First time in RCP pool

On Saturday we got Jerry in the pool here at Redwood Christian Park for the first time. It turned out to be easier then we anticipated and he enjoyed it very much. Here are some pictures to mark the occasion....

Publish Post

I fixed the music so it plays with the pictures, if you watched earlier today you probably noticed the music was messed up.

Jerry really enjoyed getting in the pool to cool off and hang with friends. It was much easier to get him in and out then we anticipated. It would be nice to get him in the pool a couple times a week and maybe do some movement without the flotation next time.

Katie

Happy Birthday Jerry the Big 20

I wrote this blog yesterday but had trouble posting the slide show, so here it is a little late....

Jerry had a wonderful birthday yesterday but before I go into the details I want to back up a day to Thursday. I mentioned in an earlier post that we would be attending the camp guest speaker testimonial/sermon on Thursday evening. We went to Dominican Rehab earlier in the day for therapy, Jerry did the FES hand bike. Jerry's arms seem stronger every time he does the FES hand bike. In the evening we went to the tabernacle to hear Joy Griffin and what an incredible testimony she has. Joy had been a Christian since childhood but had struggled with the feeling in her heart and had been doing some soul searching. Joy was going to college and playing softball when her life was changed forever. Joy played center field and made a dive for a ball during a critical part of the game, actually the game winning catch. When Joy landed she ripped all the muscles from her spine and was paralyzed. She was in so much pain the only comfortable place to be was flat on her back on the floor which is where she spent the next year and a half. Joy really did some soul searching and studying her bible as well as being mentored. She met a man that prayed with her and asked her if she believed God could heal her, they prayed for healing and Joy was healed instantly, she jumped up and ran, she was healed miraculously. The doctors could not explain or even fathom how this could be as the damage to her back was not repairable, it truly was a miraculous healing. At the end of the evening Jerry, Dennis, Jessica and I went forward for prayer for healing for Jerry. It was incredible to close your eyes begin to pray and not be aware of what was going on around you. Then to open your eyes and find about 50 people had come forward either laying hands on Jerry or the person next to them if they couldn't reach Jerry and praying for God to heal Jerry, it was incredible. There is no doubt in my mind that God will heal Jerry, it may not be instant like Joy but he gets stronger everyday and I believe he will walk again and we will praise God for his mercy.

Yesterday was Jerry's birthday and we managed to pull off a surprise party. I should say Jessica managed to pull off a surprise party. Dennis had to work and I took Jerry to SCI-FIT in Pleasanton. Jessica made a cake, picked up pizza, decorated the house, and coordinated with Jerry's friends. Jerry had no idea, he was totally surprised. Here are a few pictures of the party:

Push play to view video....

Enjoy,
Katie

Hiccup

*****PAY PAL IS BACK UP AND RUNNING, HOPE NOBODY WAS TERRIBLY FRUSTRATED WITH THE HICCUP*****.

Pay Pal is acting up, and we will have it fixed later tonight!

We apologize to any who have come to buy a ticket....please check back soon!

Toxic Green Machine

Jerry got another piece of equipment today, his manual chair, Toxic Green, yeah baby!
Here's a little taste of Toxic Green, by the way his permanent power chair will be Toxic Green as well.



We thought we would try the new chair for the ride to SCI-FIT today, turns out that was not such a good idea. It's not really made for comfort and travel. When the chair is tied down it still has a lot of movement around turns so windy Bear Creek was a little rough. Jerry did seem to be comfortable on the freeway however.

Jerry is still waking up with nausea in the morning, it's the never ending story. Jerry went to the Urologist on Monday the doctor was very nice. The doc took Jerry off of one of the medications he was taking which in my book is great, one less med is good. The doc is going to possibly order a new ultrasound if he's not satisfied with the results of the last test. Jerry also has an endoscopy test mid July, we're still plugging away trying to find the root cause of the nausea. The good thing is the nausea seems to be at level 1 to 2 earlier in the day, by 2:00 he feels pretty good. We have been charting everything, I'm like chart queen right now.

We are in the middle of June Family camp here at Redwood Christian Park where we live. The guest speaker tomorrow night has an incredible testimony to share and we are so excited to go listen tomorrow night. Joy was a softball player in college and suffered an injury during a game which left her paralyzed, I think she spent over a year in a wheelchair and then was miraculously healed. I'll have to give you all the details after I here her full testimony.

God bring healing, to Tim, Allie and Jerry.....
Amen
Katie


OK, Tina is just too cute, I still can't capture the magnitude of her cuteness on film but this pic is still pretty cute.

Tuesday Ballgame Update

The tickets are flying out fast and furious, and we are SO grateful for the many of you that are helping to spread the word about our July 18th ballgame between the San Jose Giants and the Modesto Nuts!

Many have asked if there is a way to help with the plans for the game, and what we need the most is your help in inviting your friends, family, coworkers and neighbors! This week, we've got a few new ways for you to do this:

First, if you are on Facebook, sign in and search for "Following Jerry to a Ballgame", or click here to go straight to the event page. You will see an option on the right where you can invite more guests, and we would love for you to invite your own friends and family via Facebook.

Next, you might have already noticed that if you click on the flyer to your right, it will come up full-sized and ready to print. If you can print some flyers and hang them in your place of employment, businesses that you frequent, or wherever, we would love it. If you would like your own stack of tickets to sell, just let us know and we'll get those to you.

We are also very grateful to our local businesses that are offering tickets: We All Ride in Soquel, Felton Feed and Scotts Valley CycleSport. If you've not yet purchased tickets, you can do so at any of these locations, or right here from the blog.

We would also like to give a big shout out to the great folks at Little League that are allowing us to set up at table and sell tickets at all of the upcoming Tournament of Champions for all divisions. If you would like to help us in manning a table so that we can cover all of the games, send us an email to ballgame@followingjerry.com and let us know. There are numerous games the week of June 30, and one this coming up Saturday. If you can help, it'd be great.

Lastly, we are THRILLED to announce a partnership between ourselves and a non-profit called Bayshore Christian Ministries. If you would like to support this fundraising ballgame but cannot attend due to distance, calendar conflict, or whatever, just let us know and we will donate your purchased tickets to the folks at Bayshore, who will then give them out to inner-city youth and their families. For your $7 ticket, you can not only support Jerry and his recovery, but also play a part in supporting a child's introduction to sports.

How fantastic is that?

If you have any questions or suggestions for us as plans continue, email us at ballgame@followingjerry.com

For the Gang,

m.

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to all you Dad's and a SUPER DUPER OOOBER FATHERS DAY to Dennis. Dennis has worked 7 days a week between Jerry's room and his real job for 4 months. He may have had about 5 days off in that time. Thank you Big D for working so hard we love and appreciate you sooooo much. I hope you enjoyed your weekend off and steak dinner, now get back to work :-o ....just kidding.

Jessica had a softball tournament over the hill this weekend and one of Dennis' favorite things is watching her games, so he was pretty much in hog heaven. They lost the first game and one the second yesterday, then won the first two and lost the third today which put them in 5th of about 2o for northern California, way to go Ray's. Jessica batted something like 15 for 20 with a couple of walks not a bad weekend at the plate, you go girl!!!!

Daddy and Ricco takin a cat nap.....

Thank you Marci for working so hard on the Giants ballgame and thank you Trish for all the promotion at the Little League Tournament of Champions. We have had some on line orders for tickets thank you to all who have ordered early online your tickets will be mailed tomorrow. I'm so excited for the Giants game it is going to be so much fun, I can't wait to see you all there. Go Giants!!! By the way we get to throw the first pitch as well as pick someone to sing the national anthem, we are going to have to come up with a fun way to decide who will do these....any idea's? Anybody interested in doing either send me an email to katie@followingjerry.com.

For those living near Gottschalks they're going out of business and are having an incredible sale, I got Jerry a new recliner about 70% off, it was such a great deal. I'm excited because it fits him perfectly so we don't have to prop his arms with pillows any more. Ususally we have to put a pillow under each arm which on a warm day causes him to over heat pretty quickly. The arms on this chair are closer together so his arms can sit on them without falling off. The most exciting thing about the chair is it has a vibrating back which in my mind has to help with circulation and prevention of pressure sores. Maybe it will stimulate his back muscles or maybe it will just be relaxing at any rate he sits higher in the chair and feels more comfortable so that's good.

Jerry had a wonderful time last night, he had a virtual poker party. Jerry was excited to have his friends over and was pretty amped up most the day. So thank you Luke, Kevin, Issac, Jesse, Gevin and Chris. The boys all brought their lap tops over and played on line poker, they had a hard time figuring out how to set up a private table and I think half the night was spent on setting up. Jerry had fun none the less and it was so great just to see him chillin with his friends.

Please keep our kids in your prayers until each has recovered, keep hope alive and wait for the miracle. Lord release complete healing for Tim Hatch, Allie and Jerry, heal their bodies, heal thier minds, and restore them to health. Thank you Lord for all the blessings you have already given.

God Bless,

Katie

Friday - June 19

I don't have much to update tonight, the day started much the same as every day, Jerry really didn't feel good this morning. The traffic to Pleasanton was horrendous, the 680 freeway was a parking lot and we were 30 minutes late for work out. A little frustrating but the good news is Jerry had a good work out and by the end he felt pretty good.

We got home about 7:30 and I got an opportunity to go in Jerry's room and finish painting the Monster M, I gotta say...."I like it", now I hope Jerry will like it, he hasn't seen it yet. Here's a sneak peak.....



After reading the article in the Sentinel today I felt very sad that another of our Valley kids has suffered a tragic accident. I was reminded once again what an incredible community we live in and how people are compassionate and caring and how truly blessed we are. I pray for Tim and his family, I pray that he will recover fully.

Good night,
Katie

In Case You Missed the Morning Paper

Unrolled the morning paper and found our own Jerry on the very front page. We thank the Santa Cruz Sentinel for continuing to follow Jerry and his story.

Click here to read about Jerry, Allie, and yet another in our community that needs our prayers, Tim Hatch.

Thursday - June 18

I just wanted to check in quickly for an update, not much to report. There is one positive thing to talk about, up to know Jerry has been stronger on his left side, but he is beginning to gain strength on the right side. Jerry rode the FES hand bike at Dominican Rehab today and I gotta say every time he rides it he begins to feel a little stronger with a little more movement. He actually was able to initiate slight movement with his right arm. Pray that his arms a waking up and his hands are next. How glorious it would be for him to control his wheelchair with his joy stick as opposed to chin drive. I'm so proud of Jerry for working so hard, complaining very little, trying his best to keep a positive attitude. He has moments of despair but they seem to be short lived and always go hand in hand with the nausea. He is so brave, patient, strong and determined, I couldn't be prouder.

Thanks for continued prayers, it's through prayer, hard work and determination consistently that Jerry will walk again. We will not stop until he is out of that wheel chair.

God bless all of you for caring and praying....

Good night,
Katie

Wednesday - June 17

We are losing two of Jerry's Angels on the fund raising committee, Kris Silher and her daughter Sarah as well as Jessica's boyfriend Mitch. Sarah moved to Sacramento yesterday and Mitch is moving to Arizona to go to college while Kris is moving to Colorado leaving tomorrow. I would like to thank them for all they have done to help raise money for Jerry's rehab. Kris and Sarah either organized or helped organize the concert fund raiser, pancake breakfast, raffle and silent auction for spaghetti feed, designed and had made bumper stickers and bracelets, distributed cans around the valley. Kris cared for Jessica the first month Jerry was in the hospital and Kris was there when Jerry had his accident and was the first in the hospital. So Kris and Sarah THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done to help us. Like I said in the card I wrote you, your reward will be seeing Jerry walk again some day, it will happen and you will know you played a huge part in it. Mitch you will be missed you have been wonderful and I know Jessica is going to be so sad when you leave.

So now to get caught up, the sore Jerry has is not a pressure sore it is a skin irritaion caused by friction, this was very good news. Jerry is restricted from the FES bike until healed but that is the only restriction.

Jerry has been feeling much the same nausous in the mornings better in the evening we're still trying to figure out the root cause. Jerry had an appointment with the gastrologist on Monday they are going to do a test where they put a scope down his throat to his belly and have a peak around. We will see if that turns up anything.

Tuesday we got a lot accomplished, Jerry had OT and PT, I got two new tires on the van, returned flooring at Home Depot and picked up flooring for Jerry's room at Costco. Costco has an awesome deal on lamanent flooring right now I saved over $800 by returning what I had gotten from Home Depot. What a deal. Jerry then had a doctor appointment, we are going to do some charting to try and find some pattern with medications and blood pressure and yeah more fun.

Today was off to SCI-FIT, Jerry stood in the standing frame and was able to take his binder off which is pretty good. For those not familiar Jerry wears an abdominal binder which is kind of like a corsett, it puts pressure on his abs to help with blood pressure. When he gets up without the binder his blood pressure drops so it was kind of a big deal to be in the standing position without the binder.

Tomorrow we are off to Dominican rehab, it's late and time for bed, signing off now, God bless....

Katie

Ballgame Update

We are looking forward to seeing all of you on Saturday, July 18 for a 6pm game between the San Jose Giants and the Modesto Nuts. It ought to be a perfect summer evening....baseball, BBQ, all of you...and the Beer Batter!

(Never heard of the San Jose Giants? Not sure about the Beer Batter? For more on both, click here.)

Between now and then, we are hoping to sell all 2500 of our tickets. Once we sell the first 300 tickets (to cover our event costs), every single dollar will go straight to funding Jerry's physical therapy at SCI-FIT, as well as covering other aspects of his care and recovery.

To get started, we'd love the help of all of you who read this blog.

If you would be able to post an event flyer at your place of employment, your Gym, your kid's preschool, wherever, we'd appreciate it. If you would like to take a stack of tickets to sell to your friends and family, just let us know and we'll set you right up. If you might consider inviting your friends and family to the game and point them to purchasing tickets on the blog, we'd be thrilled.

Truly, the San Jose Giants do a fantastic job of providing an entertaining evening. This particular game will be really special as we even get to select a person to throw the first pitch and sing the National Anthem. (Hey...anyone know anyone famous for this?!?!)

So if you can help, we'd love it. If you'd like a stack of tickets to sell, or a copy of the flyer suitable for emailing, just jot us an email at ballgame@followingjerry.com If you have any ideas or suggestions to offer as plans continue, email us with that too!

Thank you to everyone for playing a part in Jerry's recovery....your support means everything to the MacCallister Family.

For all of Jerry's Angels,
Marci

Saturday - June 13

We have a very busy weekend but should be fun none the less, Jessica's boyfriend graduated yesterday and is having a beach party, congratulations Mitch. The part that's not so good is Jessica has a tournament in Stockton today and tomorrow, so she will have to miss the first game today so she can go to the beginning of the party. I get to take Jessica to the party and then the tournament she has a game at 6:45 and 8:15 in Stockton, for those not familiar Stockton is a little less then 2 hours away. I will probably get home about midnight but Jessica will stay the night in the hotel with a friend. Dennis is staying home with Jerry and working on the room. Tomorrow Jerry's friend Mary has a graduation party congratulations Mary, so Jerry and I will go to the party while Dennis goes down to Stockton to see Jessica's game. I scored, I get to go to both parties, whoohoo!!!

Jerry could use a friend to hang with today if anyone wants to stop by, Chris, Torrie, Luke, Isaac, any takers?

Jerry was asked to become a commissioner for the Santa Cruz County Commissions for Disabilities District 5. We turned in the application this morning and should hear from the district supervisor Mark Stone within a week weather or not he has been appointed. If appointed he will have his first meeting in August. I guess will have to start calling him the Comish. ;-D

All else is going well, except Jerry has been running a low grade temperature of 99.5, don't know what that's about. I seems to feel OK just running a temp. Hopefully that will not persist or we'll have to go on a needle in the hay stack hunt to find the root cause.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Katie

Thursday - June 11

I know it's been awhile since I posted, it's been pretty busy and I've been feeling exhausted. The good news is I've fully recovered from being sick and so far no one else in the family caught the bug, whoohoo.

Jerry had a hard day yesterday. I inspect Jerry from his shoulders to his feet about every 2 to 3 days for pressure sores. Pressure sores can be really bad and is a huge concern for people with Jerry's level of injury. I have to get up at 4 am every night and roll Jerry to avoid him getting pressure sores, also when Jerry sits in his recliner we have to do weight shifts about every hour. The reason I mention all this is Jerry got a sore and it was quite concerning. Sometimes sores can leave you bed ridden and interfere with therapies for weeks or months because the body can heal very slowly. Yesterday Jerry was unable to use the FES Bike because of the sore and the trainers had to be cautious as to what exercises they did with Jerry. Because the sore was near the tailbone they had to avoid doing exercise that could cause the sore to open or get worse. The good news is we had the sore checked out today and it's not a pressure sore, hallelujah!!! The sore is a friction sore, which heals much quicker and is not as dangerous as a pressure sore. It's likely the sore was due to friction from riding the FES bike, at this point that will be his only limitation. Jerry can continue with all other work outs which is good, we were very relieved when we heard it wasn't a pressure sore.

Jerry had a hard day yesterday, he was overwhelmed by the time we got home from Pleasanton. Jerry has been having a couple of other physical issues that has him feeling down and with all the hoopla over his sore I think he was on the edge. While unloading from the van Jerry did not tilt his chair back enough, when he drove the chair on to the lift he hit his head on the top of the door opening. That was it, he had a hard time getting through it. Jerry had a hard time sleeping last night and was up until about 5 am. The unfortunate part of all that is we had to be up by 7:3o because Jerry had a doctor appointment in Santa Cruz with the gastrolagist. Amazingly Jerry felt really good today, emotionally he was a new man after learning his sore was not that bad. Jerry had a very low nausea level, maybe we ought to try only getting 2 1/2 hours sleep more often, he felt really good today. We went to our PT appointment today but the time was spent addressing Jerry's sore so we missed out on the FES hand bike. Jerry is going to take the day off from SCI-FIT tomorrow, he needs to take a break and try and get his sore to heal as quickly as possible, so he won't have therapy again til next Tuesday.

After getting home this evening I gave Jerry a hair cut, it was long overdue. I think it looks pretty good..... ;-D. Jerry finally let me film his arm movement however he only would give me 12 seconds, that's OK, I'll take it. I'll leave you with his 12 second video.

Good night and God bless,

Katie

Follow Jerry to the Ballgame....Ticket Info

We are so thrilled to announce a benefit ballgame between the San Jose Giants and the Modesto Nuts!

Invite your friends and family to join us on Saturday, July 18 for a 6pm game. If you've never yet been to a minor league ball game, this a great time to try it out. The venue is extremely family friendly, and kids (and grownups) of all ages will enjoy the feel of the stadium, the great food and seats that are close to the action. Not only can you hear the crack of the bat, but you can also hear the muttering of the players. Depending on the game, this can get pretty interesting......

But here is the best part of all. Tickets are $7 each, and $6 will go straight to supporting Jerry and his recovery fund, the majority of which goes towards his physical therapy. Isn't that amazing?

For now, tickets are only available online--just click on the link to the right and we will get your tickets in the mail. By next week, we will also have tickets available for purchase at Felton Feed, We All Ride (in Soquel) and Scotts Valley Cycle Sport.

If you would like to have a stack of tickets to sell to your coworkers, friends or family, please email us at ballgame@followingjerry.com and we will get those to you right away.

Please join us and Follow Jerry to a Ballgame! It's gonna be great.

Follow Jerry.....to a Ballgame!

Mark your calendar RIGHT THIS SECOND for Saturday, July 18, 6pm!

In partnership with the San Jose Giants we will be joining forces to support the MacCallister Family with a benefit baseball game! While the San Jose Giants take on the Modesto Nuts, we'll take over the stadium (literally!) and fill it to overflowing with the friends, family and community that has been supporting this family for these last months.

More information will be posted soon, so stay tuned.........

Sunday - June 7

Dennis is painting Jerry's room today, Jerry wanted to incorporate colors from the Monster energy drink so we went with black, gray and white. The ceiling is white, one wall is black (I know....brave....daring...we live life on the edge), the rest of the room is gray and we will add some neon green somewhere. OK it was supposed to be light gray and it sure looks darker on the wall than it did on the card.


We went to Allie's fund raiser last night, what a wonderful show of support for Allie and her family. The fund raising crew did a great job and the event was extremely successful, way to go!!! Jerry was able to attend as well, it's a whole new world trying to maneuver a wheelchair in a crowd. Jerry enjoyed himself as did the rest of us, I forgot the camera so unfortunately you won't get to see Dennis rollerblading.

Jerry has been feeling much the same however he did have a new feeling, while doing gait training at SCI-FIT Jerry said he felt his feet burning. Not burning as in nerve pain but burning as feeling from walking. Below is a video if you listen closely you can hear him say he feels his feet burning. It's hard to hear over the music, I love that they blast music in the gym, there's something about music that makes you feel good.



I've been trying to get a video of Jerry moving his arm however he teases me and will not move the arm when the camera goes on. He'll move his arm and say hey mom check it out, I get the camera to get a shot and he says "What arm movement?" ".....I don't know what your talking about". I may have to resort to blackmail to get the shot. The bottom line is his arms are getting much stronger, I believe it is the FES arm bike that has made his arms stronger.

We are going to pleasanton on Wednesday and Friday so Mondays are now our doctor appointment day. Tomorrow Jerry and I have an appointment with the ear nose throat doc. I've had my left ear plugged for over 2 months now. I took a decongestant for 3 weeks and have been on a nasal spray for a week still no change with the ear. I can't hear out of the left ear hardly at all. Jerry is also going to be seen to see if he may have some inner ear issue that can be related to the nausea.

We had some friends over for a hands on prayer session with Jerry on Saturday. Jerry said his whole body felt tingly during and after. We continue to pray for complete healing and are confident this is not Jerry's destiny. God has a bigger plan for Jerry and I don't belive it involves a wheelchair. It's our job to keep Jerry strong until God decides it's time for Jerry to walk again.

Good night,

Katie

Quick Update

Just a quick update to say everything is going well. Jerry's nausea has been at a tolerable level the last week. This week we started something new with Jer's pain meds. Generally Jerry takes 2 pain pills as needed which usually is 3 to 4 times per week. When Jer takes pain meds his nausea seems to go away or is at least at a tolerable level. Doc wants Jerry to take a 1/2 a pill three times a day to see if that will help keep the nausea at bay. So far so good.

Jerry has been trying out his new XBox game controller, he's not terribly pleased with it, we may have to return it. His chin mouse has been working fairly well and allows Jer to play some video games on his laptop.

Dennis got the texture done in Jer's room and is ready to start painting, Jerry wanted to use the color scheme of the Monster energy dirk, fluorescent green and black. Jerry doesn't want to use the Monster logo any where in his room just the colors. This ought to be interesting trying to incorporate neon green. After we paint Dennis will install the flooring and fixtures then Jer can move in. Colleen you asked awhile back if we have a programmable thermostat, we do. We have central heat but no AC, we are having an AC unit installed it should be done sometime this week. We do have the programmable thermostat but most often the problem is not the room temperature it's Jer's body temp. It can be cold in the room and Jer will be burning up, or visa versa. Thanks Colleen for the offer, we appreciate you thinking of Jer and following his progress.

We are changing our SCI-FIT schedule from Mondays to Fridays, they are not open Mondays anymore so we will be in Pleasanton Wed and Fri. Today we are off to Domincan.

Thanks for praying,

Katie