There are no words to describe how grateful we are to have such great friends and family in our corner. Thank you. Team Dana should really stand and take a bow because it was a terrific event. Many people are talking about it as "the greatest fundraiser ever". We are still amazed at how many people showed their support by attending the event. The woman is loved! We are blessed to have such a great support system. Again, thank you for everything.

Mental Health and Fears -

My fears as described in my "mental health" update are history. I'm in a much better place these days. No more worrying about Dana not being able to accomplish some of the simpler things in life that we all take for granted. Dress her son? YUP! Comb his hair? Not a problem! Put on her makeup? Absolutely! Hug him and squeeze his ass like she has in the past? Without question! How about the fear with Dana being able to drain her bladder, or empty her bowels? (I know, too much info) That fear is gone because she's "taking care of business" on her own! What about my silly fear regarding Dana "getting through life in a wheelchair"? It's no longer a fear because she WILL walk again. This is one mentally and physically tough woman but then again, you already know this because you witnessed the determination in her face when you watched the video at the fundraiser. I will not put limits on what Dana can or cannot do in the future. It'll be a long road back and she may never be 100 percent but I'm confident that she has the will and determination to see this through to a successful recovery and lead a "normal" life with Matthew and me by her side.

It's been a while since I last updated everyone, so let me start with the "small" accomplishments and work my way to the latest and greatest.

RECREATIONAL THERAPY -

Dana went on an outing to a mall last week. It only took 15 minutes to spend $100.00. Some things will never ch ange! I'm now fully trained to take Dana off the grounds for trips to a local restaurant, or to CVS. The only catch is that it must be within walking distance. I will learn how to transfer Dana to a car and take a road trip in the coming weeks.

SPEECH AND SWALLOW -

Check this one off the list. No more restrictions. No more liquid thickener. The epiglottis is fully functional.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY -

Feeding herself - Check

Brushing her teeth - Check

Applying makeup - Check

Washing herself - Check (with assistance)

Dressing herself - Working on it

Transferring to a bathtub - Check

Transferring to a toilet - Check

Cooking a meal - Check

There is so much more to OT that I can’t list all of her accomplishments. The truth is that I really want to tell you about physical therapy.

PHYSICAL THERAPY -

I'll start by saying WOW! That's all I can do is say WOW! The therapists are saying W OW! The other patients are saying WOW! The doctors are saying WOW! Dana is finally saying WOW!! It was 96 days ago when Dana was clinging to life at Mass General. It was 94 days ago when the doctors told me that my wife would never walk again. It was 68 days ago when I made the best decision of my life by sending Dana to Shepherd Center. It was 59 days ago that another set of doctors told me my wife would never walk again. I don't blame the doctors for telling me what they told me. They had to because her body was not responding within the 24-48 hour period. It's what was supposed to happen. They failed to realize something when they gave me the grim prognosis. They failed to realize how strong my wife is. There is no doubt that all of the positive energy, prayers, and a little bit of luck also had something to do with her miraculous recovery but let's not underestimate her strength and determination. I told everyone back on July 6th that I would never under estimate my wife's reso lve again, and I never did. I'm proud to say that I have witnessed a great comeback from a horrible tragedy. Just as she fought against the Breast Cancer, Dana is giving paralysis a run for the money. Guess what? She's doing it! YES, SHE IS TAKING STEPS! I want to grab a bullhorn and scream it from the rooftops! Dana cannot take steps without max assistance and it may be months before she can balance herself well enough to walk on her own, so let's not sign her up for dancing lessons just yet. I still need to assist with balance by holding her under the arms but she is actually putting one foot in front of the other without assistance. The feet are coming off the ground and they are moving in the right direction. It happened at 11am this morning. I'm not sure what it means in terms of treatment because her primary therapist doesn't return until Tuesday, so we will continue practicing walking and balancing over the weekend and surprise the entire therapy team on Tuesday. Maybe she'l l regain her balance and take steps without my assistance by then. There are also other underlying issues to deal with but this is obviously great news. We'll still need the wheelchair, home improvements, accessible van, and other adaptive equipment but this is one giant step towards life without a wheelchair. Who knows what the future holds? The plan right now is to return home in 23 days and for Dana to enjoy a two-week vacation with friends and family. It will be so nice to get Dana back into a regular bed and out of the hospital for 2 weeks. Not to mention a nice home cooked meal. We can't wait to plant our feet back in Boston. I'll return to work on Oct 2 and Dana will return to Atlanta for 4 weeks to complete their agressive day program without me. Yvonne and my Mother will return to assist Dana while in the day program. The therapists' convinced us that Shepherd is the right choice for a day program. How can we ignore the results and say no to their program? Four weeks is a very small investment in time when we're talking about the rest of your life.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention my boy. Matthew will be back next week to celebrate his 5th birthday. Ya, it's not the best atmosphere for a 5 year old birthday party but hey, what the heck do I have to complain about? I've learned not to worry about the small things in life. Besides, he'll be too busy eating ice-cream cake and opening his teenage mutant ninja turtles videos, games, and action figures to realize that he's celebrating his birthday in a hospital. I'm just happy that we can still celebrate his birthday together, as a family.

I'll be working with the webmaster to post some pictures and video clips of Dana in therapy. Stay tuned for more information.

That's about it for now. Until next time.

Love

Dana, Marc and Matthew

It's busy down here in Atlanta, so I'm delayed on my update again! Matthew has been here for 9 days and he's leaving today, so I should have more time to give everyone a solid update within a day or so.

Know this, Dana continues to defy the odds by making positive gains on a daily basis. How well is she doing? Well, she's upright and taking "baby" steps on a daily basis! Stay tuned for a more detailed update.

Love,
Dana, Marc and Matthew

Dana stood up without the assistance of the standing machine!

UNBELIEVABLE! I'm not gone for 24 hours and she decides to stand when I'm back home in Boston. I can barely control my emotions, but I will because I have the big boy pants on today.

How about the Fundraiser? What an amazing time. Words cannot express our gratitude. Thank you.

Stay tuned for more information on Dana's progress.

Hello from Atlanta! Only 42 more days before we get on the jet plane back to Boston! We are getting so spoiled with all of the visitors. It breaks up the days and makes Dana feel so good to have friends come to visit. My only regret with my decision to move Dana out of state is that we're so far from friends, family and my boy. I have a funny feeling that Dana will continue to improve and they will push to extend her stay. It's amazing how much she improves on a daily basis. They also want her to stay for the day program, but that is not an option. We are definitely coming home and will pursue a day program in Boston. It's very difficult being away from Matthew for so long. The last time he was here, I asked if he wanted to stay until the day of the fundraiser and he said no. Why? He wanted to get home to Auntie and Uncles house so he could be with his "old buddy" Cameron. Unreal! I'm willing to sacrifice my sanity and keep Matthew here in Atlanta for ten days and he tells me NO! We miss the daily family routine and being there for him every second of every day. Yesterday was Matthew's first day in Karate and we missed it! It's just another reason why we want to be home. We miss Matthew and being home - enough said on that subject!

How about the fundraiser......WOW! Did everyone see the auction items listing? The donations and ticket sales for this event is amazing. I can’t believe it! We can't thank everyone enough for all of their hard work. THANK YOU! I realize that Dana hasn’t had the best run of luck over the past year, but she really is blessed with a great support system of friends and family. The support doesn’t stop with close friends, it's total strangers, old friends, friends of friends, sisters and brothers of friends of friends.......IT'S CRAZY!

Dana lost 45 pounds since the day of the accident. No worries folks, I found it for her....it's right in my mid-section. You know it's bad when your 4 year old tells you that your belly is huge! Nice kid. I told him that mommy lost the weight so daddy has to pick up the slack for the family! Dana is busting' her ass in the gym and I'm busting' out of my pants eating cheeseburgers and french fries! I really need to think about eating a salad a couple times a week. Bill, have no fear because I'll fit right back into the "well rounded" crew at work! Seriously, I'm not fat my mother tells me that I'm big boned! Right Ma?

Enough about me let me tell you about my super human wife and her many accomplishments since the last update.

In three weeks Dana has progressed from a level two diet, to a level three diet, and just recently to an unrestricted diet. No more restrictions! No more "serious" concentration when Dana eats. When was the last time you had to concentrate on chewing and swallowing? It's a common problem for SCI patients. It's amazing how the brain can be programmed to start over from the beginning. I eat so fast that I need to remind myself to chew! Then again, that's because I'm a glutton! It has absolutely nothing to do with concentrating on eating and everything to do with getting the food into my belly as fast as possible. We're still waiting for the clear liquids to go down the right pipe, so that's the only negative news for speech and swallow! We still don’t know how long it will take for her throat muscles to be strong enough to handle the clear liquids. It could be 2 weeks, or it could be 2 months! We're patient. I just hope it does get better so we can throw away the liquid thickener for good.

Last week Dana was setup with an "eating group" which is a group of patients that use "assistive technology" to feed themselves. Dana was setup with this big mechanical arm that she obviously hates because it screams HANDICAPPED. Remember, Dana still doesn’t have full shoulder strength so she's not strong enough to bring her arm to her mouth without assistance. If I hold her elbow, she can bring her hand to her mouth. I thought the device was cool because Dana could finally feed herself. Unfortunately, Dana was not as enthused about the device. Dana wants nothing to do with assistive devices, wheelchairs, or anything else that has to do with being handicapped. I keep telling her to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Alright, back to the eating story. Does anyone care to guess what happened today? Dana told me to pass the fork and let her try feeding herself without any assistive devices. I was amazed when she brought the fork to her mouth and continued to feed herself until the plate was clean. Assistive devices? I think not! I can't wait to tell her primary occupational therapist tomorrow morning.

Dana is obsessed with working her body back into shape. If the therapist is 1 minute late for an appointment, Dana lets them know about it. We all know that my wife is not afraid to let you know how she feels. On Friday, her primary PT was out of town so we had a backup. The backup decided to stroll in 15 minutes late......yikes, I wanted to hide under the bed when the door flung open. It's not hello, it was something like "you've wasted 15 minutes of my therapy time because you are late". Dana is doing her part by busting her ass on a daily basis, so she wants the same in return. Rehab is on! Dana cannot take 2-3 hour naps every day. It's work, work, work from the time she opens her eyes until the time she gets into bed at night. Well, maybe she gets some breaks in between but it's much different from the first 5 weeks at Shepherd. The therapists are working her harder than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest! They are working with a device called the "Tilt Table" in the gym that brings Dana upright to a 90 degree angle. It's basically a flat table with a standing area that Dana is strapped to and they raise it from a horizontal position to a vertical position. The purpose is to get weight back on the legs and feet. The ultimate goal is 90 degrees for 30 minutes. If, or should I say WHEN Dana accomplishes this goal, the next step is a standing frame. A freakin standing frame!! Yes, this is exciting stuff. I love using the word "standing" when talking about Dana’s progress. It gives me the chills! STANDING, STANDING, STANDING!! Okay, it's out of my system. The standing frame puts everything together and it's the final step before she starts putting one foot in front of the other. About four weeks ago Dana could only handle 38 degrees before pleading with the therapist to bring her back to a horizontal position. Three weeks ago Dana went up to 52 degrees for 20 minutes. Two weeks ago Dana decided to get silly and go to 85 degrees for about 30 minutes before the pain got the best of her. It's the first time she's been in an upright position for almost two months, so pain in the spinal cord is fully expected. This is good stuff folks! This woman is proving the doctors wrong on a daily basis. There is no doubt in my mind that she will walk again! It may be wishful thinking, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was walking by her discharge date! Yes, it's that good down here! In the beginning therapy was all about stretching and bending limbs. The therapists will no longer waste valuable time stretching during therapy time. Stretching and bending Dana's limbs is now our responsibility. Therapy time is all about accomplishing serious goals. I love it! The therapists don’t waste valuable time at the Shepherd Center. There is a reason why Dana refers to her primary therapist as "Crazy Cory", it's because she's out of her friggin mind. There is no sympathy; it's all about maximizing your potential by using what you have. Cory makes Dana do everything. Dana, strap yourself into your chair. Or, bend that leg by yourself. No pain, no gain! It's great because I see how much they enjoy working with Dana on a daily basis. It must be so rewarding for them to see the progress in someone that had such a grim prognosis.

Let me tell you about some of the other goals that Dana is accomplishing. She can roll from her back to her side with very little assistance. She can bring herself from a flat position to a sitting position with max assistance. Max assistance means the therapist is doing most of the work until Dana is strong enough to initiate the movement on her own. She can sit at the edge of the matt and balance herself without assistance. As you have heard, this happened for the first time on Wednesday when Cam and Buffy were in town. Not only was she balancing her own weight, she was dancing. Next step is transferring to and from the wheelchair from a bed or a gym matt. Dana actually transferred to a wheelchair with max assist today. I’m amazed. The therapists are amazed. The doctors are amazed. I'm now glued to Dana's side for all therapy sessions because she seems to do something that amazes people on a daily basis.

Today on the way back from therapy, her doctor stopped her in the hallway just to tell her how well she was doing. Here is a doctor that has seen thousands of patients in his thirty plus years at Shepherd, stopping Dana in the hallway to tell her that "you get the most improved award in this place". That say's it all.

Until next time.

Oh, I can't wait for the fundraiser on Thursday! See you there.


Love,

Dana, Marc and Matthew

I'm a bit delayed on this weeks update, so please be patient. Cam and Buffy were here this week and they witnessed some great moments in therapy. We'll be sharing some video on the website very soon.

Thankfully, Cam and Buffy were only here for 3 days. If they had been here longer, I would have checked myself into the Betty Ford Clinic! We had a bunch of laughs and even more drinks. We had drinks for lunch, drinks for dinner, and drinks back in the hotel room! (Cam, I told you that I'd throw you under the bus).

Now that my body has recovered from alcohol poisoning, I'll be getting back to my normal routine. Please know this, Dana is still impressing the doctors and therapists on a daily basis.

Stay tuned for more info.

Marc

Thanks-

Let me begin by thanking everyone for the web postings, phone calls, cards, care packages, flowers, and most of all the donations! We hear nothing but good things about the fundraiser and we just want to thank everyone for all of their hard work and continued support. Dana is obsessed with the website, asking me to check it every hour! Please know that every time you write a message you are taking part in Dana's recovery. I say that because I know how Dana draws strength from family and friends. Take a seat and grab a snack because I have two weeks of update in my brain!

It's been crazy around here with therapy and visits from friends and family. Matthew, Yvonne, Anne (my mom), Christine, Jay and Lorena have all been here over the past two weeks. It's so nice to see the reaction on everyone’s face when they enter the room and realize how well Dana is doing. It's so much different from how they remember her at MGH. The change is phenomenal. Matthew has been here two times in the past 10 days and he'll be back again on Saturday. Now that Dana is stable, we get her out of the room and visit the garden on a daily basis. Matthew is now considered the official co-pilot for all wheelchair operations! It's his way of helping mommy. We let him think he's driving even though Dana is driving the chair herself! There were no trips to zoo or aquarium this time, we just spent the days hanging around the hospital. I did make a trip to the mall for some new toys for Matthew! So what if we spoil him, he deserves it!

The pain is gone. The tube feeding is gone. The tracheostomy is gone. The respirator is gone. The IV's are gone. The infections are gone. The sadness is gone. In fact, the days of me calling this place the Shepherd House of Pain are gone. It's a completely different atmosphere down here at the Shepherd Canter. It brings me back to a few weeks ago when it was a challenge to get Dana into the chair for 1 hour, or when it was difficult to rotate her to one side, or simply getting her into the gym for her daily therapy. The improvement is extraordinary! Dana is now in her chair for 12 hours a day, she rotates without pain and she is ready for increased time in the gym. Dana's "can-do" or "don’t feel bad for me" attitude is finally back. It's the same attitude Dana had when she battled the Breast Cancer. I knew it was only a matter of time before the fighter in her kicked in! Simply put - Dana is back! The nurses and staff cannot believe the transformation - it's like they are treating a whole new person. It's awesome! We'll be cruising down the hallway and the nurses will stop in mid-conversation to say hello to "Ms. Dana" (in that good ol' southern drawl) and let her know how great she looks these days.

Let me tell you about Dana's wheelchair escapades. Dana is mastering her driving skills and continues to improve on a daily basis. If we're on a straight run without obstruction, she can cruise without smashing into something. If we get into a tight spot or she needs to change direction in a tight area, lookout because she's like a bull in a china shop! We laugh so hard whenever she has to back out of the elevator, or turn herself around in the room because she crashes into everything in site. It's been very therapeutic for Dana to get out of the room and talk to other patients who have similar injuries. No matter how many times I tell Dana how well she is doing, it has more meaning when it comes from someone in a similar position. And believe me, the other patients are shocked at how much movement Dana has throughout her body. I think it's the prime reason Dana is feeling so good these days. Another reason why we're feeling so good these days is because Dana isn’t supposed to be doing what she's doing. Realistically, she should only have head and facial movement. I now have a better understanding as to why the doctors gave me the grim prognosis two months ago. As most of you know, Dana's injury is a C-1 incomplete which is the top of the line and the worst place you can break your neck in terms of spinal cord injuries. The fact that she's breathing, talking, moving both arms and legs is nothing short of a miracle. I'm so caught up on the C-1 break that I tend to forget about the other incomplete break at T-9. The key word is "incomplete" because if she had a "complete" injury to the cord, we'd be in a much different place right now. How lucky are we to have two incomplete breaks?

On Friday we had a goal setting meeting with her therapy team and Dana was given a discharge date of September 26. This date is subject to change because if she continues to regain function her therapists will elect to keep her longer. It's simple, the more you get back the longer you stay! How encouraging is it when her physical therapist tells Dana that she's her favorite patient because she has the most potential? Or when her occupational therapist tells me that she's been updating her mom on Dana's progress. That's encouraging stuff! Dana's official "start-date" for therapy began on Tuesday, August 1. Now that all of the tubes, wires, infections, breathing machines and most importantly the pain is officially gone, the therapists are going to place her on a full rehab schedule and work her like a dog. In other words, everything to this point was a vacation! Some of Dana's goals are to regain as much function as possible in her trunk and legs, transferring in/out of the chair, strengthening her chest muscles, arms, and continue with weight bearing exercises. Obviously the ultimate goal is to stand and walk, but we also need to be realistic and take it one day at a time.

I can tell that her therapy team is amazed at how fast Dana is getting functionality back. I've been told by more than one person that it usually doesn’t happen like this quickly. The therapist discovered new working muscles in her right leg about two weeks ago. The following day during stretching exercises I found a functioning tricep muscle in her right arm. On Friday, they discovered new muscles in her abdomen and she was able to bring her head to her knees and back to an upright position. When will she reach the plateau? Will it be before she's strong enough to walk? Do I think she'll walk again? YES! Does Dana think she'll walk again? YES! It may be with assistance and it probably won’t happen by her discharge date, but we believe it will happen. What does her therapist think? She won’t say yes, but she did say that Dana's legs are very strong and that she will do everything in her power to make it happen. Remember when everyone was jumping for joy when Dana moved her hand? That was only 55 days ago. Let's just hope and pray that her legs continue to get stronger and she is able to lift herself up and walk one day.

About 10 days ago a trio of casting therapists visited Dana during her PT session to measure the movement in her feet for casting. Dana and I had no idea what they were doing until they returned from their huddle to ask us if "serial casting" was something we'd be interested in. Serial casting is a process that stretches the gastrocnemius muscle. (ya Davis, I just used the word gastrocnemius in a sentence!) Why do they want to cast Dana? It's important to keep these muscles stretched for when she is ready to walk again! WALK AGAIN? I'll agree to a full body cast if necessary! Needless to say, it took us a millisecond to agree to serial casting! Is this standard procedure? No. Serial casting is only done when the patient has the potential to walk again. It's just another reason to hold out hope for that ultimate goal!

Dana is eating three meals a day but is not able to drink clear liquids without aspirating. All liquids are mixed with a thickening powder until Dana's throat muscles are strong enough to handle clear liquids. The feeding tube and tracheostomy were removed on Friday and we haven’t looked back since. The tracheostomy was replaced with a button for precautionary measures and will likely be removed tomorrow morning. I'm not worried about the clear liquids because the therapist told me it takes a long time for some of the throat muscles to recover from such a devastating injury. Once the button is out I plan on posting pictures of Dana in the gym. You will all be shocked to see how well she is doing.

My apologies for the delayed update this week! I realize people are anxious to hear how well Dana is doing, so I'll do my best to get my updates out on a weekly basis.

Here is a list of the functional return that Dana has today:
Head and Neck - (side to side and up and down)
Right Shoulder - (very slight return)
Left Shoulder - (not strong enough to lift her arm above the head)
Right Forearm - (very weak, slight movement)
Left Forearm - (strong enough to lift off the bed and flip me the bird!)
Right Wrist - (nothing)
Left Wrist - (fully functional)
Right Hand and Fingers - (index finger only)
Left Hand and Fingers - (fully functional)
Trunk - (gets stronger every day)
Right Leg - (strong enough to hold lower leg in the air for 5-10 seconds)
Left Leg - (strong enough to lift off the bed, functional from hip to toes)
Right foot - (minimal movement)
Left foot - (fully functional)

That’s about it for now.

Love,

Dana, Marc and Matthew

What are the chances of me walking into a sports pub in the middle of downtown Atlanta and finding a bartender wearing a #5 Red Sox jersey, a Red Sox hat and seeing a sign on the wall that reads Red Sox Fans Only? It was great for a very short period of time because it felt like home. The bar tender heard my Boston accent and actually bought me a beer and a shot. How about that? Although I thought about drowning my problems in alcohol while pounding down 4 beers and a shot, I decided against it because my problems will still be here when I sober up. Alcohol is not the answer for me. People are concerned with my mental state of mind and I'm here to tell you that I'm holding it together because I have no other choice. Now more than ever, I need to hold everything together for my wife and son. I'd be lying if I told you that everything was great because it's not. To tell you the truth it sucks! I feel anger. I feel sadness. I feel helpless. It's been seven weeks since that criminal altered our lives forever. Prior to the accident we had a very good life. In fact, we were living the dream as Dana used to put it. We had everything going for us, a great marriage, great jobs, a home in the burbs, a loving family and great friends. What more could we ask for? Why did this have to happen to us? What did we do wrong? There is no logical answer to these questions. I go to sleep at night thinking this sucks. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking this sucks. I wake up in the morning thinking this sucks. My heart aches every time I think of my son not having his mommy and daddy at his side when he wakes up in the morning or when he rests his head on the pillow at night. I know he's in very good hands, but I still miss being with him every night. I miss mommy jumping on me to save Matthew during our wrestling matches in the living room. I miss throwing the football to Jimmy and Matthew and watching him get mad when Jimmy beat him to the ball. As I sit here in this room I think about everything that will change if Dana is in a wheelchair. I think mostly about how Dana will get through life in a wheelchair. I think about whether or not Dana will have the ability to voluntarily move her bowels or drain her bladder. I think about Matthew. I think about Dana not being able to dress her own son. I think about Dana not being able to comb his hair. I think about Dana not being able to dance at her son's wedding (ya, it's many years away but I still think about it). I think about Dana not being able to shower herself. I think about Dana not being able to feed herself. I think about Dana not being able to blow dry her own hair. I think about Dana not being able to put on her own makeup. I think about Dana not being able to pick up the car keys and tell me that she'll be home in a couple of hours. I think about work. I think about selling our home. I think about the bills. I think about going from a two income family to a single income family. I think about not being able to visit friends or family at their homes because of wheelchair accessibility. I think about everything that we took for granted prior to the accident. I think you get my point.

I tell myself to suck it up and be thankful for the things that I do have. Be thankful that Matthew survived the accident. Be thankful that Dana survived the accident. Be thankful that Dana has movement and is improving every day. Be thankful that I still have a wife. Be thankful that Matthew still has his mother. Be thankful that Dana can still see him grow up. Be thankful for our family. Be thankful for our friends. Be thankful for my job. My message to everyone is simple: Be thankful for everything you have today because it could be gone tomorrow. That last sentence is such a cliché but it's also very true.

Enough about me let me tell you about Dana's progress in rehab.

It never fails, every time we reach a milestone or receive good news regarding her treatment it's followed up with bad news! Dana is now in isolation because of an infection called MRSA on her breast wound. MRSA is a type of bacteria, which can live for years in the nose and on the skin of about one out of every five people. One in five! Does it surprise anyone that Dana has MRSA? What does this mean? It means that Dana is susceptible to pneumonia, or a blood infection. Anyone coming into the room must now wear a gown and gloves. I'm told there is not a known antibiotic that can kill this bacteria. Let's just cross our fingers and hope the bacteria doesn’t spread to the lungs or bloodstream.

Keep reading, there is good news to report!

Respiratory -

As expected, Dana is kicking ass and taking names in this department! Last week Dana was off the vent for an average of 6 hours per day. Today, the ventilator is history. Next up, removing the trach. I expect that will be gone early next week.

Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy -

I've been talking to the therapists more each day trying to get information on Dana's progress. In particular, I ask if she will be able to get in and out of her chair by herself. The therapists tell me that trunk movement (shoulders to abdomen) is critical in terms of getting in and out of the chair. Once the pain is under control they will provide a better assessment of her condition. In other words, they wont give me much until they can kick the crap out of her in the gym. Thursday through Saturday Dana still had the back and neck pain, so they took it easy on her. The pain has been a major obstacle in Dana's daily therapy. On Sunday Dana woke up and told me her back was feeling better. WOW! Could the new drug cocktail be working? Absolutely. Monday was even better than Sunday. The therapists were licking their chops when they found out Dana's back was feeling good. Here is where it gets good. Dana returned from her therapy session looking like the cat that just swallowed the canary! Why? Once they got her in the gym, they sat her upright on the matt and had her supporting her own weight and moving back and forward on command! This is proof that she has response in her trunk. I'm so excited to see such progress in one week. The milestone last week was simply lying on the matt for 30 minutes. Now, she's sitting up and supporting her own weight - UNREAL! What a difference a week makes! I can hardly wait to see the progress next week.

Speech and Swallow -

Dana is making great strides in her speech and swallow therapy sessions. On Thursday she had chopped meat, mashed potatoes, and green beans. On Friday she had chicken salad, hummus, and cookies. No problems to report. There is no speech therapy over the weekend, so this brings us to Monday morning.

Dana was scheduled for a barium swallow test early Monday morning and the results were good. This test is simply amazing. It’s a machine that takes X-ray pictures of the process. It was proof that most of the food was going down her esophagus. It also showed that her muscles are very weak because clear liquids are aspirating, or going down both pipes. They will work with Dana and continue feeding her solid foods and thick liquids on a daily basis. The therapist is optimistic that she will handle clear liquids in the future; so I wont worry about it until they tell me it's a problem.

The big news this week is that her pain is finally under control. I guess some wishes really do come true!

Until next time.

Love,
Dana, Marc and Matthew

I'll begin this update telling you about Friday. Matthew and Yvonne (Dana's mom) were here over the weekend and it was much of the same in terms of him being at mommy’s side giving her hugs and kisses throughout his stay. Instead of reminding us of Jimmy's death in the first five minutes, he decided to go easy on us by asking how much longer he had to stay. Why? He wanted to play video games with his cousin Cameron. Imagine the nerve on this kid? Boy did we feel loved! Truthfully, we're thankful that Matthew has adjusted to life away from us while we're in Atlanta. It’s really nice to have such a great support system of family and friends. We really can’t thank everyone enough.

It was definitely a Kodak moment seeing the smile on both of their faces when Matthew sat on mommy's lap while she was in the wheelchair.

We spent the weekend trying to function as normal as a family can while in a rehabilitation hospital. Matthew is asking more questions about the accident and mommy’s condition, so I spent some time explaining her injury. In particular he asks why she's in a wheelchair and why she cries every time the doctors move her. As you all know from a previous update, I will only tell Matthew the truth. I told him that mommy's neck and back were broken and that she may need a wheelchair forever. His response: Why? In very simple terms I explained how the brain works with the spinal cord to move body parts. I also brought up the fact that we may need to sell the house and but a cool van with a ramp for mommy for when she is released from the hospital. His response: Why? He quickly lost interest in my explanation and asked to resume watching his precious Sponge Bob DVD, so I let him. I will continue to answer his questions with honesty.

Once again Dana was pampered on Sunday when her mother gave her another facial. The only difference this week is that I had the pleasure of taking Matthew to the Atlanta Zoo. This time we got to walk around outside in the 90 degree heat. Oh what fun daddy had sweating his butt off at the zoo!!

Let's talk ventilator. The primary reason for the ventilator is to provide Dana the opportunity to rest so that her body could heal the other wounds. The good news is that her wounds are healing and they started weaning her off the vent. The goal on Friday was 30 minutes off the vent with a therapist in the room monitoring her statistics closely. I thought to myself, this therapist better have packed a lunch because Dana will last much longer than 30 minutes on her own. Well, three hours later Dana was hanging in like a champ. Once again, the doctors seemed surprised that she did so well given the recent lung infection and amount of secretions inside her lungs.

The doctor gave Dana a get out of jail free card with all other therapists on Friday because of the vent weaning. Please know that a get out of jail free card in therapy doesn’t constitute a day of rest and relaxation. This only means that Dana's other therapists would "take it easy" on her for the rest of the day. The only day of rest for Dana is Sunday, and I wouldn’t exactly call it a day of rest given the pain associated with the movement every 3-4 hours. Another problem with vent weaning is that speech therapy will not try speech until they are completely comfortable with her ability to breathe on her own, so Dana did not have a phone attached to her ear this weekend.

After therapy Dana asked me to venture out to buy her a few v-neck tank tops because the therapists had to cut some of her t-shirts to fit over the vent. Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that shopping is not my cup of tea. I have a difficult enough time shopping for myself, now she wants me to shop for woman’s clothing? This should be interesting! So Matthew and I ventured off to the mall to shop for woman’s clothing. Big surprise - we returned three hours later with nothing!! Needless to say, Dana was not too happy. I completely threw Matthew under the bus by blaming the entire thing on him. I told her it was too difficult to search for tank tops and watch him at the same time. I was sure this excuse would get me off the hook, right? No, she asked me to leave Matthew in the room and to go back to the mall by myself. It only took me two trips and 5 hours to get Dana her precious tank tops. At the end of the day, she was visibly exhausted and was able to rest easy for several hours.

The primary focus of the weekend was spending as much time as possible off the vent. The goal was to spend six hours off the vent each day. Does anyone doubt that Dana was strong enough to achieve her goal? Good.

This brings us to Monday morning. The bar is raised every day down here and Monday was no different. Dana nearly jumped out of the bed when the nurse told us that her wheelchair goal is 4 hours per day this week. Dana hates getting into the chair for two reasons, the first reason is obvious and the second is because of the pain. As simple as it sounds, getting out of bed and into the chair is very therapeutic for SCI patients. It clears the lungs and stretches more muscles that you and I think about in any given day. The 4-hour wheelchair argument went out the window when the speech therapist entered the room with apple juice and told Dana that it's time for a swallow test. Remember last week when I told you that our speech therapist was not her favorite person? Well, she went from public enemy #1 to best friend in a matter of seconds! I've been very concerned with Dana's inability to swallow at this point in therapy. I recall a similar test at MGH when the speech therapist told me that Dana's epiglottis was not moving. I was told that it may be related to the swelling in her neck, or it may be paralyzed. Of course I was hung up on the dreaded "p" word that statement. If the epiglottis doesn’t move then Dana would require a feeding tube for the rest of her life. Do you see why this is a major concern? Although these tests are not scientific, it's a good sign if she's able to swallow the juice without choking. Think of it as a pre-game warm-up, stretching the muscles getting ready for the real test when they use a machine to take pictures of the process. Dana managed to swallow seven spoonfuls of the apple juice without experiencing problems. The therapist will continue with swallowing tests throughout the week and schedule the real test sometime next week.

Next up, the speaking valve. Dana is now speaking for approximately 6 hours on a daily basis! You should have seen the look on Matthews face when she called his name from across the room. We couldn’t get him to shut up! Mommy say this, mommy say that! He was running around imitating mommy's robotic voice. It was another one of those special moments in therapy. Not only is this great news for family and friends, it's just as important for the therapists, nurses and doctors to have a clear understanding of exactly what Dana is trying to communicate. Dana does not want to talk to anyone until her voice is more recognizable. Be patient folks - Dana will have that phone attached to her ear as soon as she is comfortable enough with the sound of her voice. Once she is off the vent the speaking will be 24x7.

This brings us to Tuesday.

Tuesday was a problem because the doctor reduced the pain meds. If they don’t start reducing the medicine Dana will surely become an addict and that opens the door to a whole new world of pain. We have a physiatrist coming to visit today, so hopefully he can recommend a magic potion for the pain. Will this pain ever subside? We don’t know the answer to this question. Maybe she'll build a tolerance and will no longer need drugs. The doctors tell me that she has enough drugs in her system to choke a horse; so prescribing more drugs is out of the question.

Dana lasted 6 hours off the vent and was able to handle the speaking valve in the entire time.

We reached a milestone in physical therapy yesterday by lasting on a gym matt for 30 minutes. The recurring theme in therapy is movement, movement, movement! Whether it's stretching in bed, moving to the chair, moving to the matt from the chair, moving any and all functioning muscles is extremely important.

The speech therapist arrived with apple juice again on Tuesday and Dana completed all tests without experiencing problems. That’s a wrap for Tuesday, let's talk about Wednesday.

Dana's new best friend walked in the door with juice, peaches, applesauce, and cookies. We could hardly contain our excitement!! I was so proud when she swallowed everything they put in front of her. Solid food went down the right pipe! Yahoooo! Imagine being excited over such a simple task? I really needed this one. More importantly, Dana needed it. The thought of not being able to eat a normal dinner with my wife was really depressing for the both of us.

Tomorrow’s menu: Chopped meat and mashed veggies! As far as we're concerned it could be you know what on a stick, we'll take it as long as it's solid and it's entering the body through her mouth.

I almost forgot to give you an update on the limbs! The entire left side continues to improve from the shoulder down to her toes. The right side is not as responsive but they are still going through the motions and moving all limbs for her on a daily basis. Therapy was really limited to breathing exercises, stretching and massage over the last week because of the vent weaning.

I think that's about it for now. Thanks again for the messages and continued support.

Love,

Dana, Marc and Matthew

The medical conference was today and the prognosis was not exactly what we wanted to hear. The doctors tell me that it's unlikely Dana will ever walk again and they cannot tell me how long she will be in rehab. Obviously, this news was devastating for the both of us. This marks the second time that a group of doctors told me Dana would be paralyzed. I made the mistake of under estimating Dana's strength once, it won’t happen a second time. I'm holding out hope because I see her sweating and crying in the gym every day. I've never met a more courageous person in my life. I'll admit, the chips are stacked against her but I keep telling her to fight against the odds. If you were a Vegas bookmaker, would you put money against her?

Let's get to the good things that happened in therapy today.

Dana's wheelchair goal was 2.5 hours today. How long did she last? How about 3.5 hours. Another one of her goals was to sit upright in the chair for the entire rehab session. Did she accomplish her goal? Of course she did!

Does anyone remember the right arm that hasn’t moved since the accident? The therapists were trying to get Dana to move both arms in a sweeping motion, sort of like a great big bear hug. When the muscles don’t respond, we remind her of the motion by moving the arm for her. It's like we're reminding her brain how to send the impulse back down to the muscle. I'm not kidding, the right arm was not responding until I asked Dana to picture giving Matthew a great big hug in her minds eye. By the time the therapist was done stimulating the muscle with massage she was moving it across the table and completing the bear hug. What an inspiration Matthew is for Dana!

Here is an update on the wounds, infections and ventilator progress.
They seem to have a handle on the lung infection and the wounds on her neck and back. This was accomplished by placing Dana back on the ventilator. The plan is to continue reducing the ventilator settings until Dana is strong enough to breathe on her own.

Aside from seeing Dana get up off the bed and walking out of the Shepherd Center with me, my only wish would be for the pain to go away.

Love,

Dana, Marc and Matthew

The Shepherd family should consider changing the name of this place to The Shepherd House of Pain! All kidding aside, I'm extremely happy with this place and believe that her doctors and therapists won't give Dana any more than she can handle.

Daily rehab and the possibility of spending the rest of her life in a wheelchair is very depressing for Dana. I sit here watching the clock and cringe every third hour because I know at any moment the door will open and two therapists will enter the room shift her to another uncomfortable position. Dana will last about 30 minutes before she pleads with me to reposition her by removing the pillows so that she can be flat on her back, which is her most comfortable position. Do I ignore the doctors and risk her developing a sore? What would you do for your loved one? It would be great if they could control the pain without placing her into a drug coma because the pain mixed with emotions is really wearing her down. The only thing I can do is "tweak" the pillows and comfort her by telling her to be strong.

Here are some highlights from the weekend:

Matthew was here.
Matthew was here.
Matthew was here.
Did I tell you Matthew was here?

Matthew spent most of the weekend in bed with Dana giving hugs, kisses and asking a ton of questions. I made the decision to leave Matthew at home and continue with periodic weekend trips because it would be too difficult to care for both of them by myself. This decision is very difficult for Dana to handle because prior to this injury she was never away from Matthew for more than two days. Once again, I comfort her by telling her to be strong.

On Sunday, I took Matthew to the Georgia Aquarium and my mother pampered Dana by giving her a facial. Sure, I get to drag Matthew to the aquarium in 90+ degree heat and she lies in bed getting a facial. Some things will never change!

Monday started off bad and it never really got better! The problem: Matthew left at 2:30! Need I say more?

Now for the really good news regarding her treatment:
She is talking about the accident and letting her emotions out.

She is wearing her own clothes.

She managed to last 2 hours in the wheelchair yesterday.

She will be outside for the fireworks tonight.

She managed to last 90 minutes gym yesterday.

She can bring her left hand to her head.

She can lift her left leg off the bed.

She is moving her right foot more and more each day. (No improvement on the right hand)

She can move her head from side to side.

She can swallow ice chips.

She got to see Matthew for 4 days.

Matthew will be back in 2 days.

She got a facial.

She should be off the vent by the weekend.

The infections are under control.

The case manager scheduled a medical conference for Thursday morning to review Dana's rehab schedule. I'll share the plan in my next update.

I saved the best news for last. Dana is finally speaking! She lasted about 20 minutes before physical exhaustion got the best of her, so we had to stop. It didn’t take long for her to call me a pain in the ass. Matthew was very excited when mommy called home to tell him how much she loved him. I'm sure Dana will have a phone attached to her ear before the week is over!

Thanks again for the support.

Stay tuned for more updates from The Shepherd House of Pain!

Love,
Dana, Marc and Matthew

Late yesterday afternoon, she asked me to see the video of the news coverage and it was very traumatic for her. We made it to the point where they showed his face and she asked me to turn it off. I think it was good for her to let out some of the anger and sadness. I recall her exact words being, "Why did this criminal have to ruin my life" and "I feel so bad for you and Matthew." Imagine her being concerned for us? I simply told her to focus on healing her body and not to worry about Matthew and me. My efforts to comfort her were fruitless.

By the time Matthew arrived at around 4pm, she was ready to leap off the Tobin Bridge. She managed to stop the crying and put on a happy face when he first arrived. Things were going well for about five minutes when he decided to remind mommy of the accident by telling her that Jimmy was dead and he was never coming home. We could have busted out the bathing suits with all of the friggin tears flowing in the room -- kids are priceless! Once we cleared the tears, it was back to happiness. Matthew is constantly at her side on the bed kissing her arms, legs, feet, lips, cheeks, and since he can't hug her in the chest area, her legs work out just fine. Dana really loves having him here. He spent the day watching cartoons on his DVD player and took a 3-hour nap at mommy's side. I just sat here and thanked god for what we have, because it could be so much worse! If a wheelchair is in our future, it won’t matter to us.

I think that just about covers everything. Oh, I forgot to mention a very important conversation that we had today.

I was here early this morning and she was an emotional wreck. At about five o'clock Dana called me to her bedside and told me that it was time for her to suck it up, stop the crying, and rehab the shit out of her body. I can't tell you how happy I was to see her mouth those words! It was like she tuned out the pain and started asking me to move body parts. This woman never ceases to amaze me!

Stay tuned for more updates.

Love,
Dana (Thor), Marc and Matthew

The first day was very long! It started at 3am in Massachusetts and ended at 12am in Georgia. Between the flight, admissions, and evaluation at Shepherd Center, Dana was too tired to do anything, including breathing. During the evaluation, they realized that Dana had an infection in her lungs so they placed her back on the ventilator until she is strong enough to breath on her own. This is common with patients arriving at Shepherd Center from out of state. Think of it as one step back, two steps forward.

One thing is certain; the days of Dana relaxing in a hospital bed are OVER! The primary focus right now is to treat her infection, and move her every three hours. Although it sounds easy, Dana endures excruciating pain each time they move her into a different position. If the nurses and physical therapists only knew what Dana thinks of them when they leave the room! I keep telling her that it’s extremely important to move her every third hour because it reduces the risk of developing a sore. A sore can delay treatment by 6-8 weeks.

It took a while for me to adjust to seeing children and other couples dealing with similar, and in some cases, more devastating injuries. It really hits home when you see the other patients and realize that a wheelchair could very well be in our future. No, I’m not being negative, just realistic because it could happen. It’s also very difficult being so far from Matthew and the rest of the family. Don’t be sad, I’ll handle it. If Dana can handle the rigors of rehab, I can suck it up and adjust to life way from home for a few months. Besides, Matthew is already booked for a weekend trip, so he should brighten our spirits when he arrives on Friday. My goal over the next week is to figure out a schedule for visitors. I will know more when they develop a rehab plan for Dana.

That’s about it for now. I will continue to update everyone on her progress. Stay tuned for more information.

Love,

Marc, Dana and Matthew

Good news to report on Dana’s progress. On Monday June 19, 2006 she was clinically ready for the next step in her treatment. Dana will be transported to the Shepherd Center by air ambulance on Tuesday June 27. The final preparation for her departure will happen over the weekend. Dana and I refer to this next step as “Spinal Cord Boot Camp” and she is more than ready to begin this difficult journey. I’ve been with her for 18 years and I must confess that I wasn’t sure of what her mental state would be when I told her devastating news. Well, I’m happy to report that it’s business as usual for Dana as she is continuously smiling and making others laugh with her facial expressions and foul-mouthed spelling games. It’s really a testament to her courage and strength. God do I love this woman!

Dana continues to impress the team of doctors and physical therapists with her unbelievable strength and movement on her left side. The right side is not as strong, but there is periodic movement and we hope more will come when the swelling subsides. Unfortunately, her throat is too swollen to speak at this time. The ear, nose and throat doctors assured me that there is no damage to the vocal cords, so speech will come with time. Dana is communicating by mouthing words and as expected, the first words out of her mouth were not fit for prime-time television!

Matthew is having a blast now that summer is here. If he’s not hanging out with family and friends, he is with me at the hospital. Now that Dana can move her mouth and jaw, he keeps her busy by asking for big kisses, sticking out her tongue, sending a smile, or rolling her eyes. He also entertains Dana by performing his latest trick, ARMPIT FARTS!

Can anyone guess what his three favorite questions are since the accident? Hint: woof-woof, hospital, and highway.

Why did Jimmy go to heaven?
When is Mommy coming home?
Will we have a car accident today?

I answer all questions by telling him the truth.

Jimmy is gone forever.
Mommy will be home when she is better.
Lets hope not!

I will be packing the bags and traveling with Dana on Tuesday morning. Matthew will stay with family until we are settled in Atlanta.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone for the incredible support during this very difficult time. All visitors are welcome over the weekend. I will do my very best to provide weekly updates on Dana’s progress at rehab.

Love,
Dana, Marc and Matthew

Approximately two weeks ago the doctors told me that Dana would be paralyzed from the neck down and would likely require a ventilator to live. Well, in typical Dana fashion, she is proving the doctors wrong! About 11 days ago Dana was breathing without the use of a ventilator, moving her left hand 10 days ago, moving her left foot 9 days ago, then her left leg 8 days ago. Is everyone getting the picture? At 8:30 last night, Dana was moving her right hand on command. This woman is simply amazing! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but this is obviously GREAT news. Who knows? Maybe it will continue and she will make a miraculous recovery. The doctors expect she will be regain speech within a couple of weeks. Are there any bets on what her first words will be?

I’ve been visiting rehab facilities throughout the week and have made the difficult decision to move Dana to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. The facility is regarded as one of the best in the country and I want to give Dana the best, because she deserves nothing less. I will take a leave from work to be at Dana’s side during the rehab period. There is no timetable for how long Dana will be in rehab, but I suspect it will be anywhere from 6-12 weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dana was back in time for the fundraiser.

If you would like to visit Dana before she is moved to rehab, please plan on coming in the next 2-3 days. All visitors are welcome.

Thanks again for the support.

Dana, Marc and Matthew

A Trust Fund was set-up at Citizen Bank in North Andover, MA.
Dana Martino Trust Fund
Citizens Bank Account No. 13087800998

The Trustees:
Patricia M. Davis or John W. Davis
c/o Davis & Davis, P.C.
77 Franklin Street, 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02110