News from Suzie's sister

Hello Everyone,
Maybe you already know but I just came back from Poland and run into Suzie's sister today and she told me that the family was contacted by NYU and Suzie is going everyday though intense rehabilitation. The reason is that she belongs to a small percentage
of brain damaged patients who qualify for their program. Mostly because Suzie is so young and has surpassed the doctor's original prognosis. She said that Suzie is doing really well. They are trying to activate her brain. She mentioned stemsel research.
It all sounds very promising . Cindy said that Suzie will be in this therapy through november and probably it will be difficult to catch her until then. I am just forwarding what Cindy told me. Hope you al had a great summer.
Love
Danusia

More Photos of the Birthday Queen and Friends!

More photos of the talented Ms. Moon and her friends (human and canine) at her birthday bash.

What a perfect day!

Adrian

NYTimes Article

There's an article in today's NYTimes that talks about brain injury. The article is about a specific man and his specific brain injury, but the science of brain pathways and recovery is, it seems, somewhat universal. The biggest key to recovery is activity, mental and social activity. Here's the web page for those interested:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/health/research/09brain.html?hp#

Birthday BASHED!

It was a great day in StuyTown's Oval where Suzie had a huge crowd gathered to celebrate her 36th Birthday (which was last week). It was a great way for a lot of people to reconnect with her and each other. The only things missing were the margaritas... ah, next time - seriously, next time.

The great news is that Suzie's mom, Mrs. Moon, is very happy to welcome visitors for Suzie and if you haven't seen her since she was in one of the hospitals, StuyTown is a much more mellow experience. The best time to make a visit is from 10:30am-12:30pm - any day. Those are the hours when Suzie's ready to spend some time outside, and the StuyTown Oval is the perfect place to spend an hour or two with her.

If you haven't been to their building in StuyTown before, take the L train to the 1st Avenue stop, walk to Avenue A and instead of walking downtown on Avenue A, walk uptown into StuyTown. Their building is the 3rd building on the left (1-Stuyvesant Oval), just before you get to the Oval. Their phone # is 212 598 0467, and it's best to call the day before you want to visit, just to make sure she doesn't have other visitors or a doctor's appointment. Here are some pictures from today. kevin

BELATED BIRTHDAY BASH - COME SEE SUZIE & CELEBRATE!

Last minute......Suzie Moon-Birthday Bash!!!

Saturday August 8th 2-4pm

Stuy-Town- Enter @ 14th St. and Ave. A walk toward the Oval pass the playground and head toward the fountain-keep a look-out- for familiar faces & the festivities.

Feel free to bring light-snick snacks to share. If you could shoot me an RSVP e-mail (just to get a head count) that would be much appreciated.

Her birthday was actually yesterday but she was at the doctors all day. Spoke with her mom briefly last night. She put Suzie on the phone and all Suzie did was laugh when her mom told her it was me. Her mom quickly grabbed the phone and said, "She is laughing is that okay?" To which I replied "Sure we laugh all the time." I took that as a compliment.

If you are in town and would like to swing by that would be great! Please feel free to forward this info to anyone you think might like to attend.

Hope to see some of you beautiful people,
Jenny
917.797.3212

home full-time soon

Jenny Moss and I hung out with Suzie this morning at the Stuyvesant E. River park. Her mom (and a few of her aunts) met us outside their apartment in StuyTown and then Suzie, Jenny and I wandered east until we found a table and some chairs by the river, where there weren't as many distractions.  We chatted, did a little stenciling, played some word games and had a good time. It was the best visit I've had with Suzie in awhile, partly, I think, because we were engaged in activities, initially, and we talked about those activities, rather than trying to have open-ended conversation. It was the first time in the past few visits that she really seemed to be answering questions, rather than just saying "yes" "no" or "absolutely" and she really seemed to have a good time. It really felt like we were just kind of hanging out, which was fun.

When we returned to their apartment building, I asked her mom if she would bring some of the "games" Suzie has in Queens home so we could continue to work with her here the way we had been working with her out there. That's when her mom told us that, as of this Thursday (June 4), Suzie will be home full-time. I don't know the specifics of the therapy and the nursing help, but I know there is something. And while I'm hopeful Suzie continues to work toward more in depth communication, her being home seems like a really good thing. She seemed really happy when her mom told us about it and her mom and aunts seem really happy too.  

What it will mean, hopefully, is that she'll get more visitors. If you haven't been to their building in StuyTown before, take the L train to the 1st Avenue stop, walk to Avenue A and instead of walking downtown on Avenue A, walk uptown into StuyTown.  Their building is the 3rd building on the left (1 Stuyvesant Oval), just before you get to the Oval.  Their phone # is 212 598 0467. Obviously, call before you go, though her mom seems very excited for Suzie to have visitors.  

kevin

The Weekender

Had a good visit w/ Suzie today, along with Leona Brown, Jenny Moss and Scott Peehl.  It was great to see her after not having seen her for many weekst, although for me it was odd seeing her in a group - I'd grown accustomed to seeing her on my own.  She's a lot more shy/reserved in a group.  Still it was fun, it was just a side of her I don't see very often.  We did sit outside for a bit, which was much nicer than I expected considering it's right next to a highway.  And it's really great knowing that she's at her folk's place on the weekends now, from about 4:30pm Friday until Sunday evening.  She seems very excited about it too.  Since they live in Stuy Town (just above 14th Street, E of 1st Avenue) it will be a lot more convenient for most of us.  Excellent news.  k