Updates and Foundation Changes

Hello, sorry we have been neglecting the blog for a few weeks. There has been a lot going on.

Mike is doing REALLY well. He got a new bed/matteress a few weeks ago thanks to his visiting nurse, and it is working great. His Sacral wound is 100% better. It's less than half the size it was when he came home from his surgery in February and getting smaller by the day. He also has found a cure for the really bad night sweats he was having. A prescription from Dr. Smooth (Dr.. Lea that is. Mike hates him) seems to have done the trick. According to Smooth, SCI patients can have this chronic side effect. I guess he just rememeberd this because he never told us before. Anyway, the medicine seems to have worked. He had a great time at Jay and Amanda's wedding and held really well. I think the pretty women riding on his lap had something to do with it. He looked like a pimp in his tux! (that's a good thing) We'll get some pictures out here soon. Mike is gaining weight too, and is looking really good. He's not afraid to wear shorts now or sleeveless shirts like he was when he was so skinny. He went shopping with Kim and got some new shorts and some really cool New Balance sneakers so he doesn't look like a "Patient" anymore, as he puts it.

We have been working on his "Activity Chair" too. This is a power chair that was donated to the Fondation for Mike that we are equiping with different gadgets for hunting and fishing. We are going up to Joe's Cabin near Berkley Springs WV over the 4th weekend to look at some property he has been hounding me about that is right next to Joe. He claims it is perfect for him and a great place for him to be able to do all his outdoor stuff. We'll see.........

Kim has been working with Mike for a few weeks now. For those of you who don't know, she left her full time job a few weeks back to go back to school and to help out with Mike every morning getting him up and dressed. Her and the girls keep hm company too, as they pop in and out throughout the day. This lets me get to work early and leave early at the end of the day so it has made a huge improvement in everybodys schedules and stress. She is going for PT lessons next Thursday at NRH so she can do all of his excersies with him at home now. We may not have mentioned it, but his therapy is done except for one hour a day, three times a week. Since he was spending 5 hours on the Metro Access van getting to and from DC for a one our session, he decided to work it this way, and NRH is accomodating it.

Mike is still as independant and stubborn as ever. He still spends a fair anount of time by himself during the day. He is getting very good at computers, well, the internet and email, but thats a big step for someone who still doesn't even like to text. Now he is venturing out in the neighborhood. He will tool over to Home Depot or Target to shop, and has learned how to order things on the internet. So now Cabella's, Gander Mountain and Dick's are on his Favorites list. Of course he never tells me he is going to these places until after the fact, because I am still nervous about him going that far and crossing streets. Of course it's just a Dad thing, he does great on his own and it really makes him feel good about himself. All in all he is so much better now. He looks great, has really filled out and can do so many m ore things for himself through his inginuity and persistance, and his OT training. He is a lot stronger now so things like the wedding, going to the O's games and the like don't wipe him out.

There are some changes in the Foundation as well. As part of the process of being approved as a 501 (c) (3) company, our lawyer recommended we ammend the Incorporation purpose and bylaws to better conform to what the IRS looks to as guidlines and proper tax exempt operations. In order to be truly tax exempt we need to give to other individuls and agencies as well as to Mike. So, we have changed the name to "Michael H. Gotzens Foundation for Spinal Cord Injuries, Inc." The official purpose of the Foundation is to "benefit agencies or people with SCI injuries through education, donations and other activites that will enhance the future of these agencies, individuals and Spinal Cord Injury Research as a whole" We will be donating a % of funds we raise to people or agencies, including Mike now. This makes everything proper for the IRS so it doesn't look like we are just looking for a way to not pay tax on money we raise for the sole benefit of Mike, which is a stipulation for being considered a Charitable, Not for Profit organizations and qualifies us to be taxc exempt as an entity. OK enough mumbo jumbo legal stuff. We have a real web page being built that will oultline al of the things we are dong and organizations we will be working with. That page will be linked to this blog too, so we can all still keep up with things on a personal level with Mike. More details on that to follow. Our first charitable event will be after the Softball Tournament in a few weeks. We would like to have a contest of sorts at NRH to donate one of Mike's 2 spare wheelchairs to a person who cannot get one due to no insurance or any other problem. This chair is a "Power Chair" or Scooter type, which is a few steps down from the specialized one Mike needs. It was donated to us from my fathers boss and shipped to us for free from New Mexico where they live. With the help of NRH we will get a list of people who really have problems getting a chair, and who can use this type of chair. Somehow we will pick a winner form that list. This is in the early planning stages, so we will keep you informed as we go.

Well thats it for now. I know it's a lot. We'll be posting things here on a more regular basis now that so much is happening.

Red