Another post from me as in (Brent) ta-da!

Hello!
I guess I could take this time to write about how difficult my life has become but I believe I should be thankful for all the blessings I have received instead. We spend most of our lives worried about how rough we have things and dont take time to look at the small blessings we are given everyday! Since my accident I have been blessed with so many great new friends. My church family at Pleasant Valley has been amazing. I am so glad I have been able to start friendships with new people who I might not have otherwise been able to meet! I have had the privilege of meeting wonderful new people who have boosted my spirits and have given me so much encouragement. I can not sit here and type all the names of the people who have affected my life since the accident, they're too many to name. Both in Arkansas and back home in Florida I have realized that my family is much bigger than I could have ever imagined. However, I have been blessed with prayers from across the country. I have new friends from celebrities (Kevin Everett) to my Occupational Therapist Cristina who has been so sweet to me! I also have to give thanks to my mother who has not been home since December 8th. She has been with me the whole time and has helped me adjust to rehab and my constant medical needs. I love her so much! AWWWW!! (she is right behind me as I type this!) I also want to thank my father for his constantly being there for me and making my life so easy. He just pretty much takes care of everything!

On another note I have not yet stop believing in my complete healing. I know that one day I will get up and walk again I just have to give it time. I was fortunate enough not to have a severed cord which means the sky is the limit on my recovery. However, nerves grow back.....really slowly so patience is a virtue I will have to learn! haha My parents will give an AMEN to that! I will not put a time frame on whatever plan God has for me. I just know that with as much support and love that I have I know I will make the best of my situation. I would like to leave you all with a scripture!

Psalms 50:15 - I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you and you can give me glory.

Please continue to pray for me! I love you all!
In Him,
Brent

Its me!!

Hello everyone!
Well I have survived the first week in my new apartment. Things are going well I have my schedule to keep me busy. Physical Therapy, Occupational therapy, arm ranging, leg ranging, medicines, shots, theraband treatments and then more meds that pretty much encompasses my daily life now! It has taken along time but I have come to terms with my current situation. Notice how I say CURRENT situation because I do not know what the Lord has in store for me. Doctors and specialist do not work on the same agenda as God. I know he has a plan for me if not I do not believe I would have made it through the initial injury. I have made the decision that whatever path the Lord puts in front of me I will walk it and not complain. The Doctors do not know how I will heal but however the outcome I will use whatever gifts he gave me to glorify him. On another note (a good note) I have been getting some sensations in my rear and top of legs. I feel as if the top of my legs are asleep or numb. Hey-its a feeling, I will take what I can get! I also got a new Nintendo Wii (compliments of Farner Barley and Associates) I use the gaming system as part of my rehab or in other words its Wiihab!! (haha). My arm is getting better everyday. I am getting more and more movement and range. I can not wait until I can bare weight on my arm cause this shoulder is really affecting my curve ball. (stupid joke I know). I want to personally thank everyone for their continued love and support. Keep praying for my complete healing and I know that through faith I will make it through this time! I love you all

In Him,
Brent

A message from Brent

The Phone Call!

Wednesday evening around 5:30 I received a phone call from none other than Kevin Everett! For those of you who are not sports fans Kevin was the tight end for the Buffalo Bills who was seriously injured during the first of the season this year when he was hit by a player for the Denver Broncos. Kevin received a fractured neck and was paralyzed after the accident. However, as of today he is WALKING! Kevin has recently been on Oprah, Sports Centers special, and Good Morning America. He beat the odds and was able to overcome his injury through perseverance and prayer and I hope to do the same thing. Kevin gave me two pieces of advice 1) Be Positive 2) Be Patient. I know these two pieces of advice all too well. I would like to thank Dave Reed from my home congregation in Florida for setting up the telephone call it was a great inspiration.

I told Kevin that I would write about him in my blog so that my prayer chain could include him as well. He greatly appreciated the offer and told me he would be praying for me as well. If you would please pray for both myself and Kevin so that we may completely overcome our injuries I would greatly appreciate it. Keep the Faith

In Him,

Brent

Feb. 11, 2007
We have gotten settled into the apartment here in maumelle, Brent is adjusting well. Today we have had physical therapy as well as occupational therapy come to the apartment to work with Brent. He did well working with his range of motion. We also determined what we will be working on in the coming weeks as far as therapy goes. His spirits have been up, as you can always tell when he starts making jokes.
Brent does enjoy having visitors, and we appreciate you coming by. If you could call before your visit that would be greatly appreciated due to the fact that we never know when we will be working with pt and ot.
Please continue to keep Brent in your prayers! We are still praying for a full recovery!

Sorry we have not been keeping the blog updated as much as we would like to. Yesterday was a big day for Brent. He was released from rehab yesterday and has now settled into his new apartment just outside Little Rock, in Maumelle. We want to thank everyone who has helped in getting the apartment set up for our family. It is wonderful! Kathy and Brent both feel very secure here. They will be staying in the apartment until he is able to go back into rehab. Brent will have home health coming to the apartment at least three times during the week, this includes a nurse, physical therapist, and an occupational therapist. An apointment has been set for March 19th, with the orthopedic surgeon to determine the condition of the left shoulder. The left shoulder must be able to bear full weight before he will be able to go back into rehab. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Please pray that Brent's shoulder will continue to heal, as well for Kathy to have the strength to take care of Brent to the best of her ability. They're a great team together!:) Brent request that you pray for a complete healing. We believe there is power in prayer!

I just took a look at Brent's blog, couldn't believe it's been so long since I've updated it. So, to bring you up to date on everything........here goes.

Most of Brent's days are filled with waking up, eating breakfast, getting ready for physical therapy, going to therapy for an hour and half, coming back to his room and crashing. Eating lunch, getting ready for more therapy, going to therapy (another hour and half), coming back to the room and crashing, eating supper. Getting ready to do it over the next day!

Everyone here at Baptist Rehabilitation is amazing, his physical therapist are so caring and professional. I'm not sure we could have found a better place for Brent if we had searched all over the country! (which we did do)

Now for the latest news; as most know Brent is going to need to come out of rehab. for several weeks. This needs to be done until he can bear weight on his left shoulder and arm. Hans O. and Jeff S. spent a lot of time going out and looking for apartments in Little Rock that will meet Brent's needs. They found several, Kathy and I went out and looked at each of them. The last one we saw held the most promise, it is located about ten miles from Baptist Hospital in a suburb of Little Rock called Maumelle. It is small but very nice and in a gated complex, you have a sense of security and safety. We gave Brent the choice of either coming back home to Florida or staying here in Little Rock....he really wanted to stay around here because of all his church friends at Pleasant Valley Church of Christ.

So it looks like Friday the 8th is going to be the big moving day for Brent. I'll be coming in late Thursday night and staying thru the weekend. Pleasant Valley is getting some help for Brent and Kathy lined up for the 4 days each week that I'll be working. There is no way we could do this without our church family! We are so thankful for so many things and have been blessed in ways that we can't even describe.

Please continue to pray for Brent's healing, we have not and will not, give up on Brent's complete healing.

Sorry, it's been a couple days since the last post--in some ways time goes so slowly and then other times it seems we can't keep up with the days that fly past.

Brent is doing really well in rehabilitation and is making progress everyday. Still working on the left shoulder trying to get more range of motion. It will be several more weeks before he will be able to bare weight on it.

Today we had a conference with everyone involved in Brent's recovery; Social Worker, Doctors, Nurses, Physical Therapists, Representative of the Arkansas Spinal Commission and it sounded like several others. (I was working in Georgia, and was on a conference call with them) Everyone seemed happy with Brent's progress.

The decision was made to keep Brent in Baptist Rehabilitation until February 8th. At that time he will have to come out of rehab. until he is cleared to bear weight on his shoulder. We don't have an exact time frame on how long this will be, anywhere from a few weeks to a month is a good guess. We are looking at two options; the first will be to get a handicap apartment for Brent and Kathy will stay with him, I will still fly back and forth--working Monday thru Thursday then staying in Little Rock, Friday thru Sunday night. With all the support Brent has with PV Church of Christ and the Singles Group this option has great merit. The other would be to bring Brent home to Leesburg where he could stay with us. This also has merit, so I guess where I'm going with all this verbiage is that we need your prayers that the best direction for Brent will become clear.

Brent continues to have an amazing spirit, he is so strong in his love of God--I stand in awe! I can't begin to thank everyone who continues to visit and lift his spirits! Thank you so much PV, and West Orange Church of Christ! Don't think we could have made it this far with out your support!

Brent loves visitors! (forgive him is he is asleep when you come) Your welcome to call his cell phone also, if he is out of the room just leave a message.

A message from Brent

First off I want to thank everyone for there continued love and support through this very tough time. Things in my life are a lot harder now but with prayers and support I am trying hard to make it through it. Everyday is a new trial to overcome! I never thought my life would take a turn like this but I know that the Lord has a plan for me! I know that i need the Lord to help me through this and I know that he can do miraculous things to those who believe in him. I have been praying non-stop since I have been awake to do so. My parents and friends tell me stories about the first few weeks but my memory is not to keen from all the medications. The one thing that I do know is that I have an amazing support group and a lot of people care for me. It is so touching to know how many people pray on my behalf.
My prayer is that I will continue to get better everyday. I also pray that the Lord will give me complete healing and that I can use this experience to somehow bring glory to him. I love you all and have so many thanks that I do not know where to begin. My life is different now but I am still the same Brent. Please keep praying for me and we can make it through this together!
P.S. I want to give a special thanks to my church family at PV and all my Christians friends who continue to support me! My mom has been with me from the beginning she is the best mother a guy could ask for and I am so lucky she is my mom! My dad and brother and sister visit me often and they boost my spirits they are angels! My family is awesome! My Singles minister Hans has been so generous to come and work out with me through my physical therapy I can not thank him enough and everyone else! I love you all so very much

IN HIM,
BRENT

Today has been a good day for Brent, both morning and afternoon physical & occupational therapy went well. Brent is getting a little more range of motion in his left shoulder each day. Tonight I asked Brent if he wanted to get in his motorized wheelchair and go exploring the hospital. He thought that would be a good idea, so Brent, Bryan and I went all around Baptist Hospital. Ended up in the cafeteria, Brent was able to eat a good dinner--pizza, yogurt, and a Sprite. (Hey--in guy language that's a great dinner!)

Check back tomorrow, Brent said he wanted to write everyone a note on his blog!

We know that God is answering each and every one of your prayers for Brent, it is so awesome to be able to see the progress Brent is making both mentally and physically! Brent has such a positive attitude, and is smiling and pulling his practical jokes on both Bryan and myself. Just a few minutes ago, Brent was eating some chocolate candy and asked Bryan if he wanted some--Bryan said sure--Brent handed him an empty box. (it's one of those things where you would of had to be here)

We have been asked if Brent can have visitors, yes he can! Late afternoon (after therapy) and early evening are best for him.

Pete & Kathy

Sorry that we haven't added to the blog as we should, I flew back to Florida to work this week and haven't been able to keep up with things as I should.

The next decision we have to make is where to move Brent when he comes out of Baptist Rehabilitation in about two weeks. Jeff S. with Pleasant Valley Church of Christ has connections with a very promising place in Little Rock, Kathy and I will meet with them Friday. The other option is to move Brent back to our home in Florida. Kathy and Brent have talked and it is looking like he may want to stay in Little Rock those 5 to 6 weeks. Brent has several Doctor appointments over that time period, so staying in Little Rock makes sense. We will know more by the weekend. It's so neat to see God working in Brent's life, many have asked what we are in need of--it seems our needs are met before we know there is a need.

Before I go further a word of thanks to Hans O. --he has taken over and filled in as a father for me while I'm working. Hans comes in the morning, goes to therapy and has learned how to help Brent. After therapy he stays with Brent so Kathy can get some lunch. Hans your awesome, what an example to Brent! Thank you!

Today Chuck, the pulpit minister with Pleasant Valley came and spent an hour with Brent, encouraging and praying with Brent.

There are so many more that I can't begin to name everyone who have supported, visited, prayed, and loved Brent. The Singles Group at Pleasant Valley is awesome, what an example!

The following came in an email to me from Kathy;

Brent's therapy is going well. Today he worked mostly on strengthening his right arm. He played a Play Station game that had camera hooked up so he could see himself. The therapist put a weight on his arm to make it more difficult. He was having to wave his arm in all different directions. He got a good work out. He is having to try and sit up and balance by himself, and having to put on his own shirt and today he practiced putting on a sock. He is having to do all of these things with mostly using one hand. Brent's own words " the small things we take for granted like putting on a shirt, are exhausting to him" . His left shoulder was sorer today because he is having to move it more in therapy. He gets kidded alot about wearing a Gator hat ( Hans says when he comes to the gym looking for Brent he just looks for the orange Gator hat). Dr. Kiser said they expect Brent to be at BHRI about two more weeks. We will have a more definite date next Tuesday, when we have a family meeting with the Dr. and therapist. Brent is so appreciative of every little thing and gives God the credit for providing him with small miracles each day.

Many of you have asked how to leave a comment on the blog-

For those of you trying to leave comments but are unable to, here is what to do:
After reading a blog at the bottom you will see "14 comments" or "leave comments". Click on that to read others comments or leave one of your own. On the right side of that page there is a box where you can write a comment. Scroll down and you will see underneath "Choose Identity" a link that says "No Google Account? Sign up here". Click that. That does not mean that it makes you a new email account. They didn't word that very well. On the next page all you need to do is enter in a preexisting email address twice along with a password for this site. You will also need to enter a display name. First and last names would be appreciated so the family knows who is leaving the post. Then you finish the word verification and acceptance of terms and click the continue arrow. On the next page you will be able to leave a comment. From then on all you need to do is re-enter your email address and password whenever you want to leave a comment.

As usual, not much goes on during the weekend. Kathy and I were able to attend services at Pleasant Valley Church of Christ, I flew home after lunch today. I plan on working during the week, and will try to get back up either late Thursday night or Friday morning. Kathy is staying with Brent, as she has since the accident on December 8th.

Brent had one session with physical therapy today, talked to him for a few minutes on the phone. He indicated that it went well. Brent is starting to get some good movement in his left arm, and it doesn't seem as sore as before. Most of the therapy is on his left arm and shoulder, trying to get a better range of motion in the arm. It will still be 5 to 6 more weeks before he will be able to place weight on the shoulder. We are extremely happy with his progress, and with Baptist Rehabilitation.

Thank you so much for all your continuous prayers offered in Brent's behalf. We firmly believe God is answering those fervent prayers, and great things are in store for Brent!

Brent is able to read the blog and keeps up with the posts, thank you so much for all your encouragement! Your faithfulness is amazing, and really helps us keep a positive attitude!

Pete, Kathy & Brent

Today has been a fairly easy day for Brent, he is still in considerable pain but it seems to be diminishing in intensity. We are starting to get into a daily routine and that too is helping, we know what is going to happen from one hour to the next.

The rehabilitation routine on the weekends is less intense than during the weekdays. Still go thru the same routine but it only lasts about half as long.

The way things are looking, we believe that Brent will be able to have short visits starting the first of the week. He is so sorry and disappointed that he hasn't been able to see everyone! We appreciate everyones love and concern, wish we could put into words the feelings we have!

Brent just ask me to tell everyone--in his exact words--- "I love you all, and feel so lucky to have such wonderful Christian friends. Keep me in you prayers, and God will work everything out"

Pete , Kathy & Brent

Today has been a very busy day for Brent--Baptist Rehabilitation is run like a well oiled military organization, with a lot of love and compassion!

This morning Brent sat in a wheelchair for the first time--no he didn't care too much for the experience! He is having a lot of ups and downs right now, as would be expected. Overall his strong faith in God is keeping him going right now. I look over thinking that he is fast asleep, then after what seems to be a very long time I see him stirring. He wasn't asleep, but praying. Brent is sure teaching me a lot about having a strong faith to live by!

Brent's breakfast comes a few minutes after 7, after breakfast we go down to the first floor to therapy. He is working with two different therapists, both are amazing--matter of fact this whole facility is amazing. Occupational Therapists works with Brent one on one for about 45 minutes, then there is a break and then the Physical Therapists works another 45 minutes. After that he is rolled back into his room to rest before lunch. The same process is repeated after lunch. Therapy is 7 days a week, with Sunday being a little abbreviated. One thing we are seeing is that all the work is keeping Brent's mind focused and that is a good thing!

Today after running some tests, one came back elevated, this test is to determine the possibility of blood clots forming in the legs. So this afternoon after therapy, Brent was taken over to the main part of the hospital to have a CT scan preformed to determine if there were any clots. We have not heard the results of the scan yet.

Brent is still having pain in both his left shoulder and back, as we would expect. This morning the doctor prescribed a "Fentanyl skin patch" that is placed on Brent's shoulder, three days at a time. This patch seems to have helped.

Tonight Brent is resting, hopefully he will be strong enough to have visitors very, very soon! We are so thankful for all who have come up to visit Brent and to encourage him!

Pete & Kathy

Brent was transfered from UAMS over to Baptist Hospital Rehabilitation today around noon, it's only a few miles but the trip took a lot out of him. He was transfered by ambulance, and the transfer was rough on him. Once here we were impressed with the quality of care he received from the very moment he was rolled thru the doors. He will have the same team working with him thru his stay here.

We still don't have everything in place or understand completely how this process will work. One of the major obstacles to the rehab. is the condition of his left shoulder. It looks like he will be here at Baptist for anywhere from 7 to 14 days. During that time we as a family will learn how to care for Brent, and all the special needs he will have. After that initial time Brent will be discharged, we will need to care for him about 4 to 6 weeks while his shoulder heals. Brent won't stay here since the bulk of the rehab. will need to be done when he can bear weight on his shoulder. Brent's health insurance has a cap on rehabilitation expenses, Baptist doesn't want to use all his insurance coverage limits while he is unable to proceed with rehab. At this time we will either try to find a place here in Little Rock wheelchair accessible for our stay or bring him home to Leesburg (Fl) for this 4 to 6 weeks.

Today Dr. Kiser ran several tests on Brent to determine the extent of the injury to his spine. Dr Kiser met with Brent, Kathy and myself, we wish the test result had come back more positive. The end result is that Brent will only have about a 5% chance of regaining use of his legs again. This is preliminary, as the rehab. progresses they will continue to look of additional signs of possible improvement.

Our family would like to thank each and every one who have left posts, sent cards - emails, flowers, food, notes of encouragement and in general have supported our family in ways I can't begin to express! There is no way, we could conceive of going thru this without you, forgive me if we haven't sent personal thank you notes to everyone as we should, but trust us when we say -- Our family is so very thankful!

Pete & Kathy