Kyle Farnung: The Blog

Well, sorry it has been so long since the last update, but there wasn't really much to report. As of last Friday, Dan was released from St. Mary's and is currently at home. The road to recovery is not over yet, he still has about four weeks of outpatient care and retesting before he can return to true normality. In the mean time he's doing very well and continues to improve daily.

At this point updates will probably be a lot less frequent, but it might be a good idea to check back every so often. More than likely it would be best to just give Dan a call if you want to find out how he's doing.

Well, it took me a few days, but I've finally had time to update about our visit last Tuesday. Dan wasn't up and around like usual since he had a small blood clot in his leg that was causing him a little pain. The doctors put him on some blood thinners and assigned him bed rest for the day. Keith made a PB&J for Dan, which he immediately ate (his second dinner of the day), and we basically just talked to him and his family. On top of his previous meals, his parents had also brought some food with them and Dan had a little bit of that. All in all, I do believe that Dan's appetite has been restored.

Dan's condition continues on the same positive trend it has been on all along. He is very responsive in conversation and his short-term memory seems much more sharp than it was previously. His body continues to get stronger by the day and he seems to have an easier time supporting his posture. The staff have him doing a lot of exercises to restore his muscles, especially in his middle and lower body. He has been walking around a bit with the aid of the staff and seems to be improving with that as well. If everything goes as planned, he should be able to get a day pass this weekend so that he can spend some time at home on Saturday and Sunday. When I talked to his father yesterday, Dan was no longer on bed rest and the possibility of a day pass still looked very good. If you plan to visit Dan this weekend, please make sure to give his family a call first.

Here is a comment left by Dan's mom about visiting him this weekend.

Dan may be getting a day pass to come home for awhile on Saturday 10/21 and maybe Sunday 10/22. Call us at home (227-0547). You are more than welcome to visit him at home.

We went to visit Dan last Saturday and he is doing really well. He's still a little out of it, but still seems to be on top of things. He is currently getting around in a wheel chair and has started walking with the aid of parallel bars during rehabilitation sessions. His arm muscles are coming back very quickly and he seems to be getting much stronger, even after just a few days. This week will be his first full week of rehabilitation and we should see a big improvement.

As far as visiting Dan, the same information I posted before still applies, but it doesn't appear that he does much rehabilitation on the weekends. Because of this, the visiting hours on the weekend are basically 11:00AM-8:00PM keeping in mind that he eats lunch around 12:00PM and dinner around 5:00PM. He is currently in room 5146 which is pretty easy to find. Once you get off the elevators, just head toward the main desk for the floor and make a left, his room is the third door down on the left side of the hall.

I just spoke with Dan's father tonight and he said that anyone can now visit him at the hospital. They are limiting the visitation hours to 4:00-5:00PM and 6:00-9:00PM. The hour from 5:00-6:00PM is when Dan will be eating dinner in the cafeteria and only a few visitors are able to sit with him as he eats. His family would also like everyone to be gone by 9:00PM so that Dan can get to sleep. During this first week Dan may be more tired than usual, but in the weeks to come he should have a bit more energy.

St. Mary's Hospital is on Genesee St. in the city. The best way to get there from most places would be to take Interstate 390 to the Chili Avenue exit and head east on Chili Avenue. Down the road a short distance, take a right on Genesee Street and an immediate right into the free parking structure for St. Mary's. Once you park, get to the first level of the structure and take the corridor to the main lobby of the hospital. Stop at the information desk to get a visitor pass and tell them "Daniel Munson, fifth floor trauma recovery." All that information may not be necessary, but it should be no problem to get a pass and locate the elevators. Once on the fifth floor, stop at the desk in the lobby of that floor and the people there will give directions from there.

When coming from RIT, it would be easiest to head west on Jefferson Road and take a right onto Scottsville Road. Scottsville Road turns into Genesee Street just past the Interstate 390 bridge. The parking structure will be on the left side of the road just before the Chili Avenue/West Avenue/West Main Street intersection. From there, the directions above apply.

Unity Health System
Saint Mary's Hospital
89 Genesee Street
Rochester, New York 14611
Google Map

I haven't been up to visit him yet so once I visit I will have a clearer idea about the directions. If there are any updates, they will be reflected here.