As a phoenix out of the ashes…

How does one describe and live in the shadowy brilliance of The Mystery?  This weekend Jeremy has made phenomenal progress on his journey.  Over the last week Jeremy began sitting on the side of the hospital bed with assistance.  Friday found him cruising the halls of the Neuro floor in a cardiac chair.  By Saturday he was spending longer periods of time sitting in his chair, having extended conversations, and taking a pencil in hand placing it on a dot on a sheet on paper and then drawing a line to another dot.  This young man continues to astound the odds on his rise from the throes of a devastating injury.  He truly is a phenomenon.

Jeremy has been able to demonstrate a full range of emotions…smiling and laughing at jokes (even ones that are questionable as to their relative humor), contemplation, sadness, fear, anger, frustration, happiness, and boredom.  While there are moments of childlike frustration with the inability to master a movement, thought, or verbal expression, there are also moments of childlike tenderness.

While Jeremy’s sheer will to survive combined with the faith, thoughts, prayers, and positive energy of many brought us to this place, one can only sit back and wonder what else is in store.  When The Mystery takes hold of our lives, we are left to consider not only how we got to this place; but also what is possible.  As we could never have foreseen this outcome…we can also only imagine what may lay in store for Jeremy.  This fascinating journey has only just begun…GO Jeremy GO!!!

Navigating the Bunny Slope on the way to The Giant Slalom...

YEAH!!! Go Jeremy Go!!!  Jeremy has graduated from the Neuro Intensive Care Unit to a Neuro step down unit.  In the last couple of days he has been finding his way back to the level of functioning prior to his surgery.  He is beginning to express himself again…he has mastered yes and no…and has articulated that he is “frustrated” at times.  Jeremy (with assistance) is sitting on the side of his bed and working to re-establish some movement on his right side.  To date there is still some degree of swelling on the left side of his brain which could therefore have an effect on the maneuvering of his right side.  As Jeremy is only seven days out of an extensively invasive brain surgery, it is within reason to hope that as the swelling abates the functionality will return to the baseline prior to surgery.

            It is difficult to ascertain how much of Jeremy cognition has been affected.  His present day to day memory seems to be maintained; however, his memory of the events leading to his hospitalization is quite limited.  These memory challenges create for Jeremy a sense of frustration and confusion in trying to understand how and why he is in this position.  It is also difficult to assess any effect on his long term memory until he verbal abilities improve.

            Six weeks of a hospital bed would create a challenge for most of us.  Being confined to a bed without the ability to articulate emotion or reasoning and without a firm grasp on how you got there is a daunting task.  While Jeremy has his days of “frustration”, there are certainly indications that he is still up to the challenge of building his skills to move off the “Bunny slope” and progress up the mountain toward the gates of “The Giant Slalom” of communication and navigation.

            Your cards, letters, and messages are a constant reminder of how many people are behind him and supporting him in all his efforts.  Thank you again for all of the prayers, thoughts, and warm feelings.  As each of these cards are read to him, they ABSOLUTELY make a difference in his approach to the day.

            Keep up mantra going…GO Jeremy GO!!!