the usual apartment complex presented physical obstacles for Patti such as weather exposure, curbs, split levels and such, we decided that a high-rise apartment made a lot more sense. High-rises have better security, covered, underground parking, and other amenities that would make life a lot less complicated for Patti.

We found one in North Dallas and here is where God stepped in. The apartment we tried to rent was a one bedroom and very small as that's what we thought we could afford. The following Monday, after asking them to hold it for us, I put a deposit down on the apartment. Shortly thereafter, the manager came in visibly upset as they had promised the apartment to someone else and had already taken money for it. As I had signed the paperwork and given my money as well, they had a problem. The result? They put us in a two bedroom (three bedroom plan - third bedroom is an open small den area) for just a little more per month. So we are very pleased and grateful as God gave us much more than we expected. Also, the first apartment was about 100 paces from the elevator. This one is about 10 and it has a shower which is much easier for Patti to use. We are on the 11th floor looking East, right at West Monroe. (Although we can't see it from here.)

Secondly, a medical update! Patti is doing great. Around the apartment she has begun walking without the walker. She doesn't do this unless I am around, but she is doing very well with it and being quite careful. This shows marked improvement in her balance!

She is continuing in rehab on a daily basis. A really wonderful lady by the name of Eva drives the van that picks Patti up in the morning and brings her home in the afternoon. It is a full day for Patti and she is usually looking for a nap when she gets home. Charlotte is beginning to get very active and Patti is able to pick up blocks and move them into a box as a test. She is getting better by the week with this and all of the reports from the rehab staff are very encouraging.

Prayer requests:

1. Extended time in five days per week outpatient care. Our insurance company is indicating they want to reduce Patti's therapy hours. The Medical Director and staff at CNS, myself and Patti all think this is utter nonsense. Pray for favor with Blue Cross staff and for God's provision.

2. Sale of our house in West Monroe. Now that we have an apartment, rent and mortgage is a huge burden.

3. Settling down from the dramatic life changes of the last few weeks including the stress of adapting to outpatient and adjusting to accomodate work. Pray for peace and organized thinking.

Thanks for your patience, love and prayers.

Forever in Him,

Mike