This is Jesse and I thought I'd write an update to let everyone know how I'm doing now that I've been home for almost a month. Beware, it's a long update.

Things here at home are going pretty well. I'm no longer using the cane to walk, and have actually made a few long walks without much issue. I still have some slight weakness in the hamstring, but other than that my leg is almost back to normal! As for my arm, I'm gaining a lot of strength and mobility back. I may have torn my rotator cuff from overworking it in the rehab hospital, but it continues to get stronger and gain a greater range of motion. My biggest challenge there is telling myself to stop when it gets sore so that I don't end up damaging it more. Finally, my hand is making slow but steady improvements. I have basically the full motion in my hands and fingers, though there's still a little weakness. When I started physical therapy a month ago, my hand was at about 20% strength and I'm up to about 50%. So I'm still not where I want to be, but everything is definitely coming along.

Some of the fun I've had lately involves visiting my friends back at Juniata the other week. I was disappointed with the amount of time I had, but was extremely grateful to see people before the summer. Then this past weekend I went to my cousin Jenny's graduation party in New Jersey. She's graduating from med school (Congrats again!) and so I got to see a lot of my family which was very nice. Overall, I'm getting around fairly well and definitely like to get out of the house. I've never been one to stay still and so this whole process has forced me to develop a great deal of patience.

Two of the most popular questions people continue to ask are if I have pain and how I sleep at night. Ironically, the two go together. The only time I have any pain is usually when I wake up in the morning or sometimes if I wake up at night. However, it's usually gone in about 10 minutes, so I'm not complaining. Sleeping has been much better here at home than in the hospital. It's sometimes difficult to position myself because I like to sleep on my stomache/side, but once I find a comfortable spot I'm usually out.

Finally, the big question has been answered. The halo comes off June 29th! I'll admit I was a little disappointed to hear it wouldn't ome off until the end of June, but knowing how long other people have had to wear one, I have nothing to complain about. I met with the surgeon today and he said my x-rays and everything all look good, he just wants to be safe. After the halo comes off I will wear a soft neck collar and will do a few sessions of physical therapy to regain mobility in my neck. Even though I had the fusion and haven't moved my neck in so long, the therapist expects that I'll have full mobility and strength rather quickly.

Okay, I do believe that's enough for now. Thanks for reading my novel :-P Maybe I'll work on doing updates more often so they don't end up so long. Anyway, thank you to everyone for their thoughts and prayers and all of the continued support. I really do appreciate it. I look forward to seeing everyone soon (and in 49 days without the hardware!)