Updates

Thank you for praying for Jon's brother, Matt. He had surgery today and according to the message I got from my mother-in-law, everything went well and the doctors feel confident that the cancer was contained and that they removed it all when they took out the kidney. Matt should be in the hospital for a few days and then will have a number of weeks of recovery at home. Please continue to pray for him and his family.

I had my first appointment with my Physical Therapist today. Mike helped me with a foot problem I had a year and a half ago, so I trust him and like him a lot. The appointment was very encouraging. Mike wants to see me again at least once but he is positive that I will get my full range of motion back soon. Mike started with a book that showed me pictures of the bones in my arm so I could see exactly what happened and why certain movements hurt. He is excellent at explaining the "why" behind the pain. He tested my range of motion and said it wasn't too bad, but there is work to be done. Then he stretched out my arm and gave me a couple exercises to do at home. At this point I am not to push too far -- just till it hurts. After Mike stretched my arm and then I did my exercises this afternoon, I can already see an improvement in my range of motion. My arm is sore, but not super painful, just a tired ache. I imagine that ice and Ibuprofen will be my best friends these next few weeks.

Thank you all for continuing to pray for Jon. He has been swamped with work in doing his own job, special projects and preparing for his replacement to arrive. We are anticipating Jon being home by the end of February. If he gets here sooner, great, but we're trying not to get our hopes up.

This Saturday I will attend a 2 hour workshop for spouses whose Marines are coming off deployment. I expect to learn a little more about this process. Joshua is going to stay with his friend Alex and Alex's Dad "Mr. Ken" is taking the boys to the Monster Truck Show in San Diego. One of the side-benefits of the Chargers losing last Sunday was that the show wasn't postponed. Sorry to all of you San Diego Charger fans, but Joshua was cheering for New England. :) I'm sure I'll have a great picture to post on Sunday.

Sheryl