Sonny's Road

June 4, 2012 12:12pm

"Rome wasn't built in a day..."

Hello again,

One more brief note today. You may have noticed that the theme of Sonny's Caringbridge page has changed from the Classic Car motif to a skyline view of ancient Rome, and his new website and blog here follow a similar theme. There is a reason for this.

Sonny was injured nearly four years ago...it has been a long journey for him to this point, but his sojourn is far from over. He has struggled, cried (we saw it!!), laughed, wrestled, and triumphed over so many obstacles. Yet, his climb toward his personal summit continues. "Rome wasn't built in a day", as he saying goes...and Sonny's recovery happens slowly, sometimes with fits and starts, but it continues relentlessly forward nonetheless.

So,at his point I decided to change the artwork and invite you all to walk with us on Sonny's road. It is sometimes not a pleasant one, but always a beautiful one. There are many who say that Rome was amazing...others say it fell short of what it could have been. But the point is, Rome became what Rome was ABLE to become...built wih the sweat and determination of a people committed to forward progress.

WE are committed to forward progress. Some will say that Sonny "was amazing in his recovery", others will say "he could have been so much more". But as with Rome, Sonny will become all that he is able to...and it will take the sweat and determination of not only himself but also many others to see him get there.

Rome wasn't built in a day...Sonny won't be, either. But we will continue the work, stone upon stone.

Every blessing...
Lorrie

June 4, 2012 11:45am

MANY CHANGES!!!

Hello everyone,

First, apologies for there having been no recent updates to this journal. This spring season has held many challenges for our family, and we simply have not had the time or energy to be as vigilant as we like to be about keeping this up to date. Things seem to be settling down a bit now, so hopefully we will be able to stay better connected and keep you all better informed about Sonny's progress.

The most notable change is that Sonny has moved to a different location, due to North Creek closing as of May 1st. He is now at Health and Rehabilitation of North Seattle in the Greenwood area. Mailing address will be at the close of this journal post.

There have been many challenges for Sonny as he has had to adjust to new surroundings, new staff, and new schedules, but he has come through like the true soldier that he is! He has had a few setbacks, mainly because the staff do not realize all that he is capable of doing for himself, but we are working on "training the new help" and they seem receptive to becoming acquainted wih him so that his progress can coninue. For example, they have thought that we was unable to feed himself at all, so have been feeding him entirely without allowing him to pick up foods and feed himself...so he sort of became accustomed to that and stopped trying. But with a little diligence and a few stern conversations from Mom and Sis, he has rallied and is back on the road! (See the photo taken today of him eating salad BY HIMSELF!)

We hope that you all will continue to check in and visit/write when you can, and remember that we also read to him all of the guestbook posts and emails that come for him. Because he is in North Seattle now, we are hoping that it might be easier for some folks to stop in now and then. Of course, I am always willing to meet anyone who wants to come, to walk you in he door and help you to be more comfortable with a first visit. Nursing homes can be intimidating, especially if you are unfamiliar with the facility, but honestly it is simply "Sonny's new home" and his friends and family are ALWAYS welcome guests. I can also arrange phone calls for him, as whenever Mom and/or I are going to be there we can make a call and give Sonny the phone so he can listen to you! He is still primarily non-verbal, but the smile on his face when he hears the voice of a friend or loved one is absolutely amazing!

Sonny's new address is:
13333 Greenwood Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98133 Room 140
Lorrie can be reached at 206.330.3269

We appreciate all of your friendship as we approach he fourth year of Sonny's recovery...we look AHEAD for him, not behind...we hope you all will continue to do the same.

One final note: The term "Vegatative state" has been tossed around a bit concerning Sonny, and we have only this to say...People in a vegetative state do not feed themselves, cry, laugh, or kiss you back when you say "I love you"...Sonny does all these things and MORE. 


'Nuf said.

Blessings to all of you!
Lorrie...the fortunate little sister to my courageous big brother, aka Superman!

February 7, 2012 8:48am

Just a quick note ~ we had Sonny home on Sunday for the super bowl.  Lorrie and Dan were there and Sam.  We had a nice, easy day after Dan and Lorrie changed my tire that went flat as I pulled into the nursing home!  Sonny seemed to have a nice time ~ ate a lot and smiled a lot.  We told him that next year he has to cheer out loud.

I brought the ipad home and downloaded some more games.  I've tried to learn to play them so I can show him but I have found that I am really awful at video games!!  Some turned out to be more complicated than I can deal with so I know they are too complicated for him.   I'm leaving them on the ipad though with high hopes that they will be doable down the line.  One of these is Lord of the Rings.  Sonny loved that book so I thought the game would  be nice.  But I can't even remember all the rules.!!  And I haven't managed to get past level one of Angry Birds.

Take care all and have a great week.
Loretta

February 2, 2012 12:52pm

Hi again,

Well the Prologue2go progam is really awesome!  I have set some things up on the home page and we will add to and move to other screens as Sonny is able to navigate.  The speech therapist can also use it and set things up.  Take a look if you go to see him ~~ you can use the ipad to take a picture of yourself.  Then use the hi button and the keyboard to say hi, your name, and whatever else you would like him to say.  Attach the picture to the message and when you go in Sonny can pick out your picture and tell you hi.  Really cool.
I think we kind of overloaded Sonny last week with the ipad and teaching him again to use a fork and spoon.  He actually had a few tantrums, slammed the arm of his chair and said "NO".  So that is good too. He has refused things by ignoring them but has not been verbal before.  His doctor told me yesterday how amazed she is with his latest progress.  He is interacting with her also and recognition is showing short term memory which is really good.

And the Ipad is there and you can play games with him on it.  He seems to enjoy someone else playing and showing him how.  If you know Sonny you know that he doesn't like to do things he isn't sure of.  So he is moving slowly into these programs. Just if the battery gets low please plug it into the charger.

Take care everyone
Loretta















January 21, 2012 4:07pm

Lorrie has been keeping Sonny's Facebook updated but I have been remiss at keeping this site up.  I'm not ready to just let it go because I know some people keep updated on this site that don't have Facebook.  Sonny is doing well, actually made more progress.  He is following the same pattern ~ he makes some progress and then he stays put for a while.  I got him the IPad for Christmas and I've downloaded some simple games and books.  We can put all of his music on there too so he will have only one item to deal with.  He has been learning how to navigate ~ to a point and when he wants to.  I left him last night with the book Huckleberry Finn and he was really concentrating.  He was always a voracious reader and I keep hoping that this will push him to trying hard to master the IPad.  We are going to bring it home this weekend (no WiFi at North Creek) and download a program called Proloque2go.  It's a picture to speech program that they are using for autistic kids who are non-verbal.  It would really help communication which is a big issue.  We had looked at the Dynavox system but it is over $40,000.00 so not affordable.  This program is so I'm excited about that.

If anyone visits please leave him with the TV turned on or the IPad set up.  There is a tray there that slides into his wheelchair from the front.  He has to be sitting up for it to fit right.  Or fold a pillow on his lap and prop it up.  Too often he is left in his room staring at the walls and ceiling.  Also be sure to sign in so we know who has been there.  Then we can talk about it with him.

And if you cannot make it to visit please send cards or notes.  He still has a sense of humor and really enjoys the cards.  It takes some doing sometimes to realize that he really is in there.  We just have to go slower and do only one thing at a time. Sonny definitely cannot multi-task.  Probably because it takes so much concentration for him to understand.  We have taken him to a couple of concerts and he was home both Christmas and New Years.  Some of you have been here when he was home in the summer.  Lorrie and Sam have taken him for walks around the nursing home as long as the weather is decent.  He has a coat and hat there and loves to be outside.  We just have to watch the sun even in winter as he burns easily.
So there you have it.  Progress has been slow but is still there.  And we continue to push gently.  He has some really good CNA's and nurses and of course some not so good.  So I pitch a fit when necessary.  If any of you go to see him and he is not clean or shaved please let me know.  I'm getting good at the fit thing.

Take care all
Loretta