Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Hello to anyone who is still checking the blog; John had his 3 month check up today, and finally got the okay to discontinue wearing the cervical collar. For those who have not seen him, this is a large, blue and white, structurally strong collar, that has kept his neck in a supported position for the past 3 months. He has had to keep it on at all times, especially when sleeping. 4 weeks ago, his neurosurgeon, Dr. Arrabi, told him he could start taking it off about an hour a day, so to allow him to begin building up his neck muscles. He has progressively "weaned" himself from the collar. I think this was very good advice, because he just did not go cold turkey from such a huge part of his security. The Nurse Practitioner, Tiffany, removed his collar and had him flex his neck down to his chest, then upwards toward the ceiling, then left and right. He heard some bones cracking when he lifted his head to the ceiling, but said it just felt, "stiff". Talk about a relief!! This is the first time he has had the chance to turn his head for 3 months!! I think it is amazing. Again, the University of Maryland Staff are just AWESOME. Our appointment this morning, was @ 0800. For those who do not live in Maryland, it is downtown Baltimore, very near the Inner Harbor, the Ravens and Orioles stadiums. We were up by 0530, and on the road by 0640. We arrived about 0730, and were the first appointment of the day. After John had his CT scan and was seen by the Nurse Practitioner, we came out to the waiting room, and it was packed. Talk about a good thing........all of these people survived traumatic injury, and lived to wait in the waiting room. I am sure they were okay with that, just like we were okay with it. His next appointment won't be until July. 3 months later, and OH, does it feel good!!! He has continued to make progress with his left arm. He had a breakthrough about 3 weeks ago, when his physical therapist changed his workout routine, and all of a sudden he lifted his left arm above his head. I was shocked when I saw him do this. He was so worried that he would not get his left arm back, however, we both realized a small price to pay for survival and not being paralyzed. There was never any nerve damage, and that was, again, another blessing. Dr. Arrabi will be calling later today to answer all of John's questions about exercise, and being able to golf, and play softball again. He may also return to work on Tuesday, April 22. What a wonderful day. Spring, and healing.....who could ask for anything more. He will continue in the Christopher and Dana Reeve research study for 21 more months. They will not release him from their care for 2 years. I am very grateful for their oversight. It just feels like they are watching over John, and making sure that everything is continuing to progress well.

We are attending post-traumatic stress counseling. Both of us are aware that the outside heals better than the inside. I find myself driving far away from trucks on the road. John is anxious when trucks are next to us on the highway, and I sense his concern. Marcus is also having some issues related to the accident. He still feels responsibility for what occurred even though we have all reassured him there was nothing he could have done. We are not always equipped with the tools required to heal the spirit. He will be seeking professional assistance to work through those issues. I am proud of him for trying to work through these hard times. The younger we are, the more we have arrogance thinking we can solve all issues. It is hard to come back to confidence, when out of the blue, a truck can fall on the roof of your car, and mortally injure your father! I don't think anyone of us could predict how we would react to this type of traumatic experience. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.