Saturday Night, June 30th

I have added some video of Allie to the Full Recovery.net website. I am still learning but trying hard how to build a good website including video and sound.

Click on the Full Recovery.net website link located on the left side of this page and go to Alliie' Pictures to see me accepting her HS Diploma. Listen to the applause and love they are giving Allie.

Then, click on Allie's video to see a message she taped for you today. I cut is short to bring you only the best parts.

Have a great night as this will serve for this evenings blog. Tonight I will let Allie do the talking for me.

God Bless and Good Night - We Love You.

Allie's Dad

Saturday Afternoon, June 30th

Wow, what a miraculous moment we just had. We started of by taking ALlie out for a walk. As we got outside my SUV was parked right next to the hospital door so I asked Allie if she wanted to go for a ride. She said yes so we all got in and went to the gas station to fill up and get Allie a Coke. From there we went to the Ronanld McDonald house and just hung out for a moment. OK, I lost the key yesterday and had to get another one.

Now for the brightest part of our whole stay here. We all went to visit the nurses on the second floor. When we got there we ran into Dr. Gardner, her neurosurgeon and the man that definitely saved her once she got here. We still credit Marty and Beth and Kent with making it possible for her staying alive enough for him to get her. Our little angels!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When Dr. Gardner saw her I thought he was going to faint. I thought our stoic hero was going to be reduced to tears. He could not believe what her was seeing. It is my belief that he did not believe she was going to make it and to see her walking, smiling and talking was to much to be true. He just looked at her and said "I't as miracle, God definitely has a purpose for you." I thought I was going to break down myself as i felt my knees get weak as he took me back to that initial day when he spoke to us at 3:00 am right after his initial surgery. Dr. Gardner looked at Nancy and I and said "what ever you guys are doing, keep doing it" he shook hes head, smiled and said "your family is a miracle - you guys just keep doing what you're doing". He just smiled and said "she is so beautiful, this just make my whole weekend worth it" This was so amazing as this is a guy who I really admire and look up to. I now have so many heros and people I look up to.

Well we are back in the room now and Allie is resting. Our friends Clyde (Santa Claus) and Pam will be here soon for a visit and we look forward to it.

Just had to share this great news with you. God is Good! Full Recovery - Never a Doubt.

We love you!
Allie's Dad

Friday Evening, June 30th

Fun, fun day today. Started of kind of slow and tired but kept progressing and picking up speed as we went along.

Allie's therapies didn't start until 10 this morning so we had a lot of time to burn early in the morning as Allie decided to get me up at 4:00am and I couldn't get her back to bed till around 5:00. She said she was tired of lying down and just wanted to stand for awhile - and she did, she just stood for around 40 minutes, then I called the nurse who got her back in bed and she slept for a few more hours.

Allie is still confused (alot) but is coming aroung more and more every day. She still talks about her knees and her legs being broken and is fixed o how her brother is doing but different words and things she used to do and say keep popping up - she just called me Steve-O, which is what she used to call me all the time. Nancy and I both heard it and we looked at each other. I said to Allie that's what you used to call me and she said "I did?" - it never sounded so sweet but it's so cool when these old thing just pop out, deep down you just pump your fist and go YES!

Nancy and I had a lot of time off today due to her therapies being clustered together and then her friends coming to visit so we took advantage of it and went downtown for breakfast at a lovely hotel and then dinner this evening. While walking downtown we went into a lovely shop called Go Fish and met the nicest people Tom the owner and Christy the best salesperson ever. We bought Allie a beautiful purple hat and a great pair of leopard slipper shoes (just her style)

The doctor said we can take Allie out of the hospital on Sunday for a day out, so we will take her to a park and out to lunch. We are so excited we can hardly keep from jumping up and down. Her friend Rachael said they went out for a walk tonight and Allie sat on a swing and wa swinging. Scared the heck out of me when I heard it because I didnlt know she was capable of that but she said she was doing it well and they swang and talked. How cow how can you be co excited and scared at the same time - wierd protection thing going on, gonna have to learn how to deal with that. Rachael also said that Allie remembered alot of thigs so that's awesome. Allie now remebers all of our dogs and all kinds of things - as she would say "So far, so good" Man have we been blessed!

Her therapists have been working hard with her and Mark the PT has been doing an exceptional job with her and communicating his game plan with us and then telling us how she carried it out. He has been taking her on walks and giving her key to remember where she is and how to get back, trying to make her more independant. Right now you could walk her around a turn or two and she would not be able to get back where she started from - but that's today, tomorrow the miracle girl will do it.

I get to sleep ar the Ronald McDonald house tonight and Nancy will stay her - we swap off every other night when we can. Luck for me to have the night off as they have stopped Allie's sleeping pill - I'll pray extra hard for Nancy.

So as the journey continues we continue to thank God for allowing us to have this journey and for stregnthening(?) us as a family. We thank him for allowung us to turn this incident into a full blown ministry of healing people which grows every day and we thank him for all of our friends old and new. We thank him for gicing us the ability to stay in harmony and to help others see the better side of their tragedies and we thank him for the end of the day when we can all pray and lie in peace.

I would like to thank my friends wonderwoman Allison Babin and super sweet Kim Parish for the fundraising events they are doing for us this weekend and to everyone who has purchased a shirt or sent a donation. You guys are our blessings.

I must thank everyone who has said a prayer or wished us well - your kind words are so special to us. Please do not ever think a donation is necessary as we are happy to send you a bracelet just for asking - we want you wearing it so people will know that you are a caring, loving person and someone they can turn to for a kind word.

So as the night draws to a close - sleep good my friends we love and appreciate you. Please send the blog to everyone you know. There is strength in numbers and we want to build a worlwide network of prayer warriors and trauma friends.

Together we can create a better world.

Allie's Dad

Thursday Evening, June 29th

Thursday night and back at the hospital for the weekend.

Well she sang!!!!!!!!!!!!! It wasn't much, only one sentence but she sang. Nancy was singing to her and she began to remember the words. At first she just mouthed a few and then she sandg a few. Wow, it was awesome to hear her voice again. It dawned on us that the reason she hasn;t been singing is that she can not remember the words to the songs. She still has a very difficult time remembering things but when she is prompted she can come up with the right word or memory.

It's sad and cute at the same time. She is having a difficult time with short term memory. Her friend Kristen was here this afternoon and ten minutes after she left we asked Allie who had just visited her and she couldn't come up with the name, however she is improving. Every Thursday evening they have "hang out time" where everyone on the floor will gather to make beaded jewelry or just color. Last week Allie would have nothing to do with it. Since her friend was here, Nancy and I ran over to K-Mart real quick and when we got back we snick up on the room and there was Allie sitting at the table with everyone else, she had made a bracelet and was coloring a sign for her door. My heart melted when I saw here there. She looked just like everyone else, just like Allie.

Allie is still talking alot and still is not able to distinguish reality in alot of areas, but it will come. It's hard and tiring but Nancy is hanging strong and I am right there with here. God had truly smiled on all of us - at times you can go, wow it this all she is going to be and then you go Wow, she is truly amazing. Thank you God for giving her back to us and thank you for everything you have blessed us with.

Our meeting with her staff went well. It was not a question and answer session, something I would have liked but I guess at this time there are still no answers. All of the therapists agree that Allie has progressed leaps and bounds, especially in the last two days. They say she is fairy safe and can now shower by herself, dress herself and go for supervised walks. I am going to see if we can take her to a park tomorrow.

Everything is going well with Full Recovery.net. we are building the website behind the scenes right now and we have sent t-shirts and bracelets across the country so the movement is under way. At this time I am looking for inspirational stories you may have of peoples recoveries and tips you may have with regards to helping people recover and/or how to be a patient advocate for your loved one. You may e-mail them to me at drcagen@citcom.net

If you would like to participate in Full Recovery, check out our temporary website at www.fullrecovery.net

Please keep your prayers coming and please e-mail your prayer groups again, we are still a long way from being out of the woods and we need your love and prayers.

I love you all
Allie's Dad

Wednesday Evening, June 27th

Hi Guys

Tonight is the wierdest night ever. Here I am sitting in my home and there is nobody here except for me, my computer and four dogs. It's kind or eerie but nice at the same time. I had hoped to do alot of work on the website tonight but I thing after blogging, its going to be TV and then bed.

Nancy said they had a great day at the rehab center today. She said that I won't believe Allie's growth when I get there tomorrow but it has been that way everyday. She said that she did great in all of her therapies and that she is now of all medications including the antibiotics she was recieving from the surgery. This is a good day!

Allie is doing so well walking it is hard to believe that just over a week ago we couldn't get her out of bed and she couldn't use the restroom on her own. Yesterday we went on a really long walk and she did it so well.

Each day her therapists say she is doing better. Sometimes it is hard to understand where they are coming from because on one hand they tell you she has a brain injury and it will take time to recover and on the other hand they want to give her drugs to help with her recovery - where is the balance? Don't get me wrong, these guys are great but it is so hard to quantify her progress - what is good? If she is progressing everyday, the questions are; how good, is it normal growth, is it to slow, is she where someone should be that had a massive brain injury six weeks ago and had a three hour brain surgery two weeks ago? What is her performance being guaged against?

There are no answers as each case is individual yet, you don't know what their goals are or what they are guaging their opinions on and are they opinions or are they based on some scale or index? After asking these questions yesterday Nancy and I have been invited to have a meeting with the team tomorrow. This is good because you reach a time when you have to realistically ask, what have we got and where do we go from here. Allie still has a long way to go but she is making alot of progress and we need to understand what the therapists expect along with what their observations have been from day to day. I believe it is extremely important to get imput in meeting from the people who are with her the other 21 hours a day they are not with her.

We are blessed to be in a place where they listen to our concerns and act upon them immediately.

Allie's friends visited her tonight, Ricky, Kimmy and Logan. Nancy said they had a great visit and Allie is calming down more and more each day. When I spoke to her on the phone tonight she sounded great. It's not in the high pitched, hysteria voice anymore and she can sit quiet for a few minutes now. Her appetite has returned, she is feeding herself and said she was going to college in September - hey who knows - never a doubt, right?

Anyhow, all is good, we have grown stronger through this and have come to appreciate how beautiful life really is - you just have to see the good in things that happen, accept it and embrace it.

Nancy, Matt, Allie and I truly appreciate everything everyone has done for us, we are grateful for everyone who has and continues to work with Allie and all of the wonderul ICU and floor nurses who we visit. It was so exciting when Allie walked under her own power to the ICU unit. All of the nurses gathered aroung and hugged her and were just amazed - it is as much a thrill for us as it is for them.

Have a great night everyone
Allie's Dad

Wednesday Morning, June 27

Check out this great newspaper article on Allie getting her HS Diploma. It was done by our good friend Lynn Peters, owner of the Mountain Voice Newspaper. Thanks Lynn for this memory. It will be a good keepsake for Allie and a treasure for all of the readers of this blog.

Allie's Dad

http://mtnvoice.com/html/feature1.html

Tuesday Evening, June 26th

Hi Guys. Another day and as each day is interesting enough, somedays there is not much to write about - today is one of those days, although Allie had some very clear moments today and she walked further than she ever has today.

One ot the highlights of the day was when Nancy, Allie and I were sitting in her room, I was working on the computer just listening to the two of them talk when Allie started talking about God, something she does not typically talk about. During their talk Allie said that she talked to God alot and that he was her best friend. She said that she was happy that soem day she would go and walk with him but that would not be for another 90 years. How cool is that - he is my best friend also.

Since there could be no better news than that, I am finally going to be short winded and just day good night.

We love you much and thank you for your support,
Allie's Dad

MOnday Evening, June 25th

Six weeks ago at this time we were sitting at home watching TV when the call came in that Allie had been in a serious accident and here we are today with the miracle girl on the mend.

I was not at the hospital today however I heard that Allie did great in her therapies and each of her therapists said she is continuing to improve and her focus time is getting longer. Nancy has spent a long time here with ALlie and needed some time off so I will be spending the night in the hospital tonight. Allie is about asleep so it is becoming quiet time - time for a cup of green tea and some television.

Tomorrow she will be getting the staples out of her head incision which is great, her hair is growing in really well and it will then be able to cover the scar over which is huge because she is becoming more and more aware of the cut on her head and it is getting her upset. This will be a huge step physically and psycologically for her and all of us.

Probably about 3 more weeks here and then it's back home and back to a normal recovery in a familiar surroundings. Can't believe what faith, good doctors and nurses, a strong will and alot of prayers can accomplish in as little as six weeks.

T-Shirts and bracelets will be in tomorrow and will begin being sent out on Wednesday.

God Bless You All
Allie's Dad

Sunday Evening, June 24th

Hi All

Short blog tonight. Allie is doing well -continuing to progress daily. Being Sunday, there were no therapy sessons scheduled so we just went on alot of very long walks. Allie did alot of walking on her own is is really regaining her balance and gait quite well. She is still talking every waking moment but she is funny as all get out, so it's enjoyable to listen to the stories she makes up. She still thinks she is living in a hotel and she is there because her legs are hurt. She sees the scars from where she had stitches and thinks that is what she is there for but she is getting increasingly more agitated at being there and wants to come home.

A few of Allie's friends stopped by today and it brings everything to a new level each times someone comes. It's great to see her remember them and it brings back memories for her. Today Allie said she was going to college in September in NYC but could not remember the name of the college.

Her nurses are dolls, Kendra and Judy have been doing a fanastic job with her and we could not be happier with them. Kendra has been doing a great job with Allie getting her to eat which she did 3 times today - not alot but Kendra sits her in a chair and get her structured as if she were eating at home.

Right now little things are big victories and we are there for her every second of every day. They were not kidding when they said we would not know her after three weeks in the rehab and they are right. She is once again spelling and doing basic math and it is only a matter of time before she is 100% and legitimate.

I have taken her to her old floors in th ehospital and it is alot of fun to see everyone and show them how well they are doing.

Find of freaky, when I was driving home tonight with Matt, there on the side of the road was some of the wreckage from her accident. They must have pulled it out of the woods and left is at the side of the road to be picked up. I pretty much got sick to my stomach. You know it is not the fact that she had the accident or where she is now but what will always bother me is how she must have been hrting and suffering while she was trapped inside the vehicle waiting for help. I will Always be so grateful to all of my angels who helped her. You know who you are and we all love you so much.

OK this is much longer than I wanted it to be so good night everyone. I will be posting some ner pictures tonight.

Love Ya'll
Allie's Dad

SaturdayEvening, June 23rd

What a day, what a day. I wish I had a pedometer as I would love to know how much Allie and I have walked in the past few days or should I say how far I have pushed Allie in her wheelchair over the past few days. This little girl can;t sit still for a minute.

Highlights of the day:

I painted Allie's nails and she actually sat still and let me do it

Allie and I bought a pair of earrings but she wouldn't let me put them in

Nancy, Matt arrived to relieve the troops (me - only 52 straight hours)

Our nephew Mike Va the magnificant came to visit from NY. He loves Allie and she loves him. I think they bring out the best in each other

We got a package from Nancy's brother Mike with lots of goodies in it

Allie walked alot on her own and had 3 classes today. She is making huge strides

I rolled Allie over to the Ronald McDonald house again

Best of ALL - Allie ate something tonight - Basically for the first time in 42 days. Yahoo, this could be the start of something. Her eating started when we were sitting down stair just talking and laughing. Matt bought a pack of Skittles and began eating them. He handed her one and she ate it - we were floored as she has refused to eat anything. Then she asked for a red one and then a few other colors and then she ate a Reeses Peanutbutter Cup. Hey it has to start somewhere.

It might not sound that exciting but it really was. We were able to minister to some people in the neurotrauma ICU today and to some people on other floors and we were also able to interview some nurses for tips people can use when working with trauma patients.

All in all Allie is making a miraculous recovery and Full Recovery is just working on the web site. Our temporary site is www.fullrecovery.com - please visit it and join in the movement. Also, click on the we love Allie Cagen website link to sign Ricky's guestbook and see the awesome video montage he created for Allie. Thank to all of her friends who have visited and to all of the wonderful people who have sent cards and gifts - we love you all.

Please keep your prayers and posts going. We love to hear from you and please keep praying for the Shakelford family. In addition to Full Recovery.net we are creating to site prayerpastors.com to help keep up with the prayer requests. I will be looking for the names of prayer groups and pastors - stay tuned.

Humbly yours,
Allie's Dad

Friday Evening, June 22nd

A great day at the Roger C Peace Center. I ma never amazed and always keep my fingers crossed but today has been another wonderful healing day for Allie and for me. I have been with her for the last 24+ hours straight and it has been a great time watching her grow and blossom more and more everyday. She slept last night from about 10 until aroind 8 this morning and woke up refreshed, smiling and ready for the day. I left the room for 2 minutes this morning and came in to find her sitting up in bed and smiling. A great sight.

From there things got a little more interesting when Allie got fixated looking for her hairbrush and looked in every closet 3-4 times, in th ebathroom 100 times and was getting a little excited. I told her I would go to the nursing station to find her a brush if she would sit in the chair and wait for me to get back to which she agreed - big mistake!!! When I got back she had walked to the bathroom and locked herself in. When I asked her to open the door she proceeded to tell me no and that she was taking a shower. I calmly asked her to open the door again and she once again said she was fine and was going to take a shower. Now I was calmly panicked and hunted down a nurse who informed me she did not have a key and did not know where to get one. I was about to break the door down. While Allie cna walk, she is still a litttle loose and a fall would be bad. SHortly thereafter another nurse came by and jimmied the door. We were in phew, and there stood little allie, in her birthday suit with the water running on her. In all actuality I thought it was kind of amazing but scary none the less. they are now working on getting keys. It was Allie's time for occuptaional therapy anyhow so the therapist jumped in there with her and they got to work, shower, brush teeth, pickout and put on clothes. Way to go Allie.

While she was in the shower, I attended an educatinal class to fill me in on her trauma and what could/has been affected. Basic information but very well presented and very much appreciated.

Next Allie has recreational therapy and she made a beautiful beaded bracelet and read a few words for the therapist. They keep her hopping her so it was off to speech therapy, then physical therapy, then luch and back to speech therapy. All of the therapists have seen her grow daily and I have seen such a huge change in her. Full Recovery - Never a Doubt.

Allie has never been one to sit still - not even for a second so when she is not in a therapy session we are either walking or I am rolling her around. We wheeled everywhere today including over to the Ronald McDonald house to show her where we are staying. Then twenty or thiry laps aroung the hospital and off to the ICU and second floor to see all of her old and wonderful nurses who love her so much. They were all amazed to hear her talk and see her walk.

She still does not understand that she is in the hospital or what happened. She does ot know where we live or things like that but in time it will all return. One therapist said she has post traumatic amnesia.

On one of our walks today we went into the physical therapy gym and I asked Allie is she would like to climb the stairs and she did. She stood up, grabbed the bannister and walked up and down the strps. The PT walked by as we were doing this ans was completely amazed. As we were walking down one of the many long long corridors of the hospital, another PT stopped to talk and siad he couldn't blieve the transformation. He said 2 days ago you couldn;t get her to sit up in bed and not she is walking, talking, and being a little girl. He was right in his perspective. I had almost forgotten where we were a few days ago

A few of my favorite parts of the day were seeing Allies sense of humor coming back. Once again she is calling me pie (because she likes pie). She asked me what I was doing when she came back from a therapy and I told her I was just singing and dancing - she wanted to see spo when I did a jig and sang a song she craked up and just a few minutes ago some of her friends stopped by and you could see her brain activity jump to a new level - she knew who they were and she just started conversing with them. They are now pushing her around outside. Also when we were upstairs I put her in front of a computer and she typed in www.hotmail.com, entered her email address but could not remember her password, how many times has that happened to me.

Allie's gets fixated on things and will askthe same question over and over for 20-30 minutes, constantly or will get fixed on looking for something, right now it's her purse but it's so beautiful, you just pacify her 1000 times and move on - she is coming back.

One of our readers wrote about the essence of full recovery in an email to me today and I thought I would share it with you:

I look forward to Allie's Full Recovery and would love to meet her one day - what a testimony to tell the world! To come through what she has already and make a wonderful mark on the world, on people's lives to show them what a Full Recovery really is...the attitude you take on after an event that says regardless of what you have AFTER the fact, you are going to make the most of it and reach out to offer others HOPE! We are missing HOPE in our world today. Thank you for offering us all hope in difficult situations!

Full Recovery is about hope and inspiration. It is not about full physical, mental, emotional or spiritual recovery because that is not always possible but it is about coming to peace with your situation and recoverying in your heart, making peace and pushing forward. It is about people loving and helping others through their support and prayers.

I hear Allie coming so I'm off for now.

Love you all.

Allie's Dad

Thursday Night, June 21st

Just a quick note, please read the daily blog below. When you leave a particular message or request, such as one I got today for a prayer request, I would like to respond personally, however, when you leave it at the blog, your return e-mail address does not show up so I can not respond. Please forward all request for prayer to me directly at: drcagen@citcom.net To my friends in OKC - Your friends have been added to our list and I am glad they are doing so well. To all of our friends on the blog, please add the Shackelford family to your prayers. They were in a serious auto accident in which the vehicle rolled 3 times. They are in stable condition but need your prayers. This is what Full Recovery is all about - people helping people recover from trauma. Never a Doubt - Allie's Dad

Thursday Evening, June 21st

Late night blog tonight, approx. 10:00pm and Allie has finally quited down. I am spending the night at the hospital with her while Nancy finally gets to go home for the evening - a well deserved break, although she will probably go home and clean and then do laundry and then get Matt packed for camp. He is leaving Monday for a month - good for him. Allie is doing so well, while she is still out there for lack of better words, she is doing very well with all of her therapies and continues to do well and progress each and every day. I got here just before 3:00 today and had Allie since then. She proceeded to walk my legs off as she can not stay in one place for more than a moment and she gets fixated on things and won;t quit. First I whelled her up and down the hallway, then took her outside and then back and forth inside the hospital including the Starbucks - I told her there was one in the hospital and she had to visit it - she didn;twant anthing but she wanted to visit, then I pushed her another 4 or 5 miles, tried to get her to eat dinner - then back on the road until about 9:30. During our outing I took Allie back up to the 4th floor ICY where she spent her first few weeks (in a coma) and the nurses there all gathered around and celebrated her coming to visit. They were amazed and laughed at how well she was doing and some of the jokes she was makeing. They are not really jokes just the funny ways she would answer some questions. We think she's awesome. Tomorrow she has another full day so I am glad she is finally resting and now that she is, I will also. Be back tomorrow. Have a great night. Allie's Dad

Wednesday Evening, June 20th?

• The days are now starting to run together and get kind of long but we can rest in the end.

It's all so wierd. Just a few days ago our daughter was singsing and laughing, making plans to go to college and acting in plays and in the blink of an eye she is in a wheelchair with staples in her head talking incessantly about nothing that makes sense and yet I am not angry nor do I blame but have a calm sense of everything being OK. I mean it is so bizarre to have your child in this state - beyond comprehension, yet it is what it is and you have to be OK. She was what she was then, whe is what she is now and she will be what she will be and she is beautiful and brilliant and overcoming the challenges of a lifetime. I used to say watch out world before all of this happened, holy cow, watch out universe when she recovers from this.

Honestly, the serenity which comes from acceptance is amazing. I am not so much worried for Allie as I am for sweet Nancy at this moment, she is so strong but how long can she go for. Allie at this time could exhaust a saint in a matter of hours much less someone who has been with her for 37 days in a row. I will be heading down tomorrow afternoon to relieve her for hopefull a day or two so she can come home. She wants to help Matt pack for camp - he leaves on monday for a month. How awesome - he is my hero and an awesome big brother.

Throughout all of this I continually thank God for this blessing and for giving all of us this experience that we can work through together. I thank him for allowing us to be his servants and for entrusting us as messengers. We have met so many truly good people along this journey and have helped others deal with their own grief. What has happened is not bad it is a life experience from which we will all come to know God better and will all come to love each other more. How many people have truly looked at their child and loved them unconditionally. How many have been given the opportunity to marvel everyday at thier triumphs and how many have held thier hands and whispered to them how incredible they were. Sure there are challeges and sure it is frustrating, work becomes less (temporarily), bills mount up and yadda yadda but your child is alive and being given a second chance and you are honored and blessed to be a part of it. Does it suck? Sure it does but in the smallest most insignificant sense. Look at all of the good. Full Recovery - Never a Doubt has become a revolution and is growing bigger everyday. Someday, we will have a world wide brother/sisterhood of people who will believe that Full Recovery is a possibility. We will have created something fat bigger than ourselves that will bring love and hope and healing to millions of people and it all started with Allie - and she dosen;t even know it and believe it or not someday is right now as we have people who have emailed us from Russia, India, S. Africa, UK, Spain and a bunch of other countries I either can't remember or spell right now - hey it's 10:40 PM and I started today at 6:00.

Allie was awesome today!!!!!!!! She woke up very agitated but calmed down and did very well in her therapies, but man is this a difficult phase. She is walking incrdibly well right now and no one can believe how she is doing it. When I got to the hospital aroung 7:00 this evening, she was practically walking by herself - without the walker! Yesterday we had two people and barely got ten steps. Today just one person to mildly steady her and she's walking out of her room, halfway down the hallway and back??????? The miracle girl of NC. After I got there and before her hallway walk, we put her in a wheelchair and took her outside for a long walk. I brought our pomeranian dog (Atlas) with me tonight and they let him in the hospital. We walked outside for a long time and Allie loved being outside and the smell of fresh air. From there it was back inside and alot more demands. God grant me the serenity....... and may I please have a double dose of patience.

Well what can tomorrow bring? Who knows of I firmly believe in what I call the creative principle or seeing from the end backwards - so everynight I see Allie singing and starring in a Broadway play and Matthew, Nancy and I are in the front row cheering her on. I know it, I believe it, I see it and together, we will all achieve it.

Thank you for believing in Allie and her dreams. Please help all of the dreams come true by ordering a Full Recovery T-Shirt or blacelet the more we can get out in the world and the faster we can do it the quicker we can help more people. Call us at (828) 885-7100 or e-mail me at drcagen@citcom.net

Good night and God Bless

Allie's Dad

Tuesday Afternoon, June 19th

Another day, another chapter in the amazing recovery or Allie and boy is it a tiring one. It started at 7:15 this morning when Nancy and I got to the rehab (which really is a hospital which has a different emphesis - that is to get Allie functioning mechanically). Allie was sleeping but not for long. The nursing staff here is awesome and they are very structured. This is good as they are working on getting Allie on a normal schedule. That's kind of funny because when we left last night, I said to Allie "we'll see you at 7 in the morning and she kind of shouted in her (now) high pitched voice (don't know what that's all about) NOOOO that's to early. Big shocker for her. Well at 7:30 they cam in, woke her up and immediately got her into the bathroom and then in for a shower. nancy and a nurse went in together and what a fiasco. Allie is in a new phase and a much, much, much more demanding one. She talks non-stop and I mean every single second she is awake she is talking in a non-stop high pitched voice, alot of times nonsense, many time making sense but always demanding something. I pray constantly not to get fustrated with her as she is working so hard and amazing the heck out of me every moment of every day. Well I sat here and had a good cry while they were in the shower. It was one of those ones where you want to cry but bite your lip and do all of the crying inside. Just the sounds of fear in Allie's voice coming from the bathroom. She kept saying "I'm scared, I'm scared" and and it took everything to keep from breaking down. As Allie enters this new phase, she is being reborn and everything is new to her and with brain injury patients they can not filter our outside distractions so they are constantly processing every distraction and can overload. She hears every noise and feels every breeze, and is distracted by everything. She is feeling pains she never felt before and is extremely confused about many things but her sense of humor is there. When asked today if she knew where she was -her answer was here and when pressed further she said she was in her fathers room. She also said my name was pie. When I asked why she said because she liked pie. Different but brought a smile to my face. Later in the day she said my name was George. When I said I thought it was pie she just smiled. Today Allie met with the physical therapist twice, the occupational therapist, speech therapist, recreational therapist and we all met with the physologist. Today was a day of getting to know Allie and learn what she was like before the accident so they know what to shoot for on the road to recovery. It was also a day of goal setting and getting to learn the ropes around here. Since Allie is not eating and they have been tube feeding her, they are going to stop the feedings to the next 24 hours with the hopes that she will get hungry enough to eat. We got Allie into a wheel chair this morning and she seemed to enjoy it but she was VERY fearful about getting out of bed. She tried to get out of bed twice last night so they wanted to put a tent over her bed so she could not escape and possibly hurt herself. The head doctor, Dr. Toma, who is excellent did not want that and told us we had to stay her during the night. Nancy will recieve sainthood after tonight and the next few night. Don;t know how long we have to do this. At physical therapy, Mark (PT) got her out of the chair and together he and I got her to use a walker - 10 steps. I was so proud. Right now Allie says everything hurts her or feels terrible or something. I mean non stop. It's jibber jabber - incessant jibber jabber. At luch time she got a chik-filet sandwich and some fries and it was funny because this is some of Allie's favorite food. Well when we gave her the sandwich she looked at us and said "I would never eat anything like that - it's horrible - I would never eat that?" The I tried to give her a nice waffel fry and she just looked up at me and said "NEVER!" We are heavily relying on God to give us patience. We kind of just look at each other and chuckle. If you have never been in this situation, and I hope you haven't - I mean, OH MY GOD. You couldn't wait for her to talk ........ All Allie keeps saying is you hurt me. If you touch her finger she says you hurt me. The doctors have counseled us on what to expect and this is part of it. They said she may be here as little as two and a half to three weeks. This floored us but they said at the rapid rate she is progressing, we would be surprised at where she will be 3 weeks from not. Sounds odd to us but we can see what they are talking about. Who knows? They are split up into teams here and Allie is on team #1 (of course). That means that she has the same doctors and therapists every day - I like that. Allie just wanted to go to the restroom and got us easier and walked better. God is good. Well this could be the longers blog ever but I could not close without acknowledging someone. Marla M (you know who you are) and family. You could possibly be the nicest family in the country. Thank you for the package you sent - it was the most unbelieveable thing I have ever seen. Words will never be enough. The 2 Marlas. God Bless You. Well if you can believe it, it is only 5:00 pm, what an awesome day. I love and appreciate each and everyone of you. Clare and Kim - thanks for the e-mails. Might be back later. Allie's Dad

Monday Evening, June 18th

What an amazing day, full of wonderment, healing and the power of Allie and prayer - not to mention the incredible staying power of my personal wonder woman - Nancy. She is a said ans has the patience of Mother Teresa, because right now Allie is a handful, as she is making up for 33 days of not talking and right now does alot of whining and is very demanding but God it's good to hear her voice and see her in her own clothes with her hair washed, lying in her new room. Right now she has on a pink top with white shorts and has two bracelets on her right wrist. I mean Holy Cow, you can not believe the transformation this little girl has made in one day. Right now she is in a rehab called the Roger C Peace 701 Grove Rd, Greenville, SC 29605 Room 3908. Today Allie made great strides, she had great new nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, speech therapists ...... She walked three times on her own today (with help) I wanna cry, leap with happiness and do cartwheels all at the same time. She is using the restroom and completing her business all on her own. Man, I can't believe the miracle this girl is. From being basically dead 5 weeks ago to where she is today is mind boggling and beyon comprehension. Some people may walk in and go awww but I walk in and go awwwllllll right - YOU GO GIRL - YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!!!!! I can not contain my joy. Boy is she talking - every second she is talking to you are wanting something - I guess soem things never change. I am so glad she is here. We have heard this is the best rehab in the southeast and the way she is going -it's going to be a great summer. I'm sure tomorrow will bring more awesome news. http://www.dailysuccesscoach.com Allie's Dad

Monday June 18th, Afternoon

Full Recovery - Never a Doubt!!!!!!

Today is a great day for Allie and for all of us. Where do I start, there have been so many breakthroughs - as we always say "Today is a great day for a breakthrough" and is it.

The day started with Allie being awake and aware and cognizant of where she is and of her bodily functions and for the first time she wanted to get out of bed and go to the bathroom. Honestly I didn't even know that she was aware she needed to use the restroom. So Nancy got the nurse "Judy" who along with another nurse got her up and moving and into the restroom where she did what was natural and dompleted all aspects of it on her own. They then gave her a shower and dressed her in real clothes and she sat in a chair. WOW - what a difference a day makes.

Then Nancy made a cell phone call and Allie wanted the phone. nancy gave it to her and Allie flipped it open - the way a normal teenager would and started pressing numbers. Nancy asked her if she knew her phone number and she did! She then showed Allie some text messages and Allie read them to her. This is just beyond belief.

The neurosurgeon and Rehab doctor came in and examined Allie and they both agreed - THEY ARE MOVING ALLIE TO THE REHAB AT 2:30 TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a huge hurdle we have crossed - we are now on the rehab side of full recovery.

God bless - never a doubt. Just a short one right now because the news is so huge. Be back later.

Allie's Dad

Monday Morning, June 18th

Good Morning Sorry there was no update last night. I wrote a beautiful message and poured my heart out only to have it delete itself when it was sent last night. I will try to recap it for you: Father's day and what better gift than to have your child alive and fully recovering. Granted it will take awhile but as she lies in her bed not moving or saying a word you can just spend time looking at her and allow your thought to float back over her life and remember the different segments, like the time she sat on your lap and fell asleep or would played soccer or sand for the first time on stage. Holdiays have never been about gifts but about family and spending time together and we did that. This surgery is a lot different than the original as she slepth throughout the recovery period last time and this time she is awake and confused and in pain and wware that soemthing is wrong. Her cognitive thought is aware that she is not at home and that her body, speech and thinking is not what it used to be and she is scared. She speaks, sometimes clear and sometimes jibber jabber but who cares, everyday she contimues to grow and get stronger and it is only through her strong will, your prayers and the love of God who stregnthens her that she makes forward progress. She was so tired yesterday yet would not fall asleep. This time is more trying, yet you know full recovery is the outcome and the goal. There are times during the day when the reality hits and the reality of the situation hits and you know that if you let your guard down (your superhero powers) that any number of things could occur, mostly you could get your feelings hurt or you could get very emotionsal but you don't. You just let her know how much you love her and let her know that you will protect her - then you stroke her face and things seem to get better. One thing we are not lacking during this time is gratitude. We are grateful for everything that has occurred and for the way it is turnig out. We are grateful that she is alive and recovering - things could have been worse as we experiece worse everyday. Even if her insurance does not pay, we are grateful that we live in a country where we can make the money to cover it (eventually) and we are gratful that we can be there for her. We are grateful for the healing and the learning and the love and blessings that we recieve and we are grateful for the doctors and nurses who take care of her. We are grateful that we are a strong family and that we have such great friends both old and new and we are grateful for all of the healing Allie is providing to herself and to the world and in particular - to me. Gratitude is an amazing thing as Nancy says the more you are grateful for the things you have - the more things you will have to be grateful for. Who is a parent more likely to bless and reward, a grateful child or an ungrateful one. Thank you father for we are grateful. This was the jist of last nights message, strength, brotherhood, and gratitude. I'm sorry that my original message didn;t get through as it was much more eloquent and I can only guess that that message was for me alone. That thought keeps me from throwing the computer out of the window! Love and peace Allie's Dad

Sunday Morning, June 17th

Good Morning and HAPPY FATHERS DAY to everyone out there. Personally I have never had a better one and have never been more grateful. There will be no BBQ's or drives on the bluridge parkway, and who cares, I have found a much simpler happiness in hospital foor and walks arounf the second floor. My friends have written (or will), my new family has good wishes for me, Nancy and Matt are here and most of all, Allie has recovered and God has given me this minestry and the computer to reach all of you. Holidays have never been about presents or what can I get but have always been about love and being with the ones and I am. So thank you all for your best wishes - right back at ya!

Allie is doing very well this morning and her personality is starting to show again. It amazing how fast she is recovering - or is it? We all know who is truly at work her. I got in just before 7:00am this morning and the nurse was in with Allie. She was awake and they were wakching a movie together. She said hi when she saw me and then went back to watching. She is talking alot! Some makes sense - some does not - who cares, with each passing moment she is becoming more and more lucid. One thing she does not like is the head dressing she has on and has pulled it off so many times I just said forget it and have left it off. She has these boxing gloves kind of things we put on her hands to keep her from picking at her stitches and pulling her bandages off but they makes her mad - sooooooo, we just watch and keep her from picking. That can kind of drive ya nuts as thats all she wants to do (five million times a day) but just when you get frustrated you look at her and smile and do it again another five million times.

She is still not eating and has probably dropped 20 pounds we keep trying. I am sure that soon she will get back to it. Nancy fed her a small cup of vanilla ice cream last nice and she ate it.

Just as short morning note to wish everyone a Happy Fathers Day and to let you know how much we love and appreciate you.

We are now at over 10,000 hits on this site and Ricky is at over 1,000. Please keep visiting leaving your messages. Also, please visit the temporary site of Full Recovery.net by clicking on the link. Full Recovery.net

Yours in Unity
Allie's Dad

Saturday Afternoon, June 16th

Check out Full Recovery.Net This is not the full site but gives an overview and tells how you can help

Saturday Morning, June 16th

Wow. Just wanted to thank all of you who posted last night for the good cry. In fact, everytime someone posts it leads to a good cry. You guys as redefine caring and the essence of love. Every morning I ask God to make me a beacon of hope and a messenger of spirit. I pray that everyone who comes in contact with me will know that I am working for spirit and I guess you guys must ask for the same thing to.

This mornings posts knew just how to tug at my heartstrings and I will continue to bring Full Recovery to the world for that has become my gift (to myself and to the world). As one of my favorite philosophers Ayn Rand said in the Fountain Head (thank you Tom Gelardi for forcing me to read it - I hope you will always continue to make all students read it) "there are no true altruists."

To Jo in the UK, you moved me - please read her post in yesterday's posts. I cried and I know you will to. This amazing person has shared the true essence of Full Recovery at the deepest meaning and level. get a tissue. I haven't stopped yet for she so beautifully described what I have etched on my heart.

Oh yeah, how was Allie's night. Great. She is till sleeping as it is just before 7:00 am and she looks like she is recovering beautifully alebiet, bruised and swollen but on the other side of the healing fence. The nurse put these bug boxing glove things on her because she pulled her head dressing off twice last night. That's our girl. Other than that, uneventful, although she is going longer between rounds of pain meds.

It's a glorious day for a breakthrough. We LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!

Allie's Dad

Friday Evening, June 15th

Hard to believe we have been here so long and yet we learn new things every day. Today was kind of a bummer, yet a high note on the road to recovery. I got here this morning at 5:00am to check up on our girl and she was sound asleep. The nurse said she had a good night and got more responsive as the night wore on. Poor little dear, looked like she went 12 rounds with the champ (and lost).

Not to much happened today. Little Allie was in alot of pain today as she had a very big head surgery, was reovering from the anesthesia, was drugged up for pain and hadn't eaten in about 30 hours. My heart felt so bad for her but it felt so good for her. For all of her pain she slept most of the time but the time she was up she would cry and say (mumble) my head hurts - help me.

The neurosurgeon (Dr. Gardner) said she would be a little confused and uncomfortable for a few days mostly because he had to handle her brain during the surgery. I trust him implictely and have the utmost respect for him - what Gardner say - goes. I found out today that Dr. Gardner lost his little girl (age 4) a number of years ago in a freak accident due to a head trauma. As much as my heart hurt for him it also reassured me that he would do anything to help save a little girl - and this time it ws mine. He is a Citadel guy and very professional but today you could see how much he loved Allie when he looked at her. He said he was moving here back to the second floor. When we asked if she was ready, he said the nurses down the loved her and would watch out for her but everyone loves her he added. That warmed our hearts. Allie doeas touch a lot of lives.

Back on the second floor Allie rested comfortably (after sedation) and I hope she continues for the night. I am positive she will feel better tomorrow. I did a lot of energy work on her today and as soon a I start she falls asleep and just feels the presence of spirit at work helping to heal her from the inside out.

Please continue to pray and post messages to me. I need your support - it is what gets me writing even when I think I will blow it off for the day I know I can't. I owe it to Allie, and to you guys.

Don't forget to visit the We love Allie Cagen website (link on left side of this page) to watch her video and leave a post.

T-Shirts were ordered today and will be very cool. Order by e-mailing me at drcagen@citcom.net They say Full Recovery - helping people recover from trauma with sunflowers and a butterlfy.

Have a great night and please check in over the weekend.

Love and Peace
Allie's Dad

Thursday Evening, June 14th

What a loooooong day but what a great one. Allie cleared a huge hurdle on her road to recovery today.

It's 10:09 pm and I just left her in the 4th floor Neurotrauma ICA where she was previously. The day started with me arriving at the hospital around 11:50 am. I shut the practice early as she was shceduled to be brought to surgery around noon. When I enetered the room Allie greeted me with a big smile and turned to everyone and said clear as as bell - "It's my father", my heart jumped, she really did know me and she spoke. It was clear and intelligible and she didn't stop talking for the next hour and a half. Most of it was just chatter (not really making sense) but other parts of it were clear and rational and funny and just amazing. FULL RECOVERY - NEVER A DOUBT.

Dr. Gardner came in and told us there would be a delay in getting her into the operating room and said it would probably be aroung 4:00. Well that got the old nerves jittering. Faith, everything for a reason. They came and got Allie aroung 1:00pm and we all went to the pre-op area where we waited for about 2 hours - and they finally took her to the OR at 3:00. They said they would call in about 30 minutes, once Allie was put to sleep and the operation had begun. When we got no call after 50 minutes, I had the nurse call down and ask what was going on - getting a little nervous. They said she was under and the doctor was scrubbing up. The operation began around 4:15 and we were under the assuumption that it would only take 1 hour if all went well. 3 hours and many frazzled nerves later, Allie was in th recovery room. The doctor encountered just a little trouble with the original gortex layer he had to remove from her brain as it stuck in certain areas but in the end all was well. We went to the recovery area and Allie was awake and waved to us but she was very confused and under the effects of the anestesia. She really didn't wave to us, she was just kind of waving at everyone and she was crying a bit. We assured her that everything was over and that she was going to be fine and that appeased her for a moment but she continues to cry on and off. She will be just fine, No Doubt.

When Allie was in the preop area we called Matt on the cell phone and Allie actually spoke to him coherently and clearly. Matt said he would be here tomorrow and Allie said, Matt you should come now. Giys, this is huge progress and is definitely due to God hearing all of your prayers.

People as how I can stay so strong and positive during this time, continuing to work, minister, be here and start Full Recovery.net, its simple - huge and never waivering faith. Nancy and I sope earlier about this today and what has made this easy is turning it all over to God with all of your heart, fully knowing and believing that he has a plan and accepting it with every fibre of your being and then surrendering. One the first day we were here we gave Allie permission to go home and live with our holy father is that was what she needed to do, ungrudgingly anf with love, never thinking once about what we wanted but only what she wanted - unconditional love. Once we were willing to lose her, we got her back. Very much like the story of Abraham and Isaac. Once God saw Abrabah's willingness to surrender his child to God, he was spared and prospered.

At this point I don't know what to say except that I believe our faith, love and service has been noticed and rewarded. God has a plan in store for Allie and it is going to be a great one.

Once again, we are going full steam ahead with Full Recovery.net, a healing ministry, and we are still looking for your help and support. I wil have a web page up by saturday giving more info but for now please know that we are making t-shirts and silacone braceltes to help start the minestry and fund Allie's expenses. If you would like more info or would like to help by ordering a shirt or bracelet, please drop me an e-mail at drcagen@citcom.net or call me directly at (828) 553-2139. An e-mail would be earier on me, then we could call you back. For those of you that e-mailed me and wanted to order, many of you did not leave you phone numbers - so please re-email.

One day at a time we are going to create a healing revolution.

Your in love and honor,
Allies Dad

Wednesday Evening, June 13th

Here we are again, another day of healing another day of growth and another day of joyous tears.

Allie had a comfortable day in her brand new sun shiney room. It has made such a difference not only for Allie but for Nancy who sits in it all day also.

Many of you have asked how Nancy is doing and want to her from her in the blog. She will write soon. What happens is, as in marriage and in business each person takes on different roles and one of mine became the blog. It is very healing for me to write every day and I'm OK at doing it. I have continued the practice, media and external tasks outside of the hospital. On the other hand Nancy is the hospital CHAMP. She is Allie's advocate, protector and guardian. She is at her side and watches everything like a hawk. Because of her Allie has made tremendous strides and continues to grow daily. Nancy is a much better diagnostician than I am and is keenly aware of what meds are being given, for what, and at what times. She then moniters and watches for side effects. Because of her keen skills and caring, Allie has been taken off of alot of meds. She is the liason with the doctors and since she is one herself she is able to speak as a peer and with authority - and SHE WILL! Nancy monitors and charts Allie's progress and is the go between with all of the many nurses and therapists. As she is with Allie so much she is the full authority on how she is doing and how she is progressing. Nancy is the strongest, most beautiful woman I know. So please know that when I write I write for Nancy also. She is resting and eating and taking good care of herself and she wants each of you to know how much she loves you all and appreciates the support you have given our family - your kindness is overwhelming.

Back to Allie - The neurosurgeon has not let us not as of this writing when he will be doing the surgery to replace the bone flap for her skull - either Thursday or Friday. He said if all goes well, it will only take an hour. We expect all to go well. Nancy asked about the blood clot in her brain and he said it was still the and would take awile to go away. He also said he would be using the same incision area for this surgery and he would not hane shaving her head again. We are excited and apprehensive at the same time. Just got the word, surgery will be tomorrow at 12:00 or 12:30 so let's all pray. Please no visitor until Monday.

Nancy went to K-Mart today for some clothes for Allie (who if she only knew)to get her out of the hospital gowns and into something more comfortable.

The Occupational Therapist was extremely pleased with Allie today and said she was making good progress and was more alert today. Also her blood sugar was good again today so they stopped giving her insulin shots. Thank goodness the poor kid was becoming a pin cushion. Every time a nurse would come in the office she would begin getting upset. One less thing to deal with.

So all in all another good day. Send out your prayers and we'll talk tomorrow.

God Bless
Allie's Dad

PS. For those of you just checking in today, please read yesterday evenings blog. We are staring a Recovery Revolution and we want (need) you to be a part of it. :->

Tuesday afternoon, June 11th

What a difference a day makes. Today has been a great day for Allie and for us. First Allie as she is the star of this show. Couple of things that make our hearts jump, hope I don't miss any.

Since we stopped her drugs, Allie has resumed to being upbeat and has begun getting her appetite back, although I have only found one food she will readily eat and that is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (not nutritious but hey, what the heck). She is smiling and happy.

We took Allie out of bed for the first time today and sat her in a recliner. It bothered her some to use muscles she hasn't used in a month and you could see the fear in her face of being out of her comfort zone and she was obviously worried about her head but we are able to talk her. It breaks your heart to see her face wrinkle up and get errror on it but you know it is something you have to do and you work her through it with soothing words and praise.

Then Allie spoke to us, kind of garbled but her it's a start and something we are grateful for. We asked her if she was OK and she said 'Just Chillin Out" - that's our girl, we all laughed. She then tried speaking other words but in time. She still tires very easily. Just chillin out, you go girl.

Then the head nuerosurgeon came in and looked at Allie. He agreed with our dropping the meds assesment and then said he would like to do the surgery to replace her skull flap on Thursday or Friday. This is awesome as it is so important to do before going to the rehab. She is a few months ahead of schedule. We are very comfortable with Dr. gardner and his reputation at the hospital is of the highest level. In fact, the nursing staff say that what dr. Gardner says around her is gospel.

Then a room with an outside view became available and it was offered to us. We took it and is it ever great. There is a big tree outside the window which was blowing in the breeze when we checked in. The sky was blue and there were big puffy cluds floating about. Allie loves it. Now she can look outside (first time in a month) and feel like she is a part of the world again. We are so happy. A positive attitude mixed with faith and prayer can make great things happen. The room is also quite a bit bigger which makes it more comfortable for everyone.

The NEW ROOM NUMBER IS 2319!!!!!

There is a Saturday morning post, so please scroll down for this mornings news.

I told you there would be some really exciting news coming and there is... I don;t know if now is the right time to break it but since today's news is so good I am going to.

This incident has made such a huge impact on my life that I have decided to dedicate myself to helping other families deal with the devestation of trauma - of all types.

I am currently laying the foundation for a worldwide healing ministry called Full Recovery.net In less than two weeks, this site will be all around the globe. We will be creating an international family of people helping people - a global brother/sisterhood of people who have been there, who are there or who are God's angels on earth - people who know what you are going through and who care. Full recovery will mean when you see someone wearing the Full Recovery Symbol (now being designed) or Bracelet or T'Shirt, you will immediately have someone you can bond with, share with, cry with or just hug. They know whay you are going through, you will just be able to walk up to them and they will understand. Full Recovery - No Doubt

This will be more than a website it will be an online TRAUMA CENTER which will be dedicated to helping people heal. It will contain information, articles, how to deal with pages, blogs, Patient Advocate rights, how to control the mind, how to heal, and many other features including a forum, prayer list and so many other items including our them song from our good friend Marla Cilley "The Fly Lady" called "Another Day of Hope".

I will begin immediately traveling the country and then the world speaking at hospital, organizations and ralleys helping people learn the process of healing and the miracles of God and faith and positive thinking and goal setting and how to live and achieve after trauma. I will be providing information, love and inspiration. Full Recovery.net will work inconjunction with our other website (in process) called I'm a Miracle.net which will provide hope and training to parents and family members of trauma vistims and inspirational training for those suffering.

But Full Recovery will not stop there as we are decidated to helping anyone with any trauma recover to their fullest possible potential (including full global recovery). Full Recovery is an Attitude, not an outcome as it may not be possible for someone to gain full physical, mental, spiritual or emotional recovery but that is not the issue. The issue is how to deal with trauma and maintain a attitude of hope and a belief of faith. We know that God has a reason for everything, my mission will be to help people overcome the why and move onto the Recovery. There is good in everything. See the scripture reading at the bottom of this mornings post.

This will be a huge undertaking but one which God had been calling me to my whole life. This accident has only now cleared it up for me.

To get this started is going to take you!! We are currently printing Full Recovery T-Shirts and Bracelts and symbols. Full Recovery needs your help and I am personally calling on each of you to help get this minestry started by aksing you to preorder you T's and Blacelets. What do they look like? Don't know yet, but they will be beautiful. They are currently with a designer. The bracelets will be the rubberband type debossed with FULL RECOVERY on one side and I'M A MIRACLE on the other. Folks, this is a huge and you can be a part of it. What we have done for Allie, we can do for the world.

T-Shirts are 19.95 which will include shipping and the bracelets will be $5.50 which will include shipping. I need to sell 5,000 of each immediately so it would really help if you ordered one for everyone in your family. Sorry for the sales pitch but I am being called to get this off of the ground (NOW) and your pre-orders will truly help FULL RECOVERY and Allie.

To pre-order, just e-mail me your Name and phone number and either myself or an assistant will call you for your order, please let us know how much of each item and what size(s) you would like. I will also be needing volunteers of all types - if you would like to help, please let me know.

My e-mail is drcagen@citcom.net

Please, please, please send this to everyone you can. I have talked about this with the hospital admin and with some of the trauma nurses and they are all very excited to have something of this nature to help those suffering.

Let's turn Allie's recovery into a worldwide mission of recovery - No Doubt, Right?

With Love and BIG Dreams
Allies Dad

PS - To all my practice members - NO I am not leaving you. I will be adjusting for A LONG time to come. I love you guys, you are my rocks. We are not doctor/patient - we are family!!!!!!!XXX OOO XXX

TuesdayMorning, June 12th

Well GOOD MORNING Everyone:

I'm back and more renewed than ever - physically, emotioally and spiriually. Thank you, thank you for all of your kind words and concerns about me. I was just tired and needed a little rest. God is Good, God is Great. I love when you send verse and yes Pam P.B. cookies would be most excellent.

One of the things we have learned about being in the hospital is that you have to be very proactive, vigilant and communicative about your loved ones prior conditions, (what they were like). In Allie's case, she has never been on so much as an antibiotic or and aspirin. She was aught about the incredible healing power of the body and the God force within. She believes in the Laws of Attraction and knows that what she believes - she will achieve. I have learned to keep my eyes open not only for Allie but for others and that if you want a great breakfast order the fruit plate - it's awesome. I've learned that doctors and nurses are human but most are caring. I've learned that the chapel is a cool place and possibly the most under used room in the hospital.

Had a long talk with the nurse manager with regards to Allie's medications this morning ooking for things we can reduce of cut our all together and she was very receptive. Since we cut out some meds Allie is coming back to us. She vomited twice in the last 8 hours but that's OK, I'm as sure it just her body detoxing. Innate intelligence at work. If the body cdosen;t need it - it will reject it if it thinks it is helpful.

We wanted to move Allie to a room with alot more sunshine in it but one is not available yet. Since she may be having surgery toward the end of the week we wil hold off since she will probably go back to the ICU for a few days afterward. The surgery is way ahead of schedule which we are thrilled about but the doctor said it may set her back a few weeks. He may not will so we focus on the positive - remember this is Allie we are talking about.

Got here at 7:00 am to be greeted with a big smile and some twinkling eyes. It seem that since we stopped the med she is happy again. She is still not eating but that will come with time. Right now we are watching Frazier and just hanging out. 10 am sitll alot of day left and alot of healing - everyday is a good day for a breakthrough. So ofcourse I will do by evening post.

To all of my friends who have left posts, thank you - rest assurred that Nancy, Matt and I are fine as frog hair and right as rain. We are upbeat postive and grateful. Our faith is strong and we continue to serve Allie and others. To my OT friend, Thanks for the posts - I appreciate your continued advice, love and support. As you know, as much as I ould like to it is impossible to respond to everyone. I hope you understand and will take my general thank your's as being directely to you.

I am so excited and so grateful. Our good friend Kim Parrish called yesterday and said she would like to do a benefit for Allie on July 7th at the Soup Kitchen on Caudwell St. in Brevard. There will be bands and food..... Thanks Kim. You guys out there make me cry with your generosity. If you can make it 5-? pm I will see your there.

Quite a long post so I'll leave you will a scripture that has carried me. No matter where I go, this keeps turing up. "I know what I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future” Jeremiah 29:11 (NCV).

Catch Ya'll Later - Please click the top link to see Allie's Video Montage

Allie's Dad - Rested and Revived

Monday Evening, June 11th

Not much to report today guys. I am just really to tired and frustrated today to do very much. It's almost 8:00pm and I'm just going to call it a day. Nancy and Matt are in the room and I'm going to head back to the Ronald McDonald house and fall out.

I'm kind of unhappy with Allie's progress today. She appeared dazed and unresponsive for the last two days and Nancy finally figured out that one of the medicines they were ging her for the last five days was having a poor effect on her so we talked to the nurse and told them we wanted it stopped immediately. The nurse called a doctor and they have stopped it until we meet with all of the doctors. Sometimes you have to take back your own power!!

Must just be tired because all I feel like doing is crying and going to bed.

So with that said. Please keep up your posts and e-mails. They are the wind beneath our wings.

Love Ya'll
Allie's Pooped Dad

Sunday Evening, June 10th

Hi All:

What a day, what a day. This was an emotional one, not only for us but for Allie as well. Today was tough, gotta admit it.

I got up kinda early and got to cleaning the house which was long over due as we are both here all of the time. Then it was get ready for greduation. All in all I was pretty strong. Everyone is so kind and caring but standing amongst the hundreds of people at the graduation I felt pretty much all alone. I watched as pictures were being taken and as groups of friends snuggled together one last time giddy with excitement. Honestly, I was happy for them and never felt sad, just kind of alone. To all of our friends, Allie's included, thank you for coming by and saying hello.

The school had a cap for me and asked if I wanted a gown - I said a cap would be fine. They had a seat for me in the front row and I joined the processional as they marched by. Prior to this the band played music and then the chorus came on and sang for us. This is when I lost it! Mary Beth Shumate, the choral director and living doll pointed to me just before they sang and said this one is for you and I pretty much fell apart, much as I am right now as I relive it. I had never seen the chorus sing without Allie being in it. I thought of her in the hospital bed and I looked at the chorus ad listened to the words and knew I had to pull myself together or leave. Thank you to whoever handed me the tissues.

As they called Allie's name, I walked out onto the stage to thunderous applause. I was wearing a T-shirt (bluedevil colors) which said Allie Cagen on the front and FULL RECOVERY on the back and the more I moved onto the stage, the louder the applause got. I turned around to show them the back of my shirt and even though they probably couldn't tell what it said, they just kept clapping and cheering until I walked off. I blew them a kiss at the end of the stage, walked off and drove directly to the hospital to show Allie her diploma.

Here is where the other emotional part of the day was. It appears that Allie knew exactly what day it was and what was transpiring and the realization that she was not going was evident in her mood and in her actions. Nancy said she shed alot of tears today. She also said that at one time Allie tried to get out of bed, probably thinking that she was going to graduation and once she realized she could not get up she got quite upset, the understanding is setting in. After reassuring Allie that she will be able to walk and sit in the future, she setteled down a bit but keot watching the clock fully aware of what time it was and what time the ceremony was.

After I called to let them know I was on the way, Nancy said Allie was relieved and symboled the phew sign 9hand across forehead). We are all relieved that this part of life is behind us and gratefully await the next chapter (which we are in).

Our good friend Lynn Peters, editor and owner of the Mountain Voice newspaper drove down to the hospital, a hood hour plus away just to take a picture of Allie getting her diploma - now that's a newspaper person and an angel with a camera.

So graduation is over, what next? The neurosurgeon will be back tomorrow from vqacation and we anxiously await what he will say. Allie is making noises, not words yet but it is beautiful music anyway and we all await each sound.

I tried to update the blog last night because I forgot to tell you a great story but it wouldn't post so here it goes. Our good friend Jeff and Kelly stopped by yeaterday with their children Noel and Sam (Samantha - age 8). Well Allie just adores Sammie and Sammie just adores Allie and when Sam walked into the room and they saw each other the whole room melted, Allie reached out her arm, put it around Sam and hugged her tight. I was amazing the amount of love these two have for each other and how it filled the entire room with light and warmth. We all kinda cried.

Everyday is a new adventure and everyday is a blessing. We have gotten so many great posts to this blog from people all around the world who have let us know how this blog has helped them in thier lives, so the more you let others know about it, the more people we will be able to help together.

In love and light I wish you goodnight. Please, please, please check out the awesome post below this one, a video montage of Allie done by her good friend Ricky Worley. Ricky, awesome job. He has also done a website for allie, click on the link at the top of this blog.

You guys are the best!!!

Allie's Dad

Anyways- Allie Cagen Video Montage

TO WATCH

"Anyways"

by Martina McBride

Click on the play button in the middle of the video box twice


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Saturday Evening, June 9th

Well ht eday started slow but finished with amazing breakthrough - fun, laughter and dancing.

As you know, Allie has been progressing beautifully every day and today she needed a break so we just kind of hung out waiting. I got here at 7:30 am and Allie decided to wake up at 4:30 pm. Quite unusual but obviously necessary, so we let her sleep on (and on and on and on).

About 2:30 our good friends Pam and Clyde showed up for a visit and brought with them a gift called Band in a Bucket - an assortment of musical instruments in a plastic bucket. Inside were a harmonica, castanettes, a tamborine, morocca and so on. Well when Allie woke up we each grabbed an instrument ans started playing. This brought Allie to life and she played the cymbals and then began blowing on the harmonica. It was awesome to see everyone dancing and playing instruments and to see Allie smiling and being back in her element. MUSIC!!!!!!

After they left it quited down and we left Allie with her great friend Rachael while we went downstairs for some delicious hospitla cafe food. Yum. When we got back the two girls were laughing and Allie was abeam. She loves Rachael who brings out the best in Allie. Throughout this process, when Allies friends have been allowed to be with her alone, she has made huge strides. Thanks all of you guys and Pam, I'm waiting for a peanutbutter cookie.

Whilw aitting in the room just awhile ago Matt was playing on the computer and put on youtube and started playing Rascal Flatts (My wish for you) one of Allies favorite songs so I set the laptop on her lap (how appropriate) and she began watching the video and bopping her head to the beat - now were on to something, Rachael, myself, Nancy and Matt, we all began singing and dancing around the room and Allie was loving it and responding to it snapping her ringers and then in a huge gesture moved both of her arms and snapped both hands. Oh my God she began mouthing some words. Now she wasing using her voice but ws moving her lips so watch out Ashley Simpson, her comes Allie Cagen - at least for today because who knows where tomorrow will bring us.

When that song was over we played a few more and then Allie took over and began moving the mouse and putting on some of her own music now we had visitors and guests and nurses in the room seeing what was going on and we were all dancing and laughing. This was truly a breakthrough as we knew Allies window to recovery would come through what she loves most - MUSIC.

Tomorrow is Allies High School Graduation and we are so proud of here. We decorated her room with some graduation things and as you know I will walk the stage for her, pick up her diploma and then rush back here to present it to her. I will be wearing slacks with a T-shirt I had made up in her High School Colors that says Allie Cagen on the Front and Full Recovery on the back. Pretty Awesome I can't wait. I probably will not stay for the whole ceremony as I have a hard time staying away from her and want to spend as much time here before heading home again for work.

ANother thing allie did was to say the word yes today which is so cool. Pretty soon she will be talking and singing again. And all of this in just the last three and a half hours. Never a doubt.

I love you guys, have a great night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Allie's Dad

Saturday Morning, June 9th

Hi Guys

Maybe I should read the blogs after I write them and correct some of the mistake hoever I am not going to. I think that if I just write and then close it out without going back your are getting the purest thoughts as they come out. It brought up to me that yesterday my spelling was aprticulary off but it's really not the spelling, it's the typing. I am a really fast two finger typer. The one thing I messed up on yesterday was the legnth of time we have been here, I put 5 days when it should have been 25 days and today is 26.

We did not go to the Mellow Mushroom last night but instead wound up at the Augusta Grill, a nice place close to the hospital. We did not realize it was so fancy when we walked in. The people were super and somhow ( I can't imagine how) Nancy and the hostess got to talking about Allie and the hostess had heard of her???? Well the next thing we know they brought us a beautiful appetizer and two desserts. So yummy and oh so fattening. Thanks guys.

An amazing thing is happening, Allie, is shifting the world consciousness. This little girl which she sleeps and while she recovers is teaching people how to communicate, how to love each other, how to be caring and nice and all to strangers...she is helping people achieve full recovery. Please send her blog to your politicians and people in Iraq - maybe she can end the war??

I still cry, never tears of sorrow, never tears of anger but only tears of joy for what she is achieving even in her present condition. If Nancy and I weren't her biggest fans before (which we were) we certainly are now.

The partner of our neurosurgeon was in this morning and said Dr. gardner would probably want to put the bone flap back in here head next week. THIS IS HUGE!!!! At first he thought is would take about eight weeks and we are only at four. Nancy and I have prayed for this (along with ya'll) and have wanted it to happen prior to going to the rehab. Wahoo!!

Be back later today with some more exciting news. Hope I made a few less mistakes but really, how important is it.

With love and respect, here's to another day of hope.

YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Allie's Dad

Friday Evening, June 8th

And now for the 6:00 news. Sorry if I'm sounding punchy but I try to find new ways to open the blog. My how time flies by, can't believe it has already been 5 days. Wow has our girl come a long way in a short period of time.

Today she kissed me! We were sitting there gazing at each other and making funny faces when she grabbed my hand and put it to her mouth; while she didn't make the kissing sound I knew what she meant and so did she. It is so hard to describe the feeling of how your body tingles and the adrenaline rush you get when these things happen.

Allie is funny and bright and understands what is happening around her. She likes to play pranks and joke with you. She still has a little devil in her eyes and they twinkle when she is messing with you. She laughed today and made noise. Cool. She also said her first word today, although it was low and not real clear - she said NO 9of course). We are on the way guys, pretty soon it will be non-stop chitter chatter-can't wait!

She is eating somewhat and today she put the tooth brush in her mouth and made a few strokes and but the coms in her hand and ran it through her hair which by the way is growing in nicely. Sweet tooth is back (waych out) Nancy brough a pack of Reese's pieces back to the room and offered one to Allie which she took and gobbled up in a second, then she pointed to the other one and gobbled that one down also, Oh Lord.

Her assistant urse Horlune is an angel sent from heaven who watches over Allie and tends to her every need. We are so thankful for her. In fact since my meltdown the other day, everyone treats Allie like a queen.

The nurses and doctors agree that Allie is making great progress and are excited. Full recovery - never a doubt.

Spoke to the usiness office with regards to getting her into the Rehab. Bottom line is, she will go, we will pay, end of story. Full recovery - never a doubt.

Well, Nancy and I are going to go out for an hour to get a Pizza and a salad at the Mellow Mushroom in downtown Greenville, so if your in the area stop by and say hello. She'll be the good looking blonde, I be the tall bald guy. Seriously, if you ever feel like stopping by the hospital to say hello, please do so, you are not bothering us and yes Allie is accepting visitors.

We love you.

Allie's Dad

Thursday Night, June 7th

Hi Guys

Phew, kind of tired tonight. Thank goodness Nancy got the night off. Our friend Brie came by and took her out for the evening. She needed it.

Allie is awesome, she is leaning over the bed watching me type and just smiling. She is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. I can ot believe how close we have become again during this time. I could just sit her and communicate with her and dance for her and put on little shows to make her smile. She will reach out and grab my hand and put it to her lips or just on her chest and the love we share at those moments or when whe look into each others eyes and connect is the deepest love I have ever felt.

I cried again the in the truck driving down here today, not at the situation but at what this situation is doing and at the amount of healing it is bringing to people all over the world. I spoke to a Chiropractic buddy of mine that I went to school with on the drive down today "Rak Daddy I love you" and it brought tears to my eyes again. His love and concern for us touched me but he always was a true healer. Life and healing is not something done from the head but from the heart, understand that and success will knock your door down. After that cry I called my good friend Dee Dee - to know her is to love her, again a true healer. I call Dee Dee when I need healing, just hearing her voice helps me. She is an energy worker and does long distant work, I asked her to reach out today and touch my heart, not that it hurt from the situation but it hurt because it was so full of love and gratitude that it hurt from growing pains. I needed her to heal it and she did.

In general, we are not accustomed to pure love , the love of a child being rebirthed, the love of a father being rebirthed, the love of strangers who we help and the love of strangers who help us. We are unaccustomed to uncontitional love and giving and we are unaccustomed to focusing on one thing for an extended period of time blocking out distractions from anything else but love, help and healing.

oday was another long day for Allie and she is handling it well. Although my posts show how well things are going and they are, I think that sometimes I have to remind everyone that right now Allie is like a three year old. She can sometimes do appropriate movement and she understands and writes and is aware of what is going on, her level is childlike. That is what makes this experience so beautiful -fully knowing that Allie will make a 100% recovery and getting to be her daddy all over again. We are blessed.

I got to feed Allie dinner tonight, something I have not for quite some time. We had ground up turkey, dressing, greens and carrot cake. She did not really like any of it but she is still on the tube feeding so probably now all that hungry.

I stopped at one of my favorite stores on the way her today (crystal visions) and bought a few gifts for my girls, for Nancy (my goddess) a new goddess necklace and goddess ear rings both with healing amythest in them and for Allie a chinese goddess statue for little children and for myself, prayer beads and a candle. My buddy Joey D. got me into lighting a candle for Allie every night. I like it.

Allie will not be moving to the rehab for a week or so and it is just as well. Her neurosurgeon will be back Monday from a two week vacation and boy will he be surprised at the progress she has made. The swelling in her brain has gone down immensely.

Well I had to leave the room so Allie could have her bried changed and it has broken my writing stride a little but as tired as I am I have never been more alive or excited to be alive.

Matt, if you read this tonight, I love you millions and billions - I hope you are studying for your final exams tomorrow. To everyone else, and to Marla who I don;t know, thanks for the flowers, they are beyond beautiful.

Gotta run, don't want to but I just remembered, I never called anyone to let the dogs out tonight.

Be back tomorrow, from the bottom of my heart, I hope my writings are helping you as much as you are helping me. Please pass this blog site along to everyone on your list, someone out there needs to know that faith heals and nothing is impossible.

I have been asked again to give the hospitals address, it is:

Greenville Memorial Hospital
701 Grove Rd
Greenville, SC
Allie Cagen Room 2302

Be back tomorrow

Allie's Dad

Wednesday Evening, June 6th

Hi Everyone:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the love, prayers and blessings that have been pouring in. I know that after a while these things can get old and peter out but our friends from around the world, and I do mean around the world have been holding us up.

I got to the hospital a few minutes ago and they were doing an EKG on Allie so I though I would take this moment to update everyone.

Today our little girl actually dined on raveoli. Pretty cool. I noticed that the food tube was not running and they said they were weaning her off of it so she would begin eating. I noticed she did not eat the cake and my wife said it appears that Allie does not like sweets. Uh Oh somethings changed (for the better).

Nancy said Allie was very active today and was getting quite agitated at times. We hear this is typical with brain injuries but I think is is boredom and frustration. hey, how would you feel if you had tubes sticking out of you and you were in ebd for three weeks. They also pulled her pick line out today. The pick line is a tube they run up you arm and into the superior vena cava so they can draw blood or introduce medicines without having to stick you every time.

I heard Allie also did the twist while in bed today. nancy and the nurse began singing the sond and dancing and Allie shook her bootie also.

The physical therapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist all showed up today so little Allie is pooped. She was retested by the Rehab doctor today also who said she is really not ready to move to the Rehab - WE AGREE!!!

Allie is doing great and we are all very proud and amazed at the progress she is making but realistically she has a long way to go.

Today I am throing a shout out to all the FLYbabies of the world who have been so wonderful to our family. If you don't know what a flybaby is go to www.flylady.net - you'll be glad you did. Speaking of the Flylady, I had lunch with her and Michelle today and I cried in my truck as I drove down her listening to the FlyLady CD and thinking about how much she and her entire world of babies means to Nancy and I. In the next few days you will be hearing about an amazing new website designed to help people recovering from trauma (and aren;t we all).

Everyday brings with it the opportunity to improve your vision - you can see the good if you only look for it.

I love you all. Don't forget, Sunday is Allie's High School Graduation!!! You go Girl

Have an AWESOME night -

Allie's Dad

Tuesday Evening, June 5th

A day up ups and down, highs and lows - the good news is that none of the lows involve Allie who continues to progress and make forward progress. It's amazing, I'm really tired and have to drive home soon but as I sit and reflect on the days events I can only smile. God is good.

The good news, Allie starts slow in the morning but revs up around 10:00 am and begins showing her stuff. I arrived at 7:30 this morning because last night I had a prayer meeting with the charge nurse where I relayed how disappointed in the care Allie was being given and without going into to much detail, had to have another meeting with the Nurse Manager this morning. Basically the nursing staff is non-existent and I was very concerned - nobody ever seemed to be checking up on Allie. During the nurses shift they should check in at least 6 times in 12 hours and we were seeing them once or twice and basically if we needed something we had to do it or call (disturb) them. The last straw came last night and daddy had a minor meltdown - service is excellent today.

Allie's personality continues to come through as she smiles and her eyes twinkle with the laughter her voice can not yet make. She is present and alert and knowing. She has not eaten again yet as she didn't do very well on her swallow test the other day but she will the next time. KAIZEN. Constant and never ending improvement. Someone asked me if I ever have doubts and honestly, I never do, I will admit that today when the therapist sat her up (yeah, first time she sat in 3 weeks) and I see out beautiful, active, vivascous daughter needing help sitting and she is drooling because she is not swallowing yet I have a pang of this is real and it's going to take time but I NEVER - ever- not for a second doubt a full recovery. Remeber the LAw of Attraction - Positive begets Positive and I am positive of one thing and that is FULL RECOVERY.

To test Allie's girley girlness, I held up a hundred dollar bill and a five dollar bill in front of her and asked her which one was bigger (worth more) and of course being the girl she is - she chose the took the hundred dollar bill.That is huge, seeing the numbers and knowing worth. She also played a scale on her keyboard and watched some MTV. Thanks for the CD ALiie, we all loved it.

Allie's voice coach stopped in for a visit and it was a great one. Allie really responds well to Ginger and was all smiles as Ginger sang, talked to her and played the keyboard for her. Now for the coolest event of the day - I asked Allie if she wanted to write anything to Ginger - I held up an writing board and she wrote in cursif "to esta mi amiga" - how cool she is writing in spanish and in script and quickly in excelelnt penmanship. And she doesn;t even know spanish - only kidding, of course she does. Got ya.

Well the downer part came when last night they told us we had insurance for the rehab center and then came back today and told us we didn't and they would not accept her, so we are currently at a standstill. I went and talked tot hem and asked them to put together a plan of care and an approximate bill for me and that we would do whatever it takes to get her in there for as long as necessary - and we will! Remember - never a dount, full recovery.

Thankss for all of your posts -30 today, they keep us going. Sometimes things seem a little rough but we will never be foresaken.

God Bless
Allie's Dad