On January 1st we went to church for the Solemnity of Mary, which is the celebration of Mary’s motherhood of Jesus and is the oldest feast of Mary in the Catholic Church. It was great to see our Sts. Peter & Paul family. This spiritual family had been holding our family in prayer and their smiles and hugs were uplifting and telling of the immense love that reigned in their hearts.
 Aunt Marcia & Uncle Carlos | Uncle Carlos and Aunt Marcia came to visit the next day and were amazed to see how good David looked. David constantly repeated several words especially with Jorge. It was fun to watch them having a conversation. |
One day he voiced “ma” as he looked at me and I almost flipped of excitement. I loved when David and I would gaze at each other - there was so much that our eyes communicated - there was no need for words. I had gotten accustom to cherish silence.
| We started having walks around our neighborhood and enjoyed watching all details around us. It was such a great feeling being back home. At times when we would take our walks, David would ask to pray instead of listening to music. |  |
Every time all of us would be together we were grateful of having each other. David rejoiced at the championship jacket Fernando gave him after winning a National dance competition and told him he would dance for both of them every time.
It was fun to watch David washing the van with Jorge.
A spirit of gratitude emanated as we celebrated my birthday together. Ana Carolina surprised me with her visit along with Amanda and Jeremy. I had so much to be grateful for.
A few months prior to David’s accident, Eddy had met with friends Will G and Kristen T at a local sports bar and shared about oxygen therapy at their new business, Central Florida Hyperbaric Oxygen.
HBOT is a conservative non-invasive treatment method in which 100% medical grade oxygen levels is returned to tissues in the body at increased atmospheric pressure. It nourishes all tissues and allows the body to heal itself naturally. For the holidays, they saw each other again at the same sports bar and were excited to offer the treatment for David. We knew it was another heavenly blessing. On Wednesday January 4th David went for his first oxygen therapy and did very well. As he lied down in the chamber, he watched movies and relaxed. I sat next to his chamber amazed and grateful for the opportunity of receiving this pioneering therapy.
 David would relax in the chamber. |  Gaby called it the Avatar therapy. |
 Gaby would visit and spend the night to record his progress. | We were eager to learn what the road to recovery would take us. David’s spirit was great and he remained enthusiastic to every exercise or method or stretching technique that anyone would introduce. David paid close attention when Jorge talked to him about all the friends that came to visit him at the hospital and read to him every message from the notebook we had at the hospital and every card that the children sent him from the Saturday dance class. |
On January 11th Dan the contractor came to measure and draw a few models for the bathroom renovation to allow us to transfer David to the shower. This would prevent us from getting our backs injured and provide the area for David’s independence in the future. The bathroom remodeling had been another miracle. Federal funding had been frozen for this type of assistance but the Director managed to petition on David’s behalf and got all the approvals needed for the accessible adaptations. God had brought us home at the right time. Construction began at the end of February & completed in 2 weeks.
Jorge, Fernando, Josuan, David and I had so much fun on our first trip to the mall. David had a banana split and observed everything attentively. He also loved grocery shopping. On one occasion, my mother and I laughed watching David and Jorge going from one aisle to another aisle on the powered shopping cart.
Jorge and David enjoyed sitting at the front porch to practice the mini bike or at the back porch after dinner to converse. One evening Jorge proposed to him to start a business called “Little Talk Café”. As the conversation went on it amazed us of how David would use the whistle and repeated 4 words (bread, bus, pray and bye). We laughed so much as David revealed each one of our positions held at the business. Jorge and David were the owners and David would also be the manager. I was in charge of the bread and when David would need more bread he would whistle. Eddy was in charge of Public Relations and would also be the buss boy. Ana Carolina was the singer and Fernando the dancer. Josuan would be the maintenance manager and grandmother Mama Aby was in charge of praying. It was obvious that David still had his great sense of humor.
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So much love continue to pour with loved ones visiting.
 | Ana Carolina sent Valentine cupcakes from Ana’s Cakes with David’s favorite flavors.  |
 Cousin Alex, David and Chris S. | Justin Jr. and Chris S. visit brought great joy. David would enjoy listening to the stories of the countless canoe trips they all made on the Ecknolohatchee River. His reactions confirmed his long-term memory was still intact.  Justin Jr. |
Padrino Hector and my sister Noemy loved taking us to Cracker Barrel. Cousin Alex Javier played chess to bring back the skills. It was so much fun to have them around.
Jorge’s cousin Carmencita came from Puerto Rico to spend time with her daughter Pili and husband William. Their visit was enriching and fun. David enjoyed William’s company and a very unique brotherly friendship began between them both.
 Pili and Carmencita |  |
Jorge’s brother Joselo, wife Mireya and granddaughter Emily also traveled from Puerto Rico bringing their unique joy and laughter.
My sister Lucia invited us to IHOP and was very impressed on David’s progress. Aunt Emilita’s visit was special and unique. She explained how she prayed every morning for him. After meditating with David on his accident and how it was a lesson for him and all his friends, she instilled in him a force to work hard and overcome any limitation.
 Titi Lu |  Tia Emilita |
Steven S, Chris C and his daughter KeeKee also came to visit. then on March 12th was a full house with special friends Chris S, Steven S, Rommy S, Irene P, John S and Frank R who brought back memories and old fun stories to David.
Fernando, Frank, Steven, Ana Carolina, Chris, Rommy, John, David & Irene.
| Vince introduced David to the online talks “TED” which became one of his favorite things to do.  |  |
Mama Aby spent some special time with us. We read, visit the lake and watched great movies including “Karol, A man who became Pope”. We learned that early in John Paul’s life as a priest, he had also suffered a brain injury and through prayer came out of a comma.
 With Mama Aby. |  |
David’s reaction was priceless when Gaby called to offer him tickets to the basketball game between the Orlando Magic and the Chicago Bulls.
| He was so excited. It was a special “Guys Night Out” with Jorge, Fernando and Chris S. |  |
Brandon K and Zach came to visit on a Friday afternoon. David gave Zach's daughter a rosary to keep. It was such a joy to hear that Brandon had decided - as he explained - to “search for God”, on a five month journey hiking from North Georgia to North Maine. He recounted special moments in his life where David and him had shared, which had made things easier for him and had also created bonds that would always keep them strongly connected. We sent him off on his spiritual journey with the book “Making all things new” by Henri Nouwen and came together for a special prayer.
 Brandon, David, Zach and his daughter. |  |
David became more involved in letting us know what he needed and wanted such as shaving, things to eat (cake), where to go (bed, chair, porch). He would be buttoning his shirt, turning off lights, fixing the bed, closing doors, watching over Calle (the cat) and was very aware of his surroundings. David was pointing at letters, birthday dates and holidays on the calendar and would say “Ana” clearly. He was now rinsing his mouth and spitting out. He was constantly trying to serve by emptying the dishwasher or loading the dishes, taking out the trash and carrying the groceries. One day he wanted to clean Fernando's tennis shoes that had dirt on them. He had a great spirit of service.
Before each meal, each snack, each cup of water or coffee, David would close his eyes and prayed in silence. I had never been so aware of the wonder behind the blessings over meals as much as I did now. It reminded me of the story of St. Benedict of Nursia who always prayed a blessing over anything he would eat or drink. On one occasion, after blessing over a cup, it broke and the poisoned wine fell on the ground saving his life.
All therapies (PT, OT, ST) began on February 6th at Lucerne Rehabilitation. We learned that David was reading and writing his name at speech therapy. He was measured for a new wheel chair, for an ankle brace and for a standing frame. The physical therapist Brenda talked to us in depth about considering the Baclofen pump to break the tone on David’s legs. I continued to beg the Lord for Him to break the tone. We were open about Botox injections for the tone and considered getting the funding through a fundraiser. The pump was not what we hoped for.
We also learned it would be a demanding journey but we were also committed for the ride ahead. We knew our Faith, Hope and Love was the fruit of not only God’s faithful promise and our Mother Mary’s constant intercession but, also the many, many, many who continued to pray for our endurance and fortitude. I understood how Moses was blessed with his community at the battle with the Amalekites, where Aaron and Hur held up his hands when he grew tired. Just as Aaron and Hur held Moses hands up, our family and friends were holding us up in prayer.
There were numerous occurrences that kept reminding us we were not alone.
- One afternoon a young man dropped his bike in the middle of the road and ran to help me sit David in the wheelchair. We embraced and as I thanked him – he cried and thanked us.
- At adoration, we were given a scripture reading and the sacred heart novena, which we started immediately.
- As we were leaving from David getting a haircut, a man walking by said that as long as we believed, David would walk again. Jorge, Fernando and I turned around and said, “Amen, we believe”.
- When we saw on television Pope Francis visiting Cuba and celebrating mass, David became saddened because he couldn't take the Eucharist so we prayed to Jesus to come into our hearts.
- We spoke to Rose W, and she reminded us of God’s promises to take care of us. She also gave us the great news about Matthew making sounds at the nursing home in Miami. Matthew had been transferred with David to the nursing home from the hospital the same day with a severe brain injury as well.
- At a Sts. Peter & Paul’s King of Kings prayer night, Mr. Edwards prayed over David, Jorge and I and a profound joy invaded our hearts.
- As we walked through the Stations of the Cross, David became emotional and we came together in prayer.
Through this time, I remembered how Dr. Sanchez looked at David at Jackson Memorial Hospital and with such a sad look on his face kept repeating to me the severity of his injury. Now all I could think was that if he could see David’s progress he would certainly believe in the power of prayer and the healing the Lord was doing in him.
(Exodus 17:11-12)
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