Josh's Updates

September 7, 2009

2009-09-07T15:43:00.003-06:00

We are having many requests to update the blog. So sorry if we have offended anyone. We lead a fairly monotous life right now and don't honestly have a lot to say. We continue to go to therapy each day and Josh along with his brothers mow their lawns each week. Josh is making continual progress in many ways. He is strengthening the muscles the he has and gaining new muscles continually. It is fun to see his progress from week to week, and month to month. His statement to those who ask what his prognosis is "If you are a nonbeliever, step aside". His motivation and courage is truly what sees us through day to day.
We are continually grateful each day for you thoughts, love and prayers in our behalf. You have touched our lives and help us more than you could ever imagine. We love you all.

Move those legs, brother!

2009-05-07T22:39:00.004-06:00

Back to Work

2009-05-07T22:19:00.002-06:00

Jake, Josh, Justin, & Colton are back doing what they love the most - Working Pack Attack Lawn Care together!
Wow what a tender mercy of the Lord to see this happen. Thank you for your prayers, please keep them coming they are working and we need them each day.

An intense conversation, trying to hear each other over the noise of the mowers.

"Hell yah" this is the life!! Good times

The Sweet and Simple things of life!

Continually recovering

2009-05-07T22:02:00.007-06:00

Doing pushups on a ball, Josh you are starting look like the "old" Josh physically!

Getting those back extenser strong, because we can't stand without them.

Steve had the great idea of being very innovative with an old schwinn airdyne bike. He took the seat off and sat Josh in a chair, taped Josh's feet on the pedals, and looked at him and said "okay buddy it is up to you to get those legs around. Well the first tijme on he did 5 times around. Wow we were so excited. The next time that we went he went 12 times around. Well this week he went 32 revolutionaries around with no help and then another 36 times around, so amazing!

After 36 times around Steve gave Josh a big hug

Another innovative idea the "health rider" normall hated by all therepists, but working for Steve and Josh. Josh is pushing with his legs and strengthening his arms

Therapy Buddies, Jake and Gage

What would we ever do without family?

Therapy a full time job

2009-03-31T10:20:00.002-06:00

We arrived home on Thursday February 26th and started therapy at Neuroworx the next Monday. We go to Neuroworx M,W, F in Draper. Neuroworx is an amazing spinal cord rehab and therapy facility. The people are incredibly knowledgable, upbeat, encouraging, and super fun to work with. We are enjoying every minute there. Josh has participated in so many sessions including, hydroworx pool, lite gait machine, FES bike, Nustep, to name a few. It is so fun to go there and work with the wonderful staff there. You might want to check out there website www.neuroworx.org.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays we are so privileged to be seeing Steve Spencer who is a famous P.T. here in Ogden. It is so great to be able to go to his office right here in Eden! The hours spent with Steve, Ann, & Steff are treasured each week. We love you guys and are so grateful to be able to come there. We have been blessed also to go to one of our dear friends pools, the Wheelers. We swim with Steve on Thursday evenings, and try to get over during the week another day if we are not too tired.
Joshua is seeing a lot of quad return in both his right and left legs. He has been working on a total gym machine at Steve's and we see marked improvement each week. Remember when you are dealing with spinal cord injury it is slow return, but the great blessing is we continue to see change in Josh's muscles.
Coming home has definately brought a new bag of challenges to our family. With challenges comes also many blessings. We have the greatest families on earth, and also the greatest friends. Please continue to come and see us, and please keep praying for us. We feel of your strength and are seeing great blessings because of all of your faithfulness.
We will continue to update the blog and your emails.
Much love and gratitude,
The Packs

Arriving Home

2009-03-31T09:56:00.007-06:00

We were met clear from Mountain Green with signs (provided by Dr. Smith, you silly guy) and the signs continued and continued and continued clear down our driveway. All of our families were there, which was so great! Of course with pizza, drinks, and brownies. We could have never made it without all of our families help. Our sisters have cleaned and cleaned, the guys have built and built, and they continue to help and bless our lives each day. We would never make it through this journey without them, families really are forever!
Welcome to Utah!

Welcome to Eden!

Incredible friends!

Oh Yeah Josh is home, thumbs up!!!

Family, Pizza, and ahhhhhh our couch!

Luke seems excited!

Leaving Denver

2009-03-31T09:46:00.008-06:00

The only hard thing about leaving Denver was the great friends we have made there.

We love all of you guys!

Hmmm is the Canoe really coming??

"Wyoming never looked so good"!

The suburban was packed from floor to ceiling-amazing what you collect in 6 months!

Are you staying awake, Cord?

Oh so sorry we are slow an updates

2009-03-26T21:18:00.002-06:00

Oh my I hope that we have not created any enemies! Please accept our apologies for not updating. Yes, we did come home and it has been crazy! First of all our home was not ready. So we imposed on the lovely Radmall family to house us for the first week. Then we have been trying to get settled in our own home, go to therapy 5 days a week, return to all soccer and basketball schedules, fix dinner, etc etc. Need we say more. Please forgive us and know that pictures will come in a few days and a full report on Josh. Just to a quick report on Josh though. He is doing great and seeing wonderful improvements in so many muscles. We are thrilled with Neuroworx and Steve Spencer. We could not ask for better therapy!
We also think that everyone thinks that we are so bombarded with people that you are not coming to visit Josh. Well everyone thinks that so not many are coming. We would love to have the chance to give you a big hug and thank you personally for all of your prayers and love. Please continue to pray for us because we are being blessed. We love all of you and I promise this weekend, pictures!!

February 24, update

2009-02-24T14:14:00.004-07:00

We are continuing to work super hard. Josh is really healthy, what a blessing, and the days are filled with therapy. We are continuing to see great changes in Joshuas muscle return in many areas. It is the slowest recovery known to man but it is happening. I always hesitate to tell you that he is moving this or moving that because unless you are familar with spinal cord injury you just don't understand how little or slow it is. We hope by the pictures on the blog you can see the improvements that we are making. It is steady and gradual.

We had some dear friends give us a picture with a wonderful saying on it and we wanted to share it with you. "life is not about waiting for the storm to pass........It is about learning to dance in the rain. We have thought about this so much and are applying it to our lives. Heavenly Father wants us to be grateful for everything we have. He has blessed us to grow and to become like Him especially in trials. Think about dancing in the rain this week, we love you all and are so excited to see you soon!

Marvelous Monavie

2009-02-16T22:23:00.003-07:00

A Big Thanks to Don & Nancy Wilson and Tina Comer we are enjoying great health. You would think being here at the hospital we would have contracted some colds and flu, but not with our favorite new friend-Monavie! We think that it is the miracle healer; we sleep better, have energy, no more migraines for Lisa, and Josh is looking great! We do enjoy our 3 oz every morning and night. Thanks Don & Nancy and Tina we are healing and feeling wonderful!

Chillin with some of the Cousins

2009-02-16T21:58:00.003-07:00

This weekend was great! Marne', Travis & Koby came to visit. And of course Nate was already here. We ate, laughed, shopped, laughed, sat in the sun (yes we do have a lot of sun and warm weather here), laughed, played games (thanks to Jeff Adams introducing us to "Acquire"), and laughed some more. It has been so fun to have cousins here just hanging out! Usually the "goodbyes" are so hard, but not this one. haha You might think because we were glad to see them go, totally wrong! It is because we know that in a few weeks we will be back home with them-YEAH! A weekend with family makes the hard week of physical therapy ahead more bearable. The weeks of hard work definately get really long, so to have these great kids here charged all of our batteries.

Dave Dixon and Josh

2009-02-16T21:44:00.002-07:00

We have been so blessed to make many wonderful life long friends here in Denver. Dave Dixon has been one of these great friends. When Josh was on bedrest there were very few nights that Dave did not come to visit. He always brought a smile and usually a shake or drink from Sonic. Dave is originaly from Logan, ahhhh a friend from home. He just moved to Denver with his wife, Julie, from Mesa Arizona. Josh has enjoyed "hanging out" and laughing a lot with Dave.

Scuba Diving with Nate

2009-02-14T13:03:00.007-07:00

We have had a lot of ups and downs through this experience this past Thursday was definately an up. So glad to have Nate here who is a certified diver to be with Josh as he discovers scuba!

Getting our goggles and Tank on

Sexy Nate!

Clearing the mask

Getting ready to descend

Nate & Josh underwater

Two Cousins through the years-brothers and best friends!

January 30, 2009 Update

2009-01-30T18:14:00.003-07:00

We are excited about the 3 full weeks of therapy that we have been able to participate in, here at Craig. Joshua's days start at usually 8:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. They are filled with occupational therapy, physical therapy, weight lifting, fes bike, standing frame, wheelchair skills (which is pretty funny-they teach you how to pop wheelies, fall in your chair etc), functional skills, and our favorite class POOL!
We love all of our therapists and feel so grateful for the time and individual love that they share with all of us. Joshua is continuing to get stronger and progress each week. It seems so slow day to day but when we look at week to week we are amazed what he can do this week compared to last week. 5 months of bedrest brings a lot of atrify in muscles not to mention being paralyzed. He is really progressing in his strength and is getting new muscle return.
We feel incredibly blessed by the Lord from all of your faith, fasting and prayers. We are thinking that we will be home by the middle of March. We can't wait to get back to Eden and all of you. We love your emails they boost our spirits each night as we read them. Thank you for your continual love and prayers, we feel of them as they carry us through each day. This experience is so hard and we would never want to do it alone.
Lots of love, Josh and fam

Our "adopted" son Alex Okano

2009-01-27T19:11:00.007-07:00

We have had the opportunity to meet some really great people here at Craig. The Okano Family are some of them. We have had UFC (Ultimate Family challenge = Asian Invasion Vs. Pack Attack) over the holidays, and many fun filled activities with them. Alex has been a great friend to Josh, made us laugh a lot while on bed rest, and made the time go by faster. Our entire family loves him and we are missing him like crazy! Alex went home to Los Angeles last week but we adopted him into our family so as a farewell for now gift he gave our family, and hisself , "Team Pack" t-shirts. Alex and his family touched our lives and we are thankful for them and look forward to continuing our friendship.

Alex "Pack"

Josh teaching Alex about the Word of Wisdom!

Alex thought all of our "Mormon" Friends would get a kick out of this Corona picture. This ones for you Nick!

Surpise Special Delivery From Eden

2009-01-27T19:05:00.003-07:00

Thanks Lewis and Woolsey Family, We loved your visit. The Woolsey's and Grandma & Grandpa Lewis (aka Jim & Launa) sold some cows in Greeley Colorado and made a big trek to Denver special to see us. We loved the visit and the dinner at Chilis!

Childhood "cowboy buddies" what a great friendship.

The Holley's have always been some of our favorite people......

2009-01-27T17:45:00.002-07:00

Some of our favorite people at home, now our favorite restraunt in Denver! We miss you Holley family and love you.

A Recipe for FUN-Colton, Nate & Nick

2009-01-27T17:25:00.006-07:00

Always fun to have these buddies come. If the hospital only knew what went on when Nick, Nate, Dustin, and brothers come, were really pretty sure they wouldn't let them back! haha Although the nurses do love them. They bring so much enthusiasm, lots of brotherly love, homemade movies (which should be produced), and lots of laughs! We had a great time over Martin Luther King Day with them. We went to Bass Pro Shop, ate a lot of food, joined in therapy, slept over with Josh, and gave us all a much needed boost. Thanks guys-We love You!!

Pool Therapy

Rubber Ducky Your So Fine

Eating out with the boys and the Lyons Family
So Much Fun!

Jan 5th our first week of "real" Craig therapy

2009-01-12T18:41:00.005-07:00

Getting into a full week of therapy has been a dream come true. After being on your back, for almost 5 months, getting into full therapy is great! We have had a week of Physical therapy, Occupational therapy, pool therapy, FES Bike, and the standing frame. Boy does it feel good to be upright!
All of this equipment is a great blessing in our lives right now. We are finding and exercising muscles that have been asleep for a few months now. It is going to be a lot of hard work but we are all up to the task.
We continue to be blessed by the miracles of the Lord, and thank each one of you who continue to fast and pray in our behalf. We feel of your strength each day and thank you for not forgetting us. We miss you and love you all!

Justin & Josh here at "Club Craig"

Marne' Josh, Cord, and Simba, feels so good to stand! We think Josh has grown an inch or two?

Lisa, Marne' & Josh going up in the standing frame!

Josh on the FES bike

Nuggets Game for Family Night

2009-01-07T10:19:00.005-07:00

We have been blessed to make some life long friends here in Denver. We are so grateful to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. With the church you are never too far away from home, because you always have friends to be made. We will be forever grateful for the hand of friendship out stretched to us. We love you guys!

Jeff Adams, Josh, Justin

Andrew Okazaki, Marne', Emily Adams, Ashley Lyons

Justin, Marne', and Josh

Up, Up and Away

2009-01-07T10:07:00.002-07:00

We are so excited, we have been given the "green light" to go out of the hospital!! We went to Red Robin on Saturday night, and to the movies. The manager was so excited that Josh chose Red Robin to be his place of dining that he bought his entire meal! So many nice people in this world.

New Years Eve-Great to have Nate!!!

2009-01-07T09:10:00.005-07:00

Feeling much better after Christmas, the real cure was to have Nate come. Josh and Nate are cousins who have been and will be best friends forever! Nate has been attending BYU Hawaii so we have not been able to see him as much as we would like. We loved having him come and spend a few days. Thanks for the laughs and the energy you brought to all of us Nate-WE LOVE YOU!!!! We also enjoyed having the Watts come and bring in the New Year with us along with Aunt Sherrie and Uncle Chris. Super Fun times. We are truly grateful for all of you who come to visit, you bring us strength!

A continual test of faith

2008-12-31T11:05:00.003-07:00

It seems that we are continually being tested with trials in this situation. As you know Joshua had to go back on bedrest because the last of the incision from the bedsore was not closing completely. So we have been down flat in bed again for another 3 weeks. We were hoping so much that during the holidays that we could be up and about and spend Christmas at our "home" here in Denver, but no such luck. We are very grateful to have all of our kids back with us for the holidays. We missed Colton the last few weeks but are happy that he is able to be back to Snowcrest and enjoying school, friends & basketball. We are going to treasure every minute with all of them here for a few weeks.

Joshua got really sick the Tuesday before Christmas with a fever of a 104 degrees, not fun. He was quite ill until Saturday the 28th. Nothing about this challenge has been easy. Quite frankly we are ready for some "free sailing". We are super excited because on Monday they let him sit for 15 minutes in the morning and all looked good so we got to sit for 30 minutes in the afternoon. Today, Wednesday, we are up for 1 hour 15 minutes in the morning and 1 hour 30 minutes this afternoon. As long as his skin on his backside continues to look good, he will be over this bed rest trial and we will be able to begin with the therapy that we came here to Craig Hospital to receive. Josh will be able to be getting in the pool, on the bike, mat therapy, and fully into p.t. within a couple of weeks. We are really excited about this.

During this time we have had a lot of time to think and really ponder about life. We have deepened our understanding of many principals of the gospel and our testimonies that Jesus is the Christ and loves each one of us dearly. We are learning so much about Heavenly Father and how much that He truly cares for us, knows each one of us, and has a specific plan for each one of His children. Every single one of His children has a very specific purpose here on earth. We have all committed to Heavenly Father to come to earth, to be tried in our faith, and have the opportunity and blessing to return to live with Him again. This is all of our goal, to return to our Heavenly Father and live with Him and our families forever! Heavenly Father wants every one of us to be happy. Sometimes in this crazy world we get confused as to what happy really means and where we get our source of happiness. As hard as these months have been, we could not even begin to explain how hard it is, how many tears we have shed, and how scared we are at times. We can tell you though how much we feel the Lord right by our sides. Many of you, some that we didn't even know before Josh got hurt, have been answers to our prayers. Thank you for being instruments in the hands of the Lord to help us through this. We feel like Heavenly Father definitely has a plan for Josh and our family through this experience. It is part of His plan, and we are learning how to exercise faith and hope in a much deeper way than we ever did before. We are physically so tired that some days don't feel like we can go on, but spiritually we are stronger and so grateful for the knowledge that we know that Jesus is the Christ, our Lord and Savior, and He knows us and loves us all.
Thank you for being a part of our lives and for strengthening our testimonies, and for sharing so much with us. We wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Lots of love,
Cord, Lisa, Jake, Josh, Justin, Marne' & Colton

Great to hear from Jake on Christmas Day!

2008-12-27T11:38:00.004-07:00

Super fun for our family to visit with Elder Jake on Christmas. He is doing well in Arizona. Actually we are wondering if we are ever going to get him to come home! He has a great companion, Elder Lundgreen, from Kaysville, Utah. They are working hard and blessed with much success in Arizona! Sister Beck thank you for feeding Christmas brunch to these fine young men, they and we love you all so much. We love you, miss you, and are so proud of you Jake.

Pres Beck, Elder Lundgreen, Elder Pack
Sister Beck, Elder Lundgreen, Elder Pack, President Beck
Christmas Day 2008

Elder Lundgreen, Elder Pack

New Friends in Colorado

2008-12-21T13:50:00.003-07:00

The Littleton 5th Ward have been absolutely amazing for our family. They have brought the sacrament into Josh every Sunday, come to visit in the week, brought tons of laughs, inspiration, and lots of love. This week the Sabeys, Gibbs, and Adams brought some Christmas gifts for the kids but most of all shared sincere love and concern for our family. They have touched our hearts and made us want to be better people-Thanks!

Justin went home for the Christmas Dance at Davis High

2008-12-21T13:38:00.006-07:00

Everybody needs friends like the Watts!

Get some clothes on Alex!

Justin & Caitlin

Too Many Late Nights!

2008-12-16T11:45:00.001-07:00

Sweet Friends!

Bri is definately our favorite cheerleader!

2008-12-16T11:43:00.001-07:00

"Santa Steve" and the Bronco Cheerleaders

2008-12-16T11:37:00.003-07:00

We have had a lot of "Santa's" in our lives these past months and Steve is one of them. Steve and his sweet wife Nancy happened to have a house that they are selling just 3 miles from the hospital. They offered for our family to stay there until we come home. It feels so good to have carpet under our feet after 4 months of hospital floors, and an oven! It was another one of those doors that continually open in our lives after one closes. (Since our time was up in the family housing) Thanks to all for your generosity and love for our family!

A Visit From Jim & Chad

2008-12-16T11:27:00.005-07:00

It was delightful to have Jim Sheer and Chad Koford come to visit. Chad is like a brother to Cord, it was incredible to watch the enjoyment in both of their eyes to see one another again. Jim simply made us laugh the entire time he was here. Josh's comment was "I really miss guys like that". You encouraged us and helped us carry on another day- Thanks. Also a big thank you to Steve Griffin and his wife Josh thoroughly enjoyed his steak dinner. He ate the entire steak and savored every bite.

The Denver Bronco Cheerleaders left a little something for Josh and you can see Jim's reaction to what he saw. "Cockadoodledo"!!!!

A week of ups and downs

2008-12-14T14:21:00.002-07:00

This week has been a really tough one! We are all trying to be brave with the holidays here and we seem to be being tested again. While Josh was in McKay Dee they put a filter in his vein to stop any bloodclots from getting to his heart. Well this week they had to go and retrieve it, what an adventure! They went down the main vein of Josh's neck to retrieve it. Of course most people get put under for this procedure but not Josh, he does not want to get put out again. He hates the way that the medicine makes him feel. Well he was in pain for a few days, but doing well now.
On Tuesday Josh was put back FLAT ON HIS BACK, we know can you believe it???? We are sure that it is the best thing to do though. We just can't seem to get this small opening from the flap surgery healed; which is what is keeping us from getting up for therapy. The real reason that we came to Craig Hospital for. Oh my we are starting to think if we are ever going to get home. Not really though, we know that Heavenly Father has a plan for Josh and our family. We see his hand touch our lives each day. Each day we continue to try to submit ourselves to His willl. This is challenging but we know that it is exactly what we need to do. Our testimonies continue to grow and be strengthened by the knowledge of the gospel. It is through faith and knowledge that Jesus is the Christ and He know each one of us personally, cares for us, and has an individual plan for all of us. Our family is blessed by each one of your prayers, fasting, and love for us. Please continue them because we are leaning on you. Thank you for sharing your love with us.

A visit from Grandma & Grandpa Pack

2008-12-14T14:16:00.002-07:00

What a time to realize that the camera was out of batteries, just as Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Wayne were leaving!!! You would have thought that we could have taken some pictures ahead of time but oh our brains are somewhere back in Eden.
We had a wonderful time with them and we are grateful that they would venture over to Denver. It was a new experience for the both of them and they did a great job getting on and off of the plane and then over to the hospital. Way to go Grandma, you are quite a lady!!
Josh says that he thinks that Grandpa is the only one that can really relate to how he feels. We think you are right Josh and Grandpa is nothing but an inspiration to keep going forward with faith and determination to walk again. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for coming we love you.

A Big Thank You To Coach Mendenhall and The BYU Football Team

2008-12-03T16:45:00.014-07:00

Brett Denney, Josh, Andrew George

The Fam with the George's & Denney's

Kristy & Brett Denney, Josh, Andrew & Tawny George,
(Tawny asked Josh for his "swimsuit" photo to hang on
their fridge to inspire Andrew. We got a pretty good laugh!

Every Thursday during the BYU football season Coach Mendenhall and the team pick a member of the community to become an honorary member of the football team. It was a great surprise for Josh, as well as the entire family, to have Andrew George (offensive tight end), Brett Denney(defensive end), and their darling wives come to the hospital and present this award to Josh. They explained to us that each week the team chooses one person who is facing a difficult challenge, making the best of it, and is being a great example and hero off of the field. Joshuas pictures will hang in the team locker room with the other Thursday hero's to remind the football players what real hero's signify. They honored Josh with a helmet signed by all the coaches and players, a "Y" flag (which has been proudly placed on his door), a beautiful poster of the stadium, hats, shirts, stickers, and a very special team coin. The team coin is given to each player by Coach Mendenhall with the team quest and mission statement engraved on it. Each player is asked to keep it with them at all times, to help them remember that their quest is much deeper than what is produced on the field.
As a family we were incredibly impressed by the spirit and integrity of these two fantastic couples. They shared with us how being a member of the BYU football team is much more than playing on Saturday. They were great examples of people who carry strong testimonies. Our family talked of their sincere concern that they shared with Josh. Marne' mentioned that she felt like they were the kind of friends that we had known forever. We feel so blessed to have shared some time with them. Josh is looking forward to going to a practice next year and participating with them.

Thank you to everyone who made this opportunity available for Josh and our family!

Thanksgiving- A Monumental Day

2008-11-30T14:49:00.009-07:00

Thanksgiving truly was a great day of just that, giving thanks. We have been so blessed as a family. It was great to get out of the hospital today, the first time in 4 months!(a special exception for Thanksgiving) We went to dinner at McCormick & Schmicks, it was delightful. Some of us had steak, seafood, and some a traditional turkey dinner. We were joined by Nana and the Barfusses. We feel incredibly grateful this day to have such wonderful family & friends. We have given much thanks each day in our prayers for all of you and the faith and love you continually show to our family. We are stronger and better people because of all of our wonderful family & friends.

Calamari anyone?? It was fun for the girls to find out they had just eaten squid!

Sweet Sixteen & Never Been Kissed????

2008-11-30T14:17:00.011-07:00

Jaycee, thanks for coming!

All we want for Christmas Santa is boys!

Lunch at Olive Garden, Thanks Dad

A visit from family & friends

2008-11-30T14:10:00.006-07:00

They'll let anyone in Denver!!! haha Brett Harrop what a great friend, thanks for the surprise visit it was great to see you.

What a fun surprise visit by the Barlow family. It was great to see them. Thanks so much for the BBQ dinner you shared with us. We will let you know how the desserts go in the crock pot! Thanks for coming-We love you!

What a delightful time with the Holmes family! We loved every second that we shared with you these past days. Thanks for sharing your love with us!

A thought for the week-

2008-11-19T21:20:00.002-07:00

Hope.... Hope is an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance. It is believing and expecting that something will occur. When you have hope, you work through trials and difficulties with the confidence and assurance that all things will work together for your good. Hope helps you conquer discouragement. The scriptures often describe hope in Jesus Christ as the assurance that you will inherit eternal life in the celestial kingdom.
President James E. Faust taught: "Hope is the anchor of our souls...Hope is trust in God's promises, faith that if we act now, the desired blessings will be fulfilled in the future....The unfailing source of our hope is that we are sons and daughters of God and that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, saved us from death"

Our family is trying to memorize this paragraph on Hope from Preach My Gospel, it has brought us joy and comfort in its teachings. We would love to have any of you join with us in this challenge. The Lord truly does fulfill all His promises to us as we live our lives according to His commandments. He watches over us, protects us, and brings us comfort and peace each day. The key that we have found in this particular teaching is, that we have to align our desires with the Lord's will. We truly need to be submissive to what the Lord wants. In this mortal probabtion we all have trials and difficulties.

We receive much hope through all of your faith and prayers. Love all of you, Pack Family

Martineau Mania

2008-11-18T10:16:00.004-07:00

A great weekend with Chris, Sherrie and some of their fabulous kids. Marne', Justin, Colton & the Martineau's got to go watch the Cougars beat the Falcons which was delightful. (Poor Dave Freeman, we are going to have an official burning of all of the colorado paraphenalia that he brought to display in Josh's room.) We loved having you all here, Josh mentioned that it finally seemed like a Sunday night at home. We are so blessed with such wonderful family, couldn't do it without each one of you!

Flannel fridays and Friends forever here at Craig

2008-11-18T10:00:00.008-07:00

Pretzels anyone?

As parents we could never thank these boys enough for their goodness! They bring so many laughs and good times to Josh and our family, we will be forever grateful for you. We love you boys as our own! Thanks for taking time away from school and work to come, and thanks Gregg for the safe flight!

Mohawks & Mullets by Mindy!

2008-11-18T09:50:00.008-07:00

We are really happy to have Mindy come and cut our hair and we are going for a different look here in the hospital! She is so talented, call her for an appointment!

A LITTLE TASTE OF HOME-Thanks!

2008-11-18T09:43:00.004-07:00

Thanks for making the trek out; Poulsens, Markers and Crookstons. We are so grateful to all of our friends who have come during the time that we have been in Denver. There have been many of you. You have touched our hearts and filled are souls with your love. We feel so blessed by your friendship.

November 14 2008

2008-11-15T16:24:00.002-07:00

Today we started sitting our 2 hours in the morning and then 1 hour in the evening-YEAH! It feels so good to get up a little more. Joshua's skin is still looking good and they will continue to increase his up time as long as the skin holds. Sean went home which was sad, Dustin came which made us happy, Martineau's came that is also fun. We woke up to snow but now it is sunny, it is kind of like a magical wonderland of weather here. The family and Sean learned how to take Josh up and down stairs in the wheelchair. What entertainment that was!!! Yes, we all passed and we were issued an off campus pass; which means anywhere that we can push Josh in a 2 hour span of time we can go. We will let you know where we take our next adventure. Our next class will be car transfers, that should be a blast!! Watch out Denver the Packs are almost ready to explore your town!

November 11, 2008

2008-11-11T21:46:00.003-07:00

Getting up is going well. Justin pushed Josh a little too crazy in the wheel chair so we had some throw up in the kitchen at the apartment. We got a great letter from Elder Logan Putnam in the mail, loved it! Sean Holley returned to visit-wonderful. Played some Family Fued, team A won which included; Marne', Sean, Josh, and Chris (a patient here at Craig) team B came in second haha which included; Cord, Lisa, Justin, and Colton. Looking forward to getting up again tomorrow.

"UP"coming events this week

2008-11-09T20:56:00.002-07:00

We are looking forward to this week. It will be exciting as Josh gets to have more "up" time. He is able to sit in a chair for 1 hour each day right now, tomorrow they will let him sit for 1 and 1/2 hours. Each day they will add 1/2 hour to his sit time as long as his skin allows. They will not let him increase past 2 hours until a very small opening in his 12" incision is healed. We really have our fingers crossed that this will heal before Wednesday rolls around! (which is the day we should pass 2 hours)
During the time that he is up he will participate in physical therapy and occupational therapy. We are super excited because this is what we came to do in Denver, GET BETTER!!!! Josh is getting better and feeling great. It is so fun to see his strength increase in his arms, as well as his over all health increase. He is hardly on any meds, which is amazing around here, he does not get sick when he gets up, and his spirit is strong. Our family is so excited to be here together, although we miss Elder Jake dearly, it feels good to gather our strength and work together each day.

A Beautiful Weekend in Denver, Colorado!

2008-11-09T20:14:00.004-07:00

It is great to be outside
Open Wide!

Oh to be outside and with Bri

What handsome guys

Bloody knuckles anyone?

Cord & Brit

A couple of best buddies

Working hard at physical therapy- feeling good!

2008-11-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

Visitors Are Great

2008-11-09T19:27:00.002-07:00

Getting up is quite a process

2008-11-05T17:10:00.006-07:00

Are you ready?

Are you sick?

We are up!

We did it Bro!

A little Family Entertainment

2008-11-05T16:41:00.006-07:00

An afternoon snooze

Emily, Josh is the patient not Justin!

Great Friends, Great Weekend, and even Priesthood from our home ward

2008-11-05T16:34:00.006-07:00

A great weekend with the Burrows and the Wellers. (how did we not get photos of Jen and Tami?) They even brought Priesthood meeting from the Eden II ward. Fabulous, enjoyed by our boys so much, THANKS!!

YEAH- We got to bend our legs today!

2008-11-04T14:25:00.002-07:00

Today is monumental for our family.
We are super excited because Joshua's physical therapist was given the go ahead to "flex" Josh's legs. They had the goal of flexion to be around 80-90 degrees. Well not for Josh he is always going to the max, he flexed at 115 degrees, and his skin on the incision held great! This means that he has enough flex to be able to sit in a chair. We are elated and so grateful to be able to start down our long recovery road. This means that Josh will sit in a chair for 15 minutes tomorrow morning and then 30 minutes tomorrow afternoon. According to how his skin reacts will determine how much they increase his sit time. They will only increase at 30 minutes intervals. At this point we are just grateful for 15 minutes sit time.
We will keep you informed each day as to how we increase. This is getting exciting!!!

Calling all Crock Pots

2008-11-04T14:21:00.002-07:00

Okay this is a funny request. All of our kids are here with us now and we don't have an oven so I am cooking in a crockpot. So I am asking all of you wonderful cooks for EASY, remember we are in a studio apartment and little space, crockpot recipes. We would be so grateful and my kids tummies will thank you!
Email all of your wonderful recipes to us. Thanks and we love you all!
The Packs

Medical Update

2008-11-03T10:51:00.002-07:00

We are almost through a long haul of a 6 week bed rest-YEAH! The incision from the flap surgery is healing very nicely. Possibly this Tuesday, November 4th, the therapists will begin to flex his legs and pending on how the skin on the incision reacts will determine when he will be able to sit in a chair. We are thinking if all goes well he will be sitting in a chair the end of this week or the first of next week. You will know when he gets to sit up because we will shout from the roof top and we are pretty sure that you will here it from Denver to Utah.
The movement on his right hand, middle finger, is continuing to get stronger. He is also getting some toes moving on his left foot. He has also gained many muscles in his back and shoulders. We are blessed every day by Josh's body continually getting stronger and healthier.
As a family we want to thank everyone for your continued kind thoughts, prayers,ou and emails for our family. We continually receive an incredible amount of strength from family, friends, and our community. Their have been some real tough days and sometimes it is hard to gain the courage to continue forward with faith and perserverance. We as a family could not have ever done this without your love nor continue forth without your love-thank you for sharing so much strength with us. We love you all!

A GOOD DAY!

2008-11-01T22:46:00.003-06:00

Although Josh is not a fan of the Denver Nuggets,

he is a fan of their cheerleaders!

Fun with Cousins-Liz & Spencer!

2008-11-01T22:38:00.005-06:00

Oh Marne' & Liz did you steal that sign?

Setting up an obstacle course and racing! Notice

Spencer in the back wondering about his sister and

this form of entertainment that she came up with.

We love you guys and are so glad you took time away

from BYU to come and be with us, you're GREAT!

NANA-YOU ARE THE BEST!

2008-11-01T22:08:00.000-06:00

So glad to have you!

Good times with Great Friends!

2008-11-01T21:59:00.004-06:00

Todd & Julie thanks for driving
all night!

Lee & Marilyn

you are great!

A BIG THANK YOU TO WAHLQUIST JR HIGH HEALTH CLASSES!

2008-11-01T21:26:00.004-06:00

Ms. "Christy" Creamer and your wonderful students, thank you for your inspirational thoughts, awesome BYU apparel, and love! The quilt you made will be treasured for a lifetime. One that will hold memories and be passed on to generations. The quotes written on the back were incredibly inspirational and are shared each day. In reading the cards and looking at the photos of the students it was super fun to see many faces that we recognized. Some were of friends children and one in particular was of our cousin Ashton Koford! It brought home a little closer to Denver, Colorado. You all brightened our day. We love you and you blessed our lives. Thank you!

A Visit from the "Bailey Girls"

2008-10-26T10:20:00.007-06:00

Inspiring & Dear Friends

So excited to have an EKB shirt
Thanks Missy & Cougars!

Medical Update

2008-10-22T20:16:00.002-06:00

We do apologize for being so delinquent on updating the blog. We really have not had much to report since we are just "laying around". We do want to catch you up to speed though and let you know what we are facing right now. Josh had to have a small revision on his "bedsore surgery" last Thursday. He is doing well but this may mean that he has to lay still a few more weeks. The Dr. cannot give an exact time as when he can get up. He has assured us though that he will not make Josh lay in bed 1 day more than necessary. Josh is an amazing sport and his spirits are strong. He continues to be an example to all of us and share a wonderful spirit of strength and happiness.
He is continuing to really get healthy in every other regard. We are blessed ddaily by the many friends that we have made here at Craig hospital. There are so many wonderful patients that stop by to visit with Josh and encourage him. They are a great inspiration to our entire family.
We continually feel of the strength of all of your thoughts, prayers, fun cards and packages that you all send. Thank you for brightening our days. You will never know how each one of you have touched our hearts and changed our lives. We could never be successful without eachone of you and the love that you share with our family. Lots of Love from, The Packs

Could we be having anymore fun????

2008-10-22T20:12:00.000-06:00

Homemade Peach Ice Cream anyone?

2008-10-22T20:07:00.000-06:00

We made the Break and went outside......SHHHHH don't tell the hospital staff

2008-10-22T20:02:00.000-06:00

As if Bri coming wasn't a gift in and of itself, but also a signed BYU Football!

2008-10-22T19:59:00.003-06:00

Fall Break Weekend!

2008-10-22T19:43:00.005-06:00

Brit & Colt

What a fun Crowd

Tyler & Rachel

Brandon & Karley

Justin & Courtney

Super fun with Mike & Linds

2008-10-22T19:36:00.003-06:00

Mike & Lindsey came to visit during the week. It was fabulous to have someone come during the week. It was super fun to have them, Josh is showing off the Josh/Superman pillowcase made by Aunt Sherrie. Thanks Sher we are loving it and we do think that Josh is superman. He is showing great strength in this trial and amazes us all.

Boxing anyone?

2008-10-22T19:31:00.002-06:00

Colton, Eric, and Josh

providing some great P.T.

Dustin is flying high!!

2008-10-22T19:24:00.003-06:00

If they only knew what really

goes on in Josh's room!

Picking Up A Finger

2008-10-10T13:19:00.003-06:00

We all have heard our moms say "I wish you would lift a finger around here". Well we have never felt that way about Josh because as you know it would be hard to find a harder working young man than him. But we have been thinking lately I wish that you could lift a finger around here!
Well guess what, Josh is lifting his pointer finger on his left hand, and giving the bird on his right hand!!!! hahaha We are so excited about this and feel like it is a wonderful start to moving our hands. They are very small movements but they are moving.
Keep up the prayers because we feel of them and they are working! We love you all.

Sunday Evening just hanging out

2008-10-06T11:34:00.003-06:00

Sundays are always hard, because we send Justin & Marne' back home and friends return to Utah.

We have made some beautiful friends here in Colorado though. This picture was taken by Bridgette and Barry Walters, last night, who have been an answer to our prayers. Their son Ryan, was here at Craig a couple of years ago, after a construction accident. They are an inpiration to all of us. Ryan is serving in the Raleigh North Carolina Mission, and has been there for 15 months. They are true heroes to our family, and we feel so blessed to share their friendship!

They came by yesterday, with hot rolls, honey, and peanut butter. Bridgette is trying to put a little fat on Josh's body. Josh says "hands down, Bridgette makes the best rolls I have ever tasted!"

Medical Update

2008-10-04T20:24:00.002-06:00

Oh my goodness, time is passing on. We are incredibly grateful to get rid of the trach this past week. We are also very grateful for all of the fun letters, packages, prayers, and thoughts sent our way from you. They really do help the time to pass faster for Josh and us. We wish that we could write into words the feelings that are in our hearts of the gratitude that we have for each one of you. We wish that we could describe to you how we feel about all of your love and how it carries us through each day. Every kind thought and deed that you share with our family means so much. Heavenly Father truly works through others to meet our needs. Thank you for sharing so much love with us.

2008-10-04T20:08:00.004-06:00

THE TRACH!

NOW YOU SEE IT
NOW YOU DON"T
No more trach, Good work Josh!

(we do love our respitory therapist, Emily)

Greg, Bri, Justin, & Marne' also came to visit

2008-10-04T20:04:00.001-06:00

Phase 10 anyone?
Good friends make great memories even during the toughest times

Always fun with the Glausers

2008-10-04T19:36:00.004-06:00

Jim, Dan, Colton setting up surround sound for Josh. "If this kid is going to lay here for 6 weeks he better do it in style."
Dan & Marne'

(Cathy and Lis really hope they get married some day! haha)

Cathy & Marne'

Thanks for the shave Jim!

Grateful today is done

2008-09-23T19:47:00.005-06:00

We are excited to have today over with. This was kind of like a grateful yet hard day; being that we are heading in the right direction but also knowing that this is going to be a long road of bed rest.
Josh's surgery went well, and we are all very grateful for this blessing. Dr. Snively did the honors and he is a great guy. He would make all of you laugh a little back at home, a good hometown kind of Dr. Our family has never been so excited for Halloween-hahaha-that would be getting to the end of this 6 weeks period! So get your costumes and your decorations ready because we are sure it is going to come upon us quickly!
Thank you to everyone for all of your love faith and prayers, we truly need them and feel of your strength each day!
Lots of love from, The Pack family

What are we having surgery for tomorrow

2008-09-22T16:46:00.005-06:00

Many of you are asking "why is Josh having surgery tomorrow?" Well we developed a bedsore about a week after the accident. It is a real bugger and has slowed our physical therapy progress down immensly. Sometimes it is beneficial to have a little extra flab on your bum!!! As you know Josh had no flab anywhere on his body and was only straight muscle. Well they have done everything possible here at Craig to heal the sore and it isn't going to happen without some plastic surgery. So it means that Josh will have to lay flat for 6-8 weeks, after the flap surgery. When we say flat we mean FLAT IN BED!! So we are back to eating, drinking, snoozing, watching t.v., anything that we do on our back. It could be a long 6-8 weeks but we are going to make the most of it. We have some ideas of entertaining ourselves such as many books on tape, dvd's, music, dad's jokes-(oh my goodness it could get long), games, mom thinks we should start BYU online study-WHAT?? If you have any ideas for us we would love to hear them. We will also have the opportunity to do a lot of strength training in our arms, neck and back. We can do this while laying flat, you can be rest assured that we will not waste a minute in our recovery from this surgery. The greatest blessing of all is that our spinal cord is healing whether we are laying in bed or up and around.
As we read the scriptures last night in D&C 121-123; which is the time that Joseph Smith was being held prisoner in the Liberty Jail. It made us ponder more deeply about all of the sacrifices that so many people have given in our behalf that we may have the gospel today. It made us incredibly grateful to come from a heritage that has honored their priesthood and passed it onto us. In 123:17 it tells us "dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."
We feel like we can heed to this guidance at this time and we have committed to be cheerful and do everything that we can to help Josh, and then be patient, standing still, with the utmost assurance that God knows us and loves us. He continues to reveal His hand in our lives, bearing witness that Jesus is the Christ. We are continually blesssed by Him in so many ways, and so many times through all of you. The power of the Priesthood is evident in our daily lives as we are away from family and friends. We are given strength and hope to share it with those that we come in contact with each day.

A haircut before surgery

2008-09-22T16:34:00.006-06:00

We took a fun little texting poll with some of you this morning regarding Josh's hair. We were choosing to either cut it or let it grow for 6-8 weeks. (You need to know that Josh hasn't had a haircut since the first of July) Well the response of the poll was very intertaining for us. Some of the responses were:

"I think growing it out could be fun"-Sean Holley

"Leave it!!!" Dustin Martin

"I vote to cut it" Aunt Julie

"Can't go wrong, so handsome either way but i think my vote would be a cut!" Bri Gardiner

"Cut it" Justin

"Ha yea leave it, then he can rock the mullet later!" Nick Sorensen

"I say cut it. But I really really wish that I could do the honors!!" Mindy Martineau

"Cut the hair! Is he not preparing for a mission? Who does he plan to represent." Dr. Brian Smith

Well needless to say we got a cut, we love all of you guys!!!!

A great weekend with Aunts and Uncles!

2008-09-22T16:14:00.006-06:00

Colton, Cord, Josh, Tesha, Justin

We enjoyed alot of fun, laughter, sunshine, and good food with Uncle Doug, Aunt Erin, Uncle Justin, & Aunt Tesha this weekend. Thanks for coming ! Sorry Uncle Doug & Erin we failed to get a picture with you, we loved having all of you.

Medical Update

2008-09-16T16:46:00.003-06:00

It is exciting that Josh is moving his arms more freely this week

Josh's neck is getting much stronger so we can get rid of the collar-YEAH!
His trunk muscles are also getting stronger, this is a beautiful thing.

His lungs are amazingly strong, we would be getting rid of the trach if it were not for surgery next week.

The best "medical medicine" we have had this week is DUSTIN MARTIN and JUSTIN coming this past weekend, PRES HOLLEY and SEAN this week!

Shopping at the Mall?????

2008-09-16T16:43:00.000-06:00

THE SLAUGHTERING OF THE BRUINS---GO COUGARS!

2008-09-16T16:37:00.004-06:00

A saturday of fun, football, and Subway!

Yeah Good medical news

2008-09-09T17:55:00.002-06:00

Josh was downsized to a smaller trach today. The next step is too get rid of it all together. His lungs are very strong, they are only keeping him on the trach because he is on bed rest until further notice. So for precautions only they are keeping it in.
No more breathing treatments. You can only appreciate this if you have experienced a "breathing treatment"!!! Darinda you would be so proud of Josh.

Slow Week-So a thought from Lisa and Cord

2008-09-09T12:44:00.003-06:00

We are venturing into another slow week laying on our back. We want to share some really fun cool pics with you but there are not any, we would love to share a few funny jokes with you but we can't remember any, we would also love to share with you some visual great improvements but we are at a slow week. We are still lying flat on our back healing and healing and healing. We are also being greatly blessed. We feel and see the Lord send tender mercies each day to us. We don't want you to forget about us or quit praying for us, because we need you. But we don't have anything really great to post. So I thought that I would share one of the thoughts we have had as we have been sitting and studying here. Read at your own risk knowing the state of our minds, so here you go............

Our thoughts have been turned to Lehi and his family leaving Jerusalem and into the wilderness. They were asked to take on a big trial that would bring them much tribulation. As we read and think about what their attitudes were; sometimes good sometimes bad. We all love and grasp onto Nephi's attitude in 1 Nephi 3:7 "And it came to pass that I, nephi said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
It has made us think about being faithful, and the work that it takes to be faithful. In this verse I also pondered about how God will prepare a way for us. He doesn't do the work for us but he prepares a way for us to accomplish his commandments. We also think about how each one of Lehi's family murmured at one time or another, and how some of them murmured the entire time during their trial. You can see throughtout these verses that they were given their trial, then they had to work hard, they had to have much faith, learn not to murmur, and then the Lord poured out His blessings upon them.
1Nephi 17:3 says "And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby the can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them;"
We are so grateful for the commandments and trials that the Lord gives to us, they enable us to grow and develop. Even the really hard ones! We can see how God has and is preparing a way for us to overcome this trial, through all of you. Your many kind thoughts, deeds, fasting, and never ending prayers in our behalf have truly changed our lives forever. We will be better people because of the example and strength that you have shared with us. We love each one of you and feel so blessed to call you all friends. Love from, Lis

The cutest, hottest new nurse at Craig Hospital

2008-09-05T18:31:00.004-06:00

"A pretty face is the best medicine" Josh Pack

A few good times this past week

2008-09-05T18:24:00.004-06:00

Best Friends

such love from an Aunt, if you know Aunt Terri she doesn't rub just anybody's feet!

A visit from Vinny Castilla from the Colorado Rockies

A slow but good week

2008-09-05T17:58:00.004-06:00

This week has been somewhat slow, Joshua had surgery on Tuesday. He is flat on his back for at least 10 days. It is amazing what you can learn to do to survive flat on your back staring at the ceiling. Take a little challenge and try to eat and drink your dinner tonight lying on your back. you can have 1 small pillow under your neck for the experiment. Let us know how it goes for you, it will be fun!!!!
The surgery went well and we are excited about his progress. Josh is incredibly strong both physically and mentally. We feel like all of our prayers are answered each day in some way. Thank you for blessing us with your strength. Even though we are miles apart, your acts of kindness, prayers, and faithfulness continue to touch our lives.
We are sorry for the lack of updates on the blog, we have not forgotten just not much to report. We will have much more to say as soon as we are able to get back into physical therapy. The nature of a spinal cord injury is that it is like "watching grass grow". We will continue to update you with each progressing moment as they happen.
Everyone continues to ask what they can do for us. Well we have an idea, we would love for you to eat out of our garden. We have many items ready to be harvested and would love your help eating it. Koby J can only get the chickens to eat so much zuchini etc! Please come over and help yourselves. A big thank you to whomever has kept the weeds out, we are truly grateful for your work.
We love you all so much and are overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude each day as we count our many blessings. The emails that you send to Josh are read to him each day, and he dictates to us as we write back, they are incredibly healing for Josh and brings him so much happiness, thank you! The Lord loves us and the gospel is true.
Love from,
Cord, Lisa Josh, and family

Straight from the Heart

2008-08-30T19:03:00.002-06:00

A more difficult time our family has never passed through. We are all trying to find the positive and laugh when we can. With all of the updates of good news and fun pictures posted on the blog there has also been many tears, heart ache and pain. All of your support and prayers have been a great blessing to our family. When the Lord promises us that he will pick us up and carry us through hard times, we have felt the Lord working through all of you. We came across a song this week that express' what we as a family have felt this past month and we would like to share it with you:

He knows your heart, He knows your pain, He knows the strength it took just to simply breathe today. He sees the tears that you cry, He knows your soul is aching to know why, He hears your prayers Each humble word, When you said you couldn't face another day He understood, He knew the paths that you walk blind, Though you've felt alone He's never left your side. He knew there'd be moments when no earthly words could take away your sorrow And no human eyes could see what you're going through When you've taken your last step and done all that you can do he will lift your heavy load and carry you, He'll bring you peace and leave you hope And through the darkest night He'll comfort you until you know the sun will rise and each new day. You will have the strength to live again and in the moments when no earthly words can take away your sorrow And no human eyes can see what you're going through When you've taken your last step and done all that you can do He willl lift your heavy load and carry you. He hears you when you're crying in the night He hears you when your soul longs to fight, til the morning will come and the light of the dawn reassures He knew there'd be moments when no earthly words could take away your sorrow and no human eyes could see what you're going through When you've taken your last step and done all that you can do He will lift your heavy load and carry you. Hillary Weeks

We miss all of you dearly, and also love our new friends here in Denver, the Lord has never left us alone. We will be forever grateful for your faithfulness and prayers in our behalf. Please continue to share the plan of happiness with those you come in contact with.
all of our love,
Cord, Lisa, Josh, Jake, Justin, Marne' and Colton

An Exciting Week of updates

2008-08-29T16:24:00.003-06:00

Monday,Started Physical Therapy
Tuesday, triceps and lat muscles engaged-Super exciting
Wednesday, got a smaller trac called a "jackson 5", mom and dad passed off classes to be able to take Josh outside. We don't want to brag or anything but we did get 100% on our test.
Wednesday, Josh also was qualified to get on a bike. They "stem" his muscles to see if they respond, they did right away. Another great blessing and exciting news for us. He will be scheduled to ride every M,W,F.
Thursday, worked hard in P.T. and played a little "baseball"
Friday, got fit for 2 new wheelchairs. One is a corvette version to be pushed on his own, the other is electric to race with Grandpa Wayne! Josh actually pushed the corvette all on his own for about 20 feet. We have worked hard and had an incredible week.

Trying to change Josh from a Cougar Fan to a Colorado anything Fan-We don't think so

2008-08-28T20:09:00.004-06:00

Dave Freeman (Brianna Gardiner's Uncle) tried to capatalize on Josh not being able to move

Does He know BYU is ranked 16 this year?

Craig has some fun staff and also a super cute staff

2008-08-28T19:57:00.003-06:00

Another Kansas Fan!

We love the respitory therapists

Life's path change for all of us

2008-08-25T12:41:00.001-06:00

A tender mercy from our Heavenly Father we want to share

2008-08-24T22:35:00.003-06:00

We all experience blessings and tender mercies from the Lord each day. These last few weeks our family has felt many and our hearts are full from all of your prayers and faith in our behalf. The Lord has truly kept his promise when he tells us that he will lighten our load, whenever it seems too heavy for us to carry, he picks us up and brings us through. We have probably had the hardest week of our families lives this week. It is a great blessing to be here at Craig Hospital but we are very homesick for all of you, and our emotions are being tested, along with our strength. Cord says "It is flat out tough"!
The other night we were reading the scriptures around Josh's bed. We were passing the scriptures from person to person and it came Josh's turn to read we were in Enos. Enos was praying unto the Lord to preserve the record of their people. The Lord told Enos, "Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it. And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time".
We are so grateful that we are able to pray unto the Lord asking in faith, believing that He knows who we are and our needs and will meet them, in His own due time. As a family we find great strength in the phrase "In His own due time".
Josh says to everyone that asks "what they can do" and he says "read your scriptures daily and continue to pray". We are all so grateful for your faithfulness and feel of the blessings daily that it is bringing to our family. Much love from, Cord, Lisa, Josh, Jacob, Justin, Marne' & Colton

Medical Update

2008-08-24T20:02:00.005-06:00

Sunday morning a new smaller trac was placed in Josh, it is much easier for him to talk and to exhale all of the air out of his lungs. This trac is awesome because it does not have a cuff. (which is the balloon mechanism that expands in his throat)
"Where's the beef?" YEAHHH No more feeding tube
Lungs look so great, infact on the exray they are normal!
Started PT today and did great, tired this evening! We are so excited about his progress.

Does it get any better than Chillis Fajitas?

2008-08-24T19:59:00.001-06:00

Party with the "Brothers" and Aunt Julie

2008-08-24T19:54:00.001-06:00

Craig Hospital Now 2008

2008-08-24T19:44:00.002-06:00

Craig Hospital then 1907

2008-08-24T19:39:00.003-06:00

In 1907 Craig Hospital was established as a tuberculosis camp

Dr. Craig

The patients stayed in tents during their treatments.

1960 Physical Therapy

Medical Update

2008-08-20T11:58:00.005-06:00

The staff here at Craig is amazing
They are doing a battery of tests on Josh the next two days to decide "where he is at", and then they will start working with him
Patience is a virtue
We are overwhelmed at the opportunity to be here with this amazing medical staff, Josh is continuing to be well cared for as he was at Mckay Dee.
Patience is a virtue
His spirits are good, and visitors and food are welcome

Remember: "If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere"

Leaving McKay and arriving at Craig

2008-08-20T11:35:00.007-06:00

What Sweet Rides!!

Arrived just how we like it "No Complications"

A big thank you to Angelmed flight and their crew.

One picture of a thousand that have shown your love for us, we are so grateful for good friends

2008-08-20T11:22:00.004-06:00

Colton, Travis, Cord, Brian, & Dusty

A few good laughs always lighten the load