April 18th Update

First of all, sorry for the lapse in updating! There is a lot to talk about! After 2 weeks in the Seton facility, Jack decided he was tired of the trach in his throat and pulled it out himself! Luckily, there was no damage done to his throat or his vocal chords (more on that later!) Because of this, Jack's stay at the Seton facility ended two weeks earlier than expected!

On Thursday the 15th, he was transferred to a new rehab facility on 38th Street still in Indy. This rehab facility focuses on aggressive therapy to help him with speech and behavior. They will aggressively work with him on that for 3 hours a day Monday - Friday for the next 4 - 6 weeks. After he graduates from this facility, he will move to another new facility to help him learn to use his right side as much as possible again.

Here is the great news I mentioned earlier about him not damaging his vocal chords: he's talking! His responses are only one word and he is having a lot of trouble forming sentences, but he is responding to questions! He knows Suzy is his wife, he knows Luke is his grandson (he has called him 'grandson' but when asked what his name is, he says "Neil" and Suzy has to correct him that Neil is his son and Luke is his grandson).

As the blood continues to absorb and we wait for his brain to heal, he is still suffering from the ephasia he had when he first had the stroke (when he thought it was 1968). Most of the time now he thinks it is 1967 but yet he still knows things that have happened since then in conversations. His short term memory has a lot of issues in that Suzy has to tell him every day she visits why he's there and everything that happened. We are hopeful that as his brain heals and he goes through therapy, this will subside.

This is where we are as of this update. As always, keep checking for futher updates on Jack's progress. We appreciate all the thoughts, prayers and inquiries about him. I will update again soon!