Anxious and Ready

Britt was anxious and ready for physical therapy this morning and thought that he could do it without any pain meds for his leg. The pain got the best of him and that slowed him from doing everything he had hoped to do. Despite the great pain he had, he still walked 2 long halls to get to the therapy room and that was a first! After a good rest and lunch he set out for his 2nd session of physical therapy. He made it half way down the hall and became very nauseous. That seemed to control his afternoon, so he spent the rest of the day in bed. He did pass another "swallow" test, and now he can eat anything. Hooray! Britt did have an enjoyable evening visiting with a couple of great friends. Seeing his face light up was a wonderful sight to see. We have been blessed in so many ways over the past 6 1/2 weeks. Our testimony has been strengthen as we have learned to rely on our Savior Jesus Christ and we are grateful for our Heavenly Fathers constant love. We want each one of you to know of our love for you and have been touched by your testimonys also. Sending our love, Steven, Karla & Britten

A Wonderful Sabbath Day

It has been a wonderful Sabbath day. Britten didn't have quite the same energy as Saturday, but still had a very good day. In the morning an Elder from the church stopped by and asked if we would like to take the sacrament. Britt said, "Oh, I would love to! It has been 6 or 7 weeks since I have taken the sacrament." As Steven knelted and helped bless the sacrament, the spirit filled the room. As tears filled mine and Stevens eyes, the prayer had a deeper sense of meaning. A sincere love for our Savior Jesus Christ, filled our entire being. Afterwards, Britten said, "Dad, you did a beautiful job. Thank you." The rest of the day was enjoyed being together as a family. Seeing our boys laugh and joking around with each other was a pure delight! Britten has enjoyed getting to know his niece, Taylee. When it was time for the kids to head home, Britt told them all goodbye, but said that he was going to keep Taylee with him. Taylee has won her uncles heart! After a good rest, he called a few friends. It was a joy to see his face light up, as he had so many things he wanted to tell them. Britt still struggles with some words. He knows what he wants to say, but has a hard time getting it out. We know with speech therapy and time, that it will come easier for him. It is wonderful reading letters, emails and comments on the blog to him, as we see his face light up. He will say, "Wow, that is so cool that people will say that to me!". Elder Schenk marvels that he has so many friends and that they care about him and his recovery. We appreciate each and every one of you and the overwhelming support that we feel. We are grateful for a beautiful Sabbath Day, and pray that all of us will have a wonderful week! Sending our love, The Schenks

Glory to God

We had a super awesome day today! Lora and I were able to spend the entire day with our amazing brother! Just when I thought I had seen it all, he threw us a curve ball showing off all day. He showed the occupational therapist how well he could dress himself and brush his teeth! After this he decided it was time to be a clown! Every time he saw the opportunity to tease, he seized it. We made a few phone calls to family and when they would answer he would reply "hello... Hello, HELLO, hello". On the another end, the common response was " can you hear me? Are you there?" After as while he would start chuckling and say "I'm just joking, I can hear you!" This was one of the many pranks of the day. In his morning physical therapy session he really decided to impress us. With me on one side and the therapist on the other, he walked. He insisted he could do it on his own and walked nearly 5 minutes with us only there to help him with his balance from time to time. We sat and shared stories and memories for hours. He didn't even nap until after noon. He had us rolling on the floor laughing on more than one occasion. As always, I couldn't help but notice how kind and polite he was to everyone. (even those of us who had to torture him from time to time) It has always been in his nature to treat people with so much love. After a good nap he went for another walk. This time he went for almost 7 minutes, waving to people along the way. He made a joke about being ready to run, as he pumped his arms up and down. There were multiple times during the day when I would just stare at him in disbelief. It was only yesterday when he was in the ICU, where we were very concerned about him. It is only by the Grace of God that these miracles could happen. I am so grateful to him and our Savior Jesus Christ for sparing him so that we can continue to share these kind of days together. I look forward to the days to come and can't wait for him to be well enough for some of you to share in these victories in person with him! Love Logan and Lora

Transition

Thanks again for all the prayers and strength that we feel from so many. Thanks for the well wishes and support both typed and sent and untyped and sent...we appreciate both! We never knew we had so many friends and family. Today was a day of transition. Elder Schenk is back in rehab tonight. The great part of that is that he is healthier! So far the fevers have subsided and he has been much less nauseous. He has been able to keep food, drink and meds down. The difficult part of that transition is that it is like starting over. It kind of feels like we lose a day each time we move. It really shouldn't be that difficult, but we don't live in a difficulty free world. I know that everyone really does the best they really can and the reality of life is that we all fall short of perfection. Perfection is something we all must strive for but is impossible for any of us to achieve without Our Savior Jesus Christ and with Him anything is possible. We thank Our Heavenly Father for all good things.

According to your faith

It is so easy to report about the day when things have been good and we see progress. On the other hand it is a bit more difficult on the tough days. Today, Britten improved, but we had a hard time focusing on the good because he was battling a severe headache all day. Elder Schenk has struggled with headaches, often migraines, his whole life. Unfortunately, this was one of those days. His headaches seem to be triggered by heat, exhaustion, lack of sleep or dehydration. He has learned to manage them as well as he can. As parents, when Britten received his mission call to Brasil Sao Paulo East Mission, we were a little concerned about him going to such a hot climate. About 3 months into his mission we received an email from Elder Schenk telling of an awful migraine. It left him in bed, with little sight and part of his face and his arm numb. His companion gave him a blessing and promised him, according to his faith, that he would not miss any more work the rest of his mission. Elder Schenk has shared his testimony with us that over the next year and a half, he has had a few headaches, but never one that stopped him from his work. He has been an example to us of placing his trust and faith in his Savior Jesus Christ and his loving Father in Heaven. We are grateful to them for our bounteous blessings. We are thankful to all of you for your strength and prayers, and we include you in ours as well. We know that all prayers are heard and answered.

Thankful for a New Day... And Wonderful Family and Friends

Today was an improvement over the last couple of days. Brittens high fevers subsided and he was finally able to keep a little food down as he was less nauseous. A couple more good days to get a little stronger and he will do great in therapy sessions. I think being sick to your stomach is one of the worse things to deal with. My heart goes out to those who have to deal with that on a regular basis. We want to take a moment to thank Logan and Lora at home for being Mom and Dad! They have done amazing, taking care of things at home, and most especially being there for Canon and Jaxon. We also have very special neighbors and friends at home who have made this s easy for us. We love you all! Thank you all for your help, prayers, and strength. We thank Our Merciful Father and Savior for all our blessings. We look forward to more small improvements tomorrow.

Rough Day

Britt has had another rough, rough day.  Very high fever persists along with throwing up all day, so they have moved him out of rehab and to the medical floor where they will  try and figure out whats going on.  It has us very concerned because the ear infected is where the brain injury is.  It is so close to the injury that they need to stop the infection.  He has been throwing up all day and not been able to keep any medication or anything down.  We just pray they can get on top of it.  We really feel if they can just get him feeling better, that rehab will go great. We continue to remind ourselves that things happen for a reason. Heavenly Father is in charge. It is not for us to ask why, it is for us to trust and have faith and learn from our experiences. This is a tough one for me. Thank you all so much for your faith and prayers. We can feel of your strength and also the Comfort of Our Savior Jesus Christ. All our love, Steven, Karla and Elder Schenk