Update on Jack!

Jack's Progress

Jack continues his miraculous progress!!!

Highlights

• He is having physical and speech therapy several times a week
• His right side continues to improve - His grip in his hand shake is getting stronger and stronger!!
• His overall strength is improving each day
• His spirits, as always, are excellent!

Prayer

• Jack has come so far in just a brief few months. We thank the Lord for his progess.
• We continue to pray for Jack's complete recovery and that the Lord continues to work through him!
• Continue praying for Karen, Heather, Katie and Matthew for strength and encouragement.
• Pray for Michael Johnson, Katie's boyfriend, while he is going through boot camp in San Diego.

Sighting Over Riverside

Rumor - Jack has been sighted flying over Riverside in a helicopter??

Fact or fiction, can anyone confirm or deny this sighting?

Continue to correspond with Jack through the blog as we all encourage him each step of the way to 100% recovery!!!

Jack is Coming Home!!!!

Welcome Home!!!!

• Jack is coming home today!!!!! Jack has been released from St. Judes. He reached his goal of becoming the #1 patient at St. Judes. People applauded and complimented Jack on all of his outstanding achievements at St. Judes as he departed today.
• In true style, Jack stood up from his wheelchair and walked on his own power to his car. All of this after only 10 weeks.
• The Lord has truly blessed Jack and as we all know has even more wonderful things in store for his life.

We will continue to keep you updated on Jack's status from home. Keep praying and supporting Jack and his family as he comes home!!!!

Progress Report - August 10,2007

Visitation

Jack will not be available this Sunday, August 12, 2007, for visitors. He will be on an outing working on special skills to assist with his rehab.

Physical Therapy

He is working very hard on his walking. He is feeling encouraged by the feedback that he is getting from his therapist.

Family Update

Katie is doing well. As most of you know, she is out of the hospital and back to 100%. American Idol will have to wait until next year........

Blog Report

Keep the encouraging words coming in. Jack sure enjoys all of your words of support!!!!

Rehab Update 7/31/07

Rehab

Jack keeps progressing with his workouts. The exercises are becoming more difficult and demanding both mentally and physically as he keeps pushing himself to full recovery.

Doctor's Report

It is difficult to be sooooo popular! We all want to visit Jack and enjoy how much he has improved from week to week. But the Doctor's are concerned that we are visiting Jack so much that it is starting to reduce his energy for his rehab. We all want to see Jack released from the hospital as soon as possible so the Doctor's have recommended the following:

• Limit our visits 5 to 10 minutes (maximum)


• Visit only between 5:00 to 8:00 pm


• Limit how many people visit at a time

We will keep you posted when Jack is at full strength. During this time when our visitation times are limited, the best way to communicate with Jack is to write a note in this blog. He checks all of our blogs daily and this is the best way to encourage and support him. He loves to read all of your encouraging words and jokes, so keep 'em coming.

St. Judes has been fantastic so let's try to abide by these simple guidelines so we can see Jack recover sooner and have his full strength for rehab!!!

Family Report

Katie had her appendix removed this past Monday morning. She had the surgery and is recovering at St. Judes, also. Who would have ever thought they would both be in the same hospital at the same time??? She is doing well and should have a speedy recovery.

Karen is fighting a cold. She continues to be with Jack and needs our prayers for strength.

Jack continues to want everyone to know how thankful he is to God for healing him and to all of his friends for their continued support and prayers!

To God Be The Glory!

Message from Jack:

We visisted Jack at St. Jude's today. When we arrived, he was sitting in his wheelchair entertaining a group of his friends. We asked him what he wanted to say to everyone reading the blog, and he stated,"I thank everyone for all their love, support and prayers. I want to glorify the Lord through this situation more than anything else." We assured him he is doing just that!

Family report:

Karen also wants to thank everyone for their support, prayers and encouragement. She stated, "I just don't know how to express all my of thankfulness and gratitude to everyone!"

Overall update:

• Jack is laughing and telling jokes.
• He is craving hot dogs and hamburgers!
• He said that St. Jude's is a great place but he can't wait to get home!
• He is working very hard during speech therapy, and he was working on yelling today.
• Jack is constantly encouraging others around him at the hospital who are visiting loved ones.

We are all blessed to have Jack and the Hawkins family as friends. Continue to keep them in your prayers! God is healing him in miraculous ways!

Tracheostomy is History

Doctor's Report

The trach has been removed!!!!! This is a major step and we thank the Lord for this miracle!

Physical Therapy

Therapy is going great......Several highlights to report:

• Jack is moving his right leg much better. Doctor's may splint his right leg to assist him with his walking.
• Walking is coming along very well

Nutrition

Bring on the food.....Jack is eating now. Some of the latest: pasta, milkshakes, etc...

Family Report

Everyone is doing great!! Jack and Family are in great spirits, trusting and thanking the Lord in all things.

This was a great week. Many people visited Jack this past week and really boosted his spirits. Weekends are a slow time for Jack's therapy and he has time for all of us to come and visit him. Let's all try to make it out this weekend to show Jack and his family our support and love for them!!!

Jack Takes His First Steps

Physical Therapy Update

Jack has a "walking apparatus" that he is working out with. He is able to walk across the room with the aid of the therapist.

Just like USC University Hopital, the people that are working with Jack cannot believe how well he is doing. A few of the updates:

• Goes outside in a wheelchair on a regular basis


• Continues with improved movement on his right side (The Doctor stated that the movement in his extremeties (arms and legs) will come back last.)


• Stands up with help and then does "mini-squats"


• Continues speaking without the alphabet board

In summary, Jack wants to be the #1 patient at St. Judes just like he was at USC and as you can see, he is well on his way.

Nutrition

Jack is eating ice chips which is the first step in the process of getting back to eating liquids and solids. As you can imagine, on several (many)occasions he has stated that he is ready to eat.

Health Issues

As several of you indicated in your blogs, Jack caught a cold several days ago but it has gone away and he is feeling much better.

Trach - The Doctor's have been reducing the size of the trach periodically over the past few weeks. Jack is on the smallest size and Doctor's expect to have complete removal of the trach by the early part of next week.

Hospital Report

The visitation hours are still 5:00 to 8:00 pm but on weekends Jack's schedule is much lighter than during the week.

The family reports that Jack love's us to come visit him. If you are unable to visit him during the week, weekends are a great time to see him since he has more time.

In planning your trip to visit Jack, listed below is the phone number of Katie to find out if Jack is in physical therapy or when would be the best time that day to visit. Katie's number is:

951-323-6599 (Cell Phone)

Also, St. Jude can be called direct and there is a phone in Jack's room.

Family Report

As all of you know, this is an incredible family!!!! As many of you have shared, the Hawkin's family has been an inspiration to all of us. Just an example, a family member has stayed each and every night with Jack since his stay at USC and St. Jude. Their commitment is to not have Jack spend the night alone.

Please continue to pray that the Lord will bless the family and give them strength.

Blog Report

Jack has a laptop computer and is checking what all of us write to him each day. He has been encouraged by each and every entry that has been made. This blog has been an excellent way for us to keep you informed but also a way for you to encourage, support and show Jack and his family how much we love them. As of this writing, there have been over 2400 times that people have logged into this blog. Let's continue the support!

St. Jude - Visitation Hours

Visitation Hours

St. Jude, Fullerton - 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Room 265 (North Building Rehab)

Note - Hospital Staff has asked that we limit our visits to 10 minutes.

*Jack has made the transition to St. Jude's very well. He is now ready and looking forward to all of us coming to visit with him. Don't worry if you have difficulty with spelling....(read further)

Speech

*Throw the Alphabet Board away - Jack can now vocalize all of his communication. This is a huge step towards recovery!

Progress

"I have had over 1000 stroke patients and Jack is number #1," stated a Doctor at USC, prior to Jack leaving.

Moving to Rehab!

Praise Report:

Jack is moving tomorrow to St. Judes Hospital in Fullerton! He will be receiving intense rehab. Let's all let Jack get settled in before we go visit him so that he can adjust to these new intense workouts. The doctors say that this next step for Jack will be both mentally and physically tiring.

Movement:

Right leg- During rehab, his right leg is lifted by an assistant at the knee and ankle. He now has the strength in the right leg to apply pressure all the way down to the bed (this is the same right leg that he had no movement in at first).

Right arm - Jack has the ability to move while being assisted.

Oral Motor- Jack is able to swallow now and has a gag reflex! (It looks like they will be taking out the tracheostomy in the near future!)

Speech- Jack is able to make some sounds.

Mental:

Going right along with past updates, he is 110%. In fact, he is excited about moving to Fullerton and a family member stated that he said, "The kids can go home now!" He is always concerned about others' well being!

The next blog should be udated about mid-week, and it will fill you in on visitation times for Jack. So until then, let's all continue to lift Jack and his family up in prayer!

"It's a Miracle" says Doctors

Miracle in Progess

"We have never seen a person suffer a stroke like Jack's and improve as much as he has in only 3 weeks," stated Doctor's from USC University Hopital.

"Last night you were prayed for at the graduation ceremony. I noticed several seniors had notes on their mortar boards praying for you. It shows how many people you have touched. Of course we ran into friends and the first thing they ask is about you. Everyone wants to see your recovery. I want to witness a miracle. It is what I pray for through out the day."

-Randy Thompson

*Movement:

• Jack is sitting up


• He can hold his head up


• More facial expressions

*Communication:

• Never ceases to amaze everyone on how well he is communicating. (Note - Will soon be entering the over 50 spelling bee contest, held in Nashville, Tennesse.)

Nurses Report

Jack is their favorite patient because of his positive attitude and effort in everything he does. They are just beginning to realize and appreciate the person we all know and love. It's great to know he is in such wonderful care!

Hospital Visit 6/22/07

• Jack has great facial movement and expressions.
• He is able to mouth words very well.
• He is able to point at the alphabet board and spell words faster than most of us. "It will make you want to brush up on your own spelling! Pretty soon he will be using a board for his foot as well as his hand. The hand will be saying one thing his foot something else. If anyone could, he could. His progress is evident and remarkable." -Randy Barkley
• Moving his left arm and hand very well, shook hands
• He is teasing the doctors and nurses.
• Smiles and laughs alot.

Jack communicated through the alphabet board for his thankfulness to all of you and continued to point up to God for all that He has done already!!!

Things to pray for:

• Increased movement on both sides especially his right side
• Continued improvement with his communication
• His transition to a rehab facility in the near future

"Thank everyone for their prayers!" from Jack - June 20,2007

*Message from Jack - "Thank everyone for their prayers!!! Only God has sustained me this far. Tell them that I have felt every single prayer." Jack communicated this message through an alphabet board.


*Jack Moved - Praise Report #1 - JACK IS OUT OF ICU!!!!! HE IS MORE STABLE AND HAS BEEN MOVED TO ANOTHER FLOOR!


YOUR PRAYERS CONTINUE TO BE AT WORK.......


Karen stated, "Thank everyone for their prayers, letters, food and every little thing that has been done by so many, thank you, thank you..."

Doctor's Report

*Mental Status - As you can see from the above messages, Jack's mental state is excellent. A great example - the Doctor's were sitting around Jack's bed discussing his condition and treatment when Jack raised his hand to get their attention so he could add his "two cents." It was just like being back at one of his many board meetings!

*Movement - He is having physical therapy every day. His left side is increasing in motion each day. Praise Report #2 - He has a tiny bit of movement noted on his right side. Keep praying for more movement on his right side. Jack had limited movement intially on his left side and this has improved tremendously, we are going to believe that the same will happen to the right side.


Note - Jack was seen moving Katie's hair away from her face and eyes, as she sat near his bed. This is something that he has always done for her since she was a little girl.

Again, thank you for your many prayers.......

Monday - June 18th - Update

* Movement - Jack is moving his mouth trying to form words. He is able to move his tongue, and make facial expressions. He has increased movement on his left side, can touch his face with his left hand. All of these motions are increasing each day.

* Personality - As we stated in a recent blog, JACK is BACK. He is joking around and making people laugh.

It is unknown when he will be moving to rehab but it looks like in the near future. The Doctor's do not want to release him from ICU too soon.

Karen, Heather, Katie, Matthew and Michael (Katie's boyfriend) are getting more rest and doing well. They continue to appreciate all of the writings to the blog, especially the jokes and funny stories. So keep 'em coming, along with your prayers!!!!

Happy Father's Day

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY JACK!!

______________________

FROM YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS

WE ARE ALL PRAYING FOR YOU!

More Improvements

The Prayer Pager has been outstanding. It is going off countless times a day and Jack and his Family are really touched by this ongoing support!!

951 -344-3405

* Movement - At first Jack was unable to move his right side. Today he moved his right foot.

He watched the Dodger / Angel game with Matthew on TV, last night.

Praise Report

"JACK IS BACK"

* Communication - He communicates to the family by pointing to an alphabet board. The family states that it is like a "game of charades." As they start the word, Heather, Katie or Matthew will try and guess the word or phrase and Jack gets a real big kick out of this. He will start to smile and even laugh watching them trying to figure out the words he is communicating.

Just before Jack had his stroke, he was going through the Baker's drive through and had ordered (2) tostados. Apparently, one of the communications that Jack made to Joel Alexander was: "Instead of getting a tostado, I got a stroke." Now, that is the Jack that we all know and love!!!!!!

* Movement - Jack is able to move his left arm much better and can wave and hold it in the air.

Update & Prayer Pager

Great news!!!!The family reports that the Doctor's stated the latest MRI showed the anurism has reduced slightly in size. This was a big day for Jack since they put in a tracheostomy. Keep praying that everything continues to move forward!

A Prayer Pager has been established. The purpose of the pager is to alert Jack when someone is praying for him. The pager will vibrate on his wrist when you call the number below. The pager number is:

951-344-3405

When you call the pager it will prompt you with easy directions to follow.

Added to the About Me section is a picture of Jack preparing to land his helicopter on Catalina Island. This picture was taken from the backseat of the helicopter.

Your Prayers & Stories Are Making A Difference!

Everyone's response to the Hawkin's Family blog has been outstanding!!


This is the latest update:


Jack is progressively improving. His temperature is normal and his appearance is improving. The family attributes that to all of your prayers and support. Tomorrow is a big day for Jack and he will need your prayers. They have requested that we continue with telling fun stories on the blog.

If anything, knowing that so many of you care and love Jack has helped keep his spirits up. It is a blessing to have such a tight knit community of friends to aid in their support through this journey.

We will do our best to update you on this site. Again your prayers and stories are very much coveted. Please let others know about the blog so that we can continue to lift up Jack.

Jack's Update

This blog is designed to help all of us stay up to date on Jack's condition and communicate with his family and many, many, many friends. Karen has stated that she told Jack about this blog and that he appeared to brighten up. Karen plans on reading some of our messages from this blog to Jack. This is an excellent way that you can get a message directly to the family and Jack. Please feel free to write any of the following;

• Notes to Jack, Karen, Heather, Katie or Matthew


• Prayers


• Notes to Jack's Friends


• Anything you feel would be appropriate....

Please let us know anything that you would like to be added to this blog for Jack and his family.

Oran Pentz and Randy Barkley