January 23rd, 2006

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday big brother Joey.....Happy Birthday to you!!"

I have the laptop hooked up at the clinic so I wanted to wish Joey a big Happy Birthday from your whole family!

Jess is working hard this last week at the clinic. They are video taping the therapies so we can continue doing the exercises at home. Due to the cost of staying here, lack of reimbursement from insurance, our travel and missing work, we decided to return home and work on the new things we have been taught. We will return to Bakersfield again. We will miss Crystal and Samantha...somehow all the s fall in love with our Jess. Imagine that!

I better run, I want to watch the OT do the new eye exercises with Jess' glasses. I patched one of his eyes and we went to see the basketball movie Glory Road. It was awesome. Jess stayed focused on the screen. He still loves the game. We also went to the "BIG" mall on Sunday. I thought it would be quiet but to my surprise I could not believe all the people and the mall was twice the size of our Boise mall. I forgot which door we came in so...we got our exercise.

January 20th, 2006

I don't have time to tell you so much. We have been very busy. I still don't have a computer. Jess is doing well. I found out from the eye specialist that Jess has been seeing double 80% of the time. Can you imagine? He also has a blank spot on the lower right field of vision. He now has prism glasses that help him control his eyes better and we patch one side every day for 3 hours. When they are patched it stops the double vision. The doctor thinks it will make a big difference in his progress. He cannot look down so the prism in the glass will help with bringing his eye gaze down. It will help him see his hands and want to use them more.

We have decided to return home at the first of February. We will have videos and written plans for our therapists at home and then we will return here periodically for reevaluation and new therapy plans. The therapists here have been wonderful and are so willing to help us in whatever way they can. We feel it was very beneficial to be here for the last two months.
I need to get Jess to speech therapy so please know we appreciate everyone keeping in touch. I will try to get back online again soon.

January 15th, 2006

Boy, did this week go fast. I enjoyed being home, spending time with mom and dad, worked everyday (a big thank you to Bill & Eltiena for being so understanding), caught up on bills, spent some quality time with my friends at dinner and a movie, took a bubble bath, slept more than three hours at a time, snowblowed the driveway a couple times, dealt with insurances and now my week is over. Whew! I am leaving for Boise to spend the night with my beautiful daughter and granddaughter and then on to Bakersfield Monday afternoon. I can't wait to be with Jess again and get a hug from my husband. We will both attend the team meeting on Tuesday. Chris will be home on Wednesday and back to work (another big thank you to Ned and Sun Valley Co. for letting him take this time off). We are very grateful.

I just spoke to Chris and Jess. They went to a college basketball game Friday night and are headed for a movie today. They also went to see King Kong last week. Chris said the week went "ok" in therapy. No big changes. Our expectations can make us quite depressed...we want our son back so bad. It's just not time I guess. We can't control the events that happen in our life and we can only be careful with the way we handle them. We have to stay positive, focus on the small improvements and know that we are doing all we can for Jess. His journey is his journey and each of us have our own journey and we all have to make the best of it. All I am sure of is, we will always be here for Jess. He will get better...I have no doubt.

January 10, 2006

I am back home for a few days and glad to be able to be on my computer. It is so hard to leave Jess but he is in good hands with his dad. I needed to go to work, check on mom and dad and catch up on the paperwork and Chris needed to see his son. I talked to Chris today and he said the appointment with the eye specialist went well. She has worked with people with brain injuries for many years. Chris said she felt Jess could definitely see and after extensive testing she said she thinks he has a blank spot in the lower right field of vision. She also thinks he may be seeing double at times especially when he is tired. She is going to instruct the therapist with exercises to help correct both problems. She did feel he needed glasses. He wore glasses before the so we ordered a pair. She told Chris that many times with head injuries there will be damage to the eyeballs from the impact but she did a test that showed Jess' eyes were not damaged and were healthy. Good news!

The speech therapists are using an electric stimulator on his vocal cords to help stimulate his voice and swallow. He will have a swallow evaluation next week. They continually work on his tongue to strengthen the muscles. We are also getting consistent yes/no answers with eye blinks. He does two blinks for yes and one for no. The OT has made a splint for his hand to help him control the movement in hopes that he can hit a yes/no button. I can't wait until Jess can have some choices and be able to tell us how he feels. The night before I left I was in his room watching him sleep. All of a sudden he smiled just like this picture and I started to cry. It made me feel so good to know that at least there are good, happy moments for him even he it's in his sleep.

I fly back on Monday and Chris and I will have a conference with the team that is working with Jess. We will decide if we will stay another month. We are taking it one month at a time. Chris will come home on Wednesday. We pass each other practically in the airport with a hug and a tear saying good bye. Both of us hoping the other will have some wonderful news of new recovery.

I have had a chance while I am home to get help with an appeal to our insurance company for coverage we feel he deserves and also to discuss options with Medicaid. It is all so complicated but we won't give up. Whatever it takes to get the help he needs. He is going to continue to get better...that's all we know. Thanks again for the prayers...we know there are many being said for Jess and our family and you don't know know how much it helps!!!

January 4, 2006

I have a few minutes to use this computer. It is awful not having a computer...what did we ever do without them? Jess is trying so hard in therapies. Some days I am so glad we are here and other days I wonder why we are here. I know Jess needs lots of therapy everyday and everyone here is so considerate and knows a lot about brain injury. We do new things each day with the goal of finding the key to unlock Jess' ability to move and communicate. He is trying to find a way to connect his brain to his body. And, it is very complicated when so many neurons have been disconnected. The hardest part is the not knowing what he can regain. We just keep the faith and send lots of good energy to everyone involved in his recovery.

Jess and I entertained ourselves for New Year's. We had three days off so we went to the movies twice. I feel like we are movie stars when we go out in public. Some people are afraid to acknowledge us and some give us the real stare down. We also ventured into a large mall. I took Jess to the video game arcade, which was one of his favorite places and also to a Foot Locker shoe store, another favorite. It was raining all weekend so everywhere we went we got soaked. Maneuvering around in a wheelchair is a different world. And boy do I cuss those who park in the handicapped zones. I think about trying to get him around at home with 4 feet of snow. Maybe we will stay until spring....

We have received a lot of cards and letters and I read every single one to Jess and we talk about our life and all our wonderful friends. It is strange how you can make the best of being in a strange city with new people. Where there is a will...there is a way. Chris will be here this weekend and we are sure glad. Love to Idaho and to everyone visiting this site. Pam, Chris & Jess

December 30th, 2005

I have a chance to tell everyone a few little things Jess has done this week that are awesome to me. He just kicked his left leg up 9 times for me in his wheelchair during PT. In OT yesterday David put his left arm in a plastic brace that has rollers on the bottom. He velcros his arm in and puts the brace flat on a table. He showed Jess how to roll his arm back and forth in front of him a few times and then asked Jess to do it and he was able to do it a couple of times by himself. David said this could open up some new ways for Jess to do a number of things so we are going to work hard at that one. He is also able to hold his eye gaze straight forward longer. We have an appointment with an eye doctor to check his vision again. The doctor specializes in helping people learn exercises to strength the muscles in the eye again. We meet every day with a counselor who does visualization with Jess. He has him imagine where his body is in space. He will take him through a basketball game or down the slopes snowboarding and ask him to feel what it is like. He was telling him he was about to make a basket and could for a layup or dunk it and then he added, "You can't dunk a ball, Jess you better just take the layup". Jess started moving all over and punkered his lips and had an angry look on his face. Joe, the counselor, kept telling him he couldn't dunk and Jess kept moving more. He is trying to stimulate "all" emotions because we know there isn't a perfect world. He also took both of us through a relaxing meditation. He told me how powerful the brain is and that we just need to unlock sensations for Jess again. Good stuff! We saw the rehab doctor for the first time and he was amazed at Jess' flexibility and lack of contractures. He complimented me on how well we had worked with Jess. I said it was only because of my wonderful therapists at home and their constant ranging of Jess. Thank you John, Tami, Robbin, Susan, Maura and everyone at the horse arena! They have told me the key to success with brain injury is repetition. The more the better....everyday Jess needs OT, PT and Speech. They want to relay this to the medical world so they don't let brain injured people waste away in nursing homes. Of course, I am with them 100%. Well, I better run...Jess is in the standing machine. Happy New Year!!!! Please be safe...

December 28th, 2005

I was able to borrow a computer while Jess is in Speech Therapy so I thought I would say hello and wish everyone a Happy New Year. Jess and I had a lonely four days while we were off from therapy. My Uncle Homer and Aunt Lura were in Bakersfield from Stockton and invited us over for Xmas dinner. It was so nice to be with family. And, Xmas eve we visited a family that has a boy at the clinic similar to Jess. He is 18 too. They were so kind to have us over. So, no matter where you are there are wonderful people to help you when you are alone. I even met a very nice man on the plane and we "just happened" to meet two ladies (amongst 100 people) while we were waiting for our flight to Bakersfield who both had recovered from traumatic brain injuries. They gave me websites and support groups to contact. Now why did I come in contact with those three people???

Everyone at the clinic and the apartments are wonderful and so caring. There are so many tragedies that happen in this life. We are sure not alone. Jess is doing well. Of course, we want a big explosion of something grand but as we keep getting reminded....Jess is in the "slow to recover" category.

Our insurance has denied his coverage here so I am appealing. Again, I urge you to look at your policies and use our scenerio to see if you have the coverage you need. We trust everything will be just fine and we will be where we are suppose to be so not to worry. Again, Happy New Year and keep the prayers a comin'!! We are so grateful!
Love, Pam, Chris & Jess