Morgan's 1st day of Vaca was a great one!!

This morning Morgan came to the gym with Troy and I.  We are trying to get into a routine the best we can.  The past couple months Morg would have to sit and watch..she had to come with us because she couldn't stay home alone...but today when it came time for me to go for a short run I asked her if she wanted to come with me and just walk outside.  Well, she just started to run.  Her face just lit up and she said to me "do you know it has been over three months since I have ran?" She loved it and I was a little panicked...of course.. I am telling her to slow down, if you get dizzy stop, trying to put myself between Morgan and any car that drove by.  I was a wreak!  And she ran strong the whole time.  We got back in the gym and I gave her a high-five!  She is AWESOME!! What an inspiration she is to me.  She had therapies today and she is officially finished with PT.  That just seems crazy but she was put through a series of tests and she performed very well.  The PT said there is no therapeutic reason for her to have to continue PT.  We then went to see Audrey.  She reassessed her and Morgan had a lot of perfect scores.  Audrey said to see her in two weeks. So I see Speech coming to an end soon too.  A funny story, when Morgan first landed in Salt Lake the speech therapist gave her a test.  The same one she was given today.  It was the test where they give her different scenarios and she has to say what she would do in the situation.  Back in January her response when asked what she would do if she lost her wallet  was that she would pray and would find it because she prayed.  Well another was what would she do when she realized she didn't have enough money to pay for her bill at a restaurant.  In January she said "I would flirt with the waiter" we all kind of laughed and the ST said " you would flirt with the waiter?" and she responded with "well, I guess it depends on what the waiter looked like". Today her response was different.  But I started to laugh when I heard the question and then told Morgan and Audrey what Morgan said back in January.  We all got a good laugh.  Morgan couldn't believe she said that.  We figure she doesn't remember the first three weeks of January.  We also remind her how she "fist bumped" Elder Nelsen when he came to visit.  That more or less mortifies her.  We all laugh and say "hey, how many people can say they fist bumped Elder Nelsen?". Tomorrow we head back to Salt Lake to get her staples removed.  Kenzi counted 43. Kenzi is coming too because she wants to watch.  I however will hold Morgs hand but not watch.:)  Kenzi also wants to remove the staples and Morgan says "you are not coming near my head!". :)

Day 101...Morgan is on vacation!

Morgan is officially on "Vacation":). She has been worried and thinking and worried about what she needs to decide for her future.  This morning she was talking about finding a research job and her mission and money and school....I know it's a lot of 'ands' but the point is she seems like she is constantly worried.  So...this morning I said " you are on vacation!"  She is on vacation from thinking about school, mission, work, money until the end of April..at least!! I told her April we are concentrating on fun and everything fun she wants to do.  I told her if someone asks what her next plans are she is to say that she is on vacation right now.:). Good advice don't you think!  We are heading to St.George for the weekend and picking up a friend to come stay for a couple weeks.  We have General Conference tickets for Sunday morning and there is also a Papeete,Tahiti Mission reunion that we will be going to.  All we are going to do is try to enjoy everyday.  I am kind of excited about it.  How often are we just thinking and worrying about the next thing in life we have to do.  I think I do that all the time.  Well, not in April:).  So if any of you talk to Morgan and she is commenting on going to school, returning to her mission, trying to find a job...remind her that she is on vacation!

Day 97 - First day of Spring!

The First day of Spring is the last day of Morgans stay in hospitals!  She has spent all of winter in hospitals and the first day of spring is defiantly a new start for Morgan.  We are heading home.  The therapist just came in to assess her and said "you are doing insanely well, I mean you just had brain surgery!"  The only thing she has to do is heal and come back in a month to scan for the blood clot.  Of course therapies with PT and ST. We have been able to see a few nurses who took care of her when she was here before.  There are great people here at this hospital.  I hope we get to see them again...just not here:). Homeward Bound!

Day 96... One more day in ICU

It looks like Morgan will stay one more day in the ICU.  She has quite a bit of draining from her surgery and so they want to continue to watch her.  They were able to take out the drain from her abdomen which is one more step closer to the end of this stay.  They did scan her this morning and it looks so much different from the scan on New Years Eve..which is great.  So today we continue to have her rest and see what tomorrow has to hold.  She still has a blood clot and so she will continue blood thinners until the end of April.  It was pretty large to begin with and it just takes time. She is smiling and happy this morning and ready to be finished with the "cords and alarms" :) Have a great day!

Day 95.....surgery day and she is doing great!

Morgan had a great day.  The nurses in ICU were commenting in how easy of a patient she is.  She is happy and not in a lot of pain at all.  She is up walking and talking. The neurosurgeon came in and said that she was doing fantastic and if she is doing this well tomorrow they may just send her home.  I panicked a little when I heard that:) If she needs to stay one more night it will be ok.  But we will see how she is tomorrow.  I trust the doctors and what they say.  They are doing scans in the morning...Like at 3:00-4:00 in the morning,  It is good to have them done before the doctors do their rounds in the morning .  I just thought it was a funny time to do them.  She has to return to have her staples out in ten days..there are a lot of staples.  And then returns for a checkup in one month.  Originally the doctor said she would go back again two months after that but she may not even need to do that.  It just depends on the next couple weeks and how she is doing.  She will start strong with PT and ST next week.  She will see her rehab doctor the same time as her one month appointment.  Maybe by that time she will be cleared to drive which I know she will be so happy about.  So a lot can happen in a month.  We really hope she takes a year and just concentrates on herself.  Figuring out what she wants to do, clearing her mind and just continue to heal.  She has been through a lot and we feel it's important for her to take this time for her to figure some things out.  As always if returning to her mission is part of that we will support her 100%.  We love her so much!  She is a trooper and a great example to us all.  Tomorrow when she goes for a walk we are going to head up to the rehab floor and visit her friends. I did see my friend Gayle in the lobby tonight.  Her husband is still on the rehab floor but he has made so much progress.  It was so good to see her and give her a big hug!  I can tell you I won't miss this place but really it is bitter sweet.  We have met so many new friends that have made a huge impact in our lives.  Some we have met but some we haven't...yet:). Thanks to you all!  Oh, I must say Kenzi may be very disappointed when Morgan returns home and won't need her injections anymore.  Kenzi was begging Morgan to be able to give her her shots and Morgan finally gave in and Kenz gave it to her and LOVED it.  Hopefully Morgan will not need them after tomorrow.  Sorry Kenz:)

Update from Surgery

We just spoke with the Doctor and everything went really well.  The bone flap was in good condition and he was able to use it.  The doctor in Tahiti took the piece off  by using three little drill holes around the perimeter and one hole in the center of the piece.  So the neurosurgeon just covered the hole in the middle and fastened it in place with titanium plates in the three spots.  He said it fit perfectly.  It's all great news!  She will be transferred to the critical care unit where they will watch her carefully.  Usually the brain will start to swell again after surgeries like this and so they will keep an eye on her. The plan is a CT scan tomorrow and they will also look at the blood clot to see if it is still there.  Hopefully it will be gone.  But if not, it will give us an idea of how it is looking anyway.  All good news.  They are saying about three days here.  But, we will take it day by day.  The surgery could not have gone better!:)

Surgery Day

We have arrived at IMC and waiting for Morgan to be admitted.  We are thinking her surgery is scheduled for about 11:00 so she should be finished about 1:00.  We anxious, nervous, and excited to get this last surgery crossed off the list.  Thank you all again for the love and prayers.  We will update more later.

Day...I have no idea!:)

I just finished transferring all of my Facebook updates over to Morgan's blog.  I apologize if some of you just received a LOT of email updates.:/ I will just update on her blog now.  Morgan is progressing more and more everyday.  Her spirits are great and today she actually got out of the house for a bit with a couple friends that did not include any family members.  I think the words out of her mouth when she practically ran out the door were "good riddance"  We all burst out laughing! She was loving that bit of freedom.  I am excited for her to be able to have more of that soon.  I was talking yesterday with a friend.  We were talking about our kids and how when they get older it is difficult because for 18 years we are there for everything and love being there for everything.  But by nature they are wanting independence and it's hard to adjust to that.  When Morgan was on her mission we definatly became closer as a mother and daughter every week with our short, little email chats.  I loved Mondays and made sure I didn't have any meetings scheduled and didn't answer any phone calls while I knew there would be a chance her email alert would come through.  I loved, loved Mondays!  I loved how independent she was and how hard she worked.  Nothing was going to get in her way of helping and teaching the people of Tahiti the gospel.  I think like all parents we look at the potential our kids have and what a positive difference they can make in this crazy world.  I was excited for Morgan and her future.  When Troy and I arrivied in Tahiti and met with the neurosurgen that first day.  What we heard was she had a thirty percent chance of survival and if she does survive we didn't know what kind of quality of life she would have.  For a minute I thought that we may be Morgan's constant companions throughout her life.  Of course we would do anything she needs but  I thought "oh man, there is so much more for her then that." Well, three months later and she is doing fabulous.  My thinking is a bit different now.  I look at my kids and I feel a little sad they are growing up but excited for their future and am grateful for everyday and every moment I have with them.  I will always be here for my kids.  And I know that as they get older my role as a mom is different and I will be here cheering them on every day!  Through and good and the not so good.

Day 86...March 9, 2014

Day 86...twelve weeks and two days...while typing this post I am thinking of you uncle Jay Taylor:). Troy was able to take Morgan to her great friend, Natalie's mission farewell today. I wondered how she would do since it was about 3 1/2 hours each way. She did great and loved every minute of it! Natalie is heading to Peru which Morgan thinks would be an awesome place to serve...other than Tahiti of course:) We appreciate Natalie's friendship and wish her the best!! But on the way home they took a quick detour to see Troys parents in Kamas. Troy was able to talk to Uncle Jay on the phone and asked how things were going since I haven't posted for a few days. Thanks Jay!:) Morgan really had a good week. She has been initiating things more on her own and you can tell it gives her a sense of accomplishment when she does things on her own. She moved her things back into her room and has been going through her mission things. She found a memory card full of photos which we were so excited for! So she has photos up until Halloween. After that they are all on the card in the missing camera:/...that still really bothers me. Oh well I suppose. She finished her quilt top this week! It looks great! After about 15 minutes of sewing it, she stopped and said to me " so after I sew these strips together do I have to sew them again?". I told her yes and she replied " ugh! How boring!" but she did it. She would take small breaks and you could tell she had a nagging feeling to just get it finished. So she would start again. This is a good task for her because it is boring and that's one of the things Audrey wants her to work on, concentrating on long mundane tasks and finishing them. Morgan is awesome. She has been talking about returning to her mission more this week. The last few weeks as more memories are coming back I think, really I know the thought of returning scared her. It is not the people, the language, the food, or the culture that was holding her back. She had a couple rough times there that really kind of shocked me that she had to go through and she didn't want to have to do that again. Ultimately she needs to decide what she will do. we had a great talk one morning and I reminded her that if she returns those things will still be there. Missions are tough! But life is tough. We will be put through trials every day and hopefully we can get through them with grace and be better for it. Getting through them will bring a lot of tears...which seriously I wish would at least slow down:)....laughter, heartache, and joy. Do I hope Morgan goes back on her mission? Yep, but will I be disappointed if she chooses not to? Nope. I know she will do what she can and needs to do for her. I do think of the people whose lives she has changed for the better and I know they are grateful for this energetic blond girl with a contagious smile and laugh to cross their paths. We love the Tahitian people! Missionaries in Ontario Canada almost 50 years ago brought the gospel to my mom and changed her life. I love the missionaries!! Well I could go on forever:). Morgan's surgery is still March 18th. A week from Tuesday. The doctor says it is still not approved but I called the insurance and they said it was approved back on February 14th. I didn't get frustrated I just said "thank you I will call the doctor and let them know" just as long as it isn't delayed anymore is all I ask!:)

Day 78...March , 2014

Day 78.....I deleted my post from yesterday. Not entirely on purpose but I am glad it is gone. I read it and it sounded like I was whining and that's not what I was trying to get across. . One day I hope we look back a can laugh about some of the things we have had to overcome. I hope we laugh and say how grateful we are that it is all behind us. These little nuances that keep popping up that we are having to deal with everyday....and seriously they are things that you would never even guess that we have to face... Are just that, little nuances. We very easily could have been on a different path right now and I am grateful for this one we are on. Morgan is happy. We are working on helping her to make goals. Short term goals that she will be able to accomplish quickly so that she can see where hard work pays off. She is always playing jokes. It's kind of funny because when she was in high school I would tell her to live a little, go have fun, do something crazy...not to crazy.. She worked hard on high school and was very busy. She accomplished a lot but back then I thought she needed to relax a bit. Well, the time has now come. She laughs a lot and enjoys having fun. Of course she gets tired of her situation and has moments but generally she is in good spirits. Well, off to grocery shop...Morgan wrote my list..in French. She thinks its hilarious and it is:)

Day 63... February 14, 2014

Yes!! Morgan is standing:) "her pelvis is completely healed" I love it when doctors are so surprised when they see her! The doctor said "Wow! are you going back to Tahiti? You could really go back" one more surgery and then we will see how she is feeling. Great Day!

Day 64...February 15, 2014

Day 64.... Yesterday Morgan had two doctor appointments. The first was with her orthopedic and he walked in the room saying "your pelvis is completely healed! You can put as much weight on your leg as you can handle". I may have started to cry right then:). The last time he saw Morgan was probably around January 5th or 6th. He was so amazed with her. He asked her if she could move her left side. So Morgan looked at me very strangely and did it. She doesn't remember not being able to move that side. He was very happy with her progress. Doctor appointments like that are seriously a good time!:). Everyone is happy! What is funny now that i look back was even though the doctor said she was cleared to walk, i still pushed her out in her wheel chair:). It took a while to sink in. When we were leaving the doctors office we were in the elevator and a young man was in there wearing a walking boot on his leg. He looked and Morgan and said "what happened to you". We laugh a little and Morgan said "I got hit by a car". And he said "so did I!" So they were exchanging stories of broken bones and head injuries. It was an interesting elevator ride. When the doors opened a young girl who was riding with us said "I hope you all have a great day". I laughed a little again because that girl was probably thinking it was the strangest conversation she had ever heard:) We stopped and talk with the guy and he asked Morgan "do you have headaches or dizziness?" And she said no. Then he asked "can you smell or taste?" And she told him yes but her left side of her tongue is numb. That guy had all those things he was now dealing with and I though how grateful i was that Morgan was not having to recover with those things also. It was fun to chat with him. We went to our next appointment and it was with the rehab doctor, Doctor Ryser, whose grandfather wrote the Utah State Scotsman song!! How cool is that. I asked him if had ever been to a Aggie basketball game. He said he had not. I told him he NEEDS to go and he will hear that song at least 12 times!!:). Anyway, Morgan is doing great as far as he's concerned and we see him after her bone flap is put back. So no more salt lake doctor visits for another month. So the first place Morgan walked into by herself was the oriental food market on 700 east in salt lake. We stopped to buy our Valentines Day dinner. It was so great to see her! She is moving great, going up and down stairs. It is awesome! She doesn't have any pain except for her calve muscles are tight. Expect to see us out walking the streets of Smithfield! We had a phone call tonight from our " missionary department home teacher". That's what I call him:). He is great to talk to and he mentioned that Morgan is still a topic of conversation at their meetings. It's kind of funny because now that Morgan is doing so well, we are now getting more information about her accident that I think people were guarding us from. Anyway, nine weeks down! Thank you all still for your prayers, notes and everything! It's fun to take Morgan out and so many people are calling her by name and saying Hello. She says "mom do you know who that is?" Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. Everyone has been so thoughtful and kind. Thank you!!

Day60... February 11,2014

Day 60...I have no idea where the last sixty days have gone! Tonight a cute group of Young Women came by with a huge "heart attack" poster. It had such thoughtful messages. She loved it. Thank you again so much! Today I had a thought to call the neurosurgeons office to see if they have heard anything from insurance for approval for Morgan's surgery. They haven't and she said sometimes it can take up to two weeks to get the approval. I made the comment that I didn't her to have to wait until March for her surgery and she said "well he is booked out until March 18th anyway". Ugh!!! Are you kidding me! I asked her if we can schedule Morgan now because by march 18th the insurance would have approved it. It is over a month away. So she did. I also asked if she could put her on a cancellation list. You know like when you really need your hair done and your hair person is booked out so they call you if there is a cancellation. How many people cancel their brain surgery? I would guess not very many. And really how do you shop around for a new brain surgeon? I am going to try and then re-evaluate what we have to work with. I am at a loss today. Thanks again to those cute girls and leaders for visiting. Good timing and also to my sister and her husband for stopping by. Nice to visit with them. Morgan had speech again today. Audrey is so great with Morgan! She is added to my list of people I will always hold in my heart forever. Such kind people helping Morgan and taking care of her. Soeur Mann, a fellow missionary with Morgan who is from Hyde Park, gave us a nice card while in Tahiti. It had the quote "Everything works out in the end. If it's not worked out, then it's not the end." I think about that often. Soeur Mann comes home tomorrow. Welcome Home!

Thanks for letting us be inspired by Morgan.

Day 61...February 12, 2014

Morning Sudoku. Dad has the day off:)

Day 57...February 8, 2014

Day 57... Still progressing every day. We went to suppose yesterday and Morgan picked out a jelly roll kit, thing I guess that's what you call them ...and she is going to start to make her a quilt. Straight lines are a great start and I think it will be good for her to have a project to work on when she wants to do something. The fabrics are darling too!! We will post photos when it's complete. Yesterday, on her 8 week mark, something so small but yet so big happened! She remembered to take her meds herself! Huge step! It was an instant great feeling when she said "mom, I need my medicine". Tonight we are still planning on having a little get together from 6-8. You can stop by anytime. If you don't know where we live just message me for an address. She will be excited to see you.

Day 55...February 5, 2014

Day 55...Do you know when you first wake up and your first thought is "where am I" (that's been happening for two months now:) Then it goes to "what day is it" and then everything all of a sudden makes sense. I sometimes wonder if that is going to happen to Morgan with her memory....like all of a sudden it will all come back to her. She is remembering a lot of things everyday. She is talking about new things all the time and is really doing great! She has her moments when she tired of her situation and just wants to go somewhere on her own. Morgan has always been very independent. I was actually talking to my mom about this. She was saying how independent I was and that I can ask for help because she wants to help. I said to my sweet mom, who I know would do anything for me, " I got my independence from someone:) and wouldn't it be worse for a mom to know that her child was so dependent that they couldn't at least try to figure things out first.". I understood what my mom said...she just wants me to ask. But looking at Morgan I see the same thing. She loves her independence too. I want to fix everything and make her happy but she just wants to do it herself. Soon....So I didn't sleep much last night. I am anxious for the doctor appointment today. I have a list of questions and I just hope I don't forget one. We will all be glad when that is over for Morgan. Ok, one more thing......friends of Morgan, come over anytime! Morgan is confined to the first floor so it is understood that if friends come over we give her space. Just keep in mind that she gets tired after a bit and needs to rest her beautiful brain. But, really as much as she loves us:) she loves new faces too. I will update tonight about her appointment!! And seriously, this snow needs to stop falling!!



* Just made it home. The roads were great and Salt Lake didn't have any snow. Crazy to leave with so much snow here and find nothing there. Anyway, enough of the weather report:). The neurosurgeons office is getting approval for insurance to replace Morgan's skull and after the approval is made they will schedule surgery. It could be up to four weeks but we don't really know. I hope it's not that long but whatever I guess. He said there is a really good chance they will be able to use the skull in her abdomen which is good to know. I asked how they attach it and he said they put it in place and they take titanium plates and screw it to the rest of her skull. Awesome:/. Best case scenario she will be in the hospital for two days. That is if there are no complications and her brain is ok during surgery. I saw some X-rays of her skull in her abdomen.....so cool! It is sitting vertical and all along we were thinking its horizontal. Probably because her scar is horizontal. It explains a lot of Morgan's pain she has. Medicine is amazing. So the low down on returning to her mission.....six months. Yikes..that puts her Augustish. In my mind I was thinking end of May. Who knows I guess. I think we help her prepare for heading to school at Utah State in the Fall and also returning to her mission. It's best to prepared for everything. I told her if she wanted maybe she could return in the fall and come home with the elders she went out with. Or maybe they would send her states side. She was looking at French speaking state side missions and the only one she could find was New York, New York South:). Who really knows!!! We have scenarios going through our mind all day. Anyway, she is continuing to improve everyday. Next week is the appointment with her Orthopedic surgeon. Hoping to be able to put some weight on that right leg.

Day 54...February 4, 2014 - Happy Birthday!-

Happy Birthday to Morgan!! She has her wish and will spend her birthday home and not in a hospital. The day will include lunch...not sure if we are getting take out or not because she does not want to go outside. She is not excited about the amount of snow that fell last night. It's too cold:). She does have therapy this afternoon so outside is going to happen. When asked what she wanted for her birthday the answers were.."someone else to keep her skull in their stomach...not to go outside..G2.5 pens in black. I will be able to swing the pens. Saturday we are having a party for her at the house from 6-8....she would love to see you all. It's very informal with visits from friends, teachers, YW leaders, family, neighbors in mind. So please stop by!!! Happy Birthday Morgan!!

I love that smile! Troy had the day off so Morgan finally had lunch at Indian Oven. When she was starting to speak we asked her what food she would love to have and Indian Oven was it. Birthdays always last a couple days at our house:) — with Morgan Taylor and Troy Taylor.

Day 48... January 30, 2014

Day 48...So last night Morgan actually remembered something on her own. She was so excited. It's strange to try and figure how this whole lack of memories works. We show her photos, read letters and journals. I figured that she would remember whatever she reads or we show her but I don't think it works exactly like that. Last night was different. She did it on her own and she says she still remembers today. I am excited for her. We have been waiting for something like this to happen. Morgan is very pleasant, happy and content. She has not been sad, or anything like that. I would say her emotions are pretty even kill. She laughs a lot. The girlies and Chan make sure of that:). But last night she was excited and that is an emotion we haven't really seen. It was so good to see. So another first...Morgan had speech today and it was "try to stump Morgan" hour. She was very quick. Audrey said she is using the most difficult things on her. She is great. Morgan skull in her abdomen is bothering her more. She thinks it has shifted. I will be glad when that thing is back where it belongs. Her appointment is in one week. I am looking forward to that one. We are ready to get all surgeries behind us. Morgan has made a lot of progress but remembering something on her own is a big step I know she won't ever forget......one more thing....write in a journal. You will never know when you will need it. It's not just for your great great grand kids to read when you are not around. We are grateful Morgan is an amazing writer and story teller. She wrote so many details and its great for her to read.

Day 47...January 29, 2014

Day 47.... Morgan is officially finished with occupational therapy. One more thing to cross off the list! She still has physical therapy and speech therapy and will be doing them for awhile. Once she can put weight on that leg she will be off and running...or at least working towards running. She is getting tired of being still. She says "do you know that I have been running every morning since I left on my mission". While in rehab the physical therapists asked her if she had any goals. She said she wanted to run the Top of Utah half in August again. They all laughed at her. I am sure they laughed because they were surprised by the answer and said she won't be running by August. Well, first of all they laughed and second they said she wouldn't be running. So, there is her goal. That is of course if she ends up not returning to her mission. She said "I can get some people to run with me don't you think?". Oh yes, right now if Morgan wants something Morgan gets it...well most anything. I have to tell you about the relationship Morgan and McKenzie have with each other. Kenz will do anything for Morgan and has learned the meanings of the Tahitian and French words Morgan says to her when she wants things. It's hilarious. One of them is Tahitian for "move, you!" Kenz is always teasing her and always watching out for her. It's fun to see. Mckenzie wants to be an ER doctor when she grows up. She would be an awesome health care worker i decided. We appreciate the good ones that's for sure! I must add that she is planning on moving to Hawaii to work so she can take care of shark attacks.. Hilarious!! Another big day down and a new day tomorrow!!

Day 46...January 28, 2014

Day 46...I just got off the phone with Elder Bertasso. He helped us so much with Morgan. We spoke to him I think everyday while in Tahiti. He called for an update on Morgan. He is as surprised as the rest of us of how well she is doing. It was fun to tell him the stories we have of her and of the big welcome home she received. I also was telling him how Morgan wants to return to Tahiti but also knows that wherever they send her is where she is suppose to be....that's a few months out if that is what she chooses to do....I also informed him that tonight she said that they need to send her somewhere so she can learn Chinese. We all kind of laughed but we are not surprised. Elder Bertasso laughed too. It was a good call tonight because today has been a hard day for different reasons. As a mother/parent you just want to make the best choices to help your kids. I think we all have the best interest of our children in mind. I was second guessing myself today. Questioning some of my decisions but after speaking to Elder Bertasso I know what I am doing to help Morgan is right. I worry so much but my priority is her and as long as I approach decisions the right way, with prayer I can trust the choices I make and have faith that they are the right ones. I am done second guessing myself. I try to be a kind person. I don't like to come off as someone who thinks they know everything or even pretend that I have all the answers. But I do know that what we are doing to help Morgan is the right decision. I am grateful for the phone call tonight from Elder Bertasso. I will sleep well tonight. tomorrow, Morgan and I want to find a missionary and buy them lunch! I told her all we have to do is drive down Main Street in Logan and we are bound to find some!:). I can't end without thanking Morgan's friends. The ones here and in the mission field! We appreciate you all and she loves you all!

Day 45...January 27, 2014

Day 45.... Morgan is sill doing great! Today she had a speech therapy session and I loved the looks Audrey, her therapist, had when working with Morgan. She is doing excellent! Troy and I looked at each other and smiled. Her attitude and smile are awesome! She continues with the "why not" saying. We love it! This weekend was pretty low key. We went early Saturday morning to find warmer clothes for her. Kylee Champlin was so great to help us. I knew it was a one stop shop that had to be quick and easy. It was. We did forget to look at shoes but the girlies helped out Sunday morning so Morgan wouldn't have to wear her "crocs with socks" to church! She was so excited to go. She was planning on all three meetings but I said "maybe we should see how you do after sacrament. She said "missionaries do not skip out on church". She made it about 45 min and then had to go. It was a bit to much just yet.. Today Morgan was able to Skype a missionary friend in Australia. That was fun and Morgan seemed to remember a few more details from stories. I don't know if it just gets her brain working talking with missionary friends but it seems to work. She starts to talk about things more. She was telling me she now remembers scratching the door on the car right before her accident. We heard about it from the Andersens while in Tahiti. Elder Anderson was laughing a bit while telling us how Morgan was trying to back down a steep hill with brick walls on both sides and keep getting to close to the wall and it scratched the door. I asked Morgan before about it but she didn't remember. I told Elder Andersen it might be selective memory but today, she now remembers!! She also got to email chat with a Great MTC friend today who is actually serving in her last area Maraa. That was good for her too. She misses Maraa and Sister Jana Urling. Well, just a week of more therapy and sleep. She has been sleeping a lot so that is good too. I am happy to say that not a lot is going on right now!! It should stay that way for a couple more weeks. Just rest and recovery.

Day 36 and 37...January 19, 2014

Day 36 & 37...I didn't spend the whole day with Morgan yesterday. Morgan had a great day Friday. I keep wondering if I was dreaming or if I was just making it up. It was really a great day. Saturday afternoon when I saw her she was good but it was the end if the day and she seemed confused a bit more. There are so many things that I worry about. It's not just her physical health but her mental also. Mental meaning, she still has difficulties putting memories together and they are not in order. Sometimes she remembers a memory and the next day she honestly doesn't. I am struggling trying to figure out how to approach things with her. I give her journals to read. She tells me she wants her friends to visit. I tell her to let me know names and I will let them know. She says "all of them". I tell her all of them might not be the best idea. So when she talks about someone a lot, I let them know and hopefully if they have time they can come visit. I figure if she has memories about someone, it may be best to have them come while they are on her mind just to reinforce the memories she is having. It seems to work pretty good because those who she has seen are in her everyday thoughts. She still has swelling on her brain but it has come down so much. She is more aware when she doesn't remember something. Sometimes she will say "I don't know what I don't know" I ask her if she feels confused and she says she doesn't. But then other times she remembers the smallest thing. It is just baffling to me. I want her so badly to remember experiences from her past. She has had good and she has had bad but they made her who she is. Maybe that's the problem I need to relax about it more and just love everyday with her. I do love every day with her!! Some of our best conversations are when i am alone with her in the room and we are just chatting. They are also the ones that make the most sense. The nurses today, and visitors of other patients, were telling us that Morgan threw a party in her room last night! Morgan talked about it all morning. She had some debate friends stop by and Morgan said her skull hurt from laughing so much....that's the skull in her abdomen. we thank all of you who were apart of the "party". She needed that and we are so grateful! You can see her thinking more. Like she is in a thought. That is something new that she has been doing. I worry about her and hate to leave her. Yesterday wasn't the best day for me. I woke up to read a message from a friend that helped more then she will ever know. Not all days are going to be good. And it is like one step forward and two steps back. But those good days do help and give hope that more good are to come. We see Morgan everyday so sometimes the progress seems slow but those who see her every week say the progress is amazing from week to week. We were able to attend sacrament together as a family. That was pretty awesome:). Morgan leaned over to me and said "do you see what McCall is doing" For all of you who know McCall...she just wants people to be happy:) and will do what she needs to do to make that happen. I just told Morgan that this is how every week in sacrament goes:). Back to normal....whatever normal is:) I do wish Tahiti wasn't so far away. She misses her missionary friends, members and Tahitian people. She did say again that she hopes the missionaries there are teaching the man who hit her. Another week ahead. I think the doctors meet on Tuesday again to let us know what the week holds for her. We are also anxious to speak to her neuro surgeon to see about when they will replace her bone flap.

Day 34...January 16, 2014

Day 34...sleep does wonders today was Morgan's first outing out if the hospital. Her therapist thought it would be great if her sisters and brother could be with her. I worried about missing school but thought this was a perfect reason to miss school. When I walked in to Morgan's room she smiled and when the girlies walked in she beamed and lit right up!! She was so happy to see them. Morgan had Speech right when we got there. They ask her the same questions everyday. They want her to answer them correctly three days in a row. This shows that she is coming out of her post trauma amnesia. I think that's what it is called. Today was day one with 12/12. So that's a start. For OT we went and took Morgan to lunch at Rubios. Morgan had to pay and do everything herself. She was fine, no problem. She did forget where she put her change. I am quickly finding out that her life will need to be organized. She realizes that though. She wants things in order and worries about messes. Kenz was sitting on her bed eating chips and Morgan told her, in French, that she could sit on her bed but not with the chips. She wants it clean. She likes her planner so she can look back and read what happened the day before. Because she doesn't remember it. I can remind her and it seems like something clicks and she can elaborate on it but then it seems to be gone that quick. Hopefully time will help that. She has memories but they are not in order. She remembers a lot from her mission but today again I told her how she got in the hospital and she seemed surprised. Sometimes she knows and sometime she doesn't. Journals are great. She kept great journals. We are missing some. It's strange but she took photos of her journal after she wrote in them. Really who does that. I asked her why she did that and she responded with "just in case I lost it" Troy copied them so she could read it. We are finding things out everyday and hopefully will track them down. Morgan did not get her calories today. She was 600 short. The doctor told her today that when she will eat 1700 calories he would take that tube out. She was tired and seemed sad tonight. She didn't want the tube feed. I just told her tomorrow is another day and we will just try our best at another day. What can anyone do but try their best, right! She is so cheerful and waves to everyone. Jim, our friend whose wife had a stroke, walked by her room tonight and she smiled and waved. He said "have you been out proselytizing today Sister?" And she said "not today, maybe tomorrow" then she turns to me and says "can I go home tomorrow?" Soon that day will finally come!!

Morgan had her first outing today. The girlies convinced me..and the therapists..that they needed to be there. Now they are coloring on the window

Day 42...January 24, 2014

Day 42...Morgan is adjusting to home very well other then the temperature. She is constantly freezing!:) When she isn't wearing her helmet for safety she is wearing a beanie. She went to therapy yesterday. After speech and PT she was wiped out so we rescheduled OT for next week. I really don't think she will end up doing much OT. Speech for her memory, impulsiveness, and organization will be a big one. PT will be more important once she can put weight on her leg. We are laughing all the time. Yesterday was our first mother/daughter outing just the two of us. It was fun and funny. She knows more about what is going on then I do:). We were getting out of the car and she said "mom, don't you think you should turn off the car?" Then we would laugh. She is doing great. Today we finally met Karla. She knows exactly what we have been going through plus I think more. I have been emailing her over the last few weeks and her emails have helped and comforted us more than she will know. What an amazing and strong person. I hope she doesn't mind me saying but her son was serving a mission and was also hit by a vehicle, a bus I believe. She literally lives just a couple miles from us. What are the chances that two missionaries living so close would have to endure the same trial. They both do have opposite things to over come. and they are overcoming them. I truly believe that as missionaries they are blessed and will have extraordinary lives. The brain is amazing, amazing! We are looking forward to one day meeting her son. Their story really shows that you can overcome anything! We were talking about how all of a sudden life gets put in perspective. The day to day things you worry about all of a sudden do not mean anything. We are talking about this as I have clothes half folded all over the living room floor. I told her usually I would worry and apologize for the mess but I really don't care to much about it right now:) i could apologize but I really don't feel bad about it. Eventually the clothes will get put away and probably more clothes will replace them.
So, when people find out about Morgan they always say to me "what a terrible phone call to receive". Yep, it was...and this is how it went...it was about 11:30p.m. I was in bed, Troy was not. The phone rang and I thought it was Chandler calling to let us know he was on his way home from his debate meet. The caller ID said unknown name so I was a little puzzled. On the other end was Morgans mission president, President Sinjoux. He said that Morgan was is an accident. I thought maybe Morgan finally came down with Zika which is effecting the majority of the people in Tahiti. It's a virus transferred from mosquito bites. Morgan had not got it yet. But then the word accident sunk in. I asked him if she was ok and he said "No". He said she was riding her bike with her companion and was hit by a car and they were doing a scan on her as we speak. He said "you need to pray now and fast for her now, call everyone you know and have them pray for her". I asked him if we needed to come down and he said "yes, you need to come". After that I was pretty much numb and everything seemed so foggy and Troy took over the phone. We called our parents and they called our extended family and the prayers began. The mission president was so good to call and let us know everything going on. He called after her scan and said they need to do emergency surgery right now. I am not sure who all was with him at the hospital but they were with Morgan and said a prayer for her while we were on the phone and they were on speaker. After their prayer Troy also said one. That was a pretty amazing moment. It was like we were there with her. He called again after the surgery and let us know she was stable. We all sat on our sofa most of the night not saying a word. We finally put the kids to bed and I was up trying to find flights out. Troy was telling me to wait until the morning to see what we needed to do. At 7:00 I wanted to start calling the bishop and stake president but worried about calling so early. I thought all night that the only people who knew what was going on was the mission president and us. I was so wrong!! About 8:10 we received a call from the stake president and then everything just took off from there. There were people all night in Salt Lake, New Zealand, Tahiti helping Morgan and making sure she was getting the best treatment and care. Seriously, it was eye opening how well everything was run. I thought that no one else knew. I was so wrong. So that is how we "found out" we have told Morgan about it a few times and it still surprises her. It still stuns us. But where we are now compared to 6 weeks ago is incredible.

Day 40...January 22, 2014

Day 40....Morgan is finally home!! When you leave rehab they play a song on the overhead PA. When Morgan first got on rehab she said the song she wanted was Back in Black. Troy couldn't have been more proud:) she didn't remember that and told them this morning to play U2 A Beautiful Day...that was perfect. But, the PA didn't work so the cute nurses, therapist, social workers etc. tried to sing and dance her way out and ended up singing "so long farewell " from the sound of music which again was perfect because all she has done is watch The Sound of Music in French the whole time she was there. It was pretty cute and I got it on tape to show her tomorrow. We went around and said goodbye to our friends, health care workers, patients and their families. I cried. I am grateful to the workers and I will miss my fellow families of patients. My friend Jim whose wife had a stroke, Gayle whose husband had a rare virus and has a long fight ahead for the next year. I see their eyes and it breaks my heart. You see someone you love going through so much and it's hard and you want to switch places with them. It also reminds me of when Morgan was in ICU in Tahiti. I was leaving and in the waiting room was a Tahitian man with tears streaming down his face. I just went and put my arm around him and said I was sorry. I didn't know what was going on and couldn't understand him if I could ask, but we both were feeling the same thing. I was talking with Gayle and someone was telling her to be more positive. I told her that some days, maybe everyday you are going to feel terrible and feel like you are at your end. I said go cry, take a break, say a prayer, and continue forward. Because that's all anyone can do. Onward and upward. We are loving having Morgan home. She slept most of the way and woke up in Logan. When we hit smithfield and she saw the sign at Lees, she was a bit confused. Then she saw Wendy's and she started to laugh. Then up the sky view hill and the bows and signs were awesome. She loved them and said "that is so much work who did that?" She loved it. They were all so creative. The French and Tahitians signs surprised her. They were all so so great!! Thank you all so much!! It made her feel so good. I appreciate that. I just cried, seriously what else do I do now days. Happy tears though!! We had dinner and family prayer together and looked at photos from her mission and things we have done these last 8 months. We will relive it all tomorrow too. My friend Noel took photos of all the signs and of her coming home so we can relive that again tomorrow too. Thanks Noel!! Thanks again to the pharmacy for filling in today for Troy so he could go down to bring her home. They are wonderful people. We owe them so much and know they have sacrificed so Troy could be with Morgan over the last 40 days. We head back to IMC in three weeks. Hopefully during that time it's uneventful with therapies. Thanks again to you all!!

coming home!! its a beautiful day!!

Day 39... January 21, 2014

Day 39.....it's official, tomorrow is the day!! On day 40 Morgan will get to come home!! She is so excited and so are we. She will stay home for about three weeks. She then goes back for scans of pelvis and brain and then we plan for the next step. So the good part is she gets to hang out at home instead of the hospital until then. She is pretty steady on her walker but I will be there protecting that brain and pelvis 24/7 . The kids are so excited!! Chan has plans with her and so do the girlies. She asked if she was released. Evidently they say it was done before she returned back to Utah but we didn't know of it. I just tell her "once and missionary, always a missionary".

Day 38...January 20, 2014

Day 38....Today Troy and Avery spent the day with Morgan. Troy said she has had great day and will be coming home Wednesday or Thursday. Great news. She won't be having her skull surgery until February. It makes me a little nervous not having it in place before she comes home but we can do this. Morgans request is not to have surgery until after her birthday on February 4th. She want to turn "20" at home!:). She wants visitors and does love to see her friends. Just message me and I will let you know a good time. She will continue her therapies everyday but misses her friends. For those of you who live in the salt lake area feel free to stop by and see her. I will be with her until she makes her way home and just let me know when you would like to stop by. Prayers work!! I can testify to that. She is a miracle and her smile and sense of humor keep us going!! Thank you again to all of you for your support and prayers!

Day 35...January 18, 2014

Day 35....there is so much to say today, I hope I remember it all. I decided I need to be doing all of Morgan's brain tests and games because right now I would fail:) the Morning started off pretty slow for her. She was sleeping when I got there and she didn't want to get up. She didn't eat breakfast, again. With some coaxing she was up and had OT. They did a test on her cognitive thinking. The results estimated that Morgan would need 30% help with......I don't know something. What I really heard was.......not much. Tests by lacing some leather, ok:). I get the therapists need an idea of how she is doing so they know what to help her with. But for me, lets keep on trying. I do love her OT by they way, they are great!! After was lunch. She ate really well. We were sitting there and she had a surprise visitor. It was Elder Cannon and his mom from her mission. I actually met Elder Cannon while we were there. He is Morgan's Zone Leader and was one of the elders who gave Morgan a blessing right when she was hit and followed her ambulance to the hospital. He was able to put some pieces together for us about Morgan's accident. Anyway, I don't know if it was Morgan seeing someone familiar from her mission or what but right after things changed with her. She was making more sense and asking legitimate questions. She was eating, drinking, and realizing she needed to. PT was a breeze and she surpassed all goals without a complaint or reminder to not use her hurt leg. It was really amazing. She had visitors tonight and really carried on conversations with them. She really was like herself. Another thing, Morgan wouldn't wear her glasses. They made her sick. The OT decided to do a vision screening one her. She was reading with her right eye and she read it perfectly. Morgan has pretty bad eye sight. I was shocked! The left eye still was pretty bad. I immediately called Troy because I thought for sure maybe the accident restored her eyesight in her right eye. Well, Morgan ended up having a contact in that right eye. At least since Dec. 13!!! She has been telling us this but we just told her she didn't. But she did! So she took it out and now her glasses work great! Anyway Morgan is really back to being Morgan. She had her feeding tube removed tonight. She is officially tube free all around. She counted her needle marks in her arms and counted 42. I hope tomorrow morning is the same as tonight. I pray for that!! She is amazing!! Right when we heard about Morgan being hit. We have been praying. From the beginning Troy has always prayed for a quick and full recovery. When I first heard him pray for that I was taken back a bit because I was praying for her just to live. I couldn't imagine her having a full recovery. But then I thought "why not?" ...that's Morgan's favorite saying right now...I knew The Lords hand would be in all things and that his will would be done. I was content with that but why not pray for a full recovery. I knew whatever was to happen I would get through it...umm really you have to...but after tonight and seeing Morgan, it's amazing. She is amazing!! I am excited for Troy to see her in the morning. He hasn't been there for three days and I know he is going to be surprised. I am trying not to get to excited. I want to be cautious because that brain is a delicate amazing thing. Who knows what it is going to do, but today was beyond great!! I am praying for tomorrow to be the same. If it is.....I will have no words....I probably will but it will be so great!:). Good night!

Day 33...January 15, 2014

Day 33.....writing early today. I am sitting with Morgan now while she sleeps. I am tired and don't have a lot to say. Pretty sure her calories will not be met today. She seemed a little more confused today during her speech therapy. She was awesome during PT and made green smoothies for occupational therapy. She did that very well. She couldn't really drink any because she is on coumadin for her blood clot. To be honest she wouldn't have drank it either. She had a couple visitors that really made her happy. That was good to see today. Sometimes it's exhausting to try and be so positive. Some days you just need to end it and start new tomorrow. This really is like an endurance race that never ends. You get over one hurdle and you focus so hard on the next one thinking if you can just get past it things will be better, and then you do get past it and something else just as hard is there to greet you. I wish we could add up the hurdles so we can cross each one off once we are finished so we know when the end is here. Like Morg with her PT,its so hard for her when she gets to the end of the hall on her walker. I count how many steps she has left to take and then she can rest. I wish I could figure out how many more hurdles are left so we know when it is the end! Patience is what I am learning. I think I have said that before. I know we all have things to overcome and I am not saying this trial is any harder then anyone else. I am positive many of you have something more difficult to get through. I think any trial we are faced with is difficult for us, hence the word "trial". But, I wish I was better conditioned for this. Ok, done. I will leave with the words from Morgan's mouth " The Sound of Music sounds prettier in French". I agree:).

Day 33...January 15, 2014

Day 33.....writing early today. I am sitting with Morgan now while she sleeps. I am tired and don't have a lot to say. Pretty sure her calories will not be met today. She seemed a little more confused today during her speech therapy. She was awesome during PT and made green smoothies for occupational therapy. She did that very well. She couldn't really drink any because she is on cumidin for her blood clot. To be honest she wouldn't have drank it either. She had a couple visitors that really made her happy. That was good to see today. Sometimes it's exhausting to try and be so positive. Some days you just need to end it and start new tomorrow. This really is like an endurance race that never ends. You get over one hurdle and you focus so hard on the next one thinking if you can just get past it things will be better, and then you do get past it and something else just as hard is there to greet you. I wish we could add up the hurdles so we can cross each one off once we are finished so we know when the end is here. Like Morg with her PT,its so hard for her when she gets to the end of the hall on her walker. I count how many steps she has left to take and then she can rest. I wish I could figure out how many more hurdles are left so we know when it is the end! Patience is what I am learning. I think I have said that before. I know we all have things to overcome and I am not saying this trial is any harder then anyone else. I am positive many of you have something more difficult to get through. I think any trial we are faced with is difficult for us, hence the word "trial". But, I wish I was better conditioned for this. Ok, done. I will leave with the words from Morgan's mouth " The Sound of Music sounds prettier in French". I agree:).

Day 32...January 14, 2014

Day 32.....BIG day today...Morgan hit her 1600 calorie goal and will not have to have tube feeds tonight!! Celebrate now!!!it didn't start off well. She didn't eat breakfast but ate lunch and dinner. She was about 300 calories short and Pops went and bought her a Jr.bacon cheese burger from Wendy's and we cheered her on as she ate it. She did it. Now only two more days to go. In PT today Morgan was awesome and walked-hopped with her walker the longest she has ever done and also worked on going up and down stairs. She was worn out but did so well! Another great thing happened in speech, the therapist told Morgan that tomorrow when Morgan sees her she has to tell her about the best vacation she has ever had. Morgan said "ok, do you have a pen?" The Speech therapist said "yes, why" and Morgan said "because I want to write that down in my planner so I won't forget." If you all only knew how huge that is!!! The fact that she realizes she needs to do that is a big step. It made my day, and her eating of course. She acquired a couple more very soft stuffed animals today. She is getting quite the collection. We brought more piano books for her and she played every chance she was given. The doctors had their meeting and my next week goal of getting her home is a little ambitious. They said one or two weeks so I guess it could be possible. The neurosurgeon will check her brain the beginning of February along with the orthopedic for her pelvis. Her collar bone seems to be doing fine. She is using it quite a bit but it does cause her some pain. The skull in her abdomen bothers her. She can't laugh or cough without it hurting her. I don't know if it really hurts or if its just a weird feeling. Another big thing is Troy returns to work tomorrow. It will be good to try and get back to our abnormal, normal schedule. The hospital pharmacy have been so great. When this all happened, right before Christmas, they were so great to cover his shifts and give Troy the time off he needed to be with Morgan. Thank you isn't enough. They are an amazing bunch who have all been so supportive. Troy has been with Morgan since December 16th not missing a day. I know tomorrow will be hard but we have figured out we can do hard things. It will be good for everyone to try and get back to normal. Morgan looked at photos again. She really enjoys that. Well, I am flying solo tomorrow which will be good. I am counting the days to get her home!!! I still think it will be sooner rather than later!:)

Day 31... January 13, 2014

Day 31....hello again...it was another good day for Morgan. We arrived this morning and she had already started her physical therapy. She was practicing using her walker and the PT was very happy with how strong she was. She also hit a balloon back and forth with Avery while she stood on one leg so they could work on her balance. She was pretty peppy this morning. And good news she ate 100 calories this morning for breakfast. It's better then the 0 calories she has been getting these last couple days but it isn't going to cut it. Marcia is back as her tech and we love, love, love her!!! She needs a raise. We hate to see her have a day off but really she works so hard she deserves all her days off. But lucky for us she was here today and will be there tomorrow. Morgan did awesome with her speech therapy. All of their story problems, reading comp were pretty easy for her. They had to leave and get a different book that was harder. And seriously, I couldn't concentrate enough to figure them out. For lunch sweet Marcia gave Morgan a voucher to go downstairs to the cafeteria and eat lunch with us. We are hoping she would see something that would make her want to eat. She picked some Moroccan salad with tofu but ended up eating half of chandlers turkey sandwhich. Whatever it takes!!! She had speech again and was pretty tired at the end of her 30 minutes. She had a 30 minute break before another round of PT but was tired and in pain when PT rolled around so it was pretty difficult for her. The kids helped her and encouraged her on and she finished strong. She got a pain pill and took a much needed nap. She was able to answer today how she got in the hospital and when she doesn't know a answer to a question she is recognizing more that she doesn't know and answers with " I don't know, my skull is in my stomach" her sense of humor is awesome!! So is very pleasant and kind and always tells anyone who does anything for her, whether she likes what they are doing or not, "thank you". She is so sweet. There is a man in rehab who had a stroke who is always cheering her on. There is another lady who had a stoke whose husband is by her side everyday. I see these people and I love them! I love them for taking the time to encourage Morgan and I see the love these elderly couples have with each other and how they would do anything for their spouse. It's true love and its awesome. I really makes me appreciate Troy and know that he would do the same for me....I am not wishing to be in that situation ever in my life but I never thought I would be in this one. You just deal with what is handed to you in this life but it is nice to know I can depend on Troy to be with me throughout it all!! That is a blessing!! Tomorrow the doctors and therapists get together for a pow wow about Morgan. I am anxious to hear what they have to say and what the game plan is. Thanks again for meals!! They help so much!!

Day 31...January 13, 2014

Soeur Moli sister and her husband came to visit. I could talk to them all day. Wonderful people! Morgan is getting better everyday.

 

Day 30...January 12, 2014

Day30...we are in the "3's" we started off going early to try to get Morgan to the church sacrament meeting. She was not feeling well this morning so I stayed with her and Troy and the kids went. She wasn't feeling well this morning but was doing great this afternoon. I spent the afternoon with her. She read emails, her journal, and did get on Facebook for a second. She has so many messages from friends here and in Tahiti. She enjoyed reading them. Journals are good. It reminds her of experiences and things that have happened recently. She seems to elaborate on things once her memory is reminded of them. She is doing better with remembering little things. Not a lot of little things but more. It was good to spend one on one time with her today. We had some good talks. I asked her about her mission and she told me she wants to go back. "I have more work to do" is what she said. I told her we will see what the future holds. Morgan was reading a part in her journal that she wrote the first week in Tahiti. It mentioned that she was going to be sister training leader next transfer and how crazy it sounded since she just arrived to Tahiti but that was her goal. She did it 3 months after arriving in Tahiti. I am only bringing this up because it shows how determined and goal oriented she is when she puts her mind to something. She is a goal setter and it was her way to stay busy and work hard for her mission. We were telling her that President Sinjoux was saying they set a goal for 1000 baptisms this year and they were at 900+in December. Morgan's comment was "looks like we had to many p-days" Morgan also had a lot of visitors today. We had a lot of our Family come and Soeur Moli family came. What amazing, great, kind people! It was so good to finally meet them. I told Morgan this morning they were coming and she was very excited. She loves Soeur Moli and talks about her often. There is a video clip Morgan had of the two of them trying to knock a mango out of a tree. They were laughing so hard. It was fun to listen to their conversation and laughter. You could tell they were great friends. I need to find a way to post it. I know you would all love it. The Moli family will always be apart of our family. Morgan is still fixated on the fact her skull is in her stomach and says she doesn't want to put it back in her head because she thinks that will hurt. I told her it will be easy compared to what she has been through. We were all talking up food and encouraging her to eat so we can take her home. She ate well tonight and I really think one more week and we will be bringing her home. I am trying not to get to excited about it because no one has confirmed that with me. It's just what my heart is telling me. Morgan wants to go shopping at city creek "anthro" she said and we are all going to Indian oven. She loves that place. It was our last lunch together that Troy and I went with her before her mission. I am starting to plan but being cautious about it. We are very blessed. She is doing amazing and her future is bright!

Day 29...January 11. 2014

Day 29....today was another good day. Morgan is understanding and remembering more. Kenzi and I came down early this morning. Morgan played the piano and the ST gave her a planner to write down everything she does during the day and the time she did it. Also, she writes down visitors names. That way when she forgets 2 minutes later she can look back and read what happened that day. It's working great. She does however argue with what she "knows" to be true and what really is true. We were writing down visitor names and she put my brother Todd and I said that he didn't come today and she says "yes he did" and believes it fully. I see big improvements from two days ago. McKenzie was so sweet to her. She would get drinks, iPads, blankets, anything she asked. Morgan loved it and wanted her right next to her all day. She even told Kenz to come lay in her bed so they could watch a movie together. Kenz also felt Morgan's head and stomach I am sure over 100 times today. Morgan was pretty fixated on the fact her head was "squishy because he skull is in he stomach". "That's really gross" is what she would say. She loved her visitors and would try to make them all feel her head and her stomach. What is funny is her uncles, aunts, cousins, siblings would never tell her no. It's kind of "what ever Morgan wants, Morgan gets". She really is doing great. I think she will be home in a week or two depending on if she will eat. Her ST asked if she was released from being a missionary. I told her "no" and Morgan said "I don't need to be released". It will have to happen I am sure. At first when it was brought up two weeks ago I felt this pit in my stomach but I am at peace with it now. If she wants to go back she will. One last story, I was telling Morgan again what happened to put her in the hospital. We do that a few times a day. She is remembering it better. But this morning I told her a man hit her with his car while she was riding her bike. Morgan asked where the man was. I told her I thought he was in jail but not sure what is going to happen. She said "is he baptized?" And I told her I didn't know and she said maybe the missionaries can teach him. We hope for the best for this man. It would be great if he could learn from his huge mistake and have a good life. I don't know if he has a family, I assume he does. We wish them all well. Its funny because when Morgan was admitted the billing lady came in and was quizzing us on what had happened. When she found out it was a drunk driving she said "where is the police report" we kind of laughed and said "I don't know" and she said "well aren't you going to go after him" and we looked at her like "seriously lady, that's the last thing on our mind". Troy was polite and said that we don't know what the laws in Tahiti are and that we are confident that they will take care of what needs to be done. We are here to learn from mistakes. I hope he does. I know his family went to the mission office and apologized for what he did. That was a nice thing for them to do.

Day 28...January 10, 2014

Day 28....week 4 over..it seems like we have been at this forever. Today is McKenzie's birthday so I was home celebrating with her. She is happy to announce that she is no longer the same age as McCall so last night we had a phone call at 4:00am - I guess it's this morning- it was Morg wondering what I was doing. Then I got another call at 7:00am it was Morgan again crying telling me she want a to come home. Kenz and I are leaving early in the morning and we will be staying with her this weekend. The OP is scheduling Morgan to attend a 30 minute sacrament on Sunday which will be good. Troy was with her all day. He said he saw small improvements. When asked the date she answered it correctly and he does not think she looked at the board in her room so that's good. The ST -speech therapist- gave her word search kind of games that she mastered in about 20 seconds. The ST was very impressed. She gave Morgan some sudoku puzzles, which Morgan has always been able to do, and she didn't have a problem with them. Me, I still haven't finished one in my lifetime. Morgan also ate her lunch, finally!! That was good to hear and was able to follow directions and make a brownie mix in the rehab kitchen. Troy said she knew what she was doing. All these things are great. We just need to somehow get those brain paths to work for her memory. I think it's happening but it's hard to say what the outcome is. Today the thing that keeps going through my mind is the Doctor in Tahiti telling us that after one month we will know what is damaged in her brain. Well today is one month. I also keep thinking of everyone who knows someone that's has to overcome something like this, telling me not to believe everything the doctors say. They give you statistics but its not necessarily what the outcome will be. So I believe her brain can get better. Morgan continues her busy days of treatment through the weekend too. So those family members that want to visit the best time is after 3:30. Call me and I will give more details. I have spoke with some of you already. You will need a code to get in. One more thing, it's one month that Morgan was hit by a drunk driver. I am going to be bold and say those of you who do drink, how about taking a weekend off. Find something else to do this weekend. I find that when I have some down time during the day I start to think and it gets difficult. Today was like that. I wish the 54 year old man who hit Morgan would have found something else to do 4 weeks ago. I can tell you on New Year's Eve when we happened to drive by a liquor store with the parking lot packed with people...I had a sick feeling in my stomach. Just being honest and I know if you were in my shoes or really if you were Morgan on the receiving end of this, you would feel the same. But, you know I love you all! Can't wait to spend so time with Morgan tomorrow! Happy birthday Kenz!!

Day 27...January 9, 2014

Day 27.... Seriously if someone knows who is plowing our driveway will you let me know:). We need to thank them. Thank you!! I just got a call from the hospital. I was a bit worried and then I heard "Hi mom. Where are you?" Holy cow she found a phone and called me!! I told her I was at home and she said "you left me here alone?" Holy cow!! Then I explained I needed to get the kids to bed and to school and her dad would be there in the morning. And she said "ok, I love you" Brings me to tears. I keep thinking I will run out eventually but somehow it doesn't work that way. Morgan had a good day. She is now hopping with a walker. She has to be reminded all the time about not using her right leg. But she gets along very well! Her nurse is a keeper!!! Se will be a friend forever. She is from South Carolina and is so sweet to Morgan. Morgan read her blog and every other Tahiti missionary blog today. She read it out loud and all afternoon. She also found LDS tools and listened to songs and talks. She called the girls when they got home from school and talked forever with them. I guess today what she did most of is talk, and talk. It was fun to hear her. She had a couple visitors today. She was pretty excited so I think she understood who they were. I took a photo just in case to remind her. Elder Russell M. Nelson and Elder David F. Evans. She held her fist up for Elder Nelson to fist bump her. He was kind to do it:) they told her they prayed for her in the temple today. After they left my parents were there and she told my mom "they prayed for me in the temple today". She actually repeated something someone told her. That was so nice to hear!! She just called me again.... I am loving this right now! She is still only able to have family visit. Let me know and I will tell you a good time to see her. Tomorrow the occupational therapists are letting her make brownies. They have a full kitchen on that floor. They also told her she had to eat one. She is just not interested in food. I hope that changes soon. Have a great night.

Day 26...January

Day 26...Thank you to whoever shoveled our driveway today and also in December while we were gone. Thanks a ton!! Today Morgan had a good day. She was pleasant and happy all day. When we got there this morning we caught the end of her speech therapy. The therapist is named Hillary and is very good. She was asking Morgan government questions. Mr. Rigby would be proud!! She knew every question, no problem. One question was "who was the first president of the United States?" She said "George Bush, just kidding George Washington". It was pretty funny. Hillary also asked her what she would do if she was at a restaurant and found out she didn't have any money to pay for her food. Morgan said "I would flirt with the waiter"we all kind of laughed and Hillary said "you would flirt with the waiter?" And Morg said "well, I guess it depends on the waiter" it was funny:). We then went for a tour of the floor. Morgan saw a keyboard and wanted to play. She played two Christmas songs and actually played pretty good. Her left hand was a little behind but not bad at all. She then played "alloette" perfectly and quickly. She had that memorized. Seriously she drew a crowd. She is really unbelievable. So awesome. She ate lunch, not much, and then it was time for physical therapy. She did one legged squats and sitting weighted leg lifts with both legs. Once she can put pressure on that pelvis, she will be unstoppable. She is still confused but I noticed a couple things that she is remembering. If you ask her what leg she can't stand on she now knows. It may not seem like a big deal but it is. I am also noticing the swelling of her brain going down. She said to me "feel this. It feels soft". Meaning her head. So I told her what happened again and that her skull is in her abdomen. She looked and me and said "that is gross! Do you mean I have a legitimate reason for having my stomach hurt?" I said yep:) then explained how cool it was that they could save her skull for when her brain swelling goes down and her response is "it's still gross". She loved loved loved her posters from the primary. She would just read them over and over. There was one that said something like "I am sorry you got hit on your bike by a drunk driver" she looked at me like "really?" And would read it again. Those posters are awesome because she can read them over and over again. And she loves it. She said "I want more of these". They are hanging right by her bed. I have received a few notes from mothers of the Elders and Sisters of her MTC group. I think they are a close bunch. And are worried about her. When I talk to her about them specifically you can tell she loves them all. Alright I am rambling but one more thing, yesterday President Oliverson came over. It's funny how he comes at just the right time. But he brought up Morgan returning to her mission when she is healed. I told him, wouldn't that be something if she is able to do that. It would truly be a miracle. But really where she was almost four weeks ago and then where she is now is a miracle. So anything is possible. She has a lot in front of her but I know she could do it. If she can't return she will know its ok. She accomplished so much in 8 months and should be happy with that. Sorry for the novel a good day!!

Day 25...January 7, 2014

Day 25.....First things first...to all the mothers and fathers of missionaries and future missionaries, when your child fills out their mission papers evidently there is a question that pertains to sharing their medical information with other. Including their parents. Make sure they answer that correctly so that their medical information can be discussed with you. We found this out two moths ago when Morgan's bill from the MTC went through and I had a question about what the bill was for. They would not tell me because when Morgan filled out her papers she put that she didn't want her medical information discussed with anyone. I was a little bugged because we are insuring her and we need to know at we are paying for. Anyway, they were suppose to send papers to Morgan to fill out and email back so they can discuss it with us. I let our bishop know that missionaries need to watch that question because if something happens to Morgan in Tahiti, they won't discuss it with us. -that was thanksgiving- Two weeks later, the papers were not sent back from Morgan. I called on some billing things today and was told they couldn't discuss Morgan's health questions with me. I was calm and once they figured out what was going on Missionary Medical was so supportive and awesome. So this is just a heads up so maybe it will save some of you some frustration. Watch that question!!:)
Morgan was moved to rehab today. They have her busy from 7:30 - 3:30 everyday. So the few visitors she can have cant come until after 3:30. We will learn more tomorrow. It will be her first real day there. I didn't go down today. It is Avery's birthday and we went to lunch and had a little party with family tonight. She is having a hard time with all of this and today my priority was her. Troy said Morgan is about the same as yesterday. Her thoughts are all over the place. They are trying to find out what her last memory is but haven't figured that out yet. When you ask her about people she knows, she has opinions about them and they seem to be pretty right on but experiences are mixed up. Everyone says time and patience. This is a rough way to learn patience that for sure! I do want to thank everyone for the meals. My kids are thrilled and want recipes. We had two YW groups stop by tonight which was a surprise and so fun! and the primary from our ward made the cutest posters I will take to her tomorrow. She will love them. So many people to thank for everything!! It doesn't go unnoticed and we are very appreciative. I was telling Troy, one thing about all of this is, it has made me more aware of others and the trials they go through. Little things mean a lot and we thank all of you.