Getting New Braces

At therapy this week, Heidi took care of casting Gracie for her new braces. The new braces will be shorter than the ones she wore before having the surgery. Gracie got to choose the accent colors and pattern for her braces. The new pair will arrive shortly with pink accents and pastel hearts- so cute! In one of the pictures you will see Heidi working with Gracie to use a walker. Gracie is eager to get around quickly again but she still lacks the strength to go very far in her walker. She is primarily using the wheelchair for her mobility. Daddy even added a bicycle basket to the back!

With all that it going so well with Gracie, she is still having a terrible time sleeping. Last night was the 5th consecutive night that Gracie woke up terrified and frantic. We run back to her room after we wake to the sound of her screaming. She is inconsolable, scared, and pitiful. We assume this is some delayed anxiety from her hospital stay. She is not acting like herself and seems to have no control of her emotions. She even asks us while she's crying, "Why am I so sad?" and "When will I not feel this way?" It has been taking Gracie about an hour to fall back to sleep when this happens only to wake up feeling the same way later in the night. Doug and I (and Gracie) are all behind on our sleep and confused about what we can do to help her. We have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Please continue to pray for us. Once we get past this complication, we will be able to focus again on celebrating Gracie's steady progress in therapy.

Note: I posted two messages today so make sure you read both of them.