news updates

Seasons greetings from North Dakota! We are dreaming of a white Christmas here as it is suppose to snow again tomorrow up to 6 inches and be unseasonably warm with highs below the freezing point. Much warmer news comes from Florida where a release date has been officially set for my brother and much more exciting news in terms of progress and condition can be reported. Casey is downplaying the significance of today's events and wants people to understand the reality of his condition. I will try to honor his wishes as best as I can.

Casey can eat regular foods now, but is still limit to thickened liquids. Therefore another prayer answered, REGULAR FOOD! Casey also worked with his physical therapist today walking with a cain. I, along with Casey, want to emphasize that Casey is still not walking on his own OR solely with crutches or a cain and is often using the wheel chair to get around. He is still weak but gaining strength daily and performing many of these tasks at an increasing frequency. Every task that Casey performs is exciting news for all of us.

Speech therapy is also going well, and his first round of recreational therapy went without a hitch during his visit last week to the fire department that first responded to him on the night of the accident. Casey's speech therapist states that Casey is able to communicate effectively in group and one-on-one situations but is still struggling with cognitive and analytical skills, but making small improvements. This may be a strong focus during outpatient therapy as Casey works to return to his career at News 12.

The road ahead for Casey's recovery will remain long and difficult. Everyday will hopefully continue to bring more progress. The number of visits has gradually declined since the website began, so I'd like to take the time now to thank everyone for visiting. I hope you return often and continue to follow Casey's progress. You are what keep the site going.

Tonight, I will end with happier news than those of you excited to hear the Christmas music on the website tonight. As mentioned previously, Casey's release date has been set. A surprise party is being planned so please don't tell Casey about it AT ALL. Casey will be released one day after the final group meeting to discuss his progress and long term care plans. This date for those family and friends wishing to attend will be December 11 at an unknown time as of yet. Those of you wishing to attend should email me immediately so we can get a head count. I will coordinate this head count with the news station and email out specifics to the friends and family wishing to attend.

A coordinated effort between myself, my parents, and Casey's coworkers is under way to have a welcome home party for Casey. All family and friends are invited to gather n the downtown West Palm Beach area near Casey's condo. I will release final details when they become available.

Casey's physical condition continued to progress as he is improving daily in his physical therapy. He has gained strength and is communicating at a much higher level than the "three year old" level I reported the first day he talked. When you visiti with him, you feel like you are talking to a normal 28 year old that was noticeably injured because the occassional word is missing. His diet has remained on a soft food but non-puree food diet. This is a diet where regular food, soft in texture, is grinded or cut into smaller amounts to insure safe swallowing and avoid aspiration into the lungs. One instance of this could reverse weeks of progress. Casey is doing so well though, and is eager to head home. It is our believe that this could be less than 2 weeks away.

On a side note, i again apologize for the errors on the site 2 days ago. I prescreened the pages and the errors developed as a result of a programming error similar to the original guestbook errors early in the website history. These are programming errors by Yahoo and not myself. I promised a new picture page, and I will keep my promise, tomorrow. I've been too busy to do everything I've wanted to including this. I will have another picture page on Saturday around 3 PM Central time.

A new picture has been posted on the home page of Casey on crutches today. The pictures with the firefighters did not turn out very well. I'll work a bit more on the website tonight, and post more pictures and possibly a new update tonight. Enjoy the day that is, God bless.

My apologies for the couple of website gliches yesterday. They have been fixed and it should be smooth sailing for now. The only news from yesterday will actually happen today. Casey will be making a "field trip" away from the hospital today to visit fire fighters who helped him the night of the accident. This will be Casey's first time out of the hospital and he is very excited about it. I've been assured there will be pictures from it so be sure to check back later tonight for another update and a new picture page.

Finally, it has been decided, as mentioned as a possibility in yesterday's update, there will be a "welcome home" party for Casey to be held in West Palm Beach. I'll be organizing this from Fargo with the help of friends and family in the area. This party will be held the day Casey is released from the hospital. A target date for this has been set and I should know how accurate this date is by next Monday.

November 29 - 8 AM

Other News Updates

CURRENT UPDATES

November 29 - 8 AM

November 30, 2007 - 7 PM

There was no update yesterday as Casey had about 11 visitors making it difficult to get any updates from the hospital. Casey was able to move laterally today for the first time. He is still mostly limited to crutches and a wheel chair, with the occassional step or two on his own. This is a good sign as it shows he is starting to regain a lot of his balance and dexterity. Another group meeting is scheduled for 9 AM eastern time tomorrow to discuss progress again. We are hoping for a release date to be set. Goals that remain for Casey include; walking without crutches for long periods, eating all types of food, and regaining full use of his vocabulary.

Casey is progressing everyday, and tomorrows update should be semi-lengthy with lots of details. Please visit again tomorrow and I'll have all the details out around lunch time. As far as the website goes; a fourth picture page has been added and I'll be adding pictures to it tonight. A special page for the day of his release has been completed and is ready to be loaded when the day comes. It has been tested by a select few visitors already and has no reported errors. I am also working on an informational page for anyone who would want me to build a website for them for any reason. Thank you again for all the repeat visitors, hope you have a great finish to the weekend.

December 2, 2007 - 1:30 PM

December 3 - 11 PM Central

Short update tonight. Casey is going to have a field trip on Wednesday and Thursday aimed at testing his ability to function and make desicions in a social environment. Casey will be taken to a public location to see how he interacts with others tomorrow and to a grocery store on Thursday. After the grocery store outing, he will have to come home and cook what he buys. For those of you wondering, I'm thinking the same thing as you....he couldn't cook before...why teach him now? hahaha. Casey will also have no dietary restrictions starting tomorrow as he will be able to eat regular food and drink all liquids. Casey also had an x-ray on his leg today and healing is progressing as needed. No additional surgery for anything is planned.

One final bit of news. The feeding tube that was used to provide Casey with medication while he was on soft food diets was removed this morning. We'll wait for that wound to heal soon. My best wishes to all of you, don't forget to sign the guest book.

Your Friend,
Terry

December 4 - 10:30 PM Central

December 6 - 8 AM Central

There was no update yesterday, however there should be one this afternoon before you'd go home from work. Check back later as I will update you on Casey's visit to the mall yesterday.

December 6 - 10:30 PM Central

Casey drank fluids for the first time today. He is well on his way to a near full recovery. There are scans of any type scheduled at this point to reevaluate the brain injury, but I'm sure there will be some in the near future. Casey has an appointment scheduled with the outpatient rehabilitation center to go over details of his outpatient treatment. We should know more by next week a good timeline as when Casey will be able to walk, return to work, etc.. Casey had an excellent trip to the mall yesterday and also cooked spaghetti with no problems. All signs show that Casey should be able to have an enjoyable Christmas and, with some prayers, could be back to work in the near future.

December 7 - 5:30 PM

There is no update tonight due to site maintenance. I am working hard on a special home page to make sure everything loads up accurately when Casey is released from the hospital on the 11th.

December 8 - 9 PM

Good evening everyone. Casey continues to get better on a daily basis. He has been eating regular food for a couple days now and all is going well. There will be a final progress meeting with the inpatient rehabilitation therapists on Monday. Another meeting will follow later next week to discuss the details of the outpatient program he will be in. Less than one week until he's home.

December 9 - 5 PM

Another frigid day in North Dakota, makes me with I was somewhere warm, perhaps Wyoming Uncle B? Casey is very excited as tomorrow is his last day in the hospital. Way to Go Casey!