Hello Team Chris Brown,
I hope this finds you and yours safe and happy. It's been a while since I've posted an update. I think many of you are connecting with Chris now, so this communication may not be needed much more moving forward. I just posted three x-ray's which provides a good picture of the impact (literally) to Chris's body. I can report that one of the pelvic screws has broken. As far as we can tell it did not impede healing or stability of the pelvis. Chris still experiencing a lot of pain in his left wrist and you can see why in the x-ray. There was an additional pin in the wrist that has since been removed. He is still experiencing issues with strength and dexterity in the left hand and arm.

Pain is more manageable, but not gone. Sometimes, something weird will happen and he'll be laid out on the couch for three days with nerve pain radiating from his back into his shoulder and chest. That said, he is building strength and endurance. We finally got the IVC removed from his left leg. That was the basket holding the blood clot in his leg in place. They went through the artery in the neck and were able to retrieve it and remove it. Remarkable procedure. He also got an MRI of his right knee. He's been limping since he first started walking and was a little fed up with the response, "there doesn't appear to be any soft tissue damage". The MRI revealed what could be felt and that is a torn Meniscus and sprained ACL and LCL. The doc recommended PT, but he's already been doing PT so may have to go another route.

The doctor has approved between 1/4 and 1/2 time at work. The blessing of COVID is that this can be done in part, at home. What we haven't talked much about is Chris's traumatic brain injury. He had internal bleeding on the left side and suffered small strokes in various places in the brain on the right side. We are still learning the impact of these injuries for Chris. What we do know is he can become cognitively fatigued. Think about what happens to your thinking and focus and concentration when you're sleep deprived or hungry? That is something Chris experiences. He's really good about sharing with his team and family when he's shutting down physically and mentally...he's reaching his limit. He'll say, "OK, I'm done. I gotta go." A big deal for Chris, because as most of you know, his MO is to push through. The impact of doing that in his situation is recovery or rebounding takes considerable time. Not hours but day's. So we are back to pacing for Chris and the slow and steady approach gets him further ahead in the long run. I used the analogy of Liam Neeson in Star Wars fighting the Dark Sidious. During the fight, there were walls that kept coming between them as the security system misfired, separating them. At one point, Liam drops to his knees and meditates as he waits for the wall to remove. I've encouraged Chris to be the Jedi...be Liam Neeson. (I won't comment further as the reception of that suggestion to Chris.)  

What has been one of those little gifts for me to see is how this is impacting Chris and Lisa as a couple. Often times, the impact to the caregiver is not mentioned when a loved one suffers a significant health issue or traumatic injuries has to a relationship. It has been a process for sure and extremely difficult. We are all action people with servant hearts.  To sit next to someone who is reeling in pain, can't sleep, agitated, depressed, etc. is difficult. Most of us are compelled to jump in and try to relieve that pain. Lisa is a beast and there's nothing she can't overcome. She has fully immersed herself in supporting Chris and that has been a process for both to pivot in their relationship to find just the right way to relate, communicate and support each other. Lisa has become the cook in the family (Chris has always played that role) and with his new found hankering for banana bread and short bread cookies, also has bolstered Lisa's baking. Fortunately, this has helped Chris gain about 9 of his lost 30 pounds. She's also become quite an advocate, which could prove a contributor to future career endeavors. We shall see. I admire their commitment to each other and their relentless work to be there for each other.

So, during this hard time, channel the lessons of the Jedi and know when to pull within and slow your mind and body, so that you can fight the good fight. Thank you for your continued support to Team Chris Brown!