Yo!

Feeling Good!

Josh

Happy Birthday Josh!. We are so proud of your courage and your continued hard work. . .

Dear Friends and Family,

Josh will be receiving an award and a scholarship at a

ceremony on May 1^st in Malvern, PA. It is for a program that Josh

participates in called Fighting Back.

http://www.fightingbacksp.org/

It is a charity event, that features the 3 award winners, the award ceremony,

and hors d’oeuvres. The tickets are $50 each.

If you would like to attend, please contact us by March 21^st if you would

like to sit at our table or a table next to ours. You will also be able to buy

general admission tickets through the FB website for an extended period of time.

Please do not feel obligated. We just wanted to invite everyone that might

have an interest to attend.

Cheers,

The Bonjos

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Happy Holidays!                                                                                                                                                                                             

We have much to be thankful for again this year.

We are celebrating Josh’s third full year in recovery from his accident. He was discharged from the Bryn Mawr Rehab day program and is now working on walking with an amazing therapist, Brock Harper, at In Motion Physical Therapy. Josh is also enrolled in the Fighting Back program, which is a strength building program. Josh will be receiving a scholarship and award in May from Fighting Back for his “Courage, Desire and Perseverance.”  His walking is still coming along, needing a small amount of assistance with balance. He has also started an intensive chiropractic program at the Upper Cervical Chiropractic Neurology center which has yielded very positive results. You can find Josh on Facebook.

Rose has been living in Brooklyn for almost a year now, furthering her career as an aerialist performer. She freelances most of the time, traveling the country for performances. Rose is still designing and constructing costumes for her and other performers and will also be performing in the first Chicago circus festival this January. Her latest full time gig, Nutcracker Rouge, is running in NYC at the Minetta Lane Theatre through January 5^th. The show is receiving rave reviews!

We want to thank everyone who continues to be here for Josh and for us. We couldn't do it without you.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Solstice and Festivus!                                                                                                                             

Please don't make me spit my drink out!

Love,   

Mike, Darling, Josh and Rose       

We lost a dear friend this month, Jack Geesey. Jack and his wife Joyce have been family
friends for 40+ years. His memorial service is today.

You may have seen Jack's photo shop work on Josh's blog over the past 2 years. While
Josh was still hospitalized, Jack kept us all confident and smiling with his uplifting
photos and computer graphics, turning pictures we took of Josh during his recovery
into posters filled with hope and sometimes a few laughs. Jack made a difference
in our lives in many, many ways. Thank you Jack.

Josh continues to receive treatment in his ankles, toes and legs which is drastically
improving his flexibility. He can more easily get in and out of the car and his chair.
Combined with a new PT program at In Motion, his improved strength and flexibility
reinforce our confidence for continued recovery.

Courtesy of Jack



More later.
Love,
The Bonjos

Hi All,

Joshing around at the beach.

Gotta love this weather, huh?

Josh has been busy this summer, too busy to mess with this blog. Several people have asked if we could post an update, so here it is.

Josh has been attending speech therapy at West Chester U this month. He really enjoys it and it has been very helpful.

Josh started a round of Phenol treatments this week. The doctor injects Phenol into key nerves in his calves. These injections break the connection between the nerves and some muscles in his feet, allowing his feet to stand flat on the floor. It is an amazing transformation. While his brain is still growing connections around damaged areas, we are severing nerves that have an adverse effect in other places. And in the end, he still may need an additional injection as those nerves try to regrow connections around the Phenol break. The body is truly amazing.

Josh has been receiving some very specialized chiropractic care on the advice of Dr. Bob and has realized a great release of trauma his body had been holding from the accident.

Josh continues to walk on the Lokomat at BMR and has doubled his assisted walking distance in therapy and at home. He continues to work out and lift weights at Fighting Back. He has really come a long way. We see positive change in him every day.

We have a new metal grated ramp for the front of the house, thanks to help from Abilities in Motion. Josh can walk the length of it to the front door with assistance. The chickens think it was put in for them to roost on....

Our close friend, Jack Geesey, who kept us in good spirits with his inspirational and humorous photos and artwork while Josh was in the hospital (see below), is now struggling with his own health issue. Please pray for his speedy recovery.

Thanks for hanging in there with us. You can visit Josh (Wanijobo) on Facebook!

Cheers,

The Bonjos

And now it's Spring!

Howdy! Lots going on here folks!

Josh has been working on the Lokomat at Bryn Mawr Rehab for several weeks now. It is going very well! They are slowly increasing the load carried by his legs as he gains strength. He can now work for about 30 minutes at a time.

Robowanijobo!

Josh got his new lighter, faster, smaller manual wheelchair this week.

He has lost weight and gained in strength and agility, so this new chair now enables him to get around our entire house without any assistance. In between, he is still walking with assistance from room to room. You should see his sideburns waving in the breeze!

Josh is also continuing his biofeedback therapy at the SADAR Institute and Fighting Back Training which are both resulting in exciting improvements.

Josh has also started Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Utilizing the generous donations from friends and family that were not used directly for Josh's medical bills, we invested in a HBOT chamber that Josh is now using in our home.

HBOT therapy is the standard treatment for TBI and other conditions in Europe, with promising results. Unfortunately in this country, insurance companies refuse to cover the treatment which can run several thousand dollars per month. Families are forced to go without this therapy or invest in their own equipment until the medical insurance community gets on board.

If you are interested:

HBOT and TBI Article

HBOT Video

Rose is working hard in New York, furthering her career. She is performing, teaching, and designing and sewing costumes. See her latest here  Workshops with Rose 

We miss you! Come visit us!

Love,

The Bonjos

Josh starts his Lokomat training this Thursday!

WooHoo!


click link below
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=PufPyEHDFpQ

Is It Really February?

It's hard to believe that it is 2013 and Spring is rapidly approaching. Josh has been very busy as usual.

After a nice holiday break, Josh has been working hard 5 days a week. Between Bryn Mawr Rehab, Fighting Back, the Sadar Institute and home work outs, he is extremely busy. The hard work is paying off.

Josh had some minor medical issues 2 weeks ago that required a trip to the ER at Paoli, which was traumatic just being there. However, after a subsequent visit to a specialist during an ice storm and an adjustment of meds, things are looking up this week. Mike had to miss a business trip he had been planning for over a year, but we dealt with and defeated the issue as a family.

Josh was fitted for a new lighter and smaller wheel chair last week. It will take a while to be made, but will help him scoot around without help from anyone else, while he is still perfecting his walking skills.

We visited the neurologist today to discuss the issues Josh had experienced a few weeks ago, and to review his latest MRI. The MRI showed that the atrophied area around his medulla is actually shrinking, showing a marked improvement over the last year and a half. He is still healing.

Josh will also finally start using the Lokamat walking machine at Bryn Mawr. We are very excited about that!

Josh will be graduating from the Occupational Training program at BMR this month. He is sad because he enjoys it so much!

Special thanks to the Geeseys and the Glassers who have taken a special interest in Josh all this time and keep him motivated in their own special ways!!!

It's not all blue skies and rainbows, but we are thankful for where we are at at this point. We have our family and friends to support us and Josh continues to improve.

Josh's New Year's resolution is to walk unassisted this year. Give him a hardy "Yes You Can!"

Love and Thanks,

The Bonjos

We have been so busy, Josh has not has a chance to post in a while.
The fan base has let us know they miss him, so I am posting a short
update in the interim.

We are celebrating Josh’s second full year in recovery from his accident. He completed the Communications Therapy program at Bryn Mawr Rehab and now visits twice a week for Physical and Occupational Therapy. He has also enrolled in the Fighting Back program, which is a one on one strength building program. This program has helped many people to gain independence after reaching the end of mainstream medical treatment. Josh has gained tremendous strength in his legs and core through lifting weights, rowing and stretching. His walking is still coming along, needing only a small amount of assistance with balance. He has also started biofeedback therapy. (You can Google if you like for an explanation.) Josh turned 21 in October. We celebrated with a really great trip to meet up with Uncle Moon and Aunt Susan on Hilton Head Island, SC while Hurricane Sandy hammered the Northeast.

Josh is doing some great stuff unassisted; standing out of his chair to brush his teeth, doing several sit ups at a time, and peeling oranges with two hands. Miracles come in small packages.

Hopefully over the holidays we will be able to make a full post.

Oh yeah, then there was the beard growing contest for "No Shave November"...

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Merry Solstice!

The Bonjos

Fighting Back Photos

Hello Friends,

I've been going to my new program, “Fighting Back” for three weeks now, and I've been really enjoying it. It's all physical work, on balance, walking, and stretching. My energy level has improved, and been fine throughout.

I also got approved by the insurance company for 12 more weeks at Bryn Mawr Rehab for therapy. They gave me this because of my updated goals, which are to learn to use an electric wheelchair. I feel very negative about this, as I've said before, and this is because of the image it projects to people. My therapists have said that it will just be a temporary thing to gain more independence while my walking improves, but that doesn't change how I feel.

On a lighter note, my 21^st birthday is quickly approaching. I will be spending that time down on Hilton Head Island, SC, with my parents, and my aunt and uncle. I expect that this will be lots of fun.

My sister, Rose, is touring with her circus troupe across the country. Go see her if you have a chance.

She has been in Milwaukee, Chicago, New York and Detroit so far.

Josh

I have concluded my communications therapy program at Bryn Mawr Rehab and enrolled in the Fighting Back program in Malvern. Below is an interview I conducted with my CT therapist, Laura, on my last day.

What was my memory like when I first came to the Day Treatment program?

It was “severely impaired”. It was difficult for you to remember names, events, even after a short time. For example, when asked to remember three items after three minutes, you would only be able to remember one. Today you remembered all three without any problem.

You also had difficulty with orientation in time, unable to remember or keep track of the date, day of the week, year or time of day. Today you know all of that without having to refer to anything.

I know that my memory has improved since then.  How do you as a Communication Therapist measure that? 

We use standardized tests, we therapy activities, observation, and patient/family information.             

On the first day at the day treatment program, your immediate memory was in the fiftieth percentile and your recent memory was in the sixteenth percentile.

Today, your immediate memory is in the ninety-fifth percentile and recent memory is somewhere between the seventy-fifth and eighty-fourth percentile.  These tests evaluate my memory over a couple of minutes. As more time passes, I may have more difficulty.

What challenges and improvements in my memory do you see in my future?

I think that your memory will continue to improve gradually over time. I believe the more responsibility and initiation you take in your daily routine, the better your memory will become. Look for opportunities that have a routine to give your brain multiple opportunities to remember as it needs repetition right now for things to become ingrained. You must challenge yourself, really dig into your memory, going step by step if are trying to recall something.

I will be doing Fighting Back 2 days a week and waiting to hear from the insurance company regarding future therapy at Bryn Mawr.

Regards,

Josh

Hello people, it’s Josh here again, writing another entry from Speech Therapy at BMR, this time about my challenges. I’ve been thinking it over, and it doesn’t take long to figure that the most difficult part of my recovery has been my lack of a decent memory now. I’ve been told that it is tremendously better, but to me, it won’t have healed at all until its back to how it was. Right now, only 45 minutes later, I barely remember eating lunch at all. Intellectually, I know that I must have taken in some form of food, but I don’t remember doing it at all.

Along with that is remembering to use my right hand so I gain more movement with it has been very difficult for me. I've had to resort to using a glove to remind myself, and even that doesn't work sometimes.

My Long-term memory has some deficits as well, such as not being able to remember my last few years of high school or anything but some names of people from college.

If I see you, I’ll recognize who you are, the names rarely elude me. I have been thinking a lot about our yearly trips to the Farm Show lately. I’m remembering the horse pulls, and the livestock exhibitions.

Well, take care friends. I’ll be in touch.

Sincerely; Joshua

Hi. It's Josh here!

Hello everyone, this is Josh, the subject of the blog. I’ll be updating the blog from time to time..

How are you guys doing?

Please input your feeling on this, or any other matters in the comment area!

I’ve been going twice a week to rehab for therapy, which seems to be going well in my view. I’m still doing Communication Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and I do a Psychological check-up every month.

In CT, I do logical activities, and work on my memory. We are talking about taking a class online or volunteering at the rehab center, doing some computer work.

In OT, we usually play a board game or work on my right hand, regaining strength or control in it.

In PT, I work on my balance, so I can walk again on my own!

On my off days, I ride a recumbant bike, lift weights and use gaming to improve my hand / eye

coordination.

It is great to be writing my blog now. Check in from time to time and see how things are going.

Sincerely,

Josh Bonjo

August 6th, 2012

Last week, Josh was approved for 8 more weeks of therapy. This was
after the insurance company had us wait 2 weeks for a decision. While
we were waiting, Josh and Darling worked every day at home, and
actually made significant progress with his walker.

Week after week, he always shows improvement. It is hard to believe
how far he has come.

Hit Josh up on email or Facebook.  When he is not exercising, he is
guaranteed to be on some form of technology or another.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Love,

The Bonjos

Josh made the journey to Alabama and back last week. It was a long trip, 2 hours by plane and 6 hours by car, but we made it. It's about as far south and west as you can go in Alabama. It was the first time that Josh had seen his maternal grandparents since his accident.

Luckily, we missed the floods in Pensacola that had occurred a few days earlier. The weather was warm and the sea breeze made it comfortable.

We left the wheel chair in the car most of the visit, letting Josh walk with assistance into and out of the house. Josh cleaned up winning both mega family Scrabble tournaments.

The airlines and airports were very accomodating. Everything went very smoothly.

We hope you are having a great summer. Josh would love to hear from you or see you. He is also
on Facebook daily, when he is not at day treatment.

The Bonjos

Post #105 Today is the one year anniversary of Josh's homecoming from Bryn Mawr Hospital. It is hard to believe! We wanted to say goodbye and good luck to Michele, Josh's physical therapist, who has left Bryn Mawr and moved with her husband and children to New Jersey. You will be sorely missed Michele. Michele has been an integral part of Josh's recovery in the day treatment program. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Rose graduated from the Professional Training program at NECCA last weekend. Darling, Josh and I made the trek to Vermont to see her performances, which were amazing. This was also significant as it was Josh's first road trip away from home since his accident. Everything went very smoothly. In 3 weeks, we are flying with Josh down to visit his grandparents in Alabama for the first time in several years. We'll let you know how that goes. Enjoy your summer! The Bonjos

Monday April 30th, 2012

This is post # 103. This coming month will mark the first anniversary of Josh's homecoming. Hard to believe! Josh walked with only min assist from Darling, all the way from the car, up the ramp and into the house last night. He is really making progress. He is also now off all the blood thinners.So, no more shots in the morning. Josh is going to visit his grandparents and aunts/uncles in Alabama in June. We have been looking forward to this for a long time. We will try to post at least once a month, especially when we have some good pics or exciting news. Thank you again for following. Love, The Bonjos