Something Interesting

Our church just had their Grand Opening a few weeks ago and they did a special service. The pastor used memebers of the church to tell stories of how awesome our God is and what He is capable of doing in our lives. It was called "Cardboard Testimonies". Matt was one of the testimonies that was shared that day and we wanted to share that with you. If you go to http://www.youtube.com/ and then type in Real Life Grand Opening. Matt and I thought you would like to see this it is very moving and will allow you to see what God can do if we just ask and believe. We hope that you enjoy it. Thanks and we love you all.

Home from San Antonio

Well we are back at home after having the last treatment done. The doctor was not sure if he was going to do any more gluing or if he was just going to look around. Well when he got into Matt's head and started looking at everything he discovered that the AVM had collected some more blood vessels since the last treatment. He told me that he expected this to happen. So he went ahead and put some more glue in there and tried to block off more of the AVM. He stated that when he first started this back in October that the AVM was about the size of a golf ball and that when he went in this time it was only the size of a quarter. After he was done with the gluing this time the AVM was about the size of a pencil eraser or smaller. As far as he is conserned he is done and is not going to do any more to Matt. He wants Matt to undergo what they call radiosurgery. They use what is called a gamma knife to focus the readiation onto the AVM and blast it, this is suppose to kill what is left of the AVM. The doctor says that he was able to block off about 99% of the blood flow and that this other treatment should take care of the rest of it. We are so thankful that God lead the doctors in what they were doing and that Matt is at home and in great condition. He did much better this time than the last time. He got very sick and was throwing up after the last procedure, but had no problems this time and has only taken tylenol for the pain. I am so glad that the Lord led us to the right person to take care of Matt and that this doctor is one of the best that there is when it comes to neurosurgery. Thank you all for praying for Matt and your continued support. Please continue to pray for Matt as he recovers from this last procedure. We also want you to feel free to share any part of this story, we want to be sure that God gets all the credit for what has happened with Matt. If you know someone that needs hope, or needs to know that God does answer prayers please feel free to share Matt's story with them or have them contact us and we will be glad to talk to them. Thank you again for everything and we will keep you posted on how things are going and when Matt is to undergo this next procedure. We love you all and thank you again for all your prayers. We hope you all have a great New Year, we are going to have a great New Year thanks to our Lord and Savior.

Going to San Antonio

We are going to San Antonio in the morning and they will be looking at Matt's brain on Tuesday. We are hoping and praying that this will be the last trip that we have to make and that this will also be the last procedure that he will have to get done. THey are going to do an angiogram on Tuesday and like I posted before if they are able to block the rest of the AVM off, if there is just low flow they may not do anything. We are trusting that God will guide their hands and decision making. God has been so wonderful and merciful to us so far we are absolutely sure that He will continue to keep His hand on Matt through this next procedure. Please continue to pray for Matt and the doctors. Matt and I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. I will tell you that this Christmas had a special feel to it for us, not only were we celebrating the birth of our Savior, but we were able to celebrate Matt still being here with us. What an awesome and wonderful God we serve. THank you for keeping us in your prayers and for your faithfulness in your reading of the blog. We love you all and I will post again when we get back home from San Antonio.

Dec. 11th

Well, Matt has been back to work for almost 2 weeks and he is doing great. He is tired, but it is tired in a good way. I know that when I first start back to work after having the summer off I am tired for a couple of weeks. We have to work next week and then get a couple of weeks off. We are looking forward to Christmas and sharing a special holiday with our family. We are so thankful that Matt is here with us and I don't think that I will every look at holidays in the same way, they will always have a more special meaning. We had a wonderful time at church this weekend. Our church did what they called "Cardboard Testimonies". Matt was asked to be one of the people that were involved in this. What a blessing it was to see him on the stage and share what he has been through. His cardboard sign sayed, "Major brain bleed, terminal by morning." On the other side that showed the blessing that God had given us read, "Survived the night and now teaching public school and working with the youth." I dont' think there was a dry eye in the worship center, between Matt and all of the other wonderful stories that were shared that day. Well it is getting late and I need to get to bed, but I wanted to update the blog before I went to bed. THank you all for being faithful in your prayers for Matt. God has revealed himself to us in a very real way and we are looking forward to seeing what else He has in story for us. Also, Matt is going to the surgeon in San ANtonio on the 30th of Dec. they are going to put him under and do an angiogram (spelling?). After he gets in there the doctor is going to try to block off the rest of the 5% of the AVM, and if not them he will just close things up and Matt will be on his way home. The doctor said that if there is still very low blood flow to the AVM he may not do anything, but I told him that if he can block the rest of it off then that is what we want him to do. If he can block it off then we do not have to worry about this anymore. I know that God is in control of this situation, and that his will is going to be done. Please pray that God will guide the doctors hand and allow him to do what is needed. We are so thankful for this doctor and what he has done for Matt. Thank you all once again for all of your support and your prayers. We love you all and keep those prayers coming.

Hello everyone,

This is Matt. I thought I would type this update. I went to my Physical Medicine doctor today, and he released me to go back to work with basically no restrictions. Praise our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for all He has done. Please keep me in your prayers that my strength will continue to increase as I return to work, and more importantly that God's Will will continue to be accomplished in my life and that I will not get in the way. Thank you all for your prayers for me and my family over the past months.

To the glory of God the Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ, Forever!

Matt Kesselring

Nov. 23rd

We are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for this year. Matt is doing great and I see the improvements daily. He did not get to go back to work before Thanksgiving, but he will be able to go back to work right after the Thanksgiving holiday. I am so proud of him and so thankful to God for all that he has done. While we were at church today, one of our friends who stayed with us through the whole ordeal told me that I needed to quit smiling. I told him that I did not think that this would happen for a very long time. I can't imagine anything that would make me stop smiling and rejoicing in what God has done and is doing.

We went to San Antonio this week and the doctor there was impressed with how well Matt is doing. He wants to put Matt under general and do an angiogram sometime the end of December. When he gets in there he will look and see if he can block off the last 5% of the AVM and if not he will check to see how the blood flow to it is. If there is only a low, slow blood flow then he will not do anything else. His words were we will call it done and Matt will not have to go for any more treatments with him. We were so excited to hear what he had to say. Who would have thought that 4 months ago we would be talking about not ever having to worry about the rupture again. I cannot stop thinking about how far we have come and how many blessings God has given us. I don't know what we did to deserve all of these blessings and this wonderful miracle, but I am glad that he decided to give them to us.

Please continue to pray that the doctors will continue to allow God to lead them as they finish up with Matt and that when he goes in later in December that the doctors will not have to do anything else, or if he does have to do more work that he will be able to block off the rest of the AVM, this is what I am praying for, so that we don't have to worry about it anymore. We are still thanking God for all of you that continue to pray for Matt and for everyone involved in his care. What a wonderful Thanksgiving we all should have knowing that God is still in the miracle business and that he is willing to bless those who need him. Please take time this Thanksgiving to remember all of those who are serving our country and their families. Also, remember to thank God for all that he has done and all that he is still doing with Matt. We love you all and hope that you will have a great Thanksgiving, give someone that you love a big hug and tell them how much they mean to you. Love you all!!!

Nov 15th

Matt is still doing GREAT!! We were hoping to have him back at work before Thanksgiving, but that does not look like it is going to happen. He has to take one more test some kind of Neuro-Psch. test before his doctor will let him go back to work. He has an appointment on Tuesday to take this test. We went to see the Psychologist last week and she could not understand why Matt was even in her office for testing. We decided that I needed to be on the couch more than Matt did, just kidding, but somewhat true. She is going to rush the test scoring so that he can get back to work ASAP. He got released from OT/PT last week and there is no more therapy for him. Yeah!!! That is a mile stone in and of itself. He is moving around and doing the same things as he was before. He also went and took the driving test last week and passed with no problem. He is driving again, look out world!! I was glad to see that some of you were still reading the blog and I will keep you up to date with any changes. Thank you all for staying with us and praying for Matt through all of this, your prayers have been answered. God has been so wonderful to us and we continue to see what he is doing with Matt and we watch in amazement. Keep praying for him and we love you all.

Nov. 6th

I am not sure how many people are still reading this, but I wanted to let anyone that is know that Matt is doing absolutly wonderful. He is being dismissed from occupational and physical therapy as of today. We are in the process of getting some tests done in order for Matt to go back to work. Please join us in praying that the tests will be able to be done quickly and that he will be able to return to work ASAP. We would like to see him return to work the week before Thanksgiving. This is a great time for him to go back, because it allows for some built in breaks in order to allow him to build back up to working. He is going stir crazy sitting here at the house and now without therapy he is really going to go crazy. There is a person in San Antonio that can do the tests, all we need to do is get the consult from the doctors here. It was a big mess trying to find a doctor here in Corpus that did the test and took our insurance. Anyway, God has once again provided a way for this to be done and hopefully we can get it done quickly. Thank you all for your continued support, I feel as if we are almost to that light at the end of the tunnel and when Matt is finally able to go back to work it will be the icing on the cake. Please leave us a message and let us know if anyone is still reading this blog. Thank you again for your continued prayers and support through this whole thing.

Oct. 11

Thesee are 2 pictures of the AVM in Matt's brain just after the rupture in July. Notice the enlarged size of the blood vessels. The large lines that you see at the bottom of the 2nd image are the enlarged blood vessels, these should be the size of the little ones at the top of the same image. All of the dark that you see is the blood supply that is flowing through the vessels to the AVM and this amount of blood flow is what caused the AVM to rupture.

These are the 2 pictures of Matt's brain after the glue procedure. All of the dark spots that you see now is the glue. This causes the blood supply to redistribute to the other parts of the brain and not to feed the AVM. This decreases the chances of it rupturing again. The top image looks like a jellyfish. Matt had not seen these pictures until about a week ago and I had asked the doctor to send them to us so that he could see what was going on in his head. I thought these were some pretty amazing pictures. It is amazing what modern medicine can do and what an awesome God we serve, that he would bring Matt through all of this.

Oct. 11

Well, Matt is back to doing his therapy. He had a day when he felt like he had gone backward instead of forwards as far as his abilities go. I talked to him and we talked about how far he had come and that he had nothing to feel bad about and that he had not lost any of the abilities that he had regained. The next day the therapists came out and they did a reassessment and told him how far he had come and that made him feel so much better. Both of the therapists have talked to him about setting long tem goals and their long term goal is for Matt to go back to work sometime in November. This is a goal that makes Matt very happy. He is mentally ready to go back to work, and is almost ready physically. I think that staying home is beginning to drive him crazy. I wish I could stay at home for a while, but that is not going to happen any time soon. But, overall he is getting much better and doing it faster than people thought he would, he is a star student!!! Please continue to pray for him as he works to get back to normal life very soon. We have an appointment with the eye doctor on the 20th and we are going to insist on getting some glasses that will help with his vision. Thank you all for keeping Matt in your prayers, I can see it daily that he is getting better and better. Matt is truly a miracle and proof that our God is in the healing business.

Oct. 4, 2008

I want to share with you the most wonderful news. Matt and I traveled to San Antonio along with the boys and my mom. On Friday the doctors performed the embolization procedure. I was a mess, and could do nothing but cry. I was very worried and could not get the past out of my mind. I knew that God was in control, but all of those feelings were still so raw. But anyway, to the wonderful news!!! Matt went into surgery and we were told that they would continue as long as they felt safe working in his brain. They told us that it could be anywhere from 2-6 hours. The longer they were able to stay and work the better it would be and the more they would be able to close off. Well they were only able to work about 3 hours or so. When the nurse came out and told us they were done and that Matt was doing great, I was releaved and on the other hand I was a little bummed out because they were not in there working for the 6 hours. I then got to talk to the doctors and once again God has showed us that he is so in control of our lives, the doctors were able to close off 95% of the AVM blood supply. What an awesome moment that was for us, Matt and I had prayed that they would be able to close off all of it or at least a large number of it. I knew that God could allow this to happen, but I had some doubts. What was I thinking!!!! We have to go back to the doctors in 6 weeks to discuss what is next. He told us that he wants to go in again in 3 months to do another embolization and try to get the last 5 % blocked off, he also said that there is a chance that some more blood vessels will show up and that they will need to be blocked as well. The doctor was so pleased with his results and said that the chances of the AVM rerupturing was decreased with the success of this surgery. Another added benefit seems to be that Matt's eyesight is a little better. His double vision is not as bad and when he focuses his eyes do not seem to shift as much. He was having problems focusing and his eyes would shift back and forth until they got focused. He is still seeing some double, but hopefully as the brain heals that will go away. Please continue to pray for him and that he will heal and his eyes will be healed as well. Please also ask God to bless the doctors and nurse that took care of Matt during the surgery, they were so kind and so helpful. Please feel free to contact us and take to Matt, he would love to hear from some of you. Thank you all once again for all of your support and for all of your prayers.

Sept. 29

I want to say I am sorry for not keeping up with the blog. I was not sure if anyone was still reading since Matt was at home now. I was told tonight that I was in trouble for not keeping it up to date by a friend of mine. So I will try and do better. Matt is doing great and I am so impressed with how well his therapy is going. He is sweeping, cooking, weeding, picking up garbage outside to name a few things. His balance is so much better and he is not using the walker or wheel chair anymore. He has been grocery shopping with me and is pushing the cart and loading the stuff in the cart. In fact, we just got home from Walmart. Matt is working hard with the therapist and wants to get back to work by November. At the rate he is going, I don't see why he can't go back around then or soon after. We are preparing for the first procedure on Friday. It is scarry, but I know that God is going to take care of him, He has brought him this far and I believe that God is going to see him through this. I had to put Matt in God's hands a few months ago and I am going to continue to trust that God is in control of all that is going on and will see Matt through it. We are leaving to go to San Antonio on Thursday and he will check in that night and the surgery will be on Friday. The surgery could last anywhere from 2 to 6 hours. The longer it goes, the more they will be able to embolize, which in the long run will be better. However, for those of us sitting in the waiting room it may not be so good. I know that I am already a nervous wreck about this whole thing, I can't imagine on Friday waiting for 6 hours. Please pray for Matt as he goes through the surgery and that they will be able to get a lot of the AVM blocked off and that it will not take to many of these procedures to get it shrunk. My Mom, Matt's Mom and John and the boys are going to be there with us and I know that they will be a great help to me. Please pray for safe travel for all of us and that God will once again deliver Matt from all of this. Thank you all for your prayers and for your friendships. Please continue to pray for us and for the doctors that will be working on Matt the end of this week.

Sept. 21

Today has been a great day. It was Matt's first Sunday back at church and what a blessing it was. He was welcomed back with open arms and many people who had been praying for him. He was able to walk into church without the walker or wheelchair and he thinks he is big stuff without the use of equipment. I am so proud of him and how well he is doing. The therapists keep working him hard and he is stepping up and doing what they are asking him to do. We are so blessed. Please continue to keep the doctors in your prayers as they prepare for the procedure on Oct. 3rd. We are so thankful that God has given us this miracle to share with everyone and I pray that God will use Matt in a great and mighty way. Thank you all for all of your love and prayers.

Sept. 17

We have had a very busy day today!!! We went to San Antonio this morning, left our house at 5:00 and yes that is A.M. We had an appt. with the doctor that is going to work on the AVM in Matt's head. We have the first procedure on October 3. This is the first of several procedures that Matt will have to go through, but things look good. The doctor was very confident that he will be able to help Matt and that they should be able to shrink this thing so that they can use radiation to completly make it go away. After that appt. we rushed back down to Corpus to go to an eye doctor to have him check on Matt's double vision. He is not going to do anything for now, because he thinks that once they take care of the AVM that hopefully the vision issuses will clear up. If not then we will talk about glasses. At this point Matt's vision is still 20/20, the only thing is being able to focus and seeing 2 of everything. So over all it was a very productive day. We would like for you to pray for the doctors that will be doing surgery, and that God will guide their hands and give them wisdom. Please also continue to pray for Matt's strength so that he can continue to get stronger and better each day with his therapy. We are so thankful for all of you and we thank God for you all everyday. Thank you for you continued faithfulness.

Sept. 12

Well I know that it has been awhile since I posted. Things have been great here at home with Matt back. The boys and I are so happy that he is home with us and we are a family again. We thought we were going to have to leave due to the hurricane, but thank God we were not affected by it. We may get some rain and a little wind, but my weather man Matt, does not think we will get much. Matt has been watching the news and keeping track of the storm online. We had OT/PT and Speech come out and evaluate Matt on Tuesday. He will be getting OT/PT 3 times a week and he will get Speech 2 times a week for 2 weeks and that will be all that he needs as far as Speech goes. He will have the OT/PT here at the house for a month, and maybe 2 months if they think it will be needed. I want to tell you the guy who came out to do the OT evaluation was very intense. He had Matt doing all sorts of things, I think even more than the PT guy at the hospital did. He was very good and I think that with his help Matt will recover fast. He said that he wanted to be the one who came out and gave Matt his therapy. I was tired and I only watched. Matt was actually on the floor doing exercises and stretches. This guy wants Matt to start a Pilates class when he gets better. I guess that means that I too will be taking a Pilates class. I hurt just thinking about it!!! Well anyway, I wanted to update everyone and tell you how well Matt is doing at home. We are looking forward to going to church on Sunday. Please continue to pray for him as he starts therapy here at home. We have an appointment in San Antonio next week on Weds. to see the doctors about the AVM, so pray that all goes well with that and we are waiting to get approval for him to see the eye doctor, so keep that in your prayers as well. Thank you all for praying for Matt, you have all been a part of his recovery and his miracle. We love you all and are so thankful for each of you!!!!

Sept. 8th

I am happy to report that we managed to surprise everyone and meet our families for lunch on Sunday. It was Grandparents Day and our families were meeting for lunch at my sisters restuarant. Everyone was sitting down and getting ready to place their orders when Matt and I walked arounf the corner. Needless to say there were some happy and confused people. We had talked to the doctor and he said that Matt could leave the hospital on Sunday instead of on Tuesday. He is doing so well!!! We had a home health care nurse come in today and she was also amazed at how well Matt was doing. She did not think that he needed the services of a nurse, but instead would push for there to be more OT/PT for him since that is what he needs most right now. I have also placed a call to the Dr. in San Antonio and I am expecting a call from them on Tuesday to set up the appointment to discuss treatment of the AVM. We are also going to see a doctor that specializes in eye care and should be able to help with the double vision. Things are going so well and it is so nice to be at home and in our own house. It was very nice to have Matt and both of the boys at home and under one roof last night. Please continue to pray for Matt in the upcoming days. He has made the transition to home pretty easily and we are praying that this continues. Please also continue to pray for the doctors that are going to treat the AVM that they will have Gods wisdom in how and what to do to make this thing in his head go away. Thank you all so much for your continued pray through this time in our lives. I always felt that you all were praying and that God was hearing everyone of the prayers that were going up. What an awesome God we serve and what an awesome miracle he has given us. Please share Matt's incrediable story and I do believe that there are many lives out there that will be blessed by what he has gone through. I know for me I will always give God the glory for this blessing that he has given me. We love you all and please feel free to give us a call at home. I will be home with Matt over the next week and we would love to hear from you. Thanks again for all your prayer and all of your support. We love you all!!!!!

Sept. 3

Well today is another good day. We are making plans for Matt going home. They are lining up therapy, get equipment for the house and we are getting excited. He is working hard and will continue to work hard for the next 6 days while he is here. He wants to get the most out of the time that he has with the OT/PT people here at the hospital. On Tuesday they had him walking without the use of the walker. He was actually walking down the hallway with just the therapist beside him. He said that it was a little scary, but it felt good to know that he could do it. I wish I had been here to see that!!! Today for part of his therapy, they had him cooking and standing up in the kitchen. He helped make spagetti and meatballs. The other patients on the floor got to eat the food and they all said it was very good. This has been the best place for Matt and I am so thankful for all of the people on this unit that have helped him recover. God has been so good to us by providing us with the great people that have taken care of Matt. We have met some very awesome nurses and doctors. Please continue to keep Matt in your prayers as he gets ready to go home and please pray for the boys and I that we will be able to make him feel welcome and that our family will once again fit together like it did before. Please also continue to pray for Matt's eyes, they are getting better and the double vision is not as far apart as it was. The images seem to be coming together slowly. We love you and we will continue to thank God for all of you and that you are there to pray for us in this trying time.

August 31

I want to apologize for not updating in a few days. There was some interference with the internet at the hospital and I could not get online. It has been a very busy weekend. On Friday they came and took the PEG tube out of Matt's stomach. He said it hurt, but was more pressure than pain. It actually looks really good, they changed the bandage last night and only a little bit of blood/leakage. They do not put stitches in the hole it just closes on its own. When I got here on Friday they were telling me that Matt may be going home today. Everyone was freaking out over the hurricane. It is the hospital policy that if the patient is able to go home then they send them home. So Matt was one of those that could go home if need be. I was then freaking out. I was excited, but also a little unprepared. I don't think it is an issuse now, they don't think the hurricane is coming this way so he will stay until the 9th of Sept. He is doing so well. His PT worked on climbing stairs on Friday. We have about 15 steps to get upstairs and they want him to be able to go up and down our stairs, with assistance of course. God has been so good to us, not only Matt but me also. I started in a new building this school year, and it has been great. The ladies that I work with are wonderful and my supervising teachers husband is a baptist preacher. I am also going to be able to finish one of my summer classes via the mail, she will send me the work and I will mail it back to her. I was also going to take 3 classes this Fall before all of this happened with Matt. I have to take one of them, because it goes with my student teaching. I got an email from one of the other teachers and there are not enough people to continue that class and I was going to drop it anyway. Then the last class that I was going to take is only offered in the Fall and it is offered from 7-9:30 at night. I did not want to be gone that late with Matt just coming home from the hospital. I emailed and went to talk to the professor and she has agreed to let me take this class through independent study. She will send me the information and I will keep up with it and send it back to her via email. We will meet several times during the semester and there are no test. I am so thankful that God has taken care of all the details to make our lives easier. Please continue to pray for Matt, he still needs a lot of strength to get through the PT/OT and also for his eyes to heal and the double vision to go away. Thank you all for your prayer and support we are so thankful for each and ever one of you. Take care and we love you all.

August 27th

Another good day at rehab. Matt was able to walk all the way to the end of the hallway from his room which is about 100 feet give or take a few feet. That was the goal to reach by the end of the week. Now that he has done that, he is going to work on technique. He told me the other day that he felt a little like Frankenstein when he walks, because he feels like his feet are heavy. I told him that at least he was up and walking and that it would get easier and better the more he did it. I was listening to the radio and a song came on this morning and the words spoke to me, I am not even sure what song it was, but there was a little girl talking at the end of it and she said the following words:

"The Lord is the everlasting God,The creator of all the Earth,He never grows weak or weary,No one can measure the depths of His understanding,He gives power to the weak, and strength to the powerless,Even youth will become weak and tired,And young men will fall in exhaustion,But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength,They will soar high on wings like eagles,They will run and not grow weary,They will walk and not faint"

I just looked it up and it is a song by Lincoln Brewster, called Everlasting God. The little child speaking at the end is what captured my attention. All I could think about was Matt and how even though he is tired, he keeps working and is able to push himself through the therapy. This is the strength that comes from God. We pray nightly for God to bless him with His strength. I am amazed at how strong he has been through this whole ordeal. I was talking to Matt on the phone today during my lunch time and one of my co-workers overheard our conversation and she asked me who was in the hospital. I told her my husband and she asked me why I was always smiling and happy if my husband was in thehospital? I was happy to be able to share with her what God had done and was doing with Matt. She was blessed by his story and said that she could now see why I was smiling. I just love sharing Matt's story with whoever will listen and I love being able to give God all the glory for what he has done. Thank you all for praying for Matt and being a part of the miracle and part of the story that I love to share. Please continue to pray for strength and that his eyes will continue to heal. You all are so special and so awesome. Thank you for standing in the gap for Matt and I while we have been down this difficult road.

August 26th

I could not wait to get online and update everyone. Matt is for sure going home on Sept. 9th. GOD is soooooo AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! I am still amazed daily at the strength that God allows to flow through Matt. Matt has been working very hard this week. He walked on Monday using the tray table. Now you are thinking how hard could it be to hold on to a table with wheels and walk. Well, he was not allowed to hold on to the sides of the table, he had to leave his hands flat on the top of the table and walk that way. Not as easy as it sounds trust me. Today, he used a walker for the first time and he went half way down the hall. The goal for this week is for him to make it all the way to the end of the hall. The first goal that was set was for him to walk 50 feet and that was surpassed on Monday. I personally think they need to give him harder goals. The speech therapist told us that all the therapist were talking on Monday morning and they all decided that Matt was the star student. They are all impressed with how well he is doing and how fast he is meeting and exceeding his goals that they set for him. I am amazed at the strength that God allows to flow through Matt on a daily basis. He tells me that it is not him that is making the progress, but God through him and he is right, but I also remind him that he has to be a willing host for Gods strength to flow out of. Matt is going home on the 9th of Sept. and guess what that is... Jonathan's first football game. Imagine that, God is working things out again. I just cannot say enough about how much we appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers. Matt is a living, breathing, walking miracle and you are all a part of why that happened. You are all so AWESOME!!!! Thank you all for everything and please continue to pray for him as he goes on to recover completly from this ordeal.