Slow Recovery...

Hello everyone. I know I have not been very good in keeping my monthly updates, partly because I did not feel like there was much to share. However, please feel free to email me at Ivy-Vetor@tmail.com if you want to contact me directly to get more information about my brother.

So far Drew is adjusting to life at home very well. It has not been easy on my family. Sadly, it's a very slow recovery instead of the quicker recovery we had hoped for. When he was truly on the way to improving between mid-October to sometime in January, we thought it would continue. His doctor believed that he would have a full recovery but now no one really knows what will happen now. All we can do is give it a lot of time. There IS hope. It just will take time.

My brother continues to go to rehab everyday from 8 to 5 pm Monday to Friday with Ranken Jordan. From my visits with him (April for Easter break and May for Mother's Day), he has not changed much. He is walking more though with the help of someone and is still working on trying to move his right side better. It is a very slow recovery. He is taking more tests to determine how long it would take for him to recover and to better understand his condition to understand what he needs to improve on. He has short term memory, which means, when you sit with him, you can start to have a conversation with him but then he starts to repeat things over and over.

It will be a very unpredictable time for Drew. Please continue to show your support in any way you are able. You are more than welcome to visit Drew at home or to give him a call on VP (video phone), he will love that. He absolutely loves company.

God Bless,

Alex

June 3th, 2009

New post will be this week with updates on Drew's condition.

Drew is home!

A quick note to let everyone that Drew has come home! The author of this blog just moved to Kansas City for a new job, so sorry for being out of touch!

Drew continues to have a very good recovery. He is now staying at mom's house in St. Louis. He will continue to go to rehab for physical therapy Monday to Friday during the day.

He is SLOWLY doing promising things such as talking more and more about topics with his left hand. Some walking with the help of a special walker! I heard from mom that is he on the VP more often... which is good news so he can talk to some of his friends who are out of reach!

Again thank you for checking back to this website... I will try to write more once I get more details from mom!

God bless all.

Superbowl Party with Drew at Ranken Jordan on Feb 1st, 2009!

Details can be found on:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=50339831882

Please email silverfirz@hotmail.com if you have any questions!

Hope you can make it!

Alex

January 19th 2009 - Almost home...

Drew continues to improve everyday! So far he continues to attend physical and speech therapy (includes feeding) everyday Monday to Friday - between 8 am and 5 pm. I have been to a few of his sessions - they make him work on sitting flat on his belly and lower arms to hold up the body while on a flat platform; sit up with his hands holding the edge of the platform, with someone besides him to make sure he doesn't fall back; machine that helps him stand up - in intervals of 45 minutes; etc. This is all being done to help him build his strength and increase his mobility.

A few days ago, the feeding tubes have stopped for the most part, to make him eat real food more - by hunger. I believe they told me that they feed him only once a day instead of intervals all day - to try to get him to eat more on his own. He is starting to eat more but hates it since he is not used to it.

About 2 weeks ago - he starts to move his RIGHT hand!! So far he can move it a bit... but just like his whole recovery has been... it is a bit and a bit at a time... we keep encouraging him to keep moving it as much as possible - he tries to "stretch it" by using his left hand to bring it out.

He is aware of everything around him, can communicate by signing - but it's difficult to understand some of his signs (can only sign with left hand) unless you're used to them; uses the sign language ABC, the erase board or the ABC poster to create words/sentences out of them. He tends to be a bit lazy and won't say much but YES or NO and make you guess a million things that leads to a YES or NO answer - drives me mad sometimes! Sometimes I will be like, "stop that, tell me a sentence" - then he will.

What else, oh the MAIN news!!! Last but not least! So far it is hopeful that he will be coming home in March because he has constantly signed "home, home, home" but he isn't able to take care of himself yet, so another reason for him to work extra harder everyday. He will continue be picked up by someone to take him to therapy everyday Mon to Fri when he comes home.

Will continue to report anything newsworthy in the meantime....

Godbless...