Tuesday Jan 23

Sorry about the gap in postings. I've been submerged with major and minor hassles. "The Man" has really been stickin' it to me. By that I mean the endless parade of insurance, social security, medicaid, and various other types of hoops to jump thru. Steve is doing great. He is outnumbered and outmanuevered each day by the tag team of Georgina, Marianne, and Judy. The staff at the hospital continues to be amazed at the quantity and quality of the progress Steve exhibits. Short term memory is really coming back with an unexpected and awesome display. He remembered somebody last week that he didn't know the week before, but this week he was able to remember what he had for breakfast the day of the injury. I must end now. Keep praying.

tuesday 1/16

Hello blogophiles. More improvement has occurred. S is remembering events and people which entered his life since the fall on a regular basis now, rather than sporadically. He remembered a young lady with whom he had spent some time in the 2 weeks prior to the fall, whereas 2 weeks ago he didn't know who she was. He is laughing some and engaging in some wordplay with the speech therapist. The head of the therapy department, Dr. House (really) said that S will probably leave the hospital in 2-4 weeks. The knitting together of the bones in the right wrist may influence this vague timetable. The hand specialist wants to put a plate in the wrist before he leaves, but he also wants to wait as long as possible; so this, like everything else, is up inthe air.

Saturday 1/13/07

More good things are happening, and fast. His concentration continues to improve. His mood stabilizing medicine (depakote) has finally taken effect. G says he has been peaceful and profanity free Friday and Saturday, memory is better, and he was even discussing his future plans today. G is getting some relief, as my sister will be spending a week there.







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Wed. 1/10

Steve is progressing through the stages. Some of them aren't so pleasant, but they are scheduled stops on the journey. The stage he is in now is characterized by some anger and irritibility.We've been told that at this point, the patient is really beginning to know that they are damaged, cannot do what they used to do (at least not with ease), want the previous life back, and the frustration boils over into various expressions of unpleasantness. On the positive side, Steve is making big gains in the cognitive skills. Concentration is improving dramatically. Today he stayed engaged in conversation with the speech therapist for 30 minutes. Georgina asks for prayer for Steve's nasty side to diminish.











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Sunday 1/7

Steve is taking a new medication intended to mitigate some of the control problems that are part of the process, such as tantrums,profanity, and (but not limited to ) undressing in the hallway. I objected, as these are some of the core qualities of the early-20s American male, but was overruled. He improves steadily in all areas-readin', 'ritin', and 'rithmetic, conversing with visitors, eating, walking, eating, remembering, sequencing, eating, sleeping. There's a long way to go yet. Please continue to pray.

Saturday 1/6/07

Steve continues to improve. However, the more he advances, he is that much more difficult to attend to. It is just like raising a child, but on an accelerated basis. A newborn baby is easy. A 2- or 3-year old is very difficult. Any parent can testify how exhausting-physically, mentally, and emotionally- an experience it is to tend to an individual who is mobile but is not really attuned to what is good or bad for him. Now imagine doing that for 6 weeks, 12-14 hours a day, and this is Georgina's life. Many fine people in Colorado Springs are visiting faithfully and making their support felt, but in practical terms, they can't do what needs to be done. So, while you're praying, please include my wife.
She needs it. PS-Beth went back to school. Tom is now Blogmiester.

Thurs. 1/4/07

Today two interesting things happened. Steve asked his favorite physical therapist, "How long have I been like this?" When Troy told him, and explained what had happened, Steve grew very pensive. He's starting to put it together. Later in the day, a representative of the court visited as part of the process for making Georgina his legal guardian. She was there to confirm that Steve was not capable of making his own decisions. Steve picked that exact moment to pull out the base plate for the stomach feeding tube, which was stitched to his skin. She needed no further evidence. Part of the current stage is a loss of inhibition, which often manifests itself in profane speech. Tonight G put him on the phone to talk to me. Our conversation follows: Me:"Hi Steve!" Him: "Hi Dad." Me: "What are you doing?" Him: " I'm watching Brian Urlacher and the f------- ref!!!" Then he hung up. It's great to hear his voice again.

Tuesday 1/2/07

All you atheists out there better take cover!! Agnostics-stop what you are doing and listen up and pay attention, because something big is happening! Since the beginning of this ordeal, prayer has been a major player here. I am certain that many dozens of people are praying hundreds of prayers for Steven-prayers of pleading, reasoning, demanding. I've always felt, as I pray my reasoning prayer, that the Lord would bring Steve back all the way because he has developed, in a couple of years, an intense, mature faith and a strong desire to do God's work here, and so it would be in His best interest to heal Steve. Much of what makes Steve the person he is has not returned fully yet at this early stage in the recovery, but his spiritual self has always shown itself to be-dare I say it?-intact. When he was unresponsive, he squeezed the hand of those praying at the appropriate moments. When he couldn't talk, he still said "Amen" at the end of prayer. When his speaking was coming around, much of it was random and non-sensical, but he prays intelligently and coherently, in complete sentences. Yesterday, though, he said something that tops everything else. After Georgina prayed with him, he got still for a while, then said "God gave me this so I could be a minister to broken people."