MARCH 18, 2008
Happy Birthday to my Dad, Chuck Forsman.
Love from your family. Jody
January 11, 2008
I truly welcome the beginning of a new year. So many
things happened.....so many families hurt.....still hurting.
Our holiday was wonderful although in my heart I was
feeling so very sad for all the families who lost a loved
one. I was so close to being one of them. Many times
I play over and over in my head the scans of Sean's
injury and the comments made by so many doctors....
'you are a lucky boy'....there has to be a guardian
angel watching over Sean.
We are trying to get some order back into our lives
and start the new year fresh.....we have been
spared the pain of loss so we will begin anew and
try to help those who need our support now.
Sean started a video diary of himself
and the progress of his nerve graph.
To date, there has been no change but he is
not discouraged, not in the least. He studys
for his actuarial job on a daily basis - he has
applied to ING and AIG but we haven't heard
anything yet. I still am amazed, and proud,
that anyone can love math that much....yuk!!
At some point, I may be able to pursuade
him to put the video diary on the website,
but for now, my shy guy will just keep it to
himself.
He's been spending a lot of time with his
friends lately and its so nice to see him being
accepted back into the crowd again. Thanks
again to everyone for respecting our privacy
and giving Sean time to deal with this in his
own way.
Hear, hear to a new year, Jody
December 10, 2007HAPPY, HAPPY HOLIDAY TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
Nothing new on Sean to date. I do, however, catch
him staring at his face in the mirror to see if there is
any movement. We realize its probably too soon,
but you can't stop wishing. As I sympathize with
many of my friends over the loss of loved ones, I
truly count my blessings having Sean home for the
holidays. Sean studied faithfully everyday since
October for the upcoming actuary test, but due to the
move we made mid-November, his study guide was
misplaced and unfortunately he didn't pass his
actuary test. He's OK with it because now he has an
idea of what questions are going to be asked and
what type of problems he needs to study. He has
applied for a job with ING in West Chester, PA and
a friend, Lou McCall is submitting his resume to his
company. If you know of any actuary jobs available
in the Philadelphia area, please let me know. He is
so ready to get to work. Hopefully, you had a
chance to see the Flyers (hockey) presentation on
youtube. I was so overwhelmed with happiness for
Sean that I cried, especially when the entire
Wachovia center stood up for him. They treated us
like celebrities and we had sooooo much fun. After
the game Sean went down to the locker room and
met with some of the players. He had a great time.
Again, thank you so very much for your support and
have a SUPER WONDERFUL HOLIDAY.
oxoxox Jody
Sean's Progress Report: 10-15-2007
WE ARE HOME!! Hurray!! No offense to New
York City, but living with a 23 yr. Old adult male....I
love my kid, but WHEW, we definitely needed some
space. Anyway I've tried to start this message to you
several times but it seems to be very
bittersweet.....kind of like the end of a journey with
all of you. I may not know all of you, but I know
that if I needed you, you were there. For those who
don't have time right now for details, SEAN IS A O
K!!
On Monday, I left him around 7:30 a.m. and after
finishing my 3rd novel (that's right, I read 3 books
since arriving in NY) around 3:30 they told me Sean
was done. It took until 5 pm before I was allowed in
recovery. I walked up and said, "OMG you look
great, Sean". Amazingly the cuts they made on both
sides of his face ran right in front of his ear, down
under his ear lobe, up behind his ear and down his
neck about 2". I don't know what I was really
expecting to see, but my thought was way worse
than reality. He stayed in recovery for about 2
hours, then we went to "Roosevelt 14B" which is the
exclusive "hotel-like" floor where a family member
can actually stay in the room with the patient. They
originally were going to keep him in ICU for the
night, but apparently they were full and the doctor
knew I would be with him to oversee the situation.
After playing nursemaid for 5 days, my hat is off to
all nurses.....and you know what....you can have that job,
I'll stay with real estate. Sean was quite
uncomfortable the entire time....he had drains
behind his ears and on the back of his leg and they
didn't remove them until Thursday afternoon, so
basically Sean laid in a prone position for 4 days.
Because of the drains he couldn't walk very easily
even though physically therapy was in the day after
surgery. What we didn't expect was the pain he felt
in his leg. He has counted 50 staples up the back of
his left leg. For those who don't know, the Dr.
removed the nerve in his leg to use in his face. The
original plan was to stay in a hotel suite generously
donated to us by Kim P.(THANKS SO MUCH
KIM), surgery would have been Thursday then we
would have taken Sean out of the hospital to
recooperate in the hotel and come home on
Tuesday. The plan was great. Well you know what
they say about the 'best laid plans'. Having the
surgery on Monday just threw everything out of
wack and unfortunately we had to cancel the Flyers
Opening Night game that we were invited to. It was
really great that I could stay with Sean at the
hospital and I know now that there is no way I
would have been comfortable taking him back to the
hotel. Roosevelt 14B was very nice and we had great
food and 'tea time' around 3 pm everyday, and once
again, we were living for hockey....any hockey game
would do. If you remember, hockey is what kept
Sean from going totally stir-crazy back in Virginia.
Everyday, we would start with 'do you think we can
go home tomorrow?' and 'is there a game on
tonight?' We wanted to get home, but we also didn't
want to have to drive back up to get stitches out.
They did take the stitches out on Friday and because
Sean was progressing quickly.....from a walker to
crutches, they said he could leave on Friday instead
of Saturday. Dr. Costantino did a wonderful job
with the help of Dr. Heltzig, however the success of
this procedure is not immediate. It will take
approximately 3 weeks for his leg to heal fully and
we may not see any results from the surgery for
possibly a year. I promise to update you with
anything exciting, but I will most likely try to get
back into 'my groove' and Sean will be working
toward taking his actuarial test and hopefully
getting a job come the beginning of the year. I
thank everyone, again, for they're support, prayers
and warm wishes. If you would like to contact me
personally, feel free to do so at
jodymcquade@hotmail.com. Live for the day and if
it feels right, do it!!
OXOXOX Jody
Sean's Progress Report: 10-07-2007
For those anxiously awaiting the results of the
operation.....there has been a change in plans.
Originally scheduled for Thursday, we were bumped
because Dr. C. had to assist with a patient with
a brain tumor and that surgery was taking longer
than expected. Sean was rescheduled for Friday
@ 1 pm. So Thursday from 9 until 1 we waited,
then Friday from 9:30 to 2 we waited.....today
the operating room was not available at the Dr's
requested time & we could have waited but it was
getting late, and the Dr's preferred O.R. team
wouldn't be available after 3 pm.....so we are
waiting until 7:30 a.m. Monday. Remember, both
days Sean was fasting from the night before & we
all didn't eat until after we got done waiting.
Sean will definitely make up for that this week-
end, I'm sure.
I know how you feel. But rest assured Sean was
quick with his decision to wait until Monday...
he felt the odds were against him to do it today..
not that anything would have happened, but we all
feel better waiting until Monday. There's only
one problem now, opening night @ the Flyers game,
which we were invited to go, may have to be
cancelled. We'll just have to wait & see. It's
not that he can't go, its just that his leg will
have stitches and his face will be stitched and
black & blue...not going to be a pretty site, plus
I'm sure he will want to whoop & holler for his
favorite hockey team, so he'd rather wait....we'll
see.
Update you on Monday....Jody
Sean's Progress Report: 10-02-2007
We are getting ready to leave for NYC and before I forget, which
I personally will never do, I want to thank BOTTO'S ITALIAN LINE
RESTAURANT, Henry, Robert and the entire Botto family for the very
generous donation to Sean. We had a an extremely delicious dinner
and Sean had the biggest steak you can fit on a plate....ate the
whole thing! Thank you so very much.
I don't usually single out certain people, because I just couldn't
possibly thank everyone who has been a part of our lives these
past 6 months without missing someone, but this one person, Kim
Pallies, whom I have never met, has managed to arrange our entire
stay during the surgery in NYC. I will be thanking her for the
rest of my life for this extreme over-the-top contribution to make
our lives easier, just one less thing I had to worry about, not
to mention the financial burden this would have been. Thank you
so very much, Kim.
Just wanted to get this in before I go. I will be back on-line
once the surgery is over.....or possibly something else that may
happen...Dr. Constantino has requested a last minute consultation.
I won't even try to guess what this is about.
Check back with me soon, Jody
Sean's Progress Report: 9-27-2007To sue or not to sue....that is the question.
As I slowly progress through the reading of
the entire report from the Virginia Tech
review panel (if you want a copy just let me
know), I am constantly saying to myself 'they
should have and could have done it different'.
My daughter goes to Rowan University and they
had a fire drill the other day and sent everyone
a text message and e-mail so they wouldn't be
upset if they heard sirens or whatever.
My
older son is also in college. You may have
guessed by now.....I'm on 'high alert' and my
anxiety level is peaking. Honestly, if a
nuclear power plant can sound a siren of danger
throughout a 5 mile radius in seconds, how is
it that we can't notify students of impending
danger, whether real or suspected.
Sean and I occasionally talk about a lawsuit
and he has no real desire to sue anybody, just
so long as his medical bills are covered and,
at this point, no one is committing to that
resolve. I don't really care who did or didn’t
do something - the report shows that there were
mistakes made.....all I know is that these kids
were hurt or killed on their watch and they
should be responsible to do whatever it takes.
You know, I start everyday saying that I'm going
to do something for myself, and yet here I am...
I just can't seem to find time to take away from
this 'new life' that we have been thrown into.
Its not that I'm obsessed or anything about the
tragedy, its that I need to be proactive about
handling things....to make sure that he is
getting the best that I can provide....no
matter what that is. I have a lot of support
with family and friends, together with my new
friends born from tragedy....it just amazes me
the amount of energy and time this consumes.
To top it off, since the EMG came back negative
Sean wants to get the facial surgery over with
- its scheduled for October 4th – therefore we
are running around getting pre-op testing, chest
x-ray, blood tests, etc. and no more Sam Adams
'Octoberfest' after this weekend!
I actually had the 'coconuts' to ask ABC for a
Trip to Disney for all of the students and
families that participated in the interview.
In my mostly jumbled mind, I was thinking that
Superbowl winners get to go to Disney, shouldn't
these kids 'winners of life' go to Disney.
In my previous life, I would never have said
something like that, but lately I just seem to
say what's on my mind....not an endearing
quality sometimes.
Jeeze, I sound like a madwoman... I'm not...
really. Just love my kids, that's all.
I will update you after surgery.
OXOX Jody
Sean's Progress Report: 9-10-2007
Its been a very anxious week since I last
updated you. As I mentioned Thursday was the
EMG (electromyogram) which registers
muscle/nerve activity with acupuncture-like
needles attached to a machine. I know this
sounds weird but if the machine registers no
sound then the nerve & corresponding muscles
are working correctly.....if you hear rain
drop-like sounds, then the nerve/muscle is
abnormal.....unfortunately we heard rain drops.
The doctor tested several places and all
registered the same sound. Friday we met Dr.
Swartz at Wills Eye Hospital and had the gold
weight sewn into his eyelid. I have to tell
you, both Morgan and I had a very long moment
of fear seeing Sean struggle back from
anesthesia. But once he was awake, he again
became so very funny. He has a very quick and
clever wit about him when hes semi-conscience
and with no inhibition. He "highly recommended
(that the nurse have) a few Octoberfest (Samuel
Adams) beers while watching the Eagles
game.....he wouldnt be disappointed". When the
nurse asked Sean what he studied in school and
found out he was a math major he asked Sean
how a baseball field is mathematically
constructed. He hesitated for a split-second
and then went into a long dissertation about
the configuration of a baseball field.
Amazing!
Today is Sunday and with the cold
compresses and rest his eye lid looks good ( I
guess as good as an eyelid can look considering
his got this hunk of metal in it). There's
just a little bit of swelling so we can't
really tell if its working as we
anticipate....but we'll find out soon enough.
Now to tell Dr. Constantino the EMG wasn't
positive.....which means that we have to start
planning for the nerve graph face cross over
operation. My heart fills with dread just
typing those words, so I have to tell myself
'he's just getting a face lift at age 23'.
He's been through so much I just pray everyday
that the steps we take now payoff in the
future.
Sean is looking forward to the future.
He was working on his resume and is actively
trying to contact Watson Wyatt who he briefly
spoke with back in March. I have many good
friends helping me to contact companies who
have actuary openings. I think that if Sean
can get a few interviews in before the
operation, he will have some good feelings of
hope for the future.
I realize and hear many
times that its very hard for people to imagine
what we are going through. I, too, can't
believe all that is involved with this most
days - my home office, where Ryan has a bed,
looks like a tornado went through.....but I
know where everything is.....amazing!
Thanks again for staying in touch with us.. Jody
Sean's Progress Report: 8-30-2007
Unfortunately we've been back to the eye doctor..
the abrasion opened up again. Dr. Heisman
referred us to a cornia specialist, Dr. Ringel,
whom we've seen several times in the last week.
He put a contact on his eye to act as a Band-Aid
..it worked. In less than a week the abrasion is
healed. So to further help protect his eye, we
are seeing another eye surgeon to have a gold
weight sewn into his eyelid. We met with Dr.
Swartz who is an associate of Wills Eye Hospital
and are going through with the surgery on his
eyelid. The weight, which is designed like a
curved plate about 1/4 inch wide (I know its
kinda big) will be sewn into a pocket the doctor
will created in his eyelid. Gravity will pull
the eyelid down when Sean conscientiously closes
his eye. It doesn't work if he just blinks...
he has to actually relax the muscle that holds
the eyelid up. The main reason Sean wants to do
this is because the nerve graph surgery may take
another 6+ months to actually work and his eye
will be exposed that much longer if he doesn't
do this now. And, of course, it can be reversed.
Even though the surgery is scheduled for Sept.7
and the nerve graph for sometime later this
month, I still think of the dream that Laurie
Ellis had of Sean smiling... with his whole face,
not just half. After today, that might just
happen sooner than we think. He's scheduled for
an EMG (electromyogram)(sp?) to see if the nerves
and muscles are responding in any way.
If they are...well I don't know what will happen
next, but it will be a happy day.
Gotta have hope!! OXOX Jody
Sean's Progress Report: 8-19-2007
Sean and I have been at Virginia Tech
since Thursday night getting ready for
the ABC interview.....and thats the
last time I saw him.....until yesterday,
Saturday. It OK because I really
think being here has helped Sean have
a more normal end to his college years.
I wasn't sure how we would feel coming
back here but after driving around, I
understand, once again how truly awesome
this place is. I visited all the places
I went to throughout the years Sean was
here and its even better than it was.
The buildings made of Hokie stone, the
stadium, the drill field... they are all
so impressive.
There's an inspirational 'feeling' that
makes you really want to go to college
here.
The interview was held off campus at a
gorgeous B&B called Rockwood Manor in
Dublin, VA (540-674-1328). Sara, her
husband and son, run the B&B and they
made our day so very special. Bob
Woodruff, Christine, Meena, Jim and all
the crew from ABC did a great job making
the kids feel comfortable and unpressured.
The interview, which will air on ABC
Monday evening at 6:30, pm is a tiny...
a very tiny... glimpse into what the
injured students have had to endure and
what they anticipate for the future. Little
pieces of the interview might be aired on
GMA Monday morning and there may even be
pieces on Sunday am & pm. I purposely tried
to hide and did not participate in the
parent interview... then I heard chicken
sounds coming from Bob.
It was very heartwarming to see all the
students laughing and crying and hugging.
These kids didn't ask for the hand they were
dealt, but they are all so intelligent, and
they handled themselves so very well, I'm
sure they will all end up winners. As for
me, I truly welcome the new friendships
that have begun today. Putting a face with
the names has made such a difference. The
faces you will see in the interview are our
kids... just a few of the many who had to
witness this tragic event and for most, will
re-live it many times over in the future.
As they say, "Time heals all wounds" but
the scars will remain.
I wish them all the best and then some more!
Jody
Sean's Progress Report: 8-16-2007
I had to trash the previous draft simply because
I was starting to rant and rave and there is too
much good news to be depressed today.
As you
may know, we went to NYC on Tuesday (jeeze I
hate getting caught in all that traffic!)
We met with Dr. Bovino who we asked to evaluate
Sean’s jaw joint and give us the "worst case
scenario" on what he plans to do during surgery.
He spent a lot of time poking and probing then
After consulting with Dr. Constantino, decided
there was no need to replace the jaw joint.
WHAT? you may ask... so did I. The doc said
that most patients need replacement of this
joint because of the lack of motion and the
fact that Sean can open and move his mouth
considerably more than they had anticipated...
well, there's no need for that surgery. HURRAY!
Then we met with Dr. Constantino, again, who will
be doing the nerve replacement surgery. After
looking at Sean's xrays again, he turns around
and says "boy, you are so lucky to be alive".
It’s truly a miracle... the path the bullet was
on... well we'll not talk about that. So the
doc just sits there looking over Sean's face and
says "I don't think I have to go into your
'brain case' (aka skull) to attach the nerve".
Again, WHAT? you may ask....and I did, again.
He said that attaching the 'trunk' of the nerve
back together wouldn't guarantee optimal results.
The best way is to do the face-crossover...
Attaching each individual nerve with the
identical nerve on the opposite side. Doc said
it’s like an 8 - 10 hour surgery and he would
definitely need to eat his Wheaties that day!!
The downside... it may still take 6 months to
know if it actually worked.
All in all it was a good day and there not this
dread hanging over his head worry about surgery.
The face-crossover is more like 'face lift
surgery'. People do that every day. He'll
probably schedule that sometime in September.
ABC did film a bit of the doctors visit so you
may see it soon along with the injured student
Interview with Bob Woodruff coming up probably
on August 20th.
Jody
Sean's Progress Report: 8-9-2007
Last night was, again, one of those sleepless
nights where my mind just wanders back to the
beginning......when our nice quiet little world
changed.
I pretty much have it down now and I race
through all the events, remembering little things
that I had forgotten. But mostly, I dwell on the
gifts of the heart that have been presented to us
over this period of time and are still coming our
way.
Yesterday, a fellow realtor from Virginia
(that I don't know personally), who has been
following Sean's progress, remembered that Sean
liked Coney Island hotdogs. UPS arrived at my
office with a present for Sean.....dry iced Coney
Island Hot Dogs. We sat around at dinner and had
a grand time eating hot dogs and remembering our
trips back and forth to the hospital and sneaking
Coney Dogs in. We tried not to let Sean know we
had them cause his mouth was wired and he couldn't
eat, but he sure could smell them!
Sean and I will be back in NYC soon for a
visit with the maxofacial surgeon that will be
working on replacing his TMJ (jaw joint). He's
having a bit of trouble chewing correctly because
the muscles are lax and the joint isn't keeping
his jaw in line. He's very much into eating fish
these days since it's easy to chew and he feels
the "brain" food is good for helping to restore
his damaged nerves. Dr. Harden from Virginia,
told Sean it could take up to 6 months for nerves
to regenerate, so before the nerve replacement
surgery, which we are preparing for and hope
doesn't have to happen, Sean will continue to eat
healthy with the hope that he can heal himself.
He does, however, like to indulge on Philly Soft
Pretzels these days.... or is it just me that
wants just a little bite?
Sean has started his own Chess Club in Mullica
Hill.Its only once a week but we have been
having a great time and when players are late,
I get a detailed lesson on correctly placing
my pieces. I'm by no means a good chess player,
but I can hold my own.....unless Sean's just
giving 'ol mom a break....probably the latter.
I still drive Sean around to wherever he needs
to go since we sold his car, but his Grand-
father is spending a lot of time working on
picking out just the right one when the time
comes. Sean is very adamant about getting
a vehicle that has good gas mileage. He's
always cutting me up about my Ford Truck,
which he has nicknamed "the tank". Can't fault
"the tank" too much....it got me down to Sean,
through rain, and wind and all that mother
nature threw my way that day.
Keep you eye on the news August 19 -21st. I
Don't really know when it will air, but you
will see Sean and his fellow students in an
exclusive interview with Bob Woodruff of ABC.
Bob says he's going to get me on camera too,
but we'll see about that!
Jody
Sean's Progress Report: 7-30-2007 This weekend had all of us smiling for a change.
Thanks to Philadelphia's IBEW Local 98, Sean
was invited to attend a Phillies baseball game
and as a guest of honor, threw out a pitch to
the Philly Phanatic. He really enjoyed himself
and so did we.
We just got back from a meeting in Trenton, NJ
with Ken Feinberg. Mr. Feinberg was appointed
to find out from the families of the deceased &
injured, just how we feel about distribution of
the Hokie Fund. The meeting did touch....
deeply & emotionally, I might add....on the
disappointment of how things were handled
from the very begining. Mr. Feinberg did make
notations about how we felt, but my feeling
is he already knows what they intend to do
and is just humoring us with the meeting. It
was even over exactly when it was scheduled
to be over....how ironic! Our family has talked
about what we expect should happen, but after
today I don't believe that Virginia Tech, which
is a state college, or the State of Virginia will
be helping us with our needs ....we're on our own.
Tomorrow Sean goes back to the eye doctor and
hopefully she will give us good news. He has
been faithfully applying the drops every hour for
almost 3 weeks straight. Its been difficult,
but he's a very good patient. He may have
scarring on the cornia but hopefully the
abrasion is healed.
Wednesday we will have a celebration. Sean will
be 23 yrs. old and it will truly be a celebration
of life. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SEAN.
Thanks for visiting, until next time...
Jody
Sean's Progress Report: 7-12-2007Is it already the middle of summer!! I can't
believe how time flies. Come Monday it will
be 3 months since we began the long road to
recovery. Mostly everything has been fine
since the angiogram came back OK. We decided
to take a short trip to the beach and thanks
to Joe Sheppard and his assistant, Amy, we
had a really good time.
It wasn't until we returned that we encountered
a "bump in the road"....well maybe not a bump
but a bolder!
Inadvertently, Sean must have gotten something
in his eye which caused a severe abrasion (cut)
on his cornea. I have never in my life seen an
eye soooooo red. A person with sensation and
feeling would have felt severe pain upon getting
the cut, but Sean feels nothing so we didn't
know that anything was wrong. We have been
to the eye doctor everyday for the past 10 days.
Sean also gave in to my desire for him to have
prescription sunglasses....I had to fight with
him over it because "Mr. Bargain Hunter" didn't
want me to spend the money. I told him it was
to protect his eye from sun, wind,debris..maybe
it can't protect eye but reduce the chances for
a problem. We take so many things for granted
with our eyes....Sean doesn't even squint when
the suns too bright....he can't. Anyway, the
sunglasses look really cool on him and it hides
his eye so I think he feels better about going
out. Finally on Tuesday, Dr. Heisman said she
felt the abrasion was getting better. It's
taking longer than normal only because the
"healing" tears that are distributed when we
blink....well we know that doesn't work....yet.
I have some other stuff to tell you..won't be
long.
Jody
Today, while at rehab, I was thinking that everyone should have to volunteer and work with all the people, young and old, that need help, just like they do with 'jury duty'. Then we all might drive slower (after seeing a young person crippled from an accident), eat healthier (after seeing a middle aged person recover from a stoke), get rid of the guns (after we see a person try to get their life back after being shot). Being at this place is truly a humbling experience and I commend all the people who work there with their calm and positive attitudes. They all do a really great job with Sean, too, so most days when he's done all his therapy, he's starving and the closest place is Tony Luke's' Cheese-steaks. I think Mack & Manco Pizza's got some competition.
Today there was a special appointment with the psychologist who determined, after extensive questioning, that Sean is of sound mind and doesn't need therapy. That doesn't mean that we won't talk about things.... communication is extremely important no matter what the circumstances. The fact of the matter is, Sean doesn't have any memory of the horror that erupted around him. He was unconscious and I am truly thankful for that. Heck, I'm thankful for a lot of things these days.
Today I am just overwhelmed with so many things running through my brain about Sean, first and foremost, but also about everyone and everything. No one, save the one person I dumped on today (thanks for listening Joann) has any idea of all the plans that have to be made, all the questions that need to be answered....what does the future hold, for Sean, for me, for all of those affected by this tragedy. Most days I just deal with one issue at a time, but today....I need a break from my thoughts....so I went to my e-mail to pull up this prayer that a customer of mine sent. Thank you so much, Erma & Fortunato, for giving me this 'anchor' to hold on to.
We finally made it to Wills Eye Hospital the other day. Detailed evaluation of his right eye revealed no damage to the optic nerve. We are so relieved.....so why is his vision worse than before the accident. I was watching while Sean read the eye chart and was having a lot of difficulty seeing the letters and then Dr. Savino rubbed his eyeball (with his eyelid) and to me was actually kind of hard, but I knew Sean couldn't really feel it so I guessed its was OK. He starts reading the letters he couldn't see just seconds before. I'm like....what's the deal? the doctor said that the medicine, Blephamide, that is supposed to be an antibacterial ointment, was loaded with debris and covering his eye so much that his vision was impaired
more than it actually was. I was also told that if you have a family history of glaucoma you should never use this medicine because it has steroids in it. I was very impressed with Wills and very happy to hear there is no damage to his eye. We will be visiting our family eye doctor for follow-ups and hopeully, when Sean is all better, he can get Lasiks. The graduation present I promised him was Lasik eye surgery....once all is OK he should be able to get that. When I got my eyes done 2 yrs ago, I was a bit nervous, but compared to what Sean has been through....Lasiks is a piece of cake!
Today Sean went swimming. I wasn't too concerned because my Dad's pool had a salt water conversion last year so there are no chemicals in the water to further damage his eye. Sean gave me a heart attack when he decided he would jump off the diving board. I suppose I will be a bit jumpy from now on about everything....at least for a while. I didn't jump up and scream or anything, but I wanted to.
He also said goodbye to his car. He really can't drive right now so there's really no reason to let it sit around. It was a great car, thanks to my Dad. I'm quite sure there are a lot of memories....probably ones I really don't want to know about! Funny thing is I always used to worry about Sean driving back and forth from Virginia. I would always keep calling to see if he was OK since the trip is 7+/- hours. My biggest fear was that he would get into an accident....getting hurt in a classroom wasn't even conceivable....
I still am amazed at how quickly life can change. I remember only 6 weeks ago, living a life of simple routine with a few property showings thrown in for variety. Wasn't really getting the quantity of good real estate deals....not like the past few years. Morgan and I really never sat down to dinner, we were on different schedules. It was almost boring....go to work, come home, straighten up, play with the dog and watch TV....everyday. Now, I feel like a race horse at the gate when I wake up, run around and around, and hope I cross the finish line completing the goals I set out to accomplish that day. I don't care if I'm really busy because it keeps my mind occupied....keeps me from dwelling on the question....'what would I do if Sean didn't make it home to me'. The minute the thought hits my brain I shake if off and thank God everyday for not having to be the parent whose kid didn't make it home.
I took Sean out to visit with some of his friends on Friday night. I think he really enjoyed himself. I got a little worried when it got dark because I remember Dr. Bigelow telling us that Sean will have problems in the dark. The typical person's vision is diminished because of no light so he could actually fall over because the eyes won't see the 'horizon' or something that will register in his brain that he is actually falling or standing up straight, for that matter. All of this because his equilibrium is off because of the broken ear canal. We were told it may take months for his brain to readjust to the new signals, or actually lack of signals.
Thanks to Mack and Manco Pizza for sending some up to us on Friday. Sean says "its delicious" and can't wait to get to the shore for more. This week we will see the doctor at Wills Eye Hospital for an evaluation and they have scheduled the angiogram for next week.
