A Fine Day Is Almost Here

To Sarah's Team:

The day we have all been waiting for is almost here - Sarah will be going home this weekend!

Evidently there was some discussion between the Docs and Brigid about options for discharge - whether she should stay for a few more days or go home for Easter. True to her nature, Sarah weighed in and she was very definite about being ready to go. She is very excited!

Brigid and Mark don't want any big to-do about getting home. They just want to make Sarah's return happy, and they will focus on helping her get re-acclimated, so she can soon resume her work toward recovery. But they can feel some measure of relief now because they will all be home. This is simply amazing.

I will be sure to let you know how it goes. Go Sarah!

Uncle John.

Springtime at CHOP

It is almost the weekend and that means day-pass and shopping. Meanwhile, here is a special update to Sarah's Team:

***

Today is March 20, 2007, approximately 4 months since my daughter's accident. Sarah continues to exhibit great stamina, tremendous spirit, and each day she makes progress with her therapy. She now utilizes a walker for short distances and her balance is improving, (AWESOME); her fine motor skills with there accompanying functions continue to improve and her speech is clearer with more emotion & intonation (FANTASTIC)!

Thank you all for you prayers. Many good and positive things are happening to Sarah at this time, however, she is still in need of your prayers. Her road to recovery is long. Sarah has some blurriness with her vision, but this has decreased and she has another neuro-opthalmology appointment at the end of the month. So, please continue to pray for a speedy, complete recovery for Sarah.

With my appreciation and love,

Sarah's Mom, Brigid

Nothing like A Road Trip!

To Sarah's Team:

Hello - it has been a busy couple of week's for our Sarah - she is getting the job done at CHOP and now starting to reap some rewards. Now she can get a day pass on weekends to leave CHOP for awhile. On Saturday the 3rd, Sarah got her first day pass from the hospital and her Mom, Dad, some cousins and family friends took her for a tour of the Univ of Penn campus. Brigid thinks Sarah will someday enjoy the Museum of Anthropology @ Penn, and the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute, but on her first day out Sarah was content to go to Starbuck's, the U of P bookstore, The Gap, and Aunt Annie's pretzels. It just got too late for the cultural stuff - drat - but Sarah didn't seem to mind.

Then on this past weekend, her Aunt Sally and cousin Mary got the bright idea to throw a party for Sarah. Lots of her cousins, aunts, and uncles, as well as some local friends visited Sarah over the weekend down at CHOP, and then the next day we partied at our house. The two co-conspirators from back home (Sal and Mary) thought it would be cool to bring to Sarah a couple of her favorite things from W-B: Angelo's pizza and Pal, her faithful dog. So after her cousins saw her at CHOP on Saturday, we picked her up at noon on Sunday, just beating the St. Patrick's day parade traffic and headed out of town toward Valley Forge for the party. We had lots of great pizza, soda, ice cream, and all kinds of treats and Sarah played cards with her cousins and got to see Pal. We are still gathering up the confetti, balloons, and streamers here- it was a great time and Sarah had a blast. I think she wants to go to the King of Prussia Mall on her next pass. You can't get the "go" out of Sarah, just say the word and she is ready to roll. What an inspiration, she is moving forward every day. Go Sarah!

Until the next road trip…Uncle John.

New Wheels and New Mobility

Sarah's Team:

Among her legion of supporters, many of the good folks at Geisinger who cared for Sarah are able to stay in touch, and like all of Sarah's family and friends, they are delighted to learn of her continued progress.

This week, our irrepressible Sarah continues to amaze us as she buzzes through her routine at CHOP. Check out this list:

* New wheels and new mobility - Sarah must do more of the work in her new chair, but she can get around better on her own.

* Hold the parents, take a break mom. It was time for an outside trip down the street to Starbucks's last week - with the gang at CHOP. The cappucino was fine.

* Did someone say movie? Down to the atrium. RV is worth a second watch.
* CHOP is a big place but not to our intrepid teen. McDonald's, the cafeteria, trips to the day room, visiting friends - no big deal for Sarah, the girl is getting around.

* More swimming therapy may be in the program, Sarah really enjoys the pool and is showing good endurance and spirit in all her PT.

* Lots of work throughout the day, but Sarah joined an after school art program to do more creative work and hang out with other kids.

In general, her stamina is excellent, she continues to progress, and while she is coping with the whole experience, Sarah continues to exhibit her tremendous spirit. Her road is still long, and like the one less traveled from a favorite poem, Sarah is making all the difference.

Regards, UJ (Feb 27)

An Ice Cream Social and Lots More Hard Work!

I want to get this update on the blog before I get too many more "gentle" reminders from the ardent members of Sarah's Team. You folks are nothing if not the most loyal, generous, and concerned group of people around - so here goes:

I talked to Mark and Brigid, and other family members who went to CHOP, and I saw Sarah myself today. There is nothing really dramatic to report about the week - maybe because she has come so far already - and that is probably what we should expect for the near future. She did climb some stairs in PT, and she is increasingly mobile at CHOP in her chair. This week she attended an ice cream social to celebrate one of the teens opportunity to go home, and her Dad took her outside for a bit of fresh air. Earlier in the week they even videotaped Sarah at work in PT - to show other students - prime evidence of her hard work and all of this is good news.

Perhaps even more importantly, (and this is certain) - Sarah still has her positive, indomitable attitude - and she is putting it to good use everyday. Consider that for a moment and be amazed - the child doesn't allow herself to have a "down day." She continues to do everything she needs to do without complaint, in fact, she does it with good cheer. Vintage Sarah.

Sarah GO!

Sarah had a really good week again.

Regards, UJ

A Ride to McDonald's

Hello Sarah's Team:

Try taking a couple days off from this gig and you find out that there are a lot of nice people waiting (almost patiently) for an update. So apologies for keeping you waiting too long - here is the latest from CHOP.

I took our two girls to visit Sarah today - just got back a little while ago and Sarah is doing fine. The Sunday work load is lighter, so there was time for playing cards, watching TV and talking with her cousins. She is enjoying more solid food and the flu bug is now in the rear view mirror of last week. (Let's hope that is over.)

The good news is that Sarah is moving along with the program, making progress, and the Docs / therapists are pleased with her effort - so they keep her busy everyday. Along with all the PT, OT, and ST, she now has an hour of school work each day, and on Tuesday she gets to go to the pool. She did convince Brigid the other day that she was ready for her first ride downstairs to McDonald's (and it is a hike) so they won't be holding her back for long. Also, they have movies in the atrium on certain evenings and Sarah heard about this and true to her nature she wants to go. Maybe she will get to have her popcorn at the movies soon. There are other teenagers on the unit and they visit each other so that is good too. All in all a good week at CHOP- so thanks for keeping in touch here, or on the blog. http://www.sarahgblog.blogspot.com/

Take care till the next update,
UJ.

Happy Ground Hog Day

To Sarah's Team:

Little slow down with a touch of the flu-bug yesterday and today, other kids on the unit have it too, so she is resting now. But, Sarah continues to move forward with her workload. Brigid said she did up to 40 steps with her walker the other day, and she is going to get to do some swim therapy later today if she feels better. She definitely wants to get in the pool. Also, they added art therapy to the mix, and they are continuing with school work and all her other activities. Every day she is showing some more progress with speech, and she is doing better with eating too.

Brigid is with her now and she is looking forward to seeing her Dad on the weekend. Thanks everyone for keeping in touch, all your e-messages are sent to Brigid at CHOP, and they are most encouraging, so hit the blog or email back whenever you want. http://www.sarahgblog.blogspot.com/

Good weekend to everyone on Sarah's Team!

UJ