Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Ahhhhh, That's Why

 I don't know that there are more
profound and truthful lyrics than
"don't know what you got til
it's gone".  It's just too bad that most
of us have to learn that the hard way.  :(

Our lives are SOOOOO different now.
So very, totally and completely different.
Nothing has been quite right for my
entire family as a whole since
Travis was in his accident. 
When one of us hurts, we all hurt. 

Sometimes I try to imagine what life
would be like had this NOT happened. 
What all would we be doing in place
of all of this "new" norm?
Oh well, doesn't matter......
I'm thankful that we DO have a
new normal even if it's not quite
right.  It's way better than longing
for and missing our Travis which
was almost the case that fateful day
twenty months ago. 
Instead we EMBRACE the new..........
like Aunt Michelle and I fighting over our nephew!!!
AND me getting to pick Travis
up and take him with me to
get the kids at school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was such.an.amazing feeling
to have him RIDE with me again!!!!!!!!!!
I'll never forget it because as we were coming
up through the line one of the South Bosque
teachers that was directing the cross walk
looked at me and mouthed,
"Is that Superman?"
Then Mary G and others had to come
and see him, too.  He's famous like that!
Of course the kids were thrilled
when they saw him!

Then it was off to the MHS pick-up
line to get Hunter.  We pulled
up to Aunt Michelle just so I could
totally surprise her (and one up her! ha!)...
She was THRILLED!!!
Then of course a ride over to
Grandmother & PaPa's...
we found PaPa out in the back working!
Trav can never deny how much
his family loves him, that's for sure!  :)
All in all, a really really good day!
Such an AMAZING feeling to be able
to drive my boy around AND
for him to GET OUT even if it is
just to ride around! 
The very next day he was texting me
asking if we were "going to get the kids?"
LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I try to go by Sr. Care everyday around noon...
sometimes with Hudson, sometimes not.
I get to SEE Travis every single day.
That is just so awesome!!!!!!
Two to three afternoons a week,
the FULL storm stops by after school.
We make the most of our time there!  ha!;)
Uncle Troy continues to do SO much for Travis.
He really, truly does love Travis like
he is and has been his very own nephew
his whole life.  It makes me so proud and so
thankful.  I can't say enough about how
much my husband does for others. 
As Trav would say, "going toe to toe!".....
Troy is AWESOME with Travis.
These "dawgs" love each other!  :)
Then there is my sister.
What can I say?
Everything about her life has changed.
She is 50 years old and her life
has taken quite the unexpected turn.
God love her heart...
she just does it. 
She just does it all for her boys. 
Gotta liven up even the walkway at Sr. Care:)
Lynna takes Travis to his therapies
on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I take him on Fridays and to any
random afternoon sessions.
We are hoping he can qualify for more
soon.  He needs it.
Here he is coming out of speech with his
therapist, Stephanie.  They have
all fallen in love with Travis
at Hillcrest Outpatient.  DUH!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so thankful for my Friday "date"!
We go pick up the kids after therapy...
and this day, we all went to
Wal Mart afterwards:)
Travis gets to go horseback riding some
Saturdays at Outreach  This is Simon.
Horseback riding is AMAZING therapy for
Travis.  Doesn't he look
AWESOME?!?!?!??!?!?!?!
Lynna especially loved this picture so much.
Travis looks so Travis standing there
next to Wen's truck. 
Travis has always been the
best looking thing.....
These people at Outreach are so
wonderful!!!  There is such
goodness in this world.
Travis and Lynna have also been going
to church with some of Trav's sweet friends
who invited him.  He loves getting to be with them
again.  The first day they went a lady walked over
to Lynna and told her that she had watched
her and Travis "walk" in (he uses his walker)
and she asked to pray for Lynna.  Her name
was Joice...as in rejoice:) God is good.
Then I realized that Walker's basketball coach
is a minister at that very church.  I told
him about my sister and nephew visiting there.
He immediately described Travis to me.
He had seen him come in the week before.
  Travis has such a presence about him.
And it's not just because he's a normal looking
guy having to use a walker or a wheel chair.
There is just something
It was present in his hospital room
at Hillcrest when he was deep in a coma.
God is using Travis in a mighty way.
Travis just doesn't truly realize it yet. 
This was a random Tuesday afternoon
when I was taking Travis to therapy.
Poor guy does not sleep much even
though he is given a sleeping aid. 
The brain is SUCH a crazy thing:(
and controls so much of our bodies.
I laughed because Travis AND Hudson
were both snoozing on our drive! ;)
It is still such a God thing how the
whole Sr. Care Nursing Home came to
be our best option.  It actually wasn't even
an option until I remembered my friend
being in the nursing home business.
Chad (Walker and Hadlee's little friends' dad)
has been AMAZING at Sr. Care.
He is SO good with Travis
and takes such great care of him
AND entertains not only Travis...
but all of us!!!!!!!!!!!
Leave it to Chad to do this pose...
whatever it means?!?
It is SO Travis and we did NOT
tell Chad to do it!!!!!!!!!!!
We are thankful for Chad...
he has been VERY beneficial in making
Trav's stay at a nursing home
much more tolerable. 
The STORM may be loud
and crazy at times,
but I have a feeling Sr. Care
will miss us all when Travis moves home!
Hanging out in 308 after school :)
How good lookin' are these two guys
who remind me SO much of one another!
The Baylor girls had brought Travis
this Theta shirt:) I was a Pi Phi
but I sure am digging the Thetas now!  ;)


The strides Travis is making are remarkable.  
The first day of his accident the
doctors told me his injuries
were like that of a 'shaken baby syndrome'...
meaning all over his brain. 
Another doctor pulled up his x-rays
and told his nurses that Trav's
brain was like mush. 
Recently Trav's new speech pathologist
in Temple said that his brain was
injured in spots all over it. 
She was amazed at how his intellect
was NOT damaged. 
Unfortunately he has a lot of cerebellum
damage in his brain making balance
a HUGE issue for him. 
But look at him STANDING...
with little assistance!  :)
Right here with only the wall
as his support!!!
When Travis was at CNS, Troy
left one afternoon and went and bought
him some weights.  Trav has always
had the best body...and he hasn't let
that go!  He lifts these weights
ALL.the.TIME!
I just had to get a picture of him doing
it.  Whether he is sitting up or
lying down, he is constantly
doing his weights!  Heavy ones, too!!!
Nurse Lisa is a treasure. 
She loves Travis and tells him all
the time that when he is truly famous
that he better give her a shout out! 

Mrs. Ross is our new friend.
When she sees us walk in,
I think she thinks we are there to see her.
She loves Hudson and he is SO
sweet with her.  I have a feeling
we will be visiting Mrs. Ross
long after Travis has left Sr. Care! 

I had the best time watching
Travis at Physical Therapy on the
Friday before Spring Break (March 9th).
Travis gives therapy 110%!
With a SMILE no doubt :)
Everyone smiles when
Travis is around!!!  :)
It's amazing how much this place
already loves Travis.  As soon as he
walks into the waiting room,
everyone behind the desk starts
saying hello to him and giving him
a hard time.  He eats it up!!!;)
Same goes with his therapists......
They had him on his knees
and DANCING!!!
I got it on video and hope to
post it on Trav's new blog soon.
It's priceless!!!!!!!!!!
Speaking of...please visit his
blog:  http://supermansays.blogspot.com
Everyone seems to come around
when Superman is there!  :)
We are so thankful for our
new therapists in Waco! 

Travis can be a real mess!  ;)
We have his TBI to deal with
(which makes him do and say  (or type) some
really CRAZY things), but also Trav's
own natural, fun-loving, rebellious nature.
But way more than ANY of that,
he is just sweet.  Always has been
I will never, EVER get over
this happening to him. :(


I am constantly praying to God
and pleading to God to help
Travis find purpose and contentment
in this new life of his. 
I have a VERY difficult time
imagining how in the world
he can live out the rest of his life like this. 

I love it when God gives me
little answers and encouragement.
I so often find it in the journal
my beautiful Beth sent me....
Jesus Calling.

I had actually taken this picture
to remind myself to make sure
that Travis had read this page
in his own Jesus Calling book from
my sweet Amy Christie.
I believe God must have written this
entry FOR Travis.  I couldn't believe
when I walked into Trav's room one
day when he was having a VERY difficult
time only to find Lynna reading
this very page to him.
I have since prayed and prayed
that this page would come alive to
Travis and that he truly could/would
find God's strength in the quiet
and stillness that unfortunately
he is so often surrounded by. 
I have to believe that God has been and IS
using Travis in a mighty, MIGHTY way. 
I recently heard the end of an interview on
K-Love about a man who had suffered
"horrific abuse" for much of his life.
I'm not sure what the abuse was as I missed
 the beginning of the interview. 
He was saying that he has always had
a list of questions that he knew he was
going to ask God as soon as he got to
Heaven.  Pretty much a list of "why's".
But now this man fully believes when
he walks into the gates of Heaven
that he won't need or want to ask
WHY? about anything...
instead he has full faith that he
will say, "AHHHHH, that's why"!!!

My family and I are blessed...there is
no doubt about that.  We have experienced a
real life miracle first hand.  There is no
questioning in that.  But that doesn't mean
that things have been easy.  Nobody really
has a clue what life is like for Travis
unless you are in our inner circle.
Of course most everyone knows he
can't talk, walk, eat.  "Duh" ;)
Those are the major issues.
There are SO many MANY other things
that he has to deal with and overcome
every.single.day.  The brain is just
crazy!  Travis doesn't have much
movement in one arm. He can't button
his own pants, put on his own belt,
get up to go switch out his DVD,
and just so many other things that you
don't think about until you are
experiencing this new life with him.
Then there's the whole TBI factor
of him actually believing that
he CAN do everything when in
reality he just can't. 

My heart breaks every
 single time I am with him. 
I try to never, ever let him see that.
Sometimes it's when I'm pushing him
in the wheel chair or I'm helping him to
move from his chair to the bed or
helping him with his clothes...
it's just a silent heart ache for him.
I know I speak for Lynna (believe
me...I watch her watch Travis and her
pain is only what a mother's could be :(,
my poor parents, Michelle, even Hunter).
It's gut-wrenching.  No matter what

Seeing this vibrant, strong-willed
hunk give everything he has to do
something when he just can't
My family and I can gladly accept
and love Travis just the way he is,
but Travis can't.  And hopefully
that's what is going to get him to keep
progressing and regaining his life back!  ;)

A couple of weeks ago, we were all just
down.  Travis was not able to sleep hardly
at all, he had fallen in the shower,
he was posting crazy things on
Facebook, taking all of his frustration and
anger out on his mother, and to top it off
I walk into his room one day to find that his
feeding tube had spilled out all over his
iPad (essentially his life).  The tears would
NOT stop rolling down my face.  I was
feeling a lot of anger towards God
and begging Him to show me a sign...
something to remind me of His Goodness. 
I'm all about God's goodness - I don't
know that I've ever actually doubted it...
but I needed a sign.  Well, guess what?

That evening I took dinner to a sweet
former hoodie Pam & her family because
they had just brought their new baby
girl home from the hospital.
As soon as I got there, Pammie
told me to go look in the cradle ~
there lay the most perfect, beautiful
little angel.  One of God's perfect
creations..............wearing the
Superman onsie I had given them. 
God gave me just the sign I needed that night.......
God is Good. 
"So we do not lose heart.  Though our outer
self is wasting away, our inner self is
being renewed day by day.  For this light
momentary affliction is preparing for us
an eternal weight of glory beyond all
comparison, as we look not to the things
that are seen but to the things that are unseen.
For the things that are seen are transient,
but the things that are unseen are eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
To my Travis...
"I pray that the eyes of your heart
may be enlightened in order
 that you may know the hope to
 which he has called you..."
Ephesians 1:18

3 comments:

  1. What a heartfelt, profound post, Mindy! I can't imagine what Travis and your family goes through each day. What we have been through and go through with my brother is nothing, compared to the things all of you are dealing with.

    If it's too difficult to think about the future, just get through one day at a time. God's mercy is new every morning, and He will give you the grace and strength to get through each day.

    I'm so glad the Jesus Calling book is encouraging you, Lynna, and Michelle. I'm THRILLED to hear that Travis has one, too! That one devotional you shared in this post is perfect. Maybe that could be framed for him. :-)

    You know I'm praying. I wish we lived closer so I could help you out.

    Love you so much...love the rest of your precious family, too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ditto Beth!!
    I just love you Mindy. And that is all I can say right now. You are always in my heart and I just miss our times together and ache for your family. My mom gave me Jesus Calling and I need to read it more because when I do..it is PERFECT.
    Can we have a phone date soon?
    xoxoma

    ReplyDelete

Posted with LOVE by Trendy Mindy