Sultry September

Some good news....Erwin's neurologist gave the okay to reduce the dosage on his anti seizure meds. Just the elimination of one pill a day (from 5) has made a HUGE difference. His physical therapist had been reporting that he was going backwards in his physical recovery as a result of the medication and after yesterday's session said that Erwin was almost back to his pre meds self. This is a big relief!!

August Update

Erwin's anti seizure meds were started at a low dose and gradually increased over the course of a few weeks so that he is now taking the maximum dose. These drugs totally drain the life out of him. His recovery from the stroke is going to be greatly impaired, as long as he needs to be taking them, which his doctor mentioned would be for two years. I have asked a few US doctors their thoughts on Erwin's treatment and they concur that he needs to be on the anti seizure drugs. There hasn't been any improvement in his left arm function.

He finally got back in the water, for some swimming, twice last week which he thoroughly enjoys. Erwin is currently in extreme need of some occupational therapy but there is none available here in Bonaire so we are going to have to figure something out on that front. That will be our next project.

7/18/09

Our granddaughter, Molly, was baptized today. This is a photo of Erwin, Jason and Molly outside the church. http://www.pbase.com/imagine/baptism

Physical Therapy

Erwin has physical therapy sessions three times a week at Bon Fysio. His therapist is Robert Smaal...a very nice guy and also the owner of Bon Fysio. Erwin really enjoys his time spent there and gets a good workout.
http://bonfysio.com/main/page_english_english.html
Pictured are Erwin and Robert.

Difficult Times

It has not been a good first two weeks for us in the month of July. Erwin had another seizure on the 4th of July. The following week was filled with doctor's visits. He had his first visit with the insurance doctor who deemed it appropriate to tell Erwin, in the most tactless manner, that he better start thinking about another line of work because he will never work as a divemaster again and his benefits will run out in a year and a half. Poor Erwin was in tears all that afternoon. We all knew that this was probably the case but thought it was more important for Erwin to concentrate on getting better and not concern himself with financial matters just yet. All our efforts to wait until we thought Erwin was ready to hear this news were for nothing. Monday, July 13th we were back in Curacao to see Erwin's neurologist. He was prescribed a different anti seizure medicine than he got the last time. His doctor says this drug has less side effects but when I looked up the medicine online I found a lot of reports of very undesirable side effects...I hope that Erwin does well on them. To top off all of this news....I had my dive gear stolen last week! Here's hoping the second half of July is better than the first!

Father's Day 2009

Erwin spent a nice Father's Day in Sorobon, with friends and family, watching his granddaughter take her first swim in the warm Caribbean waters and seeing his son Jason's boat being christened as the Molly M. You can see some more photos of the celebration here... http://www.pbase.com/imagine/fathers_day

Swimming

Richard Beady has been picking up Erwin twice a week to take him swimming at Sorobon. Sorobon is the only place on the island that Erwin enjoys swimming because he can get in and out of the water fairly easily. We tried a few other spots that looked promising but getting him out of the water was too difficult. Sorobon is too far for me to drive to on a regular basis, with my back problems, so we really appreciate that Richard is taking him. Erwin eagerly looks forward to his weekly swims! Thanks, Richard!