Wednesday, August 28, 2013

A Scheduled Detour

Hi friends!  Forrest has jumped right in to History class at Kettle Run High School, already having completed a week and a half.  It makes for a busy day for him, getting up earlier than usual, then off to school with one of his amazing nurses.  His afternoons at home are filled with homework - often hours of reading, worksheets, flash cards and studying.  We are all enjoying expanding our US History knowledge right alongside of him.  Forrests' struggles with memory continue to be a big hurdle in many areas of his day, especially in learning class content.  We quiz him throughout the day on definitions, historical figures and events and have learned that repetition seems to be the key.  By the end of the day, you can tell that he is worn out from the additional hours of mental effort, but always rallies to share a few laughs with his friends, family or team before bed.  In true Forrest fashion, he has handled the transition from education at home to a classroom with confidence and determination.  While in the class with twenty plus students, Forrest receives support from the incredible Special Education Department teachers of Fauquier Schools. He is determined to do whatever it takes to keep up with the intensive pace.  His nurse also accompanies him to school everyday to ensure his safety as he ventures back into the routine and busyness of a public school.  Today during class, Forrest answered a question correctly from the teacher and also volunteered to share a definition from one of his homework assignments with the rest of the class!

This afternoon, Forrest and Team 44 made the trek to Washington DC for a scheduled visit to Washington Hospital Center.  Tonight he is having an MRI done, just to make sure everything in his "noggin" (as 44 likes to say) looks good.  Tomorrow morning, Forrest will have reconstructive scalp surgery. Forrest is having a scalp expanding device surgically placed under the skin on the backside of his head.  Over the next couple of months, it will be gradually inflated, stretching the skin.  Then in a second surgery, the doctors will hopefully be able to move the extra healthy skin forward to get rid of the devitalized scar tissue that keeps breaking down.  This will give him new, healthy skin on those areas to better protect his skull and titanium "lid" from infections. His procedure tomorrow is midday so we will post an update when he is safely through surgery.  If all goes well, he will have one overnight at the hospital before returning home on Friday.  He is looking forward to Facetime or Skype visits with friends this weekend!

Thank you all for your positive thoughts and prayers,
Tami (and Team 44)








X-Rays following the successful MRI today

6 comments:

  1. Hi Forrest, I am sending you lots of wishes in your upcoming surgery! Congratulations on making the transition back to high school!
    Best wishes to you and your family!
    Fraley

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  2. Hey, Forrest we want to wish you luck and send you many prayers. Missed you in class today and cant wait to see you in class.
    your friends in history class,
    Rocky,Jed,Jacob

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  3. Hi Forrest,
    All the kids in the history class say hello and wish you well. They are learning about your situation and have started to read your blog. We were in the computer lab today working on the same study guide that you took home. You are doing an awesome job in this class and I can tell how hard you are working.
    We will see you next week.
    Mrs. Miller

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  4. Grandma Norma AllenAugust 29, 2013 at 6:37 PM

    Forrest- Bless your heart! You are such an amazing Grandson. Also, bless the Team 44, all the family, nurses, teachers helping you come all the way back to your oldself. Glad to see picture of you with Mom and Dad right there at your side. Wishing you God's blessings for a quick and good recovery. Seeing you makes me feel much better. :) Love you, Grandmom

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  5. Hey Forrest! My name is Roman, and I go to your school. I am in the film analysis class that is going to be doing a documentary on you. I went through your website, and saw what happen to you, and what you went through. I also saw that despite the accident, you are making great progress in your recuperation. Your story is so inspiring. I can’t wait to meet you in person, and get to know you better.

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  6. Hi Forest. My names Walker and I'm in Film Analysis at Kettle Run. I'm going to help in the documentary about you. I've read some of the blog and I think that it’s very inspiring to see how much you’ve gone through and that you’re still going. Good luck and we’ll see you soon.

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