Currently we are in Atlanta at The Shepherd Center. The Shepherd Center is known as one of the best rehabilitation facilities for Spinal Cord Injury. Russell has a C6 Spinal Cord Injury but his functionality lands at C8. The impact of his fall caused a C6 burst fracture, which lead the surgeons to take out his vertebra and replace it with a cage and then fuse C5 and C7. Several people have asked me if Russell severed his spinal cord - no he did not. His C6 vertebra touched his spinal cord when it burst which caused the communication down the spin to be interrupted.

The first 24 hrs of our stay, we learned more about his injury than we had during his ICU stay in Charlotte. It felt like we were navigating this experience blindly, but The Shepherd Center quickly began educating us on many aspects. They welcomed us warmly, and we are very happy to be here. Little is much when God is in it!

When he first arrived, Russell could barely hold a fork. He wore a brace around his neck and a brace on his hand. As you can see below - his braces have been removed! His arms, wrists, and fingers are getting stronger everyday. Here, he is currently working on transfers which is when you slide with a board from one surface to the other. We work together on this too. The therapists here incorporate me in training as much as possible which is pretty cool. We dove in deep in working as a team on a whole other level.

Most importantly, Russell has been himself through it all - cutting jokes and eager to learn. He is facing this journey with a peace that only God can give. I am so proud of him! If you know him, you know he is pure of heart and will do anything for anyone. His smile brightens up the room, his laugh is contagious, and he treats everyone with kindness. He has made lots of friends here and has quickly became the patient that the new staff trains on (hahaha) Im not sure if that is a good or bad thing. My plan is to continue sharing our story. Thank you again for your prays, love and support. I will do my best to keep posting his progress every week.