Update 149 from Linda and Rob

Hello again to Steve's Army,
We never believed that we would be doing the 10 year Golf Outing but here we are. Another great day for the 10th time. I remember the first outing when we were traveling up US23 driving through hail, lightening , wind and rain!! When we pulled in to the parking lot, the rain stopped, the sun came out and it has stayed out for 10 years!!
We just want to say that this get-together keeps Steve sane. It is the highlight of his life and we have all of you to thank for it.

We were missing a very active person this year in Steve's grandmother Mary Perkins. She was always a big part of the planning and execution of the outing. In all seriousness, she must have figured out that we needed someone to keep "the Man upstairs" in line with the weather. Believe me, if anyone can do that job Mary can, and she proved it on June 24th!!!

We do quite a few things that insurance does not pay for and if we didn't have Steve's Army, we would not be able to participate in things like horseback riding, massage, swimming, and Cranial Sacral therapy. All of these things keep life somewhat normal for Steve and that keeps him going through the weekly PT, OT, Speech and Vision therapies. There exists the possibility that Blue Cross will stop paying for Long term therapy, which will obviously affect Steve. The Medicare Plus Blue insurance plan Steve has does not have Medicare limits regarding dollars or number of visits. BCBSM is trying to get out of that obligation by saying the therapy is not medically necessary. We obviously have taken issue with that and are currently filing appeals with BCBSM as well as contacting the director of the group that purchased the plan. We would like to ask that if anyone has a contact that you feel could help, please let us know.

As Linda said at the outing, Steve feels the best way to say thank you is to just say THANK YOU!!!
We will be getting the thank you notes out shortly and you all will have some great pictures.

Have a great safe and great summer.
Steve, Beth, Linda and Rob

Update 148 from Linda and Rob

To all you great people of Steve's Army,
Hope all is well with each and every one of you!
This is just a small note to advise you that Steve's Golf Outing will be held Saturday June 24th . Registration at 7:30 AM and shotgun start at 9:00 AM. There is also information on Facebook at
"Steve Percha's Annual Golf Outing".
Believe me we never thought that there would actually be a tenth annual outing, but here we are.
Please know that Steve would have never been able to progress to his current level without the funds from this event. You always assume that things will get better and then you have a setback or two that brings reality back to you. The seizures Steve endured in 2016 slowed him down but never drained his spirit and a big reason is that he looks forward to this outing!!
Hope to see you there and get some good pictures again at the "Hole in One" hole.
You may be posing with some "reptiles" this year.
Thank You for reading this.
Rob Linda Beth and Steve Percha

Hello to all of Steve's Army, Happy New Year.
We have been very busy these last 6 months and apologize for not updating this blog.

The Saddest thing that transpired is Mary Perkins passing on the day after Thanksgiving. Grams will be missed but we will remember her as the best Grandmother Steve could have ever had. Mary helped us tremendously when Steve was initially hurt and throughout his recovery. During the first year of recovery, She showed up at the hospital promptly at 8AM driving from Dearborn Heights to Ann Arbor by herself, then helping us get Steve through therapy. She always took the lead with the Golf Outing and did more than her share during Steve's recovery.
Beth tells a story about how Grams drove around several police cars with lights flashing and many cones blocking the entrance from Telegraph to I75 south, on their road trip to Georgia. When asked by a trooper why she did that, she responded, "you only blocked two of the three lanes. I thought I could use the other one"! This is the person we will remember. Celebrate Her life don't mourn her death. I'm sure that is the way Mary would want it!

Steve is currently working through Anti-Convulsant meds that are necesary due to him having 3 more seizures during the last 6 months of the year. We have also had to replace three of his doctors. Two due to retirements and one we just couldn't work with. We feel we have a good team now and are looking forward to great things in 2017.

We would like to wish all of you a Safe and Happy New Year and look forward to seeing you all again in June. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Linda Rob Beth and Steve.

Update 146 From Linda and Rob

Hello again to Steve's Army.
Just wanted to update you all on Steve's progress. Since the seizures in late January , Steve has been on preventative medication. This slows him down somewhat, but he is battling through it. We thank all of his therapists for working a bit harder with him. As usual Steve will get through this and move on.


The Golf Outing will be held at Hartland Glen on June 25th. We are looking forward to seeing all of you again this year. The flyers have all been mailed as of the end of April. If somehow you didn't get one please publish a comment here or let us know at the Steve's Golf Outing page on Facebook.


Hope all is well with you.
Rob and Linda

Update 145 from Linda and Rob

Our family would like to take this time to wish all of Steve's Army a Safe and Happy New Year!!

We are moving along on the path to recovery and are trying new things constantly. We have decided to put more effort in to Vision thanks to input from our VA friends. Steve is now doing a progressive vision therapy on Mondays, Driving in a simulator on Thursdays and actually driving one of our vans on a closed course on Saturdays. We have seen some interesting things happen when he is behind the wheel, so to speak.

We have contacted U of M Transportation Research Institute and asked if we could use their MCity facility. We are still awaiting final approval.

Steve is still doing therapy 3 hours a day in addition to Vision and Horseback Riding.

We also have a Facebook page dedicated to the Golf Outing.

We wish this update could bring more good news but as luck would have it, we have been dealt another setback.
Last Thursday when Steve was at therapy, he had a seizure. He was transported to St. John Providence Hospital in Southfield because that was the closest. While in the Emergency room he had a second seizure. Both were not real long but enough to make us aware of just how randomly these can occur. We wonder how this could possibly happen. Steve has never had two seizures in one day before. He has gone 6.5 years without a seizure while not taking any preventative medications.
He was discharged Friday evening and is currently resting at home and is back on medication to help prevent any further problems. Unfortunately, the medication makes him weak so he has missed therapy Monday and Tuesday this week.  We saw his neurologist today and basically got a clean bill of health and approval to get back to therapy. We plan to go tomorrow and the rest of the week to see how he responds.
More to follow.
We haven't had to ask this in a while, but please keep Him in your thoughts and prayers. We are hoping he will get used to the medication and get through this.

Rob and Linda

Update 144 from Linda and Rob,

Sorry we haven't updated sooner but we have good news to report.

First, Steve's 8th Golf Outing was held under overcast but rain free skies and again, was a success. We Thank all of you that supported it and made Steve's day. We are collecting pictures and writing Thank You notes as we post this. It was nice to use only 1/2 the course which allowed Rob and Beth to meet ALL of you this year.

Secondly we discontinued one of the drugs Steve was on at the suggestion of his neurologist. This has allowed Steve to sleep much better overnight. We haven't noticed any drop off in his therapy performance but he does appear to be more tired at the end of the day. This in effect has made him more "normal" as it seems the drug was forcing him to be awake and not letting him sleep soundly.

Thirdly, we have Steve involved in a Vision Study that directly addresses people with Left Neglect issues.
We have 8 more sessions to go and we then will get results which should dictate a plan of attack to correct his vision deficits.

We were in St. Joseph, MI. the  weekend of August 4th to attend a wedding and also stayed in Muskegon so Linda and Steve could make their annual pilgrimage to Lake Michigan. Please see pic.
Steve drove a go-cart by himself again and when compared to the last time he drove, he did much better. He even let Rob pass him this time.  Please see pic and video.

Hoping to do a couple of 5K runs in late September and early October. Anyone that would like to participate is more than welcome. Please contact Steve or Linda and Rob and we can fill you in.
Thank You all again for your support, without it none of this would be possible.
Take Care,
Linda, Rob, Beth and Steve

Update 143 from Rob

Dear Steve's Army,
Steve wanted to pass along a message to all of you.
Please see the attached video and the message below.

Speech is a huge challenge for Steve, for many reasons.  Speaking is mentally and physically exhausting for him, and we are so grateful for the progress he is making…slowly but surely.  This year he wanted to write a note to you, and then demonstrate his ability to read his words.  We used a microphone because his voice is so quiet, but he speaks so much more clearly than he did only a few months ago!  The words are below, and you can listen to his speech on Facebook (Steve Percha’s Annual Golf Outing) or this blog   He kept his message short, but the sentiment is heartfelt.

          “My golf outing allows me to continue therapy and to

            make progress.  I am grateful for your continued

            support and hope to see you on June 20^th .”

Update 142 from Linda and Rob

Hello to Steve's Army.
This is just a note to inform you that Steve's Golf Outing will be held on Saturday June 20th.
Hopefully this advanced note will help all of you great people with your plans.
Thank You for your continued support.
Rob, Linda, Beth and Steve

Update 141 from Linda and Rob

Happy New Year to Steve's Army! We hope all is well with you and hope that you all had a Merry Christmas.

We were happy to have Steve's sister Beth home twice in December, and grateful for the chance to spend time with family and friends.

We have been moving along down the path of Steve's recovery. Steve has been going to therapy six days a week and that will continue. We are still swimming on Sundays and horseback riding after Tuesday therapy. We have also tried a different type of Speech therapy called the LOUD  program. It forces Steve to try to get his speech to a higher level by measuring the decibels of his volume. It's a program that ran with a therapist for six weeks, then requires follow-through at home.

Our plan is to put more effort towards Steve's vision issue this year. As much as we like to do the Golf Cart thing, we are finding it hard to borrow one like we have in the past. Rob has contacted a local indoor go kart facility and has obtained permission to use it, but the time slot they offered could not be utilized while we were doing the LOUD program. Now that the program is finished we hope to be able to try karting.  We are also checking out driving simulation equipment so we can try to "drive" at home.

We encourage you all to text Steve whenever you feel like it. This is his main form of communication and his touch of a normal life. His phone number is 248-770-6092. If you can we would like to have some of you call Steve on his cell to practice his speech. Please contact Lin or Rob to set this up.

Thank you again for your support!  Take good care of yourselves.

Love,
Rob and Linda

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

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Just wanted to wish all of You great people who make up Steve's Army, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It has been our priviledge to share our thoughts with all of you and receive your responses. Please continue to send positive thoughts and prayers Steve's way.
Take care of yourselves and eachother,
Linda, Rob, Beth and Steve

UPDATE 135

Hello to Steve's Army,
We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are doing well.
Good things are happening as we progress in Steve's recovery. We feel we will post more and write less. From standing to walking, we will let the videos speak for themselves.
Thank You for your positive thoughts and prayers, as you can see they are working.
Happy Holidays,
Linda, Rob, Beth and Steve

UPDATE TO 134

We just had to publish this video. It is the finish of the color run we mentioned in the last post. This is what happens when Steve is surrounded by some of the greatest people we know. This video happened because everyone in the picture believes in Steve. GREAT DAY GREAT PEOPLE!

Update 134 from Rob and Linda

Hello to Steve's Army. Hope all is well with you who read this blog.

We continue to be humbled and amazed at the support Steve and we receive from you great people. The Golf Outing has grown to 49 teams this year. So many that we had to use the whole course. While this fact is wonderful, it did not allow me (Rob) to meet and greet every one of you at the "hole in one". It also did not allow our daughter (Beth) to do the same. At this point, allow us to express our sincere gratitude to all we did not meet and get to interact with. Please know that your continued support of this outing is making a positive difference in Steve's recovery.

To reinforce that last point, we have uploaded two videos that we ask you to watch. Great things are happening as we all stay the course. The first is Steve at therapy rising unassisted to a standing position. He did this 5X that day and we have him doing it now almost every time he stands up. As they say, "great things happen to those who wait----Outstanding things happen to those who get off their ass and do something!"'

The second video is of Steve on his Terra trike. This is a recumbant trike that will get him some exercise, left hand and vision use.

We have been continuing with horseback riding and swimming and at the last swimming session, Steve actually took two steps unassisted while in the deep end of the pool. We also plan to do a "color run" sometime in September with Steve and a few of his friends/therapists.....we found that he could use the trike and they could push him if necessary. More to follow on that one!

One more thing, Rosie Jo our, now 46 pound "puppy", has figured out that if she lays in the path that Steve is walking, he has to step over her. We call it "puppy therapy"!

Additionally, please identify yourselves when you post a comment. Steve and family owe all who read this blog a debt of gratitude and we would like to be able to address you by name.

Please feel free to contact Steve at any time. Take care of yourself and eachother.
Rob and Linda

Update 133 from Linda and Rob

Hello fellow Steve's Army friends; we hope all is well with all of you.
It seems at our last post we said we would try to post more and here we are in May with our first post of 2013.........
Steve is doing well , Voice is getting stronger and so is the Left Arm. He is working hard in and out of therapy and his efforts are showing merit. For the first time ever, Steve's bicep muscle in his left arm is flexible and not rock hard as it has been. He has used his left hand and arm to swing at a punching bag and to reach out and grab items. It is still not "automatic" but it is controllable when he puts his mind to it.
The Left side neglect issue is also coming along. Steve is able to read words across a row when the spacing and font size are "right". The last time we had Steve out in a golf cart, you would never know he was injured. It was too bad that was last October and we had to get the Golf cart back before the snow came. We are planning to do more of that type of driving this spring/summer.

Speaking of Golf, we hope you all got the announcement of the Golf Outing this year. Same place, Hartland Glen, and it is on the 22nd of June.

We have been involved in a couple of new ventures this year and they are keeping us busy.
The first is the Auto No Fault reform that the republican party is trying to push through.
THIS IS BAD FOR MICHIGAN AND IT'S CITIZENS!! Although Steve is not an auto accident victim, we are significantly trying to help defeat this bill (#4612).
As you may know, If you are the victim of an auto/motorcycle accident and have Michigan no-fault insurance, virtually all of your medical needs are covered by your auto insurance company (up to $485,000) and then the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA), for Life. This bill if passed would greatly restrict the amount of therapy and equipment you can receive and tie them to "significant progress" whatever that is.
The republican party says Auto No-fault is "unsustainable", and that your current medical coverage will be adequate to cover your needs. Michigan has had ANF since 1973, if it truely is unsustainable, why not prove it by turning the records of the MCCA over to the public? As to medical coverage, our family is living proof that good medical insurance doesn't even come close to covering our needs!
There is a website that I suggest all of you visit. It is the Coalition Protecting Auto No Fault (CPAN) site  http://www.cpan.us/index.php
PLEASE educate yourself and contact your representatives in the Senate and House and tell them you oppose this bill. The bad thing about this bill is the the republican party wants to pass it before the (MCCA) is forced to turn it's records over to the public due to Freedom of Information Act, What do they have to hide!!??

I'll get off my soapbox now and tell you about out second venture. It is 32 pounds of squirming puppy known affectionately as ROSIE-JO.We rescued her on March 9th at 18 pounds; needless to say she has turned our house up-side-down. She is part Lab (loves water)-Kangaroo (can leap tall tables with a single bound)-Deer(2/3 legs 1/3 body)- and Alligator(many-sharp puppy teeth) LOL!!!
She is sooooooo good for all of us and once she figures us out, and we her, things will hopefully get back to normal. In the mean-time, if you want to see a house in dis-array, stop by and laugh.
All this comes at the time our family room is being remodeled to add to the fun.

Thanks so much for checking in!  We hope life is good for you and yours.

Rob and Linda

Update 132 from Linda and Rob

Hello, friends!  Our resolution for 2013 is to write more frequent updates, so please don't give up on us and please keep checking in!

Things roll along here.  Our schedule right now is two days at Willowbrook, two days at Walk the Line, OT with a hand specialist, horseback riding at Banbury Cross, swimming, and massage (each once per week).  A good, busy schedule.  Just listing these places and activities gives you an idea of where we spend our time, but doesn't touch on the emotional impact of these things.  Going to therapy has become a big part of Steve's social life (ours, too) and the people there have become his friends (ours, too).  You walk into these places and feel so welcome and feel such hope and such confidence in the people working there.  That part of therapy is hard to describe, but it's just as important as the physical work.  We are thankful for these places and these people every single day.

Besides traditional therapies, many activities that we regard as therapy go on at home...working out on the NuStep (he now does more than an hour at a time without needing any assistance), playing games, using the reading machine, using his IPad, etc.  He stays busy! 

It's always fun and interesting to be caught off guard by improvements that Steve makes.  They are small and subtle, but we are thankful for them.  For example, he might use his left hand to do something new, handle eating more independently, or speak more loudly.  All good things and wonderful moments when we notice what is happening!

He's been a bit knocked down for the past month or so with a toothache that couldn't be figured out.  It's still not completely solved but it turned out that he also had an ear infection, which was the cause of most of the pain.  Through all of that (he described the pain as a 6 on a scale of 1-5) he never missed a day of therapy and continued to work hard while popping Motrin! 

Steve always looks forward to visits and texts from friends.  Keeping in touch is so good for him in so many ways.  Please know that you are always more than welcome to stop by, even if you haven't seen him in awhile.  Even a few minutes with friends means a lot.  Just give us a call!  (two-four-eight-568-6091).  If you'd like to text him, his phone number is two-four-eight-770-6092.

A couple years ago we received a Christmas card containing words that continue to speak to us.  We wanted to share them with you:  "Believe... in the confidence within ourselves and the strength unconditional love provides... in the healing power of time and hope... in faith, dreams, and unconventional beauty... and in the importance of living in the moment."  Thank you for everything you do for us, and for continuing to believe in and support Steve!

Take care of yourselves and each other.  Merry Christmas!

Love,
Linda and Rob