Friday, February 3, 2006

MATT LONG UPDATE

Matt is 6 weeks in tomorrow and he is really being amazingly strong in spirit and body. He is still working with his doctors to get his body moving again. Still stoic, he has been working with his physical therapists twice a day during the week and once each weekend day. Arms are pretty good and I think that the leg work will increase shortly. From my perspective things seem to be moving forward fairly quickly, with the idea that it is a long race ahead for him. There is no doubt that this is due to his physical strength, focus, and support from family, FDNY, and all of his friends.

Matt has a better-than-healthy appetite, eating everything his family, the firehouse, or the Asphalt Green guys make for him and even making some personal requests on occasion. He is doing a very little bit of light reading i.e. the newspaper, and is listening to his Ipod, watching movies on his DVD player, or watching football or hoops on the hospital TV. Do not get me wrong. He is always in pain and very serious in demeanor. I believe that he is still listed in critical, but will keep you updated on that.

As I have said in the recent updates, he is lucid, strong-voiced, and knows what is going on. He wants to be in on it all. Visitors are still not allowed except by his request and he probably will need us all more down the road, rather than at this important fork. Those lazy spring or summer afternoons, when you feel like going for a walk in the park, or leaving work early, or hitting a movie, may be the time to change your plans and give Matt some time. I think that will be the most important time for his friends to lend a hand and keep his spirits up. He needs the time now to focus on physical health to a point where it may be better off to only have to concentrate on a few emotions, and channel those towards healing.

Last we have another blood drive for those who missed any of the number of recent, unbelievably successful, drives in Matt's name. It will be at MJ Armstrong's at 329 First Avenue at 19th Street in NYC on 2/11/05 from 12PM to 5:30 PM. There will be more stations than Turtle Bay and Third & Long combined so we should be able to take all applicants. Make sure to get a number from Armstrong's so we can try and have the day move as orderly as possible. Please call Mary Egan or Matt Birde at MJ Armstrong's @ 212-358-9946 or you can email questions to mjarmstrongs@verizon.net

I leave you with an interesting insight in regards to the service we are providing with these blood drives; a thought came across Mary Egan's mind the other day that maybe some of the blood we have helped donate in recent weeks may have helped save the life of the NYPD officer who was shot this past week, and needed as much blood, if not more, than Matt needed.

Terry Brennan