From Jose 12/23/08

All,

I visited Marco today and would like to comment about his incredible progress. As some of you know by now, he is out of the ICU and is now placed in the Rehabilitation center. I found Marco lying on bed, and I thought he was sleeping; so I decided not to make too much noise and instead of talking to Marco directly I started talking to his brother that was in the room, David. We were whispering but apparently Marco was not completely sleep since he wanted to participate also in the conversation. Minutes later Marco wanted to get out of the bed and his brother helped him to sit down in a wheel chair he has in the room and without major problem Marco was placed in the chair (I mention “without major problem” because this time it took us less than 20 seconds for Marco to be comfortably sitting on the chair. By comparison, four days ago it was taking about 10 minutes to place him in a chair).

It was really amazing to see Marco in the situation he is now. Obviously there are signs that show what Marco has been going thru lately; he has lost some weight and his face shows it, he moves slowly, you can see some of his scars in his head, his hair is still very short, and other signs that indicate he has had a though time while his stay in the hospital. But the AMAZING thing was to see him connected to ONE machine, only by the tube that was feeding him, have him in front of me sitting down whit his hands and legs relaxed, listening to what I had to say, and sustaining a conversation with him. Yes, Marco was talking and for the most part he was clear on the words and phrases he was saying. Of course he is not 100 percent clear; of course he struggles with some words more than with others, but HE IS TALKING AND MAKING SENSE, AND COMMUNICATING HIS THOUGHT CLEARLY.

At some point of our conversation Marco pointed out to me, and asked me what I was wearing. I thought he was referring to the visitor’s tag they give you when you come in to the hospital; I had placed that tag in my jacket. But Marco then referred and pointed out to the shirt I was wearing beneath the jacket. I asked him if he recognized the shirt and he said yes. I asked him if he recalled how I had obtained the shirt and he then told me it was a shirt he had given me many years ago (8 years back, maybe even 9) when we had our first or second gift exchange in our office in Hermosillo. Marco was right, it was the same shirt he gave me long time ago and I still wear during winter time. Marco seemed pleased and happy that I still wear it and he got emotional about that. Then we talked a little bit about those times when we started our office in Hermosillo. We also talked about his progress and need to be patient with nurses, doctors and family members.

Marco is concentrating nowadays in three different therapies he has: speech, physical, and occupational. A therapist comes everyday and helps Marco improve on his ability to speak; a different one comes and helps him to walk in some sort of crutches he has. Marco can move slowly but he is making progress so fast that I don’t doubt he would be walking on his own in very short time. And the occupational therapy helps him remember things and increase his ability to write or use his hands and vision and coordination.

As you can see Marco has made great progress lately. I don’t know if visits to friends are allowed now but I will find out thru Carmen and let you know in the next email I send. In the mean time feel free to ask me anything you may want to know about Marco and I will try to find an answer. Thanks to all and I take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Jose Montoya