Joan is finally out of the hospital & back to Skilled Nursing care at Good Sam. She is so pleased to be back where people don't just "take care" of her but also "care for" her! Her bones continued healing during her battle with blood clots & infections, so her bone docs are pleased. She is out of the arm brace for most of the day & her finger pin was removed. All she has for hardware is her leg fixator. They will do xrays in 1 1/2 weeks to see when to remove that. Joan is "happy" to be back to therapy, getting up into a wheelchair & even a walker for transfers. It is all exhausting, & we are having to limit her company for now. Please continue to pray for her. Her medical & emotional states are still fragile. She is finding comfort in family & friends & God's Word. A card with a word of encouragement or a favorite Scripture might help, but not everyone! Thanks for all your prayers. We have felt lifted up & carried along beyond our strength, tho' often stretched beyond what we wanted.

After being so encouraged by Joan's healing & progress & beginning rehab, she was admitted to ICU last night/early this morning with a fever & an unknown infection. Please pray for her healing, especially since the hospital found indication of some kind of blood clots as well.

Later: the plan is to keep her in ICU for 5 days of blood thinning for the clots. The infection seems to be bladder-related & not related to her wounds or surgeries, but it is being monitored.

My mother-in-law, Joan, arrived in Las Cruces via ambulance & medical aircraft on Monday, a week ago. She weathered the trip better than anyone expected. What a week! She transferred from bed to a wheelchair the first day here, then from there to a shower chair for a real shower. This was all new, since she can't put weight on her broken/crushed left ankle or lean on her crushed left arm & hand. We spent a busy week encouraging her therapy & planning the funeral. By Friday, the plans were made, Joan's hair done & hat fixed. The Funeral service on Sat morning went beautifully, glorifying the God who Barney worshiped & served, witnessed by over 600 people. Joan held up better than some of us--what a blessing from God. Then Joan traveled from the church to the cemetery, enduring the heat & humidity with a little help from a fan Lee held in front of her. Barney would have been proud of her & grateful for that ceremony, as well. Then, Joan decided she wanted to be at Barney's party, a reception that fed over 400 people, complete with pictures from his whole life & stories from friends. What a time! Many who visited with Joan were amazed at her stamina, esp. her children & spouses who had seen her from the beginning. God has truly graced her through this whole ordeal. Today, the doctors confirmed the healing Joan has felt all week: her fractured vertebra has healed enough for her to discard the C collar. The arm has healed enough to reduce the cast size, & she was allowed to bear some weight on it. The leg is healing, but experiencing some infection, so antibiotics were started. Joan looked so good, even after 5 hours at doctor's offices & many x rays! Praise God with us for physical healing. Lee & his brother & sister-in-law have returned, part time, to their businesses. Lee's sister still has family here, but will be back to business soon. Our sons have returned to work & camp, so our house is quiet again. Please pray for us all to begin to process the absence of a very involved husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather & great-grandfather. Also, pray for my "little thing"--a sprained ankle--that seems so puny compared to Joan's ankle with its plate & screws & external fixator. Both are a bother, a pain, & complicate everyday activities, but it's the "little things" that can so easily undo us. I am encouraged by Joan's progress, but my ankle so easily discourages me. How can this be? I'm weak! Thank God He is so strong! Thanks for praying with & for us. Moira, for all the Rawsons