quick update on gus...dr.moye the orthopedist has cleared him to start rehab on his hand and wrist...he wasn't really allowed until now...he sees the hand specialist at rehab on thursday...we saw dr.cuff (his neurologist) this afternoon and got the report from his follow-up cat scan done last thursday, it seems the original bruising and contusions are much improved but the area on the left that had developed fluid the last week in the hospital is still there and was showing some new blood in the area...will follow up in 3-4 weeks with another catscan, earlier if he shows any symptoms of an increasing bleed...he seems stable at this time, surgery is still an option...
more later
oni

Alright! We are home, as quite a few of you already know. Gus is at Schneider's house. He is accepting visitors all the time. Call him. Or call Schneider. I am not going to put our phone numbers on here...but Schneider is in the book...
Anyway, he's doing really well. Same ole Gus we all know and love most of the time. Just with some vision and strength deficits. It's amazing what a month long coma will do for your stamina. So come by, call, email. He would love to have you and if he would not love to have you, he will tell you. Ah, that's Gus.

Thank you and love to all for all your support, prayers, laughter and tears. Schneider

well...we did go to denny's, gus ordered "a la carte"....great time...(how can you not have one at denny's?)...great thanks to wes for coming today for a few hours i know gus was glad to see a familiar face besides mine...
by the way do not believe anything wes says about my state of mind...i'm fine...really...
anyways tomorrow we go back to rehab, will continue updating...gus is doing well, we're just hoping his vision improves...i really believe if we can do something about his vision his recovery will just take off even faster
love, oni

we're here, gus is settling in well...not much has really gone on yet...monday the real "therapy" starts...he did express wanting to go to denny's for a grand slam breakfast so i'll probably take him on his first outing tomorrow...vision issues haven't changed...he can't wait to get home...

From Oni:
We are going to Weston West rehab in Augusta, GA...please be encouraging to Gus about this since changes can be scary right now and he doesn't need much to make him not want to go...this will be good in that they know how to get the best out of Gus and stimulate him to get the best potential healing and progress...it can sound silly to go into a residential rehab house but it will be (Wed) d-day
oni

From Schneider:
Oni says she will continue to update this site from Augusta so we can know when we can go to visit him. We don't know how long he will be there but it will probably be around a month? or so. I can' t wait to see how much better he is going to get during his stay there...
peace.

It's remarkable how well Gus has turned around since the crash 39 days ago. He looks great! Both of his casts have been removed and replaced with simple braces. His short term memory is still a little hazy but seems to improve every day. While his long term memory is amazingly accurate. Please go see how well he's doing for your self. You will be amazed. We still need people to relieve his sister for a few hours here and there, Please call his room and set up any amount of time on the schedule.

Thanks Ya'll

Hi everyone. Gus is doing well. His trach is out, he's walking daily, eating mushy food, singing, laughing, using the toilet, and cursing alot. The time is here to cash in on all those "If there is anything I can do"s. Alas, there is something ya'll can do. Gus is now out of the ICU and in a regular hospital room in the Neurology department at ARMC. He's gonna need some chaperoning (like he didn't always). Oni, once again, is up there tonight, his first night. But, she can't do it all by herself. I cannot believe she has lasted this long. So lets start signing up for a night here or there. Even if you can only do one night it would be awesome. There is a fold-out bed in the room, so you could theoretically sleep some if you aren't being serenaded too much. All in all, we just need to keep an eye on Gus while he is still so restless and squirrelly. If nothing else you will score some priceless one-liners for that screen play we are all secretly working on.
Love to all, Schneider

So since the blog was last updated, Gus has continued with his progress impressively. He has been weaned from practically all of the sedatives and the heavy pain medication. Although, they have been giving him something mild (forgot what it's called) at night to help him get back on a regular sleeping pattern. The first few days after Gus first spoke, he would either be sleeping, or talking, or talking about sleeping. He even sang quite a bit to us. If you ask him a yes or no question, he would answer convincingly and may have even asked you a question back. Most of what he said made little sense to us, while much of it did. He knew his name was Gus, he knew he was thirty-one, he knew he had a sister named Oni, and a daughter named Lela. He answered no when he was asked if he was a cook. Five minutes later he told the nurse he was a chef. Most importantly, he will tell you that he's not in pain but he does remember the "real pain". He seems to remember names just fine. But, I think he's having a hard time putting those names to the faces. It's hard to tell at this point if he really recognizes anyone. I'm convinced these things will come back to him over time and with repetition. He's been doing physical therapy and speech therapy daily since thursday. It's been quite a struggle for him and his caretakers. Although, he has no problem getting to his feet and marching towards the door. Which, I'm afraid is sign of things to come once he's put into a regular hospital room, where there will be no restraints and far less visits from his doctors and nurses. At that point, he will require 24 hour supervision from his friends and family. It's a daunting thing to think about but we (his family) have to be there for him. If you are as close friend, we ask that you consider taking a shift, maybe once a week, to help out Oni, who has put her whole life and career on hold to take care of her brother. She has considered moving here permanently but she hasn't had a chance to even look for a job. She has children of her own who are not able to be with her right now. Her sixteen year old son is enrolled at a private school in Montgomery and is having to temporarily stay with older sister and brother in-law until more developes. Please do what you can to help this amazing lady.
In the last two days, Gus has grown to be rather pissy. He's become more resistant to the physical therapy and far less talkative. He's actually seems like he's ignoring us now. I can tell that he knows what's going on around him most of the time. He knows that he's not himself yet and he's frustrated with how long it's taking to mend. I think more visitors will brighten him up. If nothing else, please come by and give him a hug and let him know how proud we are of him. This kind of support is what he needs right now. That or maybe some prozac and a cigarette might do the trick. Again, Gus is doing much better than anyone could have predicted. He's doing GREAT!!!

♡, Tim

Not much time to write, but I thought everyone would want to know Gus is sitting up and eating apple sauce.  He is also walking with help and talking.  Please laugh, cry, scream with joy, etc. now.

First of all, thank you to everyone who has donated money.  Everyone has been amazing with their contributions, and every little bit helps.  The fund is starting to shape up.

Just as a warning.. there might not be as many posts at times.  The doctor says there will be times where he seems like he gets better every day, and really slow periods where there won’t be any changes for while.  At this point, there’s no real way of knowing when that might be, but his recovery has been incredibly rapid, so it’s hard not to get hopes up, but it could be a while before we see any significant changes... or well it could not.

On that note, visits yesterday were quite exciting.  Most of the time Gus is sleeping, but when his medication starts to wear down, he is incredibly active and responsive.  The doctor told him to lift his hand, and he lifted his hand.  He told him to open his mouth and he opened his mouth.  Told him to stick out his tongue and he stuck out his tongue.  He seems as if he is trying to communicate at times.  When people visit, his eyes will focus for a short period, as if trying to recognize people. Unfortunately, even if he wanted to speak, he couldn’t because of the trach, but he is able to nod and shake his head in response to the nurses.  This is good because it can let them know when he’s in pain.  He definately seems to respond to voices.  Last night Jason said, McClellan’s here, and he raised his hand and waived his fingers and then reached for him. This morning, Oni told Gus that Tim was there to see him, and he shook his head no... I’m sure it wasn’t anything against Tim.

His phsyical appearance is also a lot better.  He looks like Gus again. 

Every day offers a little more hope!

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers.