I am glad to report a few very positive things. Dad was fitted for his new leg brace and will receive it in the next couple of days. The family was suggested to get Dad some new shoes that will be more proper for his physical therapy (PT) process, as well as a half-way decent pair for continued use while not in PT. We are working on getting those for him over the next couple days at most. Dad seems to dislike the idea of wearing the brace and such due to the discomfort, but also seems to be aware of the long-term benefit and necessity.

As much good news as it is that Dad will is on his way to relearning to walk and continuing to make gains, today marks another special day. We have been made aware that Dad is set for admittance into the acute rehabilitation program at Barrow in only a short time. Short time was defined as somewhere between days and weeks, but not months. With as much red tape as these things tend to have, it looks like we were able to luck out with a few connections. Once put in touch with the proper people, due to those connections, we cut down the time for this process exponentially.

Dad, I love you and am ecstatic to see the progress you will make in the near future. I am hopeful that this will be the push you need to really bring your goals into focus. I can’t wait to be there as we begin to meet more of your recovery goals. Keep the Spirit.

~Aaron

I apologize for the fact that it has been a week and a half since the last update. I don’t mean to make excuses, but it is difficult to find time with a a brand new baby at home and the school year starting for my first year as a teacher with my own classroom. Dad has been doing great! The day of the last update really marked the beginning of great things. Dad has been pretty consistently maintaining the same level of alertness and charisma. It is great to talk to him about all of the random things he wants to talk about.

This also comes as a mixed bag. On the one hand, Dad is much more alert and it is AWESOME! On the other hand, he has now asked the nurses to give him a list of family contacts and he has proceeded to call all of us A LOT….and the calls tend to start at about 4:00am. It was definitely amazing to get the first few voicemails, but I think that after eight or so calls at all hours of the day and night for the last three or four days, only the family with long-distance numbers find it humorous (he is only allowed to dial local numbers).

My wife (Jennifer) and I have worked out a means with the pediatrician to bring our new daughter (Ainsley) to see Dad. He has now seen her on two separate occasions and is ecstatic about being a grandfather. Jennifer and I discussed posting pictures of Dad with her and have decided that we will hold back pictures from this uncontrollably public outlet. If we know you and you want pictures, contact me.

Dad’s rehabilitation process continues to have his right leg and cognitive abilities as a main focus, while doing their best to not forget about the rest. He has been progressing nicely and we look forward to the gains that each day holds.

Dad, I love you. I have had some crazy mixed emotions lately. I am finally starting to realize much of my life-long dreams and I am torn with bitter-sweet feelings. On the one hand, you are coming back to us at a level we couldn’t have imagined.  At the same time, I can’t help but long for those moments we could have been having during these momentous occasions. Soon enough we will have plenty of those. I am so grateful for every moment that brings you back to all of us more completely. Now, just stop calling me at four in the morning

As always, Keep the Spirit and I love you,

Aaron

Thanks for all my clothes

Today, Dad had a pretty good day. I was told that he was eating more solid and regular foods today while with with the speech therapist. He was also holding more lengthy and lucid conversations with the various people that came to visit. Amongst those visitors, Aunt Kath and Leif went to see Dad. I hear that they had a good time and even brought Dad some ice-cream to enjoy. Heather, Dad’s sister and my Aunt, sent him  a nice looking outfit that he was excited to get. I also picked Dad up some other clothes to make the laundry process easier. While I was visiting him this evening he wanted to thank both Aunt Heather and myself and showed it in writing. To the right you can see that he wrote “Thanks for all my clothes.”

Some other things of note today were:

• One of the nurses printed up some images of things Dad enjoys and stapled them in a make-shift booklet. Dad and I discussed these in length…everything from differences in those Jeeps and his to how he misses cooking and what ingredients are in the entrees in the images.
• Jennifer and I were discussing things about his granddaughter with him. When asked what he should be called he liked “Pop-Pop” and also said “She could call me Mr. Blaine.”
• He told Jennifer that she looked “cute” and that I was “handsome.” I think this was due to me wearing my teacher-clothes…tie and all. He then requested Jennifer to rub his feet and told her to make sure and do it gently.
• Dad requested the T.V. be turned on and to channel 48. He then requested the remote and adjusted the volume to his liking.
• Greg, Dad’s roommate, had some nice things to say about his increasing interaction with Dad. Apparently Dad has been asking for Greg’s help with things like getting out of bed, which Greg isn’t currently capable of helping with. He was still touched by the increase in interaction and knowing what to ask for.
• We called and talked to Zack about various things and he made sure to tell Zack “I love you” numerous times.
• When we left, Dad said “I love you. Bye.” and then waved to us.

Keep the Spirit Dad!

~Aaron

Dad is making wonderful progress. He continues to amaze everyone on a daily basis. A few things of note from earlier this evening were things like him telling many individual people that he loves them, expressing a strong desire to have help standing and walking (despite us not being allowed to help with such a thing at this point for safety reasons), and discussion of memories like the 2009 St. Patrick’s Day party. I have uploaded some more videos and am compiling additional videos as I type this. Check the videos section for some awesome content.

~Aaron

**Edit: I added another five videos from earlier tonight**

Happy Father’s Day Dad. You have taught me so many things throughout the years and this year will be the first for me to attempt to emulate you as a father myself. In only a few short weeks, I will join the ranks of fatherhood. One would think that I might be nervous or scared or feel unprepared, but in an odd way, I am not any of those things at all. I probably should feel them, but I don’t. They are instead overshadowed by feelings such as excitement, hopefulness and confidence. You are the reason for this. You have instilled a self-assured sense of being that I have applied to life and hope to apply to fatherhood. My ambitions in life include being a wonderful father and I feel that it will come easily because I have such a wonderful dad. Thank you for being such a great father to all of us. I love you and Keep the Spirit.

~Aaron

Chillin' the Most

I have uploaded eight more videos. These are some of the best videos taken so far. I also added a note in the videos section to give some options to try if you are having trouble viewing the videos.

Dad has been making great progress. I have not been in to see him yet today, but yesterday was day nine of speaking! Over the past few days he has become more self-aware. He is beginning to understand that his “problem” is difficult. I put it in quotes because that is what he has been referring to his injury and the difficulty to remember things as…”the problem.”

More than ever, I feel that Dad will make an at least near-complete recovery and that we will be communicating more and more. Some moments to remember in the last couple days were: going outside to enjoy the wonderful weather we had for a couple days, him feeling the baby belly and telling his granddaughter inside “I love you” and blowing her a kiss, getting visits from a number of friends and family that hadn’t seen him in a while and some not since the accident, and telling me “I miss it too” when I told him I miss things like talking to him on the phone and hanging out at his place followed by “tomorrow” in response to me asking when we he thinks we can talk on the phone again.

To Dad, in this moment I feel that same sense of longing that I have for more than four months now. I miss so many things that had to do with you. At the same time, I am ecstatic to see you beginning to be able to convey your personality. I cannot wait for each coming day and the progress that it will bring. Also, I want you to know that I am proud of you. I am proud for the progress you are making. I am proud of the family you have built. I am proud that our family is able to step up to the occasion and help you make progress in every way we can. I am more proud than ever to be a Killeen. I love you and keep the spirit.

~Aaron

I posted another day worth of videos. There were enough videos that it warranted a revamp of the way I had them organized. Enjoy those while I compile the next few days.

On another note, dad has made awesome progress for the last few days. He has proven that he is capable of reading, identifying pictures, shapes, colors, numbers, knows what the days of the week are, knows he was married on beach, who his children are, that our tattoo is so we don’t forget about our family and all the other things that you can see in the videos that are up already and those that are soon to come.

Since I posted more than just a website update, I figured that it makes sense to keep with the format Teresa has been following and speak to Dad:

I love you so much and only you could know how much I miss talking with you on the phone everyday. The progress over the last few days has given me hope that those days will be back sooner rather than later. Keep the Spirit and know that we are with you throughout this entire recovery.

Love you

~Aaron

Dad has been making great progress! We have been diligently working on everything from recognition of people, to reading and addition. He has come a long way. The next major thing is more willingness to follow commands on a consistent basis. I could describe more about what he is doing, but I think it is better for you to see for yourselves. Check the “Videos” page to the left or up top of the page. I am trying a few things to see if I can make it so you don’t have to download. Use the link after the video to download if needed.

**Edit** – I uploaded four videos. All from Friday night. I have more footage to go through still and am still taking it routinely. Look for more media uploads soon.

Darren and I are working hard to get the website upgraded with capability to have a video and picture gallery, amongst other behind the scenes improvements. Please bear with us during this process and enjoy the things we have up already. Also, please feel free to email me anything you think others might like to see on the website. As always, thank you all for your support.

<—-Look to the left or the top of this page to see links to picture and video galleries.

~Aaron

Rubber wristbands have arrived! They are green and say “KeepTheSpiritKilleen.com” on the front and “Luck O’ The Irish” on the back. We are giving them to people who donate just $5 and request a wristband.  This is to raise funds to help with such things as bringing our father home and covering the cost of some of his care. Times were difficult for them in this economy before the accident and now funds are very tight with Teresa as a teacher and now on a single income. Dad’s care will be costly.

Please let me know if you can sell some on the family’s behalf or if you would like to purchase some for yourself, family and friends. If you are a business owner, we ask if you would be willing to sell them in your establishment and you can contact me if so.

They are now in stock and are going quickly. Thank you for everyone’s continued support. Keep the Spirit has become more than just a family saying. It now brings thoughts of all of this wonderful support. Thank you so very much and I look forward to seeing these wristbands being worn all over the place as a means to provide dad with just a little more luck.

This information has also been placed at the link “wristbands” found at the left and top of the page. Please help us spread the word. Thank you so very much.

~Aaron

aaronkilleen@hotmail.com