December 30 Last night Uncle Kevin, Kyle, Auntie Carol, Uncle Shelly, Mom, Dan and Jeremy finally celebrated Christmas! Kevin brought over a cooked turkey dinner for everyone (he's the great cook in our family). Today Laurie and baby Serena are suppose to be getting out of the hospital. Jeremy went to the rehab yesterday and is going again today to try and set up therapy. Mom found a caregiver to help until Friday and she can help out next week Monday through Friday. She is working on trying to find help over the weekend. She sent me all the info regarding the equipment so I am going to see if I can get some or any of the equipment covered by Jeremy's insurance company or any other organizations. The most important piece of equipment he will need is the FES bike. We are all super busy but little by little I believe things will start to fall into place and it will get easier. Serena is just a little bundle of sunshine, it will be so nice to have her home! Here comes a new year....
December 28 Things are getting pretty tough. Laurie is having some complications and is still in the hospital, but we hope she will be doing better soon. Mom is one thread away from having a nervous breakdown. She has had a really hard time finding any care givers who will work during the holidays. She has been missing work and is concerned about her job. Jeremy hasn't been getting the exercise he needs to keep himself healthy. There are a tremendous amount of expenses associated with this injury. Mom and Dan have been doing their best to try and carry the heavy load, but there are so many things still needed. Jeremy really needs transportation. We thought we could get by with dial a ride but it's not as easy as we thought it would be. You must give 24 hours notice and are closed on Sunday. He also needs a FES-CE system bike model from Restorative Therapies Inc. RT300-S. This is the only real hope he has of having any type of recovery. He also needs a rickshaw, easy standing frame and a manual wheelchair. If anyone comes across a wheelchair accessible van that is a good deal, please let us know. It is very hard for us to ask, but we really need donations to help Jeremy. Please help Jeremy if you can. Thank you.
December 25 Happy Birthday Serena! She was born just after midnight. She weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. Daddy says she is a beauty like her mommy. Everyone is doing great! What a wonderful Christmas surprise!
December 24 .... Looks like Santa will be making a very special delivery.... we can expect a baby girl very very soon!!! Jeremy was already having a great day. Brian and Bozo came over to visit. Dan got the van so he was able to go to The Bun. He said he saw a lot of friends. Later on tonight mom made dinner. Then Laurie had to go the hospital. He got a call from Laurie to hurry up and get over to the hospital. We are now waiting.... hopefully soon, I will have more details.
December 23 Jeremy has been doing really great so far. Today Mike, Tom and Tiffini came to visit. He said it was great to see them and he was really happy they came by.
December 22 Jeremy and Laurie had a relaxing day. They hung out and watched some movies.
December 21 Laurie and Jeremy went to the baby doctor yesterday! Looks like the baby is doing great and should be here in the next 10 days! Brian came over last night and it was really nice for Jeremy to hang out with him. Dan built a work station for his computer and got that all up and running so now he can use his Skype again! Mom was super busy running back and forth from work and trying to find more caregivers.
Jeremy is up for visitors! The best time to visit him is between 12 pm and 7 pm
December 20 Jeremy had a relaxing day at home. He had a caregiver come in and help him out today. Tomorrow Jeremy and Laurie are going to the doctor to see how the baby is doing! Jeremy's neck brace is suppose to come off around December 29 and he can hardly wait for that! There have been a few bumps in the road but overall things are coming along. Mom, Dan and Laurie have all been so busy and Jeremy is so thankful for all they are doing to help him. We are trying to get Jeremy approved to go to rehab in Grand Forks for swimming, unfortunately they don't have the type of equipment needed to help someone like him. There are four different machines that the Craig Hospital recommended and they feel are medically necessary to keep his body moving so he can stay healthy... Grand Forks doesn't have any of them : (
December 19 Being home seems to be very good for Jeremy. He sounds so happy every time I speak with him. He has had lots of visitors and lots of help getting things adjusted. Scott hooked up his TV, which made him really happy. Brian made his sofa and couch the correct height and his table too! So he won't get stuck again. His bed had a pillow top mattress which made it too high, so he has to get that exchanged. Mom, Dan and Laurie have all been busy with so many things, but things are falling into place little by little. They didn't build Rome in a day....! He said he went with Mom and Dan to Walmart and everywhere he turned he saw people he knew. He went to a couple of other places too. It was really great to have the van to get around! They had to return it this afternoon. He said it was just great to have it as long as they did. He hung out with Laurie, Brian, Patty, Casey and Joey. Everyone is getting super excited for the baby!!
December 18 Jeremy's first night home went well! He was in good spirits this morning. Mom has been busy trying to get everything lined up for him. Laurie and Dan took him to get his picture taken for the Dial A Ride so he can get around town. Then Jeremy, Laurie and Dan went and ate lunch at The Boardwalk on the east side. Dan said they have the van down to a science and are able to get around really easily! Jeremy is really excited to see all his friends. He may try to go out tonight if he is feeling up to it! But if he isn't feeling great he said he'll go another night.... so we will see! Jeremy didn't go out, he was feeling fine but decided it's better not to push things. Uncle Kevin stopped by to visit Jeremy last night, he said it was really nice to see him. Later in the evening Jeremy was on the couch but couldn't get back into the chair. Luckily Josh came by and helped him! He gave him a bear hug and put him in his chair. Jeremy was really happy he could help him out. His couch was too low to the ground so he couldn't transfer back.
December 17 Just spoke with Mom, her and Jeremy are heading to the airport. She said it was an emotional and tearful goodbye at Craig. A lot of the staff, nurses, techs, OT Jen, PT Julie and his doctor all gave him a nice send off. They wished him the best and it was a touching and tearful goodbye for all. He will really miss all his new friends at Craig. Next Stop Fargo, ND!!! Jeremy arrived in Fargo and was greeted by Dan, Brian, Patty, Uncle Debbie and Uncle Larry! It was an emotional time for Jeremy. He headed home to Grand Forks with Dan, Mom, Brian & Patty! He arrived at his new appartment and was very happy to be see Laurie, Auntie Carol, Uncle Shelly & Jon. Everyone worked really hard to get everything ready with the appartment and Jeremy was so thankful. He said he was a bit overwhelmed and it was an emotional day. He is really happy to be home and we are all happy he is back home too!
December 17 Just spoke with Mom, her and Jeremy are heading to the airport. She said it was an emotional and tearful goodbye at Craig. A lot of the staff, nurses, techs, OT Jen, PT Julie and his doctor all gave him a nice send off. They wished him the best and it was a touching a tearful goodbye for all. He will really miss all his new friends at Craig. Next Stop Fargo, ND!!!
December 16 Today Jeremy wasn't feeling that great, so he did miss out on some of his therapy classes. Later in the evening he was feeling much better and Uncle Bill came by to say goodbye. Jeremy, Mom and Uncle Bill went out for Thai food and they had lots of fun.... of course Uncle Bill is always super entertaining and so much fun to hang out with. They laughed all night and Mom said Jeremy had a smile on his face the whole evening. When he got back from dinner Don Shaw was there to visit!!! He said it was really great to see him. Tomorrow is the big day!!
December 15 Jeremy went driving today! He said it was ok. He managed but thought it would be kind of tricky getting around town. I know he can do it with just a little more practice. Driving would give him a lot of independence. He worked hard in therapy today and this evening Ben, Joe and JC came to visit and say goodbye. Jeremy was really happy to have the chance to see them one more time before going home!
December 14 Jeremy has been feeling a lot better this morning! He is in therapy working hard. Mom and Jeremy met with his doctor today. He hit his head so hard that it bounced and bruised both sides of his brain and this is causing the headaches. It is healing but it will take sometime. The doctor speculated that the headaches will last a couple of months. : ( We are really sorry to hear this. They have been managing his pain with Oxycodone, which they are going to wean him off of. Mom said he was doing really great today and he was in a very good mood and was working really hard in therapy.
December 13 Jeremy had a relaxing day today. He wasn't feeling perfect, but better than yesterday. He hung out with mom and Sherman and his wife for a while today. He is ready for his last few days of therapy. He will be driving on Tuesday and Wednesday!
December 12 Today Uncle Bill came to visit Jeremy. He wasn't feeling that great today. He has still been suffering from his headaches.... we thought they would be gone by now but they aren't. Some days have been better than others and some parts of the day are better than others. Mom arrived today and she will be flying back with Jeremy on Thursday.
December 11 Jeremy sounded much better this morning than last night. He was getting ready for therapy. He said he was going out to lunch at the Mexican restuarant down the street. Jeremy said the weather is quite cold now!
December 10 Another busy day of therapy. Jeremy seemed like they gave him too much pain medication today. He kept falling asleep on the phone. Hopefully tomorrow he won't be on so much medicine.
December 9 Jeremy went to all his regular therapy classes today. He said he will be doing the drivers training class next week! He is really looking forward to going home.
December 8 Jeremy had another busy day with therapy. Jeremy went swimming today. He is still having bad headaches, but the doctors are expecting them to improve soon! They did another MRI today so they can make sure that he is doing well before they send him home. He was reevaluated today by his medical team and he will be going home on December 17th as planned! He will fly direct from Denver to Fargo and then Mom and Dan will drive with him in a van back to Grand Forks. Mom and Dan have been busy lining up care givers and getting the appartment ready for Jeremy. I think Laurie is the most excited to have him back home... since she really wants him there when Serena is born. Ben came to visit Jeremy today!
December 7 Today Jeremy already has had a busy day. He said his headache hasn't gone away, but he did get up like a trooper and went to his classes. He went swimming this morning and then to his B Fit class and functional field class. He said he will be working this afternoon on OT and PT. Overall he sounded not so bad today!
December 6 Jeremy still continues to have bad headaches. Yesterday he did feel a little better for part of the day. He said the hospital food is getting old and is all starting to taste the same. He got up and hung out with Sherman and his wife and they ordered take out from a pizza shop. He said it was really good.
December 5 Today Jeremy isn't feeling well at all. Last night he couldn't sleep because of his headache. When I spoke with him around 3:00 pm his time, he hadn't gotten out of bed and hadn't eaten anything today. I did call and speak with his nurse, who said they had ran another cat scan today and that the bleeding on his brain was beginning to resolve and that he should start feeling better in the next few days~ we sure hope so! They have been giving him high doses of pain medication which has made him very drowsy and he slept through both breakfast and lunch. This evening Jeremy was surprised by his friend Eave from San Diego! He was in town and stopped by, he brought Jeremy a Smash Burger! Jeremy said he said and visited fro a couple of hours, it sounded like Eave was able to really cheer him up and make him feel better.
December 4 Jeremy made it to the mall field trip yesterday! He said it was good to get out the hospital. He has still been having headaches, but he is on pain medication which has helped a lot. Last night Uncle Bill came to visit and brought Jeremy a Smash Burger! He said it was great. He is getting excited to go home and see Laurie and now there is less than one month to go and baby Serena will be here!
December 3 Last night Jeremy was in a lot of pain and they gave him a lot of pain killers so he was very hard to understand and was falling asleep on the phone. Mom was really worried. This morning his blood pressure was all out of whack and he wasn't feeling well again. Later in the day he started to feel better. He went swimming and did his OT. He was doing much better this evening so we are thankful for that! Tomorrow he has plans to go the mall with his class. Mom said Bill Omlid dropped off all Jeremy's stuff today! Bill and Jon thank you so much for helping Jeremy get his things home safely; we appreciate it so much!
December 2 Jeremy was just getting out of bed this morning. He said he was feeling a little better. Bill Omlid came today to pick up all of Jeremy's things. Thank you so much Bill for taking everything back to Grand Forks for Jeremy! Jeremy said he didn't have any therapy classes but was busy running around getting some things done. He was feeling much better this evening~ thank goodness! He and Sherman ordered Chinese food tonight and they were heading to the gym to watch rugby. Two of the guys on the rugby team won Olympic Gold Medals at the China Olympics a couple of years ago!
December 1 Due to Jeremy's new injury his going home date has been postponed until December 17. Today Jeremy wasn't able to do much. He said his head ache was better than yesterday. So, hopefully tomorrow he will feel even better.
