Message from Pops 9/16/13

Forrest has been learning again to focus in class and at home studying for his US History class.  He works on Flash cards with Tami and Mom. It is a lot of material and a lot of work to keep up with especially as he has been missing a day a week or more on therapies or doctors appointments.

His most recent surgery on the devitalized skin on his scalp has had a minor setback even with 33 staples removed last Friday. We are treating it aggressively and we are optimistic that it will continue healing.  He continues the demanding work of physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy as well as his music therapy and school work. So his days are incredibly busy.
Mom and Tami and the nurses keep him going on a regular basis and were able to cover for me this weekend when I had to go to Missouri to attend a funeral of a beloved uncle.  It was sad but also good to see my Mom, uncles, aunts and cousins and a lot of family and friends, they all wished you well, Forrest.  It was amazing the number of people who came up to me and asked "how is Forrest doing"?  "We check the blog all the time", so you have quite the following in Missouri too, Buddy. They are all amazed at your courage and your capacity to not give up but try it one more time.

Your Mom's sisters came to visit this week and I'm sure you had a great time visiting with them.  Your Mom sent me a great picture of this week's novel Physical Therapy, having you walk in the tall grass and climbing the pasture fence on the way down to the barn to help feed the horses, things we couldn't imagine you doing even a few months ago. Knowing your Mom, she, your nurse and others are by your side spotting you, just out of the viewfinder on Aunt Trish's camera, as you climb your first fence in three years!

You have been doing a great job working with training Sundance and I know he has enjoyed your training sessions and you have both learned lots.  As your Mom put it so well in your last post from a Jimmy Buffett song, "there's something about a dog."  You certainly haven't lost your connection to animals.
So you keep keeping on no matter what, enduring surgeries, painful staple removals, therapy, schoolwork, retraining your brain and rebuilding your physical body.  Every morning I go down to see you in the morning, you still have your normal reluctance to get up and face the morning, but when I ask you how you are and you always say, "very well, Pops".

With Love,
Pops