From My Facebook Post:

Taylor Update: 13 Weeks

Another week has gone by… wow, that was FAST!!!

A lot has changed over the past week! PENNIES dropping in the jar every day!

His balance is improving so much! His flexibility is improving… his leg strength… core strength… improving, improving… improving!! PENNY!!!

Jennifer and I are so excited about each day… we remain patient but determined, right along with Taylor. He helps keep us all motivated as he works past each milestone!

Today was interesting… shortly before heading out the door for therapy, we found out it was cancelled for the day. They had some issues at the facility and we hope they are resolved before tomorrow!

Unplanned days off can be a struggle… plus we hate to miss therapy time, but hey, sometimes things just happen and you have to roll with it. Good thing Samantha was still here though – they spent a lot of time together – going on walks, eating, oh, and napping LOL

We all had dinner together before sending Sam back off to school – Nan took a great photo of the two of them ❤️

I measure a lot of things relating to Taylor’s vision – we do exercises on our own, as well as therapy… After a few days of not measuring Taylor’s recognition of movement, today we measured again. Last week he was able to recognize movement out about 10-15 feet. Today… he was seeing cars drive down the road… about 100 FEET AWAY!!! He can’t see the ‘car’… just movement, but that’s OK, it’s all moving in the right direction!

He can’t see objects… yet! I believe in my heart it will happen!

I forgot to include a great clip of him yesterday – doing pushups… so, I included it today 🙂

13 Weeks. 13 weeks of us walking away from the darkness… we will never be far enough away from it, but, each day moves in the right direction.

I hope your day was great and that tomorrow will be even better! If it doesn’t go quite as planned… just roll with it and make the most out of every opportunity… no matter how small it is!

Until tomorrow… Miracles Happen!  WE LOVE YA’LL!!!

#PenniesForTaylor

If you are on #twitter and want to share Taylor’s Journey with even more people, please follow: @Pennies_For_Tay

One of my goals through sharing the updates is to share T’s determination, spirit, and story, with as many people as possible! Not only to help him, but to help others too! Please join me in this effort! Share on Facebook and on Twitter

Click Here to Watch the Video

 

From My Facebook Post:

Taylor Update: Work for it

Taylor had a great day! He is working so hard and had another day of PT today!

The great therapy team is working hard on his core and hamstrings… they are critical for his balance. He wants it back to normal, and he is working hard to get it back to 100%!

Watching the videos today just have me filled with so much pride! He just goes and goes… no complaints, but with a smile… and usually a joke or two 🙂

Taylor, keep working for it! You deserve all the success you are experiencing! You earn every bit of it. Not just with hard work, but with respect, love and kindness… the entire journey!

So many people are cheering Taylor on to the finish line! I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings, I know it WILL BE AWESOME!!!❤️

I hope your day was awesome too! Remember, if you want something, you have to work for it! It may not be easy, and you may not see results right away… but if you pay attention to the little things, they add up, and when the time is right, and you’ve collected enough Pennies, you will see the success that you have worked hard to achieve!

Please PLEASE keep Taylor in your thoughts, love and prayers! Jennifer and I are so hopeful and determined! The road is still very long… but our tank REMAIN full!!!!

Until tomorrow… Miracles Happen!  WE LOVE YA’LL!!!

#PenniesForTaylor

If you are on #twitter and want to share Taylor’s Journey with even more people, please follow: @Pennies_For_Tay

One of my goals through sharing the updates is to share T’s determination, spirit, and story, with as many people as possible! Not only to help him, but to help others too! Please join me in this effort! Share on Facebook and on Twitter

Click Here to Watch the Video

From My Facebook Post:

Taylor Update: Connect 4

Taylor had a great night’s rest… he hit the ground running today and the restful weekend was put to work 🙂

T had so many different workouts in PT today, I included a lot of them in the video because he was just working so hard! He did great! I could see the determination in his eyes!!

In addition to the hard work in exercises that he put in, he also had some very good vision therapies!

I’m just so glad he had a chance to rest well this weekend! He sure started the week right!

A short update today but I hope you had a great start to your work week!!

Until tomorrow… Miracles Happen!  WE LOVE YA’LL!!!

#PenniesForTaylor

If you are on #twitter and want to share Taylor’s Journey with even more people, please follow: @Pennies_For_Tay

One of my goals through sharing the updates is to share T’s determination, spirit, and story, with as many people as possible! Not only to help him, but to help others too! Please join me in this effort! Share on Facebook and on Twitter

Click Here to Watch the Video

From My Facebook Post:

Taylor Update: Resting Up

Taylor slept in a bit today… to almost 10:00!! YES!!!! A good night’s rest is so important to healing, and I love when he gets a little extra sleep 🙂 Jennifer and I LOVE when he sleeps in!

Fall Sunday’s have always been filled with lounging and watching football. Today was no different 🙂 It’s great to start feeling a bit ‘normal’ again.

T is ready for his hard week ahead. No challenge is too big. He doesn’t even seemed bothered by the challenges he has… he just works on improving them.

We are so excited about the upcoming week! His momentum has been in full swing and I feel like this week will be an exciting week of pennies!!

Last week we found out that there is nothing wrong with his eyes… this is HUGE! That means that his vision issues are ONLY related to his brain injury and as his brain ‘heals’, there will be no barrier. There is no guarantee that his brain will rework the pathways for his vision, but WE BELIEVE IT WILL!!

I’ve said it for weeks… I’ll say it again. I truly believe his brain is healing (rewiring itself)… and I am SO excited to see what happens next!

Up until recently, he could only pick up movements out about 3 feet… recently we have seen it reach over 10 feet, even close to 15! PENNY!!! PENNY!!! PENNY!!!

Rest. Check! Determination… CHECK CHECK!!! Support… CHECK CHECK CHECK!!!❤️

Here’s to a great week! Fight for it!!

Until tomorrow… Miracles Happen!  WE LOVE YA’LL!!!

#PenniesForTaylor

If you are on #twitter and want to share Taylor’s Journey with even more people, please follow: @Pennies_For_Tay

One of my goals through sharing the updates is to share T’s determination, spirit, and story, with as many people as possible! Not only to help him, but to help others too! Please join me in this effort! Share on Facebook and on Twitter

 

From My Facebook Post:

Taylor Update: 12 Weeks

It is amazing to me what can happen in just a short amount of time. It’s been 12 weeks since Taylor drowned. His recovery, even as we measured it ~2 months ago, is a blessing. Every tiny piece… they mean so much to us!

Here we are at 12 weeks. All those tiny things have built into something so incredible! Taylor is doing so well and he still tries hard every single day! His brain injury comes with many challenges, but one thing we are very grateful for is that he is himself. ❤️

His attitude, his work ethic, his big heart… it’s all him. Thank you God!

Way back at the beginning, when this first happened… as dark as it was… he was alive. Nothing more than that, but he was alive. I remember telling all of his friends and our family… “as hard as it is to see him like that, we would have given everything we have, and everything we will ever have… just to have him like he is now.”

Today, we worry about his vision. Very much. As far down the road that we have traveled… I feel the same way about his vision. As hard as it is to see him like that, we would have given everything we have, and everything we will ever have… just to have him like his now.

But just like before, that does not mean we rest and settle. No way. We are committed to work hard for everything possible… including his vision.

We meet with a new Doctor tomorrow to talk about T’s vision… what he can do, what he might be able to do… and how to get there. We don’t know 100% what will happen during our first appointment, but Jennifer and I know it’s the best next step to figuring out how to increase Taylor’s chances to regain his sight.

Please PLEASE continue to fight with us! We really need all the positive thoughts, love and prayers we can get! The next steps are going to be hard… and hopefully we can dodge bad news.

It may be 12 weeks today… but we are no where near the end. Our tank is full… and we are determined more than ever! We will continue to give everything we have, and everything we will ever have, in order to make sure he has the best life possible!

Until tomorrow… Miracles Happen!  WE LOVE YA’LL!!!

#PenniesForTaylor

If you are on #twitter and want to share Taylor’s Journey with even more people, please follow: @Pennies_For_Tay

One of my goals through sharing the updates is to share T’s determination, spirit, and story, with as many people as possible! Not only to help him, but to help others too! Please join me in this effort! Share on Facebook and on Twitter

Click Here to Watch the Video

 

 

From My Facebook Post:

Taylor Update: Run Forrest

Taylor had a full day today… and a LOT of PT!

They worked on core strength and balance techniques – this is great and will help him be more comfortable walking!

Taylor Update: Run Forrest

Taylor had a full day today… and a LOT of PT!

They worked on core strength and balance techniques – this is great and will help him be more comfortable walking!

 

Until tomorrow… Miracles Happen!  WE LOVE YA’LL!!!

#PenniesForTaylor

If you are on #twitter and want to share Taylor’s Journey with even more people, please follow: @Pennies_For_Tay

One of my goals through sharing the updates is to share T’s determination, spirit, and story, with as many people as possible! Not only to help him, but to help others too! Please join me in this effort! Share on Facebook and on Twitter

Click Here to Watch the Video

From My Facebook Post:

Taylor Update: Inconvenient

First thing this morning we were woken up by the building fire alarm… no panic… just quick movements to get outside for a few minutes waiting for the all clear. Thankfully it was not a fire, but there was an emergency… someone fell in the stair well! We hope they are OK… at a place filled with people who have had all sorts of injuries and endure all sorts of therapies…deep sigh… I just hope in my heart that they were OK. It’s amazing how at first it seemed inconvenient, but then it felt very real. I’ve been thinking about it a lot.

Jennifer and I just don’t want to ever feel inconvenienced by something that may have changed someones life forever. We don’t want to ever overlook how much July 4th impacted our lives forever.

Stopping and reevaluating the real meaning or impact of something shouldn’t be that hard… but it is. Not intentionally, it just is. I’m guilty of it, we are all guilty of it! We often only see things in a very narrow way… how it effects ‘me’.

A famous saying we all know “Never take things for granted” – I don’t know anyone who would disagree with this saying… but the reality is, we DO take things for granted, and we only pay attention to that “saying” when something happens to forcefully remind us! Those things in life that force fear into the foreground… pain that hurts so much you can see it in someone’s eyes even when they are smiling.

We don’t really live by that saying… we believe it, but we don’t live it. Living it, well, it is inconvenient.

I will have time for that later, or I need to do this now… constantly putting things off that REALLY should not be put off… for the sake of something that seems important… but in the grant scheme of things… isn’t all that important!

Why do we only accept focusing on the important things in life when they are nearly taken from us… or even worse, when they are literally taken from us?

Taylor did GREAT today!!! I don’t want to take away anything from his hard work and dedication… HE ROCKED IT!!! Exercising, singing, laughing… working hard on everything that he DOESN’T have right now, and celebrating everything he DOES have. He is such an inspiration to me and so many people!!! ❤️

It’s been 11 weeks today… 11 weeks of all sorts of things….some things horrible, some things beautiful… none of this came at a convenient time, but somehow they are the most valuable things we have ever experienced… and they all started with a single penny.

Don’t take your pennies for granted… celebrate them, find them, pick them up… Even when it’s not convenient.

As you watch tonight’s video, please think about things in your life that you may have overlooked… things that you may have taken for granted… and find a way to make a change, even if it’s inconvenient.

Until tomorrow… Miracles Happen!  WE LOVE YA’LL!!!

#PenniesForTaylor

If you are on #twitter and want to share Taylor’s Journey with even more people, please follow: @Pennies_For_Tay

One of my goals through sharing the updates is to share T’s determination, spirit, and story, with as many people as possible! Not only to help him, but to help others too! Please join me in this effort! Share on Facebook and on Twitter

Click Here to Watch the Video

From My Facebook Post:

Taylor Update: Homework

What a day! Taylor had such a great day!

He had music today, again! LOVE IT!!! This is by far my favorite therapy for him!! He did great – the therapist even gave us a sheet of articulation exercises for him to continue with in the evenings – in fact, as I type this, I can hear him doing them in the shower 😊 He wants to get better, and it shows every day… all day!

With so much to cram into 5.5 hours, it’s hard to keep up with everything some days… for us… but not for him. Taylor just bounces from station to station, waiting for the next challenge of the day! Jennifer and I are so proud of him!

PT was a little different… today he was trained on exercises to do in the evenings. They really feel he can get better faster with a few extra, but important, exercises! More homework, and he welcomed it! We will start those tomorrow!

He did some more vision exercises today too! When he was talking to Joshua on the phone this evening, Josh asked how his vision is doing – T said “I feel like it’s getting a little better” PENNY! He has not been a fan of recognizing the slight improvements, but I think he really is ‘seeing’ them a little at a time 😊

We would have started PT tonight, but we got a little distracted… the mail came today and he had FORTY cards to read! HE WAS SO EXCITED!! Thank you to everyone who has sent cards, he really loves them SO MUCH!! We read him each one – he tries to see the colors too… and he really appreciates all the encouraging words!

We also read him the update from Facebook every night! I love that he looks forward to the update… he especially likes the comments and encouragement from everyone! THEY MEAN SO MUCH TO US ALL!! ❤️

We have a lot to do tomorrow… so a good night’s rest is in order! I hope you all have a great night and ROCK IT tomorrow!! I CAN’T WAIT!

Until tomorrow… Miracles Happen!  WE LOVE YA’LL!!!

#PenniesForTaylor

If you are on #twitter and want to share Taylor’s Journey with even more people, please follow: @Pennies_For_Tay

One of my goals through sharing the updates is to share T’s determination, spirit, and story, with as many people as possible! Not only to help him, but to help others too! Please join me in this effort! Share on Facebook and on Twitter

Click Here to Watch the Video

From My Facebook Post:

Taylor Update: You Forgot Something

We all slept MUCH better last night… We all got up with a purpose and hit the ground running. Don’t get me wrong… the effects of ‘Monday’ are real… a little more tired than usual – 5 more minutes please!!! 😊 Nonetheless, it was a new day, and Taylor was going to make the most of it!

T was very engaged in exercising today! So much so that he asked me to take him up to the second floor… using the stairs, rather than the elevator! Now… let me just say, I probably should take the stairs more often… so I’m out of practice, but I was VERY motivated by his request! 🙂 We were a few minutes late to his session but darn it, he did it!!! PENNY!!!!!

He had some vision benchmark tests today… T was VERY proud to tell me that he beat his score of 3. 3 is what he scored when he first arrived at outpatient… he told me that today, he got an 8 over and over again… very consistent and a big improvement! I congratulated him, but before I finished, he cut me off to tell me that he told his therapist that he wanted to try one more time, and that he knew he could beat the 8! HE DID!! WITH AN ELEVEN!!! PENNY!!! (Taylor, Jennifer (Momma) and I are very proud of you for not settling for ‘good enough’!!!!)

Remember when T could barely see the color of Uno cards? Me too!! Today he took that a step further… held the cards and played along by suit!! PENNY!!! I LOVE THIS!!

OH! I almost forgot to share something VERY cool about today! At outpatient, T had some extra time after his lunch, so he wanted to walk outside… As soon as we got outside, he was greeted with ‘Hey’s’ and ‘Hello’s’… everyone is so kind to him! Before long, a friend of his said… “Hey Taylor!! You forgot something!” Taylor looked a little confused and a little worried… but his friend continued… “No walker, no wheelchair… what did you do, forget everything at home today?” 😊 😊 😊

That’s right… Taylor spent his entire day today at therapy walking on his own (with assistance for safety of course) – no chair, no walker… just him. Once we got in the building… we parked his wheelchair and didn’t see it for over 5 hours!!! PENNY PENNY PENNY!!!

After he realized what his friend meant… pushed his South Carolina Gamecocks chest out with pride and then chuckled… and said “Yeah, I guess I did” – they exchanged a laugh, and a few college football jabs, and went about the rest of their day.

This got me thinking… the best way to get past pain and struggle… is just to forget about it! Maybe I’m connecting too many dots… I don’t know… but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. If we focus on the bad… it tends to hang around…

If you are going to forget something, I guess the best thing to forget is what’s holding you back…

I hope your week started off great! As for tomorrow… let’s all just remember the good about today… and forget our wheelchair even exists!

Until tomorrow… Miracles Happen!  WE LOVE YA’LL!!!

#PenniesForTaylor

If you are on #twitter and want to share Taylor’s Journey with even more people, please follow: @Pennies_For_Tay

One of my goals through sharing the updates is to share T’s determination, spirit, and story, with as many people as possible! Not only to help him, but to help others too! Please join me in this effort! Share on Facebook and on Twitter

Click Here to Watch the Video

From My Facebook Post:

Taylor Update: Flowers

We had a ROUGH night sleep… T was fine but Shyla was sick overnight… yikes! Taylor slept through most of it… luckily, he slept in a bit so we were able to catch up a little 😉 (BTW, Shyla is better, fortunately).

We enjoyed a relaxing day watching football and keeping up with our Fantasy Football Scores. My mom has been enjoying watching football too!

Taylor is VERY READY for therapy to kick back up tomorrow… he’s ready to work! In the meantime, we did some walking and exploring with Samm before she headed back to college. They spent some time outside enjoying the cooler weather and the nice flowers that are outside the family center.

It was sad to see her go but we enjoyed her visit and Jennifer and I know she will kick butt back at school! ❤️

Taylor did so well walking today… he walked unassisted (only there if needed) from the elevator to our apartment! PENNY!!! He stumbled a little bit but recovered just great! PENNY! It’s hard to not help but it’s needed as he starts to gain more and more independence.

We are also VERY excited about how well he is picking up objects and his surroundings… if I had to guess, I would say that the past few days have provided some slight vision improvements… he says no, but we say yes 😉 PENNY!

With his vision, it is SO exciting to see ANY little advancement… it’s only been 10.5 weeks and basically 8 weeks since his recovery started. There is so much hope around him being able to see again because of seeing little advancements this early… they keep coming… and we will take each and every penny we can!!! PENNY!

Please PLEASE continue to send your love, thoughts and prayers to Taylor! It is WITHOUT a doubt helping, in many ways!! Plus he loves hearing from everyone and it helps motivate him!!!!

I hope you are excited about your day tomorrow… I know Taylor is, and I CAN’T WAIT!!!

Until tomorrow… Miracles Happen!  WE LOVE YA’LL!!!

#PenniesForTaylor

If you are on #twitter and want to share Taylor’s Journey with even more people, please follow: @Pennies_For_Tay

One of my goals through sharing the updates is to share T’s determination, spirit, and story, with as many people as possible! Not only to help him, but to help others too! Please join me in this effort! Share on Facebook and on Twitter

Click Here to Watch the Video