The following is an update from the Cerak family on Whitney’s progress that was written yesterday, Friday. We, the Van Ryn’s, continue to pray for them and rejoice with them for Whitney’s life and progress.

Romans 12:15
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

We read this verse to Whitney this morning as we spent time in the Word as a family. My dad followed her to physical therapy where she was put into a wheel chair that allowed her to use her good arm and leg to push herself back to her room! She ate all of her meals today and had good times of sleep.

For the rest of the day she was very aware and wanted to sit up for most of it. Whitney wanted to talk to everyone she could think of and had us call many of her friends. Some of her friends came for short visits and she would greet each with a hug and was able to hold conversations with great interaction. She made me laugh so hard when she asked two of her friends this question, "What has your day consisted of?" I walked away from her bed laughing after she asked us to write it down, and she told her friends that her sister was making fun of her.

In speech therapy the therapist has begun to walk her through the
events of the past five weeks. Today she just listened and nodded her head as the therapist gave her a very basic run down. However, her biggest worry of the day is when Hunter is going to arrive. She has been asking when Hunter, our dog will get here all day. We have called him many times at her request.

In the afternoon, we had to transport her to another facility where she had a CT Scan. My dad, Sandra, and I had to drive in a separate vehicle, so we put in a worship cd we had been listening to for the past 5 weeks to find comfort in. This immediately brought back all the realness of the pain we felt only a few days ago. Our thoughts were focused on the Van Ryns as put ourselves back in their shoes. We will continue to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.