Thanks Mike! I have been relaying messages and photos from everyone to him and it has really helped when guys like you share life after a SCI. I just shared photos from a fellow with a SCI who drives his Donzi they have a portable Davit to get him in the boat at the boat ramp. Will said cool and it put a smile on his face.

God Bless

Sam

Hey Sam Will is still in our thoughts and prayers, hows he doing.

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

We are at Shepard center in Atlanta. He is getting stronger and lung function improves slowly. Trach should come out soon the other stuff bowel and bladder program are going very good and he is eating like a horse again. We feel blessed to have him talking again.

We are in OT PT and all sorts of thearpy to maintain his muscles until we see how he heals. We have no big movement yet but a few muscles in hsi left arm have a bit of contraction but not enough to it move yet. We are praying that it will move so we can operate his chair by hand control instead of the sip and puff control. It does not work well on teenagers full of spit!

He received shirts and DVDs from some fellow boaters and several folks are sending videos which always produce a big smile. I put a photo of him driving our old 28 full of girls in his room to keep him focused and motivated.

We have a Caring Bridge page which my 16 yo daughter keeps you up on his progress. Go there she is doing an awesome job.


http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/willjirik

Great news we will continue praying for you and your family!

Hay Sam sounds like progress that's great just remember what I said one day at a time keep the faith buddy he's a fighter

Jim. Thanks. We had a positive medical consult in so much as there were no absolute negatives. Will moved his knees together and can contract a few muscles on his left arm. There is hope and time will tell. We are very blessed.

You guys have fun and be safe at the Shootout. We will be waiting on your videos hopefully they will stream it live.

Sam

[ATTACH=CONFIG]505971[/ATTACH]

Amazing news!!!

Great news. Prayers continue. You guys will be missed at the Shootout and the party.

Thanks we were looking forward to bringing the new 338 to the 25th anniversary Shootout. I did my first run in '88 or '89. Too many years to remember exactly but if you ran 100 you were top gun!.

Life throws you a curve ball sometimes. Will continues to improve. He move the thumb on his left hand yesterday. This is huge as it below the level of his injury. We appreciate all your prayers and support.

You guys have fun be safe and most importantly post pictures nd videos! We are living vicariously thru you this year!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]506193[/ATTACH]


Arkansas Senator Eddie Joe Williams, Senator Will Jirik ( Rhodes College) and Kim

We plan to be there next year!

Sam and Will

May God bless WIll......

DARREN US1

Thanks Darren and God Bess you also.

Will has made some great progress. He is walking with a walker and some assistance. We still don't have good function with his arms. This is typical with Central Cord Syndrome which he has.

I never realized what a challenge life can be for you guys. He has a great attitude which is everything. L

Merry Christmas.


Sam

Hay Sam that sounds good keep up the faith and have a safe holidays

Prayers for that WOT recovery Skate. Keep up the good fight Will!!!

What an incredible story. It is great to hear he is recovering so well! My family will be praying for him.

Dear Skate - we have never met but I want you to know that you and your family will be in our prayers.

3pointstar

Thanks guys.

I've had a ton of well wishes for the New Year. Several hoped our year would be better than 2013. I truly cannot imagine being more blessed in any of my 53 years. God spared my son's life that night in July. He provided EMTs and firemen who did everything right. He provide us with Drs. nurses and therapist that provided a wealth of information care comfort and compassion.

We were lead to Shepherd Center where we were personally greeted by the founders of the hospital. The wonderful staff has loved us and trained us how to take care of Will. The facilities and professionals continue to provide rehab and world class care.

The love that our family friends church community and my wonderful staff have given us and even you knuckleheads here on OSO was overwhelming. I have learned that there is no such thing as luck but only answered prayers and blessings from God.

My wife and daughter have been rocks and inspired me. Their faith and testimony has been such a blessing. Having two households and being separated is truly the most difficult thing. But it has allowed me more time to focus on my beautiful daughter. I even taught her how to do laundry and put dishes away!

Will can walk with a walker and assistance. Today for the first time using a support device for his arm he was able to up use his right hand and write his name. We have a long struggle but feel so blessed to have come so far.

Will's journey has brought all of us closer to God and each other and isn't that what it's ultimately all about.

Thanks again to all of you guys who have reached out and blessed us with your prayers.

Sam

I just came across this . Your son Will and your entire family have another voice praying for Gods loving touch .With Him , ALL things are possible !

Another Sam

great news on wills progress and recovery! continued prayers from down on the bayou!

Best wishes to you the family and on Wills progress Sam. I hope to see the both of you at a run soon.

Bob

Give us some good news about Will. I hope all is well.

Thanks for asking. Well my knuckle headed kid is doing very well both physically and emotionally.

He and Kim are still in Atlanta for his rehab. The team at Shepherd is awesome and Will is working his butt off for them. Will is walking with a walker and some assistance. We are working on form, hips and endurance. I never knew walking was so complicated. They now feature video of him and his progress at their meetings and promotional events.

His upper extremities are still the issue. The right hand works pretty good and we were able to fit his chair with a hand control instead of the sip n puff straw control. He can now talk and drive and control his chair much better and now fly down hallways. Arms and shoulders are still not functional but we did have a great week were we are starting to see deltoids and other muscles fire that were not previously. We had concern for a brain injury from his accident. I knew it had to be mild if any. His neuropsychology exam confirmed this and his scores were excellent with high to superior results (yea he got that from mom).

His attitude could not be better. He is his usual outgoing self. Socially he is very interactive and the girls still love him. We bought a house across the street from Rhodes College in Memphis where he will return to school in August. He is going to live there with three fraternity brothers. I guess turning him over to them maybe the scariest thing in this ordeal yet!

I was in Atlanta the last 10 days. Kim and Annalise took some time and did a little skiing. He and I got to watch a lot of movies and made a lot of progress this week in therapy.

Again you guys and so many others that have been so good to us. Thank you for the well wishes and prayers. Will was not suppose to ever get off the ventilator when this happened and now his walking and headed back to college.

God is Great.

Sam

Man that is GREAT news! Hope to see you and Will on Hamilton some day soon. We used to come up every 4th of July and rent a couple condos. The lake sure has gotten busy on the big three weekends.

Prayers your way.

He's one of the lucky ones and beating all the odds.
Keep up the hard work and positive attitudes.

What an incredible journey he has been through. I don't know you or your son but I have followed his journey here on OSO. And I must say it soulds amzing, He must be one incredible young man to keep such a good out luck. Good luck and God bless.

Michael

We would love to see you at Hamilton. PM when you are there we have a house and dock on the main channel across from the Shell Marina.

Thank you. He is unbelievable. I don't know how he can be so positive.

He still has a long road of recovery but we are very pleased to be blessed with so many answered prayers.

Sam

Great to hear positive news about Will! With you for a father (a big kid at heart) I'm sure Will realized early on that his only limitations were in his mind. I look forward to hearing of his continued progress. Keep us posted Sam.

Bob

Thanks for the update, all at my house are pulling for him. He is a brave young man with a great family supporting and helping him.

Padraig

That is great news and i'm so happy that he is recovering. He's lucky to have you as a dad. Hope for you and him to be at the helm soon together. God bless you all!!!

Since you guys asked over in another thread I'll update here so we don't hijack the other thread.

Will is back in school at Rhodes College in Memphis as a Sophomore. He is living is a house we bought and made accessible with three of his fraternity brothers. Rhodes College has really stepped up and done their best to accommodate his needs. We have found great OTs and an athletic trainer to continue his rehab. He has a wonderful care taker that helps him get ready and to school and back to bed at night. He is very happy to be back in school with his peers and is really unbelievably independent.

Physically he can walk on a walker with assistance but still no practical use of his arms. His OTs have been helping him recapturing a few new muscles in his shoulders and arms. His right hand works pretty good but right arm doesn't. The left hand doesn't work so well but his left bicep and shoulder have some movement. It's going to be a long recovery from here but we still remain very optimistic that he will regain some functional use of his arms.

His attitude remains very positive and we feel extremely blessed to have him back in school and the great team to help him.

Thanks for thoughts and prayers

Hey Skate, Haven't been on this forum long and just learned about the situation with your son. Sounds like he is doing much better. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers. Steve.

Thanks for the update. He sounds like a fine young man.

He is blessed with a supportive father.

Padraig

Awesome to hear bud and let him know we all wish him the best.

The strength comes from his internal spirit but also in his upbringing... sounds like you are a tremendous parent, and are very supportive in his needs... he is lucky to have that... best wishes to him and your family for a speedy recovery... Keep on truckin!! as the saying goes...

Curious...how is Will doing?

He is doing great. He is in his Junior year at Rhodes College in Memphis and expected to Graduate in May 2018. He's currently looking for an internship for this summer.

Below he is sporting the new Red Lantern Tshirt We found!


[ATTACH=CONFIG]564561[/ATTACH]

Just notice the Jay Nichols photo on the wall. Jay sent that to him after the accident and several others. Nice guy

Skate
Seeing your son smiling is heartwarming. Although I do not personally know the two of you I have always thought about a prayed for for his recovery, nice to see him doing well

So glad to hear that your son is doing well Sam. What an amazing young man he must be, to be thriving after life-altering injuries that could have easily sent him into a downward spiral. You must be incredibly proud of him.