Letter From Dave's Parents

We, Dave's parents, are overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and support for our son. Many of the emails have been read and have been very encouraging. David appreciates every word, every bouquet, every message that has been left. Thank you.

David went into surgery Monday night, Feb. 7 at 5 pm. The purpose of the surgery was to fuse the factured vertbrae to healthy vertebrae and relieve the pressure on the spinal cord. Vertebrae 9, 10, 11, 12 are now fused and the surgery went well. The spinal cord is bruised and swollen -- it will take time to determine how much the spinal cord will recover from the trauma.

David will be in Ft. Collins, CO for a time. Rehab will start here at Poudre Valley Hospital but he will be transfered to another rehab center at a later date.

Your continued thoughts, prayers, and messages will be greatly appreciated in the days ahead. The hospital library has internet service and Dave's sister, Karyn, periodically accesses David's email account and prints off a few emails at a time. David has been encouraged reading them, and hearing from people from around the world!

We'd like to share with all of you that David's strength of character and sense of humor are very much intact. He is alert and very capable of making sure the health-care professionals are doing their jobs. He likes to give them a hard time when they don't.

There are many people working behind the scenes, helping us learn all the steps that need to be taken next. We are still learning -- we will do our very best to get new information to you in a timely fashion. Again, thank all of you so much for the love, care and concern you have shared with us and with our son, David. We are, as always, very proud of how he is handling this new challenge in his life.

With much love and Respect,
Tom and Terri Denniston