March 20, 2008 Mike continues to make slow but steady progress. Last week, his PT started him on the treadmill. Although he needs 2 therapists to use it, they are pleased with his improvement. He's up to walking on it for 2 minutes at a time. This may not seem like much, but it's a lot of steps for him to take. On Monday, he was exhausted after two 2 minute walks. However, it's a big improvement from the first time last week when he could only manage 30 seconds. Every step that he takes really is a miraculous building block that hopefully will ultimately result in him being strong enough to eventually walk on his own.

March 10, 2008 I love playing word games. On Thursday, I discovered a great website for online Scrabble. The games are timed, and typically you have 10 minutes per player total time for all your turns. During play, there’s an instant message popup, so that you can communicate with your opponent. Generally, people just use this to say good luck at the beginning of the game, and thanks at the end. I had been playing for awhile on Friday afternoon, instead of doing household chores. An opponent logged on and we started a game. She sent an IM that kind of startled me: “busy day – apraxia seminar”. I wrote back “are you a student?”. She responded “seasoned pathologist”. Now I was really curious. I wrote back “let’s finish game – can we talk after?” At the end of the game, I wrote, “My son has a TBI from a car accident last February”. We IMed back and forth for several minutes. It turns out that she’s a speech pathologist with many years of experience. As the online conversation continued, she asked if she could call me. We ended up talking for over a half hour. She had a number of ideas about techniques to help Mike with his speech problems and offered to share them with his SLT here at CM. He’s very excited about speaking with her to get some ideas about some hands on therapy that will help him use his tongue while speaking so that we can understand him. It’s just so bizarre that I connected with this woman through a Scrabble game. The odds have to be so astronomical, that I can’t help but wonder if there’s some sort of divine intervention going on there. Hopefully, this will result in some progress for Mike with speech. I really miss having conversations with him, and now that his cognitive abilities seem to be reconnecting, I want to do everything possible to help him communicate.

March 03, 2008 Sometimes I actually love Mondays. There's no therapies here on the weekends, so I look forward to Mondays with the hope of seeing some new gains during therapy. Mike's PT, Judy, is phenomenally talented. Mike pushes his limits trying to follow every instruction from her as best as he can. She was on vacation last week, and was delighted to see that he hadn't lost any ground. After some warm up exercises on the mat, she helped him walk across the room, just supporting him by herself without the walker. Then they tackled the 4 steps in the therapy room. With support and cueing, Mike was able to go up and down the steps twice. When I watch her work with him, I can imagine that there will be a day when Mike can stand and walk on his own. When I find myself thinking "But it's been over a year already", I have to remind myself that "It's only been a year - look how far he's come already".

January 25th, 2008 This week, Mike's physical therapist has been working with him on going up and down stairs. He needs maximum support and assistance to do this, but he was able to go up and down the 4 steps in the therapy gym. Mike and I go on the computer almost every day, so please continue to send posts of support and encouragement.

January 18th, 2008 I took a short video of Mike walking today and uploaded it to this group. It's awesome how hard he's worked to get to this point!

January 4th, 2008 Mike has really enjoyed the recent visits from his friends during the holiday break. His therapy schedule varies, but visitors are always welcome at Crotched Mountain. However, please let us know if you are planning to visit, just in case Mike has a field trip off the mountain scheduled.

January 4th, 2008 Friends have developed a website for Mike, which is still under construction, but is available for you to view. It's www.mikegetwell.com. We've uploaded some photos to it and hopefully will be able to add some video clips too. Please let us know what you think and what you'd like us to add to the site.

January 4th, 2008 Happy New Year. Hope eveyone enjoyed the holidays. On Monday, Jan 14, Mike willl be out skiing, weather permitting. Crotched Mountain has an adaptive ski program -- we're really excited about that! Although he's able to walk with a walker and a therapist, the skiing will be sitting in a sledlike thing that has skis attached to it, since he doesn't yet have enough balance to be safely standing on skis. However, we think he'll enjoy being out on the slopes with the wind in his face. Mike's progress continues to be slow, but he is making gains every week. He's eating lunch and dinner (pureed food and thickened liquids) every day, which is a big step forward. It's still very difficult to understand his speech, but he does have cognition, and he knows what he's trying to say. He enjoys listening to music and often sings along. Most importantly, he continues to have a positive attitude and works hard during his therapies.

Late September 2007 Mike has been making more sounds and stringing words together. His walking with a therapist is much improved and he is using a LifeCycle to have strengthen his leg muscles. He also recognizes me when I visit him which brings a big smile to both of our faces. It is hard to put all of his improvements in a few sentences so hopefully these pictures of Mike will help.

Early September 2007 Mike continues to make progress at Crotched Mountain Rehab Center. He has been making more sounds and is attempting to string words together. He still does not have complete control of his tongue (the right side of his body is not yet as strong as the left side) so the words are not always understandable (but less than 3 weeks ago he was not making any sounds). Last night, I talked to him for a couple minutes on the phone (and Davi mentioned that he had a big smile after our conversation).

Mid-August 2007 For the first time, Mike is starting to make sounds. At this point, it is only happening when he is lying in bed and is being hugged.

July 19th, 2007 We know that many people would like to visit Mike and visitors are welcome at Crotched Mountain. We also know that the distance (as well as the gas expense) to Crotched Mountain can be burden. If anyone is interested in visiting Mike (and is willing to put up with me (Dad) for about 5 hours in a car to/ from Crotched Mountain) there are days when I do drive back and forth on the same day. Just leave me a message at home 658-2323 and I will let you know when I might be visiting again

July 19th, 2007 Mike’s recent progress spurt continues. Each day, he seems more alert and more actively participating in his therapies. He is now reading words and sentences. He still is not talking yet but some of his personality is starting to reemerge …………..for example, he is mouthing the words to some as his favorite songs “Do You Realize” by the Flaming Lips and Konstantine. Again, Mike still has a long recovery ahead of him but these are encouraging signs.

On Tuesday, Mike transferred from Spaulding Rehab Hospital in Boston to Crotched Mountain Rehab in southern New Hampshire (www.crotchedmountain.org). Crotched Mountain has medical programs and therapies geared to children and young adults with disabilities and injuries. It is located in Greenfield NH which is about 15 miles from Mt Monadnock, a mountain that Mike has hiked 4-5 times (there are also hiking trails throughout the Crotched Mountain campus). This facility takes him out of a hospital setting into a warm, friendly environment at a location that he would enjoy.

June 28th, 2007 Over the past week, Mike has made good progress at Spaulding. He is still not talking but yesterday he started to mouth words. For example, he finished the sentence "Mary had a liitle........and he would mouth lamb. He did this for many other phrases. Although this may not seem like much this is a big step in his cognitive recovery. We have also seen improvements in his other therapies where he is more stable sitting up or following instructions. He has also started on a robotic machine (called a Lokomat) that simulates walking. Mike still has a long way to go but each of these little steps serves as building blocks for the future.

June 7th, 2007 Mike continues to make slow but steady progress at Spaulding. Although he is not yet talking, he is starting to follow more verbal instructions from his doctors and therapists. He is also starting to eat some food such as applesauce.

May 20th, 2007 Although Mike still remains in a coma, he appears to more aware of his surroundings and people in the room. He continues to make slow but steady progress in the various therapies that he is taking. We hope and pray that Mike comes out of the coma soon. Please send or email pictures to Molly. Her family is helping to create a memory scrapbook for Mike. Thanks again for all your support,

April 28th, 2007 Mike is making slow but steady progress at Spaulding. Although he is still in a coma, he appears to be more alert when we talk to him or when the therapists are working with him. We hope that this trend continues and that he starts to come out of the coma. As the doctors have told many times, we have to remain patience (but as you know that can be difficult at times). Thanks again for all your support.

April 15th, 2007 Physically, Mike is getting better with the various therapies that he is receiving. He also had a big milestone on Friday when his trach was removed. We are still hoping that he comes out of the coma soon. If you would like to visit Mike at Spaulding, please contact us so we can let you know when it is a good time

April 8th, 2007 Mike remains in a coma but had a stable week at Spaulding. Six days a week, he has physical and occupational therapy to help loosen his muscles and strengthen his body.

April 2nd, 2007 Mike went back to Spaulding Rehab this afternoon. We hoping that he's stays in stable condition and can begin rehab tomorrow

March 27th, 2007 Mike is still up and down with fevers, so he will be at Mass General Hospital for a few more days. He's still in a coma, although he does open his eyes. We're still hopeful

March 20th, 2007 Mike's hanging in there. We're hoping he'll be back at Spaulding by the end of the week or early next week. Meanwhile I (mom) am staying in Boston so that I can be with him every day

March 17th, 2007 Mike has been moved to Mass General Hospital for a couple of days because of a high fever. Hopefully he will be back at Spaulding soon.

March 15th, 2007 Mike is still in a coma, but has been transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. We believe it is the best possible place for him at this time, as they have a special program for coma stimulation, with an excellent national reputation. Hopefully within a few days we will be able to direct you to a website where you can get daily updates on his progress from the hospital. In the meantime, we will update facebook with any news, as well as our telephone voicemail. Thank you all for your support and prayers

March 13th, 2007 Mike is still in a coma, but he has begun to show a little progress with opening his eyes for a short time. He's not yet focusing or responding, but we are hopeful that this might be a first step. Thank you all for keeping him in your prayers.

March 12th, 2007 Thank you to everyone who continues to visit this space and to pray for Mike. He's still in a coma, but continues to breathe on his own, so we're still hopeful

March 1st, 2007 Mike is still stable, breathing on his own, but still in a coma. He has been transferred to the neuro step down unit at the hospital. The daily voice mail updates from the hospital are not available from this unit, so I will try to update his condition daily on facebook

February 28th, 2007 Mike's jaw surgery today went very well. He's continuing to breathe on his own, and is still moving his arms and legs. Thank you all for your support.

February 23rd, 2007 Mike is still in a coma, but he's starting to breathe without the ventilator. We have been playing cds in his room. If anyone would like to burn a cd for him, please send it to us and we will play it for him.

February 17th, 2007 (Hartford Hospital) thank you everyone for your prayers and support. they have sustained him through a week of stable vital signs. he's still in a coma but we hope that each day his brain has more opportunity to heal. please keep posting your words of hope to this facebook site