Monday October 19

Over the past several weeks, John has begun showing even more signs of various areas of his brain waking up. He asks questions constantly about things around him and about where he is and why he is there and is also getting great at remembering staff names and being consistent. He is also more focused on tasks at hand which makes us hopeful that his medications are reaching balanced levels. We have been told that this is a really good sign and can be indicative of his brain trying to gap bridges that were damaged during periods when his brain was not receiving oxygen during his heart attack. There is no actual "damage" which can be seen on instruments which measure brain activity so this is truly a guessing game and since every single patient is different we can only defer to physicians expertise in what they have seen previously. John shows characteristics and patterns of success stories they have had in the past and we have absolutely no reason to believe John won't fit into that category as well.

Today, John got a real treat and was able to go on a field trip to Reliant Stadium which for those of you out-of-town or non-football folks is where our beloved (or not so beloved depending on the week) Texans play. Holly went on the field trip as well and they were given the royal treatment and access to areas normally not seen such as the training room (yes, Matt Schaub was actually in there working out!) and some of the really expensive suite areas. John did a lot of walking and seemed to be really excited to be near a football field again. We can't wait to see him back out there refereeing games again but until then, this was a great opportunity for him to be in a familiar environment outside of TIRR. Thanks to Stacy (John's Physical Therapist) for making this trip happen and for her unwavering support and expertise in working with John. Stacy has been in almost constant contact with Holly since John arrived at TIRR and she provides great insight into John's process and she also gives us solace when nothing else can. It is amazing to have advocates like Stacy in your corner when bad things happen and we are grateful she is in ours.