Saturday September 26

There have been some amazing changes in John's progress as of late. In the past couple of weeks, I mentioned that we switched John's physician in an effort to further his progress. Some recent tweaking of his medications has done wonders for his progress and I am so happy to report that John is now walking with no assistance. He needs some coaxing at times to help remind him to regain his balance or reposition his arms however his gait is really close to normal and he is in little or no pain as he stands and walks. His new physician, Dr. Ivanhoe, recognized that John's ankles were turning in a bit particularly on his left foot so she put a temporary cast on it (approximately 5 days) in an effort to correct the problem and she also put John on a medication which has helped with muscle rigidity. It worked! His ankles are more straight and seeing him walk now versus several weeks ago makes us realize the true progress John is making. He is also more communicative and as each day passes his memory improves and he is able to express himself better which helps us to keep him comfortable.

Staff continue to be impressed with John's progress and they have decided that John will remain at TIRR for at least another month. This is great news because it further reaffirms that he is making excellent progress in their eyes too. Their original goal for John was that he would walk unassisted for 100 feet but it appears that once again John has raised the bar and new goals will be set soon. John will also be having some tests this week to ensure that there are no medical issues which might be precluding him from reaching new heights in his progress. It may seem that some of these things should have happened sooner in terms of his treatment but I will tell you that we believe that his new physician is more proactive and focused on John's success. I suppose that the doctor patient relationship is like any other relationship in that it's important to "click". We believe that John's current physician does just that with John and with us. There is good communication and we look forward to the new solidarity approach to John's recovery.