February 5, 2001

Dear Family and Friends,

Dan continues to grow stronger every day! His muscles points are now at 35! Darrell said that with Dan’s tenacity, he’d probably be getting around on his own when he reaches 50 points! Dan has been using the manual wheelchair for strengthening his right arm and right leg. To keep his chair from going in circles, Dan really has to work his left arm-It’s getting strong enough to keep him going straight!

The physical therapist was at the house on Monday. Dan used his new standing frame that was delivered over the weekend. He stood for about 20 minutes. Dan is also getting better at feeding himself, eating his dinner without much help!

Several people have worked together to get Dan set up ergonomically. Some stations have been designed to make now-difficult tasks such as using his laptop computer, reading, and changing channels with the remote, much easier for him.

Dan and Candi will be hiring an attendant/health aide to come to the house for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night to help Candi with some of the necessary responsibilities of caring for Dan. If you know anyone that would be interested in taking on this role, please contact us via the e-mail link. This is a position that can be filled by an experienced person or someone willing to be trained.