Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunday June 21st, 2009: Coke & Aquarium
Today was quite the outing. We all went to the World of Coca-Cola and then to the Georgia Aquarium. We had a blast at the World of Coke! They have one large tasting room, where you can sample all the different Coke products from around the globe. "Smart Apple" from China was the favorite, and "Beverly" from Italy was the most disgusting. "Bibo" from South Africa was pretty good too. There were over 60 drinks to try. It was awesome. We were all feeling very full after we were through and there was A LOT of belching going on! I have a funny video clip of the boys sampling "Beverly." And of course, we all left with free glass bottles of Coke. Then it was on to the aquarium. Since it was Sunday, everyone and their mom was there. It was kind of a mad house, but I think we did pretty well navigating through the crowds. We got to see a lot of cool fish, sharks, and whales. We even got to see the Beluga whales trying to mate (just like humans do- it was quite entertaining!) On our way back to Shepherd, we drove by the CNN Center, where there was a large Iranian protest going on. It was controlled, but a bit nerve wracking to drive through. Never a dull moment.
Today was quite the outing. We all went to the World of Coca-Cola and then to the Georgia Aquarium. We had a blast at the World of Coke! They have one large tasting room, where you can sample all the different Coke products from around the globe. "Smart Apple" from China was the favorite, and "Beverly" from Italy was the most disgusting. "Bibo" from South Africa was pretty good too. There were over 60 drinks to try. It was awesome. We were all feeling very full after we were through and there was A LOT of belching going on! I have a funny video clip of the boys sampling "Beverly." And of course, we all left with free glass bottles of Coke. Then it was on to the aquarium. Since it was Sunday, everyone and their mom was there. It was kind of a mad house, but I think we did pretty well navigating through the crowds. We got to see a lot of cool fish, sharks, and whales. We even got to see the Beluga whales trying to mate (just like humans do- it was quite entertaining!) On our way back to Shepherd, we drove by the CNN Center, where there was a large Iranian protest going on. It was controlled, but a bit nerve wracking to drive through. Never a dull moment.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Saturday June 20th, 2009: Visit from friends
Will's buddies Brett, Tim, and Eranne flew down from the Cape this morning. All I can say is that my cheeks hurt from all the laughing we did this afternoon! We loaded Will and his chair up in my car (I think it took about 30 minutes to do that before we even left the parking garage) and then we were off to the ESPN Zone for lunch. The top floor of the ESPN Zone is all games and we ended up staying there, taking turns on a lot of the games. I will be uploading videos and pictures this coming week. It was a riot! Will had a good time laughing at his friends (and me) trying to play some of these games. One of the games was a horse race, and you had to sit on the small plastics horses and ride them like a jockey. Hysterical. After the ESPN Zone, we went back to Shepherd where Will cracked open the can of boiled peanuts- disgusting. (Sorry Kelly C.) And then the boys thought it would be fun if they were all in wheelchairs, so Tim and Brett got hold of some of the 350 lb. power chairs that quadriplegics use and they all went tearing around the floor. At one point, someone came to shut the door to Will's room because it was getting a little rowdy. It was a really fun afternoon. Tomorrow, we are hoping to get to the aquarium which is supposed to be very impressive. Will & I were also very amazed to hear all the details of the upcoming fundraiser. It sounds like it is going to be AWESOME! And....we got to see the t-shirts that have been made ....and they are even more AWESOME!! We are ever so grateful of all the support and energy that has been constantly flowing our way. There are a lot of good people in this world.
Will's buddies Brett, Tim, and Eranne flew down from the Cape this morning. All I can say is that my cheeks hurt from all the laughing we did this afternoon! We loaded Will and his chair up in my car (I think it took about 30 minutes to do that before we even left the parking garage) and then we were off to the ESPN Zone for lunch. The top floor of the ESPN Zone is all games and we ended up staying there, taking turns on a lot of the games. I will be uploading videos and pictures this coming week. It was a riot! Will had a good time laughing at his friends (and me) trying to play some of these games. One of the games was a horse race, and you had to sit on the small plastics horses and ride them like a jockey. Hysterical. After the ESPN Zone, we went back to Shepherd where Will cracked open the can of boiled peanuts- disgusting. (Sorry Kelly C.) And then the boys thought it would be fun if they were all in wheelchairs, so Tim and Brett got hold of some of the 350 lb. power chairs that quadriplegics use and they all went tearing around the floor. At one point, someone came to shut the door to Will's room because it was getting a little rowdy. It was a really fun afternoon. Tomorrow, we are hoping to get to the aquarium which is supposed to be very impressive. Will & I were also very amazed to hear all the details of the upcoming fundraiser. It sounds like it is going to be AWESOME! And....we got to see the t-shirts that have been made ....and they are even more AWESOME!! We are ever so grateful of all the support and energy that has been constantly flowing our way. There are a lot of good people in this world.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Friday June 19th, 2009: Few tough days, feeling better
It's been a rough few days down here. I flew back from NC on Wednesday morning and met a group from Shepherd at the airport. As many of you know, Shepherd has a phenomenal therapeutic recreation department, and part of their program is getting patients back into the community. Shepherd partners with Delta airlines and they have a monthly airport outing. Will was unable to attend because he was still fighting his UTI, but I was able to be there to get educated. It was a wonderful experience, and I was so thankful for the opportunity. As you may imagine, airline travel from the perspective of a disabled person can be quite stressful and intimidating. This experience answered a lot of our questions and oriented us to what airline travel will be like.
I returned to Will's side on Wednesday afternoon, and it was quite obvious he was still fighting the infection. To make a LONG story short, he missed a few days of therapy, and spent many hours dealing with bowel issues on top of the infection. He mentally & emotionally had to work through some tough times, and this was the first time I have ever heard him cry. We have had a few good, honest talks with his primary nurse and the charge nurse in regards to revamping his bowel program, and more importantly, in regards to some staff personality & care issues. Even though Shepherd is the #1 place to be, it is not a utopia. I was very glad to hear yesterday that the preliminary results of his blood cultures are negative. He still has had low grade temps and he still has his Foley catheter in, but today has so far been a good day. He is really looking forward to seeing a few of his buddies who are flying tomorrow for the weekend.
I had to move out of the apartments this morning and I will be staying with a family friend who lives about 45 minutes away. We learned this morning that Will got accepted into the day program. He will be discharged from inpatient on July 1st and we will move back into the apartments that day. The day program will start July 2nd. We do not know how long he will be in day program. We do not know yet if his insurance will cover the day program in full. If they do not cover it, the cost is $100 per day. Let's hope they cover it! Once he gets there, they will sit down with him and determine his goals and then we will know how long he will be there.
The fundraiser is coming up on June 26th. Here is the link to another article about Will: http://www.capecodtoday.com
I am happy to report that I booked flights for Will, Ty, and I to fly up to Boston in September. Both Will & I have different friends getting married on 9/12/09. So we will be on the Cape from 9/10 to 9/13. Looking forward to it! Today, I am hoping to get checked off to take Will out in the car!
It's been a rough few days down here. I flew back from NC on Wednesday morning and met a group from Shepherd at the airport. As many of you know, Shepherd has a phenomenal therapeutic recreation department, and part of their program is getting patients back into the community. Shepherd partners with Delta airlines and they have a monthly airport outing. Will was unable to attend because he was still fighting his UTI, but I was able to be there to get educated. It was a wonderful experience, and I was so thankful for the opportunity. As you may imagine, airline travel from the perspective of a disabled person can be quite stressful and intimidating. This experience answered a lot of our questions and oriented us to what airline travel will be like.
I returned to Will's side on Wednesday afternoon, and it was quite obvious he was still fighting the infection. To make a LONG story short, he missed a few days of therapy, and spent many hours dealing with bowel issues on top of the infection. He mentally & emotionally had to work through some tough times, and this was the first time I have ever heard him cry. We have had a few good, honest talks with his primary nurse and the charge nurse in regards to revamping his bowel program, and more importantly, in regards to some staff personality & care issues. Even though Shepherd is the #1 place to be, it is not a utopia. I was very glad to hear yesterday that the preliminary results of his blood cultures are negative. He still has had low grade temps and he still has his Foley catheter in, but today has so far been a good day. He is really looking forward to seeing a few of his buddies who are flying tomorrow for the weekend.
I had to move out of the apartments this morning and I will be staying with a family friend who lives about 45 minutes away. We learned this morning that Will got accepted into the day program. He will be discharged from inpatient on July 1st and we will move back into the apartments that day. The day program will start July 2nd. We do not know how long he will be in day program. We do not know yet if his insurance will cover the day program in full. If they do not cover it, the cost is $100 per day. Let's hope they cover it! Once he gets there, they will sit down with him and determine his goals and then we will know how long he will be there.
The fundraiser is coming up on June 26th. Here is the link to another article about Will: http://www.capecodtoday.com
I am happy to report that I booked flights for Will, Ty, and I to fly up to Boston in September. Both Will & I have different friends getting married on 9/12/09. So we will be on the Cape from 9/10 to 9/13. Looking forward to it! Today, I am hoping to get checked off to take Will out in the car!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday June 16th, 2009: Got the Fever, more cowbell?
Who knows SNL? I am a huge fan of the cowbell skit...sorry...ICU nurses often use humor to deal with stress...
Will is not in a good place. Temp has been up to almost 104, to make a long story short, it is possible he is septic (total body infection). There are cultures of his blood pending to see if he is. His urine grew out E.Coli (really bad bacteria that is found in fecal matter). Emotionally, it was very hard to talk to him this evening, because he was crying the entire time, and really feeling down (both physically and emotionally). We knew there would be hardship along the way, and this is it. I feel like we are back in the ICU- it sucks. Please send him strong thoughts...
Who knows SNL? I am a huge fan of the cowbell skit...sorry...ICU nurses often use humor to deal with stress...
Will is not in a good place. Temp has been up to almost 104, to make a long story short, it is possible he is septic (total body infection). There are cultures of his blood pending to see if he is. His urine grew out E.Coli (really bad bacteria that is found in fecal matter). Emotionally, it was very hard to talk to him this evening, because he was crying the entire time, and really feeling down (both physically and emotionally). We knew there would be hardship along the way, and this is it. I feel like we are back in the ICU- it sucks. Please send him strong thoughts...
Tuesday June 16th, 2009: UTI
It's been a few days...Sunday I drove back up to NC with Ty & his folks. We made excellent time (about 5.5 hours). Unfortunately, while I have been gone, Will has gotten sick with a bad urinary tract infection. He was starting to feel like crap on Sunday, and yesterday he said he felt worse, and then this morning I didn't even talk to him, he just handed the phone to his nurse. He has had fevers, today's fever is 102, he is vomiting, and therefore won himself an IV, another Foley catheter, and an antibiotic. Damn it. This is a very common complication due to the fact he has to catheterize himself every 4 hours. Anytime you put a tube into the body, you run the risk of acquiring an infection. Wash your hands folks! I fly back to GA early tomorrow morning and will continue with the updates. It's been wonderful to be home, and these past 2 days have flown by. We are continuing to go forth with getting ready to put our home on the market, and we are hoping to list it next week.
It's been a few days...Sunday I drove back up to NC with Ty & his folks. We made excellent time (about 5.5 hours). Unfortunately, while I have been gone, Will has gotten sick with a bad urinary tract infection. He was starting to feel like crap on Sunday, and yesterday he said he felt worse, and then this morning I didn't even talk to him, he just handed the phone to his nurse. He has had fevers, today's fever is 102, he is vomiting, and therefore won himself an IV, another Foley catheter, and an antibiotic. Damn it. This is a very common complication due to the fact he has to catheterize himself every 4 hours. Anytime you put a tube into the body, you run the risk of acquiring an infection. Wash your hands folks! I fly back to GA early tomorrow morning and will continue with the updates. It's been wonderful to be home, and these past 2 days have flown by. We are continuing to go forth with getting ready to put our home on the market, and we are hoping to list it next week.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Saturday June 13th 2009
Will's friend Jacquie came to visit today. She and Will used to date in their "younger" years :) We all went out to Uncle Julio's for lunch- very yummy Mexican. Will thought it was funny when she was pushing him in the wheelchair, and he made me take a picture. After lunch we hung out in the garden and played a game of Scrabble. Ty kicked all of our butts, but Will & I came in strong in second place. As they say down south, Will is fixin' (that's "getting ready" for all you Yankees) to crack into a can of boiled peanuts anytime now. He has been wanting to try boiled peanuts for awhile now, so Joyce (my mom in-law) brought him a can of them- Eww...think I will pass!
Will's friend Jacquie came to visit today. She and Will used to date in their "younger" years :) We all went out to Uncle Julio's for lunch- very yummy Mexican. Will thought it was funny when she was pushing him in the wheelchair, and he made me take a picture. After lunch we hung out in the garden and played a game of Scrabble. Ty kicked all of our butts, but Will & I came in strong in second place. As they say down south, Will is fixin' (that's "getting ready" for all you Yankees) to crack into a can of boiled peanuts anytime now. He has been wanting to try boiled peanuts for awhile now, so Joyce (my mom in-law) brought him a can of them- Eww...think I will pass!
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