Wednesday, November 18th

Marty is making huge steps towards real physical rehab. They have been coming by twice a day now. They have gotten him to stand by himself, with no one holding his arms for balance, for 4 minutes before he gets tired out. He also took a step by himself.

They took off the vent and took out the trach. They have replaced it with a much smaller trach that can be capped off so he can speak. The speech therapist got him to say “Hi” yesterday. It is just a whisper at this point, but that is a huge step.

His motor coordination is improving rapidly. He was able to write his name on a sheet of paper. It is squiggly, but it says “Marty”. He is now able to raise his right arm to his shoulder height. He still can’t grasp anything in his right hand, but this is great progress.

The therapist has asked that they bring Marty’s shoes up so they can get them on his feet for therapy. They want to get him used to wearing shoes again in preparation for getting him walking.

The neurologist and therapists are going to begin meeting every Weds. afternoon to assess his condition so they can determine when he will be able to go to the in house rehab.

They are going to put the bone flap back in place the week after Thanksgiving.

Please keep saying prayers for Marty. He is healing rapidly, but still has a long way to go.

Also, PLEASE do not come visit Marty if you are ill. It would be devastating to his recovery for him to catch anything at this point. If you are ill, please either call the family or leave a post on this site. Rhonda and Brian are passing along any messages or well wishes to Marty.

Thanks to everyone for everything!

The Smiths