Many people have asked about Ilan's condition, so we figured it would be best to get some information out there. Ilan is currently at a rehab facility in the City of Orange. Our mom spends the week with him, sleeping in the room, and our dad switches with her for the weekend. The time we spend all together is for Shabbat on Friday evening. Ilan has a shunt in his brain to help him drain brain fluid, and recently had surgery to reconstruct a part of his skull. He is looking much better after the surgery. He also has a tracheotomy to help his breathing.
For the most part, Ilan does not move much on his own. However, yesterday he stuck his tongue out for our dad, which was very exciting! There are times when he is alert, and there are times when he is not. When he is focused, we have to try to read his blinks - his eyes and facial expressions do most of the communicating. Hopefully that gives some information, but please be in touch with any specific questions. We hope to have more good news to share soon!
If you need information about the accident itself, you can Google "Ilan Ashkenazi Santa Barbara." You can also go to http://www.dailysoundonline.com/, click on the archives and find the October 1st, 2007 copy of the paper. Feel free to ask us questions to fill in the gaps.
8 comments:
Thanks for the update on Ilan. It was great to hear of his progress and I'm glad you started this blog. I just learned of it from Sinai Akiba. Ilan is in our thoughts and prayers on a regular basis and we look forward to hearing more about his condition. Please send love and Shabbat Shalom to your entire family.
Janet
We continue to send your our thoughts and prayers for Ilan. Much love from Atlanta, GA. The Klarman family, Wendy & David, Eli, Steven and Brian.
We love you all. We are so pleased that you finally developed a blog. It is a great way to communicate. We have been telling you for 6 months to give Ilan a squeeze for us and tell him we love him. It is nice to know that you do that anyway. We only have the best of prayers for all of you. The Zucker Girls and Ron Monat
My thoughts and prayers are with Ilan and the whole family. I often stop to wonder how he is doing and how the whole family is coping. Look for the miracles each day for they are there. In the squeeze of the hand that won't stop or the blink of the eyes and for the clearing of his throat. He somehow knows who he was and hopefully he is seeking the healing his head and body needs to find his way to the greatest possibilities. Lots of love, miss seeing him and your parents. Take care, Love, Judy
I am so glad to have this blog to follow Ilan's progress. I especially loved reading Michal's update. What a grown up young lady. We love each and every one of you and pray for Ilan's health. i'm regulary check the blog and let everyone in our family know of Ilan's progress. We all send kisses and hugs to all of you.
We love you Estelle, Michal and Brian. You are the one's that are there daily. And now Jarone are you home too? Sending a squeeze.
love Auntie Gail
Estelle and I wish to thank the entire community for their prayers, wishes and support for Ilan.
We also want to thank our tireless kids David, Jarone and Michal: without their help and understanding we would never have been able to focus and shower so much of our energies on Ilan.
Last but not least we wish to thank Sinai Akiba/Sinai Temple as well as Milken High School/Stephen Wise Temple for their unwavering commitment to teaching our kids to be the best mensches they can be.
We know they have blossomed under their care and guidance.
It is hard to believe that it has been almost 9 months since the accident. Since Ilan's last surgery exactly 4 weeks ago, Ilan is much more relaxed and able to focus on his recovery.
Ilan is a strong and determined boy and he has valiantly fought and won his battle thru recovery. He has now expressed a longing to come home. In about a month, our family will embark on a new journey that we hope will coax Ilan along in his tough battle to win the war to recover speech and mobility. We hope and pray that coming home will give him the strong desire to fight harder and find the psychological edge and confidence needed to overcome the barriers along the way.
He will need your help when he gets home - our house will always be open. Please call and/or stop by to see him and cheer him on!!
Shabbat Shalom and once again thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
Estelle and I wish to thank the entire community for their prayers, wishes and support for Ilan.
We also want to thank our tireless kids David, Jarone and Michal: without their help and understanding we would never have been able to focus and shower so much of our energies on Ilan.
Last but not least we wish to thank Sinai Akiba/Sinai Temple as well as Milken High School/Stephen Wise Temple for their unwavering commitment to teaching our kids to be the best mensches they can be.
We know they have blossomed under their care and guidance.
It is hard to believe that it has been almost 9 months since the accident. Since Ilan's last surgery exactly 4 weeks ago, Ilan is much more relaxed and able to focus on his recovery.
Ilan is a strong and determined boy and he has valiantly fought and won his battle thru recovery. He has now expressed a longing to come home. In about a month, our family will embark on a new journey that we hope will coax Ilan along in his tough battle to win the war to recover speech and mobility. We hope and pray that coming home will give him the strong desire to fight harder and find the psychological edge and confidence needed to overcome the barriers along the way.
He will need your help when he gets home - our house will always be open. Please call and/or stop by to see him and cheer him on!!
Shabbat Shalom and once again thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
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