9/30/04 at 8:45 p.m.

I can't believe it is the last day of September. The fall colors are so beautiful. We had a good day. My day starts at 4:30 a.m. with Jess' first meal at 6. The nutritionalist, Daniella, came so we could start Jess on some enzymes to help him with an infection in his mouth that developed from not having anything to eat orally for so long. Daniel (the CNA-EMT) who comes for a few hours to help on Thursdays and took Jess outside, read the World Guinness Book of Records to him and took him out on the basketball court. Joan, our acupuncturist, did some important points on his head, throat (to help with speech), hands and feet. He was very relaxed after her treatment. John, the occupational therapist, had Jess kneeling on the floor over his massage table propped up on his elbows giving him a different perspective and helps work on strengthening his neck and puts weight on his legs. And then, Coach Trinkle (his basketball coach) along with Coach Eastop stopped by to visit. Coach Trinkle has a very distinctive voice and Jess perked right up when he spoke, moving his leg and arm and uttering some sounds like he needed to talk to him. It was very encouraging. We are constantly moving during our day...the pillow is looking very inviting right now so I will close with a good night and God bless to all.

9/27/04 at 9:14 p.m.

Today was a very busy day. Jess had a good workout in therapy. He also had a blood test taken to make sure the formula we have put together for his feeding tube is adequate. I contacted a doctor in Kethum who specializes in integrated medicine which combines alternative and traditional medical practices together. She is going to visit with us next Monday to help us decide on the best treatments and course to take to help Jess on his journey to wellness. From what I told her she felt we were doing far better than most at this early stage of his recovery. It is so good to have someone to help us make critical decisions for his welfare. So, things are about the same. We are hanging in there....drawing strength from the source in which we are all connected. Keep the positive energy flowing....with love....

9/24/04 at 7:13 p.m.

The physical therapist was excited at Jess' progress today. He lifted and moved his left arm upon command, wiggled his toes and was looking at her with very "there" eyes. She feels maybe two weeks and he will be ready to return to the Elks. We changed the appointment to October 13th. It was good to see and feel her excitement. Aunt Jenn left today to go home to Cleveland. We will miss her. My very good friend gave this prayer to me a while back. I read it everyday and would like to share it with you...

Thank you God...

Thank you God for helping us to continue to choose "letting go" of all that worries us while we wait.

Thank you for replacing those worries with faith and trust, that we are all doing the exact perfect task at the exact perfect time. Nothing is being forgotten or ignored, everyone and everything is being accomplished wonderfully at just the right time....because we choose to trust. Amen

Have a nice weekend! With love...

9/23/04 at 9:15 a.m.

Jess seems to want to talk to us. He has been humming periodically during the day. Tuesday he was looking straight forward all day when typically he looks only to the left. Every day is different. Every day we look for some small change...some small miracle. With the therapists help, we have decided not to take Jess back to Boise to the Elks yet. He needs to heal a bit longer. Jenn is leaving tomorrow. We sure appreciate all her wonderful help and love. Thanks again to all of you for the messages!

9/20/04 8:45 p.m.

Hello everyone in our Circle of Love and Healing for Jess. This is Jess's Aunt Jenn. It is my turn to update as Chris and Pam are continuously busy.

I've been here for 10 days and everyday is unique. I do see little improvements every day that are really major in terms of head injury recovery. All of the therapies here in the West are so different than East of the Mississippi, i.e., Accupuncture, Cranial -Sacral Therapy, Chakra work. It is enlightening and I am truly Blessed to be able to care for Jess and be a small part of this very supportive circle.

I do see less stiffness in Jess and we at times get confirmation of his awareness through some eye blinking that is spontaneous to a simple question or word. Every day is different, but I can assure you all , that the synchronicity of the support is amazing. That certain thing or someone shows up , just in the nick of time. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes.

I'll be here another 5 days and it is going to be very difficult for me to leave, but again that special help will be sure to arrive in time for my depart. I am in awe and respect of the bottomless love of everyone. Keep sending strength for Chris and Pam as it is exhausting, devoted care and undoubtedly impossible without such encouraging thoughts and words from All of You.

We have , above all, 'Gratitude' , everyday for the little steps and even just things as simple as a Blinking eye or a slight moan to let us know he is there. That is our happiness. Blessings and Peace......Jenn

9/18/04

Jess' accident was 3 months ago yesterday. It seems like an eternity to me. Each day I wake up and hope that this is all just a bad dream. But it isn't a dream... it is very much our reality. He has come a long way though and he will continue to improve each day.

I don't have much to report. Jess is doing well. We know he needs a lot of time to heal and a lot of rest. Chris broke his hand so we have another little hill to climb. Is it true when it rains it pours? Jamie and Jahara are here visiting and Jen will be here another week. We have a reevaluation with the Elks on the 27th. Have a nice weekend...enjoy the fall. It's my favorite.

9/14/04 at 8:57 p.m.

My server has been down for a few days. During one of the storms passing through Jen heard a zap and the next thing I knew my computer connection went down. So, today after telling Jess that he should help me fix my computer (which he was very good at it) something mysteriously showed me the way to our central networking box and I was able to fix it. Thank you, Jess! So, we have had very good days and a few hard nights. He seems to wake up a lot with a frightened look on his face. One of us sleeps in his room. We wonder if he is reliving the accident.

We found out Jess was allergic to the formula the hospital was using in his feeding tube. The first two ingredients were sugar and corn syrup. He was having trouble breathing after every feeding so we are now giving him our own special formula with the help of our nutritionalist Daniella Chace. She is awesome. The therapies have been going well. Tammy the PT has had him standing with our help and John OT is reconnecting his movements to feel his own body again. Chris and I are thankful for Jen's wonderful help. Chris has been able to go to work a few hours a day and I have been to my office for two hours a day. We don't want her to leave. We have had Jess holding and dropping a ball, moving his legs on command and he is making more noises with my hopes that a loud "mom" will emerge.

We are feeling the support, the love and the hope that everyone is generating for Jess and we are staying strong to attend to whatever is necessary for his recovery. Some moments are easier than others. With love...

9/10/04 at 10:58 p.m.

Jess had acupuncture this morning which seems to relax him for the day. She took a look at me and said I think you need a little help too. How lucky could I get? He also had physical therapy and a visit from his doctor. He said everything looked good and he was glad to see how alert he was and glad to hear he was responding to some commands. It is a slow process as we have been told many times. We also had a visit from a new friend in the valley who has walked in our footsteps. She was so encouraging to let us know there is hope and things do get better. Chris' sister from Cleveland arrived today to spend two weeks with us. Jen is a registered nurse with many years experience. What a gift we have received with her presence. The highlight of Jess' day was a visit from Kelsey. And, now he is sleeping so we all are going to get some rest too. Good night...God bless you all!

9/8/04 at 9:47 p.m.

Jess had a busy day starting at 8:00 a.m. with John Vladimiroff our occupational therapist. He had Jess on his bedroom floor bending him and moving his body into positions he has not been in for 12 weeks. Jess seemed to enjoy it. He also felt Jess looked directly at him as though he wanted to know who he was. Then, the physical therapist Tammy was encouraged by getting Jess to respond to her asking him to wiggle toes and open and close his hand and move his arm. All very good things for us to witness. Early in the afternoon Joan, our acupuncturist, worked with Jess to help ease the muscle spasms and send energy to the brain for healing. We feel very fortunate to have these wonderful caring people helping Jess. The hardest part of a brain injury is no one knows the outcome or the speed at which someone's brain can heal. We just have to trust that his outcome will be the very best.

We are still in awe at the abundance we are receiving from Jess' benefit. We are forever grateful...

"I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks."
- William Shakespeare Twelfth Night

9/6/04 at 7:35 p.m.

We put Jess on the living room floor and exercised his legs and arms today. It was fun to have him down on the floor and sitting up against the couch. We also put him on the couch and put some music on so he could enjoy different surroundings, textures, sounds and sunlight from the window instead of remembering the sterile hospital bed. It is nice to have him home! Kelsey came again to visit. He looks at her with such love and blinks his eyes slowly to let her know he knows she is there. I also invited a nutritionalist, Daniella Chase, down to help me make sure I am giving him the right supplements. She is awesome and felt we were doing an excellent job with our choices. She said his skin, nails and eyes looked really good. I am giving him the Omega 3 oils for brain development, magnesium for muscle relaxation, a secret green drink for his vegies, a multivitamin, acidophilus to introduce good bacteria, 10 cans of a protein vitamin supplement that is like Ensure (3,500 calories) and 1500 cc's of optimized Pi Water (close to brain fluid). It all goes through a tube in his stomach. Another good reason to be home...I couldn't do that in the hospital. As today comes to an end, we wish everyone a peaceful good night....

9/5/04 at 1:16 p.m.

I am sorry I have not updated the website for a few days. Chris and I have been a little unorganized and overwhelmed trying to make sure Jess gets all of the care he needs. I think I will just update on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from now on. I hope that is ok with everyone.

I have been asked to let everyone know what you might see if you were walking in our footsteps. Jess looks just like Jess when he is sleeping. When he is awake his eyes are the same beautiful blue eyes we all know and love. Kelsey says he looks brighter and better every time she visits. Sometimes he is right with us and sometimes he is away somewhere. Talking to God...I hope. Jess is not awake enough to hold his head up, sit or stand alone, he cannot move his arms and legs when he wants, he needs to be fed every 3 hours, turned every 2 hours...he basically needs everything done for him that we all do and take for granted. I guess my optimistic messages have made some believe he should be out playing basketball any day.

We have all the hope in the world that Jess will come out of this. No one can give us any prognosis of when that will be except that it will take a long time. That's ok...we have a long time. I received a card from a good friend the other day that said...Life takes some crazy directions sometimes, causing changes we can't hope to anticipate. Even though we try to cope as best we can, some things are beyond our control...we can only accept them and try to move forward, as best we can.

We are moving forward "as best we can" and we know that someday Jess will be back out on his basketball court. We hope you have a great holiday and please know how much we appreciate all you do on our behalf. Love, Chris, Pam & Jess

9/2/04 at 10:18 p.m.

Jess was very restless last night. We are not sure why. The day went well. He was responding to some commands when I was putting a ball in his hand and asking him to put one finger up for a yes. It was good to see him trying again. We have not got our routine down yet but every day will get better...we hope. We have a wonderful occupational therapist (who actually is a long time friend) and incorporates the Feldencrist method which is very interesting. He brings a table for Jess to lie on and gently works his body in relaxing movements. We are lucky to have him helping Jess. Tomorrow morning we have an acupuncturist coming to help with the muscle tension and toning. Our days are packed full....have a restful evening.

9/1/04 at 10:38 p.m.

Jess had a good day with a bit of sunshine on the back deck and a shave by his dad, a visit by a new physical therapist and a new occupational therapist (which were both awesome), and is sleeping as we speak. We also listened to an Izzy CD from Maui in our living room. Hopefully it brought back good memories. He does like being home but he is showing some frustration. This is a good thing...we hope. So, another day with the Matey's is coming to an end. We hope you all had a very good day too. Don't waste any possible good day with bad one. good night....