Michael

Due to a near-drowning, Michael sustained a significant brain injury and medically speaking was not expected to make much of a recovery. Michael’s doctors and probably many people who meet him, consider him permanently and severely disabled. Most doctors in the interest of being ‘realistic’ try to remove all sense of hope from families; we, like most families in our situation, refuse to succumb to hopelessness. Through love, prayer, dedication, alternative therapies and most of all the grace and goodness of God, Michael continues to recover. 

 We know from our therapists and others who are familiar with near drowning survivors, that Michael is doing well physically.  He can move both arms and is also able to lift his head from certain positions. Sometimes he sustains eye contact. He makes grumpy faces. At times he cries. We are not sure if he cries from pain or sheer frustration but it exercises his lungs apparently very effectively!  Michael has this way of going to his “happy place” and grinning from ear to ear! We don’t know how he does this but it’s beautiful!  We catch him smiling in his sleep. It’s beautiful to see his face transformed and actually see the happy little boy is still with us somewhere deep inside himself. Michael smiles randomly and sometimes in response to us. His daddy can really get him going because he likes to rough house. Not everyone is quite so comfortable playing that roughly with Michael but we know what boys like!”

This research is so important and we are encouraged by the extension of the study and future research. We were all validated and edified by your findings.