The HolidaysTo be honest, I couldn't wait for the holidays to come and go. Dad was in Texas with Mom and Jordan and while he was away, Uncle John and I took care of Mom and Dad's pets. I have to admit I didn't like doing it. It wasn't because of the pets or I didn't have time, it's the house being so dark and quiet that bothered me. Usually during this time of year Mom and Dad's house is bright and smells like the holidays. You walk into the front door and if you don't trip over one of the eight-million gifts in the floor (some wrapped, some lying in wait) you may get lost in the shadow of the 10-foot tall Christmas tree that Dad brought home for us. The whole house smells of coffee and Christmas candles. Like most homes, it is the one time of the year that the house is most alive. I couldn't help but get homesick for Mom and Dad and Jordan when I was there alone, this was the time of year we should all be there together, celebrating and taking it easy. While talking to Dad on the phone one night while he was gone, I was telling him how much I missed him and Mom and Jordan and how it wasn't really Christmas without them all here at home. Dad quickly reminded me of last Christmas and how dark and sad it was. He said, “This Christmas may not be exactly what we want it to be, but Jordan is in a much better place now, things are looking good and we are headed in a positive direction. This time last year, we weren't sure where we were headed.” He was right. I had conveniently blocked out last Christmas and how it was definitely one of our lower days as a family during Jordan 's ordeal thus far. Dad reminded me that we have a lot to be thankful for even if we still aren't exactly where we want to be, we'll get there. How is Jordan doing now? As of yesterday Jordan has had 94 hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBOT). He is doing great! He still has the same schedule: He has hyperbaric treatments twice a day, once at 10:00 a.m. and again at 3:00 five days a week. He sees Brenda his physical therapist three times a week for one-hour sessions and he sees Gil Hanke, his speech pathologist twice a week as well as receiving speech therapy at Parkwood twice a week. Needless to say Jordan is extremely busy. His weight is still at 172 and he is healthy as ever. Things Jordan is Doing in His Various Therapies: Physical/Occupational Therapy: Brenda has made Jordan special casts that fit over his wrists and hands with the intent of straightening his wrists and fingers. Due to inactivity during this last year, Jordan 's wrists are contracted. This is completely normal and reversible and the casts coupled with therapy will help to correct it. He wears these all day except when he goes to hyperbaric treatments. His thumbs are already straightened and the casts are working on his wrists and hands as well. Brenda also stretches Jordan and still lays him on his stomach and sits him straight up while asking him to move and hold his head. She does the head exercises while holding his arms behind him. This makes head control much harder and challenges Jordan to really do it himself. When asked to hold his head, he will move it up inch by inch until he is too tired to continue. He gets better at this every week and Brenda herself says she can tell Jordan has improved a lot since he arrived. Another exercise Brenda does is to place things in Jordan 's hands and ask him to do different things. For example, she places a cup in his hand and lifts his arm to bring the cup to his mouth and Jordan will put his lips to the cup indicating that he understands what it is and how he should react physically. He moves his limbs quicker when asked and keeps eye contact longer as well as reacting faster. For example, the last time I was there, I walked up to his bedside and said, “Hey Jor,” and he looked at me immediately. All of these are good signs and he is doing really well, we couldn't be prouder of him and all of his hard work. Telling Jordan this again and again and staying positive is just as important to his recovery as any of his therapies, so we remind him constantly what a great job he is doing. Speech Therapy: We have come to love Gil , Jordan 's speech pathologist. Like most we have met on our journey in Texas , he is very friendly and has a great sense of humor. Jordan seems to respond very well to him and his staff. Gil, like Brenda, is not afraid to push Jordan and try new things with him—anything he can think of that may help. Jordan is still trying to verbalize all the time. Mom said that on Thursday, Jordan had a hectic day, one where they were moving him around all day from one therapy to the next. When it was finally Brenda's turn with Jordan , she said to him, “You don't like all of this moving around, do you Jordan?” and Jordan said “Uh-uh,” as if to say no. He did the same with Gil one day when Gil was giving him Coke to drink he asked, “Do you want more Jordan ?” and again Jordan said, “uh-uh.” These are small words that mean a whole, whole lot. Gil and his assistant also do different exercises with Jordan . For example, they use flash cards that consist of different words like, “a tree” and “a car.” They will hold up both cards and ask Jordan , “ Jordan , which one do you drive?” And he is supposed to look at the correct card. We also enlarged & labeled some photos for Jordan of his friends and family that could be used in his speech therapy. For instance, they will hold up two pictures, one of dad and Jordan together and one of Jordan and his friend Beth before senior prom. They ask Jordan if he can find the picture of he and his friend Beth, again it being Jordan 's job to identify the correct photo. He does great with these exercises and looks at the correct card consistently, his rate of correctness being about 85-90 per cent. Gil also gives Jordan all kinds of food. Thus far he has had: macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes with gravy, spaghetti, custard, ice cream, sherbet, pudding, Jell-O, canned peaches, Mountain Dew, chocolate milk and water. Jordan swallows with no problem and really enjoys the real food. He still has the feeding tube for regular feedings but it won't be long before that is removed. They are also weaning him from the tracheae tube in his throat by capping or closing it off every day. The goal is to get him to tolerate being without the tracheae for increased amounts of time each day and right now he can tolerate it being capped for about four hours a day. (That's all the time mom has to cap it since Jordan is always on the go to therapy, so we think he could tolerate it much longer if he had the time.) Four hours is remarkable though, especially considering I can remember when he could tolerate it for 30 seconds and we were jumping up and down for that, to tolerate it for four hours means he has already come a long way. Gil can't give us an exact time on when it will be removed completely but does reassure us that it will be very soon. We are so pleased with Gil and his staff and truly feel Jordan is receiving the best therapy possible. Family Notes: We cannot thank everyone enough for your continued love, support and encouragement. Jordan and mom still receive tons of mail and they love every bit of it. Again, we do not know when mom and Jordan will be coming home. If you ask mom that questions, I can guarantee her answer will be, “When God is ready for us to come home, we will.” We simply do not know when, remember, having faith and patience is all part of the lesson and like I have said before, we know people want Jordan to be better now , no one wants that more than us. But to put a time limit on it isn't fair to Jordan and does not display an ounce of faith. I guess my basic point is we just don't know how long Jordan will need to be there. I can guarantee that as soon as we do know when he and mom will return this web site will be the place to find out for sure. It's funny, I never thought about having to dispel positive rumors, usually when you think of a rumor, you think of people saying bad things. Oh and trust me, we have heard it all this past year, but it is really hard when someone tells you they heard Jordan was doing something that he never did, like I don't know, walking for example. Imagine having to say to someone, in public, “no, he's not walking yet.” Then you get the sad “aww” face from people. This reaction takes away from all of the positive things that Jordan is doing and people shouldn't be sad, Jordan is doing great and we are still as positive as ever regarding his recovery. I mean protecting Jordan from bad things people say is one thing, but having to correct a rumor that you wish with all of your heart were true is very painful. I think these are the kinds of things that people in situations such as ours all deal with, and it's just another piece of the puzzle you never considered being an issue when this all began. Don't get me wrong, I love to talk about Jordan and answer people's questions, I love that so many people love Jordan and wish and pray for his recovery every day. I guess, what I am trying to say is that we are still tender and this is still as hard in some regards as it was a year ago. Mom wants everyone to know she is doing fine in Texas . She has made some great friends in Lufkin including Tammy and Fred who own the hyperbaric clinic and Mitzi who works there. They take really good care of mom and Jordan both. Dad set up mom's email for her there and she wanted me to pass along her email address: glendapilotpres@yahoo.com . Mom says to thank everyone for your prayers and cards of encouragement, which continue to carry our family through each day. As in the beginning, I don't think we would make it through without all of your love and prayers. I don't think I will ever again see a community rally around someone with such compassion, as I have seen our hometown do this last year for Jordan and my family, it is truly humbling. We appreciate your staying positive with us as well as your continued prayers for Jordan 's full recovery. |