History

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 1:57 PM CST

WhenSeanSpeaks, Inc.

Happy Holidays 2010:
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year:

Our Non-Profit is now official. WhenSeanSpeaks, Inc. has been granted 501(c)3 status by the IRS. We are blessed to have five wonderful people serve as the Board of Directors of our organization. Our Non-Profit has been formed to further our Speaking Outreach, but more importantly to raise money to provide funding for Brain Injury Research. We have not been in existence long, but we are hoping that our Board will be able to award the first small grant at the end of 2010 or early 2011.

Sean and I spoke extensively this year, and have traveled and spoken nationally. We were blessed to be able to rekindle friendships from long ago, and forge new ones. We stayed in homes that required us to leave Sean’s wheelchair in the truck and forced us both into figuring out ways to manage without it. We were honored as guest speakers at the Northeast Center for Special Care, in Lake Katrine, New York, as well as at the Long Island Head Injury Association, on Long Island, NY. We were welcomed by the Staff of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in Washington D.C. We had the opportunity to have a “staff guided” tour of the Capitol and also toured the White House and Library of Congress. We spoke at the Annual Texas District Pilot and Anchor Conventions in Beaumont, Texas, as well as the International Pilot Convention in Louisville, KY, where our speeches were translated into Japanese. We had the opportunity to expand our speaking territory into Oklahoma as well as New Mexico.

We took a stroll along the Navy Pier in Chicago as well as “The Board Walk” in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I caught a fish at Pike’s Market in Seattle, Washington, and Sean spoke there to four different groups at a Ford Driving Skills for Life Event. We were able to share the experience of watching the water pour over Niagra Falls, waves crashing along the Atlantic Coast, and on the Pacific Coast of Oregon. We drove across the highest road in the Continental United States.

During our travels, we spent time with relatives in Colorado and Minnesota. And we were able to spend about three weeks with my son, Todd and his wife Kori, as well as their sons, Joey and Jacob in Washington State. My oldest, son Ben and his family joined us for Thanksgiving in Red River, NM.

We have now spoken to nearly 40,000 people at more than 80 venues. We are gratified by the messages we receive sometimes even months later from young people who have heard our message and made life altering decisions.

Sean often teases about being a public speaker who cannot talk or walk. Believe me, his silent voice is being heard
loud and clear. I sometimes think back to the nearly lifeless body that I watched over, loved and cared for in 2005, and could never imagine this vibrant young man I am blessed to share my life with now. As I am sure many feel, life could be better. We would love to have more, but, we are so thankful for those things we do have. At the top of that list is YOU!!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's Mom, Jenny Carter

Sunday, August 15, 2010 5:46 PM CDT

We are currently in Prosser, Washington at Todd and Kori's house. Sean and I have to be in Seattle, August 16-20, so we decided to escape the Texas heat and come up a week early. We are going to be attending the Ford Motor Company Fund's "Driving Skills for Life" event, and Sean will speak briefly at each of the four driving sessions.

We will return to Prosser after our week in Seattle and stay through the Saturday of Labor Day weekend when we are going to go camping with Todd, Kori and my Grandsons. We will then drive down to Red River, NM to attend Mountain High Camp, a camp for Adult Survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury.

The Saturday before we left Dallas, Sean visited with a hypnotist who told him that he needed to stop referring to his brain injury as "my" Brain Injury. He needs to start calling it "The Brain Injury", so that the injury no longer "owns" him. It makes perfect sense to me, and to Sean.

Life is not perfect, but is it for anyone? It is good and we are happy. Our vision for forming a Non-Profit Agency havr come true. Now we have to build it so that we can further our mission to help others.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, June 20, 2010 7:43 PM CDT

I wanted to let you know of some of the things that Sean and I have been doing:

Sean and I had the opportunity to visit the Northeast Center for Specialty Care a facility that offers Brain Injury Program, Severe Neurobehavioral Disorders Program, Neurorehabilitation Intensive Program, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program, Ventilator/Respiratory Program, Medically Complex Program Facility specializing in Brain and Spinal Cord Disorders. They say they are the largest head injury treatment center in “The World”!

I don’t know if it is the largest or not, but it is definitely BIG! It is housed in a former IBM building that is open and spacious and filled with light. I am adding a link to their website: http://www.northeastcenter.com/about_the_brain_injury_rehabilitation_program.htm I was so surprised to hear that they have a 60 bed vent unit, with a very successful vent weaning program.

Sean spoke to about 75 of the “Neighbors” and staff. They call each of their patient/clients “Neighbors”, which gives them a sense of belonging to a neighborhood that is caring and nurturing. There was even a young man there from Arlington, Texas.

Most of the facility’s funding comes from a Medicaid Waiver. Although their goal is community reintegration, they have some “Neighbors” who have lived there as long as 10 years.

Craig Vanderlaan’s (PT at Baylor Rehab) mom was responsible for our visit to the NESC facility.

Monday, September 21, (tomorrow), Sean will speak to the folks at the Long Island Head Injury Association, in Commack, NY. Their website is http://www.lihia.org . Tomorrow evening we will be treated to a dessert reception in our honor.

We have had a lot of interesting opportunities. We visited with the distributers of Sean’s Levo Standing wheelchair, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We had lunch with the folks who distribute his speech device, Forbes Rehab Solutions in Mansfield, Ohio.

We stayed for two nights with the Bruderhof Christian Community who manufacture Community Playthings http://www.communityplaythings.com/index.html as well as the Rifton Pacer Gait Trainer that Sean walks with http://www.rifton.com/products/mobility/index.html . The Bruderhof Community is a Christian Community whose lifework is the production of this equipment. The women dress similarly to Amish or Mennonite women. Everyone has a job in the community and although they own nothing personally, they also want for nothing. They have their own doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc., It was quite an experience in observing a total selflessness, and a total belief that Jesus would care for all of their needs.

We had our meeting with the Ford Motor Company Fund representatives of the program Driving Skills for Life. We will be attending a conference in Seattle, Washington, August 15, as well as the Governor’s Highway Safety Association Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, at their request.

Next week, Sean and I will visit with the Director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Association; the Executive Director of the Disabled American Veterans organization. We will also take tours of the Capital and a Library of Congress tour arranged by Senator Hutchison’s office. We are also going to have coffee with the Senator on July 1.

After our stay in DC, we will meander our way down to Louisville for our International Pilot Club Convention July 7-11. We will speak July 10, and our speeches have even been translated into Japanese.

Because of our newly scheduled cross-country trips, we will return to Dallas as soon as possible after our Convention.

Sean is going to speak to a group of Residents at Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation on August 10. We are planning to attend the July meeting of the Dallas Chapter of Texas District Pilot, as well as the July TBIAC meeting.

August 11, we will start out on a new journey to Seattle!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, June 5, 2010 8:59 AM CDT

Sean and I have spent several days with Taylor Kiely, and her family, in Plainefield, Illinois, a city about 40 miles east of Chicago. Until Friday, we didn't do a lot, just visited and enjoyed our friendship, which in itself, was a wonderful gift to us.

Sean and I have what we consider to be "God Moments". One of these occured when we first arrived here at the Kiely's. As we all got acquainted over dinner, we talked about our vision for our Non-Profit and explained to Taylor's Dad, Frank, about our speaking business. When we finished dinner, he had us do our presentation for the family. Afterwards he told us that he had an idea. He is a Regional Vice President of Aramark, a company who contracts the cafeteria services at the nations' Public Schools. He told us that he could imagine their partnering with us, and offering our services to their client schools. Can you imagine? How provedential is that?

Friday, we loaded up in two vehicles. Taylor rode with Sean and I, and her sister, Kayla; Mom, Paula; and Dad, Frank, were in their car. We drove on into Chicago, actually driving in on Lake Shore Drive. What a beautiful drive along Lake Michigan. Our destination was the Navy Pier. After parking we wandered around the Pier, and Taylor's boyfriend, Ethan Alt, joined us. He had ridden the train into the City from his home in Indiana.

We had lunch and wandered the Pier, and then decided to walk along Lake Front Path that runs right beside Lake Michigan. Looking out over the water it is hard to believe that this body of water is "just" a lake. It looks as vast as an ocean and with the windiness of the day had waves that seemed almost as high. It was fun just hanging out together and people watching.

Taylor than decided that we needed to hop a bus and go down to Millineum Park, where the famous sculpture known as "The Bean" is located. It looks like a giant Kidney Bean and is made of something like chrome or stainless steel. It reflects everything like a "fun house mirror". People walk up to it and take pictures of themselves taking pictures of themselves. Its pretty fun, just watching the positions that people get into to take their reflected image.

I was so happy because Sean was actually able to get right on the bus. The bus driver was so kind and waved the normal $4.50 feel for our ride. He told us that we could just pay $1.00 and both ride.

After our visit around the park, we walked down the street and had absolutely delicious Chicago Style Pizza at Piasano's. Afterwards, stuffed and tired, Sean, Taylor and I walked back to the truck at the Navy Pier, while the rest of the gang rode the bus back.

Chicago really impressed me. The city is clean, very wheelchair friendly, and the crowds were not crushing. Although there were many people, it was not difficult for Sean to manuever.

Today (Saturday), I am doing laundry and running out to do a few errands. I am going to cook dinner for the family this evening and will pack the truck. Tomorrow, Sean and I will load up and head on "down the road".

We are going to Dearborn, Michigan, where we have a meeting scheduled that will hopefully "launch" the future of WhenSeanSpeaks. This too is the result of one of our "God Moments".

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, May 30, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

We have had a wonderful trip so far. This journey North has been one of reconnecting and gratitude sharing. Monday, May 31, we will begin our "real" journey and head East. This is when our work really begins. To get there, we had to get here, and it has been such a wonderful time.

We started with our visit with Judy, Joel and Jess Mullins in Edmond, Oklahoma on May 19, the day that we started our RoadTrip. In the middle of tornadoes and thunderstorms, we spoke to the youth at Memorial Road Church of Christ. There had been reports of up to baseball sized hail, but where we were, there was just high wind. Even though the Tornado Sirens blew, we were safe inside and when we left, the skies had cleared and all was well in our world. We feel that we made a positive connection with the young people who attended, and judging from the comments of the kids, and some of their parents, it was a successful evening.

From Edmond we headed up to Omaha and spent a wonderful weekend reconnecting with Tommy and Kathy Lightfoot. We met in Lamaz Class 30 years ago when we were both pregnant with our firstborn sons. Tommy and Kathy are a "faith" filled couple, so they were blessings to our souls. Sean and I were so happy because we managed just fine inside their house without his wheelchair. That's one thing about homes in this part of the country, they are multi/split level, with several stairs. I "walked" Sean throughout the house during the day. Although I sometimes went to bed with sore muscles we were proud to be able to manage without it. This is a huge accomplishment for the two of us, especially for Sean. One that might have not been possible before now.

We drove on to Minneapolis and have been staying with my nephew Tobin, his wife, Annette, and their 3, 4 year old twins, Max and Mia and 2 year old Adam. Eryn, my niece (Tobin's sister, her husband, Randy and their 2 month old twins, Gavin and Griffin, have been in and out visiting as has my sister, Meri-Jac, and her husband Jeff. They drove in from just south of "Fargo", for the weekend.

Sean and I paid a visit to Dane Technologies, who are the distributers of his Levo standing wheelchair. I honestly think that this chair is one of the best on the market. We have had very few issues with this chair and once they walked me through troubleshooting, we have been virtually able to care for it on our own. We had the opportunity to meet the owner of the company, and feel that this might prove to be a fortutious meeting down the road.

We also were guests and speakers at the quarterly "Customer Immersion Meeting" at the CaringBridge this week. Being able to share our story and thank the folk who provide this service was especially meaningful to me. Over the early course of our "life after injury", the CaringBridge was often my "Sanity". I was able to chronicle Sean's progress that, especially during the early days was so slow, that I might have otherwise been unaware of just how much he has improved.

Monday we will head down toward Chicago, arriving there on Tuesday. We are looking forward to staying with Taylor Kiely, and her family. We met Taylor and her mom, Paula, for the first time in Red River, NM at Mountain High.

We have an important meeting with a worldwide corporation on Monday, June 7, and will be attending a coffee with US Senator from Texas, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison on July 1st in Washington, D.C.

There will be other meetings along the way. If you know of someone you would like us to visit, please contact me at 469.323.5627, or e-mail, jenny@whenseanspeaks.com or sean@whenseanspeaks.com

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, May 22, 2010 11:14 AM CDT

I’ve had a lot of opportunity to think in the past few days. Driving up the middle of America can do that for you. Give you time to think. It is giving me the opportunity to revel in the beauty of this planet that God has created. It is giving me the chance to share the beauty of the land flying past the windshield. It is giving me the opportunity to think about “evolution”. I think about the evolution of this planet that God created from raw masses of materials and chemicals that now are rolling hills, and Great Plains, yawning canyons and towering mountains.

“Evolution” is what I now feel is happening with Sean’s life. He was a young man with aspirations of a future that included wealth, power and a sometimes “drunken debauchery”, focused more on what the world could offer him, than on what he could offer the world. He became a young man with so many, many deficits due to the Traumatic Brain Injury that he sustained. Now, five years later, his body is “evolving”, gaining new movement, granting him some independence.

Sean is “evolving” into a more mature minded young man who is realizing that the way to move his life forward is to focus on the lives of others. He is realizing that it is not about “me”, it is about “us” and “you”. Because of this new, more mature Sean, life is opening up a world of new opportunities.

It is not the way any mother would have ever wanted their child to learn life lessons. But it is the way it has been. We no longer worry about that. We will always pray and believe that Sean will improve, and for those of you who have followed this journey since the beginning, you know that he has made huge improvements, and they continue to occur.

We began our trip on Wednesday, May 19, 2010, and drove only to Edmond, Oklahoma. We were honored to be able to speak to the Youth and some parents of Memorial Road Church of Christ. It was a tornado filled evening, with torrential rains, blowing winds and hail….except, for where we were. God is Good!

Thursday morning I loaded everything up and we headed to Omaha, Nebraska. We will spend the weekend here with some very dear friends, Kathy and Tommy Lightfoot. Monday we pick up our journey and will be driving up to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Although we will be visiting my sister’s families, we also will be going to the offices of both Dane Technologies, the United States’ distributor for Sean’s Levo wheelchair, and the Caringbridge.

We are so thankful that you are still with us on this journey, and we are so thankful that there are new members to our “Army of Angels”.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s Mom, Jenny Carter

Sunday, March 28, 2010 5:33 PM CDT

Five years and 1 day after Sean's crash. What a difference 5 years makes! I have been struggling for a week, knowing that I wanted to write something to update our lives, but really not knowing what to say. There is no longer the personal need to post here. I do, however, feel an obligation to do so. It makes it difficult for me to really know what to say anymore.

In the world of TBI rehabilitation, it would probably be viewed as "acceptance of our life". But, I would have to disagree, and Sean also would disagree. We both agree that it is what it is. This is our life. Sean will continue to push beyond the boundaries of his body. He will continue to strive everyday to regain everything that he has lost. And we will thank God every night for all that he has accomplished that day. We end each night with a prayer. We start by saying, “Father in Heaven we thank You for the Day that we shared. And then we ask again for Sean’s full restoration. And then, the next day, we feel the hand of God again.

Sean is slowly, very slowly, being “made whole” again. His mouth is beginning to “remember” how to form words, just as his feet are “remembering” how to stand up straight, well with just a little curve to his spine. After all, he has been sitting in his chair for 5 years. His walk with the crutch has become more deliberate. Although he needs assistance, he is beginning to “remember” how to walk.

The thing that we are most proud of is that we are accomplishing something with our lives now. It started slowly, and still is too slow for our purposes, but it is growing. Our lives are now focused on giving back. We hope that through the expression of our emotions and thoughts about the choices that were made to get us here, we can prevent others from sharing our consequences.

We greet each day as we have for the majority of this journey; with a smile, with a “Hello, Lord,” with a “Thank you, Lord”, and we end all with, “Let’s do it again, Lord”.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, March 14, 2010 8:09 AM CDT

New life today! It is Sunday, March 14, 2010. My sweet niece, Eryn and her husband, Randy Witt, just became proud parents of two beautiful baby boys, Griffin and Gavin. They live in Minneapolis, so it will be Memorial Day before Sean and I have an opportunity to see them.

It is Sunday, and this is the weekend that we did the “Spring Forward” in time. Spring is definitely in the air. Sean and I can both feel the “Hope” as the daffodils and crocuses have pushed their way through another winter of dormancy. The trees are flowering and there are just hints of new leaf in the trees and green in the grass.

So too, Sean’s body continues to undergo restoration. I see it in the way he can now stand for seconds longer. I see it in the way he is able to form his mouth around single syllables and words. I hear it in the sounds of his currently high pitched voice as he says “Thank you” and “I love you”.

Sean has been working with a Speech Therapist at the Texas Voice Project for Parkinsons. He continues to work with Dr. Karen McCain at UT Southwestern, and her Rehab Tech, Dana. The two of them are working with Sean to learn to walk with one crutch.

One year after Sean began doing most of his shower himself, he is now able to do it totally. I still have to get him over into the tub on his shower bench, but once I get him there, and shut the curtain, he totally takes over. So while he has gained his privacy, I have regained nearly a half hour of my life.

Sean and I are now officially members of the Dallas Chapter, of the Texas District of Pilot International. Pilot’s are a service organization whose slogan is “Saving Brains for Life”. Their mission is to improve the lives of those with brain related disorders as well as Injury Prevention. The Texas District Pilots sponsor the TBI Camps for Adult Survivors. The youth affiliated group is called “Anchor”. Sean and I attended Anchor Convention in Beaumont in February and had an opportunity to speak to the Anchors. In April, we will attend and speak at the Texas District Pilot Convention and July 10, we will speak at Pilot International in Louisville, KY.

Our Non-Profit corporation is formed, and with the help of Dixon-Hughes, a CPA firm in Raleigh, N.C., are helping me complete the Form 1023 for submission to the IRS to gain official Non-Profit Status.

Prada, the world famous, fashion and handbag company, has given us a $1795.00 purse so that we can raffle chances to win, and earn money for our Spring Trip. The trip that will take us more than 5,000 miles for more than 60 days, as we work to gain corporate sponsorship for our Non-Profit, and raise awareness of the often devastating consequences of living with brain injury. Our plan is to also call on legislators in Washington, D.C.

March 27, will be Sean’s 5th Survivor Day. Not a day to remember with sadness, but a day to recognize with celebration and that continued Hope. “Hope” is our middle name. Many years ago, when I created my AOL e-mail account, I picked JennyCHope. I said then that it stood for “Jenny Carter full of Hope”. How true it has been for my life. I continue to live as “Pollyanna”, always looking for the good in everything. The Good Lord, continues to reassure me that I am making the right choice with that. We are blessed, We are blessed, indeed!

Thank you for caring….still!
Sean’s Mom, Jenny Carter

Monday, February 1, 2010 6:45 AM CST

We are fast approaching the fifth anniversary of Sean’s Survivor Day. A day that will always be remembered with sadness, but a day that is also remembered with an abundance of gratitude to all of the people who have played a part in our lives since that time.

March 26, 2005, had started as many of my Saturdays had. Bob and I were going to a run in Decatur with our friend, Bernadette Schulz. As I think back upon that morning, it was almost an “omen” of the things to come. I remember that Bernie and I were talking about our kids. Both of us had adult children. Bernie’s were even into their forties I think. She said something like, “no matter how old they are, you don’t want anything bad to happen to them, you just want to protect them”.

It was raining even then. In fact, the rain was coming down so hard and it was so cold, that we decided that we would just go to breakfast in downtown Decatur and then return home to Dallas. We did pick up our neon green race shirts before we went to breakfast. That shirt still hangs in my closet, a reminder of a life before “The Crash”.

There will always be some sadness when we think about how life has changed, but there is really a tremendous happiness in our lives. I am now working on establishing non-profit status for WhenSeanSpeaks, Inc. Eva (Muffin) Stagner and Dr. Karen McCain are equal partners on the Board of this company. Together we know that we will have a powerful and positive impact upon members of the Traumatic Brain Injury Community and those who love and care for them.

Sean is now beginning to practice walking with one crutch. In fact, Dr. McCain is going to rig up the other crutch with a platform for Sean’s right arm so that he can learn to balance himself with two crutches. Although we have been reducing the amount of Baclofen that Sean is getting from his abdominal pump, it has no affect upon the spasticity in his right arm. Karen feels that if he is able to grip the crutch with his arm bent, he will have better control of the right side of his body. Right now his right arm gets so stiff that he is nearly imprisoned until someone helps him bend it. It’s just a crazy thing the way the brain's signals to Sean’s muscles are still so disrupted.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010, Sean starts therapy at the Texas Voice Project. This therapy will be four days a week, Tuesday through Friday, from 9-11 a.m. We will probably be tired for several days as we adjust to getting up early enough in the morning to make it across Dallas early enough to arrive on time.

Sunday, February 7, WhenSeanSpeaks will do our presentation for four chapters of the Young Men’s Service League at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Plano. This is a huge church on Plano Parkway just off the Dallas North Tollroad.

WhenSeanSpeaks will be awarded the Community Service Award by the General Worth Assembly, Fourth Degree, Knights of Columbus, of Tarrant County on Sunday, February 21, 2010. That event will begin at 2 p.m. As soon as that event is over, we will drive directly down to Austin. We will have a booth at the Injury Prevention Symposium at the Embassy Suites on Monday, February 22. The Quarterly TETAF meetings will be Tuesday evening at that location.

Wednesday we will drive on to Houston to spend a couple of days with our dear friends, Roger and Sarah Thiltgen, and then Friday, February 26, we drive on to Beaumont to attend this year’s Anchor Club Convention.

Life is busy!

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:22 AM CST

As we stand here at the cusp of the New Year, I am so aware of all of the blessings that Sean and I have had over every day of 2009. The memories draw me back to the very beginning of this journey of Life After Brain Injury with my "Beautiful Boy". My “boy” is now a “man”. In fact, on January 11, Sean and Todd will be 27 years old.

Although this is not the life I dreamed of for my son, it is LIFE. How thankful I am for that.

There have been so many accomplishments over this past year. Sean now pretty much handles his entire shower. He gets himself ready for bed at night, taking care of everything except for the help I provide as I wash his right hand. He gets himself into bed at night and in the morning he recently became able to transfer himself into his chair after I get his pants, socks and shoes on. He has agreed to start really working to figure out a way to get his jeans on by himself.

Sean began working with Dr. Karen McCain, a professor of PT at UT Southwestern. She is so skilled and believes so much in Sean’s ability to walk on his own again. She encouraged us to pursue obtaining the Rifton Pacer Gait Trainer, which is allowing Sean to “relearn” the motor planning required to walk again. It is also allowing him to regain strength in his leg and trunk muscles. We now have a relationship with the Rifton Corporation, the wonderful Christian manufacturers of his Gait Trainer.

Sean acquired a new “voice” actually it sounds the same, but is an entirely new computer from a new vendor, Forbes Rehab Solutions in Mansfield, Ohio. This company “hung the moon” when it comes to customer service.
We are so honored that our vendors have become our partners and friends.

The Texas District of Pilot International are not only our benefactors through the Traumatic Brain Injury Camps, they have become our champions and partners in allowing us to grow our mission of sharing our story with others. There are Pilots who have taken an individual interest, both personally and financially in Sean’s well being. And the organization as a whole has played a special role in our lives during 2009. Sean and I joined the Dallas Chapter in November so that we can work with the Pilot Club to further their mission to help those with any brain related disorder. We spoke at the State Anchor Club Convention in 2009 in Austin and will join them in 2010 in Beaumont. We will also attend the Texas District Pilot Club Convention in Beaumont in 2010. Our plan is to attend the International Convention in Louisville, KY, in July as well.

We began doing business as “WhenSeanSpeaks”, and were blessed when Sylvia Mugica, of Parkland Hospital, generously donated her artistic expertise and designed our logo. We have now spoken at more than 50 different venues, and have returned to some locations, such as Midwestern State University twice, and the North Texas State Hospital and Central High School in Keller, three times.

The Brazos Valley Regional Advisory Council of EMS, Trauma and Acute Care Services, became champions of WhenSeanSpeaks and arranged for us to speak at four high schools in the Bryan/College Station Area and are working on details to bring us back in the Spring.

The Young Men’s Service League has engaged us to speak to several of their clubs in the Dallas Metroplex.

As WhenSeanSpeaks, Sean and I spoke before two Trauma Conferences, and at the State EMS Conference in Ft. Worth. We also spoke at the “Save a Life Summit” before 350 law enforcement professionals in San Antonio.

Along with Muffin Stagner and Dr. Karen McCain, I have formed a corporation specifically to act as an Non-Profit Organization and am now beginning to fill out the paperwork required by the IRS to qualify for an official 501c3. We will definitely head out on a 5,000 mile journey beginning about the middle of May and will not return home until the middle of July. At this point the financing will come from my meager retirement from Texoma Medical Center. We honestly believe that as we move forward with planning this trip, we will be blessed with opportunities to earn money through speaking, and donations.

Sean and I forsee 2010 as the beginning of his future. I am striving to set up things so that he can take over and if anything happens to me, he will be able to hire people as necessary to provide care and support for him.

We are blessed this holiday season by a visit from twin brother, Todd and Kori, Jake and Joey. Although they live so far away in Washington State, we are thankful that Todd has a stable job that allows them to spend 3 weeks with us now. Big Brother Ben has a job that he enjoys and a relationship that is encouraging and happy.

Bob continues to have business at Standard Spring and Axle, for which we are eternally grateful. He continues to provide the roof over our head, and the loving support that we need to continue with our life as it is.

Dr. Mary Carlile, the Director of the Coma Program at Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation, and Sean’s Inpatient physician during the Acute phase of Sean’s of Sean’s New Life Journey and Dr. Milton Thomas, who cares for him now and monitors the ever important, Baclofen Pump, will always hold a special nearly reverential place in our hearts. Sean calls Dr. Carlile his “other Mother”. I know that he shares that feeling with many of her TBI patients. The entire BIR staff who volunteers to spend time with us at Mountain High, “God’s Camp” in Red River, New Mexico.

Dr. Carlile believed enough in Sean to recommend him for the Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council, to which he is now serving a 3 year term.

Jorie Klein, Director of Trauma and Disastor Services believed enough in Sean to serve on the Texas EMS, Trauma and Acute Care Foundation, representing Victims of Trauma.
Sean received the Survivor of the Year Award from the Brain Injury Association of Texas. We were both honored with a “Making A Difference Award” by the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Thank you, Al Ellis for nominating us.

My friend of more than 30 years, Sarah Thiltgen, continues to reach out in friendship to share our victories and defeats, and life’s simple pleasures. The Richardson’s of Whitesboro, and Sharon Vessels, continue to be our adopted family during the holidays and throughout the year. Lois Richardson is ghost writing a memoir taken from the journal entries I have made here on the CaringBridge.

There are so many of you who we wish we could wrap our arms around personally and thank you for all that you have done. If you are reading this, know that you are one of these. We love you all and wish you a very Happy 2010, full of health, prosperity and happiness for you and yours.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:22 AM CST

Sunday, November 15, 2009 8:21 AM CST

I am sometimes amazed by the way that people hear about Sean and our presentations. Sean and I often pray and ask God to spread our message so that we may have more speaking opportunities.

I was contacted last night by a woman who was looking for another story on the KBTX TV (Bryan, Texas)website. She didn't find the story she was looking for, but did find the story about Sean speaking at Caldwell High School. This woman's son attends a school not to far from Caldwell. She is now working to have us come to her son's school. When she shared the story of how she found out about us, I could see the hand of God at work. I know that he is helping us "Expand our Territory" and with our speaking, we are offered the opportunity to speak of our faith and belief in his hand in our lives.

Sean and I are "home alone" this weekend. Bob has gone down to his deer lease to hunt. We have both been working on our presentations for the EMS Conference next weekend. We will speak at 2 p.m., Monday, November 23, at the Texas EMS Conference. Our topic, "Should This Life Be Saved". We shared this speech last spring at the Houston Trauma Conference, but this could be a much larger audience, so we want to "polish" our performance.

I am still amazed that people pull up this website to read about our lives. Sean continues to work hard in his Pacer Gait Trainer. His balance is getting so much better. He continues to work with Dr. McCain at UTSW. They are working to teach his brain to allow him to walk with the aid of a "rocker bottom" crutch. Dr. McCain used to always have a big strong rehab tech help her, help Sean maintain his balance. Now she works with him alone and she says she "easily" assists him.

We attended the Brain Injury Survivor Camp, Circle of Friends, at Camp Shiloh on Lake Bob Sandlin in East Texas, last weekend. It is always such a blessing to share this time with Survivors, Family members and our Pilot friends. In fact, Sean and I joined the Dallas Chapter of Texas District Pilot International. Now we will work with them on projects related to brain disorders.

It helps Sean and I to look beyond ourselves and strive to help others. That is what we have been called to do. It would be so easy to just sit here at home and think "How could this happen to me?". Instead we continue to reach out and hope that we can prevent just one person from making a decision that could result in life as we know it.

Work is going forward on our Non-profit. The paperwork to form our corporation has gone to Austin and should be returned around Thanksgiving. Then I will begin the process of completing the paperwork for IRS Non-Profit Status. We were blessed with the offer from an attorney that we did not even know, to help us pro-bono, with the formation of our company.

We are also blessed because Muffin Stagner, and Dr. Karen McCain, have agreed to serve on the Board of our new company. It will be called WhenSeanSpeaks, Inc.,

Blessings are all around us,

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, November 5, 2009 5:52 PM CST

It has been so long since I have written. So much has happened that I cannot remember everything since I wrote last. We have spoken to a group of about 300 young men, who are members of the Young Men Service Club. There were 3 chapters that participated. We also spoke to the Freshman and Senior Classes of Central High School in Keller. This is actually the third time that we have spoken to Central H.S.

We were notified this week that we will be honored by the Texas Trial Lawyers Association in Austin, December 4, where we will recieve their "Making A Difference Award".

Everything that we have done and have accomplished this month has kind of paled as I sit here and watch the sad news of the 12 men and women killed and 31 injured at Ft. Hood, in Killeen. It is so sad.

Please pray for all of our troops and their families.
Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, October 5, 2009 9:14 PM CDT

Sean and I spent Monday through Thursday morning in Bryan, Texas last week. We spoke at four high schools in the Brazos Valley area on Tuesday the 29th and Wednesday the 30th. The schools included Bryan H.S., Navasota H.S., Burton Middle and High School, and Crawford H.S.

I have added a link so that you can watch a news story that was done at Crawford H.S. We had several messages from students who had been impacted by Sean's message.

Our trip down there was sponsored by the Brazos Valley Regional Advisory Committee. This is a group of folks who work in the trauma and EMS field. They wanted to offer our presentation to their community to hopefully influence young people in a positive manner.

This will be a rather quiet week, except for two days (one hour each day) of therapy with Dr. Karen McCain. It will be a good rest before next week starts on Sunday. We are going to speak to 2 or 3 Young Men Service League groups in Plano. We will then be in Austin October 14-17, attending the NABIS Conference. This is the North American Brain Injury Society. Friday, the 16th will be the quarterly meeting of the Traumatic Brain Injury Association.

Sean and I are so thankful that we have the opportunity to speak to groups and organizations. We both feel that it gives some meaning to our lives. I cannot even imagine the isolation we would feel if we didn't have this opportunity.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, September 24, 2009 3:02 PM CDT

We have returned from a wonderful nearly 2 weeks on the road and 6 days in Red River, NM. We had beautiful weather nearly the entire time.

Mountain High Camp is always a blessing to us. It truly feels like we have "gone home" to family. This year was exceptional to us both. We met new friends, and were cradled in caring. I can explain it no other way.

We did 3 presentations making our way slowly out to Red River. Tuesday, the 8th we stayed in Wichita Falls after speaking at Midwestern State University. I believe that we spoke to the majority of the sorority and fraternity members. Afterwards one of the students came up and told us that after the last time that we spoke, his fraternity started a "Designated Driver" program. They have two students that man phone lines Thursday afternoon through 4 a.m. Sunday morning. They will pick up anyone, and get them home. This demonstrates how Sean's crash has helped to influence others to stay safe.

Wednesday we spoke to young people at the North Texas State Hospital, then drove up to Vernon to spend the night at the "Paradise House". Thursday, the 10th, we spoke to about 65 kids at the North Texas State Hospital, Vernon Campus. From there we drove up to Amarillo, had dinner at the Big Texan Steakhouse and spent the night. Friday we drove up to Dalhart, Texas, and had dinner with our dear Mennonite friends, Grace and Wayne Wenger, their son, Troy, two daughters, one son-in-law and 3 grandsons. Saturday we got up and made the drive into Red River.

Saturday night we had dinner with Judy, Jess and Joel Mullens, friends and camp attendees from Edmund, Ok. Sunday morning we got up and attended church services at Faith Mountain Church and that afternoon all of our fellow campers arrived.

We had a wonderful, wonderful, time at camp, which ended on Thursday, the 17th. Sean and I had been invited up to dinner at a couple from the churches home in the "Upper Valley". Tonia and Bill Ballard had invited two couples out to their home as well as Sean and I. We had such an enjoyable afternoon, laughing and talking. Thursday evening, Sean and I went to dinner at the Timbers, which is right across the street from "The Alpine" where we stayed. Friday we got up and after a morning of packing, we loaded up and began our trek home.

We made it as far as Childress and then had to stop for the night. We found a lovely room in a new Hampton Inn and Suites there. Saturday, after we loaded up, we decided that we ought to drive on to Denison to visit Sean's Nanny and PaPaw as well as his Dad. It was only a four and a half hour drive to Denison. We made a pit stop in Whitesboro to say hellow to Lois and Ron Richardson. I didn't even get Sean out of the truck. The we met the folks for dinner at "Huck's Catfish Restaurant". Afterwards, we loaded up again and finally made the last short drive home.

I had a rather shaky day, Tuesday. I finally realized that it was just a minor let-down from leaving Red River and that special "cocoon of caring". Now things are fine and we are enjoying a much "cooler" Texas. The weather has been so pleasant since we have been home.

Next week we are off down to Texas A & M country. We will be speaking at 4 high schools down in the Brazos Valley area. Bryan, Navasota, Burton and Caldwell High Schools. The Brazos Valley Regional Advisory Council EMS, RAC N, is sponsoring us on our trip down there.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, September 6, 2009 1:08 PM CDT

Sean has had a tough time walking this week, although we have gone up on the roof every day. He says that he has "forgotten" how to walk again. I think part of it is just that the time that he was forced to be back in bed after his gall bladder surgery was right at the time he was making so much momentun. I know that he will get over this "hump".

We went to SMU one evening this week as MADD representatives. Alpha Chi Omega Sorority was hosting a "Cookout" and asking fellow students to make a pledge to drink responsibly. It was a beautiful evening and the campus is so beautiful that it made for a very pleasant time.

I had to run out a couple of days and take care of errands in preparation for our trip. Having the tires rotated and checked was just one of those things. I had to get Sean a couple of pair of jeans, and a warm jacket, so we went to Northpark Mall one afternoon and had lunch and shopped.

Saturday we spent the mid afternoon at church to help work on our new worship space. The rest of this weekend will be spent digging out winter clothes and just getting things together for our trip. We will go to church this afternoon (Sunday) and Labor Day I will spend packing and loading the truck.

Our plan will be for Sean and I to get up on the rooftop of the parking garage early on Tuesday morning, then we will have breakfast, shower, finish the last of the truck load and we will be off to Wichita Falls.

Tuesday evening we will speak at Midwestern State University. Wednesday we will speak to a group of adolescents at the North Texas State Hospital, Wichita Falls Campus. Wednesday evening we will spend the night at the Paradise House, a facility for family members of the Vernon Campus. Thursday, we will speak to the group at the Vernon Campus, and then we will officially be on our way toward Red River. We are only driving short segments each day. Thursday evening we will stop over in Amarillo. I am going to take Sean to the Big Texan Steakhouse, where anyone who eats a 72 ounce steak gets it free. It is a large place and has a percieved "Texas Cowboy" flair with a fun atmosphere, so we will have a fun evening there.

Friday we will drive on to Dalhart, where we are planning to meet our Mennonite friends who live up there, Wayne, Grace and Troy Wenger. They will be going on to Mountain High as well, but will not arrive until Sunday late afternoon.

Saturday we will drive the relatively short journey to Red River, about 4 and a half hours. Saturday evening we are going to dinner with some friends who are part of our Mountain High Family. Joel Mullins is a traumatic brain injury camper, and his Mom Judy and his sister, Jessica, will join us. We will go somewhere within walking distance, which is really anywhere in town.

Sean and I have really had a lot of stress in our relationship over the last couple of weeks. We both are filled and calmed with the whole Mountain High Camp experience. It provides an interlude in our life that allows us to share our lives with those who walk in similar shoes along a similar path. We are surrounded with support and acceptance and love. We will come home, invigorated, refreshed and ready to take on another year of this Life that we live.

In case you are wondering, I did follow through on the request in Sean's guest book.

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, August 30, 2009 9:43 PM CDT

Two weeks have passed. Sean and I drove to Austin, August 18, and spent the night. The Texas EMS Trauma and Acute Care Foundation, had their quarterly meetings. Sean is a member and we both are on the Injury Prevention Committee.

Sean has had PT 2 days each week. He is still struggling with that cane. This last appointment he had, Dr. McCain decided that she wanted to work with Sean on some strengthening, so she put him on a "shuttle". I am not even sure that I can explain how this machine works, so suffice it to say that he did an entirely new exercise.

We are still getting up in the mornings and going up on the roof to walk. This week has been wonderful, because the night time temperatures are finally beginning to cool down. We have been able to sleep an extra hour each day and that is just making an enormous difference in my happiness quotient.

Sean and I did a presentation for the Senior Class of Hillcrest High School on Wednesday, August 26. This is the second year we have been invited to do our presentation. Once again, we followed Dr. Hinijosa, the Superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District. Sean talked to him before he spoke, and asked Dr. Hinijosa to help us get into the DISD. My boy, is always looking for business.

We are now counting down the days until we leave for Mountain High. 9 more days, today. We are both so thankful that we have found this camp. It is such a needed respite for both of us. Even though we share our room at night, during the day, Sean is able to mess around with other young people and I don't have to hover over him and take care of his every need.

Craig Vanderlaan, a PT, from Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation will be Sean's counselor at camp. This will be their third year together. Craig is like Sean's big brother when they are together. They have a great relationship and I know that Craig can handle anything that comes up with Sean.

Camp gives me an opportunity to spend time with other parents. There is a Mennonite family from Dalhart that Sean and I bonded with right from the first camp. I talked to Grace by phone this week and we are all looking forward to visiting again.

On our way to camp we will stop in Wichita Falls to do our presentation at Midwestern State University, as well as both the Wichita Falls and Vernon to speak the the young people who are the drug and substance abuse population of the North Texas State Hospital.

Sean was really praying that he could take a few steps into Faith Mountain Church, where Mountain High Camp is held. We are continue to pray for some miracle to occur, but it might be just as it has been, something that time will handle.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, August 16, 2009 9:13 PM CDT

It is important that this journal also provide me with a chronicle of what is happening in the world around us. Right now I am so worried about the possibility of having National Healthcare. We have gone through all of the scenerio's on a website. But I need it to be written here, where I have a permanent record:

If National Healthcare goes into effect, will it mean that someone in a wreck in Sean's condition be willing treated, or would the decision be made to not act so aggressively. I am not talking about the healthcare workers or the Hippocratic oath. I fear that the decision will be left in the hands of the beauracrats. Or perhaps, the fight would be made to save him, but they would ration the aftercare. Would they say that with his deficits he would not be a productive member of society. We all know of course, that Sean is far more productive than many able bodied people. He is making an impact on a large group of people, and his sphere of influence continues to grow.

Sean and I were busy this past week. Monday, we met with Liz Giordano, the CEO of the Head Injury Association of Long Island and Bettie Beckworth of the Office of Acquired Brain Injury in Austin. The meeting was coordinated by Alison Schubach and her parents Mike Schubach and Donna Schubach.

Tuesday, Sean had an appointment with his surgeon, Dr. Laura Petrey. She had removed his gall bladder on July 30 and was doing a follow up on August 11. She ordered a liver panel on Sean and we found out on Wednesday that his bilirubin is still high. He will have another panel on Monday, and if his numbers are still high, he will have to get in with the GI doc that did his ERCP.

Tuesday evening we drove to Ft. Worth and met Randy and Patty Cole for dinner. We spent a couple of hours visiting, talking and laughing with them. Randy gave us a bunch of promotional stuff for a website and program that we are thinking of starting called "Designated Hero". He gave us pens, key rings, and letter openers that he had made.

Sean had PT on Wednesday afternoon and struggled while Dr. McCain and Will Long struggled to teach Sean to walk with a single cane.

Thursday we drove to San Antonio and connected with friedns, Jason and Sandra March. Sandra is on the Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council with Sean. Jason recieved his TBI from a blast injury sustained while serving in the Army in Iraq. They are enduring a frustrating battle with the VA. As difficult as their fight is to get Jason the care he deserves, why would we want to Nationalize Medicine and let the government run it all. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

Friday, Sean and I participated on a panel that closed the 3 day "Save A Life 2009" Summit in San Antonio. The Summit was designed to provide tools to about 300 law enforcement officials to go back to their communities with a renewed ability to save lives on Texas Roadways. The Summit was sponsored by TXDOT.

The panel we were on included the two of us, Laura Dean-Mooney, the CEO of MADD National, the Police Chief of San Antonio, as well as Jacqui Saburido. I have to share Jacqui's story with you. 10 years ago, when she was 22, she was returning from a night out with some friends. At the time, she was attending college. In Austin, learning English as a second language. She got a ride home from a party, and on the way home, the car she was riding in was struck by a drunk driver.

"Two passengers died on impact. Two were rescued from the spreading fire by frantic paramedics.

Jacqui, pinned in the front seat, burned.

She woke up in a hospital in Galveston, blind and hallucinating. Her parents, estranged from each other, waited by her bedside, watching parts of their daughter die.

But Jacqui lived. She emerged from the hospital unrecognizable and totally dependent.

She suffered third-degree burns over 60 percent of her body, according to her hospital discharge report." From the Austin Statesman.

We had the privilege of being on the stage with Jacqui. She is so tough, because she is still here. She is also, so very, very emotionally fragile. She and Sean had an opportunity to talk quietly together after the Summit. Sean and Jacqui drew strength from each other. But Sean feels that he is far stronger than Jacqui. He has asked me to ask you, to pray for her.

I will never forget Jacqui. Her mother has died. Jacqui's Dad has been by her side so much of the time. He has returned to Caracas, Venezuela, their home. Jacqui is now going to therapy in Miami. She is so sweet. And I don't know why, but Sean and I both immediately felt a bond with her. She is another reason that Sean and I will continue to work to spread our message. We will try to make people aware that there is more to life than alcohol. And that there is a way to be safe, if they do think they need to drink.

This week we will drive down to Austin on Tuesday for TETAF meetings in the evening, and then drive home Wednesday morning. We are debating attending one of the forum's on Healthcare tomorrow morning. We both feel compelled to be ther, but the forum is early and we both feel that Sean needs to get up on the rooftop to walk.

Today, Sean sat on the couch and when I helped him stand up to walk over to his wheelchair, he actually stood for a couple of seconds. Stood, without my hands on him. We both got so excited. And then he did it two more times. This is an indication that his training with the gait trainer and with the cane are paying off.

And now it is late, and I am going to end this for another week.

Thank you for caring, and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, August 9, 2009 9:17 PM CDT

What a difference a week makes. Sean and I got home on Sunday and by Monday, although his stomach was feeling tender he was really doing well. He had two days of physical therapy and worked on struggling to walk with a cane. His trunk muscles have weakened quickly, but I know that he can build them back up.

By Wednesday, Sean was able to stand again in his gait trainer. His stomach was still tender so he just stood, but Dr. McCain, his PT, said that this is incredibly important for him because it does strengthen his core.

Thursday we drove down to Austin and checked into the Drury hotel on the North side of town. They upgraded us to a suite because that was the room with the roll in shower. We really enjoyed our room. In the early evening, we walked across the parking lot to Chili's and met some ladies who are all members of the Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council. There turned out to be 7 of us for dinner, which made for a nice group.

Friday, we had TBIAC meetings all day long. We were really proud and happy that The Texas District Pilot Club was able to come and make a presentation about their camps. Sean and I both felt it was so important that the TBIAC recognized and learned about this service organization whose whole mission is to conduct camps for adults with Traumatic Brain Injury.

Driving home after the meetings, was not fun. After sitting in meetings all day, sitting in the truck for an additional 3.5 to 4 hours is the last thing that either of us wanted to do. Luckily, we made it home with out incident. I think we got here close to 10 p.m.

We were contacted on Thursday about speaking at 4 high schools in the Bryan/College Station area. The Brazos Valley Regional Advisory Council for EMS and Trauma Services is sponsoring our trip down there. We will be speaking to their schools September 29 and 30. We are so honored that they want us to present at their schools. I am not sure yet, exactly which schools will be hearing us, but will update as I find out.

Saturday found us pretty much "chillaxing". Sunday we got up and for the first time since Sean's gall bladder removal, we went up to the roof of the parking garage and walked. He only made it back and forth one time on top of the roof. He is still pretty weak. But that's okay. We will get up tomorrow morning and go again and he will go farther, and he will get stronger.

This week will be busy. We are meeting our friend, Ali Schubach, who invented Sean's Invisibib. She has a meeting with the Director/CEO of the Head Injury Association of Long Island, NY. Ali has invited us to meet with them. We aren't really sure what we will meet about, but we have high hopes for something good to develop for the brain injured here in Texas. Our friend who is the Director of the Office of Acquired Brain Injury, in Austin, Bettie Beckworth, is also attending the meeting with us.

Thursday we drive down to San Antonio, where we will speak on Friday to the 300 Law Enforcement Personnel from around the state who are attending TXDOT's Save a Life Summit. We are going to speak to them about our new idea, called "Designated Hero" (the name was lifted from our friend Randy Cole). I will have to explain it here, next weekend.

Sunday evening found us at our church, The Way. We always enjoy listening to our preacher, Jennie Churchman. Yes, that is her real name, isn't that funny?

Anyway, we have to get up early for the rooftop, so I will close now as usual:

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, August 3, 2009 11:26 AM CDT

The beginning of last week started out as usual. We were getting up before 5 so that we could get up on the roof by 6 a.m. Sean would take his walks across the rooftop in his Pacer Gait Trainer, we would come back down, shower and have breakfast and then be ready for the day.

Wednesday started the same as these previous days. It was my birthday, and since there really was going to be no celebration or fanfare, I decided while at the grocery store to buy a small cake so that Sean and I could at least "mark" my day. I bought this wonderful, yummy, Strawberry Cream Cake from Whole Foods and brought it home. After lunch, I cut a generous portion for both of us. Oh my gosh, we enjoyed that slice.

The cake was rich and creamy and the icing was especially good. Within an hour Sean was complaining that his stomach and chest were starting to hurt. Within another hour he was really crying out in pain. I gave him Rolaids and Zantac, and it didn't even begin to elleviate the pain. By the time Bob was due to come home, Sean was in excruciating pain. I asked Bob to stop on the way home and buy some Pepto Bismal. Before he got home, however, I had decided to take Sean to the ER. Doctor's Hospital is literally right around the corner, Baylor Garland, not too far away, and I thought about taking Sean to one of them, because their ER's are smaller and I figured they might get us in and out fairly quickly. The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that Sean needed to go to Baylor University Medical Center Hospital because they already have his medical records and history in their system. So that is where we went.

Within 45 minutes to an hour Sean had moved from Triage into a room in the ER. Then the waiting process began. The doctor came in and ordered xrays and several blood tests. I crawled into Sean's wheelchair and was able to recline, fairly comfortably. Sean could not get relief even after two injections of morphine. Sometime during the night the doctor ordered a abdominal CT. Shortly after we got back to Sean's ER bed, the ER doctor came in and asked us if Sean had swallowed anything recently. Then he called me out and showed me one of the CT images and there on the screen, very plainly, we could see something in Sean's stomach.

The doctor almost decided that Sean could be discharged and we would follow up with a GI doc. But then he decided because of Sean being in the position that he is, he wanted to have an abdominal ultrasound done. And that is when it was discovered that Sean's gall bladder was full of stones. Apparently stones in the gall bladder can cause this excruciating abdominal and chest pain that Sean has suffered with periodically since emerging from his coma four and a half years ago.

The trauma surgeon on call came in and visited with us and told us that she could do surgery, by this time it was well into Thursday morning. She got him on the surgical schedule and finally around 3:45 p.m., his status was changed from ER to Inpatient and he was taken to surgery. Dr. Petrey came out after she'd had a chance to look at the "foreign body" in Sean's stomach and told me that it looked like it could be a clip that got left behind when his feeding tube was removed. She said that she had tugged on it a little bit and it was definitely attached to the stomach wall and she was concerned that by removing it she might put a hole in the stomach wall which could cause another whole set of issues/problems for Sean. She had consulted with a couple of her collegues who were also in surgery at that time and they all felt that it would be safer just to leave that object in Sean's stomach.

This all sounded reasonable to me, so she returned to the OR and began the procedure to remove Sean's gall bladder. Following the surgery, she came out again and told me that Sean's gall bladder was "big" and inflamed so it really needed to come out. She was able to remove it laprascopically, so he does not have any big additional abdominal scars. There are 5 incisions required to do the procedure but she went in at scar sites that he already had so that she didn't make any new ones. She said there were a lot of adhesions (scar tissue) that she had to work through, but things looked good and he did well through the surgery. She also told me that he would have to have an ERCP the next day to remove stones that had migrated out of the gall bladder that she had been unable to remove.

Dr. Petrey gave me a copy of the picture of the clip in Sean's stomach. It looks like a wavy "x" that is about an inch to an inch and a half in size.

Sean was pretty pitiful in Recovery. When a patient has surgery, they are catheterized. After the catheter is removed, there can be great pain with urination. I hated seeing the pain that wracked his body as he completed this required bodily function.

Sometime during the evening on Thursday he was discharged from Recovery and transfered to a room "on the floor". Finally about 11, we were both able to go to sleep. It was the first time since we had gotten up on Wednesday morning that either of us had a chance to sleep.

Of course it was a fitful night and when we woke up Friday morning we woke up feeling pretty lousy. Sean had a lot of pain, much of it in his right shoulder. When a patient has laprascopic surgery, their abdomen is inflated with Carbon Dioxide. As this CO2 is released and reabsorbed, it creates this deferment of pain into the shoulder, and it can be extremely painful.

Friday afternoon, Sean had his ERCP and more stones were removed. Once again there was a miserable reaction from Sean in Recovery. Fortunatly he hadn't had to be catheterized again, so he didn't have to suffer that pain as well.

Saturday morning we both woke up feeling somewhat better. He was not allowed to eat all day because his bilirubin remained high. By Saturday evening, he had to go to sleep hungry.

At 3:15 a.m., Dr. Petrey came in and woke us both up. Sean was deep, deep asleep. She apologized but said that she was working night shift and she had to come by then. She said that Sean could start eating when he woke up. And eat he did.

He was discharged and we were on the way home by 11:30. As soon as we walked in, I got Sean into the shower. He had only had one bad bath that I did for him, since Wednesday afternoon. As soon as he got out of the shower, he had lunch and then I laid him down for a nap.

Ben and his girlfriend came by for a visit Sunday afternoon, Sean got up and after dinner we were both in bed by 9. Sean sent me a text message right after I fell asleep, asking me to get him something and I broke down in tears. I had absolutely, not one more ounce of energy to do anything. I sent a message back and asked him if he could possibly just deal with it. He understood and we both fell asleep, or at least I did.

This morning, we both slept in. Me until 7:30, Sean slept about an hour longer. We both woke up feeling better. We probably both will need a nap this afternoon, but I think now we having nowhere to go but up!

We want to thank all of you who heard about what Sean was going through and prayed for him. We want to thank all of you who have come to do this since his crash. We want to thank you who might be tuning in to this website for the first time.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, August 3, 2009 9:38 AM CDT

Update will be done today. Briefly Sean had emergency gall bladder removal on Thursday of this past week and we just made it home from the hospital on Sunday. We were both so exhausted there was no way I could update yesterday as promised. This morning I have a ton of things that I need to do, so it will be later today or this evening when I update.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, July 26, 2009 8:12 AM CDT

I have been AWOL from the CaringBridge. All I can do is apologize. Life continues to move forward for Sean and I. He is now able to transfer from his chair to the bed. This started two weeks ago. So now he does this each evening. I am still in and out, helping him as he goes through his nightly routine, but the "heavy lifting" is already over for the day. This already makes a difference on my physical well-being.

Sean has FINALLY gotten the speech device that will be his "voice" for the next several years. He has been thoroughly engrossed in programing and setting it up the way he wants and needs it. I am happy, because his old "RollTalk" voice is the same voice that this one uses, so I don't have to get used to another new "Sean".

Exactly 7 weeks from today, Sean and I will be up in Red River, NM, and will be getting ready to attend Sunday morning service at Faith Mountain Church. This morning while on the rooftop of our parking garage, watching Sean "walk" in his gait trainer, I could almost imagine the smell and the feel of the mountains. I love that place. Everyone who attends Mountain High Camp, calls it "God's Camp". You can just feel His presence around you.

Most of the campers are the same group that return each year. Sean and I are privileged to be among them. This will be our 4th year to attend. I can still remember the utter devastation I felt when we got off the plane in Albuquerque and all of the other campers and volunteers congregated to get on the buses for the 4 hour bus ride to Red River. For the first time, I met people who had been living with their brain injury for many, many years. Some of them seemed "not quite right", and it hit me that traumatic brain injury is something that my beautiful boy might not be able to conquer.

But something else happened at that camp. I realized that although Sean might not fully conquer the TBI, it would never permanently tie him down. He would rise, just as these other campers had done. He would create a life and that "not quite right" would become a "new perfection". I could tell that Sean was drawing strength from the stories and the hearts of the others living with TBI. And now we are able to share in the victories of everyone of these campers and volunteers who are our "Mountain High Family".

Sean and I went to see Dr. Diaz-Arristia, his neurologist at UTSW, this week. Dr. Diaz, always marvels at all that Sean and I have done since the last visit. He has decided to have a water diffusion MRI done of Sean's brain as part of a research study that he is conducting.

We will be busy this week. I never mention this, but when Sean was first injured, I contracted an attorney to bring a law suit against the two bars who over-served Sean, the driver and their companion. I am sorry, but 12-15 beer in one hour, served to the driver is reckless behavior.

Sean accepts his role in life because of that night. Until we are able to reduce or eliminate this unnecessary outcome for others, which can lead to a similar tragedy, or even death, Sean and I will raise our voices. Their is a responsibility that liquor establishments have to their patrons. At some point, the drinker loses their judgement. This is something we all know. At that point, the bar owner needs to allow his employees to tell that drinker that they can keep their money in their pocket and they should call them a cab for the ride home. The other thing that has to occur is for the designated driver to be given a "free ride" on his soft drinks and he needs to accept that if he is driving, he holds the lives of his passengers in his hands. It is his responsibility to stay sober, totally and completely.

Our society is far too permissive. Liquor receives too much glamor from all media outlets. But we cannot blame the media, we have to look within ourselves and recognize that our behavior is a model that we present to our children. I know, I see that now. Please let us be your examples. Let us continue to suffer for you and yours. We do it each day. We have no choice. We want to do it for you!

We will be going into mediation this week. It will be the first time that I meet the owners of the two bars.

And now on a very happy note, I would like to ask you to welcome my new Grandson, Jacob Henry Carter, into this world. He was born to Todd and Kori, in Kadlec Hospital, Washington, July 17. I loved it when Todd said to me last night, "It's so hard not to hold him. He is just so darned cute!" And that is exactly how a proud Daddy is supposed to feel about his son. So now, Todd's family of 3 has grown by another head. They are four now! What a blessing!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM (and Joey and Jacob's grandmom), Jenny Carter

Thursday, July 23, 2009 6:28 PM CDT

It has been so long since I have written. You know, the first two years, I actually made an entry every single day, or at worst, I skipped one day. Then the third year, I would try to update at least twice a week. As we moved into the fourth year, it had been once a week. And now, I don't know if it is laziness, or busyness, but it is hard to make even weekly updates.

But it isn't as though Sean is not improving. Oh my gosh! He has accomplished so much since I last updated.

When Sean first started working with his gait trainer, someone would have to "push" him along so that he could practice walking. Then one day, Dr. McCain, kept working with him during his therapy session at UTSW and he learned how to push himself forward. The first time he was only able to move himself 11 steps forward.

Well, you know how hot it had been? Sean and I began getting up before 5 so that we can go up to the rooftop of our parking garage. Sean is able to walk up there, in somewhat cool weather and he has twice walked more than 3000 feet which is just over 1/2 a mile. And he does it all by himself! So now this has become a routine.

He is no longer going to Pate Rehab. We both felt blessed with the opportunity to go there, but now we agree, that he can get more time on his feet and in his gait trainer. And it is really paying off.

His PT, Dr. Karen McCain is now teaching him to walk with one cane. It isn't pretty, but he is making progress. Walking in the gait trainer is allowing him to get stronger and will allow him to one day walk again. We feel this is coming sooner than later.

Sean has also started transferring himself into his bed at night. He started this about 10 days ago. This is a huge accomplishment. Now it is routine. I help him get his face washed after I take his contacs out, and he does his teeth. Then he gets himself into his bed. I still have to help get him ready for bed once he is in there, but that really takes an opportunity to prevent me from hurting my back and puts less strain on it.

Our speeches will start again in August, as do committee meetings for the Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council as well as the Texas EMS Trauma And Acute Care Foundation. And September will bring Mountain High Camp, in Red River, New Mexico.

Life is moving along. Sean improves every day. And the days are mounting up and he continues to be restored.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, June 29, 2009 1:30 PM CDT

Sean is moving forward with his Gait Trainer. He actually was able to move on his own with no one pushing him 11 whole steps! A huge accomplishment for him. He and I are both so excited, though, because he improved greatly over the weekend. He actually pushed himself, walking, down the hall of our church, probably about 250 feet.

He is really looking forward to getting back with Dr. McCain, his PT at UTSW on Tuesday. He thinks she is going to be greatly surprised by his progress.

On a heavier note, his RollTalk has died, so he is now silent. The great irony, though? We had just finished evaluating new devices and the paperwork to get a new one was completed and mailed to the STAP program on Friday. It could take 6 to 8 weeks to get a replacement. So we are asking for prayers that the process goes quickly.

We drove up to Tanglewood on Friday, with a side trip to Denison to visit Sean's Dad and Grandparents. Saturday we attended Friends of Hope Day Camp at a Methodist Church in Sherman. It is always fun to visit fellow TBI survivors and family members.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, June 21, 2009 3:05 PM CDT

To all you Father’s out there, Happy Father’s Day”

Sean was ready to cash it in at Pate on Monday, but after talking to his therapists and telling them what his goals were, he decided that things were good, so I continued to make the drive with him each day. The heat loading and loading his Gait Trainer into the bed of the truck under the topper was literally killing me this week, and we still have not started our stretch of triple digit heat. According to the weather man, that is supposed to start this week.

The good thing is, by Friday, I had finally figured out how I can get the thing loaded quickly, so that will help me considerably. Menopause and Texas summers do not mix very well. On top of that I just have not felt well at all for the past week. Today when I woke up, however, I feel as though I am feeling better.

Sean and I have gone up to the fourth level of our parking garage the past two mornings so that he can walk in his gait trainer. We were so excited this morning because he actually walked 1,020 feet. He only had to sit and rest, one time. So, he walked about 510 feet with only a brief rest while standing on his feet. Last night (Saturday) he stood watching television for an hour and 15 minutes in his gait trainer, which means he really is not supported at all. It just allows him to have something to hang on to for balance. He would do dips and stand on one leg at a time. He told me that he was strengthening his legs, and I think it is really working!

Friday night we drove up to Frisco and met Lois, Sharon, Jessica and Haylee, Chad and Michael who is Sharon’s sister Susie’s son. We met and had dinner together at “On the Border” which was really nice because it wasn’t too terribly crowded and we were able to linger and visit for a while. We really miss our “Whitesboro” family, so whenever we have a chance to visit with them, it is a treat!

I will have to take Sean up to see his Dad and Nanny and PaPaw soon. Nanny is out of the hospital and according to PaPaw, doing much better. Thank you for your prayers.

We are going to church this afternoon and then be ready for the start of a new week.

Thank you for caring,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, June 14, 2009 1:26 PM CDT

It was another week of busy-ness. For me, it was busy driving back and forth to Pate. For Sean, it was busy attending Pate. We went to ATR’s offices on Monday and Sean picked out a new speech device. It has similar capabilities to Sean’s RollTalk, and uses a much faster, more powerful computer. He is excited about that. The nice thing to me is that it suits all of his needs and still uses the same voice that his RollTalk has now. I won’t have to get used to a whole new “Personality”.

Sean had PT with Dr. McCain on Tuesday and Thursday, walking with his Gait Trainer. Dr. McCain said that she could already see a difference in his walking skill. We have “walked” with it this weekend here at the apartment. We went out in the parking garage Friday afternoon, Saturday afternoon and this morning. Each day he has added about 100 feet. This morning we went down behind our apartment on the walking path behind us. It is a concrete sidewalk that curves along behind our apartment complex. There are trees everywhere so it was nice and shaded this morning. Although it was really hot, it was enjoyable out there this morning.

Friday, Sean had his Baclofen Pump refilled. He asked Dr. Thomas to dial it down by 10 percent. We asked Dr. Thomas if we continue to dial it down each time it is refilled, could Sean look to just having it removed in 3 years, rather than have it replaced? That would be so awesome to have it forever removed from Sean’s body. Dr. Thomas said that as long as Sean continued to progress and move, more and more, he probably could do without it. Of course it is hard to pin Dr. Thomas down with a straight answer because he jokes around with Sean so much.

We spent a little time visiting folks at BIR after Sean had his appointment with Dr. Thomas. That is always fun for Sean. We found out which employees are going to Mountain High Camp in Red River with us, and were both happy to find out that Craig, one of the PT’s at BIR, who has been Sean’s counselor for the past two years will be going. Hopefully they will be paired together again.

The summer heat is killing me, as I am sure it is affecting many. We had severe storms here in Dallas and thousands of people have been without air conditioning and power. I cannot even imagine. I know that our light bill will be exorbitant this summer. My own hormonal issues due to my age (yes, hot flashes) don’t really even flash, they just make me feel as though the insides of my body are on a slow rotisserie. It is just the worst feeling. The only way I have any respite is to keep the air conditioner super low. I cannot even begin to tell you how hard it is loading and unloading Sean and his chair in the heat. It makes me just want to stay in the apartment and not go anywhere.

Well, I need to help Sean get out of the shower!

Thank you for caring,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, June 7, 2009 7:06 AM CDT

Two weeks have passed since my last update. Once again, I have to apologize and just share that Sean and I have been extremely busy.

Sean started Day Therapy at Pate Rehabilitation at their Villa Creek, Dallas, location on June 1. He is receiving all disciplines now; Speech, Occupational, Physical as well as Cognitive Therapy.

We attended a special meeting for the opening of a new Neuro Rehab Center called Global Rehabilitatiion. This is a beautiful Inpatient Acute Care Rehab Center similar to Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation, Dallas and TIRR in Houston. This meeting was coordinated by Victim's Services of MADD. We are always happy to support the activities of MADD.

Wednesday evening we were honored to be guest speakers at the 5 year anniversary of the TBI Support Group sponsored by UTSW at Zale Lipshy Hospital.

Sean's first PT session back with Dr. McCain, at UTSW, was Thursday, June 4. He was fitted for his Rifton, Pacer Gait Trainer, and took his first "walk" with it. All of this was recorded by Eric Jewell and his students from MediaTech Institute, a film school in Los Colinas. They will be filming footage of Sean as his walking with the Gait Trainer progresses.

Monday of this week, I will take the Gait Trainer with us to Pate so that Sean can use it there as well. Saturday, Sean and I went out to the parking garage here at home and he walked in it 3 times in the morning and 3 times in the evening. Our plan it to go out again today, Sunday and add to the distance or the number of walks.

We drove up to Sherman last Sunday to visit Nanny in the hospital and enjoyed lunch at The Cracker Barrell with Sean's Dad, Aunt Linda and PaPaw. Afterwards we went to Sherman High School and watched little Haylee Boren's dance recital.

Sean's Nanny was released to go home this past week. PaPaw says she does seem better. They will have Home Health come in during the week to help her with activities of daily living.

Sean and I are exhausted after our busy week starting at 5 (for me) every morning, getting Sean up at 6 and then racing through the day often not getting home until nearly 9 at night. This week should not be quite as late, and that will be better for both of us. Hopefully we will settle into the routine of having a regular, scheduled week.

I don't know if I have mentioned lately, how blessed Sean and I both feel. We are so thankful for all of the opportunities presented to us. We are so thankful for all of the people in our lives.

Life is good and we are glad!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, May 25, 2009 5:32 PM CDT

Sean and I are finally home for a while. We drove down to Houston on Monday and spoke at the Trauma Conference on Tuesday. Our topic? “Is this Life Worth Saving”. I discussed Sean’s initial injuries and condition and talked about how important it is for the first responders and trauma team to never allow themselves to be the judge in the value of a life. It is really up to God to make that decision. Sean then came on and told everyone all that he has accomplished since his crash. We felt that our presentation was very well received and even though, these folk had not taken care of Sean, it gave both of us an opportunity to thank the people who save lives every day.

Tuesday afternoon we just wandered around an outdoor shopping mall and then went back to the hotel and got ready for Wednesday and ended in our driving down to Beeville, Texas, where we spent the night. We then drove about 11 miles, Thursday morning to Skidmore to speak at Skidmore-Tynan High School. Once again, the kids gathered around afterwards and thanked us both for coming. It is always a special time for Sean and I to have kids tell us that they appreciated our words. Sean once again received numerous text messages from many of the students.

After our presentation on Thursday, we drove up to Dayton, Texas to stay at our friends, the Hights. Leah and Rusty have a 32 year old daughter, Leah who suffered a brain injury when she was just 16 years old. We stayed until Sunday and had such an enjoyable time. They have a beautiful big yard, with what they call “an outside kitchen”. It is really a little cabin that is just a kitchen. They cook many meals out there. Leah and I had such a good time visiting together. Laura and Sean spent time together, and Sean also spent a lot of time visiting Rusty, who is a state district judge. Sean had always wanted to be an attorney, so he enjoyed hearing Judge C.T. Rusty Hight’s stories.

It was another 1,000 mile week for us and now the truck is truly at 140,000 miles. As I was loading our truck, the battery died. Bob had replaced it less than two months ago. The lights have to be turned on to raise the tail gate and I ended up taking it up several times and the only thing that I can think of is that I just spent so long getting things loaded, that I drained the battery. Luckily Leah had a box that you attach to the battery and it started right up.

We were able to drive home uneventfully, except that I started feeling a vibration as we drove, and I decided that I had better drive more slowly than usual. Our truck has been so dependable but it is starting to worry me now. There’s not a lot that we can do about it now, but we both feel that this is one of those things that we will have to leave in God’s hands.

Sean and I are now spending a quiet Memorial Day at home. I am trying to get our travel laundry done, as well as the sheets on our beds and then attempting to get our suitcases emptied and stored. Right now we don’t anticipate traveling for a while. It is actually the first time since February of 2008, that I can put our luggage away.

Sean’s Nanny is still hospitalized. PaPaw has still not received a diagnosis. We continue to pray for her.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, May 17, 2009 1:25 PM CDT

Sean and I drove to Austin Monday and were at the Capitol early Tuesday morning. We met up with his fellow TETAF members and together sat in on a Press Conference explaining TETAF’s mission at the Capitol to convince legislators that all of the money from the Driver Responsibility Program be released to underfunded trauma facilities. These would be the facilities that provide a burdensome amount of indigent care. Yes, our Parkland Hospital in Dallas, County and John Peter Smith, in Tarrant County are excellent examples.

Trauma Services and EMS Services were recognized in both the House and the Senate. We all congregated in the gallery for the recognition, which was an unbelievable accomplishment for Sean. The Capitol Building is very old, having been built long before such modern miracles as power wheelchairs. In order to get into the gallery, I had to help Sean out of his wheelchair, walk him to the little bitty elevator, ride up about 4 steps, walk him out, where he was met by a couple of EMT’s who were also members of TETAF. These guys were kind enough to hang onto Sean as he stood until I was able to go back and get the wheelchair, put it in the elevator, send it up, and then drive it out to where Sean was standing. Had we not had help, Sean would have been left out. As it was, a group picture was later taken on the Capitol Rotunda, and Sean and I were unable to get there quickly enough for him to be included.

Our day was really good, though, and that evening, the quarterly TETAF meeting was held at the Omni Hotel in Austin. Sean and I were so proud to be able to report all of the schools that we had spoken at. This could definitely be defined as an “Injury Prevention” Activity.

Another highlight of our week occurred Friday evening. Sean and I had been invited to a grand opening of Prestige Ford in Garland. The President and CEO of Ford Motor Company attended and Sean had an opportunity to speak with him for a few minutes. Sean told him that “I am a lifelong fan of Ford, because they were the only one of the Big 3 who didn’t take bail-out money.” Alan Mulally was a very nice and Sean is hoping that Mr. Mulally, or Randall Reed, the owner of World Class Auto and Prestige Ford will help us with our mission to travel around the country and speak to young people.

This week we leave for Houston on Monday, speak at the Circle of Survival Trauma Conference. Wednesday we will drive down to Skidmore, about 200 miles South of Houston, and about 40 miles northwest of Corpus Christi. Thursday morning we will speak at Skidmore High School and then drive back to Houston to spend a couple of days with some friends for Higher Ground TBI Camp.

That will put us back home over Memorial Day weekend, and I am sure that we will drive up to see Nanny, PaPaw and Danny. Please include the three of them in your prayers this week. Nanny has been hospitalized since Wednesday. I took Sean up on Thursday to spend a few hours with them at Texoma Medical Center.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, May 10, 2009 9:17 AM CDT

What a wonderful week we have had. After leaving Higher Ground last Sunday, we drove to Winnsboro, where we moved into the Whispering Pines Nursing Home for the week. We were guests of the owner, Joanna Horton, who is also a member of the Pilot Clubs, Texas District. Joanna actually is the Director of both Circle of Friends and Higher Ground TBI camps.

Sunday evening, we met Kelly McDowell, who had coordinated all of our engagements in Wood County. She is one of the sponsors of the Anchor Club of Quitman. The Anchors are the ones who actually heard Sean speak at their State Convention in February in Austin. They wanted to give us the opportunity to share our message with their classmates.

In four days we spoke to approximately 2500 students and faculty in Yantis, Alba, Quitman, Winnsboro, Mineola, and Hawkins, all in Wood County. We also spoke to the students of Sabine H.S. in Gladewater. We had a tremendous response from every school. Kelly kindly met and escorted us to every school except Sabine, which was not a part of the Anchor leg of our Texas Tour.

On Friday, we drove out to Hainesville, just west of Mineola, which is hard to even locate on the map, and is definitely not a GPS location. We met with Glenda Clements, a Mineola Pilot Club member, who owns a tax and accounting service. She went over all the paper work that we need to complete to form a non-profit corporation.

Our mission will be to fund projects devoted to the well being of the brain injured community. Our focus will mainly be geared toward gait training. This will include training tools for Physical Therapists, equipment for walking, such as the gait trainer that Sean will be getting, and research for the advancement of gait improvement for the brain injured. It is a very lofty goal, but we really feel that with the response that we have received this past week, it is a reality and it there is a huge need for this type of foundation. It will be Sean’s legacy and although it will never replace the years that he now spends in his wheelchair, it gives direction and meaning to our lives.

What a gift I was given when Sean survived that crash. What a gift we all were given.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, May 2, 2009 2:58 PM CDT

Sean and I are at Higher Ground at Camp for All in Burton, Texas. This is one of the Traumatic Brain Injury Camps put on and sponsored by the Pilot Club of Texas. This particular camp is totally accessible, so Sean (and other wheelchair bound campers) have free reign here.

Since Sean is in his power chair, he is able to roam all over the grounds unattended and he totally and thoroughly enjoys his freedom. For three entire days, he only has to be at my side when he chooses to be or needs to be. He is such a social individual, and everyone here enjoys him, so he spends a while with one group and then will leave and go off and find another group.

I have spent quite a bit of time by myself down in our cabin. Normally at camp I spend my whole time mingling with others, but I have enjoyed my all alone time this weekend.

Sean and I have had a wonderful week. Our drive down to Beaumont, although occasionally rainy, was uneventful. The anchor club from Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School and two of their sponsors took us to Pappadeaux for dinner. I warned Sean when he ordered the fried soft shell crab that he ought to think twice about it. We rarely ever eat fried foods, and I was concerned that he might have a stomach ache. Sure enough, right after his shower, as I was getting him into bed, the pain hit him and he writhed and moaned on the bed for pretty much the entire night. It was not until about 4 the next morning, that the pain started to ease. Neither one of us ended up with much sleep at all, but we got up and were ready for our presentation.

The high school had invited the “feeder” middle schools. I honestly don’t know how many, but there appeared to be at least 5 to 7 hundred kids. I think we ended up spending about an hour and a quarter with them and we both felt very good about the response we received. As soon as we were finished, we headed here to Camp for All.

It was nice to arrive early Thursday afternoon. Most of the campers arrive on Friday, so it was especially nice to join the smaller group and have the chance to catch up and really visit. Sean and I were so tired that we came down to our cabin shortly after dinner. Sean had his shower and I got him to bed by 9:30. Waking up Friday, we felt so much better than we had the morning before.

When we leave here tomorrow, we will head straight up to Winnsboro to the Whispering Pines Nursing Home. Sean and I are going to be able to stay in a spare room that they have. This will be such a blessing so that I don’t have to lug our stuff in and out of hotel rooms next week. We will be speaking to several schools in East Texas next week. Hopefully the “swine flu” will not land there, and we will have an impactful week for the students in Wood County.

We will be home next weekend, and leave the following Monday for Austin to attend Sean’s TETAF meetings and will go with the other members to the Capital, Tuesday the 12th, to let our state legislature’s know how important it is to continue to fund trauma services. There are few hospitals in Texas rated, Level 1, like Parkland in Dallas. These hospitals bear the burden of serving the most critically injured and usually the most underinsured. The burden of care is a huge expense and a great loss. We need the dollars expressly identified for trauma care to continue to fund these facilities and for that money to be released for their use.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, April 26, 2009 9:23 AM CDT

Our weeks seem to get busier and busier. We started out with a bang on Monday going to a TBI Support Group at Zale Lipshy Hospital, next door to Parkland. We had been invited to attend by Chaplain Johnny Taylor. This was actually the first time that we have attended a support group of this time. The attendees were mainly survivors themselves. In the past, the few times I have attended groups, it has been for caregivers. I think it was good for us to hear of other survivors tribulations attempting to cope with life after traumatic brain injury.

We have been going to Ojeda’s Mexican Restaurant occasionally, and Monday was one of the days we were able to do that. From there we went on to UTSW for PT on the treadmill.

On Tuesday we got up really early so that we could be at Burleson High School to attend Jack Church’s presentation during their Shattered Dreams program. We met Jack via e-mail after doing our presentation at Midway H.S. outside of Waco. Jack lost his son in a single vehicle crash related to alcohol in 2000. In an unrelated incident, Jack’s other son is now serving a 30 year sentence because of a crash after he made the decision to drive after drinking. His crash ended in the death of a young mother and the injury of her sons. You can read their story at www.ArriveAlive.com.

From Burleson, we drove up to have lunch with Jane Boutte, the VP of Pate Rehab. We are going to work with her to address legislation regarding Medicare’s recognition of the long term care required for individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury.

Then we drove to Los Colinas to Media Tech. This is the vocational school of film that is working on a video production of the presentation that we did at Midway High School. We both really enjoyed our visit there and it has sparked an interest in Sean in film/movie editing.

Wednesday we had to run up to Dallas T-Shirt to pick up the ball caps that we had made with Sean’s logo on them. We also had to do a little bit of shopping to get a couple more shirts to complete Sean’s summer needs for clothing.

Thursday and Friday were not quite as busy. Saturday we got up really early and drove Downtown for this year’s “Walk Like MADD”. For the past three years, Sean has tried to create a team to walk with him, but has really had no luck. He has always exceeded his fund raising goal, and this year was no exception. This was also the first year that he had someone actually come out and walk with him. Of course, Ben, was “guilted” into being there for him. However, this year, he had someone actually come down and walk with him because they wanted to do this for Sean. Will Long is a former Army Ranger who works with Dr. McCain teaching Sean to walk again on the treadmill. Other people had told Sean they would participate with him, but they never manage to show up. Will, who has only known Sean for a few weeks, sacrificed his Saturday morning to join Sean.

Sean was also very proud to have Ali Schubach, a fellow TBI survivor, and her sister, Michelle, and their friend Rosa, join him as well. Everybody got one of Sean’s red caps, so he actually had a little team!

Sean will have therapy Monday and Tuesday. We will do our presentation to the Senior Class of Central High School in Keller on Tuesday. Wednesday we will leave on our “Texas Tour”. We will spend Wednesday driving down to Beaumont. Thursday we will speak at Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School. Afterwards we will drive to Bruton, Texas to attend Higher Ground TBI camp at Camp for All. Next Sunday we will drive from Bruton up to Winnsboro where we will stay through Friday, May 8 , so that we can speak at all of the High Schools in Wood County and Sabine High School as well.

Wow! I can hardly keep up.

Now our big concern is our truck. We have so much driving to do this month and our truck is now showing real signs of over use. I have always taken care to do scheduled maintenance, but after awhile, miles pile up. There are now creaks in the frame that were not there. I often wonder if the hit that the truck took in Austin while parked on the street, might have done damage that was not visible at the time that is becoming evident now.

We have so many miles to travel, will the truck be safe? I worry and worry, and we pray, that somehow, someway, the opportunity will arise that will allow us to buy a new one. This time I want a brand new one, that with proper care and maintenance will last many more years. I bought the truck we have now with 60,000 miles on it. I have put nearly 100,000 more miles on it.

We know that the Lord will provide!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, April 19, 2009 11:00 AM CDT

The weeks march on, and now the years do too. Sean is now more than four years out from the date of his injury. We have settled into a routine and a life that is far from routine. We travel on a wing and a prayer. Most of the time, it is the prayers that keep us moving forward.

Easter weekend came and went. Sean has had two more sessions of therapy with Dr. McCain. We are now working on getting his Pacer Gait Trainer, and just pray that it will arrive before we head out on our “Texas Tour”. This tour came about because of a presentation that we did at The Anchor Annual Convention in Austin in February. The young people of the Anchor Club connected with Sean and felt that his story needs to be shared with their classmates. That one convention has given us all of the schools from April 30 through the end of the year.

The gait trainer will be purchased from the funds we make from the “Tour”. I guess God knew we needed help with this. And that’s the way life has been for us. He has taken care of our needs.

We had the opportunity to meet our friends, Justin, Jessica and Haylee Boren for dinner Thursday evening. We met at Ojeda’s, a Mexican Restaurant that was celebrating its 40th Anniversary and our enchilada dinners were $2.25 each! Afterwards, we went to Turtle Creek and I took tons of pictures of Haylee. She just got signed with the Campbell Modeling Agency, the same Agency that used to represent Sean.

Thursday afternoon we had a meeting at Pate Rehab. They were going to give Sean a scholarship so that he could be part of their day program as our schedule would allow. Unfortunately, now that Sean is on Medicare, they are unable to help him. To prevent fraud, they are not allowed to help Sean for free! And they can’t take patients with Medicare either, so that whole idea is shot. A symbol of our “Government in Action”, that we think will improve by making it National Health Care?!?!

Wednesday evening Sean and I attended the Dallas Tea Party. It was a great evening that we shared with several thousand like-minded conservatives. The weather was good and we were able to park close. It was a great opportunity.

Saturday, Sean and I participated in a Prom Fashion Show at Valley View Mall, sponsored by Buzz Free Prom. We were so happy that Nancy Campbell, of the Campbell Agency came out to hear Sean speak. We were able to have a nice visit with her and Sean was able to briefly share his experience with young people.

This week promises to be busy as well. Monday and Tuesday we move from one appointment to another, to another.

Considering that Sean is 100 percent totally disabled, and I am his one and only caregiver, our life is good. Our life is Happy. Our life is full. And we feel that we are Making a Difference!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, April 13, 2009 9:49 PM CDT

It's Monday evening. I am excited to report that Sean and I are going to have an opportunity to speak at 13 schools in May. We are so happy! We can share our message and earn some money. What a blessing.

Our truck is getting ready to turn over 140,000 miles, and I keep trying to imagine how we could possibly afford one. I am hoping that the momentum we are gaining with schools now will continue into next year. If next year could be like this month, I know that we would be able to get one. This is one more thing that we turn over to the Lord and just trust that he will help us.

This Easter was not the Easter that Sean and I would have hoped for, but it did allow us to participate in the wonderful Easter Vigil at our church Saturday night. We had a very worshipful and Christ centered two and a half hours "walking with Christ". We had gone out to dinner earlier in the evening with Bob, and decided that the three of us need to make a routine of going out to dinner periodically. Sean enjoys going out and being in the real world.

I take him to his hand surgeon on Wednesday to see what his thoughts might be about doing something to help his fingers straighten. Sean tried to use crutches to walk with today at PT, but he has such a difficult time comfortably grasping the bar of the crutch that Dr. McCain, quickly decided that was not going to work. Today was a really good day because there were two PT students and a Rehab Tech working with Sean so Dr. McCain was really able to maximize the therapy that Sean received.

Tonight my prayer is not only for Sean but for the lives of my sons Ben and Todd as well. And I thank you Lord, for all of the gifts that we have each day.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 0:48 AM CDT

This past week was so busy for us. Sean had therapy on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday we drove down to West, Texas. We had been invited to speak at West High Schools Shattered Dreams event on Friday, April 3.

The statistics of alcohol fatalities among the teen population was very high. On top of that we heard stories of the kids hanging out at the cemetery drinking with their dead friends. This saddened both of us, and we were so grateful to have the opportunity to share Sean’s story with the students.

We were honored because the Superintendent of West ISD had actually heard us speak last summer at the Senior Class Retreat of Hillcrest High School when he was Principal there. Marty Crawford actually recommended us to the group who organized the whole Shattered Dreams program.

If any of you have a reason to spend the night in West, that hotel on I-35, in West called the Czech Inn has lovely spacious rooms . We arrived in West Thursday afternoon and actually had an opportunity to spend a couple of hours with the “living dead” kids who had been in the crash enactment.

Throughout the weekend Sean and I received e-mails from kids and adults who had attended our presentation. They all spoke of how Sean touched them with his presentation. We are praying that the message will have an impact upon the student body that will allow them to keep themselves safe.

After our presentation on Friday, we drove on down to Austin to attend The Brain Injury Association of Texas (BIATX) Annual Conference. We were actually presenters on Sunday evening and spoke on “Life After TBI”. Monday we participated in the Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council’s quarterly meeting. During the lunchtime award ceremony of the BIATX Conference, we had the opportunity to listen to a speech by Mark Zupan, the star of the movie “Murderball” who is a gold medal quad rugby paralympian.

Right after that, Sean Carter, was awarded the “Survivor of the Year” Award. Bob, and Ben had driven down to have lunch with us and see Sean receive his award. Sean had written the sweetest acceptance speech. He didn’t let me hear it, so I was totally surprised by the things that he said. He spoke of me, as his “Angel” which he says to me often, and then he talked briefly about Bob’s steadfast support of everything that I do for Sean. He wrapped it up by saying, “So this Award should really say Sean, Jenny, and Bob.” It was such a sweet thing to say and really touched Bob’s heart (as well as mine).

We drove home Monday evening and by the time we ate and I helped Sean into bed, I was so exhausted that I went straight to bed without checking e-mails. When I logged on this morning I had over 100 e-mail. Several of them were from schools inquiring whether we had any availability before school is out this year.

It seems as though Sean and I may be driving our truck a considerable amount during the next several weeks until school is out for the summer.

We had errands to do today as well as PT at UTSW, so have been gone all day long today. I apologize for not updating this on Sunday as I usually do.

Join me in congratulating "Survivor Man".

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, March 28, 2009 9:08 PM CDT

Wednesday, Sean had therapy at UTSW and got on the treadmill again. This time he “walked” with out leaning on the bars. In other words he stood totally upright. He had to have someone standing directly behind him giving him a “bear hug” around the torso to help support him, but he walked upright without hands!

Afterwards we went to Pate Rehab on Villa Creek, and he was evaluated by physical therapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists. Now we wait to hear from them to see how they might help Sean.

Friday was Sean’s fourth Survivor Day. We decided that we wanted to honor all of the medical “angels” who cared for Sean during those early days. Our plan was to go to Baylor Rehab and back to Parkland to honor the staff at both facilities.

We had decided on taking them chocolate candy, and had gone to our local Albertson’s in Casa Linda shopping center, and asked them if they would help us with our mission. They were kind enough to give us quite a bit of candy, plus a case of water. With the amount that I purchased from them, we had quite a mountain of candy.

I packed brown paper bags with candy and a note from us, and thanked them from Sean and I and on behalf of all Trauma and Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors.

Thursday, we went up to BIR and made our rounds dropping off candy. Of course, we had to do something special for Dr. Carlile. Sean considers her his “other mother”. They have a running joke about her being the “hottest” older woman he knows, so we stuck a box of hot tamales in with her candy. She thought that was so funny.

Friday morning Sean and I went to UTSW and he had his therapy with Karen McCain. She has a PT student helping her, a young man from Louisiana named Phillip. The two of them got Sean up and gave him crutches (the kind that have handrests and this thing that looks like a clamp that goes just below the elbow). It was really ungainly and Sean struggled, but Karen praised him and was really excited about their first effort doing this. She just marvels that every time she has worked with him, he has improved.

When we left therapy, we went up to Parkland and the Trauma Department actually had a Pizza Party in Sean’s honor. They even had a huge Italian Cream Cake (Sean’s favorite), that said “You are an Inspiration”. I finally got to take a picture of Dr. Haque (Hawk), the Neurosurgeon who cared for Sean during his ICU days in Parkland. Dr. Haque has one more year of residency and then he will “graduate”. It is so special to be able to thank all of the people who devote their lives to caring for and “saving” others.

Saturday, today, because of the results of Global Warming, Sean and I are going to have to bundle up for our drive up to Grayson County. It is really, really cold today. We are going to meet Sean’s Dad and Grandparent’s at Golden Corral in Sherman for lunch and then will drive over to Whitesboro to spend time with Ron and Lois, and their daughter, my friend, Sharon. Hopefully her daughter Jessica and her daughter, Haylee will be over to entertain us. It is cold and damp, but Sean and I decided that we wanted to get out for our visit.

The end of this coming week will be very busy for us. We drive down to West (kolache town) and will spend the night. Friday morning we participate in their “Shattered Dreams” program. We will then drive down to Austin for the Brain Injury Association Conference, where we will speak, on Sunday evening. I should write my next journal entry from there.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, March 21, 2009 8:38 PM CDT

1456 Days
Or 3 years, 11 months, 23 days
This also calculates to:
• 125,798,400 seconds
• 2,096,640 minutes
• 34,944 hours
• 208 weeks
This is not quite 4 years. But as of this moment, it is the number of days that Sean has needed me to care for him. It is the number of days that Sean has spent, unable to take care of his most basic needs.

In spite of it all he has been smiling for:
1408 days
Or 3 years, 10 months, 8 days
which also calculates to:
1408 days can be converted to one of these units:
• 121,651,200 seconds
• 2,027,520 minutes
• 33,792 hours
• 201 weeks (rounded down)

Sean’s Fourth Survivor Day is this Friday, March 27, 2005. We are planning on dropping in on the ER and ICU Staff to tell them “Thank you” for all that they do. From there, we will go to Baylor Rehab, and although we go there fairly frequently, we will share the same message with them.

Sean and I will take chocolates for everyone. It was something I used to do in the early days of Sean’s journey, while he was in ICU and then at Baylor Rehab. I wanted to form a connection with the staff that cared for him. I was not above bribery when it came to getting the best for my son. I no longer have to do that. Now people meet Sean and they are eager to help him.

Many of you have seen the video on Youtube of Sean on the treadmill. I used to always say that when Sean, Todd and Ben were little I never believed I would survive past Sean and Todd’s fifth birthday. Well, watching Sean on the treadmill, I had this feeling of “De Ja Vu. I believe in my heart that Sean will be able to care for himself by his fifth survivor day. I know too, that I will survive beyond this new fifth birthday.

We drove to Austin Tuesday and testified Wednesday morning for HB331 on Liquor Liability. When we left Austin, we drove up to Spicewood and then onto Burnet. We had to get a different part for Sean's RollTalk so that it is higher up. This allows him to sit taller, and straighter which has always been an issue for him. His neck was always extremely weak after his crash, and his new PT told him that he had to strengthen it if he wants to walk again. (He has now had his RollTalk mounted higher for 5 days, and I can tell that his neck muscles are already stronger.

Sean had his first evaluation with Karen McCain, PhD, the professor of Physical Therapy at UTSW, who is now working with Sean twice a week. She told me before she started working with Sean that she thought she could get him walking. After getting him on the treadmill the first time (that I videoed), she once again said that she is sure more sure that she can get him walking.

This coming Wednesday, Sean will be evaluated by a physical therapist, an occupational therapist and a speech therapist at Pate Rehab. After they finish with him they will schedule a time for him to begin Day treatment there.

We are blessed, we are blessed.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, March 15, 2009 12:17 AM CDT

Once again, we have been busy in the planning phases of our presentations and with Sean’s therapy planning.

Sean has an evaluation scheduled with Karen McCain on Monday, March 16, at UTSW. She will only see him twice a week, for an hour at a time, but she will give him exercises to work on at home. She will also be able to analyze what he is doing now that is hindering his progress.

Tuesday we will drive down to Austin and testify Wednesday morning before a House Committee for Liquor Liability. This issue is very near and dear to our hearts. If such a law had been in place, and we could have proved that the bars who over served Sean and the driver, he might have received some compensation to help him with his life now.

I received a letter regarding Stem Cell Research from a physican/professor at Harvard University that I want to share:

“Hello, Ms. Carter--

Please forgive my delay in responding. It has taken me a while to catch up with email correspondence.

I would like to help. Frankly, however, I don't think I really can, at least not in a "real" way, beyond advice.
While it is certainly my life and career goal (and that of others in the field) to bring to bear these kinds of brain repair approaches to neurological disease more broadly than we are now, we are not there yet. I am sorry to say that I believe there are no reputable thoughts for clinical applications of our field’s very basic findings that would be of use to your son's situation in the immediately foreseeable future. There is nothing I would like to do more than to have something available for your son, but we as a field are just beginning on that scientific journey, and most of the relevant work is in mice.
We are doing VERY basic laboratory research now, FAR, FAR from clinical application-- years to decades away, depending on the complexity of the disease and brain circuitry that is affected. We are working hard, and we keep patients centrally in mind, but we feel it is most important to get it right with hard, basic laboratory work BEFORE plunging into the clinical arena. We are just at the beginning of a long road of research toward these goals. Although I hope and believe that we as a field can eventually bring therapy to some patients with such neural injury and some specific forms of TBI, I am sorry to say that I believe there is no such cell therapy work that is truly applicable to your son's situation in the foreseeable future-- change will come over years to decades, not months or a few years, in my estimation. When many of us in the field consider the applications within "sight", they are much simpler-- diseases in which a single type of neurons has died or been injured, or in which a single type of circuit could add substantial function, such as in spinal cord injury, ALS, Parkinson's Disease, maybe focal demyelination of specific types, or certain genetic and metabolic/enzyme disorders. Even for these "simpler" situations, almost nothing reputable is ready now. Time and research will make the difference.
I would strongly recommend being seen at a top-level university neurology center. I would strongly advise connecting with one of the nationally-based networks, and going to the most experienced one that is convenient. There, TBI clinicians and researchers should be able to give you some more information-- advances with assisted communication strategies, educational supports, etc.. There is creative work on motor enhancements, assisted devices, and more.
I wish I could say something else. I can guarantee you that we work 7 days/week to change what I've said-- to understand what is going wrong, and to speed the time to rational therapies. We are very resource limited for the most "venturesome" elements of our research, but we move along with NIH funding, e.g., to build the stepwise advances. The replacement of a certain circuit neuron type is not yet possible in humans. We have had success in mice, but it will take years to make the transition.
I feel that it might be important to add a cautionary note: Though there are some rationally based clinical trials out there, depending on the specifics of the disorder, there are also charlatan's out there, offering "stem cell" and "growth factor" therapies, often for many tens of thousands of dollars, but, not only is there no evidence (what you could call a "long-shot", but "what the heck, let's try"), but there is actually no rational basis (so it is or is at least closer to fraud). In fact, usually, they are actually misleading, and the cells they use are "not real", not stem cells at all; just blood cells, etc.. There was a recently published case of an unfortunate Israeli child who received "stem cells" in Russia and developed multiple brain and spinal cord tumors. I know I don't know you and your family, so this is none of my business, but you asked, so this is my advice.
I am sorry that we have no more to offer right now. I wish the very best for Sean, for you, and your family.
Yours Sincerely,
Jeffrey”
*********************************************************
Jeffrey D. Macklis, M.D., D.HST

Professor, Neuroscience, Neurology and Neurosurgery
Harvard Medical School

Professor, Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology
Harvard University

Program Head, Neuroscience/Nervous System Diseases,
Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University

Director, MGH-HMS Center for Nervous System Repair
Edwards-Thier (Wellman) 4
Massachusetts General Hospital EDR 410
50 Blossom Street
Boston, MA 02114

I felt that I needed to share this information with you in case you knew of anyone wishing to pursue stem cell overseas. Sean and I have looked into that as well, but never got a good feeling about it, so I never did anything to try to make it happen.

There comes a time when you have to accept that there is no "Magic Bullet". You just have to keep living your life, with persistance, and optimism and LOVE! Belief keeps us going, prayer keeps us knowing. Sean Will Walk and Sean Will Talk!

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 9:43 PM CDT

“What a difference a day makes!” Sounds like a song I once heard. Not only that it “feels” like the way life is right now.

Sean and I have been thinking about the decision to go to TIRR in Houston a lot. About two weeks ago we went to UTSW to visit one of the faculty members of the PT department. Karen McCain specializes in the Central Neural System and teaches students of PT how to use the “Lite Gait” and other devices to help patients with their gait. She told Sean that there was no magic in his learning to walk again. She told Sean, “If you want to walk, you have to walk”. What a very profound statement. And after four years, Sean is ready for this message. She also told Sean that there was no real magic to it. He just had to do it.

We were all set to have Sean be admitted in Houston today, but the hospital admissions office called us Saturday and said that Dr. Ivanhoe’s census was too high, so she would not be able to care for him yet, so his admission date was postponed. Was this God’s intervention to tell Sean that there was something else he was supposed to do?

So we have been mulling this over. And then Sean decided to see if it might be possible to get Pate Rehab at the Villa Creek location to help him. We did a presentation for the clients and staff there on Monday, and this morning we went over there again to meet with one of the administrators.

She told Sean that she was certain that they would be able to help him, so TIRR is out. No more travel for us, except for presentations. Sean will be able to do Rehab, AND, we will be able to do our presentations. Had Sean been admitted as an inpatient under Medicare, he would basically have been “incarcerated” (well, he would not be able to come and go if we did have an opportunity to do presentations.)

He is also going to work with Karen McCain at UT Southwestern two days a week. She feels that she can give him the final jump start he needs to be walking again!!!

And then, yesterday afternoon when I was walking Sean to his NuStep, he didn’t put his hands on my shoulders. I held him lightly under his arms, and we WALKED 8 STEPS!!!! Today we have tried it again 5 different times. It feels as though we have the message, and Sean’s brain is getting the message.

So our new prayer is, “If you want to walk, you just have to walk”!

We are so excited and so thankful to everyone. Sometimes it takes things to go wrong, for them to go right!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, March 8, 2009 6:56 AM CDT

It was another busy week for us. We had to reschedule an appointment to speak at Pate Rehabilitation's Villa Creek location here in Dallas, to this coming week because we had to take Sean's wheelchair in for repair.

Tuesday, we drove down to Austin. (Why did I think these trips were over?) We had to be at the Capital for a Senate meeting of the Transportation and Homeland Security Committee. Sean and I testified on behalf of SB 298, Sobriety Checkpoints.

When you testify, you have only about 2 minutes to make your point, therefore, it was important to me to have the Senators understand who Sean is as a person. I told them briefly about what happened to Sean and also told them that we were not trying to "tug at their heart strings".

Sean came up and laid out the reasons he felt that the bill should be voted out of committee. His reasons were well thought out and Sean addressed the issues of the bill and backed them up with specific Court Cases. Of course, I was extremely proud of him.

Because of additional testimony, the Senators decided to work on the language of the bill, so they will vote upon it at another time.

There were several reporters at the hearing, and one from the Associated Press wrote a story that appeared in papers throughout the State. I googled "Sean Carter Sobriety Checkpoints" and found an entire page (and more)of citings of papers containing the story.

The publicity also brought out the Civil Libertarians and the Totalitarians. These individuals (now this is a generalization) seem to be very mean spirited and hate filled. Rather than attempting to change legislation or impact legislation by appearing and testifying, they seem to like to stay in the background and complain.

One of them managed to find this website and chose to leave a very venomous message in our guestbook. When Sean first read it, he was extremely hurt, and of course my "Mother Instinct" kicked in and I deleted the entry. Now I wish that I would have left it there because it would have been just another record of history in our lives. So gobacktorussia@totalitarians.net if you want to repost, I will leave your hate-filled message here.

We got home Wednesday afternoon and I got our clothes washed and repacked for our drive down to Waco on Thursday. We drove straight to Midway High School and met Susan Vick, the P.T.A. parent who had arranged our speaking engagements. We also met Dale Kent, one of the principals, who escorted us to the theater so that we could familiarize ourselves and address any A/V needs we might have.

When we left, we checked into our hotel for the evening, and I ordered Chinese delivery for our dinner. One of Sean's "Anchor" friends who attends Baylor U., Haley Pfaff, came to visit Thursday evening.

Friday we went to Midway High School and did a presentation for each grade level, 9th through 12th. The positive response from these kids was overwhelming. It left us with the feeling that at least for "a moment" they would be thinking and talking about the Consequences of their choices and that might affect their decisions.

Cousin Gary, came and sat through two of our performances and shared lunch with us. It has been a while since we had an opportunity to see him, so Sean and I enjoyed the time he took to be with us.

Saturday, Sean and I drove up to Denison for a visit with his Nanny, PaPaw, Aunt Linda, and his Dad, Danny. Sean and I enjoyed our visit, and because we actually went to Nanny and Papaw's house, rather than just meet in a restaurant, we felt like we actually had more of a visit.

We thought that Sean was going to be admitted to TIRR in Houston on Tuesday, but this has been postponed because the doctor's census was too high to add another patient. Sean and I are beginning to wonder if God is giving us an opportunity to rethink this next step. We are going to make every effort to "hear" his voice and lay out the next step.

I have been sitting here in the dark of the changed time, wondering why we Americans subject ourselves to "Spring forward and Fall back". My old body doesn't like this and it will take me a few weeks to adjust. Why don't we just leave time alone?

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, March 1, 2009 4:26 PM CST

Sean and I just arrived home after being gone since Tuesday. What a great week it has been.

Tuesday, we left home and drove straight down to Spicewood. Sean had accidently pinched off the end of the cord that connects his RollTalk to the battery charger on his wheelchair, so we had to go to Commation to have it repaired. We got there, the piece was repaired and we immediately loaded back up and drove on to the Omni Hotel where the TETAF meetings were being held.

The first official meeting of the Mentorship Advisory Committee, which Sean is a member of, met on Tuesday evening. I am so very thankful to Jorie Klein, the Director of Trauma Services and Disaster Management of Parkland Hospital, who recognized Sean’s potential and asked him to participate on this committee. It is comprised of very distinguished physicians and nurses, and my Beautiful Boy.

President Obama’s grandiose plans could radically changed the face of medicine in the United States and Sean is in a position to help Texas shape the way EMS, Trauma and Acute Care Services are delivered. I pray that the Committee’s voices will be heard.

When the meetings were over, Sean and I drove over to our Days Inn and checked in. Wednesday, we had to go back to Spicewood to have another part of Sean’s chair repaired. We met a friend, Bettie Beckworth, the Director of the Office of Acquired Brain Injury, at Central Market and ate dinner outside enjoying the beautiful February evening.

Thursday, Sean and I went to the Capital and called on the members of the House Public Safety Committee who will be determining whether or not the Sobriety Checkpoint Bill, HB 169, is sent on to the House for vote.

Friday we packed up and left the Days Inn and drove to North Austin to the Radisson, where the Anchor Club State Convention was being held. We had a few hours before we could check in so we went to Highland Mall, right by the Hotel and went in and wandered for a while and had lunch. We ran into some friends who were also going to the Convention. Sean got to go roaming the mall with the guys, James and Caleb, and I went walking around with Joanna Horton while she shopped for a new purse.

The Convention was attended by about 300 young people from the ages of 12-18, as well as some of their Pilot Club sponsors. I cried often from the emotions of realizing that these wonderful young people were involved in the mission of raising money and serving the brain injured community. Many of them had only heard the word, TBI, but they knew that providing scholarship money for survivors to attend the TBI camps, was a worthy mission.

Sean and I had the privilege of sharing our presentation with them. Of course, Sean added a few fans to his “Army of Angels”. Saturday afternoon he again got to go over to the mall with a group of young people, and I escaped to our hotel room to relax for a couple of hours.

Saturday night, Rebecca Robinson, Miss Texas, was the keynote speaker and Sean and Rebecca spent a little bit of time together. Later, she sang a couple of songs, and then my tears really spilled over. I don’t think that I have ever seen Sean look so surprised, when she began singing directly to him and spoke his name as she was singing. If you could have just seen the smile on his face at that moment, you would have known what the word “radiant” means.

Do you know how people say that someone is “beautiful on the inside and outside”? Well, Rebecca really seemed to be that kind of person, not because she took time to spend with him, but I watched her as she interacted with the young people. She found something to compliment and comment on to even the most awkward, and timid child. She was interested in each of them and laughed and kidded and hugged (when asked or offered) all of them.

After dinner, there was a dance. I again snuck back upstairs and let Sean mingle for a little while before he came up to bed.

This next week is also going to be a busy one. Sean and I are speaking at Pate Rehab’s Villa Creek location on Monday. Tuesday we drive down to Austin so that we can be at the Capital at 8 a.m. to testify before the Senate Transportation Committee who will be having a first hearing on the Senate Sobriety Checkpoint bill. We will drive home right after that, and then Thursday we drive down to Waco to spend the night. We have four presentations at Midway High School on Friday.

Hopefully, we will hear something this week from Dr. Ivanhoe’s office about a date to admit Sean to TIRR in Houston.

Life with Sean’s Brain Injury continues on. I honestly would never have believed that we would be involved with the things that we are. We are truly blessed!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, February 22, 2009 10:46 AM CST

Sean and I will be leaving for Austin Tuesday morning. Tuesday evening we will attend the Texas EMS, Trauma and Acute Care Foundation’s (TETAF) quarterly meetings. Wednesday and Thursday we may take advantage of the opportunity of being in Austin and go to the Capital again to advocate for our bills, Sobriety Checkpoints and Ignition Interlock Devices. Friday we will have a “free” day to mess around Austin, and that evening we will check into another hotel. Sean and I are doing a presentation at the State Convention for the Anchor Club of Texas.

I wanted to share information about the Anchor Clubs: “Membership in an Anchor Club allows young people to make a dynamic difference in their world through volunteer service…and have FUN while helping others. Anchors learn valuable skills that prepare them to be good citizens for the rest of their lives. They have opportunities to lead and organize service projects and play active roles in club programs. Often they work side by side with their sponsoring Pilot Clubs to promote awareness and provide hands on service to people with Brain-Related Disorders.”

This presentation was booked over a year ago. We are so proud and honored that Sean was asked to speak at their convention. We will be staying at their hotel Friday and Saturday nights and then will drive home Sunday.
Sean has been making progress with getting his shorts on in the mornings and one morning I was so surprised because when I went into his room, he was actually sitting up on the edge of the bed!!!! People, who have been reading this journal all along, realize the enormity of this effort. Most people would not see this as meaning very much, but every single thing whether it be new movement or action, is a building block for the next one.

Last night Sean was eating dinner. I can’t even remember now what he was eating, but he was having a difficult time getting it to stay on his spoon to get it into his mouth. I was kind of kidding around with him and I walked over and turned his wrist back and forth. It moved so easily and I told him that if he would practice that movement while he was moving his spoon or fork up to his mouth his food would probably get into his mouth instead of his lap. Do you know, just like that, the bulb went off and he was able to get his food into his mouth more easily?

Wow! What a concept! This morning when I got Sean out of bed we were laughing and kidding around. If he could just “remember” how to walk that easily, he would have it made. I kept telling him to “pretend” that he could walk, maybe he just could. Well, it didn’t work, but that’s ok. We will keep laughing and kidding and teasing each other and one of these days it will happen. Sean WILL Walk and then he WILL Talk.

Thursday Sean and I drove up to Sherman and met Nanny, PaPaw and Danny (Dad) for lunch. PaPaw was always so good to drive down to BIR and then our home to visit Sean in
the past. It is now far more difficult for him to want to drive in Dallas traffic, so it is my turn to take Sean to visit them. The next time we go up there, Sean and I want to just take lunch with us and visit them at their home in Denison so that we can actually sit and visit for a few hours.

The restaurant we ate at did not have bathroom facilities that Sean could use, so he rolled and I walked to Hastings Video and Books so that I could get him into the restroom before the drive home. Sean found a book that he had been wanting to read, so finding a half priced one, we bought it, and ….another first (since the crash), Sean is reading!!!

Sean had been unable to read in the past because he could not get his eyes to focus together. Now he is able to read, and he has been. When he goes to bed at night, he reads a couple of pages, then when he wakes up in the morning he reads a couple more. I am so happy for him. His brain is continuing to heal and he continues to grow into restoration.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, February 14, 2009 9:10 AM CST

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. After the warmth of the past couple of weeks, this weekend is going to be cold (for us Texans). Bob left early this morning for Austin. He is running a marathon there on Sunday. Todd called last night and told me that it was really crazy that we had spent a whole year in Austin and now that Bob was running down there, we were here in Dallas.

It is hard to believe that our weekly trips to Austin have actually ended. We look now toward Houston. Dr. Ivanhoe’s office sent us a prescription to get a head CT on Sean. Once she receives the results, she will initiate his admission into TIRR (The Institute of Rehabilitation and Research). Sean says that he will be okay alone for the 3 to 3 and a half weeks that he will be an inpatient there. Of course, I am not so sure of that. If there were a way for me to stay down there close by, I would do that. I just don’t think I am up for a weekly drive down. The problem with his being an inpatient in a hospital is that not much goes on over the weekend, and I hate to think of him being alone with no visitors. This is something that I will have to pray hard about.

Sean and I are getting many inquiries about the possibility of speaking between now and the end of this school year. At this time, our life is hinged upon that admission date, so we are somewhat in limbo. We may schedule with the understanding that things may change for us over night.

We drove down to Austin on Monday and then on Tuesday called on several legislators at the Capital. It was a really rewarding day. From what we were told by their staff, it means a lot to them to have constituents make the effort to share their feelings about pending legislation with them. I wish we lived closer to Washington D.C., because Sean and I certainly would have made the effort to call on the House and the Senate to give them our opinion of the Stimulus Package.

Yesterday evening, Sean decided to work on his “walking”. He stood his chair up, had me lift the footplate so that he was actually standing on the floor. He had me strap his chest to the chair, and raise the armrests and then he “marched” in place. When he has done this previously, he always had his armrests down so he would use his arms to support himself. He is determined to figure out a way to strengthen his trunk, and this seems like a good way for him to do just that.

The neurosurgeon’s visit that had been scheduled for last Thursday was rescheduled for Monday because the doctor was in surgery that day. I don’t feel that anything much will come of that meeting, but it is something that we have to do for Sean’s piece of mind. He just feels that it is necessary to leave “no stone unturned”.

I think this will be a quiet weekend, but that will be okay. We are looking forward to starting back to our church tomorrow afternoon. We have gone very sporadically in the past year because of our weekly Austin trips.

Thank you for caring,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, February 8, 2009 8:27 AM CST

One busy week has ended and another begins. I wish that I could tell myself that we now know definitively which path to take to further restore Sean. Unfortunately, as we have to accept, there is no “magic bullet” that will just “fix” things. This road goes on forever. But, do you know what? Acceptance does not mean that you do nothing. It just means that Sean has to continue to work hard and make gains as he can. Even the tiniest gains continue to pile up and Sean is so much farther along than he was now, nearly four years ago.

Sean and I drove down to Sarah’s in Spring, Texas, Monday. He had an appointment Tuesday with Cindy Ivanhoe, MD. She told us that she could admit Sean to TIRR, an acute care hospital in Houston to focus on some of his spasticity issues. From there he would go to a post acute rehab for an inpatient stay to continue to work on his independence. That led us to drive over to Mentis, a brand new transitional Rehab in Houston, not far from the Astrodome.

Wednesday morning we got up and drove down to Galveston to visit with Kurt Mossberg, a professor of Physical Therapy at UTMB. He is doing a research study for the National Institute of Health, on exercise and traumatic brain injury. He feels that Sean could benefit by being a participant in his study, however, the facility that he uses is not yet rebuilt after last year’s devastating Hurricane Ike.

Dr. Mossberg had arranged to have us speak to one of the Physical Therapy classes, so we gave them an abbreviated version of our speech. It gave us an opportunity to show these young people a real example what life is like for the brain injured and family.

The irony in my tracking down these two “movement disorder” specialists is that they are meeting on Monday, February 9, to determine if they can work something out so that Dr. Mossberg can continue his studies in the Houston area. Now Sean has seen both of them, so perhaps there will be a way for them to work with him to accelerate his quest for restoration and independence.

Saturday we attended Baylor Rehab’s Friends of Hope Day Camp at our church, Northway Christian. I was designated “official photographer” because of the original photog’s illness, so that kept me so busy that I did not have as much time to visit. For the first time, the “Mom’s and Dad’s” got together for a support group session. Sean and I are now “old timers” in the club that no one chooses to join. It was good to be able to share experiences with others in similar situations.

Since this was our home church, Sean spoke to the group to share his experiences/challenges/victories over the past year. I was so proud of my son. He had been working on his speech for a several days, and it was so full of his personality. It made people laugh and it made some cry, but it was so encouraging and uplifting.

Sunday afternoon we will speak to the Young Men’s Service League of Plano. There may be a couple of people from Coppell High School attend. They are interested in having us present at their high school in the future.

Monday, Sean and I will drive down to Austin. Tuesday we will go to the Capital to encourage legislator’s to vote for the Sobriety Checkpoint and Ignition Interlock for all DWI offender bills. Tuesday evening, while in Wimberley, I will load up everything that we had taken to Joanne’s and Wednesday morning we will head out, go to an appointment with a CRS/DARS counselor to see if there is additional funding that Sean may be eligible for to continue a course of treatment. Then we will head home to Dallas.

Please pray that additional opportunities will open up for Sean’s continued “Restoration Quest”.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, January 30, 2009 9:47 PM CST

Sometimes Sean and I just know that God is orchestrating our lives. This week has been one of those times. Sean had an appointment January 20, with Dr. Diaz-Arristia, his Neurologist. We talked at length with him about Sean’s future treatment. Sean is still convinced that Deep Brain Stimulation interests him. Dr. Diaz-Arristia told him that he would refer him to a neurosurgeon here at UTSW who has probably performed more of these procedures than any other doc in Texas.

In my mind it would take weeks to see him, but Dr. Whitworth’s office called this week and Sean’s appointment is scheduled February 12. Then we had a letter from CRS that we were to meet with them February 11, in Austin to see if there are any funding opportunities for additional therapy. This led us on a search for a possible Rehab facility that might further Sean’s desire to walk and talk and become more independent.

In the meantime, we had an appointment with Dr. Cindy Ivanhoe, a movement disorder specialist in Houston, scheduled for March 19. I called Monday to see if there was any possibility that the appointment could be moved up. Surprisingly they managed to get Sean booked for Tuesday, February 3rd. He has an appointment with Dr. Thomas at Baylor Rehab to have his pump refilled Monday, February 2nd. I called my dear friend Sarah, who lives in Spring to see if we could stay with her and then go to the Houston appointment. Once that was settled, I contacted Dr. Kurt Mossberg, a Professor of Physical Therapy at UTMB-Galveston. He wants us to visit with him Wednesday, February 4. PT students are with him that afternoon and he asked Sean and I to speak to them.

So, Thursday, we drove from Austin down to San Marcos to ResCare, a residential post acute care rehab, similar to Pate, to tour that facility. The program there seems wonderful. It really focuses on teaching the patient with TBI to become more independent; however, it does not have the therapy staff and plan to really focus on Sean’s goal of walking again. We spent an extra night in Wimberley and drove up to Core Rehab in Dripping Springs to tour that facility. This gave us the opportunity to see another Rehab Center. We left there about 3:30 this afternoon, making our return home seem longer than usual.

We are looking forward, now to Monday to continue our quest.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, January 24, 2009 9:37 AM CST

Sometimes it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees? Or is it the other way around? Sometimes, as Sean’s mother, embroiled in his day to day care, it is easy for me to miss just how lucky we are. Twice this past week, I have had contact from other mothers who have sons living with brain injury. Both young men are walking and talking, but they suffer from rather severe bouts of anger/aggression/frustration. Beneath this behavior must be additional feelings of depression.

Sean has not totally escaped these feelings, but they are so seldom evident that they are almost non-existent. After these “storms of emotion” occur, I can always see the reason that it has happened. Sean cannot talk and that inability to communicate quickly is usually the root of his issues. That and fatigue can really cause Sean to “blow up.”

There are times that I wonder if there isn’t some blessing in his inability to walk and talk versus the emotional and cognitive issues that other brain injury folks live with. Perhaps this is one of my coping mechanisms; looking for that “silver lining” in every cloud. To me it doesn’t matter the reason. I only know that there are times when my life is extremely, physically, demanding, but otherwise it is such a blessing. I have next to no time to myself, but I have a son who Is reaching out to others to help them understand that you can overcome life’s obstacles and tragedies, if you only believe.

We spoke to two different groups of high school students at the Frisco ISD yesterday. One group was those kids who had “gotten into trouble” somehow and had to finish school in a somewhat “isolated” environment. The other was kids who just didn’t work well in a normal high school environment, who were making the effort to finish their education.

I had to get up at 4:30 a.m., and then get Sean up at 5:30, in order to be in Frisco (less than an hours drive away) by 9 a.m. It is a sacrifice that we value. Sean and I talk to young people about alcohol awareness, but it is becoming more and more evident that Sean touches people with his courage and humor and provides them with the spark of belief that they too can deal with their problems that seem so insurmountable at times. When we leave groups, such as those today we are so humbled, yet encouraged, that we are making a difference by what we are doing.

We ate lunch in the truck on our way to Downtown Dallas to work with BuzzFreeProm . They are filming a video that Sean and I will both appear in. The staff was wonderful, and their mission so admirable. Sean and I were proud to be offered an opportunity to participate. You can visit their website at www.buzzfreeprom.com .

Sean and I got home Friday evening, exhausted, but happy with our day’s activities. Today is supposed to be a “cold” day for Texas. The high won’t be out of the low 40’s. Ok, our North Dakota/Minnesota relatives, this is a heat wave to you, but for us that is cold. The two of us will stay home. Sean will ride his NuStep, and I will putz around the apartment. We will “chillax” and get ready for another trip to Austin on Monday.

And so our life goes on…

Thank you for caring,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 1:09 PM CST

It seems as though I open each week’s Journal Entry with an apology for not updating regularly. Here I go again! We stayed in Wimberley this weekend and returned home yesterday evening. By the time I unpacked the truck and got all of Sean’s equipment out of the truck, and moved it into our apartment, we ate dinner I was wiped out and didn’t make the opportunity to write.

Now I sit here this morning, watching the Inauguration of President Barrack Obama, I am trying to remember our past week. There is a lot to share. We have been contacted by two different groups to be in video’s. Sean has been invited to appear in a video that will be made for every trauma hospital in the state of Texas. He has been recognized as a Trauma “champion”. We have also been asked to appear in a video for “BuzzFreeProm”, which as it’s name indicates is an organization striving to change the activities of Prom Night and encourages kids to indulge in sobriety so that they will remember Prom Night with happiness rather than sadness over the loss of life or injury to a friend or classmate.

We have been contacted by West Middle School in West, and Rockwall Heath High School about speaking in April. Unfortunately, I had to respond that we cannot definitely schedule at this time, because Sean may be temporarily entering an inpatient program to further increase his “abilities” to rejoin life!

Friday, Sean and I attended the quarterly TBIAC meeting at the Department of Health Services in Austin. Saturday, we drove out to Gruene and had lunch at the Gristmill Café. Our house host, Joanne, went with us and when we returned to Wimberely, she drug me out to “walk” her neighborhood in the hill country. All I can say is, it is really, really hilly and I am really, really, out of shape. Sean sped along in front of us, and I think that he really enjoyed the wind blowing on his face. It was wonderful walking out there, watching the deer nibble the golf course greens, and enjoying the rather cloudy, afternoon.

Sunday morning, Sean and I joined the United Methodist Church in Wimberley to celebrate the day before Martin Luther King Day. On Monday, I packed us up and took Sean to St. David’s for his therapy and afterwards we loaded up for the trip home. I felt that I was racing sundown, which unfortunately, this time of year, won out. Even though there seemed to be higher than normal traffic on Interstate 35, we made it from the parking garage at St. David’s into the parking garage at home in a record 3 hours and 5 minutes.

Sean has now ridden his NuStep for today and is in the shower, (which he can now do mostly by himself), getting ready for his appointment with Dr. Diaz-Arristia at UTSW. Sean has prepared an impassioned speech asking him about deep brain stimulation again.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, January 11, 2009 11:18 AM CST

Happy Birthday Sean. Happy Birthday Todd. Sunday, January 11, 2009, is the 26th birthday of my twins. What a blessing these beautiful boys have been. I don’t often write about Ben or Todd, and that is because everyone deserves their privacy. Sean’s life, because of his tragedy, has been an open book for the past (nearly) four years. But his story is no longer worth sharing for his tragedy, it is worth sharing for each victory that he achieves.

Sean and I know that the “professionals” do not always think that he will actually walk and talk again. We do not believe we live with false hope. Sean has made continual progress since he “emerged” from his coma. His steps are often immeasurable, but they have continued to pile up like snowflakes against the edge of a telephone pole. Soon they are a wall of snow that towers over the road. For those of you in the north, you know exactly what I mean. Sean’s progress has been so slow, that if he allowed the heat of disbelief to enter his soul, the flakes would soon melt and be a puddle in the street of life.

Sean’s “snowflakes” are solidifying. He IS getting stronger. He IS regaining movement. He IS beginning to be able to do more for himself. Yesterday morning, he lay in his bed and worked and worked and rolled and wiggled, and finally (I took a shower while he was struggling), he was sitting in bed with his pants on, buttoned and zipped! He had been practicing putting pajama pants on and taking them off, while in therapy. Yesterday, he did it for real, and was dressed in his shorts, ready to ride his NuStep.

Last night when I got him into bed, I placed clean underwear, shorts and a pair of socks on his bedside table along with his reacher (a device that has a pincher on one end and a trigger like grip on the other that extends his “reach” a couple of feet). He told me to put his socks there as well. He wrote to me on his blackberry “You never know. I might be able to get my socks on.” That’s right, my son, you never know. But if you don’t believe and then make the effort you never will.

Each night when Sean is in bed, I get down on my knees beside him and we pray. We always start our prayers with, “Heavenly Father we thank you for the day that we shared.” Then we ask for guidance to recognize the path that he wants us to follow in our pursuit of Sean’s restoration. He has led us to the path we have been on, and he seems to be pointing us to the eastern shores of Texas now.

This past week, I have made some inquiries to movement specialists. Cindy Ivanhoe, MD, is the Medical Director of Mentis, a post acute rehab (like Pate in Anna), located in the Houston area. She also treats patients at TIRR, similar to Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation, and affiliated with Baylor University, Rice University and UTMB. The other specialist is Kurt Mossberg, PhD, LPT, who works out of The Transitional Learning Center in Galveston and is a member of the faculty for UTMB-Galveston. Both of these individuals specialize in movement disorders. Both of them are interested in meeting with Sean to determine if they can help him continue to progress. Sean and I are planning on a Houston/Galveston visit sometime toward the end of February, with hopes for his admittance to one of their programs.

We spoke to the Junior and Senior Class of Ranchview High School in Irving on Friday. I don’t know what happened, but we had horrible problems with our videos, but the attention of the kids, was almost palpable. Afterwards we were stopped by many of them who thanked us for the time that we shared with them. That is always so heartwarming.

My son is a “Giant”. Even though he is not yet walking or talking, his footprints are “seen” and his “voice” is heard. There is wisdom in his silence, and courage in his “stride”. And his way is lit by the smile on his face!

Thank you for continuing to follow our story.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, January 4, 2009 10:22 AM CST

Our 2009 begins tomorrow. Sean and I have been rather dormant for the past two weeks and it has been wonderful. He has gotten up each day, eaten breakfast, and ridden his NuStep. Somehow it was always 1 or 2 o’clock by the time he finished. We would then eat lunch and before I could turn around it was time for me to start dinner. I would sometimes run out to the grocery store while he was riding, but that was about all that I accomplished.

When we head out for Austin, Monday morning, our January will really begin. Of course we have his therapy. Tuesday night Joanne, our house host is having a mutual acquaintance and his wife for dinner. Friday morning, January 9th, WhenSeanSpeaks will have a presentation at Ranchview High School in Irving. January 16th is the quarterly Texas Brain Injury Advisory Council (TBIAC). Sometime during the next two weeks, Sean and I are going to call on legislator’s at the Capital. I don’t know exactly when that will be because his therapy day is really packed. January 23rd, WhenSeanSpeaks will be in Frisco.

If we get approval from Ranchview High School, a videographer from Stone Core Films is going to shoot footage of our presentation and create a video piece for our website and for our use so that we will have something to use for marketing purposes. We are honored to have had this arranged by Nancy Campbell of The Campbell Agency, Sean’s former modeling agency, as well as the President of Stone Core, Norry Niven. We are so honored that he has agreed to donate his services to us.

This past Friday night, Sean and I went over to some friends of ours, Helen and Tim Robinson, and enjoyed dinner and a movie. We watched “Facing the Giants”, a very uplifting film. When we got home, Sean wrote to me: “The movie made me realize I may not be talking and walking yet, but if I always give thanks to God for what I do have that will come. I have my mind, which hardly no TBI has, I have great health, and most of all I have you. You are literally and figuratively my everything! I love you beyond the moon and back!

I know we have our moments at times, but I would like to crawl in a hole and die when I lose it on you. I can never explain to you how horrible I feel after it passes! It always passes though, thankfully, and I love you. I never stop loving you. I just get angry, but I NEVER EVER stop loving you!”

Sean and Todd will be 26 on January 11. I would have never believed that I was delivering one of them into the life he now leads and has lead for the past four years. I would also never have believed that I would be able to walk beside him on his journey. God has been good to us. As hard as our life may seem to others, it is so often filled with laughter. I cannot imagine living the past four years any other way. Sean could have been living in a facility somewhere. My life would have been easier. His world would have narrowed. Instead, we travel this road of life after brain injury together. We feed off of the happiness of each other. We enjoy our experiences together. We strive to leave this world a better place. We hope that we can influence others to never, ever, give up on themselves or their dreams.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, December 31, 2008 5:42 PM CST

Another New Year. I just read through my New Year's Eve journal entries to Sean from our previous years since March 27, 2005. So what has changed in the past year of this last day 2008?

Sean can now use his walker and can walk about 21 steps without resting. He has to have the help of someone’s hand on the back of his gait belt for a little added stability balancing. He can now take off his shirt, shoes and socks before his shower and today he even did his whole shower by himself! I only had to wash and rinse his hair and then he took over. I thought he would just be able to soap himself, but he managed to reach behind his back and turn the water on and then hold the shower wand to rinse off!

We have not really had time to work for Mobility Medical since we started spending our weeks in Austin beginning in February of this year. Right now, we aren't sure when these trips will end. But Sean has gained so much from these visits. He feels that his mental processing time has improved, and I know that even though he has an occasional outburst of frustration, he is managing that much better.

We have also begun speaking to groups about the dangers of alcohol and driving. We also talk about the consequences of choices. We now have presentations booked into March of 2009.

Sean no longer has private insurance. He has to rely on Medicare which only pays 80 percent of his medical needs. I, of course, have no insurance at all. The good thing about it is that we are both healthy. We rarely get sick at all. In fact, I think Sean has only had one cold since his crash. If I have had one, I don’t really remember it. I can only remember being really sick twice since the beginning of all of this.

Sean will never settle for where he is, but at least we have a life. He has had a girl walk into his life as more than a friend and he has had her walk out. But he survived a nearly broken heart and is still smiling.

In fact, that is what has always sustained me. Those smiles on my beautiful boy’s face, are heart lifting. We are now ready to face another year. We both know that it will bring us more good things. We both know that it is God that holds us up and helps us through.

We also have something else to look forward to in the New Year. Todd will be a Daddy again. So Sean will have another niece or nephew and I will have another grandchild!! What a blessing! In fact, Sean and I both feel as though we have been extremely blessed this year!

I hope that you will take a moment and be thankful for your 2008.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, December 24, 2008 9:16 PM CST

It is now Christmas Eve. After much discussion, we have decided that the goal that Sean kept having to change, has now been reached. Although he is using a walker, he does now ambulate with it nearly on his own. It isn't a pretty walk, and it takes a tremendous amount of effort, but remember, this is the same young man who could for so long move only the index finger of his left hand and his head from side to side.

I have so many things to be thankful for this year. The kindness of friends, family and sometimes strangers made it possible for Sean and I to continue to pursue his goal of one day walking and talking again. There were times that I was unsure of how all of our needs would be met, and then something would happen, and suddenly another fear was lifted. There were times when I would be overcome with sadness for what happened to my "Beautiful Boy" and then I would be reminded how lucky I am that he still moves upon this earth and he is still with me.

My sons and I are also truly blessed to have Bob in our family. He is really the Angel that walks beside us each day. He maks it possible for me to care for Sean.

Our "Angel" went to the store today and picked out a pair of huge T-bone steaks, potatoes and green beans, and brought them home and cooked Christmas Eve dinner for the three of us. Bob and I have decided that would be our new Christams Eve dinner tradition.

We are truly blessed, and we hope that each of you are truly blessed as well. Sometimes you just have to believe!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, December 22, 2008 12:53 AM CST

Weekly Update

Our presentations at Princeton High School were rewarding and I believe very impactful. We received a very warm recommendation from the Principal of the High School.

Here is part of his letter:

"It is my pleasure to recommend Sean Carter to you. Sean spoke to our High School students on 12-15-2008. He presented two sessions for our students. I have been in the school business 25 years and I have not had a presentation to students that was any more powerful then Sean's. This young man delivered a home run. Our students were mesmerized by his presentation. Sean did not pull any punches or sugarcoat his message to our students regarding the consequences of drinking and driving. You could have heard a pin drop during his presentation. The combination of video along with his personal talk via computer made the words come to life and left a lasting impression. Sean did an excellent job of not only communicating cause and effect but also of hope and perseverance. His message of not accepting excuses but to move forward and work hard to achieve your goals was inspiring. I have had many students come by the office or stop me in the hall and tell me how good a presentation it was and how they were impacted by it."

We left Princeton and headed on down to Austin for brain lab, only to find that it was canceled for the week because Sean's lab tech has gone to Australia for Christmas with relatives. Ok, so we are jealous.

There was a silver lining in the cancelation and that was that we were able to get on down to Wimberley early each evening. Being December and the with the early arrival of sunset, and the cold this past week, it felt good to get in for the night early.

We got home Thursday evening and will now be home until the Monday after New Years. Friday we drove up to the Brinlee Creek Ranch, of Pate Rehab in Anna. Sean did a presentation to fellow survivors of TBI, the clients of the Ranch. Friday night, I finally got my Christmas cards addressed and Saturday morning I mailed them. I apologize for being so late, but there still may be time for them to be delivered.

Saturday, Sean and I went out shopping for Christmas gifts. I still have to shop for Sean, so sometime before Thursday, I will get out alone to do that.

I will update this site Christmas Eve.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for Sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, December 13, 2008 9:30 AM CST

Todd’s visit has come and gone. I don’t think I can even begin to share how special it was to have him here in Texas with us.

Sean and I were so busy the week of Todd’s arrival. We trekked back and forth to therapy in Austin from Wimberley. December 3, (the day Todd flew into DFW). We met with Representative Todd Smith of the 92nd District at his office in the Capital Building. (This is just a silly sideline…He is an absolutely good looking man). Sean and I spoke with him about the Sobriety Checkpoint Bill that he has authored again for next year’s Legislative Session.

When we left Austin, Thursday, December 4, I was torn between seeing Ben on his birthday that day, or driving straight on up to Tanglewood to see Todd. Well, Todd won. Ben is now 28, and he has never been sentimental about his birthday, so we knew he understood. Besides that, he had plans with some friends that night.

Brian Wible had taken a few days of vacation from his job in Wichita Falls and was home helping his Dad on their farm, so he and Todd went out Thursday night after Sean and I went to bed. Friday, we drove into Sherman and met Brian and his parents, Ben and Monette Wible, at Red Lobster for lunch. That evening, Todd took Sean into Sherman to go out. I hung out by myself at Tanglewood and just enjoyed not doing anything.

Saturday Nanny and PaPaw and the boys’ Dad, Danny came out to visit. Ben and his girlfriend came up with Bob from Dallas, and my friend Sharon Vessels-Roberts, and her daughter and son-in-law (Todd’s best friend) Jessica and Justin Boren, and their daughter Haylee came out. We had birthday cake for Ben and Haylee, who is now 7. Our families have shared a lot of Holidays together. Sean’s girlfriend, Erin, was there as well.

That evening, the youngsters loaded up and went into Sherman to hit a couple of “hot spots” and hang out with old acquaintances. Ben was the Designated Driver and Sean was DD Shotgun, so I knew all was well. Bob and I hung out together without sons, which was nice for us.

Sunday morning we were up and packing and heading for home in Dallas. Todd was riding to Austin with Sean and I on Monday and leaving out of the Austin Airport Tuesday morning. Sunday evening we just hung out here at our apartment while I packed our stuff for the week.

We took Todd to brain lab Monday afternoon and afterwards we drove out to Wimberley so that our new house host, Joanne, and Todd could meet and Todd could see where we lived while in Austin. We then drove out to the Salt Lick, a famous barbecue restaurant in a tiny town of Driftwood, on the way back to Austin. Joanne followed us and the four of us enjoyed dinner together.

Sean was exhausted Monday night after staying up until nearly 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, so he was ready for bed early. Todd has always been a night owl so he sat up for quite a while, packing and repacking his things until he had his suitcase “just right”.
Tuesday morning I left Sean in the bed and ran Todd to the airport about 10 minutes away. I didn’t want to let him go when I hugged him for the last time this trip.

Todd has lived apart from us since he joined the Air Force, and I used to always tease Sean that he had to stand in for Todd as well, because he was the one that was here. Each time Todd leaves now that Sean has had his crash, I seem to miss him more. The only thing that helps is that I have met his friends and been to his home and I know that he is happy there with Kori and Joey. Texas will always be in his heart, but only time will tell if he will ever live here again.

Tuesday evening when we arrived at Joanne’s for the week, the wind was really blowing. As I was unloading the truck, the temperature started dropping and by the time I finished it had gotten really cold. By the time Joanne got in, the air felt really frigid. As we ate dinner, the rain started and by the time we went to bed it had turned to sleet. Joanne has a metal roof on her house and the sounds on the roof were actually soothing. That roof is the reason my cell phone does not work, but I found that if I set my phone in a windowsill, I could get calls and as long as I stood by the window, I could actually talk, so that night when Todd called, I was actually able to talk to him.

There is no internet access at Joanne’s and I had no opportunity to login to my computer over the weekend, so now that we are home, two weeks later, I am updated this site.

Monday, Sean and I will drive up to Princeton, to speak at Princeton H.S. We have two presentations there, and then we will turn around and head on to Austin. We were lucky because brain lab was postponed until 4:30 that afternoon. That will put us really late arriving in Wimberley, so I know that we will be really tired, but that will be ok. At the end of this coming week, we will be at home for two weeks over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Sean will also speak at Pate Rehab in Anna, to the patient’s there and encourage them that there is life after a traumatic brain injury. You just have to persevere, and most of all, you have to “Believe”. God will hold you in the palm of his hand, if you only ask.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, November 29, 2008 3:32 PM CST

Alright, sometimes it just takes a step back to realize all that I have to be grateful for. There were times during the past year while Sean and I were driving back and forth to Austin, and I honestly didn't know where the money would come from to buy groceries. Bob was having financial difficulties. He doesn't make that much anyway and he is supporting Sean and I by paying all of the bills.

One time I remember having only $10.00 in my pocket when we left. We got to Nancy's and the mail had come and there was a check from a friend we had made at the M.A.D.D. VIP's. He had sent us $100.00!!!! We were in groceries for that week!!!

Another month, another MADD friend, gave us the tithe that he was going to give to his church for the month, but he gave it to us instead. We had food for the month and I paid all of the bills that Sean and I had for the month!!!

Jean Simpson stayed after me and ended up creating our WhenSeanSpeaks website, and I am so proud of the work that she accomplished with just a little input from me.

Then there have been times when I was just down. Like everyone else, I do have moments of melancholy, and I open this Guestbook and there is a message from Brenda Reeves, or Teri Geen, or Noreen Murray, or Cousin Eryn, or someone else. Or Sharon Vessels-Roberts or Sarah Thiltgen or my sister would call, and my cup would run over with gratitude. It is almost as if you knew that I was having a bad day, and there was your message, or your phone call.

I am grateful. I am so grateful and I want to thank all of you for the part you play in our lives, even in your silence!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, November 28, 2008 8:04 PM CST

It’s the day after Thanksgiving. I have thought a lot about writing a special Thanksgiving message to everyone. I read back through my journals and looked at the entries that I made in the past. Now four Thanksgivings since Sean’s crash I am not as naïve as I had been.

This journey we are on is for the rest of our lives. Sean is going to walk and talk again. I know it, I feel it, I believe it. It is just taking far longer than I ever believed those past Thanksgivings ago.

Last night I had been in bed for awhile and I got a text message from Sean. That’s how he contacts me when he is in another room now. He had written, “I have been trying to go to sleep and I rolled around so much that I can’t straighten my pillows out. Can you come help me?”

I had to laugh when I went into his room he was rolled up in his blankets like a burrito. His legs were all twisted and his head was askew on his pillow. He had this big smile on his face. I think that he was sorry that he had to wake me up, but I think he was proud because he had actually managed to “roll” around like that. For all of this time, Sean pretty much lays where I put him in the bed. When he is home he can raise the head and the foot of the bed up or down, but that is not him moving. He told me that he was a little worried that I might be mad at him for waking me up, but I couldn’t be. He just looked so funny!

We didn’t have Thanksgiving dinner until 6 p.m., and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t have to rush to get up and get the turkey in the oven. I was able to do everything at a leisurely pace and it was such a pleasant day. Bob had gotten up early and met his best friend to run in The Turkey Trot. He has done this every year for about 8 years. It is something that he really looks forward to. The food is irrelevant to him. He says that he would be happy with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and I believe that he would be. He likes none of the “flavors” of Thanksgiving. I made special portions of mashed potatoes and green beans for him because he likes them plain. It used to hurt my feelings, but we have been together long enough that I now know that it is truly how he likes things.

Bob left first thing this morning to go hunting for the remainder of the weekend. I went out for a couple of hours this afternoon to get a shower curtain for Sean’s bathroom. I am taking the one that was in his bathroom down to Wimberley with us. it fits perfectly in that bathroom. It never really was right for his room, but it is what I had so I never looked to change it.

Monday will be the first time that we stay in Wimberley and we are looking forward to it. Then, here is the big surprise. On Wednesday, December 3rd, Todd is flying into DFW!!! His good friend, Justin Boren, is going to pick him up at the airport and take him home with him to Whitesboro. Sean cannot cut his therapy short, so we will return home on Thursday and are driving up to Tanglewood Friday morning. Todd will have two days to visit friends up there and to visit with his grandparents and his Dad. Saturday, we will invite all of the boys friends, his Dad, Nanny and PaPaw, Sharon Vessels, her folks, Ron and Lois Richardson out for lunch and to visit. That evening the guys will all hang together and probably sleep over. Sunday we will drive home and insist that Todd go to church with Sean and I to meet our church family. He is going to ride down to Austin with us Monday and fly home from their Tuesday morning so that we can have some one on one time with him.

We are now just counting down the days until we see Todd again. Although he won’t be here long, it will be so wonderful to see him again. It has now been just about a year since we saw him last. He still continues to call nearly every day.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, November 21, 2008 7:56 AM CST

I don't know about your life, but it seems that ours sometimes changes very quickly.

Nancy, our house host in Austin for the past 10 months, called me while we were on our way down there on Monday and told me that she has decided to move out of her house at the end of the month. That meant I had to call Joanne, and ask her if we could start staying in her home when we return December 1.

Thank heavens that Sean had made the initial inquiry that resulted in Joanne's offer to stay with her in Wimberley. We had originally told her that it would be January before we would start staying at her home, but our plans changed almost overnight.

Nancy is putting things in order so that she can move to Los Angeles and pursue her comedy career in earnest. She has some wonderful connections and is a talented woman. Sean and I wish her the best of luck and are indebted to her for her generosity and compassion in offering him the opportunity to be in the program at Crossroads Institute and St. David's.

Sean and I drove home Wednesday and then were up really, really early Thursday to get ready to go to an Injury Prevention Seminar sponsored by M.A.D.D. and UT Southwest Medical Center. Several Dallas TV Stations were there, and NBC 5, actually interviewed Sean. Unfortunately, that segment ran on their 5:00 news and they did not upload the video to their website. They do have a brief, very brief print article. I was just thinking that it is kind of funny that the best video done on Sean was from the Dallas Morning News, a print newspaper, and the TV station runs a print article only. Oh well, Sean enjoyed his visit with Meredith Land and we were honored that she saw him and wanted to talk to him. I watch her anchor the 5 o'clock news when we are in town and she is every bit as pretty in person as she is on camera.

Saturday evening, Sean and I will be staying in Ft. Worth to attend TETAF meetings. Monday at 10 a.m. we attend a Press Conference at Dallas Police Headquarters. Sean is actually speaking at that. We are not returning to Austin until Monday, December 1.

We have a meeting with Comprehensive Rehab Services in Austin that Monday. Hopefully they will help us with additional therapy for Sean. He is now so very, very close to actually walking on his own with his walker. And that opens up a whole new world for Sean and eventually for me!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, November 13, 2008 10:21 PM CST

This has probably been the longest I have ever gone without updating the journal and I apologize. Sean and I have been running like crazy every day for the past two weeks.

We are now back home after a wonderful camp weekend last weekend, and then our weekly trip to Austin this week. Austin was a little different this week because our house host, Nancy Reed, had a really bad respiratory illness and she felt that we should not stay with her this week.

Because we didn't want to have Sean miss his therapy, we ended up having to stay in a motel. I had made a reservation at a Days Inn in Austin. In many towns they are upgrading this hotel chain, but in Austin they are not my favorite place, but they are cheap. They also normally have roll-in showers in them, so they work out fine. This time, though, the shower was not really accessible so after I checked out the room and before I unloaded Sean, I decided we needed to stay elsewhere.

Everything worked out okay though, because we were able to qualify for a government discount since Sean is on the Texas Brain Injury Advisory Council. The desk clerk told me that sounded like a government agency to him so he would apply that discount.

We stayed in a Hyatt Place, which is comparable in price to a Hampton or Comfort Inn, but to us was far nicer. It had a great roll-in shower and the room felt luxurious.

Nancy has decided that she is going to move to L.A. in January and finally pursue her comedy career, so we are going to have to find a new place to live while we are there. Can you believe this? Sean e-mailed a friend that we have made through the TBIAC and she passed the e-mail on. Before a week was over, we already had an offer of a new home. This house is in Wimberly which is about 35 miles southwest of Austin. We drove out there Wednesday night and found it to be a beautiful white stone house with a metal roof. It is in a very rural area and Joanne, told us that a herd of deer runs along the side of the house in the morning and again in the evening.

The little addition where the house is located is very secluded without being isolated and is just tucked into the Hill Country. Sean and I fell in love with it immediately. He was able to roll easily through the entire house and even into the bathroom.

Joanne lives alone with her two big fuzzy cats. She is a psychologist at a residential rehab in San Marcos and swears that she really wants us to live with her while in Austin. God has truly blessed us. Although we don't really know how long Sean will continue to have therapy at Crossroads Institute at least until the Spring of 2009. Knowing that we have another "home away from home" is so wonderful. We have truly been blessed to have Nancy's home opened to us, and now we have another one.

Friday morning Sean and I will be meeting the Executive Director of M.A.D.D. at Dr. Carlile's office (Sean's former Inpatient Physician at Baylor Rehab) for a conference call about the Sobriety Checkpoints bill we are hoping to have passed by this next year's legislature.

We have had new inquiries about speaking, so perhaps we will soon have new opportunities scheduled.

Oh, the most important thing of all.......Sean can actually now move his walker forward on his own and then step up to it and move it again!!!!! That sounds and looks like WALKING to me!!!!!!

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, November 1, 2008 10:17 PM CDT

Another busy, busy week behind us. Sean and I had several very successful meetings this week. We spoke at Keller Central High School, Monday, October 27, to half of the Freshman Class. Half of the class totaled 400 plus students! Now remember, Sean graduated along with Todd from a class of 51. This high school has a student population in excess of 3100, far more than the total census in the towns of Sadler and Southmayd that made up S&S High School.

We speak to the other half of the Freshman Class Monday morning. I am so thankful that the time changes tonight and we won't really be adjusted to it by Monday. That means that the 4 a.m. time that I have to get out of bed will feel like 5 a.m. That is worth giving thanks to the Lord!

Thursday morning Sean and I got up early for his 8:15 appointment to have Botox in his right shoulder, arm and hand. We won't know how effective it will be for about 10 days to two weeks.

When we left Dr. Thomas' office we went upstairs in BIR to talk to Dr. Carlile about the legislation for the Sobriety Checkpoints that the Texas Brain Injury Advisory Council is advocating. When we finished up there, we loaded up and drove downtown to the Records Building to cast our Republican Vote! We also voted "For" the bond for the building of a new Parkland Hospital. This hospital is the Number 1 Trauma Center in this part of the country. Remember it is the hospital where John F. Kennedy was taken after he was shot. It is far too important to the communities in the Dallas, Ft. Worth Metroplex to allow the bond package to be defeated.

Thursday afternoon we met with Mary Kardell, the Executive Director of M.A.D.D. The TBIAC is partnering with MADD to work together for the sobriety checkpoint bill. Texas is only 1 of 11 states in the Nation that do not have the right to conduct Sobriety Checkpoints.

After the elections and we know which legislators will be representing our district, Sean and I will be going to their offices to talk to them and see if we can get their endorsement for this bill.

Friday we did separate presentations for the 6th, 7th and 8th grade classes of Fowler Middle School of the Frisco ISD. The kids there were really great and they asked so many questions. We spent about an hour with each class, but I think we could have answered questions for another hour at least.

Sean's girlfriend, Erin came over today (Saturday) and we went to The Arboretum and wandered around for the afternoon with Truman and his mom, Terese. Truman is a fellow TBI survivor. He reminds me so much of how Sean was in his early days of recovery. The flowers were so absolutely beautiful and the weather could not have been any more perfect.

This has been such a good week. It was both profitable for us as well as fulfilling.

This week we will drive home Thursday afternoon. I will get our laundry done that night and first thing Friday and then we will leave for Lake Robert Sandlin shortly after noon. Erin is going with us to a TBI camp called Circle of Friends. It is supposed to be a cold rainy weekend, I think, but the camp is beautiful, with great meeting facilities so we will have fun anyway.

I can't stop and think about it or it will make me tires. We are BUSY!!!

I am so happy to share that Sean's Cousin, Eryn, had her ankle surgery this past Wednesday and she can finally start working on her recovery. We know that there is a lot of pain involved in the healing process, so prayers are requested.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, October 25, 2008 9:06 PM CDT

We have had a really great week in Austin. Sean and I had an incident occur that was a reaffirmation of the kindness of others. I had lost something while wandering through Barton Creek Mall in Austin on Thursday. As we were leaving and getting into the truck I realized that I had lost my camera somewhere on our shopping trip. There was nothing in the camera case to identify us so I figured that the camera was just gone.

I had bought Sean a sweater to wear Friday Night because we had gone to Austin with no warm clothing and it had really turned cold. I just felt that the camera had to be somewhere in Macy's where I actually purchased the sweater, but we had been to many other stores throughout the Mall. I back tracked all over and never found it. We had no choice but to go home. Friday we got up and I decided that I had to go back to the Mall to try to walk my steps again. Several of the store clerks remembered us from the day before. Finally, I stopped at one register and a young man, Jose Walker, who worked at Macy's told me that he had found my camera and locked it up hoping that we would come back in. He actually was not even aware of whose camera it was he just knew that someone would be missing it and he hoped they would come back and look for it.

Since Sean's crash, cameras have been my lifeline to document Sean's progress. I cannot even tell you how important it is to me.

Then Friday evening we drove over to the Football Field that is used for the filming of "Friday Night Lights". Brad Leland, the Actor who portrays Buddy Garrity, the Auto Dealership Owner, had invited us out to the set. He greeted us as soon as we got to the football field. He told us that we could actually go anywhere on the field. We could be in the stands, or out on the sidelines or we could hang out back in "Video Village" which is the location with all of the monitors where the Director works as the shooting actually goes on. Thats where we spent most of the evening.

We had the opportunity of meeting "Coach Taylor", who is really Kyle Chandler and the young man who plays Tim Riggins. Everyone on the set was so nice to us. They were all impressed with Sean's chair and his RollTalk.

Brad and Kyle want Sean to help them with a benefit Golf Tournament that they sponser in Austin in March that benefits "Gridiron Heroes" and "The Bounaconti Fund" that provide funding for Spinal Cord Injuries. Even though Sean does not have a spinal cord injury, he would like to help with this Benefit because it is such a worthwhile cause.

We spent some time talking to a woman who worked on the crew, I am not sure what her responsibilities were, but she seemed very involved with the actual scenes being displayed on the monitors. She told us that she had actually gotten her masters at UT and had majored in NeuroScience's actually studying Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery. We mentioned the documentary we want to have made and she gave us her e-mail address so that we could stay in touch with her as time progressed. She is interested in that. Wow, what if the whole event Friday Night was actually God's Serendipitous Way to introduce us to someone who will help us with that piece of our trip!!!

We got home late afternoon today, Saturday, and will turn around and drive back down to Austin Monday as soon as we finish our speech at Central High in Keller, Texas.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 9:39 PM CDT

I was walking Sean into his room here at Nancy's tonight, in our usual way with his arms up on my shoulders and me walking backwards, and it dawned on me that Sean is already walking. I watched him today as he walked with his walker at St. David's. His PT just had one hand on the small of his back and she would assist with his walker when he needed. He is only taking about 10-15 steps this way but he is doing it under his own power. Suddenly it dawned on me. It is similar to when he was in a coma. He didn't just one day "wake up" he "emerged" slowly, ever so slowly. Well, in my book he is walking, slowly, ever so slowly, but it is happening! He won't be like a baby who one day lets go of his mother's hands and takes off, but he is walking!

Sean and I are not going home until Saturday this week. We have been invited to the set of "Friday Night Lights" on Friday Night!!! The actor who plays Buddy Garrity, the car salesman on the show is an actor with The Campbell Agency. They told him all about Sean and I talked to him this week and he invited us out to the set Friday evening. They are going to "Play a Home game" and Sean and I will have an opportunity to watch everything. We won't be extra's. We are actually going to have an opportunity to meet some of the folks on the show. Sean is so excited about it. For that matter, I am too!

We found out today that St. David's is going to extend Sean's discharge date out for another 4 weeks! This is huge. I had been starting to worry about how Sean would get any exercise when they discharged him and we were still here in Austin for Brain Lab. Well! God is answering our prayers. He knows what Sean needs and he is providing it! Hallelujah!

The days have seemed horribly long lately. I get up at 5:30 in the morning and we don't get back to Nancy's until after 6 at night. I make dinner and clean the kitchen and then get Sean ready for bed and I have had no time to just sit and unwind. Now I am trying to finish up a load of laundry and will fold it and then crawl into bed to start over again.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 8:31 PM CDT

God must have heard my prayers, because this is Tuesday and Sean has not had anymore anger issues. Well, I take it back, we came in from brain lab this afternoon and I was trying to do 15 things at once and he had parked himself in his chair right in the middle of the floor. I got frustrated and Sean got mad but we both caught ourselves and wound up laughing about how silly we were being!

Last Friday morning we got up and went to see Dr. Thomas at Baylor Rehab so that Sean could get his Baclofen Pump refilled and be evaluated for Botox in his right hand and shoulder. I had bought Sean a new UT shirt to wear to Baylor. Dr. Thomas was kidding around with Sean and after he painted his Pump injection site with Betadine he painted his chin with a "Longhorn" or so he said. After the appointment we went up to the second floor to see Craig, the PT that has been Sean's counselor at Mountain High for the past two years. I had taken a great picture of Craig, Sean and some of our friends from Camp and put it in a really neat frame that I had bought while shopping in Red River. It was a little "Thank you" for Craig.

When we left Baylor Rehab we met some friends for lunch in Richardson and then went to The Campbell Agency, Sean's former modeling agency. This was the first visit we had made since Sean's crash. It was so good to see everyone and they welcomed Sean so warmly. Nancy Campbell, the owner of the agency, really encouraged us in our speaking mission and wants to help us raise funding for a new vehicle and our trip.

Saturday morning we drove up to Whitesboro to help Ron and Lois Richardson celebrate their birthdays. Erin Pack, Sean's girlfriend, met us over there. Ron and Lois' daughter, my good friend, Sharon, and all of her kids and grandkids were there as well so we had a great "family" reunion.

Sunday I was busy cleaning "a little" (not my favorite thing), doing laundry, and trying to get things done at home that I needed to do. Sean and I even managed to make it to church Sunday evening.

Monday morning we attended a funeral of one of our dear church members and then drove down here to Austin. I had hoped to get down in time for brain lab Monday afternoon but it just didn't work out.

The liftgate on our truck is being replaced this week. Ironically, the van we had rented was still at the body shop so I was able to get it again while our truck is back in the shop.

This will be another whirlwind week. The next two days will be full of PT, OT, Aquatics and Neuromuscular Retraining for Sean, as well as brain lab in the late afternoons. The Texas Brain Injury Association's Quarterly meeting is this Friday. These meetings always last until 4:30, which puts us back into Dallas close to 8 p.m. Saturday we are driving up to Denison to Southside Baptist Church for a Friends of Hope Brain Injury Camp.

Bob is going to his deer lease this weekend, so we will see each other for just a few hours Sunday evening. His birthday is the 22nd, Wednesday of next week, and I honestly don't know when we will have a chance to celebrate.

Wow, I am tired and we have just started this week!

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, October 9, 2008 11:19 PM CDT

Not to worry, Eryn, Bob has no clue what is said here. He has absolutely no use for computers. He is perfectly content with a book and rarely even turns on the television when he is home alone.

Sean and I are home tonight. I have just given him a bath and gotten him into bed, and I am not far behind. He had a full day of therapy at St. David's today.

I don't really know what is going on with Sean but he has had real moments of anger directed at me lately. The last two days I have felt as though I have a target on my back. I often tell people that I have probably provoked him, but I don't always feel that way. I know that Sean has tremendous frustration because he cannot talk and that is a lot of it. I also know that part of it is that his brain is injured. As I have said before, the anger is like a cloud burst. It can be very tumultous...for a moment...then be gone and that beautiful smile is back on his face. But it seems that I now have a wound that gets bigger and hurts more every time it happens.

Going through the mail tonight, I read an explanation of benefits from Medicare. I have called them several times since Sean turned 25 and explained to them that Sean is no longer covered by private insurance. They have denied another claim because Sean has "private insurance". Wow! I cannot wait to see how National Healthcare can be implemented and work for all of us! Bureaucracy and government control ARE NOT THE ANSWER to our health care crisis!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 5:37 PM CDT

Sean and I are gearing up for the Presidential Debates. Nancy is a Democrat and Sean and I are died in the wool Conservatives. It makes a tough situation for the debates, so Nancy always goes to one of the Austin Democratic Party Events.

Sean had PT and OT this morning, but no brain lab so our afternoon was free. We decided to spend the afternoon in Buda, Texas at Cabela's and look for Bob's birthday present. We ended up spending about 3 hours there. We ate lunch in the Grill, and then just browsed the aisles. The store is huge and there is a lot to see.

We found some camo hunting clothes for Bob to wear at his deer lease this fall, so that mission was accomplished. I also bought a sign for him that says "A hunter and his dear live here." I know he will get a kick out of that.

Some of you may remember, when Sean first started eating again he told me that he wanted sauerkraut? Well, that is what we are having for dinner. Whole Foods bratwurst and sauerkraut and sweet potato fries. I just finished giving him his shower and now it is time to cook dinner.

This week we will go home on Thursday evening. Sean has to have his Baclofen Pump refilled Friday morning. He is also going to be evaluated for Botox in his right shoulder and hand. His OT thinks that it will help him now because he has regained movement in his right arm and hand and she thinks that the Botox will allow him to gain functionality with that limb.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, October 5, 2008 6:14 PM CDT

Bob and I spent our few hours together on a "Date" on Saturday evening. We had such a pleasant evening together. We went to eat at The Dixie House Cafe, a little neighborhood restaurant that we often ate at before Sean's crash.

Sean's girlfriend, Erin Pack, was at home with him while we were gone. She was ordering pizza for the two of them and she had bought the movie, "Iron Man" for the two of them to watch.

I had vowed to myself that I would talk very little about Sean. For Bob, the entire time since Sean's accident have been entirely centered on Sean. Now it was time for me to devote myself to Bob, so that is what I did. We talked, laughed, and just visited. I had already chickened out on the Haunted House event. I just could not bring myself to go. At my age, and with all that I have lived through the past four years, I just did not see any reason to encounter those "fright" hormones. I don't know if my heart could have stood it.

Instead we just went on to Target and shopped for a few things that we needed around the apartment. It was nice just being out doing ordinary things together.

When we got home, we found Sean and Erin engrossed in their movie, so we went out on our balcony. I had a big glass of ice water, and Bob had a beer and we just sat in the dark up in the trees, enjoying the sound of the leaves rustling in the breeze and the occasional night sounds and city noises intruding on our conversation.

After about an hour we got up to go inside, and I found that Erin was trying to actually get Sean into bed. This was the first time that she had tried to transfer him and they were struggling trying to get his feet turned around so that he could back up to his bed. It was good that I walked in when I did, but they were laughing and twisted up together and I guess if they had to they would have just toppled onto the bed together.

When Erin is here she helps Sean get ready for bed, washing his face, getting his toothbrush ready for him. The only thing that neither one of them want her to attempt is taking out his contacs.

We were all four so happy that now we know that Sean and Erin can manage on their own and Bob and I can have a few hours together.

Life continues to get better!

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, October 2, 2008 1:07 PM CDT

Before we left home on Monday, we ran by Standard Spring so that Bob could replace the battery in the truck. When I picked the truck up from the repair shop last Friday, it did not seem to start as easily as it always had in the past.

When we got to Austin for brain lab, the tailgate wouldn't go back up. Bob had accidently left the wire off of the battery. I looked under the hood and tried to find something that was loose and unable to see because the truck was in a parking garage, I went looking for a flashlight. There is a landscaping company that is in the same building and one of the employees there came out with a flashlight and found the elusive wire for me. Replacing it on the battery, resolved that problem.

The tailgate on the truck needs to be replaced. The tailgate guys thought they could just repair it, but it actually took the full brunt of the crash and it no longer goes up and down easily like it did before. The insurance company said they would replace it, so I am now awaiting word from the body shop to schedule a day to have that done. I am not going to get a rental vehicle while they have it, because it is so much trouble for everyone to bring a wheelchair van from Houston and then for that company to have to come back to pick it up.

Yesterday evening we met a friend from the Texas Brain Injury Advisory Council at Central Market for dinner. This grocery store has a huge outdoor cafe that is underneath some beautiful trees. It overlooks a really cool playground and grassy area and many of the Austin "locals" come to enjoy dinner in the evenings. We sat and enjoyed the evening together for a couple of hours.

When we arrived home it was already dark and after transferring Sean from the truck to his wheelchair, I ran into a major problem. The truck's Turney seat wouldn't turn back into the truck! I struggled and struggled and finally climbed in the back seat behind the Turney and just "strong armed" it around and in. This morning I went out and it wouldn't swing out all of the way. I got down on hands and knees to look underneath the seat and couldn't find anything that might be impeding it's movement. I kept swinging it in and out to where it kept "hanging up" and finally it just swung out and back in. I am not sure what the problem was, but will have to take it into Lift-Aids on Monday to have them check it out.

Sean and I are spending a day at our Austin home. We have no therapy today so I am doing "chores". Normally I take sheets home to wash them and then I have to remember to bring them back. Today I am taking the time to wash them and put them back on the beds so that is one less thing that I have to do. We need a day without rushing around, so I am going to enjoy this one.

Sean and I are looking forward to tonight's Vice Presidential debates. Go Sarah!!!!

Tomorrow it will be therapy at St. David's from 9-1 and then we will head home to Dallas.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, September 30, 2008 10:14 PM CDT

I am writing today from Austin. Sean has had two days of brain lab, and one day of PT/OT. Tomorrow afternoon we finish up brain lab for the week and then we will be on the road home again on Friday.

Red Ribbon week promoting drug and alcohol awareness in most Texas schools is October 27-31. We are already booked to do three presentations at Fowler Middle School in Frisco and have had serious inquiries from two other schools in the Metroplex.

Sean may have another re-map of his brain in two weeks. That will tell us if he is still making progress and at that time we should find out how much longer we need to make this trip down here.

Unfortunately, Sean's Medicare benefits are nearly up for this year, so St. David's therapy will probably only last another couple of weeks. Without that, it will be hard to continue the drive down here. We have consolidated brain therapy to M/T/W, so perhaps if St. David's ends we could possible just be down here those three days. We have been making this weekly trip since February 5, and we both are looking forward to seeing an end to the drive. With that said, I would continue doing this indefinitely if Sean continued to benefit.

Sean and Erin continue to see each other on the weekends. He ends his day in bed "texting" back and forth, catching up on each others activities.

In addition to the positives that Sean is feeling with his relationship with Erin, Bob and I are beginning to feel as though we might possibly have time for each other. In fact, he is going to take me to a Haunted House on Saturday night. Ok, so it's on his "Bucket List", not mine. That's ok, at least we will finally do something together that does not revolve around Sean. Erin and Sean will stay home with a movie while Bob and I go out. For one whole evening in the past 3 3/4 years, I will try to have a few hours without thinking or talking about Sean.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, September 27, 2008 10:03 PM CDT

Just a few more camp stories. Sean went on an open air jeep ride with his counselor, Craig, who is a Baylor Rehab PT. Sean always enjoys the days he spends with Craig because they give each other no slack. I know that Craig can handle anything that comes there way, so for the days that Sean was at Mountain High, I really didn't have to worry about him at all during the day after I got him up and dressed.

Monday night at Camp is always "Monday Night Live". Campers have an opportunity to showcase their talents. The Baylor Rehab Bunch and the volunteer staff from Pate Rehab always do skits that are really hilarious. It is a fun filled evening. Tuesday night was the "Hoe Down" after lunch at "Bobcat Pass", elevation 9800 feet.

Wednesday afternoon, was "shopping day". Sean and Craig went off on their own and Dr. Carlile and I spent the afternoon wandering through shops and visiting. I think it may have been one of the most enjoyable afternoons I have spent in so very long. We just chatted and walked and looked and talked and walked some more.

We got up early Thursday morning and met everyone outside as they all loaded up in the buses to head back to Albuquerque and home via plane. Once they pulled out we loaded up the van and headed home. We drove straight through to Vernon, where Doug had left his car. Friday we got up and drove the remainder of the way home. Ben has gone to work as a rigger building concert stages. He was working on a "roof" for a stage at Lone Star Park, so we stopped to visit him and then drove on home.

Last weekend passed too quickly and then we were back on the road to Austin on Monday.

Sean testified before the Department of Insurance on Thursday. New rules are being written to ensure that all vicitm's of Traumatic Brain Injury must be allowed to receive cognitive rehab. This is a huge hurdle and I think all who attended appreciated hearing from Sean.

Our truck was ready Friday and I have to tell you that I am much happier now that I have had an opportunity to drive a van. Sean sat so high in the van that he could not see out any of the windows so he missed all of the scenery on our trip to and from Red River. There is a lot more to getting him in and out of the truck, but once he is in, I feel that he rides much safer sitting in an acutal seat than he was bouncing around in his wheelchair.

Things happen for a reason dont' they? I guess that chance to use a van for nearly 3 weeks made me realize that our truck is just fine. The tail gate still needs to be replaced, but the truck drove just fine on the road. I had been worried about that.

That was some story that Eryn wrote about in our guest book. Todd called yesterday and had a similar story. He had seen some guys drinking in their car in the parking lot of a liqour store in the Tri-cities, Washington and when he realized the driver was drinking as well, he decided to call 911 and let the cops know. He told me that he had followed them for a while, but eventually he had to get back to pick up his son, Joey. The only way drunk drivers will get off the roads is if we all join together to stop them.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 7:15 PM CDT

We only drove as far as Dumas on Friday night because we started late that morning. It was fried fish night at the local cafe, so we had a great, non-organic meal and then went to bed.

It was almost 11 by the time we got on the road Saturday morning, but that was ok because we finally got into the mountains. We stopped in Eagles Nest and ate a very late lunch and had a good visit with the manager of the oldest (27 years) restaurant in town. There was only one other restaurant in that little town.

Doug is one of those people who enjoys visiting with everyone he meets so any time we stopped it took longer than Sean and I were used to. It was all good, though, and we arrived in Red River around 4:30 in the afternoon, Mountain Time.

I had been working on making business cards for each of the campers, so I had hours of tearing apart to work on. Doug took some of the cards to his room to work on, and we recruited help from a couple of the counselors who had arrived on Saturday as well.

The other campers were not due to arrive until late Sunday afternoon, so Sean and I went to church Sunday morning at Faith Mountain. Most of the towns people and then many from surrounding communities attend this church. Many of the church members also support and volunteer at Mountain High Camp, and they remembered us from previous years. We had an extremely special worship service and many of the church members gathered around Sean and prayed over him. Sean soaked in the energy of the moment and with a huge smile on his face we left to await the rest of the campers.

We were saddened to hear that the Houston group would be unable to make it. The Airports in Houston were closed down due to Hurricane Ike. However, everyone else made arrived safely. After everyone unloaded and found their rooms, we all went down to Faith Mountain for supper and for our first evening together.

Mountain High is like a huge family reunion. So many of the same campers return each year as do counselors and volunteers, so a large percentage of us already know one an another.

Well, it's time to get ready for bed, so I will continue our camp stories later.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's Mom, Jenny Carter

Sunday, September 21, 2008 9:04 AM CDT

What a wonderful trip Sean and I had to and from Red River. I apologize for not updating until now, but there is no such thing as "computers" while we are at camp, and I was so exhausted by the time we arrived home, this was the first time I have been able to update.

Thursday, a week ago, we spoke to a small group of young people at the North Texas State Hospital in Wichita Falls. Two of the kids had heard about us coming and they each made a beaded bracelet for Sean.

That afternoon we went to the North Texas Rehab and Sean demonstrated his RollTalk and Levo Standing Chair for the therapists there. We spent a very enjoyable two hours with them. They mainly treat children with developmental delays, however, they also have a population that they care for with other deficits.

When we finished there, we drove on up to Vernon, Texas, about an hour away and spent the night at the Paradise House, a home away from home for visiting family members of the NTSH. For those of you who have stayed or know of a Ronald McDonald House or Reba's Ranch House, you will understand what Paradise House is like. As we were shown around the house, we kept hearing about "The Doctor" from NTSH who stayed at the house during the week. Much to my surprise, when he came in after work, I realized that he was a psychiatrist that I had once worked with while he was on staff at Texoma Medical Center. We shared a few minutes together catching up on things that had transpired to bring us both to this same location again. Dr. David Baker, I would have never expected to run into him again!

Friday morning we got up and drove over to the Vernon location of NTSH and Sean and I did another presentation to a group of about 60 young kids who were hospitalized/incarcerated for substance abuse. Most of these kids do not have a loving family at home and from what I was told, have often suffered atrocities that can only be imagined. After our presentation the kids gathered around Sean so that they could spend some time with him. One of the young men came over to me and told me that he had been very worried about what he would do for his future. He shared with me that he was going to "get out" soon and he was concerned about the hold that alcohol had on him. He said that now he would "think of Sean" and he felt that he would be stronger because of that thought.

What a gift that young man gave me at that moment.

Once we left the hospital, Sean and I drove over to pick up our new friend, Doug, who traveled with us to and from Red River. He had planned to follow us on his Harley to Red River, but with the residual rain from Hurricane Ike that was hovering overhead, he decided he better just ride with us and leave his bike at home.

I will share more about our trip later,

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, September 11, 2008 6:49 AM CDT

Sean and I were truly blessed Wednesday evening. We finally had the opportunity to meet the couple who arrived on the scene of the crash and stayed with Sean until the ambulance took him away.

David and Stacy Strickland came to our presentation at Midwestern State University. Introducing themselves, they told me that they had actually been with Sean that night. As they shared their story, I sat and cried and thanked them and thanked God that Sean had been placed in their path. Brian Wible had taken pictures of the vehicle the day after the crash and had told me at the time that there was a gold cross under Sean's seat and he knew it didn't belong to anyone of the guys. He had taken it as a sign that angels had been with Sean. Boy, was he ever right!

Stacy told me that they were driving home from the same bar that Sean had just left with his two friends. While at a stop sign/light on the way home, they saw a fire truck blow by with lights flashing and horn blaring. For some reason, David decided that they needed to see what was going on, so they took off in the direction the truck had gone down Midwestern Blvd. David said he spotted a light (the truck's headlights) and pulled over. The fire truck had missed them and apparently was responding to another crash scene.

Stacy said that it was raining hard that night and was so cold, in the 40's. She said the driver was stumbling around outside, and she told him that he needed to sit on the ground. She then climbed into the driver's seat and began talking to Juan and Sean. She said that it appeared that Juan's knees were crushed by the dash (they weren't, but it appeared so). David had managed to get into a space between the tree and the truck cab, beside Sean.

He said that Sean began aspirating and he jumped into the bed of the truck and stuck his arms through and took Sean's head and held it up so that he would not drown in his own fluids. When the first responders arrived, they had David continue to hold Sean up until they extracted Juan from the truck and until they were able to get to Sean to stabilize his body and remove him from the truck.

Stacy said that they actually remained at the scene until the ambulance carrying Sean drove away.

How will I ever be able to share with them the depth of my gratitude? I don't think I will ever be able to thank them enough. What a blessing to know that people cared enough to sit there, in the rain with my Beautiful Boy. Would Sean even be here today, had David not lifted his head?

Sean has a new "friend", Erin Pack, who actually attended elementary school together in Denison, Texas. She drove from Denton to attend his presentation at Midwestern State University. Since Sean and I were sharing a suite, Erin was able to spend the night and will drive home and back to work today.

Brian Wible, one of Sean's best friends and probably the one friend who has taken and created opportunities to visit Sean throughout this new life, and who lives here in Wichita Falls, came to our presentation.

Doug Whitaker and his wife, Rosie, is also a brain injury survivor and a retired Wichita Falls policeman came to show their support of Sean.

When we arrived at our hotel in Wichita Falls we were met by a reporter and her camera man from KFDX Channel 3, the NBC affiliate here. Katie Crosby was so sweet and she did a wonderful story on Sean. I had walked outside to make a phone call as she interviewed Sean and when I walked back in, she was in tears. She was the sweetest thing. Even Curtis, her young camera man, was touched by Sean and his zeal for life despite his deficits. He hugged me after our interview and told me that he was thinking of things diffrently now.

Since it was raining, we enjoyed dinner at our hotel with the MWSU professors who had arranged our speaking at the University.

Once again, we were humbled by the response we received by the students of MWSU. Many of them had questions for us during our Q and A, and afterwards they came up and thanked us for speaking to them.

Yes, we finally have started the journey that almost wasn't. Sean and I drove the Mobility Van home on Friday, and I began a whirlwind of preparation for our trip to Red River. We have been traveling weekly to Austin since February and you would think that I had this packing down to an art, but this trip has been different.

The van is wonderful, but it is definitely different. Even packing has been completely different. It looked as though we wouldn't get everything we needed in the van. Of course we did, and now that I have had a few minutes to sit here in our hotel room in Wichita Falls, I realized that there are things that I have forgotten. But that's okay, we are now on our way to meet our Mountain High Family!

Doug Whitaker was planning on following us on his Harley, but it is supposed to rain through the weekend, so he is going to ride with us in the van. It will be nice for Sean and I to have another person to visit with and he and Sean really enjoy each other's company, plus I can recruit him to help carry all our stuff into and out of the van.

Life is good and we are so excited continuing on our journey!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, September 4, 2008 4:45 PM CDT

Wow, what a way to start a day. I was in the bathroom getting ready for the day when I heard this huge "bang"! I decided to look out the door and was surprised to find that our unoccupied, parked truck was involved in a collision.

I honestly cannot understand at all how it happened, but there is a young man who lives in some apartments that are next door to Nancy's. He was driving a Wyndham Hotel's van. He thinks that he perhaps, fell asleep for a moment, and drove straight into the back of our truck!

The van was pretty much immobilized on impact and it shoved our truck about 8 or 10 feet down the street. Because of the heavy Eagle Lift Gate that I have on the back of the truck, there was not a lot of visible damage. However, the frame is bent, and there may be other issues with the undercarriage.

I think the truck will be repairable, but it will not be ready for our trip to Red River, nor will it even be ready for us to drive home tomorrow.

Thank heavens, the young man was in his company's vehicle. Their insurance is going to pay for a full sized mobility van. Renting a full sized mobility van is not easy. On top of that, because of Hurricane Gustav, the one company that actually is going to help us were worried that FEMA was going to call them and take the van they have available for us. Now that the insurance company has assured them that they are paying the bill for a van rental, the van will be reserved for us.

Here is one more kicker, the van has to come from Houston. That's right, there are none available in the Austin area. San Antonio is closer, but there were no full sized vans available there, either. The van that we will be using is in the shop today being serviced. Wheelchair Getaways had to deliver one of their vans to Lake Charles, La, so they won't be able to pick our van up from the Ford House until Friday and then they will drive it over to us in Austin.

Now, where is God's hand in all of this? The young man who was driving the van that hit my truck was unhurt. His crash into our truck may have saved someone's life because he thinks he must have fallen asleep at the wheel. Just think if he had someone in the van, or if he had fallen asleep out on the road?

For us, it means that we have an accessible van to drive to Red River so the miles aren't going on our vehicle. We also will have the opportunity to see how a vehicle of that type works for us.

Sean had to miss therapy today and will miss tomorrow as well. We are both bummed out over that, but there isn't much we can do.

I also wanted to share with you that Lois ended up having a stent placed and is now looking at surgery on a carotid artery that needs to be cleared. I just spoke to her and although tired, she is feeling alright. Please continue to remember her in your prayers.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 6:40 AM CDT

I just wanted to write a quick update. I left Sean at home Tuesday morning and drove up to Mobility Medical Equipment, Inc. with Sean's Levo standing chair. After unloading the chair, Joe, who has been working as the Supervisor of the Repair Department and been in the business for years, took a look at it. With a quick twist of a screw driver, he fixed the problem!!!!

I cannot tell you how happy Sean and I were and are. I got home and finished packing the truck. After loading Sean and his standing chair, we sped (and I do mean speed with a capital "S" on down to Austin and made it in time for brain lab at Crossroads!!!

Sharon Roberts just called to let me know that Lois Richardson, our dear friend from Whitesboro, was admitted to Wilson N. Jones hospital in Sherman during the night. She was having chest and jaw pain. Please pray for her, her husband Ron, and all of her family right now.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, August 31, 2008 11:19 AM CDT

Sean and I have once again had an extremely busy week. We drove down to Austin, Monday afternoon. Sean had therapy at St. David’s Tuesday morning and then we drove home to Dallas.

Wednesday we were up really early so that we could get to the Jewish Community Center where we gave a presentation to the Hillcrest High School Senior Class. The students had been bused over to the JCC for a two day retreat to work on team building and study skills, and motivational activities. What an awesome program. This was the school’s first year to conduct this event. Sean was selected to “kick off” the two day event after the introduction and speech of the Superintendant of the Dallas Independent School District, Mike Hinojosa.

We were honored to do our presentation for such a great group of young people. I received an e-mail from one of the students that I would like to share with you to demonstrate the power of Sean’s testimony. With the permission of this student, I would like to share the e-mail with you.

His Subject line read: “Sean really got through to me…”

“My name is Andrew Ryan Milke. I was one of the seniors that you and Shawn spoke to at the JCC for Hillcrest High. You and Shawn touched my heart. We have never had a speaker get through to us in the four years that i have been in school the way that you and Shawn did. I would like to thank you both from the bottom of my heart for speaking with us. It really made a big impression on us. To be honest, I was actually offered a drink tonight and i just couldn’t take it. I remembered everything that you and Shawn told us and i just couldn’t do it. I had to drive home and I thought of Shawn. Tell him I said thank you for giving me the inspiration to not make the wrong choice.

Thank you with every bone in my body,”
Andrew Ryan Milke

So please, if you have contacts in far flung places around the United States, please ask them to consider passing our information on so that we can share our story.

Thursday morning we again got up early and drove straight down to Austin for Sean’s brain lab at Crossroads Institute.

Friday we got up really early to be at St. David’s by 8 a.m., and as we were going out to load up into the truck, Sean’s new wheelchair developed a problem that has literally left him unable to use it. Luckily, it stopped not too far from the truck so I was able to let the truck seat down and walk Sean to load him. Another lucky thing was that we were on a slight hill with the front of the truck pointing down so I managed to push that 450 pound chair and get it up on the tailgate, and then raise the tailgate and shove it into the bed of the truck.

So now here we were without a way to get Sean in and out of therapy, so we just drove back to Dallas. I dropped Sean off at home and then drove over to Mobility Medical and picked up the programmer for the chair, thinking that I could trouble shoot the problem myself. I didn’t get help because everyone was out making deliverys and repairs before the long holiday weekend.

To make a long story short, I was unable to fix the chair so now Ben will drop it off at Mobility Medical Tuesday morning and Sean and I will drive down to Austin on Monday with him in his old wheelchair. Oh well, the old chair is still a good chair. Sean’s only problem is that he is now used to standing and he complained of his body aching, sitting down for the past two days.

We have faith that Sean’s standing chair will be ready for us on Friday and Sean will skip Aquatics on Friday so that we can head out of Austin at noon and get back before Mobility Medical closes for another weekend. Then we will not go back to Austin for two whole weeks because we will be making our westward journey to Mountain High!!!!

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, August 24, 2008 8:14 PM CDT

Sunday afternoon, and Sean and I spent the afternoon in the Capital Building of the State of Texas, here in Austin. We stayed here this weekend, because we are doing a presentation for the Seniors of Hillcrest High School on Wednesday in Dallas. Rather then driving home Friday and then right back down here on Monday, we remained here for the weekend.

We will drive home Tuesday afternoon and then back down here Thursday morning. This will allow Sean to get his 3 days of therapy in at St. David's on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, and brain lab Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

While at the Capital today, Sean drew a crowd with his Levo Wheelchair. I was up on the second floor and had Sean drive his chair onto the star in the center of the floor. He decided to stand up and he drew a small group of people who were touring Austin from Columbia. They were so impressed with Sean's chair and his RollTalk.

We spent a few minutes visiting with them, communicating through an interpreter. It was really fun for Sean. You know how he loves to be "on stage".

We only have this week and then next week after Labor Day and we will have two whole weeks away from Austin. Yes, we will be on our trip to Red River, New Mexico and Mountain High Camp at Faith Mountain Church. We will actually leave on Wednesday, September 10, and drive up to Wichita Falls.

Sean and I will be doing a presentation at Midwestern State University, which will be bittersweet for me. I never had an opportunity to really visit Sean while he was at school up there. It is where he was going to school when he had his car crash.

He has decided to revise his speech somewhat, so he is working on it now, trying to eat at the same time.

Thank you for continuing to log into the guestbook and leave messages. There will soon be 160,000 visits. Who would have thought at the beginning of Sean's journey into his life after traumatic brain injury that there would still be things to share?

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, August 17, 2008 7:10 PM CDT

Once again, we have had an extremely busy week, but a really happy, happy week. We found out that St. David's Rehab wants to add another day of therapy for Sean. That will mean that instead of getting 10-11 hours a week of all the disciplines, speech, PT, OT, Aquatherapy, and Neuromuscular Retraining, he will now get from 13-15 hours a week.

Odee's Photography, in Sherman and Info Magazine of Grayson County, sponsored a benefit for Sean on Saturday. After getting Sean up early all week, I again got him up early Saturday for our drive up there. We had a tent on the corner of the Albertson's parking lot in Sherman and two bounce houses. There was a drink trailer provided by Albertson's, and a "Hammer Game". They had numerous items to raffle off, from gift certificates to 3 pair of beautiful earrings from a new shop in Sherman called "The Parrot Lady". What an honor it was.

We got home at about 6:30 Saturday night and Sean had to get right on his NuStep. He told me that he was really tired but if he was going to walk by Christmas, he had to get to work. He didn't think he was going to ride for long, but he ended up riding away for 65 minutes!

This morning, I got up early to run to the grocery store. When I returned home, I put the groceries away and then left to drive to Granbury. My dear friend, Sharon Vessels Roberts' daughter-in-law, Amanda was being given a baby shower at the Merry Heart Tea Room. I was able to enjoy the afternoon with my friend, Sharon, her daughter, Jessica, and all of the woman at the shower. It was so nice to be away for awhile and know that Sean was being taken care of for the afternoon.

I just realized that I hadn't told you that we finally got the results of Sean's last brain map. Remember, it had been sent to Russia, to Juri Kropotov, PhD, to analyze. We were told that Sean's brain is showing huge improvement in processing. He still has two specific areas in his brain that were "idling". The way it was explained to us is that if you think about putting a car with a standard shift into neutral and then stepped on the gas, it wouldn't matter how much gas you gave the engine, you would not get the car to move.

This now gives the doctor's some specific protocol to order for Sean with the brain lab, so he will be working with the computers to try to redirect his brain and get those spots to "shake, rattle and roll" again.

We will begin driving down to Austin on Monday's now, and stay through Friday, so that Sean can get all of his therapy in.

Expect big things now!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, August 9, 2008 12:39 AM CDT

Another Saturday is here. I apologize for not writing more journal entries. I cannot believe another whole week has gone by.

Sean and I had a good week. His therapy at St. David's is giving him some big time gains. He is beginning to have more movement in his right arm. It is not yet functional movement but we know that will come. It continues to get easier for me to "walk" him for transfers.

I had dropped him off at St. David's Rehab Friday morning and run to Whole Foods to get some food for lunch and to pack in the cooler to take home to Dallas to cook for dinner. When I returned, everyone was so excited. They had stood Sean up, holding onto a shopping cart loaded with weights and with the help of 3 therapists, he walked about 28 feet. They had also had him beside the mat and had him doing "bridges" to help strengthen his core. Since I wasn't there, Semina, the administrative assistant took pictures of him bridging to share with me. These are the pictures I have put up on the website today.

Sean and I are driving back to Ausin Monday instead of Tuesday. We are going straight down to Comation, our RollTalk distributor's offices in Spicewood. They are going to add a special switch to Sean's wheelchair that will allow us to plug his RollTalk directly into the wheelchair batteries. This is going to have a huge benefit to Sean because he will be able to go anywhere, anytime and have power for his RollTalk.

Of course, while we are at the office, we will go across the parking lot for a meal at Opie's Barbacue. Not only do they have wonderful food, it is also the location that we met Ron White and Nancy Reed, who is our host in Austin and who is responsible for opening the door to the improvements that Sean has been making through Crossroads Institute and now St. David's Rehab.

On Saturday, August 16, Info Magazine and Odee's Photography are sponsoring a benefit in Sherman, Texas, to help us raise money for our trip next spring.

Five weeks from now (September 14-18) we will be making our third trip to Red River, NM. This is the first year that we will drive, and it looks as though gas prices will be down just a little from earlier in the summer.

Sean told Nancy and I this week that he could now "remember what it feels like to walk". He could actually remember what his muscles felt like as he walked before his crash.

Miracles happen every day!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, August 2, 2008 8:48 PM CDT

Sean and I drove up to Sherman today (Saturday) so that he could attend Friends of Hope a Day Camp for TBI Survivors. It was hosted by First United Methodist Church. Ben rode up there with us, so that he and Sean could go over to Nanny and PaPaw's in Denison, afterwards to celebrate their Dad's birthday.

Sean got a real kick out of telling his Dad that he just "had to help his Dad share his almost 60th birthday". You see, Danny is 59, this August 2nd.

I dropped the guys off and then ran up to downtown Denison for a little while. I had an opportunity to walk through some of the art galleries and antique shops. The heat was absolutely oppressive and there really wasn't anyone but me and the shop owners out this afternoon.

At one point, the temperature in the truck read 109. A little later, on the way home it had "cooled down" to 104. Tomorrow and the next 5-7 days are supposed to be record high temperatures. I think Sean and I are going to just "chillax" her at home Sunday and try to stay cool.

Sean had a great time visiting with fellow TBI'ers and the staff of BIR who had volunteered to spend the day with them. It is always so good to see everyone and share time with other families in similar situations.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, July 29, 2008 8:32 PM CDT

Sean and I are here in Austin again.

This will be short, but I have to share and brag on Sean. He STOOD in his Standing Wheelchair for 9 hours on Monday. The only times that he sat down were for meals.

He would bend his right leg and touch his left toes to the floor. He said that he was straighthening the right leg. The way he went at it all day, I am sure that it will.

I was a little worried that he would wake up with aching knees during the night, so I gave him a couple of Ibuprofen before he went to bed. I also put a pillow under his knees.

He woke up this morning, smiling and pain free, determined to stand again. We drove on down to Austin, straight to Brain Lab this afternoon, but as soon as we got to Nancy's this evening, he was up on his feet.

Nancy came home this evening with an Italian Cream Cake, and even though it is totally not on our diets, Sean and I were compelled to eat some for my birthday. In fact, we both had two pieces! Oink! Oink!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,

Oh, and thank you for the Birthday Wishes!
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, July 27, 2008 12:04 AM CDT

Ben was here with Sean on Saturday and I had a wonderful opportunity to go to the Dallas Summer Musicals and see Jersey Boys with my friend, Helen, and her daughter, Jenny.

These are the friends who had the baby, Rebekah, who was born with all the birth defects. Helen picked me up and we went to the hospital to pick up Rebekah's mother, who is Helen's daughter, Jenny Drum. I actually had the opportunity of going into the NICU to meet Baby Rebekah for the first time.

She is so beautiful. Just looking at her face, you would never guess that she had so many things "wrong" with her. Most everything that is not right with her now, it is believed will be "fixable" with surgery. It is so hard to fathom all of the surgeries that this little baby girl has to undergo, but she is obviously a fighter and by the look in her eyes, she wants to live!!!

If you are new to her story, or would like to follow up on her, please go to www.caringbridge.org/visit/babydrum.

I really enjoyed our afternoon at the Jersey Boys Musical. It was fun and light hearted, and the music reminded me so much of my teen years. It was fun to revisit the music that was part of the backdrop of my own innocense.

Sean is riding his NuStep now. When he finishes, Ben and I are taking him to NorthPark, where I will wander for a couple of hours and they will go to the show. Afterwards Sean and I will go church.

I am so proud of Sean's motivation to move again. We got in about 7:30 p.m. on Friday. He had, had 4 hours of therapy Friday morning, beginning at 8 a.m., then had 90 minutes of brain lab Friday afternoon. Afterwards he had ridden home with me, spending nearly 4 hours in the truck. He came right in and ate and then got on the NuStep to ride. I know that he was exhausted, as I was, but he knows that the more he moves, the better he will move.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:13 PM CDT

It's Wednesday evening. Sean has had a full day of therapy at St. David's today. He was really worn out so I just got him into bed. We are both so thankful because he just has brain lab, Thursday afternoon so he can sleep in tomorrow.

I guess you can tell by now that our speech in Denison on Sunday evening at Unity Missionary Baptist Church was really successful. People were very generous and we had a substantial love offering. Unfortunately, I only have the names of the people who donated via checks, so I am only able to thank them directly. I will send a card to the church to thank everyone who attended. Sean's speech was actually covered by both KXII and KTEN TV channels.

We are hoping that the seeds are being sown as they contact people that they know so that we can get more speaking engagements.

On the way home this afternoon Sean told me that the occupational therapist, Judith, is helping him to reach his personal goals. He said that every other therapist tried to have him learn to live and use his limitations, and Judith works to help him live beyond them.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, July 19, 2008 2:02 PM CDT

I would like to encourage you to read the story of the baby that I wrote about this week at www.caringbrige.org/visit/babydrum. We now know that she is a girl, named Rebecca although we aren't sure of the spelling. She has had her first surgery. Please read the new website created for her.

Sean and I are up at Tanglewood. We stayed for the Texas Brain Injury Advisory Council Meetings until 2:30 and I decided that we should head on up to Lake Texoma. The more I thought about our whole weekend, the more I thought it would be best if we drove straight up here. Everytime I thought about unloading the truck Friday night only to have to load it back up on Saturday, made me decide that it would be far easier on me to come straight on so that is what we did. Our thought was that we could sleep in Saturday morning. That didn't happen, but at least I am not packing and unpacking the truck in the hot Texas afternoon.

We arrived about 9 p.m. Friday. I unloaded and then cooked dinner for the two of us and we watched the new DVD that our friend and videographer, David Guerra, had created when Sean was first in Baylor Rehab and then at Pate Rehab. Watching the video brought home to me how far Sean has progressed since that time.

How far he has to go cannot be nearly as far as he has come.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 9:17 AM CDT

Sean and I just received word that a grandbaby was born to some friends of ours with multiple issues.

The grandfather wrote:

"The baby has a number of issues. I believe I have told you that a bone is missing (the radial bone) from the right arm. There are two missing fingers on the right hand. The left hand is hyper extended and laying flush against the arm.

The parts that no one knew (well the Drs at least suspected but chose not to share) are the following:

1) The throat is closed and does not connect with the esophagus. So there is no connection to the stomach. Apparently the throat is not just closed but it is too "short" and will required time and surgery to be "stretched" to reach the esophagus. This will require a tube to be surgically implanted into the stomach for feeding to occur.

2) The anus is closed. It appears that the rectal canal exists so this may just be a matter of opening the anus. Of course, the part that is still unknown is whether the rectal canal is connected to anything...

3) There is no vaginal opening. In fact, they are going to be testing chromosomes to determine the sex of the baby. This too will require surgery to correct.

As it stands now, the baby will be undergoing surgery tomorrow to implant the feeding tube and create a colostomy. This will allow: time for the baby to stabilize, time to run additional tests and time to gain the strength to undergo the future surgeries.

The condition is called by an acronym: VATER (Vertebral, Anus, Trachea, Esophagus, Radial and Renal). If you want to know more this web site gives an overview: http://www.tefvater.org/vater.html "

Good news... The heart, lungs, kidneys and brain all appear to be functioning normally.

Please lift this family and their blessed new baby up in prayer today and whenever you think of them. The mother and father of this baby, especially need strength and love to help them face the future with their child. The grandparents and all family members need your prayers as well.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 8:23 PM CDT

Sean and I are back in Austin for the week. This is going to be an extremely busy one for us. It is making me tired just thinking about it.

Wednesday and Thursday morning Sean has to be at St. David's Rehab at 8 a.m. He has 5 different therapies of one hour each Wednesday, and 4 on Thursday plus his 90 minute brain lab.

Friday we have meetings with the Texas Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council at Dell Children's Hospital from 9 until 4:30. We will drive directly from there home. I am hoping we can be there by 7:30 or 8:00. Saturday morning we are going to get up and drive up to Lake Texoma to spend Saturday and Sunday at Tanglewood. Sunday evening Sean will speak at Nanny and PaPa's church, Unity Missionary Baptist Church in Denison. Monday morning we will drive home and then next Tuesday we will be on the road back here in Austin.

We just know this is the right thing for us to be doing. Sean is working hard to regain control of his body and his voice.

Life is good and we Believe!!!!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, July 10, 2008 2:42 PM CDT

1201 days, 13 hours, and 33 minutes. That is the amount of time that has passed since the impact of the truck that Sean was riding in, changed our life for ever.

A couple of days ago I was reading through my journal entries from those really early days after Sean's crash. There was so little that Sean could actually do back then. I look at him now and can truly appreciate all that he is now able to do. At this point he is still not walking or talking. But I feel as hopeful and as sure that it will happen as I did those many days, weeks and hours ago.

Yesterday morning I had to wake Sean up at "the crack of dawn" to get him dressed and ready to be at St. David's Rehab hospital at 8 a.m. When I walked in to Sean's room, he greeted me with that glorious smile that he always has on his face. He has begun using his cell phone to communicate when his RollTalk is not available. He had written out, "I feel like I am finally in the home stretch. I know I will be walking and talking soon."

For the first time in more than a year, I was able to drop Sean off at therapy and leave him for a few hours. I was able to go to the grocery story and buy our meals for the week here in Austin, and take them over to our friend Nancy's and get them put away. I even sat and watched a little bit of TV while I enjoyed my minutes. Then with a text request from Sean to bring his swimsuit when I returned to join him for lunch, I left and headed back up to the Rehab.

When I arrived, I found Sean standing at the parallel bars. It is so exciting to watch him and realize how far he has come since he used to just lay in that bed at Parkland, with all of those tubes, and monitors anchoring him to the bed. The bed where he didn't even move, couldn't even move, woudln't even move.

Now 1201 days, 13 hours, and 33 minutes he is standing, albeit with two people helping him, in between the parallel bars, practicing walking again!

Life is good!
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

Please check out this the July '08 addition of "Info Magazine" at www.infomagazine.biz

Sean and I are back in Austin. He is doing Brain Lab here at Crossroads, and I am sitting here writing this journal entry.

We are so excited to be back and have therapies starting again. Sean is going to start in St. David's Day Neuro Therapy Program a couple of days a week. He will go from 8-2 today and 9 to 2 on Friday. This will allow him to have more intense physical, occupational and speech therapy. Visits are counted differently by Medicare when they are in this program, and there will be more sequential time in therapy. We are both ecstatic.

Sean is now having great gains, that are evident to everyone. We went up to Baylor Rehab, Monday afternoon and spent a few minutes visiting with Dr. Carlile. She was very impressed with all of the new movements that Sean now has. She wants us to send her information on the therapies that he participates in here in Austin.

Sean just finished his Brain Lab so I will cut this short.

Thank you for checking in on us,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, July 3, 2008 9:25 AM CDT

Our new wesite is now live. Please login to www.whenseanspeaks.com and check it out. Kudo’s and extreme thanks to Jean Simpson, for the creation of this site. This is only the second website that Jean has created and I am extremely proud of the work that she has done.

Creating the site and figuring out what to include in it has not been easy. If you have any suggestions, or have any problems navigating through the pages, please let me know so that we can work out the bugs.

Info Magazine of Grayson County is now out in Dension, Sherman, and Pottsboro, Texas as well as Durant and Calera, Oklahoma. Please go to the bottom of this page for the link to this month’s issue with the story about Sean. We are so honored for the coverage by Vickie Woodard, publisher of Info.

Sean and I are staying in Dallas this week. He had an appointment with his neurologist Tuesday afternoon. Dr. Diaz-Arristia marveled at all of Sean’s new movements and told us that Sean has definitely defied the odds. He told us that it would be very interesting to see an MRI of Sean’s brain anc compare it to the initial ones, but it would be hard to justify since Sean is doing so well. Does it really matter? Sean is getting better!

Sean also wanted to speak at the M.A.D.D. Victim’s Impact Panel that is held monthly at the Crowley Courthouse in Dallas. This is a mandatory meeting for first time DWI offenders. We used the video of Sean in Baylor for the first time at one of these meetings. There were three other, very powerful speakers. Two of them had actually lost their children. You cannot compare the pain that each of them carry to the pain that we have in what Sean lives with. But this reinforces to me how lucky I am as his Mother. My Beautiful Boy is here! When he had finished his speech, he received a standing ovation. We can only pray that we touched one person’s life enough to make them think before they get behind the wheel after drinking, it will be worth the pain of retelling our stories.

We have not really had much opportunity to work since we began our treks to Austin. It is ironic, but we have had two requests to demo RollTalk this week here in the Dallas area. That is really exciting to us because we get paid for doing the demonstrations and we can really use the money right now. We are so lucky that we don’t have to worry about our gas for our Austin trips, but this is an expense that we do have while we are at home. Being paid for our RollTalk demo’s will help us with that.

I can’t say that we will miss our drive to Austin, but we will miss Sean’s opportunity for therapy.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, June 27, 2008 9:14 PM CDT

Well, plans are moving forward for our trip, but our leave date is being pushed back to the Spring of 2009. Gosh that sounds like forever away, but it really isn't, just about 8 months away.

Sean is beginning to have so many little physical gains, that we just can't leave in September. I really felt like it made perfect sense to start because we are going to Red River for Mountain High Camp in September. And I really miss Todd and his family, BUT...

Drum Roll please!!! You know the story of Helen Keller. Her teacher, Anne Sullivan, held her hand under the water pouring out of the pump and signed "Water" into her palm. Helen all of the sudden connected the signing to the water and the light bulb went off and she wanted to learn the sign for everything?

Well, Sean's body is like that. He seems to be making a new movement every day. Sunday night when I was giving him a shower he reached across his body with his right arm and touched the soup dish on the wall. This is huge because remember, he has been unable to move his right arm at all. On the way to Austin on Tuesday he started touching his right fist to his nose...another first. Then he decided that he was going to drink out of his cup without his straw. He did and was able to drink with just a few sputters. So now he has decided that he no longer needs his special cup. He is going to just drink out of a regular cup. Of course he has difficulty opening his hands, they have been clenched for so long. On the way to Crossroads from St. David's I spotted a Goodwill and ran in and found 3 hard plastic juice glasses that fit his hand perfectly.

Another thing that he started doing on the way down here was wiggle his right thumb up and down. So many little things are happening that Sean told me that he was like Pinnochio. He is going to be a "Real Boy" soon.

Sean had an OT eval and a Speech eval on Thursday. The OT was real excited about the progress that she has heard Sean is making and after looking at his right hand, she showed us that actually there is only one finger that is restricting the other fingers. So this next week I am going to call the hand surgeon and see what he thinks.

It is now Friday night. We are home. I am doing laundry, and Sean is visiting a new friend named Ashlee. She graduated from Denison High School a year after Sean did. It is so funny because each one of us, Sean, Ashlee and I each have a computer on our lap. She and Sean are instant messaging each other and we are watching the movie, "P.S. I Love You". Well, Ashlee and I are watching. Sean's says it's a "chick flick" so he is working hard to ignore it.

Our friend, Jean Simpson, is working on Sean's website. I am hoping to have time to really look at it and give her info and pictures to include. The site is www.whenseanspeaks.com It is under construction now but should be up within a week or so.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, June 22, 2008 11:35 PM CDT

Have you heard of Six Degrees of Separation? Well, I never had until my sister, Meri-Jac, mentioned it and then I heard it again the same day from my niece, Eryn. Both times when I heard it, it was in reference to our Journey of Faith that we will embark on in September.

“Six degrees of separation is the theory that anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. The theory was first proposed in 1929 by the Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy in a short story called "Chains." I found this on the website” http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci932596,00.html

Based on that theory, if you share our story with those that you know, there is bound to be someone who wants to produce a documentary. There has to be someone that you know or that they know who may have some leads on sponsors for our trip.

Now I have to share the miracles that are happening with Sean’s movements. As I shared with you recently, Sean is now able to “march in place”. He can now also do “dips” or “squats”. While standing in his new wheelchair he slides down by bending both knees and goes down low and then straightens back up. This evening he started reaching across his body with his right arm. This is brand new and huge!! He began wiggiling his right thumb! He also is now able to raise his right hand until he is able to touch his nose with his fingers. These are BRAND NEW movements that started today.

His walking goal is Christmas 2008, but I honestly feel that it is going to start sooner!!!!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, June 21, 2008 12:24 AM CDT

Sean and I are going to take a trip around the United States beginning in September 2008. Our wish is to have a documentary done about our trip. We have many obstacles to overcome to make this happen. Of course, the first of these is to have the money to accomplish our mission. I would also like to make this trip in a fully accessible mobility van.

I don't know how all of this will be accomplished. I do know, that through our belief in God, all things are possible. This is where you come in. If you have any ideas, suggestions, talents, donations, etc., please share them with us.

Any excess money will go to The Caringbridge. Without the love we have received from the messages written to us, our life so far would be unmanageable. We want to support the mission of The Caringbridge.

This is what I wrote this morning:

This e-mail is going out to everyone in our Address Books. Most of you know our story. We need your help, either through your prayers, your contacts, or your talents.

Sean is a Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor. I am his Caregiver/Mother/Best-friend who has cared for him, supported him, cried with him and laughed with him, since his new life began. He can no longer walk or talk, but with extreme faith, we believe that he will and after 3 ½ years, he is beginning to regain movement that we know will lead to that.

Sean and I are going to drive around the United States, beginning with our September trip to Red River and Mountain High Camp (a camp for adults with traumatic brain injury). Our plan is to drive from there up to Washington State then on to New York via Minneapolis, Minnesota, down to Florida and back to Texas.

Our goal is to touch lives with encouragement that you can overcome obstacles with faith and perseverance; to talk to people about living with the consequences of your actions; to share our story of the effects of alcohol and driving; and to address (and overcome) obstacles to living in a wheelchair when you can’t talk!

This is where you come in. We want to do a documentary about our journey. We are seeking corporate and individual sponsorship for this trip. At this point there are so many angles that the documentary could address.
We also hope to honor “The Caringbridge” that provides “Free, personalized websites that support and connect loved ones during critical illness, treatment and recovery.”

Please forward this e-mail with my contact information:
Jenny Carter
jennychope@aol.com
469.323.5627

Thank you for caring,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

For more information about Sean and his story please go to www.caringbridge.org/tx/seancarter

For a short video cut and paste this address into your web browser:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/sblow/stories/031408dnmetblow.4e77e288.html

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 9:50 AM CDT

Our trips to Austin are finally bearing fruit. I don't honestly know if it is any one specific therapy, or thing that Sean is doing.....but this is HUGE!!!

He can stand in his standing chair, on his right foot and left his knee up to a 90 degree angle and then kick it out. He looks like one of the Rockette's in a dance line, kicking that leg out. He can stand on his left leg and raise his right knee so that his foot is about 8 to 10 inches off the ground and then extend it!!!!

Last night he stood and alternated each foot and then he actually MARCHED IN PLACE!!!! It has not changed the way he walks with me, but I honestly feel as though it is coming. His brain is starting to get the signals together that will GET HIM UP AND OUT of his chair!!!!

I know that it is coming, but most of all Sean knows that it is coming. He repeats to himself over and over again. "You have to Believe to Achieve."

He was so excited as he was "Marching" last night that he kept "yelling". At least as much as he is currently able to yell. This is another thing that we know is right around the corner.

Now can we pinpoint which of the therapies is working? I don't think there is an answer. It may be that his brain is continuing to heal. It may be that it is now actually "Remapping", it may be that the Neuromuscular Retraining at St. David's is allowing Sean's brain to make the connection with his muscles. It may be that having his new standing wheelchair and getting up frequently is stimulating his body. It was definitely the NuStep that allowed him to keep his body strong, and to give him that cross lateral "patterning" of his limbs, while he was waiting for all of these things to happen.

Sean to me is a miracle. I have yet to meet anyone with a TBI who seems quite as intact, cognitively, as Sean seems to be. I think all of this started with his RollTalk. He sat in the early months of his TBI with his RollTalk in his lap and played solitaire for hours. He would spend hours "talking" to me about his thoughts and his feelings. This opportunity has not been made available to everyone with traumatic brain injury.

I also believe that first and most important is that God continues to hear our prayers. His timeline is not our timeline, but he is listening and he is answering our prayers. Each night, Sean and I continue to ask God for his help and each night, we thank him for all that he has provided to us...to Sean.

Sean will walk again, and Sean will talk again. How do we know it? Because we believe!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, June 13, 2008 9:51 PM CDT

We are staying in Austin this weekend. For some reason, the heat just wipes me out. I know that it is the effort of transferring Sean into and out of the truck that does it. I am just stuck out in the sun while I am getting everything ready and then actually doing the transfer and loading the chair. I try to make sure that Sean is able to sit in the shade as long as possible. I still don’t think that his “internal” thermostat works properly and I always worry that he will actually overheat.

Yesterday and today we had three different stops to make and I got Sean in and out of the truck each time. As I have mentioned before, we have to plan about 15 minutes to load and 15 to unload. That’s an extra half hour added to every trip that we make. In addition, the 8 hours each week that we spend commuting just end up wearing us both down.

I guess I could have skipped the explanation and just said that we are staying in Austin this weekend, but that is what prompted the decision. We had originally planned to attend Muffin’s wedding in Henderson, Texas on Saturday. Muffin is the clinical research coordinator on Dr. Carlile’s team at Baylor Rehab. She has become a friend to us over the years since we first met her when Sean was lying in coma in Baylor. Then about a week ago we realized that Sean really needed to go visit his Dad for Father’s Day so we decided that was going to be our plan for this weekend. We told Muffin we couldn’t make the wedding after all, because we were going to drive up to Denison, and now here we are in Austin!

Please understand that I am not complaining about the heat. It is just a fact that is worth documenting. I also hope that if anyone is reading this who has a loved one in the situation that Sean was in the beginning, that they need to consider long and hard about transportation and how they will manage that. To me, this has honestly always been and still is the hardest thing for me, as caregiver, to accomplish. Sean is so much more active and able to go and in fact enjoys and needs to go many places. Transportation is our biggest obstacle. We often talk about how easy it would be if Sean was able to just drive up into a van and out of a van, we could just go all kinds of places in a day. I know that I would not be nearly as tired as I am now.

So, our next big prayer is that somehow, someway, we will get a van. We probably won’t be able to save on gas mileage, because with the size of Sean’s wheelchair, we will probably have to have a full size van. But we would save gas, because if we did have to stop somewhere for just a few minutes so that I could run inside, we could turn the van off because Sean could just “run” in as well. How awesome that would be!

Saturday morning we are getting up really, really early so that we can be in front of the Texas State Capital before 8. In fact I have set my alarm for 5, so that I can get ready and then get Sean up and out. There is a 5K Run called the Peace of Mind 5K that is honoring veterans returning from war with brain injuries. We have volunteered to help out. We both are very honored to be part of this first run in the nation for our military men.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, June 10, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

Sean and I have made it back down to Austin. Even though the Dallas news stations were saying gas was over $4.00 a gallon, I was able to buy it for $3.95. Thank heavens for our benefactor who is financing our gas down here. I know that they are the sole reason we continue to be able to make this journey.

Sean and I both believe that he is being helped by his therapies down here, which make all of our efforts worthwhile. Friday while at St. David’s, Sean worked on the gluteus muscles as he stood, shifting his weight back and forth. He has been consciously working hard to keep his head up which is a huge accomplishment. No matter how many times he has had people tell him that he needs to hold his head up, he has not bought into it until he was told that he has to do it to help himself walk.

This morning, before we came down to Austin we had to go to BIR so that Sean could have his Baclofen Pump refilled. We got away from home early enough that I was able to run to the grocery store and load the cooler with food for dinner, saving me a trip once we got down here. We even ran through Farmer’s Market on our way out of town for a few things.

Saturday evening, Sean and I went up to BIR to visit a young man whose Mom had written me on our website. Perhaps some of you read the guest book entry about Truman. After visiting Truman until he was ready to go to bed, we followed his Mom and younger brother home so that we could pass the Tilt Table on so that Truman can use it when he finally gets to move home. I had spoken to the family who originally gave the table to us and they were thrilled with the idea of passing it on.

We hope all of you have a happy week!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, June 5, 2008 7:41 PM CDT

We feel as though this has already been a very productive week. Sean has had two brain labs at Crossroads, Tuesday and Wednesday. Today he had Neuro Retraining Therapy at St. David’s. While working with George, the PT as St. David’s today, all the attention of the feedback was on Sean’s quads. Sean was convinced that one of the reasons that he couldn’t stand upright and walk was because his hamstrings weren’t working. As George worked with Sean he explained to Sean just how important the muscles in his butt and neck were to his being able to stand fully upright. He told him that he didn’t need to worry about the hamstrings.

Out of all of the PT’s that Sean has worked with, no one ever explained to him how his neck muscles could contribute to his ability to stand. This evening, while he stood in his wheelchair watching TV, he would tighten his glutes and at the same time he would “phonate”, which means that he would make a little howl. In other words, he was exercising his voice too.

Thursday, Sean and I drove over to Spicewood to the RollTalk offices to have a special mount installed on the new Levo wheelchair. The idea behind the mount is to get Sean’s RollTalk off of his lap and suspended in front of him so that he is able to use it but keep his head more upright. Problem is, because of the design of the chair, there is nowhere to attach the mount. One thing about ASL/Comation, they do not just throw up their hands and say they can’t do something. They sent us to Burnet, Texas to Stealth, a metal fabricator that makes special brackets/fasteners, etc., for wheelchairs and other rehab equipment. They were able to make a part that fits under the left armrest on Sean’s chair.

This evening I loaded up the tilt table to take back to Dallas. Sean no longer needs to use it to stand since he has his new wheelchair. I am going to call the Wenger’s who gave the table to Sean and ask them if they would like to have it back, or if we should pass it on. I am sure that Baylor Rehab may have a patient who would benefit from the use of the table.

Tonight I will have to load as much as possible into the truck so that we can get out early in the morning for St. David’s Neurotherapy and then onto Crossroads for brain lab and directly on home to Dallas. You would think that I would have this weekly relocation down to a science, but it has not gotten any easier. On top of that, the heat is already so oppressive that it makes it even harder to do the job. It’s not quite as hard from home because we are parked in a parking garage, so I am not directly in the sun. At the Austin end, however, I am in the sweltering Texas sun. Climbing into the back of the pickup under the Topper, I sometimes feel as though I will pass out. I have not measured the temperature in there but it has got to be even hotter than outside of it.

Please pray for my niece who is Sean’s cousin Eryn,. You may have to read her entry in the guestbook. Eryn, you are not praying for someone to die. This will allow a piece of someone to live on because they or their family wanted to help someone else during their own loss. You will just have to consider it “the ultimate gift”.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, June 1, 2008 10:48 PM CDT

We still don’t have the results of Sean’s brain re-map, but instead of being disappointed, we are actually a little excited. The neuropsychologist in Arizona, Dr. Cripe, who normally interprets the maps has sent Sean’s on to the expert in St. Petersburg, Russia, Juri Kropotov, Director of Laboratory for Neurobiology of Action Programming, Institute of the Human Brain of Russian Academy of Sciences. It seems so weird to me that someone half-way around the world will be looking at the electronic mapping of Sean’s brain.

It may take a few weeks for us to get the results back, but that is ok with us. Dr. Kropotov actually invented this whole protocol and therapy that Sean now does four times a week, so who better to look at the reports and tell us how the activities of Sean’s brain are doing.

Sean has added a couple of new movements. The other morning he was lying in bed and he stretched and his right arm went right up over his head. He has not been able to do this since his crash. He has not been able to repeat that movement, but this morning he was able to get it up by pushing it with his left arm.

Last Monday when we began our drive to Austin, Sean raised his right arm off of the arm rest in the truck and he began opening and closing his right hand. It has been pretty much crumpled up into a fist, so this is HUGE!!! One afternoon I was dancing around in front of him with my arms up in a boxers pose and all of a sudden Sean got both of his arms in front of himself with his fists in the air like mine were and he started swaying like I was. We both started laughing, as he reveled in his new “dance moves”. Yesterday Sean rotated his right wrist a little. This is another new movement!

The baby steps that started more than 3 years ago continue to pile upon each other. Sean’s goals of walking and talking again are a little bit closer. We are both so excited about what the future holds!

Saturday evening, Sean and I went to dinner at Timothy Moreland’s parent’s house in Wylie. We missed Timothy because he is in Arkansas for the summer at his grandparents. His parent’s are very interested in the Crossroads program and are thinking of having Timothy participate. We had a really enjoyable evening with Phyllis and Mike, and I think talking to Sean and I will help them with their decision.
Sean helped our pastor, Jennie Churchman (isn’t that an amazing name for a pastor?), do communion this evening. He has created a “button” on his RollTalk that says “The Body of Christ Broken for You.” I think everyone that participates has an extra feeling of spirituality when Sean assists. After church we joined several of our church friends for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. We were totally off of our diet and I feel pretty miserable right now but it was worth it for the fellowship. We certainly enjoyed our evening.

We will have a busy Monday and then Tuesday morning we will be on our way to Austin again.

Please say a prayer for my niece, Sean’s cousin, Eryn, as she undergoes another ankle surgery on Wednesday.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, May 28, 2008 5:20 PM CDT

Sean and I wanted to update you in case you happen to check in on him. We drove down to Austin, Memorial Day afternoon because Sean was scheduled to have a video consult Tuesday morning at Crossroads to review the results of the re-map of his brain that was done last week. Unfortunately, that video conference was postponed until Thursday afternoon.

Today (Wednesday), I got Sean up early and we went to Crossroads for his brain-lab at 10, and then we drove across town to St. David's hospital for his first Neuro Muscular Retraining Session. The PT responsible for this therapy, first evaluated Sean's muscle strength and then she placed electrodes on his neck. These electrodes monitor the signal of Sean's muscles from his brain. She placed electrodes on the right and left side of the back of his neck and then had him bend his head down and then lift his head up and press hard against her hands. While he was doing this, he had to watch a computer screen that tracked the signal across the screen in a green line. Those lines are similar to what you would see if you were looking at an EEG, or EKG.

Of course, the signal on the left side is much stronger, but Amy, his new PT, was very happy to see that his right side was getting a good signal as well. She then placed electrodes on his quadriceps and had him straighten his left leg and then she held it up and had him press down. She did the right leg as well. She told us that he definitely has enough signal strength to walk. She said that eventually they will start placing the electrodes on his hips because that is where the muscles are that will play a big role in his walking again.

Amy told Sean that he will probably be very tired after each session because it is causes great fatigue to his muscles while he is doing the therapy and it was obvious as we drove home to Nancy's that Amy was right. Sean is exhausted this evening. For that matter, I am too. The heat in Texas this time of year just saps the energy out of me, as I am sure it does to many of you.

But, I have to tell you that Sean and I are happy, so happy. We both just feel that this will be Sean's year to walk and talking won't be far behind!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, May 23, 2008 7:52 PM CDT

This is the one and only non-talking, non-walking Sean. Now I say that with every intention of getting rid of any assistance to walk!

Regardless, to the point of what's been eating at me lately. I was watching Oprah, and she had several guests on today that had been victim to horrible things. One story got me thinking about drunk driving as a whole and drunk driving that has effected me.

There was a family on there who did everything right for their wedding. They knew there would be drinking at the reception so they had a ride for everyone there. The only problem was there was another driver who wasn't at the wedding, however, he was drunk. He hit the limousine killing the driver of the limo, and decapitating a 7 year-old girl riding in it.

Anyway, to the thing that got me thinking. The father of the girl who was decapitated said, "drunk driving is a crime, and should be treated like one."

Society has become so laissez-faire about drunk driving. I don't understand how I could have been so ignorant not to learn more about what I was devoting so much of my life to. I was grouped with the society category who doesn't want to see the negative side of alcohol!

The father was right, drunk driving is a crime! Isn't it time as a human community to step up to the plate, and realize drunk driving kills? I can personally do my own part, but will anyone listen?

We as Americans think drinking is so cool. I wrote this sometime last month as a journal entry to myself, "Of course it's the shitty hand you were dealt, and you can choose to let the injury define you, or you can be defined by how you overcome the injury.

You know, I was always worried about my brain injury defining me, but now I'm thinking how much good I can do from learning about brain injuries. If this never would have happened I would care less about brain injury, however, it did happen, and it's my new passion advocating for people with brain injury!

People need to know the dangers of what society has made seem so glamorous! This product is legal, and fine for the responsible man and woman, but when it's put in the hands of irresponsible people it becomes a deadly accelerant to death and destruction!"

As a closing note I'll ask you this one question. How will you be defined?

Thanks for reading my frustration,
Sean

Saturday, May 17, 2008 11:19 AM CDT

Sean and I were so honored to be invited to participate at Parkland's Trauma Workshop, Friday, May 16. Sean and I were involved in the morning session that was titled "2nd Trauma Program" The Art of Communicating with Families of Trauma Patients.

For many years, Parkland has worked to consider the needs of the Trauma Victim's Family as they work to minister and treat the Victim. I honestly feel that Parkland gave me the ability for Hope in the earliest, darkest hours of Sean's new journey into life with a traumatic brain injury.

This workshop was not just for Parkland staff. Their were folks there from East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, and from Texoma Medical Center in Denison (where I worked for 14 years), as well as others.

Sean was the first Annual Schulz Luncheon Presenter and had a rapt audience as he told the audience about his life with brain injury.

I had the opportunity as a panel member, to express my sincere thanks to the staff of Parkland Hospital for the care they provided to Sean.

As you can see from the picture above, I finally found the cable to connect camera to computer, so I should be able to post new pictures more frequently. I have a bunch that I have taken over the past few months so I will probably change these every few days to get caught up.

We found out Friday afternoon that Sean's standing wheelchair is in. We are going to pick it up Monday afternoon. Of course, Sean is ecstatic and is living now for Monday. I will have to take pictures on Monday and will get those posted Monday evening so that we can share his new wheels with you.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 7:49 AM CDT

Once again Sean and I are on a path of what some might think are “tilting at windmills”. If you have never heard of this it is like reaching for the “Impossible Dream” or fighting “unwinnable battles”.

St. David’s Rehab Hospital in Austin has the only Neuromuscular Retraining Program in this part of the United States. Here is what is written on the St. David’s website about the program:

“Our program uses operant conditioning, which teaches an individual to access and use existing neural cells in the brain or spinal cord for restoration of function. The EMG biofeedback process is used to train undamaged neural cells of the brain and spinal cord to take over the tasks of damaged cells. Computers with special software measure motor neuron signal from specific muscle groups and display the results on a video screen. Learning tasks can then be done with operant conditioning to establish voluntary coordinated movement to improve function.”

Yesterday I had an opportunity to talk to someone in the department who explained the program a little more to me. Sean had an appointment that I had to reschedule for next week with the PT department. They will do the initial evaluation and assessment of Sean in his present condition and if they feel that it might help him, they will schedule visits for this therapy.

Sean and I are feeling as though this therapy, in addition to the brain lab that he is currently doing in Austin, will be one more way to assist his brain and stimulate those pathways that continue to be severed.

My dear friend, Sarah, plays the Devil’s Advocate with me sometimes and in our phone conversation this weekend, she asked me if there was not a time that I would just accept that this is the way it is. I know that she is really saying to me that it is “ok” if I make the decision to stop reaching for that “pot of gold” that seems always just out of Sean’s reach. I also know that she knows that Sean and I did not get to this point of his “surviving” with his disabilities by accepting life the way it is.

Sean and I live with life the way it is for him, but we both feel strongly and profoundly, that the hope and belief in his improvement is our motivator. This hope and belief is what allows us to continue living each day with a smile on our faces that we feel in our hearts. We know “The Secret” and that is you have to “Believe to Achieve” and that is how we live each day.
We live with the reality of the way it is right now. Is it wrong to hang on to the belief that there will be more?

I am feeling better, but I have this horrible cough that just tears at each and every muscle in my body. No matter what I take, it shakes my entire body. At 4 this morning it was so bad, that I ended up getting up and brewing a cup of hot green tea. I sat and drank the tea and then managed to go back to bed and get some restless sleep for another hour or hour and a half. I know that I am getting better, though.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, May 12, 2008 10:51 AM CDT

Sean and I made a management decision today. We are not driving down to Austin at all this week. Unfortunately, I feel as bad today as I did on Friday. Sunday evening I honestly thought that I was getting a little better, but this morning that feeling of very wet sandbags laying on my chest is back.

I kept trying to pack and finally I just asked Sean if we could wait until tomorrow morning. He actually suggested that we just skip this week, and when I rationally thought about it, that is probably the best thing I could do for both of us.

This is honestly the first time that I have had a cold since Sean's crash. I don't think Sean has had one at all. Riding home on Friday forced Sean to rebreathe air I was breathing into, and he does not seem to have gotten anything, so I feel better that he will not be forced to do that again for at least a few days.

For once, this care giver, needs to "care" for herself.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, May 10, 2008 9:09 AM CDT

When I went to bed Thursday evening I noticed that I had a horrible sore throat. I ended up having a horrible time sleeping. I was chilled to the bone and felt as though I was trying to breathe through soggy wet paper towels in my lungs. We had to get up really early so that I could get the truck packed and we could be at the Airport Hilton by 9 a.m. for a GETAC (Governor’s EMS, and Trauma Advisory Council) meeting. Sean had been asked to give a short “thank you” speech on behalf of Trauma Survivors to Steve Janda. I don’t have his official title but he is a Department of State Health Services employee who has been a liaison for this GETAC, who is now taking a job in the private sector.

Sean gave a heartfelt speech that brought a tear or two to the eyes of some in the audience. I cannot explain to you the pride that I have each time Sean goes in front of a group and “speaks” through his RollTalk.

We were unable to stay through the entire meeting because I just felt so miserable that I felt that we needed to get on the road. Sean did not get to do his Friday brain lab because I felt that I just needed to get us home for the weekend so that I could try to recuperate. Driving home, I felt that it was the drive from “hell”. Well, not literally, but that road has never seemed so long. Since I had been awake so much the night before I was extremely sleepy. I stopped twice for coffee, and although it must have helped some, I was still so very tired it was scary. The weather is now so hot that it is impossible just to pull over to the side of the road and take a short nap, so I had to just keep on keeping on.

Obviously, by my writing this, we made it safely. Bob is gone down to his deer lease this weekend, so once again I unloaded the truck alone. Sean and I didn’t do much of anything when we got home. I pretty much just left everything where it lay when I got it into our apartment.

I slept a little better last night, but still feel pretty bad, so I don’t imagine we will do much of anything at all this weekend. I am praying that Sean does not get sick like I am. It is times like this that are really hard for a caregiver. I am so thankful that I have only been sick one other time since Sean had his crash. I really think this is the only “cold” I have had over the past three years and Sean has really not been sick at all. We are blessed.

Thank you for caring,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, May 8, 2008 8:22 AM CDT

Monday evening, Sean had the opportunity to present a very, very, short speech in front of a "packed house" at the Morton Meyerson Symphony Center before Frankie Valli performed. Sean and I were featured in the annual fund raising video for Special Care and Career Services. After the video aired, Sean and I went onto the stage and Sean delivered his speech. When he finished the entire audience stood up and gave Sean a standing ovation.

As we made our way through the backstage area to go out to our seats, we actually ran into Frankie Valli getting ready to go onstage. He stopped and talked to Sean briefly and I managed to take a picture of the two of them. If I ever think to get another cable to connect our camera to the computer, I will get all of the pictures downloaded and share some with you.

Afterwards we watched Frankie's show and I have to tell you, that even though he is now 74 years old, his voice sounds the same as it did in the 60's and 70's. Sean really enjoyed his performance. He sat in his chair, swaying to the music and had the biggest grin on his face. As we were leaving he stopped to say "That was really fun"!

Tuesday we got up early and drove on down here to Austin. We were a few minutes late to brain lab because it rained on us most of the way. As soon as we were finished, we went to dinner and then drove to our TETAF (Texas EMS, Trauma and Acute Care Foundation Meeting). The problem was, we drove to the wrong hotel. I falsley assumed it was at the same hotel we had gone to in February. WRONG!!!

Sean went on-line with his RollTalk and we reread the e-mail and then headed out to the right hotel and actually arrived just as everyone else was getting there. When the meeting was over, we headed on down to Nancy's and I finished getting the truck unloaded about 10. By the time I got Sean into bed he was worn completely out.

I had to get him up early for his shower on Wednesday, but we had nothing to do after brain lab, so that night was a relaxed one and I got Sean into bed somewhat early.

Thursday night and Friday morning we have more TETAF meetings. Friday, the meetings start at 9, so I will have to get the truck packed as much as I can this evening (Thursday) when we get home. Sean will have a short speech at the Friday morning meetings, then we will load up and head to Crossroads for brain lab, and then head home.

We have been invited to a special panel meeting and lunch at Parkland Hospital next Friday in honor of Trauma Week, so we will head back down to Austin Monday through Thursday next week.

Is anyone tired yet?

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, May 5, 2008 2:38 PM CDT

I was hoping that I would have some time to write but today is flying by, so this will be short.

Sean woke me this morning by calling my cell phone. When I went into his room I was sooo tired, but he had written on his phone, "I have an appointment with Dr. T at 9:45." That threw me into action.

I had to get Sean right up for his shower and then get myself ready so that we could be at Baylor Rehab in time for his appointment. I am still amazed that Sean remembered his appointment because I had only told him about it once and that was about a week ago.

Sean has needed to have his Baclofen reduced for nearly a month and we have just not had any time to get it done. He thinks that it needs to be reduced to help him stand. When the cold moves in, in the fall, and then when it starts remaining warm in the spring, adjustments have to be made to keep him with the right amount of spasticity to keep his muscles loose, yet strong enough to stand.

This evening, Sean and I are going to the Special Care and Career Services Annual Fund Raising Event at the Meyerson Symphony Center. Afterwards we have been invited backstage to meet Frankie Valli, who is the featured performer.

Tomorrow morning we take off for Austin again. Sean and I are not rested from our weekend at camp, so I just got him into bed for a nap and I am going to try to get a quick one in before I pack for Austin.

Thank you so much for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, May 2, 2008 5:11 PM CDT

Sean and I are in Heaven! It is located at "Camp for All" in Burton, Texas. This camp is about equadistance between Houston and Austin. It was built totally barrier free and is host to mainly children's groups through out the entire year.

In May of each year, Higher Ground, a camp for TBI Survivors is held here. There is a challenge course, a stables with horseback riding, a swimming pool, archery, fishing, arts and crafts, just all kinds of adventures for people with disabilities.

The facilities are beautiful and there are wide, rambling sidewalks connecting everything so it is really easy for campers in wheelchairs to roll everywhere.

The camp is sponsored by the "Pilot" Clubs of Texas. Not airline pilates, the word comes from River Boat Pilots like in Mark Twain days. The Pilot Clubs were founded in 1921 as an international service organization. One of their biggest programs is called "Brain Minders". I am going to include the link to their website at the bottom of our page, because I cannot explain everything about them and it will help you understand their commitment to people with traumatic and acquired brain injury.

This will be the entry for today and I will try to write more on Sunday evening.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, April 27, 2008 9:13 AM CDT

I don’t think there is anyway to explain how the guestbook entries from you, the “Angels” in Sean’s Army, touch my heart.

One of the students asked me how I made it through each day when Sean was in coma? I told them that the entries in the guestbook truly sustained me. Well, that feeling continues today.

When I opened the guestbook this morning the entry filled the entire page and I could not see who had written it. As I read (before I could see the name), I knew it had to be Susie Bouge. There are so many people who have been important in our lives. Outside of Sarah, I don’t know of anyone (outside of relatives) who has known us longer, or who has loved my sons almost as much as I do.

Susie and I met when Ben, and her twin sons, Josh and Caleb, were in kindergarten. She also has a son named John, who is just days younger than Sean and Todd. These six boys were best of friends throughout their school years. Even when we moved to Sadler, and as the boys lived through their high school years, they knew they still had that strong sense of “brotherhood”.

I know that my three sons always felt “loved” and “mothered” by Susie and her husband, Dan. After I moved from Dallas, Sean and Todd were often members of the Bouge family, sharing food, activites, blankets, and love.

Although we have lost touch, we have never lost that bond of love that our families share. What a wonderful message to wake up and read.

Another one of our “Angels”, Jean Simpson is working hard to push me into decisions to get a website created and a brochure created to publicize our speaking services. I am so thankful that she has taken these projects on and she has become Sean’s champion.
Jean has suggested that I ask all of you to think of a domain name for our website. I have thought of some…

www.whenseanspeaks.com
www.seanspeakssilently.com
www.seancarterspeaks.com

are thoughts.

As you read this, please be thinking of website names. If you think of something, type it into your address bar. If nothing comes up, it could be free, so please login to the guestbook and send it to us that way. That will allow Jean, Sean and I to all look at it.

I love this Caringbridge website, but we cannot use it for business purposes. Gosh, who would’ve thought by reading the journal entries from three years ago, two years ago or even last year, that my “beautiful boy” would be undertaking such a career? Or even that he would be capable of undertaking a career in public speaking? Especially since he still cannot talk? For someone who is unable to talk, Sean’s words can be heard loud and clear and they make a huge impression.

We didn’t end up going to Austin this week at all. We had postponed our trip until Thursday because Nancy had been ill. (She is better now). Then I was finally able to get Sean’s truck seat fixed, Friday, so it just turned out that we were at home. I think Sean and I really needed a week at home. That may have been as good for him as brain therapy for this past week.

We are planning now on leaving Monday morning for Austin. Sean will do brain lab Monday through Thursday and then he and I will leave directly from Crossroads to go to Brenham and the TBI camp, Higher Ground. That camp will be Thursday through Sunday.

Right now the plan is to drive home Sunday evening and then back to Austin again that Tuesday.

Thank you for caring and Thank you so, so much for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 8:52 AM CDT

Lifting a line from John Lennon's song, Beautiful Boy, "Life is what happens when you're making other plans".

That is definitely the theme of our life these days. Sean and I were supposed to be in Austin today but our friend, Nancy, has a stomach virus and thought we should stay away for a couple of days. This will give me an opportunity to go through the stacks of mail that have piled up.

Sean's PaPaw had called Sunday evening and asked us if we could go to the Texas Baptist Orphanage while we were in Texarkana, so Monday evening after dinner we drove over there. What a beautiful campus they have. They provide a home for about 20 children from ages 6 to 18 who for one reason or another are not able to live at home with their families. I have to be honest but I fought with myself along the drive up to Texarkana thinking how I would be so "busy" with Sean that we didn't really have time to make this visit. But how do you turn someone down who makes this request? Well, you don't. And I am glad that we followed through with PaPaw's request.

The kids actually enjoyed Sean's presentation and it gave him a chance to "practice" the speech that he had been working feverishly on over the weekend. I had not heard all of the changes that he made, so it was like a "first" for me as well. Afterwards the kids gathered around and talked with Sean for awhile. We ended up having to "tear" ourselves away. It was very enjoyable evening for us, so "Thank you, PaPaw." I am glad we went there.

Tuesday was our day at Texas High School. Each time we speak at a school, the belief that we are fulfilling God's work for us, becomes more apparent. Our first presentation was with the Senior Class. Saturday night of this week is their Prom. You can just imagine where their minds and hearts were as they came filing into the auditorium. They were a rowdy crew as they made their way to their seats. In fact, I remember telling Sean not to worry about his reception because these kids might be in a different place than he is, so don't worry about their reaction to him.

As the lights went down, and we started our presentation, the noise level dropped off. By the time Sean finished his "speech" the room was filled with a bond of compassion and kinship with him. I opened the floor up for questions and it was obvious from the questions asked, that these young people had an understanding of Sean's courage and determination and that some of them could even apply it to their own lives. Afterwards many of them even came up and thanked us for being there.

Later on I had to get something out of the truck and I walked through the masses of students as I made my way across campus. I was stopped numerous times by students, thanking me, telling me to share with Sean their encouragement, or asking me questions about our lives and about Sean.

We did a second presentation in the afternoon and again had the same positive reaction. This time, after the presentation, kids came down in droves, pulling out cameras and cell phones to have their pictures made with Sean. As you can imagine, Sean enjoyed the attention.

Driving away from Texas High School, Sean and I felt as though we were leaving "home". We felt a bond with these kids and the staff that worked with them. This was reinforced as Sean began to get a few text messages from some of the kids telling him about the impact he had upon their lives.

There will be no way we can actually measure the success of our time with a group of young people. But if one person makes one small decision that changes the course of their life because they remembered Sean's story, then it will be worthwhile.

As I sit here writing this, I am again overwhelmed with the courage that Sean has. He does not just move through life, he Lives it. Despite all that Sean cannot do, he does "so much". I am humbled each day by the love that comes to him from others.

Sean and I ask you to pray for the lives of the young people at Texas High, and for all of our kids. We pray that theirs is a life of happiness and success. And we pray that they have love in their lives.

Ann Hoover, thank you for inviting us to your school. We have been blessed.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, April 19, 2008 10:43 PM CDT

I am honored to share that Sean was selected as a consumer/survivor on the Texas Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council on Friday. This group is instrumental in introducing legislation on behalf of people with traumatic and acquired brain injury.

I have been more and more concerned about Sean's inability to exercise while he is in Austin. It is affecting his ability to walk and I am concerned that he will lose muscle tone. I called NuStep Inc., to try to locate anyone in the Austin area who might have a NuStep and the only place that has one is St. David's Rehab. That won't work for us because Sean does not have any PT visits available to use. Because of the HIPAA law, they could not give me names of individuals who have them.

I honestly feel that if Sean had access to his NuStep every day, in addition to the brain therapy he is receiving, he would actually start making gains. This has made me think about the possibility of moving down to Austin temporarily instead of coming home every weekend. Bob is supportive of this idea because he is concerned about the miles I am putting on the truck. In addition, it is extremely hard on me, physically to have to load and unload all of our stuff as we relocate, weekly.

Dr. Mary Traverse, of Crossroads, told me that she does not want us to be discouraged and we have Sean financially covered in therapy. She once again told me that she thinks it could take about a year before we really see results.

That is what has prompted me to start thinking that maybe we should try to live in Austin during this time. Of course, Bob would stay here in Dallas in our apartment. If there is a way to work this out financially, Sean and I may do it. Right now, everything is just a thought. The real reason we would be doing it is so that he would have access to his NuStep everyday. Maybe we should just pray for another NuStep! No, I don't think that is the answer.

Sean and I have confidence that God will lead us through this decision as well.

Sean and Ben and I walked in the "Walk Like MADD" today. Sean raised $1665.00. It was such a beautiful day today and we really enjoyed the opportunity being out with everyone. Of course Sean sped on ahead of us.

The part for Sean's truck seat should be in so I am planning on taking the truck to Lift Aids first thing Monday morning to have it fixed. I will already have the truck packed and will come home and pick Sean up and we will head to Texarkana for the night. Sean and I will speak at Texas High School and at the Middle School in Texarkana on Tuesday. From there our plan is to drive straight on down to Austin.

For a young man who has been unable to walk or talk for the past three years, and for his MoM who cares for him, I think we live a very rewarding life!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 8:15 PM CDT

At the suggestion of Dr. Mary Carlile, Medical Director of the Traumatic Brain Injury program at Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation, Sean is going to apply to be on the Texas TBI Advisory Council. They meet at the end of this week here in Austin, so we are going to miss Friday’s Brain Lab. We all know that Sean has a unique perspective because he is a survivor of brain injury.

Sean has begun writing a personal journal and the other evening he wrote that he just wasn’t sure if continuing brain lab was the right thing for him to be doing. He was going through a period of doubt because he had progress the first week of lab, but since then nothing really has changed. Of course that worries me as well. I cannot let Sean ever give up. I know that there are people who think that we should accept reality and “make the best of it”. Well, I am here to tell you, that we are making the best of it. Sean works for two companies, Mobility Medical Equipment, Inc. and Comation the only distributor of his RollTalk, in the United States. He only gets a very few hours of work in a week, and we are barely making gas money for the trips we make, but it is a huge accomplishment and one that makes him very proud.

And now, we are going out speaking to groups sharing the story of the tragedy and now the triumph of choosing a “Happy Life”, rather than sitting at home thinking about all that we have lost. No one should compare their tragedies. Many, many people have them. Many, many people have tragedies worse than ours. Some peoples’ tragedy is a broken fingernail, but if that is the worst that has ever happened to them, than that is their biggest tragedy. I know of very few people who cannot look at their own situation and find someone who has it worse.

Our message is no matter how bad it is, you “can” rise up and live a happy productive life. You have to “Believe” there can be more, and you have to “Believe” that there is someone bigger than you who is “in control”. This belief is called “Faith”. It is a profound trust that God is in control of our lives. I cannot imagine how people live through a tragedy such as ours without this.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, April 13, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

Sean sleeps in this morning. Yesterday was such a busy day and I think he was just exhausted. In fact, he obviously was and that is why he still sleeps at 10:45 a.m., Sunday.

The funeral service for Bob’s Mom was yesterday morning and with Ben and Sean at my side, we attended with Bob.

We finally had the opportunity to meet most of Bob’s relatives. After the services we all went to Bob’s Mom’s house for a beautiful afternoon of “family time”. Rather than try to get Sean inside, we all sat out and enjoyed the sun shine. Sean and Ben got so sleepy out in the sun, that the three of us ended up coming home and I laid Sean down for a nap.

He woke up after a good nap, and we met Bob at his shop and the three of us drove up to Sadler and shared in a barbeque with several of Sean’s best friends and people that I knew from when we used to live up there. We really enjoyed seeing everyone, but later as the young men started playing “drinking” games, Sean decided that he was ready to go. He told them all that the alcohol is what put him in his wheelchair, and it no longer had a place in his life. Sean enjoyed seeing everyone, as did Bob and I. Bob gets a kick out of all of Sean’s friends, so he had as good a time as Sean did. He was tired after his busy week of funeral preparation for his Mom, and was ready to get in bed.

We got home around midnight and after Sean’s long nap and my two cups of coffee, we sat up together until 2 this morning. Somehow, Sean’s turney seat for our truck got broken and it won’t turn easily back into the truck. It was nearly impossible to get it in when we were ready to leave Sadler last night, so I will have to take it to Lift-Aids first thing on Monday and pray they have the part to fix it so that we can head down to Austin on Tuesday. If instead, they have to order the part, we will just have to stay here at home. There is no way I can risk being unable to get the seat turned back in either with or without Sean because I will then be unable to drive the truck.

After loading Sean in and out several times at the cemetery and then the stops we made yesterday it once again reinforced the idea that “we should have bought a van”. It would have been so much easier to lower a ramp and have Sean drive right in. There would be less work on my part and also less mechanical to break down. Hind sight is 20/20, however, and there isn’t much that can be done about it unless I win the lottery this week.

I have already been to the grocery store this morning while Sean and Bob slept. Lunch is in the oven and I am going to spend a few minutes with the Dallas Morning News.
Please include the young man, Justin Drew, in your prayers. You will see a note from his Mom in our guestbook.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Jenny Carter

Tuesday, April 8, 2008 9:35 PM CDT

Headed down to Austin again. Feeling very confused because of the thing that confuses most every 20 something male, girls! I know that I need to focus every ounce of energy in me on my therapy and getting better, but I can't. I honestly try, but sadly I'm never successful in my efforts. :(

Anyway, other than that I'm pretty good.

We're in the process of making arrangements to go to Texarkana to speak to the high school and middle school. This is the beginning of our first real promising hope of money for our future! You know, after seeing my life as another on-looker, it has looked pretty dull with no hopes of an actual future for me.

I mean I had almost completed my bachelor's degree at Midwestern State University when my life was forever changed, and almost ended. Mom and I had a discussion about faith and about science earlier this morning. She said, "you need to get the belief that you will talk and walk, but regardless of that you will live a happy and full life!"

I then said, "I've always had that belief, but I have that faith that I will because of the many advances in science so often. I wish I had that faith that through God I will talk and walk."

Then we talked about I could have that faith in science advancing enough because God will allow it! You know, this is a very complicated and sophisticated time we now live in with much knowledge about many things! Is it unreasonable to believe all of this is now possible through God and because of God?!?

I believe that it is, and I believe He will heal me!

Borrowing Mom's closing, thank you for caring and thank you for sharing!"

The non-talking, non-walking cripple,
Sean

Sunday, April 6, 2008 5:45 PM CDT

Saturday morning Sean's Dad, Danny, and Nanny and PaPaw came down and spent sometime with Sean. I took the opportunity to take the truck and vacuum and wash it. It feels good to have a clean vehicle again, even though it now has a couple of major blemishes on it. Oh well, it's nothing but a thing.

Sean, Bliss and I met Lois and on Richardson, and all of their family (except their daughter Susie and family who live in Florida) to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. We had dinner at Love and War in Texas, which I highly recommend to large groups like ours was. It has great food and is a large place, which was great for Sean and Bliss to maneuver in their wheelchairs.

I think Bliss had a really good time. Of course Sean and I did and I know that everyone was impressed with Bliss. She is a sweetheart.

Bob had gone down to his deer lease with his brother John and John's son, Willey. I was very sad to hear that Bob and John's Mom died while they were there Saturday evening. She had gotten sick about two weeks ago with pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital. She finally seemed to be getting better on Wednesday and Thursday, so Bob and his brother decided to go turkey hunting. I spoke to Bob this afternoon as they were driving home and we will miss church today to be here when he gets home.

We will not go to Austin this week until after her funeral, which of course is not yet planned.

Sean and I want to congratulate Cousin Tobin and his wife Annette who had a baby boy this past week. The picture that Toby sent of Mia and Max, their 2 and a half year old twins, with their new baby brother was so sweet.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, April 3, 2008 8:40 AM CDT

Sean and I believe that we have finally begun to find our “niche” for a future career. We spoke on Monday at Dallas Christian Academy to their entire student body of Middle School and High School students. There were around 400 people in their activity center including faculty. Afterwards a group of students came up to thank Sean and to tell him that he had inspired them.

Since we were doing this on our own we had charged a nominal speaker fee which the school ended up tripling after hearing our story. One of the questions that someone asked us was how do you survive financially. I explained that we often travel on faith. Bob does all that he can for us, but we are a financial burden on him and there have been times that we have driven to Austin with $10 in my pocket and just the faith that something would occur to allow us to buy groceries. Something always happens. Twice we received money from the foundation, Designated Heroes. That is how we have lived for quite sometime now. This was not a request for money, it was a statement of fact.

Another student asked me how much it costs to live each day. I explained that I don’t honestly know. Sean and I don’t really do much anymore except come down to Austin for Brain Lab and we do go to church each week. Other than that, we buy food, gas for our truck and pay insurance, phone, and internet, we don’t go anywhere to spend money.

After our presentation, at three different times, women (I assume, teachers) put money in my hands. When I later looked at the bills, I was so surprised and thrilled. Another week that I was able to buy groceries!

Tuesday morning we spoke to a group of employers and consumers, at a DARS meeting. A gentleman from Mary Kay asked us if we would consider speaking at a corporate meeting. Last night Sean had an e-mail from Texarkana, ISD requesting us to speak at the High School. We are working on presentations in and around Oklahoma City right now.
Sean’s story of how he wound up in a wheelchair is an important one. But the story of how he continues to move forward each day with that glorious smile on his face is even greater. I have finally realized how inspirational people find him and because of him, me. We feel that we need to go out and encourage people that there truly is “No mountain high enough, nor a river deep enough” that you can’t traverse with faith.

Sean and Bliss are spending time together when they can. We want to include Bliss in our presentations. I think that the two of them are unstoppable. Bliss also is a testimony to courage and faith of living with quadraplegia. They will make such a powerful motivational couple. Bliss is attending UTD fulltime right now, and with Sean in Brain Lab here in Austin four days a week now, it may be a few months before we can really start speaking together. That is our plan, however. We want to form a corporation and actively seek out speaking engagements. I can imagine this as their future career.
Thank you all for your kind words to us in our guestbook.

Sometimes I feel I “talk” to much about how I feel. We now have over 150,000 hits on our website. I know that many of these are because PaPaw checks in so often to see if I have written anything new about his “favorite Grandson named Sean”, but I also know this means that our faithful “Army of Angels” continue to care and to pray.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, March 28, 2008 10:07 PM CDT

Sean and I watched the story on the "Mistaken Identity" of Whitney Cerak and Laura Van Ryan, this evening. Matt Lauer asked Laura's family how they could have sat by Whitney for 5 weeks and not realized that was not their daughter, Laura.

I can only imagine their feelings. But I can remember mine as I watched over Sean, day in and day out as he lay in coma. I cried so hard tonight.

Will Sean ever forgive me for not saying the right prayers. Sean said to me tonight that he didn't understand why I didn't pray for a "Walking, Talking Boy". I told him that I never dreamed that he wouldn't walk and talk. I just know that his brain was injured so his mind was injured and that is all I knew to pray for. I never dreamed that he would wake up and forget that he knew how to do those things. I feel so guilty.

Three years and one day ago, I sat beside Sean, looking at him and praying that he would live and that he would have his mind. Had I known then the life that he would have to face, would I have prayed those prayers? I honestly don't know. I just know that I love my son, probably more than ever today. I love all three of my sons so very, very much. But how does a parent ever know what they are supposed to pray for? All we can do is pray from our heart, and we have to trust that God understands and can interpret our prayers.

Even three years and one day later, I know that God did not intend for Sean to sit silent in his wheelchair. I know that he is going to live an extraordinary life. I know with all my heart that he was not left here on this earth to suffer.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 8:47 PM CDT

Sean's 3rd Survivor Day is Thursday. March 27, will be 1097 days or 156 weeks since I recieved word that Sean had a catastrophic wreck that has resulted in his silence for all this time.

A day does not pass that I don't look at him and believe that he shouldn't be sitting in that chair. It is something that I will never get used to, nor will I ever accept that this is the way it is meant to be for him. I am so happy to be able to say that Sean does not accept his current lot in life. He too is convinced, far more than I even am, that he will walk and talk again.

The thing that makes me so proud about my Beautiful Boy is that no matter how horrible life could be when viewed from within the prison walls of his body, he looks for happiness and meaning. The smile that I once waited so long to see is so much a constant on his face. He and I spend a lot of time in laughter, together.

He says I am "one" of his best friends. I say that he IS my best friend. We are each others "rock".

Not many people have the opportunity to spend such intense time with one of their children. Although, I may wish that this had never happened, we can change none of it. Therefore, I am glad that we have the relationship that we have.

I am also very, very thankful that Bob is in our lives and has allowed me to care for my son. Financially it is a huge burden on Bob, but he never complains. He has given up a lot in his life to allow us to be a "family" together. We are blessed to have him in our lives.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, March 23, 2008 3:57 PM CDT

Tuesday found Sean and I driving down to Austin in a torrential downpour. We had heavy, heavy rains accompanying us from home all the way to Round Rock, Texas. God was watching over us, however, and although it was a slow ride, we ended up dry on our way into Crossroads offices. As soon as I got Sean inside, the heavens opened up again and it poured until right before we were ready to go. How awesome was that? By the time we left and drove down to Nancy's house the rains had moved on. We were certainly lucky.

We ended up coming home Wednesday evening because Sarah, Sean's brain lab tech, was taking off a couple of days for Easter. It has felt so good to have a few extra days at home this week. Although Sean missed his brain labs, the extra time on his NuStep has helped him physically, so we have no complaints.

Sean has started spending time with a young lady named Bliss whom he met at Baylor Rehab. Bliss is nearly two years out from a spinal cord injury. Although she is considered a “quad”, she is able to power her own chair around. She is the most beautiful young woman and I am so happy to see the friendship develop between the two of them. Her personality is like a ray of sunshine. She always seems so happy and is exactly the type of person that Sean needs to share time with. She is very spiritual and the two of them have begun to share laughter and prayer.

Both Sean and Bliss feel that they will walk again. I think their friendship is so remarkable. They each give the other one courage, and also the ability to understand the path there lives have set them on.

Sean and I spent all evening at our church Saturday sharing in an Easter Vigil. It was a wonderful evening, that ended up with a “bump” that neither of us expected. As we were leaving the parking lot about 1 a.m., I noticed an old, long, white cadillac driving southbound on Northwest Hwy, with only one headlight working. Now, I don't know about you, but I have this probably irrational fear of pulling up beside a car late at night and being shot at by a “drive by”. And of course, I also imagine the type of vehicle someone would be driving to do such a thing. I actually think my mindset came from that scary book that Stephen King wrote about the car, Christine, that was possessed. As I pulled out onto the road, I noticed up ahead the car was just crawling down the road. As I began to pass it, I also noticed that the light up ahead had just turned red, which would put us side by side at the red light. There was still quite a distance to go, so I accelerated and when I had definitely cleared the caddy, I pulled over into his lane. Since he was going so slow, and I was a good 200-300 yards in front of him (or more), I figured that he would just pull up behind me. Well, this was exactly what he did, except he didn't stop! He drove right into the back of the truck.

We were so lucky that he was traveling so slowly and also lucky that we have that big steel lift gate on the back of the truck. When he hit me, I just accelerated and drove through the red light. There was no one on the road except our two vehicles and I was not about to stop and confront the driver. When it is that late at night with no traffic, I figured that it was not wise for a woman with her disabled passenger to be out of her car on the side of the road with an inebriated stranger.

Sean and I drove on home and I was so thankful when the lift gate worked just as it was supposed to, gliding up and down as smooth as if nothing had happened. The plate that is on the back of it, now carries the imprint of a pointed headlight and the “plastic” is broken, but otherwise we are none the worse.

I told Sean that perhaps it was meant to happen. Maybe our little wreck disabled the car enough so the guy had to just sit on the side of the road, enabling other travelers, safe travels. I did call 911 to let them know that a dangerous driver was on the streets, but I don't think they were to concerned. There's enough going on the Dallas streets late at night, that one fender bender was going to force them into action.

We have a few appointments scheduled for work on Monday and then will drive on down to Austin, Tuesday. We hope that all of you had a wonderful and spirit filled Easter.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, March 17, 2008 10:01 PM CDT

Please click on the link below for a story written about Sean that appeared in Friday’s Dallas Morning News.

I actually updated the journal on Sunday, but something happened and our Home Page had to be restored, so I am now writing it again.

We have been busy all last week. Monday we had an appointment with the Director of Assistive Technology at United Cerebral Palsy of Greater DFW to demonstrate how Sean uses his RollTalk. From there we drove over to L.D. Bell to drop off the CD’s we would be using for Sean’s speech on Wednesday. We then had an appointment at the DARS office at Northwest Highway and Harry Hines.

Tuesday Sean had his Baclofen Pump refilled. When he had it refilled, he asked Dr. Thomas to reduce the amount of medication it was dispensing by 10 percent. Sean felt that his inability to transfer as easily as he had been doing was because he was now getting too much Baclofen. As spring and the heat arrive, it is not uncommon for TBI patients to require less medication. I wasn’t sure that was Sean’s problem. I was beginning to think it was related to the fact that he is unable to ride his NuStep everyday as he had been doing prior to our weekly drives to Austin. I was so thankful when I got Sean out of bed the next day and I was again able to “walk” him easily to his wheelchair.

After Sean’s pump refill and medication adjustment we went up to the 2nd floor of BIR and made our rounds on the therapists. From there we went over to Baylor Specialty Hospital to find out if any of their patients had equipment needs.

Wednesday found me getting up at 4:30 so that I could get ready and then get Sean up at 5:15 to get him dressed and ready for our trip over to L.D. Bell High School for his presentation at 8 that morning. Steve Blow, columnist for the Dallas Morning News, met us at the high school with a video and a camera man for an interview that Baylor Rehab and MADD had suggested. If you haven’t seen the story, you can still find it on line by clicking the link below. We were very honored by the column that Steve wrote.

Since we had gotten up so early every day that week, we got home and decided that a nap was probably what Sean needed. He ended up sleeping for 2 hours because he was so very tired. I really think that the time change could have also played a part in his need for a nap.

We didn’t drive down to Austin until Thursday and Sean had brain lab on Thursday and Friday. Friday evening after brain lab, Nancy rode with us to Cedar Park to look at an adjustable bed she had found on Craig’s List. She was compelled to buy the bed because she worried that Sean was not really getting to sleep comfortably on the twin bed he was using. Sean and I both tried to talk her out of it, but she has insisted that she wants the bed for Sean and she can always move it into her room when we no longer need it.

We didn’t drive home until Saturday afternoon, which was nice because we didn’t have to deal with Austin’s horrible Friday afternoon rush hour as we made our normal out of town journey home.

Today is Monday, St. Patrick’s Day. Sean and I spent the entire afternoon at BIR while Sean was being filmed for a Fund Raising video that Special Care and Career Services is making for an event they will have May 5.

After I made dinner this evening, I began packing for our weekly trip. Tomorrow is already Tuesday and we will be heading south again. I am not really looking forward to driving in the predicted rainfall for the entire day. Oh well, it will slow our travels, but we can’t let it stop us. We will stop by Dr. Thomas’ office on the way out of town to again have Sean’s Baclofen Pump dialed down another 10 percent. Hopefully that will be just right for him to move easily.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, March 8, 2008 11:05 AM CST

Please read the Dallas Morning News Article by clicking on the link below this journal entry.

Another week is behind us of our travels to and from Austin. Although Sean has not exhibited any additional physical changes, both of us feel much better with our frame of mind.

It's funny how we can hear something many, many times, but we just don't "get it", and then someone new can say the same thing, but maybe in a new way and suddenly we have an "Ah Hah" moment and things make sense. I had one of those this week.

Dr. Mary Traverse arranged an appointment for Sean with Philip Zyblot, MD, on Wednesday. He is a preventive medicine doctor who practices using all natural herbal supplements, etc. He started out at Jesuit High School here in Dallas, and went on to become a botanist before he turned to medicine. That probably somewhat explains his holistic beliefs and approach.

I was explaining the frequent "fits of temper" that Sean has been having lately and Dr. Z said something like this: "Maybe you both need to think of this differently. Maybe instead of having fits, Sean is just letting things go so that he is no longer frustrated."

I sat there and thought about it for a moment and the tears just poured down my face. Finally, something clicked in me. I have always been so hurt because I try to do the best I can for Sean and then I upset him. I knew that Sean only had these moments when something brewed up and he had no way to communicate it. Now in my conscious mind I was always aware that was going on with Sean, but I would personalize his behavior as an attack. Now I realize that he is just "letting go". In fact, we have had many, many, many laughs since Wednesday. Sean's behavior has not necessarily changed, but my reactions have changed. I too, "let go" of those feelings of sorrow and hurt each time that it happens.

Something else that happened to Sean and I this week happened as we were listening to one of Ellen Degeneres interviews with Wayne Dwyer. He said something like, "People always want to be right, so they never let the other person have the last word in an argument. Wouldn't it be kinder to let the other person win for a change?" What a novel concept. Sean and I both heard the same thing and he wrote to me on his RollTalk, "I promise I will work hard to be kind to you, MoM.
Sean and I are also dealing with his new diet that is as much as possible, organic and is totally sugar and grain free. I don't know if he is feeling the deprevation that I feel, but I have imposed the same restrictions on myself. I just don't feel that I should have something when he can't, plus it is easier to cook the same. In addition he is unable to eat most spices and right now fruits are off the list as well because they contain sugar. Makes for kind of boring meals. In fact, it is like we eat dinner two or three times a day. Meat, or seafood and vegetables and that is it!

The good thing is that we are both losing the fat around our midsections. Both of our faces are starting to be more defined and our cheek bones are showing again. That has to be worth all of the deprivation:)

Friday afternoon we were so excited because Sean was able to finish his labs early and we were loaded up and on the road out of Austin by 3:45, which was a record.

Unfortunately, I had made a plate of several different uncooked vegetables and boiled shrimp for Sean and before we even got 30 miles away from the clinic his stomach was hurting and he told me that he needed to go to the bathroom. This kind of bathroom stop is a major production. It is again one of those situations that require me to take his rolling commode chair into a restroom, and I know of no "family restrooms" on the trip home. We got to Salado and I could read the discomfort in Sean's face, so I exited and stopped at the first station available.

It worked out perfectly and although I had to get Sean in the handicapped stall in between women coming in and out to use the other one, we managed, he managed (after many minutes of contemplation time), and we were again on the road. Sean is so sweet at times like that. He always apologizes to me because he knows how physically difficult those stops are for me. But even though I may be frustrated on one level because I really am in the mode to do what I was doing, I never want him to feel guilty for doing what his body was designed and needs to do.

So, maybe there were no great physical break throughs this week. We both grew spiritually, and that has to count a great deal in the great scheme of life! I have to believe that made this a great week.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, March 1, 2008 2:17 PM CST

This has been an extremely difficult week for Sean and for me. I have taken Sean off of the anti-depressant that he has taken for more than the past two years. I thought that I was taking him off slowly, unfortunately, I probably reduced his doseages too quickly and we are both now paying the price.

He has been extremely enraged with me for the past 7 days, making it difficult for both of us. I am prayng that he will soon be over the shock to his system of withdrawal from this medication and will be back to his sunny, optimistic self.

Although we are really enjoying our life in Austin and we both feel that it is what Sean is supposed to be doing, it still takes a huge toll on us to make the transition back and forth each week. I wish that there was a way for us to have our very own place down there and we might stay down there for a couple of weeks at a time which would really help. As it is, we are never anywhere long enough to get anything done. It wears on me, and I know that my stress level does not help Sean in all he has to deal with.

This too shall pass as has all the time that we have lived in the past three years. We now finally feel that Sean is going to make headway on his mission to walk and talk again, so we just have to keep grinning and force ourselves to get over the dislocated feeling that we both have.

Please don't think that I am not counting our blessings, because I am. Dr. Mary Traverse has told me that the emotional upheaval that Sean is now going through is actually quite common for people as they tax their brain with this new therapy. In addition, he has had the double whammy of getting off of his anti-depressant. She has agreed with me that it is really better for Sean, not to be on this drug. She didn't want to suggest that he be off of it, but is so happy that we have come to this conclusion.

Sean is also now on a special organic diet. His blood allergy levels have been tested and his body is intolerant to so many foods. In addition, he has a fungul infection in his body, candida albicans, that although is normal in the body, has grown out of control and is affecting his intestinal health. This has happened because of all of the antibiotics that he has taken since his crash and has been excerbated by his diet. We are now in the process of eating to purge him of the detrimental effects of this fungus. I feel guilty about eating food that he cannot eat, so I am cooking and eating exactly as he does. Our diet is very bland, absolutely no sugar or sugar replacements, no fruits, and no grains. In addition, there are many, many foods that his body is not tolerating so we are cutting those out as well.

What does that leave us? Just meats and a very few vegetables. Salt, parsley, sage and oregano are the only spices that he can have. Sounds appetizing doesn't it? Oh well, at this point we will make any gastronomical sacrifice if it helps his brain health!

Ok, writing my thoughts down has helped lift some of the dark thoughts that I have been feeling. Thank you for letting me unload!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, February 23, 2008 9:10 AM CST

The dam continues to breakdown! Sean has gained a few more movements. He was able to lift his right arm to my shoulder with his left arm at his side for the first time this week. There is another movement that I will attempt to explain.

Hold your left arm at shoulder height in front of you bent at a 90 degree angle with your fist up in the air. Then move it with a "snapping" motion to your waist. I don't know if you can understand that, but long ago during Sean's inpatient stay at Baylor Rehab, his rehab Tech, Susan, told him the day would come when he could make that motion and say "Yes"! That is what Sean is doing now.

Since Sean's crash, he has never been able to doing anything except in extremely sloooowww motion. Well he can make this movement with a "snap". It is fast and it is crisp. Can you understand what I am trying to say? This means that his brain is beginning to send messages to his arm faster!!! This is hugely significant to Sean and I. Just the fact that one message is coming through quickly and precisely indicates to us that his new brain therapy is working.

Sean has been continually improving over time, but the improvements have come in such slow, tiny, babysteps and usually few and far between. Now I feel as I watch him each day that his brain is finally beginning to pick up the pace. This cannot be coincidental. It has to be that this "rewiring" that he works on in the Austin Lab of Crossroads Institute is working.

On Wednesday, Sean and I drove over to the offices of RollTalk in Spicewood and had the software on his RollTalk upgraded. He now has a new "voice" that he calls "Sven". His RollTalk now speaks with a lilting, Norwegian, accent. The speech is easier to understand and has a light hearted meter to it. Sean and I laugh at the sound of it. After listening to his previous monotenous (sp?), synthesized voice, he now has one that actually speaks conversationally. I no longer feel as though I am being attacked if Sean is trying to tell me that he disagrees with me. I don't know if I can explain how that other voice would sometimes hurt my feelings. Now we just laugh, and laugh, and laugh over the way things come out of the speakers of Sean's RollTalk. It actually sounds like there is a little Norwegian man sitting inside, talking for him.

Exciting things are beginning to happen, making that drive to Austin and home again so very, very worthwhile!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, February 17, 2008 10:27 AM CST

Another trickle through the dam this morning. I heard Sean "yelling" from his bedroom and when I walked in he had this huge grin on his face. Then he showed me why he was so excited. He was sitting up in his bed. (His temperpedic bed is adjustable so the head end was up allowing him to sit up.) He is now able to "push" his right arm forward! This is a huge movement for him.

He has slowly been able to move the right arm a little more over time. Remember, I used to always have to lift his right arm onto my shoulder, and then he was able to slowly and with great effort, do it himself. Then one day he was able to push it forward at shoulder height.

Just this week, while at Nancy's, he was able to raise his right arm from the bed at this side up to shoulder height. Then today, he could "push" it out to shoulder height. These are two major movements just this week!

We are so thankful that the Lord led us to Crossroads Institute.

Stay tuned....There is bound to be more to come. Sean is convinced that he is going to have huge breakthroughs in 25 brain lab treatments. Right now he has just completed 6 of them. What will the next 19 bring?

On another note. Sean has recieved an e-mail from someone who heard him speak in Austin last week. He has been asked to "speak" at a high school in Dalhart, Texas. All the details have not been worked out but we have told her that we will do it for gas and expenses (overnight hotel).

Sean's speeches will now not only include choices and consequences, but also the message of perseverence and self motivation. His message is so powerful, and he feels obligated to share it.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, February 14, 2008 6:35 PM CST

Sean and I are here in Austin again. We didn't come down until Wednesday. Sean had an engagement to speak before another graduate class of speech therapy students, Tuesday evening. He had scheduled this speech long before we knew anything about Austin, so he felt a strong obligation to honor his commitment.

We also had an inservice scheduled at Pate Rehab for Mobility Medical Equipment, Inc., Wednesday morning at 8:30, and I had to get everything into the truck that couldn't be in the night before, so that we could had to Austin immediately after. That meant that I was up before 4:30 a.m. By the time I got us over to Pate, I was already worn out.

On the drive down here I had to stop a couple of times for coffee because I honestly was terribly, terribly sleepy. Sean was feeling that way as well, and can never get comfortable enough to sleep in the truck. He is such a trooper, though and just kept on playing games on his RollTalk.

This is Thursday evening and Sean has had two more brain labs. There is a Pizza Inn to go store next door to Crossroads. When we walked out after therapy, Sean stopped for a moment and said that he could "smell the pizza". That is the First Time that he has been able to discern a smell. He had gotten some "odors" but not been able to tell even if they were good odors or bad odors.

Everyone here is so excited. I am going to explain this as it was explained to Sean and I: Think about the brains processes as a river that has been dammed. When a little trickle starts to leak through, what happens? It begins to erode the dam and soon the water is flowing freely!

Sean and I BELIEVE that this is exactly what is happening. Sean's dam is beginning to break down. Slowly, ever so slowly, but we know that it is beginning and it is going to continue to happen. There is no doubt in his mind or in my mine....Sean will again be walking and talking.

As Sean says, "You have to believe to achieve".

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, February 10, 2008 10:35 AM CST

We spent our first week in Austin, with Sean having treatments in the brain lab Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. It has felt like another whirlwind week. Of course, since we are not staying in an accessible home, I am having to rethink the ways that I care for Sean. It will all work out. It is just an adjustment. Everyone has growing pains when they move and we haven't move we are just living in two places.

The really good thing is that our house host is so wonderful. Sean enjoys her so much and I do as well. I only hope that she enjoys us as much as we do her. We have such a debt of gratitude to her. She is what has made this whole new life possible.

Sean is positive that this brain therapy is exactly what he needs. I feel extremely positive about it as well. I know that his caregivers have always encouraged us to live with the reality of Sean's deficits, and I think we do that. However, neither Sean nor I, nor his twin brother, Todd, have ever believed that Sean would live out his life without walking and talking. Even the folks at Crossroads Institute have told us that they can make no promises. That's ok, because no one has a promise for the future. All we have is a promise of a promise.

On Friday when Sean was laying in his bed he lifted his left leg up and I thought it was going to the sky! He actually managed to raise it to almost an 80 degree angle. Prior to this it has probably never been more than a 35 to 40 degree angle. Later in the morning Sean told me that he thought he could smell an "odor". This is something he has never done since his crash. In fact, he and Todd both have difficulty smelling anyway. Nancy was so excited that she got out several different essential oils that she had so that he could sniff them. Sean said "I don't neccesarily discern a difference, but I feel that I can tell there is an odor." This may be an indication that a different part of his brain is beginning to wake up.

Although he has not really had that sensation of odor since that day, we take it as a sign of improvement. Only time will tell, but we are very hopeful that good things are happening.

Sean did so well with his brain therapy on Tuesday and Thursday, but Friday it was evident that he was tiring. That's okay. We had a busy week. He spoke twice to the EMS, Trauma, and Acute Care Service groups and we sat through two of the meetings that were about 2 hours each. In addition, he had therapy and he just dealt with all of the new experiences of Austin traffic. Although Austin is nowhere near as big as Dallas, the traffic seems even worse. Can you imagine?

The drive home on Friday evening will be long, as will the trip down on Tuesday morning, but none of this will matter as I watch my Beautiful Boy improve.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, February 7, 2008 10:29 AM CST

Sean and I are in Austin. Our lives have changed dramatically in just a few weeks.

We left Dallas, Sunday morning. Ben drove Sean down and I rode with Bob. Since it was Superbowl Sunday, Ben and Bob unloaded the trucks and left immediately so that Ben could get back and watch the game.

I know that Nancy had no idea what she was getting herself into when she opened her doors to a disabled person. Bob is going to make a portable ramp to get in the door. Right now we use a piece of plywood that is not secured and I worry that it will slip or break with the weight of Sean and his heavy chair.

Nancy had gone out of her way to make her home comfortable for Sean. She had to move a lot of her things so that Sean's wheelchair had clearance. Of course, as we have found nearly everywhere that we travel, bathrooms are our major difficulty. It is that way here, however, we have figured out ways to manage and make things as easy as possible on my back.

Our feeling here, is gratitude. Extreme gratitude and hope surround us. Last night Nancy and I watched a video from Sean's hospitalization at Baylor Rehab in early May, 2005. Nancy said that it seems to her that Sean's rode is actually shorter now than it was from where he was on the date of the video to where he is right now. Do you understand what I mean? He and I have been stuck looking at the entire journey and the distance involved. Nancy can see where he is now and that same goal that we have and to her it is not as long a road!

Sean and I were both very honored to participate as speakers at the Texas EMS, Trauma, Acute Care Foundation (TETAF) Conference, Tuesday evening and at the Injury Prevention Meeting of the Governor's EMS and Trauma Advisory Council (GETAC) and Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Wednesday afternoon. Although the President of TETAF had e-mailed me asking if we would speak, I had not seen the e-mail so we were both taken by surprise. What an honor it was to speak before these groups. Of course, I was so extremely proud of Sean and as usual, hearts were touched. It also means so much to me that I was able to thank the wonderful group of Angels who care for folks in the initial stages of their trauma.

Sean has begun his "brain training" or re-wiring, and is really enjoying the process. Yesterday he actually met the kindly folk who have awarded him the grant for this process.

Sean and I feel so blessed!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, February 1, 2008 9:08 AM CST

Sean has had two inservices this week. We had to get up super early Wednesday morning to meet with the Outpatient Therapists at BIR. We ended up spending most of the morning there. Wednesday afternoon we drove up to the DARS office and Sean called on the Vocational Rehab Counselors there. This was a really full work day.

Thursday morning was again a very early day. We went to Baylor Specialty Hospital and Sean met his bosses, Wayne and Tim, and the three of them delivered an Inservice to the staff. The three of them then rolled (yes rolled...Tim and Wayne are also wheelchair bound) across the street to BIR to take care of some business.

When they finished I loaded Sean up and we drove across town to the office and then drove back to Baylor Specialty to drop off some paperwork.

Another full day, that left Sean wiped out. He actually let me get him in bed before 9 last night.

This morning he is up, riding his NuStep. This afternoon he meets with his job coach. This evening I will start packing in earnest for our first trip down to Austin to start the newest chapter in Sean's journey into life with a traumatic brain injury.

Saturday, our church, The Way, is hosting Friends of Hope, the TBI Day Camp. Sunday, Bob and Ben are loading up the NuStep and some other things in Bob's truck. Sean and I will be loaded down in our truck and we will head on down to Austin!

Sean is counting the sleeps before we pull out of the parking garage!

Please pray hard that this we have made the right decision and that this new therapy will finally unlock Sean's body and mind!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, January 26, 2008 7:53 AM CST

Last night Sean kept spelling and letting his RollTalk say, “I’m so ‘citable”. He was kidding around, but we are both so extremely excited. Sean says that “Everything is falling into place”. I know that it must be so.

My sister, Sean’s Aunt Meri-Jac, wrote the first entry in Sean’s journal. She said that “Some people might think Sean’s Angel was sleeping. We prefer to think that she was working overtime.” She has certainly been working over the past few weeks.

When Sean and I had our telephone conference with Dr. Curtis Cripe from the Crossroads Institute, he was able to tell us that although Sean has had a severe shearing injury, from the QEEG brain map that he had analyzed, there was not an extreme amount of tissue damage. He also was able to tell us that based on the map, the readings reinforced the studies that other neuropsychologist had done, Sean’s cognitive, and reasoning skills, as well as his long term and short term memories were working very well.

Based on that, Sean will now move forward with the Crossroads, Re-Mapping therapy, and attempt to “rewire or remap” his brain. Sean and I prefer to say that he “will” rewire/remap. Sean and I, both have always chosen to speak in the absolute when any goal is decided. We both firmly believe that you have to “Believe to Achieve”. I don’t think he would be where he is today if we had not approached his future with this philosophy. Even when he was deep in coma, I refused to believe that he would not wake up one day and be able to “talk” to me again. We are so blessed that after 39 days of “sleeping”, he woke up, began to smile and then one day 75 days later, began spelling to me to communicate.

Sean and I both feel the Divine Hand of God on our lives through all of this.

We now have a plan to be able to aggressively pursue Sean’s therapy:

1. All lab therapy will be conducted in the Crossroads Clinic in Austin, Texas.
2. Sean and I will live with Nancy Reed, our newest Angel, in her home in Austin, 3 or 4 days of the week so that Sean can have therapy 3 days a week.
3. Mobility Medical wants Sean to continue working for them as much or as little as he is able so the one work day of the week that we are home we will make calls on some of their accounts.
4. Sean’s treatments are going to be paid for by a grant from a Foundation in Austin.
5. An anonymous benefactor will help us with gas for our truck for our trips back and forth each week.
6. Bob is behind us 100% and feels strongly that we need to do anything that has a remote chance of helping Sean. He has always told me that , “Your job is to take care of our boy.”

Last Saturday as Sean and I returned home from the Expo that we had worked, I pulled into the parking garage and in an effort to avoid a big dually truck, I inadvertently drove against one of the beams supporting the garage and really smashed up the side of the truck. The damage is all cosmetic and I hate that it happened, but, you know what? That is such small stuff compared to all of the blessings that we are receiving. I just can’t allow myself to “Sweat the Small Stuff!”

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, January 23, 2008 10:04 PM CST

We had our conference call with Dr. Curtis Cripe, from the Crossroads Institute in Phoenix, this afternoon. He said that the brain map just proves that Sean's cognitive skills and intellect are intact and functioning very well. He also sees the deficits in his motor planning, which is evident to all, but the map of Sean's brain makes it more understandable to Sean and I now.

Dr. Cripe said that he can promise us nothing, but if Sean is willing to do the work and make the effort, we may find improvement in time. Since this is all that Sean wanted, the hope, that there still might be something to do, we are thrilled.

I then spoke with Dr. Mary Traverse, who is over the Austin Crossroads location. She assured me that we had the foundation funding to follow through with the treatment. She encouraged us to come three days a week, because she feels that the way to make progress with Sean is to commit to a vigorous course of treatment.

We have also talked to Nancy Reed, our comedian friend, in Austin. She has opened the doors of her home to Sean and I so that we can take advantage of Dr. Mary's offers for treatment.

The next step will be to actually schedule Sean's appointments, but it looks as though we will be in Austin 3 days out of 5 for the next many weeks. I think that Sean will have another brain map in about 8 weeks to see if the treatment is changing his processing. If that is positive we will continue on. Dr. Mary thinks that Sean could be in treatment for up to a year if things progress successfully.

I am very nervous and scared. That is going to be a long drive to Austin and back, but if we can stay with Nancy part of the time, that will help us tremendously.

At this point we have only hope to support and sustain us, but after the crash, that is all we have had anyway. Hope and Faith, and Love, so much love, poured out on us from so many people, from so many places.

Thank you, all of you for continuing to pray for us,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, January 18, 2008 11:04 AM CST

Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all that I have to do each day and it is hard to get out to work My writing over the past few weeks has certainly reflected that. But now we have some really exciting news. Well, we won't really know until I believe the 23rd, but let me see if I can briefly explain.

When we were in Spicewood recently and Sean met Ron White, the comedian, he was with a fellow comedian who lives in Austin. She and Sean have been corresponding and she told him about this Neuropsychologist, Curtis Cripe at the Crossroads Institute in Pheonix, Arizona, who has had success treating brain injuries as well as kids with ADHD and Autism. He practices alternative medicine, no surgery, no heavy pharmaceuticals.He does a procedure called brain "Re-mapping". Basically what he does is have the patient learn different exercises (brain stimulation like special games, or processes, like looking at a series of numbers and repeating them in reverse order). This is done at home over the computer and then 6-8 weeks later another map is done (a fancy EEG) and he measures to see if improvement is being made.

The procedures are very expensive, initial assessment is $1100.00, and insurance does not pay because it is considered experimental.

Of course, Sean sees no obstacles only possibilities, so I called and spoke to one of the doctors who works with Dr. Cripe. Her name is Dr. Mary Traverse and she actually is located in Austin. She called on Monday of this week and told me that she had found grant money to pay for Sean's initial assessment and could we be at the office on Thursday? (Yes, yesterday!) Well, Sean and I made a reservation at a fleabag hotel in Austin and drove down Wednesday evening and were at the office at 8 a.m.

A neurotherapist from the Pheonix office flew in and spent 4 hours with Sean, testing him and then doing QEEG mapping of his brain. The map is then read in Pheonix by Dr. Cripe and on the 23rd, we will do a video conference here at home and he will tell us if he thinks that his program can help Sean. If it can, we actually will have grant money to do the whole program. Most of it will be done right here at home with occasional trips to Austin for the followup QEEG mappings.

The lady comedian, Nancy Reed, met us at the Crossroads office in Austin and she is actually making a film on people who have been cured of different illnesses through different alternative medicines. Of course, she wants to document Sean's progress if he is selected to do the program, so she had footage filmed of him.

I know it may sound a little wacky, but Sean and I feel so good about the people we met and the possibilities of the program.

Here is something else really weird or else it proves God listens to prayers. Since Sean and I heard of it we have prayed every night that if it is something that will help Sean we have asked God to remove the obstacles of money and distance. Well, guess what? Those issues are solved! Not only that, this is where it gets a little weird. Nancy (the comedian) and Ron White had never been to that restaurant, that we had never been to where we met them. (Opies in Spicewood). The bank account that the money is coming from to provide the funding for Sean is American Bank of Texas, owned by Lacy Harbor from Denison, Texas, who also owns the American Banks of Texas in Whitesboro, and Pottsboro, and Denison and Sherman! I just thought that was very, very weird. The difference between the banks is that the Grayson County Banks are State Banks and the ones in Marble Falls and Austin are National Banks.

Pray for Sean that Dr. Cripe finds that Sean's brain is capable of re-mapping (re-wiring) and that success will come and Sean will walk and talk again! Maybe there was a reason Sean was not selected for the Cleveland Clinic, which would have involved a brain surgery!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, January 12, 2008 9:03 PM CST

Sean and Todd were 25 on Friday. Once again they celebrated with great distance between them. I had made a cake for Sean but we ended up taking it to the office at our apartment complex because there was really no one to share it with on Friday.

We are now working. Our job requires us to make calls upon hospitals, rehab centers and even physician offices. It is really all about getting in and out of our truck and in and out of buildings. Although our truck is now outfitted as well as it can be to transport Sean and his wheelchair, it is physically demanding to me. The Eagle Liftgate is very heavy and there are two parts to it that have to be lifted and lowered each time I load or unload his chair. I don't have too much problem loading and unloading two different times in a day, but when I do it more than that my wrists and back start hurting.

I am not complaining. I am just trying to explain what it takes for us to do our job. Had I know then what I know now (don't we all say that about different things in our lives?) we would have bought a van instead of the truck. I just think that it would be so much easier to just lower a wheelchair lift and let Sean drive right inside. This is perhap our biggest challenge now.

Sean is doing such a great job. He seems to enjoy giving presentations and works and reworks his speeches until they are polished and professional. He is great at making eye contact with his audience and everyone that knows him, love the smile that he shares with them.

For those of you that are or have been working mothers, can you remember how hard it was when your kids were infants and you had to get them ready as well as yourself and then get out the door and to work on time? Well, I feel that I am back in that mode, except that my baby travels with me. I don't mean that Sean is not a young man, but the work that it takes all falls on me. It is multiplied now that we are going to work because all of the chores that I have at home are still here but now there are even fewer hours to get everything done because we no longer stay at home. I sometimes feel overwhelmed, but I am also extremely thankful that I now have these problems.

Sean and I did a Campus Wide Baylor Health Care Inservice for Speech Therapists on Friday. It was a bittersweet event for me. I sat there and listened to Sean and looked at the faces of the therapists that had worked with Sean trying to help him speak, and I thought about the first time Sean arrived at Baylor Rehab. He arrived by ambulance after his discharge from Parkland Hospital. At the time he was so deep in coma. I had no idea whether he would ever wake up or just how profound his brain injury really was. Friday, I sat and listened to the presentation that he had prepared on his Rolltalk, and I watched him as he gave his "speech" to the therapists. He has successfully transitioned into the world "After Injury".

This morning when he woke up he spelled to me, "This is not the life I ordered." I reminded him that very few people get the life they ordered. However, he had to make the best of the life that he has. There really is no other choice. And with that, he smiled, and I got him ready for another day!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, January 5, 2008 5:16 PM CST

Sean and I got up before 5 a.m. this morning so that we would be ready to take Todd, Kori and Joey to Love Field for the first leg of their flight home. They were flying Southwest to Salt Lake City and then on to Spokane, Washington. It was so hard to leave them at the airport this morning. I don't know whether it was harder for me as Todd's MoM, or Sean as his twin.

We have had a wonderful visit, and were so glad that Todd was able to take so much time away from work. Next visit will again be up to Sean and I. I wish I could look into our crystal ball to see when that might be.

Sean and I had spent a very quiet night at home on New Years' Eve. Todd, Kori and Joey were in Whitesboro and did not come down here until Wednesday afternoon. They had stayed up there when we returned the Wednesday after Christmas.

I thought Kori would really enjoy First Monday Trades Day, so Friday, she and Todd and Joey rode with Sean and I and we made a fast trip through several of the Market Barns. She really did like it so now she and Todd are thinking the next time they come down they will have to plan their visit to include a somewhat lengthier trip down there.

Danny met us at home Friday afternoon to spend a few hours with our sons and Todd's family. Ben came over, so Danny was able to see all 3 of our boys. He doesn't have that opportunity the way I do, so I think he really enjoyed the time with them.

After Danny left, Brian Wible, Damon Morris, and Kevin Krier came over with some gag gifts for Sean and Todd. Their 25th birthday will next Friday, but since Todd was here now, they wanted to visit with both of them. We had a rather raucus evening. In fact our neighbor who lives underneath us came up twice complaining about noise. The funny thing was, it was just Joey's little feet running through the apartment.

After Sean and I dropped Todd, Kori and Joey off at the airport this morning we ran home and ate breakfast and then went to our M.A.D.D. Speakers Bureau Training Session for the better part of Saturday. We are now at home getting ready for an early bedtime trying to recover from our busy week.

Next week we start our jobs in earnest. We are ready now. We have had a wonderful Holiday Season with family and with friends.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, December 29, 2007 5:43 PM CST

Another New Year is upon us. I have glanced through Sean’s journal history at all that has happened over the course of 2007. The biggest thing and the smallest thing is that Sean still suffers effects of his brain injury, as he always will, and that he still cannot walk or talk. The best thing is that the year 2008 that faces us, feels full of promise and hope.

We now have jobs. At this point, I will earn nothing until we actually sell something, and Sean’s hourly rate won’t cover the gas it takes to drive our monster truck. That is immaterial though, because we now feel like there is earning potential for our future. The jobs will also provide a vehicle for the two of us to be out in the world.

I still can remember the day that I walked into Sean and said that it was time to move out of “therapy land”. I am so glad that we are living again.

We have been blessed with a Christmas with “My Three Sons”. I have not had this in six years, so it was an extremely special time together.

Bob is hunting again this weekend. Todd, Kori and Joey are still up in Texoma Land. Ben is somewhere here in Dallas. Sean and I are spending a sports filled weekend together at home. We have already watched the Mavs beat Atlanta this afternoon. Now we are getting ready to watch the New England Patriots attempt to make history by winning their 16th game of the season. Then Sunday will find us watching the Cowboy game, where they are trying to make franchise history by winning their 14th game of the season.

May each of you be safe and happy as you usher in 2008. May it be a year filled with blessings for you and your family. May you be happy and prosperous, and may you eat at least one black eyed pea and a leaf of cabbage!

Thank you for Caring and Thank you for Sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, December 22, 2007 9:42 AM CST

This is now our third Christmas in "Life After Traumatic Brain Injury". We now know that there is no "Cure" for a TBI, but there is always "Hope for Improvement" and there is always "Life". How you choose to address "Life" is in each of our hands. Sean has chosen to "LIVE IT FOR EVER". He knows that his happiness, although it can be impacted by others, is basically His Choice. He has also decided that if he always lives it with God in Christ, he will be able to LIVE with it more fully.

Our week has been extremely busy. Todd, Kori and Joey arrived on Tuesday afternoon. We have had a great visit thus far. Friday, Sean and I had a Christmas Lunch to share at Mobility Medical, so Todd and family headed north to Whitesboro to stay with their friends Justin, Jessica and Haylee.

Sean and I will head up to Texoma Land this afternoon, and Todd and family will come stay with us. Bob has gone hunting Saturday and Sunday, but he and Ben will drive up to spend Christmas Eve night with us and will share the holidays with all of us at Ron and Lois Richardsons' home in Whitesboro. At this time I think that all of Sharon Roberts kids and their kids as well as her husband, Tony, will be there with us so Ron and Lois will have a houseful. It has been 6 years since all of us have shared the holiday together.

Christmas Eve Day, the boys will go to Nanny and PaPaw's to share Christmas with their grandparent's, Dad (Danny) and Aunt Linda. Of course Kori and Joey will be with them as well. I know that they are already to see Todd and his family again. It has been a long time.

Sean still occasionally has swallowing issues that plague him. We were driving home yesterday afternoon and he and I were laughing about something funny that he said (via RollTalk) and he choked and aspirated some of his own fluids. This morning when I heard him in his room awake, he told me that he had "Crud" in his chest and he was finding it hard to breathe so he was ready to get up. He doesn't sound rattly or feel feverish, so it could as easily be a cold as my big worry of pneumonia setting in from aspiration. We will just pray that it is "one of those things" and that it will pass quickly. He has certainly been around enough people with colds this week, so it could be that he is coming down with something.

Right now Sean is riding his NuStep since he will not have access to it until we return home Wednesday. I am in the middle of packing, but wanted to update the journal before I get so busy and don't take the time to do it before we leave.

Our wish for you this Christmas is for happiness and love.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, December 15, 2007 12:56 AM CST

I have decided that I will now only update the journal on the weekends. Our lives are so busy and there are not huge dramatic changes, so there is nothing really to write about each day. I find myself trying to think of something meaningful, and although it is to Sean and I, it just doesn’t seem that I need to share the minutia of our lives.

Sean and I are excited about where Life seems to be leading us now. We actually demonstrated RollTalk twice and may have sold one system. We participated in a wheelchair evaluation and it looks like we may have sold one of those as well. The thing that is so exciting is that it feels as though we will be able to make a living helping other people.

I was talking to Sean as I walked him out of the bathroom after his shower, and I told him that we have now been doing this for almost three years. It finally just feels like something that we do, rather than a huge burden. I no longer feel that I am cloaked in sadness. Of course, it wouldn’t be realistic for either of us to say that we no longer wish the crash had never happened. I feel that wish everyday. But there is now an acceptance of the fact that this is the way it is.

Tuesday morning Sean had a photo shoot for Baylor Rehab. He is going to be one of their patients featured in their annual report. The guys from the Revel Agency that were producing the report, as well as the photographer, were so pleased with Sean and his “smile”. They felt they got some great pictures and they were amazed at how quick the shoot went. They were all kidding Sean that he still “had IT”! I was trying to take pictures of Sean and the photographer, but they didn’t come out very well. I must have something set wrong on my camera because the pictures are very “grainy”. I thought I would use them anyway so that you could just share a little of that day.

Todd, Kori and Joey arrive Tuesday afternoon and we are beside ourselves with excitement. Todd called and said that he has the excitement of a little kid at Christmas, not because of the prospect of presents, but because of the opportunity to be back with his family and friends for the Holidays. It has been 6 long years since we have been able to share them together. I am so thankful that they will be here with us.

We hope that the Holiday Season is not proving to stressful for anyone.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, December 7, 2007 10:23 PM CST

Sean and I had a great trip down to Spicewood, Texas, Thursday and Friday. We spent the night in Marble Falls, after an enjoyable afternoon drive through the "Hill Country".

We checked into the Hotel with the plan of going to dinner at one of the restaurants next door, but our plans were quickly dashed. Sean drove into the room and parked his wheelchair and it went dead. I kept jiggling wires and he kept switch the switch on his joy stick and sometimes it would come on, only to immediately die again.

I told Sean that we just weren't going to worry about it. We were safely in the hotel for the night and I could walk next door and bring dinner in. The room was perfect and even had an oversized easy chair and ottoman so I planted Sean with his feet up in front of the TV with his RollTalk on his lap and the TV remote in his hand. I walked next door to Chili's and got dinner for us and brought it back. When we finished eating, I started messing with the wires on the back of the chair again and all of a sudden, I made it work again! Yippee!

Friday morning we both woke up early, really early, and then tried to fall back to sleep. I had set my alarm for 6:15, but ended up getting up before it rang. Sean was awake. He said that he had never fallen back to sleep either, so I handed him the remote and jumped in the shower. Afterwards I got him up and ready for the day.

We ate breakfast at the Hotel and then drove from Marble Falls to Spicewood about 15 minutes away to go to the Comation Offices. We are overjoyed with the folks there. Everyone was so friendly. We worked out a fair compensation package and Sean and I are now official "RollTalk Consultants".

Ron White happened to be having lunch at Opie's Barbecue, which is right across the parking lot from the office. When Sean heard he was over there, he flew out the door and started bouncing across the gravel parking lot. Just as he hit a big rock, his wheelchair went dead again. Luckily, one of the ASL/Comation employees was walking with us so he fiddled with Sean's chair and found that one of the plugs was somewhat loose. He pushed it in and the chair stated right up.

Ron was enjoying lunch with a comedian friend of his, but he was very gracious to Sean and the three of them began visiting. Since we had wrapped up our business and were soon going to head home to Dallas, I walked back across the parking lot and got our truck and drove it over to load Sean up. This gave Sean about 15 minutes with Ron "Tater Salad" White. In case you have not had the opportunity to hear Ron, he is one of the "Redneck" gang along with Jeff Foxworthy and Larry "The Cable Guy". Todd had recently paid to see Ron's show in Kenniwick, Washington. Sean was so excited that he had one-upped his brother.

We drove straight home after a gas stop, and arrived back about 9 p.m. We are both so excited about how the future looks now.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's Mom, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, December 4, 2007 8:26 PM CST

Today is big brother Ben's 27th Birthday. Man, how did he get so old, while I continued to be 27 myself?

I called him this morning to wish him "Happy Birthday", while Sean and I were on our way into the office. So that was a remarkable thing, on top of a remarkable thing. My oldest son is 27 today, and my "Beautiful Boy", who I wasn't even sure was going to survive 982 days ago, was on his way to the "office". That same son who can't walk and can't talk, actually went to the Disability and Rehab Services (DARS) Office, where he "stood" in a wheelchair that actually took him from a sitting position to a standing position so that he could do a verbal presentation to them about his new company, Mobility Medical Equipment Company!~

Sean's audience was so receptive and his counselor, LaShan, was so proud of him. I could just see it in her as she watched and listened to him. Helen, his Special Care and Career Services, counselor, who actually believed in Sean enough to encourage his employment with MME, and Tim, the VP of MME, were all there to participate in this very momentous occasion for Sean and for myself (his proud MaMa).

One of the phrases that Sean has created says, "It doesn't matter that I can't walk. It doesn't matter that I can't talk. Regardless, I will be the best that I can be." And that is how his life is going right now. He is "The Best!"

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, November 30, 2007 7:26 AM CST

Between work, meetings, and therapy, we have all ready had an extremely busy week. Next week will be even busier. We were thankful last night when we realized that we don't have to be anywhere until noon today.

Last night I was talking to Sean and I told him that no matter how much better he gets, he will always live with his injure brain and their will be times that he will need to just stop and rest. And then I added "And I'm OLD, so sometimes I just have to rest as well.

Last night we facilitated the Euless, MADD, Teen Victims' Impact Panel. The stories of the victims and the offenders who speak are gut wrenching. Occasionally we have heard the speakers before, but their stories are as powerful each night as they were on the first night. At one time, Sean thought it would be "cool" to be a bartender or even a bar owner. After listening to these stories each month, he is beginning to wonder how those people can live with themselves. It is hard not to be judgemental. The young offender who spoke last night did not kill their victim. However, they have lived in their own "Hell" every day since they drove into the police officer who was out one evening merely doing his job.

Sitting in those meetings it is hard to understand how we, as society, allow alcohol to have such a hold on our senses.It is also easy to understand how people get so devoted to attending these meetings and speaking to others. It is so hard to relive the personal tragedy over and over again. But if just one person in the audience stops for a moment the next time they go out or if we make the underage teen stop and say "No" to his friends, the pain we each carry lightens a little.

I have to have Sean at work Friday at noon, and we will work until 5. We both have to learn more about the world of durable medical equipment. Afterwards, Mobility Medical is having a celebration for reciving Medicare Accreditation. This is an important rating for a supplier.

Ah, then the weekend! Rest and then Sunday, we will attend a MADD event, and then church in the afternoon. It will be so good to chill-ax on Saturday!

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, November 28, 2007 7:04 AM CST

We received the definitive word from the Cleveland Clinic on Tuesday. Jenna called to tell me that Sean WAS NOT selected for the DBS, however, she had some other news as well. As they were doing their record review they realized they had some patients who were similar to Sean. They are now calling this group "Emerged from Minimally Conscious" or "EMC". They will be writing new protocol and seek a revision to their current study to include this new group.

This will take quite some time as there is a lot of red tape that they must go through to get approval for the new study, but at least it is not over. I told Sean that this may allow them to refine the procedure so that they will be able to specifically target the area of his brain that is not functioning now.

All we can do is continue to believe that God's hand is here on Sean and that in the meantime he will have to continue working on his body and who knows? It may continue to wake up and "Emerge" with time. It does seem like enough time should have passed by now, but it is not our clock that we walk with.

Sean officially started his new job yesterday with Mobility Medical Equipment Company. We are thankful that they are willing to give Sean a chance, but you and I know that this is something that Sean can do. Since of course, Sean has to have MoM as his driver and help mate, I had to sit through orientation with him.

We are both looking forward to working with the folks at MME. Everyone seems very nice and we both noticed the board in their breakroom where people wrote down "Prayers". Actually they were names of folks who needed prayers. Now, how many of you have worked for an organization that is for one, small enough, and for another, bold enough, to publically declare their faith?

In addition the President/CEO and the Vice President are both wheelchair bound and they believe in not only earning money, but in helping their clients. Since of course, they have first hand knowledge of their clients' needs, they are able to provide the equipment that the patient can live with, not what someone who has never "been there" has chosen for them.

A year ago, I knew that Sean had the potential to work again with his mind, but I had no idea which direction to go to find that job. Here we are today. With a job and in addition, we have now scheduled a trip to Spicewood, Texas, on Friday, December 7, to meet with the folks of Comation who distribute Sean's RollTalk. We are also going to be a sales team for RollTalk!

Praise goes to God and Jesus His Son.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, November 23, 2007 5:52 PM CST

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Sean and I talked about our blessings and all that he has achieved this year. While at therapy Tuesday afternoon, his PT, Chad was talking to me about the gains that Sean has made since he last worked with him in the spring. He said that Sean is so much stronger (thank you NuStep) and that he is so much more mobile with movement continuing to improve (thank you NuStep).

I recieved a call from Jenna at the Cleveland Clinic on Tuesday as well. She was calling to let me know that the records for all of the candidates are finally complete and the staff was supposed to meet to review and select for the Deep Brain Stimulation Study on Friday (today). She said that we should be hearing something either way next week. As so much time has passed since we originally submitted Sean's records, I had almost thought that his were no longer in the mix. Jenna assured me that he was still one of the 30. That call put Sean's thoughts in the clouds thinking that his prayers might soon be answered.

We drove up to Lake Texoma Wednesday evening, making a stop at Pate Rehab for a visit with Ben Hardegrove and his Mom. He is a young Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq, safely, only to return to the United States to suffer a traumatic brain injury. Sean wanted Ben to try to use his RollTalk. Ben is able to type with the thumb of his right hand. He was so excited about getting to go home to his family, that he did not spend a lot of time using the Rolltalk, but his Mom saw enough to believe that he could master it. She asked us if we would show it to his speech therapist sometime soon and of course we will be happy to do that.

Sean and I left and headed on up to Tanglewood. We checked in up there and had a scrumptious dinner at the restaurant. Ben (Sean's big brother, my oldest son) and Cheryl came up later in the evening and spent the night with us. Thursday morning, Sean, Ben and Cheryl went over to Nanny and PaPaw's in Denison and had an opportunity to visit with their Dad and Aunt Linda. Their half brother, Brad even came for lunch. It has been a long time since they have seen Brad and Ben said that he has really grown.

While they were there, I had gone on to Whitesboro to Lois and Ron's and enjoyed the afternoon with them. By mid afternoon, Sharon and Tony her kids and and their babies all arrived so we had a full and happy house. Ben, Sean and Cheryl arrived as well. The only ones missing were Todd and his family, and her son, Brandon and his family. We planned our Christmas gathering when everyone would be together, really for the first time in six years. That is the number of Christmases that Todd has been away from Texas.

Sean and I spent Thursday night at Tanglewood and then got up and drove back home today. He is now riding his NuStep and I am going to go into his room and vacuum and dust. The floor in his bathroom has to be replaced and the construction crew has been in there while we were gone so there is a layer of dust over everything. I have an evening of work ahead of me.

We hope that all of you who read this now have had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

Thank you for caring and Thank you so for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:04 PM CST

Sean and I have been so busy this weekend. Once again we were reminded that there are definitely Angels Among Us. I am not going to go into great detail, but I do want to salute the Dallas County Sherriff’s Department. Sean and I have met a few that we see each month when we go to the Crowley Courthouse to speak at the Dallas County M.A.D.D. Victims’ Impact Panel. This weekend we met a couple of more. One officer in particular, made an effort to extend a hand of kindness that was totally unexpected.

Friday afternoon, Sean got the welcome news. Mobility Medical felt that he had passed all of his on the job interview situations and since he had actually ended up with more than one order, including a wheelchair, he was offered a job. Right now it is set up that he work 10-15 hours. We are so excited! We both feel that is going to work into a future for both of us. As Sean builds his business, I too will be eligible to work and earn commission from the equipment we sell. Finally, after nearly 3 years, it feels as though we may be able to secure our financial future. This has been such a major concern for both of us, and for his brothers as well.

There are months that go by with this journal that I don’t really mention, Ben or Todd. Although they are not present, they always exert a presence in Sean’s life (and in mine). For the past 966 days after Sean’s crash, from the time Todd returned home to Washington, he calls faithfully to find out how his twins day has gone and to share in any victory that he might have achieved. Ben is here in Dallas, and although we may go a few days without hearing for him, we both know that all it will take is a call and he will be at Sean’s side. The bond of love between my sons seems to strengthen as they mature.

I am so extremely proud of the three young men who are my sons. I can’t wait until Todd and Kori and Joey are here, exactly one month from today. I want to take pictures of my sons and their families and share them with everyone.

Thank you for caring,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, November 15, 2007 8:30 AM CST

I think about this everyday when I open my e-mail. I scan anxiously down my list of mail. As I open that “special” e-mail from my friends or my family, I close my eyes and wish that just once I would get one that said, “Hi Jenny, I did this today and I did that….” and for a moment I would share in your life. I would have the vicarious pleasure of sharing one of your joys or one of your sorrows.

Instead I get these e-mails that can sometimes be funny, sometimes sorrowful, and sometimes prayerful. They tell me nothing about you. And that is what I want to read. Not that I will have bad luck if I don’t send it to 8 friends in 8 minutes, or how wonderful it will be if I send it to 11 people.

Because of the life that we lead now, we cannot depend upon luck. We often don’t even complete those e-mails from “around the world”. We have had enough bad luck to last more than our lifetimes.

We have a lot of time to contemplate. You’re right, we have it easy. We “get” to stay at home every day. And I am extremely thankful that I have my Beautiful Boy to care for, and he is glad that I am here for him. Please don’t misunderstand us.

It makes us both so happy to read the entries in our Guestbook, because we know that you are saying something especially to us. If I have been away from the computer for awhile, and Sean reads a new entry, he makes me stop right then to read what is written. Often, the smallest thing written brings me to tears. Not because of what you said, but because you care.

I am not writing this to ask you to do more than you do. I am asking you to think about that e-mail when you forward it to your long list of “friends”. I am asking you to pick one person from that list each day, and just send them an e-mail that says “I care. I am here for you.”

Thank you for caring,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 3:37 PM CST

We are still anxiously awaiting news from the group reviewing Sean’s Medical Records for the Deep Brain Stimulation Study. I talk to one of the coordinators nearly every week. They keep reassuring me that Sean’s records are still being considered. Sean and I would both feel so much better if we would just have a definitive answer. I know that they are overwhelmed with records. The wait is so hard.

Sean only has two more weeks of class at UTD and then he will be done until 2008. Can you believe it? Another year is fast upon us. For Sean and me, our lives are no longer measured in years. We count only victories. Someone was looking at a picture of Sean’s ICU pictures recently, and they said “There were so many lines”. I can remember someone telling me in those early days when we saw absolutely no progress, “Count the lines as they are removed and those will be Sean’s victories.” Sometimes I have to work hard to get Sean to agree that he has had many, many, many “victories”.

Today he had a wonderful “victory”. He knew every one of the three questions on his quiz in Organizational Behavior! That doesn’t normally happen. So, today he and I celebrate!

I love the line in Toby’s message yesterday. “You have to keep turning over stones until you find the diamond”. Sean could build a wall with the stones that he has turned over, but instead he is using them to pave the path he is on. Like they sing in the Wizard of Oz. “Follow the Yellow brick road, Follow the Yellow brick road.” When they got to the end of the road the Wizard told the lion, he already was courageous. And the tin man already had a heart and the scarecrow already had a brain. Maybe Sean has found the diamond and he just doesn’t know it yet.

This evening we drive up to Plano to speak at the Teen VIP for M.A.D.D. Weneed to squeeze in a nap before we go, but I don't know if it will happen.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, November 10, 2007 11:36 AM CST

Most of the time when I sit down to write, I feel as though I am just getting something of our day on the page so I can feel that I am keeping you “up to date”. Today will be a little different.

I have been vacuuming and mopping this morning and Sean is peddling away on his NuStep. I can hear him “vocalizing” occasionally to the music on his iPod, and I can hear the continually swish of him stepping along.

958 days have passed since I received that phone call. I can still remember how I felt when I groggily woke up at 3:30 a.m. to answer that phone. I can remember in the early days trying to figure out how everyone else’s lives were going on while the world had stopped for Sean. I remember thinking that it was so unfair that life was going on for everyone except my “Beautiful Boy”.

I don’t remember ever feeling angry at the young man driving the pickup truck. I don’t remember ever being angry at all. I just know that there are no answers for how for that moment in time, my child was in the “wrong place at the wrong time” and he keeps paying and paying and paying for it.

Well, this morning I have to share with you that I am becoming angry. I think it started when Sean and I began speaking at the MADD Victims Impact Panels and then stayed to listen to the stories of other victims. Then last week at Circle of Friends, a camp for adult brain injured folks the feelings grew. One of the mothers and I were talking about alcohol and she said she thinks that it “Ought to be banned”. That is absolutely not how I feel. I honestly think that it needs to de-glamorized, and maybe the people who sell alcohol need to be more accountable for selling to people to the point where they are no longer able to make rational decisions.

Police need to be assigned to stand outside of bars at closing time and monitor everyone who is getting behind the wheel. This sounds militant, and this sounds like I am abdicating peoples’ rights. But I keep thinking of the victims of those who have gotten behind the wheel and driven down the wrong side of the street and run right into someone and killed or maimed them. Did that bar owner or liquor store clerk think about the possibility of that person he was serving/selling perhaps already being at the point of lack of judgment or reduced response time? No, their job is to serve it and sell it and increase their bottom line.

I keep thinking about those “Mommy Groups” who take their infants for a play date to specifically share a glass of wine with their friends. Or those of us who have back yard barbeques with our kids, with the beer and the wine chilled down, so that we can relax and have a good time while our kids play together.

How many of us get together and just enjoy each others’ company without a bottle or a glass in our hand? College age kids think it is so “cool” to binge drink. They try to out do each other with their photos plastered on the internet for all to see their debauchery. I think about the young person who is joining the crowd and drinks so much that they never wake up.

And I think about my son, my Beautiful Boy Sean, now a man, living with the consequences of his actions and the actions of others, everyday.

Whose fault is it? I don’t know. Do you?

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter - Please continue reading below.

This is Sean. I've decided to add to Mom's entry. Everything Mom said tonight echoes what I've been struggling with lately. I'm so happy neither the driver or other passenger was hurt, but this leads me to my next question.

Will this ever end? When do I get the chance to move forward? I feel as though I've been stuck in a rut these past 32 months! The thing is though, I see no end in sight! Please pray for me!

Thank all of you for still reading.
Sean

Thursday, November 8, 2007 8:17 AM CST

Wednesday was a whirlwind day for the two of us. I got Sean up a little early and into the shower, and then we were off to his Organizational Behavior Class. Afterwards, we came right home an I cooked lunch for the two of us. We ate and then were right out the door again for an appointment with Dr. Thomas for a pump refill.

Of course, Dr. Thomas and Sean kidded around with each other while the 3rd year resident, Dr. Lee, actually did the procedure. Dr. T. had to step in and help her once because she could not get the needle into the portal of the pump. Dr. Thomas explained to her that Sean's portal is at a slight angle, the needle doesnt usually go straight in. After several attempts on her part, Dr. Thomas took the needle and quickly got it into the right spot. Sean was fine during the whole procedure but it made me a little uneasy. I realize these young residents have to learn and the way they learn is by doing, so Sean was glad to provide a challenge for Dr. Lee. I complimented her because she remained calm and cool even though Dr. Thomas was carrying on with Sean and laughing and talking the whole time. I complimented her on her behavior because she was really working to do the procedure perfectly. I know that she will be a superb physician with her own practice someday.

We were speaking at a MADD Vicitims' Impact Panel, the big one down at the Crowley Courthouse in the Lew Sterrett Center. We had a little time to waste after Sean's appointment, so we traversed the tunnels underneath Gaston Avenue that run between BIR and Baylor University Medical Center (Big Baylor) to the cafeteria. When we finished we hurried back through the tunnels towards BIR. I was able to take Sean into a restroom in the tunnels, so we didn't have to worry about being confronted with his needs while at Lew Sterrett. Finding personal restrooms is always an issue for us whenever we go out, so I was glad we were at BIR at that time.

We both spoke and once again when we were finished we had the gratification of feeling that Sean's story was touching lives. Our lives were certainly touched by a couple of the speakers who are quickly becoming our friends.

Sean and I got home after 9:30 p.m., had dinner and by 11, I had finally gotten Sean into his bed. I always breathe a big sigh of relief when I kiss him goodnight and turn off the lights because I can finally relax and take a breath.

Life is now Life! We thank God for that every night.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, November 6, 2007 6:38 PM CST

Sean has spent two days working for Mobility Medical in what is being called "An On the Job Interview". We drove up to Pate Rehab (The Ranch) in Anna, Texas Monday afternoon after class. Sean did his sales pitch and was met with enthusiasm.

Today he got up and rode his NuStep for a little more than an hour while I did our grocery shopping. I got home from the store and got both of us dressed for work and then we went up to BIR. Sean had PT this afternoon for an hour. He walked on the treadmill with the help of the Pneumo-Weight. It is funny watching because he has an extra long sock over the shoe of each foot and a therapist sits at his feet and pulls them forward so that he is moving "normally". He has another person standing behind helping hold him in place. His balance is so poor that he cannot do this on his own. They used the pneumo weight to take 60 pounds of his weight off of him to help him his walking. Although there is a great deal of help, to me he looks as though he is doing so much more on his own. He actually was able to hold his upper body upright on his own, something he could not do in the past.

After therapy we went upstairs in BIR and joined the monthly "Focus" group, a support group for the Brain Injured. Sean had an opportunity to do his introductory speech for several of the therapists. He passed out brochures and his business card so that the PT's could see the products that he sells. One sale, that is all he has to make and then he will be hired permanently.

Right now, Sean is working on a paper for extra credit in his Organizational Behavior class. This semester has been so much more difficult than last semester.

We hope that all of you have your pilot lights lit so that you can turn your furnace on in the morning. It is supposed to get close to a frost tonight.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, November 4, 2007 5:59 PM CST

Sean and I returned from Circle of Friends this afternoon, worn out and happy.

I have been trying to think of ways to explain what it means to be able to participate in these camps for brain injured adults. The only way I can describe it is that it is a cocoon of love and acceptance.

None of these camps occur without the tremendous effort of people who volunteer their time to work together to serve. Every camp that we have attended I have heard volunteers say that they feel that they get more out of the time spent with the campers, then perhaps the campers do out of being there. It is hard to believe, but it must be so because, as I have said, love surrounds everyone.

No matter what the level of ability of the brain injured camper, they are helped, assisted, encouraged and loved, so that they can have the maximum experience. No one is forgotten or neglected. And the smile on the faces of everyone, camper, volunteer, care-givers and family members is wonderful to share.

The camp was right on the shores of Lake Bob Sandlin. Since we have had so much rain this year, the water was high and everything around was green. The weather could not have been ordered any better for us.

Two of the Pate employees who accompanied us to Red River and Mountain High Camp, volunteered their time and ended up spending most of their time with Sean so I again had time to just wander and ponder without having to worry or work for my child. What a gift!

Now we look forward to a busy week. Sean has class and PT twice this week and he will also be calling on BIR, Pate Rehab, and another location doing an On The Job Interview for Mobility Medical. He is pumped!

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, November 2, 2007 7:20 AM CDT

Sean and I are headed to East Texas and the "Piney Woods" around noon today to attend the "Circle of Friends" weekend, a brain injury camp for young adults. The weather should be absolutely beautiful. This time of year is incomparable in North Texas. Of course we don't have the beauty of the changing leaves that paint the landscape in farther north of here, our temperatures are so comfortable with just that "hint" of chill.

When Sean wakes up, I will give him a shower and pack the truck and we will be on our way. Since we have to take bedding for our cabin, it looks like a mountain of stuff that I have to carry out. If I let myself think of all of the work that it takes for us to get anywhere, we would sit in our home all of the time. Instead, I load and unload and I whine and I whine about it. All of the whining though is done with a HUGE smile on my face, made even brighter by the smile I see on Sean's.

We hope that all of you have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Cartr

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 8:12 AM CDT

Sean and I had another Red Letter Day on Monday! Helen, his counselor from Special Care and Career Services, had arranged a meeting with DARS (Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services). She presented an Initial Employment Plan and after discussion Sean's DARS counselor accepted him into the program! We have worked on this off and on for nearly 2 years, so it was such a triumph to finally gain acceptance into their program.

DARS can provide funding to assist the disabled in maintaining employment, including assistive devices, vehicle modification, and with other needs to help them become productive in the workplace. This is HUGE in Sean's life at this time. We are so grateful that Helen had the vision and that Sean's counselor with DARS shared the vision and agreed to Sean's placement as a client.

Sean is sleeping in this morning. He had an exam in his Organizational Behavior Class Monday. Although he studied for quite sometime for this exam his response as he rolled out of Disability Services at UTD was, "You Don't Know What You Don't Know!" He struggles so hard to retain the information that he learns via the printed page, it just does not seem to stay in his brain. He sometimes is quite discouraged by his future ability to complete his degree. I know that he may not graduate with the grades that he would have had prior to his crash, I do know that he has no problem learning new things when exposed in a relaxed environment outside of the classroom.

This Friday, Sean and I will be headed to East Texas to the "Circle of Friends" weekend camp for Brain Injury Survivors. We already know that there will be several campers and their families we know in attendance. With this beautiful autumnal weather, deep in the Piney Woods, we know we will have a wonderful time.

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, October 27, 2007 1:09 PM CDT

Sean and I have been really busy the past few days. He actually had a job interview on Thursday. We have been working with a lady from Special Career Sevices who is able to look beyond Sean's disabilities and see his potential.

We both met with the owner of the company (Mobility Medical) and his VP, who are both wheelchair bound. They are paraplegics, so they really understand the market that they serve and are also able to relate somewhat to Sean's situation. They are talking about having Sean go to a few rehab hospitals a week to pick up orders for medical equipment. If they see that Sean's work starts bringing in orders than I will be able to start selling and making commission.

While we were still in the parking lot at Mobility Medical I got a call from Lynn Springfield, our RollTalk vendor. I had talked to him previously about Sean and I possibly selling and/or training people on this device. He had been to a meeting with C'mation, the company that distributes RollTalk in the United States. They have agreed to meet with Sean and I and are going to let us rep it. We are so excited about the opportunity. We will be going to their office sometime during the Holidays to meet with them and discuss compensation.

I had transfered Sean to his truck seat and found that the seat was broken. Once again God was with us at the time. We were at a location that had a drill and we were able to manually run the seat up with Sean in it so that I at least had him in the truck. We had an appointment with his orthotist in Plano at 1, so we went over there. I was able to get Sean out of the truck so we could keep the appointment and when it was over, his orthotist and one of his employees helped me hoist Sean into his seat.

From there we drove over to Euless to Lift-Aid. I cannot brag on this company enought. One of their installers worked on the seat and was able to get it going after about 45 minutes and they did not charge us a thing. The chair is no longer under warranty, so I easily expected to have to pay something, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that we owed them nothing.

Friday morning we drove over to Duncanville and met with Mary Kardell, Executive Director of MADD, and a group of court representatives from the Greater Metroplex, including, Keller, Arlington, Southlake, etc., They are trying to start a Teen program for kids convicted of MIP or DUI. Sean and I were asked to attend to give them an idea of the information provided to people attending the VIP programs.

Sean had an evaluation with his PT from Baylor Rehab, Chad, on Friday afternoon. Chad was so amazed with all of the new movements and physical strength that Sean has gained since we last saw him in March. He is going to see Sean for an hour a week and get him back on the treadmill using the Light Gait in earnest. Sean and I are very happy to hear that.

During all of our running around this past week I had an opportunity to talk to Patti at the Cleveland Clinic. She told me that there is a physician scheduled to call us, hopefully this next week. We have no idea if it will be the call telling us whether or not Sean has been selected for the deep brain stimulation Study. Sean and I are both sending letters, via fax, on Monday to share our thoughts on his selection.

Today is a beautiful Saturday. Bob went out and ran 20 miles this morning. He is now napping and Sean is standing with the help of his tilt table. We are going to leave shortly for the Fall Festival at our church, Northway Christian.

We hope that all of you have a wonderful weekend and that you enjoy this beautiful fall weather.

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean's Mom, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 6:41 PM CDT

Sean and I attended his Organizational Behavior Class on Monday, arriving and leaving in a break in the downpour that was going on. Before leaving the School of Management Building I ran into the coffee shop and bought a couple of sandwiches for lunch. Since it was rainy and our first “cold” day, we decided that we would eat as we drove up to the Richardson’s in Whitesboro. We arrived at Lois and Ron’s in mid afternoon to find Lois bustling in the kitchen making pies and preparing dinner. We enjoyed the company of little Haley Boren, Justin and Jessica’s daughter. Haley made Lois and I sit down and pretend we were in PreK so that she could be our teacher. We were a rowdy twosome, and Miss Haley had her hands full. Lois is Haley’s great grandmother.

That evening Justin and Jessica as well as Sharon and Tony came for dinner. We had such an enjoyable evening. It always feels like family when we are all together. We were spending the night at Ron and Lois’ because we were speaking at S&S High School and Middle School on Tuesday.

We arrived in the parking lot at the High School and were greeted by Warren Maher. Warren was all three of my sons Ag Mechanics Teacher, and has maintained a friendship with them as they have grown. I always felt that Warren had an integral part in helping form them into the men they are. (Yes, Warren, that is a compliment. I am proud of the lessons that you taught them.) Warren had an expression, “Perfect is Good Enough”, and I can see that in both Todd and Sean as they tackle projects. In Sean’s case, it is particularly evident in his efforts to walk again. With Todd it is his perfectionism in all that he does.

As I was unloading Sean from the truck, his grandparents and Dad drove up. They had not had an opportunity to hear Sean’s speech, so we were really glad they were able to come over from Denison.

Walking into the high school and then into the empty gym I could hear the echo of years gone by of all of my sons’ basketball shoes as they ran up and down the court. I had to rein my emotions in as I thought about our lives during those days. As the kids filed in to take their place in the bleachers, I reminisced and caught up with some of the teachers that I know. It was good to be up there again. I had always felt my sons were “safe” at S&S under their watchful eyes. As a rural Texas school, there seemed to be more discipline observed by staff and faculty than I feel they would have had elsewhere. I remember my goal at that time was just that they would all graduate without getting their girlfriends pregnant. Being the mother of three sons, that was always a concern of mine. I had always told them that if they loved their girlfriends they would not put them in that position. Noone got pregnant, a good thing, because everyone has gone on to new relationships.

After the High School presentation Sean and I said our goodbyes to everyone and loaded up to run back to Lois and Ron’s so that I could gather up our stuff and get it packed away in the truck for our journey home.

Jaci Stoolfire, who actually arranged our visit to the Middle School, was waiting for us in the office. We had arrived about an hour early so we had a lot of time to catch up about life since we had moved away from Sadler/Southmayd.

We spoke to the 7th and 8th graders together, and afterwards the 6th graders, a really lively bunch. The sixth graders had a lot of questions, and were very curious about Sean. I answered all of their questions, because by that time Sean was exhausted and it takes him a while to spell out his answers. One of the kids even asked if Sean could hear what we were saying, so I had to explain why I was the only one talking.

Driving home Tuesday evening after our busy day at the schools, Sean and I both were pretty tired, but happy. Speaking to people, sharing Sean’s story, and hoping to make them more aware of potential tragic consequences from a choice they may make is important to both Sean and me. I have received a couple of e-mails, and then you all can read the message from Jacob Reeves in the Guestbook. It looks as though our efforts are worth it!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, October 21, 2007 9:22 AM CDT

Saturday morning found us on the road to Denison, Texas, my sons' birthplace, to attend the "Friends of Hope" Day Camp hosted by Southside Baptist Church. This church had hosted the event last year and Brother Keith Taylor, Pastor of the church, had decided last year that he would ask his membership to host this year. These opportunities for the campers are priceless. Sean cherishes the chance to be with people whose lives have also been impacted by traumatic brain injury. He also is happy to share moments with former care givers and employees of Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation.

I enjoy the opportunity to share moments of friendship and support with other parents who cope daily with their children of TBI. I particularly enjoyed Saturday because I know several of the volunteers who were there from Southside because of my ties to Grayson County and Denison in particular.

The campers enjoyed great food, games, prizes and gifts donated to the camp. In addition, we were able to hear the story of a very inspiring young man who had suffered a TBI about 13 years ago, who is now a member of the Denison Police Force. Against all odds he too had to learn to walk and talk again. He completed his education and now works, has a wife and a beautiful two year old son. For those of you reading who are from Denison, his name (I believe) is Michael Moore.

Sean and I also enjoyed a visit with Shirley Case, who stopped by the church and shared lunch with us. It is always good to visit with her and catch up with her family. Her grandson, K.C. Lowery, had been best friends with Ben when we lived on South Fairbanks in Denison. His older brother, Eric, used to occasionally babysit for the boys.

Camp is uplifting for all involved and I think that it may be more so for the volunteers than the campers.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, October 18, 2007 8:22 AM CDT

Thursday morning, another day in the life of Sean and MoM. Somedays it just feels like we are putting one foot in front of the other, but we just can't seem to move forward. This week has been somewhat like that to me. I think until we hear definitively from the Deep Brain Stimulation Study it will be like this.

Danny came down for a visit with Sean yesterday afternoon. I went into the bedroom and watched Oprah's interview of Bill Cosby. After Danny left, and Sean and I ate dinner, he rode his NuStep and then stood with his tilt table. Bob hadn't seen Sean on the table until last night. He walked in there was Sean...standing up by himself. Sean rode the NuStep for an hour and then stood for an hour. I know that this is making him stronger. Sean knows it too. We just can't figure out why his brain can't get those signals to make him move.

But then, as Sean was struggling to reach up to my shoulder with his right arm as I was standing him up from his wheelchair, he extended that arm that had been bent at the elbow. This was another "first" for Sean. We have gone from me having to always lift his right arm to his shoulder, to him being able to stiff arm it up himself. However, if his arm was bent he could not push it forward to get it extended onto my shoulder. Well, now he can!

This new movement has been 934 days in coming. BUT, it has come!

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 7:58 AM CDT

Sean has an appointment today at Baylor Rehab. Because he is now on Medicare, he is allowed 30 PT visits a year. We thought we would take the opportunity and use the visits during this last quarter of 2007. I am not sure if it is 30 visits per calendar year or jus 30 in a 12 month period. I will definitely have to check on that. Anyway, he is looking forward to going back and working with Chad again.

Yesterday he stood with the aid of his new tilt table for 60 minutes! He worked out on his NuStep for an hour and then got on the tilt table and stood up for another hour. I told him that his skinny little calves look as though they are getting stronger again. His arms, shoulders, back and thighs are already looking more muscled from his consistent use of his NuStep.

To me, it seems as though it is much more of a struggle to walk. His feet just do not seem to move him as he did before his hammertoe surgery, but I am encouraged with the thought of additional PT. I am hoping that Chad will put him back in the Lite Gait on the treadmill. I think it is just that we are not walking as much. Even though I walk him around the house, leaving his chair parked and moving from room to room when possible, I admit he is not getting the walking opportunities that he had while regularly attending therapy at Baylor Rehab. It will be so good to have him working with specialists again.

We are still waiting to hear from the DBS folks. We pray for the opportunity to get to at least go up to Cleveland or New York and talk to them in person. We know that Sean's records were in the batch of 30 that have gone to the medical staff for review. From that 30 they will pick 12 people for the study. We pray each night that Sean will be picked. In the mean time he continues to try to strengthen his muscles so he will be "ready" if his brain ever gets the signals to move voluntarily.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, October 13, 2007 11:15 PM CDT

We made our fast trip up to Fritch, and then on to Texhoma, Texas. We drove about a thousand miles in the three days that we were gone. We were able to spend a few hours with the Wengers on Friday.

It was funny, but I was thinking that because Grace and Wayne are Mennonites, their home would be different. However, as Grace explained to me, the most noticeable difference is that they do not watch TV or listen to the radio. They get news from the newspaper and word of mouth. They do have telephones, even cell phones to stay in touch with each other.

Sean and I have seen the great depth and breadth of the Great State of Texas this year. We have not been to South Texas, but we have driven to the very top of the panhandle. Texhoma is a tiny town, with part of the town actually being Oklahoma and the other part in Texas. There are very few farmsteads between the closest town, Gruver and Texhoma, about 33 miles apart. I am so thankful that our truck continued to be reliable. I would have hated breaking down in that country.

We saw fields and fields of cotton growing. I thought it was so marvelous, that I finally had to stop the truck and get out and pick a stem with three boles of cotton clinging to it so that I could bring it home and really study it. Sean and I have seen some interesting crops this summer. I am not sure that I wrote about our seeing a field of Canola in Washington State in addition to the Hops up there. Then seeing the cotton up close and personal. Many people only see pictures of these plants, and Sean and I actually got to see them growing.

Sean got on the tilt table before we loaded it up at the Wengers. We both feel that it is going to help him a great deal in his ability to stand. We were so glad to have the opportunity to visit with the Wengers again and so thankful that they wanted to give the table to Sean. We also are so sad for them and for their son Troy, who has been in a minimally conscious state for the past 7(?) years. Wayne and Grace tend to him so lovingly at home. It makes me realize how truly lucky I am to have Sean as he is. Although Sean does not always feel lucky. There are times he struggles with his emotions because he still is unable to walk or talk. The majority of the time he works so hard to maintain his positive attitude.

In addition to our visit with the Wengers, we enjoyed two nights with Andy Cooper and his grandparents, Jim and Annette Cooper. "Families of the Heart". Sean and I are blessed!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, October 11, 2007 8:21 AM CDT

Last night Sean and I spoke at a MADD VIP for teens convicted of MIP or MIC (Minor in Possession/Consumption). Afterwards the coordinators shared with us that they felt that Sean's story had such a huge impact on the audience. It is gratifying to believe that Sean's story can make a difference to someone else's life.

Sean and I are so excited. We leave this morning for the drive up to Fritch to see the Coopers, and then tomorrow make the short drive over to Texhoma, Texas, to have lunch with the Wengers.

I was thinking this morning about the people that we have met since Sean had his crash. There is a song that Sears used to have in one of their commercials. It had a line about the "Fabric of Our Lives". Sean and I have fibers running through our lives from so many different places, and they are so many different colors. The fibers were knotted and pretty muddy for awhile, but now the fabric is so beautiful.

I was also thinking that it seems like we become "family" with most of the people that we meet. Families of the Heart, not the Body. Perhaps they are sometimes better. You don't carry the hurt of childhood with you in these relationships. You only have what you share for a time. But we are bound together by such a simple thing...the smile of this young man, Sean Carter. And what a smile it is!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, October 8, 2007 5:07 PM CDT

Sean is riding his NuStep directly behind me in our spare bedroom. He is listening to his iPod and "singing". Of course there are no words, nor even a tune, but there is "noise" and it is beautiful to me. Everytime I look in there and see him he has this huge smile on his face and he is "stepping" away. I have pulled the NuStep right next to a window and he can look out into the trees and right down on a beautiful flowering Crepe Myrtle. The sun is coming through the trees and lighting him up as he steps.

We went to class today and afterwards, I called our Mennonite friends that we made at Mountain High Camp. We are driving up to visit Grace, Wayne and their son Troy, in Texhoma, Texas on Friday. We actually are going to drive up to Fritsch, to spend Thursday and Friday night with Andy Cooper and his grandparents, Jim and Annette Cooper. Andy will ride the 40 miles to the Wengers with us on Friday, where we will join the Wengers for lunch and pick up the standing frame that they are giving to Sean.

Sean and I had been driving home from Sherman on Saturday, and I was telling him I was ready to go somewhere. My wanderlust was already kicking in and we have only been home from Red River for a couple of weeks. Sean has also been after me to make arrangements to pick up the standing frame/tilt table, so this works out perfectly. On top of that we had such a good time when we stayed with the Coopers this summer, it will be good to visit them all again.

Wednesday night Sean and I are going to speak at a MADD Victims Impact Panel for Plano teens. We both feel that it is important to share Sean's story with others.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean' MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, October 6, 2007 10:23 AM CDT

Sean and I are driving up to Sherman today.
A baby shower is being given for Charity Vessels, my friend Sharon's daughter in law. Ordinarily it is not the kind of thing that a young man would want to attend, but it is too far for me to go to leave Sean alone at home. Sean and I were hoping to have a little time apart today, but Ben is busy and Bob has gone to his deer lease so Sean has agreed that he can go with me. He will enjoy visiting with Sharon and Lis

This is Texas/OU weekend so there are a lot of activities going on this weekend. As well as tons of traffic coming into town. It may be good that we are headed north if only for a little while.

Sean had his intake meeting with Special Care and Career Services on Thursday. We both really enjoyed the career counselor that has been chosen to work with Sean. As we get into this we are not sure what to think. We have thought for so long that we needed DARS assistance. Now we are beginning to wonder if we shouldn't seek the aide that helps a disabled person just live at home instead. You can't apply for both programs at the same time. DARS just doesn't seem to have funding to help someone obtain a bachelor's degree. Besides that, if he earns more than $900 a month he will lose his disability and his Medicare. Sean would have to make thousands a month to make up for his Medicare benefits if he were to lose them.

What this means is that it deincentivises the disabled from going to work. Sean is so profoundly, physically disabled that we are thinking we could eventually figure out something to do entrepreneurally that would provide subsistance. Sean wants to obtain his bachelor's degree, and I would like to help him any way that I can to achieve that goal.

We hope that all of you have a great weekend
Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, October 3, 2007 7:39 AM CDT

I found Sean's Organizational Behaviour Textbook, right here in front of me on my desk. I had looked several times in this very spot, but I think that the "Brownies" left it here during the night. I was so happy. Sean was able to get some studying in before we left for class on Monday and he actually got all of his extra points on his quiz correct.

Sean has been communicating with Jaci Stoolfire and Warren Maher at S&S Schools, his Alma Mater. He is going to speak at the Middle School Campus and at the High School during Red Ribbon Week to share his thoughts on injury prevention and his own story.

Since this is the first Wednesday of the month, we will also be going to the Lew Sterrett Justice Center to attend the MADD Victim's Impact Panel. Depending upon the number of speakers that show up, we may speak to the DWI offenders.

We are still anxiously awaiting word from the Deep Brain Stimulation Study Group. We pray so hard for Sean's inclusion in the study every evening.

Thursday, Sean has an appointment with a company that helps people with disabilities design a job to fit their needs. We are hoping that they can give Sean some ideas about a direction to take for his future. We would both like to immerse ourselves in public speaking but we need to be able to make a living doing it, so I don't know how realistic that will be.

Sean and I have traveled so much over the past six months, we are already feeling wanderlust. At the present time there is no travel on our horizon. We are hoping that in the late spring we will be able to make a trip to Minneapolis. Sean's cousins' Tobin and Annette who had the tiny twins, Mia and Max, are expecting another baby in April. Jenn and Ross are expecting Ava's sibling in February. Grandbabies abound for my sister, Aunt Meri.

Probably the most important thing that Sean and I both have learned over the course of his journey into this new life, life with brain injury, is that life does go on. No matter how bad it was, no matter how bad it could be, it does get better. And it does go on. Not only for everyone else, but for the two of us as well.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, October 1, 2007 7:36 AM CDT

It's another Monday morning. I don't know what was wrong with me, but I had one of my marathon headaches and then yesterday my stomach also started hurting. It must have been similar to the pain that Sean had the night before we left for Red River. Had I been able to just go to bed, I would have. However, because I am Sean's caregiver, I had to suffer through until bedtime. Bedtime ended up being close to midnight last night and I was sure glad when my head finally hit the pillow. I am happy to write that I woke up feeling much better today.

Sean and I did make it to our churches "Blessing of the Animals" on Saturday. The weather was beautiful and a lot of people brought their pets. We just enjoyed being outside looking at all of the dogs.

Saturday night, Sean and I wound up crosswise with each other and we both had a very frustrating bedtime. There are times that I guess our being together 24/7 takes its toll on both of us. Luckily, we both woke up in a different frame of mind on Sunday, so things were much better.

Sunday evening we attended our church and Bible Study afterwards. When we got home, Sean was going to study in preparation for class today, but I fear I have left his Organizational Behavior textbook in Red River. I have looked everywhere and am unable to locate it. I know that we had it here when we moved because Sean studied before we left. Oops, as I typed, I just located it. Hallelujah!!!!

Now, I have to say, my Monday is starting out GREAT ! ! I hope yours does as well!

Thank you for sharing and Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, September 29, 2007 6:58 AM CDT

Sean and I took a walk yesterday morning down to Whiterock Lake. We found the trail that leads right from our apartment complex to an area called "Sunset Beach". We went down to a bench right on the water and sat and watched the geese. The weather was not real hot and the air was clear, so we really enjoyed ourselves.

Sunset Beach is the spot that my group of "walking buddies" used to meet each Wednesday evening before Sean's Crash (BC). It is a beautiful spot. I used to enjoy living right beside the lake, so it feels so right to be back here in the "hood".

Yesterday I worked really hard on completing our unpacking and moving into this apartment. I can't get over how much I enjoy this little nest of ours. Nearly every night I tell Bob how happy I am to be here. I think I have mentioned that even though we are in an apartment complex, once we are inside I have no sense of neighbors at all. It feels so private, and so cozy.

Yesterday evening, Sean told me that we needed to pray extra hard to have him chosen for the Deep Brain Stimulation Study. I don't know what has made me think of this, but not only is the Cleveland Clinic part of the study, but so is Weill Medical College of Cornell University and is located on Manhattan Island, New York City. Wouldn't it be amazing if Sean were selected and we ended up having to go to NYC instead of Cleveland as we had originally thought? I really have no idea about anything at this point. We are hoping to have some news about Sean's selection before October 15. Please add this to your prayers for Sean.

We are planning to go to our church this morning and help with "The Blessing of the Animals" that will be held today. It will be fun to see everyone's pets gathered at the church for this service.

Bob is going down to his deer lease with his brother, John, and John's son Willie. He wants to start getting the camp ready for deer season which is fast approaching. He has had a horrible head cold this week and I am hoping that it resolves soon and that neither Sean nor I get it.

We hope that all of you have a wonderful weekend,
Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, September 27, 2007 7:30 AM CDT

Our wheelchair tech, Bobby, was here early Wednesday morning and repaired Sean's chair before we had to leave for class. I was so thankful. Tuesday evening Sean was sitting in the living room in his manual chair and he spelled to me, "Reality has finally set in." I could tell he had been depressed all afternoon.

I told him that was not the problem at all. He has been dealing with reality just fine and was happy until then. I told him that I was sure it had to do with his total loss of independence when he had to start using his manual chair again. In fact, it had been depressing me as well because everything seemed so much harder when I had to push Sean around. We never have been happy with his manual chair, but we use it so rarely, we both forget how cumbersome, uncomfortable and hard to push it is. Now we can forget about it again, because we have "Speedy" back.

Sean had his Organizational Behaviour class yesterday, and it turned out to be really fun. His instructor was demonstrating how messages can get really distorted within a company. Do you remember the old game of "Rumor"? One person would say a phrase and then whisper it to the one next to them and then that person would repeat it to the next person, and so on and so on. Each row of kids was given the same phrase and then the person on the opposite end of the row would have to say what they heard. It turned out to be hysterical.

Then yesterday evening we went to Baylor Rehab for a "Thinkfirst" meeting. There were only 4 other "VIP" people there. Each of them practiced telling the story of their injury and their subsequent life change. Two of them were young women who had suffered injury, one in a car wreck and one who had dived into shallow water. Both of them were now quadraplegics. They had both been injured about 18 months ago and were dealing with their disabilities amazingly well. Both were determined to have good, fulfilling lives. Sean listened to their stories, and I think it gave him renewed determination. At least I hope that it did. None the less, it was certainly inspiring for me to listen to each of them.

It is often being involved with others that helps Sean and I move througheach day.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 3:05 PM CDT

I can’t remember if I shared with you that Sean’s power wheelchair broke the morning we were returning from Red River. I woke up in plenty of time to finish last minute packing and to get Sean up and dressed without a lot of stress and anxiety. When I turned on his chair, the display showed an error in drive and I could not get it to clear, nor would the chair move.

I called Craig, Sean’s counselor, who is also a PT at Baylor Rehab. He jumped out of bed and hurried down. After making several calls, we both had to acknowledge, the chair would not move without repair. I was thinking that I would have to stay in Red River and try to rent a van from Albuquerque and I was imagining struggling to walk Sean everywhere to transfer. We can walk a little, but it is never easy, and it puts tremendous strain on my body, especially my lower back. Of course, panic set in. I could not even imagine how I was going to get Sean home and even worse, how was I going to get a 450 pound wheelchair that would not move back to Texas?

God had other plans. One of the campers, Blaine, is from Plano. His Dad was at camp and had driven his truck and an enclosed trailer to Red River. He was going to leave town as soon as we all boarded the bus for our return. He told me that he had plenty of room to bring Sean’s chair home. Another camper had her chair with her as backup in case she tired of walking. Sean was able to sit in Adrienne’s chair to get to the bus and we got airport chairs at both the departure and arrival airports, so we were set.

Bob met us at Love Field with Sean’s manual chair so we were able to get home with minimal effort. Bobby, or wheelchair tech from Praxair, came to our home on Friday and determined that the controller was fried and it would cost $1500 to replace it. Now that the chair is out of warranty, the company has to jump through hoops to get repairs completed. Because we were anticipating a 6-8 week approval process, we managed to get the money together and are now thinking that the chair will be fixed by Wednesday or Thursday. Hallelujah! I can only imagine how horrible it would have been had the chair broken during camp.

Saturday morning when I was transferring Sean into his manual chair, I got the cuffs of my pants caught on one of the wheels and Sean and I both fell to the floor. We fell right through the bathroom door, with nothing more than a bump on my head. There I was again, looking at Sean trying to figure out how to get him up off the floor. Bob was doing a 20K race that morning so he was unavailable. Ben and Cheryl live across town and it would have probably taken Ben 30 minutes to get here. I decided I would try to get Sean up off the floor by myself. I sat him against the bathroom door frame. Bent his legs and placed his heels on the floor. Since he was wearing his AFO’s (braces), his ankles do not bend, causing his feet to be frozen at right angles to his legs. I put another gait belt around his legs to keep them from gaping and then grabbed him and leaned back, almost sitting down on my own heels. Sean came right up to a standing position. We laughed and hugged for several minutes. God is good! Sean couldn’t have done that 6 months ago.

Sean came home from camp with even more motivation to walk than he had previously. He has started riding his NuStep with a vengeance. On Saturday he rode two different times for 3 and a half hours! In addition, he rode at the highest resistance level of 10. Sunday he rode for two hours and yesterday he rode for one hour without his leg braces. He is getting stronger from riding the NuStep so vigorously.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, September 23, 2007 8:45 AM CDT

Mountain High was almost the camp that "wasn't" for us this year. Last Saturday night I had just gotten Sean into bed after a shower, and his meds. We had been kidding around and sharing our excitement about getting up early Sunday morning to get to Love Field and begin our Camp journey.

All of a sudden Sean got this stricken look on his face and he pointed to his stomach. Within minutes he was writhing around on the bed and sweting profusely. He told me that he wanted to go to the ER. I woke Bob up and we decided that Sean was in too much pain to try to get him into his chair, and then into the truck seat so I ended up calling 911.

When the ambulance got here, the EMT's seemed to take forever trying to assess Sean's condition. They finally loaded Sean onto a stretcher and we made our way through the parking garage to the ambulance. They had to park it outside of the garage because the garage is too low to drive the vehicle inside.

While stabilizing Sean in the ambulance, Sean vomited a little. We then made our way to Baylor Univesity Medical Center (we call it Big Baylor as there are many Baylor hospital facilities in the Metroplex). Since Sean came in by ambulance he was taken directly through triage and placed in a room "in the back".

He was assessed again by the medical staff, had blood work and abdominal xrays, and all that the doctor could determine was that perhaps Sean was having severe GI distress. There was nothing to indicate anything worse (Thank the Lord!). At about 3:45 a.m., he was discharged.

We still live within about 5 miles of Big Baylor and BIR, so we were home within a half an hour. Sean insisted all the way home that he still wanted to go to Red River to camp. I was not really sure about it, but decided that we had been anticipating this year's camp from the day we left last year. I put Sean to bed for about an hour and a half and I stayed up and finished packing and took a shower. I sat on the couch for about 15 minutes and almost fell asleep. By then it was almost time to get Sean out of bed.

By the time we made it to Red River, we were both exhausted. I walked across the street and bought barbeque for dinner and then Sean and I went to bed. I had been up for more than 40 hours and Sean hadn't had much more sleep. We woke up refreshed on Monday morning and were able to participate in all of the activities and Sean has had no more pain.

We are both so thankful that we decided to go ahead and go to Mountain High because we were blessed by the trip.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Cater

Friday, September 21, 2007 6:15 PM CDT

I wanted to share a testimony that Sean had written and delivered via the speech on his Rolltalk computer while at Mt. High Camp. Wednesday morning, family members and camers had an opportunity to talk about their camp experience. Sean felt that it was important for him to share his thoughts.

"I don't even know how to start a testimony so here it goes. This is my second year here. I can't tell you how it feels to have campers walk up, and tell you they too have been there, and now they are walking and talking. You can never understand how very inspiring that is.

You know how everyone says this recharges their battery? Well it definitely does that ten fold! I can't walk or talk yet, but through God and this camp I know I will! I have to say this again, you will never understand how extremely uplifting this camp is!

Mom and I prayed for months every night for a standing frame. The Wengers were the answer to our many prayers. Saying I'm excited is an understatement. I'm more like super ecstatic! When the day comes that I walk I want you to know Wayne, Grace, and Troy you had a significant part of every single step! ! !

As you know Mom, I like to talk about myself. I hope this doesn't do that. I give all the praise and my ability to do so to The Man Upstairs! Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him! I honestly fell deeply in love with Him! I grew up in church, and knew of God. Now I truly do welcome Him as the all powerful, all knowing God!

Dr. Carlile you are my angel as well as so many others here, and I do have to tell you this again “You are a Total Babe!”

Wayne and Grace Wenger, and their son Troy attended camp with us last year. As parents of profoundly injured sons, we had bonded then and really enjoyed the opportunity to visit again. As we were talking over breakfast on Wednesday morning, Sean happened to mention that we had been praying for a standing frame. Much to our surprise, Grace said that they had one that Troy had never really been able to use and they would be so happy if Sean could use it. You can imagine his excitement! We are so grateful. Since they live in Texhoma in the far north panhandle of Texas, about 8 hours away, it may be a few weeks before we are able to drive up there to get it, but we will.

I will share more about our camping trip over the weekend, but I wanted you to read Sean's thoughts first.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Saturday, September 15, 2007 8:35 PM CDT

This week has been a blur of unpacking, hanging pictures, and going to school. Today we have been trying to hang a few things on the walls and I have been packing for our trip to Red River. I thought seriously about trying to carry our laptop, but after getting everything ready and looking at the luggage that I would have to carry for Sean and myself, I have decided to leave it at home. Therefore, this will be the last entry until next Friday afternoon or evening.

I feel so bad about the unpredictable entries that I have been making lately, but I feel that once we get home from this trip I will be able to get on a more regular schedule.

Sean got the pins out of his toes on Thursday and today I put his shoes on today. We were both so happy because he seems easier to move today. I guess he just needed to get back in his shoes.

Even though Sean’s had the pins in his toes, he has ridden NuStep every day with the exception of one or two. His muscles are still strong, he just needs that continuous repetitive motion. It helps his body and I think it seems to help him emotionally as well.

I checked the weather in Red River again today and the highs are supposed to be between 65-67 and the lows in the mid to upper 30’s. I have packed scarves, hats and gloves as well as jackets for both of us. I am trying to keep our clothing to the minimum but I cannot stand the thought of being cold, so I probably do have more than we will wear.

We are so excited!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, September 14, 2007 8:19 AM CDT

Sean got the pins out of his toes Thursday afternoon. Hallelujah!! We are so excited. I have been worrying because his walking had gotten really sloppy and he has been so much more difficult to transfer since his surgery. After the pins were removed and I was transfering him to the truck from his wheelchair, I began to think that it was perhaps the pins in his toes that had been making it impossible for him to put his foot down as he had been doing. Then last night, we both noticed that everything seemed to be a little easier. Hopefully, that is what the problem has been. Now that his toes are free of hardware, we ae hoping that he is really on his way to his goal of walking by Christmas.

Our apartment complex had a "Pizza Night" last night, so Sean and I decided to go meet some of our neighbors. We were both so pleasd when we walked into the room. There were people who ranged in ages from 2 to 87 years old. It is a true eclectic community. There are a lot of families with kids, several elderly people (I mean way beyond retirement age). Everyone was so nice.

Our old apartment seemed to be comprised of the young upwardly mobile. They would often walk by Sean and I as we were getting into and out of the truck and never even look our way. It was as if they were afraid if they looked at Sean his physical deficits might rub off on them. We don't feel that way here, at all. Everyone has said "hello". Many of them walk up and make a point of speaking directly to us when we are out at the truck.

At the Pizza Party, many of the neighbors came up and introduced themselves and spent time talking to us. Yesterday evening, Bob, Sean and I were sitting together in the living room, and I again had a warm, happy feeling. Although there are noises and sounds of others around us, when we are in our apartment, I feel as though it is my little happy cocoon(?). Sean is feeling the same way.

We leave for Red River early Sunday morning. I am going to work on unpacking today and then tomorrow I will get our bags packed for our trip. Weather there ranges from the 30's to the 60's. We can't wait!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing!
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 9:37 AM CDT

Our water heater wasn't working from Saturday night until Monday morning when apparently an electrician came in and "fixed" it. I am not sure what was done, but when I got in the shower this morning I was woken up by cold water only, again! I left an emergency maintenance call this morning and am just hoping that by the time Sean and I return from Sean's Organizational Behaviour class the water will be hot.

We have noticed that there are several elderly tenants in this apartment complex as well as many people with handicapped placards in their windows, making it difficult to find a parking spot for our truck at night. Sean and I went to our Tuesday night meeting last night and when we returned home we had to park several levels up. Although there might have been handicap spots closer to the apartment there aren't many of them that are on level ground. Sean has balance issues on level ground, so trying to transfer him to truck to chair and vice versa can place a great deal of strain on my back. It also scares me because I worry about being able to hold him up if he starts to topple.

Sean had an appointment with his neurologist, Dr. Diaz-Arristia, on Monday. We had a long discussion about the deep brain stimulation procedure. He explained that the neurosurgeon is targeting the thalmus deep in the brain. It controls both consciousness and movement, however there are specific places in the brain that control them. The area that they are targeting now is consciousness, but he said that it was definitely worth pursuing and if we were selected for a consult there, we should make every effort to go. That is our thought as well.

Dr. Diaz-Arristia told us that he had discussed the procedures with Dr. Schiff, who is a member of the consortium conducting the study about participating in it here in Dallas at UT-Southwestern, so he has a thorough understanding of the process. He is going to have all of Sean's research records forwarded to the Cleveland Clinic to be included in Sean's medical packet for review.

Bob, Sean and I really like our new home. It is strange, but even though it is an apartment complex, when we are inside it doesn't not feel that we are surrounded by people. Two of the bedrooms and the living room look out into dense woods and since we are on the second level we are actually within the trees. It is almost as if we are in a tree house. The bedroom windows are huge, and I enjoy just sitting looking out the window. It is also a "safe" area of Dallas right at the intersection of two major streets with several restaurants, a grocery story, Starbucks, gift shops, etc. right here.

Every time I come into our new home it makes me "Happy".

Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, September 10, 2007 11:20 PM CDT

Tonight's entry is going to be short and quick. We are moved. Thanks entirely to the help of Ben, and our friends: Chrissy Bird, and Chris and Maggie Bryant. Chrissy spent the whole day Friday and long into the night packing the old place. One of Sean's new friends from his class at UTD, Sandra, came and spent the afternoon with him so that I was able to help Chrissy for part of the afternoon at the old apartment. When Sandra left, after 7 p.m., I stayed at the new place with Sean and the rest of them worked at the old place and started making loads. I don't know how many trips Chrissy, Maggie and Chris made down our long hallway from the parking garage to the apartment, carrying "our" stuff. They truly are our angels!

Ben and Bob worked together bringing the last load here at about 5 a.m. They just decided that they would rather work all night and get it done. It also made it easier because the only way to get into our apartment is through the parking garage and there are so many vehicles moving in and out during the day that they never could have gotten everything in the way they were able to in the wee hours of Friday night.

Bob went to the old apartment and cleaned it on Sunday while I stayed here and unpacked. We are all pretty exhausted.

We are now here, still surrounded by boxes, but at least the stress of the actual move is over. It is late and the morning will get here early, so I will close for now. Tomorrow should find me with a little more time to write and give you more of an update.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, September 6, 2007 5:41 PM CDT

This week has been so extremely busy, even without trying to get ready to move on Friday.

Tuesday afternoon, Sean was a guest speaker at Baylor Rehab's new TBI support group. We found out that a PT at Baylor will be Sean's attendant at Mt. High Camp. His name is Craig and Sean really likes him so he is looking forward even more to next weekend. Last night, he and I both spoke at the Mother's Against Drunk Drivers' Victims Impact Panel at the Lew Sterret Justice Center.

I cannot tell you how my soul was touched last night from the other speakers who told the stories of the loss of their children. It just reinforces my belief and gratitude to God that Sean's life was spared.

We had to run by Dr. Sackett's office today because the little green balls that are on the end of the pins in his toes have gotten jammed down and needed to be loosened. I had been very suspicious that one of his toes was getting infected, and today when the ball was loosened, it was obvious that had happened. Dr. Sackett wa out of town, so one of his collegue's came in and looked at Sean's toe. He explained to us that the toe had gotten cellulitis and to keep the infection from worsening, he pulled the pin out. In addition, he has placed Sean on antibiotics for the next ten days. By then we will go for Sean's return visit and hopefully the infection will have cleared, and the other toes will be ready for their pins to be pulled.

When we arrived at home the final information had arrived from Mt High with the list of campers/attendants and family members who will also be going and many of the same group that we met last year are attending again. We are so looking forward to the fellowship with this group.

I am not sure when I will be able to write again, but I wanted to give you all an update. Our new address is down below.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, September 3, 2007 8:12 PM CDT

Bob and I spent Sunday packing, while Sean played Hearts on his Rolltalk and also spent time "Instant Messaging" friends. We actually accomplished quite a bit.

Labor Day, found me again packing. Bob had gone to work at the shop today. If he has work in the shop he can't stand not to wrk on it when he has a day off. He also had to d some work to his old truck, and has just called to let me know that he was still hard at it.

Ben had been sick earlier last week with a reallybad cold, and Cheryl has suffered with it all weekend. Sean had been hoping that Cheryl would cut his hair this weekend, but since she was not feeling well, I told her to just stay home and try to get better.

I am almost at the point where there is little more that I can pack until moving day, or maybe the night before.

Sean and I are going to speak Tuesday afternoon at a Brain Injury Support Group that Baylor Rehab has just started up again. Sean also will have his Baclofen Pump refilled Tuesday morning.

Wednesday evening, Sean and I are both going to speak at the Victim's Impact Panel at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center.

We will move Friday night and Saturday and hopefully Sunday I will be able to get back over here to this old apartment to clean it up. I will have to try to get everything put away at our new home this next week because Sean and I leave on Sunday for Red River and Mt. High Camp. I have put the link below in case you would like to see pictures of last year's camp.

Saturday, September 1, 2007 5:12 PM CDT

Sean and I have been praying hard about his being picked for the DBS study through the Cleveland Clinic and now we are praying even harder. I found an article on the Weill-Cornell University Website that detailed the procedure and there are some daunting statistics. More than 200,000 patients are considered in a minimally conscious state. Only 12 patients are going to be selected for the study. Although Sean is not mentally in a minimally conscious state or MCS, we both believe that his body still is, and that is why he cannot walk or talk.

I called to verify that all of his information got there and it was received. The Cleveland Clinic Brain Study Department (that is not the official name) received the packet, copied it and sent the records on to be reviewed by the first physician. Sean's own inpatient physician from Baylor Insititute of Rehabilitation, Mary Carlile, MD, wrote an impassioned letter about Sean to the physicians who will be reviewing Sean's case.

Sean and I are both requesting that any of you reading this will stop for a moment and pray that he will be offered the opportunity to participate in the study.

Sean's Nanny, PaPaw and Aunt Linda came down from Denison this morning for a visit and were joined here by Cousin Gary from Lake Whitney. We sat and visited in the midst of our moving chaos. Bob had gotten up for his Saturday morning run (12 miles) with the "Dallas Fit" group and is now dove hunting down in Milford, Texas. We expect him home after dark this evening.

I am operating in my usual mode. I keep trying to get started packing, in fact I have done quite a bit, but I keep thinking I "might need that" before Friday, so I haven't gotten as much packed as you might if you were faced with this task. I know that it will get finished, but I have so much difficulty with it. I have finally decided that I am a borderline hoarder and I find it difficult to get rid of the most miniscule item because we might need it someday. I know this is related to my nomad, Air Force upbringing moving around the world with my family. We were always throwing things away in preparation for the next move and now I just can't stand it.

Other than packing, Sean and I will have a quiet weekend. Ben, Cheryl and the kids are supposed to come by sometime Sunday or Monday so that Cheryl can cut our hair. We hope that you have more exciting activities planned.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 6:55 PM CDT

We got all of Sean's Medical Records faxed up to the Cleveland Clinic. I called them this morning and they had received all of them and after they made a copy to keep, they forwarded the packet on to the first physician for review.

Sean wants us to only think positive thoughts, but whatever happens with this I feel certain it will be part of God's plan. Of this I am sure.

We now have almost a full week of college and Speech Therapy behind us. Sean has decided that he needs to concentrate on one class this semester. At the end of last semester he had decided to go for 4, but with our move, and our trip to Mountain High Camp in Red River, this month, he has decided that he needed to drop all the way back to one class. Not only that, if the Cleveland Clinic wants to meet him in person, we feel that it is necessary to move forward with that opportunity.

The Deep Brain Stimulation Study is actually for people who are considered "minimally conscious". Of course we would all agree that in no way describes Sean. However, he reminded me that his body operates as though it is minimally conscious.

Sean has the nicest young lady taking notes for him in his Organizational Behaviour Class. Her name is Sandra and she is another one of Sean's "Angels" willing to help him in his cause to improve himself. We are so thankful for all of her efforts to help him. Sean had been taking Organizational Behaviour at Midwestern at the time of his crash. He told me today that he didn't remember it being "this fun". He has a very high-spirited, young professor for this class and she is a really good instructor.

I haven't taken any new pictures, but I will use some that you may have seen before that are fairly recent.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Sunday, August 26, 2007 10:34 AM CDT

Sunday morning, Sean is riding his NuStep. He has really been making progress on it. For abot 10 days after his surgery he had to avoid the pressure on his toes so he could not ride. But he has been back on for over a week and had begun to ride for about a half hur without his AFO's (ankle and foot braces). Then two days ago he decided that he was going to ride the entire time with just his sandals on, hoping to strengthen his ankles. I can already tell that they are stronger.

We received a call from Jenna at the Cleveland Clinic Thursday morning. She told us that she was personally mailing the information to us on the Brain Injury Study that day. Hopefully it will arrive on Monday or Tuesday. We are so anxious to review the information.

I have had a marathon migraine this weekend, but have still managed to start packing some of our things. It seems too early to start, but I know that the next two weeks will just fly by. Sean starts the speech program at the Callier Center on Tuesday and will be there two mornings a week. In addition to the time in class, we will be there Monday through Thursday each week, so we will be really busy. After speech on Tuesday he will have a class on Politics in Film that will last for three hours in the afternoon. We also have our Team Meetings Tuesday night in Irving, so there will be little time to get things done.

I imagine all of you with children are all ready to get back in the swing of school again. Life goes on...

Thank you for caring and Thank you for caring,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, August 23, 2007 6:07 PM CDT

Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. I guess I needed a few days to wallow in self-pity and more importantly feelings of loss for Sean. There comes a time though,and I know it, that I have to "get over it" continue on. Today was that day. I just woke up this morning feeling as though I could handle things.

Sean and I were on our way to UTD for his second class when we receive a call from Susan Bragg, with MADD. She asked us if we could do a story for Melissa Cutler of Fox 4 News. Melissa and her photographer (I think his name was Kevin) met us at the School of Management at UTD and we did an interview about the consequences of riding with a drunk driver. The show aired at 5:30 this evening and Sean and I are so proud of the piece. Melissa did a great job!

If we had known sooner, I would have tried to loose some weight, but since we only had a couple of hours preparation time, I was stuck the way I am! Oh well, Sean looked great, as usual!

We had to change one of his classes today because it was going to put to much stress upon Sean because of the extensive written assignments.

Life will get better. I know it will, but it is great to get the personal messages and phone calls that I have received over the past few days.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, August 22, 2007 7:45 AM CDT

There are days that I feel like a rat in an endless maze with no way out. Every where I go I keep bumping into walls of bureaucracy. I have been told that there is an organization that might pay a stipend to families as caregivers. I have been told that there is an agency that might provide respite care, meaning they might provide someone to come in periodically so that I can be away for a few hours at a time. When I call the numbers I am referred to, or take the time to go to them, I am turned down because Sean and I don't qualify.

I honestly cannot figure out if it is because we are not indigent, but if it weren't for Bob and some very kind friends, we would be. Maybe it is because we are in the "other" category. We have no other blood running through our veins. But we all agree that "All Men are Created Equal". Didn't our founding fathers guarantee that in the Constitution. I cannot figure it out.

Yesterday was another one of those horrible days for me, but I woke up this morning and I am not so despondant.

I will be waking Sean up in a few minutes and getting him into the shower and then we will be headed back to another semester of college. I think just the motion required to get out Monday through Thursday again, will help me refocus.

Our faith has become extremely important to Sean and I, but please try to understand when I say this. The statement "If He led you to it, He will lead you through it." is not palatable to me right now. I will never believe that God placed Sean in this position in his life. God did not look down from heaven and say I will shatter this young man's hopes and dreams along with his body. Sean's crash happened and changed his life forever. It was not God. Yes, God's hand has been upon Sean since then and me for that matter. But I still believe that God is expecting me to get the message and "figure" it all out.

Please don't try to tell me how to rely on my faith to do it. Unless you have walked beside us every step of this journey, or unless you have a loved one in this position you will never understand. You may want to understand, or you may think you understand, but believe me, after all of this time there is no way to understand.

I don't mean to sound bitter. Because, honestly, bitter is not or never has been how I feel. Thankful, always thankful, that my son is still here on this earth with me, and that I have been able to care for him, is how I feel.

But worried I have been, and worried I continue to be. I know that on some level, all parents can subscribe to this worry, but you cannot feel how pervasive it is unless you "walk in my shoes".

Please continue to lift us up in your thoughts and in your prayers. Some days that is the only momentum I have!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, August 20, 2007 10:27 AM CDT

This weekend has been a lot better than the previous few days. Saturday evening we went over to some friends house, Krystal and Willie Seid, and enjoyed a pot-luck dinner with several of our friends from Team.

Sunday morning, Ben and Cheryl brought Calem over really early and he spent the day and Sunday night with us. He and Sean are now eating home made pancakes.

We are going out to UTD this afternoon and finalize Sean's college classes. Since he will be spending two mornings a week in a speech program at the Callier Center, he will only register for only one or two classes.

School starts for nearly everyone in Texas on August 27. Summer has flown by for all of us, I am sure.

Thank you so much for the virtual "hugs"!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, August 17, 2007 5:32 PM CDT

Thank you for the kind thoughts in the guestbook and thank you for all of the personal e-mails that I have received. Sometimes I wonder if I have ever gone through all of the steps of grieving that a person is supposed to go through when they suffer loss.

Today has been a better day. Sean and I were listening to some CD's yesterday afternoon and I walked into the living room, and I heard Chris Brady, one of the Team founders saying "You have to have an Attitude of Gratitude". Well, for some reason that clicked and I started dancing around singing "I've got an Attitude of Gratitude, Yes I do." And pretty soon I did. Sean and I were both giggling and laughing.

Later on, we were getting in the truck to go to the doctor to get the stitches in his toes out, and Sean wrote to me on his Rolltalk. "I always feel better when you are being goofy."

I walked over to the apartment office to pick up a package that had been delivered there. When I got back in the apartment and opened it up and looked inside, I felt the love of long ago. One of my cousins had several quilts that our Grandmother, Ruth Robinson Reddick, had made many long years ago. Grandma Reddick died at 102, in the early 70's. She had pieced together this quilt and my cousin Bev was kind enough to think of me and send it here. My Grandma had sewn every stitch by hand, many, many years ago.

I spread that quilt out on my bed and each time I walk into my bedroom, it is almost as though I can feel my Grandmother's arms around me.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and your prayers,
Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, August 15, 2007 10:05 PM CDT

There are days that I wake up and I feel almost paralyzed. I know it is a symptom of depression, but I can’t just lie in the bed and try to escape from reality. I have to get up and force that smile upon my face. Sometime during the day, I am usually lucky enough that the smile is no longer forced. It just slides right across my mouth like sunshine.

The problem is that every now and then, the sun doesn’t shine and my mouth stays in this straight line and my heart aches. Wednesday was one of those days for me. I think it is because Sean’s Medicare manual came today.

Just as a parent is supposed to die before their child, a parent is supposed to be eligible for Medicare before their child. The only reason a child can get it first is when they have been declared “disabled” for two years. I usually move through my days not thinking about what has been taken from Sean. I don’t allow myself to think about all that he has lost. I try to reassure him in my actions that life is good.

But sometimes I just want to scream at the heavens or cry, and cry, and cry.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Wednesday, August 15, 2007 9:49 AM CDT

I have been away from a computer for a long time. I didn’t take our computer when Sean and I spent the weekend at Tanglewood on Lake Texoma. The water is still very high from all of the rains earlier this year.

We had a really good time with an opportunity to visit with many friends. Shirley Case and Danny, Sean’s Dad, came out for our Friday night meeting. Saturday we visited with my dear friends Sharon Roberts, and her parents, Lois and Ron Richardson. Danny and his folks, Sean’s Nanny and PaPaw came to visit. Justin and Jessica Boren and their little Haylee, as well as Brandon and Amanda Vessels with their Hunter and Cody, came out for the afternoon. Bob, Ben and Cheryl, brought Calem and Shaya up, and they spent Saturday night with us.

Bob, Ben and Cheryl took Sean out to meet Brian Wible and Justin Boren for a few hours. Sean watched them playing pool and shuffleboard and had the opportunity of being “out” for awhile. Shaya and Calem spent the evening with me. I enjoyed my time with them and Sean had fun getting out without “MoM” for awhile. Family and Friends are so important to us. Although we are often busy with our new friends on Team, it is good to meet up with “old” friends occasionally.

All day Tuesday, I noticed that when Sean stood up he was all “noodly” or I told him, he was like a “licorice stick”. You know that real bendy stick with just a hint of stiffness? I don’t know if it is the heat and the Baclofen affecting his muscles or if it is because he has not been able to ride his NuStep because of his toes. He has decided that he will start riding again today on the lightest resistance for a short while so that he will use his muscles. He has to be careful that he does not put undue pressure on his toes, or the doctor says on the balls of his feet. Since he wears his AFO’s when he rides, his foot should sit squarely on the peddles and hopefully the weight will be over the whole foot rather than isolated to the ball of the foot or the tooes.

Now that we are home again I will start gearing up for our move on September 7, as well as school’s start on August 27. I can see Fall being an extremely busy time for us. One good thing about it is that we should soon be through the hottest part of our summer. Yesterday, our truck thermometer registered 110 degrees as we were driving down the highway. I think it was only “104” officially but everyone that lives in the heat knows that there are pockets of air that are much hotter than that.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, August 9, 2007 1:00 PM CDT

Is this time of year considered the “Dog Days of Summer”? It may not yet be, but I feel as though they are. It is hot, hot, hot, in North Texas. Not only that, the humidity is high, making it feel evn hotter. Today is supposed to be our first 100 degree day.

Sean and I have stayed in most of the week. We went to our Open Meeting, Tuesday night, and will go to the doctor’s office for a post op visit this afternoon.

I am happy to report that Sean has not needed any pain pills since Monday night. I think he has finally beaten the pain. We had about three really horrible nights, and than almost magically the pain dissipated. I am so thankful for that because it seemed that every time I would fall asleep, Sean would be waking me up for something. He would need a pain pill, or he would need to be repositioned. Or he would just tell me that the pain was “unbearable”. I promise I was the picture of that expression “You are stepping on my last nerve!” Always I would have to remind myself that he couldn’t help it. And I do know that in my heart, but for a continual 24 hour day for 4 whole days, it gets so hard to keep a smile on my face. But you know what? The majority of the time, Sean had a smile on his face. And I remind myself that if he could take care of himself he would!

So what do you do, knowing that? You just “get over it”! Then I would smile, and he would smile, and suddenly it was all better.

Sean and I are going up to stay at the Villas of Tanglewood for the weekend. We will be having our own Team Meeting Friday night at 8 at the Hotel at Tanglewood. We are really excited because the man who is going to explain our business is flying in for our meeting from Madison, Ohio. Tim Miller and his wife are extremely successful in our business and have been job optional since they were in their 30’s, and have been home to raise their 3 daughters. Sean and I know that this business is working for us. If any of our Grayson County friends want to know what it is we are doing, please join us.

Saturday we are going to have a reunion with our adopted family, Lois and Ron Richardson, and Sharon and Tony Roberts. Hopefully Sean and Todd’s good friends (Sharon’s daughter, Jessica and son-in-law, Justin) will also be there as well as Sharon’s sons and their families. We have invited Danny (Sean's Dad) and his Nanny and PaPaw, but are not sure when they will be out. Hopefully we will be able to see them sometime over our weekend.

Sean and I are going to stay through Monday. We are really looking forward to renewing old acquaintances.

We hope that you are all staying cool and will have a wonderful weekend!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean’s MoM, Jenny Carter

Monday, August 6, 2007 4:20 PM CDT

Sean and I wear a rubber bracelet on our wrists that totally describes Sean’s outlook on his life. It says, “Sean” and then the words:
Dare
Believe
Inspire
Courage
Truth
Hope
Laugh
Dream

When I found these bracelets in Washington, I just had to buy them for us. Sean lives each day with these words inscribed upon his heart, and he lives each of these words each day. He doesn’t need the bracelet to remind him.

He has the “Courage” to “Believe” that if he will “Dare” try to do the things he now cannot do, he will one day be able to do those things that he can only “Dream” of today. Everything he does, he does with a smile and a “Laugh”.

He continues to maintain the “Hope” that what he believes will be the “Truth” and he will “Inspire” his sleeping limbs.

Because of Sean’s attitude, I “Dare” to “Dream” that the day will come that through his “Courage” he will “Inspire” others to know the “Truth”. You have to “Believe” that you can do anything you “Dream” of doing if you have a lot of “Hope” and you are able to “Laugh”.

I often sit and read this bracelet and think about all of the “baby steps” that Sean has taken to get as far as he is today. Although it isn’t always “Easy”, it also isn’t always “Hard”! Even though it has now been more than 862 days since the nightmare of Sean’s crash, we refuse to give up”Hope”!

Sunday, August 5, 2007 10:36 AM CDT

Nights have been extremely painful for Sean. Friday night I almost thought that I would need to take him to the Emergency Room. He woke me up several times during the night with the pain. Because he is not supposed to take his pain pills on an empty stomach, he was eating a meal replacement bar at 3:30 in the morning. I think that he finally got comfortable about 7 a.m., and fell into an exhausted sleep. I finally woke him up at 11 a.m. and got him up and dressed.

Ben brought Calem and Shaya over for a visit around noon. Calem entertained us while playing with his cars and Lego's.

Sean and I got ready for our Team Seminar after they left, and made it out to the Westin-DFW Airport in Irving on time for the Seminar at 5 p.m. It was a wonderful meeting, with Chris and Terry Brady, (husband and wife who were both former GM engineers, and cofounders of The Team) speaking. Chris and Terry had flown in from their home in Florida to speak to all of us gathered there. Sean had an opportunity to meet Chris Brady, which really made the evening extra special for him.

Sean kept insisting that he was not in pain, but his face just poured sweat, and when we left about 11 p.m. he was totally exhausted. We got home and he managed to eat half of a sandwich, take his pills, and I got him into bed.

Bob had flown down to Corpus Christi to meet his hunting buddies, for the weekend, so I was so thankful I had no more "slipping" incidents.

Friday night (August 10) of this week we will have our own Team meeting at Tanglewood on Texoma. If any of our Grayson County Friends are interested please let me know. I don't have everyone's phone number that I would like to call, so please feel free to call me, or e-mail your numbers to me and I will call (jennychope@aol.com).

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Friday, August 3, 2007 12:59 AM CDT

The pain in Sean's toes has been intense all night long. We both were awake most of the night. Twice we prayed that the Lord would take away his pain, and both times he eventually fell into a restless sleep.

When Sean awoke this morning he asked me if I would ask his "Army of Angels" to pray to God that his pain would be eliminated.

That is our request. Please pray for Sean.

P.M. Update:

I don't know how many of you saw the story on the news Wednesday evening about the man who had been in a minimally conscious state for 6 years who received deep brain stimulation and is now able to say "Mommy and Pop" and he can feed himself and stay awake and watch an entire movie with his family.

Well, Sean asked me to contact the Cleveland Clinic and Dr. Razai who was responsible for the procedure. I sent them an e-mail that evening (Wednesday, August 1) and this afternoon we received a phone call from them. They asked me several questions about Sean's current condition and when we finished they told me that Sean fit all of the preliminary criteria for inclusion in their study! They are now going to send us some information and once we receive that, I am to gather up copies of all of Sean's medical records and send them up to them. Dr. Razai and his staff will then review the records and make the determination if Sean should be included in their study.

Sean and I are both so excited! This could be the miracle that we have been praying for!

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Thursday, August 2, 2007 2:10 PM CDT

Our hearts go out to all of the people in Minneapolis and surrounding area who might have known friends or loved ones whose lives were impacted by the collapse of the I35W bridge that spanned the Mississippi River and connected Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Caringbridge home is in Eagan Minnesota a suburb of Minneapolis.

Sean had his hammer toe surgery Wednesday morning. He came through it with very little pain. He had one pain pill right before leaving the hospital and did not have another one until he went to bed at 11, Wednesday night.

Bob was in Chicago attending a training program, so our friend, Chrissy, spent Tuesday night to help me get Sean to surgery and to sit with me while I waited for him. We were both so thankful that she was with us because I honestly could not have gotten him home without her. His toes have these little pins in them with a green bead on the end of the pins that stick out of the end of his toes. It looks like he has some strange piercings.

Although he has his AFO's on, there is no way to get his shoes on him right now. The bottoms of the AFO's are slick plastic, so he cannot get any traction trying to stand up or sit down and his feet slip out from under him. That made it so difficult loading him in and out of his wheelchair and also into and out of the truck. Chrissy had to actually sit on the ground and hold his ankles so that his feet would not slip out from under him.

During the night, Sean woke up twice with a great deal of pain in his toes, but it was not the ones that had been operated on. It was his great toe and pinky toe that were hurting. I ended up giving him pain pills during the night and had to get up twice to replace his icepacks. Sean told me that he felt as if the dressing was too tight. After clearing it with Dr. Sackett's office, I actually loosened the outer wrapping this morning and Sean feels it is much better now.

I was trying to transfer him this afternoon when all of a sudden he slid right between my legs and wound up lying on the floor between my legs. I got a couple of pillows underneath his head and called Bob at work. He and his brother, John, came to our rescue and together were able to manhandle Sean back into his wheelchair. I was really lucky because I was able to hold Sean up enough by his gait belt, that he did not hurt himself as he went down on the floor.

I guess our life had been getting too easy, so we had to have a little excitement and some new obstacles. I am going to have to figure out what I can do with Sean's feet as far as shoes go so that we don't continue to have such difficulty transferring.

Sean i now laying down, sleeping off a couple of the pain pills that he had taken before I loosened his bandages.

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 9:10 AM CDT

Kevin came by Monday afternoon for a visit. It has been a while since we have seen him so it was good to catch up on his life. It is ironic, but one of his friends that he has known the longest has just moved not to far from us and is going to work at BIR as an occupational therapist. We have not met her, but the next time we go to have Sean's pump refilled we will have to look her up.

Sean will have surgery for his hammertoes on Wednesday, August 1. The plan is that we arrive at Baylor by 6 a.m. Wednesday and if all goes well, I will have him back home by Wednesday evening.

We have just about a month before we move so I decided to begin tackling closets and weeding out things. We moved here at a time of real chaos in our lives, while Sean was hospitalized at BIR. I didn't help at all with that move. Bob attempted to organize everything as he gathered it up and I don't know if I ever truly organized anything when we got here.

I am hoping to be more organized with things this time. Most of the burden will still fall on Bob's shoulders with some help from Ben, but it would be nice to know what box I have put things in and to only move what we truly need and want.

While going through my closet I found something that Sean had written in February 2006. I wanted to share it with you because it is still true today.

"Most of you know my story, either by living it with me, hearing about it from others, or because you have read the website that my mother continues to update.

There is no way that I can describe to you the emotions that are usually locked up inside of me. I can tell you that I do not know how I would make it each day without the continued love from my family, and my friends. Many times I have felt so alone. That is when I turn to my website and read the notes from my “Army of Angels” (as my Mom calls them). I cannot tell you how much those notes mean to me.

I do not know what the future holds for me, but I guess no one else does either. I do know that I must go forward. Instead of setting goals for myself of completing my education, getting a job, getting married and fathering children, for now I have to set little goals that most of you take for granted.

I want to be able to have a conversation with my brother Todd over the phone. I want to be able to run after my nephew Joey, or punch my big brother Ben. When I am lying in bed at night I want to be able to roll onto my side, and then onto my back again. Most of all, I want to be able to sit up in my bed and take that first step, and that second step, to go into the bathroom on my own, or to my closet to dress myself.

Please keep thinking of me and praying for me. I need all of the help I can get."

Thank you for caring and Thank you for sharing,
Sean's MoM, Jenny Carter

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