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...

Dear Family and Friends, 2021 has been quite a year for us. Tyler and I decided in 2021 to stay a while longer in Germany. We made this decision in the beginning of the year. That let to the decision to purchase a house and selling our home on the East Coast, West Hartford, CT. Selling our home were the children grew up in, were we made so many fond memories was a tough decision but the right one at the end. Life moves on and it was time to let go. Being close to our daughter Emily in Berlin, Germany, and her lovely family has been important to us.  Tobias decided to stay in the US to continue on with his studies in Biotechnology. He got the opportunity to work in a lap to participate actively with his professor  researching antibiotic resistent bacteria. He had fun collecting "poop" and collecting the proper data so that the future generation can be a bit safer. We knew that he is in the right spot and we were  content with it. As parents, we know that at some point in l...

  Dear Family and Friends,     Christmas was rather wired as you might have expected. My dad said that he had plenty of very nice Christmas’, one bad one will make no difference. It will teach us to appreciate the next Christmas even more. Mom remembered her Christmas in 2003. She was very ill, down with the flue and strep. It was no fun but the next 18 years and brought many years of joyful Christmas’s. They were just fun and very memorable.   I do want to mention that Dad, Sebastian and Emily with her family came to visit. We went on a nice walk and opened up some presents. I am not sure how I will talk about this Christmas in the future, will I even remember?     Only time will tell, I guess. I do have issues with sleeping, I had those issues since little, but nevertheless, I got so used to it, that I never thought anything of it. I used to be awake for hours before I was able to rest and sleep. My mom always wanted to address it, but medication was...

  Dear Friends and Family,   It has been a pretty cool day guy’s. Let me tell you, Covid-19 has changed a lot in my personal life, in the life of my family and of course in your life. Germany tests a lot. Here, in my new place at the REHA, mom and me and so everyone else is being tested 3 times a week. It is brutal. The nurses go up so high, that the pain is unbearable at times. Mom cries every time a little bit. I can’t express feelings so well yet, but the pain is visible on my face. I think Mom liked her test in the US better, the girl basically just touched the lower part on the inside of her nose. Well, different expectations or more empathy, whatever, I hate the tests but understand that the clinic needs to be rather safe than sorry. Who wants to be in a lockdown, right?!    Emily came to visit us with little Eloise. I really wished that I could have played with her like before. That was not possible, nevertheless Eloise decided to play with be instead. Mom was...

  Dear Friends and Family,   What can I say, it has not been an easy week for me or my family. I have mastered another move, this time from the hospital to a REHA Clinic for kids and young people. As we all know, a move costs energy, even though if you are not the one doing the work.  Since I am not mobile yet, what I mean with this, I still cannot walk or reposition myself in bed. Just in case you wonder: Yes, I cannot get dressed by myself either, … and you are right, … I cannot use the bathroom by myself.  It’s hard, but do not worry, it’s just a process and I will relearn and reclaim my independence in time. My mom jocks at times and wonders if my table manners will improve since I am relearning the basics again.  Who knows, it will be exciting to find out. Dear God, I tried to be a good fellow over the years, have mercy on me. Teaching me to stay humble under such rough circumstances feels a bit harsh, but maybe there are more lessons to learn for...

  December 15th: My day at the hospital was rather slow and uneventful. My mom would not say so, because of a mistake the nurse(s) made today. One of the morning nurses did not check off her 2 pm feeding so the second nurse came in and fed Tobias again at 3:30 pm. She was in a rush and decided to speed up the process. I did not like it and threw up a lot....A LOT! My mom was upset with the nurse. The nurse did not know what to do at that moment, so my mom had to take over, get a dish for me and start cleaning up. The nurse then got help and took over.  I felt like in between and was not able to say anything to calm my mom down and to tell the nurse that it is ok., that I am ok.  Nevertheless, the morning was good for me. The physical therapist came in to mobilize me. I was able to sit at my bedside, she stretched my feed and made me overall feel so much better. I was wiped out after these 40 minutes exercises. The speed therapist did not have a chance with me. So, she le...