Zach Vasseur: 259 Forever

We wanted to thank A New Chance Foundation for their generous $4500.00 donation towards the purchase of a Nu Step Incumbent Bike for Zach to work out at home in his therapy room. The total cost of the bike was $6280.00 and with the generous donations made to Zach's trust fund we were able to make up the difference to make the purchase. The bike is set up with a swivel full seat so that Zach is easily able to transfer from his wheelchair to the bike. The bike  also has leg stablilizers to lock in his knees so that when he pedals the bike his legs do not fall. The bike is pedaled by Zach actually moving the arm levers which makes the feet pedals move as well. We applied for this grant through Children's Hospital a few months ago and are blessed to have such wonderful people as Ashley and Beth Chance who founded this organization to help children like Zach. The website is www.anewchancefoundation.org  if you would like to learn more about their organization. Thank you for being willing to help Zach out and improving his progress at home now as well!

God Bless!

The Vasseur Family

#259 Forever

Zach went back to the Podiatrist on Friday, August 28. His feet are looking much better. The toes and heal are both healing better than expected. The infection is now gone but he still has to be careful on bearing weight on that heal because it is not completely healed. In therapy, he has still been working on strengthening exercises for his legs. They are still using the SRT machine on his legs to help rejuvenate muscle and nerve activitiy. The therapist actually put 1 of the eletrodes on his ankle to increase blood flow to his foot to help it heal quicker. Thank God for wonderful technology and knowledge! Thanks so much for all the prayers and support!

God Bless!

The Vasseur Family

#259 Forever

Zach went to a Podiatrist today because he had 2 ingrown toenails in each of his big toes. He also just had a blister appear on the bottom of his foot 2 days before that he needed to get checked out. So thankful we got him in when we did because his blister on the bottom of his foot ended up being a pressure sore which is very serious. It is basically caused from putting too much pressure on one spot and when you are paralyzed and can't feel something, you don't realize you need to move it because it may be getting sore. We caught it at the beginning so the doctor was able to take the blister off and he also took a culture to make sure nothing else is going on. He had been seen by his Pediatrician a week ago for the ingrown toenails and was actually taking antibiotics for those but they didn't seem to be getting better so I took him to the Podiatrist. He is only able to do strengthening exercises for 2 weeks at therapy so he is not bearing any weight on the feet. He also has to soak his feet 2-3 times per day. Please keep praying for Zach because this is serious but with prayer, medicine and lots of attention,  he will get over this obstacle. The doctor said this is one time Zach should be thankful he couldn't feel any of it because it would be very painful for him if he could. He cut the ingrown toenails out and put a chemical on them so they wouldn't grow again but they look so awful and painful. The bottom of his foot looks bright pink from the pressure sore but it is already starting to get better. The doctor said that  the tissue cells die under the skin and when they do they release a fluid which is what happened to Zach. That is why what appeared to be a giant blister was actually a pressure sore. Please keep praying for Zach. We appreciate all the support!

God Bless!

The Vasseur Family

#259 Forever:)

Zach had a GREAT day at therapy on Monday. He is still working on strengthening and controlling his legs. He walked with his therapist without the ace bandages on his feet and did really well at controlling his feet to ensure they did not drag the ground. He was actually bending his knees to take a step which is huge for Zach. I had tears in my eyes just watching him. I truly believe at therapy he makes unbelievable progress each day and I am seeing a miracle right before my eyes! Praise be to God! He starts back to school today, Wednesday, August 18 and will be going all 5 days. He will leave at noon 3 of the days because he will still be doing physical therapy in the afternoon. The other 2 days he will be attending school all day. A special thanks to Mr. Turner and Mrs. Kepf for working so much with us on Zach's schedule to ensure he is able to earn all 6 of his credits this year. He did earn all 6 of his credits last year as well despite everything he went through. He is an amazing young man with such a positive spirit. We are blessed to call him our son! We also went back to his rehab doctor at Children's for his 3 month follow up visit. They were able to actually feel his quad muscles working so Dr. Pruitt said he would like for us to get an E-Stem machine to put on Zach's legs at home to help stimulate his nerves and muscles even more. Now I just have to work with therapist and doctor both to get the E-stem machine for Zach at home. Please keep praying for him because they are working!

God Bless!

The Vasseur Family

#259 Forever

Zach took about 3 weeks off of therapy and went back this past Monday, August 9. He didn't lose anything while he was gone and his therapist said he actually seems a little stronger with giving his body some rest. He is still focusing on walking but controlling his knees more and strengthening them. He said he could feel a tingling in his left foot today while he was standing. We know this is going to be a very long journey but with plenty of prayers, Zach will get through this and be a stronger person for all of it.

God Bless!

The Vasseur Family

#259 Forever

It has been a little over a month since our last update and I apologize. Zach has been busy still doing therapy three times a week plus trying to finish his last 2 classes of school work so that he receives all of his credits for the year. We did get to enjoy a little quality family time at Lake Cumberland over the July 4th holiday. He did great getting in and out of the boat because of his upper body strength being so strong. He is able to pull himself up on the side of the boat with his upper body strength and get into the boat. He is amazing to watch in action! Of course, he enjoyed driving the boat a little bit.

Zach continues to work on strengthening his legs and muscles at each visit. He is also walking with more control. He is still walking by holding onto his therapists shoulders and focusing on "controlling" his foot while taking his steps. He is also getting more strength in his calf muscles and able to 'push" more with his leg. He is able to actually "pull up and push down" a little bit with his left leg but able to kick out harder with his right leg. He continues to work hard at each visit! Please continue to keep praying for Zach because they are making a difference in our lives!

God Bless!

The Vasseur Family

#259 Forever

We wanted to thank everyone for their continued support with Zach's therapy and rehab. We wanted to let everyone know what their donations have been spent on thus far. We have purchased an elevator for Zach and it allows him free access to our entire house from upstairs to downstairs. We have also purchased a therapy table, therapy mats, and other miscellaneous therapy supplies to help Zach at home. We have built a therapy room for Zach so he is able to work out at home.  We also used the money towards medical bills not covered by insurance. We appreciate all of the generousity shown by so many people which has made a horrible accident a little more bearable. Please keep praying for Zach because he is making progress each day with the help of so many people!

God Bless!

The Vasseur Family

#259 Forever

Zach is continuing to work on leg strenghening, gaining control of his movements when he walks, and bearing more weight. He stood again at the stander by himself for a little over 5 minutes bearing his entire body weight. He is now walking holding onto his therapist shoulders while the therapist is locking his knees in for him and Zach is working on controlling the movements more. He is doing great! He begins going 3x per week next week and we look forward to it! He is completely out of the back brace and the transition went well! His upper body strength is incredibile so he is able to transfer in and out of anywhere he needs to go. We asked his therapist a couple of weeks ago what the probability would be that Zach would walk again and he said, "Oh, he will walk again, it will just be a matter of time!" When we told Zach what he said he said he knew that all along that he was going to walk again. He has so much determination that nothing will stop him. Yesterday the therapist said the hardest thing for Zach is going to be to learn to control his knees and ankles but it will all come in time. He may have to start out wearing braces on his calf muscles down to his ankles and feet but those will eventually be able to come off once he makes progress. The power of prayer is amazing so please keep them coming! Zach is beating the odds each day! He will not give up until he does walk again! Thank you all again for praying for Zach! It is the absolute BEST gift you can give our family!

God Bless!

The Vasseur Family

#259 Forever

Zach is continuing to make progress each day at therapy. He is now walking with a walker with assistance. He was able to stand by himself at the stander for 5 minutes today. He continues to work on strengthening his legs each session and maintaining control of his knees while trying to walk with assistance. The doctor had to take bloodwork from Zach and took the blood from his foot which Zach said he could feel as a  'tingling sensation" in his foot as they were drawing the blood. He also had a "tingling sensation" in his legs after his therapy workout yesterday. Things are improving for Zach with the power of prayer! Please keep praying for Zach because they are truly making a difference in our lives!

God Bless!

The Vasseur Family:)

#259 Forever

Zach had another great week in therapy. He is continuing his Aquatic therapy at Children's and his new land therapy at Orthopaedic Physical Therapy & Associates. He is doing wonderful things and making great progress at  his new therapy. He loves it and looks forward to going each time. They are continuing working on standing with little assistance, walking at the parallel bars, strengthening his legs, and using the hydraulic walker. He said he was having a burning sensation in both of his legs for about 30 minutes yesterday so that is a good thing. Hopefully, things are starting to wake up! Please keep praying. Zach says it best. He told me that when someone asks him how he deals with everything that has happened to him he replies,"God just gave me 1 more obstacle to overcome in my life." 

God Bless!

The Vasseur Family

#259 Forever