Albin news Jan 17, 2011

Albin News Readers,

The news this week is mostly on the ag side of things. We are in historical times in the agricultural world as we head into next spring. We are heading into inflationary times just as the world is running short on agricultural produce. Everything from fuel and fertilizer to wheat and beef seem to be inflating. Sooner or later, this will bring inflation to everyday items such as vehicles and flat screen TVs. Since Albin is an ag community which produces commodities such as wheat, corn, beef, and now some crude oil, this should mean an overall boost. However, we are all still consumers and will have to pay higher prices for flat screen TVs just like everyone else.

Early spring calving has now started for a few of the area ranchers and will continue through early summer. Please be careful going down the gravel roads as the calves can slip through fences easier than the cows.

The community center has open gym for basketball on Thursday nights at seven and open swim from 4-8 on Monday nights. There is also a Mom's circle from 9-11 on Mondays where Moms can bring their kids in and have a little time off to enjoy the craft of their choice or just visit.

The community play “If It's Murder Than It Must Be Monday” is scheduled for Feb 4. It will be a “dessert theater” (like a dinner theater but with just dessert) so be ready to laugh until whip cream comes out your nose. More details to follow.

Here's the latest on Tim from Dixie:

Tim is getting closer and closer to walking on his own and just like a runner getting closer to finishing a race, he wants to reach this goal and finish it NOW so he can move on to the next race!  We have added more therapy time with us using a Thera-cycle (arms and legs) and though he's not able to use the left leg quite yet, he is using the right leg and both arms. His texting is getting better, writing legibly, and reading more at distances (closer and farther)!  He thanks God every night for the his progress and for him to see it clearly--we see it in so many ways, but Tim needs to see it in big ways, even though we assess the day of his progress.  Continue to pray for God to give Tim a vision of his progress and continued trust in God's healing and His timing.  We thank you all for the encouragement--Tim reads or has us read any cards, texts, Caringbridge comments, etc. so we thank you again.  Pray and Believe that Tim will walk by himself in January!   

Here's the latest on Garrett from Scott:

This weeks update is being done by good old Dad. I came down last week and let Cindy go home for a well deserved break. I don't know how she has done this for so long. I'm wore out but this has been good for me. God Bless mothers. Anyway Garrett had a good week. He continues being stretched and exercised by the therapists. He rides the bike about a mile each day with emphasis on using his left leg more and more. His goal is to achieve a 50/50 mix. Right now he only gets about 20-30/80-70 mix left leg naturally the weaker. His speech therapist is still working to get his swallow to be faster so he can handle thin liquids. He can swallow about 1/2 teaspoon without choking. When he gets to handle larger amounts of water I believe they will take his stomach tube out. He also has trouble with the "K" and  "G" sound. This has alot to do with breathing and talking. We assume that speech is an automatic response. It's not, you have to think the whole process through. I should probably try the whole thinking before speaking thing. They are trying to get him walking. He is trying so hard to move and can occasionally take an unaided step. Today he took two unaided steps for me as we tried to maneuver up to the urinal. Maybe he needs a goal to motivate him to walk. Not peeing in your pants is a good incentive!! We are also trying to get him to initiate conversations IE: telling us what he wants or what he is feeling without being asked. We have been standing to move from bed into his wheelchair. Now they are getting him to do a sitting transfer which will allow him to move sooner by himself. The philosophy here is that his center of gravity will be lower and if he loses his balance he won't fall very far. He can do this, but he wants to stand so we have to get him to keep his hands on the chair or bed to keep his center low. He is catching on. Saturday came and with no therapy to occupy our time we decided to take a drive. We left to quickly after eating too much lunch and most of it came back to haunt us as we drove through Golden. By the time we got back to the hospital his coat was pretty full as I directed him to place it there rather than on my pickup seat. It is amazing the peace and strength God gives you in situations that might otherwise cause you to say bad words. I just cleaned him and the pickup and everything was fine. Garrett is getting better and I thank God and you all for your continuing prayers. Philippians 4:19 tells us that God will meet our needs. He is doing that, only we often mistake our wants and desires for needs. Jesus's parables in Matthew 6:25-34 tell us to not worry about tomorrow because tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. We thank God for each and every day we are given. This accident of Garrett's has made me appreciate this wisdom more than ever. With God's grace, His healing touch and your prayers Garrett will get better.     Scott
Just a quick note about the family mtg on Wed -- our departure date is set for Feb 16 because #1 this is an avg 3 month stay rehab #2 G is medically stable #3 everyone is confident that we can care for all his needs at home #4 G cannot start to think of this as 'home' (I heard that, they did not say that at mtg). Asked what would keep him here longer, they said if one of the 'therapists' were close to a break through and could not be accomplished with home therapy. Case worker working on home therapy options. Speech will be a BIG one. Asked what kind of qualifications -- medical background, TBI/cognition experience, dysphagia swallowing. 

In Ag news, the 2011 acre war continues to heat up as last Wednesday's NASS and WASDE reports turned out to be another bullish report for wheat, soybeans and corn. At this point, corn and soybean stocks are predicted to be at or near “pipeline” supply by the time next fall rolls around. That means it's time for farming communities all over the World to step up to the plate and do the best they can to bring another crop to harvest. I say farming communities because there's a whole lot more to farming than the farmer. To bring a good crop to harvest takes a good banker, a good road maintainer, a good mechanic, a good fertilizer dealer, a good equipment dealer, a good semi driver, etc etc. In other words, in times like these, the World needs and depends on communities like the Albin comunity.

I do want to mention one thing about our current situation that seems pertinent at this time. At this point, even if we have an average production year in 2011, it is very possible that we will have to ration corn and soybean use. If we have a poor production year (if we have a drought or other natural catastrophe) this rationing could be very severe. In practical terms, this just means that the major buyers of these commodities, the ethanol and the livestock industries, will have to figure out how to get along with less. If those two industries have to ration, it will mean that Joe Cool US citizen will have less ethanol in his gasoline and less meat in his diet. It doesn't mean that we're going to run out of people food. Imagine if we lived in a place where not only was food expensive, it simply wasn't available to buy! This scenario is very unlikely. We still live in the land of plenty and we still feed 50% of our corn crop to animals. Only about 3% of the corn crop goes to make things like corn meal and corn flakes. If humans ate all of that corn instead of feeding it to animals, it would feed a lot more people that it currently does! In the long term, if the world population continues to grow and the farming community can't find a way to keep increasing yields, that's what will have to happen. We may have to get used to eating corn bread and not have any ham and beans or chili to go with it!

I have heard that at the current rate of world population growth, we will have to double food production by 2050 to feed everyone. It's impossible to tell what will happen in the next 39 years but I think it's safe to say that these little farming communities are only going to become more and more important. BASF put together an interesting little video to this effect called “One Hungry Planet.” You can check it out by going to YouTube and searching “One Hungry Planet” or going to this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd-48Zw0Tr4&feature=fvw.