Our Strong Sarah

The past couple of days have been pretty amazing, to say the least.

The first bits of amazing came on Monday morning at Sarah's checkup with Dr. Nardone. As we sat in the waiting room we were filling out an update form just like we always have filled things out for the past few months...I do all the writing and she would sign it with her signature which had become quite bad to say the least. This time, as I handed her the form to sign, Sarah's beautiful handwriting came out perfectly on the page. Her signature and handwriting were back to normal! I just looked at her and asked,"When did that happen?!" She just smiled her sweet smile and said,"Yesterday."

The next bit came as Dr. Nardone examined her progress. I've never seen a doctor with such a smile on his face. He just kept on saying,"Yes, excellent." In fact, she is progressing so well, he told her she could choose when the second surgery will take place. He still recommends about four weeks from now, but he left it to her. She wasn't too thrilled with that. She doesn't know a single person that would volunteer for brain surgery.

They will be going through the front this time. It will be an incision from the left temple up to the middle of her head above the frontal lobe. The doctor said his biggest concerns in dealing with the cranial nerve and that part of the brain are memory loss and paralysis on the right side of her body. Overall good news for our appointment, though. Dr. Nardone has been wonderful at telling us how it is, but doing it in a way that doesn't feel condescending or insensitive. We are eternally grateful to have been connected with him and to be lucky enough to have him in Bloomington-Normal.

The improvements continued last night. She all of a sudden stopped and could hear out of her left ear. She hasn't been able to hear out of her left ear for quite a while. It is still a little muffled, but she can actually hear now!

She went for a walk at the store yesterday and has continued to get back her personality and sass. It's amazing to see Sarah just reappear a little more each and every day. The droop on the left side of her smile has almost gone away completely and she is able to stand and walk without dizziness.

Tonight, was the defining moment for me. Showing how strong of a woman she really is. Because of the two shaved spots on her head from the first surgery and where they will need to perform the second surgery, Sarah decided to shave her head entirely. As we sat in the bathroom I was nearly in tears because I was and am in such awe at her strength. After I was done, she looked in the mirror and just laughed. We all think she looks awesome. She has a good head for being bald and she is rocking it for sure.

Overall, the past two days have been incredible as has this entire journey up to this point. There is the doubting Thomas side of us that wonders if we've used up all of our blessings and miracles with the first surgery. Could it be too good to be true that the second could turn out the same way? But, we know where those doubts come from and we know where the blessings have come from to this point. We are grateful to our Heavenly Father for his guidance and peaceful spirit he has given to us. It has reassured us that we are not alone in this. He is watching over us and knows what we need to make it through these trials. He has also provided us with hundreds if not thousands of angels all around us in the form of friends, family and otherwise who have proven to us also that we are not alone. For all of you, we are truly grateful!

I am beyond grateful and giddy to see my Sarah coming back. To see OUR Sarah coming back!

It has been a good day!