This entry is long overdue. I have neglected to sit down and write, or even keep up with my email for that matter. Summertime in our yard is constant upkeep and we have had our share of visitors - which helps keep the spirits positive and frankly gives me a needed break while visiting.

Tony's progress has been slow, but steady. He has gained 20 pounds of the 40 he lost and his stamina has increased. Even the bald spot on the back of his head has grown back hair! We thought it was a permanent scar. The extensive blood clots throughout his entire left leg from groin to foot have been slowly improving. Only his foot still swells now and turns purple when sitting and standing for a while. This swelling in the foot may not ever go away because the valves within the veins are possibly damaged due to the blood clots or the injuries from the accident. Only time will tell if this is permanent.

Tony has progressed the last couple of months from walking with a walker, to walking with a cane, to now walking slowly on his own. He still uses the cane on uneven surfaces. His limp is still pretty significant. This past week he has improved his gait from a "step and slide the left foot" to more of a two step limp gait. Mornings are the worst for movement and it is a stiff and painful process to get out of bed and start moving again. His orthopedic surgeon said he is ahead of schedule. She thought he would be using a walker a lot longer. 

Also this week, he was fitted for a brace to help with "foot drop". He may have some nerve damage that prevents him from lifting his toes to walk with a normal "heel to toe" strike and his foot turns out. It could take about a year for us to know if this problem is permanent, as well, since nerves are very slow to heal and regenerate only about 1 to 5 mm a day. 

Last week he had a MRI on his knee. The pelvis and shoulder orthopedic surgeon had thought that he may have torn his ACL. We all were expecting another surgery and have known all along that there was an issue with the knee. Ligaments are the least of the doctors worries with all Tony's bone breaks. The MRI showed that there was no complete tear anywhere. Although, the radiologist report stated that it was the most severe sprain and everything in the knee was injured - ACL, MCL, IT band, Patellar, etc.... He has to go see a specialist for the knee because it continues to be swollen and sore. Hopefully, the knee specialist will confirm no surgery. 

The shoulder is another area where Tony is still having difficulty with pain. The occupational therapist is working on increasing mobility and his range of motion has improved, but he still is far from being able to lift his left arm up to 180 degrees. Next week or the week after his surgeon is going to put Tony under sedation to manipulate his arm and break up the scar tissue and calcification. The surgeon said that you can actually hear cracking and the breaking of the tissue. This should help increase his range of motion, but he may be very sore for a few days afterward. 

Pelvis, back and neck are areas that still get sore. He has trouble sitting and standing for any length of time and needs to rest in the recliner or in bed with his foot elevated - usually in the afternoon. He still has not been back to work for this reason. His replacement at the office has to leave as soon as Tony is back for any length of time. So he has to be sure he can manage a full eight hour day. 

A few weeks ago, after he got the neck and back braces off, I woke up to find Tony out of bed and not anywhere in the house. This was a bit shocking since he hadn't ever been anyway but the bedroom or the recliner in the living room. After looking around outside, I finally called him upon which he told me he got himself into the convertible and went for a ride to his parents house. Ever since then, he has been driving himself short distances! His words were "No one ever told me I couldn't drive!" and "I had a really great day today with Dad (Skip)". 😀 This has helped his attitude and gave him some freedom, because now he can get himself up to our local hospital for physical and occupational therapy. Tuesday was the first time he went to an appointment in Des Moines himself (I felt terrible and maybe had migraine from dehydration). It was a long day for him sitting, standing, walking and not able to get his foot elevated. He was tired when he got home, but he did it!! His neurosurgeon has now officially cleared him for driving even the mower, skid loader and ATVs. He just has to be very careful not to fall!! They don't know how strong the the neck and back really are and a fall could re-break them.

It has been over 4 months now since the accident. We finally heard from the investigating officer and it has been confirmed that it was an impaired driver. We will never know, but it is likely she mistakenly headed West instead of East to go back home. After realizing the mistake, it is suspected she then did a U-turn to go back East, forgetting it was a four lane highway and just a quarter of a mile in front of us, then came directly into our lane. We were in the left lane thinking our left South turn was coming up and we met at the top of an incline. Tony would like to stress to everyone - Don't drive after drinking or allow anyone to drive!! He has been in contact with the driver's mother to see if he can help out in any way with her four children. 

I have had some questions on our boys. They are all doing very well!
Keegan is living in Des Moines and still taking classes (organic chemistry I & II) even though he graduated summa cum laude in May with an economics degree. He is changing things up and wanting to pursue graduate school in a science field, possibly chemistry. Quinn and I helped him move into an apartment in downtown Des Moines earlier this summer.

Quinn finished his first year of college and did very well. He got an opportunity to work and do research in a genetics lab this summer. He is working on figuring out how genetic mutations cause seizures and epilepsy. He loves his job and has learned a lot. He stays in Iowa City most of the week and usually comes home on the weekends. He also has taken two college classes this summer. I have to go help him move into a new apartment next week. 

Aiden has been a big help around the house. He did speed training and weight lifting early in the morning this summer and played a lot of basketball. He will be a sophomore this fall and has decided that cross country was more appealing than football this year. He and I have spent many days crawling under hundreds of evergreen trees to cut out vines and unwanted trees growing inside them. We are slowly getting them done. Last week we had a big and beautiful tree fall down in a storm on the pool pump. There was some damage but nothing too severe.

We are very grateful for all the continued thoughts and prayers and meals. We are blessed to be apart of the Humboldt and Edward Jones communities and have such an amazing network friends and family. Tony still has a long way to go so prayers are needed to get him back to the activities that he loves to do.