1 Year!

This last weekend we were able to celebrate Troy and his huge accomplishments he has made this year. What a blessing it is to be a year out from his accident and to have him be in such a great place in his recovery. To be able to celebrate his life is something I appreciate so much more than I ever thought I would. He, as well as myself, have grown so much this past year and we can't help but to be grateful for all the love and support we have had going through the most difficult time of our lives. It has been quite the journey. 

I'm so grateful for Troy's life and for his story of Gods faithfulness that he can share with others. 

As some of you might know, I'm a big fan of celebrating things. Birthdays, anniversaries, accomplishments, etc. I like to consider, as most of you might agree, Troy's recovery a huge accomplishment. I'm not sure anyone truly understands the hard work and dedication it takes for someone to recover from a head injury (unless of course, you've been there). Being able to witness Troy's work makes me appreciate it so much more. It's been one of the toughest things to watch. He has had to relearn everything; eating, talking, walking, writing, and so much more. As a wife, I want him to succeed for many reasons; for his sake and mine.

The feeling of no control over the situation was one of the most frustrating things I have ever had to deal with. I want to take his pain away, I want to suffer through the therapy sessions so that he doesn't have to, I want everything on me because it too hard watching him go through it. Troy's attitude has been so incredibly impressive to me given his circumstances. You couldn't have picked a more hard working, determined guy to deal with everything he has delt with. His attitude has had a huge impact on his recovery. I, along with so many others are so impressed and proud of him! 

As the day came of the official one year anniversary I had a really hard time watching the clock. Every hour I would look at the clock and think, "what did this hour look like a year ago?" And a panic would set in. It's still very scary to me how quickly life can change. I don't know what tomorrow holds and that is why every morning when Troy leaves for work I start praying. In the hospital my Grandma Koops reminded me often that God doesn't have a limit on how hard or how much you pray for things so pray boldly. I did just that for many days, weeks and now a year and look at where it has brought us today. The power of prayer is mind blowing to me and I take full advantage of it every day! 

Troy has been very curious about the time he missed out on. He has read the carepages and my journal but really neither of them do the true experience justice. I told him to start reading the carepages each day so he can get a feel for the progress he made with time. He often time says, " I must not have been THAT bad if I was doing this". I'll be honest, I kind of want to cry and slap him each time he says that. I remind him a lot  that I took every situation and made it positive somehow. There was a lot of negative that I didn't write because I didn't believe it. I knew that some of Troy's movements "weren't purposeful" but I chose to believe they were. Hearing the doctors talk about how he might not make it past week two was it for me. Troy had always been a "if you think you can do it, you can do it" type of guy. So, I quickly turned my thinking into that. That is, after I cried and cried knowing my time with him very well could be limited. In a way I'm glad Troy won't understand what he or I went through. It was excruciating on my heart. I don't want him to ever have to endure that.

The year has gone by so quickly. I can't even remember what life was like before all of this. Easy? What does that word even mean! Either way, I'm more happy now than I was because of my new appreciation for Troy and for life. I will never take a day for granted that I get to spend with him because I know all too well what life looks like with him "not around". I look forward to more years, Lord willing, raising a family with him and doing life with him. I couldn't ask for anyone better! 

We're getting closer to November which means it's finally time to take a trip out to Mary Free Bed and visit Dr. Vandenberg for a check up! Personally, I think Troy has gained a ton over the last couple months since his previous appointment. There are still days where he gets slurred speech, has some emotional outbursts, forgets things, misspeaks, or gets confused but all those things are so minor now a days. Compared to where he has come, I'll take it! Troy doesn't want to get his hopes up for this appointment because of the disappointment that followed last time.  I'm really hoping we can start the discussion of the second neuro pysch evaluation. With insurance and other issues we might not be able to take it until it's officially been a year since his last test which was in February I believe.  But it would be nice to at least get the ball rolling with that. As soon as the results come in for that we can start talking an upgrade to journeyman again at work! Having heard the news of not having to take that horrible test over again, it's been a very happy house! His work restrictions are still 10 hours a day. Which, I'm pretty sure Troy is the only patient to ever have that as a restriction and not be thrilled about it. I think it has something to do with the word "restriction" :)  He has done a couple weeks at 10 hours a day and is adjusting well. Typically the first 2 weeks of something new for him is tough but then he starts getting the hang of it. He is still taking his Concerta aka the miracle drug. He doesn't think it does much but boy does it ever! I'm fairly certain anyone could point out whether he has taken his meds or not. It's either "Normal" Troy or zombie Troy. He gets tired so quickly if he doesn't have his pill and his mind just doesn't track things as well as with the pill. He still has twitching spells, sweats uncontrollably and has some weird other things that you never would have though accompanied a brain injury. I've done a lot of research and have found that many if not most patients who have suffered a TBI have weird body issues after. Glad we can say, were normal in that department! :) 

I'll be sure to post after our next appointment if not before. The first week of November is his appointment at MFB and fingers crossed we get to take some much needed steps again!