Dear all,
 
I wanted to give you an update on Rishita's condition and also on the fund raiser. This is based on a call I had with Puneet today.
 
Puneet and family shifted from the Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando to the rehab facility in Jacksonville on the 23rd. The in-patient therapy started on the 24th. Per Puneet, Rishita is improving every day. She is now saying few words of her own also occasionally. She is now able to remain standing for a short period by holding on to something. She is also making efforts to walk by holding the parents' hands from both side. However, physical therapist has to work on her to make her learn walking skills again. Similarly, speech therapist will be working on her to make her swallow and take feed through mouth. This is very good progress compared to about 3 weeks ago when she was not recognizing any body, and almost day and night difference from late November.
 
Based on this good progress, hospital has recommended that the in-patient therapy can stop around the 6th/7th/8th of January, at which time the family can move to Syracuse and begin out-patient therapy there. This means that instead of the originally proposed 4-6 weeks of in-patient therapy, she will only undergo about 2 weeks. This is a big positive as she is progressing faster than originally suggested by the Doctor's.
 
As per the fundraising efforts, thanks to all of you, we have so far raised a little over 30K. Some of this was used to pay for the initial fee so that the hospital in Jacksonville would admit Rishita. About 60% of it came through the Capital IIT website. We thank all of you who were so generous with your money. We also have people who have pledged to the tune of 20K (over and above the 30K raised) and would rather pay a medical expense directly. This includes fund raised by some of our friends in India. So, this means, we raised over 50K in about a week's time.
 
Given the reduced in-patient therapy requirements, we feel that this will be enough money to fulfill the financial needs for Rishita's medical expenses. As such, Puneet is requesting that we no longer raise funds. If your check is not already in the mail, please do not mail it in any more. The money left at the end of the in-patient stay will be used towards paying for the out-patient therapy over the next few months.
 
A big thank you also for your thoughts, prayers and blessings. Puneet and famiy credit that for the good progress so far. Many many thanks, and please continue to keep Rishita and the family in your thoughts and prayers.

 

Please feel free to forward as appropriate.
 
Sujit