August 4, 2008

It has been awhile since I have updated you on Jordan’s progress. It is hard to believe that this November will mark five years since Jordan’s journey began. Mom, dad, Rob and I, along with our friends and family, have watched and been able to witness Jordan getting better and better and it has been amazing to see.

Jordan has made many improvements over the last year or so. He is grinning and laughing more often. He isn’t just laughing at any old thing, he is responding to things going on around him. Mom and I were sitting in Jordan’s room on the couch beside him talking one day. I was telling her about a teacher I had in high school that wasn’t one of my or Jordan’s favorites. I made a slightly off-color remark about the teacher and Jordan just started smiling and chuckling. I didn’t even realize he was listening. This has been a progression. He began smiling about a year or so ago. Then he started laughing a little. When he first started doing this it scared us all because it sounded like he was choking when in fact he was trying to laugh.

Jordan is also moving his legs, feet, hands and knees when we ask him to and he does so quicker and quicker. He knows his left from his right side and his nurses say that his feet are very sensitive and ticklish. When he hasn’t seen one of the family in a few days he grins and grins when he sees us again. When we have to be away from him, we’ll call in to check on him and the nurses will hold the phone to his ear so we can talk to him. When we do this, Jordan moves his mouth like he is trying to talk to us and he also scans the room wondering where we are. When his friends come to visit, he tries hard to talk to them too and watches them intently. Anyone who knows what a blabber-mouth Jordan can be knows that it has to be so frustrating for him not to be able to talk. While he can’t communicate verbally, he does have his way of communicating with us. When we ask him a yes or no question, he will jerk his left arm for “yes”. He can also blink quickly meaning yes or no depending on what you ask him to do. It’s the kind of thing Jordan does to let us know he IS in there and he knows what we are saying to him and who we are.

While Jordan still has his feeding tube, we continue to feed him applesauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, Mott’s mango (one of his favorites) and soft foods like that. This past weekend he got a special treat—loaded potato soup from O’Charley’s. Needless to say, he loved it. One day we fed him strawberry shortcake and he could not seem to get enough. It is important to feed him regular foods and keep working on his chewing and swallowing. He also really loves dad’s famous baked beans (sorry nurses).

The physical therapist has been working with Jordan on a “standing table.” Jordan is moved onto the standing table on his back, he is strapped to the table and then it is lifted into the upright position. The table works to help with Jordan’s head-control, his blood flow and it helps build and maintain his leg muscles. He stays in the standing position for 40 minutes three times a week. The nurses and therapist always comment on Jordan’s height, after all he is 6’4”. The therapist has been impressed with how fast Jordan adapted to the standing table. This is a testament to the wonderful nurses we have working with Jordan every day.

We all prayed and prayed for great nurses and those prayers were answered in the form of some fantastic people. Dean, Tina, Sean, Angie and Lela are some of the hardest working most caring nurses we have come across over the last few years, I truly do not know what we would do without each and every one of them. It is interesting how different people come into your life for different reasons and it is also interesting what an impact they can have on you without even realizing it. These nurses not only take care of Jordan’s day-to-day health, they care about him like family. They all talk to him and read to him, do his flash cards with him—anything we ask, they do so with smile and a positive attitude. Jordan seems to laugh the most at Tina. One day she tripped and stubbed her toe and she said Jordan just laughed and laughed at her. I don’t think there are enough kind words in the world for our nurses (our angels). We truly appreciate them, their positive attitudes and fantastic work ethic.

Another cool thing Jordan has is his new chair. The chair was made specifically for Jordan and is fitted to his body. The chair is designed to help with head control and will only serve to expedite the progress Jordan has already made with his physical therapy. Jordan is still doing hyperbaric treatments every day for an hour a day and while we wait on a new speech therapist we (and the nurses) continue to do Jordan’s flash cards with him daily. The flash cards are really cool and Jordan does very well with his cards, here’s how it works: We hold up a card that says “Ride the _______” we read the sentence out loud to Jordan and then flip the card over where there are two answers written, such as “bike” and “tree”. It is Jordan’s job to pick the correct answer with his eyes. He gets better and better at this exercise and chooses the correct answer about eight out of ten times.

As for the rest of the family, mom just went back to work after her summer break. She had a good vacation and we were actually able to convince her to leave town for a few days and escape to the beach with her friend Amy Bray. Mom has also been spending quite a bit of time with Grandma Sells (her mom) at Bethesda here in Cookeville. Dad has been spending a lot of time working on his yard at home, which by the way, is one of the best looking yards I have ever seen, and trying to tame Jordan’s crazy dog Bo, a.k.a Bozer. Mom and dad have had a little time to go down to the lake and relax and entertain some close friends on the boat. My friend Becky Lamb and I are leaving for a trip to New Orleans soon to visit our good friend Jenny Knox. Rob and I have been working our fingers to the bone in our garden all summer. It has been an experience. I had no idea how many beans 40 plants would produce, but let me tell ya, it’s A LOT! We planted bush beans, corn, cucumbers, squash, cantaloupes, watermelons and 33 TOMATO PLANTS!! (Salsa anyone?) We have learned a lot and the garden has been a lot of fun. All in all it’s been a pretty good summer.

There are a few people who we would like to mention this time around. Dad’s friend Chuck Mullin did the coolest thing for Jordan. Chuck lives close to the entrance to Bonnaroo in Manchester. This year when the festival was going on, Chuck got Jordan his own Bonnaroo t-shirt and had it framed. It hangs on Jordan’s wall in his room and is just the coolest thing ever. We are still blessed to have some super-cool supportive people around us. Thank you to Collegeside Church of Christ, Debbie Mayberry, Elizabeth (Mayberry) Witt and Amy Bray especially for their undying love, support and prayers. Mom would also like to thank her principals and fellow teachers/friends at Avery Trace who never cease to ask about Jordan and who step-up to help her and fill in for her when she needs to be with Jordan. They have all been so understanding and helpful, it is truly humbling. Thank you to Kathie McGlamery & Holly Fox and the rest of my extended family at the Craft Center, who continue to love and support me and ask about Jordan all the time. It’s so great when we jump a hurdle, to have great people there to hug and shout YAAAY with us. It is equally as comforting to have them there when we hit those inevitable speed bumps that life throws at us from time to time.

Our family continues on a daily basis to be inspired by Jordan’s slow but steady progress. Even now, almost five years later, not a day goes by without someone asking about Jordan and how he is doing. This means so much to me and my family and we thank those of you who have stood by us throughout this entire situation. We know that with a lot of positive thoughts and prayers that Jordan will recover. The journey is made a bit easier and the load a bit lighter when you have such a great support group surrounding you constantly. Everyone from our nurses, our family, our friends, our coworkers to those who happen to have met Jordan at Spankies and say, “you may not remember me, but I’m a friend of Jordan’s and was just wondering how he’s doing.” It’s these small gestures that remind us that Cookeville has not forgotten Jordan, our sweet boy, our prince. I can just hear his voice in my head saying, “Shan, of course people remember me, DUH!”

Please continue to include Jordan in your prayers.

ALSO: If you are interested in dropping Jordan a card or a note, please do so. It seems Jordan’s mail has dwindled a bit and the cards mean so much to us.

Jordan Terry

1117 Country Club Court

Cookeville, TN 38503