 |
|
September 23, 2005 Hello Family and Friends, Since our last update, many milestones have transpired. In July, both Glen and Karen celebrated birthdays (thank you to all who sent birthday wishes). We celebrated both in a big way, with a luncheon and dinner for Karen and a day full of surprises for Glen. His morning started with a surprise visit from Roy Fielding (former swimmer, second son, best buddy-from North Carolina). Following was an afternoon surprise from his baby brother, Vernon (from Wyoming). Finally a “Surprise Party” at the Fox Sports Grill where Glen Jr. was waiting along with Clark and Trisha Elmer, now of Santa Fe, NM (who were visiting for a couple days) and 50 of our family and friends! Dad was completely caught off guard, it was emotional for everyone! We celebrated Fathers Day surrounding Dad with his kids and grandkids, reminding him of the importance of his presence in all our lives. Both grandkids, Taylor and Jackson are completely unaffected by Dads situation. In fact, they are quite good at operating his horn and tilt buttons on his chair along with the auto ramps on his vehicle. We pray for him each night and they always end it with “we say a special prayer for Papa, please get back your arms” July 24th marked the one-year anniversary of their accident. We didn’t give it much attention other than a firm reminder of how far Dad has “really” come since being on a respirator in ICU. We didn’t have many visitors over the summer; I wonder why, maybe the 115 heat? Pete Hovland (from Michigan), a former Ass’t. Coach of Dad’s, was here for a great visit along with the Elmer’s. We have many scheduled visits coming up this Fall/Winter and if any of you are in the Phoenix area, please feel free to stop by. Like I’ve said many times, Mom and Dad miss home and all the familiar faces. In August we moved Mom and Dad out of their rental house and into a new residence just down the street. Reconstruction, building ramps, painting and updating kept us busy; Mom has spent the last month settling them in. I’m sure most of you know their house in Iowa is for sale, it isn’t official with a sign out front yet, but will be soon. Mom is headed to Iowa for 10 days in October to get it cleaned out and ready to go! Check Dad’s website next week for all the details regarding the listing. It’s a great house and they hate to give it up, but due the circumstances, it’s time! For now, they will call Arizona “Our House away from Home”; Cedar Falls will always be HOME!! Football season is here, Glen Henry is one “happy camper”, aren’t we all! Of course, Dad’s #1 direction every Saturday night is to turn the TV to Sportscenter so he can watch the “crawl” and find out what happened to “The Panthers”(at which point we give him the Bob Justis call: “HHEEEEEEERRRRRRREEEEE come the PanTHERS!”) Go Hawks!! Dads’ physical condition is improving despite not being able to do anything for himself, yet! We see incredible signs that it will happen for him in the future, but his spinal cord recovery is soooo slow (like watching paint dry). He’s getting stronger everyday and his range of motion is improving. He didn’t have much success with the joystick and is now driving his chair with a headset. (Not easy, but with his drive and determination, he is mastering it). He continues to ride the bike and is now being placed in an upright “walking machine”. Last week was his first session and the first time he has been completely upright since the accident. Life is precious!! He is no longer at Barrow Neurological and now attends therapy sessions at the Neuro Institute (visit www.theneuroinstitute.com) in Tempe, AZ. We drive 60 miles/day Tues-Fri and he still attends acupuncture sessions, that mom now drives him to, on Mondays and Saturdays. SUNDAYS OFF!! His nurses stretch him daily and we keep him on a tight schedule. Mentally he’s a tough cookie, but he definitely struggles at times. This is a hard way to live your life; feelings of guilt, not understanding why, an uncertain future that’s out of your control, the inability to live your life like you used to and WANT to, etc… In the end, somehow he will prevail. Mom is doing well; her sister will be here next week for a short visit. She is busy making a new life for herself here, who would have though you would start over in your 60’s. But, nothing is better than being around your grandkids (and we don’t think her kids are so bad either!) Thank you for your words of wisdom, continued thoughts, messages and especially your prayers. Visit the website “Photo Album” to see updated pictures (there really are some this time) and “Send a Thought” to tell Mom and Dad what’s happening in your life or just say hi! With all our Love, The Dream Team (Lori) Here is the narrative on the pictures: |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| Home | |
Updates | |
Send Your Thoughts | |
Photo Album | |
Medical Trust | |
Register | |
Contact Us |