[vista]

really inspiring to hear, what a road for him, his family, and friends to endure.

[Pawtucket Patriot]

C'mon, Jeff!!  Fight the good fight!

[MrNate]

Hey Jeff, how ya don' there, buddy? We miss you around here. You should stop by soon.

[frankw]

Update 10/14/2010
 
Jeff had a fairly quiet long weekend.  Yesterday he was more alert.  At one point, he had his eyes open for about 20 minutes or so, looking around, making eye contact, tracking and looking at the TV.  The OT has been working with Jeff beyond the squeezing the hand thing.  They put a wash cloth in his hand and pull on it and Jeff will grip down on it and give some resistance when she tries to pull it away.  His wife also has been able to get him to open his mouth when they need to clean his mouth/teeth, etc.   And she's gotten him to respond to her by raising his eyebrows, when she asks him to.  Next week they are talking about bringing Jeff into the gym, getting him on a mat and really getting him moving.
 
His doctors have been consulting with the doctors at Spaulding Rehab and the doctor who treated the guy in RI who had EEE.  They've come up with some drugs they want to try on Jeff.  They are hopeful that the drugs will help to wake him up even further.  Apparently it is some combination of drugs that they give to accident victims.  He's currently on some antibiotics for a minor issue.  Once he's off those, they'll start the new treatment.     
 
Continued prayers and positive thoughts are greatly appreciated.

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Last chance to get in on the Masstoberfest Raffle for Jeff - Details - Tickets

[hopfenundmalz]

The progress sounds positive, evenif it is slow.  Hope the drug combo does wonders.

[akr71]

Keep it up Jeff!  Small steps are still good steps, if they are in the right direction.

[bluesman]

Thanks for the update Frank...as always.

Hoping for the best for our fellow comrade.

Thoughts and prayers for the Fuller family.

Yesterday I received a nice Thank you card for my donation.  That was nice.  

[MrNate]

Thanks for the update, Frank!

Keep pushing through, Jeff. Hope the new drugs do the trick.

[thirsty]

Yeah I got a card too. Thanks. I will send more help soon. This just might be my Christmas present.

[dean]

Hang in there Jeff, I'm root'n for ya!

[boulderbrewer]

Just did the toast to You and Your family with dampfbier. Get well buddy so we can share one of these together.

[weazletoe]

Keep it up Jeff! glad to hear there is progress.

[frankw]

Update: 10/18/2010

Jeff had a good morning today, was awake and alert for a while.  His speech therapist continues to work with him on his swallowing, which he's doing great at.   His facial expressions are coming back more, he will smile when asked to.  He can also stick out his tongue on command.  He will also grimace, furl his brow and raise his eyebrows.

He's gaining more and more movement in his left hand and the doctors expect to him to develop movement in his right hand soon.  After that they would expect him to develop movement in his legs and feet.  His doctors and therapist are happy with progress.

Today they gave him a half a dose of an analeptic (central nervous system stimulant) drug that it used to treat people with narcolepsy and other similar sleep problems.   He really didn't seem to react much to that dose.  They'll try a full dose on him tomorrow.

Every day he is having periods of alertness.  He's now opening his eyes more in reaction to the sounds around him,  opening them when he hears people's voices or hears people coming into the room.  His cousin was in the other day and he opened his eyes when he heard his voice and kept them open for awhile while he was visiting.   When he left he asked Jeff to give him a thumbs up.  Jeff opened his eyes and moved his thumb.

Please keep the prayers and positive thoughts flowing
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[bluesman]

This is the best news I've heard so far.

Thanks again Frank!

I know we'll have our comrade back someday. 

[theDarkSide]

Great news Frank.  Thanks for the updates.