New Experiences

Jerry started taking classes at the community college in the first week of February. Our schedule was a bit grueling with school Monday through Thursday, SCI-FIT in Pleasanton Friday and wheelchair soccer on Saturdays, not to mention homework.  The drive to school is about 45 minutes, too far to drop Jerry and come back home so I am taking classes at the same time as Jer.  I'm loving it, I have a golf and a fitness class, it's a great break for me.  The first hurdle to overcome was how Jerry was to manage homework assignments, the first homework assignment was a bit overwhelming. We purchased software that allows Jerry to do calculus using his voice activation software, it's been challenging for him but he's figuring it out. Jerry really enjoyed his history class and liked the teacher very much. In the 4th week Jerry had an issue with the teacher and dropped the class.  I encouraged him to stick with it, not let the teacher get the best of him however he felt he could not work with a teacher that was so unreasonable.  Jerry has special accommodations for test taking, he takes tests at disabled student services where a scribe will write his answers. He showed up for class on Monday and found that there was to be a test however he didn't have the chance to set up the time with a scribe because he was unaware of the test. Jerry asked if he could set it up for the next day and the teacher would not allow it. The teacher explained the test date was in the syllabic (handed out the first day of school), he told Jerry he would have to take a zero and be more prepared for next time.  The bottom line is Jerry is just trying to figure out how to be a student as a quad, he took classes he thought would be easy, he didn't need them.  The purpose is to work out the kinks and figure out how to manage. As a mom I was ready to march in and have a little chat with that teacher however Jerry would not allow it, Jerry did make a complaint in disabled student services.

Jerry is playing wheel chair soccer (power soccer) on Sundays and enjoying it very much. He plays on a co-ed team with others with different disabilities, some have MS, MD and spinal cord injured.  Jerry's wheelchair is not good for the sport it's far to slow so in the beginning it was very frustrating for him.  The coach has a few extra chairs that people have handed down and offered one to Jer.  It took about 3 weeks to modify the chair to fit Jerry's needs, this weekend he was able to control his new chair with almost no issues. The team had a tournament in Santa Barbara last weekend so Dennis and Jerry made the long haul.  This was the first time since Jerry's accident that he has traveled in a vehicle for more than 2 hours as well as a first for staying in a hotel. Jerry fared well on the drive and slept fine without the alternating pressure mattress.  This was a good trial for travel, our next trip will be a little more challenging as we'll be flying to Atlanta GA in July.

Here's a little taste of power soccer:

God Bless!

Katie

Quick Update

I think we may be getting closer to addressing the nausea issue for Jerry. Although we've not discovered the root cause we have found a medication combo that eliminates about 85% of the nausea. Jerry feels better physically which improves his mood and outlook on life greatly. I hope this remedy holds up, Jerry builds a tolerance to medications very quickly within 2 to 4 weeks. For now the pain, nausea and emotions are all being managed successfully.

Jerry begins classes at Cabrillo college in about 3 weeks, I think he's excited yet very nervous at the same time.  Originally Jerry was going to sign up for a history class to learn how to be a student as a quadriplegic, the biggest concern being how to manage homework. Jerry decided that one class was not enough he really wanted to take calculus as well and so signed up for the class.  Now Jerry is becoming increasingly more nervous about being able to handle 2 classes and is wavering on whether or not to drop calc.  I reassured Jer that there is plenty of time to drop a class and he should at least give it a shot. He could attend 2 or 3 classes and then determine whether or not he can handle it, so for now that is the plan. Since I am driving him to school and don't have time to come home, I've decided to take some classes as well. As a new student I got to register for classes last and thus all the classes I wanted to take were full, so I will be taking a golf class this semester.  I'm excited and hope to improve my golf game immensely.

In my last post I mentioned Dennis being in a band and encouraged all locals to join us at the next gig. I just wanted to let everyone know that Dennis dropped out of the band.  Maybe he will pick it back up at a later date but right now it's a little too complicated.  I assume the scheduled shows have been canceled, unless they were able to pick a drummer.

I still have lots of t-shirts, if you were planning on purchasing I encourage you not to wait we are limited on sizes.

Much love,

Katie

Happy New Year!

Happy new year, may God bless you today and everyday of this upcoming year.

There has been a couple of changes to this site I'd like to point out in case you haven't noticed. First we have reached $9,557 for the China fund, at just under $10,000 we are almost 1/4 of the way to our goal of $40,000. Secondly there is a new page for t-shirts, to view the new page you can click on the "T-Shirts" link above or click on one of the t-shirt images on the right. Sizes are limited so be sure to order your t-shirt early to ensure you get the size and color you want. We need to sale 27 shirts to break even but my goal is to sale all 100.

Some of you may know that Dennis joined a band, on January 1st the band had their first gig at Don Quixote's in Felton (Tunes for the Troops) , the band did great and sounded awesome. The proceeds from the concert went to the Army Blue Star Moms who put together packages for the troops. Originally they called the band Curtis, Yadon & the California Kingpins but they had to change the name, I think California Kingpins was already in use. The new name is Love Creek, sorry guys that name has gotta go, ya might want to go back to the drawing board on that one. We would love to see all you locals at the next show Britania Arms in Aptos Saturday January 22nd and Brookdale Lodge in Brookdale Friday February 25th. You can listen to a couple of their tracks by clicking here. Jerry went to the movies with his buddies but was able to get to the concert in time to see them play.  I caught many glimpses of him laughing and having a good time but I think he was laughing at me on the dance floor, ahhh well what are ya gonna do?

Jerry's two year anniversary was January 2nd, it was a day like any other.  We chose not to acknowledge the day as a reminder of a tragedy or give it merit.  We went about our routine as usual and didn't talk about the anniversary of his accident.  I know to some that may sound like denial however I don't see the point in dwelling on the date that marks a tragic event.  We live with sadness for Jerry's loss of mobility, Jerry struggles daily in accepting his new reality, we need to look for the positive not dwell on the negative. So the day came and went as any other day.

Jerry still struggles with nausea on a daily basis but does his best to be functional in spite of the fact, some days are better than others.  Jerry continues to go to therapy at SCI-FIT two days a week and we are looking to have someone come to the house to work with Jerry three days a week.  It would be great to get someone to come to the house to do range of motion, standing frame and FES bike, to give me a bit of a break. 

Jerry begins school in February he'll be taking a history and a calculus class at the local community college.  Cabrillo college is about 45 minutes from our house,  it's pointless to drive him to school and come home so I'm taking a golf class.  I'm excited for Jer and hope that he will not have much trouble figuring out how to be a student as a quad. Calculus homework may be challenging not being able to write out the equations however he has a calculus software that may allow him to work on his homework. 

We have a busy day today the visiting nurse was here this morning to check Jerry's INR, he should be able to get off the blood thinner Coumadin by the second week of February.  Jerry has a doctor appointment in Santa Cruz at 2:45 and my friend Cheryl and I are going to see Willie Nelson in concert tonight at 6:30. It's going to be a bit of a push for me to get through Jerry's appointment, drive 40 minutes home from Santa Cruz to drop off Jerry and be back in Santa Cruz by 6:30.  Dennis and Jerry are going to the San Jose Sharks hockey game tomorrow night they're pretty excited about that, I hope they win.  Go Sharks!!!  That's all for now I gotta get rollin.

God Bless!

Katie

Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, remember to stop and give thanks to God, appreciate your loved ones and don't take life for granted.  We never stop to think about the things in life that make our life manageable until it's gone, only then do we realize how precious and fragile life is. I'm guilty, I never gave much thought to the things that make my life easy, the ability to walk, take a 5 minute shower, scratch my head when it itches, feed myself, bend my fingers to grip something, write or type, turn my body over in bed to relieve pressure from being in one position for too long, driving and on and on; until my son was no longer able to do these things. I appreciate now all these things that I'm capable of just to be functional through the day but I would give it all up in a heartbeat if I could give Jerry these gifts.  I still pray God will heal Jerry and restore him to health, I will never give up hope that he will again be able to do the simple things in life that make life easier. 

We have a family tradition of delivering homemade cookies to all our friends on Christmas eve. Our family loads in the car and drives to deliver to about 25 homes in the valley. This year started out great we decided to take the suburban so Jerry could sit in a regular seat in the car instead of his wheelchair.  Jerry felt good when we loaded him in the car but by the time we hit the 6th house he was very nauseous, and couldn't go on.  Dennis dropped Jerry and I at home and then continued on delivering cookies, I hope you recipients enjoy the tasty treats.

My family came to visit for about a week and we celebrated Christmas a week early. It's the first time in several years that we had most of the family together, I enjoyed it very much.  There was about 20 of us, my house is not that big but we managed to all find places to sit and visit.  We missed you Mark and Brandon, Robert & Phil, Dave, Vince & Rena. I'm planning a summer family camp out so mark you calendars now.  Having already made the big Christmas dinner last week, I've decided tomorrow I'm not doing anything but enjoying the family, so Chinese food it is, another first. 

Well good news, the followingJerry t-shirts are done.  I picked them up a few weeks ago and so wanted to get them on the website before Christmas.  With preparing for the family to come, having them here a week, getting all my Christmas shopping done, wrapping etc. I either didn't have time or was too exhausted to get the shirts posted.  It certainly has been a whirlwind of a December, needless to say the t-shirts are now available.  We have blue shirts with white lettering and white shirts with blue lettering for sale $18, the proceeds will go in Jerry's China fund for stem cell therapy. You can click the link on the right side for more info or to place an order. 

Merry Christmas to all!

Katie

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, ours was great.  Josh came home from San Diego it was so nice having him home.  I got most of my cooking done on Wednesday evening so we spent much of the day relaxing and watching football, I even got do my cross stitch.  It was a very quiet and peaceful day.  

 

Not much has changed since my last post, Jerry still struggles with nausea on a daily basis. He's lonely and some days the sadness is overwhelming. The great thing about holidays is Jerry's friends come home from college.  The boys took Jerry to the movie to see the new Harry Potter movie, he enjoyed that very much and Issac dropped by to visit for a couple of hours. It helps to distract him if only for a short period.  A friend of ours Rob gave Dennis and Jerry San Jose Sharks tickets, so the boys got out of the house and had a great evening watching hockey on Tuesday, it was a bummer the sharks lost but the boys had a good time none the less. Thanks Rob!

 

Good news the t-shirts are in production and should be ready for sale soon.  Jim from Sports Embroidery Center has done an awesome job designing the shirt and has given us a sneak peak, (see image below).  We will have the blue shirts with white lettering as well as white shirts with blue lettering.  The image below is the back of the shirt, the front of the shirt has a smaller logo over the pocket area and Jeremiah 30:17 on the sleeve, the shirts will be sold for $18.  I was nervous about investing too much money and not being able to sale all the shirts so I only have 100 shirts, 50 of each color which breaks down to about 10 shirts per size.  So if you know you will be ordering shirts you may want to do it earlier rather than later to ensure we don't run out of your size. You can pre order shirts if you like by sending a check to the address below, please be sure to include: how many shirts your ordering, size, color, ship to address and phone number in case there's questions.

It's time to get Jerry ready for SCI-FIT, thanks for the prayers, love and support.

Katie

162 McPheeters Cir

Boulder Creek CA 95006

A Night Out

Dennis and I were able to get a much needed break last night and spent the evening out.  We went to see The Pat Travers Band at the Brookdale lodge, they put on a great show.  PT was one of Dennis' favorite artists, he saw him sometime around 1982 so he was excited to be able to see him again in such a small venue.  The base player wore a followingjerry bracelet for a portion of the show and I slipped a bracelet on Pat Travers wrist at the end of the show.  It would be kinda cool to have someone famous join the following Jerry community.  Maybe they would be willing to do a benefit concert to help raise money for Jerry's trip to China for stem cell therapy, that would be SWEET!!!

Jerry had a rough day today, his nausea was at its all time worst and he spent the majority of the day sleeping, he seems to be feeling better this evening.  We are watching the football games that we tapped earlier today, Jerry and I are going head to head in our fantasy football league. I think he might kick my butt.

A few days ago Jerry tried to use his adaptive utensils to feed himself, we discovered it's to soon, he was not able to scoop food onto his spoon.  I look forward to the day when he can feed himself, I think he will get there it's just going to take some time. 

I've finally got around to ordering t-shirts, I'm excited, I think they are going to be really cool.  We decided to do blue shirts with white lettering like the bracelet as well as white shirts with blue lettering.  I will get pictures on the site just as soon as the shirts come in. 

Thanks for keeping Jerry in your thoughts and prayers.

God bless,

Katie

Getting Stronger

The FES bike has been very beneficial for Jerry but like most kids his age he'd rather be doing something else besides working out.  I can't blame him for that matter, heck I feel guilty, he works out more than I do and I have no excuse.  I'm so proud of Jerry and how hard he works. The video below is Jerry doing the FES arm cycle, just ignore the stack of pillows on the unmade bed ;-), I guess I should have cleaned his room a bit before shooting a video.

Jerry's arms continue to get stronger, his left arm has been more dominant in the past however the right arm is starting to catch up. A few nights ago Jerry wanted a candy bar, I'm on a diet and that's a little torturous to have a candy bar in my hand and not take a bite. I decided if Jerry wanted the candy bar he was going to have to feed it to himself, I was halfway messing with him I would have fed it to him if he could not. I put the candy  bar between his fingers and  much to my surprise he managed to lift it and take a bite.  I was so excited I made him wait to eat the rest while I grabbed the camera.  As you can see by the expression on his face in the video below he hates it when I take pictures and video especially when eating.  I know he hates it now but it's important to capture these milestones so when he looks back he can see how far he has come.  This was way to huge not to share with you all.  

With the discovery that Jerry could feed himself the candy bar the thought came to me that maybe it's time to get adaptive utensils and begin to try feeding himself his meals.  I purchased the utensils online and I gotta say once again I'm appalled at how the handicapped are taken advantage of, it's sickening. 1 plate, 1 fork, 1 spoon and 1 cup, plastic, nothing that special, $70. Unbelievable!

The plate has rubber tabs on the bottom so it won't slide, it also has a rim all around it so the food cannot be scooped off the edge. The fork or spoon can be strapped to the hand and is bendable to angle it the way Jerry needs it.  You never stop to think how many muscles are used for the simple task of feeding yourself.  Jerry has one muscle working for him, the bicep, he can bend at the elbow to lift his forearm but cannot lift the arm from the elbow to the shoulder.   Jerry doesn't have any wrist or hand control or wrist rotation.  Feeding himself may still be to early and be more of a frustration then he can handle right now but he'll never know until he tries.

God bless,

Katie