Sunday June 18, 2006

Sunday June 18, 2006 Zack wrote his Dad a letter for Father’s Day telling him how much he appreciated how Scott was always there for him in the hospital after the wreck. He said “you set a beginning for my whole life”, “have told me very good Christian things to do”, I want to end up being like you when I grow up” and “help me when I am picking a wife”. It was the best present he could have given Scott and we feel very lucky to have Zack with us. It doesn’t take much for us to remember how terrified we were less than a year ago, wondering if Zack would live or die. We experience blessings everyday when we see him able to ordinary things that one time we thought would be impossible. Saturday he participated in Rollin’ on the River, a fundraiser for the Brain Injury Association of KY. He was awarded a gift certificate for lunch at Primo Restaurant for raising the most amount of money $1690. His name went into a drawing for the Grand Prize and everyone was elated when he won the Madone 5.2 Bicycle (the same one Lance Armstrong won his last Tour de France). He ran 5 miles in 45 minutes with Amy, his physical therapist from Frazier Rehab. She was amazed that he was able to push himself so hard and then eat 4 pieces of pizza after the run. I met several people associated with the organization that didn’t know me but knew all about Zack. We have committed to be more involved so we can help others going through similar experiences with brain injury.
About a week ago I received a phone call from Lisa Hobbs (her son Addison was on Zack’s baseball team and they have gone to Christian Academy together for years). A friend of their family had been in a car accident and was seriously injured. Whitney was 16 and suffered a traumatic brain injury (among other things) similar to Zack. Lisa asked if I would speak to Whitney’s Mom about where to send her daughter when she was released from the hospital. The next day I met her Mom and Grandmother at Frazier Rehab after they had toured the nursing home where the hospital wanted to send Whitney. I showed them Zack’s photo album and shared his story of miraculous recovery. We discussed therapy and medication and they got to speak with Mary Beth (Zack’s occupational therapist). It was heartwarming for me to be able to comfort another mother who felt inadequate as she struggled with decisions on how to help her daughter. I felt an instant bond with Whitney, her mother and grandmother and know that Zack will be anxious to meet them as well.
Zachary is one special child of God, touched by His healing hand, which continues to “guide him on paths of righteousness for His namesake”. We are still breathing Psalm 23 although now we are out of the “Shadow of Death” and the “anoint my head with oil” has taken place by proxy in the hands of a surgeon. God has carried Zack very far these last 11 months but we know He is not through with him. The deficits that Zack still deals with every day may not completely disappear but we are comforted in the consolation of the new spiritual soul that has developed. God has given Zack an attitude of gratitude and the ability to recognize his deficits and not be too frustrated by them. He can laugh at himself when he uses the wrong words for things (yes the aphasia is still with us). He
circles the words that he doesn’t understand in his daily reading and that is when we really see the impact of his injury. Words like persuasive, elaborate, consolation, literary, solidarity hoax and reconcile make reading difficult for this one-time Honors English student. Reading is still much slower than it used to be but he is determined to work at it every day. His short term memory still suffers. He can’t remember people’s names or to take his pill (Excelon, a memory drug given to Alzheimer’s patients, which is the only one he takes now) but thanks me when I remind him. He has jumped into the pool twice this month with his cell phone in his pocket (Scott has done a great job with getting sympathy from Sprint). Like every teenager his cell phone is one of his prized possessions so he determined on his own that it would be safer in his backpack instead of his pocket. One of the deficits that we know he will live with the rest of his life is the “field cut” in his vision. Vision therapy has made him aware of the “blind spot” and taught him how to compensate for it but there are still times when it impacts him severely. A few days ago he was driving with me (he always grabs my keys and gets behind the wheel) and narrowly missed hitting a car parked on the right side of the road (his filed cut is on the right). He explained he didn’t see it until I started screaming. He pulled over and we switched seats as I reminded him he had to focus on the right side to move things out of his blind spot. I felt like I could throw up, not just because we nearly had an accident, but because I know it will always be an issue for him. There is no surgery or glasses that can correct his field cut, he just has to practice focusing to the right. We decided to get a picture of something (Zack suggested a pretty girl) and tape it to the windshield on the right so he would be reminded to focus there. I hope to be able to continue more vision therapy once the insurance issues get straightened out. He apologized profusely for “his bad driving day” and once my stomach settled down we switched places again (you have to get back on the horse that throws you). I don’t get mad at him, he can’t help it. I sometimes feel sorry for him but never voice those concerns. Zack has a great attitude about it all. He tells me I should buy his new eyes and when I explain that there is nothing wrong with his eyes, it is in his brain, he laughs and tells me to get him a new brain. Of course we would never do that even if we could. We weigh the options and feel lucky. An imperfect brain…a renewed heart for God. Visual difficulties…a spiritual revival. Wayward…redeemed. We know that one day God will restore Zack fully. It may not be this side of heaven but it will surely happen to His glory! Please continue to pray for complete recovery.