{Karlton Bontrager}

Yesterday was such a change of pace. Three friends of Karlton’s took Choy-Lang and me on an excursion. We went to a beach that was like a scene directly out of a movie set. The approach to the beach was from a high hill. As we approached, we had a bird’s eye view of the [...]

Yesterday was a quiet day. Karlton continues to sleep much of the day. The PTs were off for the weekend, so they didn’t get him up in a chair or make him stand. Occasionally he asked to write something. But much of the time he slept.
This morning (Sunday) a PT stopped in to listen [...]

In his talk the day before, the ENT specialist had indicated that Karlton might come out of the anesthesia quite quickly, perhaps within minutes. But it was not that way at all. At noon we got word that he is in the Recovery Room, and he didn’t come back to the ward for another hour. [...]

In their most recent telephone conversations, Jennifer and Alexa have given me feedback that my explanations have not been altogether clear. First of all, Karlton is not sitting or standing entirely on his own. He manages these accomplishments with the assistance of three physiotherapists (PTs) who are there to support, anchor, and lift him as [...]

As I write this, Karlton is in surgery. The maxillo-facial people had told us that they had a 2-week window of opportunity to work with him, and today marks the 2nd week since Karlton’s accident. Specialists from the dental school will be reconstructing Karlton’s right cheek. Then the ear-nose-throat (ENT) specialist will remove a bit [...]

We’ve had so many incredible advances that we knew there’d have to be some regular days as well. Yesterday was a “regular” day. Karlton has so many therapists trying to work with him that he’s being “therapied” to death. He was exhausted yesterday to the point of just wanting to sleep most of the time. [...]

Yesterday the PTs got Karlton up in a special apparatus that supports him as he stands. He stood for about 5 to 7 minutes. Then they put him in a chair. The PTs weren’t even out of the room until the speech therapist and OT were trying to get at him.
The OT comes around with [...]

It’s been quite a mixed day. The news has been mostly good, but Karlton’s mood has been more negative. He seems really alert when he’s awake, and he’s quite likely having to face the reality of not being able to do whatever he’d like to do. He seems rather sad, and he’s not always compliant [...]

Is it possible that we’ve been at this for over a week? The days all blur together, and we know that Karlton has made progress, but sometimes we forget just how and what steps were involved. The website preserves all of the information for us. It also reminds us of the miracles we’re seeing day [...]

This may have been communicated, but somehow it slipped past us. The neurosurgeon has replaced the sections of skull that were removed earlier. So Karlton’s head is whole again. He continues to try to write, sometimes more successfully than others, and keeps one eye (the left one) open a lot. He was able to stand [...]