Day 24-Healing

Overall dad is looking so much better-talking, eating, drinking, and joking (as usual) very well.  Keep the healing prayers coming!  We still have a long road ahead of us.  

Today marks 4 weeks of recovery from the open head fracture (1st fall). Dad, I made this card just for you!

Day 23-Lots of Matzo Love!

They say, love is supposed to hold a family together, but our secret ingredient can be found in matzo ball soup. So, today I cooked up a batch, grabbed some bowls, and we had soup for dinner with dad!

Just one box of soup, served up nice and hot is all that is needed to help heal your soul, find comfort in this world, and be reassured that everything will be alright! 

If you have never tried it, you can buy the mix at any grocery store-make sure it says mix and soup on the box.  It's chicken broth with a matzo dumpling. Just add eggs and oil.  You can add carrots, celery, and chicken! Yum! It's served at Passover, but I make them year round, more like monthly! My girls know how to make it now! 

People love eating matzo balls-they set world records for the largest..488lbs.

People eat them in competitions...78 matzo balls in 8 mins. -I think I will stick to my 3 or 4. So filling!

Matzo Party with the Family

                                                             

Daddy's Girls!

Day 21-22 Birthday Wishes

Busy two days for dad...

Dad's longtime friend Art visited from Cleveland for the afternoon and took mom out to dinner.  We are so thankful for friends!

Dad got a nice close shave and a 20 min. break from the neck collar. He cleans up well!

Also, Addison turned 10 today.  She didn't get to spend it with her Papa, but was able to talk to him on the phone.  We will bring cupcakes tomorrow when we visit.  We miss you so much!!



Day 19-20 Bombs Away!

Nothing much going on over the last two days, Dad has been very tired and uncomfortable. Not very exciting at Heritage House.

However...
being at the courthouse downtown on Monday morning was very exciting!! 

We arrived at 9 am right when word was getting out that there was a bomb threat.  The building, and surrounding government buildings, were evacuated.  Family inside had to walk 7 flights of stairs out of the building.  We waited anxiously outside on the sidewalk.  Within minutes, 9 sheriffs pulled up, bomb sniffing dogs paraded around, a helicopter hovered, and the news team showed up to investigate the breaking news.  Much to our horror, we were on tv (in the background, looking like idiots). After an hour, the threat was cleared and the drama ended.  

Day 18-Sausage Gravy Sunday!

There's nothing more enjoyable than a homecooked meal. Todd made his famous sausage gravy breakfast for dad. Prior to the accident, we would make it every Sunday morning for dad to enjoy.  It was nice to get back to old routines.

Here's dad learning how to drink from a sippy cup, laughing hysterically as we joked about the circle of life. Dad never had sippy cups growing as a kid, so here's his shining moment, his chance to throw his cup on the floor, knock it over, whatever makes him happy.  He's one of the big kids now. 

Today was filled with more good times! Dad's longtime childhood friend, Jerry, came down from Michigan for a few hours. Todd's family stopped by with the Grandmas in tow, bringing homemade apple and peach pies.  And to top off the night, Kent and Shay stopped by to say hello!

Dad is ready to fly the coop! He's about one more rubbery pancake away from doing it!

 Mom and Dad

Grandkids!

"Sausage Gravy Master" Chef Todd & Me

 

 A bouquet of yummy apple and peach pies made just for dad by Mary!

 Having fun with the goofy glasses..laughter is the best medicine

 (although not as good as oxycodone)



Day 17-Visitors

My dad is lucky to have a wonderful network of family and friends.  It shouldn't surprise me, and perhaps I am a little biased, but my dad is so funny and an amazing guy with so much charm.  His stories draw you in, his love for everyone embraces your heart, and his ability to put everyone else first is truly remarkable.

 

Nancy, a dear friend of mom and dad, visited today.  Thanks so much for your time. :)  Quite honestly, it's a pretty boring place without visitors-counting ceiling tiles to pass time isn't my idea of fun. As mentioned before, there is no ice cream truck to look forward to this summer and the cable tv could use a few more channels like HBO or Showtime.   

 

Nancy posted on FB the following:

 

 I spent a wonderful hour with Justin at the Heritage Rehab yesterday. He looks good and is mainly his old self, except for some bandages and the neck brace. He's up in his power chair all day and telling stories and laughing and I think he entertained me as much as I did him. He is an inspiration!
As I looked around his room and listened to his accounts of his family and friends' help and visits and gifts, etc. I couldn't help but think how blessed he is in many ways. But Justin, I want you to know that you have built this network of love, hope and support through your own amazing life. Your friendships and your family life are so much the result of your own good nature and generous spirit.  And I'll be back soon to take part in the journey.
I stayed long enough to meet up with Marsha out in the breezeway of the center and we sat and talked for a while. What an amazing woman... making the adjustments and carrying on with humor and hope and resilience. I hope that I would do as well, given the same kind of challenges.

For those of you who are reluctant to visit - don't be! He absolutely adores having people come to see him. It made MY day!

 

 

Not only did dad get to spend time with Nancy, but Nikki brought the grandkids up (Shane and Damien) for a visit too!  What a great day for dad!

Day 16-Ice Cream Man!

I am convinced that life acts in funny, odd ways.  When we were younger, the ice cream man filled our youth with happiness and excitement.  The adrenaline rush was our ultimate high...chasing the circus music as it blared throughout the neighborhood, scrounging around for spare change under the couch cushions, and running like hell, as fast as you can just for that strawberry eclair or the red, white, and blue rocket popsicle. 

And now, sitting in a nursing rehab facility, helping dad get comfy, trying to relieve his pain, it has all come down realizing that the older we get, the ice cream man no longer has the same magical effect as it did in our youth. 

Sadly, the excitement is spent waiting and counting the hours on a daily basis until the medicine push cart comes around. It's just a small cart on wheels filled with oxycontin and other pain relieving drugs.  You don't have to chase this cart, and medicare pays for the goodies inside.  There are no stickers or decals on it, no scary man with a scraggly beard pushing it, no music blaring throughout the halls of the nursing unit, nothing...just a plain, small, cart.

So I say, let's bring cheer to the nursing home! Put a stereo system on it, make drug time a happy time, don't take away our youth! Oh, and let's hook up a cooler filled with ice cream too.

Day 15-a little more about dad

We are officially 2 weeks into the healing process for dad's injury.  Although his broken neck has robbed him of his ability to be independent, it has not robbed his humor. 

Here's our biggest challenges with helping Dad to recover:

-Never able to walk again and must rely on his powerchair and a lift system to move him safely from his chair to bed
-Limited movement in his hands and arms bc of the ALS and neck injury, dad is learning to feed himself with customized silverware and sippy cups with straws!
-Adjusing to life in a neck brace which doesn't allow him to see the world the way he used to see it.  He will never be able to move his neck.

-Dependent on someone to help him with daily living 24 hours a day

                                                                           (Dad broke his neck at C1)

It's the little things that we celebrate each day and embrace in our hearts.  Learning to live life each day as if you are a quadrapelgic is definitely a challenge.

And so my blog begins on day 15...

15 long days and nights by his side

15 emotional days

15 challening days

15 days of hope, courage, and love

Day 15 was a great day for dad! He was able to sit up with some assistance for 25 minutes today, had friends from Dayton visit in the evening, got his stitches removed, and found his appetite (mom got him a doublestack from Wendy's)

Other exciting news, dad was able to stand yesterday for about 10 secs with support.  This is the first time he was able to stand and stretch in 2 weeks! I couldn't imagine how good that must have felt!

Meet my dad

Meet my dad Justin...a man of hope, courage, and love.  His story is about a father who is a true hero to me and despite the cruel fate life has handed him, his spirits are high and his smiles are wide.

Dad was recently diagnosed with ALS after 6 years of searching for a diagnosis. 

Recently on June 28, while dad was at home, he fell backward which caused an open skull fracture on the back of his head, 3 staples,trauma unit overnight, no surgery needed, bone fragment on the brain, but not in the brain. A miracle indeed!

July 4-Dad fell forward while at home, causing a gash on his head with 12 stitches and sadly, he broke neck at the C1 level-several bones on the right side resulting in an unstable neck fracture. Surgery is high risk and not an option. Dad will be in a neck brace for life and will be unable to walk again, as any future fall is almost certain to be fatal. He is unable to feed himself as well. Nothing more fun than grabbing a spoon full of food and playing airplane with dad as I get him to eat! (paybacks from 39 years ago when i was a baby...lol) He is in a rehab facility for a few months until we can bring him home (this is a big goal for us). Next cat scan is in 5 weeks and we are hoping there will be signs of healing. The odds are against him for his neck to heal on its own, but hey...dad is a fighter! He survived a car accident last September, a head fracture, and a broken neck. My dad is truly humpty dumpty!

So, this blog is for family and friends to read about dad's journey as he finds hope, courage, and love during this difficult time.