Sunday, November19th

What's up guys. Sorry I didn't post yesterday but we had a really good time. Sam played poker in PT and won. We watched Auburn win and Sam roamed the halls hanging out with a lot of the friends that he's met up here. Mom came up and with Lan picked us all up lunch at Ted's Restaurant. Sam got to munch on some chili cheese fries. After Mom left, Mailman and Tiffany showed up and we had a really good time hanging out with them. Uncle Brooks and cousin Jennings dropped in with special brownies for Sam. While Jennings and Uncle Brooks were here we got R2D2 out and as usual he was giving us all a hard time (we might just keep him locked up in the closet like a gimp if he doesn't get his attitude together). Chrissy, a good friend of all of ours that we haven't seen in a while came by yesterday and we all hung out. George Bateman also came in Saturday night. Dad came up last night for some training and that was about all. Today we got to Shepherds and couldn't find Sam. He was out and about making the rounds. It's been Lan, Bateman, Chrissy, Sam and myself hanging out today and Lan and Bateman have gone to get groceries to fire up the grill today. We're having fun and we'll talk to you guys soon. George

Friday October 16th 10:00

Well I don't know where to begin with this post. The improvement that our main man has made is unbelievable!!! Lan and I are still here at Shepherd, that haven't kicked us out yet. But you guys gotta hear what's goin' on. Sam is shaving himself, working on his own IC training, able to hold up to eat hamburgers and sandwiches, working his Ipod and cellphone by himself, and is also now part of the Peer Support team. He's movement on the mat is awesome. He's attitude is unbelievable and he exumes confidence. He's working his charm on all the ladies still (nurses and patients). He's been telling all the nurses that Christmas came early with his sly smile. He's got a lot of street cred around hear with his seniority. All in all, he's doing whatever the hell he wants to and is just as happy as he can be. I didn't know how start this post and I don't know how to end it, all I know that I want to get back to hanging out with my brother b/c all of this is too good to be true. Keep the prayers coming and much love.
George

Wednesday November 15

I went to Alalanta to see Sam III today. He was doing fine. The doctor has removed the button from his treac and it is healing up. As a result of removing the button, air escapes though the gause bandage when Sam speaks. He is using his hand to cover the bandage to force the air through his throat. Of course this makes it hard for him to talk for a few days until it fully closes.

I went to PT and Kelly showed me how to get Sam into and out of a car. Sam is almost ready to travel out of the hospital on a day pass.

Sam a couple of baby Krystal burgers for lunch. He can use his hands to eat them.

Thank you all of the prayers. Please keep them coming!

Monday, November 13th 5:00

Hey everyone, Just got off the phone with Sam and he said that today about 12:30 they removed his button from his throat. This button was the step down from the trac and now that the button is out it should take 1 to 3 days for the hole to heal. This was really good news. Also Sam rode a bike for 55 minutes which was about 10 miles! Well, he didn't actually ride a bike. They put a wheel at the bottom of his wheel chair, strap his feet in pedals, and use electrodes to power the wheel. I believe it's the motion of pedaling that is beneficial. His therapists were surprised that he rode it for as long as he did. Great day to start off a week. Also thank you to everyone that came out this weekend to help with the music room. So much work was accomplished! Thanks everybody.
George

Monday November 13

Sorry for the delay in posts. There are several things going on. George and a number of Sam's friends worked on Sam's "Man Room" over the the weekend. They built a deck in front of the room, changed out the door, demolished the existing interior, added studs as needed, removed and added new electrical wiring, outlets and switches, new lights. The insulation folks are due later this week. After that comes sheetrock. Uncle Lew came down from Atlanta to head up the project. Sam should really enjoy this room. It is really going to serve his needs.

I visited Sam on Saturday. I went to PT with him and work with him to do leg stretches. He is in great spirits and is working hard! I saw him dial on his cell phone and use his Ipod. So much progress in just a few weeks!

Ya'll keep commenting and praying. Sam does enjoy hearing from you.

Thursday November 9

George was in Atlanta training at Shepherd with Sam today. George reports that he learned how to use the Hoya lift to move Sam from his chair to the front seat of a Saturn automobile. He has also completed IC training.

I was in training yesterday and learn about leg and shoulder stretching. I also used the lift to move Sam from his bed to chair and from chair to mat. Sam was working on putting on and taking off his t-shirt by himself.

I met with Jane who is with the Shepherd's Bridge Program. She will be working with Sam a year after he leaves Shepherd. She gave me a lot of great information.

Sam also had a visit yesterday from cousin Reg from New York.