Thank you all for continually checking our blog. Time goes so fast-I can't believe it's been over a month since I last updated.
Well the weather is not as warm as it was a month ago-although it is still very nice. Our little container garden that Aaron faithfully works on is beautiful. We have several trees-including a lime tree!-that are five or 6 feet tall. We have two beautiful flowering vines and two hydrangeas that are blooming bright pink and a purpley-blue. We also have a hummingbird feeder that is drained every day by these hungry little birds. They are so fun to watch. Sometimes when I sit out there, they will land just inches from me. Aaron was actually able to touch one the other day. But I don't think this bird was doing very well; we haven't seen him for a few days. We also have lizards that love the warm stucco of our patio walls. I think the hummingbirds feel threatened by them as they dive bomb their heads whenever they come around! Tulip and Edi, our cats, sit at the door all the time and watch what happens on the other side of the screen just out of their reach. I think it must be torture for them!
I don't think that before I got hurt I would really have taken the time to watch hummingbirds and lizards! Sometimes I feel like I'm wasting my time when I find myself just staring at them and laughing at them. But there's something very peaceful about taking the time to watch God's creation-even if it's only on our apartment patio.
As of last night, April 17, 2007 at 9 p.m. Pacific standard Time, I have completed all the requirements for my Masters of Divinity! I was very excited and relieved to finally be done. Graduation is the first weekend of May. Even though this is a big accomplishment for me, it feels so anti-climatic in light of everything that has happened. I originally planned on graduating in December 2005. Then our accident happened. I then planned on graduating in December 2006. Then we lost our dear Bryan. Now that I'm graduating in May, my parents are not able to come because of my dad's health. So in a sense, I don't really care about the ceremony. I suppose I will go, but mostly I'm glad I don't have to worry about doing homework anymore.
People always ask me what do I plan on doing now. I really don't plan on doing anything much differently except try to become more involved in church. We don't plan on moving, and I have no big career plans. We are content where we are and still trying to figure out a few things.
My dad's health is not very good. He just completed his third round of chemotherapy. He has not showed much improvement. Please continue to pray for him and my mom as they struggle through this. Aaron and I and John and Cyndi (my sister and brother-in-law) plan on going to Omaha this summer.
My brother, Dustin, is still in Iraq. We know very little about his situation there and unfortunately do not hear from him very much. But we always think that 'no news is good news'. Please continue to pray for his safety and also his spirits as I'm sure it can be very discouraging and lonely. Also pray for his children, Colton-10, Sierra-7 and Savannah-5 as they are without their dad for so long. I know he misses them terriblyand I'm sure they miss him too.
Aaron is still plugging through his last eight weeks of school. This has been a very challenging year for Aaron. Pray for his strength to finish well.
Aaron's brothers, Dan and Rick and Rick's wife Desiree, are planning on going to Rwanda this summer! Rick and Desiree were able to go last summer as well. Please pray for their safety and fund-raising efforts. This is a mission trip through their church. Rick and Desiree have a refugee foundation that reunites war refugees with their families. Many of the refugee families are from Africa, so being able to go to Africa is very important and special to them. If any of you are interested in their refugee foundation they have a web site: www.trafonline.com -- there is also a link on their web site for Bryan House. This is a plan to buy a house, in Bryan's name and memory, to house refugees.
Also many of you have asked about my new caretaker. Her name is Anna-she has been with me almost 3 months. She is doing a fantastic job! It was difficult to see Sarah go-but I am thankful that we were able to get such a great replacement.
I guess that's it for now-please pray for our families as we persevere through so much loss and illness. Thank you everyone for loving and supporting us! We could never do this alone.
Love, Kari
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Warm and Sunny
We are currently experiencing some very warm weather here in Southern California. Today it is about 85° and tomorrow we are supposed to reach 90°. On days like this I'm so glad that we live here. My body temperature usually hovers around 96° or slightly lower. So I'm always cold-and Aaron always has to work at keeping me warm. So Aaron is thankful for the warm temperatures also. I'm sure these temperatures sound amazing to all of you in the Midwest who have had such a hard winter. Last weekend we had similar temperatures and Aaron and I were able to go to the beach. We found a beautiful beach that has great accessible trails along a cliff by the ocean. My wheelchair is not able to go on sand, so I missed that-but I can still be close to the ocean and enjoy its beauty. They do have wheelchairs with huge tires that go over sand and even in shallow water, but we have not ventured to try one of those yet. Maybe this summer...
I have a few things to update. First of all, Amy is doing much better! She is in a different hospital, her third one, but it really seems to be helping her. Her mom, Debbie, is in a great struggle to get Amy back to California. A few months ago she wrote to Governor Schwarzenegger (or "The Gover-nator") and to Congress persons in a last-ditch effort to bring Amy back to California. And in the last week she has actually succeeded in getting responses from the State officials. So keep praying for favor with these people. They are fighting the Medicaid system-it sounds impossible-but we know that with God all things are possible. The family is desperately hurting financially. Traveling back and forth to Las Vegas for almost a year now, almost every weekend, has been a huge expense. If any of you would like to donate money to this family, please go to Amy's web site and follow the instructions. www.freewebs.com/labagnara
The second thing I want to update you with is our dear friend Melissa. We wrote about Melissa while we were in the hospital. She is the young woman from our church that has been struggling for two years with a chronic pain disease. About six weeks ago her family drove an RV from Southern California to Philadelphia to go to a center there that specializes in Melissa's disease. In about a week's time the doctors and specialists were able to get Melissa's pain under control. For the last several weeks, Melissa has been completely pain-free!!! I don't think I can even convey in words the suffering that this poor young woman has gone through. She is only 20 years old and her life has been put on hold for the last two years. I have said numerous times that I would rather be paralyzed and in a wheelchair than to have the disease that Melissa has suffered with. But thanks be to God, that she is now able to resume the life that God has for her! I don't understand why she suffered so much when so many were praying. It seems senseless right now to think about why she would have to go through that. But maybe someday we will understand.
The third thing I wanted to update you on is not very good news. About three weeks ago my dad was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer. He went to the doctor to check for kidney stones and they discovered a massive tumor around his abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava. It is very large and is pressing into some major organs. About a week ago they began an aggressive form of chemotherapy. The tumor is too large and too intertwined to be operable. The chemo will happen every three weeks for the next six months with periodic CT scans to determine the size of the tumor. Please pray for my dad and my mom as they go through this difficult time. Also please pray for my brother Dustin, who is in Iraq. It's a difficult time to be away.
As far as my schooling goes, I should be completely finished April 15! I am two papers away from having my Masters of Divinity.
Aaron is doing very well. He is in his busy time from March until May with numerous concerts and festivals. He is also currently enjoying his new Macbook computer and all of the widgets that are available! He doesn't know what to do with all of the new games! It's like overstimulation for his brain.
And the pictures above are of my adorable nephew, Joshua Aaron Fusek. He's rapidly approaching 6 months of age! Thanks for the pictures John and Cyndi! (This was my first attempt at posting pictures.)
Thanks for reading and thank you for your prayers. Please feel free to comment-it helps us to know who is still checking the blog!
Love, Kari
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Lots of news...
This is going to be another lengthy update, so grab your cup of coffee and a comfortable place to sit. First of all, thank you for your continued support by checking the blog. I can tell every day that there are many people who are checking in. I apologize for not updating more frequently.
There are many things that I want to update you on: our trip to Illinois; my caretaker situation; an update on Amy; my school situation.
Our sudden trip to Illinois was rather eventful. After receiving that horrible news on December 9 about our dear Bryan, we sprang into action to figure out how to get home. Because of my physical disability and all the equipment that I require, we decided to drive. Our good friend Joy was able to make the trip with us with about 12 hours notice. We were able to leave December 10, almost exactly 24 hours after we heard the news. The weather did not look promising so we were not sure which way to go. We decided on the most direct route, taking Interstate 70 through Colorado. We literally got stuck in the snow on the interstate while we were climbing the Vail Summit and had to be towed the rest of the way. We were loaded onto a truck bed, while we stayed in the van, and made it up the hill. We then descended the other side of the mountain at about 5 mph. After staying the night in a hotel, the next day we received two speeding tickets-one in Colorado (Aaron); and one in Nebraska (Joy). In spite of our situation, the cops were less than merciful which was very frustrating. After four days of driving, we finally made it to Illinois so we could grieve with our family.
On Thursday we had Bryan's visitation-this lasted for about eight hours, with nearly a thousand people coming through to mourn our loss. On Friday we had Bryan's memorial service. This was attended by about 500 people and lasted just over two hours. It was a beautiful, comforting service done in true Guzmán fashion. The music was great, the video was great, the memories were great-everything worked together perfectly to honor Bryan and his short life.
Several of you have asked if there has been more information concerning his death. Unfortunately, we know little more than what was reported in the papers. But we take great comfort in the assurance that Bryan is with his Creator.
The rest of our time was very bittersweet-that was filled with wonderful times with our family. I want to direct you to a web site describing a foundation started by Rick (Aaron's brother) and Desiree Guzmán. On this web site you will be able to view the way in which we will honor Bryan and his life. The web site is: www.trafonline.com. Click on "Bryan House" for details.
Our trip home began on December 30. Dan, Aaron's brother, made the journey back to California with us. We were able to stop in Omaha to see my family on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. This was a wonderful time for us-we had not been there since just a couple of days before our accident in July 2005. We were able to see our nieces and our nephew and sister-in-law for several precious hours on New Year's Eve. I treasure that time.
Dustin:
I just realized that many of you may not know that my brother Dustin was deployed to Iraq on December 3. He is serving as a sergeant in the National Guard. As far as we know, he will be there 12 to 18 months. Please pray for his safety and for a quick peaceful end to this war.
My caregiver situation:
A couple of days after we returned home, Sarah regretfully told us that she was having a position and shift change at her work. So after exactly 1 year of being my hands and feet, it was time for her to move on. There are no words to express our gratitude and love for Sarah.
Through a church connection in Riverside I was able to find another caretaker fairly quickly. Her name is Anna and she just finished her first week. Aaron's mom came out last Saturday and left yesterday to be with us during the transition. Anna is doing a great job and will hopefully be with us for quite some time. Please pray for this new relationship as it is very scary to allow someone, especially someone we just met, to be my hands and feet.
My school situation:
I was two days away from finishing my class when we got the call about Bryan. I was supposed to graduate on December 16, even though I still had two classes to finish. My parents were supposed to come out on December 14 to be at my graduation. Obviously when you receive tragic news, nothing else seems to matter. So I called my professor and told her I would not be able to finish until January. On January 9 I finished my class with a B+! I still have my other two classes to finish by March 27. I will go through the graduation ceremony in May.
Amy:
You may recall in a previous blog, about my friend Amy. Aaron and I were contacted by her family last summer after they read an article in the newspaper about us. Amy is a single mom that was injured in a car accident last May. The shocking news is that she is still in the hospital. As of today, she is in critical condition in the ICU in Las Vegas. Because of Medicaid laws, Amy has not been able to return to California to be near her family. Nearly every weekend since last May some member of Amy's family has been either driving or flying to Las Vegas from Southern California. The expense is astronomical as they also have to pay for hotel. A few days ago Amy's heart stopped-she had no pulse and was not breathing. After successful CPR she is still extremely sick with double pneumonia and possibly an enlarged liver. I beg you to pray for Amy. She has been through so much and it seems ridiculous that she would be so sick. Our injuries were so similar, but the care I received was so far beyond what Amy has received. It does not seem fair that Amy should suffer so much. I'm convinced that if Amy had better insurance than she would have received better care. It's not right or fair that she should suffer like this. This tragedy in their lives has stretched them beyond their means. I know that none of you know her, but I am asking-if you are able-to contribute to this family. I don't know who regularly gives to our fund, but if you are a regular giver please consider giving that money to Amy. There are directions through her web site that will show you how to donate. Or you could donate through my web site and indicate on your check that this is for Amy. Please pray for her daughter Ashley who is 10 years old, her mother Debbie, her stepfather Randy, and her sisters Amanda and Stacey.
I guess this is it for now. Aaron and I have had a grueling day of watching our beloved Chicago Bears lose in the Super Bowl. Aaron needs to go to bed so he can recover in time for school tomorrow. I know many of you are feeling that same loss.
Thanks for reading-we love your comments, so feel free to write when you have a chance. We love you all.
Kari.
There are many things that I want to update you on: our trip to Illinois; my caretaker situation; an update on Amy; my school situation.
Our sudden trip to Illinois was rather eventful. After receiving that horrible news on December 9 about our dear Bryan, we sprang into action to figure out how to get home. Because of my physical disability and all the equipment that I require, we decided to drive. Our good friend Joy was able to make the trip with us with about 12 hours notice. We were able to leave December 10, almost exactly 24 hours after we heard the news. The weather did not look promising so we were not sure which way to go. We decided on the most direct route, taking Interstate 70 through Colorado. We literally got stuck in the snow on the interstate while we were climbing the Vail Summit and had to be towed the rest of the way. We were loaded onto a truck bed, while we stayed in the van, and made it up the hill. We then descended the other side of the mountain at about 5 mph. After staying the night in a hotel, the next day we received two speeding tickets-one in Colorado (Aaron); and one in Nebraska (Joy). In spite of our situation, the cops were less than merciful which was very frustrating. After four days of driving, we finally made it to Illinois so we could grieve with our family.
On Thursday we had Bryan's visitation-this lasted for about eight hours, with nearly a thousand people coming through to mourn our loss. On Friday we had Bryan's memorial service. This was attended by about 500 people and lasted just over two hours. It was a beautiful, comforting service done in true Guzmán fashion. The music was great, the video was great, the memories were great-everything worked together perfectly to honor Bryan and his short life.
Several of you have asked if there has been more information concerning his death. Unfortunately, we know little more than what was reported in the papers. But we take great comfort in the assurance that Bryan is with his Creator.
The rest of our time was very bittersweet-that was filled with wonderful times with our family. I want to direct you to a web site describing a foundation started by Rick (Aaron's brother) and Desiree Guzmán. On this web site you will be able to view the way in which we will honor Bryan and his life. The web site is: www.trafonline.com. Click on "Bryan House" for details.
Our trip home began on December 30. Dan, Aaron's brother, made the journey back to California with us. We were able to stop in Omaha to see my family on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. This was a wonderful time for us-we had not been there since just a couple of days before our accident in July 2005. We were able to see our nieces and our nephew and sister-in-law for several precious hours on New Year's Eve. I treasure that time.
Dustin:
I just realized that many of you may not know that my brother Dustin was deployed to Iraq on December 3. He is serving as a sergeant in the National Guard. As far as we know, he will be there 12 to 18 months. Please pray for his safety and for a quick peaceful end to this war.
My caregiver situation:
A couple of days after we returned home, Sarah regretfully told us that she was having a position and shift change at her work. So after exactly 1 year of being my hands and feet, it was time for her to move on. There are no words to express our gratitude and love for Sarah.
Through a church connection in Riverside I was able to find another caretaker fairly quickly. Her name is Anna and she just finished her first week. Aaron's mom came out last Saturday and left yesterday to be with us during the transition. Anna is doing a great job and will hopefully be with us for quite some time. Please pray for this new relationship as it is very scary to allow someone, especially someone we just met, to be my hands and feet.
My school situation:
I was two days away from finishing my class when we got the call about Bryan. I was supposed to graduate on December 16, even though I still had two classes to finish. My parents were supposed to come out on December 14 to be at my graduation. Obviously when you receive tragic news, nothing else seems to matter. So I called my professor and told her I would not be able to finish until January. On January 9 I finished my class with a B+! I still have my other two classes to finish by March 27. I will go through the graduation ceremony in May.
Amy:
You may recall in a previous blog, about my friend Amy. Aaron and I were contacted by her family last summer after they read an article in the newspaper about us. Amy is a single mom that was injured in a car accident last May. The shocking news is that she is still in the hospital. As of today, she is in critical condition in the ICU in Las Vegas. Because of Medicaid laws, Amy has not been able to return to California to be near her family. Nearly every weekend since last May some member of Amy's family has been either driving or flying to Las Vegas from Southern California. The expense is astronomical as they also have to pay for hotel. A few days ago Amy's heart stopped-she had no pulse and was not breathing. After successful CPR she is still extremely sick with double pneumonia and possibly an enlarged liver. I beg you to pray for Amy. She has been through so much and it seems ridiculous that she would be so sick. Our injuries were so similar, but the care I received was so far beyond what Amy has received. It does not seem fair that Amy should suffer so much. I'm convinced that if Amy had better insurance than she would have received better care. It's not right or fair that she should suffer like this. This tragedy in their lives has stretched them beyond their means. I know that none of you know her, but I am asking-if you are able-to contribute to this family. I don't know who regularly gives to our fund, but if you are a regular giver please consider giving that money to Amy. There are directions through her web site that will show you how to donate. Or you could donate through my web site and indicate on your check that this is for Amy. Please pray for her daughter Ashley who is 10 years old, her mother Debbie, her stepfather Randy, and her sisters Amanda and Stacey.
I guess this is it for now. Aaron and I have had a grueling day of watching our beloved Chicago Bears lose in the Super Bowl. Aaron needs to go to bed so he can recover in time for school tomorrow. I know many of you are feeling that same loss.
Thanks for reading-we love your comments, so feel free to write when you have a chance. We love you all.
Kari.
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