The Blessings Keep on Coming!

So the other day I decided to make a trip to my old stomping grounds and return to BRI (Baptist Rehabilitation Institute). I made a trip to the hospital to work out in the training gym after therapy sessions were complete. I wanted to ride the motomed bike and get some exercise. When I got there I told my therapists about me being able to move my legs a few inches. They wanted to put me to the test to see this for themselves.
I got onto the training mat and moved my leg again a few inches like I did at the apartment. Still not totally convinced because my OT wanted to make sure I was not compensating another part of my body i.e. moving my upper body causing my legs to shift. My OT called my physical therapist over to confirm my movements. My PT laid me on my side and put his hands on my hips to make sure I was not shifting. He placed a plexi-glass board between my legs to reduce friction. On his compand......I MOVED MY LEGS 7-8 INCES in each direction!! My therapist told me that he could feel my hip flexors firing! I WAS MOVING MY LEGS!! THIS IS HUGE!! I did this several times with a crowd starting to gather around me to watch me move my legs for the first time. The gym was empty except for myself and several therapists witnessing my first movements! If I can get some more movement back we can begin working on walking again.
I have overcome so many odds and this has NOTHING to do with me but through prayer and everyone bringing me before God. When I first arrived at BRI and they did there test and found me to be a T-10 ASIA-A Complete injury I would NOT except that diagnosis. I was told I would more than likely never walk again....AGAIN....not what I wanted to hear. I REFUSED to believe this and KNEW that through faith and prayer that we could see a miracle happen. My doctor could only tell me the medical facts that they knew to be true....but God doesn't follow medical facts he works on his own time tables and with a different set of laws. In order for me to regain everything I MUST believe and I need prayers from everyone. I firmly believe in the power of prayer! I have already seen it happen in my life. I have overcome every single statistic. I lived, my status was changed to an incomplete, AND.....I started gaining movement back!! All three of those odds were against me. I will never stop working and NEVER stop believing. I want to thank everyone for there support and prayers! Please, please, share this story with others...lets get the prayer chain growing! I know so many of you keep me in your daily prayers and I thank you for everything! Please tell those who are not praying this story so that God can hear us through prayer and petition. I firmly believe that through faith ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! I am living proof of that! I have a great story to tell and would love for others to tell it as well!
I am leaving this weekend to go back to Florida. I will be there to finish recovering and get back on my feet.....LITERALLY!! I miss all my friends from Florida but will think about my family in Arkansas EVERYDAY!!! I have met so many people who have touched my life and for that I am forever grateful! I love you all so much and just know that you will ALWAYS be on my heart! I hope to return to you in time and GOD-WILLING WALKING! Thank you for always being there for me especially during the hardest test of my life!
I LOVE YOU ALL
IN HIM,
BRENT

A NEW POST!! GOOD NEWS!

WELL..... As most of you know my injury status has been moved to an incomplete which rarely ever happens. This means that my chances of regaining movement GREATLY increases. Just yesterday I was in my bed and joking around with my mom shaking my body and making my legs move. She said, " haha brent, real funny but can you move your legs without shaking your body?" So my mom bent my knee and planted my foot into the bed. I tried and tried to move my leg..... AND I DID!!! I could very slightly move my hip flexors. My knees could move in and out just a few inches. I could move them in and out and it took all the energy I had to do this. Believe me it is nothing spectacular but a few inches IS movement. Some is better than NONE! I just have to keep working on it. Everyday keep my legs moving and focus on all my energy on moving my legs. To be honest with you NONE of this could have been possible without the continued prayers of EVERYONE! The progress I make has NOTHING to do with me but with all the support and prayers that have been given on my behalf! I will continue working as HARD as I possibly can but I ask that EVERYONE PLEASE continue to keep me in their prayers. I need all the help I can to get through these hard times. I know that this entire ordeal will be a blessing! I will use whatever I can to help others!

On another note! I wanted to thank KEVIN BACON for a package I received the other day. Kevin was nice enough to send me 8 autographed DVDs and a CD with some pictures and a nice letter. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my blog and send me the package. Maybe one day we can make it 2 degrees!

I LOVE YOU ALL,
IN HIM,
Brent

Out of the hospital!

Hello everyone!!
Well, it's a Sunday night and I am currently in my apartment. I left Baptist Hospital on Friday afternoon and I am spending a few weeks here in Arkansas to tie up some loose ends before going back to Florida for a little while. I was glad to leave the hospital but I am going to miss all of the friends I met while I was there. My therapists were very good to me even if I did give them a hard time. HAHA whats therapy without a little bit of fun. I have a bunch of funny stories to tell about my time in the hospital. If you have a little bit of time and want to laugh A LOT let me know. Now that I have left the hospital with the best possible news EVER (see previous post) it is time for me to work extra hard to regain motor function. For those of you who do not know or didn't read my previous post the Doctors upgraded my status to a LEVEL-B. This is UNBELIEVABLE! OK....not unbelievable when you consider the one behind the miracle.
Time for a little crash course in what a miracle consists of....YOU BE THE JUDGE! As a Level-A I am considered as having a COMPLETE spinal cord injury. This basically means that my chances of regaining any function is slim to none. I was basically given a chair and said hope for the best! HOWEVER, now that I am a LEVEL-B it means I have an INCOMPLETE spinal cord injury which changes the outlook drastically on everything. My lower body IS receiving signals which means my chances of regaining my senses and motor function greatly increases. What makes this a miracle is how rare this is to have an injury level overturned. One of the therapists said 1 to 2 % of people get cases overturned the way mine did; coincidence I think not!
So....what does this mean for me now?!? Don't get me wrong I am NOT out of the woods yet. I have a LONG...LONG road to recovery. I have to work EXTRA hard to get my legs used to moving. I need to keep my muscles strong and keep the nerve endings firing in my legs. As my nurse told me that being a level 12 it means I am a 1/2 a centimeter away from being in the LUMBAR level which means I will regain motor function in my hip flexers this is the beginning stages of WALKING!!! 1/2 a centimeter away!!
I cannot stress enough the power of prayer! God LISTENS to us when we ask him for help and have faith in his power! Faith with doubt is not considered faith in my book-I don't think its considered faith in God's book either (the Bible)! Peter's doubt when walking out of the boat to walk towards Jesus proved he didn't have complete faith...look where that got him (a mouth full of water!) In order for my healing to be complete I MUST believe in God's power and ask everyone to pray on my behalf. I pray that the Lord will touch my legs and make them whole again. I pray that this tragedy will touch others lives and that God will be glorified through my struggles and perseverance. I am not going to lie to you, this is the hardest thing I have ever faced and will ever face! Luckily for me I have a band of Christian brothers and sisters who will help me get through this and with the help from God I will be used as a tool for him.
Please everyone keep me before God. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers
I LOVE YOU ALL!
IN HIM,
Brent

PRAISE GOD!!!! I PASSED MY TEST!!!

I would like to thank EVERYONE for there continued support and prayers! This is a testament to the fact that PRAYER WORKS!! Today I PASSED MY TEST!! I am now a T-11 (POSSIBLE T-12) level injury and an ASIA-B which means......I have an INCOMPLETE INJURY. This is the best possible news I could have gotten because it means that I have a good chance of recovery! If you are an ASIA-A it means you have NO motor and NO sensory functions. However, since my prognosis has been changed to a level B and an incomplete it means I am CONNECTED. The sky is the limit as far as my recovery. Many people with incomplete injuries have started WALKING within a couple of years!
PRAYER WORKS!! After the accident my odds of surviving were NOT good. Everyone I know starting praying diligently for my survival. God answered those prayers and brought me back. Once I regained consciousness the outcome was NOT good at all. It was actually the worst possible prognosis. I was a T-10 level ASIA-A which means a COMPLETE injury and I was given a 5 % chance of recovering functions (both motor and sensory.) Well my prayer warriors went to work again on my behalf. Enough people brought me before God and he ANSWERED those prayers ONCE AGAIN! I was moved from a T-10 to a T-11 and from an ASIA-A to an ASIA-B! My therapists told me that it is very very rare for a case to be overturned the way mine has been overturned. I have gotten a lot of sensations back and the doctor is impressed by my progress. If I can get some more motor function back then my level will be changed to an ASIA-C then its ON TO WALKING!..... Right now I am 2 for 2 with God answering our prayers......lets see if we can make it 3 for 3.
Please everyone give a prayer of thanksgiving to God for his continued blessings on me! Now is not the time to stop praying but instead kick it into overdrive! Through prayer and petition God will hear us crying out and answer our prayers! THIS IS THE NEWS IVE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG! I have FAITH....not hope....FAITH that one day I will be restored! I can not thank each and everyone of you enough for your continued prayer and support. Believe me it was YOU who made this possible for me. Praise GOD! I know I will be a miracle for him to show off to the world one day!
I LOVE YOU ALL!
IN HIM,
BRENT

I need your prayers!

I know this is the second message I have written this week but I knew I needed help from everyone for a test that I will be taking this week. I have some pretty promising news but I need your prayers in order to pass an injury level test! Since I have been in therapy my doctor has always leaned on the conservative side in giving me a diagnosis. There always seemed to be a medical explanation for all the progress I thought to be making in therapy. Every time I felt good about something new in my body (a feeling or sensation) my hopes would be dashed by medical jargon explaining everything I was feeling. However, recently I have experienced a lot more sensations in my legs and I have been making progress in therapy.
My physical therapists was talking to me today about there staffing meeting they had with my Doctor. The staffing is a meeting held to discuss my progress with all my therapists and doctors. My therapists told me that my doctor was discussing some promising things that have been happening in my body. The doctor never gave ME much hope but talked about how he was hopeful to my therapists. I understand the doctors point of view always needing to weigh on the safe side when dealing with the patient for liability reasons. However, my doctor ACTUALLY said I could be a possible ASIA B which means I have an INCOMPLETE INJURY! If this is the case my prognosis drastically changes. My hope for recovery greatly increases. The doctor never does the ASIA testing twice unless he sees a reason for possible improvement. WELL, he has ordered another testing on my prognosis. I am currently a complete injury which the odds are not good, but God doesn't work on percentages. God doesn't care about medical jargon his power is beyond everything medical science can explain.
If you would PLEASE keep this special request before God I would greatly appreciate it. I need all the prayers I can get to pass this test and go from an ASIA A to an ASIA B prognosis (incomplete injury). Please pray for me and the outcome to my test. Thank you all for your support throughout the toughest test of my life!
I LOVE YOU ALL!
IN HIM,
BRENT

Thank You So Much!!!

Well I am back writing on my blog! I was excited to see that a one Mr KEVIN BACON wrote on my blog last (I had to explain to my mom what 6 degrees to Kevin Bacon meant) haha. I am glad to hear that my blog is getting to so many different people. I thrive off of all the encouragement I get from reading my comments on my blog. Everyday I am working harder than I have ever worked before and I know that in time I will overcome this tragedy and turn it into something good!
One thing I have learned from all of my therapy is that my legs are REALLY HEAVY! You would be surprised just how often you use your legs to perform everyday tasks. Balance, slouching, turning, lifting almost every task you do in a day you use your legs even in times where you don't realize you are using them. I have four 45 min sessions Mon-Fri and some on Sat and Sun as well. Seven days a week I am in the rehab. gym working on everything I need to be independent. I have met so many great friends in rehab. As many of you know I very rarely take anything too seriously (although I take my rehab VERY SERIOUSLY) I tend to constantly play pranks and jokes on all my therapists. However, when it is time to get to work I put my game face on! I even come into therapy after hours to work on the "motomed" bike (this is a passive bike that will turn your legs for you). I have been getting some pretty interesting results on the bike as well- (more on that later). I am working on my transfers with a sliding board into a car and onto the bed. My shoulder has been holding me back some because everyday it gets sore with all the pushing I am putting through my arms. But I am not making any excuses! I will work as hard as I can despite any limitations that I have in my arm.
I do not know yet how God will heal my body but I figure it is better to have learned all of this training and NOT need it than NEED all this training and NOT have it! I am making progress everyday in therapy and soon I will have all the skills I need to get by on my own. Lord willing I will get more feeling and sensations back and possibly even movement. I have heard this injury can take YEARS before I find out the extent of my injury and what I will get back. Now onto the good news!!!!!!!!
I have been working on the MOTOMED bike which is just a stationary bike with alot more bells and whistles. The bike can determine spasms in my legs and also muscle tone. Sensors in the petals detect if I put force through the petals and the bike will shut itself down and tell you that "you are now pedaling yourself" this phrase has come across on the bike SEVERAL times. The bike will be moving my legs and the motor will shut off and a message will tell me that I am actively pedaling the bike. THIS IS GREAT NEWS! My physical therapists doesn't know what to make of this! He told me to get off the bike and he got on it to see if it was malfunctioning but whenever he put pressure in his legs the machine will stop the motor (IT WAS WORKING FINE!) Everyday I try to get on this bike even though I am not scheduled to ride it!
I am always encouraged by even the smallest achievements. I know that everything will work out and that I have to focus only on the things I can control and put the rest in God's hands. I have FAITH that things will work out and that I will one day get my legs back. The only thing I ask is that all of you do not give up on me. PLEASE continue praying for me and my recovery. I know I have so much support and I can not thank you enough for all your encouragement. I will keep all of you in my heart each and every time I go into rehab. Thank you all SO MUCH!

I LOVE YOU ALL!
IN HIM,
BRENT