Update on Steve's condition

July 23, 2019

Dear Church Family,
I want to bring everyone up-to-date on Steve’s concussion. It is a bad concussion but it could be far worse.

He has been struggling with word-finding, and that seems to be coming back gradually.
He stares at a wall for hours, and is contented to do so. If you know Steve well, you know his brain is typically spinning on multiple subjects and he struggles to “get the Wheel of Fortune of thoughts to stop on just one topic.” For him to clear his mind like this has been impossible for all his adult years, yet by God’s grace he is able to sit quietly and allow is brain to heal according to the Creator’s design. Praise!
Steve has sharp pain in his brain, loud ringing in his ears, is sensitive to light and sound, unable to look at screens, and struggles to read.
He struggles the most right now with conversations. He is slow at processing information, and it takes very much effort to respond. Social interaction is more stimulation than his brain can take; it totally wears him out and is a struggle.

But rest assured, this is all normal concussion stuff. He is expected to make a full recovery. No one can project how long it will take but I’m encouraged to see daily improvements and his personality coming back! (Yay! Praise God for that!!!!!!)

You have all been amazing as you love and pray and care for us as our church family!! You are such dear friends and we appreciate every way you have blessed us, particularly in the past few days. Several of you asked the status of the rest of the family. I (Stacey) am sore and have a mild headache but am fully functional. I spend a lot of time monitoring Steve and doing things for him that he would normally do. Forgive me if you contacted me and I failed to respond. I’ve been trying to manage my phone as well as Steve’s but I just can’t quite seem to keep up. I love each of you and so greatly appreciate your love for us. Ben & Ashlyn were in the back seat when we were rear-ended at the stoplight. They are miraculously ok! Praise!! It is such a help to have them nearby as Ben is covering for Steve in many things that I can’t do. Praise the Lord only one of the four of us is really injured!!! By God’s grace we are getting through this and thankful to Him for His purposes in it all. He abounds in grace and mercy! So much for which to be thankful!

Please continue to pray for Steve’s brain to heal, the ringing in his ears to subside, and anything else the Spirit directs you to pray for us. Thank you for your love and prayers!
Steve & Stacey

PS. I will attempt to keep you all updated via email.