Update on Josh...Working Hard!
Josh has been working hard this summer! But he has been playing hard too. After we left the Polytrauma Rehab Center in San Antonio we spent the Fourth of July with family at the lake in Alabama. Then it was home to Arkansas to get back to work with rehab.
Unfortunately the VA has been unable to get any therapy scheduled yet. They are sending us outside the VA for treatment at UAMS (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) which involves a third outside contractor to coordinate and schedule treatment. This level of bureaucracy and lack of competition create a process that is excruciatingly slow and frustrating.
Early this summer we heard about a program in Dallas called REACT Neuro Rehab. REACT offers veterans recovering from traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries a two week intensive PT experience. We just returned from our two week stay and it was incredible. Josh did great and the environment there was a perfect fit for him. Not only do they provide the PT he needs but they also emphasize strength development and do it in a gym type atmosphere. Josh was right at home! He was surrounded by people who, like him, were fighting their way back. It became apparent to me that in this environment Josh was the "norm" and I was the one who was different. It was a special time for both of us!
Josh, Kelly, and I will be returning to Buena Vista for their BV Strong Dinner at the end of the month. We also hope to make make several more trips back to Dallas for REACT as well at San Antonio for follow up at Polytrauma in October.
We are working on a short video that will show some of the progress Josh has made over the past summer. We believe it will be a real encouragement to all of those who have stood by Josh and kept him in their prayers. It should be ready later this week.
Prayer Request:
Please pray that therapy at UAMS comes through soon.
Pray for our family. As exciting as all the progress has been, it has been a long hard road for all of us. In fact, the more progress Josh makes the greater the challenges become. We are in a constant state of flux not knowing what the next week will hold. We want to be wise in each and every decision we make regarding therapy. We also need rest.
Pray for those Josh will encounter along this journey. Let them see the One who has and will continue to move in and through his life.
All in for Josh!
Mike