Mid November Updates - 7 Months

WOW.... the time seems to be flying by, as the seventh month mark of Jake’s motorcycle accident from the US Army has just passed us by. Reflecting back to 7 months ago of where this all started in in the El Paso, TX seems like an eternity ago. Jeff and I are so very grateful we have surpassed that agonizing time in our lives. GRATITUDE- is the word of the century for our family. We are forever grateful to all of our friends, family and online social communities that have been supporting us all this time. This gratitude connection- deeply rooted neuroscience research- is our family's intrinsic motivator to stay positive and motivated to impact Jake's healing journey. There is not a day that goes by that a friend, neighbor, colleague, family member or online Twitter/Facebook teacher friend that inquires about Jake, our family and how are WE doing. Many of you emphasize the importance that Jeff and I need to make time for ourselves, but it is extremely difficult when we are the sole and primary caregivers to Jacob. We are forever protecting, guarding and keeping our youngest safe as it is so hard to let our guard down by the past experience of the mistreatments, lies, and major disappoints of a few individuals that were suppose to be keeping our Jacob safe. Many entities fall into this “mistrust “ category now and it will take a very long time before Jeff and I can ever forgive these certain individuals. In time this feeling of resentment will pass towards these individuals, and eventually we will forgive them, but it will take many many years. Gratitude will get us through these postive and negative trying times.

Jake is making such great progress in OT/Speech/PT and TBI care at Gundersen in LaCrosse, WI but we just received news on November 5th that Jake as encountered a slight setback with range of motion with his left ankle and foot placement for walking. Another set of x-rays the first week in November, and we have found out that the anklebones have not healed correctly, as they are still viewing a fracture in multiple parts of his ankle- yes…. 7 months later. So PT has been halted for now. Yesterday, on November 18th Jake and Jeff went to see a specialist and surgeon within Orthopedics about Jake's ankle and walking setbacks.  We were told from the very beginning- that more surgeries will be inevitable, and we are prepared to assist Jake with getting through this time period once again. What we found out yesterday is another hurdle Jake will have to overcome. Not only has his foot and ankle not healed properly, they have discovered broken bone remnants that should have been removed in the Texas initial surgery- is what is the cause of not allowing Jake to have full range of motion to walk properly. Disappointment has set in, but we are focusing on the next round of surgeries in January to help Jake with future walking potential. The surgery he will need to have is quite intense to again rebuild his ankle with new hardware, remove the broken bone remnants, and two areas of Achilles tendans rebuild and lengthening. It will be a very painful surgery and a long 8-week recovery. Jake will have to remain entirely off of his left foot for 8 weeks. We will again have to provide Jake with shots in his stomach to prevent any blood clots due to is limit mobility for these 8 weeks. It will be a trying time, and we will do everything possible to keep his spirits up. 

 Many of you that have interacted with Jacob since his return home and have noticed and commented how well Jake looks- and yes he looks fabulous- great attitude and beautiful smile. You have also noticed some distinguishing features of the monotone reflection of his voice in his speech while he is talking, and he is making great improvements with reflection of voice projection with emotion. But what many of you may not realize, Jake’s brain is still healing. It will take over two years and more until he will get a full diagnosis of his physical and mental capabilities of his brain capabilities. TBI’s are such a misunderstood condition, but current brain research of neuroplasticity in the past 5 - 10 years is giving many families- and our's in particular- hope on how individuals who have incurred a TBI can make phenomenal learning gains by the appropriate environment and nurturing supportive care of immediate family members and a rehabilitation team of OT/PT and Speech. A critical factor that many of you may not even realize is- that over 270,000 Veterans since 2000 have been impacted with a TBI. This was a huge wow eye-opening factor for us as parents finding out this statistic the beginning of November. The US Armed Forces acknowledges the rise of TBI’s amongst its soldiers, and notes it is a very serious condition - as it is impacting our Veterans for the rest of their lives. TBI’s never go away, but a TBI individual can receive therapy, brain skill activities and verbal positive interactions to rewire one’s brain to accommodate to the damaged brain area or brain stem. Based on the severity of TBI and the growing number amongst our soldiers- the US Defense Advance Research Projects Agency announced plans to develop an implantable device to help those with a TBI recover the ability to form new memories and access memories formed prior to the injury. They are hoping this type of accessibility technology will be fully ready within four years. Building this tiny device will require big innovations. I find this extremely fascinating as a technology educator and this type of "wearable" technology will open the doorway to greater medical transformations for our soldiers and individuals that have suffered a stroke nationwide. If you are interested more on this topic, please view the following online article from "Science of Singularity" http://scienceofsingularity.com/tag/memory/

This past month Jake has also received new prescription black framed glasses and tinted lenses to assist with seeing and enabling him with better balance with mobility when trying to walk. It has made a tremendous difference and clarity for Jake. We have also found out that Jake's vision in his left eye is only working at about 50%, but good news that they have determined that he will not loose any more vision- as it has now leveled out for him- we are truly thankful. Even with all of these physical impairments- Jake is truly staying very positive and focused on future possibilities of educational goals. He is hoping to one day go back to school in the field of education relating to a music teacher or becoming a police officer/criminal justice prosecutor. This two career options were his focus in early High School prior to enlisting in the US Army. Jake is determined, he is very goal driven and I know in some form he will attain a career focus someday that he will be happy with-- that will surpass his physical impairments.