Ashley's Verse of the Day

"We love him, because he first loved us."
1 John 4:19 (KJV)

Dear Lord, You are bigger, more powerful, and more magnificent than I can imagine. I place myself in Your hands today. I will trust You wherever I find myself today, and with whatever comes my way. I love You, and I know that is because You first loved me. Help me show others Your amazing love. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Hi Everyone!

Ashley had a good day yesterday! During the medical team conference meeting yesterday everyone reported her continued progress in each session. Dr. Currie continues to reduce the medications so that when she goes home she may not be on any medications! Based on the therapist's reports Dr. Currie estimates another 2 to 3 weeks of in-patient rehab then she will be going home to continue out patient rehab in the Valley. It is good to hear that we will soon be going home and we pray and ask for your prayers for the Lord to open the doors to the best out patient facility and have the best therapist work with Ashley in the Valley as in San Antonio.

The therapist continue to work on her trunk muscle strength for more standing and walking ability. Ashley is doing well with grasping objects with her hands and fingers. During PT yesterday she also worked on walking in a grapevine motion crossing her feet in front then in the back as she did a open-cross- together side step. She crossed her feet through the back before the therapist got started which amazed the therapist because it is usually harder for a patient to get from crossing in the front then immediately start crossing in the back. Everyone who sees her coming down the aisle stops to look at her and expresses their excitement on how great she looks and good she is doing. I tell them its all the LORD above!

Ashley also continues to swallow very well using a straw or just from a cup. Her chewing of small amounts is tolerated very well also. She continues to be very aware of her surroundings and we love to hear her laugh when me or her dad do or say something funny. By the time we know it she is laughing, us not knowing that she was even paying attention. She is tolerating her eyeglasses a little more and we have seen a decrease in the blinking. Last night as we were watching one of her cheerleading and track home videos, she called out clearly "Mommy" and I hugged her for a long time as we both cried and I told her everything was going be just fine because the Lord above is making her stronger everyday and he is watching and protecting all of us. We are so blessed to be able to hug and kiss our kids everyday. Adrian and Alyssa are doing very well. They assist and help with her care and interact as before. Alyssa loves to push Ashley in the wheel chair and crawl into her bed to snuggle. Thank you all for your continued prayers for our Ashley, our family and all the children that are here with Ashley in the hospital as well. We love you and appreciate all your love and care.

Thank you ACTS brothers & sisters we love you!

May God Bless you all and all the families struggling with the floods in their homes in the Valley and Mexico.

Special thanks to Patti and Josie who started Ashley's blog page back in May and have done an wonderful job keeping everyone informed. Also special thanks to Jan Keller & her son John Keller and their family for their love and prayers for Ashley as they visited her in the hospital and at home. If you are in need of a miracle, or know of someone who needs encouragement, please read John's story and see the amazing work of our Lord at johnkellerupdate.blogspot.com. You can also view John's story on youtube.com under "John Keller Miracle in Progress".

God Bless and Have a Great Day!
Lourdes

*Note from Patti: It's amazing to see that Ashley's blog has generated over 5,000 visits in such a short time. The outpouring of love towards this family is phenomenal! I would like to share this one verse from The Message translation: II Corinthians 1, verses 3-4 "All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us." We have all gone through rough stuff, but it is the reaching out and making those miracle connections that truly brings the blessings! Ashley's recovery is certainly the hand of the Lord, but it is also the demonstration of the love of Christ that you all have for her and her family, and exhibit towards one another. What an honor and a privilege to be a part of something so special as Ashley's recovery! May God bless you all!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Ashley's Verse of the Day

Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous!

Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your

God is with you wherever you go.

--Joshua 1:9

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Hello everyone!

Ashley had somewhat of a quiet day yesterday during her ST. She continues do well with her swallowing of liquids and some solids. During PT she accomplished two set of stairs up and down. Each set was about 15 steps. She also did very well in kicking the ball to the therapist In OT she worked on putting on dad's t-shirt and did well with assistance. She worked on holding a ball while extending her arms to put it in the basket. She continues to struggle with her right eye. She blinks a lot and seems to have trouble focusing. We think she may feel some irritation or pain because she reaches up to touch her eye. We tried her eyeglasses but she reaches up and removes them so we will be advising the doctor to follow up on this.

Specific prayers are needed for:1. Vision irritability to clear up for her.
2. She maybe able to turn on her vocal sounds for more speech.
3. Independent walking
4. Tolerate eating solids

Ashley was visited by the Reyes family yesterday. We want to thank Henry, Sandy, and their girls Mandy, Cici, Amber & Aliyah Reyes for all their continued prayers. Thank you Henry for your personal gift to Ashley. It caught some of the staff's attention. They ask her so who came to visit you today Ashley? They have been surprised with all the family and friends that have visited Ashley. We tell them that we have a lot of friends and family that love and support Ashley and are praying for her and the medical team everyday. Some of the staff that have seen Ashley are from the Valley. We are very well taken care, everyone is so caring and gives us warms smiles and greetings everyday.

Have a wonderful day!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Ashley's Verse of the Day

Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may

receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND PROTECT YOU TODAY!

Monday, July 26, 2010

This is Ashley's Godparents Israel & Diana & God-sister Kasie Mata who

also came on Friday and stayed with her the weekend.

This is Ashley's goddaughter Aaliyah E. Perez & mom (Ashley's cousin)

Amanda Garza came to by surprise and spent the weekend with Ashley 07/23/10.

My Sisters in Christ, Deanne Economedes on left and Celin Casas

on right came by for a surprise visit Ashley on 07/23/10.


Clowning around on David's birthday on 07/21/10.



This is when all my family came up to see Ashley back on 07/17/10.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Hello Everyone!

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and gifts for our Ashley. It was great seeing a lot of our loved ones again. We appreciate your support and love which gives us the strength to go forward everyday knowing that you all have us in your prayers. Because of our faith and your faith, the Lord above is hearing us and seeing how we have come together to praise & honor him not just yesterday, today but everyday 24/7! JUST KEEP PRAYING!!!!!

Thank you my Blessed Mother Mary for the strength you have given me from that first day your Son sent me back home to Ashley as I witness His powerful love and mercy through her angles. My daughter Ashley is in your Son's hands and I am not worthy to ask, but please watch and protect Ashley, my son Adrian and my daughter Alyssa. Please forgive me for my sins and continue giving me the strength to care for and love them. Thank you for the many blessing you have brought to my husband David as well. He has become a man of honorable faith who protects and loves his family everyday.

Lourdes Olivarez

God Bless and Have a Great Day!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Ashley's Verse of the Day

The victory that conquers the world is our faith. God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his son. Whoever possesses the son has life. John 5:4,11,12

Friday, July 23, 2010

O P P O R T U I T Y !

Family and friends of Ashley Olivarez:

We will have a prayer at the Bicenntenial Park on Jackson & Sprague, in Edinburg on Tuesday, August 3rd. I will also be taking pictures for Ashleys prayer blanket. That will be the last day to get your pictures in. Lets all show up & make this a miracle for Ashley.

Thanks,
Juvi
jjbjj5@yahoo.com
(956) 330-5199

Friday, July 23, 2010

This is Ashley with her friend from school wendy Ochoa. Wendy was planning to surprise Ashley with her visit on Thursday the 22nd but it turned out that Wendy was in for the big surprise to see Ashley walking back to her room from her therapy session. It was great for both of them to hold each other, laugh & interact.

Thank you for your prayers & comments.

Love the Olivarez family

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Hi everyone!

Thank you for all your prayers regarding Ashley’s EEG. There were no signs of any seizures and the test was negative! Thank you, Our Lord! Dr. Currie will start decreasing medications with the goal of gradually removing them.

Ashley shows more understanding on the activities she is being asked to perform. She is holding and drinking more from a cup and she holds a spoon and brings it to her lips. She lets us know with facial expressions when she is not comfortable. Ashley is still wanting to run before walking and her hand grasping is stronger. She is reading and singing too! Speech has low vocal sounds but good lip movement. She is very alert and responsive, but sleeps very well at night.

We are so proud of Ashley and the progress she continues to make! Thank you for your continued prayers!

Thursday, July 22, 2010 David's Birthday

Thank you to those of you who called or texted David on his birthday! It meant a lot to him. The nurses gave him a cake and the girls made cards. David received an ACTS pull string bag from Adrian and an ACTS bracelet from all of us. He said just being able to hug and kiss all his kids was the greatest gift of all. It was a happy and good day. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Thursday, July 22, 2010 REMINDER!

R e m i n d e r !!!

Family and friends:

We want to surprise Ashley by the time she goes home with her very own picture quilt! We need you to send pictures of you, or you and Ashley to Juvi Juarez. You can email them to her at jjbjj5@yahoo.com. Her phone number is (956) 330-5199 in case you need to ask her questions. The deadline to submit the pictures is this Sunday, July 25th!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 SURPRISE!

Ashley walking to her dental appointment! What a blessing!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Dr. Currie returned from vacation and was very impressed with Ashley's progress in the last two weeks. He ordered an EEG, which is in progress now, so please pray for good results. Also, her therapies have gone well. Yesterday she also sat and rocked herself in a rocking chair.

Along with last Wednesday's exciting removal of trache, we were very blessed to have my in-laws bring my brother-in-law home to his children. Ashley was happy to see him and all the family! Thank you to our Lord above for allowing this great reunion! Thank you all for your continued prayers and comments! They are very important to us and we share them with Ashley.

By the way, if you all get a chance, please send special prayers and birthday wishes to David who is celebrating his birthday tomorrow (Wednesday the 21st). I am trying to get a cake for him and the girls made him a card. You can text him at (956) 624-7897. Thank you and may God bless you & your families.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Hello everyone!

We wanted to share Ashley's weekend update with you! Ashley continues to show us God's amazing love everyday. She has been doing well in her therapy sessions. Friday afternoon she was surprised to see Javi, Sonia, Annie Badillo & Cynthia Granado. The big smile on her face told us she knew who they were. While sitting, she crossed from one leg to another without demonstration. She also showed how strong she can walk with assistance. They are very excited for Ashley. She was also surprised on Saturday when more family members came in! My two brothers with family, my sister with her family & my parents. She looked to each one as we called their name. What a blessing Ashley has done for our family. We were able to take one big family picture.

During the afternoon she was also visited by good friends Jaime Salinas, who brought a message from his wife YvONnE who had already visited Ashley twice before. She was also surprised by dear friend Dorina Caceres & her daughter Natalie also and Yvonne Saenz & her daughter Jasmine!

On Sunday we started our morning like every morning thanking the Lord for a blessed evening and strength for the day ahead that He has given us. Ashley received communion in the room. We later got ready for 3:30pm Mass here, within the hospital at St. John's Hall. Also joining us were my parents, my brother, Julian and my sister in law, Aida. Again Ashley did very well in Mass and looked beautiful with her long colored nails and hair up in a high pony tail with new silver earrings.

After Mass, we showed my family the hospital and went to eat at the cafe. Once we were back in Ashley's room, we found a big surprise! Ashley's school friends Edelicia & Frankie Garcia & parents along with Samantha Cantu & her brother and parents. It was good for all us to have seen so many familiar friendly faces!

Thank you all for your thoughtfulness kind words and gifts for Ashley. David and I later went to the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. What a beautiful, peaceful and holy ground. As we walked together, we could feel our holy mother all around us letting us know that we were not to worry and that she is taking care of our daughter, Ashley. Thank you for your continued prayers for Ashley.!

Love,
The Olivarez Family

I will praise you (in the storm) Lord with all my heart and I will

declare all your wonderous deeds! I will delight and rejoice in You;

I will sing hyms to your name, O Most High

Psalms 9:1-2

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to share the special event that is going on here today! What a blessing! Ashley's friend, Heidi, is leaving to go home to Uvalde today! This is a photo of them together. They have exchanged phone numbers and will be texting soon, I'm sure. We are asking that you keep Heidi and her family in your prayers, as you do Ashley. Heidi will continue outpatient rehab and will continue to get stronger every day! Heidi's family is like our family and are full of faith and trust in the Lord, We have become very close. We found out that they were very dear friends of our own Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Economedes through the Fire Department.

Ashley continues to surprise us everyday with the Lord's work. Today she answered clearly "yes" and "no"! We are also hearing more and more her funny laugh! WE LOVE YOU ASHLEY! Thank you for working so hard for us! You are continuing in your pursuit of excellence and we love you for this!

Please continue praying, Thank you and we love you all!

Wednesday July 14, 2010 5:00 PM

UPDATE!

The Lord sent His angels and the removal of Ashley's trache was painless, peaceful and quick! Ashley is already up and around in her chair! No stitches were needed and the hole will close on its own within a few days. Thank you to our King above! Everyone here is VERY surprised and VERY excited for her because discussion on this only came up this morning, and it was said that this would be done next week! But the Lord said "No! I want it done TODAY!" We trust in the Lord! Thank you for your prayers and we love you! God is awesome!

Wednesday July 14, 2010 3:30 PM

CALLING FOR IMMEDIATE PRAYER!

A text was just received asking for immediate prayer. They are removing Ashley's trache within the hour. Please pray for strength for Ashley and wisdom for the medical team!

We will update!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

WOW! Ashley- we are so PROUD of you! THANK YOU for all of your hard work that you are doing to try to get better faster!

Ashley is doing VERY well in all of her therapies! "PT" - Physical Therapy, she continues to walk with side by side support and a walker! Sometimes she speeds up on the therapist, as if wanting to run! In "OT" - Occupational Therapy, she is grasping objects and is improving with both hands! She also raises her right arm to waive and "high-five"! In "SpT" - Speech Therapy, she is doing very well in strengthening her tongue muscles and was able to close her lips around a spoon and swallow pudding! This is HUGE! We can even hear a little of her voice as she tries to make some words!!!!! Thank you Lord, for your continued blessings! We think she may be experiencing a little double vision, so we are patching one eye, and then the other, switching on and off.

Ashley's swallowing test went very well today! Although she was kind of sleepy due to early meds, she was able to show good swallow flow. During therapy, she was given some thickened gatorade in a cup and did very well with that also. She sounded out the ABC's and counted numbers. She waived and said "hello" to the doctors during their visit with her. Ashley also takes her own athletics shoes off, with her feet to start therapy sessions.

When praying after receiving communion, she was able to put her hands together, bring them up to her face and then she closed her eyes to follow our same motions, on her own. That was beautiful to see her do that on her own. Thank you Lord Jesus, for the strength you send to our Ashley everyday. She continues to show a desire to run first before walking! We have to keep up with her! Thank you my King!

Thank you all so much for all your encouraging comments! We love you all!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Hello everyone!

How exciting! We were able to take Ashley to Mass here within the hospital at St. John's Chapel! Ashley did so well! She knew we were in the Lord's house and closed her right eye to focus on Jesus on the cross, above the altar. When it came time to stand, I watched her as she extended her feet form her wheelchair and moved her right hand towards her seat belt, put her index finger on the belt release button, trying so hard to free herself to stand! I sat with her and told her it would be okay for us to sit. Jesus understands! The Father came to us to receive Communion and she was able to take a small piece. Thank you for your continued prayers! We feel them and they are working! Amen!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Dear Family and Friends:

Please send pictures of you, or you with Ashley to be a part of a prayer quilt that is being made for Ashley. Please call Juvi Juarez at (956) 330-5199 or email her at jjbjj5@yahool.com. Let's surprise Ashley by the time she goes home! She will love to see you on it! The deadline will be Saturday, July 24th to get your pictures in!

Monday, July 12, 2010

We want to acknowledge some people without whom, we would not have our precious Ashley with us. On May 19th, the Lord sent his angels to work through two very important men in our lives, our neighbors, Rafael Magana and Angel Torres and their families. In the midst of a crisis, they gave selflessly and saved Ashley's life. They did not know what they were about to do and yet did not give up or turn away to the call of the Lord.

We are so very grateful that the Lord put them in our path that day. We would ask everyone that is connected to Ashley to put them and their families in everyday prayers!

I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me! Philippians 4:13

Ashley selected her scripture back when designing her senior page for her yearbook. After having a difficult time with the TAKs test, she loved what this scripture said and what it meant for her. As you can see from this picture, the strength of our Christ continues to show through her everyday!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Exciting things are happening for Ashley! She is improving everyday. She is so much stronger already, which encourages her family and friends even more. Ashley is now taking tiny steps with help and has also learned to close her lips on a spoon and use her voice to make words. Praise God! There no immediate medical concerns at this time, just for Ashley to rest and heal. The Doctor wants to completely cap off Ashley's trache in the near future as well.

Ashley is sitting up very well and holds her head up. We see lots of smiles and laughs. Seeing pictures of family and friends definitely brings a smile to her face, so please send pictures to Ashley at the hospital. Her address is listed on left had side of the blog.

There will be a Mass held for Ashley on Sunday, July 25th at 1:00 pm at the Holy Family Church on Champion and 23rd Street in Edinburg. Everyone is welcome to attend.

We would also ask that you pray for Ashley's new friend, Heidi. Heidi is 18 and from Uvalde and has a similar situation to that of Ashley, and now Heidi is walking, eating and talking on her own! The work of our Lord is Amazing!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! We love you all!