July 14th - Day 149

Lots of updates - I'll dive right in:

• Last Wednesday, I delivered 250+ letters to the executive office at the rehab hospital. THANK YOU everyone that is standing behind us. I simply do not have the words to properly express my gratitude for the immediate outpour of support.
• I spoke with the COO. Conversations are being had! Currently, we do not have a discharge date set as we all explore options and continue to watch Brian improve.
• Monday I received 3 awards on Brian's behalf (with Layla & our sweet neighbor, Haley). Recognition we all know he deserves, but even beyond what I knew about Brian. He received CRIMPAT Officer of the Year for 2020. He has received that twice since joining the team in 2018. That award moving forward be titled the "Brian Frank Award" (which was a surprise announcement made Monday). At the end of the ceremony, Colonel McGreal spoke about an award that was supposed to have been presented to a trooper back in 2018 that for whatever reason, slipped through the cracks and was never announced or presented. Since last year was COVID, it was decided to present this award in April 2021. The award was CRIMPAT Officer of the Year....in the entire nation. She announced it to be for Trooper Brian Frank. It was / is such an honor to have accepted that on his behalf. Later that afternoon, I had Sgt Jose Alvarez present the awards to Brian in the hospital. It will be a day I cherish and never forget - especially knowing Brian would have humbly and quietly received these awards, and he would have come home only to brag to me about his team and the awards THEY received that day. I would probably accidentally find out months from now when I discovered the dusty plaques hidden in the car or closet. But  this man is amazing. And I pray for the day that he can stand and accept those deserved awards. And that day will come.

On to the progress updates:

• Last week, Brian's neck strength improved significantly. He started to move his head left to right when you speak to him. He turns to look in that direction which was amazing to see! He also began to lift and hold up his own head during therapy (while sitting & standing with assistance). 
• We are starting to see his left hand/arm move spontaneously, the way his right arm began!
• He has been doing arm bike exercises in OT with electro stimulation to contract his muscles and he tolerates that really well since the first time they tried it. I asked them to do it more often because he is very alert during that and I see improvements in his muscle tone afterward.
• Yesterday he scored NINE (count 'em 9!) extra points on the DOCS (Disorders of Consciousness Scale) and he scored a THREE extra points on the CRS (Coma Recovery Scale). That's really a big deal because he really hasn't fluctuated much or climbed that scale in a long time. The areas of improvement included visual tracking & focus, command follow and localized responses (OT told me that he smiled on command for her)!
• He is stingy with dishing out smiles right now, but when we do see them, its super exciting as we all know Brian is a permanent smiler, so he looks the most himself when it happens!
• He wears his baseball cap every day now & we got him a nerf gun to do "shooting practice" and get him into more of his usual routines and activities.
• They started him on Ritalin this week to see if its a neuro stimulant that helps him (and judging by his improved test scores I would say its working well).
• Ambien trial did not work but I have asked to try it again in a few weeks.
• His trach has been capped for 2 days now and he's tolerating it perfectly. Tonight will be the overnight test & if all goes well, they will decanulate (remove) the trach by the end of the week!! 
• Brian's jaw/clench has relaxed significantly. Rarely do we hear him grinding. He still doesn't open his mouth much on command to clean his tongue but we do notice he's not tightly clenching and speech therapists are able to slightly get the handle of a spoon onto his tongue.

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for Brian & Cale. Cale is a husband to a woman named Becca that I met on a FB support group. They're here in Chicago in the same rehab hospital. I met Cale 11 days ago. He is awake but he wasn't speaking much, wasn't walking independently. I bring Layla to visit him and have sat with him and Becca a couple of times. Yesterday I saw Cale and he looks like a brand new man. He's in the confusion phase of his recovery, but he's gained weight back, he is talking, smiling, laughing, walking independently. Their doctor reluctantly told Becca that after a few years, he suspects that no one will ever be able to tell Cale had a brain injury besides family members!! Becca is the most faithful, God fearing woman I've ever met. She is bold & strong and an incredible blessing to me. When I see her and I see Cale, I see God. When I have a low day, missing Brian, and envying others, she points me right back to trusting God. She has unwaivering faith that Brian and Cale will be friends one day and we will all be fishing and looking back on 2021 together, testifying to how God is faithful and miraculous. When I look at Brian today, he looks like himself. And I do feel and know he is making slow and steady progress toward waking up. I wish I could articulate the right combination of words to describe what I am experiencing daily - how my soul feels peace and how in awe I am of the sheer amount of things that have happened over 5 months that are inexplainable without God (for example, our favorite PCT being from the same small town in KY as Becca...or Becca and I sending each other the same exact scripture at the same exact time...I could go on forever but my laptop battery is about to die). Long story short - we've been praying for a miracle for Brian. And recently for Cale. And I am witnessing both. Miracles on miracles. They are possiblye and they are happening 10 doors apart from one another, here in Chicago. 10 doors down is not many, but definitely enough to possibly have never met one another without God leading us both to a toxic support group that we both have since left. 

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." -Isaiah 43:2

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." - 2 Corinthians 12:9

• Pray for Brian's continued emergence to consciousness. Pray the Ritalin continues to progress his cognitive abilities. Pray he wakes up in July. Pray his trach will be removed. Pray we stay in Chicago. Pray our story changes minds and hearts. Pray that Becca & Cale's story will magnify ours and vice versa.
• Several people have reached out to me expressing fasting in prayer together (fasting doesn't mean giving up food, it can be anything). I've been praying about it and will share more on that this week, but for now, I ask you to pray about this with me so that it can be something we do together, to unify us in our requests on Brian (and Cale and Becca's) behalf.

Thanks for bearing with this long post! Starting this Sunday, we will be welcoming Becca's support community into our virtual prayer call so we can lift each other up and continue to see power in numbers. 

xox

-lauren