Matthew Kurz - Updates & Prayers

Periodic updates on Matthew's condition and ongoing prayers and words of encouragement for Matthew and his family.

August 24, 2008

Update - 8/24/08

Matthew's home!!! During the month stay at Rusk Rehab Center, he made great progress and continues down the road of improvement. The biggest improvement was in the area of speech and communication. Matthew's vocabulary is even better and he is making appropriate responses in his communication. Even more exciting is that Matthew is able to initiate asking questions rather than just repeating what someone else tells him to say or ask.

Matthew is also now reading books and magazines. He has been doing this for a while, but previously it was difficult for him to communicate what he just read. Now the flow of his reading is better and he's learned to overcome the aphasia (dictionary meaning of this word: the loss of a previously held ability to speak or understand spoken or written language, due to disease or injury of the brain.)

Another major hurdle that Matthew is learning to overcome is dealing with his situation and disability. Matthew has fought against it at times and been frustrated with not being able to do the things he wants. But recently he has shown signs of accepting his situation/disability and is learning how to deal with life as it is for him now. He is aware that he can still do things, but just has to do them differently now. He's much happier and has accepted who and what he is.

Matthew also has made great strides with his physical therapy while at Rusk. His back muscles are much stronger and he can stand longer and continues to practice walking. He often refuses to use the walker or cane to walk. He now uses the person next to him for support. He puts his arm around that person and off he goes. That person has to be very strong to help support this large young man. He walks the best when his favorite music is playing such as the Beatles.

Recently botox was administered to Matthew's right arm because the muscles have been so tight. Now that it is relaxed more with the botox, Matthew and therapists are working hard to flex his right arm and hand. Soon he will have an occupational therapist working with him at home to continue the improvements he has made right his right arm.

Speaking of therapy, Matthew has returned to doing therapy at Bothwell. We are thankful for those at Rusk as well as Bothwell that give great care to Matthew. Thanks also to the nurses that have cared for Matthew at home. He will be losing nursing care at the end of this month because he no longer qualifies for LPN care. His improvements and self-care that he can do himself have disqualified him for nursing care. So, despite the fact that it puts more on his parents' shoulders at nighttime, it's a good thing because of Matthew's progress.

Three weeks before going to Rusk, Matthew had the opportunity to use an exercise machine called "NuStep." This ergonomic Cross Trainer is shown to assist with neuromuscular re-education. For a person with brain injury or brain trauma (even those with strokes), this is helps the nerves re-communicate with the muscles. After using NuStep, results show improvement different areas: cognitive, memory, balance, walking, and talking. Matthew's writing and eating with his right hand improved just in the three weeks of using the machine. Matthew's family discovered and applied for a grant with Kids' Missouri Assisted Technology to get "NuStep" in the home and Praise the Lord, they received that grant. Matthew soon will receive his own NuStep to use on a daily basis. His doctor from Rusk (Dr. Ruppright) said that if Matthew is able to exercise every day for the rest of his life, he may be able to manage the tone in his muscles.

Last, but not least, Matthew will be receiving instruction in art. His art and creativity appear to still be strong, but he will need to learn to compensate in using his left hand with drawing. A young man who is an art student at State Fair Community College in Sedalia is going to give Matthew art instruction. This young man had a spinal cord injury and can relate well with Matthew's challenges. Matthew will also be receiving instruction and encouragement from a retired art professor from CMSU (University of Central Missouri). He is eager to work with Matthew to help him redevelop his art skills.

Matthew's brother, Andrew is back to college for his second year at Rockhurst College in Kansas City. He is doing very well and we are quite proud of him. The other boys are also doing well. Lucas has started high school and Timothy likes his new teacher for this year.

Thank you for your patience in waiting for more news about Matthew. We've been unavailable quite a bit this summer, but are getting back into a routine. I will do my best to provide an update at least once a month for all of you. Thanks to everyone that sent Matthew a card while he was at Rusk. He LOVED getting mail and loves to show his mail to anyone that visits. The "talking" cards were a big hit! My family and I stopped to see Matthew on our way home from vacation and he was eager to show us his cards. Several of them made him laugh again and again. During our visit we went outside with Matthew and showed him our dogs (beagles). He enjoyed that (but was not crazy about one of them licking his face). Matthew's favorite part about being outside was showing us all the cars in the parking lot that he REALLY likes. Sporty ones and fancy trucks are his favorite, especially if they are black, dark green or blue or red.

Hope you had a wonderful summer. God be with you this day.

Rachel Asburry
Matthew's Godmother