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

Back to Normal

Things are finally getting back to normal in our house after a hellish six weeks, Jerry has almost recovered fully and is feeling a little more like his old self.  It's going to take some time for Jerry to gain what he's lost over the last six weeks, his muscles have lost some tone, his tolerance for being in his wheelchair has gone way down, his blood pressure drops more now then ever and the FES bike causes his heart to race after 10 minutes.  These are disappointing set backs that should improve over time.  The good news is Jerry started back at SCI-FIT this week getting the much needed workouts with an amazing crew, it's good to be back but I'm still hating the drive. More good news, Jerry's right arm is getting stronger, he can move his right arm as much as his left arm now, the only difference is the right arm fatigues quicker.   

That's all for now, I have to get Jerry ready, it's a SCI-FIT day.

God Bless!

Katie

T-Shirts Anyone?

We are brainstorming ideas of ways to generate more money for China and thought t-shirts might be good.  Before we go and put out a lot of money to have shirts made we thought we would poll you all to determine if there's an interest.  The t-shirts would be $20 which includes shipping and would have the logo on the front breast and maybe the website in the back bottom as seen below.  If you think you would purchase a t-shirt could your leave a comment answering the questions below.  Answering the questions does not commit you to purchasing, it will help us determine if there's enough interest to proceed as well as what colors and sizes.

1. Would you be interested in purchasing a t-shirt?
2. What color t-shirt?
3. What color logo?
4. What size would you order?
5. Do you have an interest in designing the t-shirt?

Home At Last

The ultrasound came back normal which is good news, the chest x-ray taken this morning shows no increase in fluid in the lung, more good news.  The doctors can not conclusively say the pulmonary embolism was a false positive so they will be treating Jerry with the blood thinner coumadin for another 3 months to be on the safe side. The best news of all we are home at last, hallelujah.
 
Jerry spent about 3 hours in his wheelchair today, he also attempted to ride the FES bike but was only able to tolerate about 10 minutes.  It's difficult for him to sit straight up he still has fluid in the pleura which makes it difficult for him to breath, he can't tolerate being upright for more then 10 to 15 minutes.  While we were in the hospital Dennis installed the ceiling lift over the bath tub.  After a much needed shave Jerry was able to relax in the jacuzzi tub for about an hour.  It was so nice being able to get Jerry in the tub by myself with very little physical exertion.  Jerry is a happy camper resting in his own bed, watching football.  

Good to be home!

Katie