Dear Friends,

Thank you all for praying for my step-brother Phil, his 2-yr. old daughter, Sydney, and my family members helping to take care of Phil and his daughter.

It has been hard to give solid answers about Phil’s condition and his progress, because either little was known or little was shared. However, on Wednesday Dec. 19, the doctors communicated to our family about their long term prognosis for him. They believe Phil will need to be in rehab for at least 6 weeks, after that they believe he will need to be in a 24 hour care facility for another 6 weeks to a year. This was all very surprising to our family. We hoped that Phil would be home much sooner, and this continues to be our prayer.

Many of you know that Phil’s main injury was to the front of his head, specifically, his face. This severe head trauma caused a number of life threatening injuriies which were immediately treated. He also had re-constructive surgery on his face. Now his time in rehab will focus not only on his physical cordination, but also his mental and emotional functions. The head injury which he sustained left him with sever problems in his short-term memory. For example, he was told that his wife passed away in the accident, but now he doesn’t remember that she has passed. If you try to tell him again, he will forget again and need to be told over and over. The doctors feel that this would just put him through the pain of losing Amanda repetitively. So as it stands, he has been told about Amanda, but still does not know that she is gone.

Phil has been making progress in baby steps, but he still has a long way to go. Sydney and Phil have not yet seen each other. The doctors think it would still be too much for Phil. My father and step-mother are facing a lot of challenges for which they need your prayers. Please keep them in your prayers.

Thank you,
Rodney