Happy New Year!

Hi everyone! Hope you are enjoying your New Year so far. We have a lot to update you on, so here goes...

First, Dad's ventilation therapy. Dad has really done well over the past couple of weeks with his vent weaning. He is up to 12 hours a day now on pressure support, which means he can probably start doing some work with the cuff. For those of you not in the know (which included me until a few weeks ago), the cuff is a mechanism that they put over Dad's trach and is hooked-up directly to oxygen. This means that he is totally off the machine and the longer he lasts, the better. So far, he's done it once and only lasted 5 minutes, but that's a good first start. Only time will tell when he can do more.

Next, Dad's physical therapy. Over the past few weeks, PT has started sitting Dad up on the side of his bed each day, and getting him out of bed so he can do some exercises. They wanted to get him to a standing table this past week, but there were some complications that prevented it. Movement in is arms, legs and feet is slowly progressing, and he is able to do a lot more than what he use to. Dad can move the mouse on a computer enough to slowly work on his Farmville, but that's about it. But with hard work, Dad will continue to get better.

Then, there is Dad's next move. That's right, Dad is transferring to a facility in North Carolina called Blue Ridge Health Care Center on or around Tuesday (01/04/11). This facility is geared to help him further with the vent weaning and his physical therapy, which are both good things. Of course, the downside is that Mom won't be able to stay with Dad while he is there. So we'll have to figure out some type of accommodations for her either in Raleigh or Danville. In addition, his insurance policy will only cover 70% of the cost for the facility, which can run about $20,000 a month. Needless to say, this will further strain Mom and Dad's financial situation. But we are looking for alternative coverage that might be able to assist with paying for this facility. If you have any ideas outside of the norm, I'd love to hear them. In all, we're trying to focus on the fact that Dad is contiuing to progress and hopefully will not be in the facility for too long before his next move to an in-patient physical therapy unit.

In case you haven't heard, we are in the process of selling Mom and Dad's house in Richlands. While they love the area and truly hate to leave their friends and family, the reality is that Mom and Dad will need our assistance (Todd, April, and Dad's family) here in Danville to help with his recovery going forward. This move will hopefully occur in the next couple of months. If anyone just has a hankering for lifting and moving furniture in the near future, let me know and I'll fulfill your need one day in early 2011. (hehe)

Finally, on behalf of Dad, Mom, April and Anna Leigh, I would just like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Words cannot express how your constant words of encouragement and prayers have kept us going over the past six months. Our hope is that none of you ever experience a hardship like Dad's; but know this... we will be there for you if such a fate should ever befall any of you. This ordeal has given us a truer appreciation for life and for the ones who currently surround us with their love and support. I am still blown away by how one man could invigorate such a constant expression of love and concern. But then again, if you know the man, you know why. Dad probably never really thought he was much more than just another hardworking truck driver who was trying to stay ahead of the bills enough so he could splurge a little bit on his wife and granddaughter every now and then. A guy, that for all intended purposes, would not be remembered for that much. But thanks to all of you, he now knows that his life means so much more and has touched so many in a good way, that he can never deny his importance in this world again.

Well, that's all for now. We'll post another update once Dad and Mom have settled into their new location(s). In the meantime, if you would like to visit the facility's website to learn more about it or directions on how to get to it, use this link: BRHCC.

Happy New Year everyone! Team Jerry all the way in 2011!!!