Update: Sunday, 9/11/11

Sunday September 25th, Austin, Rae, Maylin, and Sundance will participate in the 2011 Super H 5K Run Walk & Wheel to raise money for the adaptive sports program at NRH. These programs help individuals, some as young as 6 years old, return to active lives after a disabling injury or illness. We all know how important Lacrosse is to Forrest and our own favorite sport is to each of us, so this is a chance to help less fortunate individuals participate in sports too. Our Team Forrest Goal is to raise $2000, enough to purchase a basketball wheelchair for NRH's adaptive sports program. We hope that some of Forrest's followers will be able to join us on September 25th at Sport & Health in Tysons Corner, VA. We also see this as a way to show our appreciation for all of the dedicated and compassionate caregivers at NRH who are working around the clock to help Forrest in his battle to recover.

Austin, Rae, Maylin, and Sundance will be there (while Pops spends the morning with Forrest) and we'd love to see you! If you want to participate go to http://www.firstgiving.com/nrh/superh and register to "race" with Team Forrest! Registration is $25/ person. If you can't join us in person on Sept. 25, you can still support Forrest's Team, by making a donation. Click on Forrest Allen's team name on the above mentioned website and look for the green donate button.

We hope to see you there and gather together in Tysons Corner for some Team Cheer! If you have any questions, don't hesitate

to e-mail our own Team Forrest Race Coordinator: Maylin at mjcoggiano@gmail.com

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Hey Forrest, it's your Mum again. You've had a challenging but rewarding week at NRH. As you work every day to regain your strength and control over your body, you are creating the building blocks of a new life. Even though you haven't found your own voice yet, we know you understand everything we say and that you are desperately trying to find ways to communicate with us. Your courage and determination are clearly communicated through your efforts every day. Your love and appreciation for your brother, Austin, is communicated through your hugs. And your wonderful sense of humor radiates through your smiles and occasional laugh. In spite of everything you've been through, you still shine, Forrest.

This week you gathered the strength to move your legs and with help from your therapists, you took a few steps on the parallel bars! I held my breath as one therapist encouraged and coached you to raise your head as you towered above him. Tears of joy and awe flowed as I watched you slowly... slowly, raise your head. Even with your knees buckling, for a moment you held your head high and regained a posture of strength and pride. In that moment it was clear, anything is possible. On Thursday, there was celebration at the nurse's station when you responded to your nurse's request with a fist bump. As you regain some control over your arms, your Occupational Therapists help you practice again and again the sequence of movements required to put on and take off your shirt. As you become more aware of your surroundings, you are understandably frustrated and impatient with your situation. The wonderful visitors you have had this week help ease the frustration and provide an essential life line for you to the outside world. They bring shared memories, familiar voices and encouragement beyond measure to you and your entire team.

Along with amazing highs this week, you have struggled with recurrent episodes of dystonia & tremors. Symptoms we had hoped were banished from your battleground. We move with you from elation as you regain some new control, to heartbreak as you wrestle these demons, that once again beleaguer you. While Sundance lies at my feet and I write this message, your father is taking you back to Washington Hospital where the neurosurgeons will "dial down" the pressure

setting in your shunt. The plan is that the lower setting will remove more fluid from around your brain, thus lessening the dystonia and tremors. Further adjustments in your medications will surely help as well. And as the poster on your hospital room doors reminds all who enter,

Courage doesn't always roar, sometimes it is the quiet voice

at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."

Love,

Mum and Team 44

Dr. Ric visits from Atlanta

The Daum family visits

Jacob wears Forrest's party hat

Keith and his Dad with Forrest on the way back from the garden.