Thomas started school this week!

He is on a regular, full-day schedule. He's been doing tons of homework each afternoon and evening to try to begin catching up, but he's not complaining about any of it. The teachers have been very gracious in helping him. In fact, Mrs. Baldonado, his math teacher, offered to come tutor him at our house! The students have been most welcoming too. Brinkley put a welcome back poster on Thomas' locker and many friends have posted on his facebook page. Next week is Thomas' spring break and he hopes to use the time to work on projects.

We all continue to be in awe at the recovery and progress Thomas continues to make. His stamina is remarkable and I thank you for your prayers for him. They're obviously helping!

Thomas Graduated from Shepherd Pathways Outpatient Rehab

Friday was Thomas' last day of rehab at Shepherd Pathways. A big deal is made when any patient finishes treatment. It's encouraging for the other patients to see that they too will go home – ready to live the rest of their lives. We were blessed again by many, many therapists, doctors, nurses and others who facilitated Thomas' recovery. When we drove away Jim joked, "what – no TV cameras?" When we left Grady and when we left Shepherd there were news crews documenting the transfers. So, I guess Thomas' 15 minutes of fame is over! Thank you for your continued prayers. We are beyond grateful!

Update on Thomas

Thomas continues rehab at Shepherd Pathways for one more week. His "graduation day" is Friday, March 25 (his brother Daniel's 19th birthday). We are all extremely happy to hear that on Monday the 28th he can return to school. Thomas emailed his teachers and has received some assignments to work on so he can begin catching up. He'll be in school for one week and then have spring break (when he can accomplish more).

Saturday night, March 19, 2011 was a magical night for the Sowells and a triumph for the fund-raising efforts on behalf of Grady Memorial Hospital. Lisa Borders, Atlanta's City Council President and tireless fundraiser for Grady, asked us to be a part of this gala. Four special people were honored including Bernie Marcus. Bernie Marcus donated $20 million to Grady which funded the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center – the place where Thomas was treated in Atlanta.

Dave Drabik and his crew came and filmed Thomas and us at Shepherd a couple of weeks ago and created a beautiful video highlighting Thomas' story at Grady. (I'll post it when I get a copy on mp3.) The video was shown and then Thomas got to go onstage and present the award to Mr. Marcus. We are extremely blessed to have been a part of this tribute. We got to sit at the table with Atlanta's mayor, Kasim Reed, along with Lisa Borders, CNN anchor and emcee for the night Fredricka Whitfield. We were also given a behind the scenes tour of the Georgia Aquarium.

Click here for more pictures from the gala...

Even though it seems like everything is getting back to normal, we know Thomas has some hurdles to jump. He is still restricted in his physical activity for a while and he will have to work very hard on his academics to get back up to speed. We are overwhelmingly thankful for the prayers you've given to our family. Miracles happen and in this case you have all been a part of it!

House Call

Who said doctors don't make house calls? Saturday Drs. Frankel and Noguiera stopped by to see Thomas. These two top Grady docs took excellent care of Thomas, but of course he barely remembered them. It was SO nice for him to meet the guys who saved his life. We all enjoyed the reunion. Dr. Noguiera even explained to Thomas that he could take some images from the DVD of his MRI and incorporate the brain images into the PowerPoint presentation he's making. We are forever blessed by the excellent treatment Thomas received through the wonderful staff at Grady's Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center – and now at home too!

Tuesday, March 1

Last weekend Thomas was able to attend the Ultimate Frisbee tournament "Deep Freeze" in Chattanooga, TN with his team from Lakeside. Several parents drove the team members at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. They played all day Saturday and Sunday. Thomas and I sat on the sidelines and watched, but being outside on a beautiful weekend with the fun kids of Ultimate did wonders for our morale. Thomas did some warm-ups with the team, but was extremely cautious.

Thomas continues outpatient therapy at Shepherd Pathways. He's enjoying the variety of things they're having him do, but is anxious to get back to school.

Thank you for your continued prayers. You will never know how grateful I am for your attention to Thomas' recovery. God is good. Life is good!

Virginia