Ian must have a song stuck in his head because he keeps tapping his left foot. We’ve noticed over the last few days that he is moving his left leg a lot more. His nurse told me today that it seems like deliberate movement, not a shake or a twitch. She asked if Ian is the type of person that taps a lot, and he is, so maybe this is just more of him coming out.

Ian also seems to be moving his left arm a lot too. He’s been reaching for his chin and neck and seems to be scratching. Maybe his throat hurts, maybe his trach site itches, or maybe he’s just rediscovering his body. All I know is that any new movement is really exciting.

His mouth is still really sore. Today his speech therapist said, “I just want these sores to go away.” Please pray that God would take away Ian’s sores, take away any discomfort they are causing, and completely restore his mouth.

This scripture is underlined in Ian’s Bible:
“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage, wait for the Lord.”

Believing in that goodness….

-Larissa

You may have been reading this blog and wondering how my parents and Larissa (those closest to Ian) can endure so strongly through this hard time. Why can they be so peaceful in such difficulty?

I miss Ian. My sinful heart is often fearful of what will come of this trial and whether or not Ian and I will be able to spend our lives together. Yesterday was really hard after the meeting with his doctors. I never imagined that Ian would still be in a coma when he came home. But by getting discouraged I am saying that God isn’t able to heal Ian in eight weeks. Nothing about God has changed since our meeting yesterday- He is still completely able to heal Ian. God’s power knows no timetable. And even if Ian is in a coma five years from now, I hope to still be praying that God restores him.

I’ve been finding notecards around Ian’s room with scripture on them that he was memorizing. I’m at my parents’ house this weekend and while I was doing devotions I found one of Ian’s cards in his Bible with Psalm 73:25-26:

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

This is truth. Reading this scripture in Ian’s handwriting was so moving and encouraging. This is truth that is in Ian’s heart and I believe that he can bring these truths to mind now for comfort. Ian’s flesh and heart may fail him, but God is his strength and his portion forever.

This affliction in itself is sad. How it makes me long for heaven. But we have the indescribable comfort of knowing that no matter what happens to Ian’s physical body, God is his strength forever. We can delight in God and have joy in this sadness because we know there is something greater than this waiting for Ian.

-Larissa

Today none of us were able to make it to the Children’s Institute to see Ian. It makes us kind of sad to think of him going all day and not hearing the most familiar voices and not feeling the most comforting touches that he knows. And we just miss him when we’re not there.

Tomorrow (Friday) we will have our second meeting with the entire team that works with him there. It will include therapists, his doctor, a dietition, social workers, Larissa, Steve, and me. They will try to get us all caught up on his treatment and progress. Please pray that he makes regular progress in therapy because that is what they need to see to justify his stay there. They have to show that it is a real benefit to him.

Although we are looking forward to the day he comes home and we are making plans to accommodate our house to serve his needs we know that the longer he can stay at Children’s the more it will benefit him. That is, unless the Lord miraculously heals him, which would be my personal choice.

This morning I found the words of Charles Spurgeon particularly sweet. “Weren’t you ever in tight situations before, and didn’t He deliver you? Arise, go to the river of your experience, and pull up a few bulrushes, and braid them into an ark, wherein your childlike faith may float safely on the stream. Don’t forget what your God has done for you; turn over the pages of your mind, and remember the days gone by. …Haven’t you ever been helped in time of need? On the contrary! I know you have. Go back, then, a little way to the choice mercies of yesterday, and though all may be dark, light up the lamps of the past they shall glitter through the darkness, and you shall trust in the Lord until the day breaks and the shadows flee away. ‘Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from long ago.'”

This quote from Morning and Evening especially made me think about the mercies that I’ve seen in Ian’s life before the accident: the many times he sought prayer for difficult situations and was so grateful to see God answer them, the changes he saw in his own life when he humbled himself under the mighty hand of God and the gratitude he regularly expressed for the forgivness of his sins because of Jesus’ death on the cross.

Because of His kindness in the past, I know there will be future grace for where He takes us.

Mary (Ian’s mother)

The preliminary report from the test to determine the source of Ian’s sores in his mouth was negative, but the final report was positive for a yeast infection or thrush. I’m told it’s a very painful infection (babies commonly get it). I don’t know how he might have gotten it, but it was probably from his eye. They’re giving him a medication, now, to treat it that’s a deep blue or purple. It makes his mouth more frightening looking than it was before. Until that’s cured, speech therapy has stopped except for a few minor things.

Thanks for praying….

Steve

I guess the cultures from Ian’s mouth sores came back negative for the things they were testing, so we still don’t know why Ian has them. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors to know how to treat them.

They’re still planning to put him on a medication that will relax his arms and legs, so he’s not so tensed up all the time.

I know so many people are praying for Ian. So many people tell us that frequently. On behalf of our whole family and Larissa, thank you so much. Keep praying.

Steve

Ian’s speech therapist contacted a dentist today, looking for insight into the sores in Ian’s mouth. They are now thinking of having the dentist come to look at Ian to see if they can figure out what is going on. He is well taken care of at Children’s.

Ian was very alert this morning, and then napped on and off throughout the afternoon. When he is awake now, though, he’s very awake and moving his arms more frequently.

Over the past month, God has answered many of our prayers. Ian’s body has responded to nutrition, and he has gained 2.2 pounds. God removed the infection from his sore. God removed the flu from Ian’s body. Ian’s EEG results showed no seizure activity. His sore is almost completely healed. Let these answered prayers encourage us to keep praying. Pray that God would heal the sores in his mouth and pray that he would be able to close his right eye.

Delay in prayer does not mean that God is denying our request. We must keep knocking.

-Larissa

“Dear Jesus, please make Ian better in the blink of an eye. Make him better please for Rissa. We know you can and we won’t stop asking. We will keep praying for him to be better so he can eat normal and so Rissa will be happy and they can be together. Thank you. Amen.”

This was my cousin Leah’s prayer tonight before bed. She’s six years old. We can only imagine how many children like her are praying for Ian.

Even prayers from little ones can move mountains.

-Larissa

The morning Ian left to go to work September 30, he asked me to come along.

The night of September 29 he asked me if I would like to work with him the next day. I would have to find someone to do my paper route for me, but I didn’t really want to. The work I would do with Ian was a lot more physically strenuous than delivering papers, that’s probably why I never got around to finding a substitute. The next morning, in his paint-splattered clothes and steel-toed boots, he asked me again if I couldn’t find a sub. I said no and I didn’t really feel like working. Later I found out that Ben could have easily taken the paper route for the day. God’s sovereignty held him back.
I felt guilty when I actually thought about it in the ICU; I could have been there to pick up whatever it was that Ian was reaching for that apparently distracted his driving. My dad let me know that I could have been in the hospital bed right beside Ian. I recently have been feeling a lot less guilty.
I’m writing this to show that, in His holy sovereignty, God knew it was best for Ian’s future to put him in that accident. So that means that I could not be in that car with him. God protected me from physical harm and I’m so glad for that. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God’s plans work out for His glory no matter how many bumps or U-turns there are. He’s in things that are small, like when you (or I) organize a basketball game with friends, even if it doesn’t work out for your schedule God may want you to see your impatience or selfishness.

I’m seeing that He doesn’t mess things up so my trust in him continually grows.

-Caleb (with alot of advice taken)

Before the accident I thought death was just news on the radio, something that happens to other people or other families, that death couldn’t happen to me or my family. But, when the doctors said death was imminent, I realized it is real and death could happen to me and that I needed to turn to Christ or I would spend eternal life in hell.

For those who have not asked the Lord to forgive their sins I would encourage them to do so, because you never know when you will die. You cannot say, “I’ll wait till next year. I don’t want to do all the prayin’ and stuff.” You need to do it now.

– Devon, Ian’s little brother