A BIG THANK YOU to EVERYONE. For your thoughts & prayers, donations, time & effort, love & friendship. We can never begin to thank each and everyone of you individually. We don’t even know who some of you are. But please know that in this day and age where the news and media tend to focus on the negative and selfish aspects of the world today, we are uplifted and encouraged daily by the people who have , and continue to, touch ours and Aaron’s lives. The risk that you run when you publicly thank people via a venue like this blog is that you will foget someone. May God bless each and every one of you for your kindness.
Aaron is amazing and has come so far with his breathing. I started keeping a log when he began the weaning process.
Day 1 – 25 seconds
Day 2 – 10 minutes
Day 3 – 35 minutes
Day 7 – 1 hour
Day 11 – 2 hours
Day 13 – 5 hours
Today – 10 to 12 hours daily
The last thing that he would say before he went off of the vent when he first started was “I’m going to be miserable” and he would sleep the entire time. Now he does therapy, gets showers, eats meals, talks, takes less meds to calm him prior to going off the vent, and asks if he can stay off of it over night. His calm reaction (“Can I stay off it?”) that I witnessed on Sunday when we discovered that his oxygen tank had run out was unbelievable. The first thing that he asked on Monday morning was “can I go without it again today?” It’s hard for him to back off now but their approach is to build his strength slowly towards breathing successfully everyday on his own rather than bound ahead and have him only be strong enough every other day to do so.
Monday Aaron got to do the tilt table again. There were a few minor mishaps with the motorized wheelchair. My favorite one was….Aaron was tired after his last therapy session so I left him so that he could catch a nap. I decided to walk (25 blocks round trip) uptown and check out the Liberty Bell. It was a beautiful day for it and apparently I just missed the Phillies pep rally at City Hall by an hour or two. When I returned about 1.5 hours later I checked in on him and he was still sleeping. I checked back about 15 minutes later and he was awake & talking to a nurse. After she left the room he told me that when he woke up he was going in circles in his wheelchair. NO injuries, NO damage to the room and it was good to see Aaron able to laugh at himself.
On a sad note….Aaron’s fantasy team suffered it’s first loss of the season and is now 6-1 but still holds a 1 game lead over the rest of the pack.
We continue to get answers about the next step in Aaron’s care as there are many questions and we do not want to rush into a decision until we are certain that it is in his best interest. Please pray for wisdom as we look to move forward in “Aaron’s Journey.”
As always, thank you to everyone and please continue to pray for stregnth, wisdom, & healing.
You amaze me everyday. Xo
Aaron, I don’t know you, I do know your Dad from many years ago. My son Brooks told me about your accident. I just wanted to let you know that you and your family are in my entire family’s thoughts and prayers.
I love reading the blogs everyday to see how you are progressing. What a wonderful spirit and attitude you have with everything you have gone through. You have a truly wonderful family, fiancee and friends supporting you every step of the way.
You are truly a remarkable young man.
May God bless you and yours!
Linda Rittel
No special thanks needed for us Jaime.. Again, I was just SO happy you were all there and were able to be present to feel all the love everyone has for Aaron. The loving/caring/positive atmosphere was just incredible to me. I know every single one of you appreciates everthing that everyone has done! It was proof enough in all of you just being there on Saturday, so please don’t ever think differntly! Doing for others isn’t about recognition, it’s about genuine love. Keep up all the awesome work ARod! Praying everyday…
I hope all know, that I as well thank you dearly from the bottom of my heart for the donation of your time and efforts for Aaron!! I am sorry if I made anyone feel their contributions went unappreciated!! Thank you to Ashley and family for being so generous to hold the fundraiser at their restaurant!!!! Aaron wouldn’t have came so far in his recovery without the prayers and support of all you WONDERFUL, LOVING people!! I was at the fundraiser thinking how honored I was to be marrying Aaron and to be a part of such a wonderful group of people, family, friends, and all!!
Greg, Diane and families,
You are all so welcome. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this. Sometimes pride stands in the way of God’s blessings and we take the blessings away from those people who want to give them. I am doing the most important thing I can do and that is praying for you all, but it didn’t seem like enough. I can’t heal him, so I am thankful for whatever little part I can play in helping. I know that I am not alone in this feeling, that is why the support continues to flow. You guys have a blessed day and just feel God’s love all around you!!!!
Diane, Greg and Aaron, I’ve read and reread every post on this site. You have never been anything less than thankful, appreciative and loving in each and every one of them! Please know and feel good about that!
Dear Aaron, You are amazing and if I may say so (with a little bit of prejudice) I think your Dad, Mom, Gina, Jaime, and your hundreds of friends are pretty amazing, too. Diane and Pete also are with you every step of the way–Barb and I also. Most important of all, God is there by your side and will never leave you when you put your trust and faith in Him. Keep up the good work! One of my favorite little verses given to me by a friend recently:
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure, His power has no boundary known unto men, For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
By Flint
Just checking in on you!! You are making such progress and we are all so proud of you!! Have a great week and we miss you!
Thank you, Greg. I struggled with my words, trying to thank everyody, and you did it so eloquently.