Image: X-ray taken this past Friday of Joshua's spinal injuries

To recap: a bullet hit Joshua's T12 vertebrae as well as his sacrum. The bullet severely fractured his T12 vertebrae. The T12 injury is what is causing his paralysis from the waist down. While the sacrum was hit, that is not severely damaged and is not causing his paralysis.

On Friday Joshua finally saw his neurologist (spinal doctor) for the first time since the initial visit in the ICU just a couple days after the shooting.

This was a visit we were really looking forward to because we had a lot of questions about his spinal injury, new scans were to be done to see how his spine is doing, etc. This appointment would also determine if he could get his brace off that he has to wear anytime he is above 30 degrees. He hates it. It's annoying and painful. 

Well - bad news first: brace has to stay on for at least another 4 weeks.

We also got a big dose of reality from his doctor that this is going to be a LONG journey. It's most likely going to take his body a year or more to fully heal. 

BUT - Good news!!!

His vertebrae is healing exactly the way the doctor wants it to. Praise the Lord for his healing!

Incredibly enough, Joshua's spine is still in very go
od alignment, and parts of it we thought may have been damaged are not damaged.

He also confirmed that it was a very good thing Joshua came in very healthy and had excellent muscle tone surrounding his spine. The healthier and stronger the muscle is around the spine, the more protected your spine is.

His neurologist also gave us more answers as to why an MRI isn't on the table, even though it would possibly give us more information about his spinal cord. Bottom line: no matter what the MRI showed it wouldn't change his rehab course. As of right now, no surgery is needed either.

The doctor has also been one of the first doctors to actually show a little hope about his spinal cord injury healing. From what we could tell, he doesn't believe complete healing will happen, but it is very possible that nerves could come back online. We just don't know.

He confirmed that neuro medicine and brain medicine are some of the last "frontiers" of medicine - so much is still unknown and there are so many new technologies and treatments being explored. Who knows where things will be 5-10 years from now.

This is where I get excited, because it is so good to know that we serve a God who knows EXACTLY how the body works - down to every last little neuron. We never have to place our faith in man, because we place our full faith in the God who created the entire body.

Before Joshua was ever born, God KNEW this moment would happen to him.

This gives Joshua and I both hope for the future and peace knowing that God is in full control and none of this has happened by accident. He has a plan!

So here is what we are specifically requesting prayer for:

1) A van and the modifications we need. Y'all - I can't tell you how much of a pain it is trying to get Joshua to his appointments because he cannot get into any of our vehicles. (Many thanks to friends of ours who have generously allowed us to borrow their vehicle super last minute for appointments.) Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has donated to help us out!! We are getting close to making this happen and I know the Lord will help us out to provide this need.

2) As always, Joshua's complete healing. I still am clinging on in faith that the Lord will heal him and he will walk again.

But he has a lot of rehabilitation to go. He needs to regain his strength and learn how to be more independent while still paralyzed right now. He is a very disciplined man and I know he will succeed in this area so long as we actually get him on a good program.

3) Our patience. As stated earlier, this is going to be a long journey to healing Joshua. It is easy to sometimes get frustrated things aren't going faster. We just have to be the tortoise and not the hare!

4) For our family as we navigate this new terrain. We're still working on adjusting to new schedules, routines, and work loads but the Lord is good to us. He has protected our family and provided for our needs thus far and we thank every single person who has come along side us to help! 

PRAISE REPORT:

For everyone who has prayed for Joshua's infection, nausea, and pain - prayers have been answered. Since starting antibiotics his nausea has pretty much gone away, he is eating much better now, and his pain has lessened a little as well because the infection is being taken care of. 

He is still in pain all the time, but he has told me he much rather deal with pain than nausea. I 100% agree with him. 



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