Update #127 from Linda and Rob

Our family would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers throughout the past year. Thank you for visiting Steve. Thank you for texting, writing, sending cards, attending the Golf Outing, posting e-mails and doing what you do to help Steve and our family.

Things continue to roll along here. We are doing some sort of therapy every day. Horseback riding just gets better and better. He is up to about 25 laps of the arena while sitting upright, holding on with both hands, and smiling! We continue to invent things to do in the pool, and usually stay in the water for about 1 1/2 hours each session. His strength and stamina in the water is much improved and noticed by many people there. We also have PT, OT, and Speech Therapy, as well as tennis, on the calendar.

Insurance coverage has been challenging and often changing, but we are hopeful that January 1st it will all settle down and things will fall into place. One of the reasons Linda retired was that she could not cover Steve as an employee, but could as a retiree...one more good reason for that decision!

We are embarking on new therapy for Steve. It deals with certain hormone replacement and has shown promise in the few studies that have been done, on TBI patients, so far. We were referred to an Endocrinologist who has been doing this type of therapy on un-injured patients for years. It has just been determined that this therapy does work for TBI patients and Steve's PM&R doctor suggested it.

We started the therapy about a month ago (daily injections). In that time things have started happening--we think.... We have to continually question ourselves as to what is real and what is possibly "wanted". We are always asking ourselves, "did that really occur?", "did Steve really do that?" We document everything but are still wrestling with what we "want" to happen and what did actually occur. All we can say at this time is we are asking ourselves those questions a lot more frequently these days! Hopefully a good sign.

One thing that is definitely improving is speech. Steve doesn't speak loudly but we can understand about 60% of what he says. After he repeats a couple of times we usually get the rest. Credit Stacey his speech therapist and all the students that work internships at Willowbrook for this improvement. We have learned that if Steve can speak and have someone understand his voice that doesn't know him, that is the real accomplishment.

Willowbrook gives an Annual Award to one client for: "Demonstrating the ability to persevere toward personal goals and enjoy life to its fullest despite the challenges you have been faced with." It is presented at the holiday party each December. There are hundreds of clients that are treated annually at the facility Steve attends. Most attend every day in the morning and afternoon sessions and interact with the staff. The staff numbers over 50, not including support personnel. Steve attends only twice a week for the afternoon session only.

At the party, the following was read about the recipient of this year’s award:
This person gives 100% effort all of the time.
This person never refuses a task their therapists ask, no matter how hard it may be or how much they do not like it.
This person always has a smile for everyone and a joke ready at all times to make you laugh.
You can tell where this person got his determination and love of life; this person has a family that centers their life on helping him achieve his goals.
This person never gives up - he works on therapy tasks not just at Willowbrook.
Although this person only works with 4 therapists at Willowbrook, everyone knows him and his infectious joy for life has spread throughout Willowbrook.

Sound like someone you know???
Of course it is Steve. But he could not have achieved this award without his “family".... all of you who read this blog.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Steve, Beth, Linda, and Rob