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Tan Update
- 03/12/2006
Tan Update
- 09/05/2005
Tan Update
- 07/16/2005
Tan Update
- 03/16/2005
Tan Update
- 02/08/2005
Tan
Update - 01/03/2005
Tan
Update - 12/15/2004
Tan
Update - 11/07/2004
Tan
Update - 10/31/2004
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Update - 10/28/2004
Tan
Update - 10/25/2004
Tan
Update - 10/23/2004
Tan
Update - 10/22/2004
3/12/2006
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to the top
David "Tan" Tangredi's recovery
is coming along quite well. A lot has happened since
the last update so I will try my best to provide
everyone with a complete Tan Recovery Breakdown.
Let me start by telling everyone
I am writing this the day after, our close friends,
Dan & Amanda Sherfield's wedding day. Yes, David
made it down to sunny Orlando, FL for this joyful
occasion!! Though this is not the first time he
has embarked on a trip to Orlando alone he has enjoyed
himself thoroughly. The last time David was in Orlando
was for Thanksgiving when David came down to visit
us on his first solo trip since the accident. That
was just around the time he started getting better
at walking. Now he is walking like a champ! It's
amazing how a mother's touch can make such huge
improvements in a son's recovery. Not only is David
walking but his independence can also be seen in
various other ways. He can dress himself, go to
the bathroom on his own (though remembering where
to go when he is done remains an issue, he's gotten
lost a few times), eat on his own (though he's is
working on chewing his food and taking smaller bites
so he doesn't choke), and even showers by himself
but supervision is required 24hrs day.
I can tell his long and short-term
memory is getting better and slowly his speech is
coming around. David was even boogie'n down on the
dance floor last night. He was so happy to see all
his friends from Orlando that by the time the party
was over he told me "stick a fork in me..cause
I'm done". David has been receiving therapy
for speech, physical, and occupational, about three
times a week. He also has started back getting HBO
(Hyperbaric Oxygen) treatments, and has had a number
of acupuncture treatments. Though all these things
are definitely assisting his recovery I believe
the inner strength David possesses is the real reason
his recovery has gone so well. David is truly a
miracle and inspires us all. David also recently
went back to see the staff at the nursing home he
stayed at before leaving to go back to Maryland.
They were all ecstatic to see his improvements.
Yesterday he amazed me even further by writing a
poem for Dan& Amanda on their wedding day. Though
his handwriting isn't that good he told me the lines
to write and I wrote them down for him. Even with
all of David's improvements he still hasn't passed
his liquid swallow test, which still requires him
to thicken up his fluids before consumption. He
is also dealing with short-term memory problems
due to his traumatic brain injury. Hopefully in
time all this things will continue to improve.
Thank you to everybody who has continually
been praying and helping him through this tough
time. I will continue to post new pictures when
I can on David's website. Donations are still coming
into "The Tan Fund". Thank you to everyone
who is able to donate; our Family and David can't
thank you enough. Due to an increase in therapies
not covered by the state (i.e. HBO, Acupuncture)
the Tan Fund is getting used. If you would like
to make a donation you can send a check or money
order made out to "The Tan Fund" or "The
David Tangredi Fund" to my mother at 7000 Contee
Rd. Laurel, MD, 20707 or any RBC Centura Bank for
location go to www.checkplusmusic.com .
Below are comments from David that
he wanted me to send out with this update:
Peace and Mad Love to everyone who donated to my
fund. To anyone who would like to see me please
give me a call. My speech isn't that good but I
am constantly working on improving it. The main
thing that bothers me due to my brain injury is
that I am always tired and my chest always hurts.
Even though these things bother me I am still working
hard to recover. I hope one day to go from a brain
injury to a brain doctor. So I guess I'll have to
go back to school like Rodney Dangerfield. Peace
and Mad love to all. -TAN
My mother Julia Bush and David can be contacted
at 301-206-2789
And I can be contacted at 407-310-0697
Thanks for all the support,
Danny Tangredi
9/05/2005 -------------------------------------------------------back to the top
Hello Everyone
Again my apologies to everyone for not sending more updates. The most exciting news is that David is now back home in Maryland living with his Mother, Julia Bush, and her husband Steve Bush. From what I understand David has been able to walk with some assistance as well as with his new walker called “The Hugo”. It has wheels on all of the feet rather then just two. This is great to hear. Even with his ability to walk he still needs supervision due to the fact his balance still needs to make progress. Before he left his rehab center in Florida his feeding tube was removed and David is eating all meals orally though he still needs his liquids to be mixed with a thickening agent.
To me, its sounds as if his speech progression has slowed a bit, but this could be due to the fact I'm now talking to him through the phone but this is an area he still needs major work on. He speaks too fast and still has trouble pronunciation his words, especially his T's, B's and P's. As for David's short-term memory it is still significantly damaged. He sometimes remembers things short term but he usually forgets. He still has a bad habit of saying "I don't remember" and "I don't know" as a first response, when really if you give him a few seconds he can sometimes recall what you are asking.
Taking care of David at home has become a challenge for my mother to say the least. To help alleviate some of this stress, I am hoping to form a support group, if possible, in Maryland to help her with this enormous task. Already friends and family members have offered to supervise/care for David for a few hours or even a weekend, so that my mother can take a break from what has become her “full time job”. She is not only caring for him like a mother, but also like a physical therapist, speech therapist, nurse, occupational therapist, teacher etc. Because taking care of David is a full time job and the small things like going to the grocery store, grabbing a bit to eat, or seeing a movie have been difficult to accomplish alone, I'm am hoping buy forming a support group together with David's friends and family we can all take apart in his recovery by working as a team. I will be coming up once a month to help and donate my time. If there is anyone in MD that could help out please contact my mother or me to discuss areas where help is needed (contact info is below). I will be up next weekend so I invite everyone who can, to come out and visit David, and see for yourself how he has been progressing.
Although it has slowed a bit David's progress continues to be a blessing and gift. Thank you to everybody who has continually been praying and helping him through this tough time. I will continue to post new pictures and hopefully soon I will have David record some messages or video and post those on David's website. Donations are still coming into "The Tan Fund". Thank you to everyone who is able to donate; our Family can't thank you enough. If you would like to make a donation you can send a check or money order made out to "The Tan Fund" or "The David Tangredi Fund" to me at 7724 Fernbrook Way, Winter Park, FL 32792 or any RBC Centura Bank.
Julia Bush can be contacted at 301-206-2789
Danny Tangredi can be contacted at 407-657-8038
7/16/2005
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Hello Everyone,
My apologies to everyone for not sending more updates.
David continues to improve day by day. For awhile
he was eating only one to two meals day, but then
he was approved to start eating every meal. This
means he is one step closer to getting his feeding
tube taken out. Even though he is eating, he still
has trouble with thin foods and liquids. The receptors
that initiate coughing still aren't doing there
job fully. But luckily they can ad a thickening agent
to liquids so he can still get what he needs.
His speech is coming along but still
needs improvement. Some days he is louder or clearer
then others and some he just try to talk way to
fast for anyone to understand. Roughly 3 weeks ago
David finished all his HBO Treatments (Hyper Baric
Oxygen Chamber). This seamed to be a major part
of his recovery. As far as physically he continues
to make incredible steps toward recovery. The last
few days he has been able to hold on to his bed rails
and stand on his own!!! It is going to take a lot
of work but DAVID WILL WALK AGAIN! His balance still
remains an area to work on as well as moving his
feet correctly.
Through David's and our family perseverance
David as left the rehab facility and entered Orlando's
Famous BIRC [Brain Injury Rehab Center] facility.
We have heard they perform miracles and we are hoping
for one ourself. We now need Prayers that David
will show "significant" improvement EACH
week -if he does NOT, he will most likely be discharged
to Julie, his mother. Pray BIRC
can help him be more self sufficient! Like feed
himself & go to the bathroom on his own!
I would like to thank everyone over at the tuskawilla
nursing and rehab unit. While David was there they
really did treat him like their son. There are too
many names to list but I hope they know they played
a tremendous role in David's recovery process. To
everyone there, we will not forget any of you and
will be back with David to show you all his future
advancements. Thanks you so much and may God bless
all of you.
As for David's short term memory it
is still damaged, he remembers things short term
for the most part but needs to be prompted. He has
a bad habit of saying "I don't remember"
and "I don't know" as a first response,
when really if you give him a few seconds he can
recall what you are asking. David continues to receive
many visitors locally and from back home. Even though
he has trouble remembering them, he has expressed
to me how much it means to him. There are probably
many more improvements that I am forgetting to add
in this email due to the fact that there is so much
going on and David is improving so much. After David
is done with BIRC he will be going up to live with
my mother. So all you MD folks get ready to say
"TAN is back, back again, Tan is back, tell
a friend, tan is back tan is back tan is back da
da da"
David's progress continues to be a
blessing and gift. Thank you to everybody who has
continually been praying and helping him through
this tough time. There are many good people taking
care of David at the Tuskawilla Nursing/Rehab center,
all of which we thank gratefully. I will continue
to post new pictures and hopefully soon I will have
David record some messages or video and post those
on David's web site. Donations are still coming into
"The Tan Fund". Thank you to everyone
who is able to donate; our Family can't thank you
enough. If you would like to make a donation you
can send a check or money order made out to "The
Tan Fund" or "The David Tangredi Fund"
to me at 7724 Fernbrook Way, Winter Park, FL 32792
or any RBC Centura Bank.
3/16/2005
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Hello Everyone,
I know it's been awhile but so much
has been happening its hard deciding when to do
another update. If you haven't heard through the
grapevine yet David is now talking!! I believe he
started a day or so after the last update email.
His long-term memory seams to be a lot better then
his short term. The doctors say this is very common
for head trauma injuries. He is receiving a lot
of therapy, both Speech & Physical, and the
Occupational therapist is working in conjunction
with the Physical therapist, which is an added benefit.
He receives therapy 5 times a week and everyday
we see improvement. They will also begin taping
David to record his progress. David has told me
he is very determined to get better and one-day
he will walk again. Everyday he improves in one-way
or another.
When I asked him if he wanted to get
into his wheelchair, he told me "No, It is
a tool used to keep me down" I asked him if
that was because he would rather walk and he proudly
said "Yes". He keeps himself in pretty
high spirits and is constantly trying to be funnier
then the next person. He seems to be the most popular
guy in the place yet. His new thing has been "Akunamatata"
which he says frequently explaining to me it's a
"No Worry Philosophy". Everyday his voice
seems to get better, though he still needs a lot
of work at this point. He has a swallow test coming
up on the 23rd. If he passes they could start trying
to feed him normally. Even with David's progress
it still might be hard for him to pass this test
so soon. Still, it will be interesting to see how
he does.
He is beginning to learn how to sit
up again, and his right leg seems to be functioning
a little bit better then it has in the past. David's
progress has truly been a blessing and gift. Thank
you to everybody who has been praying and helping
him through this tough time. There are many good
people taking care of David at the Tuskawilla Nursing/Rehab
center, all of which we thank gratefully. I will
continue to post new pictures and hopefully soon
I will have David record some messages or video
and post those on David's web site. Donations are
still coming into "The Tan Fund". Thank
you to everyone who is able to donate; our Family
can't thank you enough. If you would like to make
a donation you can send a check or money order made
out to "The Tan Fund" or "The David
Tangredi Fund" to me at 7724 Fernbrook Way,
Winter Park, FL 32792 or any RBC Centura Bank.
I will try and get the next update
out a little quicker next time. Until then thanks
so much and take care.
Danny
2/08/2005
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Hello Everyone,
Let me apologize for keeping all of
you waiting. I’ve been meaning to do another
email for some time now. David is doing wonderful
even though he is still unable to speak. Since the
last email David has improved significantly in multiple
other areas. First, we now know he can read which
is so amazing. We wrote down “Wink at Leah”
and he turned to Leah and winked! It’s was
great! Even though his speech has stopped him from
talking, he consistently follows many different
commands that are given to him and communicates
in various other ways. For example David is able
to wink, smile, laugh (without sound of course)
nod his head when answering questions, read and
do what is written, lift up his pelvis, lift up
is arm, throw up a peace sign with his hands,
make a fist, stick his hand out for a high five,
open his mouth, stick out his tongue, touch his
face, pick his nose, swallow (really important)
and multiple other things I’m probably forgetting
right now. As we left the nursing center tonight,
he even through a turf ball forward. It’s amazing
to see him start to learn things again.
The only thing that could improve
is he did come down with an infection. It has caused
him to be quarantined and on antibiotics for 21
days. During this time he has been deprived of the
rehab he was getting, and it won’t resume until
the Doctor gives permission. So far it has been
roughly 25 days without rehab. I imagine he will
start improving more rapidly once he starts back
on rehab. By doing the rehab, he will be able to
prove to the Speech Therapist that he can swallow
and work is way out from being fed by the feeding
tube.
Once again I want to thank everyone
for his or her thoughts and support, I still feel
it is a major contributing factor towards David’s
recovery. Thank you so much to everybody who has
made donations to The Tan Fund. The money is going
to help David get more advanced treatments and assist
him with his rehabilitation. If you would like to
make a donation you can send a check or money order
made out to “The Tan Fund” or “The
David Tangredi Fund” to me at 7724 Fernbrook
Way Winter Park, FL 32792 or any RBC Centura Bank.
I will continue to post new pictures
on the web site as I get them. I am still trying
to get the video of the local benefit concert that
helped raise over a thousand dollars for the fund,
up on the site for everyone to watch. I will continue
to keep everyone updated on David’s progress.
Thank you so much and take care.
1/03/2005
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Hello Everyone,
David has finally been moved out of
the hospital into a Nursing/Rehab center. He is
still on antibiotics as well as other medication
but is no longer hooked up to any other machine
other then his feeding tube. David has started trying
to talk. Though he is unable to make any sounds
he is trying to mouths words. He is getting better
at it, but it is still un-interpretable. I am sure
he will be talking soon! He has been impressing
his visitors by winking his right eye on command
at them. It’s great to see him able to respond
again.
The nursing/rehab center he is at
currently is taking very good care of him. He has
only been there a week and they have started him
physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech
therapy. He has to relearn everything all over again.
David days consist of all the previous mentioned
therapeutic activities, as well as watching television,
listening to music and being taken on strolls outside
in his wheelchair. I want to thank everyone for
their thoughts and support, I know it is a major
contributing factor towards David’s recovery.
Thank you so much to everybody who has made donations
to The Tan Fund. The money will soon go to help
David get more advanced treatments to assist him
with his rehabilitation. If you would like to make
a donation you can send a check or money order made
out to “The Tan Fund” or “The David
Tangredi Fund” to me at 7724 Fernbrook Way
Winter Park, FL 32792 or any RBC Centura Bank.
As for the web site I will finally
be updating it with pictures in the next couple
of days. I will also try and get the video of the
local benefit concert that helped raise over a thousand
dollars for the fund, up on the site for everyone
to watch. I will continue to keep everyone updated
on David’s progress. Thanks so much and take
care.
12/15/2004
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Hello Everyone,
There has been a lot going on since
the last update. First, Friday the nurses were able
to remove David’s neck brace hopefully this
will add some comfort while he continues to improve.
They also were able to cap his trachea so they could
see how well he would be able to breath without
oxygen support. David was able to go three days
with his trachea capped and then Monday they were able to take
out the trachea tube. Now David is totally
breathing on his own with no oxygen support. Also,
the hospital feels David is in the condition to
be moved to a Nursing/rehab center so he will most
likely be moved sometime this week. As for brain
activity, he is still in a coma and hasn’t
been able to follow commands consistently. We can
only hope he will soon wake up and begin his “mental”
recovery.
As for the various other things going
on, there will be a benefit concert held Dec. 20th
at Will’s Pub in Orlando. This concert will
showcase many different artists David has worked
with in the past performing to help raise money
for The Tan Fund. As for the Mos Def concert, that
has been pushed back to mid January due to schedule
conflictions. I will keep everyone update as soon
as I have more info.
The Tan Fund continues to grow as
well as the email list for Tan Updates. Again I
would like to thank everyone who contributed or
help get contributions to the Fund, David and our
entire family appreciate it. If you need to make
a donation you can send a check or money order made
out to “The Tan Fund” or “The David
Tangredi Fund” to me at 7724 Fernbrook Way
Winter Park, FL 32792 or any RBC Centura Bank.
I would like to wish everyone a Happy
Holiday. I will continue to keep these updates coming
when new information arises. Continue to check David’s
web site for more pictures and updates. Thanks so
much for all your thoughts and prayers. Take Care.
11/07/2004
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Hello Everyone,
First I'd like to thank everyone for
their continuous support and prayers. In times like
these what will be will be and so it goes.. like
Jack Johnson says in one of his songs.
David is continuing to slowly improve.
He has finally made it out of ICU!!!!! He has been
moved to a room in PCU (precautionary care unit).
He no longer has a temperature and the swelling
has gone down tremendously in his hands and in his
leg (the one that has the blood clots) He is off
of the ventilator and breathing all on his own.
His eyes are open and moving around. He has been
able to look toward sound, but has a habit of not
always doing this. They still have him listed in
a level 9 coma due to the fact he hasn't been following
commands(thumbs up, stick out tongue, etc.). The
last nurse we talked with said the time periods
they will be looking at for improvement will be
the 1 month mark (coming up this wednesday), 2 month
mark, 3 month mark, 6 month mark, and one year mark.
I feel that it's just a matter of days maybe weeks
before he starts following commands, but what do
I know I'm not going off science just faith.
As for the web site www.checkplusmusic.com,
it is still up and I have added some additional
areas of interest. First, to help centralize the
"Tan Update's" I have created a form for
people to register their email address. So if your
are forwarding this message to anyone that is not
on my list, they can now easily follow the link
on the site and send me their email. Second I put
up a poem David wrote for me for my 22nd Birthday
to help people who don't know him that well see
his artistic ability when it comes to writing. Also
some friends of his are getting a benefit concert
together in Orlando to help raise money for the
Tan Fund. Last time I checked the total amount in
the fund was at $1025. Thank you to everybody who
has donated and helped build the fund to where it
is now. If you need any additional info about David,
the Tan Fund, or Benefit concert being planned,
please feel free to email me at thetanfund@hotmail.com
I will continue to keep everyone update as changes
become available. Thanks again and Take Care.
10/31/2004
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Hello Again Everyone,
Just a little has changed since the
last update. David is in a level 9 coma. He is currently
trying to fight off pneumonia and is still on antibiotics
for his infections. One good thing that happened
last night was when the nurse yelled at him to move
his toe, he was able to move his big toe on his
right foot. Even with this progress his coma level
remains the same. The pressure coming from his ventilator
has lowered to an 8 but he has some blood clots in
his right leg. They aren't expecting David to get
out of his coma anytime soon and told us it could
be months or even years. I am still optimistic though
due to the fact that David is a compulsive thinker
and fighter. He will do whatever he can to get better.
Thanks to everyone who continues to
pray and think about him. Please pray for everyone
around the world who is having tuff times right
now. God knows the Orlando ICU is filled with them.
The Tan Fund is still up and going. Thank you so
much to everyone who continues to donate or who
are actively working to get more donations.
I have put a few pictures of David
in the hospital up on the site as well as pictures
of the Van. David as a very long road ahead of him.
From what I have been told from the nurses, he needs
to some how "rewire" his brain due to
the multiple injuries he has received. I feel if
anyone can do it David can. I will continue to keep
everyone updated on his condition but it could take
weeks before there is any new news. Thanks again
to all of you. Take Care.
10/28/2004
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Hello Everyone,
David had his last surgery today to
get all his organs back inside his body and the
nurses said everything went well. The swelling is
down in his hands but they up 'd the oxygen pressure
through the ventilator a smidge to 12. He has been
fighting a fever now for about 5 days, and has an
infection which they are treating with antibiotics.
They moved him from a level 6 coma
to a level 9 yesterday! This was due to him being
able to open his eyes, sometimes 3/4th of the way
open. He still needs to respond to something to
be considered conscience.
When I was there yesterday I kept
repeating for him to try a squeeze my hand, a 1/2
minute or so later he did. I asked the nurse to
come and witness it and of course David closed his
eyes and didn't squeeze while she was there. Who
knows if it was because I said it or not but I'm
still optimistic that he or his brain is responding.
Other then that the nurses say he is stable and
where they expected he would be at this point. Thank
you so much to everyone who has been praying and
thinking about him. Things seem to look better each
day.
After getting in touch with someone
at The Orlando Sentinel they printed a small spot
regarding The Tan Fund on this Wednesday. For more
information on The Tan Fund or David go to http://www.checkplusmusic.com
10/25/2004
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Hello Again,
I just wanted to keep everyone up
on David's progress. He is now able to open his
eyes 3/4 of the way and has been upgraded from a
level 6 coma to a level 9 :) The pressure that supplies
oxygen to his lungs has gone from a 25 to a 10 in
just 2 days!! The lower number the better. The lowest
they will keep it on is a 5, so I expect any day
now for them to let him try breathing on his own.
Thursday the will push his organs back in and put
the final stitches in his stomach. Once again I
would like to thank everyone who has been praying
and thinking of him. It means so much to me and
our family to see friends, family, coworkers and
everyone else come together in such a rough time.
Without this support I'm sure things would have
been a lot tougher.
I was finally able to get the checkplusmusic.com
site back up and I urge everyone to leave him a
message on the forum so he can see how much support
he has when he gets better.
Tomorrow is David's 26th Birthday.
Remember to send Birthday hugs & kisses. And
Grandma you know he will be expecting that $26 check
when he wakes up. Thank you to everyone who has
been able to donate to the Tan fund. Our entire
family thanks you. I will continue to keep everyone
posted as I receive more news. Thanks and Take Care!
10/23/2004
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Hello,
I just wanted to write a keep everyone
up to date on David's condition.
The swelling in his body has gone down tremendously.
They were able to take
another tube out of his chest which the nurse assured
me was a good
thing. He is still in a level 6 coma and fighting
to get better. I went into
see him today and his eyes were about 1/8 of the
way open at times. Not sure
if he can see me or not but it feels good to see
something different
happening. I can only hope that as the days continue
David will continue to improve
and recover.
The Tan Fund( http://www.s109196329.onlinehome.us
) is up and running so people are now able to make
donations. I will attach the information to this
email for those who haven't seen it
yet. I was disappointed when I spoke to the editor
of the UCF Future. She
told be because David wasn't a current UCF student
and the accident didn't
occur on campus that she wouldn't report about it.
She also told me they
didn't support any funds like this and therefore
couldn't help, not even with a
story. The good news is that I did receive an email
from a UCF Alumni
(Director I think) Tom Messina saying he will do
what he can to help. I
also got a response and talked with Janna from the
Philips Phile on 104.1FM
in Orlando. She told me she would do what she could
to get the information
in front of the right people, but also mentioned
she didn't have much
"pull" and thought it might get looked
over. I haven't received a response from
anyone else at 104.1FM Real Radio, 105.9, 101.9,
and 95.3. John Cutter
from the Orlando Sentinel also got back to me and
said he would try and "see
what he could do" to help. I am still waiting
to hear back from the Orlando
Weekly.
There are many people in MD, CA, PA
and FL working together to help
David, to those people I want to thank you. Please
forward this email to anyone
you think can help or has helped. Take Care.
10/22/2004
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Hello Again,
I went to see David twice today. Both
times he was able to open his eyes about a quarter
of the way. His pupils did move from side to side
like he was trying to focus on something but he
is still unresponsive to commands. He still has
swelling in his knees and hands but for the most
part the swelling everywhere else has been reduced
significantly. Since yesterday morning he has been
battling a fever which the nurses say is common.
They tried to lower the settings on his ventilator
but he was unable to handle that at this point.
He still needs a lot of resting and healing. Thanks
to everyone who still continues to think about him
and pray.
The Tan Fund has been established
and the first deposits have made it in the account.
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed and
to those helping to get contributions. If you have
any questions or concerns about the fund please
feel free to contact me at 407-657-8038.
Even though David's company's site,
www.checkplusmusic.com, is currently not up due
to the recent host change. But I as able to make
the site available here http://s109196329.onlinehome.us/
for the time being. There is a forum on the site
please feel free to drop David a note so when he
wakes up he can see your messages. There is also
an audio clip of the report they had on the news
about the accident.
I will continue to keep everyone updated
as i get more information. Thanks Again and Take
Care.