Wednesday July 29

This photo was taken today with Holly's phone. It's a little blurry but I think you can see that John is now standing with very little assistance. Today, he also jogged a little (which believe it or not may be easier for him because he is on his toes more) and even went up and down a flight of stairs. He still requires a bit of help for stability but it is pretty obvious that it won't be long before he is walking, jogging or even jumping. His legs get stronger by the day and they seem to struggle less holding his body upright. Even when he is in his wheelchair, he is constantly pushing himself around with his feet and pushing off of things with his hands. He seems to enjoy physical therapy the most this photo is of Holly, John and Charles who is one of John's physical therapists. Stacie and Charles work with John every weekday and have gotten to know him very well. They are able to evaluate patients based on their ability levels and progress and report that John is ahead of the curve! They also mentioned that the best way for John to learn is to make things into tasks. For example, telling him to bend over isn't as effective as asking him to pick something up off of the floor. We think it is incredible how well they know him already and appreciate so much each hour they work with him. Their patience is boundless and their enthusiasm is stunning especially when you keep in mind that they are doing these exercises with John and they have lots of other patients. It must be essentially like a full day of working out. The smiles on their faces are real and their level of caring is genuine. We have found this to be true of TIRR staff as a whole. There is a camaraderie among these warriors...they have seen and helped the worst of the worst and made miracles happen when others said it wasn't possible and they are doing the same with John.

I thought it appropriate to mention something that has been really great for John. He selected and has been paying for short and long-term disability insurance as part of his benefits package through his school. The reason I mention it, is that it is a wonderful thing and if you have the option to select it you needn't look further than John's situation to realize how vital it can be. Holly and John certainly never planned for, or in their wildest dreams imagined this could happen but they feel blessed and lucky that John has long-term disability which will help supplement their family budget until John is able to return to work. It is a percentage of his usual income but it will definitely help when it comes to mortgage and car payments and other miscellaneous bills and has provided a huge sense of relief to Holly. This situation has caused most of us close to John to go back and reexamine our benefits and I can't tell you how much of a relief it is that John made the decision to make that selection so many years ago. A lot of employees make benefit selections in August (myself included) so I just thought I'd mention it!