Michael Stephens here. 

Thought I would do an update regarding the status of our youngest child, Ethan, who continues to recover from being struck by lightning about a month and a half ago.

Happily, Ethan is back home; he is out of the hospital.  He did not die, which was a huge answer to prayer; however, he still has some effects from the strike.  He has some short term memory loss, is quite deaf, and has vision problems.  He also has residual pain and is weak on his left side:  he has to use a wheelchair for the time being until he gets stronger.

It is going to take a while for him to recover from this, but at least it's better than the alternative:  him being buried six feet underground, lying in a casket, turning to mold.

Right now, Ethan is not able to go to school.  Instead we teach him here at home, to try and help him with his memory problems.  It is frustrating, but we are hopeful that he will improve in time.  The therapists said not to worry; things like this take a very long time to get over it.

Ethan spends his days going to therapy sessions:  physical.  Speech.  Occupational.  Counseling to help him deal with the implications his injury has put upon him and his life.  He also spends time going from one doctor to the next, in the hopes of trying to control the severe pain he's currently experiencing. 

It breaks my heart to see him suffering like this; if I could take some of that pain away from him, believe me, I would, in a heartbeat!!

Megan, our other child, is plagued with nightmares of the strike.  She can't sleep at night; she cries and gobbles in her sleep before she rips us awake with one of her bloodcurdling screams.  She, too, is going through mental counseling, to help her deal with the memories.

Jennifer and myself are trying to get back to a normal routine; we both know that this is impossible, especially when we see our son sitting in a wheelchair when he was once able to run around and play like any other little boy.  He can't walk very well yet; he has to wear braces on his legs, and can only stand on a pair of forearm crutches for a short period before intense pain takes over and he then has to sit down again.

The change in our family has been devastating.  We always knew lightning was dangerous; we just didn't realize how dangerous until Ethan got struck.

Well, Ethan is calling us, so I'd best go and see what he needs.  I will write in here again soon with another update.  Just continue to pray for us; we really could use a miracle for Ethan!  Life's changed, and we're not sure how to handle it without going crazy out of our skulls!  We would really appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

~Sincerely, Mike Stephens, Ethan's daddy.  :(

*to be continued.*