Hello All--
We’ve been home for a week now, and things are still going well. We went to Kari’s doctor for her hospital discharge follow up and got all her prescriptions done along with flu shots and a pneumonia vaccine. The Doctor seemed to think that Kari was doing well and they were happy to see her since hearing about the accident July. Health wise, the only problem that Kari is the tension and resulting pain in her shoulders and neck that has bothered her for months. Her arms too, which were straightened by casting, have also started to tighten up a bit, and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of her new arm splints that should help correct the problem. Other than that, we are both feeling great and still excited about being in Southern California. (Still can’t believe SC lost!) Yesterday was such a beautiful day and Kari and I were able to get out to do some errands and see our new apartment, which Kari loved.
We move in tomorrow (Friday), and would definitely appreciate any help if you are able. I don’t anticipate needing any help until noon or later, and if you are interested, call me and I’ll tell you where to meet. (If you don’t have my number, leave a comment to this update with you’re email and I‘ll write you back later this evening.) All of our stuff is either in Loma Linda at a storage unit or in Redlands at our church, so any large vehicles would obviously be useful. The bathroom still needs modification, which we can’t start until we get the Keys and will need to start Saturday. I have already spoken with some people about helping, but could use one or two experienced people to help get started on it on Saturday. Needless to say, it’s about to be a very busy few days, but we are excited to get into our own place.
There is good news to report from the Logan house, where we are staying. Melissa had (yet another) surgery yesterday to put a nerve block into her lower back and is now walking again. She has had these done before, though, and some of the previous blocks have only worked for a few days. We are all happy that it worked, but of course nervous about how long it will last, as the rollercoaster Melissa and her family have been on the last year has had countless ups and downs. Still, it is a joy to see her standing. I can understand why the atmosphere here yesterday was one more of relief than excitement as Kari and I have found it hard to celebrate some of the progress she made during rehab with the entirety of the situation still upon us. I imagine, in our different struggles, we all feel how a soldier must feel after a long-fought battle—hardened by pain, weary from the struggle, relived by victory, and unsure about when the next inevitable battle will start. Thank you for keeping us so faithfully in your prayers.
Aaron.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Happy New Year!
Hello All—
Well, it was a long trip back but we made it okay. The transfers from Kari’s wheelchair to the aisle chair to the plane seat and back were very hard, but we got them done. We got to the airport 2 ½ hours early and had just enough time to do everything, and after we landed it took us an hour to get off the plane, get back into the wheelchair and get situated. Sarah, who was driving our van back, hit some bad weather (and almost a few cars) and wasn’t going to be able to make it to the airport to pick us up as we had planned, and we left in the air without a ride home planned. Luckily, we got on the phone with some friends of ours and they called a wheelchair minivan to come pick us up. We had a little trouble locating the van and didn’t actually leave Orange County until almost 6:00. The traffic wasn’t that bad, but the whole day had been so long that Kari was totally exhausted by the time we got there and threw up just after we pulled up to the house we were staying at. She was fine, though, and we’ve spent the last few days just lounging around and recovering from the journey.
We are staying with the Logans, friends of ours from church and whose daughter Melissa is the one I have written about on the Blog before. It has been nice to stay with them—a good transition before home and a family that understands what it is like to go through this type of tragedy. We haven’t really done much except go to the church to get some stuff and to go and get ice cream and the break from the hospital schedule has been nice. The last two days, Kari has slept until noon :) I got a message from our apartment manager yesterday saying that we’d be able to move in on the 6th of January. Once I know for sure though, I’ll write here to give anybody that wants to help further details. Anyways, we are going to be at church tomorrow, (the address is the one on the donations page on the website) so I wanted to invite anybody that wanted to come to be there to. Church starts at 10:30, and people usually get there around 10:00 to have some snacks and talk before church.
We are so happy to be home. When we were driving around yesterday, Kari said “Man, I love California.” We just love the atmosphere, the land, the weather, and of course all of our friends here. It took us a while to get settled, but it truly feels like home here and we feel so great to be back. We look forward to seeing friends here we haven’t seen in so long and also want to thank the many that came from our old home and elsewhere across the country to come visit us in Colorado.
Happy New Year!
Aaron.
Well, it was a long trip back but we made it okay. The transfers from Kari’s wheelchair to the aisle chair to the plane seat and back were very hard, but we got them done. We got to the airport 2 ½ hours early and had just enough time to do everything, and after we landed it took us an hour to get off the plane, get back into the wheelchair and get situated. Sarah, who was driving our van back, hit some bad weather (and almost a few cars) and wasn’t going to be able to make it to the airport to pick us up as we had planned, and we left in the air without a ride home planned. Luckily, we got on the phone with some friends of ours and they called a wheelchair minivan to come pick us up. We had a little trouble locating the van and didn’t actually leave Orange County until almost 6:00. The traffic wasn’t that bad, but the whole day had been so long that Kari was totally exhausted by the time we got there and threw up just after we pulled up to the house we were staying at. She was fine, though, and we’ve spent the last few days just lounging around and recovering from the journey.
We are staying with the Logans, friends of ours from church and whose daughter Melissa is the one I have written about on the Blog before. It has been nice to stay with them—a good transition before home and a family that understands what it is like to go through this type of tragedy. We haven’t really done much except go to the church to get some stuff and to go and get ice cream and the break from the hospital schedule has been nice. The last two days, Kari has slept until noon :) I got a message from our apartment manager yesterday saying that we’d be able to move in on the 6th of January. Once I know for sure though, I’ll write here to give anybody that wants to help further details. Anyways, we are going to be at church tomorrow, (the address is the one on the donations page on the website) so I wanted to invite anybody that wanted to come to be there to. Church starts at 10:30, and people usually get there around 10:00 to have some snacks and talk before church.
We are so happy to be home. When we were driving around yesterday, Kari said “Man, I love California.” We just love the atmosphere, the land, the weather, and of course all of our friends here. It took us a while to get settled, but it truly feels like home here and we feel so great to be back. We look forward to seeing friends here we haven’t seen in so long and also want to thank the many that came from our old home and elsewhere across the country to come visit us in Colorado.
Happy New Year!
Aaron.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Leaving today!
Hello All—
I don’t have a ton of time to write, but I wanted to let everybody know that we’re leaving today from Craig at 11:30 and our flight leaves Denver for Orange County at 2:39, arriving at 4:00. I’m actually getting a little anxious about the whole trip, but know that people are praying for us will calm my nerves for sure. We had a little trouble getting our new van yesterday because the credit union that I was getting the loan from never told me that I needed to be a Colorado resident to get the loan, even though they knew I lived in California. But we had some amazing people that helped us and we got it last night. Sara (Thompson) left last night at 2:30am to drive it back, and two other men from our church left last night to drive my car back, so pray for their safety as well. Needless to say, we’re tired from being up late, but excited to go home. I’ll write again to let everybody know how it all went! God bless.
Aaron.
I don’t have a ton of time to write, but I wanted to let everybody know that we’re leaving today from Craig at 11:30 and our flight leaves Denver for Orange County at 2:39, arriving at 4:00. I’m actually getting a little anxious about the whole trip, but know that people are praying for us will calm my nerves for sure. We had a little trouble getting our new van yesterday because the credit union that I was getting the loan from never told me that I needed to be a Colorado resident to get the loan, even though they knew I lived in California. But we had some amazing people that helped us and we got it last night. Sara (Thompson) left last night at 2:30am to drive it back, and two other men from our church left last night to drive my car back, so pray for their safety as well. Needless to say, we’re tired from being up late, but excited to go home. I’ll write again to let everybody know how it all went! God bless.
Aaron.
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