Dad's Update V - 9/13/09

Dear all-

Bryce

Bryce's pneumonia has slowly improved as he slept well over the past two nights.  He is now resigned to relax and knows how important that is for his lungs to heal.  Yes, he is frustrated, but more about the delays in rehab because of his body's weakness from the pneumonia.  We have seen some increasing use of his arms (raising and lowering) and the turning of his wrists.  We suspect he is doing his own physical therapy when alone.  His body is being turned well here so no signs of bedsores, except 2 mild ones from lying on his side for 13 hours two nights ago; these are healing fine.  His Mom is applying lotion and massage to his body daily which Bryce really appreciates.  Sounds like he will be in ICU for a while until his lung condition clears. 

Insurance

We finally have the statement of benefits from the two insurers and are reading through the documents.  The representatives from Taft and SIT World Learning assure us that we have significant coverage, most likely enough to cover the next 6-9 months.  As a skeptical analyst, having seen big differences between executive assurances and what actually is legally in contracts, I am diving into the detail to make sure things are ok.  Long term needs will have to be covered in other ways, but we have some time to focus on that a bit later.

We continue to be highly impressed with the Center Suisse des Paraplegiques in Nottwil where Bryce is being treated.  At this point, we would like to keep him here for the full estimated 6-9 month rehab because of their holistic approach, leading edge technologies, incredible facilities, and overall cost effectiveness ($2,260/day, bundled pricing). The center has its own wheelchair and other equipment design and repair facility (like an industrial tool design, manufacture, and repair department) to help custom manufacture the right tools for each patient.  While we are at the early stages of reviewing U.S. rehab alternatives (first making calls to other quads and paras out there who have been recommended to us for advice and perspective), we sense that the U.S. options will be far more expensive and logistically more difficult.  The Swiss Center's global reputation is stellar as well.  Making the right decision on when to bring Bryce back will depend upon an assessment of how all these pieces logistically work together most cost effectively.  He also has become quite comfortable here.  We are hoping to have prudent conversations and interactions with the insurance companies as they are already calling frequently for information and suggesting more rapid return to the US.

Logistics

I am returning home Monday afternoon and will be restarting my job search along with follow up conversations and research for Bryce.  His Mom is staying in Switzerland for at least another month to see him through ICU and into full time rehab.  I will be linking in to Bryce twice a day via Skype at 1:00pm and 7:00pm Swiss time.  We had our first practice session today and linked in with Meg at home.  The software is so easy to download and offers a solid picture without any lags like a few years ago.  Remarkable technology!  I encourage others to do the same after Bryce emerges from the ICU.

This coming week, Meg and I will take a solid look at Caring Bridge to see if we should migrate from these emails to that.  Other areas of interest for us include a personal website with fundraising capability, perhaps through a foundation or trust.  Still more research to be done on that.  If anyone has expertise with website construction and how best to approach long term fundraising, we would be interested in talking further.  I am asking the same questions of other quads out there to learn best practices.

As of Monday evening, you all can reach me stateside at my cellphone 203-606-6354.

Thanks again for all the emails, prayer, and support.  Reading them has greatly encouraged us and helped to relieve lots of worry and stress.

In Him,

John