Today Marks The 5th Anniversary of Jake's Military Accident

Another year has rapidly flown by and Jacob has plateaued in his TBI and his physical therapy recovery. We are not seeing as many frequent brain health and wellness changes as in previous years, and this is expected. He has incurred heightened sound sensitivity in the past two years though, and his pain in his legs and feet remain constant from the poly-trauma injuries where all the broken bones and surgeries have occurred. Yet the postive changes we are seeing - are Jake's acceptance to try new activities when introduced slowly, interacting with people socially when it is 1:1 or 1:2, and his willingness to be so helpful with home living routines with folding clothes, unloading and filling the dishwasher, and maintaining his personal bedroom and workout room spaces. Some of the new activities that are boosting his eye-hand coordination and reaction times include ping pong, putting on the putting green with estimating distance, length of a shot and putting green obstacles. He still is very interested in our families preparation of cooking and cooking techniques, and this has spiked his curiosity on several occasions. So we make time to explain, model the cooking strategy, and make associations of similarities and difference so he can make the cognitive learning connections. If you get a chance to talk to Jake, you will have to enlighten him with a conversation of "Gold Belly' his favorite online food ordering company. This is part of Jake's weekly living skills to do the research of interesting foods, identify where they are located from, read reviews and ratings of each food service, and then making a choice of ordering and getting sent unique high quality delicious foods. Some of his past orders in Caroline's cakes, cheesesteaks and pastrami sandwiches, gourmet mac and cheese, and Prince Street NY style pizzas. 

Many of you may not be aware, but we have moved full-rime to beautiful Cave Creek, Arizona- just 40 miles north of Phoenix this past Fall. The pictures in the photo slideshow included in this Post Hope reflection are from our new home. The beautiful outdoor and indoor living spaces are all on one level, and have afforded Jake safe mobility and plenty of room to claim his own space. It is now April and we will be enjoying the pool as another exercise routine area for our whole family, as the day temps range between 78-95 degrees- perfect for pool activities and water exercises. 

Out entire family from Wisconsin will be joining us in Arizona near the Easter holiday timeframe, to also celebrate Jake's 24th birthday on April 19th. We are so looking forward to their visit, yet it takes much preparation to prepare for grandkids and the kids, as this is a whole level of noise that is very hard for Jake to tolerate. One of the greatest changes we have seen over the past two years is Jake's sensitivity to hearing. He wears noise canceling silicon earplugs full-time to dampen/change the pitch of the sound for him to be able to tolerate groups of people taking, especially small children and women and/or everyday noises of cleaning dishes, car horns, neighborhood dog barking and so on- as that type of pitch and frequency is at a level Jake has a difficult time tolerating. We are working with neurology and audiologist to hopefully find new solutions to aid in this area of sound playback for Jake, so social situations and everyday sound levels can be tolerated and more enjoyable for Jake. 

It has still been quite the struggle with working and navigating the Veteran's Administration (VA) system when it comes to ongoing consistent care and follow through to protect our Jake. Yes the stories are all true, everyone of them about the VA, and hopefully in years to come the VA system can be improved- and their focus on follow through with communication strategies- and putting the best interest of wounded warrior soldiers first can be prioritized. It has been a full-time job for Jeff and then some to work with the VA to fight for Jake's veterans rights, ensure he receives his health insurance and monthly benefits, receives quality care at choice health care facilities, and he is not lost and forgotten in the VA system. We as parents actually worry about other parents and caregivers trying to navigate the VA system to protect their wounded warrior son's and daughter's, as it is the most cumbersome and convoluted system we have ever dealt with in our lifetime. Enough about a system that needs so much help and a full re-haul, and is not a prioritization by our current president and government systems- such a shame!

If you have time and if your busy schedule allows, please facebook or text Jake a happy birthday message- those of you that we have provided you with this type of access. Otherwise feel free to mail him a card - he loves to receive mail too - highlight of his week!

Jacob Harm    6030 E. Brianna Rd.     Cave Creek, AZ 85331

#FamilyFirst everyone and sending you all well wishes from beautiful Arizona!!!

Jeff, Jake and Naomi Harm