WE LOVE YOU DAVID - all of the begining year or so of my accident and therapy and whatnot!!!

Tribute to David Videos…Combined!

2011-09-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

YAY! I was able to upload the entire Tribute to David to YouTube instead of breaking it into 4 parts! How cool! So, in case you want to watch it again, or just want to know where to find it in case you want to share it later, it's here and on the sidebar...

Here's a link:
http://youtu.be/Z3AQgQG1tKs

I'm not going to take down the others, but know that this combines all 4 of the Tributes to David.

Have a good one!

October

2010-10-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry i havent posted anything lately, I've been pretty busy with everything going on in my life for quite awhile! (Well at least since my graduation from Palo Alto’s PTRP...) BUT since it's been soo long since I last updated the blog, I got quite a bit to talk about now... Well after I graduated and received a certificate of completion from the PTRP program in Palo Alto, I came back down to my home and started to “fix” my room to be the way I want it to be! And that included getting a desk for my computer to be used at, a new bed, that I actually liked! And most importantly CLEANING OUT MY CLOSET or: throwing away all the useless crap I don’t use anymore. Well after I got those things taken care of, I wanted to start doing more rehab at the Loma Linda VA. So I started to do outpatient Speech and O.T. in these therapies I wanted to learn how to cook better for myself, (better food-wise.) Well now, looking back, I realize that I should have just watched my dad, and learn that way! It would have been much easier! One day during therapy when we were at Stater Brothers shopping, I got a text from my mom telling me that my best friend, ever since kindergarten, (like 18 years!) Well he ended up dying... So as hard as that was to take and deal with, I had to continue with my therapy I was in... In addition to my therapy, I took some classes at RCC, (the Speech therapist helped me with this.) One thing that definitely helped me studying for this class and its tests was the Kurzweil program, (a program that helps you organize your thoughts, and get them on paper, AND it reads the book to you.) So I took a class that taught us what job we could turn into our career. This was a useful class for me to take at this time. Because (in my situation) because I was intending on making the Air Force, into my career. But that opportunity was taken away from me when this accident ended up basically, “retiring me.” So I will now have to be “re-evaluated” every 15 months to see if I will be “fit enough” to go back into active duty or a full medical retirement.

On September 29, 2010 I started a new rehab program, Rehab Without Walls, where they actually COME TO YOU to do you rehab! (This is the next kind of rehab program thing for me.) They help me with Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Recreational Therapy, and Social Work. Our goal for me is to live independently and be able to get around to everything that I want to do. This as I have found out so far, is A LOT! But it sucks because I'm at the point in my recovery process where I am getting close to actually being able to do the things I was doing before the Air Force! (Which is soo hard for me to be able to handle because before I was SOO BUSY! And now, I literally can't keep up with everything that I'm doing! But I believe that it ALL is pretty much a necessity for me, I can't just quit anything, without finding SOMETHING ELSE to fill it with!!!

Interviews

2009-02-10T18:45:00.001-08:00

Okay, so here's a "condensed" version of the interviews we videotaped of our most memorable moments during David's recovery. Hopefully it makes sense still :). I posted them to YouTube as well, here are the links, just in case you want to view them there. It's about 25 minutes total, and it's Dad, Laura, Christa, Mom, and Bella.

part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEj4ixp0eGQ
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86SJhExy1Qo
part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgyhavdKxiA

Our intentions initially were just to record this for David, so it's kinda personal... But we figured that maybe it could somehow be used to help other people going through tough times. So, feel free to pass it on if you see a need.

Love,
The Huddlestons

Tribute to David video 4

2009-02-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess I need to change the music for the 4th video on Youtube. I had used How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin, but WMG says it's a copyright violation (oops!). Sorry for the quiet video, I'll fix it as soon as I can... Man, it was a great song... Any ideas for another one?? For whatever reason it still seems to be working here... Thanks for passing it along :)

-Laura

Comment from Ginny, a TBI survivor

2008-12-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

This is a comment that was sent to me-for David- from YouTube, because for some reason it couldn't be posted in the comment section on this site. I tried too and it wouldn't let me. Anyway, I loved the comment and it's great to hear others finding hope through what God has done for David, and to be able to offer prayer and support to those who also have to go through difficult times. So I really wanted to pass it on...
To David,
I have been praying for Mark Lamberth from CA who just had a brain injury from a dirt bike injury and is in Mission Hospital in Orange County when I saw your sister Christa's post telling them about you to give them hope. She urged them to watch your video's where it documents your injury and recovery. I pretty much cried on and off through out the 4 videos.
In September, 2005, I had a TBI at work. I can tell you that I could NEVER compare my injury to yours EVER. I have had 3 surgeries to repair the damage as I ruptured all 4 balance sacs and damaged 2 centers of my brain and a portion of a 3rd. The 2 surgeries weren't that successful but the 3rd one, I was so hopeful which turned out to be a nightmare. 6 days after I had a virus on my brain and they had to put me to sleep to heal. I am told that it is a miracle and I am very lucky because even though I have some great deficits, I didn't have to learn most skills over. So I know I am truly blessed. For about a year everyone walked on egg shells with me. They want to do another surgery but that one was more than I could handle and I lost alot of hearing, so I have dug my feet into the ground and refuse. They are not pushing me but tonight the Dr said that a 4th is probably in my future.
I feel like my vision feels worse. My ears hurt all the time and the SOUND that I have to deal with is getting louder. My patience is very thin these days. Any stressful time doesn't help. The holidays I suppose arent helping. I am tired and I hate my therapies. I have cognitive 3x a week. She's a doll though. If I have to stay in bed, she just does something for me in my room and lets me lay flat in my bed. Honestly, there are days I can't pick my head up and then there are days I think, wow, there's nothing wrong with me. Until I turn and my get dizzy and almost fall.
The cold weather of Jersey I am sure isn't helping because I am noticing that I do so much better in the warmer weather.
They won't let me back at OT, Vision and Vestibular therapy and PT because I had a very bad bout of Mastoiditis - fluid in my mastoid bones because where they cut in the surgeries. I was deaf almost a week - that was clostophobic!!! But they haven't cleared me yet and I feel like I will be unable to go thru it again.
Watching your videos were perfect timing for me. I have no one who cares enough to push me. Most of the time I feel alone because I don't have the family support you do. They watch the kids for me but since I don't look like I have anything wrong - they forget. The scriptures that your family placed in the videos, the music and watching your success has given me hope. I wear a hope ring on my left hand. The hope I thought I never gave up until this week, I realized I have given up. I wish I could just lay down and sleep and not do any more therapies. I'm tired.
I am going to watch your videos and pray that HOPE comes back into me, watching your recovery. Like I said....I've been alone - It's like I needed a kick in the behind. Thanks for the kick in the behind!!
I don't share with many people because I don't want them to look at me differently or think poorly because I know I have come a LONG way. I know. I may not have the video documentation like you do. But I know how far I've come. I just forget that - Hey, we are working on that in cognitive therapy - my memory still is poor but every day I surprise even myself.
Thanks - sorry so long. I would get yelled at that I didn't take breaks!! But I forget that too!!
May the Lord continue to give you strength and I thank HIM for directing me to know you today!!
I think its just the holidays. They are hard. I feel misunderstood most of the time.
God Bless You ,
Ginny New Jersey.

October and November, 2008

2008-11-24T11:15:00.000-08:00

…Notes that I wrote during the time that I didn’t have anything posted....this blog HAS been on my list of things I needed to do! So, I have been taking notes on what I've been doing in each therapy for you all to read. That way you feel more “in touch” with the progress that I continue making...

10/08/2008
Alive Day - My family had a party for my one-year anniversary. It was amazing to see how many people still cared, and came to show their support. (Even though I haven’t been posting stuff on the blog!) My sister made a movie of my past year. We showed it on the big screen in the family room. It was an eye opener for me to see where I came from and how “pathetic” I was back then. I just hope that it gets out and gives other people with TBI hope. No matter how bad you are, there is still tomorrow, and there’s always a chance of getting better than you are at the moment.

10/17/2008
Meeting with Dr. Kim - My mom doesn’t think that I should move far away. She doesn’t want the situation of me going to Turkey to repeat itself. My mom says she wants me to be on my own, but thinks that we have all learned a big lesson by Laura and Brian moving away from the family. We miss them, they miss us, and would do anything to live by their family. She thinks that I could move to Loma Linda or Redlands, buy a house for the same payment as Palo Alto’s rent, and do outpatient therapy at LLVAH. It would be cheaper and closer to family where I can get some support. Later, when I am through with rehab, I could move anywhere I want.

10/24/2008
Cognitive Training - We reviewed one thing that I did yesterday. Checked the to do list and schedules
Took a quiz on a movie called “Peaceful Warrior”.

10/24/2008
Meeting with Dr. Kim - Dr. Kim says I need to change my way of doing things. I need to have more structure in my daily life! I thought I realized this. I wasn’t coerced into thinking this AT ALL!!! I’ll be getting twice as much done if I do this!

10/28/2008

Healthy Transitions Class - Almost fell asleep, did some progressive relaxation techniques. You close your eyes and count to ten. Or you imagine doing something that is really calming for you, like going to the beach. It is a way to teach yourself how to be completely relaxed when you get stressed. Or as I think of this, a way to have an acceptable reason to fall asleep in class/therapy!

10/31/2008
Cognitive thinking - We started writing a letter to the head hauncho guys in engineering to let them know what needs to be changed at the hospital. For instance, it is very confusing trying to find your way around the hospital if you’re just arriving there! Now that I’ve been around for a while, it isn’t so confusing anymore, except for building 100. Which I STILL find myself getting lost and turned around in! BUT what’s the good thing!? I can always find myself a way out! There’s something (just about everywhere) that in some way looks somewhat familiar to me! So I’ll just keep following the similarities until I get to a point where I know right where I'm at!!!

11/10/2008
Veterans Day - Visited my mom’s school and talked to a couple 5th grade classes about Veteran’s Day. I felt like a movie star, dressed in my uniform and everyone staring at me. It felt really cool but really weird to have people pay so much attention to me. I’m not used to people paying attention to me like that! I’m not one of those guys who just crave attention and live off it. But at the same time it was pretty cool to have that happen and I can see how people think it’s cool and get addicted to it in the end. It's a pretty powerful feeling to have.

11/11/2008
Recreation Class - Talked of plans for the holidays. Discussed our ski trip, dates, and who we were bringing. It is the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month…Veteran’s Day. Being that, now I'm the ROQ (recreation officer of the quarter) I am having to do A LOT more stuff than I normally might have been doing. This is one of the “leadership roles” for the PTRP program. The other one is the POM (personal objective manager). I have no idea what it stands for. All I know is what you are supposed to do while you are it! You’re the one who leads the “community meetings”, where all of us “trainees” get the chance to talk things over with the staff. I'm also supposed to keep the room pretty quiet while other people are talking. At first the staff didn’t think it could be done very well, mainly because nobody else has done it, ever! But I just took that as a challenge to be the first!

11/14/2008
My presentation - Dr. Scott asked me to share my sister’s movie about myself. I showed the movie to the staff and families on 7D. After it was over, an Air Force girl with a TBI came up and told me that it had really touched her and gave her hope. Which REALLY IS the only reason why I agreed to let it be made and why I agreed to show it to everyone in 7D! I don’t know why they have been calling it a presentation! It's not like I was making a public presentation of anything special or anything that people could buy or anything! But if it gives someone hope that they could make something out of the rest of their life, and can produce some sort of hope/dreams in people, then I am completely sold on doing this!

11/17/2008
Hippo-therapy – Sharon (my hippo therapist) kept telling me to keep my left heal down, which is a problem for me. It doesn’t want to go down. She reminded me repeatedly of my posture and wanted my hands to be even from my elbows to the bit. She made sure that, my wrists wouldn’t get out of line, by putting a dowel rod between my wrists in each hand, and told me to try to keep it steady and straight. Cowboy, the horse, had a mind of his own today. He kept doing things that I didn’t ask him to do… When I told him to turn left, he just kept walking straight. He is a stubborn little horse! My therapist wants me to always ride Cowboy because she thinks it will teach us both a lesson. Cowboy will learn to do what the rider wants, and I’ll learn that things won’t always go my way! …Which I refuse to admit!

Speech – We talked about my distractions, which are: open windows, doors, anything that makes noise and distracts me. We talked about ways to stop them, like closing the windows or doors, and asking people to stop making noises.
We talked about me sharing my movie with counselors at De Anza Community College. I might do this, just to give them some background information on how the T.B.I. works, more like just a baseline...
Also talked about showing the staff/therapists the Kurzweil program. But the CD does just as much teaching as I would do, so they might as well watch it.

Speech - I read an article to Marlene, Speech Therapist, with a paper as a guide for the line that I should be on. The paper helped but I don’t need it much. It took a couple of seconds off my time but not much.

Cognitive Learning Class - We learned Paired Association to memorize words:
It is easier to pair 12 words together, and associate the two together, than to memorize 12 random words. Because then if you hear one of the words you were trying to remember, it’ll give you a hint at what the other word is! For instance, orange and bowl. You could picture the football game tournament, the “orange bowl”. If you can remember one of the words in the pair, it is more possible to remember the other word! So it’s easier to remember six pairs of words than a list of 12 words.

11/20/2008
ARG (Adjustment Rehab Group - We gave examples of times we should have used “assertive behavior” (in-between when you should have been passive and confrontational in a conversation). You express your true feelings, but don’t let others take advantage of yourself. You state the problem and what you want. Or as we learned it with the acronym: EPW= Enemy Prisoner of War = Empathy Problem Want. The reason why this acronym worked out so well for our group is because we were all in the military!

11/21/2008
Hippo Therapy - My hippo therapist is always telling me to keep my shoulders back and up, and sit to up straight. This time, she didn’t have to tell me at all! I showed her!!! AND ME!!!

Healthy Transitions - Before my accident I used to sleep less. I guess in a way, this was “less healthy”. I didn’t have a “set” time that I would be in bed. I didn’t have the “want” to wake up early, or the ability. IF I woke up early, then I would feel like my day would be ruined.

2 Interesting Facts:
1. Even mild TBI’s lead patients to have less restful, lighter sleep, often affected by awakenings
2. Sleep problems can make rehab harder, and time consuming.
(and WHY would we want that! Rehab is already the HARDEST thing I've done in my ENTIRE life!!!

November 23, 2008

2008-11-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

November 23, 2008

I am continuing at the polytrauma rehab program in Palo Alto. I'm in phase 2 now, and in the next phase, I'll be able to move out on my own. One place I'm considering is at "Shenendoah", a military housing place about 15 miles away from the VA Hospital. I would be coming back for outpatient therapy still.

Right now, I am working with the therapists on the driving simulator, and that is going pretty well. They say that I still have left-sided neglect, and that I keep slowly weaving to the left side of the lane. I can't figure out why, but I am trying to compensate by driving closer to the right side of the road. Hopefully I'll be able to drive soon. Yippee!

I have been working with Smita, the OT, on learning how to get around town and to the airport on the bus. This last week, she was off so I worked on "hippo therapy" again. Those two therapies are on the same day so they conflict and I have to trade off between the bus and the horses. "Hippo therapy" is actually on horses not hippos as someone would think! At hippo therapy, we ride on horses, and weave in and out of cones on the track. We work on balance. One time they had me ride up to a cone, pick up a heavy ball, then continue weaving on the track, and place the ball on the third cone down. One person walks with me, the side walker, who's always there. The therapist stands a distance away and tells you what to do. I ride for about 45 minutes twice a week. It is really fun and relaxing! It's really nice to be outside too.

In Speech Therapy I have been testing a lot.

Physical therapy is in the am. at 7 AM. I tend to be the only one who attends! Usually I do a cardio workout for 20 minutes or so. Then I work out on both legs and stretch out my left arm on the door. I put my left arm up on top of the door and sink my hips down as far as I can. My left arm is slowly getting better. I also carry around a "grip squeezer", that I had from Loma Linda OT, and work on it with both hands. I've been bike riding a couple of times, and am cleared to ride on campus with a therapist, but not by myself yet.

Vision Therapy is going pretty good. I work on a program called HTS. One game, I wear 3D glasses and look at a computer screen to find a box. I have to answer which direction the box is from the X in the center of the screen. It gets progressively harder to see and find. There is also a game/therapy where you look through power lenses, that you hold up to your eye, and figure out which direction the "C" is facing. These games both work to strengthen my eye muscles on different kinds of vergence, base in and base out. Once again, slowly but surely, my eyes are progressing.

In Keep It Cool, a group class, we learn how to focus our anger and keep our cool. When we start to get angry, we do some deep breathing to relax the tension or count to 10, (or 100)!

This weekend: Friday night, a group from the high school came in and helped us wrap som Christmas presents. Saturday, I went shopping with the a rec therapist and another patient, Mihntri, to the Apple and Verizon Store, and then to a Japanese garden in the San Francisco area. On the way home we ordered some pizza. Today, I went to church with Glenn and Sharon (volunteers at the VA) to the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and then to brunch.

Sorry for not posting this sooner. I have been writing things down for awhile to update this blog and keep you all posted.

David

Tribute to David...1 Year Later

2008-11-08T23:52:00.000-08:00

Hey! So our family has been working to collect videos and pictures of David throughout this last year, and we compiled into a (kinda) short, 34 min. video (4 parts). We used the verses you all gave to us through the blog, that helped us get through those awful days. We also used the songs from the blog too (I still can't enough of them). Anyway, please check the videos out and pass 'em along so David's experience isn't in vain. We know that God had a reason for David to have to go through this, and if it's to tell the world about His grace, love and miracles, we're not gonna pass up on the opportunity. We've witnessed a real live miracle (a thousand times over), and we thank God for David's life! You can watch them straight from the blog and here are the links in case you want to pass them on :o).

Part 1/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFd4U9W5Kq8

Part 2/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnnZ3I1DLqU

Part 3/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npDHKlkzfNI

Part 4/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fcN4qRzzAE

God is Faithful!
Laura

Tuesday September 23rd

2008-09-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

so I know we haven’t done this whole writing in the blog to keep you guys updated in awhile… and for that I must say, I'm regretfully responsible for...but any ways, now: I’ve started back up at Palo Alto again...I’ve been here, for maybe two months, maybe!!!...but this time so far it has been great for me so far, both career-wise AND, I’ve been able to see a bunch of people back here, I think the only ones I haven’t seen are the couple of the nurses that ended up leaving here after I left...but its soo remarkable coming back up here and seeing them all again! This may be a different program I’m in, but I still get to see everyone at some points throughout the week! but, since it’s a new program, it’s like I have taken three steps back just to take the next step forward!.... because back when I was here in 7-D(the more intensive care in-patient wing)I had just about all the freedoms I wanted! Like I could go out and walk around freely and not have anyone be following me to make sure I don’t get lost! but at first when I 1st got here, the nurses had to follow me around to make sure I didn’t get lost, (which I understand, it’s just for my own safety) but it’s just really weird! And annoying! So now, I haven’t been told that I could walk around freely by myself, but I just do it any ways! but ya, ne ways, so far, I have had ALOT of fun, just seeing people that were here before and meeting new people, for instance, a few weeks ago, I met this retired coronal in the A.F. and he is going to be setting up a digital photography program and he wanted some of my help, and since I’ve taken 2 years of it high school, it may have been a few years since I’ve dealt with that stuff, but it’s kind of like riding a bike, (which I did before I came up here for the 1st time!!! That was sooo cool!!! I’m actually going to be doing a long bike trip soon! It’ll be from San Fran.-L.A. I went to aspen Colorado from Sept. 14th-19th there we’re going to go on Monday when we get there; we are going rafting down the Colorado River, which was a total blast!!! Besides the fact the water was freezing cold! Then, on Tuesday, we’re going to go to a ropes course and horseback riding where we were able to get the horses to trot before and after we went on the trail! And on Wednesday...we were doing the exact thing I didn’t then after that a few weeks from now; we’re going back down by my hometown in southern California, San Diego! When we’re down there we will do more beach type stuff, like sailing, some kayaking, and so on. But I am going to be getting my license back, I think/hope, here so that I will be able to get out a this place when I ask to leave before hand and get a pass to leave, and I also want to see if I can get a military house type thing, there’s this place called shanadoa...and there is a long waiting list for that...but, I guess if you talk to the right people, that really helps a lot! So hopefully I get at least on the waiting list for that...

July 8, 2008

2008-08-20T01:33:00.000-07:00

July 8th, 2008
I put this on my myspace for those of you that have one.... if not, then here it is:
So I was at church last Sunday, which was the best service I've ever heard! The pastor asked us if we would die for someone? Then he asked, would you still do that if it were a painful and gruesome death? That got me thinking. You know what, that’s true, and almost completely changes the way you look at it! Like would you be tortured to death for someone else? I was thinking, good point, would I go through what the Jews went through in that war just so someone else could live another day? Then he told this story of a military guy that was going through Vietnam. The other guys that were with him, but behind him, ended up having a grenade thrown in and land in the middle of them all. So, he decided in a split second to jump on the grenade and absorb the full force of the grenade! And I mean, how many people would be able to do that? Without thinking, but to just jump onto the grenade and suck it into their stomach! Now THAT is a TRUE friend!!! Not just one that acts like he is your friend, but actually IS your friend!!! Now, THAT is a noble way to go right there! I don’t care who it is! Or what they’ve done in their life! I mean he could have done the worst thing imaginable to me, but STILL I would feel so horrible for that, that I would live my life like it was his life. And just do things that he would like. So would you do that for anyone? And not just the grenade thing, but also just going thru something HORRIBLE just so that some person could live another day? That made me think about why I'm in the military. Would I really do that for everyone in the US? I thought about that real hard for the last few days, and you know what? I hope I would! I mean even the dirty bums on the side of the road! Would I die so that they would be able to drink another jug of alcohol? And you know what? They may just be doing that, but at least they’re doing SOMETHING! Anything is better than being dead! Well hopefully.... just think about that for a couple days!

June 25, 2008

2008-08-20T01:28:00.000-07:00

Hey today we went BOWLING!!! But I had the worst game EVER. I got one strike and one spare.... but the strike that it gave me, I just threw the ball 15 mph! And it just gave me a strike.... I only knocked like 3 pins down...but for some reason it gave me a strike! But I got like a 40 something and a 50 something...Now I have an emotional management class, which is a stupid class! But yesterday I had a presentation class which is where you give a speech and do some research for the speech you're going to be giving. Pretty much it's one of the retarded classes that I have. Next, I had O.T. where we played the wii, which was fun! Then I had "menu planning" which was just a few of us get to make ourselves lunch. We ended up making beef stroganoff, which luckily one of the ladies knew how to make it; otherwise I’d have been screwed. Then today I had P.T. with a guy named Matt and one of the techs named Karen, which was fun. I had to do a bunch of push-ups and sit-ups. I did about 100 push-ups and probably 150 sit-ups! I had to switch in between, like do push-ups then rest till I walked over to the bench where I would do the sit-ups, so I have a little resting in between, but not too much....

Put this video on my blog. It’s the craziest video ever! This guy does a back flip on a wheelchair.
aaron fotheringham

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

2008-05-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

so today was allight... i woke up a little late bc i didnt have an alarm on my phone to wake me up....but i made it to my first therapy on time! and when i was in there i met the coolest person that they have here! her name is carrie and she in the AIR FORCE!!! so thats half the reason why we hit it off pretty well. (shes married.) she has been in the Af for 8 years. her hubby is in the AF also. but ne ways shes pretty cool to talk to and hang out with.
but also i had to wipe down the lil padded beds with disinfectior stuff. but i had to do that with my left hand which was pretty complicated, but i did it! i was kinda suprised that i could do it but i just kept telling myself if i get my left arm working again then there will be no stopping me! lol and im down for ne thing that does that faster. so if you have ne ideas please lemme know.

Monday, May 5th, 2008

2008-05-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

so since my parents arent on top of my blog like they used to be im going to have to do my own on here..... so, i dont know where they left off, but now im at casa colina, over by my house. its in the city of Pomona. its alright, but i liked the VA hospital in Palo Alto ALOT better! i guess ill just have to get used to this new place too. but its all sooo confusing how to get around and remembering where everything is at. so that sucks! AND there is this guy there that bugs the hell out of me! luckily God has given me enough patience to deal with him. as much as i have been tempted to just hit him, i have resisted to the best of my ability! this guy wouldnt even know that i cant stand him! im THAT good at what i do. but ne ways, new topic. the therapy there is pretty cool. the other day i actually ran! there was one of the few hot therapists behind me, pushing me to get up the speed. it was still slower than what i could have done b4 the accident, but hey! you gotta start somewhere. so as long as she is behind me pushing me the whole time ill be able to run. which i wouldnt mind, bc she is hott! but ne ways today i went kayaking in balboa bay. i was surprised that i could still do it! a couple of times i told my dad, who was with me, to stop paddling so i could do it alone. then i told him to paddle on the right side so i could paddle on the left and work out my left arm. other than this nothing has really happened except that while i was on my 30 day convalescent leave I got my old job at the movie theater back, which i guess the Air Force isnt supposed to know about.... so dont tell them. ill try to update you all as often as i can, but no guarantees. Also, let me know if its a good idea for me to post this, otherwise ill have to complain to my parents to start their job back up again. but its harder for them to know what to put on there bc they have to talk to me and get the information bout my life and what im doing.

David

Friday, March 14th, 2008

2008-03-14T22:14:00.000-07:00

It is so great to have Steve and David home. I realized when they showed me pictures of the staff and friends at Palo Alto, just how much I miss them. They have played an important part of our lives the past few months. What great people, friends and professionals, they are! Thank you to all of you there for your warmth, kindness, friendliness, and medical advice that put David where he is today. Thank you God, for your promises to be there with us through the hard times and give us your healing and peace too. The journey isn't over, I know. But as I showed David off at work to another family of friends there, it was exciting to see the disbelief on peoples' faces of how great he is doing! David helped me at school, testing students' fluency and correcting Math Tests that have been sitting around for a couple of weeks! His cognitive skills seem to be doing great! He continues to be motivated to do things by himself. Continue praying for him to be motivated to work on his therapy homework too! I can tell this will be a challenge. Actually, he did lots of them today. We're going to hike tomorrow at the Santa Rosa Plateau I think. I'm excited to take him bike riding at the beach on the 4-6 person bikes soon too. (I'm not so excited to try to put everything away that we brought home from Palo Alto!) Wow, how can you leave with two overnight bags 5 months ago, and come home with 3 car loads full of stuff! LOL. Patty

Thursday, March 13, 2008

2008-03-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

Today was the best day EVER! I got to go to school with my mother and talk to her students, and they asked me a ton of questions. It was soo cool. I answered to the best of my knowledge.... I was surprised at how they had so many questions for me. (Tomorrow I get to get up at the butt crack of dawn and go to school with her again.) Then to finalize the perfect day, I got to go to my old movie theater I used to work at and talk to the managers. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like I'm getting to work there again! That's going to be so awesome! My parents think that during the 30 days I’m away from the hospital I should be relaxing and not exerting too much energy to do anything hard. So I had to tell them that working there again would be more relaxing than anything. Plus, it’s a great way to see all my friends again! What better way to see them than to work with all of them again? So, I’m really excited for this. Not only will I be getting paid by the Air Force but I can make a little extra side money working at the movie theaters. I’m going to be rolling in the dough pretty soon....hopefully there is even more to come on the way! What a great story this is going to be for me to tell my kids.
David

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

2008-03-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

David has spent two 1/2 days visiting the PTRP (polytrama transitional rehab program-or something like that) program here at the Palo Alto VA hospital. He will visit the program again tomorrow morning, and then he will have something to compare the program at Casa Colina (in Pomona) to. PTRP is located down the winding hallways of building 7. The patients live in dorms (some live in their own 'off campus' housing) and have classes and therapy all day. It is a very individualized program, and addresses the specific needs of TBI patients.

David had to sign papers for the 'Med Board' to decide what they are going to do with him. He could be 'permanently' or 'temporarily' medically retired or sent back to active duty. The latter is his choice, and he composed a letter explaining this to the 'board'. We have been very busy with phone calls, paper work, running around and planning. As anxious as we are to get home, there is a lot to do before we leave.

David continues to have a great attitude, even if sometimes the jokes take precedent over the therapy!

Steve

Monday, March 3rd, 2008 (posted late!)

2008-03-05T13:49:00.000-08:00

Patty flew up on Saturday AM, and Davd and I picked her up and drove down to Felton, to check out the steam train at 'Roaring Camp and Big Trees'.

David's old youth pastor, Travis, lives there with his wife Annette and their 3 kids. We stopped in to say hi, and it was good to see the whole family. We got to meet Travis' parents (they happened to be up for the weekend) as well. Felton may be the perfect place to live. It is nestled among the redwoods, but only minutes from Santa Cruz and the beaches. I know that my cousins, Doug, Ellen and Greg, will beg to differ with me, as they have their own bit of 'redwood heaven' north of Eureka. I'm also sure that 'normal' people can't afford to live there.

At Roaring Camp, we rode the steam train through the redwoods. It was very pretty, and a step back in time. We experienced what a turn of the century logging train was like.

On Sunday we relaxed and then shopped at the Outlet Mall in Gilroy. It was sad taking Patty back to the airport, but we will be home in just over a week.

Steve

Friday, February 29th, 2008

2008-02-29T22:53:00.000-08:00

It feels like we are winding down up here in Palo Alto. David improved so quickly for about two months, and everyone was amazed. Now the improvements are no less important, but they are more subtle. We are now refining his gate, so he has a more natural walk. We are practicing walking up and down curbs, on grass and other uneven surfaces and lots of stairs. David and I got to go to a Golden State Warriors basketball game at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. The $75 seats were donated to the Recreation Therapy program at the VA. The arena is right next to, and shares the parking lots with, the Oakland Coliseum, where the Raiders and Athletics play. We walked a long ways, through crazy crowds, up and down hundreds of stairs, did the side step walk down the row to our seats (I had visions of David tumbling down onto the court), and he did awesome. The only problem that he had was ordering Nachos and a huge Churro, and then wondering how he was going to carry it back to our seats with one good hand and a cane.

We have another week and a half up here, if things go as expected, and then we will drive home where David will spend 30 days on 'convalescent leave'. He will have regular therapy, (we don't know where yet) but can also enjoy some 'R & R' with family and friends. After the 'leave' he will go into a 'transitional' program where he can receive more advanced therapy.

Patty is flying up tomorrow morning, (the VA is paying), and the three of us will visit the redwoods, and have all kinds of fun. She has to be back early Monday morning to teach her fourth graders, so it will be a fast weekend, but we have missed her a lot and it will be worth it.

David will visit the 'PTRP' program, right next door to his 'ward' next week. It is the Poly trauma Transitional Rehab. Program, and is the next step in his rehabilitation. We are leaning towards the transitional program at "Casa Colina" in Pomona, but this 'visit' will help David compare the two programs.

David still has his wisdom teeth extraction scheduled for Tuesday, March 11th, the day that we were supposed to leave for home. We will stay an extra day, to make sure that he is ready for the long drive home. The Vicadin should help!

The 'winding down' process is quite busy, and we would appreciate your prayers so that we don't forget small details, and that all of the paper work get filed correctly, and on time. We just had to resubmit a 'Power of Attorney' paper to get the last of David's things shipped back from Turkey, as the first ones did not meet the standards of the Turkish government. He still has a surfboard, snowboard, boogeyboard, computer, TV, and who knows what else over there.

Steve

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

2008-02-23T23:14:00.000-08:00

Wednesday (and a half) Feb. 20th, 2008

2008-02-20T21:46:00.000-08:00

David had another full day of therapies, a dental appointment, and a "ceremonial bike ride around the hospital". Yes, David may have to have his two remaining wisdom teeth out, and the bike ride kicked off the start of a "soldiers bike marathon" ride from Palo Alto to San Diego. David wanted to go the whole way but his therapists suggested, "maybe later".

Did I forget to mention 'Wednesday Night BINGO'? David now has around 85 one dollar coupon books that he can spend at the hospital store or snack bar. So far he has only bought a couple of muffins. It is hard to find time to go shopping!

David continues to tease the therapists. Luckily they are used to him by now, and they get him back.

Steve

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

2008-02-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

So, I took the liberty to add the CORRECT photo, that my dad forgot. And it's to remind David, in case he should forget also, that we were really there. The whole weekend. David, if you try hard enough, you'll remember too.

Ha Ha! Love you! And we wish we were there!

Laura, Brian, Brea and Bryn

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

2008-02-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

Lots has happened since last Wednesday. We all got to go home! We left Thursday, after David's last therapy session, arriving in beautiful Riverside at midnight. Our house was still standing, and in good shape, thanks to some awesome friends and neighbors.

We had an appointment on Friday morning to visit Casa Colina, the rehab hospital in Pomona, which is about 45-60 minutes from our house. We took the whirlwind tour, and left confused. It is a nice facility, and the Transitional TBI program looks very good, and it is 5.5 hours closer than Palo Alto. David would live there, but we could bring him home on weekends. However, David has grown fond of the Palo Alto VA, and enjoys his doctors, nurses and therapists, and they also offer a transitional program. So, we will have to make a hard decision.

On Saturday lots of David's friends came over and hung out. Even some of mine and Patty's "old" friends came over (Patty had not been home for 4 months) and it was fun to see everyone.

After church on Sunday we had a family picnic (and some more of David's friends) and it was great catching up with everyone.

On Monday David and I drove back to start our last three weeks here. As we were pulling up to the hospital David said "this is wierd but I'm kind of happy to be back". It has been a strange 'home away from home', and the people here are great!

Tuesday was back into the grind, with breakfast at 7AM, and therapies starting at 9 and ending at 4PM. There were many comments on how much David has progressed, even from last week. It is a testament to the Lords grace, lots of faithfull prayer, David's drive, and the skill and love of the staff here. We really have 'gratefull hearts'.

Steve

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

2008-02-13T21:25:00.000-08:00

David keeps improving in so many ways. He walks better, is so much more self sufficient, has so much more drive to be 'normal', and he continues to 'crack us up' with his humour and his great attitude.

He had a good workout with the massage therapist (who is also a chiropractor) on Tuesday, and then we went on a roadtrip to Santa Cruz, which has 'heavy' memories for us because that is where David's cousin, (Jay Moriarity) grew up. He learned to surf there, and was trained by his neighbor, Frosty, to surf Mavericks, one of the most awesome big wave spots in the world. Jay was on the cover of Surfer Magazine for his heroics at Maverics.

Jay died tragicaly in a diving accident in the Maldives Islands , off the coast of India, and hundreds of surfers gathered to "paddle out" and celebrate his life. We were all there to participate and experience the love and respect that the entire community had for Jay. It was the expression of gratitude for a life spent in the search of excellence in 'big wave' surfing, and for being a 'good guy' to every one that he met. There can be a lot of competition, animosity and violence among surfers, and Jay (though he was one of he best) always welcomed others with a smile. He was unique, and that is why he is still remembered fondly in Santa Cruz (Surf City USA), as one of their finest.

The 'Surfing Etiquette' sign that is posted at Pleasure Point is in memory of Jay.

We walked to the end of the Santa Cruz pier, ate shrimp, and then walked in the sand. It ended up being a great PT workout for David.

Steve

Monday, February 11th, 2008

2008-02-11T23:19:00.000-08:00

David had an exciting weekend, as Kelli and her mom, Rose Manning, drove up from Riverside to spend the weekend with David. We all went to Monterey on Saturday where we toured the Monterey Bay Aquarium, ate on the pier and had a lot of fun! David walked forever, sometimes without his cane. He pushed Patty and Kelli in the wheelchair that we thought he might need. He commented that Kelli was easier to push, which didn't sit well with Patty. Since David's left arm isn't as strong as his right, the poor people on his left side got ran over. But it was a learning experience. After the aquarium we met Travis Osborn for dinner in the Felton area. He is the best youth pastor ever, and just happend to be David and Kelli's pastor. We had a great time talking and praying with him over Mexican food.

David had a busy day on Monday, with all his therapies and another vision test, (he needs glasses for distance), and we were up late visiting in his room (he has the biggest room in the ward) with several of the other patients, listening to their stories about Iraq. They had been shot at, mortered, RPG'ed, IED'ed, etc., and still they did not regret their time served for their country. They all suffered TBI symptoms like David, and one was also blind. Their lives have been totally turned upside down. It gives me a new definition of dedication and patriotism. I'm proud to have met these young men, and to have heard their stories first hand.

Steve

Thursday, February 7, 2008

2008-02-07T23:01:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

2008-02-05T15:53:00.000-08:00

David had an appt. with ENT this afternoon. They said that they could "revise" the scar on his neck, from his trachea. While talking to the head surgeon, we were told that because of the way David scars easily, that it might end up being an uglier scar. Some of the outside scaring attatched to the inside, his vocal chords (?), and so there is an indentation on his throat, especially when he swallows. To shorten this story though, we will wait until we are home and can get an appt. with ENT at Loma Linda Hospital.

In the evening David came over to the Fisher House for a bowl of ice cream after we talked him into making a special bracelet with the guests. After David joined, other guys participated too!

Monday, February 4th, 2008

2008-02-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

Check out this boy and his eating! I count four cartons of milk, several boxes of cereal, and a Monster! David has lost around ten pounds (which I have found). The nutritionist came by at lunch today and gave a lecture about eating his vegetables and fruit along with his sugar. He followed her advice and ate some of the carrots and orange slices. Then, back to his room to eat a couple of donuts. Ooops, she walked by and caught him downing them and gave another lecture about eating healthy and healing (good thing he ate his veggies and fruit in front of her.)

During RT, David dribbled the soccer ball around, bent down and picked it up, and had some fun. We all took a walk over to the main hospital, had David ask for directions, and find his way back to Ward 7. He did great. Richard also let David walk by himself on the grass!
After therapy, David and I went to the DMV to get a temporary Handicapped Parking Tag. We were taken to the front of the line and out of there, with the tag, in 15 minutes! The advantages of being disabled! Patty

Sunday, February 3, 2008

2008-02-04T09:55:00.000-08:00

David, Jason, Steve, and I went to a predominately black, non-denonminational church today. It was great! Again, David practiced walking (in the pouring rain) through mud, up and down curbs, up stairs, across the aisle, and in a crowd of people. He did great. (Still un-nerving for me though as I watch each and every step he takes. I watch his feet, he watches where we are going!) Anyways, the pastor was fantastic and the people were friendly. We shopped at Costco for a short while, then had their pizza for lunch.

In the afternoon, patients and family at the Fisher House, watched the Super Bowl in the dining room. Walmart brought over two 50" HD screens, lots and lots of Chicago Pizza, appetizers, drinks, desserts, and decorated the room. It was pretty exciting, especially when they gave away prizes at each quarter, and grand prizes at the end. There was a 5 way tie for 1st place, so they drew names. David was one of the winners, and went 3rd to pick out his prize. (The 2 televisions went first and second.) He chose the surround sound, DVD, Ipod contraption! Walmart wants to continue these activities, I'm wondering if we should ever leave! I am going back to work the end of February though. The school district has been great giving me 40 days of catastrophic leave time (plus sick days and off-track time) to be with David. I don't know what I would have done without that. Now that he is getting more independent, I feel more comfortable leaving him here for the last 3 weeks of his rehab before he comes home. Doctors are still looking at him leaving March 11th from Palo Alto! He will have 30 days home with us before going to the next phase of rehab. Steve is leaving Monday morning for Riverside. On the way home, he will stop in Pomona to see Casa Colina's rehab facility. Pray that God would tell us the best place for David. I'm wanting him closer to home, so I'm a little biased. :-)
Patty

Saturday, February 2, 2008

2008-02-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

David had a weekend pass to the Fisher House, which meant that we could practice taking care of him all by ourselves again. Well, that didn't really happen. We were subject to the new rule that patients couldn't stay overnight at the Fisher House. However, we had fun anyways. We took David and another patient, Jason, out for breakfast at Denny's. Then to the movies to see "Over Her Dead Body", a Mexican restaurant, and Best Buy. It was fun but nerve racking too. I have never noticed so many inclines, declines, curbs, different textures on the ground for him to walk on and over. He walked everywhere with his cane and did really well. He has a "gait belt" that he wears under his jacket that we hold onto in case he loses his balance, which he did a few times but no falling! We joked about how many times it would take for me saving his balance, to make up for me missing him when he fell backwards last week! He won't let me live that down! Back home, we played some cards and then left him in his 'luxurious' room at the hospital. (His room that is larger than ours at the Fisher House!)

Patty

Thursday and Friday, Jan. 31st and Feb. 1st, 2008

2008-02-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

David continues to improve, and he graduated from a 'large four legged cane' to a 'small four legged' version. Today he traded in his one day old 'SFLC' for a 'one legged' model. It is not as sporty as David was hoping for, (it has the arm brace attached to the top end), but it is faster than the 'LFLC'. Most of the time he wouldn't really need the cane at all, but he does occasionally lose his balance slightly, and then it is a life saver.

David's therapies continue to 'push' and 'strengthen' him. His good attitude is nothing short of amazing. He buttoned his jeans and put his socks on 'one handed' for the first time today. We finally found time to take him out for the 'Krispy Kreme doughnuts' that he has been craving.

A couple of common symptoms of TBI are struggling to remember certain words while talking, and being indecisive when presented with choices. David has an amazing vocabulary, and he talks smoothly, and remains his opinionated 'old' self, for which we are really thankful.

We appreciate your continued prayers.

Steve

Monday-Wednesday, January 28th-30th, 2008

2008-01-30T22:31:00.000-08:00

Some video from the past three days!

David has had an amazing few days.

Monday, January 28th. David had a ENT appt. to find out if there was any damage to his trachea before speech works with him on his voice. (Today we heard that there is some separation that causes an airy sound, and makes him tire easily when he talks. This is fixable though.) In the afternoon, the dr. gave us permission to take David to San Francisco for dinner. What a blast to get him out of the hospital, out of the city, and by ourselves with him. We went to the Blue Mermaid Chowdar Bar for some great food. We ran out of time to see some of the sights, and will have to return again.

Tuesday, January 29th. (Happy 2nd Birthday to Brea, who is now a proud big sister). Aquatic Therapy was exciting and fun, as you can see on the video. David walked all the way to Optometry, in Building Five, for an eye appointment. His vision has changed and may need glasses, but we will try some eye exercises first. He is getting very confident while walking with his quad cane. Sometimes, he picks the cane up while walking several steps, and laughs! He finds it very funny to scare me to death. In the evening we came over to the Fisher House and made some cookies together. We are really starting to work on independence. OT assured us that David should be getting dressed totally by himself, even if it takes 45 minutes to start with. They also want him walking everywhere now with his cane. The wheelchair is just about out the door.

Wednesday, January 30th. Awhile ago, David and I made a guess at when he would be walking by himself. One of our predictions was the end of January! Today, he walked many steps without anyone holding on, and without a cane! What an amazing moment. We also practiced walking with his cane, on grass (and was it soggy!), up and down hills/ramps, and up and down stairs. Se (PT) thinks David is ready for a regular cane since he only puts the front legs down anyways. I was learning how to walk with David on the stairs, when he fell on his butt. It was a scary moment, but he was fine. It really showed us that he is still needing someone with him. We were also gettting too confident about his mobility.

This afternoon, we had a chance to meet with several of the guys in the Polytrauma Rehab Program, which is one of the places we are considering for David. It looks like he will finish this phase of rehab in March. Then he will be have a 30 day convalescent time at home. After that he will return to a Transitional Living Program either here in Palo Alto VA, or Casa Colina in Pomona. It was exciting to hear about the program and what the guys liked about their program. Tomorrow, Steve and I meet with some of the staff to discuss their program. Please keep this in prayer, as we plan for the next step in his rehab. Thanks, Patty

Saturday and Sunday, January 26th and 27th, 2008

2008-01-27T20:38:00.000-08:00

Saturday David worked more on his legs and arm/hand with PT and OT, and since those were his only therapies, we went out in our own car (for the first time) to see some local sights. Our first 'sight' was the Verizon store, where David upgraded his phone. His old phone was shutting off whenever it felt that the conversation was getting good. He walked in with his 'four legged' cane, and I was behind him, just in case. Then we walked into In-N-Out, and ate lunch. When we got to Mervyn's we decided it was time to break out the wheelchair. Do you realize how close the rows are in these stores. Not wheelchair friendly at all. He got a couple pairs of jeans, and we were good to go. It was real fun getting out on our own for the first time.

On Sunday David's only therapy was PT, and Chris stretched and exercised David's legs before he had him walk a lot. He was trying to perfect David's 'gait', and would say things like, "take smaller steps, keep your feet wider, keep your feet wider". It will take a lot of sessions like today, but I know that he will get the walking thing down, and soon will be walking without needing someone to 'spot' him .

After therapy six of us, including Rebecca the rec therapist and David, all went to the movies and saw "The Bucket List". It was nice getting out again, and the movie was good. The fact that Justin and David are both 'patients' and itching to get out of the hospital, like the characters played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman was sort of strange. I would recommend the movie.

Please continue to pray for David's recovery, and for wisdom in deciding where he should go next for his rehab.

Steve

Friday, January 25th, 2008

2008-01-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

David was stretched and pushed and pulled by Se and Carrie all morning, until they let him kick the soccer ball around. They were trying to strengthen his ‘trunk’ and leg muscles in order to improve his balance, walking and posture. If he wouldn’t talk so much maybe they could actually get him to break a sweat. He was asking them about the good movies that are out right now, and as they were going on about the good ones, the bad ones and the ugly ones that they’ve seen, David was just ‘coasting’ along. He seems sort of innocent, but he is a sly one.

He also met with Georgette, OT, who made a new brace to straighten his left wrist more, and recreation and speech therapy. His sergeant from Travis AFB came by to help with some military matters. We went to the Fisher House for a free Mexican food lunch, and had Mexican food for dinner, provided by recreational therapy. I’ve always thought that there is no way to have too much Mexican food, so all is good.

Steve

Wednesday and Thursday, January 23rd and 24th, 2008

2008-01-24T18:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday David walked a ton with Se using the 'four legged cane'. We went all over the hospital as well as outdoors, where we walked up and down ramps and stairs. It was a very good workout, and David did quite well.

With rec therapy we went on an 'outing' to the Stanford Art Museum, and saw some very interesting art and sculpture, including "The Thinker".

Today David had "aquatic therapy" for the first time, and I was real impressed with the workout. Lots of stretching, exercising and aerobics.

We finally got a 'military' power of attorney done, so that he can get the rest of his 'stuff'' shipped from Incirlik AFB in Turkey to Travis AFB, California. He has a computer, TV, snowboard and surfboard, and who knows what else over there.

Steve

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

2008-01-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

We thought today was an exceptional day. David started PT with a new therapist (Debbie) and they stood between the parallel bars while I rolled a soccer ball at him and he kicked it back with either his left or right leg. The right was stronger, but the left was working. I think that she was there to ‘spot’ him if he lost his balance, but several times she walked away and left him standing there with just his right hand on the bar. It was cool to see him just standing and ‘chilling’.

She then had him walk with a ‘regular’ walker, unlike the ‘other’ regular walker that had a raised support for his left arm. This required that he hold on with his left as well as right hands. He did it very well, with the therapist mainly there to ‘spot’ him if needed.

Then, spurred on by his mastery of the ‘walker’, she had him try a cane that had four little legs on it. These are much more stable than a ‘normal’ cane, and David was walking all over the place with it. Pretty darn exciting! He still had the therapist right there beside him, but I bet that it won’t be long until he’s ‘cruising’ the halls on his own. Then it will be the ‘normal’ cane, and then I’m sure he’ll be walking unassisted. It is an awesome thought, and I have no idea how long this will take, but I believe that it will happen.

During OT, Georgette worked on his left shoulder and wrist. She had ‘heat’ on his shoulder, and stretched his wrist. During Recreational Therapy, Richard had David doing activities that forced him to move his left shoulder, arm and hand more than ever. He was picking up a small ball with his left hand off of the floor (he was sitting in a wheelchair), and transferring it to his right hand, he was passing Richard candy with his left hand, (Richard made out pretty good), and when therapy was over David ‘high fived’ him with his left hand (sort of). I was impressed with his progress, and realized that his left hand will become an important ‘tool’ again.
Then, right before dinner, a doctor announced that they were going to pull out David’s stomach feeding tube, or ‘peg’ as they call it. They gave David two pills to relax him, and yanked it out of his stomach. I really expected something more, but the Doctor just strained, grunted, and the tube just popped right out, flinging ‘who knows what’ around David’s room. They laid the tube on a sterile, absorbent pad next to David, so he picked it up and more ‘whatever’ got all over his shirt. Then the doctor and nurse walked out and left everything lying there. It’s cool! The best thing is that the last ‘thing’ is out of him, and he is ‘untethered’. It was a very exceptional day!

Steve

Sunday and Monday, January 20th and 21st, 2008

2008-01-21T22:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Laura and Dad! Welcome to our new grandbaby Bryn (17th of Jan.)

Sunday was laid back, David still had 4 women visitors to hang out with, and his only therapy was PT in the afternoon. They played 'Mancala', a game that they bought David. David was able to beat Ashley a couple times, but Jerra beat David, so I guess that makes Jerra the Ultimate Mancala Warrior of All Time. But she didn't win anything, so who cares? Every so often David would think of something different that happened in Tijuana, and Jerra would deny it, and Mardi would get more 'upset' at all of them. We would all laugh at David's seemingly 'selective' memory. If he tries to use his 'Memory Loss' from his TBI as an excuse, don't buy it. He's milking it for all it's worth! He asked if Kelli's birthday was after his accident, and then said " oh good, I have an excuse for not getting her anything". Ashley, Jerra, Mardi and Lisa stayed until PT, so they could watch David in action. He was stretched by Mitch, practiced balancing while standing between the parallel bars, and finally walked with the 'cool' walker. At first Mitch tied stretchy bands to David's feet, which pulled his feet outward slightly to compensate for his tendency to 'scissor' walk, but the last half of his walk was without any aid, except the walker.

Today was totally quiet, with no therapies, so David spent most of the day hangin with me in the Fisher House. He spent most of his time on the computer, catching up with some friends on his
MySpace, texting, and calling. It was almost like the old days at home before he went into the service.

Steve

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

2008-01-19T23:31:00.000-08:00

Another great day. We had visitors from Riverside, David's old friends, Jerra and Ashley, along with their mom's, Marti and Lisa. David enjoyed hanging out with them all and reminiscing. He even got Jerra in trouble with her mom when he brought up some stuff that took place in Tijuana. We all laughed a lot and the hospital might not be the same for a while.

David walked in PT, and got a new brace for his left wrist in OT.

I've added some photos and videos of David's visitors since the accident. We didn't have photos of some of you, (sorry), and some of you wouldn't pay our 'blackmail' demands so we've posted your 'incriminating' videos. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time and expense to travel long distances to see David. I want to know if the General was also Santa Claus.

Steve

Thursday and Friday, January 17th and 18th, 2008

2008-01-18T20:52:00.000-08:00

Thursday David came to the Fisher House (across the street from David’s building, where Patty and I live) for the first time. It was a training exercise with PT and Otto teach us to help David transfer himself from his wheelchair to the couch, chairs, bed, toilet or whatever. We all passed, which means that David can come over here and hang out after his therapies.

David was also taken off ‘constant observation’ status. He no longer has a nurse posted in or outside his room, so if he needs anything he has to use the call button. It is working good so far, but the danger can be that he might be so confident that he would try to get up by himself and fall.

David is now on the ‘regular’ diet, so he actually gets a choice of what he wants to eat, and it won’t be pureed, chopped, diced or thickened.

David has been kicking butt at BINGO, winning 25 books Wednesday night and 8 more on Thursday. He has amassed 57 $1 coupon books that he can use to purchase things at the VA. That cold buy 38 muffins from the canteen, or…?

David helped Rebeca (one of the Recreational Therapists) plan and order the pizza for the Friday Night Family Food Frenzy. I guess, since he used to deliver it, he was as much of an expert as any one.
David is so fun to talk to now, and it is great to hang out with him. His sense of humor is amazing, but he has his share of deep thoughts as well. Tonight I am praying that he sleeps through the night because he has been waking up in the wee hours of the morning and can’t go back to sleep. If you have received a phone call or text message at 3 AM then you know what I am talking about. I think that I mentioned that David got to talk to a couple of Air Force friends from Turkey a few days ago, and that really made his day. Thanks guys!

Steve

P.S. Sometimes you have to look back to appreciate how far you have come.

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

2008-01-16T23:27:00.000-08:00

David walked a lot in a new fangled walker. This is the apparatus that he has used with the treadmill, but this time they took it on the open road, where he supplied all of the power. We went out to lunch, yes David got to leave the hospital in a car for the very first time, with Richard, the recreational therapist, to a good Mexican restaurant. David had to order, figure out the tax and tip, and pay by himself, so it was a re-learning experience as well as fun. Georgette worked with his left hand, and we are seeing much improvement. And he smiled all day long.

Steve

Monday and Tuesday, January 14th and 15th, 2008

2008-01-15T21:50:00.000-08:00

David walked on the treadmill yesterday and today, for 15 and 22 minutes. I think that a few days ago he walked for 10 minutes.

Yesterday David got botox (spelling?) shots in his left arm and leg. He gets a tummy tuck tomorrow. Actually, the botox is to relax the muscles on one side of his arm (bicep) and leg, so that the other side (triceps) can be exercised to the point of being equal. I’m sure I’ve totally screwed up the translation of this procedure. This will hopefully regain movement in his left arm and hand, and improve the strength of his left leg. David said that the 13 shots didn’t hurt too badly; mainly it was when they squirted the botox into his leg that it was painful. If this helps, there will be periodic injections to continue the treatment.

Last week, Laura, his Neuro-Psych doctor gave him a test. She said that she would come by this week and, if he remembered to ask, she would give him the results. I missed their meeting, but David told me that he asked, and she said that he did average. He told me that he was real disappointed, because he wanted to do better. Then she explained that there was no ‘curve’ in the results for TBI patients, that he scored average for the "general population"! Imagine how he will do when he recovers fully!

After David’s vision therapy, we were just hangin’ in the lunchroom, waiting for the lunch delivery, and David started to talk to some other guys who were waiting also. They were ‘patients’ in the ‘PTRIP’ unit. Military men who have been through what David is going through now, and are now in this more advance ‘transitional’ program. There is another Air Force guy in that unit, so David felt a little ‘camaraderie’ thing. He was stationed in Italy, as a fire fighter before his accident, and had big hopes of returning to the service and continuing his job. I think he probably was crushed when he was told that that might not happen, unless he could pass all of the stringent tests again. He seemed to have a good outlook though, and thought that maybe he would use his ‘free’ education and become a physical therapist. David also met an Army guy who suffered an IED blast in Iraq, and now lives in an apartment with his wife and 4-month-old daughter. He said that one ‘good’ thing about his injury was that he was able to see his daughter be born. It helps me to picture David a few months down the road, and I know that it gives David hope. He just wants to be ‘normal’ again.

It’s been a good couple of days, but Christa and her two girls, Bella and Tobey, left today, so we miss them immensely. Also, Laura has not had Baby Bryn yet! For sure on Thursday, if not Wednesday. Can't wait. :-)

Please pray that the botox shots work, that David regains control of his left arm, and for his left leg to get stronger.

Steve

Sunday, January 13th, 2008

2008-01-13T20:15:00.000-08:00

Today was relaxed and quiet as Sundays typically are here. We went to church, ate lunch, and David's only therapy was PT in the afternoon. David then had the rest of the day to do anything he wanted to, provided it was in the hospital, and on his list of approved food and beverage items.

During PT he rode the stationary bicycle that can measure how much power it is getting from the left or right legs. They have taken the straps off of his right foot (so he can't pull up with it) to allow the left leg to work harder as it pushes down, and do it's share. He was getting up into the 70% range with his left foot, which is really great. Then they had David walking with his 'regular' walker all over the place.

Some things that were an issue a few days ago we don't really think about now. He is eating so good, and swallows perfectly. He is no longer drowsy during the day, and the therapists don't have to wake him as he falls asleep in the middle of pedaling a bike.

We have a lot of fun talking with David, about serious things like his accident, recovery, friends and relationships, but also we joke with him a lot. Not all of the jokes are at his expense. He got me a few times today, and really got Christa. We are not going to share the gist of those jokes with y'all at this time though.

David did not like his dinner tonight, so I asked what was worse, Turkish food (sorry to David's Turkish friends!) or the hospital food, and he said that this made Turkish food taste like a #10. Then he added that Turkish food would be like a 'platter from Heaven' in comparison. He smiles all of the time now, and is generally in a great mood. I know that he is enjoying having his sister Christa, and Bella and Tobey here to hang out with.

Steve

Saturday, January12th, 2008

2008-01-12T21:48:00.000-08:00

Wow! It was hard to recover from the big blow-out bash that we threw for Patty's birthday yesterday. To start with we had a Baskin Robins ice cream pie (mint n' chip) and then...oh yeah, I guess that was all. But between Christa (4 months pregnant) and her two girls, Patty, David and myself we polished that whole thing off easy! We had a lot of fun until the wee hours, 10PM or so. But by the time you get the grand kids settled in to their hotel, edit video, and blog, (I still don't know what that means!), it's about 1AM when you're actually in bed.

But today was good, David called and woke us up at 7AM to say that he was going to breakfast in the 'lunchroom' and could we meet him. I said, "sure, we'll catch up with you later". For a Saturday, David's therapy started off early. He started with PT where he peddled the stationary bike and worked out his left leg.

Georgette (OT) worked on his left hand a lot, (stretching and exercising), and was real excited to notice movement in his fingers and hand. I had noticed slight movement a few days ago, and David and I prayed immediately that God would continue to heal and restore movement to his arm and hand. Georgette recommended some exercises that David can do in his spare time to strengthen these. More exciting stuff!

David said today, "Everyone is commenting on my smile, what did it look like before?". It really is a 'Day and Night' difference, before it was crooked and fake looking, now it is 'David'.

PT worked with David later in the day for an hour, and he walked all over the halls several times, and even walked on his own (no assistance) with his 'walker". It won't be long until he can take off by himself.

A massage therapist came by this evening and worked on David's left shoulder and arm. He is also a licenced chiropractor, and we are hoping that this will help that left arm 'come alive' even faster.

David called Christa as she was driving back to her hotel tonight. He just wanted to talk some more! We love how he is initiating so many things on his own, as this is often a hard thing for TBI patients.

Thanks for all your prayers. God really is moving in David's life.

Steve

January 11th, 2008

2008-01-11T23:45:00.000-08:00

The best birthday I've ever had was today! David walked (with help) to me, gave me a huge hug, laughed at a funny situation (remembering the hug/choke hold he gave Steve after church when Steve passed out in the corridor), showed his sense of humor by refusing to tell me he loved me, and WROTE a card during Speech Therapy (legibly, he WROTE: the date, "Happy Birthday Mom" , "Love, David", and drew some balloons)! This guy is getting funnier every minute. During dinner he was smiling the whole time. He was flirting with the Recreation Therapist and asking her how he could get on her rotation! Then asked someone if she was married..... Of course he said he like Kelli on a much deeper level than that!
Christa, Bella, and Tobey drove up on a whim this afternoon and surprised David. He is much more awake and alive then ever. It is so great to see them all again. I could write a whole other blog on how funny (3 yr. old) Bella is too! Tobey is just starting to walk too. We are looking forward to being outside with David and the kids tomorrow and just hanging out. Again David told Christa that his motivation for improvement is to return to Turkey and his unit. His friends there are constantly coming up in his conversations. He can't wait to talk to you all there!
Paul, the Vision Therapist, showed David how to use a program on the computer to enlarge the text on documents. David manipulated the computer and was able to move around in people's My Space, READ his My Space comments, the Blog guestbook and comments from here, and couldn't seem to get enough. I sat with him until 11 pm and then said we should continue tomorrow.
Earlier, the Neuropsychologist, Dr. Laura Howe, was asking David some intelligence questions this afternoon. David was able to answer analogies, puzzles, mental math problems like, "What is 13x?"! We will find out next week how he scored, but it sounded great to me!
Thanks for your prayers. The mom I told you about yesterday came in crying today that her house had been broken into and everything that could be pawned was stolen. Continue praying for them. Patty

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

2008-01-10T21:41:00.000-08:00

Our God is an awesome God! David continues to blow our minds and the staff at the hospital. Today he actually tried to run in the parallel bars! He walked with a walker and barely used it! He held onto the PT and my arms and walked 6 feet! Oh, and he walked up five steps, turned around, came down and went up several more times! Then he decided he didn't want to step up with his right foot and bring the left to the same step, so he told the PT, Se, that he wanted to step on each step with a different foot. She said not yet, and he did it anyways! He is soooooooo excited about his progress.
Sgt. Anderson, from Travis AFB, came by today and David was jazzed to see someone from the AF. He wants so much to continue with the AF. He misses his friends from Turkey really bad! We looked at the pictures on his camera tonight and he remembers the trip now and can give us details about where they stayed and what they did. He doesn't remember the accident, which is fine! We watched the video with Sgt. Anderson and it makes David just light up to see everyone. Thanks Daniel again for making it. I wish you could see his face when he sees the groups from Turkey! Sgt. Anderson reiterated the need for David to follow orders from the therapists. It would be a shame for David to have a set back because of a careless injury like falling at this point in his progress.
Back to progress: David played Solitare today with some minor help. He played Bingo Wed. and Thursday nights and can do it 90% by himself! (Remember he couldn't find the numbers a few weeks ago, and perseverated on the game pieces?) An AF "sister" tonight went on and on about the improvement she saw since Christmas. Last time his head hung down, he drooled, and needed 90% help!
The Optomotrist tested him some more today and said he is focusing closer up, and his vision has really improved. He continues running into objects (sometimes sharp) on the left side of his wheelchair.
In 'N Out is sure happy with David's recovery. He has a shake every other day it seems like. But, today the "test" for Speech, was if he could eat a Double Double or a Cheeseburger. Sure enough, David passed. He passed the thin liquids test also. His meds are being changed to pills and capsules, so maybe in a week or so, he can get rid of the tube feeding in his stomach.:-)
Steve and I are so excited to see David's progress. However, it is hard to see these other men here who are not progressing. I talked to a lady last night whose husband was injured the same time as David and is still not able to respond with a thumbs up, nod, blink, or anything. She has 2 teenagers and doesn't know if or how much her husband will progress. There are many others with the same story. A young mom with preschoolers, and the 27 year old dad is in bad shape. Our hearts break for them and their families. We have said at every stage that David has progressed through, that we were excited he was alive and with us. We would have been happy just to have him, anywhere along the healing process. Each day brings more joy for us as he progresses. Pray with us for these other families and their dads, brothers, and sons too. We feel so blessed and excited that God chooses to heal David, but don't understand why David gets so much and they don't. We're not complaining! Just feeling almost guilty.???
Tonight when Steve left, David told him that he doesn't like it when we leave him at night, alone in the room with the nurse. He prayed with David for peace and safety, and also for his left arm that is really bothering him. Thanks for your prayers too. We give God all the glory for David's progress!
Patty

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

2008-01-08T22:07:00.000-08:00

Here are some highlights from another outstanding day. David received a lot of work on his left arm, (including the wrist, hand and fingers) again. In fact it seemed like almost all of the therapists worked on it, at least a little. It is not moving on it’s own yet, but we are really praying that it won’t be long.

David walked a lot (more than ever) today with his ‘cool’ walker, and he still looked real good doing it.

He ate enough at all three meals to not have to have his supplemental tube feeding. If he keeps this up for a while he will get the feeding tube taken out of his stomach. Then he will have no more tubes, hoses, monitors or needles coming out of his body!

Tonight we spent a lot of time just hanging out with David. We talked about him, his accident and his recovery. He had lots of questions, and we realized how bad his post accident memory is. He thought that maybe he had been in two accidents, possibly because we have mentioned that he was at Walter Read Army Hospital and Palo Alto VA Hospital. We watched the DVD that his Air Force friends sent him again, and each time we watch it he gives us more details about his time in Turkey, and the friends that he made there. I’m sure that it is good for his memory. He said that he has been praying that he will get to return to the Air Force and to his Incirlik, Turkey base, as well as his friends there. I told him that if it were that important to him, I would also start to pray for that. He also called Daniel Wooten in Turkey, (and woke him up), and they talked for a while. It was the first time that he has talked to a friend from the Air Force. He also talked to his girl friend, Kelli.

As we were leaving, Patty said that she loved him, and waited for him to respond appropriately. Since he has never said (unless he was heavily drugged), “I love you” back, Patty really wasn’t expecting much, but he got this “real” smile on his face as he tried to keep from saying it. He has this fake smile that he gives us when we take pictures, but this was his old “real” smile, and it was exciting to see his face muscles working in a ‘new’ way, that we thought was lost.

Steve

Sunday and Monday, January 6th and 7th, 2008

2008-01-07T18:22:00.000-08:00

Sunday started with PT taking David to the gym before we could take him to church. You know what they say about the ‘early bird’, so Patty and I watched David work out and then walk two lengths of the hallway with the ‘cool’ walker. That was a lot of walking and again David was moving his left leg totally on his own. He looks smoother and surer of himself everyday.

David ate enough, (over 75%); so that he did not have to have the liquid supplement that they usually tube feed him.

Last night we sat in his room and watched a movie until the laptop battery died. Once again we do not know how it ended. Maybe Bruce Willis died, or maybe they will make “Die Hard 13”. It was fun just hanging out and relaxing.

Today Occupational Therapy, Mark, taught David to stretch his left hand and wrist. It curls up quite strongly, and is painful when it gets stretched, but it still needs to be done. Mark asked David to lead the way from the lunchroom to the gym without directions, and he would be timed. This was a tough chore, as David had to make his way between the chairs and obstacles. With his ‘left sided weakness’ he tends to hit things on that side of him. At the ‘crossroads’ David chose the left instead of the right, and Mark had to eventually tell him that he chose the wrong hall. But once David caught the scent he was off like a flash.

David had vision therapy next and they worked more on getting David to turn his head farther to the sides, and to pay special attention to his left side. This seems to really help David.

David refused him meds last night and at lunch today. Both times the nurse explained what the meds were for and why David needed them, and David finally conceded. We think that it is great that he is aware enough to question the medication.

David was stretched and exercised by Chris during PT. Then he walked between the parallel bars, and was stronger than ever with his left leg! David had another great day.

We are continually reminded how blessed David has been in his recovery. Christa’s brother in law, Dr. John Allen an intern at Loma Linda Hospital, asked (after seeing the video of David walking) what David’s original diagnosis was. When he was told that it was ‘diffused axonal brain injury with intraventricular left basal ganglia hemorrhage and posterior subdural hematoma’, (not to mention the fractured nose, rib, pelvis, the collaped lungs and multiple lacerations and contusions)he said that David shouldn’t ever be walking. David’s PT, Mitch, said that David was making AMAZING progress, and asked David if he had a lot of people praying for him? David said yes, and Mitch said, “I hope you have thanked them!” God truly has blessed David, by his ‘Healing Touch’ as well as by surrounding him with awesome physicians and therapists. Thanks for all of those prayers.

Steve

Saturday, January 5th, 2008

2008-01-05T21:21:00.000-08:00

David was working between the parallel bars with PT (Chris) when we found him this morning. Maggie, April and Katie accompanied Patty and me. We watched as Chris helped David stand and rock back and forth, strengthening the trunk muscles as well as the legs, neck, etc. When David seemed balanced, Chris let go and David stood unassisted. They did this lots of times, and got up to 30 seconds of standing alone. This seemed great to us, as it was one more step towards being able to walk. After a brief rest Chris had David walk between the parallel bars. David’s right hand was on the rail and Chris was maybe supporting his balance some, but David was moving both feet by himself. He was really walking! I get the feeling that at this rate we could see David walking down the hallways of “D” wing unassisted, only holding on to the railing, before you know it. It was a real answer to prayer today.

His mood seems more positive as he is seeing progress. I pray that this just snowballs into an even greater determination on his part. It is exciting to experience his victories with him, and fun to relate them to you all.

Steve

P.S. Happy Birthday to Kelli, who reached the ripe old age of 20 today!

Friday, Januray 4th, 2008 (My brother Gary's b'day)

2008-01-04T23:04:00.000-08:00

David ate breakfast like it was his last meal, and then he ate lunch the same way. His sergeant came by from Travis AFB and brought him a vanilla shake. Wow, that only happens in the Air Force.

Richard, from Recreational Therapy, worked with David on reading, and David struggled to see some of the words. Then they played a fun basketball game, which worked on David’s eye hand coordination, manual dexterity, and as an excuse to test David’s memory with lots of sports questions.

Se came by late today to grab David for PT, and even though he had been dozing he was ready to go. He wheeled himself out of the room and down to the gym without waiting for anybody. He walked farther than usual with his ‘cool’ walker, and looked good doing it. His gait was smoother, steadier and faster. As he blew past people in the hallway they were stunned.

The Recreational Therapy staff put on their weekly ‘Friday Free Food and Friends Feast’ tonight. It was KFC night, and David chowed down on the chicken (cut into smaller chunks) the mashed potatoes and biscuits. He finished off the last half of his vanilla shake (courtesy of his sergeant), and ate a cookie or two. He seems to have his appetite back! After we ate we watched Spiderman I, (in the same lunchroom/multipurpose room that we ate in) and David watched almost all of it before he said that he was ready to go back to his room and sleep. Now I don’t know if Spiderman lives or dies!

I think that we have mentioned that David talks in a monotone voice, and it's kind of quiet, but a really cool thing happened tonight when David was talking to the nurses. He said something that sounded so much like our 'old' David that it really hit me. There was more inflection in his voice, he used some words that he hasn’t used lately, and it was louder and more authoritative. It gave me hope that our 'old' David is still lurking inside, just waiting to come out.

We have had some problems with the ‘household’ (sprinklers, water leaks, pool problems, dogs), and our neighbors, friends and family have been awesome in responding to our needs in our time of trial. Thanks guys ‘n gals, we really appreciate the support on the home front. I know that God has put it on your hearts to help, and as hard as it is for my pride to accept help sometimes, I truly appreciate it, and thank you. I think that this is a growing time for me and I pray that God is working in your hearts as well. I know that serving our Lord, even in the lowest ways, (cleaning a pool, caring for a dog, watching a house) has rich rewards, and I pray for God’s blessings on all of you.

I close with much love for you all, and a content heart, knowing that all things are working out for His glory.

Steve

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

2008-01-04T00:56:00.000-08:00

Christa had to leave us this morning, so we went over early to see David, so she could say goodbye. Patty took her to the San Jose airport while I hung out with David through his therapies.

Se, his physical therapist, stretched his legs out and then had him lift his left leg (bad one) from a lying position, and I was amazed at how high he was raising it. She made him repeat it 15 times, and on the last one she made him hold it for a period of time. He did really well. I was exited because I felt like if he had the strength to do that then he would definitely be able to walk on his own. Then she had him repeat a standing and sitting type of exercise that really worked out his ‘quads’ and will help him to stand up by himself. It was a pretty hard work out, but David was focused and pushed himself until the end. I have to hand it to Se; she is very encouraging, sweet, nice, understanding, and a tough ‘coach’.

I’m of course concerned about David’s left arm and hand, which show almost no movement. Bill, our caseworker, told me that they had a guy with similar symptoms to David’s, and now he has full use of his ‘bad’ arm. Sometimes you just need to hear stories like that to give you faith. I know that our God is bigger than David’s arm problems. He made David’s arm so he can surely heal it.

Our friends Maggie (I think she is Patty’s twin from a former life) and April, and her daughter, (and David’s friend), Katie, arrived tonight. We ate with David (kinda) and visited afterwards. We watched the video that David’s Air Force co-workers made again, and each time we learn new things about his ‘Turkey’ friends. David was sleepy, but we had fun, and we (not David) continued our fun at the Fisher House, as we played games until all hours of the night.

We learned from the ‘vision’ people that David’s field of vision is improving, and that we need to encourage him to turn his head from left to right to really see everything. His mind wants to ignore the left side especially, so we need to train it to “pay attention”.

Doctor Scott met with us informally over dinner (with our friends) and informed us that another drug was being removed from David’s ‘arsenal’ of drugs. In a day or two its effects should be out of his system, and we might notice some difference in his alertness. Hopefully it will be a positive step. That leaves only one drug that ‘sedates’, but it is not very powerful.

As always, we love your concern and prayers.

Steve

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008

2008-01-02T21:28:00.000-08:00

Christa made David French toast this morning, and he ate more of hers than he did of mine. I guess she earned a new job.

I got a call on my cell phone this afternoon and I was shocked to hear David say “Dad?” He asked the nurse if he could call me to ask if I would come over to see him. He asked if I knew what hospital he was in, and I said that I was already in his hallway, almost entering his room. It was fun to have him call me like that!

We had fun hanging out with David as he ate dinner, joking and playing around. Out of the blue he said, “Mom, how about if you go up to ‘Jack in the Box’ and get me a vanilla shake”? It’s hard to say no sometimes and Patty drove away on an errand of mercy.

David got on his ‘My Space’ and Christa read him some messages from his friends. He thought about posting a blog (or whatever it's called) but decided that he wasn’t quite ready to tell everyone about hospital life, and the long rehab awaiting him. It must seem very depressing to him.

Now that David is less medicated, I am afraid that he might need as much prayer for his emotions as for his physical healing. Luckily we serve a big God.

Steve

January 1, 2008

2008-01-01T21:59:00.000-08:00

This morning when I (Christa) walked into David's room he was sitting in his wheel chair all dressed and ready to go. I said, "Well, hello handsome!" and he gave me the biggest smile!! I just about melted right there! He said hello and good morning right back. We talked for a bit and then we went to the rec room to play on the computer. I showed him the blog and read my entry from yesterday. When I read him the part about how he thought Kelli was "hot" he smiled again really big! I read him all of your recent comments from right before Christmas and he really seemed to enjoy hearing from everyone. I explained to him how everyone reads this blog just to see how he's doing and how much you all have invested in his recovery. He said he understood and was very appreciative of your support and prayers. After the blog he wanted to play solitaire on the computer but he wanted to just tell me where to move the cards and have me control the mouse. Which was actually really cool because it forced him to talk more and I was really able to see his thought process and also where some of his visual problems are. He could always see the right side of the computer screen but the deck of cards were on the left side and he could rarely see those cards correctly. I'm not sure what he sees or doesn't see or if its just really jumbled up. But it was interesting nontheless. He did extremely well considering between him and myself we couldn't manage to win a single hand!!

After computer time we all ate breakfast at the table together (mom, dad, me and David)and had some delicious french toast my dad made. It was so cool to just eat and talk all together as a family again. Then we took David outside to the basketball court and kicked around a soccer ball with him. He started to really get into it and even would kick with his left foot! He did really good at wheeling himself around to go after the ball (Lord knows with me and my parents, there were a lot of stray balls for him to go after!). Then we went inside and he took a nap.

When we went back later in the afternoon my dad and him went to the rec room and watched some football together for a bit until we looked over and David had fallen asleep in his chair! So we took him back to his room but we made him eat a late lunch. He ate more spinach raviolis from yesterday and polished them off really good. Then I asked him if we could watch the DVD that his friends/co-workers/bosses in Turkey put together. He agreed even with the stipulation that he had to give me some background on each person. He said no problem. We watched the video and paused after each person wished him good luck in his recovery and even joked around with him. He gave me all the "dirt" on each one of you guys!!! Just kidding! But he did give a lot of details about fun times he had with each person. He talked about the Turkish food, the go-carts, working in the office and his responsibilities that he had and the fun times "working" there! He talked about who was naughty and who was nice!! Haha!! It was great getting to see you guys from Turkey and that video really was cool! Thanks guys for doing that for him. He was pretty tired and went to bed pretty early tonight. I guess that's good because he'll have a full day's work tomorrow in therapy. Today was a fun day with David and he showed a lot of progress with his smiling, kicking and moving his left leg, playing solitaire, eating real food and talking a lot. Thank you all for your prayers and faith that God is just getting started with healing David. It is going to be a great year full of miracles!! Love you all,
Christa

December 31, 2007

2008-01-01T00:30:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!! I, Christa, just flew in today an will stay until Thursday. I am very excited to see David and my parents again. David looked great! I haven't seen him in a month so a lot has changed. He doesn't have the trache anymore. He's not agitated and fidgety like he was a month ago. He is very calm and kinda just "chill". Which was a welcome sight! He doesn't fixate and do certain things repetitively. He is definitely more like "David"!! I watched him during PT and he is walking so much better than when I left. Last time he could walk maybe 10 feet along the parallel bars and repeat the walk after a small sitting break. Today he was on his feet for almost an entire hour!! At the end of his session he walked back towards his room with the "cool walker" and the therapists said that David had improved a lot just today. He is moving his left foot so much better, still needing some assistance, but definitely improving. He sat on the edge of the bed while mom put his shoes on and was sitting up so good, even with his feet sticking straight out. He is so much easier to maneuver from bed to chair, etc. because he is strong enough to carry most of his weight and needs a lot less assistance.

Today was the first day that he ate 3 full, "REAL" meals!! He ate pancakes for breakfast, spinach raviolis from Spaghetti factory we brought in for him, along with his vanilla shake and apple juice. For dinner he ate some stew, bread and butter with some more shake and a yogurt drink. He had very little supplement with the feeding tube today - only early this morning and a little tonight. He's getting even closer to getting the feeding tube out!! He also talked so clearly. When I was here last time he was just starting to talk and we had to put our ear right up to his lips to hear what he was trying to say and even then it was sometimes a guessing game. Today I was reminded of his amazing progress in this area. He communicated exactly what he wanted and did it audibly. He asked me to ask the therapists to only ask him yes/no questions. They were proud of him for initiating that and did just as he asked. He talked to Kelli on the phone tonight and it sounded like it was a pretty good conversation. David asked her some good questions and made some pretty funny comments in return to her stories. From my end of the conversation I heard David respond with, "That's nasty." "That's awesome." "You passed. That's good.""Tell everyone I said 'Hi'." "Tell everyone 'Happy New Year'." When he got off the phone dad asked what was so nasty. David repeated the story just as Kelli must have told it (which really was nasty, so I'll spare you!) and we all laughed. I told David how funny I think Kelli can be and he agreed. He said, "yeah, that's one reason why I like her." I asked what the other reasons were and he said, "and she's hot." We laughed. Dad said, "yeah, that never hurts!" He also said because she's smart and tries hard in school, she's athletic and she loves God. He said that's really important to him! My brother is one smart puppy and is really coming around. It was fun just talking and hanging out with him tonight. It was almost as if nothing had changed (minus the hospital room!) as we sat and talked and watched TV. I loved every minute! My dad also told us that he got some really encouraging news today from Dr. Ted. Apparently the dr. is expecting some even more drastic improvements with David now that he is slowly getting off the meds. He says that this might mark a turning point in David's progress and that we might start noticing change faster!!!! Can you believe it???! I am so encouraged, as should you all! Keep praying and thanking God for David's healing. God is truly doing miracles every day in our lives through David's recovery. I am so thankful and my faith has been renewed!

Thank you Lord that you care so much for David and that you WANT to heal him. We give you ALL the glory for every small detail of his healing. You are The creator, and with the same hands that put the stars in their place, you can and will heal my brother. Nothing is too big or hard for you, Lord. Thank you that only YOU can do the impossible! AMEN!!

Love you all, Christa

Sunday, December 30th, 2007

2007-12-30T21:54:00.000-08:00

The nurses had David fed, dressed and waiting in the hall for us this morning. We walked to the chapel for church, but after that David was very tired the whole day. He didn't do too much in PT, he said that his stomach hurt, and he ate very little at lunch and dinner.

He fell asleep very early tonight. Maybe this means that he will have a more energetic day tomorrow. Please pray that he is not coming down with something.

Steve

P.S. Because the Oakland Raiders (local up here) played the San Diego Chargers I actually got to watch some football on the hospital TV. What a treat!

Happy New Year to those of you in Turkey and Germany.

Saturday, December 29th, 2007

2007-12-30T00:37:00.000-08:00

Weekends are always slower paced here, and today was no exception. When Patty and I got over to see David he was sleeping. The nurse told us that Khyla and her mom, Elena, had stopped by earlier to see David, but he was sleeping then also. They had planned to visit with David and then sightsee in San Francisco. At least they got to see S.F., and had a good time.

We moved David to a bigger and better room with a handicapped sink, (there are a few in the hospital!), right across the hall from his old room. It has windows that face our “Fisher House”, so David can almost see us from his room.

When it was time for David’s lunch, I asked him if he was hungry and he said, “no”. I asked him why, and he said that the food sucked. So Patty heated him up a can of ravioli, and we defrosted the In-N-Out shake that Khyla got him yesterday, (he had only drank half of it so we froze the rest) and suddenly David was in heaven. He really is a man of simple tastes.

David worked hard during PT, stretching, strengthening his ‘trunk’ muscles, and walking back to his room from the gym, with the ‘really cool’ walker, and two therapists helping.

In the evening we started watching a DVD in David’s room (he picked The Bourne Ultimatum), and pretty soon Khyla and Elena stopped by on their way back from San Fran. We visited for a while and had fun shooting each other with Nerf guns of all shapes and varieties, and playing ‘volleyball’ with a large balloon. We told David that when he shot us he at least he needed to smile as he pulled the trigger. So he smiled his crooked but fun smile as he shot us. I commented that Jason Bourne always smiled as he shot people. About a minute passed and David said, “let’s see”. It took a moment to realize that he was asking to watch the movie again. So all of us watched the rest of the movie together. It was a fun night. As we said goodbye to Khyla and Elena (David had already fallen asleep) we mentioned that he may or may not remember that they had visited. His short-term memory is bad still. We will ask him tomorrow if he remembers their visit, and if he doesn’t, we will continue to remind him, as we do with all of his visitors. We have pictures that we can show him, and hopefully when he is better, he will have some memory of those friends and family that have visited him.

Thanks again for all of your prayers.

Steve

Friday, December 28th, 2007

2007-12-28T19:35:00.000-08:00

Today started off great as we met David’s friend (and our neighbor) Khyla, and her mom, at the hospital. We all got to hang out a little with David, although he was pretty quiet, which is typical for morning. Khyla went with him to OT, while Patty and I took care of some other Air Force things.

When we finally found them in the “quiet room” of the gym, David was pulling playing cards off of the Velcro board. The board is probably 2 feet high by 3 feet long. Georgette, the therapist, would ask David to pull off all of the 3’s, then the Jacks, etc. When they were done you could see the pattern of the cards that David missed, and it represented his field of vision, or at least his minds perception of it. We think that David’s eyes see O.K., (he’s probably still color blind!), it’s that his brain isn’t interpreting correctly the information that the eyes are sending it. The brain doesn’t recognize the left side, and those were the cards that David could not ‘see’. Pretty interesting!

Khyla’s mom brought back an In-N-Out vanilla shake for David’s lunch and he drank half of it, which is a record, as well as eating some of the Mac-N-Cheese that Patty made him.

The entire staff has decided that David should use a hand signal when he wants to let them know that he is in pain, or wants them to stop doing something. He is supposed to raise his right hand up, in kind of a ‘back off’ motion. This way, even if he is too tired to communicate verbally, he can express himself without hitting them. Today David’s speech therapist asked if David remembered what that sign was, and to show him. David promptly ‘flipped him off’, and Bruce said, “That will work too”.

We all got to see David just a little bit about dinnertime, but he was ready for bed again early.

There is a vacant room across the hall that has a modified sink in it. It has been raised a little higher, and has added ‘spacers’ to bring it out from the wall more. David tried it out, and it worked better for him. We don’t know if they will let him change rooms, but it might be nice.

Yesterday they cut David’s sedation meds by one third, and have cut it back another
third today.

Thanks for all of your prayers, as we know that they are helping.

Steve

December 27th, 200

2007-12-27T21:09:00.000-08:00

After PT, David was ready for his lunch. He loved the natural yogurt smoothie, 1/3 of a banana, and some raviolis. He ate maybe 1/4 of what he should! Pray that his stomache continues to grow. About 4 pm he was hungry again and ate a small dinner. I talked to Dr. Scott today about David's shoulder hurting. He convinced me that it is because of the spasticity. If it were the HO, then David's shoulder would stop at a certain spot, and his range of motion wouldn't be improving. With all the imaging, he said a fracture would have shown up before. He is waiting for David to be able to take the Botox shots to help the spasticity.
David told the nurse today a couple times that she was hurting his shoulder (not on purpose: she was raising it so I could put deoderant on him). We were so happy to have him tell us instead of hitting! The team came up with a hand signal for David to use when he needs something or someone to stop, for a break or because he is hurting. When he is too tired to talk, he can use the hand signal. Also, the sedation is being cut by a third which we will see a difference maybe by tomorrow.
I also asked about why the rooms don't have handicapped sinks in them. David can't reach the sink in his wheelchair. I guess that hasn't been noticed before. Dr. Scott said he will talk to the director soon about that.
Patty

December 26, 2007

2007-12-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

Today was kinda boring for you to read about, but helpful to us.
First, Sgt. Armstrong came out from Travis to help us with AF things, making sure David is getting the right pay, and things that we don't have any idea what to ask about. He spent several hours visiting with us and filling us in.
In the afternoon, we had a lawyer come out to help us get a power of attorney for David. The neuropsychologist came in to evaluate David to see if he understood. He answered fairly well. He knew his basic information, but still gets confused with where he is at. His grandma was in St. Joseph's Hospital in Orange County when David came home in August. He thinks that he is there too. We also got his medical directives taken care of. I think he thought maybe he was dying and we were asking him what he wanted done at the end. Steve caught on quickly to what David might be thinking, and explained to him that he was not dying, but getting better. This seemed to clear it up for today, we'll see if he understands tomorrow. The lawyer was very impressed with David's ability to answer her questions too. His answers are very delayed, but they are there! Thanks again to Stacie Nelson, Attorney, at Reed Smith for coming all the way out to help with this legal paperwork. Also, all the people from Travis AFB and JAG, who helped pull this legal process off quickly and freely!
During lunch, Bruce came in to watch him eat. I noticed that David was chewing much better. Bruce commented on it also. In the four days Bruce had been off, he could see a big improvement. In the afternoon, I went food shopping for David to try to find more appealing food choices for him. I hope that works too. Patty

December 25th, 2007

2007-12-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas again. Hope you all had a blessed Christmas.
David awoke this am for a quick second and then went back to sleep until about 2 pm. He pretty much missed the Christmas greeting, presents, and visit that General Ostenberg paid him and the other veterans today at the hospital, and the Fisher House. What a great man, so humble and friendly. Next, Santa came in and delivered more presents! At 2 pm when David did wake up, we took him outside for a short time to play catch with him. Soon he wanted to go back inside. The CNA found David a high back chair that reclines some. David was pretty happy and we stayed in the recreation room for a short time before he wanted to go back in his room. Next we opened his presents and he thought everything was "nice". It was very quiet and he didn't talk much. When he opened a Connect Four present from his Aunt Annette, I started to unwrap the pieces. He said, "Mom, I can't play that yet. I can't see in a straight line." So, we put it away, and tried to figure out what he could see and could not see. I'm confused! It isn't the typical reading problem. He has areas where he can't see objects. We will have to talk to the dr. about it tomorrow, and see about consulting the Vision Therapist. But he was very talkative about it all. He also shared that he doesn't talk much when he is tired. We told him it was ok to point us to the door if he ever wants us to leave because of too much stimulation or he needs to sleep. He seemed to understand. I also tried to explain that one of the reasons he is restricted where he can go, is because of him hitting the nurses. He said he is trying to not hit them! We assured him that we are seeing an improvement, and are sure he is trying! (But quit it, O.K.?).... It was so good to get to just talk with him again. We don't know if he is sleeping sooooo much because of the meds, brain injury, depression, or just not having anything to do. He is dependent on everyone for just about everything. Continue praying for wisdom in this situation. I know he would love to get out, if not just for a drive in the car for an In-N-Out Shake! Also, I need some wisdom on foods that he can eat, diced, so I can fatten him up! He hates the hospital food, all he wants to eat are the mashed potatoes and pudding! And you should see his expression eating those! :-(
Patty

December 24th, 2007

2007-12-24T23:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

A fun night tonight with David. We watched most of "Ray" in the Recreation Room. It was a long movie and we took a few breaks to move David from chair to chair trying to help him get comfortable. At 11 pm he was ready to call it a night and we took him back to his room. He thanked Steve for helping him in and out of the chair and into bed. He can be so kind and sweet! He was very quiet today and did not want to talk. We went for a walk outside and just enjoyed being there silently. When asked about if he wanted friends to come visit yet, he said, "Not in the hospital". I don't know what to do about that still. We try to explain that you all love him and miss him, and just want to encourage him. Please pray for his emotional state of mind. I guess that is all we can do. He has to go through this stage of the game where he realizes that his life will be different from here on out. We're thankful that he is out of the coma, but now another journey begins. Here we go! Take it God! We're ready for the next road.
On the way back to our room, Steve and I thanked God for His son, and our son! We are so thankful first that God gave us His son that we could cry out to Him, and He would not only give us eternal life but help us through these hard times. Without that faith that God has David in His Perfect Plan, this would be an impossible journey. Only because we have seen God's hand in our lives, are we able to trust Him in this situation. This is truly a hard Christmas for us away from our parents, kids, and grandkids. But the simplicity of it reminds me of every year after Christmas when we have missed the point of our Savior's Birth. I always think that the next year, I won't get caught up in the materialism of it but just be grateful for what we have. Well, here it is, time to get to do that. Not by my choice, but it has been a great wake up call. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and leave Christ in it! Give your families a hug and make sure you tell them how much you love them all. God Bless you all. Thank you for your prayers, cards, letters, gifts, and support. You have been an amazing family of friends to us all.

Sunday, December 23rd, 2007

2007-12-23T23:23:00.001-08:00

On Sunday morning we all (including Stacie, Gail and Mike, the nurse) went to church at the chapel in the VA hospital.

Then Patty and her friends took off to ‘carouse’ around town, while David and I ate a ‘diced’ hospital lunch. OK, I didn’t really eat the stuff. OK, maybe the ladies didn’t ‘carouse’. But David did eat well, and then he had an hour and a half of PT. He rode a stationary bike, kicked the soccer ball (while sitting, standing between the parallel bars, and from his ‘cool walker’), and then walked back to his room. He had a really good workout, only marred by the fact that he hit both Chris and Mitch. Chris got hit, according to David, because Chris kept straightening David’s head as he tried to improve David’s lopsided posture. Mitch got hit for repeating what Chris said! We hope that this behavior passes soon.

When David reached his room he was ready for a well-earned nap.

Tonight he woke up after 8 PM (that’s a long nap), and visited with Gail, Stacie, Patty and Me. He shot Gail with a Nerf dart gun and a huge smile on his face. We showed him photos (that were from his camera) of his trip in Turkey over Columbus Day weekend. He told us who all of his friends were, but couldn’t remember a lot of the stuff that they did. When Stacie asked if they met some girls on their trip he said, “No”. After a short pause he said, “Not because we didn’t try”.

Patty quizzed him again on the facts that he is supposed to remember, where he is, how he got there, the date, time, etc. He got 100%, and might be considered ‘out of his comma’ now. That's a great Christmas gift for us!

Our friend's brought mail up from Riverside, and I wanted to say thanks to our friends at Sherman Indian High School, for their, caring, praying and support. It means a lot guys, thanks!

Please pray for David's "hitting others", that he would use his words instead or just lashing out. Also, he told Mike and Patty that his shoulder hurts a "10", on a scale 1-10, and his hip hurts a "9". We need to find out why, and how to help it. Thanks for your prayers! Have a great Christmas Eve and Day.

Steve

Friday and Saturday, December 21st and 22nd, 2007

2007-12-22T23:57:00.000-08:00

On Friday, David got a new brace for his left leg, ankle and foot. It has a little spring action going on to help lift his toes out of the way as he walks. We all talked to David’s new Air Force liaisons, Tech Sergeant Anderson and Staff Sergeant Groetegeer, and set up another meeting for next week. Tech Sergeant Anderson is David’s new boss in the Travis Air Base ‘Patient Squadron’. So there will be no slacking for David during his therapy sessions or I’m sure that Sergeant Anderson will be screaming “Huddleston, drop and give me fifty. On your finger tips!” Actually they both seemed very nice, and told David that his job was just to get better.

He had trouble swallowing his food at lunch as I fed him. They have graduated him from ‘minced’ to ‘diced’ food, and maybe he wasn’t quite ready.

We went to a Friday Night Pizza Party for our “D” wing (the TBI ward) and David got a special order of spaghetti, along with some desserts. These are fun things to break the routine of hospital life.

Saturday morning was a lazy time for David. We had trouble getting him up, and PT rescheduled him for the afternoon. The weekends are much slower around here, and if any of you are thinking of visiting David, the weekends are the best.

For Physical Therapy, Se had David kicking a soccer ball. She knew that David loves soccer, and I like the way she tries to motivate him. For David, this is not as easy as it sounds. He was standing between the parallel bars, while Se was supporting, and balancing him. He had to shift his weight to his weak side, as she kept that knee from buckling, and swing his right leg back and then kick at just the right moment. This might sound easy, but there are a lot of things going through his mind, and then he is trying to put them into action. He did really well. The kicks were real weak, but it was a great start! Se then had David practice rolling the ball under his right foot, forward and then backwards. This was kind of a real basic ‘dribbling’ move in soccer. For David it was all about shifting his weight, and coordinating his leg and foot. For a TBI patient this is physically and mentally tiring. Se asked what David wanted to do next and he said, “Go to my room”. He was thinking about getting pushed in a wheel chair, but she was thinking about walking all the way back in his ‘cool’ walker. So the tough coach got her way, and they walked towards David’s room. This was the first time that David tried his new brace on his left leg, the one that is spring loaded, and helps lift his toes out of the way. Once they got going, and built up a rhythm, they were really moving. Of course there are still two therapists helping David walk plus the 'cool' walker, and by the time they got half way they were tired. They asked David if he wanted to take his wheelchair the rest of the way, and he said “No”. So they sped on and reached his room in record time. Then he slept for hours.

Tonight our friends Stacy Syrocki, and Gail Grimsley arrived after a long drive up, after hitting lots of traffic on a Saturday afternoon from Riverside through the Grapevine. But the troopers that they are they only made one stop, for dinner at the Denny’s in Grapevine, and got here in time to see David for a short while before he was sleepy again. We got to hang out a bit longer, and we will see them tomorrow morning for church.

We again thank you all for the prayers that we believe make all the difference in the world.

Steve

Thursday, December 20th, 2007

2007-12-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry! We had thought about cutting back on the blogs, to every other day, but we really didn’t mean to skip two days. We got a lot of phone calls, asking if everything was all right, and it is. Things are progressing, David is getting stronger daily, and the roller coaster that we were on for so long has smoothed out. We have fallen into somewhat of a routine, and there aren’t always newsworthy events to relay to those friends and family members who faithfully check in here regularly. The reality of the ongoing and seemingly endless rehab therapy is very sobering. It will be like a daily grind (still with some emotional ups and downs) instead of the roller coaster of the last 9 weeks. And for all of this we say “Halleluiah”. Thank you for all of your prayers and comments, which we think have been essential in David’s healing and in getting us through this tough time.

Tuesday was a really sleepy day for David, and of course we were concerned. We talked to nurses, to see how he slept. We talked to doctors to see if his meds had been changed. We discussed it with his therapists, who couldn’t wake him up enough to work with him. It seems like after he has a really good day (alert, working hard in therapy, talking a lot) it is followed up by a sleepy day. His meds also play a part in all of this. The doctors are doing a very good job of walking the fine line of not over sedating him, but still calming him enough that he isn’t sending nurses to the ER. Doctor Scott is very good at daily checking in with us, answering any questions that we have and asking for our input. And last, but not least, he never talks over our heads.

We showed David a video that his friends in Turkey made for him. It was great, and helped him remember all of the people that he worked with at the Incirlik Air Force Base. They were all encouraging him and telling him that he needed to get well soon because they were falling behind and needed his help. There is nothing like being needed! It is great to have their love and support.

Our good friends, the Mannings (Wes and Rose) and David’s girl friend Kelli, (their daughter) came up midday on Tuesday. They brought their 5th wheel trailer, and parked it in the special RV parking lot at the VA hospital. It is probably a ¼ mile walk from the lot to David’s room. There are no hook ups, just a parking lot. Poor, poor Kelli was cold every night!

On Wednesday Kelli spent the day with David while Patty and I went, with Wes and Rose, to San Francisco. David had another good day. He was very alert, and he enjoyed having Kelli with him. She was with him at all of his therapies. She learned it is not always fun, because the therapists want his undivided attention, and little things that might not distract us, can be ‘overload’ for David, so they often ask us to be quiet and only observe. And yet sometimes they rely on us to help them, so we never really know what role we are being asked to play. After the therapy sessions she held his hand as he fell asleep. It was a good day for them. But also a good day for us ‘adults’, as we explored the Warf area of S.F., took the tour of Alcatraz Island, and ate some good food. At one point we were walking along the wharf, that overlooked some fishing boats, and a guy who was hiding behind a large branch of “Christmas Tree” shook it and said, “boo”. You should have seen us all jump, as he scared the “clam chowder” out of us. Anywhere else he would be arrested and hauled away, but in San Francisco it’s all good fun.

Today the Mannings left, I’m sure it was later than they were planning, but Kelli showed David a video that she made for him, and it was very good. It was very emotional and well done, and showed a lot of loving care and many hours spent in the making. It included messages from lots of David’s friends, which were very cool, and highlighted David’s journey from joining the Air Force and traveling to Turkey up to his accident. Kelli promises to make ‘Season Two’, which will be more ‘upbeat’ and include his recovery!

Tonight we played BINGO with David, this time in the big hospital building. David’s TBI wing seems like a whole different world that the main hospital building, and we really rarely go over there. This was more ‘high stakes’ BINGO, although the prizes were the same. We were told that we could help David, but not play for him. We didn’t ask for an explanation of the difference, but I really wanted a clarification. He won 7 booklets of coupons (each worth one dollar), which he can redeem at the cafeteria, or little ‘general store’ in the VA hospital. He now has a total of 13 books! Last night we told him that we missed BINGO (actually it had been cancelled) and he told us that he “Never wanted to miss BINGO again!”

David is still working on strengthening his left leg, so he can walk on his own, and of course his memory, but we are really concerned about his left arm and hand, which as he said the other day “Is pretty much useless”. We ask that you would pray for these things.

Steve

P.S. Patty said that a couple of days ago she uploaded a bunch of photos of David, but planned to still do more editing, labeling and putting them in order. The problem was that they were immediately visible on the Blog, and it was a day or two later that our daughter Laura in Texas straightened them out. Sorry if there was some confusion. But the good news is, there are a lot more photos of David's recovery on the web site.

Monday, December 17th, 2007

2007-12-17T23:41:00.000-08:00

Today David worked on the stationary bike in the gym with Mitch. David was really sleepy (the drugs) so Mitch had to continually encourage him and ‘wake him up.’ Mitch would apply a little pressure on David’s left leg whenever it was time to push. After a while I saw David make a fist and begin to pull his arm back, and Mitch calmly put his hand over David’s fist and asked him what was wrong. David told him to quit touching his leg. I don’t know if David would have hit Mitch or not, but Mitch defused the situation nicely, and they moved on.

Mitch worked with David on standing up from a seated position (pushing up with his right arm, keeping his ‘nose over his toes’ and straightening his legs) over and over. Then they worked on transferring from a seated position into a wheel chair. Not by standing and pivoting, but more of a squat and pivot. It was good practical training that will help a lot until he is able to do all of these things on his own.

Then Mitch had David walk between the balance bars, turn around, and do it again a few times. It ended up being a great workout, and David was tuckered out.

As David was heading back to his room, we got a call from the Mannings, saying that they were almost to Palo Alto. David wanted to get ready before Kelli arrived. We hurried and shaved but didn’t have time to change clothes before Wes, Rose and Kelli got there. Bruce, the speech guy, showed up at the same time to teach me how to feed David, so the Mannings got to sit in on David’s lunch. He did well and maybe has graduated to the next step towards real food.

David was tired so we all left and the Mannings treated us to a birthday lunch at P.F.Changs, (yes I’m another year older) and it was good to get away from the hospital for a bit, and hang out with friends.

Tonight David was awake and talkative (from about 9 until 10:30), and we had a good time with him. He definitely enjoyed having Kelli there. Kelli called Ashlea Thayer, and David talked to her, and we could hear her getting emotional, and then we got emotional. She sang ‘happy birthday’ to him, and it was pretty special.

It was another really good day in Palo Alto. Areas of recovery to pray for might be more strength in David’s left leg, ankle and foot, movement in his left arm and hand (there seems to be none), and his memory. We thank you all for your faithful prayers and comments. They really help.

Steve

Sunday, December 16th, 2007

2007-12-16T20:14:00.000-08:00

Today was another sleepily good day. We woke David up for church (funny how some things don’t change) and got him ready just in time to meet Jim, Donna and Jenna Santo as they pulled up in the parking lot. We wheeled David over to the chapel in the VA hospital, and the service was good, in a real traditional way. It was mostly older veterans and their families, and besides David there was one other young military guy there. David was impressed enough that he wanted to shake the chaplain’s hand and thank her. We walked back to David’s room and talked for a bit and then the Santo’s brought out the birthday and Christmas gifts. As Jenna gave the first gift to David, he said “no wrapping paper”, so she had to unwrap David’s presents for him. It’s hard to unwrap a present when you only have the use of one hand. He got a “Trouble” game (with the Pop-O-Matic) and said “this could be trouble”. He got a nerf gun that shoots soft balls that is pretty cool. He took a certain pleasure in shooting me for some reason! Now that I think about it, so did Patty. They brought him a miniature (could it be a bonzi) Christmas Tree and decorated it for him. It was very nice of them, and even if David didn’t express it, I know it made his day. They left, and he fell asleep soon after.

For David’s friends who would like to come visit, we just want you to know that it is a 6.5 to 7 hour drive (with no LA traffic) from Riverside, and he may only be able to ‘hang out’ and visit for an hour or so a day. His schedule is not consistent, and it is hard to tell when he will be awake or asleep. Sometimes even when he is awake he will not respond to your comments or questions. We just want you to know what to expect if you come up. He has improved tremendously, even miraculously, but he is still a very sick young man. His memory is still sketchy, he may not even remember that you visited him. He has therapy 4-5 hours a day during the week, and the rest of the day he often is sleeping. The weekends are better because he only has Physical Therapy for an hour. Some of the therapy sessions we can sit in on, if we are quiet and don’t distract him from his work. Please call us if you are thinking of coming up (we don’t want to discourage you as much as let you know the reality of his situation). (Steve’s cell) is 951-233-3616 and Patty's is 951-233-0744. We know that if David was normal again he would love to see you all, but he is not quite to that place yet, so we want you to pray about when is the right time for you to come up and visit.

At 3:30, Mitch (PT on Sun. and Mon.) came to wake David up for PT. David probably spent 10 minutes riding a stationary bike (powered) while asleep. The bike can be set to a specific speed, and the object is for the patient to pedal faster than that speed. Then it displays how much the patient is ‘helping’. David would go in spurts, as he fell asleep and woke up. Finally I think that we pestered him enough that he was up for walking on the parallel bars, and then walking with the really cool walker, from the gym all the way to his room. He had the PT guys, Mitch and Chris, sweating by the time they got to David’s room. He moved his left leg more that ever (he still needed help), but it gave us hope that he will improve until he can walk on his own! When David got into bed, I kind of recapped the day, I mentioned church, the visit from the Santos, how excellent he did at PT, how proud I was of him and his progress, and he seemed to fall asleep. I don’t know how much he heard, but I really am proud of my son.

Steve

Saturday, December 15th, 2007

2007-12-15T23:27:00.000-08:00

11:30 PM
Another great day for David.

While getting dressed this morning, Mike asked David to lift his legs into his pants while lying down on the bed. David not only picked up his right leg, but lifted his left leg at 90 degrees AND held his foot off the bed to help! Mike said this is FANTASTIC, it means that the nerves in his left leg are working again. Awesome!!!!!

PT was exciting also. David used the walker/table on wheels, and walked down the hall to the nurse’s station which was the PT’s goal. After resting for a few minutes there, he said, “Let’s go.” Down the next hallway to his room the therapists went, sweating the whole way, but eager to help! He also worked on shifting his weight (like slow dancing) while holding onto the parallel bars. Finally, David walked down the parallel bars, reaching out with his hands, stepping with his left foot, then picking up his right foot to take a step. Mitch and Se (PT) both were impressed at how smooth his walking is getting.

He ate his first whole meal and loved it. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, carrots, 2 - apple juices, and a carton of what David called “duck water” (it was really thick milk). After having a sip of the “milk”, he made Steve get a straw and taste it. Reluctantly, Steve did as he was told! He said the first taste was like a warm milk shake, however the second was “kind of sick”. David drank all the juice and said it was “the ticket”. He ate most of the potatoes, ¼ of the meatloaf, 1 1/2 bites of the carrots, before saying he was full. The food tasted pretty good to him though.

Chris Chappel returned David’s phone call today. David left a message that he was sorry to hear about Chris’ dad passing away. While talking to Chris, it sounded like David told him he would be home tomorrow, and that he was in a hospital in Orange County. ??? I guess he is still confused.

David talked to Kelli on the phone for a long time today, I was talking on my phone so didn’t hear if that conversation made sense.

David shaved his face today almost by himself, with an electric razor and then a regular razor. That was nerve wracking! But he did it! He even crossed over the center of his body with his right hand to shave the left side of his face. I’m not positive, but I think that was AMAZING too.

Some insults were thrown too. One at me, and another one at a nurse, George, who seems (seemed) to be taking a special interest in David. As I was standing in front of him at the parallel bars, he told me to turn around when I talk to him. ???????What? Then he told me I had bad breathe! Luckily the Salvation Army had given him several extra toothbrushes, so I went into his room, grabbed a “purple” toothbrush, and scrubbed like mad, followed by the mouthwash. Later, I found out that he told George to go brush his teeth. Then, the next time he saw George, he told him, “I thought I told you to go home and not come back until you brushed your teeth!” (One more instance where, as a mom, you want to hide under the table and not claim your kid!) TBI patients are brutally honest and sometimes not appropriate! I’m not sure how much has changed since before his accident. He sure doesn’t have any inhibitions about telling anyone what he thinks. So please pray for appropriateness and tact in letting people know how he feels and thinks! Continue to pray for his agitation. Pray for his medications to be adjusted so he is not always drugged up. There is a fine line between the need for sedation for his agitation and need to have a clear, and focused mind. Thanks. Patty

P.S.

Tonight we met our old friends Jim and Donna Santo and their daughter Jenna at Donna's aunt's house in Los Gatos. We ate with them and visited till late, and had a wonderful time with our gracious hosts. The Santos will come up tomorrow morning and hopfully, if David is awake and up for it, we will all go to the church service at the hospital. Earlier tonight David was talking to Jenna on the phone, and telling her that he wanted them to come by tonight and see him. Then all of a sudden he said "I've got to go now, I'm going to bed". And he did.

Steve

Friday, December 14th, 2007

2007-12-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

David got ‘stretched’ by Se for PT, and then Georgette grabbed him and Patty for OT. She had David sit on a mat with a large 4'by 3' easle in front of him. On the first card, David was to match body part names (listed in a column on the right) with a pictures of a person (in a column on the left) by drawing a line to connect the two. He couldn’t draw the line from the right column to the left, and would always stop in the middle. Since he has left sided neglect he just couldn’t work past that part. Next, came a large maze that was 3'x4'. He started in the top left hand corner, went across and down on the right side. After the top row, he could not go cross his midline from the right to the left. He realized that he wasn't doing it right, and said, "I failed didn't I?" Patty explained to him that he didn't "fail," but that was part of the left-sided weakness that we would want to work on. He explained that he could see the left side of the chart, he just couldn’t physically move past the center. Georgette said she would refer David to a vision specialist. Later that afternoon, she came in to say that she had talked to the dr. and the specialist would be evaluating him. We so appreciate their efforts to help David so quickly.

I, meanwhile, drove to ‘In N Out’ to buy a vanilla shake for David’s huge birthday bash. Patty made a cake last night, white with chocolate frosting, per David’s instructions. Last night Patty also decorated David’s room with lame looking party stuff, so that it felt like a five year old was about to celebrate his birthday. But what are you going to do in the hospital? It is just good that David has a mom, because if it was left up to me, I guarantee you, things would look even dumber.

Bruce (speech) came at noon and we lit one of the 21 candles (even that one had to be kept ‘under the radar’) sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and David ate cake and sipped his shake through the straw. He would alternately say to Bruce, “cake”, “shake”,
“chocolate frosting” and Bruce would hold out whatever David asked for, until David said “beer” and Bruce checked the pockets of his lab coat and slowly shook his head! I just love that his sense of humor is back too!

David opened some presents, and then started to fall asleep. At five, he was still sleeping. Six o'clock came with a phone call from his grandpa and grandma Moriarity. We held the phone up, but he fell in and out of sleep. Laura called shortly afterwards, and he tried talking some, but seemed tired. Finally, he said he wanted it quiet, and for us to leave. So we did! Before we left him for the night I asked him how his 21st Birthday was and he said, “it was a good day.”
And it was. :-)

Steve (and Patty some!)

Thursday, December 13th, 2007

2007-12-13T22:14:00.000-08:00

When we got to David’s room this morning Se and a nurse were already getting him dressed and ready for physical therapy. Outside his room the new walker was waiting, so I knew what they had in mind for him. They (Se and the OT guy, Mark) took David down the hall, Mark in front guiding and pulling the walker, and Se behind, lifting David’s left leg and helping him move it forward. At the end of the hall they all rested (meaning Se and Mark), but after a minute David said, “lets go”, so what could the therapists do but, another lap. David had them earning their money this morning, and they were very proud of his determination.
Georgette (occupational therapy) worked with David on showering. This stuff seems so simple, but with limited mobility, it can be very difficult. David did great, by doing everything that was asked of him.
There was a party scheduled for tonight, at the hospital, put on by the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, and David wanted to go. We arrived a little late (sooo Huddleston) but David won a door prize for having the closest birthday, and a gift for just showing up, and another basket of weird stuff for no reason at all. A productive night! Plus there was good music (a live band) and a good Christian message. Also, lots of ice cream sundaes and cookies, all of which David couldn’t eat. I could see no reason for a 20-year-old man to want to stay, but David did. The band kept playing, and David seamed content to listen. Before we left(and we were the last ones out because David said he was having fun) he wanted to thank the people in charge. He shook hands with many people and expressed his thanks for the entertainment. He still amazes me. Of course then, he asked the lady (let me remind you everyone is gone except the hosts and they are cleaning up, the band is still playing a little, but all those in wheelchairs and beds had left except us!) if there would be any more gifts. OK now I want to crawl under the table and disappear!
When we got back to his room (did we tell you that it was made for three patients, but David is the only one) he was real talkative, and said some really funny stuff, all with a totally straight face. Which, of course, made it twice as funny. He said that he wanted to go to Patty’s car (why not my mini van?) and drive away fast. He called his sister (Christa) who asked what he wanted for his 21st birthday. He didn’t respond quickly, so she asked him if she could mail him a beer, and he said, “Sure, a Coors”. He went on and on with a straight face and had us in stitches. He said a lot of things, some based in reality, some not so much. It was a great and weird day. I think that he is becoming more and more aware, and at least more creative in his stories. It is normal to be a little delusional at this point in his recovery, but he was talking so good and so eloquently, that it was heartwarming nonetheless.
Thanks for all of your prayers; we know that they are working in a mighty way.
Steve

Wednesday, December 12th, 2007

2007-12-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

David had another sleepy day, even though they cut back on his sleeping medication. He barely woke up for physical therapy. Se (PT) let me practice transferring David from bed to the wheelchair, and back again. I’ve done it before, but it never hurts to practice. Poor David is the guinea pig though. He then rode a stationary bike with Se helping his left leg.

Georgette (OT) stretched his arm.

Speech (Bruce and Karen) watched him eat again, and he did well. Karen said that maybe he can have cake as well as his ‘In N Out’ shake for his birthday. Patty had better get busy baking!

The NeuroPsych lady could not wake David for his session with her, so she left with threats of coming back tomorrow.

A veteran in a wheelchair came by with his trained ‘care’ dog. I’m sure there is a real name for this type of service dog. It was half Labrador and half golden retriever. It responded to a lot more commands than I do. Really, just ask Patty! The dog jumped up on David’s bed and he petted him for a while until they both fell asleep. I think the dog was fakin’ it.

Tonight we took David to play BINGO in a large room at the hospital. A veteran's group puts it on with the help of sponsors. Tonight it was a local Starbucks. They supplied drinks and desserts, paid for the gifts, and brought a bunch of volunteers from the shop to help. Some called numbers, others checked when BINGO was called, others helped the patients who needed it. Some of the patients, like David, had family with them. David won $6 in coupons for the VA hospital store and two blankets. Not bad for free. Not being BINGO regulars, it took all of us, Patty, David, a nurse and me to watch his four cards.

We heard about the death of one of David’s best friend’s Dad. The family was devastated of course, and we mentioned this to David tonight. He called his friend, got his machine, and told Chris that he had heard about his Dad, and was very sorry, and asked for Chris to call him back. I was touched that even in David’s state he still wanted to comfort a friend.

Then David called Kelli and invited her to his going away party. We didn’t know he was going away, and we definitely know that he is not having a party. Whatever!

After David fell asleep tonight (BINGO can wear a guy out) Patty saw the young mom with two kids who lives in our Fisher House in the rec. room. She started to play a game with the kids (they speak mostly Spanish) so that the mom could finish the conversation she was having on her cell phone. I think that Patty was playing teacher (she admitted that preschool teachers have a special calling) with these two, ages 4 and 2 and they won.

We are looking forward to another great day tomorrow and excited for what the Lord has in store for us!

Thanks for your prayers,

Steve

Tuesday, December 11th, 2007

2007-12-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

I had been away from Patty and David for 10 days, as I worked back in Riverside, so I was really excited about seeing David this morning. Yesterday afternoon he was sort of quiet, so I wanted to see him rested. Well, he almost slept through speech therapy, where he has been practicing 'eating'. After three bites of apple sauce he just fell asleep. Bruce said he would try again around lunch time.

PT rolled in and got David into a wheel chair and rolling toward the gym, but not before he called the physical therapist, Se, some really bad things. She is so nice, friendly, and professional, and we were horrified, but she took it in stride, and asked David if he could let her know if something was bothering him and she would try her best to help him. So after this 'incident' she had David 'walk' in a walker about 30 feet down a hall. She helped him move his left foot, and he sort of did the rest. It took a long time!

OT had David matching picture cards, and lining them up in sequence. He aced the first one quickly, but had some trouble with the next few. They then moved on to cards, where the cards are face down and you have to pick two of a kind from your memory. Well, even David will admit that his memory is not so good, and he did not do well at all. We spent some time trying to get him to remember some of his passwords, e-mail, Vonage, MySpace, but can't quite get them right. I think he gets that from me.

Bruce, the speech therapist, came back about lunch time and had me feed David pudding, while I ate applesauce. Kind of like a family sitting around eating lunch together. It went well and David had a good appetite, finishing his pudding and then my apple sauce. Bruce takes notes the whole time on how long it took him to swallow, whether he swallowed a second or third time, whether he was aware of and wiped food from his lips, etc. We asked Bruce if David could have an 'In N Out' shake for his birthday lunch on Friday and he said maybe. Bruce commented that David's language is so good. I was impressed several times today by the questions and comment that David made. He is expressing a very high level of thought sometimes.

I introduced David to a guy (Chris) that I had met earlier, who had similar symptoms as David. He was on leave from the army, and riding a quad when he had an accident. He had traumatic brain injury, and left side neglect like David. He seems normal, though he is currently walking with a cane. David wanted to talk to him, and it was a very cool conversation. Chris told him to be patient, that David would be walking again also. David asked if Chris had problems with his memory, and he said yes, that he is still working on that, but it is getting better. They talked a bit longer, then David said that he would like to talk to Chris again. I think that it might help a lot if David can talk to more guys who are a little farther along in their recovery.

Then a different therapist asked David if he wanted to help them test a new 'walker', and he said yes. So we walked down the hall again, this time to the end (maybe 60 yards) with a new fancy walker that supports the patients weight with a harness type of thingy. He did well, and it is as much of a workout for the therapists as David, as they are down low moving his left leg the whole way.

Patty talked to the doctor about how drugged and sleepy he seems, and they will be decreasing the Trazadone that he gets at night by a third.

As always, we rely on your prayers, and truly appreciate your comments and support.

Thanks, Steve

December 10, 2007

2007-12-10T22:17:00.001-08:00

10:18 pm

This am Laura and Brea left (not easily) for Dallas, TX. Steve came in around 4:30 pm and was excited to visit his son. Well, he was asleep! We got a call later on saying he was awake and went over to visit. He talked some, but Steve was shocked at how slow to answer and quiet he was. When Steve asked if his throat hurt because of the trachea, he answered that his molars were hurting from clenching his teeth. Then I noticed that one foot was on the floor without a sock on. I asked if his foot was cold and he said it gets so cold that it gets numb and then it doesn't bother him anymore! We put socks on him. Then he wanted out of his wheelchair and in bed again. He watched tv some and then fell asleep with Aunt Annette's AirForce blanket that she made.
Back to this am.and what David worked on today. At 8 AM, David had a specialist come in with Se (P.T.) and check his new leg brace to see why it was rubbing and making David's foot sore. David's feet are very dry and cracked with callouses. His right foot he said is hurting. The Doctors came in and requested for Podiatry to come look at his feet. The specialist made another boot type thing to help protect that foot too. Next, the CNA and I shaved David and cut his hair. He gave the thumbs up to take a shower afterwards, but when all was said and done, he said he wanted to go to bed for a "love nap". OK, sure! While we were transfering David to bed, he wanted to take his pajama pants off. Thinking he was just going to bed and could wear them in bed, we left them on. When he got in bed, he hit the CNA, and said why didn't you help me take my pajamas off? Mike (CNA) told David in a stern voice that hitting was not ok, and that he, and everyone around, are just trying to help him get better. With some prompting from me, David apologized and said thanks after he got help to take his pajama pants off.
At 9:30 AM, Bruce, Speech Therapist, came in and after trying to awaken David for quite awhile, was able to give him some pudding and juice from a straw. David swallowed well for the pudding, the juice took quite awhile getting all the way up the straw to his mouth the first time. The next time was easier, then David bit the straw and wouldn't/couldn't release it for a couple of minutes.
At 10:00 the specialist and PT came back to see if there was any redness from the brace. None! but, Se was concerned that sometimes it is red, and other times it isn't red after wearing it. She seems to know what she is doing, and is pretty sure of what she is saying. She is great with David. So patient and kind to him. Praise God for these great people. During PT, David had to wheel himself down to the gym by himself. He was still sort of out of it, but made good progress. When he got to the gym, he balanced on a big ball, trying to keep his back straight and shoulders down. He had a hard time, but was successful. Next, he squatted and picked up/moved cones on the steps up and down. This too was very hard for him. He did find a short cut, the last time they asked him to pick up the two cones and put them down a step, he picked them both up with 2 fingers in the holes at the top and brought them down.
He also had OT, Neuropsych, more speech, and recreational therapy today. I didn't go to those, so......I'll let you know tomorrow what they are working on with him.
Tonight at the Fisher House, when I was looking for AirForce guys to give blankets to, Steve and I talked to 2 guys that are in the transitional rehab program. They were where David is now, but have progressed. It was very encouraging to talk to them. 2 awesome guys in the Army. They are wanting blankets like David's! If anyone else likes to sew, Wal Mart has military panels that you just sew a plain colored flannel back on it, and they are beautiful. There are many guys in the TBI and Spinal Cord Unit/Ward that were in the Marines and Army.
Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts and comments on the guestbook. They keep me going and help me keep in contact with you all. Love, Patty

Sunday, December 9, 2007

2007-12-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

Today was not very exciting... David slept ALL day! He had OT/PT for two hours, but mom, Brea and I were at church. I know he needs his rest, and it sounded like he didn't sleep much last night. Course he probably won't sleep through tonight either... He FINALLY woke up around 7 pm, and I went to hang out with him. He was pretty quiet, and would only talk if he had to use the bathroom or he wanted me to scratch his back or side. REALLY? I finally asked if he wanted to call Christa, dad, or Kelli, and he said "text Kelli for me." So I did (on my phone). He started talking and telling me what to text her, and I'd read back what she said. I'm a little jealous that it took Kelli to get him to talk :o). Anyway, he seemed to enjoy that. I told him dad was coming tomorrow and he had a little tear in his eye, and said he was excited. I'd like to think the tear was because I'm leaving tomorrow, but that wasn't the case :o(. I did get a big hug though and he rubbed my back for awhile. Then I read him more of your guestbook comments until he fell asleep at about 9. He had said that he had a good day, and that he was feeling good, so I was glad for that.

It's hard to leave hime, especially when he's making so much progress! God is faithful and I know that David will surprise me with his progress when I get to see him next!

As always, thanks for your prayers, and your comments!

Laura

P.S. Oh, and as we're printing out comments for David to read, we realize that it would be easier if you could post all your comments in the guestbook on the left side of the blog. Otherwise we have to cut and paste from each day, and that gets hard. You can still post comments to us in the comment section, but any for David specifically would be nice in the guestbook so we can print them out. Thanks! Y'all are awesome!

Saturday, December 8, 2007

2007-12-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

Today David was able to relax a bit more! He had PT/OT this morning and he was stretched. He'd tell her where it hurt, and she'd stretch it there for a few seconds. Then he put his weight on his left foot and tapped cones that were in front and back. He rode the bike some. Then Mom sat at a table with him and she hid a small cone under one of the 3 large cones and she'd move it around so he could track it and find it. He found it about 50% of the time.

This afternoon David was chillin' in bed, and a bit out of sorts. He started writing letters on a paper, but they'd end up on top of each other. Mom put a ruler on top of the paper to try and keep the writing straight, but David said it was hard because the pen kept hitting the top of the ruler. Anyway, he wrote a note to dad saying: Dear dad, everyone is annoying me. Mom clarified the last 2 words and he said "ANNOYING." Mom suggested a break, and he said, "a break is good." He had also been flipping through the limited amount of channels on his TV. Mom and I asked him if he'd want a portable DVD player so he could watch movies, and he said yes. So this evening we went out to get him one for his birthday. Does anyone know some of his favorite movies? Since I'm asking questions, what cologne did he wear? I know it's a silly question, but we thought it might help him feel more normal.

Tonight I went back and talked with him. He was very thoughtful, thinking about "everything." He talked about how it was hard to remember certain things, and I tried to reassure him that it won't always be this hard, and how some of the medicine he's on can make him feel out of sorts too. He nodded. I asked if he was hopeful, and he nodded again. He said that he was praying, and I was glad. I also told him again how proud we all are of him, how much progress he's made and talked about the blog again. I asked him if he wanted me to read the comments from the blog, and after some time he said "you can read me the comments if you don't have anything else to do." I told him there was nothing I'd rather do, and started reading to him. I loved seeing him close his eyes as I read each of them, and then open his eyes when I paused to see if he was asleep. Nope, he was just visualizing. Eventually though, he did fall asleep to the words of his friends and family and Bible verses that you have been so gracious to find and use to encourage us. I love that he can now get that same encouragement!! So keep on writing folks!! Tonight was precious for me, he looked so peaceful and he said that today was mostly good. God is working such miracles in my brother, and I am hopeful too!

Love you all,

Laura

Friday, December 7, 2007

2007-12-07T19:55:00.001-08:00

Hi again! Today was another good day for David, but also quiet one. He worked hard in PT- walking slowly with a walker and help from the trainers, and also balancing on his left foot while he tapped his right one forward and backward. It wasn't very graceful, but definitely showed how much stronger he is getting! During OT his left arm was strecthed and Georgette said that his range of motion is getting better, and he's able to stretch a couple degrees more than he used to be able to. All good things there! His left ankle has more flex too, the goal is to get it to 90 degrees, and I think Se said he was down to around 120 degrees (??). I noticed his foot was really dry, so I asked him if he wanted some lotion, and he said "sister will you put it on?" I was thrilled that he called me sister again! Christa got a call from David the other day and he said, "Hey sister..." and kept talking just like the old David would. I stinkin' love it!

After those sessions, Bruce came back in (speech) and gave him some pudding. This time David fed himself, Bruce just held the cup for him. He said it tasted good! Bruce also came back in the afternoon to let him try some cranberry juice. David liked it as well and even held the cup a few times for himself. Sometimes it seems frustrating that they won't just give him some real food, but then I watch David eat slowly and carefully and realize that he's learning to swallow and eat again, and it's okay that he takes his time. A funny thing I have to tell is that David was scratching his nose (he gets no privacy folks) and we asked if he needed a kleenex. Bruce laughed and told David just to flick it. And David listened. There wasn't anything on his finger, but he did the flicking motion which was hillarious! My brother's still in there and still freaking funny, facial expressions or not! He did give a couple smiles today, but it's still only the right side that actually smiles.

I missed his session with the recreational therapist, but lately David's been playing Dominoes with him, so maybe they did the same today. I did see him with the neuropsychologist again, and he was a little more talkative with her than any other time today. His responses were appropriate and often accurate, but he told one story that he thought happened today but actually happened before his accident. He had a hard time remembering things again, and I was really amazed at how much response time he needed (and used) before answering a question. It was a pause that went passed the normal time, then into uncomfortable waiting, then a little bit more silence and David would answer. He wasn't looking at her either, which made me think he was off and daydreaming, but he was actually just thinking. I realized again that I need to be more patient talking to him. Not that I'm impatient, it's just that when it gets to the uncomfortable silence I usually give him another option or question, which probably sets him back even further. Anyway the NP did really well at listening and probing appropriately.

I mentioned that David was really quiet today, and I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that the trache is out. He mentioned that it hurts to talk and I've noticed that air still comes out through the bandage in his neck. When he did talk, it wasn't a quiet voice, it was very understandable. And part of the reason I felt like he didn't talk much was because his days are packed full of therapies (which is great!) and during his breaks he really wants and needs his sleep. I guess I got to observe more the last two days than I'm used to. This weekend he only has PT/OT, so hopefully we'll get to talk with him when he's more alert, and maybe he'll want to make a few phone calls.

I was really excited today to hear that some of David's nurses and therapists are reading David's blogs too. It's great because then they get to see the David that we all love and are praying to get back, and ALL the support he has through all of you. They really do work so hard for him, and he's not always the patientest patient (did you get that?). We're grateful for all they do!! Oh, and I just thought I'd mention some more of the amazing people here- there have been a bunch of people who donate items to the Fisher House and to the patients in the hospital, and also to their families. Today they gave us some toys for Brea and gifts for David, and there are so many cards that come too! I can't believe I didn't know that places like this existed, and I can't express my gratitude for how they are selflessly serving the patients. Praise God for them!

Thanks for your prayers! We still need them and are soo thankful! Thank you also for your comments. We were finally able to check out a computer from the fisher house, so the blogs should be consistent again (unless Grey's Anatomy comes on again J/K). And we can feel like humans and check our emails and stuff again too.

Have a super night! God Bless!

Laura

Thursday, December 6, 2006

2007-12-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

8:30 AM Friday- (writing about Thursday)

Hey everyone! Sorry we missed the blog last night. David went to bed around 9 and mom and I HAD to watch Grey's Anatomy! We sort of fell asleep afterwards... Sorry!

Well, David had a really great day yesterday! He didn't have any hitting episodes and didn't seem paranoid or worried that people were plotting to attack him. We're obviously thankful for that, because it's really hard to comfort him when he's irrational, and also of course for his sake, how scary it must be to be out of sorts and confused.

During PT/OT he told us that he used the bike, maybe even the stationary bike?? Mom, Brea and I went to Mervyns to get him some comfy "workout" pants so we missed a bit of the morning. I visited him when we came back and we talked a bit, but he was tired and fell asleep for awhile. When I came back, I noticed he had his trache out!!! YAY! He has a large bandage on his neck, and he said it hurts a bit to talk as air kinda comes out through his neck still. What progress he's making! I can't wait til he gets his feeding tube out so there won't be anything for him to pull at and make him uncomfortable (and so he'll get to eat of course!). Speaking of that, David had another swallow session with Bruce, the speech therapist, and fed himself some pudding. I videotaped the whole thing, so once we get Dad's computer back we can start putting up some of the videos we've aquired. It'll be fun to look back on when he's better and see how far he's come. David was sound asleep when Bruce came in, but quickly woke up when he felt a spoon on his mouth. He started off slow, opening his mouth and Bruce would feed him, then he became more impatient and was motioning with his hand to speed it up. Finally he held the spoon and fed himself. He said it was "yummy."

He also had a session with the neuropsychologist, and he was talking a lot to her. He was remembering working in the movie theater and described his job, described his soccer position from high school, and and talked about his family...which is where he began to embellish a bit. Now he has a brother and a sister, who both have two kids, 2 step-brothers (maybe he meant brother-in-laws?), and 2 cousins. Cousins, you can fight over which one's he's claiming! But after those comments he mentioned Christa and me, and seemed to be back with it. Who knows?? Then the doctor's came and needed to talk with mom, so I was forced to relieve mom of her grandma role at the house. The docs discussed the medicine changes, which seemed to work well today as far as aggression and the confusion go, and also explained some of David's left sided eye weakness. When David writes, he always starts in the middle and writes toward the right. I guess with his eyes, he's probably seeing from about the middle to the right, and needs to remember to turn his head to see things on his left (which he can do). I'm not sure I understand this all, but just another thing to pray for healing from.

After the doctors talked with mom, she went back to him and read the blog comments to him. He REALLY enjoyed it and kept telling her to continue. He also asked for his phone, so mom called and got service (no texts or pics though) on it and charged it, so it's ready for him to make some calls. Here's the thing with the phone though, we don't want people to call or text him yet, but we want you to know that he may be calling you! If you do get a call from him, realize that he may be quiet for awhile as he gets his thoughts and words together, and be patient. It's hard not to fill in the awkward space with talking, but if you ask him a question, you might need to wait 30 sec- 1 min. for him to answer. And sometimes he hangs up without warning, and sometimes he calls back... Just be prepared!! One more thing, he got a brace for his foot, that should help keep it flat and straight so that he'll be able to put all his weight on it when he walks.

I think that's about it for yesterday, but if I forgot anything we'll add it tonight!

Have a great day! Thanks for your continued prayers and comments! God is GREAT!!
Laura

December 5, 2007

2007-12-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

8:00 pm
Hello again! We had a pretty good day today. During PT, I learned how to transfer David from the wheelchair. It didn't seem too hard but tonight when I practiced he was too tired and had trouble moving his right leg. He made it though! The Recreational Therapist was there to help.

Another swallow test today, and good results. We weren't there, but David said he did exceptional. You can't always believe everything he says, but some things you have to....Like after I transfered David from the wheelchair to a bench, I asked him, "Who is your favorite mom?" He answered correctly, "You!" Then I asked if he loved me and he said, "YES". Finally I made him tell me, "I love you." and he said sincerely, truthfully, and lovingly, "I love you." Now that we know he always tells the truth, later in the day Ryan and Kelli Manning were talking to him on the phone and he told them that he would be 15 on his birthday, and that he had TWO brain surgeries! Earlier he told me that he thinks he had some brain damage after a couple of falls snowboarding. That was probably true too, but he thinks that that is what the accident was. At this stage it is common for them to fabricate some information. (FUN STAGES!) He also hit another Aide and sent him to the ER! Pray for this stage and his mental state.

The Recreational Therapists came and asked David if he wanted to go to a Craft Fair in the main hospital. He wanted to go to get out of the building, so we (2 RTs, Nurse, David, and I) did. They took a picture of the two of us by a small, metal, Christmas tree, and I made a bookmarker. He made a candle by scooping lots of beads into a candle holder and then putting a candle in it, helped by some boy scouts who were really patient. The auditorium was packed full of people and activities, so we didn't stay long. David did all right being in a public place for about 15 minutes. Many moms at the Fischer House talk about how with brain trauma, their sons get very nervous and need to leave a store after a short time. The RTs said that this afternoon, David played Dominoes with them, told them that his dad was a "Great" Photographer", that he was stationed in Turkey and had done communications networking. They were really impressed with all the talking he was doing.

David told me tonight that the Respiratory Therapist told him that if he doesn't pull out his trachea anymore, that he might be able to get it out the end of the week. Oh yes, he did pull it out today in front of Laura! Yesterday, he coughed while the therapist was putting it back on him, and it shot out across the room in front of me! WOW! The therapist, Joe, just continued talking and asked me to look at the hole in his neck! I did!!!!!!
Continue praying for this "stage" of the game, that no one else gets hurt. Pray for David's mental state, he is saying somethings to make me feel he is unhappy! DUH! I know, but..... We read lots of scriptures today that Laura and Christa posted on the walls. He said he is having problems with his eyes and reading. He also recognizes his memory problems. I have reassured him that God isn't finished with him yet. He has come a long way this week, walking and talking! His brain is healing and will repair itself. Pray again for patience for all of us. Praise God that the nurses getting hit are understanding! They say they know that this can happen..... Patty

Tuesday, December 4 2007

2007-12-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

9:23 pm

I just got off the phone with Laura and she asked me to write the blog tonight as they are still without a computer. This won't be as good coming from a third party... but here goes!

David got his first shower today since the accident!!!! He seemed to love it!! He was sound asleep and no one could get him up, but as soon as they asked him if he wanted to take a shower, he woke up and started to try to get out of bed by himself!

David did really good in PT today. He rode the bike thingy from his wheelchair again and got his left leg to do up to 35% of the work, where as yesterday, the most he could get it up to was 17%! His overall average after 10 minutes total was 18% on his left leg. He walked in the modified walker with Chris helping him move his left leg. Everytime Chris moved David's left leg, David would say, "Good job!". David also showed his PT's what good bargaining skills he has. They asked David to move his left leg 60% of the way. David came back with 40%. The PT's finally settled with 50%! Everytime they sat David back down he would say, "Now we're good." David asked Georgette, another PT, if she would be his nurse. She said she can't. He asked why. She said she'd have to go back to school. David said he wouldn't mind waiting! (Apparently, his brain injury hasn't affected the flirting! In fact, I think he's milking this whole thing for more attention!!) Laura said he seemed to be more forgetful today about some things, and David even told Mitch (PT) that he needs to work on his memory. But then again, he kept reminding Mitch when he forgot his belt that they put around him to help hold him up by and would also remind Mitch what they were going to do next.

He played the Nintendo Wii bowling game with Laura again and did even better today, but didn't play for very long before he wanted to go to bed. They tried to play dice and cards while he was in bed without much success. His trache was capped all day today (so Laura thought) and she said they talked alot. She said he was pretty funny today which is even more funny since he has no real facial expressions to go with his humor. She said on several occasions, he tried to get her to help him escape. He kept asking for the car keys and where the car was. He said that Laura could drive... he didn't care... he just wanted to get out of there.

He passed the first part of his swallow test and even wanted to call Dad and tell him. He was pretty proud of himself and told Laura that Dad would be proud of him too! Dad was, of course, and even called me after David's phone call to tell me the good news! David did reassure Laura that he would hold off his escape until after tomorrow, because he needs to pass his swallow test!!! He got to eat pudding and applesauce today because he did so good! He didn't seem to like it right away, but later admitted that it was good. However, this is just the beginning of a process that could last up to 2 weeks of eating and monitoring before they take out the trache and give him REAL food.

They felt that today was a good day over all. There were less periods of confusion and hallucinations, although they're still there periodically. (At one point he was telling people he had 3 sisters.) Still no telling what's causing this. The doctors say that it is just a stage that all TBI patients go through, which is somewhat comforting, but doesn't make it any easier to watch him go through. Pray for his mind and for my mom and Laura's patience and understanding as they help him through his episodes. It is not an easy job for them or the people who work with him on a daily basis.

-Christa

Monday, December 3, 2007

2007-12-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

8:30 pm
Wow, today was heart breaking! It was good and bad.
Good news: David was sleepy this morning. I tried at 9 am to wake him up with shaving, wet cloths, getting him dressed, and more! He was a zombie. Bruce, the Speech Therapist was coming at 9:30 to assess his swallowing. I really wanted him awake. When David was still sleepy at 10 am, the Respiratory Therapist came in and checked his airway out. He decided again not to cap the trachea as David wasn't getting enough air flow. He tried to take more air out of the cuff inside the trachea, but decided to just change it to a smaller one in the afternoon. David still could talk, somewhat and was awake after all. Bruce, Speech Therapist, came back at 11 and did his preliminary assessment for the swallowing test. He passed without much problem. Tomorrow they will do another swallow test where they watch him swallow some applesauce. They will make sure it goes down into the stomache instead of the lungs. If so.... they will start supplementing his feeding tube "food" with real "stuff".
Bad news: David is acting unlike himself. He punched a male nurse in the face, then kicked him in the balls. He pulled another nurse's hair, and tried to grab her glasses. This was all right after the Respiratory Therapist came back to check his new trachea. I was in the room with him and a LVN, while he was trying to finish attatching the trachea collar. The dr. came in an asked how it was going. He observed for awhile and asked if I had any questions. I said "YES!" A new nurse came in at sometime, and tried to help by having David take deep breathes. That seemed to help. After it was attatched, the dr said everyone stand back, remember to only have one person talking at a time, and stay calm. We stood back for a minute and let him calm down. It helped, but....... then he did a couple more things that were inappropriate. The dr. thanked the nurses and expressed what a hard job they have. No kidding! I left with the dr. and asked what was going on with this aggressive behavior that my sweet son was showing. He assured me this is normal to go through. No one takes it personnally and it is expected as TBI patients are coming out of the coma. He asked if I could to meet with him, the Neuropsychologist, and a couple more important people tomorrow at 1 pm to discuss David. "Of course!".... I walked with David as he wheeled around the halls after the chaos calmed down. He grabbed another nurse in the hallway and tried to take her badge. He went to the nurses' desk and demanded a piece of paper, snapping his fingers. He wrote a note telling them that someone was trying to kill him! As I was trying to tell him that he was safe, he punched me in the cheek. Luckily it was soft, and we had words about he can't hit people. We played football for awhile and finally he asked to go back to his room. Mitchell came by to say hi, 2 hours after he was off, and helped transfer him back to bed. I tell you these guys are so dedicated! And, they put up with a lot of crap.
So, continue to pray, pray, pray, and then pray somemore! David is obviously aggitated, and will be more when he finds out I've told everyone! Pray for his 20 different medications that he is on! I am going to look them up and discuss with the dr. what could be causing this reaction from the meds that we can eliminate. One of the nurses told me that this was the easy part, that it will get much worse!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pray, pray, pray!!!!!!!!!!!!This is insane! Thanks! and Goodnight!

PS I am hearing about many great friends who want to come visit. I know David would love to see you, but I'm not sure if he should be stimulated anymore with people coming up to visit right now. This is an ugly time he is going through and I think he would be embarrassed. Plus, he is aggitated by stimuli and with all the therapies, doctor appointments, nursing staff that is busy with him, etc., it is overwhelming for him. The staff has mentioned this to us, and I keep ignoring them because I love the visits. But, I do see that too many people (just on staff), is too much for him right now. It is a long way to come to just visit for a short time. So, I'm asking you to put those visiting plans off for the moment. I know it is almost his 21st birthday, but he needs to get lots of rest to heal too. What do you think? I hope you understand! It truly is killing me not to have visitors for awhile too. Love, Patty

Sunday, December 2, 2007

2007-12-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

David was sleepy this am again. When I went to his room, his throat was aggitated from popping/breaking the cuff on the trachea. The Respiratory Therapist decided not to cap the trachea but to keep moisture flowing over his throat/trachea. Despite him not being capped, David still was able to talk some. Physical Therapy was great. Mitchell is amazing! He stood at a table and reached for objects on his left side with Kelli and me. Next he rode a bike from the wheelchair that told him how much work his legs were doing, versus the machine. At one point his left leg was pushing 17%. Finally, he walked with a walker about 20 feet to Kelli. She got the biggest hug from him. We were all cheering. Now, mind you it took him quite awhile to get there, and one of the therapists was behind him helping with moving his left leg and foot. I can't wait to figure out how to get videos on here of all these events. Plus, right now, I don't have a computer. I am using the spinal cord patients' computer in their rec. hall. That's why it is taking awhile to get these blogs on, sorry. I guess we are all learning patience! Kelli had to leave at 2 pm and David was definitely depressed. :-( In the afternoon, David seemed to be hallucinating. He told Laura, "Call mom and tell her to meet me outside." He wanted to go home. Laura talked to him about how God has a plan for him and it wasn't to leave right now. After a few minutes of convincing, David nodded. He had several incidents where he hit a nurse, and was out of control. Please pray for these incidents, and also that the nurses would continue to have patience with him.

Saturday December 1, 2007

2007-12-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

First things first, this is Kelli, I was told to write the blog as a result of having Brea put frosting all over her face and hair so Laura has to clean her(haha woops). This morning my mom and I went to David's room at 10am to go with him to PT. However, he was already in there so we went to meet up with him. We got in there and the PT's asked me to help them. They did this thing with them where they moved cones around and one cone had a small cone underneath it. They moved the cones and David had to pick the right one, I was super surprised that he was able to pick the right one because I couldn't even do it ha. He was super tired after PT, so he went to sleep for about an hour and a half. In the mean time my mom, Patty, Laura, Grandpa and I stayed in the room and watched David sleep. I tried to do homework haha, I tried for about 2 minutes. Eventually David woke up and we asked him if he wanted to go outside and he said that he did "Now." After getting him in the wheelchair & being connected to his G-tube feeding we walked around with everyone and the nurses. We stopped to listen to some Christmas Carolers. When they were finished we made our way outside. On our way outside, David told Patty and I that he wanted to "go to the car and go far away fast." We went to some benches instead, the nurses helped us to get him out of the wheelchair so he could sit on a bench. When we got him settled I sat with him and he had his arm around me and was rubbing my arm. So Patty, Laura, and my mom decided it was picture/video time (kinda embarrassing and awkward but whatever). Patty & my mom said that they would give us some "alone time." At this point everyone went about ten steps behind a small bush and watched and called it privacy. We did some arm stretches with David, I actually almost completely straightened his left arm, which no one was able to do thus far. We played some bowling on Wii, and we sat on the couch for a little while. He had a slight stomach ache after lunch and slept for the rest of the night after that. He would open his eyes briefly but close them real quick after. Until next time...

Kelli and everybody!!!

Friday, November 30, 2007

2007-11-30T21:01:00.000-08:00

Midnight PST

There is so much to write about...

Yesterday morning David did really well during PT/OT time in the gym. He walked 3 laps on the parallel bars, and was really determined to get out of his chair and go. Se, PT, told him to be patient, and count to 3 before he got up so they would be ready, and David kept counting really fast- determined to get up.

The respiratory therapist came to talk to David yesterday about his trache, and the anatomy of the throat- trying to alleviate the fears he has about suffocating and aspirating. The RT also gave an inservice to staff about traches, so that there would be no more incidences of not deflating the balloon before capping his trache.

Mom and I talked to the doctor yesterday about all her questions, specifically about rearranging his medicine schedule to give him more sleep at night. David's trache was capped in the morning and then at night, sleeping most of the afternoon. When he woke up, about 4 in the afternoon, we were told that he was pretty restless and agitated, hitting a nurse or two, and the nurses needed to sedate him to calm him down. He woke up from the sedation around 8 at night, and mom and I went to see him. He didn't talk to us much, but when mom dialed Kelli's number he started talking to her with the speaker phone on. Mom had to repeat some of what David said to her since his voice is still soft and whispery. He told her that she wouldn't believe the day he had, that "some crap" happened, and that he was hurt so much worse today. Of course our blood pressure was rising as we listened for the rest of the story. He said that a guy nurse grabbed his wrists and twisted them. Though we were fuming inside, we explained that sometimes the nurses worry that he's going to pull his trache or his peg tube out when really he just wants to scratch under the elastic band on his stomach that protects the peg tube, or rub his neck around his trache. But that's why they try to pull his arms away. David responded that he was so frustrated and that he tried to tell them... He didn't have his trache plugged, so we think that the way he would "tell them" would have been to keep trying to do what he needed- which would have worried the nurses even more. As furious and curious as we felt, we told David the part of the story that the doctors told us, about him hitting the nurses, and he felt really bad. He asked if they were okay, and we told him they were. We assured him that we would figure out what happened, and told him that he could have the nurses call us at anytime if he needed us. They're supposed to be calling us right when he wakes up from naps, but it seems like they wait until he gets settled into a wheelchair before they call us (which we're trying to change). David was pretty tired and started to fall asleep again, so we said a prayer and left him to sleep.

Today, we woke up and went to be with David while he got up and ready for the day-watched him shave and prep for Kelli's visit :o). The speech therapist, Bruce, had changed his appointment time from the afternoon to the morning to hopefully catch David awake, but for some reason David slept through most of the session. He woke up right after Bruce walked away, and we wonder if he's faking it... J/K, I know David likes Bruce. Then it was time for PT/OT, and David again did great standing and walking. He isn't a fan of them when they try to stretch and range his left arm, but when we tell him to push through it and remind him that's it's worth it, he lets them keep going. Kelli and Rose came during his session and were able to see David walking.

After a nap, Kelli went to hang out with David while mom and I had a meeting with the Neuropsychologist. Kelli showed David the video she made, and David watched intently and told a couple stories about the messages you all included. They took him outside and he got to hang out with his aunt, uncle, grandpa, Brea and the Mannings. During the meeting mom and I were in, we were able to problem solve a few problems about overstimulation, getting the nurses/therapists to be more attentive and patient when David talks in his soft voice- listening to what he needs and not filling in the blanks as he talks, trusting his movements a bit more when he seems to be aggitated or uncomfortable, watching some visual cues that he gives when he needs something, and to have them explain what they're doing and why so that David will understand their concerns and not just that they're "restraining" him. We talked to her (as well as the doctor earlier) about David's complaint yesterday about the nurse twisting his wrist, and she said that the nurse did have to hold his wrists down because David's movements were endangering others as well as himself. As hard as it was to hear that complaint from David, we also realize how David CAN and has hurt people when he gets frustrated. Hopefully our ideas that we brainstormed will help out in this area, informing the nurses of David's intentions and working with David's communication. It will only get easier when David is able to talk all day, so we need to be patient too. The neuropsychologist is sort of a liason between the doctors, staff, and us, and she was very open to our ideas and tried to explain some of the future issues we might have with David as he recovers more. When we finished the meeting and went to see David, he was ready to take another nap, so we let him.

At about 4 Kelli called (she was sitting with David for a bit) and said that the doctor wanted to meet with us, so mom, Annette and I went up. He tries to meet with us each day, and this time wanted to include David in the discussion. David had some things on his mind that he was trying to express by writing, but that was too hard. We asked him to be capped, and they allowed it. The nurse had problems doing it, this time in front of the doctor, and I was livid again! She didn't deflate the balloon, and she plugged the trache- so David couldn't breathe for a sec until another nurse took the cap off. When we told her to deflate it, she did and put the cap back on but David still had a hard time getting air, so the doctor asked her to check and make sure it was deflated all the way. Without checking she said yes, but the doctor told her to try again to get all the air out. She squeezed it with her fingers- while my brother's trying to breathe- and the doctor had to tell her to use the syringe and suck all the air out. She finally managed to get all the air out of the balloon and David could breathe easily again. The doctor addressed the situation again with the nurses at the station, and hopefully only the nurses or RTs who are trained with David's type of trache will be working with him. With David being able to talk, he asked the doctor about being able to swallow, and he wanted to talk to Bruce, the Speech guy. Luckily, Bruce was walking down the hallway and I flagged him down. He hadn't heard David talk, since David sleeps through his sessions, and was quite surprised and pleased. David asked what the swallow test was, and Bruce explained that its a 3 day test to see how well David swallows a certain drink. Bruce didn't know that the doctor had put in a request for it to start on Monday, and told mom that he didn't think that David would pass. But again, he hasn't seen David much outside of sleep, so hopefully David will pass with flying colors. Well, that just started the long night, as David was becoming more confused in his thoughts and expressions. He was pushing himself in the halls trying to find his "real" room and wasn't content in any place or area. It was really hard as I was walking next to him in his wheelchair, trying to explain where his room was and show him the pictures of his friends and family on his walls, but David was not content and seemed so frustrated. After an hour of that, mom and I both asked if they could give him some medicine to sedate him a bit. Never thought we'd ask that, but it had to be so hard on David to be in that state. David finally wanted to go to bed, and the nurses were able to feed him since he wasn't in one spot long enough to do that most of the evening. Once he was settled, we prayed again for him and we let him rest.

Thanks for the prayers and your patience as we skipped yesterday's blog! We know God is working miracles in David, and that each of David's new "states" is a step closer to full consciousness and healing. We ask that you continue to pray for David's healing, and for a peace and understanding that can only come from God. We also want to pray hard for his swallowing test, so that he can begin to enjoy food! That would be such a boost to his spirit!!!

-Laura
(I wasn't ready to go home, so I extended my trip 'til the 10th of December!)

P.S. I posted a few more pictures on David's recovery slideshow the other day, so check them out!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

2007-11-28T23:29:00.000-08:00

11:30 PM
David is continuing to improve. The dr. gave me a questionaire to fill out and score on David called The Orientation Log (O-Log). If he answers 25/30 points correctly for 3 days then we know he is past the "post trauma stage"(?). The sooner he comes through this stage, the better his prognosis will be. He has to answer questions about the date, time, city, kind of place that he is in, name of hospital, month, date, year, day of the week, clock time, etiology of his accident, and what is wrong with him. I will ask him the questions tomorrow. However, tonight he was worried about his trachea and if he would be able to talk when they take it out. He has heard us and the nurses discussing inflating and deflating the tube in the trachea and why it has to be there: keep from aspirating fluid into his lungs, being able to talk when it is capped, etc. Well, he is hearing parts of the conversations, and is scared that he might suffocate, aspirate, or get pneumonia. He asked to talk to the dr. We promised that tomorrow he could. He said to tell Kelly he was sorry if he suffocated before she got here! Pray for peace for him. We have tried to explain and think that he is understanding enough to get him through the night hopefully. But what a miracle that he is questioning his treatment! He also this morning was unscrewing the bolt in his arm brace to stretch out his arm more. We laughed that he would become his own physical/occupational therapist or take over their jobs. During therapy today, he stood for 23 minutes at the standing table. Then again this afternoon for a shorter period. He walked the parallel bars a tad bit quicker today. We got a SMILE out of David today. PT was working on his legs and getting him to kick. Christa was sitting close enough by that he would kick her sometimes. She got back at him by tickling his feet. That is when he smiled! :-) He would imitate Christa by putting a "half-sphere, foam, shaped thing" on his head and trying to balance it. We were having fun with him again! The therapists are very good with David and the other guys here. They laugh and joke with them, but treat them very respectful. We are soooo thankful for them. Plus, they let us get involved helping too.
David communicated by writing quite a bit today. It is very hard to read. He looks straight ahead and writes down low. I don't know why he isn't looking at the paper or board that he is writing on. But, when we gave him a phone to text on, it appeared that he was looking straight at the phone. So.... I don't know what type of vision deficits he may have. He did nod yes when we asked if his vision was blurry. Please pray for that issue too.
The family is all leaving tomorrow. Steve, Christa and the kids will drive home early in the morning. I will take Laura and Brea to the airport. Some good "old" friends arrived tonight and are staying till Sat., Randy and Violet Rugh. David hugged Violet tonight and shook Randy's hand. He wrote "Rugh" on the board to let us know that he remembered them! Steve's brother, sister, and dad are coming up tomorrow for a few days. Then Kelli and Rose Manning are coming on Friday. Pray for a safe journey for all of them.
Thanks for all your prayers again. Patty

Tuesday pm (Wednesday), November 27-(28), 2007

2007-11-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

11 PM P.S.T.

Today, during physical therapy in the gym, David stood for 15 minutes (with assistance) at a table while a recreational therapist worked with David. He was testing David with different objects, and David responded appropriately most of the time, but not all. It was a little hectic at the time, and they say that TBI patients can have trouble concentrating when there is a lot going on around them.

He did not have his trachea ‘capped’ so he could not talk today. The doctor told us that perhaps by Saturday his feeding would be under control and he could be ‘capped’ again. Persistent Patty wasn’t content, and made the doctor add to the nursing orders that, with supervision, David could be ‘capped’ briefly between feedings to allow him to talk.

After we left the gym David wheeled (with some steering help) into a multipurpose room where they have computers and video games. They have a ‘Wii’ video game system that has a one handed controller and a bowling game (among others) that seemed perfect for David to try. The coordination required was tricky for him, but he sort of got the hang of it after a few tries. It might turn out to be a favorite. As we were leaving we asked David “where to next” and we tried to get him to write on paper what he felt like doing. He can write legibly sometimes, but often it is a chore to decipher what he has scribbled. He finally wrote “my room”, “relax”. He was pooped.

Tonight they got David into a wheel chair again and took him into the hallway for a ‘walk’. Patty “talked” to the nurses for a long time before they agreed to ‘cap’ his tracea. Back in his room she asked if he wanted to call Kelli Manning and he nodded. David listened for a long, long time to Kelli talking before he said (so quietly that we had to strain to hear him and interpret to Kelli some of what he was saying) “I’m in the hospital”. “I can’t talk or walk”, “I can’t do anything”. He said “I want to go to Riverside” and “I have to stay a while”. (Steve's narration ends here and Patty's romance novel begins). He told Kelli that she was what got him through the day. We asked Kelli to tell David when she was coming up, she said, “Thursday! Then we asked David, “Can you wait three days to see Kelli?” He replied, “I’ll try to wait.” When we told Kelli to hurry up, but drive safe, David nodded yes and said, “Drive safe!” That’s another miracle if you know David’s driving history!!!!!
PS from Patty: It was like straight from a romantic movie, maybe better than Officer and a Gentleman! The nurse, nurse’s aide, Christa and I were all in tears! On the other end of the private conversation, Kelli and (her mom) Rose were in tears at the new library by their house waiting for a meeting to start! It was GREAT! OK, so we’re off to see the romanticist for another exciting day. PRAISE GOD! Thanks again for your prayers and don’t stop! This is AMAZING! How great is our God!

Monday, November 26,2007

2007-11-26T20:33:00.000-08:00

This morning David went to the gym with OT and PT, and he had his trache plugged so he was able to talk. We reminded him of that, because it's got to be a little confusing having his trache plugged one hour and not the next. When we told him to let us know if he was in pain or needed anything, he said "I want my mom" a couple times before we heard him enough to understand. Mom was in the room, but watching him from behind. Of course she quickly went to him, I'm sure just elated!! He stood for 15 min. with support behind his knees so they wouldn't buckle. Mom held a ball in different places for David to grab and throw back to her, trying to get his elbows off the table in front of him and aslo to get him looking more to his left. He had a harder time when the ball was on his left side, and would sort of feel his way up mom's hand in order to find it. We're not sure how well he's seeing out of that eye, or if it was just out of his scope of vision right now. Either way, he found the ball each time and continued to stand. An Occupational Therapist came in to assist. While stretching David's left arm, wrist, David said, "My arm is broken." They explained that it wasn't and they were going to help him be able to use it. After a bit of rest, they took him to the parallel bars and helped him walk the 6 feet down and back. He still needed help moving his left leg, the PT said David did about 25% of the work on that side. David was really tired after the session and went to bed. It was a great morning!!

This afternoon we had "the meeting," where we discussed where David is in his recovery and addressed our concerns with the whole team of specialists working with him. The doctors and therapists are so good at updating us daily, that there were no surprises. They told us about their plan to get David to eat three or four bigger "meals" through his feeding tube rather that the constant feeding that he's been getting. They need to make sure that he can handle the meals and digest them before they take out his trache. There's a balloon ring in the trache that actually protects his lungs in case he were to vomit and then aspirate (food going into the lungs, leading to pneumonia). The bummer is that they will not be able to cap the trache much for the next couple weeks and therefore he won't be able to talk much. It is another step in the process for David to get to eat real food though, so we'll be patient.

After the meeting we checked on David again and he was agitated a bit while PT was working with him again. I asked David if he had to use the bathroom, and he gave me the bathroom signal (crossing 2 fingers), so I left the room and he used the urinal (in bed). Sorry for the details, I'm sure he'd be embarrassed with me posting his bathroom info, but it's so exciting that he's gaining control of that stuff, able to communicate it, and also that he's aware the alternatives and chooses the urinal. He kicked mom out yesterday- actually he said "I want my mom to leave"- when he had to go, and again, that shows that David is becoming more aware and wanting to be more discrete. He fell asleep after he used the bathroom, so we left.

David was asleep each time we tried to visit this afternoon and evening, and so we let him, even though we're sooo anxious to be with him! He did tell Christa that he had to use the RR tonight, but again fell asleep right after that. Mom stayed in the room while David slept and stretched out his left arm, wrist and fingers. He extended his arm about 135 degrees and let her leave it that way for the hour she was with him.

We're excited for tomorrow, and have so much hope in David's recovery! Thanks for all your prayers and support! God is so good!!

Laura

Monday, November 26, 2007

2007-11-26T02:58:00.001-08:00

3 AM

I can't really sleep because I am so excited and thinking a lot about this whole journey we have been on. I am thinking about some things that may need some clarifying too. First, on Friday when the Respiratory Therapist plugged David's trachea, he did so for two hours. On Saturday they plugged it for four to five hours. Then on Sunday, it was for six hours. For several of those hours on Sunday, he slept.
Another thought that keeps running through my head is about expectations. This year at my elementary school, we have been starting a "No Excuses University" program with the students. In a nutshell, this means that we set our expectations for each child very high. We are expecting them to not only be "No Child Left Behind" in reading, writing, and mathematics, but we are expecting them to set their goals on going to college, and nothing less. These high expectations that we have for these students has carried over with David and his rehabilitation. Since I expect that he can understand, instead of waiting for him to proove that he can understand, I have pushed the hospital staff to give him a chance to do things that they think he isn't ready for. We can't set our goals too short for anyone. We need to have faith that others can attain higher goals than we would ever have thought possible. When Steve and I went to see David around 9:30 PM tonight, he was "aggitated" and we were all waiting for his medication to calm him down. But as Steve and I played football/catch with him and tried to get him to write, he became less "aggitated". We acknowledged that it must be frustrating that he couldn't talk right now. (His trachea had been "uncapped" at 6:00 PM when he was asleep. When he woke up, he couldn't speak.) While playing catch with a footbal, we explained that he would be able to speak again tomorrow (today now!), reminded him that he could mouth the words, or write them down. He quit squirming so much in the bed. (Of course, the meds had started to take control also.) I'm seeing that his "aggitation" isn't being obnoxious as much as he is frustrated with not being able to communicate and expected to just lie in bed and do nothing. Please pray for the drs. and nurses to all understand how aware he is, and allow him to communicate, and have patience for him to follow directions. For instance, the nurses needed to pull David up higher in the bed, David can now help by grabbing the rail at the top of the bed, and using his feet to push himself up. But this takes time and help from the staff. The nurses aren't aware of this growth, and just start moving him by themselves. How frustrating that must be for David. Also, pray that they speed up the "process" of the trachea and feeding tubes quickly. God may be healing him too fast for our medical community to understand! I know he can swallow and has more control in his mouth than they think. Pray that they would see this quickly also. Pray that they stop drugging him so much during the day. I told the nurses today that David has been sleeping most of the morning away, and going to sleep in the evenings early. I know he needs to heal, but does he need to be drugged to sleep? He gets tired easily by being out of bed, going to PT, using the wheelchair to cruise around, and trying to figure out the computer. I am wondering if he needs ANY extra sleeping meds. We have a family meeting with the staff tomorrow, pray that all these concerns can be expressed and understood by all of us as a team. The team of drs. and nurses are outstanding and pretty open to my agressive therapy approach already! Now they are hearing it from Christa and Laura too. I have seen David a few times get too anxious and have a hard time waiting for the nurses to help transfer him to the wheelchair, or get him situated. He has the wheels of the wheelchair turning before they have him all the way back in the chair or can put a seatbelt on him! I tell you, I can't wait to see what he can do today! Thanks again, Love, Patty

Sunday, November 25, 2007

2007-11-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

7:30 PM

You know what? Everyday is so amazing! Today, was nothing less! Miracle after miracle is happening every minute it seems like. David finally woke up around 10 AM for PT, well not really woke up. He seemed pretty drugged up. But he helped with getting into the wheelchair, and wheeling down to the PT gym. First he stood at a table for 10 minutes with the PT behind him so that he wouldn't buckle at the knees. Steve and I kept him busy with playing catch, shooting the dart gun, tried dice, and some cards. He did well through most of it. Then after taking a 10 minute break, he walked 6 feet, with help through the parallel bars that he held on to with his right hand. One therapist stood in front of him, the wheelchair with the feeding tube behind him, another therapist helping to move his left foot (90%), and me in front of him saying "Walk to mommy!" Steve, of course, was videotaping! We were so excited to see him upright. He needed so much help, but......it was another milestone. We got to experience that twice with a break in-between where I read him some of your blogs. Now, you can write them to David! When we arrived back at the room, he was tuckered out and slept from 11:30-3:30. We got a call that he was awake and went back to find him ready to show us how much he could talk. The girls, Christa and Laura, took him to find a computer in the hospital with internet. There he told them what his email address was. He corrected Laura when she typed bikerman169@yahoo.com. He used his fingers on his right hand to show her 2-0-0-5. Sure enough, when she checked, he was right! Then we tried for probably 40 minutes to understand what seems to be a complicated password. He was writing numerals and the word "shift", and saying "no shift" and talking very clearly but quietly. The nurse at one point, tried to tell David he had to leave his seatbelt on when he was undoing it and straightening himself in the chair. He told her, "I have to adjust myself. My right butt cheek hurts!" Then we tried helping him and he said he wanted "pillows" not a blanket. When I went to get the pillows, he told Christa, "Thanks for getting me the blanket." Then gave her a hug! (Isn't that the sweetest?) After awhile of working on the password, he pushed himself away from the computer and said, "I need to take a break to think about my password." Christa wheeled him outside. They tossed the football to each other, David throwing and even catching it one time! After a few minutes, he said he wanted to go inside. Once inside, another nurse, Mike, met him to put his left arm brace on. He was very cooperative and even tried to help put it back on. Then he told us he wanted to go back to his room. Wheeling back to the room, he made a 3 point turn (sorta running into us all) to turn around. He was getting pretty pooped out and needed a break, so we all left and came across the street to the Fisher House where everyone had helped make a delicious ham dinner. The families here are amazing. We are laughing and having a great time with several families. Another miracle...we ARE laughing and doing well! This is exciting to watch how fast David is being healed. The nurses are excited and amazed at his progress also. They are so amazing with David. They treat him like a person and we appreciate that, ya know! Thanks for all of your prayers and remember to write TO DAVID now on the BLOG GUESTBOOK, OR COMMENTS. I think he might be able to read them. Pretty cool, huh! Love ya all. We can't do this without your prayers and support, or GOD! THANK YOU! (Don't you wonder what will happen tomorrow?....... to be continued.....Monday! Patty

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

2007-11-24T21:26:00.000-08:00

10 PM PST

Hi everyone!!! This is Gary Huddleston, David's uncle, Steve's favorite brother. We are up here in Palo Alto with Rose, (my wife) Annette (David's aunt) and Robert Huddleston, (David's Grandfather)visiting David, Steve, Patty, Christa, Laura, and their kids. After reading the earlier blogs, I must admit, that seeing David the first time on Friday, it was a shock. We kept reading of all the miraculous improvements, which they were, but expected a bit more then what we saw. We knew not to expect too much, yet hoped that things were better. It was distressing to see him so helpless. Of course there really was all the little miracles from God. Every improvement was a miracle. But we must realize that David started from practically nothing. All of those "little miracles" have added up, but to us, it is still saddening. Friday's visit was frustrating for us, to say the least, although Steve said that it was a improvement over Thursday. After visiting San Francisco on Saturday, enjoying some excellent clam chowder, we saw David again. It was a much better visit for us. He was more alert, and active. He had his trach capped and was actually TALKING!!! Some of the things he said was "I want my mom", "lean back" "I want to go home", "I can't talk anymore", and a few more that I can't recall. David, and most all of the family, went for a long walk around the hospital building, with a break for David to play a bit of the piano with Laura. He eyed the soda and snack machines longingly, and we made a dash out of there with him in tow. He tried to go online on the computer at the hospital, but unfortunately, the dsl was down. He wanted to check his "myspace" page. He seemed to be frustrated that he couldn't get on. Maybe tomorrow! It was a nice visit today, which filled us up with hope again! We know he has a long way to go, but with GOD'S continuing help, and much patience, and all the love prayers and support from family, and friends, he can be whole again.
I would also like to tell everyone how amazing Steve, Patty, Christa and Laura have been. They are SO supportive, upbeat, positive, and loving of David. They have kept their sense of humor through all of this. I don't know if i can ever be as strong as they are. Of course they worry, and pray. They talk with each other about the days events, David's highs, and lows. They have SO much faith in GOD, and trust him to heal David completely, yet know that he may not be whole, and will love him wholeheartedly anyway. They are the best support team David could ever get.
I am very proud to be a part of this amazing family. We, as you, will continue to check this blog every day for the updates.
Keep up the prayers!!!

Friday, November 23, 2007 PM

2007-11-23T21:28:00.000-08:00

9:30 PM

A couple updates. I can't figure out this computer and the pictures, maybe Laura can help me tomorrow. David had some company tonight. His Gpa Huddleston, Aunt Annette, Uncle Gary and Aunt Rose came for the weekend. David seemed alert when they visited him. They thought that he looked better than they expected but also felt it was still depressing to see him lying there in that condition. He fell asleep around 6pm tonight. We have been checking on him all evening and hoping he would wake up. This may be the night he sleeps! I'm looking forward to more excitement tomorrow. Patty

Friday, November 23, 2007

2007-11-23T13:08:00.000-08:00

1 pm
I know it is early for a blog, but it has been a great day! First, David's respiratory therapist came in and decided that on Monday we could cap his trachea. I suggested "patiently" that we should try it today! He agreed after a bit of bribing. Not really, no bribing. OT came in and we decided to put David in the wheelchair. So I learned how to transfer him from the bed to the chair, a piece of cake. And they thought it would take all week....... OK, so, David is in the wheelchair and his trachea is blocked, which means he is breathing out his nose and mouth. When he coughs it sounds like DAVID! YEAH! But then we are encouraging him to make some sounds, and he tried and made some type of sounds. Now, we hand him my phone and ask him if he wants to call someone.....he dialed my phone number by himself!!!!!!! Then we hand him Steve's cell phone and ask him to dial my number....he dialed Steve's number!!!! Next I called him and he answered the call. He tried again to make some noises. Then he tried to call Brian, his brother-in-law from the "contacts". He knows what he is doing! Also..... we found out at noon that he is clear from the bacteria that was keeping him in isolation. He got to go outside!!!! He loved it. Bella and Brea finally got to give David hugs. They were so excited, and David just put his arm out to get the girls. David helped roll the wheelchair and used his foot to help steer. We helped him but it won't be long. They laughed at me when I asked for a motorized wheelchair that he could handle all controls with his right hand. The reason being to not get him an expensive, personalized one is that they want him up and walking. That sounds good too. But he could really get around NOW with a motorized one! (I know, patience!)We stayed out there for 30-45 minutes until Speech Therapy came to get him and take him inside where he wouldn't be distracted. We are THRILLED! This is a day to be thankful! God is sooooo good and faithful! Thank you God! Love ya all! Will write later with more happenings from today! If I have your email, I'll be sending you a picture from today. If you don't get one, email me back so I can put you on this computer's email address. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanksgiving Day, 2007

2007-11-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

10 PM P.S.T.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with our family (minus Brian, who hit some snags at work and couldn’t get off in time to fly out from Texas) at the Fisher House. A church donated a turkey, ham and most of the fixins, so many of the people here got organized and together we put together an awesome meal for 20-30 people. There was a lot left over, so we’ll be eating turkey for breakfast tomorrow morning!

This morning Patty and I saw a different side of David. He was aggressive, and he scared Patty. He pulled her toward him, and she said, “Oh, do you want a hug”, but he bit her hair and would not let go. When she finally pulled away, he had hair hanging out of his mouth that he had ripped out of her head! Then as she was interacting with him he grabbed her fingers and twisted them as he pulled them across his body. She felt like he could have broken them. I talked to two doctors about this, and they said that in a way this was good, because this is one of the stages that TBI (traumatic brain injury) patients go through as they slowly emerge from their coma.

Christa and Laura spent a lot of time with David again today while Patty, Mike and I watched kids and grocery shopped. After we ate our big meal we all took turns visiting David. We tried to see if he would type on the notebook computer. He punched a few keys and hit the backspace to erase, but that was about it. Patty typed some words and asked him to point to those objects, and he did. Some. Mike played dice with him, and David would point to the dice that showed five, three, etc. He is still quick with his answers to his sisters math questions.

After he fell asleep, Patty stayed a long time and “ranged” his left arm and leg. This is where we stretch and straighten his limbs to help prevent the stiffness that can result in permanent lessening of his ‘range of motion’. His arm especially is so tight that we cannot “range” it while he is awake.

We looked at photos and videos of David that we have taken since the accident and it was clear how much progress he has made. We are still concerned about his future, but it reminded me of the Israelites after God performed miracle after miracle in bringing them out of Egypt. As they continued to wander through the wilderness they had to look back at what God had already done in order to keep their faith strong. As we look back we have faith for the future.

Steve

Friday, 10:37 am...

Yesterday, when Laura and I went in to see David, he gave us high fives, hugs and kisses on our cheeks and hands!!!! It totally made the last 20 years of no kisses worth it, to get ours yesterday! It felt like heaven to feel his hugs again. He slept a lot when we were there, which we knew he needed. There wasn't any therapy yesterday, so it was good for him to just rest. Later that night the nurses put him in his chair and we talked quite a bit with him (mom, Laura and me). We asked him if he knew why he was in the hospital and he gave us a thumbs down. We explained that there was a car accident. We asked if he remembered hanging out at the beach in Turkey with his friends. He gave us a thumbs up. We asked if he remembered the rocky beach, the chicks in bikinis, etc., etc. and he just listened intently. We asked if he remembered each of his 3 friends in the car and he gave us an immediate thumbs up for each one! Boys, you should have seen how his face seemed to light up at the mention of your names! We asked if he remembered Michael Cote, his commanding officer, and his thumb went way up! His memory is there, that's for sure!

Earlier that day, we went through listing the names of people in the pictures that are taped to his walls, friends and family. I would ask, "can you find the picture of Bella?" We would watch as his eyes would search the walls and then he would give a thumbs up. He did this repeatedly for quite a few people.

At another point in our day, David was laying on his side and Laura and I were talking to him and Mike was sitting in the chair that was towards his back. We asked if he could see Mike and he turned his whole body over and looked right at Mike! It was awesome! He has come SOOOO far from when we left him in DC! We are truly encouraged by all his improvements, memory and ability to process things as fast as he does. To God be the Glory for the miracle that is David's life!

- Christa

Wednesday November 21, 2007

2007-11-22T10:37:00.000-08:00

From Wednesday (I couldn’t get the internet to work in my hotel…sorry!)

It has been so great to see David again! I cannot believe how much he has changed since we last saw him, and yes, I do read the blogs :o)! I guess there is a lot that’s up for interpretation, such as how long it might take David to complete a “task,” or how graceful he is at performing it. And I’ve been reading the blogs with the David that I saw last, who was much slower and less obvious at completing commands. It turns out that in some instances his response time is just as quick as you or me, and he DEFINITELY understands what we’re saying!!

Today Christa, Mike and I quizzed him on his multiplication facts and he showed his answers on his right hand super quick- which means the facts were pretty simple, but he gave us 4 fingers for 2x2, and 3 for 3x1. My brother’s a genius I tell you! We got some high fives on command and he waved goodbye to several of his nurses/therapists when we asked him to. He pointed out the words “Christa,” “Love,” and “Mike” on a board. We gave him a pen to a magna-doodle board and asked him to write his name, but that was pretty scribbled and unrecognizable. He seemed really intent and looked like he was writing paragraphs for us to read… Someday soon. He thumb wrestled with me this morning, and I mean really thumb wrestled. He even did the pre-wrestle part of moving his thumb side to side before attacking mine. I was impressed. And he scratched Christa’s back a bit when she asked him to. At one point Mike was sitting off to his right, and started talking to him about video games, and David turns his head and eyes to him and just listened like nothing had changed. When we’ve been playing catch, he’s been sort of flicking the balls after he “winds” up, but today he really threw the ball hard at Mike. David loves to pull at our gloves, snapping the fingers off one at a time. I won’t let him pull mine because I have a terrible fear of rubber bands- from when David and Kevin Huddleston used to chase me around the house with their stupid rubber band guns. Many of his behaviors are really repetitive, and he’ll continue with them until he’s distracted with something else or he gets bored, but he seems to have control of what he’s doing. And some things aren’t always consistent, like him answering our questions with a thumbs up or nod. He likes to get our attention by holding his hand out to us, and it was nice to know when he needed or wanted something. We can’t wait until we have a definite communication system, and I don’t think it will be long.

We saw PT and OT a couple times today. They sat David up in his chair twice, and it was really neat to see him help them out so much. He got to stand up 3 times with support for about 5 minutes each. I think that wore him out and he nodded that he wanted to get back in bed after that. Speech therapy came in after that, but David fell almost instantly into REM sleep. We decided to let him sleep and we left for the night, hoping he would get better sleep tonight ‘cause he’s still only sleeping an hour or two at night.

Thanks for your prayers! It’s wonderful to see God in action and answering our prayers! And thanks for your comments, they remind us of whose helping fight David’s battle through prayer and support! Brian wasn't able to make his flight tonight- he had to work today and probably tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be able to make it this weekend, I know that it's imortant to David to see him.

Have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! We have a lot to be thankful for!
-Laura

Tuesday, November 20th, 2007

2007-11-20T23:29:00.000-08:00

11:30 PM
David was sleepy again today since he didn't fall asleep untill 4:00 AM. He started waking up around 11:00 AM. Just like his old schedule!
It was great to visit and pray with Travis Osbourne this morning. We love seeing friends and family. Speaking of family, Christa, Bella, and Tobey arrived by car around 3 PM. Laura and Brea arrived at 3 PM at the airport. Tonight, Mike flew in around 10 PM. Now all we're missing is Brian, who will arrive tomorrow.
Today David and the therapists worked on transfering him from the bed to the wheelchair, where he stayed for an hour. After I talked to a VA rep, I went back in the room and handed David the magnadoodle. I told him to sign his name while I was busy with someone else, ha ha. Well, when I turned around, I saw that he had written what appeared to be his signature for his first name. It looked pretty good considering that he always had messy handwriting! I was shocked! I erased it and tried again, but didn't get anything the second time. I wished I had taken a picture of it before I erased it. Later, I was playing with the magnetic letters and wrote "shop" and "cart". I asked him to point to each one and he did! Tomorrow, I am going to figure out how much he can read!!!!!
Christa and Laura spent a lot of time with David this afternoon. They were excited that he was tracking them in the room, recognized each of them, and looked so much better in the three weeks since they had seen him last.
Today was the second day of a negative culture for the aci...bactrim bacteria to show up. If it turns up negative for the third culture in a couple days, we won't have to wear the "blue prom dresses" aka gowns, and gloves anymore. The nieces aren't allowed in David's room until he is cleared either. They stood at the door, waved, and said "Hi!" though. Continue praying for the negative culture again please! Also, that we will be able to communicate better with David. He is sooooo frustrated! Us too that we can't help him. Pray for his swallowing reflex to come back so that he can graduate from his trachea and feeding tube. He wants to put everything in his mouth. The dr. said that we could try the Listermint strips that melt in your mouth. Yesterday, I tried to get him to lick a sucker. He grabbed it and put it in his mouth! (He can't have anything by mouth still.) He sucked on it and then took it out when I asked him to. He did that one more time, and then fell asleep. That was a relief, because I didn't think he would give it back, plus if he had bit the sucker....it's possible that he could have aspirated, instead of swallowing....it wouldn't have been good. He is loosing weight and needs to start eating real food: smoothies, In and Out Burgers, ice cream, etc. again! Thanks again for your prayers and support. Hope to see all of you soon! Love, Patty

Monday, November 19th, 2007

2007-11-19T20:13:00.000-08:00

9:45 PM PST

It was Thanksgiving again in Palo Alto. These Northern Californians eat all the time! I'm stayin' here!! A very patriotic and caring group fed us a turkey lunch with all the trimmings at the Fisher House and I'm embarrassed that I don't even know who they were. But poor David couldn't enjoy any of it.

This morning the respiratory and physical therapists battled it out and respiratory therapy won. Physical therapy had to come back after lunch. That is when, along with the speech pathologists, the PT guy took David outside in a wheel chair. We think that David liked it, but he doesn't really show emotions. We explained that David (before the accident) was quite proficient in a wheel chair, just ask some of his friends (Sean and the Chris's) about their Magic Mountain escapades. When I told David it was time to go he started pushing the right wheel on his chair and was ready to take off. But because his left hand is not working yet, the therapist kept pushing it for David (he said they were pushing 50/50) but I think David could have pushed a lot more if he was allowed to. When we got to a spot out of the wind (it was cool out) the speech therapists worked with him for a little bit, then we went back inside. It was a start, but we were hoping for more. Maybe we have to be more patient. The doctor said that we can start getting David in a wheel chair three times a day now.

Here are some cool thing that happened today. Patty arranged three word on the magnetic board (car, home, snow) and David kinda pointed to the correct ones. All ready he can read as good as me. Patty used a back scratcher on David, and he took it and was playing with it. Patty turned her back to him and asked for a back scratch and he turned it in his hand so it was at the correct angle and scratched her back. When we arrived this morning we were informed that we no longer have to wear the masks in his room. They were the worst! If he tests negative two more time he will no longer be in isolation, but the doctor said he would be surprised if it happened that quickly. We will see about that.

Christa and her girls drove part way up today. They stopped in Bakersfield to visit the girls great grandmother (Mikes grandma) and spend the night. They will probably arrive here in the early afternoon. We will pick up Laura and Brea at the San Jose airport at 3:30 PM tomorrow. We will nearly have a full house. Wednesday night their husbands (Mike and Brian) will fly in, and then we will have a perfectly full house. It will be a great Thanksgiving even if we can't cook. Also tomorrow, Travis Osborne, David's old high school youth pastor (easily the best that has ever lived) will stop by in the morning to visit him in the hospital. We are looking forward to that.

God is faithful, and he reminds me when I'm feeling frustrated of just how far David has come (we didn't know if he would even live) and we can trust Him to continue to work out His perfect will in David's life. Exactly what that will mean is a mystery to us now, but we know that God loves David and through faith we trust Him.

Good Night. Steve

Sunday, November 18, 2007

2007-11-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

2:30 pm

Sleepyhead is asleep again! Finally he is catching up on his beauty sleep. He had Physical Therapy today, even on Sunday. After doing some range of motion stretching, David was helped into the wheelchair again. He did great for an hour and a half. We played some dice, and Steve took advantage of changing the game every time it was his turn. We taught the therapist and nurse how to play our favorite game of dice, no name has been given to the game though. David fell asleep as soon as he was helped back to bed. But, woke up as soon as the nurses decided to move him up in the bed. I think it only took a few minutes for him to fall back to sleep. Steve is staying with him and I am going to sew. :-)

Steve and I tried a church today here in Palo Alto, the Vineyard. It was good and we had some great prayer warriors pray with us after the service. After church, we saw sleeping David again. There was another bar-be-que on the patio for vets and families. Lots of great food again and fun talking to other patients and families. Can't wait for David to be able to be out enjoying these outings with us. There are many interesting veterans here changing my life with their heroic stories. I pray that Steve, David and I can be as affective in changing their lives also. Pray for David and his emotions. I feel like he is somewhat depressed. Thanks, Patty

Saturday, November 17th, 2007

2007-11-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

9 PM PST

Today was a slower day, as some of the doctors are off on the weekends. We were able to be there when OT & PT came by (some call them Se and Georgette), and they brought a brace for David's left arm. It is a temporary one but it seemed to help a lot by extending his arm. He wears it for two hours then it is removed for two hours, etc. After two sessions it seemed that David's arm stayed more extended than before. While Georgette (AKA OT) put on the brace and got it configured for David, Se (yes that would be PT) worked on stretching David's left leg, knee, ankle and foot. She walked us through the right and wrong ways to do it as she went, which was very informative.

Patty and I had a turkey lunch provided by some very patriotic groups. We think the American Legion, VFW and other groups were involved. We were served outside in the courtyard where the weather was sunny and warm.

Patty spent several hours with David after lunch when he was very active (grabbing tubes, hoses and stuff) but not very reponsive. Patty did get a long hug when she asked for it. But she thought for the most part he was kind of out of it this afternoon.

I spelled off Patty later, and David and I played dice together, now I owe him $23. Just kidding. But after he rolled a pair of dice a few times, I would say "my turn" and he would quickly pick up the dice and hand them to me. It seemed that his reaction time was quicker than usual. I think this is confirmation that he is a natural born gambler. Or something. When that novelty wore off I tried a million things to keep him busy and interested, until finally he fell asleep. Talk about an answer to prayer! We love being with David, hanging out, working and playing with him, but it also can be very hard work. We will sleep good tonight!

We love and appreciate all of you who have been praying for David. Thanks.

Steve

Friday, November 16, 2007

2007-11-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

9:46 PM PST

This was another exciting day! First of all, David slept for 4 hours last night!

Another great part of the day was that I got a kiss from David, and so willingly. I don't know if he is forgetting that he never liked to give kisses, or that he actually really appreciates us now!!! The articles we have been reading say that after a brain injury, the person's personality will change. What a great change! I'm wondering if his colorblindness will be corrected too!!!? After the kiss, he was very tired and started to take a nap. Unlike Sleeping Beauty! Whoops, he should have done that last night, because in comes the respiratory therapist. I thought David was going to crawl out of the bed. He did kick the guy when he turned around! But, Joe continued his job and laughed at David and said he would have to watch his foot. He suctioned his lungs and made him cough. Now you see why Joe isn't David's favorite person! The stuff he is sucking out isn't as thick; so the warm, moist air and treatments have been working.

Next, several of the doctors came in to see if we had any questions. I mentioned that David's right eye looked slightly red, and they agreed to have the opthomologist come back to check it. We still hadn't heard what the results were from the test on Thursday. His eyes are looking closer to the same size in dilation too! Dr. Mc Donald agreed. Through more/different drugs they are going to try to relieve the spasticity in the left arm. This is very frustrating, because we were able to do some range of motion with his elbow, shoulder, wrist, and fingers in D.C. . Now, they resist much of the movement we could do becuase he was so relaxed when he would sleep. Of course we don't want him drugged up anymore, so...???? We tried to show the drs. how David can use the board to answer yes and no questions, but he was too tired. They were glad that he could do that now.

Another short nap for 15 minutes occured before the OT and PT ladies came in. At first they wanted to just let him sleep, but Steve and I said NO! Get him out of this bed! So, they did! They worked on sitting him up at the side of the bed again. His blood pressure stayed low, and they decided to try him standing. When told to lean forward, David did some of the work. When told to lift up off the bed, David did some of that too! Finally they decided he was doing so well, they would try transfering him to the wheelchair. It was awesome to see him out of bed. He sat in the wheelchair and answered some questions with the yes/no board again. Steve suggested they raise the arms up so David could sit up with better posture which worked even better. Before getting out of the chair, David started to fall asleep again. Steve and I decided to leave after he got back to bed and let him sleep. We went to San Francisco for a few hours, had some corn chowder and crab soup that was delicious.

Arriving home, we went to check in on David again. He had been just fallen asleep 5 minutes before we got there. Maybe tonight he will sleep better. So again, God is answering prayers and we continue to see David's brain healing. Everyday there is something that improves. Oh yeah, he is turning his head now to see people and objects on the other side of the room. The therapists had said to talk to him from the left side of the bed so that he would start turning his head. And David did that too! Yeah!

Thanks again for all your support and words of encouragement. Don't forget to sign the guestbook, or post a comment, so we know who is praying. Thanks Mike and JoAnn, and Joe at Bogner Pools for helping with our pool after the fires. :-) Jenna, thank you so much for staying at our home, and taking care of Chester, the plants, and the house. Kelli said you are a great housekeeper! Someone will be lucky when they marry you!

This computer thinks that I don't have any email addresses, so if you would send your email addresses to me at phuddle104@charter.net, I would appreciate that too. God Bless and love to all. Patty

Thursday, November 15, 2007

2007-11-15T17:19:00.000-08:00

10:00 PM PST

When we arrived this morning, the respiratory therapist was there working with David. He checked to see if David could be moved up to a different tracea, but he is not ready.

The occupational and physical therapists arrived in tandem to work with David, and sit him up on the side of his bed. He sat there for 11 minutes, and his blood pressure remained fairly constant. They will try this for two more days to see if he is ready to get into a wheelchair and go outside. Patty and I keep thinking that they already did this at Walter Read, but I guess they have to see for themselves. Hey, it's still progress.

As we returned to his room today, Patty bent over and asked David for a kiss (if you know David you'll know this is a major miracle) and he puckered up and gave her one. Tonight his eyes (both!) were tracking moving objects, and even across to his left side. Sometimes when a TBI patient has trouble moving one side of his body, even his good side will not move past the midline of his body. This was double exciting!

He is still not sleeping at night (about 2 hours) so that is an area to continue to pray for. Thanks for all of your prayers.

Steve

Wednesday, November 14th, 2007

2007-11-14T22:12:00.000-08:00

10 PM PST

At one point today we had the neurology team, and several of his doctors, the opthamologist?, the occupational and physical therapists, as well as his nurse and assistant nurse (coach), Patty and me in his room. He seems to be getting plenty of attention, and maybe they will learn to schedule their time with him a little better. Besides all of these, his speech pathologists were in later to test him. He did pretty well in responding to all of their commands and requests. He nodded, gave Hi Fives, pointed to objects and pictures, is starting to track objects with his right eye (but not past the middle of his body), and for the first time shook his head 'no'. I need to mention that he might give one of these correct responses once, and then not respond at all to the next question. There is a still a lot of inconsistency.

Yesterday Patty asked him to smile (he really only has one expression, and that is no expression) and he made a huge effort to smile, though not real successful. Today he had more control of his mouth, trying to imitate us by attempting to mouth a couple simple words. He only slept two hours, max., last night so please pray that he starts sleeping more. The doctor told us that this is common for brain trauma cases, and this can be compounded because they are changing many of his meds.

We praise god for his progress, but realize that this may be a really long and tedious road that we are on. Thanks again for all of your prayers, comments and support, as it means the world to us and helps us to keep on going, cheerfully.

Steve

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

2007-11-13T12:07:00.000-08:00

Noon, PDT

Here is the address for us and/or David:

Steve and Patty Huddleston
c/o David Huddleston
VAPA
3801 Miranda Ave.
Rm. D-134, Bldg. 7
Palo Alto, CA 94304

David is pretty sleepy again today. We stayed this am. and tried some activities with him. He is running a slight temp. 100.3. He is being treated with antibiotics for the aci..bacter germ, and will probably need something more for a urinary infection. The Speech Therapists came in to evaluate him and we told of all the communication he is doing. They were interupted by the medical dr. who came in to check on his temp and what that might be. They will be back at 1pm. Steve and I took a tour of the facility where about 40 soldiers stay, professional offices, the gym, and pool. Everyone is very friendly and helpful here. We drove to the store and around town yesterday. It is beautiful up here. The weather is in the 60s with light clouds and BLUE skies. TTYS Love, Patty

Monday, November 11th, 2007

2007-11-12T18:24:00.000-08:00

7 PM Palo Alto, CA time.
We are finally all here in Palo Alto, checked in, and starting to settle in. Let me back up and tell you about the last two days, I didn't have a computer, sorry.

Saturday, November 9th:

When Steve and I arrived at David's room there was some chaos as the nurses and drs. were getting all his meds, records, and paperwork ready to go. During our conversation, they asked if I was worried about anything. I mentioned that I couldn't sleep well the night before. I continuously worried about David and his trachea, and when it gets clogged he has a hard time breathing. His oxygen level can be OK., his lungs can sound clear, but he is sweating, sounds like he has emphysema, and is very upset. I asked if his inner cannula (tube in his trachea) had been cleaned or switched, and another nurse answered, "Yes". The nurse I was talking to said, "Well, let's check it so you don't worry." It was a little clogged up so he changed it out and put several more in the medical bag going with us. On the plane, he began having the typical complications as I said above. Several nurses were trying to figure it out, even though I was giving my input over and over, and being ignored. They messed with humidification, gave him a breathing treatment, took away the blankets and everything else that David was throwing off of himself. When we made a stop at Scott AFB, they gave him morphine and some other drugs, which didn't help. They continued to be perplexed, I continued to tell them about my lengthy experience with this situation and my remedy: change out the inner cannula, and gently at first, tried to hand them the replacement part several times. One nurse finally explained to me that it isn't a sterile atmosphere in the plane, and they didn't want to change it because of that.

We arrived at Travis in the early afternoon PST. At the hospital he still seemed to be in distress. I continued to tell them he needed a clean inner cannula, and even show them where the replacement one was, and they continued to say he was fine! Next, (now 4:30 PST), they tried another breathing treatment. No change. I asked if they would just change the freakin cannula. Oh.......guess what......they did and he started breathing easily and went right to sleep! I am learning to be more assertive and am realizing that I do know what he needs -sometimes!!!! :-)

That night also had a couple heart stopping moments. Literally! As Kristie, the nurse, and I were in the room talking about her years in Turkey, David stopped breathing! We shook him and yelled at him, and he came back. That happened twice before 10pm. Plus, another time he just froze and had a blank stare. I yelled his name again and put my hand in front of his face. He snapped out of it after a few seconds. I slept in his room that night! He was fine until he just about slid out of the bed! He wants out! But when he lies flat, he has a harder time breathing, so I woke up to his loud breathing again. The nurse helped my straighten him up in the bed, and after a couple coughs, he was fine. We woke up at 5 or 5:30 again to the same thing. Now it was time to start getting him ready to leave by 8 am for Palo Alto!

Sunday, November 10th, 2007

Palo Alto is amazing! I met 2 doctors and several nurses, who had fantastic attitudes about his coming experience and what they want to do. They will begin changing him to some different meds that won't sedate and confuse David as much. David raised his right arm, right hand, and held up one finger, and then two. He can raise his hips up off the bed now. He is pointing to specific people when shown pictures of family and friends. :-) He remembers you!!!!! He has nodded his head now several times for a yes answer. He clicks his fingers. Thumbs up and thumbs down are improving in coordination. The left knee is bending. Speaking of thumbs, his left thumb and pointer finger are more relaxed, instead of clenched. One dr. said he is very tight on the left side and will especialy need that worked on. He mentioned specific drugs and therapy to help with that issue. Laying a couple of cards on David's lap, I asked him to give me one. He did, but then got the next 3 wrong.

They have officially moved him to Level IV of the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center Scale! Yeah!!! Well, this is the confused and agitated level! His senses are really coming around and he can't sit still at all! He is using the repirator tubing as a sling shot (with his foot!) to shoot the cover off his trachea cover!! Pretty funny actually! He got extremely creative while I was busy putting up pictures around the wall and not watching. I tied some extra tubing that I found on the side of the bed for him to pull at, instead of the other tubing attatched to him (well not after I ignored him and put up pictures). Now they have someone to sit with him constantly to coach him not to pull at the tubes! OOps! Now I can play with him and the "coach" reminds him not to pull stuff off. He sure is getting quick at pulling of the tight socks and blood clotting gadgets velcroed around his legs! LOL! Here's another funny!: I was sitting at the foot of his bed talking to the nurse, and David puts his leg on my shoulder and justs starts shaking it. He repeated that a few times, and then I turned my back to him and said if you're going to do that, why don't you massage my back? He put his foot on my back and started moving it in circles to massage it! I guess the foot in my face and on my shoulder was probably more "pay attention to me" then just an involuntary reflex!

Monday, November 11th, 2007

Another good day. I woke up to the phone ringing. My almost 1 year old granddaughter, Tobey, called me on her mom's cell phone while getting her diaper changed. She is a smart one!

When I went to see David today, we looked at more pictures and he continued to point out everyone correctly. I took out the cards and today he knew them about 85%! How about that for progress! I met Dr. MacDonald, and discussed with her if I could take David outside. Maybe soon...... We now have to gown up and wear gloves and masks to see him since he is testing positive for the acin...bacter thing. So she needs to see if we can take him out and expose him to others. Steve arrived about 11 am and since David only slept two times last night for 30 minutes each, he was pretty tired. He continues to give high fives and hugs goodbye. The nurse just called and said David was awake, so Steve has gone over to visit some more. Our room in the Fisher House is almost directly across the street from his Rehab Ward. It is so convenient. I can't wait to see what the therapists all think and do tomorrow!
God has been so faithful! We are so excited about his progress. Continue to pray for his healing, and specifically from this stupid germ. I don't want anyone else getting it but it would be nice to take David outside. Thanks for your encouragement and your faithfulness to pray for David and the family. We enjoy and check the blog for comments and guests all the time too. Love, Patty

Ohhh.....P.S. I just remembered that David helped me shave his face today. Not only did he hold the electric razor longer and better, he stuck out his tongue by his lips to shave that area better. I'm sure there are more improvements from today that I am forgetting. He is doing so great!

Saturday, November 10th, 2007

2007-11-10T17:48:00.000-08:00

9 PM Washington D.C. time.

Patty and I met David and the medical team at 5 AM this morning on his ward. They were busy getting everything together for his flight. At 6 AM the bus finally pulled out for Andrews AFB for their 9 AM flight with David and 1 other patient (who was able to walk onto the bus on his own) as well as Patty and a team of 3.

Patty called briefly from Scott AFB, where they spent two hours on the ground loading and unloading patients, although Patty had to stay on board.

She finally called about 3:30 PST to say that they were on the ground at Travis AFB. They made it, but it was a very long and hard trip for both. David was agitated, hot and sweating, and found it hard to breathe.

Tonight they are staying in the hospital at Travis AFB, Patty in housing on the 1st floor and David on the 3rd floor on a regular (non ICU) ward. Patty is pretty in tune with David and she insisted that he was not breathing normal, even though they thought he was. They finally gave in and traded out the inner tube of the tracea, and he was fine. If they would just listen to the moms! Patty said that David nodded yes a few times today. They will be picked up by a team from the Palo Alto VA Hospital about 9 AM tomorrow.

An exciting bonus for Patty is that Kristie Olson, a friend who used to work with her at Twinhill Elementary, now lives up in Vacaville and was able to get on base and bring food to the starving Patty and see David. Hopefully they will be able to hang out and catch up on all of the gossip. Not that they gossip.

I will catch a taxi in front of my Fisher House at 4:30 AM tomorrow, and fly out of Reagan International at 7 AM for Ontario, CA. Then my plan is to drive a car up to Palo Alto on Monday (very early) and meet them about noon.

So things are moving right along as planned, finally. We know that your prayers have a lot to do with that. Thank you, and please continue to keep David in your prayers.

Steve