Update #56 October 28th

Sean is progressing nicely and the therapist are pleased with his progress. We have always been pleased with each new day. He printed his name Monday it was shaky but you can read it, this is a first for him. They retested his strength in his hands, his left hand continues to be his stronger side progressing from 20 lbs to 25 lbs and his right from 18 lbs to 20 lbs. Steady progress for sure. He is feeding himself more with a fork and spoon, still pretty frustrating at times but he makes the effort. All of your prayers and ours are working he is still on the journey of recovery bless his heart. God bless you and yours always.

#55 Update, October 10th

Sean has been doing outpatient therapies now for 2 weeks and is progressing slow but sure. He had an appointment to see about taking the filter out that they put in the day of his open heart surgery. The filter was put in to prevent the one blood clot in his lower left leg from moving up into his heart. They told us that day that it needed to be removed before it had been in for a year; it doesn't seem possible that it has been 10 months this week. He had an ultrasound and they found that he has not just one clot in his lower left leg but 3. They are stable and should not move but he needs to go to another doctor for a 2nd opinion to remove the filter or not. He tripped going back to his bedroom and hit his head on the rock collection at the end of the hall breaking the Plexiglas which nicked his forehead. He didn't get a bruise, bump, headache or dizziness which was wonderful because he broke his fall before he hit. Pretty scary watching him from behind him and not being able to prevent his falling. It was good that it was Plexiglas instead of regular glass as well. I'm sure the only reason the Plexiglas broke is because the collection was put together when I was in 7th grade and that was a few years ago. :o) Delaney loves to dance and Sean actually got up to dance with her yesterday which was delightful, they are best buds. She actually sat on his lap and fed him some of his sandwich yesterday as well. He has come such a LONG way and it is a GREAT feeling seeing him do so well. Thanks for your continued support and prayers. God Bless

Update #54, Sept 24, 2009

Sean is starting a new phase in his rehabilitation. He'll be going to a local rehab center for "out-patient" therapy, so that he can use specialized machines to help strengthen and train his body and brain. He was evaluated by physical therapy and occupational therapy on Wednesday. He had his speech therapy evaluation Friday. He will have all three therapies 2 times a week on Mondays and Fridays. He is beginning another part of his journey and improving more and more each day. We are thankful for each day. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

We promised photos from when Sean went to meet his friends Annie & Jeff and their family. We traveled to Gunnison in southwest Colorado to have a short visit; they were vacationing in the Four corners area on Jeff's family's property near Pagosa Springs. The top is Sean with the Steinmanns, and the bottom is of Sean and Jeff. He really enjoyed the visit with Annie, Jeff and their children. That was the last long trip we took in his Hummer before turning it in to GMAC after the lease was complete.

Update #53, September 15th

Sean has had 2 weeks off of therapies waiting to go to outpatient rehab. He will be evaluated next Wednesday and Friday. He has enjoyed taking naps whenever he liked and not be awakened by a schedule. But even he admitted that he is looking forward to working out again. We had his eyes examined and his vision is 5 times worse than before. The eye doctor said his own eyes changed a lot after having heart surgery and he laughs whenever he reads that heart problems do not effect your vision. Sean actually engaged in, started asking questions and making statements the other day when we were discussing the girls(our 2 female dogs) getting into another fight and what we should do. They asked for his social security number last week and I said it would take me a minute as I have it written down. Sean gave the nurse the number matter of fact without hesitation, I was impressed. Still making progress each day and we are very thankful for each of them.

#52, Sept 4, 2009

Sorry that we haven't updated this recently; our computer was being "tuned up" and in the shop. Anyhow, Sean has done just about all he can with in-home treatments and therapies, so we're looking for out-patient places so that he can do therapy with specialized machines. With the long weekend coming up, this process is slow at the moment.

#51, August 23, 2009

Friday was the day that we drove Sean's Hummer to the dealer for lease turn-in. With a couple of signatures, we gave them the keys and they gave us the license plates. That evening Sean told Andrea that he had to drive his car, and Andrea explained that he needed to be able to grab the steering wheel and the shifter to do that, and that both she and he needed to do exercises to strengthen their hands, and he seemed satisfied with that.
As always, thanks for your good thoughts and prayers. Sean's progress is slow but steady, with more strength returning to his hands and legs. We'll update you as he progresses.

#50 Update, August 14th

Today was the first time we saw any frustration in Sean. One of his medications was changed to a lower level and it will now be increased back. He is getting stronger everyday. The right side of his body is showing great improvement in coordination. We have been playing some of his CDs and he will occasionally sing along with them. I thought the other day he was going to get up and dance but he didn't. Steady and sure is the course.
Thanks for continuing to pray for him and us, we feel it and know it helps a lot.