Update 140 from Lin and Rob

Hello to Steve's Army. Hope all is well with you.

As we continue to write our Thank You notes from the Golf Outing (Thanks for your patience),  we would like to make you all aware of the latest happenings on our road to recovery.

The first is a 5K Brooksie Way Race that we all entered along with some great assistance from three of Steve's therapists. It was run at the Oakland University Campus on an absolutely perfect day. Steve is getting much more adept at controlling the Terra Trike. He can drive the trike very well, so well in fact that we no longer just move at a walking pace.  When going downhill Steve goes much faster and therefore we need help that can keep up with him. Rob usually catches up on an uphill leg. Many Thanks to Shruti, Nick, and Lori without whom this day would never have happened.
(please see pic/video)

As noted previously we are attempting to put more effort into vision and speech therapy. That said, we have obtained contacts at local indoor soccer and go-karting facilities. Our hopes are that over the winter we can untilize these places to keep Steve's vision therapy consistent by driving go-karts and the trike.

We have also contacted another Speech therapist regarding a "Big and Loud" program that should also help Steve in that regard. We are hopeful that we can fit it in to his schedule.

Thank you for continuing to sending positive thoughts and prayers Steve's way!

Linda and Rob

Update 139 from Rob and Linda

Hello to fellow Steve's Army friends.
The Golf Outing continues to Humble and Amaze us. The support for Steve again showed up on the 7th year with perfect weather. We had 39 teams with "Fast Food" antics provided by Steve's ex roommates. We actually had a request by one team,  to play behind that group next year! Their theme this year was McDonald and Burger King caricatures.

We are entering a time in Steve's recovery where the emphasis will be placed on Vision Therapy. Since most of this is not covered by insurance, we really needed a good turnout this year and we got one. Thank You Thank You!

We want to advise all who follow this blog that we are also posting on Facebook. Please follow us at https://www.facebook.com/stevesgolfouting. We have posted pics from several of the outings so others can see the fun we have.

We finally have a floor in the "man cave." We now have Parallel Bars and a large Punching Bag for Steve to use, and have moved the mat table into the man cave. We are hoping that these items will, in effect,  extend his therapy sessions.  We intend to borrow a golf cart again this year to re-enforce use of left side vision.

We know Steve can use the left side vision and recognize what is on that side, we just need to keep him doing it. Please see another way this is done by viewing the attached video. Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. Together we will clear this hurdle.

Rob, Linda, Beth, and Steve

Update 138 from Rob and Linda

Hello again to all who read this blog and support Steve. Hope you had a safe and pleasant Memorial Day.

Hoping to see you all at the Golf Outing this year. We never figured we would be doing this for the 7th time. We want all of you to know that Steve would never have come this far without your support. This outing allows us to fund swimming, horseback riding and many other things that insurance doesn't cover.

We had the privilege of talking to the head of the Polytrauma unit of the Veterans Administration in Florida. We were referred to him through Steve's original Neurosurgeon Dr. Armonda. This call allowed us to have another "fresh eyes" opinion regarding Steve and his recovery. As we all know the lastest research is being done by the VA because of the current conflicts in which our troops are involved. Our conversation centered around revising our priorities and formulating a new game plan to better help Steve. We will put more emphasis on vision therapy and controlling his weight as well as evaluating if the current drugs we are using are helping.

As a "Thank You" to our friends in the VA, Linda, Steve and I ran, but mostly walked in the Walled Lake Memorial Day 5K Run, Sunday the 25th. (See Pic) This was a fundraiser for the Walled Lake VFW. It was good to see Steve try to manage twisting sidewalks with the Trike. He did well as this was the first 5K we did this year and third time on the Trike this season.

The attached video shows another good thing that has recently occured on May 6th.
Again, Thank You all for your positive thoughts and prayers.
Rob, Linda, Beth and Steve

UPDATE 137 FROM ROB and LINDA

Just a note to pass along another video showing Steve's progress.
This happened on March 19th at Willowbrook. It is significant because it shows that we can duplicate the good walking at either rehab location that Steve attends. It seemed all we needed was a duplicate walker (wider) and a couple of brave souls to assist. Steve walked for 1200 feet that day and the participants noted that Steve is doing the best, using this type of walker which is more normal.

By the way, we would ask that you save the date for the Golf Outing, which will be June 21st this year. Hope to see you there and please know that Steve is getting better because of great people like You!
Take care,
Rob and Lin

UPDATE 136 FROM ROB AND LIN

Hello to our good friends of Steve's Army.

We feel it is necessary to bring another attempt by our GOP legislators to "reform" Michigan Auto No-Fault to your attention. As most of you may know Steve is not an auto accident victim so his recovery is not paid for by our Auto insurance. Just the same, we feel the need to make you aware of this again.

This time, our legislators are trying to make you believe their changes will somehow benefit you more than the last attempt.

They are raising the benefit payment cap to 10 million. This sounds good at first glance because 10 million would cover all but a very small amount of catastrophically injured auto accident victims. While they guarantee at least one year of benefits, any subsequent benefits allowed are based on something called "reasonable progress". What this means is VERY FEW will get benefits past 1 year. Our legislature, GOP in particular, doesn't understand that catastrophically injured victims can go backwards faster than they go forward. Our experience dictates that these victims need daily exercise just to maintain their health and have any chance to progress towards recovery. To reduce, limit, or stop these benefits might condemn these poor victims to a nursing facility. These people have a right to a quality life, lets make sure they are allowed to keep it!

Additionally, the GOP is trying to get this reform passed before the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association is forced to turn over it's records to the public. A judge ordered the MCCA to turn over it's records but the judgement is under appeal.
These records are the missing piece of the puzzle that will determine if the current No-Fault system is sustainable. To vote on anything this serious without knowing the facts proves some politicians are not acting in the best interests of the people who elected them! You wonder what their motives are???

Michigan Auto insurance is expensive, however, the MCCA assessment is uniform, $186 per vehicle.  No-Fault is not the problem. It is 3X more costly to insure the same vehicle in Wayne Country as it is in most of the suburbs because we have no consumer protection laws that would regulate this. Some people say just let the victim sue the "at fault" person. That doesnt work either because you never know how much money will cover your costs, so you tend to ask for more, which could bankrupt some and therefore not get you what you need.

THIS is simple. Tell your rep to get all of the facts before he/she "acts in your best interests"!! Tell them to fix something that really is broken, like our roads, not No-Fault that has worked perfectly for over 30 years!  Ask them why they won't let the people vote on this topic?

 We suggest that you contact your representatives and make them accountable. Feel free to post their answers to you on this blog.

Throughout our ordeal we have met many good people who would be severely impacted by this change. They deserve better.

Thank you for reading this and please continue to keep Steve in your thoughts and prayers. Good things are happening!

Rob and Linda