Marty is Home. Thank you Jesus!

This is Marty's mom. He came home from the hospital Dec 18, 2009. We give God all the glory and praise. Marty is doing better and getting stronger everyday. Doing rehab therapy at Kaiser Rehab in Tulsa.

He goes to McGee Eye Institute March 23 2010 to set up Kornea Transplant Surgery.

Keep up the prayers and thank you for your prayers, love and support.

Blessings,

Rhonda Smith

The last post - December 22, 2009

Well, folks, this is the last post about Marty. Basically, because he is HOME now and can talk to you on his own!!!

Yes, after 10 weeks and 5 days, he got sprung from the big house (a/k/a hospital) and is home and doing well. He was released on Friday, December 18th. He even made it to 2 family parties on the 19th!

He will be doing out patient rehab for some time, but is doing so well. It has been a long struggle, but he is strong and always had God on his side.

The Smith, Smith and Remington families want to tell everyone how very much they appreciate everything you all did for Marty and for the families during this difficult time. You were there with food, money and emotional support, not to mention the many, many prayers and prayer chains that went from Mannford to all over the US.

Please keep Marty in your thoughts and prayers, only now you can actually go visit him or call him on the phone!

Here is hoping that everyone has a wonderful Christmas season.

Brian, Rhonda, Matthew, Michael & Marty Smith

Sunday December 13th

Finally, praise God, Marty has a release date. He is being released this Friday, December 18th. He will have to continue with his rehab, but on an out patient basis.

It has been a long, remarkable road and the family could not have made it through without the help and prayers of everyone.

Thanks to everyone that brought food to the hospital. Thanks to everyone who visited these 10 long weeks. Most especially, thanks to everyone for their prayers and their faith that God can heal and miracles do still happen.

A special thanks to all of Marty's friends that continued to come see him, call him and later, text him. You all were such a tremendous help to Marty's recovery. You helped him remember when his memory was a little shaky. You helped him realize that he was still Marty and still your friend. You gave him hope that his life can get back to somewhat normal. Please do not think that you didn't do much, just went to see him a couple of times. Those times you came and sat by his bed and told him how much you cared for him and that it would be ok, that was a huge motivator in his recovery. You helped him keep the hope alive that he would be ok and could pick his life up again and go forward. For these things, his family can never thank you enough.

This will be a special Christmas in the Smith/Remington families. Marty will be able to participate in his annual family Christmas party and what a welcome home for us!

Thanks to everyone, and keep doing what you have been doing. You all are a huge part of Marty's recovery.

The Smith family

Tuesday, December 8th

Marty is headed to in house rehab today! They removed the trach yesterday and he is eating real food now. They have estimated he should be able to leave rehab and go home in about 14 days. What a wonderful Christmas present for our family!!

Marty still has a long way to go to get back to his life, but he is well on his way. He will still have to do out-patient rehab for an unknown period of time and job and school are not even on the horizon at this time, but his strong will and great attitude have helped him get far beyond what anyone expected of him.

Please keep this exceptional young man in your thoughts and prayers on his road to recovery. Neither Marty, nor his family, could have made it through this most difficult time without all of you.

We especially want to thank Marty's brother Matthew. Matt, what a wonderful young man you have grown up to be. Marty could not have a better brother.

Happy Holidays to everyone from the Smith and Remington families.

Wednesday, December 2

Marty had surgery yesterday to replace the piece of skull they removed 7 weeks ago. This is a tremendous sign of recovery, as it means all the swelling has gone down and they don't have to worry about the pressure in his skull anymore.

He was awake shortly after the surgery, talking to the doctors and responding correctly to voice commands. If all goes well, they will remove the trach 3-4 days after the surgery. He will be skipping his physical therapy sessions for 3-4 days also, in order to recover from the surgery.

We are so close to the in-house rehab. Once he gets there, the next step is home. This will probably take 3-4 weeks so we are hopeful he will be able to come home by Christmas.

All of Marty's extended family wants to thank everyone for all their prayers and concern. You all were a huge part of Marty's recovery.

The Smiths

Thanksgiving Day, 2009

What a wonderful Thanksgiving. Today, we want to express what we are thankful for. First and foremost, Marty's health and amazing recovery. Secondly, we are thankful for our families, for we would be nowhere without their love and support. We are also thankful for the community of Mannford and all our friends.

Marty is doing amazingly well. His physical therapists tell us every day how much improvement he is making. He talks all the time now and his memory is mostly intact. His reasoning skills are very sharp and he rarely gets confused or forgetful. For anyone not familiar with a brain injury, this is remarkable, especially in the 8 week time frame.

He is very quickly moving towards his in-house rehab program, and everyone is hopeful he will be home by Christmas.

Thanks to everyone for the continuing prayers, support and love.

The Smiths

Thursday, November 19th

Marty was out of bed today and in a wheelchair for over 1 1/2 hours. He is doing fantastic with his physical therapy. He is getting stronger every day and his right side is responding well to the exercise.

All of the Smith, Smith and Remington families want to express their thanks during this Thanksgiving season. Without family and friends like all of you, this would have been such a harder ordeal than it has been. We will have so much to be thankful this year and want to send out our good wishes to everyone.

Brian, Rhonda, Matt, Michael and Marty Smith