Jerome Schaefer of Alexandria Bay fell from a roof last week and suffered serious head injuries. He is my friend Nick's dad and I actually helped with some of the very same roof work.

Jermone is currently in Syracuse and a special page has been made to monitor his condition. It is updated daily by the family. The URL is below.

http://www.carepages.com/ServeCarePage?cpn=JerrySchaefer

You will need to have an account at the site to see the page. Registration is free and easy. I encourage you to register if you know Nick, Jermone or the family. Many messages have been left for the family already on that site. I am posting todays Jan 30th's updates on Jermone along with this news item.


January 30, 2007

(Nick) He is going to be moving to Sunnyview tomorrow morning. He is scheduled to leave at 8 am. My mom is going go ride in the ambulance with him and I'm going to drive there. We aren't sure of our schedule much past that but we will update this when we know.

 
January 30, 2007 at 11:53 AM EST
Jerry is really getting active now. When we got here today, he had a mitt on one hand which he was begging me to take off. He would mouth the words "Help me," and I told him I could not take it off. He then mouthed "Why not?" and I told him he wasn't behaving. He grabs my hand and kisses it (trying to butter me up). I finally made him promise not to remove anything (including his gown) before I took the mitt off. He would start to pull on things, but when I would tell him to stop, he did. Yesterday, he pulled his feeding tube off the feeding peg, and the food went all over the floor. He has pulled the vaporizer tube apart several times. He tries to pull himself into a sitting position and almost makes it. He definitely has more energy and is feeling pretty good. He is keeping the nurses here way too busy trying to make him stay put. What a change from last week! Upstate decided they could not take him, so our choice is Sunnyview over Northeast Center. It is an hour closer than Northeast, and has a terrific reputation. He is approved for two weeks there, by the insurance company. That doesn't mean that he will only be able to stay 2 weeks. They just approve a little at a time. He will be reevaluated when he gets there. I asked Jerry if he could read the words on the television when the news was on and he squinted at it and nodded "yes." His right hand is getting much more coordinated also, but still is not as strong as the left. He also moves both legs a lot. After I wrestled with him for about an hour, the nurse called PT to see if they can come early. They can't come till one o'clock, and then I will go back to watch. He needs a job now. Hopefully, they will be able to tire him out a bit. He is more than ready for rehab. He needs to be doing something to occupy his mind and body and tire him out a bit. The progress he has made this week has been amazing. He can definitely move everything now. He needs his right side to get stronger yet, but that is only a matter of time, I think. I had Nick buy him some soft rubber balls to squeeze and he did for a while, and then threw them at me. It's obvious he can talk, although he still has the trach. I'm lousy at lip reading, but he is slowing his words down and exagerating the lip movements so I can understand some of what he wants. When the nurses come in and scold him, he gives them a little smirk and waves at them. He is quite a brat right now. All in all, I am quite encouraged by his progress, and will cut him a slack for a little while. He is going to be a trial for a while, I think. Thank your for your continued prayers.
Love,
Debbie