We're Still Here!

Wow! It's difficult for me to say what's harder to believe: that we've passed the nine month mark since the stroke, or that it has been so long since we've posted! I am so sorry for the delay. We have just been extremely busy with work, therapy and the kids activities. I think it is a good sign that life has returned to normal enough that we can get back to that kind of schedule. But I also feel very badly about the length of time I've gone without an update. Since I've had two people ask me about updating in the last five days, I thought I'd better get back here and fill you in. (This is Jon by the way, Brenda has taken Jacob to scouts tonight.)

First of all, thank you all for your patience and for sticking with the blog. Thank you also for the continued prayers. We feel it more than you can ever know and that means so much to us.

Therapy continues, twice a week for occupational therapy and once every two weeks for physical therapy. We will keep to that schedule at least through the end of March and likely for a couple of more months until we reach the one-year mark on May 20th. At that point, I guess we will re-evaluate and see if we are continuing to progress before we decide on a continued plan of treatment. I feel like I keep making strides and my family and the therapists keep seeing progress, so that is very encouraging. In occupational therapy, we are really focusing on arm extension, movement in the wrist and fine motor function of my hand and fingers. There is increased strength in my shoulder, so we are pushing to get the rest of my arm to catch up to that. I can do more and more things now. In fact, I did all of the dishes by myself tonight after Brenda and Jacob went to scouts. For the first time, though, my therapist did reference the fact that I may never regain full use of my left arm. It wasn't meant as a negative thing, just more of a realistic point of view. I have to admit, at first that was VERY difficult to hear, but now I see it as more of a challenge. I know that I'll have to put those dreams of becoming a rock star or a professional softball player on the back burner for a while longer. But I'm not giving away my guitars or glove just yet!!!

In physical therapy, we continue to work on quality of walk, strength and stamina. I am up to 30 minutes and a little over two miles on the elliptical machine about three times a week and I wear a pedometer to track my number of steps. The goal is 7,000 a day. (I'm only at 5,000 right now, so I may take some breaks and go walk around the house a little, but you've already waited two months for this update. :))

Since the last update, we've hosted the first home night games in the history of UMHB baseball and softball, hosted the American Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, and played host to the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. I am still technically only cleared to work up to six hours a day by the doctor, but I managed to squeeze in several 14 to 16-hour days and made it through. It is good to know that my stamina has improved enough to be able to physically handle that, but don't tell anyone. I don't want you to get me in trouble.

I also continue to be amazed by my family. My mom and dad still come up every couple of weeks to go to therapy with me. They are so encouraged by the progress and probably see it more than we do since they get a break from me for a while. Brenda continues to be my rock and has been so strong and so supportive. I thank God every day for the gift of having her in my life. Jacob and Brooke are also moving along full speed ahead. Jacob made All-Region choir and ran in his first track meets since our last update. Brooke won Best Overall at her last piano recital, playing an original composition and scored her first soccer goal of the season two weeks ago. She also just finished her basketball season. I have been able to share in many of those moments with them and consider it to be such a blessing that they have turned out so well and that I am still here to enjoy their successes.

I've also had several other firsts since the last updates: raking leaves for the first time (although it will NOT be the last time, unfortunately), bar-b-q'uing the other day, opening things with my left hand and carrying things that I wouldn't have dreamed of trying to carry, and things like that. Each one of these is a victory to me and we celebrate every one of them.

I also recently heard from a friend I was in rehab with in Waco and she has returned to teaching as her recovery continues. An opposing coach and the father of one of our student-athletes also shared their stroke experiences with me and provided great sources of encouragement. And we also keep drawing strength from the prayers and support of our friends, families and co-workers. As well as the prayers of many people we don't even know. So, hopefully that catches you up some and thank you again for all that you do for us. I WILL update again, but I know better than to try and promise you a time. I will try to get back to you in less than two months, or maybe I can talk Brenda into updating a little sooner. :) Take care and God Bless!
Jon

New Year, New You

We've all heard that cliche so I thought I would use that as a title since it kind of applies here. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. They were both really good for us, although I have to admit, I could not stay awake to see the New Year in. This is Jon back with you, by the way.

On January 1st, we actually celebrated a pair of milestones. First of all, we welcomed in 2012 and said goodbye to one of the most interesting years we've ever experienced. Secondly, New Year's Day marked exactly six months since I left the rehab hospital. Still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that I've been home six months. In many ways, that time in Waco seems like a lifetime ago.

So here is the update on therapy. In occupational therapy we continue to make slow, steady progress with my arm, hand and fingers. We will continue twice-a-week appointments through the end of the month and then re-evaluate the plan from there. More than likely, there will be more of an emphasis on home exercises and work. The best thing I can do is to just keep trying to use that arm, hand and fingers in day-to-day activities and force it to do more work. Today was a very good and encouraging day.

The news is not quite as encouraging in physical therapy. We have stopped our weekly appointments and already made the move to more home work. I will go back every two weeks until the end of the month to see if there is some progress, but after plateauing (is that even a word?), we've backed off a little and there is now more of a focus on me committing to work on my own. I'm wearing a pedometer now to measure just how much I actually walk in a day and will be spending some time on the elliptical machine in the fitness center at work.

It has been a bit of a discouraging time and I was a little down for a while over the break, but then I got to thinking. I have no reason to be upset or discouraged. In my first 41 years, I reached my career goal of doing sports on television (along with weather and news), played guitar in a rock band, acted in a major motion picture (Okay, that may be a bit of a stretch: it's only my back and the movie was Action USA), married the love of my life, had two incredible children that I am very proud of, hopefully made my parents and family proud of me, publicized a national championship team and worked with five national runners-up, met some amazing people and made many good friends, and now made a remarkable recovery from what could easily have been a fatal stroke. All in all, I'd say its been a pretty good and full life, with much more to come. And I'm certainly not ready to call the recovery over. The work will continue, whether I'm in therapy or not.

Thank you for letting me get some of those thoughts out and thanks again for continuing to follow the blog. We'll be back again soon with another update. Take care and God Bless.

Seven Down and still going

Several things are very hard to believe. One, that its been one month since our last post and I'm very sorry for the long delay. And two, that it has been exactly seven months today since we started on our little adventure. It certainly doesn't seem like its been so long. The time has flown by in many ways, and in some others, May 20th seems like an entire lifetime ago. This is Jon back with you by the way.

Things continue to progress. I have been driving for more than a month now and very much enjoy the freedom. I am feeling more comfortable behind the wheel and the kids have been riding with me this week and don't seem too scared to ride with me. So, I consider that a victory. I am still working hard in therapy and we see slow but steady progress in some areas. The arm won't come back nearly as quickly as we hope for, but I've been working on picking up small blocks and dropping them into a bucket. After going so long with no use of the fingers on my left hand, we have been thrilled to see that. I am also regaining strength in and use of my shoulder and can lift and place and hold it in positions I wouldn't have dreamed of a couple of months ago. My balance is also improving and we have done some light jogging in physical therapy. I've lost a couple of steps, but I am very encouraged by how that therapy is going as well.

Insurance wouldn't cover the botox injections in my arm, so that treatment is on hold for the time being as the doctor's office and insurance company fight it out. I was hoping to have some progress, or at least a good story to tell about that, but we will just have to wait a little longer.

The UMHB football team advanced to the national quarterfinals and played three home playoff games and now basketball is in full swing. I made it through the fall with few problems and hopefully did a fairly good job at work, so I am very encouraged by that, too.

We are very much looking forward to Christmas and spending time with the extended family. Thanksgiving was also wonderful. I don't want to sound hokey or cheesy, but I think each holiday has more meaning to each of us this year. I guess that also includes the 20th of each month now. I won't say we celebrate those days, but they are a milestone and take us another day closer to the goal of a full recovery and a return to the "old" normal life.

I've been asked a bunch of times for hints as to what I want for Christmas. I don't have any because I truly feel like I've been given so many gifts already this year. It is time for me to give back instead. So I say thanks again for all of the continued prayers, support and encouragement. Probably won't get you each a gift, but I do hope you know how grateful I am. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. (By the way, January 1st will be another milestone for us, too. It will be six months to the day that I came home from the rehab hospital. That doesn't seem possible, either!) Bye for now. This is the part where I say we will try to update more often, and that is probably hard for you to believe. Maybe we can make it one of our New Year's resolutions.

The Six Month Mark

This is Brenda back at the helm for a yet-again belated blog update.

Even in typing the headline for this update I find it hard to believe that it's been six months since our lives changed so drastically. Six months ago today, Jon was in a bed in the ICU and we were all still reeling after learning that at age 41, he had suffered a massive stroke.

Now here we are, these few months later and he's back at work, driving himself around, walking, talking and driving me just as crazy as he always has! It's been a difficult Summer/Fall to say the least, but I'm still amazed at how far he has come in this short amount of time, and how hard he has worked and continues to work to ensure the healing and the progress continue. It's hard not to get sentimental and emotional thinking back to where we were just six months ago, and how quickly our lives had changed. But I have to say that our lives continue to change, for the better. Jon has learned to dig so deep and find the energy and determination to fight to gain back what was almost taken from him. And it's been exciting to watch his progress and to see him finally be proud of some of the progress he has made. It can still be a frustrating process, and I know if you ask him, he will say he's disappointed that he has not accomplished more in these six months. But I know those around him are proud and happy to see what he has been able to do. And I know there is more to come.

It's also nice to look back to those months and remember the outpouring of support we received and still continue to receive. I know the prayers are still being said, and we can't tell you how much that means to us. Jon still gets cards, and it's comforting to know that our support system is still out there pulling for us. So thank you again for the continued support.

Therapy continues, even during the holiday week. Jon has therapy again this Monday and Wednesday, and then we will let him have a break for Thanksgiving! I think he made some great progress last week, and I saw him do some things that he hasn't been able to do in the past. The therapist will lift his left arm up while Jon is laying on his back, and Jon has to try to hold the arm up without any help. He's been able to do it, but sometimes not for long and it will slowly begin to fall to his side. But the last few sessions, he's been able to hold it up steady and for a lot longer than I've seen in the past. So that was great! And there are a few other subtle things like that I see improvement on week to week.

Physical therapy is going well too. She has him still working on balance, which is getting much better. I think she also likes trying new things with him just because she thinks they would be fun to try. Last week she put a stretch band around his waist, held on to the ends, sat in a chair with wheels and had him pull her around. That was hilarious to watch, as he dragged her up and back and she just sat in her little chair smiling. I told them next time I'm bringing my video camera.

And yes that exercise does have a point. He does seem to walk better when he's concentrating more on something else - like pulling her along - than on how he should be walking. He had a lot of strength when he did that and his gait was much improved for the first few times. So it's nice to see that even many months later, they are finding new things to try.

The work and progress continue, and we are looking forward to sharing even more good news as we continue therapy through the end of the year. We hope all of you have a Happy Thanksgiving, and truly take time to take stock of what you have to be thankful for. I know we will! We are thankful for our loved ones, that Jon has made it so far and that the healing continues, and that God has blessed us with wonderful family and friends. So have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Just Checking In

Had some very rare down time on a Friday night, so I thought I would fill everyone in. This is Jon writing tonight as I guess I've kind of taken over. I will try to get Brenda to come back soon, just for a different perspective.

We saw the physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor again on Tuesday. It was our first appointment with him in three months. He seemed very encouraged by my progress, and I was very encouraged that he could see substantial progress. And then, he prescribed my next step in treatment. BOTOX! No, he doesn't want me to look younger or make my laugh lines disappear. Instead, I will get two injections of Botox in my arm next week. The idea is that it will help relax the muscles in my bicep and forearm and allow me to straighten my left arm more easily and turn my wrist over. Those muscles want to contract instead of relaxing when I try to make certain movements. First time I've ever been accused of having too much strength in my bicep. So, we will see how that goes. I'll be sure to let you know. One thing is certain, my intense dislike of needles is only growing through this experience. Immersion therapy to get me over that is NOT working.

It was another positive week of therapy, no real breakthroughs, but some steady and noticeable progress. As long as that continues, we will be happy. I am pretty sure we are past the point of major breakthroughs, but hopefully that is a testament to the progress we've made.

We officially make the move to a lighter therapy schedule next week. Down to twice a week for occupational therapy and just once a week for physical therapy. There will be a greater emphasis (and in my mind, perhaps a greater challenge) on exercising and working at home. For those of you familiar with my study habits and lack of discipline from my younger days know what a challenge that will be. I do hope that my motivation is a little higher this go around. (Sorry Mom and Dad, you got your money's worth from college, I promise.)

Jacob's first football season ended on Monday. They finished with a winning record and he really seemed to enjoy it. Brooke's fall soccer season is winding down with a chance to still go to the playoffs and she's is also enjoying it. I've enjoyed having more time to watch and share in those experiences with them.

UMHB will play its final regular season home football game this Saturday before what we hope will be a long playoff run. Some of the other fall sports are wrapping up and it is almost time to transition to basketball. So things continue to go well at work. I continue with a shortened schedule and will probably wait a little longer to push for full days again. Fatigue still sets in faster than I would like to admit and shorter days will also give me more of a chance to get some of that exercising and homework in. I consider myself blessed to work with such cooperative and supportive people who graciously allow me to work that type of schedule.

That should just about catch you up on the latest with us. Hope you are all doing well and we appreciate so much your continued prayers and support!

Five months in and still going ...

Hello everybody, it's Jon back with you posting. Sorry to start each one of these the same way, but I truly am sorry it has been so long since the last post. We have marked another milestone in our journey, as last Thursday was exactly five months after the stroke. I really expected to be farther along at this point, but most of that is probably due to our naivete (I prefer that word to stupidity) based on this being my first and hopefully last, serious brain injury.

We continue to make progress in therapy, although there haven't been any major breakthroughs in a while. Some of the highlights include: running (with a little assistance) in physical therapy, doing significant work on all fours in occupational therapy, and being able to use my left hand much more effectively and efficiently at home. It is also almost easy for me to get on all fours now, and to see why that is such a big deal, you need to go back a little in the blog and read about our experience the first time I tried it at Hillcrest! I don't get nearly as good of stories out of it now, though.

It was evaluation day in occupational therapy today and they actually put some numbers to my movements to compare with previous attempts. I don't know exactly how much I have improved, but it is substantial, just slower than I had hoped.

We go back to the physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor next week for our first visit in almost three months. We are hoping for good reports. And I know I've talked about it before, but we are expecting to cut back on both therapy schedules some following that appointment. We should drop to two days a week in OT and one day a week in PT with much more of an emphasis on homework and exercises between visits. I have mixed feelings about that because I enjoy the push and expertise we get at the appointments. I will have to get better about finding time at home to get it all done.

There has been some frustration at my progress over the past couple of weeks, and each time, God was there with a reminder of just how blessed I really am. Last week, I shared therapy time with a man who had a stroke similar to mine. His stroke occurred a year and a half ago, he is still confined to a wheelchair and has less use of his left arm than I have. But every word that came out of his mouth was positive about his situation and encouraging about mine. What a great message he delivered without even realizing it. Then today, during the occupational therapy evaluation, during my highest moment of frustration, I could hear the burn victim in the room next to me crying because of the pain he was in. But he refused to stop working and continued with therapy despite the obviously excruciating pain he felt. Please don't misunderstand me; I don't think God was showing me the misfortune of others to make me feel better about myself. That's not how it works or how I meant it. I think the message was that I can't spend time feeling sorry for myself because I will miss opportunities to improve.

I hope that last paragraph makes sense and my real meaning came through. Maybe that's why I don't update more often. :) I also continue to be blessed with amazing support from my family, friends, co-workers and people too numerous to mention. (Some of you probably deserve your own category anyways.) Thanks to all of you, I appreciate your continued support and interest in our progress and journey. We will write again soon, hopefully sooner than the last few times, but I can't promise that. Take care and God Bless!

On The Bright Side

Sorry it's been so long since we've updated, but we've been really busy with work, therapy and all of the kids activities. But that means, on the bright side, that life is getting back to normal. And that will be the theme of this update, with apologies to John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, we will call this one "On the Bright Side." By the way, in the interest of full disclosure, this is Jon posting again.

I had a really good day in therapy today and was able to do some things that I hadn't done before. For example, one-armed push-ups with my left arm and completely supporting my weight with that arm. It usually collapses at the elbow, so the increased strength today was very positive. My occupational therapist even told me to tell Brenda that I got an A+ for the day! It has been a long time since I got an A+ in anything. Big bright side there.

I'm still only working half days, especially on the days I have therapy. That makes for some stressful situations trying to get everything done. But on the bright side, I've been to every one of Jacob's football games and I've seen more of Brooke's soccer games this fall than the last three falls combined.

I've also been able to rely on other people at the office and have greatly improved in my ability to let some things go. That is another bright side and it has been something people wanted me to work on long before the stroke.

After our scare a couple of weeks ago and another stay in the hospital, I was very much afraid I would lose some of my progress. But not only did I keep what I had gained, on the bright side, I have more use of my left hand than before I went into the hospital. Also, I now know what seizures feel like and feel like I can handle it should that happen again.

I spent some time working on my golf swing in therapy the other day. I'm certainly not ready to get back on the course, but on the bright side, I don't swing nearly as hard as I used to and I may save a bunch of money because I don't think I can hit a golf ball far enough to lose it next time I play.

Therapy may not be progressing quite as quickly as we all hope, but on the bright side, there is constant progress and the therapists want to continue working with me. They are committed to me in the long-term, almost as much as I'm committed to it!

And perhaps most importantly, the big bright side to all of this is the understanding about how many people truly care about us. We continue to be overwhelmed by the support we've received. Thank you all for everything.

We will try to keep it from being such a long time before the next update. I also look forward to sharing more good news with you all soon. Take care and God Bless!