Hello friends and family! (read to the bottom for a personal thank you from Joey)

Thank you for continuing to check in on Joey's journey. He has made so much progress over the last few months and he is doing everything he can to keep that progress rolling.

You might be curious about the title of this update. He is being discharged from QLI (Omaha) THIS WEEK! This doesn't mean he is coming back home for good. He will be relocating to an outpatient rehab facility in MN or a different state (fingers crossed for Craig again). BUT, he will be home for a visit this weekend! Perfect timing for his niece's, (my daughter's) 2nd birthday party. I am sure he would love to see you in the time that he is home. We are unsure at the moment if it will be for a few days, or 2 weeks. Reach out to Joey if you would like to visit! 

The main purpose of coming home before relocating is to see what kind of difficulties he would face if he were to live independently. After moving around his own house for a few days, he will know how to better prepare himself for that independent lifestyle. His occupational therapists will work with him on this.

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A lot has changed in a month, so here is a list of his physical accomplishments:
-Walking with a walker - goodbye wheelchair!
-All braces are OFF! Only wears his C-collar when he feels like he needs it.
-Increased difficulty in his training with water therapy. Started slow with walking on the underwater treadmill, now is jogging in water with ankle weights and a weighted vest
-Strength is coming back in his hips, back, and legs
-No longer feeling the hyperextension in his right knee. However, he did notice it for the first time in 2 weeks while exercising with a weighted vest and dumbbells. He listened to his body and hasn't done that exercise since.
-Unable to gauge his strength while holding objects causing him to occasionally squish his PB&J's...  
-Can finally lay on his stomach! Sleeping just got a whole lot better!
-Almost has full range of motion with his right arm!! His right shoulder still needs surgery, so that makes movement more difficult at times. He is still in his shoulder brace until surgery.

FUN things
-Playing lots of card games , still can't shuffle but that isn't stopping him from trying
-Several visits from mom and dad, recently from Zachary and Everest too! It's been 3 months since last seeing his pup, so he took her out for some sight-seeing and dog parks. It was sad for both of them to say goodbye. 
-Lastly, Joey has unintentionally started quite the congregation at QLI. He watches church online every Sunday in a public hallway and has been joined by several other residents to attend Sunday service remotely.

PayPal Fundraiser, Round 2

https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/93xArNbkZQ

It's wonderful that Joey no longer requires Inpatient care as he is soon being seen as an Outpatient. However, that also means insurance coverage is different. For this reason, we thought we would open a fundraiser for anyone who is interested in contributing towards things he will need that is not covered under insurance; dry needling, additional PT/OT sessions (more than insurance allots), and some medical equipment for when he comes home. He is more than grateful for your support and financial help with the last fundraiser, and by no means wants anyone to feel obligated to help.

I will be preparing for baby #2 due in June so the next updates will be from either our sister, Ashley, or mom, Bonnie. 

God bless you and thank you for following Joey's healing journey!

Love, K

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Joey asked me to write a thank you to everyone on his behalf, but I thought it was best in his own words. So here is a personal thank you from Joey, himself:

"I've gotten so many get well better cards, so much love and drawings, and I'm so appreciative for that. I really want to send my own personalized thank you cards in return, but the therapy and everything else in my head, it's just so full. And my fingers can't write, so it's hard for me to sit down and write a thank you. So I can't. Not yet. So say something in there for me like, " i don't know how to say a special thank you to Mallory Rahm and the Rahm family, for making any and all of this possible. Because they are the ones who found me in the ditch. 
She was the little girl who's mom told her to call 911. They sent me a tie blanket where they said prayers with every tie on that blanket. I don't know how I can ever thank them.
So I'd like to say a special thanks to everyone who sent me something. I'm so heartfelt and I wish I could write them a thank you in return, but I physically can't right now."