Another month has passed!

I didn't realize that it had been a month since the last post. It's amazing how time has flown, but how March 20th feels like it was just yesterday! At the beginning of August Adam got to spend 11 days with his beautiful little two year old! Sadie was a blessing and a bright light to have around. She's getting so big! Also in the last month, Adam has started working 4 hours a day at Depuy and it seems like his energy level is getting better each day! He's continued to have therapy (Speech therapy) a few days a week. He took a written exam for driving earlier this month and passed with flying colors. Last week he went back to his orthopaedic surgeon and he released him from his brace (wooohooo!). That was two weeks earlier than what was originally decided! This week he'll start occupational therapy with the orthopaedic people to get that shoulder moving again! We went to see an eye doctor in Indy a few weeks ago, she said that he had an injury to the optic nerve in the cortex of his brain. This has messed up some of his peripheral vision, but Dr. Lazoff seems to think that with some time it may get better! He constantly reminds us that Adam really is only 5 months post injury and while he is doing great, we have to remember that his recovery can take a year to two years to completely recover. We continue to appreciate all the prayers and support that we've had. Thanks especially to some co-workers of Adam's (I believe it's Dan and Dave) who have helped us by picking him up for work. Also thanks to DeWayne who continues to help us get Adam to therapy from time to time! We really couldn't have done or continue to do this without your help! Thanks again from the bottom of our hearts!
And a call for more prayer: One of my best friends from college is pregnant and this week found out they were having a boy. At the same time, they found out that he has a very severe heart defect that can only be fixed after delivery. Please pray for Stacy, David, Ella and baby Landin Callahan as they begin this journey and start to see specialists. This year has been full of miracles in our family and I know that with prayer, God will provide. So please pray for a miracle for the Callahan family! Thanks!

On a beautiful Thursday evening...

Hi all! It's been a while but I wanted to send a quick update on how Adam is doing since his surgery last week. His surgery on his left shoulder went wonderful last week. Dr. Wright told me he couldn't be more pleased! They went in and anchored his ligament back to his shoulder with anchors and suture. His will give him the posterior support he needs so that he doesn't dislocate his shoulder. He has a brace that he wears now and will have to wear for 6 weeks. For those of you that have seen it, you know what it looks like, and those of you that haven't...well it completely limits the movement/use of his left arm. But 6 weeks is nothing compared to the journey he has already been through! This is just the icing (not very good icing, but nonetheless) on the cake! He saw Dr. Wright today for his post-op appointment and he said that things look great and they took his stitches out and he will be able to start therapy for his shoulder again in 3 weeks.
Sunday there was a 5k walk/run for our cousin Danelle and her family following the early (really early) birth of their triplets. It was warm and we all figured that he'd walk as much as he could then walk back...Adam finished the entire 5k!!! AMAZING! Great job Adam!!! Keep up the hard work!
And on this beautiful Thursday evening, he was re-united with his baby girl, Sadie! Such an awesome time to have her back home and in our presence! What a true blessing she really is. We all missed her, but I don't think we all realized how much until she was home!!!
Thanks to all for the continued prayers for Adam and our family! Everyday I'm still amazed at the wonderful support the community has given. It's also amazing how many people will see him in public and come up and talk to him/our family and just let us know how good it is to see him up and moving! Thank you to all the family, friends, community members and strangers that helped get him to where he is!!! There is no doubt in my mind that God had quite a few angels with him that night!!!
And there is your quick update! Night all!
Here's a pic of Adam during the walk and of his contraption!

Another day, another week!

Time is flying and boy are we having fun! Adam is doing well. He had a big test this past week and passed 5 of the 7 areas that they tested him in. Dr. Goff said that this is great for four months post accident. The two areas in which he has deficients, she said that those are areas in which he will improve and won't be "missing" forever. She said that it may take up to a year to gain some of that stuff back. But for being only four months post head trauma he's doing great. She recommended that he start working a few more hours a day. However, his energy level right now is really LOW. He's had more bad days than good, where he feels blah and is just exhausted. It's normal they say, so he just keeps trucking along. He'll have surgery this week on his shoulder to repair that. I think that once that's done, maybe he'll start feeling a bit better! Please say some special prayers for him this week, for the surgeon working on him and for all the nurses/techs involved! Lucky for him, he's having it done where I work, and while I'm pretty bias, I know they will take GREAT care of him!!!

This weekend was his benefit. Once again, Whitley County is an amazing place to call home for many reasons, but today it's for the amazing support they've shown to Adam. We even had some out of towners from Chesterton, IN that made the trip to see and support Adam. To all of you who came, gave, in whatever capacity you supported, THANK YOU! You will never know how truly appreciative we all are that you have helped take care of Adam and our family throughout this WHOLE experience. Still to this day, I tear up when I think of the many people who have shown such support and love to our family. You honestly will never know how thankful we are. We can say thank you over and over again, but please know, it is something we will never be able to say enough! Attached are some great pictures from Saturday! Thanks to everyone! And a special thanks to the Committee Members: Greg & Ann Fahl, Bob & Tammy Gettinger, Mark & Meg Mynhier, Mike & Julie McEvoy, and Kim & Roxanne Reiff and the Elkhorn Ranch!

A few inquiries

Another week is upon us and I've had an inquiry or two about Adam's upcoming benefit...so I'd like to post the information for you so that if you are interested you can make it.

Saturday July 24 1:00pm to 10:00pm or ? Come out for a day in the country.
Featuring food, drink, and live entertainment. We'll be roasting hogs and serving up iron kettle chili, hot dogs, and bonfires. Entertainment by Tennessee Rebels, Lude Entertainment, Bob Gettinger and Coda. Bring your lawn chair and set a spell or dance the night away.
Admission by advance ticket purchase only. Just 500 tickets available; so don't delay. Adults $20, Children under 12: $5 each at the gate.
Where? The Elkhorn Ranch (near Larwill) From Col. City take US 30 to 1 mile west of Larwill to Binkley Rd (Countryside Antiques) turn right/North, go 1 mile, watch for signs.
Tickets available at Big G's and Orizon Real Estate in Col. City, Crossroads Bank in So. Whitley and Col. City or contact Kim Reiff, Mark Mynhier, Greg Fahl or call 260-248-6558.

Lots of information there, but it should be a fun day to get out and support Adam.

Adam continues to heal. His energy really comes and goes. Lately it's been gone quite a bit, but he continues to surge forward. Dr. Lazoff says that it's normal with head injuries and could take 6-8 months for it to steady out. So in the mean time, he's (Dr. Lazoff) is going to continue to keep him on his current work schedule and have him do some more OT/PT to keep up his range of motion with his arm and build up some endurance in PT to help with his energy levels. They also drew some blood today to make sure that it's not a metabolic problem and is just the result of hitting his head "REALLY HARD!" He will see Dr. Lazoff at the beginning of August to re-evaluate things. I can say this about him...he's a trooper! He continues to go, go, go! But they said today, it's time to take it easy a little! I think he's just ready to feel "normal" again...then again, what is normal?! Surgery for his arm has been scheduled, so that's just another bump in the road.

Please continue to keep him in your prayers as he continues to heal. It's crazy because he looks so good when you see him, but as a nurse I know that on the outside you can look great and your body is still healing on the inside. And for him, this is the case! Thanks everyone!

4 months ago...

Time really does fly when you are having fun! I'm not sure the "fun" we started 16 weeks ago today was the "fun" that Adam or any of us would have asked for, but especially Adam, he's taken it stride by stride and remains positive about it!
For the time being, he remains "out of therapy." He was to meet with Dr. Lazoff this week, but he (Dr. Lazoff) got stuck in Texas so Adam will see him on Tuesday and that appointment will determine if he needs further therapy at this point. Like before, it will also determine if he gets to up his hours at work, but so far, he's doing good at work!
Yesterday he met with Dr. Wright (his shoulder doc). He determined that Adam's shoulder is quote "A MESS" unquote. So shoulder surgery will be scheduled for sometime in July. From what I gather (I wasn't able to be at the appointment due to work) they will be doing a shoulder scope and will go in and anchor one of his posterior shoulder ligaments back to his glenoid! So basically they will re-attach a ligament to the back of his shoulder joint! Dr. Wright says that by doing this, it should fix all the pain he's been having. It'll also cut back on the arthritis he'll eventually get (probably when he's in his 60's), but if they don't fix it, the arthritis will come much sooner!
So that's where things stand! He's doing great! He continues to have a great outlook on things! He knows his limits and isn't afraid to let you know when he's tired or when enough is enough! I'm pretty sure he's enjoying being back at work too! We would have never thought that 4 months ago he'd be this far progressed! And I'm sure that the many of you that gathered with us around his bedside and in the waiting area 4 months this morning wouldn't have thought so either. But with that said, we are thankful to a wonderful God and to wonderful family and friends that kept and continue to keep him in their prayers! I'll continue to keep you posted, and one of these days I'll get you a recent photo of him on the blog. He looks WONDERFUL! Thanks for your continued prayers! You all have been so WONDERFUL and supportive and we can't say thanks enough!!

It's been a while

Once again, time is flying like crazy around here! I've had many people mention that they haven't seen anything on the blog for a while, so I thought I'd get on to update! Adam is doing extremely well. His therapists have all been very pleased with his recovery and progress. They commented that most of the time those that have been to Shepherd's come back way more advanced than those that haven't. So we definitely believe that we made the right decision by sending him to Shepherd's Center! Even though it was hard! We're glad we did. For the last 3 weeks Adam has been going to therapy 3 days a week. He has taken tests that were given to him in Atlanta and passed them with flying colors!

He had a CT scan on his shoulder last week, and we're waiting to find out what they will do with his shoulder. He'll meet with his doctor next week to find out what the plans are.

He saw his dentist, Dr. Zollinger, a few weeks ago and they think he may have messed up some muscles on his left jaw and may have the early signs of TMJ, so he uses a heating pad on his jaw every night and that seems to be helping.

As far as therapy, he's done until Wednesday when he meets with Dr. Lazoff. Once he sees him we'll know if he needs further therapy or if he's done. He also started back to work this week. They have limited him to a certain amount of hours each day, but when he goes back to Dr. Lazoff on Wednesday they will re-evaluate if he can add more hours to his work days! He said it was good to be back today! I think he really enjoyed being back into somewhat of a routine!

Adam still gets tired easily, but not nearly as bad as before! So he's getting there! I think for the most part, he's sleeping better at night too. He was able to ride in the Old Settler's Day parade this past weekend. He's back to joining us at Bdubs and going to hang out with friends. Really, at the end of the day, he's doing very well! We never thought he'd be this far along in his recovery at this point, but we are so grateful for his progress! We're 15 weeks post accident at this point (well on Saturday that is)! I can honestly say that even though life seems back to "normal", I really don't know if life will be "normal" again. The days and weeks seem to pass quicker than before, but we'll take each day we get and keep running with it!

Thank you for your continued prayers for Adam and our family! We truly appreciate every single one of them!

3 months ago yesterday...

Three months ago today, we were sitting at Parkview hospital in the waiting room of the STICU waiting on Adam to wake up, respond, or breath on his own. Who would have ever thought that 3 months later Adam would be the walking, talking, breathing miracle he is! For those of you that have gotten to see or spend time with Adam since he's been back, you know what I'm talking about. God heard the prayers of many on that Saturday three months ago, and answered them! We would have never thought three months ago that we would see him doing the things he's doing today! And because of that, I will always consider him a walking, talking, breathing miracle that happened right before my eyes!

This week was VERY busy for Adam! He took EVERY stride with a positive, open attitude! He was tired by the end of the week, but kept going! He had PT and ST on Tuesday. They both said that they'd probably work with him for 3-4 weeks anywhere from 2-3 times a week, and then they'd probably be done with him. They said that Shepherds Center did a great job getting him where he's at! Wednesday he met with his Ortho doc regarding his shoulder. Dr. Wright seems to think that he has a torn ligament on the back of his scapula and wants to do some more radiology tests first, but then he's thinking that Adam will need to have a shoulder scope done to see whats going on with his shoulder. The doc said that he could very easily dislocate his shoulder if this ligament was torn...and he said that's pretty painful! Then on Thursday Adam had more PT, OT, and ST. On Friday he met with his eye doctor to make sure his eyes are fine after his accident. They said his eyes looked good, however, he had them dilated, so they will perform a peripheral vision test in a few weeks to make sure that was not affected by the accident.

He spent the majority of the week having Sadie. She was with him everyday but Tuesday this week. We were able to have an early birthday celebration with her and our family and friends this week. She was so stinkin' cute and I know she will be missed by many family and friends while she is away. It's hard on us all, but I know God has bigger plans and He will work it out. It's just too bad that it had to be this way! A few of my best friends were their with their little girls and both of them had been asking for Sadie earlier in the week, those girls had a blast playing in the yard! Friday night we went to Carrie and Brandon Crawford's house for dinner and some fun. We had a great time relaxing and enjoying the evening. Sadie had a wonderful time with their girls, Maddie and Maylee!

And because I'm late on getting this out, on Saturday Adam spent the morning with Sadie and then decided he wanted to relax for the afternoon. We left him to do that and then he spent the evening hanging out with Rodney at his house.

Today Adam got to sleep in and really rest up! He said he slept great! This afternoon he went to Ryan's house and spent some time with him .

Thank you to all our family and friends who made it out to celebrate an early birthday of a very special little girl in our lives. You all have been so wonderful and helpful through this whole process and we appreciate all that you have done for Adam and our family. Another special thank you to Diane, Adam's case manager. She has been absolutely wonderful to work with and fortunately has a great sense of humor! You need that if you are going to work with Adam! He lets everyone know that if he can laugh about this, so can we! Please keep sending those prayers for Adam's continued recovery. Also pray for our Miss Sadie Cakes as she's away from all of her family. We pray that she is safe and continues to know that we love her and miss her. And lastly, please pray for Gemma, she is a fighter and continues to fight for her life at such a young age, but God does work miracles as evidenced in the past 3 months!

Below are some awesome pictures of a wonderful week with Miss Sadie!