Really new LR Update - 3/19/10

WELL, it's been a while since I did an update, so here we go!

LR sent me this first picture yesterday with the caption, 'Look Mom, no bed!" I sent him back a text saying, "HE'S ALIVE!" (The younger generation might not get the 'Young Frankenstein' reference, but at least I thought it was funny.)

He's finally been able to get out of bed and sit up. On Wednesday evening they transferred him from the hospital to a physical rehab facility, still in the Phoenix area. I asked him what needed rehabbing, other than his attitude (little sister joke), and he said that his arms and legs are very weak from the lack of oxygen he suffered during transport between hospitals and he still can't walk. So he's getting a lot of physical therapy and stuff like that to try to build up his strength.

Most of my communications with him have been texts, so when I got this new picture today with the flowers from the school where he works, I decided to call him. That's when I found out that he is still struggling with getting his voice back. He's a little bit hard to understand. He said that he is also working with a speech therapist, trying to get his throat back to normal and build strength there too, something damaged by both the lack of oxygen and the ventilator and everything else they had to stick down there to save his life. Whatever it takes!

I asked him today how his legs are doing, and he said that he has graduated from a wheel chair (just sitting up in a wheel chair was an accomplishment at first) to beginning to use a walker, so things are slowly improving. Who would have thought a month or two ago that he'd soon be excited to use a walker?!

Hey, I just got a brilliant idea. He now has his phone with him and I know he gets unlimited texts, so how about this: Everybody out there who has texting on their phones, send him a text! Let's flood him with texts and let him know that he is loved!

If he won't immediately know who you are, start with that ("Hi, this is Igor, Karen's neighbor"). Then say get well, glad you're better, stop being so lazy, whatever you want! Here's his cell phone number:

928 551 1118

Go get him! And if you want to, come back here and give us a report!

Karen