Do You Believe in Miracles?

I do.
Today was one more great big giant step in the healing of Frieda Hudson.
First and foremost, I want to say THANK YOU on Frieda's behalf for those who have prayed for her, believed in her and most importantly believed without fail that she WOULD get better.
Today was a HUGE day. We went together as friends for an afternoon OUT. I've spent hours now trying to find words to express the hundreds of feelings that I am experiencing after today's outing. I cannot even try to imagine what it was like for Frieda.
We have waited for a long while to take Frieda someplace...any place that was outside in fresh air, sunshine, cars, buildings...LIFE. We wanted so badly to get her out into the world again and out of the facility. I am SO happy that today was the day that happened for Frieda and in fact for ALL of us. We were out as FRIENDS...just like we used to be. We have all waited so long for this day.
So, today we decided was "it." Wayne and Buddy had made a ramp and we took Buddy's van up to Washington. JUST IN CASE the headroom wasn't working in our favor, we carried a measuring tape. We had agreed not to "say" anything until we were sure the chair would work. Well, that was dumb on our part, because as soon as Buddy took out the tape, Frieda knew exactly what he was doing, what was going on and she was ready to roll. She even indicated that if the power chair was too tall...too "ANYTHING," that she could use a regular wheel chair! What a riot that was! She was DETERMINED that she was OUTTA THERE and that was that.
So, we got into the van with absolutely no problems whatsoever. What was precious was a family standing outside the door. There were about 15 people out there and they were on the sidewalk. When we came out, I said excuse us and that we were excited, as this was our first outing. The folks got on each side of the walk and as Frieda and I passed by them, they began to CLAP and shout AMEN!!! We were just overwhelmed...but in typical FRIEDA FASHION, she began to "parade wave" as we went through the group of people! I followed suit and said to Frieda, "I'll bet you never expected I'd have a parade arranged for you, did you?"
The folks laughed, we laughed and we were on our way to the van with soaring hearts!
As I said, there were no problems getting in the van. We road to Washington Park and around Washington. We went past Wal-Mart and Frieda made it CLEAR that she wanted to stop. So, we did. She wanted to go straight to electronics and dvds and such. We parked where the curb was high at the garden center and while the guys parked, we headed inside. She was moving through the place like a pro. It was incredible. After snooping at all kinds of stuff, we made our way to the electronics department, where we had told Wayne and Buddy to meet us. We went through EVERY dvd in in the place I think..even all the cheapy ones. Frieda picked out several dvd's and soon we were on our way snooping our way back out of Wal-Mart. Next, she wanted to go to Blockbuster. So, there we went. We looked over all the twofers, the fourfers and all points in between. She picked out a few more dvd's and the next thing you know, she wanted to go outside. She sat there in the sunshine, just letting it warm her, hit her face and she took good deep breaths. I had asked her what the fresh air was like for her and she was LOVING IT! We had carried blankets, etc to make sure Frieda was warm. After all, it has been nearly 8 months since she had been exposed to the outdoors to amount to anything. I had carried her into the courtyard on warmer days back in the fall, but of late, it had been too cold. Frieda is hot natured, so she was fine. She even rolled her eyes at me when I asked her for about the hundredth time "if she was warm enough."
After a while, we headed back to the facility. It was a great day. She wasn't exactly ready to go back, but because it was her first outing since learning a while back that she could leave, we didn't want to over do anything. We assured her that we'd do it again on a regular basis and we got an "OK" sign and a thumb's up with that. She said words for us today. That is still SO wonderful to hear Frieda using her voice!!! I've never been so thrilled to hear "ANNE." She wrote sentences and we "talked" about some things in that way. Frieda reads, writes pretty much what she wants and so communication is getting easier and easier. It never really felt "hard" to me. You just had to pay attention and focus on FRIEDA. She's always let you know what she wanted...it just took a bit more effort a few months ago.
I am SO proud of the FIGHT that Frieda Hudson has in her. I have never doubted for a second that she would do everything in her power to improve to the best of her ability. Frieda has had people who have prayed non-stop for her, believed in her and asked God to restore her to His will and His plan for her. We cannot say just how far Frieda will go with all of this. All I know is that she improves DAILY and from my vantage point, there is no stopping her.
I want you all to know that you were with Wayne, Buddy and me in our hearts as we made this incredible journey today.
We take short rides, short runs to Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, etc. for granted. I saw what those simple outings meant to my precious friend today and as I said earlier, I am so emotional, I'm still more or less at a loss for words.
Words are not necessary, as Frieda has shown us over and over again. Commitment, love, support BELIEF and PRAYER, however are what keep us moving forward each and every day.
We love you SO much Frieda. We are so happy to have shared such a NORMAL day with you. I look so forward to many, many more days just like today and even BETTER!!!
This is very emotional so, that's about it for this post. I just knew I owed it to the faithful readers and those of you who have consistently prayed, loved and believed in Frieda's recovery to know that she had a TREMENDOUS step forward today.
God bless you all. We love you and FRIEDA loves you for sticking with her. You can bank on that!
Till next time,
Annie

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