DAY 92 – Our daughter is coming along. She can do the basic things that we can do….just will have to fine tune them in the next hand full of months there at rehab before we can bring her home. Bring her home, that’s a thought that is really nice to have on our minds. For A LONG TIME, we were not given that idea. Now we are. How much fine tuning she’ll be able to do, we’ll all have to wait and see. But it looks so much better than we all anticipated. They’re goal is to have her doing these things on her own when they release her to go home: eating, dressing, walking, talking, making some food, all with little or no assisstance. Will she need help? Yes. Will she do it all as fast and fine tuned as us? Eh.. If it happens it’ll be a long time. She will have to continue therapy at home for a few years forsure. But they do say these are the goals they’ve set based on their experience. OK, well take that. The thoughts and mind organization, and carring out well planned things…That’s all a slower, more wait and see later down the road thing. They’ve always said too that her age is on her side. But again, check out what we do have…yeah…cool stuff. We’ve been putting together some pictures for you readers, soon will have it ready for you. In the mean time, enjoy this picture of Nicole and myself! She uses her voice now, yes it is pretty, just like always. The best I can describe her state of mind is this: She’s about 80% there. Most of the time her choice of words are on. Sometimes she’ll come out with something that isn’t on. Then toward her more tired times, the last few words of the sentence will roll out all together. To watch all this take place…it’s neat, scary, great, amazing, shocking, cool, and terrible….all at the same time. Me and Glenn are sure glad to have you all here with us for it. Thanks. Please pray for her full and complete recovery and for her emotions to be ok during all of this. Love, Kolpacks

We are very please with the rehab crew taking care and teaching our daughter so well. We are working on something special for Nicole’s readers. So in the mean time, I will take the time to ask YOU. Do you have any questions about Nicole’s journey that you’d like to ask? If I don’t know the answer, i’ll try to get it. Take the next few days, think about it and get back to me. Love Kolpack’s

DAY 82 We’ve been in SF for a month already. We were expecting a bland week because we’ve been warned that there are plateau’s in recovery. There are set backs in recovery. We got an exciting week! Nicole is getting stronger literally by the day. In all ways. She can now say all or most of a sentence with just one breath like us. But without her voice, it’s still a whisper that sounds like our whispers do. If she’s tired, the words can drift or roll in together. If she giggles or coughs, her real voice comes through, they say it’s just a matter of time for her voice to kick in, boy, that’ll be like hearing the angel’s sing. That’s been our favorite thing about the last month, they can tell you what to expect in the future. My husband and I. all of us, went way too long without knowing anything at all about a future with that girl. Her walking has gone from 3 therapists gripping her like bears to one therapist holding a safety belt with one hand just for safety and using the other hand to guide her shoulder for balance. She is walking fast! We wouldn’t believe it if we couldn’t see it for ourselves. She is still unstable with her balance but i’m here to tell ya …it’s coming right along. We were recently able to celebrate her birthday … She got many gifts. The gift we got…I held up a card so she could see her little brother signed it. Instead of me telling her about that….she blurted out and read me the card!!! Yea..everyone in the room just about dropped to the floor, the next day her therapists tested her ….held up something and told her to read it…She did. Her caretakers and nurses really love her. they are always doing her hair, helping her dress in cool colors and clothes, talking with her, and loving on her. If it weren’t for them, leaving her once in a while to care for her little brother and our business would be impossible. Nicole will be getting therapy there for a hand full of months still. We don’t know exactly how long. Then she’ll have therapy when she returns home aswell..but paying for the recovery with a hand full of months, having members of our family here, there and everywhere all the time, waking up in the morning and having to think for a minute what town we’re in….we can do all that standing on our head. Having quite a bright future ahead for our daughter…priceless! Thanks for you support. Please keep your prayers coming. And send Nicole your positive energy for her confidence and complete recovery.

MAN OH MAN, our girl is really surprising us and her staff at the rehab center!! We are all thrilled because she is all but talking….she whispers like we do and says 1 or 2 words then takes a breath then another 1 or 2 words, then another breath, then finishes what she has to say…it’s soooooo coooool !!! Take it from one who knows! We: me, Glenn and our 2 kids today were talking and eating some chocolate candy bar…somebody said something funny and one person laughed, then another, then another, then Nicole came out with a real laugh…a REAL LAUGH! Then we looked at her and laughed, then she laughed again, then she laughed again!! For all 4 of us Kolpacks laughing together again..like we used to…This was just the medicine me and her daddy and her brother and her needed. Then we called some relatives on the speaker phone and let Nicole say Hi or leave them a message and say their name for them. Dr. Father Glenn was tryin to test the waters…said “Nicole, mom’s cell ph number is …ah…i…think ….7 4 3… and what?’ She whispered the correct remaining numbers to him!!! She is no longer considered in a coma. She is no longer considered emerging from a coma. She is considered in recovery. She is slow. She is a bit unsteady at times. She is doing it. MAN Friends, this is some goooood livin’ real good livin..betta days. So tonight….I pray for YOU. To return the favor, you are doing it for us. We love you for it..Kolpacks 

MAN…JUST HAD 2 TELL YA! Miss Nicole is just comin’ rite along..I mean nothing lightening fast, but always a progression. She is taking a few words at a time, a few times a day..and whispering them out. Today, she decided on her own to undo the velcro belt across her lap in the wheel chair, then stood up…YA KNOW…with no one around to help catch her if she took a dive!!! YIKES!!! They are slowly changing her environment…”Stimulation” bright sunshine in her room, going out to the large community room where there’s a bunch of real big windows that show off the city from just about every angle, she looks at that and enjoys it. If she’s not ready to leave when you start to wheel her chair, she’ll grab onto the wheel real fast, to stop the chair. …..Just some good stuff…have a good week…BETTA DAYZ 2 U. Thanks for everything, Kolpacks.