In the past two months since the last posted blog, Justin has returned to U of A as a full time student. His math class (calculus) and his French class are going very well. As for Economics, he is hanging in there. The cognitive retraining therapy that Justin participated in at Barrow this summer has helped but the length of time spent in Phoenix was only a start. Justin will still need more time (years) recovering the abstract thinking skills he lost in the accident. Medical coverage for speech therapy, neuropsych counseling and psychiatry as well as college tutoring have been challenging. Tucson lacks available neuropsychs (many neuropsychs are limiting their practice to testing only or are not taking new patients especially those with a TBI diagnosis). The type of speech therapy Justin requires (pragmatic, semantic) is not found at a typical HealthSouth. Justin is going to the U of A Aphasia project (speech therapy) but this not covered by insurance. The U of A SALT program (Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques) offers many tools and resources that can assist Justin with writing and verbalizing concepts/arguments etc., but deems Justin ineligible until next school year. The bottom line is that in order to continue to get Justin the recovery-therapies he needs, we will possibly be planning another fund raiser. It's another full-time job trying to coordinate benefits and navigate these road blocks.
Justin joined the U of A Multi-cultural Club and has been volunteering and enjoying the involvement with the U of A community. He has also been attending many Zipperman Scholar events through the Eller School of Business. Justin recently met up with some friends that he studied with in Guatemala at El Charro. It was beneficial for him socially to reconnect with Ondrea, Katy and Tucker. Thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers and well-wishes!
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