July 2007 - Page 2

Therefore we've looked at housing options...

We considered staying put and removing EVERY THING that is "in the way" of him getting around. It is pretty utilitarian, but we are managing for the moment. It would be difficult if, in the future, his ability to get around deteriorated at all from where it is now. The living room would become his bedroom and he would have to use a commode there if he could not use the walker to get to the bedroom and bathroom.

One option is to purchase a larger mobile/modular home and move to a different site in our same court. We looked at new ones and a few used models, but found nothing immediately satisfactory.

We have looked and looked for a house that would accommodate us. One of our problems is that the wider wheelchair requires doors a minimum of 30 inches - 32 is better - and that is not standard in mobile or most older homes. Many homes around here have steps or are older, smaller homes and not very navigable with a wheelchair. So far, if we can afford it, it is too small, in an undesirable location, has steps and so forth. Another real estate dealer has just sent us a few to look at, so here we go again.

We did find a "perfect" townhome - early in our looking. It has every amenity I've ever wanted from a creek to a fireplace to a small fenced in area in the back yard for the dogs to a greenhouse-window over the kitchen sink. Negatives - it is EXPENSIVE! and the two largest bedrooms are upstairs. The downstairs is enough for our basic needs (two bedrooms would become my craft room and a guest room) and is totally navigable with only one door to be widened and plenty of room to do it. But at $172K, it seems so unwise. We actually got our bank to approve a $150K loan and could squeeze out the rest, but it would leave us broke and house-poor with huge payments due monthly. We just can't make up our minds that that would be a wise move.

So here we are... Waiting on the Lord... Making happy with what we've got. Taking time to heal. Reorganizing everything in the house to make it "work." Resting. Watching to see what God will do next and gathering the strength to do it!

Thursday, July 26, 2007 - we just got the wonderful news that Tom can bear weight as tolerated! YEA, GOD. We made it through the hardest part... Now he can walk without hopping, still using the walker for the moment, but likely only for a few weeks. Tomorrow he will attempt walking up and down the ramp and the steps and try getting in and out of the front seat of the car where he has not sat since June 8! We are down to three restrictions which are "for life!" God is good!