Tuesday, May 15, 2012

28 Days!!!

Yes, it's been 28 days! And Zachary wanted me to know that even tho... he had minor pain on two of those days he still considers it 28 days pain free. :D So? By Zachary's request, the title remains!!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

A Grateful Mother's Day!


It's Mother's Day and on this day I often wonder why it is I feel so cheated! Why on this day I miss my mom more then ever and this is the day I will be constantly reminded that she isn't here. But then I realize, I'm good! I've got this! It's no problem!
I go to my computer to go through my pictures because I'm short on hard drive space and I come across the photos of my parents truck after their accident in '06.


Why? Why am I here? I'm not here to feel sad or sorry for myself. I'm not here to try and envision the trauma that they experienced. No?!? 


I'm here because despite all the trauma and all the feelings of loss and despair, I am full of gratitude!!
Surprised? Do you want to know why? Because I have a set of twins who made it out of that accident. Our daughter, Aubrey, came out of it with just a broken clavicle

The only picture I have of Aubrey in her sling. 

and our son, Zachary, who we thought just had a broken leg and a bruise on his forehead, he came out of it alive as well.


He's had some pretty harsh bumps and trials and has endured some pretty rough days in the last three years, but despite that ... he is happy and without pain today.

You know what I'm filled with? Pure GRATITUDE!! My eyes well up with tears looking back and seeing what events have crossed my path and I see .... that I am very blessed!! My parents are gone, this is true, but I get comfort from the fact, that I know, that they are together. I am comforted by the fact that I know without doubt that there is more to this life then just living and that when we have accomplished the things that we need to here, one day my parents and I will be together again. I'm truly blessed as I travel my rocky little winding road, there are some occasional boulders that I must climb and there are those scary cold storms that I must seek shelter from, but despite all those things, I see that I am blessed to have all 7 of my children happy and healthy and a loving husband who stands by me, holds me up and helps me over those boulders and through those storms. I'm blessed with a wonderful family and many many friends who are constantly encouraging me and cheering me on as I navigate myself through this life. 

Zachary has made some huge leaps of his own. 



He spent Friday night and yesterday with his pal! They played and rode on some pretty impressive rides,

and he has felt no pain from it at all!! Oh yes!! I am truly blessed, as is he. I know that my Father in Heaven loves us. I know that He only gives us what He knows we can handle, sometimes pushing us to the very edge where we start to doubt ourselves, but we always make it through.

This Mother's day!! I am filled with gratitude!!

A little note for my Mom ....
I love you, mom!! And miss you more then I can ever express!! Thank you, for teaching me the gospel for teaching me that I am a strong woman and for teaching me that I can climb mountains. Sending hugs your way! I know that they don't have to travel very far to get to you, because I know you are always close by me!!

With Love,
Michelle

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

A Weekend of Play and No Pain!!


Can I just say? Wow!! Our son played hard this last weekend! He played war in the woods with his friend and went swimming. These guys played all day Saturday, and they played hard. In the past this kind of weekend would have ended with his friend leaving and Zachary suffering in severe pain. His friend left and Zachary was ready to play some more. :D
We can not express the feelings we have .. it's very overwhelming!! I love seeing our son be a 10 year old boy without worrying about the consequences after playing hard like he did. Dr. Brown has changed our sons life! We thank the Lord everyday for giving us the courage to talk to Dr. Brown, to just listen to what he had to say. That's all it took! What can I say? All we can do now .. is share the knowledge and testimony we have of eating healthy and taking care of the most important part of our bodies, our spine. No more feelings of helplessness! Whew! And the hope? We've finally got it back!! ;)
As of today Z has been pain free for 22 days!!! That my friends is a long time!! His pain started in June of '09 and was consistent! And now, April 2012 the pain free boy we all know and love is as happy as he deserves to be. ;)

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

An Update on Zachary

It's so exciting to post an update like this one. Zachary is doing so .... well!!! He was pain free for 7 days on my birthday ... and what an awesome gift that was!! My heart is filled with such joy to see our son finally free from the pain that has been debilitating him. He came to me the other day and said with enthusiasm, "Mom?" "I got to play soccer today at school and guess what?" "I didn't hurt". Oh, if you could only know how incredibly rewarding it is to hear our son say those words. Thank you goes to all of our family, friends and acquaintances who have had Zachary in their constant prayers and of course to our new family member (he's been adopted, lol) Dr. Brown, who has made it possible for our sons body to be able to heal as the Lord intended and has taught us that diet is everything!! Without doubt I know that there are reasons for every trial. The lessons learned through this one have been many!! As of today Zachary was pain free for 8 days with a pain level of about 2 or 3 on the 9th day and then pain free again for 6 days, totaling 14 days pain free!! We can't express enough how grateful and happy we all are! My eyes well up with tears when I see our son stand tall without the weight of the world on his shoulders! We are truly blessed!!!

I almost forgot to mention that Zachary used to come to me every morning complaining of stomach ache it's been about a week since his last complaint.