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This page is to be filled with articles and other information that is provided by Growing Kids leaders from around the world. It also can be a place to read testimonies and other encouragement from parents and children in the Detroit area. Please feel free to email us your testimonies and or heart training encouragement (click on the 'Contact Us' page). LEADERS ENCOURAGEMENT CARLA LINK MIRACLE Below are updates written to you from Joey Link in JUNE 2008:
Dear Friends (June 13, 2008)
Because you have prayed for us so diligently, I thought I would share with you that neither I nor Amy or anyone else must take Carla to Physical Thearpy anymore. Yes, she will still be going and we will still go with her most of the time. Yesterday 6/11/08, Carla passed her drivers license exam with hand controls and now is an OFFICIALLY LICENSED DRIVER again. Carla was happy to recieve a high score on both the written and driving tests.
She is quite happy about it - Amy and I are somewhat nervous. She has been telling people that she has not left the house alone in 3 1/2 years, and she is greatly looking forward to being able to do that. When I hear her say that, I marvel that she has not complained about it. While we think we know what she deals with, on the other hand, we don't live with many things she does every day that are great inconvienences.We are very proud of this accomplishment.
They are starting to work on trunk stability in physical therapy with the goal that she would become 'hands free' one day, meaning she can walk and move around without having to touch something for balance. Since she is working out at the Rehab Center 6 days a week again, they have been able to increase the weights and reps on the equipment she uses every week. She is trying to walk the mall every day now. When she walks, she has to tuck in her tummy and tailbone, contract her bottom, shoulders up and back, and arch her back. She tells those who walk with her as spotters to try this then hold while you walk. This is how they are trying to get her trunk back into a normal position.
Thank you for praying! May God continue to grant our requests and honor the hard and diligent work Carla's continues to do.
Thank You again for your prayers!!!
Co-Laborers for Christ,
Joey Link
Dear Friends and Prayer Partners (June 1, 2008)
In Luke 18 Jesus tells this parable to his disciples. “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’”
I believe all of us are like this persistent woman in our prayers before our God. Though God is neither unjust nor lacks care for us, He does ask us to “persist in prayer”. As we do, He answers and we praise and glorify Him for His work.
Over the past 3 ½ years we have been asking you to pray with us for specific things to bring healing to Carla’s body. We asked you to pray for her mind, and God gave it back to her while she was still in the hospital. We asked you to pray that her nerves would regenerate, and they did. We asked you to pray for her foot to straighten out and to flatten out to baseline so she could walk normally on it, and over time it has. We asked you to pray that her spine would stabilize, and it did. We asked you to pray that her quads would strengthen, and they have. These are just a few of the many specific prayer requests we have seen answered. And we PRAISE God for them!
We were able to purchase a “NuStep” exercise machine recently through a generous financial gift. It is a specially designed exercise bike that simulates walking, strengthens the quads while putting less pressure on the knees. Over the years, Carla has been going to the Hospital Rehabilitation Center daily to work on this “NuStep”. However, one time a day wasn’t enough. We have been looking to purchase a used NuStep for 2 years now. It is a relatively new piece of equipment, and they are very hard to find as well as expensive. Imagine our surprise when a bicycle shop in town called Carla’s physical therapist to ask if they knew someone who needed one. It seems a man had purchased one from the manufacturer and had only used it for a couple months before he passed away. His widow called the bike shop to see if they could sell it for her. They didn’t carry them, so they called the hospital to see if they knew anyone who could use one to help this lady out. It is in better condition than any of the ones at the hospital! Carla has been working out faithfully 2-3 times a day and we are just now seeing this work and your faithful prayers pay off. Again we PRAISE God here.
Another individual has donated medical equipment to us throughout this recovery process. Thanks to his generosity we have new walkers that enable Carla to have much greater mobility. God has answered our prayers in so many different ways.
At a recent visit to Mayo Clinic, Carla’s physician was reviewing her progress over the past 2 years and it is significant. One thing she said Carla hadn’t even realized is that she has weaned off over half of the medications she was on. The doctor said this was unusual for a patient with long-term medical issues. In general, not only did they not wean off their meds, they usually as time went on added more meds to their program. The physician asked Carla to extend her leg and hold it, something she has never been able to do before. It was my pleasure to see the physician’s eyes open wide with excitement as Carla was able to do this wearing her brace. PRAISE God!
For the first time at any of our visits to Mayo Clinic, Carla walked the halls. We did not get the wheelchair out of the van while we were at the Clinic for two days of testing and appointments. At our daughter Briana’s recent graduation from Moody Bible Institute, Carla walked the campus with us and to the ceremony at Moody Church. It was exciting for me and I trust for you. PRAISE God Again!
These improvements are also due to the new ACL brace that she now wears. It was touch-and-go for a few days as the manufacturer was not sure how it would work with the AFO brace she must wear to stand and walk. They were finally able to find one that would fit and adjusted the braces so they work together. Carla’s mobility, according to her therapists improved 75% in 10 days! PRAISE GOD! They told her then they thought her quad muscles may not have come back, so again, it was quite a surprise to all how quickly results could be seen. They give the NuStep a lot of credit for this. All that work Carla has been doing on it the last couple months has paid off tremendously and I am greatly encouraged that she stuck with her workouts even when she could not see progress. There is a wonderful Spiritual lesson here on how we need to continue persevering not only in prayer, but also in action EVEN WHEN we don’t see the progress and let God bring about the fulfillment of his plan in his time. I give Carla a great amount of credit for her persistence here even when things looked bleak.
Praises:
1. Carla’s quad muscles are strengthening again
2. For the NuStep machine
3. For her new walkers
4. For her increased mobility and endurance
Prayer Requests:
1. Carla’s quad muscles would continue to strengthen. This is important.
2. Her balance would improve and she would be able to work with both her hands without having to hold on to something at the same time.
3. As she is increasing her activity level again, the pain is significantly increasing as well. Please pray for her endurance with this.
4. Carla needs to sleep. Please pray that she sleeps through the night consistently. You can tell she is weary. The pain comes during the night.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your persistence in prayer on Carla’s behalf! Please keep them up and we look forward to sharing more good news with you as our Lord continues healing Carla’s body.
Joey Link
P.S. If you would like to send notes of encouragement to Carla you can send to linkaccident@mchsi.com. Remember it’s a read only account so she can’t reply back but she enjoys hearing from you!
Below is an update written to you from Carla Link on FEBRUARY 27, 2008: Dear Friends,
I would appreciate your renewed prayers on my behalf. Last September, I had a bad fall at the parenting conference we were speaking at with Gary and Anne Marie in Seattle. My right knee was not totally stable prior to that, and that fall injured it so that over the next few weeks it deteriorated to the point it could no longer bear weight. They decided to do the surgery on my knee in December, which was successful. As we did not have travel plans in January, I was anticipating a time of uninterrupted focus on my physical therapy. I was sick with sinus infections and/or the flu the entire month of January, which on top of the horrid weather we have had this winter slowed my progress down considerably. I just could not get to the rehab center on a consistent basis. I cleared my travel schedule in March, thinking, along with my physical therapists, that this would be a time we could concentrate on moving forward in therapy. Believe it or not, I was beginning to want to just get back to where I was this summer.
Last week in physical therapy I fell again while working with two canes. I had been using a walker up to that point. I am not sure you can imagine my disappointment. The ankle is badly sprained, and again I am not able to bear weight on it. They think it will be at least 2 more weeks. I am in despair thinking I am losing this time in March as well. The last few days have been very hard on my spirits. I am now going on 6 months of not being able to do the workout program I had been making so much progress on last year. Do they think I will get back to where I was? Yes. All those on my medical team agree I will get to the point of working with one cane again. But in my mind it is getting further and further down the road.
I was reading through mail today, and Luke and Luona Nightingale sent me this verse in a card. I Thess 5:16-18.
"Be joyful; pray continuously; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
We all are familiar with this verse, but I chose to look at it in a new way today. Can I be joyful, in prayer, and thankful despite my discouragement? Yes. I did choose to look for things to be thankful for in the midst of this time and found many. I went to see my spinal surgeon last week and the implants in my spine are completely fused. He said they could not look better. That definitely topped the list! I chose to look back at pictures from the beginning of this recovery process and found joy in how far God has allowed me to come this far. And I am choosing to pray instead of fret and be consumed with fear. I am reading a book by Joe Stowell titled, "The Upside of Down, Finding Hope When It Hurts". He also reminds us how we view the circumstances of our lives is a choice. So I am choosing to be joyful, prayerful and thankful, in obedience to these words from God.
I would appreciate your prayers.
1. My ankle would heal correctly and I could stand on it without stabbing pain shooting up my leg.
2. I would be strong and focused in physical therapy, both emotionally and physically.
3. My quad muscles would strengthen.
4. I would be able to get back on the workout program I was on prior to the fall in Sept.
Thank you. All the progress I have made to this point is because so many of you pray for me on a daily basis. I am grateful.
Carla Link
Below is an update written to you from Joey Link on DECEMBER 6, 2007: Dear Friends,
We want to thank you for the time you spent encouraging Carla through praying for her December 5th as she went through knee surgery. She has been greatly encouraged by your emails as well, especially with the Scripture God lays on your heart to send her.
We left the house at 9 AM and returned at 6:30 pm. On our way there, our Lord was kind to us as we kept running into people we know. Velma, one of Carla’s physical therapists, just happened to be walking through the halls so we stopped and talked with her. She said she was praying for us. The Supervisor of the Rehabilitation Clinic also saw us and said he was praying for us today. There are many other medical professionals we have been friends with over the years who also stopped to encourage us.
All in all the surgery went very well. Carla’s orthopedist was very helpful in talking through pain meds with us, which was very comforting. He gave us a plan that we are following which is helping Carla immensely.
Though the surgery only lasted an hour, Carla was in recovery for an additional 4 hours to be sure we had the pain issues figured out. Otherwise there was the possibility of Carla spending the night in the hospital. For those who may not understand her pain issues, Carla still suffers from nerve pain, especially in her legs. The problem in her knee has triggered nerve pain for the past several weeks, which has lessened her ability to sleep and function well. The medical staff realized that a surgery and the inflammation and other things associated with this all would trigger additional pain. Carla has a high threshold for pain, so as they worried, so did we.
The Dr. repaired the meniscus tear and ruled out other possible damage to her knee which was comforting. The MRI showed a tear in her ACL, which was a huge concern, but he did not find one and thinks it was just inflamed. We go back to see the physician and her physical therapist on Friday.
One other thing her physician recommended that we are already seeing great value in is an “Ice Machine”. While they have many names, this is a portable unit that is filled with ice that connects through a hose to a sleeve that wraps around Carla’s leg/knee sending cool water/air to lessen the inflammation in her knee. We can see how this is already reducing the swelling which will help her recover sooner and keep the pain down. We are grateful the doctor ordered this.
As the Lord brings Carla to your mind, please keep praying:
• That the swelling continues to go down quickly
• That the pain is minimal as we wean off of medications over the next few days
• That no infections arise
• AND that she is able to bear weight during therapy on Friday and is able to get back to normal PT of walking soon.
One other note of encouragement: One of our physical therapist’s sent us a note saying he was not discouraged over having this surgery. While we have tried to avoid it, it appears that now is the appropriate time to have it. We are all trusting that this will enable Carla to continue working towards her goal of walking again unassisted.
Thank you for caring and praying.
Again, your notes of encouragement, verses of scripture, and personal stories sent to linkaccident@mchsi.com have been so encouraging to Carla to press on and not give up the fight.
Thank you again for your faithful prayers to our heavenly Father on Carla’s behalf.
Joey Link
Below is an update written to you from Lori Moore on NOVEMBER 20, 2007:
To Our Faithful Prayer Friends,
Carla has been having difficulty in two ways for the past several weeks. First, her right knee has been very painful when she tries to stand. It got to the point where that leg does not want to bear weight. She has been very discouraged as she was making tremendous progress in physical therapy and this has been hard to understand. She has had various tests and it was determined yesterday that she will need surgery on that knee. Both of the meniscus cartilage in that knee (that supports the knee joint) have been torn since the accident. It appears the tears have deteriorated and will not improve with physical therapy, but in fact would most likely get worse. She is scheduled for an arthroscopy Wednesday, December 5 around noon.
Secondly, she has continuous and severe nerve pain in her left foot. She had a plate put in a fracture near the ankle in that foot. Xrays show that arthritis has set in there. She will undergo a CAT scan this week to determine the extent of the arthritis. It is possible that this is triggering the nerve pain.
Both of these are setbacks that, in light of all the work she has done to recover these last 3 years are very discouraging. They would appreciate your prayers on their behalf once again.
Please pray –
1. The surgery will go well and will be successful.
2. Carla will recover quickly. She will resume physical therapy immediately and she will tolerate what they try to do there.
3. She will find a way to sleep at night despite the pain.
4. She will remain encouraged about her recovery process.
If you would like to send notes of encouragement to the Link’s, you can do so by emailing linkaccident@mchsi.com.
Lori Moore
National Ministry Coordinator
GFI Central Office
(319) 752-5550
(319) 752-5455 - Fax
Below is an update written to you from Carla on SEPTEMBER 13, 2007:
The 3rd anniversary of the accident was a few days ago. Not something to celebrate. But even in the midst of darkness, we can celebrate the light of Jesus in every area of our lives.
Over Labor Day weekend, we hosted the Family Camp for GFI Key Couple families at the same camp we were at in Indiana 3 years ago. On Sunday morning during the church worship time, I gave a talk to the children that were there. Many of the Moms that were at the camp asked me to share this talk with others. I began this time by asking, “Can anyone tell me what a miracle is?” After several responses, one child came up with the definition I have always believed is true. A miracle is something only God can do.
A miracle reflects the light of Jesus in the world. Jesus performs miracles daily. People just don’t notice. They call miracles, “luck”, or “coincidence”, but they are not any of these. They are something only God can do.
I went on to tell the children of the medical miracles He has given me in the last 3 years. First of all, Joey, Amy and I survived. When you see pictures of the van, you will understand why even the police on-site said this was a miracle. And, Mayo Clinic has not yet found a case study of anyone surviving with my injuries, another miracle. Then, her brain was healed of the 20+ brain hemorrhages she suffered in the accident. Because of this miracle, the doctors wrote in my chart, “A supernatural force is working in her behalf”. Yes, indeed!
In June, 2005, Mayo Clinic did an EMG test that showed I had no nerve conduction in any muscle they tested in either leg. The physician who conducted the test wrote at the bottom of the report, “This patient will never walk again”. But my doctor at Mayo and my Physical Therapists, Sherri, Mike and now Velma never gave up hope. I continued to progress and the test was conducted again in the Spring of 2007. I now had nerve conduction in every muscle they tested in both legs! “Unheard of!” my physician exclaimed. “Do you know what “Unheard of” means?” I asked the children. It means God has heard of it, another miracle.
Also in the Spring of 2007, it was discovered that the bottom of my spine (below the implants that were inserted), badly compressed, had solidified into a solid mass, so much so they could not insert a needle into it. Normally, the compressed pieces would fragment like puzzle pieces and work their way throughout my body, causing untold damage over the years. “I don’t believe I have ever seen anything like this” said the physician who conducted the test. God has. Another miracle.
Last month, another miracle came forth. In the last update, in May, 2007, we asked you to pray for my balance. I had no discernable stability in my trunk, which controls one’s ability to balance. They were trying to teach me to walk with one cane. my lack of balance was an issue. One day in July, while I was ‘mall-walking’ with a friend, when I meant to straighten my posture by bending from my waist, my back arched for the very first time. I thought at first that one of the implants had slipped.
In September, 2006, the physician who performed surgery on my spine said the implants had settled in nicely and my spine had almost 100% encased them. This process usually took 5-7 years. In my case, this happened in 2 years time. The implants are metal, so once this process was complete, my spine would be locked in the position it was in at that time, as metal does not move. As they are in the curvature of my spine, my upper body was tilted forward, thus the lack of balance issue. Hopefully, you can now understand why I panicked when my back moved!
Upon examination the next day, it was discovered that my back did indeed move, vertebrae by vertebrae. How could that be, 3 years after the accident? God knows how. Another miracle. A whole new world has opened up to me as I am discovering new mobility every day in my body and legs. I swept the kitchen floor for the first time! I checked the last update Lori sent, and we had asked you to pray that my balance would improve. How fun it is to show the physical therapists and physicians this!
As Christians, when we pray, we want God to answer our prayers immediately. When He doesn’t, we lose faith and we get discouraged. We are told in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I shared this with the children and said that I have often wondered over the years how you could not worry. I went on to say that through my recovery process I have discovered the answer. The ‘Lord’s Prayer’ can be found in Matthew, Chapter 6. Verse 11 says, “Give us today our daily bread.” I asked the children what they thought Jesus meant by “bread”. They all thought it was something to eat. I shared that I used to think it meant that too, like God giving the children of Israel manna for forty years. But I have learned it means something more.
To me, “Bread”, now means that God will give each of us exactly what we need to get through each day, one day at a time. One day it might mean the endurance I will need to tolerate pain. On another day it might mean the courage it would take so that I would be willing to do the new movements my therapists ask me to do. Another day it might mean perseverance, so I would not get impatient that the recovery process is taking so long.
God gives each of us exactly what we need to get through each day. I asked Mike, my PTA if I needed my trunk to be stable before now. He thought about it for awhile. Then he said that the medical and therapy team would like to have known, but they were working on other things, and now I would have trouble continuing to progress without it. God gives us what we need when He knows we truly need it. It is “Unheard of” that my spine would start moving 3 years after the accident, especially after I was told last year my spine would always be where it was at that time. But I did not give up hope. I continued to work hard and do everything I was told to do. I obeyed. As a result, God could give it to me now because my body was ready for it. The muscles in my back were in working shape, even though they had been dormant for 3 years because of all the working out I have been doing, every day of the week.
No one likes to wait. Waiting is hard. God knows this, yet He often lets us wait. Why? I shared that I believes this is because to patiently wait is to tell God I trusted Him to give me what I needed when I truly needed it. And God has consistently done so.
When you learn to trust God to give you what you need each day, then you don’t have to worry. I went on to share that I also came to understand that God truly doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle. There’s more. God doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle with excellence. What does that mean? For me, it means I can go to Physical Therapy with a positive attitude, always willing to do what I am asked to do cheerfully, with my very best effort no matter how much pain I am in or how tired I am. Because I have always done exactly what they say I can do exactly the way they teach me to do it, I have remained practically injury-free, which has allowed me to continue to progress.
Always, even in the midst of darkness, the light of Jesus shines. The Link family wants everyone to know they are grateful for this.
Prayer Requests:
1. That I would be mentally strong as I learn to walk with one cane.
2. That I would remain injury-free as I work on new things.
3. That my quad muscles would continue to strengthen.
I was doing my Quiet Time one day the week after Family Camp and my heart rejoiced when I read the assigned passage. I am going through “A 30 Day Walk in the Psalms” by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. On this day we studied Psalm 37. Isn’t God wonderful to confirm in our hearts what He has been teaching us?
Psalm 37
Vs 3-7, 23-25, 30-31 – “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. (When you trust your heart believes God will only allow in your life what is His best for you eternally and this keeps us safe) Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desire of your heart. Commit your ways to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, (Because I have been trusting and believing and have not lost hope – could this be what the doctors and other medical people see in me that makes them ask me about God? Even in the midst of darkness, the light of Jesus truly does shine!) Be still in the Lord and wait patiently for Him…If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.. I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread… (God gives us each day what we truly need) The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip. We are thankful that so many of you continue to pray for us on a regular basis. We know I am recovering well because of your prayers.
To God be the glory, great things He has done!!
You can send notes of encouragement to the Link family at linkaccident@mchsi.com. NOTE: It is a read-only email account so Link replies will not be possible.
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