Monday, October 23 -

After a slow weekend, Monday proved to be a much more productive day for Margaret. With the facility fully staffed again and ready to begin a new week, Margaret's therapists were back on the scene and ready to help her work further towards recovery. Margaret worked very hard today!

While still on a constant supply of oxygen, Margaret continues to improve. Prior to any exercise today, her oxygen saturation level was right at 98%. She continues to be on oxygen, because doctors would like to see her improve to 100% - when she will be breathing room air. Speculation leads many of us to believe that her continued attachment to the oxygen is merely precautionary, and yet Margaret remains patient.

The encouraging words from today's progress are that when Margaret exerts herself, her oxygen saturation dips but recovers almost normally. In other words, all you healthy folks quit reading this blog and sprint as fast as you can around the block. How do you feel? Winded? Breathless? Well, wait a minute. Now how do you feel? Catching your breath, now? Good, because that is normal! Margaret is in the same boat - her recovery time for oxygen saturation recovery is rapidly returning! Praise God! In addition to her oxygen saturation recovery, her heart rate is going down in tandum with her saturation recovery rate. Nobody is saying that Margaret is signing up for any marathons anytime soon, but she definitely is steadily bouncing back into shape!

The therapist bragged on Margaret today. In conversation concerning what needed to be accomplished while Margaret remained in the skilled nursing facility, she mentioned that she needed to be able to navigate stairs. So, off to the therapy gym walked Margaret! There she encountered a set of portable stairs with 3 steps. Margaret climbed up and down these steps three times with some effort but with magnificent success.

Each day Margaret faces enormous challenges that we consider to be automatic and perhaps even mundane. We don't have to struggle to bend over to put on shoes and socks each morning. However, until this morning, this simple, mindless, task has been extremely difficult - rather impossible - for Margaret. Yet, this morning, due to her undying commitment to recovery, Margaret put on her socks and shoes completely unassisted.

She continues to walk up and down the halls of Manor Care, slowly albeit, and yet with a determination that can only be described as inspiring. With each step she takes, Margaret is gaining the strength and endurance she will need to have in order to be safely released.

Your prayers continue to be coveted for both Tom and Margaret. Margaret is recovering in leaps and bounds, and yet every minute she is away from Tom, his condition continues to worsen. God is good, and He has a plan, and yet in times like these staring Margaret and Tom in the face, it is exceedingly difficult to believe that God actually planned this scenario. Faith becomes essential for us all in times like these. Faith plays a vital role in the lives of Margaret and Tom. If ever asked if either one of them are angry at God for dealing them the hand they have been dealt, both of them emphatically deny anger. They are perplexed, and often frustrated, but not angry. May their undying faith and belief in the will of God Almighty continue to inspire us all! Amen! More tomorrow - stay tuned!