Final Update, by Josh

Hello everybody! Josh here. I've been home for almost a week now and it feels great to be home. I've started doing home therapy with my occupational therapist, but I'll wait until after camping to start things with my other therapists. Yes, thankfully my family didn't go camping without me; we go camping next week. We all enjoy camping and hopefully it's a relaxing time away… and not too hot like the weather we've had this past week!

In a way it was sad saying goodbye last Friday to all my therapists and nurses. We had a pizza party with the nursing staff to show our appreciation of them. The staff seemed happy to see me leaving in good health but also sad to see me go; we all got along well. It was a little emotional for my parents and grandparents. Grandma also made her boter-koek (butter cake) which they loved (and a therapist had even asked for her recipe!). It was a bit of a community there but my family at home now is a nice substitution.

I would like to thank you all for reading and staying in touch with the situation. Thank you also for all the support you've given to my family. Thankfully I don't remember the first few weeks or anything that happened close by the accident but I know it was tough for them and they were appreciative of the support. Thanks also to everyone who came by the hospital and rehab to visit. If I haven't thanked you directly I probably don't remember the visit (my memory just started kicking in about the last month, so any memory outside that is spacey).

Thank you also for all the prayers you've given to God for my situation. God has been so gracious in my recovery, from getting discharged out of the ICU to the kindness/gentleness of the nursing/physio staff. It's only because of God's grace that my life was spared. My recovery isn't complete yet, so I'll still ask you guys to pray for patience as recovery will slow down in the next few months. Any/all prayer is appreciated.

So I'll give you an update with how the next few weeks/months will be going down. Yes, we're going camping next week at McGregor. After that, holidays will hold off for a few weeks, and then we're going to North Carolina with the family to enjoy a cottage on the Outer Banks. When I return, home therapy will fully commence and be underway. I'll be meeting with Occupational Therapy a few times a week, a speech pathologist a few times a week, a rehab therapist running therapy weekly (all at home), and to cap it off some physiotherapy twice a week in Richmond Hill (clearly, not at home). So, while my original thoughts were that I might have too much down-time at home, clearly I'll be busy enough with therapy both at-home and away from home. Hopefully I’ll be busy enough over the next few months and not have too much time sitting with my arms crossed.

Thanks again for all your love and support. It's been great knowing I'm not alone in all this. Have a great summer (what's left of it), and I will try to as well. God bless you all.

Josh

Goodbye Rehab, Hello Home!

Yesterday we received news that Josh is being discharged this Friday, July 24th. It was a day of mixed emotion. We were surprised by the news, as he wasn't expected to leave the rehab till next week. As much as we are looking forward to Josh coming home, we feel a little anxious as we leave the supportive medical and rehab team whom we have grown to love and rely on. For Josh this also means saying goodbye to the people who have had a huge impact on his road to recovery and who have supported him emotionally. It will be a big change for Josh as he moves away from very structured days filled with activity and people to a more relaxed and more self motivating environment. However we are so thankful that Josh is coming home to be with our family once again.

It was three months ago that Josh was in the serious work accident diagnosed with Significant Diffused Axonal Injury which is a sheering of the brain due to the shock waves of the explosion. God spared Josh's life and carried us a family through that very difficult time.

Josh has made a miraculous recovery and we are ever so thankful for the way the Lord has healed him. As we reflect on Josh's progress we see how quickly Josh has moved through his recovery. Physically, Josh looks like his old self, almost like he doesn't belong at rehab at all. Yet he still struggles with his speech, short term memory loss and functioning cognitive issues. His outpatient therapy will address these issues and will focus on Josh's goals of returning to work and learning to drive again etc. We are thankful that the WSIB is going to follow through with all the recommendations of the rehab team and Josh will begin therapy once we return from our camping trip.

Please continue to pray for our family as we begin a new chapter in our life. Please pray for continued and complete healing for Josh. Please pray for the many patients we have come to know who are not making the progress they have hoped or prayed for. Thank the Lord for places like the Toronto Rehab Institute which do incredible work.

As this will be our last post, we wish to thank you all for your continued prayers. Thank you for blessing us with your words of encouragement and deeds of kindness, visits etc. It was wonderful to know we had people who loved us join with us in our very hard journey. Thank you also to Bruce for posting our blog, as it was a great blessing.

The Lord chose to spare Josh's life and heal him in this amazing way for reasons we do not know. We stand humbled and in awe before Him as we know it's not because of anything we or Josh has done to deserve this but it is only for His purpose and for His glory. To Him we give all the praise and thanks.

We will finish off with our wedding verse:

Philippians 4:4-8 "Rejoice in the Lord always. again I say rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Much love to you all,
Phil and Terri and Josh. Joel and Irma, Josh and Meagan, Karina and Stephen

Ten Weeks Since The Accident

We have just passed the ten week mark since Josh's accident. We are so thankful he is home again for his fifth weekend. A few weekends ago Josh was home for Father's Day. Phil could not have asked for a better gift than that of having Josh's life spared. To also have Josh home with the family on that Sunday was not what we would have expected weeks ago, an added blessing.

We have also been so thankful that Josh has been able to attend church for the past two weekends. Then last week Josh was determined to be at his younger brother's grade 12 graduation. He even came to the small celebration afterward. This past week was also special; due to the July 1st holiday, Josh was able to come home for two nights this past week as well. We celebrated Canada Day a day early as we went as a family (minus a few members) to the Blue Jays game. We had a great evening celebrating with Josh, even though the Jays lost. This was a big excursion for Josh as it involved a lot of walking and a lot of people. He did well!! We all enjoyed ourselves, although Josh was very tired on Wednesday.

On Thursday, we took Josh to the Aquarium in Toronto with his grandparents. It was one of the things on Josh's list to do while staying in Toronto. Although Josh is looking good and is doing well physically, we are realizing more and more that he gets very tired easily. Signs of being tired are tremors in his right hand, leg shaking, altered speech, and trouble with memory. We are learning as a family along with Josh that although it is good to push forward and have fun, there needs to be a balance between rest and activity.

Last week Friday, Josh was moved out of his semi-private room into one of the larger rooms that is more like a tiny apartment. He is now responsible to make his own breakfasts, tidy his room and even make his own bed. :) We look forward to Josh moving home again at the end of the month. For now, he is progressing well with the help of all his therapists and he is working hard. They have become dear to us, especially to Josh. We hope to visit St. Michael's ICU in the near future as we promised we would return with Josh one day when he was doing well. Who would have known that it would only be a few months later!

Please continue to pray for Josh and for complete healing. Pray for patience as we wait and for acceptance of what will be. Someone recently sent us a card reminding us that although Josh's accident was so unexpected and so unimaginable for us, it was never unexpected for our God, who is our loving Father. He knows all things and all things are in His hand. Therefore, we echo the song once again... "All is well with my soul, it is God in control, I know not all His plans, but I know I'm in His hands."

Thank you again for sharing in our walk.

Love Phil and Terri and Josh and family

A month at rehab, visits out to family, and steady progress

Josh has been at Toronto Rehab for one month. He has reached a few more milestones in the past week so we are thrilled. Last week Josh went out for his first restaurant meal since his accident. He enjoyed a delicious messy chicken sandwich on an outdoor patio at Swiss Chalet with his grandparents and sister. This past weekend he went on his first outing. He went for a short visit first to his grandma's house to celebrate her birthday and then on to a family engagement party. He really enjoyed himself. We decided beforehand to stay no longer than an hour, but as we made our way to leave the party, we noticed Josh was engaged in a game of bocci ball so we extended our length of stay. Josh was very tired at the end of the evening but he thought it was great to see all the family. On Sunday, Josh slept for a good part of the afternoon after having a busy day on Saturday.


We are enjoying our time together on the weekends as a family. Josh is able to move around the home unassisted and he is enjoying the freedom. He continues to be a great help in the kitchen and loves to help make breakfast such as bacon and eggs or pancakes.

We had our family meeting on Monday with the medical team. This was an important meeting as we were able to discuss Josh's progress at the rehab thus far, as well as make future plans for Josh's continued rehab program as an outpatient after July 29th.

We hope Josh can join us at our church this Sunday. He says he looks forward to seeing our church family and singing praises to God.

We are thankful for Josh's continued healing.

We are thankful for your visits to the rehab as it helps break up the day, especially the evenings.
A very special thank you to all of Josh's friends for all their love and support. It's great to see Josh's smile and hear him laugh with his peers as he plays cards or chats with them.

Please continue to pray for a complete healing for Josh's cognitive and physical abilities.

Please pray that WSIB will approve the hiring of the recommended therapists for Josh's continued rehab. Please thank the Lord with us that Josh has less confusion and is much more aware of his surroundings and day to day activities .

We thank you again for all your prayers, love and support and sharing in our journey. We have been so wonderfully cared for by you all.

"The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace." (Numbers 6:24-26)

Love, Phil and Terri and family

A visit home, a green card, and coffee

It has now been two weeks since Josh came to the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Over these past weeks Josh has done well and has made some more huge accomplishments. First, he was able to come home last weekend for a one-night pass. We had a lovely weekend. It was uneventful but it was just good to be together with our family. Josh enjoyed napping on the deck and playing video games with his brothers as well as enjoying some home-cooked meals. Josh will hopefully be coming home again this weekend but for a two night pass instead. He and all of us are very excited!

Second, Josh had an extra special day today as he received his "green card" which allows him to freely walk unassisted throughout his unit. As you may expect, Josh was very happy about this as he has the freedom to get up from his bed without sounding all the bells.

It was a very emotional sight to watch Josh wander down the hall, stopping to wave at his therapists through the windows as they were having their weekly meeting... he was very happy indeed! Today Josh also received the good news that it was finally ok to drink unthickened water and therefore other liquids as well. He enjoyed his first cup of coffee this afternoon since the accident with his mom and grandparents while sitting in the sunshine.

Josh has very busy days with therapy but he never complains and he works hard.

We thank the Lord for all his therapists as they truly want the best for Josh.. they have been a wonderful support not only to Josh but to us as well.

We stand amazed at how the Lord is answering all our prayers and surprising us with the many accomplishments that Josh has made.

Thank you again for all your prayers.

Psalm 91:3. "I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart, I will tell of your wonderful deeds."

Phil, Terri and the family

Going home for a night, improving short-term memory, and encouraging words

We received wonderful news yesterday from the medical team that Josh is able to go home for a one night pass this weekend. We are all very excited about this transition and can't wait to get him home!

Josh had a good week so far and is doing well with his therapies. He is able to walk more as his balance is improving. His days are full and he still needs to rest in between therapy sessions but we can tell he is getting stronger. He also keeps busy with homework sheets that we help him with. He enjoys his time with family and friends who come to visit and is often up for a game of cards.

We are very thankful that Josh's short-term memory is improving slowly and at times he remembers some things from a few hours ago or  from the day before.

We have met some very inspiring volunteers and therapists who were once patients at Toronto Rehab and have suffered a severe brain injury. It was very encouraging to hear about their journeys of healing. Through their conversations with us they have shared how much courage, perseverance and determination they needed to endure and succeed.

Once again we thank the Lord for your love, your encouraging words, and your many prayers.
We especially thank our Heavenly Father, who is the great physician, for all the healing that has taken place in Josh's body.

Romans 5:3-5: "...we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."

Love to you all,
Phil, Terri and family

One month: Much to be thankful for

One month ago, Josh had his accident at work. During that first week we weren't sure if the Lord would spare Josh's life or if he would come out of his coma. They were days of great uncertainty. But the one thing we knew for certain was the Lord was with us and Josh was in His hands. What great comfort that was for our family. We are so blessed to have known and felt the love of our Heavenly Father in those dark days. We are thankful that the Lord's promises are true when He promises to never leave us or forsake us. We praise the Lord for His mercy for all the prayers that were answered.

Today as Josh is continuing his journey of recovery, we are thankful for the progress made. The Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (TRI) is an amazing facility where Josh is receiving wonderful care and rehab. It seems one of Josh's greatest challenges is his short term memory. This can be very frustrating for him. We need to constantly reorient him to the present.

What we find incredible is his ability to play card games such as euchre and more recently gin rummy. He's proven to be almost unbeatable in these games. Josh is also struggling with his balance when he walks. After being in the hospital for four weeks, Josh's hair had become quite wild and in need of a cut. He had his first outing as we wheeled him down University Ave. into a hair salon... he is now a new man!

Josh's rehab therapy will be quite intense and therefore it makes him more tired. He is expected to receive treatment at TRI for about ten weeks. We are looking forward to Josh being able to come home for some weekend passes...what a great day that will be!!

Please continue to pray for complete healing for Josh's memory and restored balance. Thank the Lord for the wonderful medical facilities we have available to us in this country.

Thank you again for walking this journey with us. You cannot know what this means to us.

Love to you all,

Phil and Terri and family

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice" Philippians 4:4