Recovering at Home

We visited Gary at his house in Sierra Madre on Friday, and boy was it nice to see how well he's doing. He's still dealing with a lot of pain and has pretty low energy, but his spirits are high, he's able to walk around the house (we even took a walk up the street!), he's able to eat regular food... lots of improvement!

He had just returned from the doctor when we saw him, and he has the following updates on his health:

• The broken bone count stands at 8 with 3 broken ribs, a broken metacarpal in his left hand, and 4 fractured vertebrae. The most serious break is in his #8 vertebrae, and he says they found 3 other minor fractures in some lower vertebrae. He currently has a cast on his hand, and wears a removable back brace to keep his back straight as it heals.
• His liver and kidney are healing well - blood tests on Friday showed a 300% improvement in their function.
• I guess he had a collapsed lung (first I heard about this), but chest x-rays show is improving well.
• The doctor says Gary has a mild case of Horner's Syndrome, a slight paralysis in one side of the face, from the impact to his head. The doc says this will go away as his brain heals.
• Speaking of his brain, Gary is able to see and think clearly, but he cannot remember anything from Saturday night (the night before the accident) until Wednesday after the accident (about 4 days).
• Gary weighed in at 136 lbs. on Friday, down about 20 from normal. He says that's what happens when you lie in bed without sleeping or eating for 16 days (go figure).
• ...and finally, the doctor says ABSOLUTELY NO RUNNING without his approval. I think if he hadn't said this, our walk up the street may have become a jog :)

Gary really appreciates all the love and support - the cards in the mail are one of the highlights of his day, so he sends MANY THANKS! Also, he'd love your visit, so feel free to call him up, text message him, or stop by to say hi.