HAPPY THANKSGIVING~A DAY OF THANKS!!!!!

My husband and I are preparing to leave for Fayetteville to spend this Thanksgiving day with Mom, Cathy and our children. Mikey has already called Mom and Cathy this morning and told them not to forget to call me too! Cathy said Mikey sounded strong and happy. When he calls late in the day or early evening, it can be difficult to understand him, but this morning he sounded stronger than Cathy has heard him sound in a very long time. And, Mom said, his voice was deeper and not so “childlike” in his manner of speaking. Cathy asked him if he remembered who he called last (remember, he is taking turns now) and he remembered it was me. Both of these observations are very good signs!

We thank God, on this day, for Mikey’s and Barbaro’s continuing recovery.

I’m at Mom’s now….and since Thanksgiving is all about togetherness, love, sharing and giving thanks for our blessings, we want to take time from this busy day to count our blessings and thank everyone who has provided support, despite the many trials and tribulations that we have encountered. We all have so much to be thankful for this year. Thanks be to God first and foremost, and thank You that our brother is alive, well and continuing to improve.

We all express our sincere gratitude for the compassion, support, and generosity EVERYONE has shown our brother and his family. My mother, sister and I are and will be eternally grateful. We thank God for all the outside assistance we have received from various agencies and organizations and thank Him for the many prayers offered to Mike and all of us by family, friends and others. There is much solace in knowing that many people are praying for us and everyone’s prayers have been and are a powerful source of support.

We have come to know many members of the horse racing community, especially Barbaro and his fans, Alex and TWR’s site, Carol at EquestNetwork, Mike’s friends and many many others since Mike’s accident. What we did not realize was that such a close knit community existed, a family if you will, consisting of horse people, friends and strangers with a common goal, who rally with open hearts, prayers and whatever resources they may offer in support of their fellow horsemen or friends who endure life-changing events. Each of us now call friends many people we would have never met that have touched our lives in untold ways.

Please forgive us those we have not been able to thank personally and know that were we to try to list everyone we would surely run out of space!


We don’t know if Mike completely comprehends what all has been done for him, but we can tell you that knowing he and his family are in the hearts and prayers of so many is a tremendous source of comfort to him. Doctors have told us more than once the brain injury healing process will occur at a greater rate if the patient is free of worry and strife and everyone’s generosity, support , cards and notes of encouragement and rallying for the ABC Extreme Makeover has helped to accomplish this for Mike. For that, we are deeply grateful.

Thanks to the funds from the Ford Mustang raffle, The Whip’s Fundraiser and contributions from friends and supporters to Mike’s Trust Fund. It is our hope and prayer Mike and his family will be able to maintain some semblance of normalcy until he is once again able to earn a living. We all will continue to stand in faith, trusting in God, and take this journey one day at a time.

We wish all a Happy Thanksgiving!

With Love,

Nancy Rehm
Cathy Rea Bosley
Shirley Rea
AND from us on behalf of Mike Rea

WE BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!
WE BELIEVE IN BARBARO!
WE BELIEVE IN THE FANS OF BARBARO!
WE BELIEVE IN MIKE REA!

Go to : http://www.equestnetwork.com

Please everyone go to the web site above and see the article on Mike. The creator of this web site called Nancy and received permission to write everything. I am going to copy it and send it to Mike so he can read it. I have been printing out his messages and sending them to him since I have been back. His petition for his Extreme Home Makeover is almost at 3,000 signatures. WOW!!! I know the end date was 11-15-06 but we're still getting signatures and we are still going to send them to ABC. The Equest article is also going too. Mike called my sister Nancy today. I think he is taking turns calling us. Remember he had just called Mother and I the other day. We passed on his messages to Nancy just like she passed them to us today. Nancy said she thought his speech was slurred/mumbled. But he had been up all day and had been to church also. When he is tired his speech does this. The children and his wife were out running errands. Mike doesn't go with her like he was because it was causing him to be extra tired. I think his physical therapist told him the same. He needs more rest than he was getting. Plus using the walker all over the house instead of the wheelchair is probably very exhausting too. Mike says he loves his therapy though. He goes three days a week. Sometimes all three together, or two days together, skip one and then the third. He said he likes it when he has breaks between the days to rest. All in all I hope and think things are going alright for him. We wants us to wait on visiting him so I don't know when we will go visit him right now. As long as he calls I think I can wait for awhile. Of course he is still having his highs and lows, ups and downs, but he is hanging in there strong. We try to keep him encouraged. He asked Nancy about Barbaro and wanted to know if he would go south to Florida with everyone. She told him didn't know but would find out. A long time ago Mike use to go to Florida with the horses. This was before he had a family. Since he was married and had children he has stayed in Maryland during the winter months.

Remember to go to the Equest web site and if you haven't signed the Extreme Home Makeover Petition please do for Mike. Thank you and God bless you all.

WE BELIEVE IN MIRACLES
WE BELIEVE IN BARBARO
WE BELIEVE IN THE FANS OF BARBARO
WE BELIEVE IN MIKE REA

I AM BACK HOME AND All IS WELL

Hello everyone. I know it has been awhile since the last time I wrote but besides the problem with finding the internet, I haven't been able to talk to Mike much. He told us it was hard for him to talk on the phone. He wants us to trust him, believe in him, and let him prove to us that things will all work out. He also says that when he is better he will take care of everything. Mike says he loves us and just give him a chance to heal. Of course it is very hard for me to just sit back sometimes since I found out from Mikey that he was taking his medicines completely wrong. He was taking them at the wrong time of the day and night and then wondered why he was feeling like he was and not having good nights sleeping or being so tired during the day. I told him what he was suppose to be doing with the medicines and left a message on their machine so Rochelle would know what times Mike should be taking his medicines.

Mike did tell me that he likes his physical therapy at Christiana Physical Therapy Plus and that the therapists are very nice. He thinks he has recovered from his trip to Kentucky and is feeling better. Mike told me that the trip set him back a lot. Me not being there, I am unable to give you my opinion about that for sure. But what I think is that without him not having constructive therapy these weeks that he has been at home and taking the medications wrong is what set him back the weeks he is talking about. He did say that he only had to see the speech therapist twice more and that was it. He will continue physical therapy three times a week for three hours each session for three months and then have to be recertified. Then I guess he will be prescribed physical therapy again for three months at a time. He uses his walker around his house a lot. This is probably due to him being unable to use the wheelchair easily around the house. This may be a good thing having him doing more walking exercising which helps with his balance and walking. He did say the physical therapists are working a lot on his balance this week. Mike tells me he also continues to use the tread mill daily. Sometimes up to 15 minutes at a time.

Mikey's good friend Bruce visited him at his home the other day and said that Mikey looked good and was using his walker a lot better than when he had seen him about three weeks ago.

The Extreme Home Makeover is still in the works and hopefully we will hear from them soon and it will be good news and a joyous reunion with Mike. I heard through the grapevine that Sears was looking at the blog site and the petition site. So we will keep you posted.

Since I have been back in Fayetteville, N.C. it has rained a lot. Rain, rain go away and come back another day without tornadoes. We were very lucky here today and didn't get swept away but where I was just this past Tuesday has a lot of damage. The dear Lord is watching out for me. Thank you.

Mike called Mother and I today. He had just returned from his third day in a row physical therapy. This week he went Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. He said it just fell that way this week and he was real tired. I think he was in very good spirits though. He sounded real good and told us how much he missed us and thanked us over and over again for everything we have done for him. He always makes sure that I pass on our conversations to our sister Nancy too. Which of course I do always. He says it is hard for him to stay on the phone a lot. But seriously he did sound really good. He is practicing on a three legged cane at therapy. He said not to use at home yet.

Nancy is working hard and selling houses again. Mother is doing better and trying to handle everything that has happened this year (quitting her job to care for Mikey, his injury, and the poor death of her dog Dreyfus). Boy I might of had to be put Dorothea Dix (of yeah, for those of you that don't know that place-mental hospital). But she is hanging in there and Nancy and I are keeping her busy. And I have been applying for jobs. I'm pretty picky because I love babies and that's what I have done for almost 30 years (pediatrics). I've just started applying so I'll be back to work soon.

Well it is time for me to go and again we thank everyone for all you have done for Mike. God bless each and everyone of you.

WE BELIEVE
WE BELIEVE IN MIRACLES
WE BELIEVE IN BARBARO
WE BELIEVE IN MIKE REA
WE BELIEVE IN THE FANS OF BARBARO

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX

FINALLY - AN UPDATE FROM CATHY

Hello everyone. I am so sorry that I haven’t been able to blog. I am at a North Carolina beach called Shallotte. There is no internet connection around here except this one coffee shop that is about 45 minutes away. I’m kind of on that vacation that I never took this summer. So for now I will try to update you on Mikey. My mother, sister, or I talk to him every day. Sometimes he sounds real good and then sometimes he is so tired that his words slur. As you know he went to the Breeders Cup and came in with Tammy runner up. He couldn’t quit talking about Pat Day and how nice he was to him and his family (Rochelle and Baby Gracie). Mike said he felt like he was a bother to everyone because of having to be pushed around all the time in the wheel chair. Also that it was a very exhausting trip for him and maybe too much to soon. He knows that if he hadn’t gone he would have wished so badly that he did. See this was the first time he had been at a race track since the accident. He also said it showed him how disabled he is. I reminded him that he was still healing and it would be a long progress but in the end he would be a testimonial for all and to stay strong. Sounds like I need to go pay him a visit!

When I talked to Mike just the other day he was a little down on himself. He said he just didn’t think he was doing as good as before, he was tired of being this way, and he wished that he would heal faster and could do more. So I gave him that pep talk that I always do but he never remembers and made him see the light on how much he has already healed in such a short period of time. It’s not even been 5 months yet. Then I remind him of all the people that still want to know about his progress, what he’s doing, and that are continuing to pray for him. Also I remind him of Barbaro and the Fans of Barbaro that are all pulling for him. Then he told me about going to a museum in Kentucky and seeing all this stuff about Barbaro and how it made him feel so much better while he was there. Appears to be the Barbaro Effect working itself again.

On a good note, Mike starts his physical therapy Wednesday. The place he is going is supposed to be really good. This may help his morale some. We can only go on what Mike tells us but sometimes you can hear it in his voice that something is bothering him. His top groom, Angel called me the other night to check on Mike. Nancy and I are looking into getting Mikey a cell phone plan that includes long distance so he’ll be able to call us and his friends more often and not have to worry about long distance or cell phone charges. Every penny counts for them right now. Anyways Angel told me how much he misses his boss and wanted to talk to him so badly. I called Mikey and told him to give him a call and he did right away. Angel worked for Mike for 14 years so you could imagine how he must feel. Another one of their friends, Bruce called Nancy and Mother for the same reason as above. So Nancy called Mikey who in turn called Bruce and they talked awhile and arranged a visit. I know Mike is looking forward to seeing Bruce again.

We are planning a trip to see Mikey soon. We just don’t know when yet. My sister Nancy is working hard on real estate and my mother is still grieving the loss of her dog some. Even though our mother doesn’t have a computer Nancy calls her and shares the prayers and well wishes from everyone who has written about Dreyfuss. I am just kind of in limbo at this point and time. I do need to get back to work soon but I just want to wait a little while longer. Probably after I visit Mikey I’ll go back to work with the babies. We are all still praying for the home makeover for Mike. Of course we will let you know anything we hear about it. Well it is time to go for now. I will write again soon. God bless everyone and remember that we thank everyone for everything from the bottom of our hearts.

WE BELIEVE IN MIRACLES,
WE BELIEVE IN BARBARO,
WE BELIEVE IN MIKE REA
Cathy Rea Bosley