Friday – 5/13/2011

“This is the day the Lord has made!”

It’s been a very busy week and a lot of exciting things are starting to take shape! I feel like I have a lot to say, so caution that you read this post when you have time and are not in a rush!

First, I want to thank God for the beautiful weather these past few days. I spent most the day Wednesday outside on my patio enjoying the sunshine. I hope that those of you reading this who live in the warmer weather states take the time to truly appreciate every sunny day that you have. Those of us living up in Cleveland along the “North Coast” appreciate every sunny day we are fortunate enough to get!  The sun is a powerful force that certainly does a body good… and the soul! In fact, as I write this, I am sitting outside on my patio listening to the melody of the birds chirping and the warm breeze rattling the wind chimes hanging off of my covered porch — thank you Pat for the wonderful gift!

Even Kingsly has been able to spend some time outside with me taking in all of the delightful sounds and smells a feline could ask for. Speaking of Kingsley, every day she grows more and more comfortable with me and my caretakers. She spends her nights curled up in bed with me and occasionally will jump up on my lap. Sometimes , I think she still wonders why I never pet her anymore. However, she has developed the habit of nudging her head underneath my hand, which usually leads to a spasm in which my hand starts forcefully slapping her head. She just sits there, tightly closes her eyes, and takes it! It is so fun to watch her sprint all throughout the apartment!

In fact last night while I was in my standing machine for 20 minutes, she jumped up onto the standing machine with me and rolled around, wanting me to pet her. Holly, Helen and Katie who were here helping me stand, placed my hands on Kingsley, so that I could shrug my shoulders allowing me to slide my hands back and forth across her fur, giving her the rubbing she was desperately seeking!

Speaking of standing, last night I felt as if I could stand for hours. I stood without any discomfort or soreness and felt great when I was done. This was also after a very busy day at Metro meeting with a patient to discuss the cough assist system, and then participating in another exhausting muscle study. During this most recent muscle study, the focus was on trying to isolate the specific muscles in my legs and feet. I had some decent success in which the sensors were able to detect the leg muscles trying to move. Every time the sensors detected any type of muscle vibrations a red bar would light up on the screen. I was able to successfully light up several bars during the study. After the legs came the real fun when we placed the sensors on my biceps. When I tried to move my hand towards my mouth, as if taking a sip of Guinness, the screen lit up like a Christmas tree. It was very apparent that something was trying to fire up!  It has always been my belief that my biceps will start working one day, and this test helped keep the fire burning within me. The test led to a discussion about some FES devices Metro has developed which can be implanted into the arms to allow me to start moving my arms and hands again!  Very exciting stuff that is happening right here in Cleveland!

The exciting events of yesterday culminated with me lying in bed last night with a genuine feeling of gratitude and happiness. I kept thanking the Lord for how much ability I still have in my life. I kept praying to Him, almost in a giddy manner, thanking Him over and over again for how lucky I am!  A very peaceful and serene feeling came over me, and for a few moments I lay in bed knowing that one day I would completely recover and walk again. It was a very surreal, yet very intense, feeling of quiet confidence that was bestowed upon me as I fell asleep.

Even today, more than 16 hours later, I still find myself holding on to that feeling of confidence and peacefulness that God presented me with last night. It is another obvious reminder that He is in charge and not the doctors who gave me a very dismal prognosis and literally suggested that I should consider choosing to be taken off the ventilator and allow myself to “expire”. I am glad that I refused to listen to them and kept my faith and trust in a Higher Authority. Unfortunately, many people are given the same bleak chance of having any type of “normal” life at the time of their initial injury. My young friend, Alex Malarkey, is further living proof that God is in control. The Lord’s power also resonates in the spirit of another friend, Alexandria Reese, who I met while she recovered at Metro. I attached a very short video clip below of a recent interview with, Alix and I encourage you to watch it to further feel inspired and convinced of the awesome healing power of the Lord.

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/may/12/prayers-for-alix-44701-vi-28326/

This past weekend was the Kentucky Derby, which is one of my all-time favorite sporting events. In addition to watching the race while enjoying some mint juleps, I usually have a few dollars riding on the ponies as well. This year was no exception. I placed my bets online and felt fairly confident after studying the daily racing form all of Friday morning. I tend to prefer the exotic bets since they make the race more interesting. One of the multiple bets I placed was a superfecta — which entails having to correctly pick the finishing order of the first four horses. This is pretty tough to do, which is why the payouts are usually quite substantial. I placed a $2 superfecta box of four horses, which costs $48, and required that my four picks finish in the top four positions in any order. I boxed the 10-13-14-19. It those four horses finished in any order within the top four positions, I’d be looking at a big payday. The actual finish of the first four positions was 16-19-13-14. Had the 10 horse finished in the top four I would have won $48,126!   Needless to say, I look forward to handicapping the Preakness next Saturday!

This Sunday is the big day for my friend, Katie Bradeska, as she runs in her first-ever Half Marathon in order to raise awareness and support for me!  I am sure she will be excited as well as nervous (and sore) this Sunday. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she competes. Also, if you have not done so, please click on the link below to learn more about why she is running for me this weekend. Go Katie, Go!

I first met Katie when she interviewed me for a story to be published in the St. Ignatius magazine. We immediately hit it off and sparked an incredible friendship. Not only am I grateful to her for all of the running she is doing for me, but also for the very touching article she wrote.

I have some other very exciting news I want to share with everyone, but need to wait until it is confirmed. Hopefully it will be in time for my next journal entry. However, I will leave you with some other exciting news that many of you are eagerly anticipating to hear… I have been officially selected to receive a helper monkey!  I had a great conversation with one of the associates from the Helping Hands organization discussing all that this entails and am very excited and fortunate enough to have been selected! They were very impressed with my attitude, personality and application video (again, thank you Will for your help with this). In fact, the girl I spoke with told me that I am affectionately referred to by many of the employees as “Scott Fedorable”, a moniker I am happy to carry!  And what is even more exciting is that it is quite possible I will receive my monkey friend within the next 2 to 4 months!  Additionally, I am allowed to have other pets in the home, which means I may still get a service dog as well!  Things are about to get even more excited around here…

I want to continue to thank everyone for your prayers and support! And I want to also remind you to give thanks for all the wonderful things you have in your life!

“This is the day the Lord has made. Let us give thanks and rejoice!”

Scott