Update 01-05-11

Just want to first and foremost thank all of you who have been praying so diligently for dad's full recovery and to anyone who has contributed financially there are not enough words to express how much it is appreciated.

Dad is currently living with his mom and dad in Groveland,FL and will continue to do so until it has been established through medical authority that it is safe for him to live alone again. He still has issues with his vision that still somewhat impairs his balance but in saying that I can also report that his balance and his walking has significantly improved over the last month.

He definitely is not limited to the home environment. He attends church most weekends and Julie keeps him busy by taking him on excursions to the gulf coast and putting him to work at craft fairs. He also went back to helping the Angel Food Ministries at Real Life Church. He enjoys serving at church and he was happy to get back to business as usual. I'm not sure who was happier, him or the other people who serve on the same ministry team.

He visits Dr. Gonzalez at Medical Interventions on a regular basis. Dr. G isencouraged by his progress and believes he will continuing improving as time goes by. We hope the same for his eyesight!

Thank you again for all your support thus far!!

When the Unexpected Actually Happens...

On October 24th, 2010 around 5am, Owen Higdon was found unresponsive and barely clinging to life on a hotel room floor. His family had planned a fishing trip for the weekend, in Panama City, but soon discovered that fishing wasn't the reason they were all together that morning. He was rushed to the hospital by ambulance where his family spent days waiting for him to wake up. Around the one week mark, we finally got the news that he had multiple strokes on both sides of his brain, mostly affecting the Thalamus, which is what controls the regulations of sleeping and waking. But, even after 2 CT scans of his brain, one of his chest, one of his stomach, two MRIs, an echochardiagram, an angiogram, Xrays, and sonograms, the Doctors were still unable to pinpoint the exact cause of Owen's strokes. During his last few days in the hospital, he was awake and alert more than he was asleep. He was responding well to physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy, so they decided to discharge him on the morning of November 3rd. He went straight to a rehab facility, located in his community, where he has been doing exceptionally well. He receives approximately 3 hours of therapy per day; split between physical, occupational, and speech.  They are working to increase his strength and to control his impulsiveness.  He has made so much progress already and his family is hoping that when he is discharged home that he will continue improving with the help of home health or outpatient rehabilitation.

Owen doesn't have any form of insurance and at the present time his family is paying for his rehabilitation out of pocket. While he was in the hospital, the family was assured numerous times that his county of residence had an Emergency Fund, which went into effect the beginning of October, that would cover his hospital bills. Unfortunately that is not the case. The bills are beginning to pour in and we're asking for help. Any size donation would be so very much appreciated. We want him to take this time to heal, not worrying about how he's going to pay for his healing. Please, help us help him.

Thank you, 

    Owen's Family