OT: Get Well, Naples!

Post by **Jared** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 9:22 am

Edited the post to take out the address; you can PM Dancing Jew or myself for the address if you want.

The_Dancing_Jew · Post by **The_Dancing_Jew** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 9:17 pm

Looks like the date may be changing. Stay tuned.

The_Dancing_Jew · Post by **The_Dancing_Jew** » Sun May 02, 2010 10:39 pm

Ok it's Saturday, June 19. Email me for details. dsilver88@hotmail.com

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri May 14, 2010 1:52 pm

Any updates on Naples?

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri May 14, 2010 2:05 pm

Not sure if this is old news..... (from earliest to present)

Did battery of hearing tests; turns out he can hear sounds (mild hearing loss of high-frequency, but responded appropriately to "normal" range); prob is understanding words (couldn't repeat them); indicates auditory nerve damage. Hopeful he will regain at functional levels. Great day in therapy: Stood (w/ assistance) o...ver 3 mins, did Tai Chi, arm exercises, & leg stretches. Making huge strides! Gooooo Marcus! (The latest from Jen!)

Ladies & gentleman,
drumroll please...Tentative discharge date: June 3 with a goal of walking short
distances w/ walker! Date could change (sooner or later) depending on
progress, but as an early guesstimate, we'll take it! Will need to do
home/outpatient tx aftewards w/ 24/7 supervision & will probably
have to do sel...f-caths, but still excited to have a goal!

The boy just repeated a number of sentences back to the speech therapist that she said with a paper over her lips! Hearing obviously getting MUCH better! (From Marcs' friend, Dan)

The latest (from April 26): Good day- high heart rate and some
sweating (disconcerting). Steroids making face/tummy rounder (although
eating 3 dinners isn't helping). Goal for week: transferring in/out of
bed unassisted. Learning to self-cath soon (unpleasant). Sensation
coming back, but no luck yet with "process." Hearin...g progressing, legs
getting stronger... needing prayers now for his bladder!

Marcus walked with a walker today!!!! What more can be said? Keep the prayers rolling! Thank you all for your continued support!

Jennifer Greene Naples HELLO TO ALL! While we are continuing to ask
for your support and prayers for Marc as he continues along his road to
recovery, we are also (finally) at a point where we can start to plan
for his return home! His tentative discharge date is June 3, but to
give us some wiggle room, we are having his "Welcome Home" part...y on
Saturday, June 19 @ his parents house. We'd LOVE it if you could join us! Please
find the FB invitation here and RSVP if you can make it:http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117714254919061

Latest update: Quite an assortment of news: walking better with walker, lifting knees against gravity; can hear music (and even played a little piano the other day)! Trach hole has (finally) closed, scabbing over now. Hopeful for bladder progress and PEG removal this week! Don't forget to RSVP for Miracle Marcus's party in June!! We'll roast a PIG!

More progress! PULLED THE PEG -- He's tube-free (except for the intermittent catheters) Walked up (and down) 4 stairs; turned the corner with teh walker; practiced transferring to/from couch; did some balance exercises on a pilates ball. Pretty amazing stuff...

Jackdog · Post by **Jackdog** » Fri May 14, 2010 3:18 pm

This and talking to Teal for about 4 hours yesterday made my week.
Keep kicking ass Naples!

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Fri May 14, 2010 3:20 pm

Yeah, I can't believe my phone didn't die, bro! Great conversation...I think we can safely say we caught up...

Throw down, Marc!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri May 14, 2010 4:28 pm

Man, this is fantastic news.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Fri May 14, 2010 5:53 pm

Danimal wrote:Any updates on Naples?

Did he get his iPad?

You should've used the super-secret Naples Stay Out Thread, you Dingus!

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Fri May 14, 2010 6:39 pm

RobVarak wrote:
Danimal wrote:Any updates on Naples?

Did he get his iPad?
You should've used the super-secret Naples Stay Out Thread, you Dingus!

Im FAR more concerned about the bromance JD and Teal have begun. Four hours on the phone guys? Woah

You Go Marc!

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri May 14, 2010 7:23 pm

Aw crap gonna go edit my original post

Jackdog · Post by **Jackdog** » Fri May 14, 2010 9:18 pm

XXXIV wrote:
RobVarak wrote:
Danimal wrote:Any updates on Naples?

Did he get his iPad?
You should've used the super-secret Naples Stay Out Thread, you Dingus!

Im FAR more concerned about the bromance JD and Teal have begun. Four hours on the phone guys? Woah

You Go Marc!

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Fri May 14, 2010 9:41 pm

XXXIV wrote:
RobVarak wrote:
Danimal wrote:Any updates on Naples?

Did he get his iPad?
You should've used the super-secret Naples Stay Out Thread, you Dingus!

Im FAR more concerned about the bromance JD and Teal have begun. Four hours on the phone guys? Woah

You Go Marc!

Haaha classic, yeh that should be fair warning for all of us to get fit.

If anyone else goes down you get a 4 hour call from Jack Dog, cant get him off the damn phone.

(Adds Bromance to vocabulary)

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat May 15, 2010 12:30 am

Jimmydeicide wrote:(Adds Bromance to vocabulary)

That term was in most everyone else's vocabulary back in 2003. Get with the times bro.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Sat May 15, 2010 10:38 am

Well seeing this thread pop up again I can update you guys.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for my in-hospital rehab. I was originally scheduled to do 8 weeks of rehab there until June 3rd, but I got the last of the tubes out of my body last week and I talked with my therapists and doctor last week and I have already met the goals they initially set for me. I figure progress is better in hospital, but I have been living in the hospital since early March so I chopped off a week. Looking at going home just before memorial day weekend.

While all the people in the hospital say I'm making incredible progress, I am still pretty far off from having my 'normal' life back. Right now I am 'wheel-chair independent' meaning I can get in and out of my wheelchair without assistance and I can move myself around and do most things from the chair. I can also stand pretty well, but my balance is horrible (both a strength and neurological issue) and I can only walk short distances with a walker with minimum assistance. I'm not sure when I'll go back to work but hopefully I will make significant progress the rest of this summer.

It really took me awhile to appreciate just how bad I got. I have no conscious memory of the worst of the ordeal, but I now know things were BAD. One of my doctors described it as a catastrophic illness. After being in the hospital only a few days I went into respiratory arrest and was on a ventilator for 2 weeks (my voice strength is only now recovering). I was in a 'semi-comatose state' for nearly 3 weeks, during which time doctors told my family that personality change or brain damage was possible, and that I likely faced 6 months recovery to seem normal again and 2 years for a physical recovery. I underwent all kinds of tests and procedures, including plasmapheresis, where they literally pumped all the blood out of my body, run it through a centrifuge to separate out the plasma, then pump it back in. At one point my doctors wanted to cut out a piece of my skull and do a brain biopsy, but my family resisted and thankfully I showed signs of increased consciousness the next day. During this period I also lost use of my legs and lost my hearing. And the s*** of it all is, while the doctors can tell me what my body was doing to itself, but they still can't tell my why it did it. An unidentified virus or post-immune reaction is the best answer I get to this day.

It is simply amazing how much the body can atrophy when your muscles are completely unused for 5 weeks. When I started rehab I couldn't sit up without assistance, and I couldn't even read small hardcover book a friend bought me because it was too heavy to hold open. I have been doing therapy every day for 3+ hours since early April and now I feel roughly normal, though I don't have the coordination and strength in my legs to walk anything near normal and my upper body strength is very weak in the grand scheme of things. Still I have every reason to think my recovery will steadily continue, and my hearing has come back. I wouldn't call it normal yet, but it is improving slow but steady and I can have normal conversations with people, talk on the phone, and watch TV (a necessity for living in the hospital!!).

Anyway, I won't let this grow any longer. Thanks for listening. I also wanted to thank everybody for their support here. It has been absolutely tremendous and far exceeded anything I could have expected! Hope to see you on live in a few weeks!

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Sat May 15, 2010 11:35 am

Unbelievable Naples, such great news, we will have a saddled horse waiting for you. We are going to be the magnificent 38.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Sat May 15, 2010 11:36 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:
Jimmydeicide wrote:(Adds Bromance to vocabulary)
That term was in most everyone else's vocabulary back in 2003. Get with the times bro.

i guess i dont hang round with many gays.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat May 15, 2010 12:19 pm

So good to have you around Naples...glad to hear you're on the road back to normal again. It really is crazy that in this day and age something like that can happen and docs have no idea why or how it happened. At least you're recovering and they are saying that...that's for sure.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sat May 15, 2010 3:32 pm

It's really nice to hear from you Naples. It sounds like you are making strong and steady progress, which is amazing good news. Thanks for filling us in and don't worry about rambling on too long; it's just great for us to hear from you and know what's going on.

Take care!

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sat May 15, 2010 3:41 pm

Zeppo wrote:It's really nice to hear from you Naples. It sounds like you are making strong and steady progress, which is amazing good news. Thanks for filling us in and don't worry about rambling on too long; it's just great for us to hear from you and know what's going on.

Take care!

100% agree with Zep. Its great seeing you post here. There is nothing like getting the updates right from the horses mouth

Keep kicking ass!

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Sat May 15, 2010 4:35 pm

Great news Naples! Keep working hard.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sat May 15, 2010 4:46 pm

Great to see you posting again.. it's truly remarkable how strong of a person you are.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat May 15, 2010 7:18 pm

Naples:

FANTASTIC to see you posting here. We're all thinking and praying for you very often.

Take it easy, and get well soon.

Jackdog · Post by **Jackdog** » Sat May 15, 2010 8:53 pm

pk500 wrote:Naples:

FANTASTIC to see you posting here. We're all thinking and praying for you very often.

Take it easy, and get well soon.

This.

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Sat May 15, 2010 9:12 pm

JackDog wrote:
pk500 wrote:Naples:

FANTASTIC to see you posting here. We're all thinking and praying for you very often.

Take it easy, and get well soon.
This.

And this. Great to see you making such strides.