A little red tape cutting by knowing the right people got Blaine into Barrow today! Blaine refers to it as the “Barrow School.” He is safe and sound in a private room. The room sounds spacious and comfortable for Blaine as well as visitors. Mom spoke highly of the facility, it’s organization and their willingness to hit the ground running….very early with PT at 6:30am – 7:00am tomorrow morning. Can you imagine Blaine’s face when they take him to therapy that early? Priceless!

The staff rallied around him, started asking him questions, asking him to follow simple commands…apparently getting to know him better and Blaine was agreeable to it. Mom rattled off some basic medical things relevant to him and his care, at least for tonight. More of that will come over the next few days as they continue to create a plan for his care and rehabilitation. There is a schedule and a definite agenda here….they want all of Blaine’s attention to the point of asking that phone calls be limited. Blaine is here to work, not play

This is a wonderful day! It marks the beginning of a journey and the end of another. This time at Barrow Neurological is when Blaine will find his independence, his strength and his endurance challenged but a good fight is just what Blaine likes. This is when we will find the Blaine that survived one of the worst tragedies our family has had to live through, and for this we are so thankful.

Anticipation, anxiety and joyfulness all wrapped into one. This is a special time for our family. Keep Blaine in your thoughts and prayers and keep rooting for him in his fight to come back, it means so much to us.

Keep the spirit! Thank you for sharing this journey with us.

Love,

Heather

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

Blaine is being fitted today with a new leg “brace” in hopes that will help that right leg with the walking. His dash across the PT room last week is something they continue to work on. Walking is a focus of Blaine’s right now and this should help him with that. Along with some sturdy high top shoes, they are hopeful he will be on a walker in the near future and that would make Blaine very happy.

He figured out dialing long distance over the weekend and I became a part of what Mom, Aaron, and Clint spoke of. He is adorable to chat with, but not so much at 3:00 in the morning I have changed my opinion about starting up his cell phone again to say the least!

They have adjusted a few of his medications and his aggitation and nervousness seem to have settled again. Medication is a difficult thing to manage with someone like Blaine but they are working at getting it balanced all the time.

His appetite has picked back up and he now is telling them what he would like to eat. To the point that the Dietitian ran to the store the other day for spinach and “white cheese.” The people that care for Blaine definitely have an affection for him. I think his constant progression is motivating and inspiring to them.

We’re keeping the spirit as Blaine would like to hear and are hopeful he is on the road to gaining more independence with each passing day. There are big changes on the horizon and we await them with much anticipation.

Love,
Heather

It’s a great day! Blaine was in physical therapy session today with Gordy, whom he affectionately calls “Dr. F*&^#$head” and Susie. They wrapped his right leg up in a bandage, got him up on a walker and he went across the room….twice. This would be the first time they have done walking motions with him in the walker and this is great progress.

More great news! Mom was contacted by the Intake Department at Barrow Neurological. This contact means they are working to schedule and “intake” or evaluation on Blaine. What will come out of this meeting is the news of whether or not he is ready for rehabilitation.

Such good news and such a great feat today is a happy one! Blaine was a little tired after all that hard work and wanted to eat dinner in bed…apparently needing a little pampering after the workout

Hang in there big brother! You are working so hard and doing such great things!

Many blessings!
Heather

Blaine has had a lot of visitors over the past few weeks and we have been very busy! With the visitors, we have all been spending some wonderful time with Blaine! I was there visiting for a few days, his son Josh and fiance Leslie, his Grandmother, cousins Ingrid, David and their son in town along with Aunt Kathleen and Leif. The “usual suspects” continue their visits. The magic of what family can do is happening here! Our relationships only grow deeper with each other each passing day.

Blaine is progressing so rapidly it’s amazing to see. As was mentioned, the visit from a family friend who is a neurologist was so positive, so uplifting and so helpful to us. Blaine continues to show everyone just what he is made of. There is much hope and much optimism and Blaine is no where near his plateau. 6 months seems like a long time, but keep in mind, he was alseep for most of that. In the short time he has been awake, he has climbed mountains! There is no end even near in sight for his abilities.

He started laughing and telling stories. His vocabulary and understanding increases each day. He reads, does math can use a phone (lord help us!), his physical abilities continue to progress including using the “toilet” a lot during the day. He keeps putting weight on and is growing stronger and stronger all the time. Even the nurses are having difficulty trying to keep him in bed and it’s only a matter of time and we’ll have a walking Blaine again. His memories keep progressing and though he may get the names mixed around at times…he definitely knows who he is talking to or about! He is strong in his opinions and keeps true to form his ability to get his own way

Blaine is healthy, happy and a joy to be around. His innocence right now is absolutely priceless. To see blaine is to remember what life is all about, to put your priorities in order and to see for yourself what faith, true love, devotion, family, friends and caring hands can do. Blaine is a miracle and one we are so proud of….there are no words.

Keep the spirit!

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

Today was a monumental day in Blaine’s progress!  A neurologist that is a friend of the family evaluated Blaine this weekend and will be giving the facility more specifics on what Blaine needs for his recovery.  He is most impressed with Blaine’s progress thus far.

The really cool part is that Blaine demonstrated things today that he hasn’t done since before the accident.  He started trying to tell us stories today and was more understandable then ever.  He was funny and did a great job of communicating what he wanted to say.  There were a few times where he started cracking himself up and actually started laughing!!!  It was so neat to see.  He smiled a LOT and it was genuine to the moment when everyone was laughing with him and enjoying his company.  He was back to being the life of the party and we were so happy to see it!!

All that’s left is to get Blaine into Barrow and started on acute rehabilitation.  With his rate of progress, there is so much hope that he will gain his independence.

Thanks for celebrating with us!!!

Pi

Blaine is progressing very quickly now!  His sense of time has reestablished, he is getting better at remembering day to day events, his recognition of people and names is improving as well.  He had an appointment at Barrow Neurological Institute and the docs there say he is officially ready for their rehab program.  However, it will take a lot of pushing, cutting of red tape, and positive energy to make it happen.  There is a huge waiting list with patients from St. Joseph’s being at the top of it.

Each day, Blaine shows us how much more he is capable of.  He is almost mobile in his wheel chair.  A little more therapy, and he will be wheeling himself around in no time.  He is aware that he has limitations and that he has to work really hard to overcome them.

He had a lot of visitors today!  When he found out how many people were coming, he told his mom and sister, “I have to call Teresa and tell her to get the house ready!”  He is so cute!

The next few months will be huge for Blaine.  If we can get him into the extensive therapy that he needs, we will be able to get a better idea of how much of his independence he can achieve.  Here’s hoping that the stars align and all fingers are crossed at the right moment!!

Thanks for being with us and keep the spirit!

Pi

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

As I was driving in for Jennifer’s baby shower this morning, I received a phone call from the nurses station where Blaine is.  Blaine’s nurse was telling me that he was asking for me!!  I assured her that I was on my way.  (Again, I have to say here, “Sorry Jennifer!”) About 15 minutes later, I get a second phone call from them.  She wants to know if I am on my way…yes.  Wants to know if I am currently in the car…yes.  Then she asks, is this your cell phone…for heaven’s sake YES!  Then she says that Blaine does not believe her, that he keeps asking if she is sure that I am coming.  Then she says, here, you talk to him.  So, I told Blaine I was on my way.  He asked me how  long until I get there and I tell him.  Then he says, are you sure and asks if I am kidding him…I assured him that I was on my way and would be there in 10 minutes and he was okay with that.

When I get there, he is sitting in his chair with a love note on his lap like I am picking him up on our first date.  He is beaming from ear to ear and can’t stop smiling.  Not one of his fake forced smiles that he likes to do, but a genuine “I am so happy!” smile.  He reached up and caressed my face, gave me a big kiss and handed me the note.  I, of course, burst into tears!

Blaine's first love note to me since the accident!

You can see that the top 2 lines are in his own hand and they say, Hi Teresa and I “heart” u.  Then he instructed the nurse to write the next line for him.

What a wonderful gift.  To have Blaine remembering us as a couple again is amazing.  He told me that I was the most special woman in the whole world and that he missed me and loved me.

He was lucid for a couple more hours, then slipped back into his fog.  He continues to improve by leaps and bounds.  There WILL be a day when he is himself continuously.  We know that now!!

Thank you all for being a part of this journey.  I will continue to post and update as long as it takes for Blaine to come home.

Hunny Bunny, thank you for the wonderful time we spent together today.  Looking into your eyes and seeing the love you have for me was the best present ever!  The love note was especially amazing and I look forward to more!  Keep working hard and know that I am here for you.  I love you more than ever!!

~Pi – Blaine’s Pirate Queen