A few more things that have gone on that I forgot to mention! Julia sang at church this past weekend in front of the whole congregation for Faith! She sang "She's a Butterfly" by Martina McBride. With the help of our friend, John, who played the acoustic guitar, she sang that song with all of her heart and got a standing ovation in church! Peter and I are so proud of her as she sang this beautiful and very meaning song to her sister. Also, thanks so much to everyone involved in the Beefsteak Dinner for Faith. Julia, Olivia and Faith had a wonderful time (didn't get home until 12 a.m.). It truly was so overwhelming to see so many people coming out and volunteering their time to support our family. Your generousity, kindness and thoughtfulness is so heartwarming and we are so grateful for all of you, thank you so very much. It was a great weekend in all! We are truly blessed.

Sorry it has taken so long to update Faith's blog, but so much has been going on since the golf outing. Faith is in therapy everyday. She works so very hard and is very determined. She rides a pony, Bella, twice a week for equine therapy, she has speech, occupational and physical therapies several times a week, we go to Children's Specialized Hospital once a week, and she has her kindergarten teachers coming 5 times a week. She is following kindergarten curriculum and doing very well. Her homework assignment is to learn to spell MOM and CAT. Well, she decided for extra credit, that she would spell, MOM, CAT, DAD, DOG, JULIA, OLIVIA, and FAITH MORELLI! She is more and more like herself everyday. With the exception of her balancing skills (which is large motor), and some fine motor skills, she is just about the same old Faith! She's even doing her puzzles again. We had a great visit with our Florida and California friends, Donna, Pam and Lisa. It was so nice to see all of them and for them to see how well Faith is doing (wish you all lived closer!) We went on a class trip to Ort Farms yesterday, Faith rode a bus for the very first time. She went on a tractor ride to pick her very own pumpkin (which was dirty, by the way, on the side and bottom, that's what she told everyone). She wore a smile from ear to ear the entire time. Once I figure out how to put pictures on this blog, I will attach them for you all to see. We are truly blessed and would like to thank each and every one of you for your prayers.

Thank you to Event Sponsors Modern Electric, Swift Electrical Supply, sponsors, volunteers, and golfers! The Faith Morelli Benefit Golf Outing on Monday, August 25th and Mine Brook Golf Club was a huge success!

84 golfers and 12 volunteers turned out to play on beautiful summer day. Early registrants were able to see Faith and how well she is doing. Golfers received t-shirts donated by Ascot Printing and Anca Designs, balls from Source and Eastern Propane, tees from NY Golf, lunch and drinks. Raffle winners, contest winners, and winning foursomes received a plethora of donated door prizes from a grill from Eastern Propane to gift certificates, liquor, clothing, golf merchandise, jewelry and more. Thank you to donors who sent items for auction especially Anthony Malanga. Thank you to Kathy Reidinger from Silpada for donating the proceeds from her jewelry sale to the fund.

Hole and beverage cart sponsorships included: Source Institute for Human Performance, Princeton, NJ; CURE, Princeton, NJ; Long Valley Junior Women’s Club; Cooper Electric, Tinton Falls, NJ; Cazes Family Dentistry; Long Valley, NJ; Trasco Management Corporation, Delray Beach, FL; CTCI Wiring, Lyndhurst, NJ; LEWIS S. GOODFRIEND & ASSOCIATES, Whippany, NJ; SASCO Insurance Services, Inc.; L.A. Detailing, Oakridge, NJ; Bravante and Associates; Edward Leske Company Financial Resources Federal Credit Union. Please offer these businesses your support and patronage whenever possible.

By the grace of God, all of your prayers, and the strong spirit of Faith, she is almost at 75% of her pre-accident function. At the moment Faith seems to see but has large blind spots, particularly at knee level. However, her neurological opthamologist appointment went well and the doctor said with proper rehabilitation she could regain her full sight.

Faith is moving pretty well around the house these days. She struggles with coordination and has the bruises to show it, but she rarely shows frustration. Her desire to be independent is always present. She is now able to bend down and stand up on her own, something she could not do just one week ago.

Please continue to keep Faith in your thoughts and prayers.

T Shirts for Faith are now available for $20.

Front design to the left. Back reads:

Keep Your Friends by Your Side and

Faith in your Heart

Colors are: pink shirts with white printing or grey shirts with navy blue printing. All sizes are available.

T Shirts courtesy of Uncle Charles DeFranza and Ascot Printing. Design courtesy of Carol Bataglia and Anca Studios.

Contact August Leming or Maureen Leming to order.

Please Note: Faith's hospital case worker has recommended that the Morelli Family change the legal name of Faith's Fund to The Morelli Special Needs Trust Fund. The reason for this change is to ensure that Faith is able to remain a beneficiary of Medicaid. Were she to have significant funds in her name, she could lose this critical medical benefit. The nature of the non profit already requires the family to use the funds only and specifically for Faith's care. This will not change. However, we would like the family to be able to continue receiving Medicaid and to only use monies raised to close the remaining financial gaps and costs incurred through Faith's medical treatment and rehabilitation.

Faith is doing very well at home with her family. She goes to the hospital several times a week for therapy for hours a t a time, and on the off days, she does therapy with her teachers at home. She works so hard! She is standing on her own for short periods of time and takes more steps everyday. She is even eating well - three meals a day of semi-solid food.

The doctors say her trache is in good shape, no swelling of which to speak. She will return to Ohio in August for a check up. If all goes well, from then on she will be able to work exclusively with doctors in Philadelphia - a much easier commute for the whole family! She will be seeing a neuro-opthamologist at the end of the month for an important assessment of her vision. Please keep her in your prayers!

Everyone is looking forward to a great golf outing on August 25th! Thank you Modern Electric for sponsoring our event. Players are still needed! For more information, please e-mail aleming@sourcenj.com or mleming@hunschool.org.

Change of plans ... Faith is home to stay! From now on, faith will continue therapy on an out-patient basis. The family could not be happier. It is quite a challenge to meet her needs as well as transport her back and forth daily from home, but it is certainly worth it to have her sleeping in her own bed again.

faith is eating some things again, like macaroni and cheese and in general is making slow but important progress every day.

Faith is home in New Jersey tonight after a successful trip to Ohio. She is still trached to keep her airway open. The trache prevents her from eating or talking, but it is not permanent.

She will return to Children's Hospital in New Brunswick for a period of about three weeks. There, she will continue a schedule of rigorous rehabilitation therapy for her neurological and muscular health. After approximately three weeks, we are told that she will likely be allowed to come home and continue therapy on an out-patient basis.

From now on, Faith will be working with a team of doctors out of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). It is our hope that this will make further travel to Ohio unnecessary.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers.

Don't forget to register to play golf for Faith!

August 25th ... Registration information to the right.

Faith is doing quite well in Ohio. She is adjusting to her new trache physically and seems to have accepted it emotionally as well. She misses beinbg able to speak, but understands that everyone hopes that will be possible soon. We heard that tonight, she was able to walk the halls of the hospital a while with Peter only holding onto her lightly.

Lorraine and Peter have been told they may be able to bring Faith home Monday or Tuesday of next week. If so, they will be traveling thanks to the Angel Network, which has offered to pay for their return flight. Once home, Faith will undergo rigorous out-patient therapy at Children's Specialized Hospital five days a week.

Faith had a good night. She is in better spirits and has been moved out of the ICU. She will soon begin therapy again in Cincinnati.

Faith, Lorraine and Peter traveled by air ambulance to Ohio today. Upon her arrival, Faith's doctors decided to apply a Tracheotomy tube once again. They applied a short tube at first, but then she struggled a bit, and they switched to a longer one. They also applied a more significant feeding tube that attaches directly to her intestines because she would otherwise be at risk for aspiration.

Both procedures were upsetting to Faith. It was a huge milestone for her to have the tube (that you see in the photo above) removed earlier this year and she is disappointed to have it again. However, we are hopeful that both procedures are somewhat temporary and will strengthen her ability to rehabilitate.

Faith is now in the Intensive Care Unit. Her doctors expect she will need to remain in Ohio until Thursday of next week. Faith needs your prayers in the days ahead, in hopes that she may overcome these setbacks.

Faith has urgent financial need and needs help from her friends and family.

As you may have read in a recent blog entry, Faith is no longer able to eat food. She is only taking in fluid through a feeding tube. In addition to the obvious trouble this can cause long term, it is also very uncomfortable and frustrating to Faith, emotionally and physically, having a direct impact on her ability to rehabilitate.

To assess and treat the injury to her esophagus, she, and ideally Lorraine and Peter, must fly to Ohio on Wednesday to see a specialist. Amazingly, the air ambulance she requires is not covered by insurance and the total cost is required up front. This flight will cost a minimum of $15,000. The family needs to raise this money virtually overnight.

If you are considering sending Faith a donation, please do so right away. If you planned to play golf this summer - register today to play with us on August 25th. If you know a business in a position to sponsor a hole at our outing, please let us know.

If you have already sent a gift to Faith - thank you!

Faith has had a wonderful week with therapy. She is sitting up by herself and balancing herself while standing up. She has even taken as many as ten steps at a time on her own.

She is seeing much better as well and she is responding to verbal communication appropriately. She is speaking more clearly and with more volume.

However, she is having a problem with her upper airway. For that reason, she is not able to eat solid food right now and this frustrates her greatly. She will be traveling to a specialist in Ohio on Wednesday for an evaluation.

Faith is home again for the day today. She is having fun seeing her family and playing with her sisters. We have been given reason to hope that she will come home in a few weeks for good.

Thank you to everyone who has sent emails, cards, and donations! We continue to be overwhelmed by your care and generosity.

We will continue to update the blog as news develops. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

Faith has had an amazing week, beginning with Sunday when she spent some time at home with the family. Since then she has returned to the hospital and is working hard. As a matter of fact, her therapists have remarked at how hard she is willing to work and push herself.

Faith is now eating three meals a day -which in turn is helping her energy levels. She is also sitting up almost entirely by herself. She is speaking more and learning to compensate for some difficulty with her vi son. She is taking a few steps at a time using parallel bars and with very little help from others. By far this has been her best week yet!

We beleive that all of your prayers and thoughts are helping!

Congratulations Faith! Faith underwent swallow study and the test results were perfect. there is no neurological damage to her ability to swallow food, beverages, etc. Way to go Faith!

Everybody agrees - Faith is having a fantastic day with lots of progress.

When Lorraine asked her, "Have I told you that I love you today?" Faith replied, "Yes, 129 times." She had a really good visit with Julia and Olivia. They walked her around the halls in her stander.

"Faith had a great day today! She walked all around the therapy room in a walker that is nicknamed the "blueburu" like Peter's Subaru. She also did a lot of hand eye coordination with a ball and swung on a swing with the therapist. She held on to the swing ropes with her hands. She was so happy!" - Kathy Sheola

Faith had a very encouraging Memorial Day Weekend with lots of wonderful progress. Where at first we had great concern for her eyesight, Faith has now identified four different colors - a clear indication that she can see. She is sitting up for short periods of time. She has managed to pick up food and place it in her mouth unassisted. She has finished sentences for her mother while reading from one of her favorite books. She continues to improve daily!

There will be a Golf Outing to Benefit Faith on August 25th - so Save the Date! We will be playing at Mine Brook Golf Club in Hackettstown, NJ. Individual players and foursomes are welcome, event and hole sponsorships are available.

Faith has begun her physical and neurological therapy. Her team of doctors and specialists are knowledgeable, positive, and patient. Unfortunately progress was slow yesterday. We are hoping for a better day today. Please pray for Faith.

Today, Faith was moved to Children's Specialized Hospital in South Brunswick. This move means that Faith is in stable condition and able to begin active recovery. Children's Specialized is a rehabilitation hospital that specializes in pediatric brain injury rehabilitation. They boast one of the greatest success rates in the country. The facility itself is very nice and Faith will continue to have her own room. Faith, Peter and Lorraine met her new doctors and therapist and underwent assessment. The chief neurologist gave us reason to hope that many of Faith's symptoms can be rehabilitated. It is the best news any of us has received so far.

These next few weeks at Children's are critical to Faith's recovery. Please continue to pray for her.

The family has now officially established the Faith Morelli Fund, a non-profit fund in Faith's name. The chief purpose of the fund and 90% of its earnings will go directly to aid in her recovery and ongoing, long-term care.

Faith has been in the PICU at Goryeb Children's Hospital for almost a week. In that time, she has encouraged all of us with her progress. It is easy to worry and become overwhelmed when you are not with her; her injuries are abstract concepts, and generate heartbreaking questions, many of which begin with, "What does this mean? What will happen?" However, when you are with her, you are filled with hope. That hope comes from Faith's spirit, which is very powerful even in her hospital room; and it comes from the amazing moments and accomplishments you share with her.

At this stage of her recovery, and while she is in PICU, it has only been practical for family to visit with her. Lorraine and Peter are seldom elsewhere, and thankfully, their immediate family has surrounded them. Grandma and Pop-pop Leming are staying at the Morellis' house. Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles have taken up shifts to hold Faith's hands and encourage her. Friends and Family call and visit the house. The support began in Florida with Donna and her family and continues locally. Neighbors have brought wonderful food and supplies to the house, promising to do so for months. Local organizations, churches and schools are eager to pitch in, to help, to donate. Each gift is generous and thoughtful, from gas cards to School lunches. So many have come forward. So many have felt Faith's spirit.

In the weeks ahead, the family will announce plans for a community fundraising event. People will have the oppotunity to come together and surround Faith with their love. In the meantime, for information or to make a donation, please contact Maureen Leming at mleming@hunschool.org, or send cards or donations to the Montville UNICO Foundation; Memo: Faith Morelli Fund, and mail to Montville UNICO Foundation, PO BOX 788, Montville, NJ 07045.

Update

Ten days ago, Faith began her recovery at St. Petersburg Florida Children’s Hospital. After an extremely harrowing twenty-four hours, Faith was awake, laughing, and showing signs of a full recovery. However, almost as quickly, her condition worsened dramatically. Doctors and tests indicated that the trauma to her brain was significant and all we could do was wait and pray.

On Wednesday, she and Peter were flown by air-ambulance to the Goryeb Children’s Hospital at Morristown Memorial. Since then, she has made progress. Faith is awake for long periods of time. She recognizes friends and family. She laughs at silly jokes and smiles at comforting words. She has said words like “yes,” and “Mommy.” She has squeezed her family’s hands.

Today - the greatest of achievements - Faith counted to ten and remembered her father's phone number!