A Merry Christmas with the Family!

Kay & Devin had a very Merry Christmas at Mt. Sinai with their family. Everyone brought all the comforts of home and Kay didn't even have to clean up!

Kay & Devin had dinner brought to them and the O'Meara/MacDonald clan set up the Mt. Sinai day room for their feast...just like home!

As expected, Kay didn't even take the holiday off from progressing! With Devin's assistance she was able to walk all the way from her room to the day room for dinner. Great job! Kay's humor was also shining through....she kept commenting on Cindy's new brightly colored outfit and asking her if she was going to wear it to dinner. She may be in the hospital, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have her fashion sense!

Devin also gave Kay some Christmas motivation...a beautiful diamond necklace! What a wonderful husband! Cindy has the necklace for safe keeping so Kay has to continue her hard work in order to be able to go home and get her baubles back! There's no motivation like diamonds!

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Have a wonderful New Year!

2008 will be a new and better year for Kay, Devin and the O'Meara and MacDonald families!

We Love You Kay!

Star Struck!

Last night Kay had a surprise visitor! While she was enjoying a visit from her Aunt & cousins Penny Marshall (aka-Laverne from Laverne & Shirley) stopped by to say hello to Kay! Penny was there visiting another patient and came by to say hi. She knew Kay had not been there in September when she last visited. Only Kay could manage to get celebrities to visit her in the hospital!

Kay continues to work hard and show improvement. She's now getting to eat real food. She's enjoying pasta with clam sauce...one of her favs!

Kay's right side also seems to be gaining some strength and show some small movements. Her occupational therapist saw her move her right shoulder a bit earlier this week and her walking is improving on her right. Thanks Devin, he's been working very hard with Kay on strengthening her right side!

Yesterday when her family was visiting Kay was able to move from her chair to her bed on her own. Mr. O'Meara tried to get the nurse to help her but Kay responded with "What do we need her for?" and got herself up from the chair and into the bed. That's the strength & determination we know Kay has!

Kay still wants to go home and has been known to ask others to "bust her out". We all have to help her understand that she's making such wonderful improvements but she still has to stay at Mt. Sinai to continue to get better and then she will be able to go home. We wish she and Devin could be in their new house for their first Christmas as Mr. & Mrs. but right now Mt. Sinai is the best place for her...and she gets out of cooking again!

Please send Kay, Devin & The O'Meara family your holiday wishes! Everyone's strength has been amazing, especially during the holiday season!

We wish everyone a happy, healthy & safe holiday season!

We Love You Kay!

She'll Soon Be Able To Have The Pizza She's Been Asking For

Great News! Kay had her feeding tube removed this week and passed her swallow test. She's now able to eat more than just pureed foods. She has to start off slow, but soon she should be able to have the pizza she's been asking for!

Kay's continuing to work hard at physical therapy and it's showing. Her movement on her right side is still very limited but she did move her right hand a bit this week. When her mom and dad and Cindy were visiting Tuesday she practiced walking down the hall and it was obvious that she was favoring her right side less and it was getting a little bit stronger. Every little bit helps, we know how determined Kay is to get better and get home!

While Kay still gets confused sometimes we can see her wonderful personality coming through more and more whether it's her frustration with not being able to get up on her own or go home or her sense of humor. The other day Kay was looking at Cindy's hands and noticed her engagement ring and asked where her wedding rings were. When Cindy said she had them at her house Kay seemed very skeptical...What's my sister doing with my gorgeous rings? Cindy explained she shouldn't have them in the hospital and that she was keeping them safe and then Kay seemed okay with it.

Please continue to leave Kay and Devin your words of encouragement. They are continuing to stay strong and everyone's support continues to help them.
Mrs. O'Meara and Cindy are slowly starting to show Kay some messages from the website and she is truly amazed by the incredible support she is receiving from everyone near and far. It's especially important during the holiday time.

Happy Holidays!

We Love You Kay!

Sarah & Kayla Come To Visit

This weekend was very exciting for Kay, her nieces, Sarah & Kayla, finally got to come visit her! Kay was very excited to see them and the girls could not wait to see their Aunt Kay!

Kay was able to talk to the girls and played Connect Four with them. Aunt Kay beat them every time-so much for letting the kids win! The girls also brought Kay a beautiful Christmas tree for her room. We know how much Kay loves the holidays so she'll be happy to have some Christmas cheer in her room. Dara even made some beautiful ornaments for the tree.

Kay continued to push her progress forward this weekend. She was able to walk the perimeter of the physical therapy room with the help of Devin and her physical therapist. That's quite a walk! Sarah said it is cute when Uncle Devon helps Kay walk because it looks like they are dancing. No wonder Kay is doing so well, we all know she loves to dance!

Kay is still wanting to go home and but right now Mt. Sinai is the best place for her to be. She has to continue to work hard so she can go home to Devin and their new beautiful home.

Keep sending Kay your support. She continues to amaze us all with her strength!

We Love You Kay!

Ding Dong The Trach Is Gone!!

Wonderful news-Kay had her trach completely removed yesterday! She is going to be so much more comfortable.

Kay is enjoying talking more and more and loves to talk on the phone. She doesn't have her cell phone back yet, but every time she has a visitor she asks if she can use their phone to call someone. Don't be surprised if you pick up the phone and she's on the other end!

Yesterday Kay had a wonderful day visiting with her Mom and Cindy. Kay did a lot of talking and lots of walking with the assistance of Mrs. O'Meara and her physical therapist. She's really working hard! Cindy brought Connect Four to play with Kay and Kay even won a few rounds.

On the phone today Kay talked about the walking she did during physical therapy and the reading she has done with the speech therapist. She's reading and remembering more each day!

Kay is also eating more every day. For now most of her meals are pureed, but soon she'll be eating the pizza she's dying for!

Kay is continuing to improve each day. She sometimes gets a bit confused when she talks but she's working so hard and has so much to remember, she's doing great. We all get confused sometimes!

Devin and all of his and Kay's families continue to be an amazing support system for her. They have stayed so strong and continue to work with Kay so that she can make such a wonderful recovery.

Please continue to leave Kay your support and well wishes. She loves hearing about everyone reading the website.

We Love You Kay!

A Little Help From Kay!

Thank you to Devin's brother who had a great idea! Kay is doing so well and talking so much that she is now going to help by telling us about her progress to keep the website updated! She's amazing!

Kay is getting stronger and stronger and walking more and more. Kay told us she walked 25 feet with a little bit of assistance at physical therapy this week. Today she walked even more- 132 feet over 6 trips to the ladies room with Devin's assistance. She's doing so well!

Kay continued to talk a lot a lot this weekend! She was enjoying her first snow day (her favorite!) and had great phone conversations with Cindy and Monica! She asks lots of questions and is interested in what everyone else is doing. Kay even remembered that Monica lived in a different time zone-asking her what time it was there and then asking Devin what time it was in NY!

We started telling Kay about this website and she seemed truly amazed. When she heard the names of everyone that was leaving her notes she said "no way", "wow" and "really?". Not surprisingly she asked if she was on the website and we explained that it was all about her and her progress and that it had her pictures on it and was called We Love You Kay! She thought that was amazing. She even asked if it talked about her scenario (her words exactly). We explained that so many people were concerned about her and supporting her and we were updating them with all her progress and now we were going to rely on her to help us update it.

Kay hasn't seen the website yet, but when she looked at Devin's computer when she heard about it she could see right away that he had 8 windows opened....it is a Sunday during football season!

As you now hear from Kay herself, she's making amazing progress, talking more and walking a ton!

Keep letting her know how strong she is and how proud of her we are!

More updates from her in a few days!

We Love You Kay!