Tobias' Recovery

 Sorry.  Forgot to take a picture of Tobias today.  I'll add it tomorrow. I'm encouraged by the progress that Tobias is making week-to-week.  When he arrived in Germany he went several steps backward.  The first hospital he stayed was quite unhelpful toward his recovery, but he stabilized quickly in the rehabilitation facility and has made progress each week.   Up until March, his progress was scant, but there is no doubt that he was improving.  The pace of his progress since March, however, has increased.  He spoke today more frequently than ever since the injury and he is becoming stronger in his movements.  His left side is still unresponsive, with the exception of the occasional, potentially unintentional movement of his left arm.  His right arm is quicker and he never failed to respond when I asked him to answer by moving his arm.  Several times today he volunteered a thumbs up or down answer to questions with binary respo...

  Tobias has continued to make slow progress.  In fact, I think he has advanced more than I have in this period.  He is speaking words and short phrases with better clarity and frequency and his movements have become more consistent.  On the other hand, I still battle, many times unsuccessfully, with a wave of emotion when I see a picture of his former glory or experience his condition first hand and realize the vibrancy of life that we have all lost.  I'm with Tobias today and he is napping in his bed, giving me a chance to cobble together a blog post that is long overdue. I should probably first address the fact that neither Katja nor I have updated the blog.  I hesitate to speak for Katja, but I think that she finds it difficult to blog.  English isn't her native language and emotionally she battles a more difficult foe than I do.  Reliving the experiences that she manages during he day by wrestling her fears and anxieties is an invitation to g...