Tobias' Recovery

 It's the weekend again so I'm here with Tobias at the rehab facility.  I've come every weekend and Katja stays with Tobias from Sunday through Friday.  Our daughter Emily visits Tobias on Friday.  I haven't missed a weekend of visiting, but I haven't written many blog posts.  Part of the issue is time.  I've continued to work full time and the house projects keep me very busy.  On the weekend when I'm not at Tobias' side, I've opted to relax or tackle another house project rather than write a report of the weekend.  There are lots of house projects and it has been impossible to get to them when I'm spending the weekend at the rehab facility.  I would like to put the house in order and work through the project list, but one of the clear benefits of Tobias' situation is the ease of setting priorities when it comes to him and pretty much the rest of life, with the exception of Katja and our other kids.  One side of the scale is truly meani...

 It’s been a few weeks since I posted and Tobias has made more progress in that time than in any three week period since August.  It’s been a relief to see him pick up the pace of his recovery.  He’s been on a steady rise since January, but each week lately he’s been showcasing material improvements rather than the  incremental changes that had to be documented to be noticed.  He is awake and alert most of the day during my weekend visits.  He gets tired quickly and has periods of sleepiness and inattentiveness.  His attention span/engagement endurance is also still very limited.  He’ll start some promising activity and then stop mid motion like an electric motor when the plug is pulled out.  He’s often able to pick back up right where he left off, but we have to directly engage him again and verbally ask him to continue.  Strange.  For the most part, however, he is awake and can be engaged.  He can communicate and has shown us...

 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...