Thursday September 29, 2005

Thursday September 29, 2005 Zack is up early again today and has had breakfast when I arrived. He showered, dressed and we go for a walk. 9:00 Speech with Kathy and she asked him questions about his morning. Then she gave him a piece of paper and asked him to spell various words and he did very well. Then she would write words and asked him what they were and before long he was reading them upside down and answering before she could turn the paper around. Then she showed him a picture and pointed to something in the picture and asked him what it was. This is where the aphasia gets us. He cannot associate words with objects. P.T. with Amy and she stretches him. They work on balance and flexibility (both has improved). He does 20 minutes on the stationary bike and they talk about his outing to the bowling alley tonight. He is confident that he is going to beat Amy and really talks it up. O.T. with Mary Beth and they work with money. They review the value of different coins and then she gives him different verbal problems (If you have $20 and buy a CD for $15.45 how much do you have left). He did very well. 11:30 our evaluation with Centre for Neuro Skills (CNS) begins. Wendi (a clinical nurse evaluator) asked him a variety of questions about his abilities and Zack answers accurately. The aphasia kicks in at times but they need to see that. She checks his hearing and eyesight (no problems). She has him draw a floor plan of his room showing the furniture. That was interesting. Zack worked very hard on it and you could see his bed but that was it. She asked him a variety of questions to test his cognitive skills. She asked, “What would be the reason a letter would be returned to you”
He answered “The Lord”. I don’t think that was the answer she was looking for but she can’t say that was wrong. She asked him to spell various words (some fairly difficult) and he does very well. After our evaluation ends Wendi tells me Zack is an ideal candidate for their program and she would be making that request of our insurance company. She has to give them a written evaluation and what the Centre would do to address his needs that couldn’t be done here. We should have their answer tomorrow. As soon as she leaves Fox 41 News arrives to interview us. They have heard about Zack’s recovery and wanted to know more. I get an opportunity to tell them that we feel led by God to teach other teenagers how simple decisions can change their lives forever and that through therapy and prayer, amazing things can happen. The reporter, Stephan Johnson said he would stay in touch because he knew a follow up story would be in line. Zack When they leave Zack could hardly wait to get in bed. His evaluation and interview cut into his naptime and he intends to catch up. While in bed he asked for the phone and calls his Dad (he knew the number) and leaves a message. Then he calls my cell phone (he knew that number as well). He says he wants Rita to write a letter for him. He wants to write, “ball fat material” in the letter and finally says, “No that doesn’t sound nice”. He gets up to change his clothes and starts dancing. He goes out to the nurse’s station and dances for the nurses (they love it). 4:00 OT with Mary Beth and they practice bowling to get ready for his outing. Once he gets his timing down he throws strikes and spares. He tells her he really likes bowling. Mary Beth comments that his right wrist is still very weak and he should use a light ball at Lucky Strike. He tells her he likes dancing better than bowling. Back in the room he want to write another letter, this time to his Dad. He wants to say, “I can barely follow him”. Rita asked him do you mean because he is fast or because he is good. Zack answers, “Because he is good”. Then he wants to write me a letter that says, “You stink at watching the clock”. He is always watching the clock and is ready to leave for therapy so he won’t be late.
Finally it’s time to leave. Amy (P.T.) and Karri (recreational therapist) come to get us and we walk the 4 or 5 blocks to 4th Street Live. It is a beautiful day and Zack loves it. He is always a fast walker and I notice he keeps slowing down. When I ask him why he is walking so slow, he looks back and says, “Because of that lady back there”. Rita had been walking with us but she couldn’t keep up and had fallen way behind. Zack was trying to slow down so she could catch up to us. So sweet to be concerned about his grandmother. We get our shoes, go to our land and select our balls. Zack bowls first and starts off great. By the time we get to the second frame his friends start to arrive. Before the first game is over there are about 10 kids here to cheer him on. Amy and Kerri are very impressed with how well he does. We all had a great time although Amy ended up beating Zack by 5 pins, but he still beat Kerri and me. He doesn’t want to leave but after we take pictures we have to head back to Frazier. His dinner is waiting for us when we get back and before he is finished his friends arrive. Several of them missed us at the bowling alley and still wanted to come to the room. Zack decides we need to play the card game “Golf” so we teach Rob, Kaitlyn and Brooke how to play and Tiffany joins in. There is laughter and joking around. At one point Tiffany doesn’t play fast enough and Zack tells her, “Should we skip you”. When he gets tired he hops in bed and half his friends end up in there with them. The girls ask Zack how he got so hot and he responds, “My Mom and Dad made me this way”. Everyone laughs and Brooke teases me with hot Mamma Hornback. We had a wonderful, exciting day as we wind down our stay here at Frazier. Zack will remain here until his surgery on Oct 5th. He will recover at University Hospital until Saturday Oct 8th, when he will be released to go home or to Texas. Our lives are about to change drastically again and we seem to be taking it in stride. It is part of God’s plan and we have learned not to question, only follow. We still worry like normal parents about the unknown but we except it much easier now that God has taught us that He is in control. Please pray that all the pieces fall perfectly in place the next 24 hours. We ask for your continued prayers for the aphasia to end and for Zack’s complete recovery.

Wednesday September 28, 2005

Wednesday September 28, 2005 Zack got up early and had breakfast before I arrived at 7:30 and was back in bed. I got him up so he could shower and get dressed. Mary Beth (OT) came to our room to work with him on writing. They look through his photo album at all his friends and Zack laughs at the girls sitting on his lap. She has him write the date and a sentence “Today I will do 26 push-ups”. He corrects his own mistakes. His cursive writing has improved a lot. She then gives him a piece of paper with little squares on it and a time in each square. He then takes pictures of clocks and has to match them up with the appropriate square. He gets them all correct but the aphasia prevents him from saying it correctly. 9:00 Speech with Kathy and they work on word finding and sentence completion. He gets stuck on the word “backwards” and tries to use it in each sentence. He tries so hard to find the right word and apologizes constantly for not coming up with it. She hid money around the room and will test his memory later. Then she gave him pictures and letters to spell out what was in the picture. He could unscramble the letters correctly but aphasia prevented him from saying it correctly. Time to find the money and he knows where it is (teenagers can smell money). Kathy asked him what he was having his surgery for on Wednesday. He pointed to his head. She asked him what are they going to do to your head. He took off his helmet and rubbed the top of his head. “You see this? They have to fix it”. P.T. with Amy and they do path finding. Started at the elevator and walked through the lobby to the Heart & Lung Building 5th floor waiting room. Had to help him with finding the stairs but he did pretty good. They worked on balance and he did 17 minutes on the stationary bike. After P.T. he wants to go back to his room and get his belt because his pants keep falling down. Even though he sees his therapist twice a day he still cannot remember their names (short term memory). O.T. with Mary Beth and he arrives a little late. Since he watches the clock he knows he is late and goes looking for Mary Beth. He opens the door to the office and says, “What’s up? Come on”. He works on the computer with a program that shows a picture and three word choices. He gets a few and misses a few, there seems to be no consistency. He enjoys playing but the aphasia prevents him from winning. He smiles and says, “I’m a loser”. Mary Beth assures him he is not. He does a lot better at playing Solitaire on the computer. Afternoon Speech and they play the game “Guess Who” and Zack wins twice. Then they work on object identification and this is where we really see the aphasia in full force. She places several objects in front of him and asked him to point to the one she names. He gets 8 out of 10. But then when she holds each object up and ask him what it is he can’t tell her. He knows what the object is he just can’t find the word. P.T. with Amy and she reminds him that he told Mary Beth he would do 26 push-ups. His arms were shaking but he did them. Then he did leg lifts with ankle weights. Afternoon O.T. was cancelled and Zack is enjoying his time off. Tiffany comes to hang out and Zack is in a really good mood, joking and singing. He says he can play the guitar, play the piano and fly a plane (he can’t do any although he’s not bad picking our tunes on a guitar). They go for a walk, and another walk and another walk. Nick, Liz and Carly come and the dancing begins. Then we all head to McDonalds because Zack doesn’t like the looks of his dinner. Later Marissa and her Mom drop by and we talk about his possible trip to Texas. It is nerve wracking not knowing what’s going to happen and the time ticking away. We have a big day tomorrow and Zack is tired so I don’t fight him too much about getting in bed at 8:30. He dozes and then watches TV. Tomorrow the Centre for Neuro Skills comes to evaluate Zack. We should know if insurance would approve it tomorrow. Then we have our recreational outing to Lucky Strike to go bowling. It will be a busy, exciting day and I hope it ends with news that we are going to become Cowboys Fans. Please pray that we will embrace whatever decision is made regarding the next step in Zack’s recovery. Please pray for an end to the aphasia and for complete recovery.

Tuesday September 27, 2005

Tuesday September 27, 2005 Several accidents on I64 made me late this morning so when I arrived Zack had already eaten and was in the shower. Jennifer (our nurse today) was sitting in his room to see that everything went OK. When Zack came out of the bathroom he smiled at me and said you’re late. I apologized and then he said to Jennifer “thanks for watching me”. She explained that Dr Mook had discontinued the Midodrine (for low blood pressure) yesterday and they were stopping the Bromocryptine (cognitive) today. He will be left only taking three medications. 8:30 went for a walk outside because he said he wanted to feel the sun on his face. Back in our room our caseworker Sarah came to tell us that we still did not have insurance approval on Dallas yet but they hadn’t said no. The people from the Centre will come on Thursday to evaluate him. A UofL student named John who will be shadowing us today arrives and introduces himself to Zack. He asked Zack what school he went to and the sports he played. 9:00 Speech with Kathy and they work on picture identification. He can spell the word but has a hard time identifying the picture without lots of help. She tests his memory by hiding something in the drawer and in the sink. After 10 minutes he got to the general area around the sink and then found the item. He immediately went to the drawer for the other item. They work on 4 word puzzles and he has to work hard to name the pictures. He is stuck on the word “eclipse” today. PT with Amy and they work on balance (standing on alternate legs with his eyes closed). O.T. with Mary Beth and he is on the computer. She brings him a calendar and wants him to type the date. He needs help with the numbers. Then she asked him to type some sentences. Once she helps him figure out what he wants to say, he is able to type it correctly, although the aphasia is very apparent. He has no problem with asking for help or saying that he doesn’t understand something. Zack and John toss a medicine ball and he is all smiles (he loves to play with the guys). They play bat mitten with a balloon. Back in the room to rest before lunch. Donna tells Zack that I am going to teach her how to play the card game “golf” and what a challenge that will be. She is not good at cards and Zack will be happy to beat her. Zack’s arms are sore from tossing the medicine ball and he asked, “Did you beat me up this morning?” In speech this afternoon he wants to know how long he is in therapy. He does not remember our UofL student John from this morning. He explains, “I was sleeping during that”. Kathy shows him two items, a belt and a sock, and asked him to point to the belt. He points to it right away. Then she asked him to point to the spoon and he points to the sock. Now the aphasia kicks in strongly and he cannot identify the objects by their name. She gave him various letters to spell words and he got everyone correct. Had a little trouble with some of the longer words but would find his mistake and correct it. When she would show him a picture and give him letters to spell the picture he couldn’t do it (aphasia is killing me). After speech he wanted to walk outside again. He really is enjoying our changing weather. He likes the breeze and feeling the sun on his face. He understands to cross the street where the sidewalk is closed so that he doesn’t have to walk in the street. Afternoon PT and he is on the stationary bike for 15 minutes. Then he does sit-ups and hydrant leg lifts. He thought these were really funny and laughed and laughed. Back in the room to rest before O.T. and Rita (Grandma) asked him what he would de if Dylan tried to sneak out of the house at night. “I’d smack him”. She asked the same thing about Kyle and Logan and he said he’d smack them too. “A big, large hand of smack’em”. 4:00 OT with Mary Beth and he does more push ups off the bed and several different types of arm lifts. She is really working to strengthen the upper body. He worked on the parallel bars and the pullies. She had him lean against a wall with his legs bent (like he was sitting in a chair) and hold that position. It was very hard (try it yourself for 10 minutes). He was worn out after all the exercises and came back to his room, jumped in bed and went right to sleep. I had to wake him at 6:15 to eat dinner. Scott is coming with the girls tonight and I will leave with them. When Scott arrives we are visiting with Mary Rivard. Zack’s nurse comes in to get his blood pressure and he is acting silly. Scott tells him to settle down and then asked him who was the boss. Zack looks at me but them points to his Dad (when he has a wife of his own he will learn who the real boss is). Several of Zacks friends arrive and they talk about what is going on in school. He asked if he could go to McDonalds alone with his friends (sorry). Kaitlyn and her Mom arrive and they ask Zack what he wanted me to write about him on the website. He responded, “That I’m sexy”. I think he is looking for a wife because he told them he plans to get married at 23 and have three kids. Isn’t it a blessing that we can look to the future with such hope, fulfilling dreams we have had for him since he was born. Scott and Zack walk Kaitlyn and her Mom to the garage and say good-bye. Once everyone has left Scott talks to him about Texas. Zack says he’s a little scared to go but after they talk a while he wasn’t scared any more. We can’t let him know that we are scared too. It is only normal to fear the unknown but I am sure that God will lead us to the best place for Zack. It is just the next step in his recovery. We trust in God and His word. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away: behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corr 5:17 Please pray that we will find out soon so we have time to adjust to the next move. Pray for an end to the aphasia and for complete recovery.

Monday September 26, 2005

Monday September 26, 2005 Zack is lying in bed awake when I arrive. He has removed his heart monitor because he said it was enough time. We have to go to the nurse’s station and tell them and hope that he doesn’t have to start over tomorrow. He eats breakfast, showers and gets dressed. My friend Teri arrives and we take a walk. Zack leads us to the front door and back to his room with no help-perfect. 9:00 speech with Kristi (Kathy off again) and she reviews object identification through pictures. He does very well on sentence completion. They work on reading and telling time. The aphasia is very apparent. 9:30 P.T. with Amy and they work on balance on the beam…forward, backwards, sideways, closes his eyes and stands on one foot on the balance beam and then walk sideways and balances while throwing a ball back and forth with Amy! He does great at all of them (no balance problems). Back in the room he has a little time to waste so he watches “Who wants to be a Millionaire” and cheers for the lady to win before falling asleep. 10:45 O.T. with Mary Beth and they work on writing. He prints his name and date and then his name in cursive. He is very neat. She has him write sentences. He had to correct his errors but did very well. They work on math and time. He has to match up the written time with a clock and makes only a few word mistakes. Back in his room he quickly jumps in bed and goes right to sleep. I wake him for lunch and as soon as he is finished he wants to take another shower. 1:30 Speech with Kristi and again she works on object identification but this time he has to correct his errors. She has him practice handwriting by taking three letters and putting them in order to make words, then write each word 4 times. Zack seems to enjoy Kristi, she has him laughing a lot. After speech there is time to get in one game of “Golf” and of course Zack wins (we don’t cut him any slack either). 2:30 our afternoon P.T. with Amy and she puts him on the treadmill for 30 minutes and he walks 1.6 miles. He does it easily but he is sweating. He is reminded that he used to run every day around the parkway of Lake Forest. 4:00 O.T. with Mary Beth and he works out with hand weights. They are still working on building up the strength in his arms and he does much better than before. Then it is push-ups off the bed and working with weights to strengthen his hands and wrist. After O.T. he is ready for a nap until dinner. He eats so quietly and when I lean down to give him a kiss on the cheek he says thank you. I am across the room when I tell him he should use his dinner roll to soak up the gravy. He doesn’t recognize the roll beside his plate. He looks right at it as if it isn’t there and I finally get up and show it to him. When I pick it up he laughs and says, “Oh that roll”. At times the aphasia is so strong it is almost like he speaks another language or that some objects are invisible. After dinner we go for a walk and end up in the gym for several games of Chinese Checkers (I have to find something to play that I can beat him at). When we get back to the room Elizabeth is there for Art Therapy. Instead we talk her into playing cards and teach her how to play “Golf”. She ends up winning but is impressed with Zack’s ability to strategize and how the game helps with his math skills. Before we are finished Andrew and his brother Chris arrive. They want to go to McDonalds, which is fine with Zack. As we walk there Andrew and Zack talk about school. Zack doesn’t always remember who the people are they discuss but he is interested any way. They head home and we head back to his room to find Taylor and her Mom waiting for us. Time for another round of cards. It is really good therapy for Zack and, in case you haven’t noticed, I love to play. Of course Zack beats us all again and we walk them to the front door. Taylor tells him how exciting it will be when he comes home. Only 5 more days and he will either be home or waiting to go to Dallas. Zack is tired and it doesn’t take long once he is back in his room to get in bed. Scott is calling wanting me to get home early tonight so he will be awake when I get there. We don’t get to talk to each other in person and there is a lot of planning to do. God is our redeemer and restorer. He can redeem the past and restore what was lost. We must trust Him to do those things. We can never move out of the present, into the future of what God has in store for us, if we cling to our lives of the past. Please pray that Zack’s future is brighter than his past. Pray to end his aphasia and for complete recovery.

Sunday September 24, 2005

Sunday September 24, 2005 Zack was up at 8:45 ate breakfast, showered and dressed. He was ready for a walk. Mrs. Funderburk is with him this morning and he tells her they need to find “that place”. They head towards McDonalds and walk around the block. He is looking for something and she can’t figure it out. She asked again for the name of the place he is looking for and he smiles and says Kroger. As soon as he said it her knew it
wasn’t right and laughed (hopefully he is starting to recognize when he uses the wrong words because that will start the end to aphasia). They head to Wall Street Deli but it’s closed so they walk through Jewish Hospital. Zack is concerned that they have been gone too long and comments that they better go back or that man (Mr. Funderburk) will get tired of standing. Back in the room she reviews word picture cards and he does well. After a while the aphasia kicks in and he gets stuck on one word. He is tired and decides to take a nap before lunch. At 10:00 Katie from Cardio Pulmonary comes in to attach a heart monitor that Zack will wear for 24 hours. They need to be sure that everything is O.K. before he is released especially since he was having orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure). Zack is so patient and cooperative while it is attached (the staff can’t help but love him). After his nap they head to Norton’s cafeteria for a slushy. Back in the room he decides to show off his card playing skills and beats Mrs. Funderburk in Blackjack. Then Mr. Funderburk reminds Zack how to play table football and Zack proceeds to beat him 25 to 13. They had a great time together and we are so thankful to have such loving, qualified people taking care of Zack so we can go to church as a family. This morning as we sat waiting for service to begin and the Masters Men began to sing, I leaned over to Scott and told him that if Zack doesn’t go to Dallas then next Sunday he would be in church with us. We both began to cry so overcome with emotion that Zack was doing well enough for us to talk about him being in church again. When I arrived at the hospital with Dylan, Kyle and Logan (yes I am that brave) Mr. LaFan from Southeast was there to give Zack communion. I had the kids wait out in the hall until I could talk to the Funderburk’s and Zack could see them through a crack in the door. He decided it was too much to bear and asked if he could “be with the visitors in the hall”. When they all came back into the room Logan informed me that they did “appropriate things”. Zack returns to his seat and Mr. LaFan can pray with him. The Funderburks leave and the rest of us gather around the table. As Mr. LaFan prays he is overcome with emotion and has to stop to regain his composure. I am reminded just how tragic our situation is but at the same time feel blessed to be where we are. It is so apparent to believers that God’s hand has been with us from the beginning and He will continue to open doors and lead us. Once we say goodbye to Mr. LaFan, the kids say they are hungry and it’s off to McDonalds. Zack is so sweet to his sisters and jokes around with Dylan. At times he will point to one of the girls and say, “this one here doesn’t know where she’s going” (he has trouble remembering their names but he knows who they are).
We enjoy are walk there even though we have to take the pedway because it is raining. Back in the room Zack, Dylan, Kyle and I play the card game “Golf”. We laugh and joke around and Zack wins again. Kara Zutt comes to see Zack before our game is over. Zack tells her how much he wants to go home and back to school. He gets in bed and they throw a ball around and talk about what’s happening in the world outside. Trey and Nick arrive with several other friends and they play Texas Holdem. Zack may not remember their names but he knows who they are and how to play the card games. One group of kids leave and another group arrives. We teach Avery how to play “Golf” and Zack is surprised that she catches on so quickly. It is a nice way to spend a rainy Sunday (but I do worry about his friends driving downtown on wet streets). Andrew reminds Zack he only has a week left before coming home and ask him if he’s ready. He responds, “I’ve been ready!” Scott arrives so that I can leave with the kids. I explain how to record Zack’s activities in the journal for his heart monitor and leave them to spend quality time alone. Kaitlyn and her Mom arrive later and the music comes on. When a slow song is played Zack dances with Kaitlyn. Scott calls me at home and we pray that if Zack goes to Texas he is back in time for Winter Ball. At times we seem so desperate to have him able to participate in all the normal teenage activities. Donna calls and when I tell her I am sad about what Zack is missing out on, she reminds me that Zack will experience things that his friends will never share. One day he will speak before his classmates on his experiences. He will speak at the Brain Injury Survivors Reunion next summer. He has met a dedicated, compassionate staff here at Frazier and conquered battles that his friends can only imagine. He is brave, strong, determined, cooperative, polite, loving and kind. I don’t know if I could have said those things about him prior to his accident. He was a good student who never gave us any trouble but now I understand the depth of character that Dr. Kraft told us about. I hate to think which kid I would chose to have but I know I am happy with the one God has given us. I ask for your continued prayers for a complete recovery and specific prayers for an end to the aphasia. Regarding Dallas pray that the Lord’s will place us there.

Saturday September 24, 2005

Saturday September 24, 2005 Zack slept until after 9:00 and I had to wake him up to eat breakfast. He always wakes up with a smile. He showered and we went to the gym for O.T. with Angela. She had him thread a metal hose through wooden holes and he completed it easily. Then she had him go to the Frazier grocery store. She gave him three items to get- corn, soup and Cascade. He needed lots of help finding them. Once he found them he put them back in their place right away. She gave him three more items to find and this time had him write them down – salt, soap and soda. He still had a difficult time it was almost like he didn’t see them. He tries one more time to find three new items and he does better but the aphasia is so strong it is hard for him to recognize the items. 10:30 we head to the conference room for recreational therapy and one of the therapy dogs come. Zack is amused for a while but soon tells me it’s time to go back to his room. I work with him on flash cards with sight words and he does pretty good. Then he completes sentences and is very creative when he is not being silly. Tiffany shows up and we work on foot drills in the hall. He walks backwards all around 4 south. Then sideways, lunges and skipping. He tells me that is enough and we return to the room for lunch. He doesn’t finish all his food, says his stomach hurts and gets in bed to rest. Once he wakes up we teach Tiffany how to play the card game “Golf” and Zack beats us both. We head to the gym and play Chinese Checkers (2 games and Zack comes in second both times). It’s time for a walk and since it is nice outside we walk to University Hospital and say hi to the nurses in Neuro ICU. They are delighted and amazed to see how well Zack in doing. As we walk back to the room we play memory games. Zack gets so tickled trying to remember what objects each of us are taking on our imaginary trip. He starts laughing so hard he says it hurts. Once we get back to the room, Tiffany has to leave and Zack jumps in bed to watch football. Dale and Lauren come by and Zack decides he is no longer tired. They watch the football game and then we play “Golf” again. He tells them he will be home soon and I know he wants so badly to leave with them. Before they have to leave we put on some music and Zack shows off his dance moves. Once they are gone it’s back in bed to watch more football. Scott comes up with a pizza for Zack and they hunt for a T.V. that will have the U of L game on. Once Zack goes to sleep Scott and I will go out for dinner. Tonight is Christian Academy’s Homecoming Dance and I know none of his friends will be visiting. I look forward to the day when Zack can get out and enjoy normal activities with his friends. Things will actually never be normal again but that doesn’t mean they won’t be better. We try to be prepared no matter which path God decides to put us on. Please pray for an end to the aphasia. Pray for complete recovery.

Friday September 23, 2005

Friday September 23, 2005 Zack is up early, has breakfast, showered and dressed. While we were waiting Dr Mook comes in with Sarah (our case worker) to discuss Zack’s release and surgery. Sarah explains that she needs me to hang around because someone from the Centre for Neuro Skills is coming to speak with me. This is a one of a kind facility in Dallas, Texas that incorporates independent living with intense therapy. Apparently Dr. Kraft has already told the Centre about Zack because when she arrives she knew all about him. He is the perfect candidate. A good student, no behavior issues, cooperative, actively participates in therapy and most important a high level of rehabilitative outcome. He has been referred and accepted now we have to get insurance to agree. Probably our biggest stumbling block but nothing is impossible with God. I was laughing in my car today thinking about how I was stressing out over getting the house ready for him to come home but all along God was on His throne saying, Eileen he’s not going home I’m sending him to Dallas. Now we wait and see if we get approval from the insurance company. It is difficult to talk about what Zack accomplished today but try to pay attention (we don’t have Cowboy tickets). In O.T. with Mary Beth he worked on the computer typing his name, date and what he did last night. He typed with few errors and she had him correct them. She asked him what he would like to type next and he said, “I don’t know all about this” and that is what he typed. He went to a different computer and played computer games. He played Solitaire with very little help and when the game was over he claimed, “I whipped that Lady”. Back in the room for a nap before lunch. Stacy, a student working with Dr. Calvery, came by to visit. She had him draw a picture and put his name on it. He drew a girl skateboarding and it was pretty good. Then he wanted to take a shower and change his clothes. I am thankful that Fraizer is paying the water bill right now. Afternoon speech with Kathy and he was given 4 letters and had to spell what was in the picture she showed him. He got fork, bed, rug, and cup but had a little difficulty with lamp. Overall he did very well. They played another game where he had to describe to her what was in the picture. For flowers he said they are colorful, you get them for a surprise and they smell good. I’m impressed.
P.T. with Amy and they work on balance and lifts weights. Back in the room he lays down to rest but doesn’t sleep. By 3:30 he is up and waiting to go to therapy. 4:00 O.T. with Mary Beth and he races her spider walking. He loves it. She has him to push-ups with his legs on the mat. It looks very hard but he does great. Goes to the Frazier grocery store and has a difficult time finding what is on his list. She gives him hints and once he finds them he is able to put everything back exactly where it goes. Back in his room and this time he is ready for a nap. He gets up for dinner at 5:30 and we go for a walk. We decide to check out Norton’s cafeteria and he gets a slushy. We walk to the parking garage and check out the roof (we are getting desperate for new paths to blaze). I ask Zack what he wants to be when he grows up and he says he isn’t sure. He says he has thought about it but hasn’t made up his mind. After some discussion we narrow it down to a doctor like Dr. Mooch or a preacher (he said he would preach the Word and the Word is God). We head back to the room and I convince him to play me in the card game Golf. We use to play it all the time and tonight he beats me. It requires strategy, planning and math skills. I give him no help and he beats me fair and square. At the end of our game my friend Teri, her little girl and her friend arrive. Zack says it’s time to go to McDonalds. He gets a cheeseburger and vanilla shake and we walk some more. Once back in the room he wants to take a shower (his third today) and he gets ready for bed. He is wore out and is asleep by 9:30. I am left to ponder the events of the day. Scott calls and we talk about Dallas and Zack coming home. We are ready to accept whatever the answer will be because we know that God has carefully orchestrated it from the beginning. We have learned that our plans can be changed in an instant or a day. We have to look ahead with hope regardless of our plans. The past should not be a place where we live but something that we learn from. We are to forget “those things which are behind” and reach “forward to those things which are ahead,” and we’re to “press toward the goal for the prize for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Please pray for an end to the aphasia. Pray that Gods will is working through our insurance issues. Pray that Zack will end up in the best place for him to recover completely.

Thursday September 22, 2005

Thursday September 22, 2005 Zack was up at 7:45 to eat breakfast, shower, dress and go for a walk. 9:00 Speech with Kathy and she drilled him with questions: date, name of this place, and what do we do in therapy. They matched up pictures to words and worked on reading. He did better today than he has all week. 9:30 P.T. with Amy and he is on the treadmill for 20 minutes at a higher speed and more of an incline than before. Amy commented that it was twice what he was able to do 10 days ago. Then the daily torture of stretching his hamstrings, which really hurts. I would be curious to know what teenage boys out there don’t have tight hamstrings. O.T. with Mary Beth and she taped paper to the wall and had him print his name on a line and then write it in cursive. She explained that writing it on a wall takes more control than writing it on a table. She put him on the computer to snowboard and drive a car. Each time he played he improved his score. Then they played Black Jack and Zack was the primary winner, fair and square. Zack takes an hour nap before lunch and after he eats wants to take a shower. I explain that he had a shower this morning and it really isn’t a good time and he says, “Look at these pistols on my face”. I explain that he can’t mean pistols because that is something you shoot and kill someone with and he must mean pimples. “Yeah, the pimples kill me”. He is getting back to normal because he uses to take three or four showers a day. Afternoon speech and they work on reading comprehension and sentence completion. He does 50% of it independently. Kathy has heard about his dancing and wanted to see his moves so he entertained her until our time was up. P.T. with Amy and they throw a football while Zack had to keep one foot resting on a balloon without popping it. This teaches balance and physical restraint (you have to be very conscious of the amount of pressure on the balloon). They alternated feet and everyone thought he was going to pop the balloon. She had him stand on different surfaces while holding one leg up…again working on balance. Mary Beth (O.T.) is ready for him early so they work on days of the week, months and weather conditions. He named all the months and put them into seasons. Back in the room for a nap by 4:00. I talked to Kerri from Recreational Therapy and she has our outing scheduled for next Thursday. We are going to 4th Street Live to go bowling at Lucky Strike. Zack loves to bowl and it is a great atmosphere there so it should be a lot of fun. Any of his friends that want to join us we should be there by 5:30 Aunt Penny and Uncle Jay stop by and we go down to the lobby for Graeters Ice Cream. Jay pays for Zack’s ice cream and I ask him if he knows who Jay is. He calls him “the civilian” (well he’s not wrong). We go back up to the room and he is full of ice cream and decides he needs to lie down again before eating dinner. During dinner Taylor, Dan and his Mom arrive and Zack decides we need to take a walk to McDonalds. He must be taking it seriously when I said he needs to gain 10 pounds before we leave. We head to the gym and play Chinese Checkers and when we return to the room it is full of visitors. Zack is surprised and pleased that a bunch of his friends came to see him tonight. We turn on the music and he dances. It is a nice evening of fellowship and I get to enjoy the company of other Mom’s. We walk the last visitors to the lobby and Zack tells me as soon as he gets home he is getting in bed. It is ironic that he refers to his room as home now but it won’t be much longer. Saturday Oct. 1st we go home and I want to have a homecoming at our house with all Zack’s friends on Saturday afternoon. I want to welcome him back home around 1:00 for those that can make it. I also got my wish and his surgery will be Wed. Oct. 5th to have his bone flap put back. He will start Frazier East on Monday Oct. 10th just as I had hoped. Everything is falling into place. Gods perfect plan continues to unravel and amaze me. I consider Gods word to us in Isaiah 43:18-19 “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth: shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. God is at work on a new creation in Zack and I can’t wait to see what springs forth. Please pray for an end to the aphasia and complete recovery.

Wednesday September 21, 2005

Wednesday September 21, 2005 Got Zack up at 8:00 for breakfast, showered, dressed and his morning walk (can you see the pattern here). Heidi came by with Dr Arnold (resident) to make rounds for Dr. Mook. I told them what Dr Han told me about not having a plastic surgeon involved when his bone flap was put back and they agreed it would be better to wait until the scull has fused back together. Zack got weighed this morning and is 143 lbs. 9:00 Speech with Kathy and we talk about Zack’s aphasia. His auditory comprehension is good but he has “anomia” which is one of the components of aphasia. Object recognition corresponding with the word is difficult right now. He also has problems recognizing symbols, which is why reading is a problem. She shows him a picture and asked him to find various objects within it. He needs a lot of hints but he tries hard, is patient and polite. The only indication of frustration is a sigh. P.T. with Amy and they worked on balance. Standing on one leg with his eyes closed. Stands on an incline and repeats different positions alternating legs with his eyes closed. Kari with recreational therapy comes by to say that she will schedule an outing for Zack sometime next week after 5:00 PM with me (yeah, maybe we can go shopping). Dr. Mook comes by with the news that Zack is going home Oct. 1st and is scheduled to start Frazier East Oct 3rd. He will go to rehab at Frazier East from 9:00 – 3:00 on Mon, Wed. and Friday. Judy Eberenz, our pediatric coordinator will contact Christian Academy about a program to work Zack back into school. They are also discussing a tutor through Jefferson County Schools (it is why we pay taxes) and it’s possible they would come to our house on Tues and Thursday when he is not at Frazier (does anybody out there knows how this works?).
O.T. with Mary Beth and they go to the Frazier grocery store. She gives him 4 things to get: ice cream, tomato, chips and cereal. He remembers 2 out of 4. Then she wrote the 2 missing items down but he still couldn’t find them. She gave him 4 new items and he reads them off the list. He still couldn’t find them in the store and 5 minutes later he couldn’t read the list. Mary Beth says that aphasia confuses her because it’s never consistent. “This is hard”. Lunch and a short nap Afternoon speech and Kathy talks to him about when he is leaving. She asked him how many days it will be before he leaves. He says “nine”. Wow! She asked him why he is here, “To see you”. She says no, what happened that you are here? He responds, “An accident, hit another car”. He worked a crossword puzzle. The questions were pictures with four words to find. She helped him figure out the picture then he could easily spell them and write them in the boxes. P.T. with Amy and she asked him what he had for breakfast. He thought that Amy had just stopped to talk to him so he asked, “am I supposed to go with her?” She stretches his hamstrings and it is very painful. They work on path finding. He apologizes to Amy for getting aggravated with her when they got lost. 3:30 O.T. with Mary Beth and they wash the Frazier car. Since the girls were out of school today Rita brings them by Frazier to see Zack. They help him wash the car and he thinks it is funny. Mary Beth asked Zack what kind of car his Dad has. He answered “a truck, black, Mercedes (well he got the black truck right but the Mercedes is wishful thinking). He finishes with the car and works a puzzle and the girls get to help. In the elevator he asked, “what are we going to do with Nana” (that is what he calls my Mom who is 87). They ask him what he wants to do with her and he responds, “I don’t know as long as it isn’t fishy”. We don’t know what made him think of my Mom. Kyle gives him a Wet Willy (licks her finger and sticks it in his ear) and he smacks her on the head. Big brother returns! He has dinner at 6:00 and then turns on the music and dances with his sisters. He decides he wants a shower before his visitors come. Dr. Han called me today and told me that Zack’s bone flap was good so he has scheduled the surgery for Oct. He couldn’t remember the exact date so he would have his office call me tomorrow and let me know. I would like to schedule it for the week of Oct 3rd since he will be in the hospital for at least 3 days and wouldn’t receive therapy that week. Frazier East would prefer his flap be put back on before he starts there so they don’t have to interrupt therapy. Now my mission is to convince Dr Han to fit me into his surgery schedule for that week. Then he would start Frazier East Oct. 10th and will go every day that first week so they can evaluate him. I am anxious to get everything set up in advance so I feel like I have some control over things. They are not used to a Mom that doesn’t just sit back and tell her how things are done. I like making things happen. I need to prepare things at home for Zack to return. I want a comfortable, safe place for him to hang out with his friends. I am looking for a sectional couch for our basement if anyone knows of a bargain. I am excited and frantic about his return home. I want things to be perfect. Please pray that I remember to breathe again. Pray that Zack shows great improvement just being in familiar surroundings. Pray that our whole family can adjust to this new stage of recovery. Praise God that he has gotten us this far and continue to lift Zack up.

Tuesday September 20, 2005

Tuesday September 20, 2005 Zack slept until 8:30 this morning since I got stuck in a traffic jamb on 64. He had to eat quickly, shower and get dressed before 9:00 when Kristi came for speech (Kathy is off again). When she sits down Zack asked her “Do you think I look good in this?” (He is wearing his Yankee hat). “My Mom won’t let me wear it”. She tells him he has to wear his helmet. He asked Kristi if she had worked with him before because he thought he remembered her. We have a U.of L. student with us today named Billy. Kristi asked Zack what he sleeps on and he answers a “pistol” then answered a bed. What do you shave with and he says a “computer” then later a razor. He is getting better but still is impulsive and comes up with the wrong word. You can tell he is thinking about his answer better than he use to. They move to object identification and she lays two objects on the table and asked him to point to the one she named. He got them all correct. P.T. with Amy and another student named Stacey joins us. I think before long all of the students will want to study Zack…he is a unique case. He is on the treadmill for 20 minutes, then on the stationary bike for 15 minutes. Zack insisted that he hadn’t had any breakfast so after P.T. it was off to the cafeteria for a banana. He talks baseball with Billy. Billie is a Christian, very sweet and overwhelmed with Zack’s progress and the support we have received. O.T. with Mary Beth and he plays the memory game on the computer. She increases the number of pictures to remember out of a group of 16 and he gets it every time. She made it faster and even more pictures to remember and he got them all. Zack wanted Billy to do it and when Billy missed one Zack really got a kick out of it. He did another computer game that involved telling time and he did well on this one too (although he couldn’t read the questions). He wanted to do something else so Mary Beth got him a football to throw to Billy. Then they got a hula-hoop and he had to throw the football through the hoop. Zack really responded to a guy being around and at first he wanted to show off. Billy
appreciates the need to have more male therapist. Billy came back to the room with Zack and saw his photo album and became emotional over the whole thing. He promised to come back and see Zack. At lunch we had visitors from the Southeast Christian High School Ministry. We talked about when Zack could come back to church and how we could wean him into the youth service. I am concerned that the music and crowd will be too much stimulation and he will want to leave. They said there was a balcony viewing area that he could start with and work his way back into the student body when he feels comfortable. I know they will do everything they can to make him feel part of the youth group again. Donna and I take Zack over to the Heart & Lung Building across the circle and up to the 7th floor outside balcony. I thought Zack would really enjoy the view but he was not impressed. As soon as we walked across the balcony he asked me if I wanted to go. Afternoon speech with Kristi and she gave him an object, the letters that spelled the object and he had to unscramble them. He could spell it but not properly identify it (aphasia). Then he had to write the word three times. She handed him a common object and asked him what do you do with it. Some of them he correctly used but others it was like he had never seen them before (more aphasia). P.T. with Amy and he tried to ride a mini snowboard but he didn’t like it. Path finding and they work on finding his room, room number, name and address. He is tired and not paying attention. O.T. with Mary Beth and she wants him to find the word “orange” hidden in a seek-and-find puzzle. There are several oranges hidden and he finds them all. Then she works with him on math, addition and subtraction and he did them all correctly. On the way back to the room Rita asked him what his best subject was in school and he said math. She asked him his worst subject and he says “Jacuzzi”. She says what’s hard about Jacuzzi and he answers, “saying it”. He immediately jumps in bed for a nap…he is so tired today. I get him up for dinner at 6:00 and we talk about the accident. I explain what happened and he asked, “How did I get stupid enough to do that”. We went for a walk and ended up in the gym where we played a couple of games of Chinese Checkers. It is good therapy for Zack but I think I like it more than he does. Back in the room when Kaitlyn and her Mom arrive. We are playing a word game with Zack and I discover that if I show Zack a written word half the time he can’t identify it but if I spell the word out loud (without him looking at it) he gets it every time. I can also ask him to spell different words and he does very well. It appears that all the information is there but his eyes are not yet communicating with his brain on what he is seeing. I will have to tell Kathy tomorrow to test him verbally first with words before going to the visual exercises. Dan and Andrew arrive and Zack decides it’s time for McDonalds. When we get our food Zack picks out the table. There are some Amish people eating near us in the bonnets and beards and I tell Zack not to stare at them. He answers, “It’s hard”. I ask him where he thinks they’re from and he says “somewhere messed up”. One of the Amish men seems just as interested in Zack in his helmet with his entourage. Brittany joins us at McDonalds and before long Zack tells us it’s time to go. Back in the room he decides to turn on some music and dance again. Tonight I can really see the rhythm coming back and before long he will be ready to go to a school dance. He has worn himself out today and is sleeping peacefully by 9:45. I will be able to leave early tonight and get some extra sleep. I keep imagining the first weekend that Zack comes home if he sleeps in a little, and I don’t set the alarm. Again I am at peace with our situation, no regret, just hopeful prayers. Our God has been generous in His answers so far and I know he is still looking down and whispering, “Just wait until tomorrow”. Keep praying that Zack will soon conquer the aphasia. Pray that when that battle is won that reading will come back to him naturally. Never forget how awesome is our God and he can do more than we could hope or imagine. His precious child will recover.

Monday September 19, 2005

Monday September 19, 2005 Zack was awake in bed waiting for me to get him up. He ate a quick breakfast, showered, dressed and was ready to start walking. Dr. Mook stopped in with Sarah (our case worker) to discuss discharge plans. Tentatively it looks like Oct 6th we will get to go home. 9:00 Speech with Kathy and she asked Zack what he did this weekend. He told her he went surfing and asked her if she believed him. They looked at the pictures of all his friends taped to the wall and asked discussed with Zack who they were. He got really silly for a while making up names. When Donna arrived he called her his “sitter” because he couldn’t remember her name. Kathy gave him an object and two written words to chose which matched the object. He needed more help than yesterday. He is less impulsive about making the wrong choice but aphasia is still a major roadblock. He tries very hard to figure it out but many times chooses the wrong answer. She showed him several objects and he had to identify them. He struggled and told her the “I stayed up late last night”. She had hidden two objects and he couldn’t find them even though he would go to the exact location and look right at it. When she pointed it out he said, “That was sad. You got me on that one”. P.T. with Amy and she asked him who Donna was. “My sister-in-law”. He worked out on the treadmill for 15 minutes, was stretched and then on the stationary bike for 15 minutes. His stamina has really improved. Check out the cafeteria for a while until its time for O.T. Mary Beth is 5 minutes late and Zack is not patient. She has him write his name, the date and what he did this weekend. He wrote on his own, “I played Texas Hold Em with my train” (it was supposed to be my buddies). Played a memory game on the computer where he was shown a group of 16 pictures. They all went away but three of them, then they all came on. He had to choose the three that stayed on. He got them easily. She did it again with less time. They went to the garage and he did a project that 3 weeks ago frustrated him badly. Today he completed it in record time with no problem. He keeps asking questions like, “How do you know the time?” “How do you know when Mary Beth is coming?”
He said he didn’t know and he wanted to. He is starting to become more aware of his deficits so that is the first step to recognizing aphasia and conquering it. Mary Beth gave him a hammer to use a large carpenter nails and he did great (he couldn’t do it 2 weeks ago). Back in his room for lunch he said, “I’m going to flavor in my room tonight”. Once he was told that only one word was wrong and flavor didn’t make sense he said, “I’m going to stay in my room tonight. I did good”. He wants so badly to get his mixed up words fixed. 2:00 We went to our meeting with Dr. Han. I had to fill out mountains of paperwork and then we waited for 1 ½ hours before we got to see the doctor. Zack was getting tired so I asked if there was somewhere he could lay down and they put us in an exam room. After a long time Zack sat up and looked at me and said, “suspension of this would be good”. I agree. Dr. Han doesn’t know if his bone flap is contaminated but will check into it tomorrow. Regardless, we will not be having surgery until he is released from Frazier Rehab and he is scheduled out for 2 weeks already. He will be in the hospital (either Norton or University depending on if he has to have an acrylic bone flap made) for 3 to 4 days and then go home. He should be able to start speech and O.T. rehab immediately but Dr. Han wants to wait a while before beginning any P.T. He will have his stitches for 10-14 days and once they are out he will no longer need his helmet.
I discussed having a plastic surgeon close the incision so we could close up the gap a little better (where no hair is growing) but Dr Han said he would be closing it. He explained that a plastic surgeon would want to remove too much scalp and create a new wound as a potential infection site. He felt he could do as good of a job while being most concerned with getting a good seal on the bone flap. He said we could always come back when they bone flap had fused together and was completely healed (about 12-18 months) and then a plastic surgeon could tighten it up if we felt it was necessary. Then he would not be concerned about infection. I’m not sure if I agree or like that approach. It seems that a plastic surgeon could take a little more time and is more experienced in a cosmetic closure than a neuro surgeon. We drop in at University Neuro ICU to say hello to the nursing staff that took care of Zack in the beginning. Christy cried when she saw Zack and told us we gave her incentive to keep working in ICU. We saw Yolanda who couldn’t believe it was Zack walking in and Karen (our first Physical therapist who gave us so much hope). We gave them all copies of the pictures I took of Zack with each one of them when he was so badly injured. We left them with big “now & then” pictures for the bulletin board and we took new pictures. We were disappointed that we didn’t get to see Dr Densler, Kim (RN), Dr Muntchnik, Tom, Stephanie and some of the others but we will come back again. As we left the hospital we met Dr. Densler on the sidewalk. He gave me a big hug (this was the surgeon who never hugged anybody) and we took pictures. He was amazed at how well Zack was doing. I told Zack that this was the doctor who removed his scull and he raised his eyebrows and said thank you. Dr. Densler said that he wanted Zack to speak at the Brain Injury Survivor Reunion next year because he was hurt very badly and was doing exceptionally well. As we left and headed back to Frazier Zack told me it was good to meet Dr. Densler again. Of course he didn’t remember anyone. In front of Frazier we ran into Amy from P.T. She talked to Zack and I for a while and when we walked away Zack said, “Who was that lady”. I told him Amy had worked with him every day since he had been here and he said he knew her but he didn’t know her. Short-term memory is still not good. As we walk back to the room he says something and mixes his words up. I tell him I am going to get a tape recorder and record him talking so he can hear himself. He didn’t like that idea and said it would kill him if I taped him. He said he didn’t want to hear himself messing up. Once back in the room he takes a nap before dinner. After he eats dinner several friends arrive and he is dancing again. We all enjoy watching him and he loves the attention. When it is time for them to leave we walk them to the lobby. He is walking down the hall with a girl holding each hand. Any teenage boy would be envious of the parade of female visitors Zack receives. He is exhausted when we settle into his room and falls right to sleep. I am resigned to the fact that after his surgery it will be me tending to his incision at home. I would much rather come back to Frazier and have the nurses fussing over him and Dr. Mook checking things out but insurance doesn’t work that way. I guess I have had enough experience now and God will take over where my knowledge ends. Please continue to pray that Zack will recognize his aphasia so we can conquer it. Pray that our last few weeks here will be marked with great leaps of improvement. Pray for complete recovery.

Sunday September 18, 2005

Sunday September 18, 2005 Mrs. Funderburk came this morning so that Rita (who usually fills in on Sunday morning) could go to church with us. He ate all his breakfast, got dressed and told her, “Let’s go to the Keys”. They went to the Chestnut Café in Jewish and she showed him where she parked her car outside. He couldn’t get over how old it was. They went to the gym and did some lightweight lifting. She worked with him on opposites and object identification. They used the letter and number chart and discussed values. After a while he is ready to quit, play some C.D.’s and dance. He decides the nurses need to come and check out his moves so while we were in church he was entertaining Mrs. Funderburk and the staff. He wants to go for a walk while listening to his Walkman. They walk around the block and enjoy a beautiful day. Zack sings the lyrics to the songs and they watch themselves dance in the reflecting mirrors outside the parking garage. A lady in the gift shop told Zack he had beautiful eyes and Mrs. Funderburk writes “They are beautiful, but there is something more awesome and beautiful behind those eyes. Zack is my reminder of how fearfully and wonderfully we are made”. Mrs. Funderburk…another blessing God has sent us! They have time to review letters and numbers and object identification before he is ready to rest. Scott shows up with Waffle House and the three of them have a feast. When I arrive Scott takes the girls home and Zack is ready to take a nap. Someone from Southeast Christian Church arrives with communion for Zack. He brings his daughters with him. After we pray and they leave Zack tells me, “That one girl was tight”. I ask him which one and he explained that I had complimented her on her skirt. He raises his eyebrows and again says, “She was tight” (for those of you who aren’t up on the lingo “tight” is good). I catch up to them in the hall and tell her Dad that Zack thought she was tight. He told me she was in 8th grade (she looked older). I go back and tell Zack she was in 8th grade and he said he liked 8th graders. I think he just appreciates pretty girls. 2:00 Speech with Kathy and he has trouble with object identification unless he is given the 1st sound. Can give the function of an object (fork, pencil) most of the time. She gave him an object and two written words and he correctly picked the word that identified the object every time. Kathy explained that sometimes he goes to fast and identifies objects wrong. He is still impulsive with his answers. Once he realizes that he is mixing up his words then the aphasia will get better. He can’t stop something that he is not conscious of doing (kind of like biting your nails). A bunch of friends arrive, seven pretty girls and Andrew. We all take a walk around the building outside. We go to the conference room and play an exciting game of hot potato with 8 people and 8 balls. We get back to the room and are just sitting there talking when Zack says; “My friends don’t think Dad is a good supervisor so we will have to find somebody else” (I’m not sure where that thought came from). I tell him I’ll supervise and he says, “Just you?” I ask him if he thinks we need more chaperones and he responds, “Well yeah, look how many people we have”! I think Zack is planning a party. He decides he is hungry and we should go to McDonalds. I think we made quite an impression, about a dozen teenagers walking through the halls on our way to McDonalds. He gets a Big Mac and chooses a place to sit in the back. The kids gather around him and they talk about their friends. Then out of nowhere Zack says, “I love black people. If you knew one you would love them too”. He must have been thinking about his friend Rick Thompson who is away at Western. Zack loved him; they had their own handshake. I’m sure on his next visit home Rick will come by to dance with Zack. We walk to the Heart & Lung Building. The Security Guards all know him and wave to Zack. One of them had told us there was an outside balcony on the 7th floor so we want to go check it out. Unfortunately the door was locked but the walk was pleasant (we will check that balcony out tomorrow). This crowd of friends says goodbye and before long another group arrives. Trey, Nick and Chas play Texas Hold Um with Zack and I am impressed that he remembers how to play (and wins several hands). They compliment him on the shoes some of the girls signed and gave him for his birthday. Nick asked Zack if he could “have um”. Zack says, “I know what your saying. Can I have them”? We all crack up…Zack is correcting Nick’s English! They were having a great time, whooping it up so that the staff had to come make sure everything was OK. The guys leave so Kaitlyn and her Mom are left to enjoy Zack’s company. They ask him if he has a girlfriend now and he says yes. They discuss what she looks like and ask Zack her name. He says, “personification”. Wow, big word, can you define that for us. He says, “yes, a person plus an onification”. He may have aphasia but he sure knows how to use it to get a laugh. Finally they have to say goodbye and Zack is ready to climb into bed. He had a lot of visitors today and really enjoyed himself. He spoke about going home but he understands we can’t leave just yet. Zack falls asleep quickly and I think about the day. I remember how earlier when the room was full of people and we sang a song from church. Someone sent us the words to “I Will Never Be the Same Again” and it is so appropriate for the time we are in. I wish you could hear the melody but you will have to be content just to read the words. Listen carefully as Zack sings:

I will never be the same again
I can never return, I’ve closed the door
I will walk the path, I’ll run the race
And I will never be the same again

Fall like fire, soak like rain
Flow like mighty waters again and again
Sweep away the darkness
Burn away the chaff
And let a flame burn to glorify Your Name

There are higher heights
There are deeper seas
Whatever you need to do, Lord, do in me
The glory of God fills my life
And I will never be the same again

Will any of us every be the same after witnessing first hand the awesome power of God. To know that our cries reach even to the ears of heaven and our prayers are answered. Hear us now Oh Lord. Please pray that Zack will be aware of the words he is saying so the aphasia will end. Pray for complete recovery to glorify God.

Saturday September 17, 2005

Saturday September 17, 2005 Zack waited for me to get here with the girls before getting up. Kyle told him they were going on the “Riverwalk”, a walk-a-thon to prevent brain injury and raise awareness. He was impressed when they told him how far they had to walk. He eats breakfast, takes a shower and we walk the girls out front to meet Donna. He says, “I’m holding the hand of a stupid person”. Sounds like a typical teenage statement. I take Zack down to the gym at 9:30 and he gets on the stationary bike for 15 minutes. Then we work on strengthening his right hand using weights. Tom (our O.T. therapist today) shows us some old fashion methods for strengthening the hands and fingers. He fills a bucket up with water and gives Zack a towel. He has to soak the towel in water and transfer the water to another bucket by wringing the towel out. Then he has him wad up paper using his fingers to see who can make the smallest ball. They take the same piece of paper, straighten it out and fold it many times to see who can fold it into the smallest piece. Then he tears it up in little tiny pieces. All of these exercises strengthen the hand and fingers and can be used in his room. He also suggested Lego building sets as a good way to work finger dexterity and cognitive skills. Tom tested the strength of Zack’s hands using a Dynometer. His right hand was 67#/left 75# and my right was 66#/left 66#. Zack’s right hand should be between 85 – 90#. They used a pinch meter to test the strength in his fingers. His right finger 16.5#/left 20# and my right 16.5#/left 16#. In short Zack is stronger than I am and his left hand is right where it should be. He gets stronger every day. 10:45 Speech with Mom in his room and I use the folder that Kathy prepared for us. He does excellent on matching pictures, good on word finding but had trouble with auditory comprehension. He was worn out and hadn’t had a nap yet so he hopped in bed. Tiffany and Kaitlyn arrive and we walk to McDonalds for lunch. When we get back Zack decides he needs to finish his nap and gets back in bed. Shortly Avery and her Mom come with Dylan to see Zack. It is hard working around Dylan’s schedule, with football practice and tennis, getting him to the hospital. Soon Dan and his family arrive and we all head to McDonalds again and Zack has a Big Mac (by the way his weight is up to 140.5 lbs). Zack tells me he wants Dan to spend the night but since he can’t go home then Dan can’t spend the night. We walk back to his room, they leave and Zack is back in bed. Taylor and Jessica arrive to fill Zack in on the latest teen gossip. He gets up and we go for a walk. We go to the gym to play Chinese Checkers and Zack beats them both. He understands the game and plans for the next move ahead of time. Back in the room they hang out and listen to music. We talk about who Zack will ask to the first dance when he goes home (I’m not telling). Before long Zack is entertaining us with his dance moves. We are laughing so hard Taylor has tears running down her face.
He told them he was supposed to start school Monday and it sucked because he couldn’t. More friends arrive and Zack decides they need to see his dance moves too. He is going to sleep really well tonight because he hasn’t had much of a nap and he has been active all day. Although he spoke about going home he seemed just as happy here with his friends. We had a great time today and it makes us so appreciative of the support we have had from so many people. Scott and I get to have a date night tonight and after dinner we drop in the Marriot Hotel for the McDazzle, a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House. Dr. Calvary had told us that Dr LaRossa would be there celebrating her birthday and we wanted to meet her. Dr. LaRossa was supposed to be Zack’s doctor here at Frazier but a few days before we arrived she found out she had cancer. We met a warm, compassionate, energetic woman that hopes to get to meet Zack before he goes home. When we leave she tells me “I’ll pray for your son”. We have met so many wonderful, caring people since this has begun. The path God has chosen to set us on has been a blessing. Zack is alive though we were told he wouldn’t live. I remember how badly I wanted to see him move a thumb or toe and now he walks, and walks and walks.
I can’t wait until the day he walks into church and stands next to me, lifting up his hands in worship as we sing. Please pray that the aphasia will disappear soon even though I know it won’t affect his singing. Pray for complete recovery.

Friday September 16, 2005

Friday September 16, 2005 Zack had breakfast and was waiting for me in bed. He got up, showered, dressed and we go for a walk. He wanted to buy a trophy so we went to the gift shop. It was closed. I asked him what the trophy was for and he said to look at. I asked him if it would say World’s Greatest Mom and he said, “you’re not that hot”. On the way back up to the room he rapped the 23 Psalm for the lady that brings meals.
Speech with Kathy and Katie a cute student at U of L. Zack was all smiles and a little silly. He is still a little mixed up but making strides in reading. A break through is right around the corner. He is stuck on the word “contract” today and uses it a lot. Kathy hid 2 objects to see if he could remember where she put them. He found one right away and the other he was in the general area but found it after a while. When it was time to leave Katie followed Kathy out the door. Zack liked her and said, “I wish she could have followed us”. P.T. with Amy and Zack was on the bike for 15 minutes. Then it was time for Amy to torture him with stretches. He complained, “It hurts” and asked, “How long does it last”. O.T. with Mary Beth and they talked about how good Zack did with math yesterday. Today he wrote the date, his name in cursive and remembered how to make a cursive “Z”. He wrote a sentence about Pat Day, “Pat Day is a Lola Jockey” (I wonder if Pat ever rode a horse named Lola). They worked on telling time with a big cardboard clock, she gave him many different times and he did it easily and so well. He was very proud of himself. Then they moved to seek-n-find word puzzles. Very hard. He scanned each row for the words but he could find them. The good thing was he did not get frustrated. Then Mary Beth would point out the general area and he would find the word. He found several on his own. Mary Beth said that simple seek-n-find would be great for him to work on in the room. Afternoon speech and Kathy the played a memory game Guess Who with him. There were 323 characters and she picked one for him to use clues and guess whom she picked. He did very well. Speech wore him out so he went back to his room to rest. Lunch came and he ate and wanted to go to the courtyard to look for his people. I kept telling him his friends were in school but he insisted that they were waiting for him outside. He went to the courtyard to look for them and seemed agitated when he couldn’t find them. He asked me if I liked it here and I explained that I didn’t mind being here because this place was helping him. Afternoon P.T. and they went to the Frazier grocery store. She asked him to get 4 potatoes, 5 oranges, 3 onions, 1 corn and 1 pepper. He had trouble identifying most of the vegetables. She showed them to him and then hid them all over the store. She sat him down and asked him some generic questions and then had him go look for the vegetables. He found the first 6 right away, had a little trouble with some of the others but eventually found them all. He only seemed to get frustrated when the aphasia set in and he couldn’t communicate his thoughts. We really need prayers in that area. O.T. and he hits a balloon back and forth for a long time. They work on strengthening his right arm by lifting weights. It was very hard but he did it without complaining. Mary Beth wants us to work on his hand in the room with the resistance device she sent with us. He took a nap after O.T. and then we take a walk until dinner. He seems sad but when I ask him what’s wrong he says nothing. He decides to go back to his room and take a shower, put on clean clothes and some cologne in anticipation of female visitors tonight. During dinner Scott calls and Zack says to tell his Dad he wants to return to his residence. “There’s not enough room here”. He climbs in bed and I find something that interests him on T.V. He calls me over and says, “I want to leave here and not come back. That’s how it sucks for me”. I convince him to get up and take a walk. We leave a note on the door in case his friends come by and head outside. We walk for a long time around the Jewish Hospital campus. Played checkers and cards. No visitors tonight (first time) so we took a lot of walks. Zack got antsy so we went to the cafeteria and bought ice cream. He climbed in bed and watched T.V. He’s waiting for his Dad to get here and they will find something interesting to do. Now I’m getting anxious to take him home. It will be so good to walk around our block again, go to BW3 to eat and play the trivia game and do something different besides walk the halls in the hospital. What a summer we have had…much different than I could ever have imagined. It won’t feel normal until the abnormal is normal. Does that make sense? Tomorrow will be a challenge. No scheduled therapy so it will be up to me to keep Zack stimulated busy and happy. Please pray that the Lord will guide me. Extra prayers that the aphasia will soon be gone. Pray for complete recovery in God’s time.

And More Pictures!!!

Thursday September 15, 2005

Thursday September 15, 2005 Zack had already eaten and was back in bed when I arrived. He got up, shower and dressed. Dr. Mook and Sarah (his case worker) came by
and told me he had an appointment with Dr. Haan on Monday about his bone flap. They also said they had evaluated Zack and decided that he should stay here another 3 weeks before graduating to Frazier East. Zack and I took a walk and he said he wanted to go find his bone flap. I gave him 3 words to remember (ball, wagon, duck) and told him I would ask him later. He kept walking around saying ball, wagon, duck. I waited and every 5 or 10 minutes I would ask him the word. He would usually remember 2 of them but would need hints for the third. 9:00 Speech with Kathy. They look at pictures and she asked him what was happening in each one. Again he is stuck on “w”. With hints he does OK with the pictures. P.T. in the gym with Amy and he does 15 minutes on the treadmill, squats and stretches. Asked if he was tired, “I’m just confused”. O.T. with Mary Beth and he went to the kitchen to make cookies. Zack got the butter and eggs out of the refrigerator with help to know what he was looking for. He read the temperature settings for the oven on the package of mix. He put everything in a bowl and mixed it up. Mary Beth showed him how to make them into balls and put them on a cookie sheet. When they were in the oven he had to wash the bowl and utensils. She showed him how to take the hot tray out of the oven and how to take the cookies off of the tray. Then he got to eat some and bring the rest back to his room. Speech with Kathy and she asked him how to spell words. He did very well on three letter words but longer ones were a little more difficult. She showed him a picture of something and two words to chose from to identify the picture. He seemed so close at times but then the aphasia would set in and he would get confused. Afternoon P.T. with Amy ands he has to stand on one leg with his eyes closed. Then he has to stand on one foot and work a puzzle. He said, “This is killing me”. She is working on his stamina, concentration and balance. Zack is resting in bed when Rita comes. She asked him if he knows her name today and he says, “Yes, my appendix”. She brought him red licorice (his favorite) and asked him if he liked it. He said, “It killed me”. What do you mean it killed you? He said, “I’m dead”. She said you don’t look dead. Zack said, “I am” and laid his head to the side and closed his eyes. She asked him if he was trying to play dead and he said yes with a big smile. He planned this out to play a joke on his grandma. Rita loved it because it showed that Zack still had the mischievous side of his personality in tact. Afternoon O.T. with Mary Beth and she does math with him. He does well but has trouble when he has to carry a number. After he works on it for a while he starts to get it. Rita starts hollering woof, woof. Zack gets embarrassed and covers his face. Mary Beth is very impressed with his progress. Zack was in a good mood and Rita asked him why. He said, “Because I didn’t do anything wrong”. As they walk down the hall Zack reads the signs on the doors. Rita was surprised and said Zack I didn’t know you could read so well. Zack answered, “Well I’m not that dumb yet”. Back in the room Tiffany comes for her daily visit. Rita keeps giving Zack words to read and finally he looks at Tiffany and says, “We need to get away from this girl” and points to her. Averi and Lauren arrive and the three girls sit with Zack by his bed, laugh and share secrets. They decide they will go for a walk around the corner and sit on the therapy mat and talk away from me. They come back every ten minutes and they are off again. Zack wants to be away from me but at the same time feels safer when I’m around. He is a typical confused teenager. He asked me, “When can I get out of here”. I tell him 3 weeks. He responds, “That’s no good. It’s cutting into my pal time”. He wants so badly to go home but I make him understand that he’s not ready yet. He goes to bed early tonight because he has worked so hard in therapy today. Taylor and her Dad were here and he watched the clock. Finally he looks at me and says, “Will you let Kaitlyn and her Dad, Caesar Salad go”. I tell him that it’s Taylor, not Kaitlyn and her Dad’s name is not Caesar Salad. He doesn’t care; he is ready for bed and knows he can’t go to sleep until they leave. He tries hard to be polite but if he is sleepy…watch out…he may ask you to leave. Looks like tonight I will go home early and maybe get 8 hours of sleep for the first time in weeks. We have been here for so long that Frazier seems like home sometimes. Zack even calls his bed home and is very comfortable there. We are well taken care of by the staff. They all love Zack. God has put us right where we are supposed to be at this time. This is our training ground for the bigger plan he has in mind, that one day will be revealed to us. We are blessed beyond measure and best of all we know it. Others may have more possessions, vacations or free time but we have a tragedy that has awakened us spiritually. May you find the meaning of “all things work together for those who love the Lord” in your life. May you look at teenagers and see bright futures made in the image of God. Please continue to pray for Zack’s complete recovery, the return of his memory and the end to aphasia.

Wednesday September 14, 2005

Wednesday September 14, 2005 I got Zack up at 8:00 and he had a “spell”. He got very dizzy and I held him up for a minute or two until it passed. This was disturbing to me (he just smiled afterwards) because it had been nearly a week since this has happened and I thought the new drug combination that he was on had done the trick. He had breakfast, a shower and got dressed. We took a walk and played the alphabet game, where I give him a letter and he thinks of a word that begins with that letter. 9:00 Speech with Kristi in our room and when she walks in Zack smiles and says, “you’re going to be my therapist”. She reviews the alphabet with him. He writes each letter and then unscrambles letters to make words (3 or 4 letter words). Looks at a picture of an object and has to write the word. Aphasia is still very present at this point. I had slipped out of the room and he looked around and asked, “Where’s my Mom?” She’s at work. “Well let’s go to work then”. All Zack’s therapists love him and discuss how they can best help him. P.T. with Amy and he’s on the treadmill for 15 minutes. Then she stretches his hamstrings and it really hurts. She talked to him to distract him and had him take deep breaths. Amy had tied his shoes before getting on the treadmill so as soon as he was finished he said, “I need to sit down and fix my feet”. He worked for a long time loosening his shoelaces just the way he likes them. Donna takes him to the cafeteria for a snack and he gets a Sprite and pretzels. He told her “Thanks for paying for this”. She asked him what sport he was going to play when he gets strong again. “Jugs”, he says. He rolled his eyes when Donna didn’t know what it meant. There was 10 minutes before O.T. so Donna asked him what he wanted to do. He answered, “Just chill”. O.T. with Mary Beth and he wrote the date, printed his name and wrote it in cursive. Mary Beth was very pleased. She asked him where he lived and he had trouble with the city he got Ky. right away. She asked him where he went to school and he said “Kentucky Kingdom” (he wishes). She gave him a file with a name on it and told him to file it alphabetically. He got it right away. Mary Beth couldn’t believe it. She said it didn’t make sense. Very neat and precise. She gave him one file at a time. He stood back with his arms crossed to assess the situation. Then he started bopping his head while he was putting the files away. She finally handed him the whole stack. He snapped his finger and bopped his head. As he got tired you could see him struggle a little more and slow down. He worked on the computer. Typed his name. She asked him to type what he did today and he said therapy and typed it. I wrote my name. I worked a puzzle. He typed it without looking at his hands. Sometimes he couldn’t find the correct letters, would get a little frustrated and finally said, “I can’t do this. Can I go now”? Ate lunch and took a 20-minute nap. Afternoon speech with Kathy and they worked on telling time. He had the concept but couldn’t always get it right. Kathy still sees a lot of aphasia and believes that sometimes he hears in aphasia (the words don’t come out the right way and he doesn’t always hear them correctly). She has him try to identify objects in pictures. He has a difficult time. Sometimes it appears that to him the object is just a foreign something. Afternoon P.T. with Amy and she hates Zack’s new shoes that are never tied. She doesn’t want him to wear them to therapy or on long walks any more. Zack balances on the rocker board. She stretched him on the mat. He complains, “Ouch, Ouch. We go home when this is finished”. Carey, the recreational therapist, comes by to tell us that Zack will go on some kind of outing next week (I hope it’s bowling). Zack works a puzzle and does very well. Back in the room he takes a nap. Afternoon O.T. with Mary Beth and he gets a new wheel chair that sits him up higher. Rita (Scott’s Mom) told him his Uncle Jay was flying in from Florida to see him and he thought that was really cool. 4:00 Family Meeting and a neurophysiologist discusses how the brain recovers. Zack is tired because all his energy is expelled trying to heal the brain and he could remain tired for the next 10 years. They use to believe that people with brain injuries couldn’t learn things beyond two years after their injury. Now experts know that healing and learning continues for life. The neurons continue to find new ways to connect. Mary Beth brings Zack to the conference room after his therapy and he sits patiently. The meeting continues but after a while he keeps motioning to the door. Finally he is able to get back in bed. He gets up for dinner at 6:00 and then argues with me on whether it is 6:30 in the morning or 6:30 at night. He wants it to be morning so he can go to therapy. He won’t believe me so he goes to ask the nurses. They tell him it is 6:30 at night. He says they are all lying. He wants to walk outside to see if it is dark out. We take a walk outside with Taylor, her Mom and sister. We run into Andrew’s Dad and after he visits for a while he walks us to the elevator. He says goodbye to Zack and asked him if he needed anything. Zack says, “No, be good man”. The elevator door closes and Zack leans back against the wall and says, “I was going to tell him not to have sex with any other girls” and he laughs. We tell him that Andrew’s Mom would appreciate that and I asked him if he stopped himself from saying it. He answered, “Yeah, I stopped myself”. That is really a good sign. There has to be some form of filter there helping him know what is appropriate to say. Usually that filter has to be relearned and is one of the last deficits to conquer. Just another sign of how God is healing him He truly hasn’t fit the mold of traumatic brain injury. Several of his friends come to the room and they all play the alphabet game. He lies in bed and they gather around and they entertain each other. I am so thankful that his friends don’t see this as a waste of time and seem to really enjoy their visits. I left to go home with the kids and Scott stays tonight. On my way home I receive a phone call from another person that had been in Frazier Rehab for a Traumatic Brain Injury 5 years ago. His name is Scott and he had a snow mobile accident on Christmas Eve when he was a senior at Kentucky Country Day. He went to University Hospital, Frazier Rehab and Frazier East. All the same therapies as Zack is having. He went on to get his masters at Duke University and is now at Vanderbilt getting his PHD in Economics. It is so encouraging to talk to people with brain injuries that have such wonderful success stories to tell. It helps me to imagine what Zack might accomplish in his future. God has blessed us so richly already I’m beginning to see unlimited possibilities. Right now I ask for prayers for increased memory and to see this aphasia disappear. Recovery will come in Gods perfect timing.

More Pictures

Tuesday September 13, 2005

Tuesday September 13, 2005 Zack was ready to get up and eat breakfast when I arrived at 7:30. Dr. Mook came in to check on him and we discussed when he could get his bone flap back on. He also said he would check on a plastic surgeon to close the final incision. Zack had a shower and then we took our walk. We saw Jerry eating breakfast at the nurse’s station. He is a 27-year-old man with a brain injury that is not walking or talking yet. I told Zack that Jerry was still very sick and Zack said, “I can tell”. We ran into one of the occupational therapist in the hall. She just got back from a mission trip in Romania and the church there is praying for Zack. Back in our room for speech therapy with Kathy at 9:00. He did sentence completion and had some pretty good answers even though the aphasia was there at times (I would like to have more stability). He wrote his name perfectly. She had him look at a picture and write down what it was. He would write part of the word and add extra letters. She hid an object and then asked him to find it ten minutes later. He found it right away. P.T. in the gym with Rita (Amy off today). He did 25 sit-ups and then 25 more. Then 15 push-ups and 15 more. His stamina is increasing every day. She tossed him a ball and he had to hit it back to her like volleyball and not let it hit the floor. He really liked it and laughed a lot. Rita didn’t have another patient right away so she put Zack on the stationary bike for 15 minutes. He said it was hard so they talked to him to keep him focused. O.T. with Mary Beth and Zack was on the light board. She wanted to work on strengthen his wrist and right hand so he had to put different size clothes pins on a clothes line. He had to squeeze them open for a count of 5. Each one was harder and his hand began to shake. He did several exercises that worked on each finger. He traced shapes and cut them out with scissors (this also works to strengthen the fingers). Back in his room he was able to rest for 10 minutes before Scott joined us for lunch. One of the student nurses came in to give Zack his meds and we were talking about when Zack might come home. He told us, “I don’t need the stuff they have here. I’m ready to go, when will you leave me?” He talked to his Dad about playing golf. He told him, “I’ve been waiting to play golf since I got up. Jeff said he was going to get me a golfing surface”. Dave Stone and Sam have already challenged Scott and Zack to a golf game, so Scott talks to Zack about golf a lot. Back in speech after lunch and Zack played Kathy in a memory card game and won. He keeps referring to the “W” and can’t seem to get it out of his mind. Afternoon P.T. session in the gym with Amy and he was on the stationary bike for 13 minutes before he finally said, “Can you take me off here. This is poop”. Then 20 push-ups and 20 sit-ups on the incline. He is so determined and keeps at it even though it hurts. He had a terrible headache when he stood up. He started to cry and said his head hurt really bad and his eyes hurt. He finds his wheelchair and heads back to his room. The nurse checks him out with a flashlight in his eyes and gives him some Tylenol. They check his blood pressure. He says his head hurts on the right side. 4:00 O.T. with Mary Beth and she asked him Rita’s name. He says “Toby”. She tells him that’s not right and asked him who Toby was. Zack tells her he’s a big bear we keep at home. Toby is our dog, a wire-haired Fox Terrier. She has him on the computer playing games. He scores better on the skiing game each time he plays. When he goes back to his room to take a nap he no longer has a headache. He gets up to eat dinner at 6:00 and gets right back in bed. I am taking it easy on him since he had a rough day in therapy (with a headache) but finally I tell him he has to get up. Logan (his little sister 6 yrs. old) is with me tonight for a while and my niece Sherry stops by. We all walk to McDonalds. Zack holds the door open for everyone (even strangers). He asked Logan if she would like to drink some of his Gatorade and smiles as she takes a big gulp. He is so polite. He tolerates his little sister much better since she is by herself, without Kyle or Dylan. He listens to her talk and talk and talk but doesn’t get frustrated. We walk back to Frazier outside on the sidewalk. I play a game with Zack where I say a letter of the alphabet and he has to tell me a word that begins with that letter. I am quite impressed with some of his answers (emphatic for E, quaint for Q, unanimous for U). Once back in the room I have to find things to keep him busy and out of bed. Thankfully Andrew, Brittany and Tiffany arrive and he is content visiting with them. He plays Andrew in checkers and beats him once but Andrew takes his revenge. Logan catches a ride home with Brittany’s Mom and Zack and I decide to take a walk. He sits down to play Nintendo with Mathew (another patient who is 5 years old) and we meet Chris and his parents. Chris arrived last Friday, suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury from a car accident and was transferred here from University.
Side Bar: kids learn from Chris. He had a flat tire on 64 and was waiting in his car when he was struck from behind. His parents had heard about Zack and were anxious to meet him to see his progress. They had seen his picture hanging up at University Nuero ICU (the Southeast newspaper article) and were shocked at how good he looked. I talk with them a long time, giving them advise, encouragement and hope. I’m going to take a recent picture of Zack over to University so they can show how far he has come. Zack is sleeping now and must be dreaming. Every once in a while I hear him talking in his sleep. He says, “Well thank you”. I hope tomorrow when I get him up he will remember what he was dreaming about. I wonder if God is still talking to him while he is sleeping, telling him what a good job he is doing and Zack answers, well thank you.
We may never know but I do know he is healing. He has come so far in two months that it is hard to imagine where he will be in two more months. The Lord blesses us to where our cup runs over. Today was such a good day. Scott and I read the notice that came home in the kids backpack about the fundraiser the high school students were organizing for Zack. They are selling T-shirts with the inscription “CAL loves ZH’ and all the students get to wear them (instead of their uniform) to school on Oct 13th. They have never done that at Christian Academy (CAL), letting the entire student body participate and not wear uniforms. We are so overwhelmed by the support we have received. I will be back at Christian Academy to speak at the middle school Chapel on that day and will be blessed with hundreds of students unified in support of Zack. It’s hard for us to imagine the emotion we will feel that day. Special thanks to Randi Marshall, Zack’s classmate, for sending out the notice. God has been moving so visibly, and at times audibly, through our lives these last two months, that I know the whole community will hear his thunder on that day. Please pray that those who doubt His mercy, grace and power will see Him magnified through the lives of teenagers. Let their hearts be softened, the field be ready for harvest and our disciples be bold in their witness. Pray for complete recovery for Zack so God may be glorified!

Zack Writes His Name!!!!

More Pictures!!

Monday September 12, 2005

Monday September 12, 2005 Zack was waiting for me to get him up. He ate breakfast pretty quick and then wanted to take a walk. We went to the lobby and I told him he had to find his way back to his room by himself, he got confused at the elevators and asked me to save him. We got back to the room and he kept insisting that we had somewhere to go. He didn’t remember that Kathy comes to his room for Speech in the morning. He got mad at me because I wouldn’t take him to his appointment. Finally 9:00 arrives but Kathy is out this morning and we work with Kristi. Now that his appointment is here he is polite and not frustrated. She asked him to complete yes/no questions (is a ruler straight). He misses most of them because he is preoccupied. Then he does sentence completion (a cup of _________) and he misses a lot of those. He doesn’t seem to take it seriously and kept laughing at his own answers. He won’t pay attention (I think he is still mad at me). She moves to object/word match (reading) and although these should have been harder he gets most of them right. She hid two items and he found them both right away but he identified the penny as a concubine. Kristi had to laugh. We have to try not to laugh because then he gets really silly and just wants to entertain us. Amy took him to the 1st floor gym for P.T. He rod the wind bike for 12 minutes and last week he barely tolerate 10. She works on path finding and he does O.K. getting to the elevators but then gets confused. Amy asked him his last name and he said “thong” and laughed. Now it is hard to tell when he is joking around or truly doesn’t know the answer. O.T. with Mary Beth and as Zack walks to the gym he is bobbing his head like he is listening to music. She asked him to first and last name in cursive. He got it all right except he said he didn’t know how to make a cursive “Z” (I don’t think I do either). He played solitaire on the computer and did very well. He took deep sighs because he is concentrating so hard. This helps with problem solving, paying attention, color and numbers. She worked his right wrist with some simple exercises. It is very weak so she wants us to continue it in our room. Back in his room he take a short nap, eats lunch and then gets back in bed.
1:30 Speech with Kathy (she is back now) She worked with him on object identification. When she asked what you did with a book, he answered, “read novel”. On the clock he said, “curfew”. On sentence completion she asked him, when you want to see yourself you look into the _______. He answered Bible. She doesn’t count that as a correct answer but I think it’s the perfect answer. She asked him if he had a pet at home and he answered, “a Christian pet”. I think our dog is sweet but I don’t know if I would call him a Christian. After speech he wanted to go to bed. That is our battle now…keeping him occupied and away from the bed. Afternoon session in the gym with Amy and she works with weight resistance on the pulley rope. This will strengthen his arms and shoulders. Then she puts him back on the treadmill. 4:00 O.T. with Mary Beth and they played Black Jack. He amazes Mary Beth that he can shuffle. He deals and plays correctly. He knows when he wins or loses and doesn’t like losing. He tosses the medicine ball and lifts it over his head 20 times. Mary Beth says they will be discussing a discharge date on Thursday but if it were up to her and Mary Beth they would keep Zack here for 2 or 3 more weeks (despite insurance requirements). Back ion the room Zack takes a short nap until three of his friends come. He tells them he is going home tonight. Rita asked him how he was getting home and he said, “probably with this girl” and points to Lauren. He said right now he could go home with a stranger. He goes out to the courtyard and plays Velcro ball. The exercise and sun make him hot (us too) so he decides to go back inside. He hops in bed and plays Nintendo with Rob (Zack wins). It’s time for them to leave so Zack gets back in bed to finish his nap. When he wakes up its time for dinner. As he is finishing Dan and his Mom arrive. Since Zack won’t eat his desert I feed chocolate cake to Dan. He loves it when I put whip cream on his nose. They decide to leave when the girls start arriving. Before long we have a good game of Hot Potato going. In the beginning it is with 4 balls/4 people but then we add another person and another ball. Once the girls get use to it they can keep up with Zack (I got a picture that I hope to put on the site). Zack decides it’s time to take a walk and we head back out to the courtyard. The girls are excited about breaking their Hot Potato record so the balls go out with us. They get set up and the 5 of them pass it quickly around 51 times without anyone dropping a ball. They are the Hot Potato Champs worth mentioning: Kelsey Slade, Laura Powell, Kara Evans, Brooky Willoughby and their team captain, our man Zack. Tiffany walks up and joins in and they turn it into a game of 6 and one of the balls has to be a roll of tape that Tiffany has. They don’t do as well with 6 but it is still impressive and great therapy for Zack. He decides it’s time to quit and take a walk. As we stroll the halls he ask me, “What’s the schedule for this period?” I tell him we have no schedule right now so he ask, “Do we have any more classes?” I tell him no more therapy tonight and the girls agree that this is recess. We take a long walk outside and head up to his room when the girls have to leave. Tiffany stays behind to play Zack in Nintendo while he lies in bed. She is trying to help me keep him from going to sleep until 9:00 when he will get his shower. I know Zack really wants to leave here and go home but I am not sure either of us is ready. It will be harder for him, dealing with his siblings every day, and a lot more responsibility for us. Please pray that God will make us ready when that day comes. Please pray that Zack will be patient with Dylan, Kyle and Logan and his parents as we fumble to get things right. Pray for his recovery and our peace of mind.