Golf Tourney

Where do I begin? Last Monday the 16th was the golf tournament and auction at Seacliff Country Club here in Huntington Beach. What a beautiful day to golf, I think it was about 77 degrees, clear and sunny. I am grateful to everyone who took a day off to play golf. I know vacation days are limited so I appreciate you using one to be with us. I hope you all had a great time. I know Chris did. I don't think I have seen him smile this much since the accident. Chris was able to greet his guests as they arrived to register for the tourney. Once all the players were off, Chris and I jumped into a golf cart and toured around the golf course. Chris drove the cart and had a blast! It was truly exciting to spend time with him on that beautiful course saying hello to so many friends and making some new ones. 

Chris went home to rest for the big evening as the players finished golfing. I spent the rest of the afternoon with my friend Janine.  Thank you to Janine for spending the day "working" with me. I had a blast with you  on the golf course and visiting the Pyramid booth (thanks Sean for that sweet set up!).

Chris, Caitlin, Regan and FIL (aka Grumpa, Don) returned to Seacliff around five for cocktails    (Shirley Temples, of course) and to view the silent auction items. There was really some neat stuff donated. Not enough room here to thank everyone who made donations but I am honestly touched by the multitude of items given and all those that bid on them.

The highlight of the evening had to be the USC band, fight on!  They were so much fun, what a fantastic surprise. The other highlight being Chris standing and giving a speech. I didn't know he was going to do that, made me cry.

All in all it was a successful event and I thank all of you who attended. I hope you had as much fun as we did. My gratitude to Dan, Jeff and Steve who worked so hard behind the scenes to make this event happen. We appreciate everything you have done for us.

The momentum and happiness of Monday carried us through the rest of the week. Chris walks more everyday in therapy and on Thursday they had him climb a few stairs. His vow is to be able to make it up our stairs by Christmas. He wants to be able to tuck his daughters in their own bed and I know they do too! That would be a wonderful gift.

I hope you all have a beautiful Thanksgiving. I know this year more than any other, I have SO many things to be thankful for.

Love,

Christy

90 Feet

Today I got to see Chris walk!!!!! He went a whole 90 feet. I laughed, I cried, it was so exciting. We arrived at Chris' therapy expecting the same old exercises and instead they bring out what Chris and I call his magic shoes (Forest Gump anyone?). Braces were put on both legs, seriously these things are heavy duty and really do look like the ones that Forest wore. He held onto the parallel bars and walked. After one lap his therapist felt that Chris' right leg was strong enough to take the brace off.  I was just in awe. Some braces will be made for Chris' left leg( again pending cost and no insurance) and the goal is to have him walking around the house with a walker in the near future. How cool is that? It will still be months and months of therapy but that is okay.......I'll take it.

 On another good note, Chris has been sleeping through the night since last Thursday, yeah! He still continues to have super sensitivity to temperatures, moods and noise. He has been open to trying alternative methods to help with these issues, which in the past would soooo not be my Chris.  Mr. I don't like going to the Dr. or dentist is now getting acupuncture!

June or MIL (mother in law) just spent the last month with us. I can't thank her enough for being here. It really take two people in the home to take care of Chris and both kids. June is now back to work in Connecticut. After spending a week with FIL, Don will make his way back to California. My mother graciously volunteered to fill in while the in laws are away. I could have not handled the last 2 1/2 months by myself. I feel so lucky to have the family I do. It has also been a blessing for Caitlin and Regan to spend so much time with both sets of grandparents. It is great to see their relationships blossoming with all the family that has been here helping.

We are getting very excited for the golf tournament on the 16th. We have so many great auction and raffle items. It will be a great evening out, come and join us at the Seacliff Country Club in Huntington Beach.

Love and gratitude,

Christy

WOO HOO A full nights rest

Well it's been exactly a week since we cut Chris off from all meds and last night was the first full night of rest that all of us have gotten since the hallucinations started. The hallucinations scaled down to night terrors by Saturday night then last night nothing at all. I can't tell you how good that felt (for Chris and his mom and myself).

One of the therapists at St. Jude's showed me how to calm Chris down at night called "healing touch". It is the most simple thing but I just lay my hands on Chris, starting at his feet, hold for two minutes and then move up the body. By the time I reach his shoulders he is asleep. That and the ambien give him a good nights rest. At last something I can do to help him feel better, an easy, wonderful way.

Chris continues to get frustrated with his progress, he wants to be walking yesterday. ( I can't blame him). It is so reassuring when we have a visitor who hasn't seen him in awhile come over and say "hey you weren't doing that last time I saw you". Today as we drove in the car he was able to clasp his hands together easily and he commented that last week he struggled to do it by himself. So every week, every day, baby steps are happening.

Last Thursday my meeting with the lawyer did not go as well as I thought. I assumed (silly me) that I would go in, fill some paperwork out, re-apply for MediCal and be done with this part of the nightmare. Ah but no, the lawyer proceeds to tell me that even if we re-apply for MediCal, it won't be retro active because we were denied the first time. Meaning, no coverage for the accident. I was devastated, cried for the rest of the day. I am going to get on my soap box for a moment. How can a person live here their whole life, pay taxes, contribute to society but be condemned when they need help. But if I were to have arrived here from another country they would give me MediCal. How is this right? I tried to buy insurance and they wouldn't sell it to Chris because of a pre-existing condition. Where is the justice? So this part of our journey is still to be ironed out.

On a happier note, the girls are really excited about Halloween. Regan wants to decorate the house more and more. It's not spooky enough she says. Caitlin is going to be a USC cheerleader, surprise, surprise, it is SO her. Regan is going to be a lamp, yes, thats right, a lamp. I love her four year old mind. Thanks to Aunt Jenn for creating her costume, light bulb and all.

My love and gratitude to you all,

Christy

More downs than ups this week

For the last two weeks Chris has really not been himself. He is uncomfortable most of the time. Then last Saturday, he started having hallucinations at night (every night since). It is very frightening to hear him scream out that something is on him or that he is trapped in a box. It is a reaction to some of the meds he is on. There is some discrepancy as to which med it causing this, just depends which Dr.  you talk to. He also has insomnia, so during the day he is exhausted.         ( Which means most of the time, he is pretty cranky)

Due to these issues, we are taking Chris off of all meds and see what happens within the next 24-48 hours. If there is no improvement, I am very sad to say he will need to return to the hospital. Chris is adamant about not going back and it would break my heart to tell the girls that daddy has to go back but if that is what it takes to get him feeling better than that is what we are going to have to do.

I am feeling very much like a single mom these days and I don't like it. My hats off to any woman who is a single mom. Although the girls have been pretty resilient it is still hard for them to understand why daddy isn't quite himself.  I am getting some great tips from a child psychologist and attempting to maintain a "normal" life style for them.

I am off to meet with the lawyer tomorrow to re-apply for MediCal. Hopefully this will be easier the second time around and with someone who does this for a living. If this doesn't work, I honestly don't know what we will do.

I am off to read Fancy Nancy to two little girls who do not want to go to bed yet.

Love and gratitude,

Christy

The Birthday Boy Walks

I know this is a long over due blog. I thought I would have more time to write once Chris came home from the hospital (less driving) but I am actually on the road more between dropping off/picking up both girls from school and Chris at therapy three times a week.

SO, the good news is CHRIS DID WALK!!!!!!! I will try to get a picture posted. The staff at St Jude's re-hab knew it was Chris' goal to walk on his birthday, so they put braces on his legs, hoisted him up and he pulled himself along two parallel bars (with someone standing behind him). I was not there to witness it (Regan's school had Muffins with Mom morning) but both Chris' parents were there to see it all happen. Don (FIL) called to tell me and we were all bawling like babies. I know this was a significant morning for Chris, as his progression has slowed down a bit, this really gave him hope for the future.

The nurses warned that the honeymoon would end, once the novelty of being home and starting out patient therapy started. I think we have hit that point. Chris is uncomfortable in his rental wheelchair because it is not made custom to him (which normally wheelchairs are custom made). Once the custom chair is ordered, it will still take another 3 months for the chair to arrive. St Jude's will not order a chair until we have insurance and thus far we have not been approved for MediCal. This process is so frustrating!!!!!! We have decided to hire a lawyer to do our reapplication because we are loosing precious time to get MediCal, the bills are stacking up and the phone is starting to ring from those trying to collect from us. It is enough just trying to keep up with the day to day needs of Chris and the girls but to add the amount of chasing around social workers, medical bills and Dr,'s it's overhwhelming. I am tempted to just buy Chris a chair (they start at $5,000) and try to get reimbursed once MediCal eventually (hopefully) goes through. I am researching to see if they would reimburse us or if it is better to wait.

I don't mean to be Debbie Downer this morning but these are the realities that we are facing right now.

I would like to once again thank our wonderful neighbors who continue to cook meals for us, they are such a blessing. The support from our friends and family ( and our faith in God) are really getting us through this. The visits, the cards, every little thing is so special to us. I look forward to the day when I can return all this love and kindness. I cherish the day I can be the giver instead of the receiver.

My love and gratitude to you all,

Christy

9/15/09 Our Chris is home!

Chris has been home since Thursday and we could not be happier. Happier and busier. 

Tim and I picked up Chris last Thursday and we have been on the go ever since. He was welcomed home with a big banner made by the girls with Aunt Jenn and we could not skip the cardinal and gold balloons for USC. The girls came home from school shortly after and I am still not sure who was more excited, Chris, Caitlin, Regan or Napa (our yellow lab). One of our neighbors brought us the most delicious dinner to help us celebrate, thanks Charlotte.

 Chris was pretty tired after that so we got him set up in his hospital bed which for now is in our family room. I was so worried about him falling out of bed that I decided to sleep on the couch in the same room. Regan AND Napa decided they wanted to sleep near daddy too. So maybe not the most restful night but Chris said it was still better than any night in the hospital.

From that day on it has been a blur of visits from friends, family and neighbors. On Monday Chris began his out patient therapy at St. Jude's in Brea. While this is a bit of a drive from Huntington Beach (approx 30- 45 minutes away) this is the best in the area and where Chris wants to be. He will have therapy for about two hours, three times a week. This will keep us all on the go, now that school, Daisy's, soccer, art and gymnastics are all in full swing.

We are happy to have daddy home and cannot thank his buddies, Paul, Randy and DJ for creating and installing the coolest ramps I have ever seen (my SIL calls them sexy!). Our hallway is narrow between the family room and dinning room with the only access to the down stairs bathroom......so they created a draw bridge that Chris can raise and lower when he wants to go into the dinning room or bathroom. It is the coolest thing ever. It feels like everyday is getting easier and am so grateful to my family who have REALLY stepped up to be here for us to help with all aspects of our day to day living.

The paperwork roller coaster continues. We were told by one source that we were denied for medi-cal and told we were approved by another source all in the same day. We are still trying to sort that out. The bills continue to pile up, I have stopped opening them as it is too overwhelming to even grasp the amount they are requesting. It keeps me up at night.

I continue to be encouraged by Chris' physical abilities and I know that in therapy it will all be fine tuned. His goal is to walk on his birthday, one month from now. You know I will keep you all posted.

Love and gratitude,

Christy

9/6/09 Good news and more good news

Hello all,

I just came back from returning Chris to St. Jude's. We had a successful home visit!!!!!!! Tim (his brother) and I picked him up at 9:00.Of course his paperwork was not ready, nor was his meds for the day, so we had to wait around for an hour while the nurses scrambled to get all this. Poor guy had been awake at 5 am (as was I) ready to come home.

We had the best day, just being at home, all together. Tim and Jenn arrived from Washington D.C. on Saturday, so the four of us sat in the backyard reading the Sunday paper. The girls were content to stay out of the heat and played inside. At first I tried to make them play outside, so Chris could be near them but he said just hearing them in the background was enough to please him. After awhile the heat became too much for the rest of us, so we moved inside. I recorded the USC game because Chris didn't get that channel in the hospital. Yes, he already knew it was a blow out but was still entertaining to watch. Go Trojans!

If I described the rest of the day it would sound hum drum to anyone else but for us it was a pleasure to be under one roof, enjoying a lazy Sunday. We had permission to keep daddy until 8 PM. After Tim cooked his mom's baked ziti recipe, as requested by Chris, he looked exhausted. I had a feeling he was ready to go back and go to sleep. He said his mind didn't want to leave but his body did. As soon as we announced that, Caitlin had a meltdown, she wanted daddy to stay. I thought I had made it clear to her that this was just for the day. She made a huge production of crying and clinging to him. I am sure that did not make it any easier for Chris to go.

He will be back for good on Thursday and now I know we are all ready. We were able to get his wheelchair into the house and he fit through every door way necessary. We even got him up the huge step into the dinning room and kitchen. We ate dinner at the table, as a family. Ah, the simple pleasures.

On another good note, Chris had a second MRI done yesterday on his brain. I didn't share this with many because I just couldn't bare the thought, but they want to make sure he had not had stroke when he hit the water. I am just finding out now that both arteries were clogged when they went in for one of his neck surgeries (not sure if it was the first or second). They were suspicious that this was the reason that his left side is not moving yet. I only learned of this yesterday morning and have been sick to my stomach ever since. We just happened to run into his Dr. this morning when we were checking out and she looked at the reports super quick to let us know, all is well, no stroke. Hopefully that just means it is a matter of time before the left side moves.

I am off to dream of Chris walking. Good night to you.

Love and gratitude,

Christy