We are on the countdown for day therapy!! Three weeks left at Shephard Pathways counting this week! Shawn's last day will be January 21 and then he will probably continue therapy closer to home, probably a couple days of week rather than everyday!!

Shawn walked yesterday from our driveway all the to the next street down from our house and back! He was using his cane, but he was walking pretty fast! He no longer uses his wheelchair, which has helped me, that thing got pretty heavy everyday lifting in and out of the car!!!! He also drove the golf cart around the neighborhood! He is so determined and driven to get back to himself and back to work! He is the Shawn I have always known and his determination will get him through this!!

We had a follow up appointment with his gastrologist today and everything is looking good as far as the pancreas goes. He is slowly starting to come off of some of his medications which makes him feel better, he has not liked having to take so many medications!!

Tomorrow in therapy shawn gets to hit the swimming pool! He goes back over to Shephard Center hospital tomorrow for a swim therapy session!

Keep up the good work Shawn! The thoughts and prayers continue to work! Thank you!!

Joanne

Catching Up!

Sorry i have not blogged in a while! Shawn is doing great, he is still continuing to improve everyday! He has three more weeks of day therapy here at Shepard Pathways!! He does not use his wheelchair anymore, and is still gaining more strength back in his right arm. His speach is continuing to improve everyday. As part of his therapy he is actually using an I-Pad that was purchased for him a while back. It helps him with scheduling, and games things like that! He had to participate in a Christmas party with the Shephard group that he was so thrilled about!! (NOT)!!! He made an ornament and he made the girls a Christmas card as well as joining in on some "reindeer" games!! Needless to say Shawn's personality is still the same!! LOL!!!

We had a great Christmas at home! The girls were spoiled as usual and I think Shawn enjoyed watching their excitement on Christmas morning, mind you that Kendall woke us up Christmas morning at 5:45 a.m.!!!!

Shawn has been riding to therapy with several different people these past couple of weeks giving me a break and a chance to go to work as well as giving shawn a break from riding in the car with me!!! He was getting tired of me playing Christmas music!!

We have been so blessed this Christmas and the past couple of months and we are so thankful for everything and everyone in our lives right now!! 2011 is going to be a great year!!

Joanne

I have to apologize I have not been blogging! I will try to get everyone caught up! Shawn has been home now over a week. He has been glad to be home as we are having him back home! The first day or two was kind of hectic for him as the girls were running around the house as they usually do and this made Shawn a little stressed out because he of course had not been used to the kids from being in the hospital environment for about 6 weeks. It is much better now and everyone has kind of settled into a routine!! He pretty much since we have been home has just been sitting in his recliner watching football and taking it easy!!

He started his day rehab program which is part of the Shephard Center this Monday. It is in Decatur so it is not all the way into Atlanta as the Shephard Center was. The therapy program consists of speech therapy, recreational therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and some group work. We are commuting every day to his rehab so we can be at home at night with the girls! So far a typical day for us starts at 5 a.m. and we leave the house at 6:55 a.m. to drop the girls off at daycare and then we begin our journey to Decatur. We have been lucky three days out of the five this week with traffic. He starts therapy every morning at 9 a.m. and ends at 2p.m. everyday with an hour lunch break! I have been picking him up everyday and taking him out to lunch. This week has pretty much been a "getting to know Shawn" week at therapy as they pretty much have been accessing him to set his goals for therapy while here at the "day program". Yesterday morning we met with the case worker and they have set a goal discharge date from therapy as January 21 which will be eight weeks of therapy at the Decatur "day program"! They think they can make some significant progress with Shawn and help him to be able to do the things he wants to be able to do again which is be a dad, husband, and get back to work!! Shawn is walking pretty well now, he still needs someone to be there when he walks while the strength in his right leg gets stronger. His right arm is progressing he is able to lift it now from his shoulder as well as do some bending at the elbow!! His speech is improving everyday, the hour ride in the morning has been awesome as we get time to have some good conversations!! Shawn is eager to get better which I think is giving him the strength and the encouragement he needs right towards making a full recovery!!

Last night we went out to eat Japanese which we have not done since before the stroke! It was nice for him to get out and he did well!! He also went to the grocery store with me the other day! Thanks again for all the constant prayers and thoughts!!

Going Home!!

Tonight is Shawn's last night away from home!! We have gone through family training over the past couple days here at Shephard to make sure we are ready to take care of Shawn when he gets home. While going through this therapy I have learned that Shawn does not really need much of my help. He has come a long way since he has arrived here at Shephard Center three weeks ago!! He pretty much bathes himself, dresses him self, etc. I just really need to be there to remind him that he is still healing and make sure he does not make any compulsive decisions that could result in injuries. He has also shown off the fact that he can walk!! Yeap you heard me right he can walk!! He is still a little weak on the right leg but that will get stronger as he goes through more therapy and he begins to use it more!! He climbed two flights of stairs this morning in therapy for me!! His right arm is still weak, but that is starting to come back as well, the arm may take a little longer than the leg as the therapist was explaining to us that the arm has a lot more range of motions and muscles to have to learn how to use all over again, but he has started raising his arm up and moving it from side to side which he could not do a week ago! His speech is improving as well, I sat through his speech therapy session today and I could not believe the difference from the first day we were here, it was almost a 100% better!! I am amazed at what they have done for Shawn here at Shephard and what he has allowed himself to do. When we arrived here a little over three weeks ago, Shawn was not very happy and was really negative about seeing any positive results coming from rehab/therapy! He has really amazed me at how he has been so positive and committed to getting better!! I am so proud of him, he has even "asked" the therapists for homework while he has been here!! We leave hopefully tomorrow before lunch and we are headed home to the "lake"!! He has not been home in almost six weeks! I know he will be glad to sleep in his own bed again and be at home with his family! He is already talking about frying a turkey for Thanksgiving like we usually do every year! Not really sure that is going to happen yet, but Shawn is being stubborn about it!! LOL!! Shawn has the rest of the week and weekend off then he will begin his next stage of therapy at another part of the Shepard program in Decatur called "Pathways" which should not last more than six weeks, it could be shorter or longer depending on his progress. The team here at Shepard does not think it will be much longer than six weeks or it will be shorter!! Thank you all for the thoughts, prayers, gifts, cards, etc.; myself, Kendall, Ashlyn, and Shawn are truly grateful to have such wonderful friends and family!! We love you all and will see everyone soon!!

We are on the final count down to shawn returning home! Shawn is doing amazing, he has become so much more independent since he has been at Shephard. It is amazing how fast he improves every day. He is almost at the point of walking on his own and his right arm is starting to come around as well. His speach is continuing to improve everyday as well. Today we started family training and we learned how to take care of him when he comes home. We learned how to put him in the car, get him in and out of the shower, etc. He was so excited to sit in a car again, it has been a while.
We are leaving the Shephard center next Tuesday. Shawn is so ready to be at his house, it will have been almost six weeks since he has seen his house. He will have off of therapy/rehab from the Tuesday we return home until the following Monday where he will start the "day program" therapy part of Shephard Center in Decatur. It will be the same type of therapy he has gotten here at Shephard everyday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00p.m Monday through Friday with the weekends off. The only difference is he gets to come home every night to his house and family!!!! We all miss him at home and can't wait for him to be back at home!! He will be just in time to enjoy Thanksgiving at home and Christmas right around the corner!

Shawn had another good week in therapy! He has one more full week here at shephard and is scheduled to leave the following tuesday! He is getting so much stronger on his right leg! Tonight I brought the girls to see their dad for the first time! It went really well they were so excited to see him they both even got to ride in his lap on his wheelchair! He was soo excited to see them too I think it melted his heart when kendall said " good night daddy I love u see u in the morning! Me and the girls are cooking shawn dinner tomorrow night thought shawn would like a home cooked meal!! Thank you all again for the continuing thoughts and prayers!!

Shawn is continuing to improve everyday!! They finally have taken him off the "low fat" diet and he is now on a regular diet!! This has made him a different person! So far he has taken part in a cheeseburger, cokes, and fries!! Yesterday he got to get out of the Shephard Center for a while as part of his therapy and go on an "outing" at lunch! He said they went to Target, shawn's favorite place !! LOL!!! He is doing good with all the other therapy and continues to show much improvement everday!