Greetings to all, we are so thankful to all of you for your continued prayers for our son Robbie and all of us. We know that he is so covered in prayers from God's big worldwide family and we know that the prayers of the righteous people of God are powerful and effective. I hope to send out a more thorough update on his condition later today. We are so pleased that he was able to leave I.C.U. and go to a normal hospital room. He is in the neurology department. His first night out of I.C.U. has gone fairly well. When he wakes up he is in a lot of pain with his legs stiffening and his feet and toes curling down uncontrollably. He is able to drink and swallow so that is a big relief and we pray he will be able to eat something soft today. Yesterday morning, they were thinking that he may have to be on ventilation and be in I.C.U. for several days at least so the improvement yesterday was a testament to God's power. He struggles to swallow more than once or twice. He still cannot speak at all so he gets frustrated when he needs to share something. Last night he was holding his teddy bear that was a gift he received when he first went to I.C.U. It has been something he connects with now and has become special to him along with a little reindeer that his Uncle Robbie gave him. Mom asked him last night if he had a name and he motioned yes and then made a sound (trying to say his name). His sounds are only short incoherent mumbles right now and he kept trying to tell Tanja his name and became frustrated when Tanja couldn't understand. He started drawing letters in the air to spell it. Tanja got a dry-erase board that is Aunt Mona bought for him and he wrote his name (see pic above) "Stripes". His fine motor skills with his hands and his cognitive processes are obviously doing well for him to be able to write so well.
As I'm sure you know, this has been one of the most difficult things in my life to endure, seeing my son struggle and be in pain. I cannot stop thinking of our Father God and what He went through seeing His Son in pain. As I was on my knees in prayer this morning thinking about this and grateful for Robbie naming "Stripes". God brought his Word to mind, "By His stripes, we are healed."
We ask that you all, in the name of Jesus Christ, join us in claiming this promise over our beautiful son who knows and loves his Savior. Thank you, God bless you all, we love you.
~ Ken