OCTOBER 1,2004 Hello all, Well its friday night and it has been a very long week. Jayden seems to be getting used to the new meds and the increases in them. He is finally showing some signs of strength again, Jenny & I even got him to take a couple of steps with us supporting him. He is a real trooper throughout this, he continues to smile and even giggle a little bit. Today he said mom again very clearly to Jenny. He is trying so hard to get through the fog and we are so proud of him. He is truly amazing to watch. These days are long, stressful, exhausting and constantly watching the clock with not enough time in the day to get everything done, but we are so very very thankful to have them. Sometimes when we think we cannot take anymore we step back and look at Jayden and he just warms our hearts and restores our strength and faith, and we know it will be ok. As long as it takes we are on this journey together and nothing will stop us! Nothing! And how can it with Super Jayden leading the way, he has accomplished so much in his life already and he has so much more to do. We are so proud of him. We look forward to seeing friends both old and new on sundays meningitis walk and on monday at the golf outing. It is truly because of your continued prayer and support that we carry on thank you. Good night and God bless. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden OCTOBER 3,2004 Oh what a beautiful day! We went to the Alexa meningitis walk a thon today at Packanack Lake. The weather was beautiful and the people were even more beautiful. The walk was in memory of Alexa Senyk http://www.meningitis-angels.org/alexa_taylor_senyk.htm a beautiful baby girl who was taken by meningitis. We spent the day with her family, her wonderful parents Michele and Chris and brothers chris and Zak and the rest of the wonderful family. We also had the opportunity to meet Frankie Miley the founder of www.meningitis-angels.org who also lost her son Ryan http://www.meningitis-angels.org/ryanhb.htm to this horrible disease, Frankie is an amazing person who has devoted her life to doing all she can to stop this terrible disease and to inform people about meningitis. Her strength along with Michele and Chris is truly inspirational. We met Johnny D' Antona http://www.meningitis-angels.org/johnnyeb.htm who is a true survivor of meningitis and one amazing young man, his family was absolutly wonderful. And of course our favorite Angel Carye Wynn http://www.meningitis-angels.org/caryeeb.htm and her mom Kate who have been there for us from the beginning. We met so many wonderful and caring people today there, and of course we also had the Angels from above watching over us it was a perfect day.There was a beautiful walk around the lake, great food provided by the Outback Steakhouse from Wayne Thank you. A very special thanks to the Passaic County Sheriff's Department Mounted Squad for being there today, everyone loved the horses. Thank you to the Wayne Police Dept for your traffic control. Jayden had a great time seeing all the smiling and friendly faces and even got a kiss from one of the horses, it made him laugh. We would like to again thank everybody we met today for there support, and thank those families who have also been touched by this terrible disease for there strength and help. We will continue to stay in touch and have found some great friends for life. Good night and God bless to you all. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden OCTOBER 5,2004 Hey yall, First of we want to say a great big thank you to everyone involded with the Golf outing for Jayden on monday. We heard it was a great time. We were unable to attend due to we increased Jayden's med the night before and he was really out of it on monday. We had a good day today finally going back for his therapies in over a week, it was great to see everybody at Children's Specialized hospital. Jay did pretty good we are still behind because of the seizures and the increased meds. We are noticing he is getting used to the meds pretty quickly, and today his seizures were a little diffrent, hopefully getting better. We hope and pray we are on the right road with the meds. It was a very long day today and we are exhausted, so we will call it a night. Good night & God bless. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden. Thank you again to everyone at the Passaic County Sheriff's Dept especially Dan & Leo for Golf outing for Jayden. Thank you to everyone who was involved and supported it. We love you all! OCTOBER 7,2004 Hey everybody, Jayden is doing OK, he is doing a little better with the seizures, they are changing again which is driving Jenny & I crazy, but over all Jays is doing a little better. We must watch him like a hawk for his everymove can set off a seizure. He is beginning to seem a little less tired, but still his balance is off. When he sits up which is struggle he is very wobbly and usually falls over. Today is 6 months since Jay got sick, it seems like 6 years to Jenny & I. It is a very long long road and you all know has been a very bumpy one so far, but we have faith it will soon get smoother. And are thankful for everyday with Jayden as tough as they may be. We had a nice visit today from Jay's teacher Casey Crane, we are sure it was very theraputic for Jay and got some more brain waves working, Thank you so much. We hope in upcoming weeks as Jayden gets adjusted to the meds and the seizures hopefully diminish he can resume making progress and moving forward.We cannot wait. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden OCTOBER 9,2004 Hey all, Jayden is trying so hard, but right now its a uphill battle again. The doctor called us last night and said she was concerned with Jay's seizures and the fact he is getting more tired either from the meds or the seizures. So she told us to cut down his meds to see if he would perk up. We cut the meds last night and Jayden is a little more perked up but when he has the seizures today they are stonger and a little more frequent and they really wipe him out. He even cried a little during one today, and screamed after another one. Jay is trying so hard, he looks at us with almost perfect clarity in his eyes and just wants to communicate with us but he cannot. It is so frustrating. The doctor said we have to get to the bottom of this fast, so we will probably be back in NY at Presbyterian Hospital most of this week. Jayden is going backwards now and we cannot have that! We will get through this. A special thank you to our friends who stopped by last night we had a great time. Jenny and I needed a little distraction. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. Good night and God bless. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden OCTOBER 12,2004 Hey, Well very simply things are not going too good. Jayden is beginning to go backwards due to the meds and seizures, he has no energy to eat or drink and very little muscle control. So we will be heading out to NY Presbyterian Hosp this morning where his doctor wants to get very agressive with the meds and find a solution. It will probably know Jay out and he may go back on a feeding tube but we will do whatever we can. It has become very frustrating for Jenny & I to watch Jayden going backwards. We will probably be in NY for quite some time, we will just live there with Jay untill we have answers. We will try and keep you updated. As always we appreciate your continued prayer & support to get us through this time. We must continue forward on our journey! Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden OCTOBER 15,2004 Hello all, We are home once again. We spent 4 days in NY at Presbyterian hospital with Jayden's epileptologist Dr Leary. She said she would get aggresive with the meds and not let us go home until things were under control. When we went on tuesday morning, Jayden was like a rag doll with little or no muscle control, he could not hold up his head and Jenny & I had to move his mouth to get him to eat or drink, he was also coughing because he was not swallowing right. We got to the hospital and they hooked Jayden up to all these moitors on his head and put us back in the room with a camera that followed and recorded his every move. Jayden was give a valium type med to relax his brain waves so the anti seizure meds could be allowed to work. Well we were very happy when wednesday came and went with no seizures, the frist day in months. Thursday he had 2 very small seizures in the morning, but then no more. We found out it was the seizures not the meds that were making Jayden so weak and sleepy. So now we up his anti seizure meds again but he will be on valium for a couple of days to relax his brain so the meds can begin to work in, which the seizures were not allowing the meds to work due to all the seizures. Jay went all day today with no seizures. Most importantly he has his strength back, trying to sit up and roll around and he even tried to crawl today. He is trying to talk again, and imitating our facial expressions a little today. We hope we are back on track. He ate solid foods today and drank liquids very easily, something he has not done in weeks. It was a good day today, and of course it is great to be home. I think Jenny & I may actually get a little sleep tonight, something we have not in weeks due to stressfull days. We thank you all for your phone calls, emails and strength during this time, we needed it! Thank you all for your continued prayer & support. We continue this journey in an upward direction once again. Good night and God bless. Love Andy, Jenny and Jayden OCTOBER 17,2004 HERALD NEWS ARTICLE Here is a wonderful news article in todays NJ Herald News written by Rev. Theresa Nance. Thank you for the beautiful article. Another 'superman' fights on Sunday, October 17, 2004 By THERESA NANCE Christopher Reeve is dead. He, with his handsome looks and awesome talent, played the man with the letter "S" on his chest in the person of America's crime fighter, Superman. Reeve's ability to fight the good fight of faith will outlast any character he portrayed on the silver screen, in my judgment. However, there's another man who may not be as well known as Reeve. He, too, wears the letter "S" on his chest, sort of. His name is Andy Singer. Sgt. Andy Singer. He is employed by the Passaic County Sheriff's Department. Andy, like Reeve in his lifetime, is fighting the good fight of faith, not for himself, but on behalf of his 3-year-old son, Jayden. Jayden has been stricken with bacterial meningitis and is spending many of his young days at Children's Specialized Hospital in Mountainside. I spoke with Singer on the telephone last week. He is stoic, steadfast, serious and saddened by the events over which neither he nor his wife have any control. Yet he's the man with the letter "S" on his chest - sort of. Like the fictional character, Singer is trying with all his might, to wipe out the enemy, only this time the enemy is not some wicked-looking character in a black suit wearing a white tie or donning a holster. No, this time the enemy cannot be seen with the naked eye. And, like human enemies, it is relentless in trying to bring down its victim. And, the victim, this go-round, is an little boy whose only interest in this moment of time is to play, love his mommy and daddy and probe the wonders of life with his inquisitive mind. So, Andy, Jayden's daddy with an "S," must be the crime fighter who stands at the ready to protect his little guy. And, Jenny, Jayden's mommy with a "J," will continue to hold up her end of this long and heart-breaking vigil. Singer said the Sheriff's Department, friends, family and even complete strangers have been incredibly wonderful to him and his wife, which helps them to bear this heavy load. The medication, Andy said, is debilitating "and takes everything out of Jayden." But he quickly adds that the children's hospital is a "great" rehabilitation facility. He and his wife's only hope, however, is to try and make Jayden's life comfortable during this interruption of their lives. It is my hope that the miracle-working power of God will heal Jayden so that he, his daddy and mommy will go back to the happy times about which Singer spoke. Then, Jayden and his daddy, can poke out the eyes of that mean, old enemy and live triumphantly as they did once before. Theresa Nance, a former Herald News editor, is an ordained minister. OCTOBER 19,2004 Hey all, Sorry we haven't been keeping up with updates but Jay is real handful, in a good way. He has been seizure free since thursday due to the valium, but today we will begin to ween him off the valium. Hopefully the valium has given his brain a chance to give the anti seizure med keppra a chance to work. We will see over the next couple of days. Since Jay has been seizure free he has been very vocal, very hungry, and very happy. He is trying to make many different sounds. He is trying to sit up again but is still a little weak but getting stronger everyday. He is constantly moving around, kicking and swinging his arms, he is doing very well with his right side (suffered from paralyisis) he even tried to feed himself with his right hand the other day. Jenny & I are pleased to see Jay back on course, it seems we are back to where we were about 3 months ago with things. It has been a setback due to the seizures but most importantly we are moving forward again. Jayden's doctor from NY said she is very optimistic about Jay's recovery, she said Jay is having alot of abnormal brain activity and seizure activity, but the fact he is doing so well now and that with time, healing and meds to control the seizures we have a long long way to go, but hopefully Jay will be OK. That was great news, but we still a long road ahead and there will probably be more obstacles but we will take them head on together. Jenny & I would like to thank Rev. Theresa Nance for her wonderful article in the news paper http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNCZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NjYwMDMzMA== we were flattered to be compared to superman, but we are no heros we are just parents of a very special boy who is the hero here. And Christopher Reeve has truly been a inspiration for us and will never be forgotton for his amazing strength in life. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden OCTOBER 20,2004 We had a very good today! Jayden got to go back to therapies again after 2 weeks away. He was happy to see all his therapist and everyone at Childrens Specialized Hospital, he was full of smiles for everyone. He did some great sitting up, he was scooching his butt to get around, and he even tried to get on his hands and kness and crawl. He rode the tricycle which he hasn't done in while and he did great, he was even peddeling backwards, he was full of energy. He did some super playing in occupational therapy and made a giant mess playing with foam. Jenny & I were pleased when Jayden tried to speak in speech therapy (he usually is very quiet) he called Bob the builder John? and mumbled a couple of other things, he was doing alot of laughing. It is nice to be back on track. We will Jay very carefully over the next couple of days as today was his last day on valium, we have cut him down and now is the test and hopefully we won't see anymore seizures. We pray! Good night and God bless! Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden OCTOBER 21,2004 just a quick update on jayden. he's doing fantastic these days. the next couple of days will be a bit tense, but we're praying for a smoother road to recovery now. he's eating well and laughing all the time. he was playing in his room, focusing on every toy. he was making himself laugh by putting a toy on his head and letting it fall down. he had us laughing. i've attached 2 pictures of him in his room today. please continue to pray for him. prayers are being answered everyday. thank you. love & blessings, andy, jenny & jayden OCTOBER 22,2004 Real quick its been a very busy day! Jay is doing great, no seizures thank God. He seems to be going through phases that he went through in Childrens Hosp again. He is going through a agitation phase, where he is just non stop, swinging and kicking and full of energy. He was full of energy and laughs today. We had a very nice visit from Jays teacher again today and he did great with putting puzzle pieces in place. We also had a visit from the Bubba's who delivered the funds raised from the golf outing THANK YOU ALL involved very, very, very much. Jayden is trying so hard, so very hard to communicate with us, he is pointing at things and mumbling and screaming, soon it will all come together. Jay also had alot of laughs with his uncle Joe and grandparents today. You'd figure he would be tired but he is bouncing around his bed yelling, so it will be another long night, but we enjoy every minute. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. Good night and God bless. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden THANK YOU again to everyone who put together the golf outing and THANK YOU to everyone who supported it. It really helps so much. Love you all! OCTOBER 24,2004 Oh boy, Have Jenny & I been busy. Believe me we are not complaining! But oh boy! Thank God Jayden has been seizure free for 10 days now and seems to being very good without the valium. He has endless energy and has regained alot of strength. He does not stay still for a second, he scooches aroud the floor on his butt with speed. He is trying so hard to crawl, he gets on his hands and knees and doesn't know what to do, he has tried sliding his knees forward. He stayed awake all night friday night, we were playing with his toys in his room until 4am. He is just so curious and does not want to miss a thing. He is constantly moving his mouth in a talking motion, and trying every sound combination. He has become so comical. He loves to laugh at funny things Jenny & I do. He started to hug us today, he just keeps pulling us close to him and gives us very tight hugs and won't let go, and of course we don't want to either, they feel so good! He seems very restless again tonight so we are preparing for another all nighter. We are very tired but very happy at the same time. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden OCTOBER 27,2004 where do I begin? what a day it has been. jayden has amazed us more today than ever. he did great with his therapies today. he did assisted walking. he crawled better than he ever has. he stood up with little assistance. he played with a puzzle and put the pieces in the right places. he did purposeful play, including his right hand. he hugged us and his grandparents, lighting up when he saw them. at home, he scooched everywhere pulling himself up on the couch. he took a play phone and put it to his ear. he's starting to realize what objects are for. he seems to be showing some understanding. when changing him or dressing him, he didn't struggle as much and assisted putting his arms in the shirt. the most amazing thing he did today, which put tears in our eyes, was to brush his teeth. we were amazed. the simpliest things we do that are taken for granted. this is huge for jayden, who has been through so much and has had to relearn everything. things seem to be falling into place for him and he's grasping so much more every day. we are amazed every day with every little stride he makes. i guess the moral of today's lesson is to appreciate every thing your kids do. every little accomplishment they learn is helping them to grow into young adults and adults. jayden has always been extremely intelligent and advanced in everything he has done. he's proving that again while relearning all the things he use to do. that's incredible and makes us so proud and blessed he's in our lives. love & blessings, Andy, Jenny & Jayden OCTOBER 29,2004 Hello everybody, We have been so busy with Jayden. He is trying to do so much and too much. He seems sometimes to be over stimulated. his strength gets stonger everyday and fights Jenny & I with everything he does. He is pulling himself up on things to a standing position and will hold himself up for about a minute. He has tried crawling again but usually falls over, he continues scooching on his butt everywhere. He is going through a very emotinal phase where on minute he holds out his arms for a hug and gives you big hug. The next minute he is hitting and kicking you. It frustration and painful for both Jenny & I. We sometimes forget the amount of brain trauma Jay sustained and expect him to listen to us and do things the right way. But we must take a deep breath and try ti imagine whats going on in his head. He really is doing a great jog through all of this. Everyday he shows us new things. We are so proud of him! Its just such a long road and Jenny & I wonder if we will have any sanity left at the end of the road? Gotta go there is yogourt everywhere. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden Check out www.jaydensjourney.com OCTOBER 30,2004 Howdy yall, Super Jayden is at it again. Today he did great! Just a couple of things he has done the past couple of days. He is really beginning to imitate facial expressions and things Jenny & I do. Yesterday when I gave him thumbs up he gave me thumbs up, and tried to imitate me pointing. Today he imitated me giving thumbs up and pointing, then I raised both my arms and swung them in the air, so did Jay. But then I began clapping and Jayden clapped with me for a while. We were dancing waving our arms and so did Jay. He had about a minute of speaking which he was definatley saying something. We let him scooch all over the house on his butt, he is so interested in everything. We put Jay in his playpen and he pulls himself up standing and holds himself up for about a minute or so, then lets himself down slowly to a sitting position. But most impressive today was he was using his right hand to pick up everything first and transfer to his left. He seems to be defeating the paralysis. He is doing so much. Laughing at funny things he sees, he is giving the best hugs! He is giving us a little problem eating today but we were able to substitute with protein drinks. He seems to be calming down a little bit, a little less fussing and swinging, we hope this phase is passing. Over all he is progressing at a great rate the past few days. We could not be more proud of all he does everyday. While it is very frustrating and weighs heavy on our hearts everyday, to see him coming along so good now makes it a little easier. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. We had a great day with Jenny's family today, it was nice to get out of the house, thanks. Love you all! Andy, Jenny & Jayden Please check out www.jaydensjourney.com for info, pictures, and so much more! OCTOBER 31,2004 HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 2 new photos of Jayden on his swing today. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden NOVEMBER 2,2004 JAYDEN FOR PRESIDENT! Alright Super Jayden is doing okedokee. He has been keeping us very VERY busy latley. Just some more of the things he has accomplished the past 2 days, he is imitating hand gestures very good. He is standing up unassited in his playpen and taking a few steps sideways and forward, and sitting back down slowly. He is stacking blocks, as high as he can then knocking them over and laughing, then starting over. Yesterday Jenny gave him a sippy cup, a cup with a straw attached. Jayden took it with both hands and immediatley began sipping the juice and swallowing, it was pure memory an brought tears to our eyes. Today again he drank from the sippy cup and when he was done handed it to Jenny. Its all there, the fog is hopefully lifting. He is sitting on the floor in front of me right now putting large puzzle pieces in the right places, I spoke too soon now they are flying across the room DUCK! He has really got the strength back in his right hand. Gotta go its medicine time now, its takes Jenny & I to hold him down for this. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden NOVEMBER 3,2004 Today was a great day. Jayden did some incredible standing and walking today while holding on. He finger-painted in OT and had lots to imitate in speech. He's amazing. He threw kisses today for the first time and he's becoming extremely clingy. I can't leave the room with him protesting. That's fine with me. He can cling onto me all he wants. He's getting more and more confident to stand and he pulled himself up several times on the couch. He needs to be watched constantly though, as he is very quick. Everyday something new and everyday one step closer to our Jayden. PS Thanks for bringing us dinner, Glenn : ) Love & blessings, Andy, Jenny, & Jayden NOVEMBER 5,2004 Howdy yall, Exhausted! Jenny & I are exhausted but for wonderful reasons. Jayden stood up holding on in his playpen for 35 minutes today. Then I kept putting toys on opposite ends and he he would walk slowly around the playpen to get the toys. He is very slow and sometimes wobbly but he keeps going. His determination is incredible! He crawled up the stairs twice yesterday. He wants no assistance from Jenny or I, he wants to be totaly independant. He scooches around the house and looks at everything. He still tries to talk with us, but we are unsure if Jayden is hearing us at all some times. He may have a hearing process problem, or just can't focus with everything going on. We need to do more hearing test to find out for sure. Jayden is so full of life. He is constantly doing funny cute things to make us all laugh. He is focusing on objects and TV for longer periods of time. And is hitting us less, but you have to be careful with things in his hands, one minute he is playing nice and then things are flying full speed. The injuries are a small price to pay, and we'll take it. He is really doing great things everyday. We are so proud! He truly is a miracle boy. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. Always remember you have played an important part in this journey, and we will never forget all the things you have all done for us. Good night and God bless. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden NOVEMBER 7,2004 Hello, We had a very busy weekend. Saturday morning we went to a birthday party for Caitlin and Dylan, which are 2 of Jayden's classmates from Union Con. Although we haven't seen many people from Union Con since Jayden became ill, it was great to be there and see everyone. It was held at Bellevue Theater and we saw The Incredibles. Jayden watched a good portion of it before he became ansy. Jayden really lite up to see his friends, especially his buddy, Kyle. Jayden instantly smiled and hugged Laura, Kyle's mom and was very excited to see Kyle and hugged him. It sounded like he said, "hi, Kyle" to him at one point. It was a great experience for Jayden and I'm sure it brought up some memories. Thank you for including us in their special day, Jennifer. We also were able to speak with JP, who is Casey's dad, another classmate. He has been an inspriration to us since we were told of his life experience. He truly is an amazing person, who has overcome so much and achieved so much in the process. Thank you JP and Penny for sharing that time with us. Sunday, we went to the Montclair Art Museum for a display of artwork by children who have had or have illnesses. It was great to see people from Children's Specialized and to see so many uplifting people and children. Jayden watched the show and did great. He's becoming stronger everyday and doesn't sit still for a minute. He's active, he's vocal and he's laughing all the time. We couldn't be happier with his progress. We continue to move forward.It has been 7 months to the day since Jayden first became ill. Love & Blessings, Andy, Jenny, & Jayden NOVEMBER 8,2004 Well, I guess I should begin with JAYDEN WALKED TODAY WITH LITTLE ASSISTANCE. Can you tell I'm a little excited?!!! Jayden shocked us all, including his physical therapist with incredible standing, which lead to walking holding her hand to walking with a walker on his own. She stayed close by to help him. We were shocked. It was totally unexpected, but wonderful. He did great in his other therapies as well. But the walking, was by far, the most outstanding moment of the day. He's also trying really hard to communicate with us. He is so vocal and so determined. I hope it all connects real soon. It must be so frustrating for him. It's extremely frustrating for us, but one day it'll happen. I've attached 2 photos of his big moment today. Love & blessings, Andy, Jenny & Jayden NOVEMBER 10,2004 Today was another great day for Jayden. He had pool today, which he hasn't done in quite a while. He was very excited and happy to be in the pool. He held himself up by standing and leaning on the rails on the side. He was just tall enough. He would put his face in the water and quickly learned not to do that when he inhaled the water. He stayed tight-lipped after that. The pool therapist said that she rarely sees patients who reach physical goals as well as cognitive at the same time. They seem to be extremely pleased with Jayden's progress. He shocks us all. He also did the best walking yet with a walker. He was not happy with it, but it motivated him to move. Jayden saw a cereal commercial and it was pretty clear to me when he said "I want Honey combs." I don't think speech is too far behind the other goals he's reaching. Today was Andy's first day back to work. It'll take some adjusting but we'll manage. Thanks to my parents who came over. We miss Andy though. Seven months of the 3 of us together all the time, it's hard to let go : ( I've attached some picts of Jayden in the pool. He looks fantastic. Love & blessings, Andy, Jenny, & Jayden NOVEMBER 12,2004 Howdy yall, The end of a busy, but great week. Yesterday we had a another special visit from Jayden's teacher Ms. Crane who is helping with Jay's relearning skills. He was playing with puzzles with Ms. Crane so last night we took out some of his puzzles and we were amazed at what he did. Jayden took the pieces out of the puzzles and lined them up next to the board in a perfectly straight line. Then he took one piece at a time and studied it looked at the board and tried to put them in, some times he got it on the first try. Some times he had the wrong piece but kept on trying until he got it, if he did not get the piece after about a minute he would place it back down in the line and go to the next piece, after getting the next piece he went back to the one he missed and worked it till he got it. He would not let Jenny or I help, he would brush us away. Today he did the same only a little faster, and after getting each piece he would wave his hands in the air and smile. We are amazed at this progress. He is also pulling himself up to a standing position and leaning his butt against the wall and taking very small side steps sliding his butt against the wall and his hands out in front of him for balance. Today he had another great teacher his cousin Joseph who is about the same age as Jayden and best friend. Jayden tried to imitate everything Joseph did. All Jayden says now is "come on". I returned back to work this week and it has been so great to see all of my family again at the Sheriff's Department. I must have said thank you at least a thousand times today, but it will never be enough for all everyone has done for us. It is hard to go back to work and leave my family for a couple of hours, but we must get back into a normal routine once again. And going back to work with such incredible people makes it enjoyable! I will never compalin about work ever again. To everyone at the Passaic County Sheriff's Department your support has been overwhelming since the beginning and still continues to be everyday.You will never know how much you have done for us in so many ways! We thank you and love you all. And that goes for all of you, evrybody who has done so so so much on a daily basis. As Jayden does better and better everyday remember you all have played an important part in his survival and recovery. We could not have come this far or continue without your prayer and support. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Good night and God bless. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden NOVEMBER 15,2004 Just a quick update on Jayden. Today was my first day back at work. It was great to see the wonderful people I work with. Andy took Jayden to therapy. Jayden did great in PT. His therapist brought out a puzzle for him, which he had not seen. Since he's fascinated with puzzles, she made him walk to get each piece. He walked with her assistance and completed the puzzle, She was amazed. He also did great in the pool and was worn out for OT and speech. When I came home, we played in his room. He played with his toy beeper and pressed the buttons, which make noises. There are no lights or vibrations and he reacted to the noise and smiled. He also seemed to turn when I called his name. That time, it seemed to be a delayed reaction. He also imitated a noise I was making. We've been so concerned about his hearing lately. He has responded to sound in the past, but hasn't lately. It could be due to the fact that he has so much other accomplishments that he's focusing on. So it was wonderful to see him react to the sounds today. Hopefully, he's processing what he hears a lot better. I've attached 3 picts of Jayden with his teacher from Union Con, who comes to see him every Thursday and 2 images of Jayden working on his puzzles. Love & blessings to you all, Andy, Jenny, and Jayden NOVEMBER 19,2004 Hey yall, Well we just got in from Presbyterian hospital after a 24 hour EEG test to see how Jayden's brain wave are doing. Jayden was not happy to have all the electrodes glued to his head but once they they were on and his head wrapped up he did great. The doctors came in this morning and told us things are looking much better from his last EEG. We were told last time Jay was having constant seizure activity going on, now he is just have a few and they are spread apart but most importantly not breaking through as physical seizures. They are very happy with his progress and said it is a slow healing process, they were very very impressed with how far Jayden has come since his last visit with his physical and mental improvements. We know with time and continued healing Jayden will fine, Jenny & I have never had a doubt and never will! Well it sure is nice to be home and Jay can just do whatever he wants and he his happy about that. While Jay was being examined by one of the doctors she was testing his reflexes with that little rubber hammer hitting his elbows, Jay grabbed the hammer and began hitting her elbow lightly. He then took her stethescope and put it on his ears and listened to Jenny heart. He does so well with all the doctors and nurses and seems to understand and cooperates. We are so proud. I held Jayden's hands while he walked for one of the doctors, she was amazed. Jay has come so far these past few weeks, we cannot waitt to see what the next few bring, and then beyond that. Thank you all again for your continued prayer and support. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden NOVEMBER 20,2004 Hello, Just wanted to add some more information to Andy's update yesterday. I spoke with Dr. Leary and she said she noticed quite a lot of seizure activity on his EEG. There is improvement, but it is still active. She says that the activity he's experiencing can interfere with his progress, but is very happy with the progress he continues to make even with the activity. She has increased his morning keppra dose. She hopes to control the seziure activity in the brain. The area of seizures are on the left side of the brain, which is where the strokes occurred. She says it is possible that the seizure activity is interfering with the processing of sound and can also effect his speech. So, basically, we would probably see more improvement if there wasn't so much seizure interference. We're optimistic that the seizure activity can be controlled and that Jayden will be able to speak and respond to our voices very soon. We still will test his hearing and do whatever we can do to help the process along, but until his EEG is close to normal, there may be some delay. I've attached some pictures of Jayden at Columbia, with his EEG head gear. He looked too cute. I couldn't resist. A note from Andy: On a sad note I just found out today that a lifelong friend of mine mother has passed away. Mrs Lindemann has been an amazing support for Jenny, Jayden and myself, she has sent some of the most beautiful and uplifting emails over these past few months. She has always had us in our prayers, and now she will always be in ours. My friend Eric told me today how they spoke about Jayden all the time, and how now we have another Angel in heaven watching down over Jay. After I read your email today Eric I felt your mom here in the room with us just full of love, she was a very special person and now she is a very very special Angel to us. I ask that you all please include Mrs Lindemann and the whole family in your prayers. Eric my brother we love you and our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time.Your family has been there for us and we are here for you if you need us. -Andy,jenny & Jayden NOVEMBER 22,2004 Awesome! Thats all I can say about this kid. Jayden started out with a little cold yesterday and he was a little cranky. Today he still has a runny nose, coughing, sneezing but his energy is incredible. He has been imitating things he sees on TV today, such as we were watching Mr. Bean and Jay was doing all the comical things Mr. Bean was doing. He has a little dancing snowman that sings "ice ice baby" (thanks Joe & Deb) and Jay keeps on pressing the button and standing up next to the couch he dances with it, shaking his butt side to side. The best so far yet is today he pulled himself on the gate in the dining room. He then walked holding onto the wall then continued walking holding onto the china hutch, then he held out his arm and leaned over to the dining room table and continued walking around the table. So far today we have walked around the house twice with me just holding his right hand. His balance is getting so much better. He has so many new sounds coming out of his mouth again. I am just in awe right now, the proudest dad no doubt about that! I gotta go get ready for work now. Good night & God bless. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden NOVEMBER 24,2004 Hey everybody, Sorry once again we have not been keeping daily updates, but our days are very busy and long with Jenny & I back to work. Just to let you all know though the power of your continued prayer and support is working miracles by the minute. Jayden is really doing some great walking with very little assistance. Tonight we were amazed for a couple of reasons. We went to the Brownstone for a meeting with Dan, Leo, Shannon , Patty & Jeff who worked so hard on the Golf outing for Jayden. We once again cannot thank you enough for all you have done for us, and we thank everyone involved for the money raised is truly incredible. The money is nice but what is more important is that with every dollar raised it came from from peoples hearts not there wallets. Along with every dollar also came a prayer and support for our family from yours. Dan Hackes thank you again you will always be a very special part of our family. Leo Fiorilla it was very nice to sit down and talk with another father who has been on a similar journey your strength is inspirational, and please thank your cousin Leo for his incredible work. There are so many amazing people who have done so much for us on a daily basis it is truly overwhelming. A very special thank you to Sheriff Speziale for stopping in and spending some time with us tonight, you have played a very important role in Jayden's recovery and the strength and support you have given our family is truly amazing. The entire Passaic County Sheriff's Department has really become part of our family, and we could not ask for a better family. For those of you at the dinner tonight you got to see a surprise to all of us, Jayden decided he wanted to walk everywhere tonight, so jenny and each grabbed one of hands and let him lead the way, it was the most walking he has ever done we are still amazed, thank you to Chief Comparetto and Undersheriff Dombroski for clearing the way so Jayden could walk through the crowd and for sitting us a the Sheriff's table. We continued walking even more later in the evening, Jay just wanted to walk and walk and we could not be more pleased. It was so nice to see so many friendly loving faces, thank you to all of you for you kind words and support tonight. Please alaways remember every time you read or see Jayden's progress you are a part of it. So be proud of Jay but also be proud of yourselves for you have worked miracles, and Jenny & I will never be able to thank you for that! So tomorrow when we sit down for thanksgiving dinner we will be very thankful to God, all the Angels that watch over us, our amazing families, and each and everyone of you for the wonderful things you do for our family. And of course the most important thing we will be thankful for is Super Jayden! HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all! Love you so much! Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden P.S. Wish you a speedy recovery Buckethead. Luv ya! NOVEMBER 26,2004 Howdy yall, Hope your Thanksgiving was a great one. We had a super day with our family. Jayden just wanted to walk all over Jenny's parents house, so he did. We just held his hand and let him lead the way everywhere, up the stairs all over the house. Today Jay wanted to go for a walk outside so we bundled him up and headed out for a walk, we saw our neighbors Bobby & Joan so we all went for a walk. Bobby kept slowing us down though with all of crying how happy he was( just had to throw that in Uncle Bobby). Jayden walked a ggod distance before getting tired. Then in the afternoon we went for another walk outside and Jay did good once again. But after dinner I was walking Jay around the house and Jenny was across the living room and I stopped walking and he wanted to go to mom, so he had to go on his own and he took 3 steps all by himself with no support right to Jenny. Then I would let him stand on his own just keeping my hands close enough to catch him when he lost his balance. He would stand balancing by himself for 10 to 30 seconds at a time. He really is doing amazing. Jenny and I have noticed these past 2 days a couple of instances where Jayden seems to definatley be hearing us. We feel the increase in the medicine is definatley helping. We are once again so thankful for how far Jayden has come. We always thank you for all all of your continued support. And we have to give alot of credit to all of the doctors and nurses along the way and the amazing therapist that continue to work with Jayden at Childrens Specialized Hospital, they all should be very proud! And of course we always thank God and all the Angels that watch over us. It is truly a miracle to watch Jayden everyday! Thank you for being a very important part of it. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden NOVEMBER 30,2004 Hello all, Jayden has been keeping us on our toes and his too! He just continues to want to walk everywhere whith our assistance and every now and then he gets daring and takes about 3 or 4 steps by himself. He did great in therapy yesterday, he walked around with his therapist Laura and looked in a mirror and when he saw his hair standing up (hat hair) he laughed and tried to push it down. He has been flying through his puzzles, they don't even seem to be a challenge anymore we are getting some more. He seems to be hearing a little bit every now and then, we are still so unsure its frustrating. Well its almost christmas and our 8 foot Spongebob is up on the front lawn and Jayden just loves it! Well I gotto go there aren't enough hours in the day. Thank you for your continued prayer and support ! Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden DECEMBER 3,2004 Howdy, Hope everyone is doing good out there. Sorry once again but Jenny and my schedules are so busy we really don't have much time to do the updates. We barely see each other now and we share daily information with each other when I get home after midnight. So what has been happening the past few days is Jayden continues to improve a little bit almost hourly. We are constantly seeing new and great things. We went for an MRI this week and should know the results next week, hopefully they will show more improvement of Jay's brain. We met with Dr. Yalamanchie from Childrens Specialized Hospital this week and he was very impressed with Jay's recovery and the way things are going and has a positve outlook. Dr. Y has been with Jayden from the begining and seems very pleased. Jayden did very well with his therapies this week, although we cancelled pool as Jay was getting over a slight cold. Jenny & I are now beginning to stay out of Jay's therapies so he can focus on what he needs to do, we are a distraction now. We can watch from a distance or throug 2 way mirrors. It is so hard since we have been right by his side for every step, but we know he must focus on things he must do. And he is doing well, he gets upset for a few minutes and then he becomes distracted by the therapist and does great. We have noticed some definate hearing responses this week. The hearing processing seem to be getting a little better, we hope. Jay has continued to do some very good walking, We noticed his physical therapist Laura just lightly holding the back of his shirt while he was walking the other day, so now we are doing the same. Jayden is a little slow when he starts to walk but when he becomes comfortable and really gets going with just a little support, I think he just likes to know someone is right there. Usually I will get within a couple of feet from the couch and then let go and he takes 3 or 4 steps on his own to the couch. The puzzles he has are no longer a challenge for him, he just zips right through them now. He is letting us know when he needs to be changed by pointing to the diapers on the shelf and lying down. As for eating we now show him choices of what he can have and will either shake his head no or yes and when he shakes his head yes he gets very happy. It must feel great for him to finally be able to communicate a little with us. He does however still become very frustrated when he is trying to let us know something and we don't understatnd, but when we get it he shakes his head yes and claps and gets excited. He is helping when he gets dressed and undressed. Things just keep coming back to him it seems slowly. He continues to make us laugh, he really enjoys being comical and he enjoys hugs and kisses lots of kisses, and we have plenty of them. He truly is amazing to watch and we never know what miracle is going to happen next. He is doing a Super Job! Once again thank you all for your amazing prayer and support! You are all avery big part of this miracle! Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden DECEMBER 6,2004 Today was a great day for therapy. Jayden did some great walking into and out of the pool. He made sure to leave his mouth closed not to get any water inside. He took steps on his own in physical therapy and he also did that at home with me. He just pushed himself off the couch and took some steps on his own. He shocked me. He also did some great drawing with markers in OT and played really well in speech. He imitated the speech therapist in sign language letting her know that he wanted her to blow more bubbles. He had a great attitude and is making different sounds again. He's trying desperately to talk and I truly feel he'll talk soon. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I truly feel he will. Friday, Jayden has an evaluation for pre-school/early intervention. We're hoping to get him in a program that will catch him up to where he needs to be. The town may actually have a program incorporating speech, pt, and ot as well. Of course, the evaluation will happen on his birthday. It's not exactly what I wanted him to do on his day, but hopefully it'll be fun for him and Andy and I will definitely make his day as special as possible. He'll be the big 4 and we are so blessed to be able to share this day with him. Love & blessings, Andy, Jenny, and Jayden DECEMBER 9,2004 Hey yall, SuperJayden is doing great! He is doing new things almost every hour. Sorry we can't keep up with daily updates, but Jenny & I are swamped between work, therapies, doctors, and keeping Jay busy. He is like a sponge absorbing everything, and just wants to explore and learn. He is still doing great walking and getting more confident and standing on his own and taking a few steps with no help. He is walking all over the house holding onto things. He is undressing and dressing himself with very little assistance. He is feeding himself more now, and goes by the kitchen and starts pointing when he is hungry or thirsty. When we find what he wants he shakes his head yes very happily, and when we hold up the wrong thing he shakes his head no with disgust on his face. He is communinicating with us a little more with hands and expressions and shaking his head yes or no. It is still very hard and frustrating some times. He is doing so amazing! Just now he saw his toothbrush and pulled himself up and grabbed it and began brushing his teeth on his own. It is all there under a fog still. He is trying so hard and soon it will all come together. Tomorrow being Jayden's birthday, the most important one yet we are going to take him to see the Spongebob movie and really enjoy the day. To think where he was a couple of months ago, and wondering where Jay would be at on his birthday, he is truly incredible! We are truly blessed and thankful. We still have a way to go but we will get there. Jayden is a miracle to watch every minute. Thank you for your continued prayer & support!. Love Andy Jenny & Jayden DECEMBER 10,2004 ************************** ****HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY JAYDEN!**** ************************** DECEMBER 11,2004 Good evening to all, Yesterday was truly a great day for us! Jayden's birthday was very very special. We were so unsure months ago if this day would come, or what condition Jay would be. He came downstairs yesterday to house full of balloons and gifts. He was very happy and full of excitement. We had breakfast and then had to go for an evaluation with some people from the Bloomfield Board of education. It went very well and they seemed impressed with Jayden, we have many more meeting and evaluations to exactly decide where Jay should be a special education class. We then came home and opened a bunch of presents and had a whole lot of fun. And then came the best part of the day, we headed out to see the Spongebob Squarepants move. after 15 minutes of previews and Jayden getting restless the movie began and Jay just lit up with excitement. He sat through the whole movie and really enjoyed it and laughed and clapped throughout it. After we came home again for dinner and Then went to Jenny's parents house and had a little party there with our family, it was a very nice time. we came home played a little bit and put Jayden to bed. It was and exhausting day for us, mentally & physically. A very special day with a very special boy, we could not have asked for more. Thank you all for you birthday cards and emails, and thank you so much Jennifer Ladda for the wonderful gifts from your family. Jayden was in great spirits today and spent the day playing with all the great toys, puzzles and learning gifts he recieved. We are truly blessed with a miracle and everyday is like a birthday with Jayden. We could not be happier! Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden DECEMBER 15,2004 Hey, Real quick Jayden is doing great! We have seen a couple of times the past few days of memories from before. And even some good responses to sounds and noises. He is truly improving so much everyday. We just need more hours in the day to get everything done. Thank you for your continued prayer and support! Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden DECEMBER 19,2004 Hello all, Its been another busy week so I'll let ya all know whats been going on. Jayden of course is doing great, he is learning things at an incredible rate and surprising us everyday when he does something new and great. He is doing so much more than just puzzles now, he is beginning to follow our commands and repeat things that we show him. He is grouping things by color or size or shapes, he is putting shapes in there slots by just looking at them. He is doing some amazing problem solving, and he is playing so nice with his toys. Jay had a hearing test on friday, but itis still too early to tell,but we know Jay can hear. Today Jay and I were sitting on the couch and Jenny was out shopping, when she came home she put some packages in the vestibule as soon as the front door opened Jay turned to me and said "mom". Jayden could not see the door in any way, and as Jenny brought 3 packages to the vestibule 3 times Jayden responded to the outside door opening and turned and looked. Without a doubt he heard the door 3 times. He had a checkup on friday and he is doing great! Jayden is doing very well with communicating with us with yes and no and pointing to things. He is playing catch with Jenny & I and throwing with both hands and today he was learning to catch. His spirit is amazing, he continues to laugh and smile all the time and do comical things. He is so beautiful and so amazing to watch. This is going to a great Christmas, Jenny & I have the best present ever, and as always we have all of you to thank! We love you all Andy, Jenny & Jayden DECEMBER 24,2004 We wish you all a very merry Christmas! DECEMBER 26,2004 Just a quick update on our holiday. The best present we could ever get is our son. This christmas was extra special with Jayden. He was happy and excited. We spent christmas eve by my parents. Jayden had a great time with the family, especially with his cousins who always make him smile. He was really into the presents and was anxious to open and play with his gifts. Chritsmas day tired him out and we opened presents throughout the day. We had a lot of presents and he was a bit overwhelmed, so we did a couple of presents, here and there. He loved his toys. We're just so grateful and blessed to have Jayden in our lives. This has been so special and we look forward to many, many more holidays with him. He is our greatest joy. I've attached some pictures of him christmas eve and christmas day. I just want to thank my wonderful husband for always being such a treasure in my life. He is always a great father and husband. I'm so proud of him and admire him so much. I love you, Andy. Love & blessings, Andy, Jenny, and Jayden PS Thanks Michelle and Bill for the gifts and cards. As you can see in one of the pictures, you're playdoh island was a hit. Thank you to everyone for all your wonderful cards & gifts! DECEMBER 29,2004 Hello all, Hope your holiday season is a good one. Super Jayden gave us the best holiday ever. He started walking on his own the day after Christmas, he just stood up at the couch and walked to the fishtank. He is continuing to want to walk everywhere and is doing a great job. He is still a little wobbly but doing great and does not want much assistance. He is even turning around while walking. Jay had a great day today in his therapies, he played very nicely in the pool, did some great walking and stair climbing. He was watching Little Bill tonight and when the cartoon character said hello Jay said hello back. He is turning more and more to sounds everyday. Jenny & I have also noticed the past couple of days Jayden seems to get emotional about the fact he can't do things and is realizing what is going on. It is hard for us to watch, but we feel it is motivating Jay to strive even harder. He is really doing great things everyday. We are so proud of him. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. We ask that you please pray for all those affected by the tsunami, and if you can please support any relief fund. We wish you all a very happy and healthy new year, and thank you for helping us throug 2004. It was a tough year but we know 2005 will be a better one, as we continue up the mountain on our journey. Love Andy, Jenny & Jayden