Being Thankful!

Hi everyone!

Well, last week was very eventful, in that we had a lot going on with family and friends visiting Dad during the holiday week. He and Mom received visits from Dad's immediate family, as well as other relatives and friends. Of course, the highlight of Dad's weekend was getting to see his granddaughter and showing her all of his new "tricks" since they had last seen each other.

Dad is starting to move more muscles in his arms, which is allowing him to move them from the elbow down in a side-to-side motion. Hopefully, the nerve regeneration will continue through the rest of his arms so he can start to lift them up and down. He is also moving more of his legs and feet, which we also hope will continue to improve.

As far as pain goes, Dad is feeling different kinds of it from time-to-time. One hour, he'll have some discomfort and itching in his feet, then it will move to his arms, and then to his hands. The other day, they got him out of bed and into his hot-rod wheelchair and unlike previous times, he was ready to get back into bed almost as soon as he got out. He was so uncomfortable and achy, but we talked him through it and he stayed in the chair for about 25 minutes.

His ventilator therapy is going well. Dad didn't meet his self-imposed goal of being off the machine by Thanksgiving, but he is not swayed from trying. We feel like the infection that he experienced last week set him back a bit on his therapy, so we're hopeful he'll get back on track soon now that he's over it.

Mom is doing well also. She could probably stand a little time to herself, but convincing her of that is another matter. Mom has stood by Dad's side through everything that has happened in the past 5 months, and I don't see her going anywhere anytime soon. I guess that's what true love is all about.

As far as being thankful, Dad and Mom wanted me to let everyone know that they are very thankful for your thoughts and prayers. Dad loves the cards that you continue to send him, and also the jokes via email. So keep those messages coming, as they are helping to keep his spirits up. Not to mention, he was elated to hear that 1.) the Richlands Blue Tornado football team made it to the state semi-finals and will be playing in nearby Brookville this Saturday (12/4), and 2) that Nick Saban lost to Auburn this past weekend.

OK... that's it for now. Take care and we hope that all of you had a very blessed Thanksgiving holiday.

Team Jerry all the way!!!