Unassisted Walking, 13 Months in the Making!

School and its busyness is in full force at the Hanner house.  I was on a pretty good streak with my blog, but I blinked and now it's been about six weeks since my last update.    Bring on October!  Hunter continues to regain strength and feeling in his legs, and he is now able to climb flights of stairs.  We took a trip to Angel Fire to celebrate as a family.  Hunter was excited for his first time out of town for fun instead of doctor appointments, and we enjoyed being together in the cool mountain air.  While we were there he took his first steps balancing himself without holding on to his walker!  Thank you Lord for progress!

more on the mountains later

Hunter is still improving daily.  He now has the ankle control to point his toes up and down and has some nerve feeling in the bottoms of his toes.  That is helpful when he's trying to walk and drive.  In therapy he's working on strength and flexibility of his ankle.  When you don't use them for a long time, they get stiff.  It's funny the things you don't think about....he said he can now tell when his shoes aren't tied tight because they slip up and down on his heel.  His upper body strength is not quite what it was before, but he can do almost everything he wants to do.    He has been working hard on his shoulder muscles so he can pull his bow to hunt.  His occupational therapist has also given him exercises and contraptions to work on his trigger finger.  Priorities;)  I tried to arm wrestle him last night and lost, but I did win a thumb war:)  His handwriting doesn't look like the twins anymore, and he can do up buttons and tie his shoes.  Up until now, he didn't really have sensation on the tips of his fingers to feel textures, but that is coming back.  He is also down to just 5 mg daily of steroids.  Hopefully in the next month he will be off of steroids for good!  He has been off his rejection medicine since February, so this is the last immune suppressing medication to wean.  His nerve pain is still an issue, especially his feet.  Please pray that his nerves heal, and that he can stay healthy as we enter into sick season.    

While we were in the mountains, we found him a pair of hiking sticks he can use for balance.  He uses the walker more for balance than bearing weight, plus it has a seat if he gets tired.  But, it also makes him hunch over when he walks.  The sticks are probably the last assistive device he will use before he is back to walking normally on his own.  He is practicing at therapy how to navigate curbs, stairs, and learning how to bend down and pick things off the ground.  These last six months at home have been filled with improvements!  God has been good to us.  

A few weeks ago I caught him coming in from the garage using a "kidcane."  Oh, this guy.

This was Tuesday at therapy--right at 100 feet without holding onto anything!  This was after he walked around for 10 minutes with his sticks without stopping.  What a happy day!!!  I'm in the background trying not to sniffle but happy tears are running down my cheeks:)  He hasn't been able to walk since last September.

My handsome wedding date

practicing his "bend and snap"

 It was so nice to get away from the Texas heat!  Hunter had been working hard on stairs in therapy so he could get to Angel Fire.  We rode four wheelers up a mountain trail, played on the playground, the boys rode the lift up to the top and shot their bows, and we all did a lot of loving on baby Hank.  We had a blast.

Ahhh sweatshirts and long sleeves!

Nothing better!   

picnic at 10,000 feet

Hank love!  

The girls and Hank took a little trip to Taos.

He's a pretty good shot!

Our first pic of all six cousins at Nana's house!  

 We also made a trip to the West Texas Fair and Rodeo with friends.  Hunter was already in the hospital last year, so we had two year's worth of food to eat.  I was so proud to see Hunter walk all the way to the back to the ferris wheel, then walk another good chunk to watch the Rodeo.  We are so thankful to be able to make memories as a family and feel some normalcy.

Turkey legs, lemonade, 

cotton candy, 

and corn!

We are also loving watching Benton play soccer!  

The rest of these are all out of order, but are some of my favorites from August and September.

bike rides

snowcones

"little helpers" at the grocery store

Hunter's Aunt Diann frequently takes the boys to Chuck E Cheese.  We got a good laugh from Clayton (who normally won't smile for pictures) bringing home a pocket full of selfies.  Starts young apparently.

Here's our obligatory first day of school pictures!  The twins are going three days a week and Benton is loving first grade.  It's fun for me to be back on Benton's campus where I taught before kids!  I'm so thankful to get to be an involved mom to these boys this year!  Last year at this time we were trying to navigate lung clots, pneumonia, and paralysis, and the ICU.  This year as I dig through the trash to pull out silverware accidentally thrown away, get the phone call that they've told their teachers "you can't make me, you don't have a belt, and as I find them puffing their asthma inhaler 80 times I remind myself that I'm here to experience these everyday struggles (no names to protect the guilty;).  Last year I wouldn't have even had a chance to help them learn and grow.  I love the privilege of being the mom of these little messes!

Clayton Zachary, age 4

Caleb Chase, age 4

Benton Blayne, age 7

Praying 32 is boring

Caleb was so excited to discover he could reach the pedals on our add-a-bike.  He about wore me out going for long rides several nights in a row.  My babies are growing up too fast!  Clayton was content to kick back in the trailer.

I already posted this on my facebook page, but I wanted it for my blog book as well.  A little over one year ago (September 22) we loaded Hunter on a helicopter to Zale Lipshy, his home for the next 6 months. Recently, he spoke at the Danny Isbell cattle auction benefitting the West Texas Rehab Center. He put on his own socks (making him totally independent), climbed stairs, and even took some steps without his walker or hiking sticks. God has carried, molded, squeezed, and refined us both over the last year, and I'm forever changed by the countless miracles I've witnessed that could only be from the grace of God. To our friends, church, and family who held us together when our life unravelled--thank you. To those who prayed for us when I didn't have the strength--thank you. To the doctors, nurses, and therapists who use their skill and knowledge to bring him back from the brink of death and are now rebuilding his body--thank you. To those currently walking though one of life's storms, I can tell you with every certainly that you will find the Lord right there beside you. ‪