What's next for Colby...

This past week sure has flown by fast.  Sadly, all of us siblings had to leave and return to our families and our busy lives in various parts of the world.  We are all so grateful for the time we were able to be down together to be there for our parents and for Colby.  It has strengthened us greatly and we are all looking forward to being together again for Christmas with our spouses and kids.

Many have been asking for an update and I figured I'd give it at least one more shot, even from up here in Portland and then maybe my mom, Shannon, or Colby himself can take over from here.

Colby has been home now for a few days and is still doing well.  He has a little progress each day and is right on track with the Dr.'s expectations.  Though he is doing a little better each day, he still gets tired and overwhelmed quickly, as is common with brain trauma.  One minute he's kicking his older sister's butt at checkers and the next he can't even remember who's turn it is or what move to do next.  It is good for him to engage his mind and work on comprehension and memory though (which is what he will be doing with speech therapy), as long as he shuts it down and sleeps/relaxes when it starts to get too much.  We are hopeful that he will be back to school possibly either Thanksgiving week or the week after, with only doing as much as he can handle at a time.  The school counselors and teachers are working with my parents to come up with a doable plan to get him back on track.  It is killing him as an A student in many AP classes to have to go backwards for a while, but we are confident that with patience and time he will get right back up there.  He will also be missing out on soccer season this winter. That has been a hard blow for such an active sports loving kid who's never not been involved with some type of team sport.  He is hoping to still be able to support the team from the sidelines, however and will possibly be able to do volleyball in the spring. 

Since he doesn't have all of us around anymore, it will be good for Colby to have a few visitors each day, but please don't be offended if he gets worn out after only a few minutes.  He can seem totally normal and right on it and then go downhill fast once his brain is too activated. And often he is too sweet to admit how overwhelmed he feels.  20-30 mins is usually a good amount of time to visit.  Also, my mom has asked that anyone who would like to stop by call her beforehand to make sure no one drops in during a bad time when he needs to be sleeping or is having a hard time with outside stimulation.  Here are their phone numbers: 

Baron home phone: 714-639-7733

Jennifer's cell:  714-342-5071

And now for some pictures! By the way, all the pictures have been from various phones... sorry for the poor quality! One of these days we will take a picture with a real camera and post it.

 This is the night he came home from the hospital... he sat down and played two songs from memory!

Sister Brittany using her mad hair cutting skills to tame the mullet

First non-family visitors! Thanks for coming!!