Wednesday, August 6th: from Julie
Things are going well with me back at work (if you can call 3 hours a day “back at work”), Morgan in daycare, and Wayne at home on his own. Morgan isn’t taking milk from the bottle very well at all, like I had suspected, but that will get better in time (it’ll have to). My mom will work on that with her this weekend when she is in town again.
We are awaiting our webpage and account to be set-up with The Lighthouse Community. I am excited for that partnership to begin. Check back to our website for more details on that collaboration within the next month. In the meantime, check out their website: www.thelighthousecommunity.org . They are an organization that collects monetary gifts for us and allows the person or company donating the money to claim it as a tax-deductible gift.

Monday, July 28th: from Julie
We got a call from King’s School today and there is a spot for Morgan at their Infant Center beginning next week!! J We originally had her starting there on May 12th, but kept her out of daycare and with us at the hospital and at home during this time. I think she will do well being with the other kids—she just loves other kids! My only fear is her not being able to take a bottle. That is one area I have neglected due to all of the other demands.
I have chosen to not have anyone at home with Wayne, or regularly visit Wayne at home, during the day. I believe he has gotten to the point where he will be okay. I feel comfortable just calling him a few times during the day and deciphering between his “we”s and “yeah”s whether or not he has taken his meds, fallen, eaten, or if I need to rush home or call a neighbor to go over and check on him. Who would have thought 4 months from injury that he would be at home, able to cook for himself, and “talk” to me on the phone… amazing! So amazing!

Thursday, July 24th: from Julie
During Wayne’s OT appointment today, we realized he is able to move his arm more than we thought! At these appointments he often lies on a “mat”, or a padded table, while the therapist works with him. So he was lying on his back on a mat with his left arm holding his right arm up in the air, sort of holding it at the elbow. (And although I didn’t update the website about this last week, he is able to lower his right arm in a very controlled manner down to his face when it is in this position! Yeah—I know—very exciting. And the therapist said that movement can begin to be seen if you “remove gravity from the equation”. So, that’s what this lying-on-the-mat-facing-up position does for him.) Anyway—so he’s lying there and they are practicing this lowering down of his arm, then he started to lift it back up! That made the therapist say, “Okay then—let’s start practicing that one too!” And that was with his arm fighting against gravity and everything!!! He continues to improve in “Leaps and Bounds”!

Tuesday, July 22nd: from Julie
It seems that Morgan is now able to completely stabilize her torso by herself. That certainly helps out with Wayne only having one arm to hold her with when sitting or standing. If she throws her body weight off a bit, he doesn’t have the other arm to catch her torso from “flopping”… so this is a great accomplishment for our family—this means that Wayne can hold Morgan more and maybe even start walking with her. We continue to integrate things regarding Morgan’s care into his day and therapy sessions.

Sunday, July 20th: from Julie
The CarnivAlley was absolutely fabulous!!! My mom was in town and neither one of us could believe the decorations, the set-up, and the amount of work that must have gone into preparing for this event. Thank you Dave & Kris and Matt & Shaney! I love you four so much! What an awesome day and an awesome time—many “forever” memories! Thanks for everything!!
Thanks to all of the workers who also made this event possible. Thanks, also, to everyone that came to the event! The turnout was amazing! It was awesome to see everyone and chat and especially to see Wayne mingling at a social event like he did—he was there for nearly 10 hours and did an awesome job!
Cheers again Shaney & Matt and Kris & Dave!!!!

Thursday, July 17th: from Julie
We had an appointment with the rehab nurse today who is following Wayne through his recovery. When she was asking him about his right arm and whether or not there was anything wrong with it, he kept pointing to his thumb. Neither the nurse nor I could figure out what he was talking about until he moved it! Ah-ha—that’s what you were talking about! Wow! Go on, Wayne!

Wednesday, July 9th: from Julie
This weekend was brilliant. I really got a chance to “let-down” and relax and hang-out with Craig and his family. Felt good to just be together and enjoying life!

This morning, after Wayne had gotten himself ready to go to the hospital for our first Outpatient Family Conference, he came into the bedroom where I was still getting ready and he indicated something about his right (non-working) arm with a sort of sweeping motion. I thought he was talking about putting the e-stim (electrical stimulation) unit on his shoulder or forearm. But he said “Nah” to that and held up a finger like, “no… but watch this…” and he held his breath and looked down at his right arm and slowly raised his right arm to a 90 degree angle, bending at the elbow!!!!! I started crying. What a great sight that was!!!!

Saturday, July 5th: from Julie
Wayne’s resilience and determination amaze me. We went to a friend’s house Wednesday night for a BBQ and he decided to not wear his leg/ankle brace. I really encouraged him to wear it so he didn’t roll his ankle or hurt his knee, but he was adamant about not wearing it. How I read him is that he really hates wearing anything that’s indicates he isn’t 100%. He wants to be “whole” again. I catch him showering without his shower chair (he is not supposed to stand without wearing his helmet, since his skull is still removed). So, he is to sit while showering, which I’m sure feels so abnormal and he just wants to shower while standing. But, it’s very dangerous in case he were to have a seizure or second stroke.

However, I think it’s these little choices (like not wearing the leg brace), along with the therapy of course, that continue to progress him to the point he is at now.

After writing on Tuesday that I didn’t feel like I really had a partner, I think I realized it’s just going to be different for a while as well as Wayne showing me how much he really is still there for me. For example, he tends to Morgan when she wakes-up and starts fussing, when I get stressed because there is too much to do for Wayne’s care before Morgan wakes up, he motions to me that we should all take a walk around the block, he comes and gives me a hug while I’m working on stuff, and most of all, he still makes me laugh and we still find ways to joke around with each other.

A girlfriend living in Australia called and at the end of our conversation she said, “I’ll let you go so that the three of you can go be family.” And it made me realize, the three of us are still a family, we are all still alive and together and able to interact, so I made strawberry shortcakes and the three of us sat on our king-sized bed with the TV off and babbled and laughed with Morgan. Good memories.

Tuesday, July 1st: from Julie
Wayne seems to still be doing fine—no new symptoms, or worsening of others. It’s so difficult to realize that he could have a stroke or a seizure at any moment and fall or bleed-out again. In my life up until now, and all other areas of my life even now, I don’t have difficulty realizing I cannot control life or others and “what will be, will be”; however, in regards to Wayne’s health and life, I am having a very difficult time “letting go” and surrendering to the theory of the adage “what will be, will be”. It’s hard for me to not coddle him or put padding everywhere around the house (a joke) or get teary-eyed and say “I love you” every 2 minutes.

I’ve been crying a lot these last two days and I thinks it’s because I’ve been faced with the certainty of death in my life and the life of the people I love, even though I have not yet had to deal with a death. I think I also cry because although I have Wayne in my daily life, it feels as though I don’t really have a partner—and that is what I loved so much about us: our partnership in life. He is here with me, just not able to help and support and communicate in the capacity that we would both like in life and with Morgan. I definitely support and encourage him to help in the ways he can and praise and acknowledge those successes and accomplishments. It’s just really difficult to spend all day with the man you love and adore and admire and not be able to have a conversation with him. We are able to communicate anything that he is able to draw, but there is a lot more in life that we used to talk about that cannot be drawn.

I am excited to have those talks with him again someday, and I am confident that we will have those talks again, so long as there is not a second stroke or a seizure or a fall (and even then, I would be extremely hopeful and believing in his recovery). Although I am grateful for all of the mobility and communication that he has regained so far, it has only been 3 months and I believe with 100% of my spirit and soul that he will regain movement in his arm and hand and be able to communicate verbally again someday. And as I kept telling him while he was in the hospital, and I need to tell myself it right now: this is a temporary situation—you are not going to be like this forever.

In our lives together thus far, our love has gotten us through so much; I believe our love can continue to give us strength and power, and in one way or another, our love will conquer all.

Sunday, June 29th: from Julie
At about 1 PM, I noticed increased drooping in Wayne’s face. I asked if he had any other symptoms and he waved his hand, indicating “no”. I kept asking him, writing my questions down on a piece of paper as well as common symptoms of a second stroke (or any stroke): blurry vision or difficulty seeing out of one or both eyes; sudden severe headache; weakness or numbness of face, arm, or leg, particularly if on one side of the body; confusion, trouble talking, or understanding; or sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination. (And in his case, worsening of these symptoms.)

Overall, he seemed alright, but the drooping was much more significant. I remember the stroke clinic staff at Harborview stating that if I notice any worsening of anything I should…. And I couldn’t remember what I should do. I thought to myself, “Am I supposed to call 911? No, surely not. That’s too extreme.” So, I left Wayne alone and went about my tasks and things I needed to get done before the 30th. He took a nap, and then about 2 hours later, at 3 PM, I decided I would go wake him up and ask him to get in the car because we were going to dive to the ER. I was so fearful, approaching him, that I would see he wasn’t breathing or something. But, as I walked towards him on the couch, his chest was heaving, a bit more labored than usual; his breathing was like it used to be before he was on PTU for thyroid issues.

I woke him up and thought, it’s crazy to delay anything in case something was wrong, so I called 911 and said that my husband had suffered a stroke on April 1st and that I wasn’t sure if he was having another one. They said they would come in the ambulance without sirens—that sounded good to me.

The medics arrived, checked him out, his vitals seemed fine—a bit elevated, but nothing severe. Pauline, Wayne’s brother’s wife, rode with me in the Expedition as we followed the ambulance to NW Hospital.

He had an MRI of his head and an EKG of his heart performed and all results were fine, they couldn’t find anything. The doctor thought he may have suffered a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack)—a temporary stroke. And the nurse advised us that the heat, and possible extreme tiredness, dehydration, or lack of food, could have worsened his “regular” symptoms. So, any ‘deficits’ he has usually, will get worse with extreme conditions.

Again, I am reminded about how fragile our lives are and how quickly one’s life and dreams and plans and loved ones can be taken from you. I try my best to stay in “the today” because that is all we really have. We are not promised tomorrow; we are not guaranteed our dreams or even a future. Today, in itself, is a gift and I am glad to be here today and that I did not lose Wayne today.

Tuesday, June 24th: from Julie
Again, I can’t believe how fast time is going by. Each day seems to disappear in an hour or two.
Wayne is doing really great though!! The progress doesn’t seem to be quite so fast the last few weeks—however, that perception is definitely skewed. And if I had to guess, it’s skewed because of the fact that the first two months, he went from not staying awake for more than 30 seconds at-a-time to staying awake for 8 hours; from not walking to walking with a quad-cane to now, walking with a single-point-cane just last week; not making any noises to making noise; etc. So, the past month, and quite frankly, I think from here-on-out, he will continue to make progress like he has been doing but it might not seem as grand or “amazing”, when really it is just as amazing!!!

Wayne pushes the boundaries with everything, which is very challenging for me because of my limited ability to “jump” when he decides to push a boundary, as well as my fear of something else happening to him. Often times I will say to him, “It’s not that you aren’t ready to do it… it’s just that I’m not ready to watch you do it.” But of course, he still does it, which ends up usually being good for both of us on a certain level. I do find myself worried and concerned and quite fearful of finding him lying on the ground again, somewhere, conscious but unable to acknowledge me or move his right side again. And there are things he attempts to do, but because of having Morgan demanding my attention and time, I am not able to be the ready-participant to grab something if he drops it or help him balance if he stumbles in a dangerous situation (e.g., mowing the lawn or using the axe as a mallet—just a few of the chores he has attempted in the past two days). I will say, however, that I think him pushing the boundaries is part of what has helped him progress to the point that he is at right now as quickly as he has. He is not one to play it too terribly safe.

We had our first follow-up visit with endocrinology yesterday (the team following his Graves’ disease and thyroid problems) and from my understanding, the doctor seemed shocked he was on 350 mg of PTU 3 times a day. If I heard her correctly, she hadn’t ever heard of someone on that high of a dose so many times a day. She seemed certain she would change his dose to a lower amount once she read his labs that were drawn yesterday since he has been on such a high dose for an entire month now—we got a call at 5 PM today that stated they would be keeping him at 350 mg 3 times a day. So… I could only assume that means his thyroid levels are still high and were extremely high to begin with.

I’ve always talked about Wayne’s crazy appetite and how he drinks a gallon of milk a day. Well, now we know why—hyperthyroidism. It’s really interesting to listen to the rhythm of his breathing now and realize how labored, quick, and abnormal his breathing was before; how abnormal and elevated his temperature probably was (he was always hot which made me seem always cold, which I’m not one of those girls that is always cold); etc. For example, this morning when we jumped into the car to go to his therapies at Harborview Outpatient Rehab Center, I found myself to be very cold. I didn’t touch the dials because out of habit, I knew he would just turn it down to cool air again. But, to my surprise, he turned it up to heated air before I even finished my thought… I had a new thought instead: “Wow! We are the same temperature right now… that’s the first time that’s happened in the 9 years we’ve known each other”!

Morgan is doing great!!! She is 3.5 months (15 weeks) and loving to sit up with help, lie on her tummy, and roll over. She is starting to pull her knees up under herself. And the always fun, drooling—lots of that. ; )

Tuesday, June 17th: from Andrea & Pop (Wayne's Mother and Step-Father)
I do not know how I can ever thank you for all the work, time & effort that you are going to in helping my son & his wonderful wife Julie & daughter Morgan. I am sure that Wayne must be blown away also to think that they have so many wonderful & loyal friends. I must say it makes me feel very proud to be his mother.

Sounds as though another great time was had by all at the Dart Tournament, and yet again many dollars given. Thank you so much!

We were absolutely overwhelmed with all the kindness & generosity shown to us while we were in your wonderful country. I would never have dreamed that people could be so thoughtful, especially as it was in such difficult circumstances, and no one had ever met us before. It amazes me to think that there are still fundraisers being organised even this far down the track. We (Wayne's family) are just so grateful to you and everybody involved, & I know that Wayne & Julie appreciate & love you all so much for everything, but also for being their very special friends.

Pop, (Wayne's stepdad) & I will be over again at some stage (will work out with Julie when she feels is the best time for them) so we will be able to see you all again. Just wish it was tomorrow - it is gut wrenching being so far away! Spoke to Wayne on the phone yesterday & he was trying so hard to talk to me properly. He is making wonderful progress but must get so frustrated! It broke my heart hearing his voice again. KEEP TRYING SON - I KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO WIN THIS BATTLE!!!

To all you wonderful people - THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts. There are far too many people to name (& to be honest do not know all your names), but please take this as a huuuuuuge thank you!!!!

Monday, June 2nd:
This past week has flown-by. I can’t believe Wayne has been home for a week and two days already. It is so great to have him home though!!! I can’t even tell you all how absolutely wonderful it is to have him home with Morgan and me! More and more of his personality and humor are coming back everyday—his old sounds, his old noises, his laugh and chuckle! It’s so great to have my partner, companion, and best friend back in my daily home life!

His outpatient rehab has been slow to start and will take a few weeks to really get into the full swing of things (probably won’t really get going until late June/early July). However, his progression continues and he is starting to do tasks around the house on his own. I am not sure if it is out of pure boredom or out of frustration that he is not able to help out with usual daily tasks.

The day he got home, he noticed I had moved the doormats and saw them lying off to the side of the door. He motioned to have me put them back, and I explained, “But the therapists said it’s a tripping hazard and that I should remove it.” He didn’t care, he wanted it back. And in so many other instances, he has not allowed me to alter our home or our routine to accommodate his current disabilities—he is adamant about doing things the way he did them before and it’s this determination that will get him to where-he-was-before.

Morgan is 12 weeks old this week—can you believe it?!?!?! I sure can’t. She barely fits into her infant bathtub now. This past week, she has started blowing bubbles with her lips and tongue. She gurgles and hums and babbles all day long. She smiles a lot as well and just started laughing and giggling yesterday.

Wayne holds Morgan often and the three of us will have a cuddle at least once a day.

Friday, May 30th: from Julie
After a doctor’s appointment today, we got back into the car and Bob Marley’s “Jammin” was on the radio and Wayne started singing it and got quite a few of the words out. “Jammin. We’re jammin. … you… jammin too.” That was so cool to hear! Music helps words start to come back, so we listen to familiar songs to which he knows the lyrics, but there haven’t been any new words in just speaking for a while. It’ll come though—it’ll come.

Saturday, May 24th: Golf Tournament
We'd like to express a huge thank you to all of the sponsors, players and volunteers for making the golf tournament suck a great success. The weather was beautiful, the crowd was fun and it was a perfect day for playing on the links. A whopping $22,000+ was made all due to your tremendous support! Thank You!

Wednesday, May 21st: from Julie
PT took Wayne out to a grassy area today for his afternoon PT session. Grass is a much more difficult surface to walk on than any of realize—he did really well and it forced him to have to lift that leg a bit more than he has been doing up till now. It really tired him out though too. But, I think Wayne enjoys getting pushed like that, so it’s a good thing.
He’s been practicing leg extensions, so they will have him lying on a mat and put a roll under his knees and ask him to straighten that right leg. He’s able to slowly, and sometimes jerkily, straighten that knee joint. Amazing stuff.
Occupational therapy stated a few days back that she is started to feel contractions in his shoulder and shoulder blade muscles. Right now, there aren’t muscles on his right side to hold his shoulder in the socket, so that is good news (so that his body can start supporting that shoulder on its own rather than always having to wear the brace he currently wears to support that joint when out of bed.)

Monday, May 19th: from Julie
I was anxious to hear what Wayne’s physical therapist had to say today since I feel like Wayne made such huge strides (excuse the pun) this weekend at home with his walking and confidence with walking. The therapist was amazed—he seemed to imply that he really felt Wayne progressed more in the day of being at home than any one day of being at therapy in the hospital. Just goes to show, being home is its own therapy. (I can’t tell you how many times Wayne got himself up off the couch to go to the refrigerator. Ha!) I would be sitting next to him on the couch and all of a sudden he would stand up and grab his quad-cane. “Where are you going now?” And he’d make is way back to the fridge to just open it up and have a look-see.
Speech therapy is going really well too—he made an “m” noise today on command. So they got him to make an “ooo” noise and then close his lips and make an “m” noise and then open up to an “ooo” again. And they did the same thing with an “ah” noise. Really cool to hear him identifying noises and how to move his lips and mouth to get certain sounds to come out.

Sunday, May 18th: from Julie
This morning, as Wayne and I woke-up next to each other for the first time since the morning of April 1st, I was reminded of what it felt like to have a partner beside me. I can’t wait for him to be discharged on May 24th; it will be lovely to start waking-up with him every morning again.
As we were waking-up and stretching, I saw Wayne’s right hand and fingers move. Yes, the one that hasn’t moved (on command) since April 1st. The fingers splayed out a bit and the wrist flexed a tad—what a sight! I nearly started crying. “Wayne, your hand just moved! You moved your fingers! Try stretching again…” There wasn’t anything duplicated that time, but then a few minutes later, he did it again when he was just lying there watching TV. I was just so elated—that is so promising!!!

Saturday, May 17th: from Julie
Wayne came home today for an overnight stay. I think this helps the spouse and caretakers figure out if there are more obstacles or different hurdles anticipated prior to discharge. If there was something we didn’t think of and was an obstacle during the overnight stay, the therapists would work on it this coming week (Wayne’s last week prior to discharge).
We had a BBQ with Wayne’s older brother’s family (Craig, Pauline, Kayla, Dylan, and Jayden) and watched the kids play in the yard; the weather was just perfect for a Saturday outside.

Wednesday, May 14th: from Julie
The doctors approved an “Overnight Pass” for this Saturday night. I am excited and worried to have him home again—my role has shifted so much in our relationship, and having him home will only solidify that notion. I just want to be his best friend, his wife, and the person he chooses to hang with; I didn’t think, this early-on in our relationship, that I would be his caretaker. But, alas, we are here, and that is a role that I must take-on until he is fully recovered. Although, I got my wish: I can remember pleading on April 2nd, in the ER Family Waiting Room, that all I wanted was my best friend back and I wasn’t ready to say ‘good-bye’ and that I didn’t care if he could walk or talk, as long as he could understand who Morgan and I were… and it’s only been 44 days, and I have more than that! He is walking again, getting so close to saying more than just “Yeah”, “No”, and the sound “Wh”.

Tuesday, May 13th: from Julie
Wayne was given the “okay” to use a cane in his hospital room to go to and from the bathroom. Also, as of yesterday, Wayne has been making a ton of noises—every question we ask him, every time he would normally say something, he is uttering some sort of sound. Lots of “Yeah”s, “Nah”s, and “Ahhh”s. but, some “Wh”, “B”, and “P”s are coming out too! The speech therapist calls it “activating” or “finding his voice”. One way they do that is to have him hum a song he knows—so yesterday, since his voice seemed to be “on” since waking-up, she had him hum “Happy Birthday”. He hummed it THREE times in a row! Keep it going, Wayne—you’ll be talking soon!

Sunday, May 11th: from Julie
Today is my first mother’s day and I couldn’t be more thankful and more in awe: I have a beautiful, patient 9 week old daughter (who is loved immensely by her mommy and daddy) and I also still have my best friend by my side—Wayne survived and we get a chance to do more together in this lifetime than we have accomplished thus far.
Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

Saturday, May 10th: from Julie
Dave and Kris Hunt, really great friends of ours here in Seattle, brought Wayne and me our choice of dinner to the hospital in order to celebrate our anniversary (of when we met, not our wedding anniversary). Thanks guys! It was delicious and so appreciated.
Wayne is doing really well—although he is still listed as requiring assistance to “transfer”, I haven’t had to assist him when he transfers from his wheelchair to another chair or bed. He is actually moving that right leg over and out of the way on his own!

Thursday, May 8th: from Julie
Today we went to The Seattle Aquarium as a “Recreational Therapy” outing. Dave and Kris Hunt joined Morgan, Wayne, and me. It was great to see Wayne enjoying himself—he loves animals. Next, we’ll have to take him to the zoo. And it just felt like such a “normal” thing to do with Wayne. We probably would’ve gone there shortly after Morgan was born anyway—Wayne used to go there every few months by himself… he loves it!
I talked on the phone while I was in Wayne’s hospital room with my sister, Beth, and later with Wayne’s older brother, Craig; during each of those conversations, I put the phone to Wayne’s ear and he was moving his mouth a lot and really trying to talk. He got quite a bit of sound out actually—we’ll have to talk on the phone more in the coming days and weeks to family members.

Tuesday, May 6th: from Julie
Really starting to get a ‘normal’ stride back. He is walking 150 feet in all, with a four-point cane. Amazing, Wayne! Keep it up!!
Today is Wayne and my 9-year anniversary from the day we met. Here’s to at least 9 more!

Monday, May 5th: from Julie
The physical therapists confirmed that his quad muscles are starting to “fire” or tighten when he puts weight on that right foot.

Saturday, May 3rd: from Julie
We were moved to the “executive suite”, as the nurses called it, of the rehab floor at Harborview. I said to them, “There have been plenty of patients here longer than us—shouldn’t they move into it before us?” the nurses stated that we are such nice people and we have the baby and it just seems to suit us better than other patients and their families at the moment. That was so generous of them. So, we have a couch, a dining room table, and a refrigerator which is VERY HANDY seeing as how I’ve been trying to stash food items and milk for Wayne to eat between meals (his metabolism is still very high).
The DJ Night at The George & Dragon Pub was brilliant! What a great group of such wonderful, caring people. It was amazing to feel such support and love from all the people that know Wayne and I, as well as from complete strangers! Thanks to everyone who made that night a success!! And man did it feel good to get-my-groove-on! Haven’t done that since I was pregnant this past year—last time I really danced was June 2007 at the George & Dragon Pub in their car-park during the Solstice Parade.

Friday, May 2nd: from Julie
Today, the physical therapist said that he seems to have the mechanics of walking in his right leg but she’s not quite sure how he is doing it because the muscles aren’t “firing”. “I don’t know how he’s doing it—and I don’t care how, ‘cause he’s doing it. But I don’t know.”

May 1st:
Quick update on Wayne: He’s in therapy for several hours a day and he’s doing very well. He has been attempting to walk using the upright bars and with assistance from the therapist. He was able to move his right leg forward on his own. Still no speech, but he’s nodding and doing thumbs-up. He’s been eating on his own and is now doubling his portions. All great news. Due to Wayne’s extensive therapy, he is very tired at the end of the day. To allow him to rest and regain his energy, he is not accepting visitors at this time. Ted returns to New Zealand.

Wednesday, April 30th: from Julie
We had our first Family Conference today. In the rehab department, they have a weekly conference call with family members and update Wayne and his family on how he is doing. They were all really impressed with how hard-of-a-worker he is. They set a projected discharge date of May 24th for Wayne to come home! They suspect he will be 100% mobile within our home, and that is walking, not wheeling!!

Tuesday, April 29th: from Julie
Marsh, Wayne’s younger brother, flew over from Australia today. Wayne really was amazed to see him—thanks so much, Marsh, for coming over. It’s been so important for Wayne to see his family and I can’t imagine how much it has helped with his rehabilitation!
Wayne started pulling his right leg forward on his own! The hip flexor seems to be working!!! “Leaps and Bounds, Wayne!”

April 29th: A Thank You from Wayne's Sister, Carleen and Family.
I just wanted to send my sincerest thanks to you, and all of Wayne's wonderful mates, friends and well wishers. "The Orphan Family". I still cannot believe the amount of support, generosity and love that has been shown towards Wayne, Julie, Morgan, and our families. I am so proud of him. The support network Wayne and Julie have is immense to say the least. Many thanks for all the meals that were brought to the hospital whilst we were there also. A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE.

It was a pleasure to have met everyone, even though I know I have only scratched the surface of his many wonderful friends and 'orphan family'. Although I wish it could have been under better circumstances, it was great to meet everyone just the same. Next time we will all be partying together and celebrating how far Wayne, Julie and Morgan have come together as a family. We will all be able to let our hair down, let loose, party hard, dance hard, and 'let the good times roll'!!!

Everything just seemed so surreal and even now it is still hard to believe. But Wayne is a fighter from way back and is full of determination and energy. With the support he has from his wonderful wife and friends he will pull through this and is already progressing ahead in leaps and bounds. Nothing will keep him down for long! That's my brother! Go bro go!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I just don't know how to thank everyone.

Well guys, thanks a million and please give my love and sincerest thanks to everyone. You are all one in a million and it is a blessing to know Wayne and Julie have such wonderful support and friends. It is very frustrating living on the other side of the world, but knowing they have such awesome friends makes that light shine just that little bit brighter. :-)

April 26th: from Dave & Kris
We saw Wayne on Saturday. He’s looking good. Julie, Ted, Kris and I took him out for a stroll around the hospital garden. I’m sure it was nice to get some fresh air. It was terrific to see him out and about. He seems to be progressing every day. What we saw a couple of days ago compared to just a week ago with his communication skills is huge. His eyes are clearer, he nods and puts his thumb up when answering questions. It’s awesome. I can’t believe how far he’s come in a short amount of time. As everyone knows, he’s a fighter. I’m looking forward to the day when we can sit outside around the fire pit with him again.
The Kangaroo & Kiwi Benefit
Thank you to everyone who made the K&K Auction/Benefit such a huge success. What a fantastic turnout! It was a great night of fun with friends and support for the Bacon family. A special thanks to Brad and Patrick for opening up your pub for a wonderful evening.

Saturday, April 26th: from Julie
Wayne got to see his dad today for the first time—he was so stoked to see him walk through the door!! Yay—thanks for coming over Ted!
Ted had a great idea to take Wayne outside—so he went and asked the nurses and we got a doctor’s order that approved us to take him outside. So, we took him for a stroll outside and Wayne loved it. Really felt good to get some fresh air with Wayne and Morgan—first tie Wayne had been outside Harborview since April 2nd!
The live auction that the Kangaroo & Kiwi Pub held was AMAZING! What a great turn-out and what generosity and love
(and what fun)! Thanks so much to everyone!!!

Friday, April 25th: from Julie
First full day of “full-on” therapy—very tired and not comprehending very well this evening—therapy took a lot out of him. Ted, Wayne’s dad, arrives tonight.

Thursday, April 24th: from Julie
We were moved up to the rehab floor today! Very exciting—Wayne was getting a bit stir-crazy the last few days on the Neuro floor. Today Wayne said more words! He said, “Yeah” in response to a question and he was trying to soothe Morgan when she was fussing and said something like “Oh-do-do-do”. It was really great to hear! He also started a regular diet today—so pork chops and broccoli and ice cream and salad and cake… and he chowed it all down within 15 minutes!

Wednesday, April 23rd: from Julie
Again, amazing progress today! Wayne is nodding and shaking his head more and more and with more intent and appropriateness. This obviously makes it easier to communicate with him and I would have to guess less frustrating for him since he is able to tell people what he wants or doesn't’t want when asked. He didn’t eat quite as much today at dinner, but still did a decent job of it. As I do everyday, I tell him this is just temporary, he’s not going to be bed-ridden or dependent on others forever. “You are going to come home to us, and play cards and darts in the backyard with me, build Morgan’s Treehouse, and do everything we planned to do. Okay?” I then continue on to tell him that he’s doing things today that he wasn’t doing a day ago, and that 3 weeks ago when it happened, he couldn’t do nearly anything that he’s doing today. He looked at me, and I realized that he wasn’t sure what happened even though I’ve been telling him everyday what happened to him. I told him he had a stroke, and he looked really shocked. “Yeah, pretty freaky. But you lived, Wayne! Honestly, you could have die. But you’re here, and you’re fighting back!” So, he was a bit freaked out and saddened after I told him the whole story. Then about 3 minutes later, I changed Morgan’s diaper and then asked if he wanted to hold Morgan again. He shook his head, waved his hand indicating no, but then also got out a mumbley “No”. I opened my eyes really big and said, “ DID YOU JUST SAY ‘NO’?!?! Wayne!! That’s your first word. You haven’t said anything for 3 weeks!!! Oh my gosh.” And I kept going on and on and he had a happy, shocked, “oh my gosh” look on his face too. Then I started crying, he got a bit teary, and I said, “See! It’s temporary. This is not where you’re going to be for the rest of your life!!”

Tuesday, April 22nd: from Julie
Wayne makes progress everyday. Speech Therapy saw him today and he passed his swallow evaluation and was given water to sip on through a straw. The nurses ordered him a pureed lunch and dinner and Wayne polished both of them off nicely (or entirely). The pureed meals consist of pudding, applesauce, mashed potatoes, milk, juice, etc. I gave him a few glasses of water and I’m sure it feels so great to have fluids running down what must be a very dry throat. He was able to follow commands (verbal), do some ‘modeling’ (visual cues and commands along with verbal), and he wrote his name while the Speech Therapist worked with him: so she asked him to show her two fingers, he did; then she said, “Wiggle your fingers like this” and showed him what to do, and he did; and then she asked him to write his name, and he wrote “Momma” and then looked at it and shook his head and threw his head back a bit, sort of like, “What?! That doesn’t say ‘Wayne’.” And then wrote “MAYNE”. So, just one transposed letter, which kids do all the time with “N”s and “S”s and “E”s… that’s what I think anyway… And he got four letters right! The rehab resident/doctor said Wayne would be in Acute Inpatient Rehab for 4 – 6 weeks and then he would come home with me (which was a bit of a surprise—I didn’t think he’d come home or be ‘discharged’ so soon)! I’ve been told that it would be likely that Wayne would need 24 hour supervision at that point and would go to 2 – 4 hours of outpatient therapy a day once home. Some rare cases don’t need 24 hour supervision when they initially come home. I believe Wayne will be in that category—leaps and bounds, Wayne… leaps and bounds!!

Monday, April 21st: from Julie
Wayne and I went for a stroll today while I pushed him in his wheelchair. We took the elevator up to the 9th floor to the ICU Waiting Room where I sat with Morgan and so many family members and great friends during the first week of his recovery. On the way there, we passed a Coca-Cola vending machine and as we passed it, he tried to grab it and pull himself back to it. I backed him up to it and he pushed the buttons and I said, “You’re not swallowing yet. I wish so badly that I could give you a cola to drink, Wayne, but you have to swallow first.” Morgan is doing really well. She will be 6 weeks tomorrow. Wayne holds her everyday and just looks at her in wonder, as any parent looks at their newborn. He helps me Velcro her diapers, pull up her pants and her socks, and zip up her ‘sleepers’. She is such a good and sweet baby—her patient and mellow demeanor fit into our lives straight away, but now it’s even more of a blessing since her and I are being stretched to our limits to support and help heal her daddy and my best friend and husband.

April 18
Wayne has been diagnosed with Graves’ Disease. This is the direct link to the stroke. He has started therapy and is doing well, but tires easily. He still needs a lot of rest to keep his strength up for therapy.

April 17
Andrea and Pop return to New Zealand.

April 15
Beth returns to Minnesota, Anita returns back to Seattle.

April 14
The last 2 days have been great with glimmers of Wayne's personality and humor coming through. He has rolled his eyes at Julie, continues to smile and attempt to laugh with us. He holds Morgan most of the time and strokes her head and even tried to put her pacifier back
in her mouth. He failed the swallow study, which in turn means that he will get a permanent feeding tube that goes directly into his stomach (a PEG tube).This will be good in some respects because he can get the tube out of his nose and it will prevent him from getting food into his lungs which could cause an infection. It will be done under local anesthesia. I am not sure if speech therapy will reevaluate his swallow one more time before this is done or not.
A question that we will ask today. Progress continues to be good and we look forward to seeing how he does with PT and OT today. The next few days will determine where he will go, intensive rehab therapy, or a skilled nursing home where he would have time to gain strength and heal until he is ready for more intensive therapies.

April 10
Carleen & Craig returns to New Zealand.

April 7
It sounds like Wayne is doing better. The swelling is going down and he's trying to express himself more. Doctors have encouraged Julie to speak to him and explain what has happened. They are also hoping to move him out of ICU in the next day or two. It's great to hear.

April 3
Julie's Family - Merrill, Beth, Ken & Elsa arrive from Minnesota.
Wayne's Family - Andrea, Pop, Carleen & Craig arrive from New Zealand.
After he had the surgery last night there was a lot of edema and some tissue damage. Danyelle and I are heading to the airport now to pick up Julie’s family. Wayne’s family flying in tonight at 6:00. Julie would still like anyone and everyone to come to the hospital. Wayne is now on the 9th floor in ICU. We can meet there for a while. If there are too many people to fit in the room there then we’ll head back down to the cafeteria.

April 2
Wayne is being moved to Harborview now. His brain is swelling and they will need to remove a portion of the skull to relieve the pressure. Julie has said everyone is welcome to come and support them. Dave and I will be heading over there in a few hours.

April 1
Julie's Mom, Anita, arrives from Minnesota.
Wayne suffered a stroke at home around 5pm. Julie's mother, Anita, had just arrived 3 hours earlier to visit her new granddaughter. Thankfully, having both Julie and Anita present was crucial in acting quickly for Wayne's care.