Monday September 26th, 2011 (Josh's Triumphant Return To Paoli Hospital)

The Bonjos

Monday September 19th, 2011

No More MAFOs!

Josh was cleared last week to walk, stand and transfer
without his MAFO braces. In fact, he will only use them
for walking long distances in therapy. This will make Josh
more comfortable and eliminate the need to put them on / take
them off 10 times a day...

Josh has regained a considerable range of motion in his right
arm and hand. We are now working on dexterity,
assembling LEGO models, using a tablet computer and working
on puzzles.

All else is on track and going well.

Pictures and more news later!

The Bonjos

Saturday September 3, 2011

Despite the flooding, Rose made it to Brattleboro, VT and Darling
is on the way home. Her apartment and studio are on a hill on the
way out of town. So, no damage there.

I spent the week in therapy with Josh. Taggart joined us also on
Thursday. I trained to walk side by side with Josh. It is taxing,
on me, but satisfying.

The insurance company cut Josh back from 3 days a week to 2 as
"Speech is not medically necessary." Josh's communication skills
are excellent. However, speech therapy is more than that. It includes
memory exercise and cognition. So we will pick up the slack at home.

It won't be long before Josh can walk back into the ICU at Paoli
to meet his old friends again. We are so looking forward to that!

We see that many of you are still following Josh's blog. Thanks!

Love,
The Bonjo's

Friday August 26th, 2011

Rose and Darling leave for VT next week, so Josh and I will be going
to day treatment together. The hospital will take advantage of me
being there and train me to walk one on one with Josh so we can walk
outside of therapy.

Josh has been doing very well. He stood this week, unassisted, on several
occasions. He walked further than he has before with the aid of his therapist;
and he walked very strong on the Locomat treadmill. Things are coming together.

After 6 months, Josh was finally approved for the PA Independence Program
that will provide assistance to help him with home modifications or an aid
for the day if we need someone. It is nice just to have the program, even if we don't yet need it.

Thanks for anyone who continues to check in and thanks to all
of you who have been visiting Josh.

The Bonjos

Wednesday August 17th, 2011

Josh continues to work hard in therapy,
walking further, stronger and with less and
less assistance each week. Pool therapy provides
a different type of relearning experience and a
diversion from the weekly grind.

Here is a picture of what they do to him when
he corrects his doctor's grammar or his therapist's
math mistakes. Mentally, he is spot on!

Rose leaves for VT in 2 weeks, so Josh and I will be
bach'in it for 4 days. His Aunt and Uncle from Florida
will be visiting shortly therafter. It will be an eventful
end to an uneventful but busy summer.

Josh would love you to visit!

The Bonjos

Thursday August 4th, 2011

Josh continues to work hard in therapy.
Walking is still a struggle. However, yesterday
he walked about 50 steps with very little assistance
from his therapist at his side.

After therapy, Darling and I met to transfer Josh from
her car to mine so I could take him home. It is usually
a car to wheelchair then wheelchair to car transfer.
This time, we stood Josh up, then walking between the two of us,
he took about 6 steps to my car and then transferred in.
This is a first!

Josh is in the pool today at Bryn Mawr. He hates it,
but it is doing him some good.

Josh's middle name is Daniel, for my Uncle Dan who passed
shortly before Josh was born. In the picture above, Josh
is wearing a Dan's leather vest. Dan hand made the buttons
from silver coins. His wife and family gifted this to Josh just recently
and he loves it! Thank you!

More good stories as they happen!

Love,
The Bonjos

July 20th, 2011

Josh passed the EEG with flying colors. We had hoped to
visit the ICU at Paoli after the test but we were delayed
almost 2 hours due to an unrelated emergency in the testing area.
We look forward to contacting the ICU to determine what would be the best
way and time to "visit."

So, Josh is off the anti-seizure meds now which should help his
memory and his energy level. We are starting to see a noticeable
improvement in his memory retention from one day to the next. His sense
of humor is recovered in full form. I was apparently nagging him
about something the other day and he said, "I'm not deaf. I only
have a brain injury." Yes our teenager is back.

We will try to keep up the blog with major events
and good pictures from time to time.

We want to again thank everyone from Paoli Hospital,
Bryn Mawr Rehab, Caln Police Department, the First Responders,
our family and friends and everyone who has helped Josh or is following
him on his journey back to health. Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,
The Bonjos