Update on my father Mikhail Ponomarev

After spending an entire month in intensive care with many ups and downs, my father recovered enough to be moved to a health and rehabilitation center where he began a course of intensive physical, occupational and speech therapy to hopefully get him back to a healthy state. He worked very hard for more than a month and is now projected to discharge back home at the end of October. Considering his numerous serious and even life-threatening injuries, it is a miracle he is doing so well at his age. At this stage, all of his fractures have healed enough for him to walk with the aid of a walker and get up without assistance. I have been playing chess with him regularly and can say that he is returning to his master form. I am hoping that he will play in a tournament before the year is out.

All of his recovery is a testament to the power of his will and faith. It is also a testament to the power of prayer and well-wishing that came from his family, friends and even strangers. The chess community had a big impact to making my father feel appreciated and loved. Get well wishes, letters, contributions and visitations from old chess friends and new lifted his spirits and gave him the extra strength needed to make such an astonishing recovery. Despite all of his successes in recovery, there is still a lot of work ahead.

I would like to thank all of the people who directly contributed to my father's spiritual recovery. A heartfelt thank you goes out to: Ian MacLellan, Richard Buchanan, Brian Wall, Robert Rountree, Hans Morrow, Roderick and Thao Santiago. Your contributions and visitations meant a lot to my father and my entire family. We are all greatly indebted to you for your kindness and generosity.

My father is grateful for every letter he receives. He expressed to me that he would be happy to start correspondence chess games with his friends and acquaintances in the chess community. Letters can be sent to: Mikhail Ponomarev Recovery Fund, 11977 Claude Ct., Northglenn, CO 80233.

by Phillip Ponomarev