Wow! 6 months since our last post. I guess time flies when you’re not having fun too! Given the comments we’ve heard lately, it was time we did another post to bring everyone up-to-date and dispel a few myths.
- “No posts in the last 6 months, so things must be back to normal” – now that we’ve heard that a few times, let’s put that myth to rest. Things are far from “normal” and that’s one of the many things that upsets Jesse. The fact is there have been no posts because we are all so busy trying to care for and support Jesse as well as do our jobs, work on his therapy and treatment options, take care of the house, pay bills and do all the other things that keep us all so busy these days.
- “Jesse must be doing much better since we see him posting pictures of himself and him with his friends” – that’s somewhat true. Jesse has continued to amaze everyone at his rehab clinic with his ability to work so hard in therapy, with how fast he catches on and does things and with his pure athleticism. He continues to build up his core and his arms/shoulders. That said, he still has a long way to go (sometimes it feels like it is too long for him) to get to the point where he can do almost everything himself instead of being dependent on others for most all of his activities of daily living. He hates that and who could blame him?
- “His friends have made it much easier for him since they did not abandon him” – that’s mostly true. There are some friends from pre-injury that we have not seen or not seen nearly as much as we would have expected, but other friends have been there for him, are always thinking of him and trying to include him. We appreciate all his friends who have supported him by actually coming over, bringing him out and being real friends to him. Talk is cheap, saying “we have to get together” and then not following up with actual plans only makes him more depressed. Want to show him you’re still a real friend? Make plans with him and get him out of the house. His friends can take him and his “party van” when they go out and if you have not seen him in a while, contact him and get together. The more friends he has the better as his core group of friends have done more to make him happy than anything his family can do.
- “If there’s anything I can do, just ask…..” – we hear that from many of our friends and really appreciate it. With this update and the large network of people who read these updates and all the people who YOU could forward this to, we are hoping people can help us with the following:
- Referrals for a live-in helper for Monday through Friday. He really wants someone closer to his age that he can connect with and enjoy working with on his recovery. Male or Female, good English skills, and most importantly closer to his age than his parents’.
- Keep spreading the word. We want to thank everyone again for your generosity and support. The people on this list have all probably made their donations and hence his donations have pretty much stopped, but he’s still millions short of what he is going to need over the next 10 years. So please feel free to forward this update to anyone and everyone in your contacts. We are trying to use what little money he has in his medical care fund for new treatments and bringing him wherever we need to for any treatment that can bring back his hands and sensation.
Final words: Jeff Sebert of Sebert Landscaping and Great Impressions Landscaping is not only a great businessman, but he’s a great humanitarian. His company is currently building Jesse a backyard oasis. A place where he can spend time outside with friends, do archery, build bon fires, hit the hot tub and play games. We will post pictures and a more formal thank you on the web site once it’s done, but we had to mention it here since it is happening right now and the gift he’s giving Jesse is nothing short of amazing. Thank you Jeff, Stephen, Lou and everyone working on the project, we can’t thank you enough!
Final words 2: We have a lot of other people to thank and a lot of other people who have made a difference in our lives and Jesse’s. We have a long way to go and we know that if Jesse keeps pushing, eventually he will get enough recovery to be happy again. We love you all and will try to do these posts more often. Thank you for your support, we really appreciate it.