For those of you whom have been praying for this homeschool family. Here is an update.
It's time for another update on Mariyana….All the good news included in this one is testament to all of your wonderful support and prayers. We really couldn't be doing this without you and without Him – we have been filled with a real peace and strength for these trying times, and that is indeed an answer to prayer!We moved down to room 125 last night from ICU – so that alone is huge! How far we've come in just a few short days – from a moment's notice away of being flown out, to now in a regular room! And, the doctors are talking about possibly heading home on Thursday (tomorrow!). Mariyana is sleeping now, but she did take a shower completely on her own (standing the entire time) this morning. It really wore her out, but that is completely understandable too.Yesterday was the first day of physical therapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists. Mariyana initially refused to participate and would just whine, turn away, and pretend she was asleep. I was able to get the word out quickly to a few people about her attitude, and in the afternoon, she was a different kid! She actually did participate and try. Just this morning we had a good talk about her being scared and frustrated, and how she needs to channel those feelings into "fighting" to get back and working hard.So, specific prayer requests – *Mariyana would have that "fight" in her to work through her lingering neurological symptoms. That she wouldn't give up because it's "too hard" which, unfortunately, is her tendency. That she'd respond to all the different therapies with a desire to improve and cooperate.*That we could figure out therapy schedules for her once we are home, that fit our family's schedules, especially with most (all?) therapists an hour away from our home.*For her and my relationship. My prayer was that our relationship would be further developed and strengthened through this whole thing, and I'm not sure that is happening. I've gotten a lot of strife from her over the previous days which is frustrating and heartbreaking. Mariyana is one of our adopted daughters, and has only been with us for 3 ½ years, so that isn't very long to build a deep, strong bond. *For me – yes, kind of selfish…but pretty necessary! As some of you may know, I have MS (multiple sclerosis). It usually isn't too bad, but when I am in situations where there is lots of stress, and minimal sleep, my symptoms start flaring up. I am exhausted, my vision is getting goofy, and my left side is weak, painful and "heavy". So, I need to be healthy and strong, not only for Mariyana, but also for the rest of the family right now. On the upside, however, I have been able to share with Mariyana that I really DO UNDERSTAND her neurological symptoms and frustrations as ADEM (which she has/had) is almost like a one-time MS exacerbation.*Finally, for long-term healing. The doctors have given us an estimate of how long it will take her to get back to "normal" – it is "a couple weeks to a year", with the ever present possibility that she won't ever fully recover. That is quite scary, of course, to all of us. Mariyana loves running, playing volleyball, riding her bike. She has beautiful penmanship and is a great artist. And, like any teenager, she likes to talk. All of those things are pretty compromised right now. We are of course praying for a complete recovery, in a short amount of time!I think that's about it for now. We can't even begin to express what a joy you have been to all of us with your support. Thank you!Love, The Marble Family
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