#42 Update, May 28th

Sean's latest step is the removal of his feeding "PEG" tube this morning. We went back to the Medical Center of Aurora for the procedure. As an update for those of you who have been here, especially when Sean was in the Critical Care Unit, the remodeling has proceeded to the point where the main entrance of the hospital is now open, and what seemed to be miles to walking is now down to a few yards. The first night, when Sean spent so long in surgery, the Berger clan came to stay with us while we wondered what was happening and then if he'd survive. That waiting area is now part of Admissions. We pulled up, Sean and Andrea went in, and Delaney and I parked the car and met them in their same-day surgery clinic. A nurse came in and removed the feeding tube, put some gauze on the wound, and sent us home. We were in the house before noon. Prognosis is excellent. Evidently the stomach lining heals within two or three hours of removal.
His therapy continues. Balance and strength are returning, and his vocabulary is expanding, although 90% of his replies are "Yes" or "No."
We'll update this blog as things happen. As always, thanks for your prayers and kind thoughts.

#41 Update, May 22nd

Another week has passed with growth in strength and development. Sean is doing occupational therapy, physcial therapy and will have speech therapy again starting next week. He remembers so much; the therapist stopped him after he counted to 50, he knows his abc's and was saying the words for picture flash cards. He still needs development in control of his hands. He is able to do a lot such as picking up objects but putting them in a particular place is sometimes a challenge. They are working on muscle control for his arms and hands especially his right. He is trying to feed himself and can with help but it is frustrating for him a lot of times. Writing will come, remember doing lines and circles when you began penmanship well that is still the standard. He will laugh at TV shows like Two and a half Men and some comedy shows which is nice to hear. Occasionally he will ask questions and we are asking him more questions that are not just a yes or no answer. Our neighbor Jason, and his friend, came over to see him the other night when he saw him outside walking on the driveway. They used to share memories of Germany, talk trucks and cars as Jason rebuilds them all the time among other things. It made me and Jason cry when he didn't remember him but that is not to say that he won't remember later. He LOVES being able to sleep in; anyone who has ever been in the hospital will remember not being able to sleep very well while being there with them checking blood pressure etc all the time. Each day is a blessing and it is exciting to see him progress and do more and more. He will have his stomach tube taken out Thursday the 28th which will be nice not to have to worry about it anymore.

#40 Update, May 15th

Several people have requested Sean's current address in order to be in contact with him. He is living with his parents; his permanent address while he was moving around in the Air Force etc. You can send mail to Sean at 5565 Lantana Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80915. We kept his cell phone number active for him.
For those of you that knew him while he was Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, he is now 260 lbs. Before having surgery he was missing being in the Air Force and his friends. When he finishes his recovery we don't know what he will be doing but I know he will continue to put his heart and soul into whatever he decides. It was interesting to us that when he was in his coma and later on, several of the nurses and doctors said they could tell he had a good heart just by his demeanor. He has always had a good heart, loves and cares a lot for people; even though sometimes expressing himself hasn't always been easy for him. When he agrees to photographs I will post some for everyone. He got himself up this morning and has done several things without help; turning on lights and going to the bathroom. It may not sound like much but these little steps are GREAT progress forward for his independence. Thank you again everyone especially his friends for asking and caring so much.

#39 Update, May 14th

WOW! What a wonderful Mother's Day present to have Sean home at last! It has been almost a week that he has been home, time flies so quickly. He is doing great, talking more and asking questions on his own. He can at times stand up and walk short distances by himself. We are still very guarded and protective. He's gaining more strength everyday. He loves being able to sleep in now in the mornings. We have had some up and down days as expected for the most part they are UP and the best part is he is home. He saw his new doctor Tuesday and he is very nice and Sean seemed to like him. He and Delaney have played ball and he almost picked her up last night while sitting in the recliner. Thank you for your continued prayers and support; we continue to feel and appreciate your strength and love.

#38, May 8, 2009

I am still not sure what happened, but Andrea got a call from the hospital that there was some challenge with Sean's procedure and would we be picking him up today? Of course we would! We motored up the freeway to Aurora and, due to a "minor accident" which turned Interstate 25 into a parking lot at the Tech Center, took the scenic route to Spalding. Sean was packed up and waiting for us, so we dressed him in warmer clothing and wheeled him to the Hummer. On the way back, I selected some of his radio presets, which really seemed to please him.
He is resting comfortably in our bed, which he likes so much more than the hospital bed that he's been in for so long. We bought a bed rail so that he won't fall out and a bed alarm so that he won't walk out in the middle of the night.
Sean will now be doing some home therapy and some in-office work; all is in flux right now due to the speed of his release. We'll keep you all up to date on his progress.

#37 Update, May 7th

Today is a MAGICAL DAY! We got the final word that Sean can come home on Saturday. I can't imagine a better MOTHER'S DAY PRESENT!!! They are taking the filter out of his groin tomorrow morning and will observe him for 24 hours to make sure everything is all right. They put the filter in just before he had his open heart surgery so he wouldn't throw any more clots while in surgery or shortly thereafter. He has worked so hard and we trained hard together and it has paid off. He is really looking forward to sleeping in a BIG bed; he only remembers being in a twin bed since Spalding - not the 2 months before. We are going to bring him home in his Hummer, which is what we promised him that we'd do if he worked hard in his therapy.
Of course, he'll have more therapy when he gets home, but he is walking very well with the occasional tilt. The last test was getting on and off curbs in his new chair, which is better suited to his size.
We'll add to the blog as he progresses, as we're sure that he will, but don't expect daily posts. We want to thank you all for your kind and positive thoughts and prayers. He continues to beat the odds and impress his medical and therapy staff. If you should ever need a facility like Spalding, we recommend it whole-heartedly. Thanks again to all our friends and Sean's.

#36 May 3, 2009

We "survived" our overnight stay with Sean in fine shape. The hospital has a section of their training area that looks like a one-bedroom apartment. Andrea and I did some training with Sean, fed him his supper, and then helped him to bed when he got tired. The nurses came by about midnight to check up on him, which woke us up. Lesson #1, don't close the sliders all the way because staff will want to get in. About 2 am, Sean woke up and wanted to use the restroom. Lesson #2, make sure that the bed alarm is attached. Around 5:30, he was moving around in the bed and set off the bed alarm. Lesson #3, make sure that the alarm cord isn't someplace that can get tangled up. After breakfast, we did some more training and then headed home.
This week, we'll bring Delaney in for training for when she and Sean may need help at the same time. As we understand, this is one of the final steps between now and Sean's being able to go to home health care.
Sean is able to get up on his own with minimal help from us and is taking his medications by mouth, which means that his feeding tube may be removed this week. The big news is that he may be discharged as early as this week, which means that we need to do some rearranging of furniture to accomodate him and his needs.