Good evening friends! I realize that it’s been a while since we’ve updated this page on Joy’s progress and status since she’s taken over most of that on Facebook. Here’s the full update from her!

I am back home in Virginia! February 12th, I flew back and have since located some amazing doctors, surgeons, and physical therapists to continue care here. Once I got back, I basically did away with using the walker and am only using the cane for short distances, stairs, and low incline areas. Gusty wind does have the possibility of blowing me over though! Therapy has helped immensely! I am driving on my own and am almost back to normal activity….just about 3x slower than before, but it still gets done! The biggest challenges are balance, stamina, and time management since running and speeding up really aren’t options!

• Most all of the bone breaks have healed with the exception of the left tibia. There is just about 1cm of bone mass missing around the rod holding that leg/ankle together. The surgeon is trying a electro-magnetic bone stimulation device that will hopefully cause that bone to grow and reduce the need for additional surgeries. I won’t know any progress on that for another three months, but at least it is something! With the rod holding the leg/ankle together, it is stuck at approx. a 90 degree angle with about +/- 10 degrees flexion. It’ll make dancing a challenge, but not impossible!
• The right ankle is healed but still weak. The issue there was mostly a tendon/ligament burst along with a cracked tibia. It’s nothing some good orthotics shouldn’t be able to help though. The ball and toes of both feet are still weak due to the nerve damage and trauma, so continued therapy and proper shoes are needed to continue improvement.
• The right femur is healed like a boss!
• Right arm/elbow is healed and working great. The therapists really did a number: the range of motion is basically normal and strength is almost back to pre-crash.
• Left wrist…. I still have to double check for the scar to see if I actually broke it!
• The back and spinal cord tears are healed! There is only the slightest occasional nerve issues in the lower back but overall, everything seems to be good. The downside to the spinal injury is it takes 3-4x longer for the lower extremity muscles to respond and strengthen, but they are doing it! I’m still feeling some new nerves come “online” which isn’t the most pleasant feeling but a great indicator!

I went back to work this week (July 1st)! So far, everyone is on a reduced/part time schedule due to COVID reductions, so that does help ease back into a “normal” schedule. It’s been amazing being back with my coworkers regardless of all the crazy circumstances we are dealing with these days!

It’s been just a little over a year from the accident, and all I can think of to say is God is good! Everyone’s generous support through many different avenues has been far past my expectations, and I have definitely gained a better perspective on the true meaning of friendship and being present for those you care about. This will probably be the last update on this page since everything is basically “normal” considering. I will keep posting updates on Facebook as things change. For those of you who have only been following this page, feel free to contact me if you ever want an update or want to say “hey”!

Love to all!