Belated Happy Fourth of July

Dear Friends of Denny,

We hope this finds you well and we wish you a belated Happy Fourth of July. Dad enjoyed celebrating by going to an Arcata Crabs' game and spending some time the plaza enjoying the festivities. On Saturday he went with Pam to hear the Eureka Symphony at their annual 4th of July concert at historic Fern Cottage. It was a beautiful day, and they enjoyed the sun and the music.

They had a little hiccup with the new wheelchair-accessible van, which blew its transmission while Pam and Denny were returning from an afternoon in Willow Creek. Their neighbors, Joel and Cynthia, came to their rescue!

(L-R) Joel, Denny, and Mike (Dad's caregiver) on Berry Summit with the van. Thank goodness for good neighbors!

Other than the van issue, he's been enjoying short outings around his favorite areas such as the cabin, the Arcata Marsh, and the wonderful new bay walk down by the Bayshore Mall. He was also thrilled to make it to a Knights of Columbus meeting last month, and he has enjoyed lunching with friends in his Friday lunch group.

Knights of Columbus Meeting at Samoa Cookhouse (Denny in back right)

He also went with Cathy and Ron to visit his former coach, Ray Mechals. Ray also had a stroke and the two of them had a lot to talk about. Dad keeps suggesting that they both had strokes because they each married former Arcata High cheerleaders...we are not convinced by that correlation.

Denny and Ray (thanks, Cathy, for the picture!)

He is also still enjoying the challenge of learning to use his new ipad. He checks his email each day and loves receiving notes (oceanden[at]gmail.com), though he is still working on using the keyboard -- his stiff fingers sometimes make it hard to hit individual letters. We also picked out a number of puzzles and word games that he has been playing. They are fun, but they are also great for his cognitive therapy. He also watched the Ken Burns Lewis & Clark film and then has been reading the book on which it was based, _Undaunted Courage_.

Enjoying the Bayshore walk with daughter, Cathleen

At the Arcata Marsh teaching granddaughter, Ceci, to birdwatch

Overall he is doing well in terms of health. The big news is that he had his trach removed last week. The doctor decided that it was probably irritating his throat more than it was helping it, so he took it out. It is slowly healing (there's still a bit of a hole), but it is easier and easier to hear him speak each day. Unfortunately, he is no longer attending the outpatient speech or physical therapy as he reached his limit. He does his exercises at home and we are still hopeful that his legs might get strong enough to walk again. After all, he was confined to a hospital bed for eight months! He is still working with an occupational therapist, especially on his left arm strength. She is wonderful, and thinks he is making progress. We hope that will continue a bit longer. His caregivers have also been really wonderful, and we feel so happy to have their help!