Hello again community! For those of you who we haven’t been in touch with over the last two months since our last update, we are so sorry for not getting more updates on here. Life has been moving at ludicrous speed – weekdays in Jacksonville, weekends in Gainesville, difficult home moves and difficult work moves, ups, downs and sidewayses – but we have much to update you on and will do so over the next couple of posts. For now, we want to start with the most important: Ari has been crushing it. A genuine hero is this boy. Nothing comes close to observing the composure, perseverance and coolness he brings to the arena of this new life every day. Ari’s lion-hearted spirit is and remains #LionStrong. 

We left off on here while he was fully immersed in the Spinal Cord Injury Day Program at Brooks Rehab, where he stayed through the end of January, clocking six hours a day, five days a week alongside exceptional therapists and other Day Program fighters. It was an intense stretch of learning, growing, and pushing limits – and every ounce of effort paid off. He’s emerged stronger, more independent, and ready to continue making gains. Speaking of which . . . more to come on that in the next update!

As of the beginning of February, Ari transitioned into the Brooks Neuro-Recovery Center (NRC) Independent Program, where he’s continuing physical therapy and participating in personalized therapy sessions aimed at enhancing his recovery and functional independence. On any given day he’s rotating between different strength training and mobility exercises, getting in the pool for aquatic therapy, and using advanced technologies like the functional electrical stimulation (FES) bike which he was introduced to back during inpatient days. A definite standout in this new phase is the aquatic therapy at Brooks’ pool: the water has seriously been a game-changer for Ari, unlocking a range of motion and control we hadn’t seen before and quite frankly that we didn’t know was there. Watching him move and control his body in ways that seemed out of reach before is nothing short of awe-inspiring. It’s like the pool has given him a new kind of freedom to explore what his body can do. But again, more on that later! 

Last week Ari was fitted for some KAFOs (knee-ankle-foot braces) which will support his literal next steps as he keeps pressing forward. The plan is to stay with the NRC Independent Program through the end of this month – and possibly more – giving him a solid runway to launch from as we explore other therapy options for this first year.

Ari has had his sights set on returning to Buchholz High School in Gainesville to finish the last quarter of his junior year in person, but we’re still weighing that out. The school transition and re-entry process is about as complicated as it gets with evaluations and meetings and IEPs and county-to-county school board coordination, although just about everyone involved across both counties clearly loves what they do and feels passionately about getting Ari set up for success. We’re navigating what therapy and support and school will look like post-March if we go through with the return to school this semester as opposed to waiting until senior year. Lots to decide and pros and cons either way. 

We’re still calling Helen’s House home during the week. New friendships develop deep roots quickly in this kind of environment, where everyone is living in a spot that neither seems real nor unreal, an accentuated version of reality somewhere where trauma and anxious uncertainties find a truce with gratitude and hope for possible futures. As we write this, we are hearing that one of those new friends lost his wife tonight – a patient at Brooks following multiple strokes –  after caring for her around the clock for the last five years. Once again reminded that life is fragile and a gift to be treasured in the present- right now.

One quick practical note: your support was absolutely critical in seeing us through the SCI Day Program and getting Ari’s first custom wheelchair, as the new year brought brand new insurance gaps. So, this “THANK YOU!!” is not nearly enough but it will have to do for now. Imagine it bold-faced and glowing with extra text effects and the entire rainbow color gradient. The peace of mind that came from knowing we had this support when we started hearing the numbers is something that none of us will ever forget. Like Ari’s determination, knowing we have this community that loves us and supports us shines through every hard-won victory, and there have been many.

More to come. Goodnight for now!

 -Ari’s family