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Showing posts from March, 2025

03/29/2023 Update: Family Time

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Today was a good day. For the first time since 6:55 am on 2 December our family was together again. It has been very difficult to explain to James, in a way that he understands, what happened to Path. Now that her surgery is over, and the staples are out, we were so excited to bring James for a visit. Path is currently pretty agitated, which is a part of the recovery process, but when she saw James her heart rate dropped and she calmed down. It was amazing to see the level of comfort and support James brought to Path. Also! The picture actually captured her smile! As I’ve been telling people since this happened, don’t forget to hug your kids. ♥️

03/26/25 Progress Update: Recreational Therapy

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As Path continues her recovery, she has started recreational therapy. Last week she visited a cat cafe and this week she went out to a local bookstore. As all of her teachers know Path and her books are inseparable, and we are loving this part of her recovery.📚❤️

The Ramp Build: Day Two - Complete!

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Day 2 of the ramp build: the ramp is complete! It’s hard to put it in words the level of appreciation and gratitude we have for everyone. Thank you all for the hard work and taking time out of your own lives to help us. The completion of the ramp is a massive step towards getting Path home and we could not have done it without the dedication and hard work from so many people. While we cannot predict what the future will look like- with the love and support of such an amazing community we have no doubt we will be okay. ❤️♿️❤️

The Ramp Build: Day One

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We completed day 1 of the ramp build to our house. An absolute massive thank you to: the Bader family and Jeremy Gill who helped organize and design the ramp. Lowe’s in Benton Harbor who donated the material. The team from Gast who were just amazing and our friends Ed, Jason, and Aliya who helped make sure everything ran smoothly today. We are excited to rest this evening (and warm up a bit) and get ready to finish it tomorrow. Thank you all so much for helping make sure our amazing child can come home safely. 💖

03/11/25 Last Surgery

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We have wonderful news that Path made it through surgery with flying colors. We’re back in the PICU at Bronson as she recovers. We are so happy to be on this side of the surgery.  

03/08/25 Progress update: Three Months at Mary Free Bed

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It surprised me this week that we have been at MFB for almost 3 months. Path has come a long way - and while there is definitely a long way to go with learning how to move and speak again there are some amazing bits of progress. She’s doing really well at using her eyes to communicate and speak via an iPad (like Stephen Hawking), and with adaptive equipment she is able to move her arms laterally. We’ve also started Recreational Therapy and they are excited about getting Path out to a Catfe (cats in a cafe!) in the upcoming weeks.  If you would like to send Path a card so we can redecorate her room her address is:  Path Appleton  Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital 235 Wealthy Street SE Grand Rapids, MI 49503