4 years ago on March 1st, 2009 a young boy was run over by a motor boat while kayaking on American Lake. He suffered major head trauma, amongst other injuries. We got to meet DK and his parents while we were suffering our own issues with our son Ryan up at Mary Bridge in Tacoma. (Ryan has fully recovered and wrestled in his first tournament this past weekend.)

This is an update on his progress.


MARCH 1 ST 2013 12am
Posted Mar 2, 2013 3:19am
Today DK showed off how far he has come since his accident four years ago today. I have several different squeeze toys that I use as TV remotes. I use dog toys as they are very easy for him to squeeze and make a sound. Today I gave him the empty water bottle wrapped in a cloth Wiener dog. He has to make it creak, and then the nurse or I will turn on the TV after school. He wasn't trying very hard so I started teasing him, “Ah come on show off how much you can do after 4 years.” He grinned and squeezed the bottle as hard as he could. He is having another acceleration of recovery. He is able to move his left hand and arm more than ever. The first time it was just being able to move his fingers independently. Now he is able to grasp at things and squeeze items. He can also move his left arm farther down his trunk. He was showing me at school how he can grab the toys hanging from the PVC frame his Physical Therapist built. He made it so DK’s wheelchair can roll under it. The frame has 2 levels, one lower so that I was able to hang the basketball hoop his Grandma got him. He is helped in tossing the basketball. I will make one for him this summer.

I get wonderful reports each day from school. He is much more involved than his first year. His teachers love working with him. They keep busy trying to find new materials and ways to keep his interest high. He is currently in a general population gym class. They were playing badminton last week. The nurse and his teacher both told me how the students have embraced DK being there. It must be a workout pushing DK around the court and helping him hit the shuttlecock at the same time. Next week they will be playing Pickle Ball. I will make sure to visit the class to video tape him.

Since last time I posted I have had one CNA quit after working only a month. I spent 2 weeks training her. She quit because she was afraid to stay alone at night. She must have forgotten the part where I hired her to take care of him at night while I was at work. It might have confused her since I was at home every time she worked because I didn't trust her yet to take care of DK by herself. She never did get through the Nurse Delegation training completely. I did not trust that she knew what she was doing giving him his meds. I would wake up early to give them myself. So it was good she quit before I would have let her go.

I now have 2 new CNA s who are doing very well. Both of them were easy to train about the basic things. One CNA though I have been making practice on the weekend getting him ready as if he is going to school. She was struggling getting him showered, dressed and in his wheelchair on time for school. She teased DK the last time to not give her a hard time as she would not beat the clock, so he grinned and open his mouth a little more so she could brush his teeth. The other morning she called me into his room to ask for help putting on braces. She was frustrated that she could not get them on properly and Velcro them. I stifled a laugh as I dryly told her those were his new elbow braces. DK he didn't even try to kept from laughing. She had a good laugh at herself too.
So we just keep plugging along, making it all work out. Just don’t ask me about the house.
love, Gail


If you think you have obstacles in your life, compare them to the issues DK will have for the rest of his life. Kind of makes the issues my familiy deals with seem pretty insignificant.