4th Month Recap

We'll let you do the looking up and reading if you are interested in any old posts. Just right click on any of the following blue words, and open up in a new window for all the details.

March 9th, 2007 our cozy world changed with "THAT" phone call. We were glad that we didn't learn about 1st Minutes After the Accident until a few weeks later. The neurosurgeons said that we would know the extent of our son Dan's injury in 6 weeks to 3 months. There were never any medical professionals who actually sat us down and fully explained a C1 & C2 Spinal Cord Injury to us, or that he would be a quadriplegic forever. The verdict is still out if he will ever be able to breathe on his own again. Most of what we know and have shared with you folks has been from our own research.

Some things gave us mixed signals and should have been challenged or re-evaluated, like his Cookie Test, causing us to think that we would be tube feeding for ever. Thankfully the nurses, aka "medical doctor with more interesting uniforms", encouraged Dan to eat and he responded with "I'd like a Happy Meal"

We live at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and with each therapy session and physical progression, Dan looks and feels better, i.e. removal of his halo Going Going Gone, The Collar Is Off, putting his cuff down and speaking, power wheelchair, Back Flap surgery, even a letter from The President of the United States. Each forward step is usually proceeded with 3-4 set backs, i.e. that nasty back sore, so many sleepless nights, no appetite for food, trying to get him to eat, more bed sores, etc. Like just a few minutes ago, when respiratory was doing their twice daily "deep suctioning & cleaning out of his lungs" [we do all of this also], they said his heart rate it looked extra high, and soon a portable EKG was brought in with 3 resident doctors in tow and a flurry of activity, only to say that there was a possible "something blockage", not emergency and a "We'll monitor it". Okay... will that happen at home too?

Dan, now 21, has been able to get out of the hospital and rehab environment from time to time with a movie, the zoo, the aquarium, his sisters WEDDING, Each of the outings is a learning experience and "testing of the waters" with equipment, logistics, strengthening his endurance, this works that doesn't, everything striving to get Dan back to some sort of normalcy in his life... HIS NEW LIFE. He does think about before the accident, like when we saw an magazine announcement about a Chicago Ultimate Frisbee game, he quipped "I really miss playing sports". He's thinks about that sort of stuff more than he lets on.

There are many other things we could write, like how all of you care for Dan with Relief Sitters, are helping and paid for Selling Our Home , have prayed and cried over us, and Prayer from our Church Elders. You have overwhelmed us with Ways to Help, too many food cards, provided free condos near the hospital to live in, raided piggy banks, had fundraisers, given up class trips, and even Concert to benefit Dan Knudsen & Family ... too many Gifts From Above to list. We have experienced the universal body of Christ loving us daily.

We do share many comments with Dan. We hope to have a few posts from him soon. His immediate goal is to be up in his wheel chair daily and add 15 minutes each day.

Thank you for checkingondan. We love you more than you can ever know.

Dan dancing with sister Jen,
[Dad helping out], to the tune
"You Raise Me Up"
or here