These are the last words I have of Jeff speaking. It was around December, 2001 as his speech started getting really bad. He was very concerned, and so was I, so I bought him a small microcassette recorder to record his voice. That way he could listen to it and try to practice speaking better. This was before we knew he had Wilson's disease. After he died, I was going through all of his things and I found this little microcassette so I listened to it and there he was! I treasure this short little sentence because this was Jeff's favorite line whenever he met someone new. He'd shake your hand and with a big grin say "Hello, how you doing today?"
These are the last sounds I have recorded of Jeff. He was in the rehab hospital in Fresno, California and had just had a speech therapy session. The therapist just wasn't sure if Jeff could ever make a sound again. As soon as she left Jeff started making "ahs." This is so typical of him! He wouldn't do it for her but he did it for me. I recoreded these sounds on my PocketPC and I am so glad that I did since I never heard him make another sound again. He died a couple of days later but the nurse told me that the day after I left for a few days while getting him a new PT cruiser to surprise him, he actually closed his mouth for the first time in 3 months and when she asked him if he could say anything he just said "no!" That's my Jeff!!! I wish I had been there to hear that last word so I could have given him one giant hug! This may be disturbing to some so listen to it at your own risk.