Derek Zike Get Well Fund

Derek graduated ! Derek was excited to finish school after a gruelling year and all the homework and staying up all night.There were times when Derek was simply overwhelmed and we told him just drop that advanced class  and he kept saying “no, I can do this !  We  remember all the AP classes he was taking as a freshman and dreaded every day of it and then he kept taking them throughout high school.To our suprise last week at his Miami(ohio) visit he found out that he got twelve college credits for all those AP classes, so it payed off after all ! Derek was excited to have family and friends in for his graduation especially his aunt and uncle from Pittsburgh.Derek’s graduation was held at the Pepsi Coliseum which ironically is where the hockey rink is for the Indiana ICE hockey team. MTV was coming for Derek’s graduation but ran into some budget problems and should be here in the next couple of weeks.Derek’s graduation party is July 10th at 4pm and everyone is welcome .8795 Randall Dr. Fishers, IN. 46038. There will be a band “RAGING VEGAS” and there will be food and drinks for all.It was pretty emotional watching Derek come down the isle at graduation and then watch as everyone including him throw his cap twenty feet in the air. We as parents are so proud to see that all of Derek’s hard work has paid off especially through all the adversity and life changing challenges.

 Derek continues to work out at the gym and last week the Star news wrote a full page ad on Derek about his graduation and workouts at the gym that I will try to attach.Derek went to the Frazier Institute in Louisville to walk on the treadmill and do other tests which we won’t have results on for two weeks, but they tested his blood pressure after laying him down and raising him up his blood pressure was excellent. His breathing was great and he did a great job on the treadmill for the first time.The doctors hooked up sixty probes all below his chest and tested his movement in his legs and feet we will find out the results soon.The doctors said he definitly has movement in his triceps which is promising since we had a bonehead therapist in Indy that said he had no triceps ????? Derek could possibly go to Louisville once or twice a week  to use the treadmill and then do outpatient therapy at home. Derek’s posture and overall health has improved since he has been working out at the Bodies-in- motion gym. We got a call from Miami(ohio) today, from handicap services telling us that they have several people lined up to help Derek get ready in the mornings and  help with cathing at night and any other help he might need when he starts school in the fall, which will give us some peace of mind

We took Derek to the University of Michigan and visited with the physical therapists Sara and Zeke and were hoping to see Renee and Nikki and Toni but they weren’t there or working night shift. Then we went to the  Ann Arbor Ice Cube hockey rink to watch Taylor and Sam play hockey in the Hockey Night in Boston tryouts. Derek enjoyed watching his brothers play and only wished he could have joined them.Taylor had a great weekend with 7 goals and 12 assissts in four games and Sam had a good weekend also.It also brought back memories from years past when Derek competed in the same tournament. This is the same rink were Derek was injured and we thought it might have bothered Derek, but he said it wasn’t the rink just a freak accident.We met with Joe Exeter from the USA hockey team, Joe and Scott went out of there way to help us while Derek was in the hospital in Ann Arbor. We got to hook up with Jay Flannelly, he was the one who hooked us up with Pizza House pizza when Derek was in the hospital.Jay was roommates with Tom Brady  and has an unmatched sports brain, we got to go to dinner with Jay and hockey friends at Pizza House  and enjoyed all of Jay’s sports trivia an lots of laughs ! Thanks Jay !

Looks like Sam will be living and playing hockey in Chicago this coming fall for Team Illnois “TI” . Sam is so excited to be following in the foot steps of his brothers and playing for one of the top teams in the nation. Taylor will probably  be playing for CYA chicago young americans U-18 team. I made a desk for Derek for his graduation and will include some photo’s. Don’t forget the party on July 10th.Mike

Hi All,

Derek has been busy studying for finals and looking forward to the end of the school year. His last day is May 28th. Derek is still working out twice a week at the gym and once at home. Derek seems to be getting stronger and his posture is much better and he seems to enjoy being at the gym working out with the trainer and friends. Derek went to Louisville to get information on using the  treadmill and other training equipment, we kind of thought that he would work out that day but it was just a information gathering day.Now we have to go back in early June to try out the equipment and to get Derek evaluated.We were fortunate  enough to meet Doctor Susie Harkema (she worked with Christopher Reeve) Dr.Harkema held Derek’s hand and told him to sqeeze and she said she could feel the signals from the brain going to Derek’s hand and told Derek to open and close his hands literally a million times(repetitive movement ,and the brain wants to take over)Derek also went to the Cleveland clinic to be evaluated for tendon transfer and internal e-stem. The tendon transfer would allow dDerek to have stronger triceps for transferring himself from wheelchair to bed and vice versa and also a tendon transfer to his thumb so he would be able to grip better. The internal e-stem (electronic stimulation) would allow Derek to reach overhead and improve his range like being able to take his shirt on and off and when he is bent over in his wheelchair sometimes he is not strong enough to right himself . While at the clinic they put on the e-stem and when he was bent over the e-stem just sat him right up ! then they will put the e-stem in his legs and that will allow him to stand ! The tendon transfer is planned for June and it should take three weeks to heal and then physical therapy.Then in less than a year they will install the internal e-stem , so a lot of good things on the horizon. And mark your calenders for July 10th that is date of Derek’s graduation party at our house and we will have the band RAGING VEGAS and a disc jockey, if you have been to one of our party’s you know it will be a great time ! Everyone is invited .

Derek is excited about going to Miami(ohio) for college and last Friday Derek, Robin, and Grandma visited the campus and got Derek’s dorm picked out and started worked on all the accesibilty concerns. What a beautiful campus and all the dorms are handicap accesibleand everyone there has been wonderful to work with.  Dereks dorm is right beside the huge recreational sports center  and I think his dorm is coed!lucky boy !.While there Derek loaded up on Miami wear, his first purchase was a red flatbill hat and some cool stuff for his brothers.Derek and his brother Taylor are sporting their playoff  beards for the hockey finals everyone here is rooting for the Blackhawks. Who would of thought that Montreal would knock off the Capitols and the Penguins ? those Canadiens have been real pesky this year.

Taylor has been training real hard this spring and was fortunate enough to go to Toronto with the U-18 ICE team and just got an invitation to the Chicago STEEL’srookie camp. Sam has skating and trained all spring also he practiced withthe Chicago Mission twice a week for six weeks and got to play on their spring team then he has practiced withChicago Young Americans the last couple of weeks and he went to Toronto with them for a prospect tournament and was invited to go for two more tournaments and they have some really cool Monster Energy Jerseys, then he went to the mid-am tryouts and had a good showing but wasn’t picked for the camp ???  Then last weekend he was asked by the chicagoHuskies to skate withthem in the Cougar tournament where he had a great weekend . Sam is looking forward to Hockey night in Boston tryouts coming soon with tryouts in Michigan and then off  for a week in Boston.Then off to St. Louis for a weeklong Blues camp.And possibly the Chowder Cup in Maine.Sam continues to get taller, faster, and stronger.Taylor and Sam have set some hefty goals for next season.

Our friend Karen (occupational therapist)is making special hand splints for Derek so he can possible play sled hockey.And MTV is coming again to follow up on Derek’s progress and come to his graduation. So the journey continues, and we are so thankful to all the people who continue to help Derek and be a part of his life filled with encouragement and praise and prayers.A special thanks to Mike White who works so hard with Derek trying to get him stronger mentally and physically.Please continue to pray, it’s working !

Sincerly, Mike

Kevin Miles, Brian Spann, and boys

Ovie

Derek with signed Ovechkin stick

Ovechkin signing pucks for Sam

maybe next year Taylor

Mickey

boys and their cousins

Tampa Bay Lightning home

Lightning game

St.Louis and Stamkos

Leclavier

zike's at lightning game

lightning win in shootout

Steve Stamkos and boys

Zike boys and Steve Stamkos

Sammie

T-bone

mardi gras

mardi gras

Mardi Gras

Hi Everyone, Derek has had a busy few weeks. Derek continues his workouts at the gym and he seems to be getting a  little stronger and looks forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays. He was using resitance in a bench press position and he did it to our surprise and then he pulled himself into sitting position using his arms .He tried sled hockey several weeks ago and did very well on the balancing part until Taylor pushed him a little too fast and then he fell over.We have to figure out a way to lock his wrists so he can propel himself with the hockey sticks, he stickhandled while he was out there and pulled a few stickhandling moves and coach Berger  smiled and said you never forget the toe drag, ha ! On Friday of this week Derek and I will drive to Louisville to the Frazier rehab Institute so Derek can be evaluated for the Locomotor training on the treadmill and see if he can bear weight and take steps with assitance .

Last Saturday Derek was invited by Kevin Miles (who owns his own transportation business and part of the Crime Fighters Organization) who works with Brian Spann (police detective) to go to the Columbus Blue Jacket vs Washington Capitols hockey game in Columbus and before the game Derek met Alex Ovechkin after practice and Alex told Derek after the game he would give him his stick. It was a great game with the Capitols coming out on top. After the  game Alex met us downstairs and gave Derek the autographed stick and signed some pucks for Sam.We were treated to dinner that night and got to spend the night at the Crown Hotel with all the Capitols fans(quite an experience)and then brunch the next morning.We were supposed to meet Boll and Nash but a half hour into our trip that morning we forgot Derek’s cathing supplies and had to turn around.Thanks to the Blue Jackets organization for allowing Derek to have a wonderful experience.

We drove back the next morning and caught a flight to Florida for spring break.We arrived that night in Orlando and to our surprise they only have twelve wheelchair accessible cabs and all were taken so we had to rent two shuttles so the whole family and both wheelchairs could get  to the hotel.Then we get to the hotel and neither room had a roll in shower like we requested several months ago(Robin called ADA and they recommended this hotel and said they would have a special shuttle for Derek to take him to the parks)as we checked in we thought we would go ahead and reserve the shuttle and they told us we had to give them 24 hours notice !) Robin and I were exhausted and we were in no shape to battle that night at 11pm.So the next morning they called and were going to try the old sorry about your luck apology. So I requested a meeting with the manager in a conference room and we ended up with a free shuttle ride the next day and a seperate room with a roll in shower free for the week.It was nice to have the other room where Taylor and Sam fought each night for rights to stay with Derek.The only bad thing about the other room was it was on the other side of the hotel , Robin and I had to take turns walking all the way over there to cath Derek at 2am. We made the best of it and visited Magic Kingdom on Monday thinking Disney(with all their money)would have accesibility to all the rides, not so.There was like four rides four Derek, but we had a great time.Tuesday we had family come in from south Florida and we visited Dountown Disney and swam and went to the movies, on Wednesday we drove to Daytona beach for the day.We tried to get Derek on the beach but his wheelchiar kept sinking in the sand so we settled for the boardwalk and to our surprise it just so happened to be National Collegiate Cheerleader week so the boys were in heaven and needless to say we never left the boardwalk, ha ! . On Thursday we drove to Madiera beach and met Robin’s brother at the pier for a quick visit and then to Tampa for the Tampa Bay Lightning vs Ottawa Senators game .It was a great game that went into a shootout and the Lightning won !  Taylor’s friend JC told us that he set up a meeting with Steven Stamkos and Sam was estatic, so Sam bought a Stamkos jersy and after the game we met Steve Stamkos and he signed Sam’ jersey and t-shirt, Sam said that was his greatest day ever ! We got back to the hotel around 2am and then went to Universal Studios on Friday.Universal was  alot more accesible and we had a great day which finished up with Mardi Gras where they threw beads from the floats and Derek wound up with so many beads you couldn’t see his neck ! It was alot of work getting Derek on and off the plane transferring him to an isle wheelchair and picking him up over the armrests to his seat, but we make a good team and it all worked out and while we were transferring planes in Baltimore we met a gentleman named Jack Carey and was a former wheelchair rep and has several patents on accessibility parts and he gave us some valuable information on wheelchairs and accessibility options for Derek, Robin and I just looked at each other and said wow !, GOD continues to put people in our path! .Taylor said  on Saturday that all his friends are back from vacation and well rested and bored, he looked at us and said when we go on vacation we treat it like a job ! always busy and on the run, ha !

Please continue to pray for Derek(It’s working ! )

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to help Derek and his family, Mike

Gold medal ticket- priceless !

Derek and USA girls hockey team

 What an amazing day ! We got  to downtown Vancouver three hours early so we wouldn’t have any worries and everything went like clock work. We arrived at Canada hockey place and again had to navigate the sea of red.All the Canadiens were helpful and polite and went out of their way to make sure we were going in the right direction.We went to our seats and watched as the stadium filled with red. We were bold enough to buy 6′  American flags and draped  them across our bodies an acted like  superman’s kids. Derek was greeted by the head of Vancouver and his wife they went out of their way to get us a hotel for four days and they brought each of us a pair of those special red Canadien gloves and and welcomed us to thier  fantastic city ! We were later greeted by Cammi Granato and the USA girls hockey team, they signed Derek’s hat  and talked to Derek for awhile. Derek was anticipating the biggest game of his life and Team USA and Canada did not disappoint. We soaked up the electricity of  hockey in Canada. The Canadienstook a 2-0 lead and USA came back with a goal of  thier own .They battled like this until the third period and it was starting to get a little nerve racking , then it happened Zack Parise scored with 25 seconds to go in the game and tied it up  2-2 ! If that wasn’t exciting enough now we go into overtime, and both teams battled 4 on 4 for the next 13 minutes , Then we got the wind knocked out of us when Sid-the-Kid scores for the Canadiens . I think the stadium foundation moved 4 inches when he scored, even though its not the outcome we wanted the celebration was on and GM hockey place was rocking ! We stayed and watched them hand out the Silver and Gold medals and fireworks. People were out to party now and everybody was singing and waving flags (you would of thought it was new years eve !) every time the skytrain(subway)doors would pass and the doors would open everyone was yelling Oh Canada ! Hell, after awhile it was like a bad song and I would catch myself singing it ? All the Canadiens said great game and one guy on the skytrain even took his Canada shirt off and gave it to Derek. On the Canada news they announced that Americans should not go downtown tonight for the celebration ? Really !?! As we walked down the street every car horn in the city was blarring. It was a great 4 days with great hockey and great people and a once in a lifetime experience filled with so many memories and we got to meet so many great people. A special thanks to the Granato family and Dennis Savard for helping bring a dream come true for my son after one of his dreams was taken away . Thanks to everyone who worked behind the scenes to make this happen ! Got to get some sleep, 40,ooo people are supposed to invade the airport tomorrow and we have to be there at 3am for a 6:30 flight.

Sincerely, Mike

Proctor and Gamble House

Finland getting their Bronze medals

pringle room

Cammi Granato and Derek

Russia House

Wow, what a day !  We started out early and went downtown to the Russia House, seems like every country has a meeting place called a house ?  When we got to the Russia house the line was outside in the cold and it had over threee- hundred people waiting ,so Robin was just peeking in the window and two ladies let her in ? So she went in and bought Russian hockey jerseys and hats and then we just left and went to the Proctor& Gamble House where they open it up to the USA athletes and their families. We met Anne Marie Tiernon from channel 13, NBC for an interview. There is something about Anne Marie that makes you just relax when your in front of the camera, she is very good at what she does.Proctor& Gamble converted this hotel (Delta Hotel) into an unbelievable 4 level hospitality suite . The main level looked like the United Nations Building with rows of seating in an circular multi-level pattern with huge tv screens and a huge area with 8′ to 10′ over stuffed pillows for the athletes to relax. Another level had a place to have your make-up put on and massages, then a floor with a nursery and a Pringle Room (yes a pringle room) with 23 different flavors , dill pickle,pizza,buffalo wings,salt-vinegar,multi-grain, with the favorite being honey mustard.This place  was decorated like a winter wonderland on the main level, spectacular ! We got ready to do our interview and then Jeremy Roenick walked in and sat down and talked with Derek for 30 minutes and while he was there Jeremy calls Alexander Ovechkin to talk with Derek.  The connection was a little rough, but Jeremy got our number so Ovie could talk to Derek at a better time.Then Cammi Granato walks in with her 8 week old baby and 3 yr old boy and her brother Joe, we were so lucky to be able to spend the afternoon with Cammi and some of her family.The Granato family are wonderful, ALL of them !   Cammi took the time out of her busy schedule to spend several hours with Derek and us, and went out of her way to to get an extra ticket for Robin for the Bronze and Gold medal games which was 9 rows up at center ice ! needless to say I traded Robin seats after one period, ha ! We went to Water street and went shopping , that was an expensive venture.We found all kinds of cool things and Derek even got into the spending mode which doesn’t happen very often. I’m telling you these people here go crazy over trading pins . They love to trade and are not shy about asking you for yours. Derek bought a authentic Russian jersey and some cool olympic t-shirts and hats and collectible canadien coins. Here is a good one , we were looking for the transit system (SKY-TRAIN) and if you ever been to New York you would call it the subway right ? So we asked a Vancouver volunteer where the subway was and she said it’s six blocks down and on your right. So it’s like cool we started walking and six blocks later there it is SUBWAY sandwich shop !?!?! It was funny until we realized we had to walk another 4 blocks to the transit. Right before game time you have to get real aggressive to get a cab, especially one with a wheelchair lift.Its amazing how slow cab drivers drive when they are on your dime, if there is even a hint of a yellow light (whats the color between green and yellow ? )they are slamming on the brakes. And after he makes four right turns its like excuse me didn’t we just go in a circle ? We arrive at the game and get settled in for Finland vs Slovakia. What a game Finland scores first  in the first period and then Slovakia scores three unanswered in the 2nd and then Finland gets fired up in the third period with 4 goals of their own to finish with a 5-3 win for the Bronze medal . Derek loved the game and afterwards he had to get pictures with the Finnish girl hockey players and their Bronze medals. We rode the transit back to the hotel and settled for McDonalds for dinner because we were worn out . We are going to have a even bigger day tomorrow ! Go USA !

Good night………

Hi Everyone, Well day two was awesome, we walked two blocks to the transit system and at the accessible sidewalk crossing you have 30 seconds to get across the road and a loud chirping noise starts as the numbers count down, the chirping is so loud it sounds like a large bird right behind you and we are all tripping over one another trying to figure out why this bird is so close,ha !  What we thought was a four block ride turned into a forty block ride, but we arrived in time to see a sea of red and white jersey’s (Canadien’s) We recieved a call from Natalie Granato to inform us they got Robin a ticket in a suite for the game from the Canuck’s owner,wow ! As we were escorted in the stadium by a nice young lady she gave Derek an autographed hat by Vancouver Canucks  Ryan Kesler. Derek and I got settled in our seats and again we were surrounded by a sea of red. I’m not sure who the Canadiens hate more the Americans or the Russians ? As Finland came on the ice the crowd went wild and every time the Fins touched the puck  the Canadiens cheered. We thought ,man this is going to be a long day listening to all this crap. Then Team USA scores a goal, then another, then another and all  of a sudden we were up 5-0  and it was real quiet with barely half the first period over.Wow , the sea of red were running for the concession stands and then  Team USA called off the dogs in the second period. Even though the USA crowd was small they were loud and proud ! Derek was smiling ear to ear and was shocked by  how  USA came out so strong.Derek  said  it was fantastic to be here in Vancouver and to be part of the olympic spirit and to be able to see the greatest hockey players in the world compete against each other on the olympic stage. A  lot of people were second guessing the selection of the USA team and now they are going to the Gold medal game ! We walked downtown and it seemed like everywhere we went it was uphill so it didn’t take long for Derek to wear out.The big thing in the crowd was trading pins, everyone was coming up to us and asking to trade pins. Lucky for us Robin bought a 100 USA pins at home and we were right in the mix ! Downtown was so crowded it was hard for Derek to get around  and we were warned that if you were out pass 10pm it could take an hour wait just to get on the transit,so we went back and had a nice dinner and will call it a night. Derek passed on the chocolate fudge brownie for dessert so we knew he was worn out.Just finished watching Canada beat Slovakia 3-2, so looks like Usa vs Canada for Gold. It doesn’t get much better than this.Bronze medal game tomorrow. Going to try and get an early start in the morning and beat the crowds ? Good night

Dennis Savard,Derek,Taylor

Derek and Dad

Derek and Mom

We started out driving to Chicago Wednesday up I-65 through snow and wind and then made a quick stop with the Granato family to pick up hockey tickets to the olympics and then on to the airport Hilton to meet up with Taylor for the night, Taylor was on his way home via a visit with the Desimone family.We had dinner and watched the Canadians destroy the Russians in mens hockey, Derek and Taylor discussed (argued) hockey for two hours and it seemed like old times. None of us slept with the anticipation of going to the olympics.Derek had a cool surprise waiting for him Thursday morning when Dennis Savard (Chicago Blackhawks, Hockey Hall of Fame) met us in the lobby and gave Derek some really cool gifts to make Derek’s experience in Vancouver a great one. I know a lot of people become enamoured with famous people, but we are getting a chance to get to know Dennis and see what a great person he is and what a huge heart he has ! He was telling jokes at 7:30 in the morning and had a whole group of people  ready to take charge from Sparky to wild man Richie( who had his hands full entertaining Taylor ) Sparky was taking us through private elevators and secret tunnels and our own check in booth, wow ! These guys had to work for Al Capone ! We were rolling along until we got to security and they thought Derek looked a little suspicious so they put  him in an airtight glass booth and pulled out the wands and meters,  he was pretty calm until they pulled out the rubber gloves for what we thought was going to be a body search.His eyes got real big and all four of us were just rolling ! We had a quick breakfast and Rich and Taylor were harassing each other relentlessly (Rich told us Taylor probably wasn’t going to be home anytime soon ,ha ! ).with a lot of rWe got on the plane and thought that was going to go smooth, a lot of work getting an 160 lb man in a window seat.With a lot of wrestling and lot of help from Sparky we got him settled.Robin flew in from Indy (last minute idea) and she had been sick since 2am so she struggled the whole flight.Derek had a good flight once they put a movie in and we fed gave him some Garrett’s famous carmel corn . A movie and a four hour sugar high goes a long way ! Once we landed in beautiful Vancouver we started getting escorted through lines and customs ? come to find out Derek had on his new USA jacket and people thought he was an athlete, one women even came up and said: hey, do you play hockey and derek said yes, then she said I just talked to your goalie on the para-olympic team . Do know his name and Derek says nope, ha ! I’m wearing my USA jacket tomorrow !

We are staying in Burnaby, which is about 15 minutes from the mountains. Simply breathtaking and 50 degrees and sunny.We stayed closed to the hotel tonight and let Robin get energized. And we watched the Canadian women hockey team take a 2-0 win and gold medal from our great USA womens team. The room is nice and accessible for derek.We will be able to go downtown tomorrow and shop and sightsee and then we will go to the semi-final mens hockey games.

Derek had his second session with Mike White the bodies-in-motion trainer and from what I’ve seen Derek and Mike are going to make some progress getting Derek stronger and more flexible.Derek will start two days a week soon and is looking forward to three days a week . With proper nutrition and some new training techniques this looks like a plus,plus for Derek.

All for today. Mike

Hi Everyone,

We are headed to Vancouver on Thursday the 25th of Feburary and are starting to get excited.Channel 13,NBC will air a story on Derek on Feburary 24th at 6pm and then Anne Marie Tiernon and crew will  meet up with us in Vancouver and continue with Derek and his experiences during the hockey games and festivities. We will go to the semi-final games,Bronze medal,Gold medal games and the closing ceremonies.Hopefully we can do some sightseeing while we are there, not sure on all the logistics but we are looking forward to a once in a lifetime experience. Thanks again to all the people who helped to make this happen for Derek. Derek recently got a USA jacket and a USA jersey to wear while rooting on Americans ! Go USA ! We  have been told that Vancouver is one of the leaders in the world in wheelchair accessiblity.They have a tram from the airport to downtown Vancouver where we are staying and  subway rail for transportation around the city.If anyone knows of must see sights or places to eat let us know.I will take the laptop and try to update each day.

Derek and Robin visited Miami(Ohio) University on Friday and toured the campus all day, Derek pushed himself all day in his wheelchair and he was exhausted at the end of the day. Derek got to meet all the hockey coaches and they said they had numerous jobs for him with the hockey team once he makes his commitment.Derek loved the campus and the hockey stadium which is tops in the country. Derek had the opportunity to meet Brian Burke ( GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs) in the locker room seemed to hit it off when they started to talk about hockey.Brian Burke recently lost his son in a car accident , his son went to Miami(Ohio).Miami had a memorial service that day for his son ,so Derek wishes they could have met under better circumstances.All the dorms are wheelchair accessible and it is a great campus.The hockey game was great , Miami beat Omaha-Nebrasks 6-2 and the crowd is totally wild, especially the student section with the band and all the chants and fan favorite third period (jump around) song that sent the crowd into a frenzy ! Derek is going to visit a couple more colleges but I think his heart is at Miami(Ohio) ? And its only an hour and half from home ( ok, so I drive fast).

Derek recently met a guy (Mike White) who wants to do therapy with Derek and get him stronger before he goes to college in August. This guy (Mike) was in a car accident and paralyzed for some time and had  told Robin’s clients that he would love the opportunity to work with Derek. They met last Tuesday and hit it off, He kinda knows what Derek is going through and can relate to Derek’s challenges.After we get back from the olympics Derek and him are going to work out three days a week and maybe everyday this summer. Derek is really looking forward to getting stronger and more independent.Derek has done well lately navigating the snow and is doing great in school.Derek had surgery on both his big toes to remove the sides of the nail bed and all is healed . Derek is sooooo looking forward to the Olympics !!! 

Thanks to all of you that have made this journey possible, Mike

Hi everyone,

Derek just got accepted to these colleges: Miami(Ohio),Ball State, Indiana University, and Michigan State. I know , I know, which one will he chose ? Obviously we will visit all these schools and make sure he can get around and get a feel of the campuses and check out all the options, but he is leaning towards Miami(Ohio). Great school and great hockey program.Derek is also excited that nine of the former Ice players will be attending Miami(Ohio).We will keep you up to date. Derek was visited by NBC Channel 13 today with Anne Marie Tiernon and Matt the Camerman for a story about Derek and the Olympics. Not sure when it will air, but they might wait till next week after the Super Bowl. Then they will meet up with us at the Olympics and follow Derek’s experience during the hockey semi-finals, Bronse medal game, Gold medal game, and closing ceremonies.The Granato family has been working on the finishing touches for Derek so he will have an experience of a lifetime.We got to spend time this past weekend in Wisconsin with Christy Granato-Wellhausen and her wonderful husband Kevin Wellhausen and their two beautiful daughters Baylee and brooke. Sam  and  Baylee had a great time playing against each other  this weekend when their teams Racers(Indy) and Capitols (Madison)  met in  Madison. We enjoyed Christi’s cooking, authentic Italian for dinner and the famous banana - pecan pancakes for breakfast.

Derek will be going to Chicago next weekend to watch Sam play in the league tournament and visit with friends.He is excited about seeing some former team mates and coaches and  his host family.Derek also got to got to the  Indy Ice hockey games this weekend. The ICE got big wins Friday night with Derek getting the game puck and then Saturday got to hand out the game puck  that went  to the new goalie on the team.The ICE are now auctioning off the jerseys from the Legends game and the All-star game last week and are donating the proceeds to Derek’s trust fund.Derek also got his new ICE jersey and he wore it proudly Saturday night.Derek should start therapy again this week with a personal trainer.Keep praying for Derek’s recovery, he still has a long road ahead of him.Thanks to all of you that continue to pray and support us during this journey. Mike