Now in her freshman year of college a four-hour drive away from home, some of the issues returned. Last Monday, we received a phone call from her telling us that she was stuck in bed at the dorm and could not move her legs. When she called official channels at the college, they were obligated to call for an ambulance to take her to the emergency department of the local hospital. After an MRI, and EKG, blood tests, and the like, doctors ruled out a lot of evil-sounding maladies.
I hopped in the car and closed the distance between home and school in time to hear the conclusions from the doctors. They told us what we already knew - that her brain was playing tricks on her once again. It felt better that we knew how the process and we knew that she would recover, but the process includes things like wheelchairs and walkers - a whole progression of getting her land legs back so she can feel stable and secure once again.
We had rushed to borrow a rickety old wheelchair from the church in Neosho before I left Southwest Missouri, but once in use, we figured out that the chair had seen better days. The sidewalks at the university are not even, and we struggled to get the chair over many of the seams - not to mention once decline that empties directly into the street if the thing gets out of hand. Her dorm is no better with tight turns, lots of doors (along with a security system), and turns that take her directly over staircases. Thankfully, we were able to find a smaller, lighter, more modern wheelchair at one of the local churches. Thankfully, too, she is advancing rapidly, and is walking with a three-wheeled walker most of the time.
Her drive is there. Her heart drives her forward. She is in good spirits. She is mostly positive. But below the surface, it is only natural that there is frustration. Impatience. Disappointment. I rolled her to the campus ministry, where she was able to see some friends. That perks her up faster than anything. Her heart is in the game, but her brain won't play along. It seems to keep her in a mental flux, as if she is just out of phase with the normal world.
We can't help but be impressed with our daughter's drive and determination (Read stubbornness.), and we are just as proud of her as ever. The fact that she is able to achieve what she has - in spite of dealing with this additional stress - continues to amaze us.