Memorial Service

For those of you who missed the memorial service for Austin and Lori

here is a copy of the service bulletin.  Although those at the service

were mournful for the loss of Lori and Austin the atmosphere was much

more about the bright memories we all have of them.  The service was a

celebration of their lives and the legacy they leave behind through

their family and the friends they touched.  Greg, Summer and Tia sat

in the front row and held each other through the service and it was

apparent they were bolstered by the outpouring of support they

received.  I know it was reassuring to sit up there with the church

packed behind them with so many of the individuals who have been

providing constant direct and indirect support for the family.  Thank

you to everyone who attended and sent their love.

Greg:

Since Greg has been home things have been progressing slowly.  His

legs have continued to be his weakest point and are not healing as

quickly as he'd like.  The risk of infection in his legs is still

there and will continue as long as the metal support in them remains.

He has recently been able to stop the use of IV antibiotics; which is

a huge positive step.  Tim Willis and Diane Smith continue to be

Greg's primary care takers providing day and night support for Greg

and the girls.  Greg continues to receive in home care from a variety

of nurses and physical therapists almost daily.  Greg recently had the

feeding tube removed and now is receiving all of his nutrition orally.

 This is another huge positive for Greg and his caretakers as now Greg

can be much more self sufficient.  Tube feeding and IV antibiotics

were usurping huge chunks of the caretakers days and forcing Greg to

remain in bed or stuck in a single location for long periods of time.

Greg has started coming back into the office to do some work a few

hours per week and the office staff is extremely excited to see him.

The best news on Greg now is that he's been given the green light to

stand!  Although his legs are not fully healed by any means, his

doctors have allowed him to bear weight on his right leg and stabilize

himself with his left.  This will grant Greg the ability to start the

full rehab work of getting walking again.

Summer:

I wish I had more to say about Summer but she's just a normal 12 year

old girl... everyday she seems to be more and more recovered from the

accident and back on to life.  She is enjoying school as much as any

12 year old, spending huge amounts of time with friends and doing

homework.  She is set to have some hardware removed from her legs in

the next 30 days and is not looking forward to the surgery.  This

procedure will be a set back in her recovery but will allow her body

to move more naturally and grow normally as she gets older.

Tia:

Like Summer, Tia is doing extremely well and appears to be enjoying

life.  She is doing well in school, in her own class, participating in

class sports and keeping up.  She spends a whole lot of time with her

friends and can be found working on homework with Barb Willis almost

every night.  Both of the girls are constantly spending huge amounts

of time with Greg in his room snuggling and watching TV together