The first update...

To my friends,

You may not know, but Eric had an accident in Sierra Nevada , Spain,January 7. Eric was taking some pictures, a short distance from where the lift took him and his friends , he lost his balance, slid on a sheet of ice and tumbled at high speed , against rocks, about a 30 meter stretch with a 3 meter gap.He was airlifted to a Hospital in Granada has been in ICU since, with a broken femur and an injury to his spinal cord at the neck (C6 & C7), that for now has him paralyzed from the armpit down. We have seen some trying moments, we are thankful that he is with us and has no brain damage.Phil and I and some close friends have been with him round the clock. Today was the first day that Eric was semi awake and understanding what we said to him although he can't yet talk. For 2 weeks he hasn't been able to breath on his on and has a tube down his throat, because of this tube he contracted a pneumonia which has slowed down his recovery. Yesterday it was decided that a tracheotomy would be less intrusive and would help the recovery better. The muscles required to breath have been affected from the spinal cord injury. So this morning a tracheotomy was done and we hope that he regains his breathing so he doesn't have to depend on breathing machine . We still don't know the full extent of his injury until he is totally out of sedation and could respond to stimuli. He does have movement of his arms up to the wrists that we see. Today was wonderful to have him back, Phil and I celebrate these small steps, we held each-other after the first visit and cried tears of JOY! The tougher days are yet ahead of us as he comes to realize the extent of his injuries. There is still another surgery to his right leg, was only held with bolts as they concentrated on the spine. We know that he can only get better from here  and trust that , still in his life with all the medical advances he will be able to fully recover. I must share with you that Phillip has been an unbelievable rock thru-out and how his love for his brother is so evident! He gets the I phone and plays Erics' favorite songs, speaks to him, even cracked a joke today that put a smile in Erics' face. I am so very proud of him.

Thank you for your love and prayers, I'll try my best to keep you updated once a week.