August 27, 2009

So sorry for the delay in updating this blog....the good news is that Crystal is getting stronger every day. If you didn't already know....she's able to get up on her own now and moves around with much more agility. Better each day in the right direction....

Audriara is just cute as ever....

They had a baby shower last Sunday and really Crystal was overwhelmed with the generousity and love from all of the people and their gifts. She can never thank you enough. Really, WOW! From those who love her, we thank you all for your love and support.

I hope to post a final blog with the family photo soon.

Please keep this family in your prayers. They continue to recover from this devastating illness and its effects on each of them.

Thank you and may God continue to bless you always!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Greetings!

Crystal is really at home now and its great to see her there. I commend her for her great attitude and ability to laugh at herself. I think she is coming into understanding her recent health situation. She has seen the pictures and has some idea of what she looked like but of course she'll never really know how it was for all of us to see her struggle for her life. Thank God for that! She actually stood up (with some assistance-its hard for her to stand up) and walked today without the walker. She said it felt great! She continues to improve a little each day!

Audriara is still in the hospital. They were going to running some tests for the "sleep apnea" and then hopefully she will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. Brooke was hoping she'd get to come home today...it would have been the best birthday present. HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY BROOKE-LYNN!

I'll let you know as soon as I can when Audi gets to come home!

Remember to keep praying and thanking God for His great blessings and continued grace and mercy for fast healing!

Take care and God Bless!

Friday, August 14, 2009

IT'S OFFICIAL....CRYSTAL IS BEING DISCHARGED TODAY AND SHOULD BE ON HER WAY HOME NOW!!!!!!

Audriara will stay for a few more days until her apnea has worked itself out...so to speak.

Please keep praying for Crystal and Audriara. Rehab is hard work and I guess remembering to breath all the time is too!

Praise God!

Thank you and God Bless!!!!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Greetings!

Sorry its been couple of days since the last post. I talked to Crystal for about an hour on the phone last night. Her voice is starting to sound like her old self again. Not as hoarse but she says she still has a sore throat. Hopefully that will pass soon.

Crystal has been told that she may be discharged from the hospital on Friday (yes that is tomorrow). She is opting to continue with physical therapy on her own at home. Perhaps joining a gym or having someone come to the house. Those decisions will be made by Crystal.

They were hoping to discharge Audriara as well but it seems that she had another episode of the apnea so they want to keep her in to observe her more. It was my understanding that they want her to remain episode free for atleast 5 days in a row. She had made it for 4 before it occured. They believe that she forgets to take a breath and it causes the alarms to go off....of course when they take her home there will be no alarms so they are a bit nervous. Otherwise Audriara is doing in great and is tolerating the formula well and growing bigger each day.

Please keep the prayers coming. God is not through with them yet and we continue to hope for the very best outcome in their recovery.

Thank you and God Bless!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Thank God for the small miracles in life and for the BIG ones too!

Crystal continues to get a little stronger each day. She is now tube (IV, Hep Block, Catheter) free!! All she has to do now is continue the physical therapy and regain her physical strength. She's well on her way, that is for sure. The goal now is to go home with Audriara at the end of the week! Sweet Audriara is up to 4 lbs 13 oz and feeding at 60 ml. They have started weaning her to formula now so she can go home with her Mommy.

Here's a photo I took at last night's visit. I have to say it was a whole lotta fun wheeling Crystal down to the NICU....its not easy pushing someone in a wheel chair when they keep you laughing the whole way.....

Here's a portion of the email I received from Danielle and Dewayne that I thought I should share with all of you:

In closing may we all continue to remember and never forget these words:

Thank God for this day and days that will follow; for all of us who read this email and for the many others that has prayed for this moment, May we enjoy long lives with family, friends and acquaintances and remember this time; for this time now, even though the worst is over... always remember this moment, this blink of time, and may it remind all of us how fortunate and truly blessed we all truly are.

Thank you and God Bless!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Happy one month birthday to Audriara Dawn Rosenthal!

I heard througth the grapevine a little while ago.....that it may be possible that Crystal and Audriara will get to go home at the end of the week. Crystal is due to have catheter and hep block removed hopefully later today or tomorrow. She's still progressing along with walking 50 ft or so.....

Please keep all your fingers crossed and pray like you've never prayed before that this will all come to fruition.

May God continue to bless this family with His Grace and Mercy!!!!

Request for Photos

We need photos of Crystal and Audriara for the days of August 6th and August 8th for Crystal's photo album. If any one has photos from those days, would you please email them to cimowens@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Hello to all who check in on this blog. The good news keeps coming in....

Today Crystal took more steps and walked about 30 ft (50 steps)! Isn't that just a the greatest new? If she keeps up at this pace she may get to go home next week. I was told by Audriara's nurse today that they are working on trying to get both of them released at the same time. Crystal fears that Audriara will get to go home first and that just breaks her heart....perhaps that is the incentive she needed to get walking...Crystal has a long way to go to get back to her old self hopefully sooner rather than later. Now her patience is being tested like all of ours was when we had to wait for her to recover from her illness and wake up. It is wonderful just to be able to sit and talk to her. She's always been a bit of a comedian and it brings us great joy in realizing that she is still the same old Crystal that we know and love.

Audriara is growing and growing....she is now only being bottle fed and is doing great. I know that Crystal looks forward to that day (coming soon) when she will be able to hold her and feed her and love her and care for her all by herself. What a joyous day that will be!!!!!

You all take care and keep the prayers coming. The blessings continue to come in daily for this family and they need each and every one of them.

Thank you and God Bless!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Check out the photo of Crystal taken by Mark yesterday. She's looking great!


Greetings to all!

I just called and spoke briefly with Crystal (who was in physical therapy) to find out how she's doing today. She says that she and the baby are both doing good. Crystal has worked up to standing, lifting her arms up over her head and sitting now. Audriara is getting 3 bottles and weighs 4 lbs 8 oz.

On a special note....it has been brought to my attention that there are some very kind and generous folks and you know who you are....we just want to say thank you on behalf of Crystal and her family.

Please note Crystal has now been at St. Davids for 30 full days. Wow huh! Thank God she is so much better now than she was on the first day she entered the hospital!

Please keep up the prayers and thank God for his great blessings!

Have a great Friday!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

This is the 100th picture I've taken of Audriara. She sure has changed. She's up to 4 lbs 8 oz now and is being bottle fed at every other feeding. She's up to 80 milliliters (about 2.70 ounces). We believe she looks like her big brother, Curtis. She has a great smile that lights up her whole face and so does Curtis.

Crystal is getting stronger each day. Today she stood on her own 2 feet about 4 times throughout the day. It was only for a minute but she feels stronger and is moving her arms and legs more. She was even able to pull herself up in the chair with no hands. She was pretty happy about that. She's completely through with the breathing treatments and can now eat and drink anything she likes. Her spirits seem up and she's well aware of the work she has ahead to regain her full mobility back and is ready and willing as she becomes more able.

I hope you all realize the miracle we have been seeing right before our eyes. We are blessed to have Crystal back and to see her baby growing each day.

Thanks be to God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us.

Please keep the prayers coming!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

It is my pleasure to tell you that Crystal is continuing to do better each day. She is regaining her strength (slowly but surely) and her memories are starting to return. She does have some short term memory loss that we have noticed when telling her some things again and again but its getting better. We had a great visit this evening. She was very alert and sassy to boot. We laughed a lot as she is such a comedian. She has the best smile ever!

Crystal is working on the return of mobility and being able to sit up, stand and hopefully walk soon. She is looking forward to taking a shower (undoubtedly the best shower ever after the past long weeks).

Audriara is still growing and growing and becoming more beautiful each day. I know you all look forward to seeing her in person if you have not already. She is a blessing!

Thank you all for checking in. Please keep Crystal, Audriara and their loved ones in your thoughts and prayers each day.

Thank you and God Bless!

Monday, August 3, 2009 update

HERE IS THE FIRST PHOTO OF CRYSTAL AND AUDRIARA TAKEN ON AUGUST 2, 2009, FOR OUR VIEWING PLEASURE!

Thanks so much to Tyson and Cynthia for providing this photo!

Please keep the good thoughts and prayers coming for Crystal. It is a real struggle for her to regain her strength just to be able to do the every day mundane things we all take for granted...ie: eating, brushing your teeth, sitting up in a chair, walking, etc. She will have to undergo physical therapy for a while to get back to where she was before her illness. She's only been awake for a week now and she has come a long way already. I keep trying to remind her of that little fact. We all are so proud of her and love her so much. Audriara continues to grow....up to 4 lbs 4 oz now. Woohoo!

Thank you and God bless!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Enjoy this great photo....it looks like Audriara is talking to her mommy's picture~you gotta love it!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK! And thanks so much to all of you to have prayed on behalf of this young family.

I'm glad to report that Crystal is getting better each day. She is trying to build up her strength and re-learn using her muscles. Just moving her arms and legs has been a bit of a struggle but she is coming along very well and getting stronger each day.

The best thing of today and the greatest birthday present that Mark could ever receive was the Crystal finally got to meet her daughter in person and hold her. She quickly noted "how beautiful she is" and that is a quote from the mommy's mouth. Thanks to Cynthia for being there to observe this great blessing. I want to make sure I can borrow a copy of one of the pictures to scan it and save it to Crystal's special photo/scrap book.

Audriara continues to grow bigger each day. She is now up to 4 lbs and 1 oz. She is also smiling quite a bit. We all join in smiling with the happiness we feel in seeing both Crystal and Audriara grow stronger each day....until they can leave that hospital and go on to live the life God intended.

Thanks be to God and my He bestow many great blessings on each of you.

HERE IS THE FIRST PHOTO OF CRYSTAL AND AUDRIARA TOGETHER....(THANKS SO MUCH CYNTHIA)