Warren Update 8/4/2011

Good morning.  As a dear friend texted us yesterday:  “It is a new day for miracles!”  The first thing Warren said to me when he woke up yesterday was “Mom, I will not be paralyzed.”  Well, there you have it folks.  The “Warren Factor” is firmly in place!  

Yesterday Warren began moving his legs - sort of a wiggle back and forth.  The difference is that it was not from his hips as much as the legs, themselves.  He also continues to regain sensation in different parts of his legs as the swelling goes down.

This morning he had his first p/t session.  It went very well.  They were able to sit him up in the bed, put his legs over the side of the bed, then they actually lifted him up on his legs.  The whole experience really took it out of him but he is ready for more, when ever they bring it on.  He said that what he learned from the session is that he has a very long road ahead of him but he is ready to take it on.

Warren will have his second surgery tomorrow afternoon around 2 pm.  By comparison this will be very minor.  They will finish “tweaking” the hardware supporting his spine.  Hopefully, after that the chest tube will be removed and we will be another step further down the path.

More good news.  Warren has been accepted at the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta for rehab!  Thanks to everyone who has made this happen for him so quickly.  You know who you are and you are in our prayers of thanks.  Our hope is to be there by the end of next week.  Shepherd is coordinating a medical flight for him for whenever he is ready to head home.

The good news just keeps coming!  We don’t have a lot of details at this point but there is a “Friends of Warren” committee made up of neighbors and friends that is organizing all kinds of wonderful things.  We are completely blown away by the work and effort that is being put into what they are doing.  I am sure that all of you are smarter than we are at this point in time and can dig around and find out more information.  We just want to take a moment and say thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you, again, for every message, in every form.  We are reading and listening to every single one.  We can not answer them all individually because we have been blessed with so many.  You just must know, please, that we are feeling every thought, every expression and every prayer and we thank you for every single one.

Random acts of kindness continued:  Instead of sharing a new act I want to tell you of the continuation of one..... Remember John at Einstein’s Bagel who paid for our coffee?  Well, our friend, Brooke, in Atlanta did some sleuthing and figured out the Einstein’s location.  Jerry and I went in for our coffee this morning.  Sonia Perez, at Einstein’s, said she had been waiting for us and she comes from the back with a gift card.  To say we were touched is an understatement. This would have been more than enough.  However, apparently when Sonia was told the reason for the gift card she got to work, herself.  She told her father, Sonny, who happens to be a pastor and is associated with over 1000 churches throughout the US.  Now Warren is on the prayer lists of every one of those churches!!  We just never know what one simple act can grow into...  a free cup of a coffee.... a phone call to order a gift card... and lives are forever changed for the better. 

Love,

Henley & Jerry