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Mike would like to hear
from you! You can send him a card or letter, etc....to:
Mike Heironimus - Room
A11, Care Haven Center, 2720 Charles Town Road, Martinsburg WV,
25401. Big pictures and words and bright colors are easier for
him to see. Be sure to be clear about who you are,
etc. Thanks !!!
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Directions:
From Winchester VA,
take I-81N to West Virginia Exit 12, "Winchester Avenue" make a
right onto Rt. 9 (a.k.a. Charles Town Rd) travel 4 and 1/2
miles. Care Haven is on the right. It is a long low
building. The sign is partially obscured by shrubbery so keep
an eye out so as not to miss it.
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Mike had Botox injections into his left leg back in
November 2004. There was very little measurable success with
that treatment. Some, yes - but not nearly enough to help with
his current situation. Because of that, Mike has since been
seen by two doctors. They suggest the only other option which
is a surgery called “Hamstring Release.” If we decide to go
ahead with that procedure, the surgeon would cut several of the
muscles in Mike’s paralyzed left leg, including the Hamstring.
After that, Mike would be required to wear a full cast for 6
weeks. After removal of that cast, he’d then have to go
through intense Physical Therapy to learn to use and wear a special
brace. If all of that were successful, he may then be able to
stand and also possibly be able to learn to take a few steps with a
walker or even a cane. If he could do that, it would certainly
be helpful with moving him around in tight spaces (like narrow
doorways or restrooms, for instance) However, the operation is
in no way a guaranteed success. Further, the casting and
therapy required afterwards do not sound like any picnic and we
believe that Mike will have very little tolerance for it. We
have been wrestling with this decision for a while now and frankly,
cannot decide the best thing to do. If you have any
experience with this at all, we’d really like to hear from
you! And of course, we ask for prayer in regard to this
decision/situation. God
Bless.
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I want to let
everyone know that I left a new message book at the Dream Machine a
few weekends ago and I took the one that had been there
over the past weeks, up to the hospital. I sat with Mike that
morning (9/21/03) and we read through all of the messages
together. It means so much to him to see that he is not
forgotten and that people care about him and miss him. He
could tell me who nearly everyone is. There were only a very
few who maybe didn't write clearly or maybe didn't sign their name,
or left out their last name, but he knew almost all of them and was
really touched. Personally, I wish to thank everyone who has
taken the time to stop at Dream Machine to write a message
to Mike and I encourage you, if you're over that way to do it again
& again. You can even do it every day. Believe me...HE's thinking about YOU every
day. It's just so special to Mike to see that you
care. There are markers there too so you can write nice and
big so maybe he can even read some of them himself
!
Now....I really need
your help with the project below.................... thanks
everyone!! : )
PROJECT: Hi Everyone, I am working on taking and
collecting photos for Mike. He currently has photos of his
family and home right now to look at, enjoy and work with. But as he
progresses, I'd like to have photos for him of his friends and even
familiar things and places, etc. If you have photos of
yourself or of you and Mike together, or of some of his friends,
also places and things that would be familiar to him, I would really
appreciate it if you would send a copy of them to me. Just be
sure to clearly mark or explain each person or element in the photos
so that we may be specific with Mike. If you
have photos that you'd like to send but do not have copies, you can
usually make copies at a local pharmacy, or a place like Kinkos can
scan the photo for you.
You can email photos to: BigMikesMessages@aol.com.
If you have hard copy photos that you can send to
me, you can either drop them off at the Dream Machine or you can
email me at the email address above and I will provide you with my
mailing address where you can send them to me.
If you don't already have a photo, I think I noticed an
instant photo booth outside of the Dream Machine when I was there
last time where you can go and make some fun photos for Mike.
This is an important project vital to his recovery
and I hope that you will take the time to participate.
Just remember that it is very important that each person or element
in the photos are specifically identified. Thank you.
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