Twenty

Jackie reached a new milestone on January 3, his twentieth birthday. It was a day of celebration, a day to look forward to a new year full of recovery and promise. Looking back he really only enjoyed 51 days of being 19, the remaining 314 days of his 19th year need no description. Lindsay and Florent helped celebrate which made the day even that much more special. Additional family celebrations are being scheduled, we just need to space them out a bit. We are always cognizant of the fact that he tires easily. Time still remains the biggest healing factor for TBI.

We have truly settled in to life at home and it is the best feeling in the world. Jackie is enjoying home cooked meals and continues to add more to his diet. He has had a healthy weight gain since he has been home and continues to increase his liquid intake. PTL

The transition to Hershey Day Rehab is also going well. Electric stimulation therapy is being used on both his left arm and leg. His sitting balance continues to improve and his work on transfers continues. There are actually three other Magee ‘graduates’ that are also enrolled in Hershey’s day program. One of the patients told Jackie today that he already notices improvement in Jackie since the first day he saw him at Hershey. This is sometimes tough for us to see since we are constantly with Jackie, but so wonderful to hear. PTL

We are still working on his short-term memory as he asks the same questions over again at times, but are helping him figure out the answer on his own. He knows it, he just doesn’t force himself to use his brain to think hard enough. His voice is improving, except when he is tired which is always the case on the nights we are home from therapy. He is starting to be more verbal in conversations, even if it is just a couple words here or there. When it is just Jim, Jackie and I, he sometimes comes out with one liners that make us laugh really hard. I cannot tell you how good that feels.

We still do not look too far ahead, as we celebrate each day, rising to daily challenges and smiling at small victories. We continue to be blessed with so much support and love. Please know how thankful we are and how much it means to us.

“No stars gleam as brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky. No water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand. And no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs through adversity. Tested faith brings experience. You would never have believed your own weakness had you not needed to pass through trials. And you would never have known God’s strength had His strength not been needed to carry you through.”
― Charles H. Spurgeon