04/27/2025-05/30/2025 Another rehabilitation program 17 years later AND STILL MAKING PROGRESS! (Just in different ways than before.)

Proving Them Wrong: My Continued Journey Through Rehab

I remember someone once said that the progress you make in the first year of recovery is all the progress you'll ever make. Well, that might be true for some people—but not for me. I'm still making progress 17 years down the road. (Even though the progress might not be in leaps and bounds like they may have been in the beginning, it's still coming. So I really believe that with the right mentality, the progress will still happen.) The moment I heard that, I made up my mind to prove the naysayers wrong. And wrong is what I sure did!

(Granted, at the time, I could barely make sense of the thoughts coming through my mind, but that's what I like to tell myself and to those who are willing to listen to this story.)

So I've now completed this five-week rehab program I’m participating in. Which I hear that the first phase is completed, the next phase is to implement what I've learned here to my daily life back home in Moreno Valley, CA. Which makes me a weee bit🫰 nervous. The reason I'm nervous is because of my OCD "disorders," which have taken this long for these to be identified as "disorders." (more about this will be covered below. But I'm nervous because I have learned ways to work on resolving these "disorders" and make them more into "tendencies" I guess. I don't know if that is really what you would call them or not. But I have lived with these things for so long now that I feel like they have kinda become a part of me. So now, am I really just supposed to let go of them and pretend that they do not exist. (Luckily we are experimenting with medicines to help with this and to see which one works the best and with the least amount of symptoms.) See, I really do want to get rid of some of these things. Because they bug the heck out of me too, but there are other things that I feel like I do and they actually help me do things better. So this is the part that makes me nervous about taking these meds. But the vast majority of these are detrimental to my life and my biggest relationships around me running very smoothly. But some like loading the dishwasher in a certain way. (I am certain that I got this one from my Gpa Moriarity, and I wonder if that is where I wonder if I get my OCD-ness from him too. Probably, thanks GRANDPA! Lol.) I'm kidding, I still love him, but he probably knew of a way to go along with these things in a harmonious way. (Maybe not from the stories that I've heard over the years, where loading the dishwasher was something that he did in a very specific way.) But see, I have actually thought about how the water moves inside of a dishwasher and I can imagine how the water would be able to reach each dish and be able to clean it. But who ever thinks like that? I don't know, but obviously not the people that are close to me and who might have an issue with this. And I've heard it asked, "well, do the dishes get cleaned if they do the dishes?" To which I'll respond with "Well, yeah... But they probably just got lucky that time. And if it wasn't luck, then they will likely need to wash these dishes after they pull them out to put it away." But who really checks each dish to see if they're clean before they pull them out of the dishwasher? But you don't usually look at each of the dishes as you pull them out. At least I sure don't. But you don't want to put a dirty dish away if it's dirty, right? Well, if you suppose that everything that you put in there is going to get cleaned, why wouldn't you put it away?

So, this program (is called the After the Impact (ATI) program) aka "The Eisenhower Center is a 30-45 day residential treatment program that pairs military veterans and retired professional athletes. (No pro athletes here though.) Since opening in 2020, they quickly realized veterans and athletes have a natural camaraderie. They become curious about each other’s experiences, which foster communication, they gain a greater sense of community, and it enhances empathy with each other. In the military and professional sports, both populations train, play, win and lose together- it only makes sense they heal together. We have offices in Ann Arbor, Chicago, Jacksonville, Nashville and New York. Eventually, it was adapted to serve military veterans." (https://livingprosports.com/resources/after-the-impact-fund/.)

There are a couple other locations, including one in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is where my Speech and Language Pathologist is located. I met with her virtually using the Teams app, since she’s up there. Aside from her, I also work with a physical therapist, Mr. Kevin, who, interestingly enough, is focusing more on my eye muscles more than any other muscles in my body. Also a number of behavior specialists; Dr. G, Mrs. Kacey, and a Mr. Jeremy who are all attempting to crack this shell that I have built as my defensive armor. Luckily, they were allowed to just come walking through the gate, because I had recognized before that there were a lot of little changes in me that I needed to "fine tune."

One of the first days that I was here seeing my physical therapist, I used a Brock string for the first time in over a decade which is something I last used during my “low vision" days. And Mrs. Kacey was actually the first one to believe that my reasons for stumbling as much as I was losing my balance was due to my "ocular motor dysfunction."

Ocular motor dysfunction refers to a range of disorders affecting eye movement control. It can result in difficulties with tracking, focusing, and coordinating eye movements.

Types of Ocular Motor Dysfunction:

• Strabismus: Misalignment of the eyes, leading to double vision or poor depth perception. (Me to a "T.")
• Nystagmus: Involuntary eye movements, which can affect vision stability. (As it turns out my eyes literally  jump when I'm trying to scan for things.)
• Saccadic Dysfunction: Impaired ability to make quick eye movements between targets. (Same as above.)
• Pursuit Dysfunction: Difficulty in smoothly following moving objects. (Same as first and second ones.)

Causes:

• Neurological conditions (e.g., stroke (an ABI,) multiple sclerosis)
• Developmental disorders (e.g., cerebral palsy)
• Trauma or injury to the eye or brain (TBIs)
• Certain medications or toxins

Symptoms:

• Double vision (Yup)
• Difficulty reading or focusing (Yup)
• Eye strain or discomfort (Yup)
• Headaches (Luckily, not for me)

Diagnosis:

• Comprehensive eye examination
• Neurological assessment
• Imaging studies (e.g., MRI, CT scans) if a neurological cause is suspected

Treatment Options:

• Vision therapy or eye exercises
• Prism glasses to correct alignment issues
• Medications for underlying conditions
• Surgery in some cases, particularly for strabismus

Consulting with an eye care professional or neurologist is essential for accurate diagnosis and appropriate management.

For those unfamiliar, a Brock String a white string with several colored beads used to improve focusing at different distances to improve visual function. According to Google, it helps with:

• Eye coordination and teaming: Helping both eyes work together effectively.
  

• Convergence: The ability of the eyes to turn inward to focus on a near object. (Because each of my eyes sees its own image, which means that I need to actually fuse each of those images into one image, essentially like crossing your eyes.)

• Accommodation: The ability to focus clearly at different distances.

• Suppression: When one eye ignores the input from the other (which is what my eyes do - or rather, don’t do).

• Depth perception: The ability to judge distances. (I have difficulty with this sometimes.)

I've also been speaking with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Mrs. Kacey, for a few years now. She’s helped me countless times - especially when I’m going through one of my “cycles” (as my wife calls them), when I become irrational and make decisions that disrupt the peace in our home. AND, apparently, I now have some of my weird quirks that can better be defined as "OCD tendencies/ disorders" that have appeared kinda out of nowhere. Even though I was doing some things before, that are NOW since my life is like being inspected under a giant microscope, is now coming out and being addressed. Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this?

Mrs. Kacey is actually the one who recommended that I come to "her program here in Florida." (Which I never paid much attention to her saying that, I thought she was just saying that because she worked here. But I guess not. According to the other people who I've asked, they all agree that she is like "the head boss." Or in military terms, she would be like a 4 star general. I think that if I were to ask her, she might possibly say that there are other generals here as well. So if that is true, then I guess she might be the Secretary of Defense...? Like she still does work like the other therapists, but she might do a lot of the behind the scenes work that needs attention in order for things to move along smoothly.) 

The hardest part of having been here in FL? I can EASILY say that being away from my family is the hardest part. I haven’t been apart from them since the second year of my marriage, when I last went on the POWER Mission Trip. That was back when I mistakenly felt like I still felt I had a reason to go. But after meeting my wife in 2010 and hearing God tell me during my first visit that I would meet my wife at that school. I felt like my POWER mission trip chapter of my life had been fulfilled. A big part of me being here is to be able to identify different emotions that others are showing, and then me reacting accordingly in the best, most appropriate way possible. 

 We need to rewire our brains (us, people with TBIs,) because the things that we've learned are all still up there in our brains, but the way to reach that knowledge have been disrupted. So we just need to install like a search bar in the browser of our brain to find those things in all of that "mess" of your leftover brain that you have. But some of the stuff that I have been learning here is that our thoughts have an impact on EVERYTHING we do. So some things that we need to try to do is realize that gratitude is what we need to practice if we want to rewire our brains and we need to do that continually so that the gratitude out weighs all the criticism. And I have to realize that I have control over the thoughts that enter into my brain. Another thing I've learned is that people really only change for two reasons, either they feel the heat of what they are creating, OR they see the light and realize "AH-HA! It's not that bad to do ______." You can fill in the blank there.

LIFE November 14th, 21st 2021 14 years later (long overdue update.) And what my life is like now (relationship-wise)

So basically this is just some notes I made in my phone about Alba and my relationship as it was evolving from just an acquaintance whom I had met on a mission trip to the Texas/ Mexico border into a friendship, then courtship into an engagement then into a party to celebrate the up coming marriage, then marriage again, and it'll end with the life after marriage and why this has taken me at least two days to finish (and pretty late on the second day also.)

 

(03/15/16 is when I wrote the majority of this just to be sure that I could remember just what happened in our relationship and how it started before that, so keep that in mind as you're reading this.) Now it's 11/11/21 and I have filled in some of the gaps and made this easier for someone to read and see the dates of what happened.

My first communication with Alba was while I was on the POWER Mission trip at Magdiel Bible College on the 

(28th of Jan. of 2014,) this was the same day that I heard God tell me that this angelic looking human being would be my wife. So I knew that I needed to talk with her somehow, (and if you really know me, you would know how incredibly shy I am when around someone that I am attracted to.) Luckily for me the leaders told us men who were in the class to go and ask a student if they had any prayer requests. And I was able to muster up enough courage to go and speak with Alba. So I prayed with her and did what was asked of us before I got down to what I really wanted. So I asked her if she had a FB and what email she used for it. So we started out communicating through FB Messenger for 1 year and 5 months just chatting every so often at first, then it slowly became more and more frequent until we were talking every day. 

She gave me permission to court her on or around 06/28/2015. And I had to look up online what 'courting someone actually was and meant. I knew what it meant in “theory,” but I just wanted to understand what it REALLY meant... (I mean I knew what it generally meant, but since it was such an old term that we don't use much anymore. And because I didn't want to mess this up by not knowing exactly what it was, I knew that I had to get it right. So I researched it, and made some changes in my life and mindset and when we started dating, I began "testing our relationship'' to see if what I heard God tell me was really true that she'd be my wife. After the first year of talking I figured out that she could be my best friend (which is who you want to marry right?)

I asked her to marry me where I first met her at the Magdiel Bible College on my best friend Chris' birthday (06/02/16) (I told his mom after he died that I'd name my first son after him.) 

So we had a "wedding party" in México on (06/16/17) to signify that we were going to get married a month later and a little less than a month later, 

we actually have the ceremony to be married (07/14/17). Spent our honeymoon night+2 days in the Mission Inn. We had so much fun getting married the first time that

we had to have another "wedding" again 5 days later on (07/19/17) in pastor Mark's office (we misplaced the marriage certificate…) And we spent the next 6 months on our next "honeymoon" in the Aspens apts. in an apartment that was literally right on the lake where they had a bunch of fish and turtles and all kinds of wild birds that would fly in and hang out by the lake as well as having their own bird sanctuary area (a big area with birds flying around and exercising and chatting with the other birds around. Then we moved into our first house in Moreno Valley.

We bought our house on around my birthday in 2017, (12/15/17.)

We had our first child (Christopher Alejandro Huddleston) on 10/10/19 

We had Olivia Faith Huddleston on 05/05/21

***(I'll come back to this point at the end.)

So I have never been in this kind of relationship before, obviously, since I'm not married yet. But one where God is at the center of EVERYTHING that we do. But it is truly one of the greatest feelings that I have ever felt in my life! And I just keep going back to realizing that it was all because I felt like God was telling me something that I believed to be just flat out “crazy!” But because I took that first step in faith, I feel like that just means that we both NEED to always be in prayer… And then hopefully things will always be good for us.

*** How lucky am I to have it so easy to remember the dates super easy to remember for my kids birthdays! I mean seriously! 10/10 and 05/05! (The hardest part about them is trying to remember the year. But I think I can do that part almost easy. I mean for Christopher if I just figure that 10+10=20 which is ALMOST=19. I mean it takes a lot of brain power to remember this. Nevertheless, I hope and pray that because it is super difficult to remember that because of this it will make it that much easier for me to remember. And actually, that seems to work for me. Because of how much I dislike people telling me what is going to be difficult for me. I like to prove those people wrong with a great passion! 

Photos will come ASAP (I've created a folder of pics needing to be approved on by "mi jefa," or in English,  my boss.)

October

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

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

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

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

…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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!)

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

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